Moving on

Well it's been a pretty good week so far. Kate's mom went home on Monday and here we are Wednesday night, doing fine. We've been keeping things going and running smooth. The house has been pretty good and our chores have been flying by day by day. My Parents are coming in to town tomorrow from Parksville and taking Sebastian to the Aquarium for the day. It should be a blast for him as he hasn't been there in a while.

Work has been interesting lately. I have felt really good about.... well about everything these last few days and as such I have been doing a lot. I felt a little down today but kept moving along with all the tickets coming in and at the end of the day walked out feeling great.

I went and did laundry with Sebastian tonight at the laundromat as we just had a mountain of stuff to get done. It was also a good time, he and I chased each other around and played catch with a nerf ball. He helped load the dryer and put in quarters for me....

.... it's now Saturday night.... I left this open for quite a while.

It snowed here today, lots. We were going to go to Shannon and Brian's House for dinner but we decided against it due to the streets. Sebastian and I played outside a few times today in the snow. He in his rain suit, pj's and full clothes and me bundled up in my jackets as well. He likes the snow a lot, which is funny since last year he HATED the snow with a passion.

Things are still going well around the house. Upkeep and all is still working and the week itself for home life didn't turn out so bad for Kate. Sebastian and my parents stayed at the aquarium until nearly 4pm and got home one bus in front of me. Without his nap and that much excitement he was a terror the next day but at least he had fun.

I did some work for a guy at my work on his Mac and setup Leopard and an external drive for him as well as transferring his data from the old drive to the new. He was pleased enough to pick us up a bottle of Vincent Van Gogh - Espresso Infused Vodka. Now I don't like coffee much at all but Kate does and it may be fantastic with some coffee or in a white russian or something...

The End

The End of having Oma here. Kate's mom goes home tomorrow and we're back on our own (so to speak). The level of help and support surrounding us should ensure that if we need something people will be there for us. It's been nice having her here this last 7 days as she has done so much around the house and shown me that some things in our lives can be taken care of in an instant rather than making it a thing to be dealt with.

I've come to realize that I can help motivate Kate by getting Sebastian ready to go and making coffee in the mornings and I think that from now on she needs to be up and out of bed before I leave in the morning. The house works as functional mess and that's ok. We can survive with this and cleaning it up only takes a little effort rather than the daily attempt we were making for it to appear that we don't have kids at all and instead live in a spotless and up-kept house.

Last night we went to the Pro Street Wrap Party at the Vancouver Aquarium which was awesome. The venue is a great place to have a party and the food was quite good also. We wandered around looking at underwater animals of all sorts and Rigby brought in the attention. It was a good time and nice to get out and away for an Adult evening of entertainment. Tonight (and a few nights ago) we went out and had a cappuccino and cookie at JJ Bean and sat and talked, again good to get out for some adult time.

Going forward we are devising a schedule of events for Kate's days and some basic things for us all to deal with the days. Meal plans with recipe cards and pre-ordered groceries. A few purchased meals from Chef Claires and Sliced Tomatoes and the knowledge that we can make a difference to our own lives as long as we get of our asses. That and we're going back to vegetarianism which makes both of us very happy indeed.

Some images for past posts.

Train Show and the pictures of Sebastian with his Patch and Glasses.

What's all this then

We had the appointment for Sebastian at the Ophthalmologist yesterday and the verdict is that his right eye is still functional and just needs to be 'woken up'. So Sebastian gets to wear an eye patch for a month. 2 weeks of all the time and 2 weeks of part time. He also gets glasses to help him focus his eyes which we pick up from the Lab tomorrow.

Kate had her appointment today and was told some very good things I think. That she needs to relearn how to do some things in her life and was given a way to ease out the anxiety. (read: drug) So I am excited at this opportunity as the Dr that saw Kate says she strongly believes that it will be suprising to all of us (including Kate) what comes out the other side of this.

I started my new Journey today as well. You may or may not recall some of my musings regarding my personal state. 1 2 3 4 5

So today I started Effexor and had a swell time running the gambit of side effects while trying to get some work done. I started work being swimmy headed and lightfooted and moved on to shaky and a little dizzy. Jaw clenched and teeth grinding and feeling a little like I should be sitting down. I've never taken a major drug before and my friend Sean just likened it to taking E (which I have never done) but it's certainly a trip. After about a week at this level I will be ramping the dose to double and at that point I guess we will see what my body (and brain) can handle.

Drive out

My chest hurts

I don't know why, I think it's a reaction to my brain working.

It feels like I got kicked.

We spent the entire weekend without Sebastian around. He went to Shannon and Brian's place and they ( thanks to the multi-faced deities ) were able to give us a much needed break. We went out shopping and browsing and then after 2 nights of movie watching in peace went and picked him up today. Took a long drive out toward Whistler and stopped at a lake for some lunch it was nice return of the Boo.

Heather is coming by monday to hang out and Kate's mom will be here at 3-4pm today with an open ended ticket to be around which is great to know. My parents have offered to come over on the ferry, hang out here for the day and then take Seb back with them for a sleep over and then come back and drop him off / meet us at Horseshoe bay later the next day. And, do it bi-weekly. That would be very very cool.

Anyway, today is the start of another journey.

Low Emotional Intelligence

So a while ago I took a test that says I have low emotional intelligence. This means that my ability to tell what people are actually feeling and that the tone and inflection of a persons speech often is lost on me and I will perceive whatever my brain wanted to perceive. Like wise it' s hard to know what the emotions I have actually are and how to process what I feel to words.

So take that and realize that I am already struggling to get the true meanings behind peoples actions and words and then add something that requires attention in an emotional way.

Kate let me know today her true feelings about what is going on with her.

Sebastian is staying with our friends Brian and Shannon for the weekend. He's been gone for about 8 hours now and I can't believe how much I miss him and miss having him around (even if he would be sleeping right now) We haven't been away from him (like both of us not just one of us) for his entire life... I'm sure that some of this weekend will be very scary for him.

Kate's mom is coming in from Calgary to help out however she can. I haven't really discussed how long she'll be here or where she will stay while here and what she is expecting ( or what we are expecting of her) with her. I hope that she can be here with Kate, Riby and Sebastian while I can still work to keep us afloat. Not what I would love but, it's great that Johanna would do that. We never ask much of that part of Kate's family but when we do they come through all the way.

Sppappappapappaaaarkkkaapppapap uh

I just didn't have a title today.

Gordon gave us some really cool "jigsaw puzzle" art. There are two pieces by Douglas Coupland that are both limited edition of 88 unnumbered, unsigned. They are these neat replicas of some art that ran at the closed JFK airport in New York. One of them (pictured below) is easy for people to recognize, and the other a little harder to make out (I also can not find an image).
They are both cut to be a 30 piece jigsaw puzzle (that I doubt I would ever want to attempt) but will soon be getting framed up. It was a nice gift I think.

The whole gang came down to work today and got cooed over by folks. New babies are awesome for that. Sebastian was a great little boy with me out last night and again today and he seems to be on a nice curve currently :)

Hallowthankxmas

While Halloween was getting going I noticed that it was time for Christmas based on the random spattering of lights, decorations and such in the malls. I also came across this gem of an article.

Can't Buy Me G-d

ReadyMade's interfaith gift guide
by Adam David Cole

Is it just me, or is everyone a Nazi around the holidays? As a Jew, perhaps I lack the gene for holiday cheer (is that what they cut out during the bris?). Maybe it's my David and Goliath complex that makes me a little paranoid. Whatever the reason, buying gifts is like trying to gain entrance to a golf course in Georgia. Roaming the aisles for meaningful trinkets, I feel the grip of Father Christmas tighten around my withering Jewish soul; I'm certain that the cheery carol blaring at Macy's is actually the Muzak version of "Deutschland �ber Alles." When I buy a menorah for my grandmother, I'm convinced that the clerk gift wraps it in the colors of the Palestinian flag. (Not to mention the fact that the red-nosed reindeer emblazoned across her sweater looks more Adolf than Rudolph.) Even for those who don't suffer from my delusions, the gift-buying process can induce panic, especially when you've got a harem of multi-religioned friends to shop for. To guide you through the whole ordeal, I've assembled this faith-based list of suggestions.

Atheists

What to give: Boston Red Sox season tickets. In 2004 the Sox beat the New York Yankees and won their first World Series in 86 years. Tickets to the Red Sox might turn your heretical friends into believers.

What not to give: Chicago Cubs tickets. The Cubs haven't won a World Series since 1908 and haven't made it into the series since 1945. A season of watching the Flubs�er, Cubs�might convince atheists that even the World Series doesn't truly exist.

Christians

What to give: Testament graphic novel. The Holy Bible is a tome that doesn't exactly make for light reading. The cartoon version keeps the pace moving and wins you supreme literary cred with Baptists.

What not to give: Von Dutch trucker hat; Juicy Couture sweatsuit; Ugg boots. When one accepts Christ, the church offers to absolve all sin. Federline-n-Spears fashion, however, is thoroughly unforgivable.

Jews

What to give: A life vest. In the Jewish faith, nothing's sexier than safety. Throw in some plastic floaties and you'll win major mensch points with your pal's family.

What not to give: Eiffel Tower statuette. We Jews wouldn't know what to do with an item sold by a vendor thousands of miles away. What if we need to exchange it?

Mormons

What to give: Girls Gone Wild Co-ed Tryouts. Just because Mormons don't drink, do drugs, or consume caffeine doesn't mean they won't enjoy this fine piece of classic cinema, starring chi-chi-flashing freshmen.

What not to give: Victoria's Secret Sexy V-Neck Racerback Tank. Sure, they'll watch girls stripping off their bras for the camera, but the Mormons' undergarment of choice is a union suit�style white cotton number. Victoria's curve-enhancing tanks are definitely not church-sanctioned.

Muslims

What to give: Two-in-one prayer/yoga mat. Help your Muslim friends align their chakras in the direction of Mecca with this convenient dual-purpose floor pad.

What not to give: A holiday ham. The only pork product allowed in the Muslim world these days is a Halliburton contract.

What is going on?

Kate is currently listening to a podcast about sex education. It's called the midwest teen sex show. They are currently going over the names for jerkin yer gerkin and even have advice about not putting your penis in to anything that can get in to your penis or how to tell if you are masturbating too much by how much time you have left to masturbate......What to do if your mom catches you?

1. Ask her to help you finish.
2. Say " Oh, I thought you were Dad.
3. Blame it on the media.

And one woman... " I realized when I was 14 if I wanted to have kids I better start having sex. Oh is that mayonnaise on my chest or are we done already?"

Somewhere over the rainbow

The first task is to find the rainbow. The second to discover what does actually exist on the other side if it. The rainbow in this particular case is the redevelopment of people toward a new enlightenment. There have been a number of major turn around points in the history of modern Earth. The Agricultural Revolution, The industrial Revolution, The Space Age, The computerization of our lives, faster information - less effort. A new time is at hand.

Which way will this time go though? No one can label it yet because it hasn't happened and historians haven't had enough time to sit about and brainstorm a good name. I propose two different names for this revolution:

The Wakeup
The Demise

They are both pretty straightforward, and really the whole lesson is right there in the title. We have options facing us each day to either step up and do something small [ repeatedly ] daily to further our time on this Earth or to ignore what is so obviously happening around us and chalk it up to..... well whatever it is we want to believe it is.

I've been reading about some of the small things that seem so insignificant that can do so much for our lives, the lives of others, our economy and our world. Things that are simple and everyone knows... like energy saving bulbs. Things that are not quite so common like throwing your gum in the trash instead of the street.

A small factoid: In the UK it costs 37p for a pack of gum. It costs (on average) 15p to clean up that gum. The UK spends 150Million on this cleaning. This money would fund 3 hospitals or 8,500 teachers salaries. It sometimes isn't quite so obvious what we are costing ourselves.

Anyway, I think it's time to retire and watch a little Mystery Science Theatre 3000 with Kate and Rigby, after I go put Sebastian's covers on that is.

The Reopening

Well obviously we are back in public domain here. I (also obviously) changed my blog a little bit.

So after a meeting between sites today it seems that someone is going to have to come on down and join our site but no one is really interested in doing that. So we'll see where that goes. Hopefully whoever does come doesn't come forced since that will probably just mean that they will be bitter and frustrated.

I know that my studio is better for me, it's a style of working that I enjoy and the environment it exactly what I have always wanted. On the other hand the other studio has a lot to be desired. There is a larger sense of community, there are more opportunities for learning and information sharing and as it is the main office for us there is more exposure to the powers that be. I can see liking both options here but I wouldn't *want* to work at the other. I need to though.

Now. Props where Props be due. Kate; thank you for getting my header fixed.

What Happened?

Look up the term Dooced on the internet and you can get an idea.

Dodged but I will have some new ground rules here in Banaspace.

For the ones affected:

I will apologize. Not for the things that I said, because they were my honest feelings and that is all. However I am truly sorry for the ramifications of writing those things. I did not consider what this would mean to other people when they read it and I also didn't consider what it would mean to our community of people.

To ease this all out I have gone through and edited my entire blog to reflect the new ground rules.

Let's continue on.

The Best

On looking for the correct terms for my last post I came across a "Best Of Craigslist" which made me nearly bust my guts.

http://www.craigslist.org/about/best/van/182234107.html

The last *edit*

Well it's morning.... ask a toddler what Daylight savings time is.

Sebastian decided that morning started at 5Am today, I found out quickly that it was in fact 4Am and coaxed him back to bed. We got 2 more hours and got up at 6. He is now chomping on ice and playing with Lego. I on the other hand am trying to wake myself up as I have been having trouble getting up to operating speed lately. I don't really think it's due to Rigby being around as I have been having this problem for a while now. ( About a month or so )

It's really hard though, I feel like my head weighs a ton and my eyes hurt to be open. I fall asleep sitting up or standing or whatever for a few seconds regularly and even coffee doesn't seem to jump me up. I get going by about 8:30 / 9Am and feel fine after that. I have also been realy easily falling asleep while sitting at night. I have fallen asleep during our movies the last three nights for sure. When Kate and I met I was almost narcoleptic ( I just fell asleep while trying to decide if narcoleptic was the sleep thing or the dead people thing ) Then Sebastian came over, I changed his diaper and we cuddled on the chair at which point I fell asleep again.

Maybe there is something wrong there.....

Rigby and Kate are both doing well now. Kate has been out and about and has been fine with it. Ribgy seems to enjoy the time regardless of where she is. ( Ok Seriously it just happened again ) Sebastian is coping better with the new one around I think. He seems to be fully aware of what she is, who she is and the last part is the (asleep while thinking) wait for him to accept her fully. He likes to kiss her, hold her and helps us tell her that "It's ok Rigby" when she cries. So I don't think it will take long at all until he never remembers the time when she wasn't here.

Arrgh, I seriously want this to stop.

**SO I just read through this post and I wanted to clarify a few things here and there. I did keep falling asleep while writing this post and it was frustrating because I obviously lost my train of thought a few times there. "Sebastian coming over and getting his diaper changed" is what actually happened after I woke up when I fell asleep thinking about the differences between Narcoleptics and Necrophiliacs. I also seem to remember the two mincing together in my head for a moments and I was thinking people who fall asleep randomly while fucking dead people..... man that's messed up.