Happy Anniversary!

To my husband who always keeps me laughing...

Photo by Brett Jungbluth

Week in Review

This week was especially notable but I did a poor job of capturing it as it was happening. So just pretend this is an issue of Time or Newsweek and we'll look back on all the major stories with a wee bit of commentary.

Last Saturday/Sunday--Mother's Day weekend:
Austin surprised Mom by showing up here in Seattle during the Mother's Day weekend when she and Cindy came up to visit. It was a fun-filled 2 days that included a BBQ with the delightful Testas & Amy, plus a pre-funk visit with Sumeer. Mother got to drink a lot of wine and we had a raucous evening of celebrity true-stories told by Amy. I also broke out a tin of Cougar Gold. Here's some advice: if the pack date on the can predates Bush taking office, it's probably not good anymore. And it wasn't.

After a home-cooked breakfast the next morning by Mom and Cindy (they offered), we made a prerequisite visit to the Farmers Market especially to see the folks of Empire Ice Cream who are back for the season. Catch their Strawberry ice cream later this summer. It rocks.

Looking at earrings for Mother.

Even though I am not officially a momma yet, I received cards and presents(!) for Mother's Day which was an unexpected and wonderful thing. It's still pretty amazing to realize I will be in that category soon.

Monday--nursery prep, part one:
Austin stayed with us for a few days and helped us transform our fully packed office into an empty room for the nursery conversion. He did some major moving of items, Ethernet and speaker cable rewiring and made a pot of chili that is so spicy that Ken must eat the rest of it by himself.



Next week the Wall Doctor comes here to repair the cracks in the lath & plaster walls and to secure a drywall ceiling. We are looking forward to the upgrade and it's amazing how much stuff had to be moved out. But where is the office relocating in our ever shrinking house, you ask? Why, downstairs right outside the guest room, atop the newly cleaned carpets. Which by the way, looked incredible once they were cleaned. I wondered why we hadn't done it sooner since it wasn't that expensive.

Tuesday--Flight of the Conchords:
Austin's big birthday present from Mom and us this year was tickets to the Flight of the Conchords concert at the Paramount. First let me tell you that Amy sat with him since he got 2 tickets and pairing those two up harkens me back to our wedding day. There could not be two more opposite souls but they are fun to see interact. When first meeting her years ago, Austin suggested that she smelled like cabbage and needed a helmet. How many first impressions get off to that good a start?

The venue took pains to vex the scalpers from the primo seats (first 12 rows). If you were keen enough to get those seats during the internet presale (which I was for both pairs), you could only pick-up the tickets via will call an hour and half prior to the show, your entire group had to be present and once you entered the theater, there was no in/out privileges. So effectively you could not resell your tickets. Quite extreme but it was cool to know that we were sitting amongst fans who were savvy to get tickets and paid the same amount we did for them. It does get a bit crazy to get tickets to shows these days. You either have to jump on internet presales or be a fan and get notices months prior to the show date.



Thursday--Kick it: Aside from being the season finale of Grey's Anatomy that was rather shocking and a bit of a tear-jerker, Ken got to feel the baby kick for the first time! As I was waking up, I could feel The Wetus kicking but then I realized I could feel it with my hands so I grabbed his hand and (POW!) there it was. One of our favorite things to do now is play The Wetus some music before we go to bed via Ken's MP3 player and headphones. The Wetus will usually kick at the headphones (where the sound is coming from). Ken endeavors to introduce a range of music, including but not limited to the Bach Cello Suites, Finnish folk songs, Brazilian jazz and Beethoven's Greatest Hits. I guess we'll be reserving Depeche Mode, Radiohead, David Byrne, Genesis and The Killers for after it's born.

Friday--Baby 101:
Our neighbors, The Stewarts, who had Miss Emmy over 7 weeks ago, were kind enough to help educate us in the ways of real babies. Ken and I have many books on the subject, are signed up for several classes and have watched a few DVDs now. But nothing is quite like having a real live baby with real live situations.
Some of the major things we learned about:

• Elimination Training: getting an infant accustomed to using a toilet. Did you know most of the world's children don't use diapers? It can be done if you can pick up on the baby's cues and start associating a sound with going to the bathroom. 
  
• White noise: Did you know a hairdryer can double as a white noise generator when baby needs to be soothed? Facing the dryer away, turn it on and set it next to their head for 30 secs or so. Works.
  
• Vowel time: This could just be an Emmy thing but she is picking up on vowel sounds. If you catch her in an attentive mood, she will make sounds just like vowels so you just repeat them back to her. She seemed to be repeating them. What is truly amazing is realizing how much they comprehend even at that young an age. 
  
• Burping: Arms up and place baby's chest sort of over your shoulder whilst patting up and down the back. Gets big burps.
  
• Butt Paste: Moisture barrier to avoid diaper rash. Use liberally. 
  

So Friday was our training session. Next time we'll be in-charge but The Stewarts will still be onsite. One thing I have to overcome is that feeling of anxiety when the baby cries and despite what you do, nothing "fixes it." I notice they (and the cats) have a sense of patience and calm even when there is prolonged crying. 

We are eternally grateful to have this level of interaction with an infant so close to the arrival of our own. Both of us have commented that the experience and awareness that we're getting will help us feel better prepared and confident. And not to be left out, the Tomassi-Nunnelly family, the Rich family & the Grimsrud family have also been very instructive to us specifically for the amount of time we've spent with those children at various developmental stages.

Quite a whirlwind of a week.

UPDATE: Wii-mote Hacking--More fun than you know

Going Viral over the weekend!
Since this has never happened to us before, I thought I'd put as many links as I could find today. Ken's Star Trek theme video has over 50,000 views since it's unveiling 10 days ago. A co-worker of mine found his way to one of the links with no prior knowledge of the project. This is really cool. I'm just glad Ken is going viral for something creative and geekishly cool. (Because we've seen so many things on the internet go viral that are regrettable.)

• Visions of the Future (Dutch)
  
• Cubed3
  
• TED Blog (NEW & noteworthy!)
• Boing Boing
• Engadget
  
• Destructoid.com
  
• Joystiq.com (NEW & funny!)
• Gameblips.com
• Kotaku.com
• Geek Dad on Wired.com
• Gamespark (Japan)
• Offworld Blog
• 20minutos (Espana)
• Wired.com Blog
• Gonintento.com
• Arstechnica.com
• NeoTeo (en espanol)
• Gratis Juegos (en espanol)
• Blog of Interaction Guru, Johnny Chung Lee (scroll to the bottom)
• Make Magazine Blog

Yah Ken!

--------------------------------------------------------------------------
I eluded to it before, but it bears a little more explanation. My inventive and quite-handy-with-a-soldering-gun husband embarked on a personal journey to create something that the world was sorely missing. Something that would inspire and delight. Something that would capture the imagination of those who saw it. That something is a Wii Theremin.





I think it's quite clever what's he's accomplished. He's designed an interface that works with the Wii-mote and created a musical instrument that you don't touch. You can see, read and watch more about his Wii-mote Theremin on his blog.

But what also happened today is that 2 major innovator blogs picked up on what he was doing and featured his videos and linked to his blog too. That's what you call "viral" on the internet.

Here's some behind the scenes pics of the video shoot. As you can see, we improvised.

Pineapple Classic

Today Ken, Sean, Sarah, Mika, Wilson & Briahna participated in the Winter Pineapple Classic a 5K team run benefiting blood cancer research with obsticles and the unique element of having to transport a pineapple from start to finish. Most participants dressed up and really got into the "aloha spirit". Sean & Ken ran as a 2-man team and the Wallers & Atteberrys ran as a 4-person team. Fun was had by all!

Here's a video of the festivities edited with Adobe Premiere...I finally have decent editing software. Enjoy!

Ken's Blogging

Check out what Ken's been tinkering on these past few weeks...

http://kenmooredesign.com/

Plants are getting lazy

I've ruminated before on a common discussion point in our household around the technological takeover of humanity. While Ken & I are both quite fascinated by technological breakthroughs and experiencing new gadgets, software and innovations, we do have different motives. I tend to look at what technology can do to minimize the mundane aspects of life or what it can do to bring people together, like the Wii, blogs, the Google phone & Facebook. What I perceive of Ken's motives is that where ever possible implanting technology is preferable. Even when something can be done without the aid of computers or software, "wouldn't it be neat" to do it anyway? (Ken is welcome to dispute and clarify this position--at time of publish, he was not available for comment.) For example, take a look at this invention to help a plant get sunlight.

It's pretty neat and it's thoughtful to want to help our plants get the most sunlight they need but think about it... Plants can grow in the direction of the best sunlight and their leaves have evolved to make the most of the light they get. So while this is helping the plant in one way, it's circumventing adaptation and basic function in another. Over time, it stunts the plants ability to do what it does naturally. And how much "energy" is used to operate this contraption? Does it even net out?

Our cousin Thomas made a point when we were out visiting awhile ago that the Internet (and specifically Google) makes us lazy because as search becomes more and more optimized, it will start to anticipate and think for us. In trying to bring up the best correlations to a search term, it will make assumptions and apply its own logic--leaving us to hit enter, wait and drool.
I think like any powerful tool, there is a fine line between it helping advance our society and it crippling us. When I think about the major paradigm-shifting advances in the last 10 years, I only hope that in our exuberance to embrace technology, that we not only ask "can we?" but "should we?". The tenants of curiosity, practicality, efficiency and simplicity are the cornerstones of thoughtful people and they were around long before the Internet age. Sometimes I worry in the current atmosphere that these ideals may seem passe or quaint to the over-stimulated youth of today. But technology can't make moral decisions or value judgements nor can it take the place of thoughtful introspection. For all our sakes, I hope that will never go out of style.

Marathon Madness: Multimedia Edition

1. Start this...


2. Then start this...


3. When the video ends, start this...

Marathon Madness

An amazing day at the Portland Marathon today that I'll need to spend more time detailing tomorrow. But Ken ran a great race and finished in the top 20% overall at 3hrs:47min:05sec. My family plus his mother, who flew out from the East Coast, were all here to cheer him on. We look forward to a restful night after a great day of physical triumph and celebration.

Photo by Cindy Hovind

Photo by Cindy Hovind

Photo by Angela Halsne, Sign by Sarah Waller

Ken's Birthday Rocked

There are important moments in one's life which deserve, nay, demand observance and celebration. One of these precious moments is turning 40. So it should come to no surprise that we whooped it up on Saturday with many of our nearest and dearest to segue Mr. Ken from the thrilling thirties to the fabulous forties. We also recognized a few friends who also turned the big 4-0 this year. Amy, Tim, Dave...I'm looking at you.

But before the big blowout, we gave Ken his birthday present. Here's the story:

Over the years, Ken has expressed an interest in having a drum kit in the house but it just didn't make sense due to how much noise they make. That is, until I saw this in a magazine when I was flying down to see Heather in May. It seemed to be the perfect solution: he could get the drum set experience, use headphones when necessary, have a huge pool of different sounds and use a computer (MIDI) input/output with it. So I put it out to the families and there was an enthusiastic response since Ken is one of the hardest people to get gifts for, and especially on a significant milestone like this, we all wanted it to be special.

After talking to a few music stores about what set was most appropriate, I put his on layaway and made arrangements to have Dad & Austin help me pick it up the day before the party. We picked it up around 3:30p on Friday, knowing that Ken would be home around 5p. We rushed home so that Dad and Austin could put it together. Two weeks prior, I had separately ordered/received a monitor (speaker) for the drum set but it was so big, I couldn't hide it or keep it at work. I asked our neighbors across the street to harbor it for awhile and also the day before the party I fetched it. While Austin and Dad put it together, I watched the door since Ken wasn't answering his cell phone. They got it put together and working just in time. When Ken arrived home, we told him explicitly not to go down into the basement.

But I knew that keeping him out of the basement all night and the next day until the party was not going to be practical due to all the prep. So when Dave finally arrived in from the East Coast Friday night, I handed Ken a wrapped set of drumsticks and a card and this video takes it from there. Behold the raucous delight. (There is some use of exuberant strong language, be warned.)

The party could not have happened without the contributions of Dad, Austin and Dave. We had over 50 people here and with the added decorating touches for a birthday we were prepping up to an hour prior to the party. Despite that, I underestimated how much soda we'd need and had to make a run to the market midway through the party so now we have enough to hold us through the next BBQ season.

Scenes from the party:

Dad, A.K.A. Iron Chef Sakai, prepares for grilling duty.


A festively notable fruit side dish by Sarah & Mika among the potluck side dishes brought by our guests.


Preparing to sing and eat cake.


Rocking out in the basement.


Birthday boy with his #1 fan.


As the roving reporter and historian, I spoke with our guests and in the process unearthed some facts about barnacles:


(You may recognize Sarah from her own amazing birthday celebration, documented HERE and HERE.)

Slideshow of all the pictures from the day:

Thanks to everyone who came out and made it so memorable.

Happy Birthday to my sweet one!

Running Men

Sean & Ken took on the Torchlight 8K Run last night in Seattle.

Birthday Laughs

Thursday, we and 10 of our favorite friends laughed into the night at Comedy Underground and celebrated Ken's birthday. They put us in a chained off area and it felt kinda cool to have a "chain" to keep out the riff-raff, but to our dismay, it initially deterred the roving drink waitress too. She served VERY expensive drinks, I might add.

But we were there to be entertained by some comedy. It started off a little shaky as we could tell the introducer or "comedy newbie" didn't quite have his timing right. It occurred to me that successful comedy is one part timing, one part story telling and one part confidence. Several other intermediate comedians hit the stage as we waited for the headliner Kermit Apio. (Yes, that's his actual name.) But one of the comedians stuck out not because of talent but because of sheer oddness. He/She was a transgender individual that feels the need to inflict his/her story on others by way of stand up comedy. Debatable whether it qualified as comedy because of the awkward shifting and looks of disbelief of the audience. But for all of the stories about how "icy" Seattlites are on the street or in crowds, its audiences are uber-tolerant and have an alarmingly high threshold for pain. I found his/her website. Aye.

The highlight and redemption of the show was Kermit himself. Immediately I sensed this was a performer who had polish, someone who is not only gifted at delivery but easy to relate to. The use of local humor was a bonus. In that way I do miss "Almost Live" and wish it was still on now that I live here and understand Seattle culture a bit better. (Check out this clip about Ballard Driving School.)

Anyway, I digress. After Kermit's outstanding performance, he let Ty Barnett, a finalist from Last Comic Standing, entertain us for a few minutes. He did this bit for us too....Hilarious!



After the show, we marched upstairs to the bar and had cupcakes from Morfey's Cake Shoppe.



Ken and I were commenting on the ride home and the next day how lucky we are to have such a great group of people in our lives. Sometimes it's hard to get together because everyone is busy living life but it is such a treat to have our favorite people together in one room. You never know what will happen.

Happy Birthday Ken!

To a guy who looks forever young and is always full of surprises...

The Emperor Has No Clothes

So, how was your weekend? Get some sun, did you? Seattle's getting pretty warm these days. What did we do this weekend? Nothing much. Oh, Ken ran a 5K today.

Naked.

The man was so determined to run a race this weekend that when his Saturday race in Kent got scrapped due to a conflict, he scoured the Internet for a race on Sunday. And what came up? The Bare Buns Fun Run in Issaquah hosted by the local nudist organization up there. I thought he was joking.

In most every race he's run, I have been there to support him and this would be no different. It wasn't until this morning when we were driving to Issaquah that I realized "this is really happening" and a mini-freak out hit me.

Thoughts in this order:

1. We're going to be surrounded by naked people!
2. And they're all running!
3. No paint or bicycles!
4. You've got to act like it's totally normal.
5. Don't look down.
6. Eyes...look in the eyes.

They didn't allow cameras up there so you're just going to have to imagine a camping hideaway in the Issaquah foothills containing a nude oasis with pools, a meeting house, gift shop, volleyball court and stretches of grass where everyone can frolic sans clothing and no one bats an eye. After a little sheepishness, Ken joined in and became one the 150 pairs of buns lined up at the start line, with nothing but his shoes, socks and a smile. Having been one of only 7 people with their clothes still on (not including the Red Cross paramedics who's nervous faces made me think this assignment was sprung on them), I kinda stuck out.

Gradually the shock of being there wore off and when the first runners finished, I imagined the Olympics back in Greece so many centuries ago when all the athletes competed naked and how normal that would have been. It sorta makes sense to celebrate the human body and see it in it's finest moments.

Ken said that the course was difficult because of the initial 800 ft. ascent but being naked did not affect his performance otherwise. There were some interesting characters around and there were more men than women (but more women than I would have expected). Ken finished 35th overall and did his usual collapse in the grass just after finishing. He had to lay on his back for a while to catch his breath and drink water before he could get up. Ken seemed quite pleased with himself that he'd overcome his modesty and embraced the spontaneity of the moment. He keeps me guessing, that's for sure.

We zoomed out of there not long after the race ended as the nudists were getting ready for a long afternoon in the sun. It seemed like we were intruding on a world we didn't quite belong in. About trying new "anti-rut" activities that push our comfort zones--I would say this was a big one.

(Final garden blog later this week)

Injure-Wii Report

Ever wonder how important decisions are made in our house?

(Click to enlarge)

Happy 2nd Anniversary!

Virginia Tech Connection

Ken graduated from Virginia Tech in 1991.

While he doesn’t go back there nearly as much as we go visit WSU, it's still part of him, part of his history. I’ve been keeping an eye on him this week in light of the horrible event on Monday. In the mornings, he’s taken to hitting the snooze button immediately when our “NPR alarm” goes off because the predominant stories are about the massacre. He says “I’m just not ready yet.” In truth, how could anyone be ready for it? This story deserves and is receiving constant media coverage but it’s A LOT to take in, especially if you have a connection to the place. I can only imagine...

I’ve read the profiles of the fallen and seen the repulsive photos of the shooter splashed on the front page of the newspaper. I have also read the Washington Post's comprehensive summary of the details of that day, changing it from a unfathomable spectacle to a waking nightmare. I think the dead deserve our attention, not only to know them as the shining lights they once were, but to know how fragile life is and how the end can come quickly, brutally, undeservedly.

******

Hope for the future and realizing one’s potential are a major part of going to college, but now I suspect something persistent and seeded in distrust may creep into the college experience. Like flying on an airplane now, any room for exception or magic has given way to rules and annoyance. And it’s not what you want for the next generation(s). Freedom, spontaneity, openness and making friends is hard to do if you’re wondering whether the quiet kid in the corner is going to snap one day and go big with it. I can't help but wonder where the rage comes from?

Cat Trap, part deux

At 5 am Wednesday morning, Ken sprang from bed at the screeching of the cat trap’s tell-tale alarm. In my foggy state, I heard him throw open the kitchen door, looking for our furry counter-jumper. Predictably, Oliver bolted out the cat door before Ken could catch him. But the satisfaction and pure glee that the cat trap had worked lessened the crime-against-humanity-hour at which we’d been awakened. Kudos to Ken for an ingenious plan! Ken said he just wishes we would have put a webcam in there to capture the wondrous moment. I just hope after all this effort that Oliver has “learned something.”

To Build a Better Cat Trap

Our darling cat Oliver has recently taken to jumping up on the kitchen counter and scrounging whatever edible food item is not tucked safely inside several layers of plastic. I cannot tell you how frustrating it is to come home from work to a rosemary roll I really wanted with dinner in bits and pieces all over the floor. We were perplexed as to how to discourage this behavior because we can't bar him from the kitchen due to the house's layout, using upside down sticky tape (a previously successful method in Ken's apartment) warns him it's there with a distinct smell--not to mention it's very inconvenient for the humans using the kitchen--and electroshock is apparently out of the question.

So my clever husband awoke me at 2:30 am the other morning to share with me his grand vision of how to teach our little cat that mommy and daddy don't take kindly to tiptoeing on the counter. Aside from the timing, it was quite good.

Behold, the cat trap....



Can't see it? Here's a closer look:



The idea is to create an unstable landing surface that will present an immediate consequence (he'll fall back) and to negatively reinforce jumping up again we have the Tattle Tale, a motion sensing alarm that emits a loud siren when jostled in any way.



The beauty of this cat trap is that it's quickly moved aside when we need to use the kitchen and easy to set up before we leave. It also goes without saying that we'll make sure not to leave open or poorly wrapped food on the counter anymore. I'll let you know how it goes.

But being completely metal, it could be electrified...I'm just saying.

Scene at the Airport

As most vacations do, our trip to Palm Springs started at the airport and the craziest sh-- happens to us there.

On the way to our departing gate Wednesday morning, Ken and I made a pit stop at the restrooms. Within 100 feet, we could see and hear a wailing child being disciplined by his mother outside the women's restroom.
She said, "If you don't get in there, you will not get any DVD's on the plane. I'm going to count to five. 5-4-3-2-1...Okay no movies on the plane." At this, the child, who I judged to be about 3-years-old, cried even louder. Then she threatened to take away his books and he approached hyper-ventilation.

But something was odd about this public disciplining: It seemed like the mother wasn't trying to find out why he was so freaked out and the worst thing was the way she interacted with him. She gestured and projected her voice like she was performing on stage. Every woman coming or going in the restroom gave the "this-woman-is-crazy" look to one other. But no one said anything.

Ken, who was waiting for me, saw all of it. As we walked away, Ken grew more agitated by the scene. He wanted to say something to her. But I told him that interfering with parent-child situations is muy complicado.

"We are only seeing a snapshot of this situation," I said scurrying toward our gate. "We have no idea what else is going on."

But he made some good points: the way she was dealing with the child could be construed as a form of psychological abuse. She seemed to revel in his frustration and didn't do anything to defuse his anxiety about being in or going to the restroom. The disruptive way she "performed" for the crowd indicated a lack of judgement and the tone of the child's crying hinted at actual terror.

"Are we to mind our business so much that a child can get psychologically abused?" Ken asked. "When do we have the right to step in and say something?"

Now, I truly admire and love Ken's sensitivity to people. It is a trait I don't have enough of, but it's a slippery slope getting involved with strangers. We arrived at our gate and while I mulled over the safety of my isolationist policy, I couldn't help but feel less human and cowardly. Ken meanwhile decided that he wanted to go back and "see" what was going on and say something if warranted. So with reservations, I accompanied him.

A full 15-minutes had passed since we'd last been down the corridor and there was no sign of them. But soon we could hear the familiar howling from within the women's restroom. I walked in and exchanged "the look" with all the ladies. This time the mother was in a closed stall and I could see her kneeling down with the child facing her. She said in a volume that the entire ladies room could hear, "There are no bathrooms on the plane. You have to go now!"

Unbeknownst to me, Ken had alerted a TSA official. The official came into the bathroom and paused outside the closed stall and just as she was about to knock, the mother rushed out with the boy tucked under her arm like a Sunday paper. He was still crying, red-faced.

The TSA gal chased after them, "Is everything alright here?" she asked.
"Fine!" the mother replied.

By then the mother strode toward the exit with the TSA lady following. Ken stood outside and when the mother passed him, he shouted at her "You need help! You need help!"
I froze.

Another bystander inadvertently blocked me from getting to Ken's side but secretly I was glad. The confrontation, the child's crying and Ken's outburst brought tears to my eyes. Suddenly I felt sorry for that mom. Because no one wants to be "the bad mom" who loses it in public with a screaming kid. And certainly no mom wants to be called out by a stranger. Then my husband came face-to-face with the child's father and I feared the worst.

"Do you have children?" the father demanded, holding his squirming, crying son.

Ken had to answer 'no' and that effectively eliminated all his credibility.
The man said, "You should talk to some parents or become one before you make any judgements. Do you want to take care of this?" and held out his crying, squirming son to Ken.

Ken stepped back but later regretted that he hadn't tried. The mother sarcastically thanked Ken for his "helpful" advice and the family stormed off down the corridor. And these were older, (seemingly) educated parents in their late 30's.

The TSA gal said she'd have an officer check on them at the gate.

*****

Needless to say, the incident left us both a bit rattled.

Can a person without a child judge mistreatment? When is it acceptable to get involved?

Ready? Set? Disaster!

Before Ken starts his new job, he is spending time getting to all those projects that we never seem to have enough time and focus for. One of these very important projects is assembling our Family Disaster Supplies Kit. Since the earthquake of '02 and the great winter storm of '06, the need for a kit is real. I got as far as clipping the article out of the paper but Ken is a man on a mission...

Behold, the Moore-Sakai Disaster Supplies Kit:

It is supposed to sustain the two of us for 3-5 days with food, water, shelter, warmth, first aid and living comforts. Since we don't go camping, we are starting from scratch. We own none of the standard issue items that most Pacific North Westerners have for recreational use or, in our case, living off the grid among the elements in the backyard. But Ken has remedied this gross oversight and among other things, we now have sleeping bags, a tent, iodine pills and---laxative?

With Ken being in charge of buying all the items, I have no idea what's in the bins. It's like Christmas when I look through them.

But we are now thoroughly stocked. We are prepared! Especially with:
Canned corned beef. (I don't even eat that when we're not having a disaster.)


Steven Seagal in a ninja mask.


And Lactaid, though I don't know how much dairy one consumes when a disaster strikes but still, it's very thoughtful of my dairy-intolerance.

All kidding aside, it's very comforting to know that we have this. Next we'll be devising our Disaster Plan (bottom of THIS link), which is all about what actions to take when something happens.

Do you have a disaster kit & plan?

Meet a New Googler

Congratulations to Ken on his new position at Google! Way to go!

Just because you can doesn't mean you should

Many casual conversations between Ken, the Creative & Inspired Dreamer, and Kali, the Jaded & Doubting Realist, start out like this--
Ken: "Wouldn't it be cool if [insert a cockamamie idea that involves using a computer or technological substitute for something humans do innately]?"
Kali: "Now why do we need [above cockamamie idea]? That's so [adjective]."

The frustrating thing is, Ken seems to have a very good sense of what is to come despite it sounding scarily "1984" or "Matrix-esque". So either the government/big business is going to have a line on every possible aspect of your life OR the machines are going to become self-aware to the point they don't need us. Well, I exaggerate--but just a little. I actually think things are going the way of "oversharing". This blog could be an example that. But Ken told me about an application that allows you to note what websites you go to so you can share them with your friends. Because you really care what websites I go to. You can't go another day without knowing, can you? This is akin to my virtual bookshelf in the lower right corner of this blog that shows off what books I've read and have in my collection. Aren't I smart and hip? Look at my [fill in the blank]. MySpace, Flickr, Blogs, ratings/reviews--all this stuff is predicated on people caring what others think & like.

Ken & I continually contemplate the increasing role of technology in society and for future generations. We debate the convenience and the danger it brings. It is my opinion that the balance of the organic and the electron have become a very precarious thing. While the internet is a world-altering technological advancement that I can't live without, there are times when I want to turn it off. But just as working closely with technology makes me weary of what it changes, I've started to depend upon it that much more. Just today I renewed my driver's license online. This is the first time in my life I don't have to go to the DOL and stand in line for a new mug shot. I even get to keep the same cute picture from 2002 that I actually like. Everyone wins.

Now I wish we could have spared ourselves some human interaction and done this online today: we went into a CompUSA and bought a network hardware device. Perhaps I state the obvious but it seems that CompUSA's commission structure doesn't motivate the employees enough to value customer service as a long-term strategy for repeat business. I'm just saying that the people who we observed working for CompUSA are like the "C team" in high school sports. Not the people you want in the Big Game. What I wouldn't have given for us to skip the mind numbing insult of being handily ignored by three 20-something CompUSA employees so they could huddle together and chat about what movie they were going to see later. All the while, one lonely worker was left to service several waiting customers. To the Montlake Terrace CompUSA employees: I'm sorry our presence encroached on your social lives. Our mistake. Perhaps we'd be better served by the inhuman, unfriendly website--well actually, I'm sure of it.

Dude, where's my Christmas?

(I meant to post this last night but had no connectivity at Dad's place.)

Merry Christmas to you!
Ken is napping on the adjacent couch while Dad and Austin have gone to my cousin Larry’s Christmas Day dinner. I find myself battling a monster head cold and pondering the meaning of Christmas. I can’t help but notice how this could be any other night of the year except for all the boxes and bags strewn about the living room floor and that Burgerville is closed today.

Since I was raised observing Christmas from a secular point of view, the birth of Jesus and the religious aspect fell away, leaving more symbolic associations with the holiday. The small details became super important: a fresh tree for the smell, certain Christmas decorations displayed in a specific place every year, eating pizzelles and satsumas throughout December and going to Christmas Eve dinner at my Grandmother’s house to eat weird Italian food—all garnished by either pickles, olives or mandarin oranges. [My mother has taken over the dinner since my grandmother’s passing and while the garnishes are gone, there is always an “experimental” vegetable or hors d’ oeuvre somewhere on the table.]

Its funny how as a kid, I thought the pageantry and magic of this season would somehow erase all the disappointments in the year preceding it. The sheer build up to this day whipped me into a frenzy, because—at least until 8^th grade—what I lacked in number of friends, the number of presents under the tree consoled me. (All of that changed once I had a high school boyfriend of course. Then only his present mattered.)

So what comes to mind when you think of the holidays and the word “expectation”? (Groan.) Everyone has a story about something that didn’t go as planned or someone who failed to live up to what they “should” have done. Rarely if ever, do expectations measure up to reality and that’s why I hate them. I’ve noticed holidays (and weddings) are times where hidden emotions and issues, explode onto center stage. For instance, 7 or 8 Christmases ago, my mother wanted my brother and me to show up at her house around 11 am and I guess we didn’t get there until 2 pm. She was so upset which made me angry because neither my brother nor I realized the time was firm but really we were struggling to meet the “expectations” of our father and blended family who we promised to visit with as well. Mom’s strong reaction surprised me but my own resentment about having to run all over the place on Christmas Day surprised me more. Why couldn’t we just have one family and be in one location all day long? (See, not a Christmas issue.) After that, I have always made it very clear about schedules during the holidays.

And now, since marrying Ken there is the inclusion of all new traditions, ideals and... expectations.

Goodbye 70's

On an almost daily basis, Ken and I debate the "would-still-have-married-you-but-you'll-need-work-in-this-area" character flaw concerning my lack of knowledge and rememberance about the music of the seventies. I only endured 6 of its years while Ken spent his impressionable youth (ages 2-12) savoring Carly Simon, The Carpenters, The Bee Gees, Captain & Tennille, Carol King, Olivia Newton-John and the Stylistics. Right now he's "educating me" by playing a selection of 70's tunes on Rhapsody while I write this.

Due soley to my father's LP collection, I do know Seals and Croft, The Doobie Brothers, Chuck Mangione, George Benson and Cat Stevens from that era. But I don't get much credit for knowing these artists because Ken doesn't think highly of them.

I think over all the decades of the 20th century, the 70's represented that awkward stage in life where you're between things. Can't quite commit to an ideology, can't quite cooridinate a wardrobe and can't quite use colors pleasant to the eye to decorate with.

I don't think I should be held responsible for stepping out of the seventies at age 6 with an unrefined palate for the likes of the musical "genius" that emerged from that decade. As a result, I'm constantly being told how young & naive I am when it comes to music. "It's as if you were born in 1980..." he'll say. Well I might as well have been.

It's true, I am a child of the 80's--the greatest decade ever. Seriously, who doesn't wax nostalgic about the decade that brought so many great cultural icons to the fore. That period of time launched the meteoric careers of Michael Jackson, Madonna, Prince, U2 and my all time favorite, Depeche Mode.

And Depeche Mode, dear reader, has been one constant and necessary thing in my life since riding the bus to school and hearing "Strangelove" on the radio in 1988 for the first time. Those were the days.

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"You started off funny then you got all righteous toward the end."

"Oh you mean kinda like you?"

Running Man

Today, in the wee early hours of the cold morning with rain/snow coming down, Ken (along with 5000 others) ran the Seattle Half Marathon (13.1 miles) and finished in just under two hours. Way to go honey!

Our morning conversation

"In the comics, Superman and Wonder Woman end up having a child together. I wonder what it's like to have the strongest male and female superheros as parents..."

"Chelsea Clinton?"

(Incessant laughter)