The views I express on these page are mine alone and not those of my employer. This is my (and my family's) personal blog. I don't speak for Google here.
Incidentally, I was hired by Google today.
31 October 2005
28 October 2005
A change
I’m tired. It will be hard to write what I’m thinking since I’m so tired. I thought after hearing the news, I would be up all night. I don’t think that will be the case. I hope to sleep well tonight. But that’s always dependent on how well my girls sleep.
I’m excited for Joel. Not just that he got offered any job but offered a job that started out as a half-ass job reply. Okay, not that he half assed the application but that he didn’t think, like most of the jobs he’s applied for, that it would go anywhere. I’m excited it’s a job he thinks he’ll really enjoy. The last time I have seen Joel enjoy a job is when we met in Berkeley. That was over four years ago. I hope he really enjoys this job. I hope it’s fulfilling for him. I hope he’s glad he took the job. Even if he decides he doesn’t like it, I have hope that there’s a reason he was offered it and a reason he took it. Just like graduate school. It seems almost like a waste of time but if he hadn’t accepted I wouldn’t be writing on this post right now. We wouldn’t have two daughters asleep in their rooms right now. We wouldn’t have this house to worry about selling. I should call Summer tomorrow.
I’m scared. Not at the idea of moving but all that will come along with change. I’m scared how it will affect our girls. Mostly Abigail. Collette won’t have the fondest memory of this house and after time I bet Abigail won’t either. But she’ll surely be aware of the move, the change, a different routine, a new house, new friends, and of course her beloved Cody won’t be around anymore. That will make her sad. I’m starting to cry. I hope it’s because I’m tired. It’s hard with Abigail. I feel like I’ve just started to get my niche here in Tucson with the many things I can enjoy with her. She loves to get out and do things–just like her Mom. She loves her swim lessons. We’ll have to move before they’re done. She’s doing so well at swim lessons. She looks forward to it during the week. And she tries so hard when we’re there. Every Thursday at 10:30 is library time. They read 3 different books with songs in between. After the third book is Abigail’s favorite part–the bean bags. She runs up to pick the right one out and usually stands by Kallia to sing the bean bag song with gestures, of course. We’ve started going the mall on the first and third Tuesday of each month. They have a kids club and she seems to enjoy. This Tuesday after Halloween it’s a puppet show. She will enjoy that. She loves nursery. I really enjoy our ward. I hope she makes new friends quickly. I hope there are a lot of children in the new nursery she will be attending. I know I will find similar things in the Bay Area and there will probably be more opportunities there. But this is her comfort, or it’s mine anyway. And of course she will miss her friends. I don’t believe I’m projecting my feelings onto her. I know she understands the concept. Today she spontaneously told me that she missed Daddy. And he’s only been gone one day. And when we’re out for a long time during the day and we pull into the driveway she will yell, “yeah, we’re home!” I don’t know how to explain to her at the moment it’s needed that we will never be coming back “home.”I will cry then, too.
I don’t want to have to pack up our house. Yuck. I hate packing like that. Especially because we won’t really get to unpack like normal. Most of our stuff will go to storage. Double yuck. It’s like living out of a suitcase for 8 months.
I don’t want to have to learn my way around the south bay. Isn’t that a stupid reason to not want to move? I know. But I can just see myself getting so lost down there. The Headley’s always keep their house so cold. I feel bad enough when we visit that I’m always turning the heat on or up. They say the don’t mind and I’m sure they don’t but it’s not my house and so I feel awkward making them uncomfortable in it. I don’t like the bathroom upstairs. Okay, I don’t like the shower. I don’t want Collette to have learn how to sit up or crawl on a hard wood floor. I’m sure lots of babies do it. I like carpet. I don’t want to have to run up stairs every time she needs her pacifier put back in during her naps.
I don’t want to feel like I’m in transistion for the next 8 months. But I’m pretty sure that’s how it will be. I wouldn’t mind renting a house. I think I like that idea. But we may not have enough money to rent a house out. And I don’t want to rent a tiny house. I want some space. Who knows.
I’m excited for cold mornings…and evenings. I’m excited that we get to live around family and friends and the people we adore and love get to watch our kids grow up for a bit. I’m excited that there’s a heater I can turn on all I want upstairs. I’m excited for the holidays to be around family and a real holiday spirit. I don’t feel that holiday “spirit” here in Tucson. I’m not sure why. I’m super excited that we will get to buy a van! But I guess first we’ll have to sell our house. Or not, we could buy it on a loan and then pay the loan off as soon as we sell our house. I’m excited our other car will be paid off. That will be nice. I’m excited to live down the street from a Trader Joe’s. I’m excited Joel has a job. But I’m still tired. So, I think for now that’s all that will come out of me tonight. Who knows, after Joel announces his offer I may post this. Probably not. Most of all, I’m excited to see Joel in the morning and spend some time with him before he leaves the next day.
I’m excited for Joel. Not just that he got offered any job but offered a job that started out as a half-ass job reply. Okay, not that he half assed the application but that he didn’t think, like most of the jobs he’s applied for, that it would go anywhere. I’m excited it’s a job he thinks he’ll really enjoy. The last time I have seen Joel enjoy a job is when we met in Berkeley. That was over four years ago. I hope he really enjoys this job. I hope it’s fulfilling for him. I hope he’s glad he took the job. Even if he decides he doesn’t like it, I have hope that there’s a reason he was offered it and a reason he took it. Just like graduate school. It seems almost like a waste of time but if he hadn’t accepted I wouldn’t be writing on this post right now. We wouldn’t have two daughters asleep in their rooms right now. We wouldn’t have this house to worry about selling. I should call Summer tomorrow.
I’m scared. Not at the idea of moving but all that will come along with change. I’m scared how it will affect our girls. Mostly Abigail. Collette won’t have the fondest memory of this house and after time I bet Abigail won’t either. But she’ll surely be aware of the move, the change, a different routine, a new house, new friends, and of course her beloved Cody won’t be around anymore. That will make her sad. I’m starting to cry. I hope it’s because I’m tired. It’s hard with Abigail. I feel like I’ve just started to get my niche here in Tucson with the many things I can enjoy with her. She loves to get out and do things–just like her Mom. She loves her swim lessons. We’ll have to move before they’re done. She’s doing so well at swim lessons. She looks forward to it during the week. And she tries so hard when we’re there. Every Thursday at 10:30 is library time. They read 3 different books with songs in between. After the third book is Abigail’s favorite part–the bean bags. She runs up to pick the right one out and usually stands by Kallia to sing the bean bag song with gestures, of course. We’ve started going the mall on the first and third Tuesday of each month. They have a kids club and she seems to enjoy. This Tuesday after Halloween it’s a puppet show. She will enjoy that. She loves nursery. I really enjoy our ward. I hope she makes new friends quickly. I hope there are a lot of children in the new nursery she will be attending. I know I will find similar things in the Bay Area and there will probably be more opportunities there. But this is her comfort, or it’s mine anyway. And of course she will miss her friends. I don’t believe I’m projecting my feelings onto her. I know she understands the concept. Today she spontaneously told me that she missed Daddy. And he’s only been gone one day. And when we’re out for a long time during the day and we pull into the driveway she will yell, “yeah, we’re home!” I don’t know how to explain to her at the moment it’s needed that we will never be coming back “home.”I will cry then, too.
I don’t want to have to pack up our house. Yuck. I hate packing like that. Especially because we won’t really get to unpack like normal. Most of our stuff will go to storage. Double yuck. It’s like living out of a suitcase for 8 months.
I don’t want to have to learn my way around the south bay. Isn’t that a stupid reason to not want to move? I know. But I can just see myself getting so lost down there. The Headley’s always keep their house so cold. I feel bad enough when we visit that I’m always turning the heat on or up. They say the don’t mind and I’m sure they don’t but it’s not my house and so I feel awkward making them uncomfortable in it. I don’t like the bathroom upstairs. Okay, I don’t like the shower. I don’t want Collette to have learn how to sit up or crawl on a hard wood floor. I’m sure lots of babies do it. I like carpet. I don’t want to have to run up stairs every time she needs her pacifier put back in during her naps.
I don’t want to feel like I’m in transistion for the next 8 months. But I’m pretty sure that’s how it will be. I wouldn’t mind renting a house. I think I like that idea. But we may not have enough money to rent a house out. And I don’t want to rent a tiny house. I want some space. Who knows.
I’m excited for cold mornings…and evenings. I’m excited that we get to live around family and friends and the people we adore and love get to watch our kids grow up for a bit. I’m excited that there’s a heater I can turn on all I want upstairs. I’m excited for the holidays to be around family and a real holiday spirit. I don’t feel that holiday “spirit” here in Tucson. I’m not sure why. I’m super excited that we will get to buy a van! But I guess first we’ll have to sell our house. Or not, we could buy it on a loan and then pay the loan off as soon as we sell our house. I’m excited our other car will be paid off. That will be nice. I’m excited to live down the street from a Trader Joe’s. I’m excited Joel has a job. But I’m still tired. So, I think for now that’s all that will come out of me tonight. Who knows, after Joel announces his offer I may post this. Probably not. Most of all, I’m excited to see Joel in the morning and spend some time with him before he leaves the next day.
22 October 2005
No X-ray needed
Collette went into the doctor’s on Thursday because, even though it looked like roseola last week, her fever persists. And I’m pretty sure it was roseola. Her fever came down on Sunday and a mild rash broke out and migrated from torso to limbs.
Collette’s symptoms now include fever and congestion. At the appointment on Thursday the ears were checked, the throat was clear, a catheter was inserted, and a blood culture was done. That day no indicators were unusual. Yesterday our practitioner (Elizabeth) ordered an x-ray to be done to see if there were a sinus infection. Unfortunately our office never gave us the referral (we went down there, they were closed for training and I was tempted to shut off the power to get someone out of the building, but Laura didn’t think it appropriate).
So, the x-ray didn’t get done on Friday, as ordered. Instead we just had to wait til morning to get an appointment. But this morning Elizabeth called and said that it is clearly a urinary tract infection (UTI). Collette will have a twice-a-day, for ten days, antibiotic treatment. We’re glad we didn’t get that x-ray yesterday despite our indignation with the doctor’s office staff that wants to put everything off until Monday.
We’ll be glad to give Collette’s liver a rest from ibuprophen and tylenol. Elizabeth says that there was nothing we did to induce the infection, but perhaps there’s an anatomical reason. She’ll check at a follow-up in ten to twelve days. Regardless, the cause of most UTIs is never pinpointed. I wonder if her immune system was compromised with roseola which allowed bugs to multiply unchecked. We may never know.
If in two days the antibiotics aren’t taking effect we’ll be in the office again giving her shots of different, tougher antibiotics. Yipee!
Collette’s symptoms now include fever and congestion. At the appointment on Thursday the ears were checked, the throat was clear, a catheter was inserted, and a blood culture was done. That day no indicators were unusual. Yesterday our practitioner (Elizabeth) ordered an x-ray to be done to see if there were a sinus infection. Unfortunately our office never gave us the referral (we went down there, they were closed for training and I was tempted to shut off the power to get someone out of the building, but Laura didn’t think it appropriate).
So, the x-ray didn’t get done on Friday, as ordered. Instead we just had to wait til morning to get an appointment. But this morning Elizabeth called and said that it is clearly a urinary tract infection (UTI). Collette will have a twice-a-day, for ten days, antibiotic treatment. We’re glad we didn’t get that x-ray yesterday despite our indignation with the doctor’s office staff that wants to put everything off until Monday.
We’ll be glad to give Collette’s liver a rest from ibuprophen and tylenol. Elizabeth says that there was nothing we did to induce the infection, but perhaps there’s an anatomical reason. She’ll check at a follow-up in ten to twelve days. Regardless, the cause of most UTIs is never pinpointed. I wonder if her immune system was compromised with roseola which allowed bugs to multiply unchecked. We may never know.
If in two days the antibiotics aren’t taking effect we’ll be in the office again giving her shots of different, tougher antibiotics. Yipee!
21 October 2005
Fireplace! Fireplace!
This morning Abigail crawled into our bed at about 6. She’s made it a habit to crawl into our bed in the mornings. This morning it was just Abigail and me. Laura was off helping Collette get back to sleep from a night of congestion and continued fever.
Well, while Abigail was hanging out, she suddenly started saying, “fireplace — fireplace, daddy…”. I tried to agree with her. Last night mom had explained what a fireplace is after Abigail noticed it in “Goodnight, Moon.” I imagined Abigail was just remembering last night’s conversation. Then I realized she was pointing out the window. I glanced to my left and saw it. The sky was blazing red and orange. Sunrise was upon us and Abigail was noticing how “fire” bounced on the clouds.
The sunrise was indeed beautiful. But what was more beautiful how much Abigail loved it.
Well, while Abigail was hanging out, she suddenly started saying, “fireplace — fireplace, daddy…”. I tried to agree with her. Last night mom had explained what a fireplace is after Abigail noticed it in “Goodnight, Moon.” I imagined Abigail was just remembering last night’s conversation. Then I realized she was pointing out the window. I glanced to my left and saw it. The sky was blazing red and orange. Sunrise was upon us and Abigail was noticing how “fire” bounced on the clouds.
The sunrise was indeed beautiful. But what was more beautiful how much Abigail loved it.
I think this is my favorite post.
Comment by Laura — 27 October 2005 @ 8:09 pm
A wonderful story.
Comment by jefito — 31 October 2005 @ 9:06 am
15 October 2005
Scoring done
Yesterday I finished scoring for my fifth grade class before noon. It was nice to come home a little early and spend some time with Laura while the girls were napping.
The fifth grade is fun. I enjoy working with the kids. There just isn’t enough time in the day to to get all the information in they need. Really I’ve been concentrating on the basics, literature, writing and math. Having just finished a position as a seventh grade math teacher, I’m extremely sensitive to the fact that these kids need to learn multiplication division and fractions. The kids are fun. A few are always bouncing off the wall, but that I can handle. All of them are respectful and generally do what’s asked of them. My favorites, of course, really try.
Most days are fun. A couple of days ago we were working on word problems. It was one of those: “order these four friends in age from oldest to youngest.” One of the friends was Amir. This name being unfamiliar to the children, I tried to explain I knew an actor named Amir. I began to explain the many different shows he’s acted in and the kids ears peaked. It was amazing to them that I knew someone on T.V. They all asked for Amir’s autograph. It’s funny. He’s not even a recognizable figure to the children, but just because he’s on T.V. they’re fascinated. Amir urges all to tune into “Campus Ladies” on January 8th, only on Oxygen.
Collette is still sick. Her fever is controllable with over the counter drugs. However, she doesn’t sleep as well and seems just to feel a little rotten. She’s apparently has roseola infantum or sixth disease, a.k.a. exanthem subitum. It is a harmless viral infection (HHV-6, HHV-7, roseolovirus). This virus is found generally in children under three. A high temperature 102-104ยบ persists for up to a week and then a rash spreads from the trunk to the limbs. So far there’s no rash and the fever persists. This is day 5 of the fever. Hopefully it will subside soon so that Collette will sleep comfortably.
14 October 2005
A Cold Fever
I’m up a little early this morning. After laying in bed for an hour, not being able to sleep, I’ve decided to write.
Collette is sick. This is, I think, her first time really being sick. She’s run a fever since Monday. A little known fact: when using an underarm thermometer you need to add a degree to the reading. This we didn’t find out until day two of the fever. So, instead of running a fever just below 102, she was nearly at 103. While the difference doesn’t seem much, the threshold from “not worry about it, call the doctor in three days if it persists,” to “call doctor immediately” is right around 102. I’m glad we called “early.”
She woke up around three this morning. Laura and I just laid in bed for awhile as Collette just kind of cooed for nearly an hour. But finally Collette got bugged she was awake without anyone’s attention. I eventually changed her and Laura made up a bottle to give her. Collette did the cutest thing. When the bottle was nearly empty, I pulled it away, she opened her mouth as if to eat some more, and then flopped her head on my chest and immediately fell asleep. Mmm, it’s good to be a dad. I was reluctant to burp her and put her back to bed. But after having my moment I let get comfy in her bed.
Today is grading day. But, apparently, elementary school teachers are not allowed to issue “grades.” What? There’s a four point rubric that scores instead of grades. (What are synonyms again?) But they don’t allow teachers to average grades. That is, if I have three assignments worth ten, fifteen and twenty points I’m not supposed to average them. Weird.
The sun’s coming up and I probably should start getting ready to score my students. The fifth grade is nice. I enjoy being with the kids. And when I talk about not being there they whine. It is nice to be wanted. A completely different experience than the seventh grade math classes last year.
Just a little update on looking for other jobs — I have a couple of interviews lined up for the end of the month. I don’t want to get too excited. Job opportunities include part-time community college teaching and working for a tech company in the bay area. We’ll see where this all leads…
Collette is sick. This is, I think, her first time really being sick. She’s run a fever since Monday. A little known fact: when using an underarm thermometer you need to add a degree to the reading. This we didn’t find out until day two of the fever. So, instead of running a fever just below 102, she was nearly at 103. While the difference doesn’t seem much, the threshold from “not worry about it, call the doctor in three days if it persists,” to “call doctor immediately” is right around 102. I’m glad we called “early.”
She woke up around three this morning. Laura and I just laid in bed for awhile as Collette just kind of cooed for nearly an hour. But finally Collette got bugged she was awake without anyone’s attention. I eventually changed her and Laura made up a bottle to give her. Collette did the cutest thing. When the bottle was nearly empty, I pulled it away, she opened her mouth as if to eat some more, and then flopped her head on my chest and immediately fell asleep. Mmm, it’s good to be a dad. I was reluctant to burp her and put her back to bed. But after having my moment I let get comfy in her bed.
Today is grading day. But, apparently, elementary school teachers are not allowed to issue “grades.” What? There’s a four point rubric that scores instead of grades. (What are synonyms again?) But they don’t allow teachers to average grades. That is, if I have three assignments worth ten, fifteen and twenty points I’m not supposed to average them. Weird.
The sun’s coming up and I probably should start getting ready to score my students. The fifth grade is nice. I enjoy being with the kids. And when I talk about not being there they whine. It is nice to be wanted. A completely different experience than the seventh grade math classes last year.
Just a little update on looking for other jobs — I have a couple of interviews lined up for the end of the month. I don’t want to get too excited. Job opportunities include part-time community college teaching and working for a tech company in the bay area. We’ll see where this all leads…
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