1st night

The wife and kids are asleep. I’ve been working on the computer for most of the day. Laura has already expressed jealousy towards the computer and the time I’ve been spending with it. Laura and I have recently had our second child, Collette. She’s over three weeks old now and usually sleeps about six hours straight during the night. For those of you childless, that’s a pretty amazing feat. It took Abigail (now 18 months old) over a month to do that. And we think Abigail has impressive sleep habits (which, she does, it’s just that Collette has caught on so much earlier).

Having one of those children that stay up all night would’ve been difficult on us. Laura needs 8-12 hours of sleep. And, while I’m not sure I need it, once I’m asleep it is hard to get conscious again. Really. Despite having conversations in the middle of the night with Laura I’ll still end up not knowing what happened in the morning.

Wait. Back to the computer. I’ve been trying to become a computer programmer of sorts. Of course, I don’t know enough languages yet to make myself marketable. So, I’m learning. I’m trying to make myself more marketable as I look for a new job. I’m definately open to a new career. In december I quit my Ph.D. program. Er, I mean, I “graduated” my graduate program with an M.S. I recieved a degree in Plant Sciences. But, really, I’m trained as a molecular geneticist. Not that the two sciences are different, I just don’t want to leave you with the impression I could go on a nature walk and identify all the taxa of plants along the way. Whatever. I’m not going back to school anytime soon. I’ve been in college for too many years and I’m ready to start supporting my family. That’s the crux of why I left graduate school … more of that some other time.

In the mean time, I’ll be spending my time on the computer, in the garage or playing with my kids. I hope to keep those who care informed on my life here. Enjoy

Laura Says:
June 15th, 2005 at 2:21 pm

While it’s true I’m jealous of the computer it’s also true of the garage. I love having Joel home with me. It’s ideal especially while getting used to having two young kids in the house. But it makes it that much more difficult to know that there is the other parent in the house but not really have them “around.” Don’t get me wrong, anytime I need Joel he will leave the computer and come help. It’s wonderful to have that option. It’s just I still feel like the only parent at home most of the day and so that’s where my jealousy comes into play. Plus, I’m used to getting all of Joel’s attention when he is home. Well, the kids get his attention, too, but that’s fine with me.
I hope all his time spent learning about computer programming is a plus. I realize that even if he doesn’t get a job doing this work it could still be a benefit for him to know it. Am I being pessimistic? Probably. We have this great idea in our head to move back home and get closer to family. I don’t want to get any hopes up. It’s super expensive and I just don’t see it happening unless Joel could get a pretty sweet deal somewhere in the Northern California area. So, until then, I’ll stay a bit jealous but very thankful in Tucson.
It’s just frustrating. My husband is one of the smartest people I know and is such a quick learner. I can’t believe it’s difficult for him to get a job…. we’ll see where this goes!