Out of the shadows

You know, I should probably update this blog more than once every two and a half years.

Current status:

Wife

6 year old

2 year old

Dog

Car payment

Mortgage

I don't care to get rid of four of those things, but two of them I could definitely live without.

We're planning a sweet trip to Vegas for my sister-in-law's 40th birthday. I have high hopes of a good time being had.

My, it's been a while

A year and a half later, and I'm still alive. The pipsqueak has grown too fast, another one is on the way, and Amanda is staying home (almost) full-time.

We're completely debt-free (aside from the mortgage), and there's a comfortable peace in that. Not having credit card payments, car payments, student loan payments, blah blah blah, gives you a nice sense of triumph over the system. Like, I look at the system, sneer, and go about my life. There's something very Puritan about paying for things with money that you actually HAVE, and while I may not want to put on a big black hat and grow crops in my backyard, I wouldn't mind the quietness of their lifestyle.

Well, except with electricity, the Internet, and World of Warcraft. Gotta have those.

How did this happen, you ask? Talk to Dave Ramsey about that....

You spin me right round, baby

For the past week or so I have found myself getting dizzy from time to time, to the point that I have had to grab something to hold onto for fear of falling down. It started fairly innocuously on Friday, with just one episode, but progressed on Saturday to a couple of episodes, then 3-4 on Sunday, and by Monday I was in a haze of dizziness. After a quick call to my doc's office, I was prompted to head to the emergency room for testing. Apparently they take this dizzy thing seriously. So I showed up with Amanda on my arm, fretting terribly, and gave the triage nurse my information. She promptly plopped me into a wheelchair and drove me back to an observation room. After a quick series of tests, the doctor asked for blood, an MRI and for me to take some phenergan (an anti-nausea med) and an antihistamine that is apparently good for quelling vertigo.

Let me tell you something. MRI's suck. You get to sit on a board inside a tube with a plastic plate 2 inches over your face for 30-45 minutes. They'd better be glad I'm not claustrophobic. And the thing sounds like a friggin' jackhammer. I couldn't imagine what damage would be done to my ears had they not given me plugs.

Anyway, after some time they came back and noted that I, in fact, have a brain. And it appears to be functioning normally, absent of anything that might appear to be causing this whole business. So it's probably my inner ear, and the doc gave me 'scrips for the meds he had given me earlier (which really didn't do anything other than knock me out) and told me not to climb any ladders or hang any decorations on my roof until the problem goes away.

And that, my friends, is how you divest yourself of $100. I'm still spinny, but it's slowly improving.

On the matter of Vietnamese weddings...

A couple of weeekends ago we went to Dallas to attend one of my best friends' wedding. I have known him since the 6th grade, which is to say about 20 years, so we've got some longevity there. Now I've been in my share of weddings, both as groom/groomsman and as spectator/heckler, but never have I been in a Vietnamese wedding. Let me tell you right now, if you are ever asked by a Vietnamese friend to be in their wedding party, find some way to politely say no.

The day began early, around 0800. I got dressed in full tux and headed over to the groom's parents house. There I was greeted by his ENTIRE extended family, close to 50 people strong. We hung out there for an hour, where we groomsmen fortunately took every opportunity to save the feet. Tux shoes are painful as is, but long hauls in them can be deadly. From there we proceeded to get everyone into cars (groomsmen had a limo for this first part) and stuffed several offering trays and a FULLY COOKED PIG into the limo with us. They hadn't even bothered to cut the pig up. Nope, just cook him and put him on a tray. From there we went to the house of the bride's parents, where their ENTIRE extended family was hanging out. We all crowded into the living room, which had been voided of all furniture, and proceeded for the next hour and a half to introduce the families to each other. ALL OF THEM. Each family had an emcee who would go through and introduce such and such, who was the eldest son of such and such, who was in turn the second son of such and such and, well, you get the picture. By the end of that the dogs were already starting to feel it. We feasted on pig and other Vietnamese cuisine (they make fantastic egg rolls) and finally took off for the groom's place at around 12:30.

After a short power nap, the groom changed out of his traditional Vietnamese garb into a tux and then we were away again, this time to the church for the actual wedding. Now this friend of mine, he had mentioned on several occasions the wish for something to spice up the wedding so as to not make it drab and boring. Well, he got his wish. Apparently he forgot - even through the proddings of both his bride-to-be and his groomsmen - the wedding license at his house. So we sat there sweating through an additional 20 minutes past the start time of the wedding for someone to get the license from his house, because the priest wasn't gonna do squat without it. The Catholics take these things somewhat seriously. It was your typical Catholic wedding, complete with up-down-up-down-left-right-left-right-B-A-Start aerobics, except that it was entirely in Vietnamese, so we didn't know when to do the sitting or the standing except by example of the congregation. Much fun.

Finally, we headed off to the reception. Now the Vietnamese are a little tricky when it comes to receptions. They say that it starts at X time, but in reality nobody shows up for an hour after X. So we showed up 40 minutes late to the reception, which was actually right on time, and formed a receiving line outside the reception hall. Another hour or so of standing later, we were finally introduced to the reception and thought we would get a well-needed rest for the tootsies. Yeah, right. The emcees from part one of the day showed up again and went through the process of introducing the ENTIRE families again! More Vietnamese cuisine (including warm beer) followed, and by the end of the night I was completely wiped out.

So, to recount:

15 hours in a tuxedo
6-7 hours of standing in tux shoes
98% communication in Vietnamese
Dead tired me

I ended up getting a sinus infection out of the whole deal, probably from lack of sleep and lowered immune system. Well, that and mold counts that would make Superman sneeze.

A weekend of driving, gluttony and sadness

We headed up to Dallas this weekend to spend some time with friends. They have a cute little 5 month old who likes to spit up on people at random. It was a good weekend, I got to play a little Oblivion just so I could see what I'm missing and get it out of my system before logging back into WoW.

Upon our return to the CPT, Lauren got a nice nap and then we were off again, this time to the Salt Lick in Driftwood. For those that have never been, it's a family-style BBQ all-you-can-eat fiesta for the senses. We ate enough brisket and sausage that we ended up getting the meat sweats (not recommended) and the itis.

We got back to our house around 7pm, and Amanda's in-laws weren't far behind (they're down to buy a house). Unfortunately, at around 8:30pm they got a call from an uncle letting us know that Amanda's cousin had passed. He had a heart condition from birth, and wasn't expected to make it to 18, but by golly the power of science and medicine got him to his 30th birthday, something that Amanda was very happy about when she went to the party in March. I had only met him once, but I knew he was a good guy and that Amanda cared for him a great deal, so that was good enough in my book.

A very sad event, but in some ways I imagine that he's probably happy it's over up there. No more oxygen tanks, no more defibrillators, no more watching the diet for salt and fluids. If there is a God, and he is a just God, there will be BBQ and beer waiting for him.

On following and leading

I have pet peeves. Everyone does, it's a matter of conflicting brainpans. One in particular is the posture that one takes when following me somewhere in their car. I typically see two camps; the lollygaggers and the tailgaters. Tailgaters I have no problem with; I don't mind bumper cars, and it lets me work on my close-quarter emergency maneuvers.

Lollygaggers, though, should beware. If you don't know where you are going, be prepared to stop at a gas station and ask for directions. These people will lag behind, sometimes going 10mph less than the posted speed limit, and can't be bothered to try to make stoplights when it is VERY FREAKING CLEAR that I am going to make the light, even though I'm travelling at somewhere between the speeds of sleep and sloth to try to keep the caravan together.

So be warned, lollygaggers; just because we have cell phones doesn't mean we have to answer them.

Friday, you stinky rose of contempt

I love you, because you will let me be free at 5pm.
I hate you, because you make me want to jump off a building.
I love you, because you are payday.
I hate you, because you make sensible people make irrational decisions.
I love you, because I can turn everything off and be quiet for a while.
I hate you, because sometimes the idiocy you cause is deafening.