Tuesday, January 29, 2008

By the time you read this...

IT'LL BE MY BIRTHDAY!!

WOOT! 38 today!

Ok, that's enough excitement - back to the job hunt. Several prospects look good. More news to follow...

Monday, January 28, 2008

Not your typical Friday morning...

Last Friday:

5:30am - Owen woke up, we got up, breakfast, etc. Checked email and schedule for day
7:00am - took Owen to school, made tea, sat back to computer.
8:00am - responded to emails, chatted with a few people.
10:00am - first call of the day - during which, my boss pinged me and asked if we could chat at 11. Since I knew we had to do performance reviews before the end of the month, no big deal. Also, the guy showed up to fix the leak in the sunroom (my office)
11:00am - both my boss and my second level boss are on the call. With me. Alone. Ruh-roh. That's not normal.
11:05am - yadda yadda, budget cuts, yadda yadda, 50% reduction, yadda yadda, redeployment action. Wait, stop - what was that last part again?
11:06am - that crashing thudding sound was my heart and my stomach falling through my body to the floor, and about 10 foot through the ground. I'm getting redeployed - meaning, I gotta find a new job/home in IBM.
11:25am - some maniac is pouring water on my roof trying to find a leak and I've got to find a new job. Looks like a lot of people from my group are in the same boat - no specifics, of course, but with a 50% funding cut...
11:30am - Shock. Horror. The leak is in the shingles, not the sunroom. I have a wife, a two year old and a 3 month old to provide for. SHITSHITSHITSHITSHIT.
12:00pm - my second call of the day, and I don't think I hear 3 words of it. Chatting with some people in the same boat - most of their reactions are the same as mine. "YOU TOO? WTF? OH SHIT!"
1:00pm - comfort food for lunch - bugger the diet for a meal - El Pollo Loco burritos are the ticket.
2:00pm - have updated my skills and resume. Ok, let's start casting the net.

So a couple of hours of dismay and misery - followed by a weekend of assertion in casting a wide, wide net across 11 years of contacts. 200 emails sent - 37 no longer valid (i.e. not in the company anymore) - see what happens on Monday morning.

More to come as the great job-hunt continues...

Friday, January 25, 2008

Where was this when we had Owen???

Gleefully stolen from Kristin's email...

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

Still missed...

is our good friend Greg. It's just over a year since Melodie faced the prospect of bringing Reece into the world without him there. She's not only faced and beaten that challenge, but she's risen up above the wreckage and started to rebuild her new life. Stop on over to Holden Tracks to see how she's doing!

Monday, January 21, 2008

Asleep on Dad.

 


Yes, a lot of Lily's pics are while she's sleeping!
Posted by Picasa

Happy and asleep in the car seat...

 



and yes, pretty sure she just filled that diaper up...
Posted by Picasa

Smiling up at Dad...

 


More Lily pics to come!
Posted by Picasa

Dad's shoes....

 


He'll be filling them any day now...
Posted by Picasa

Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Kids in Hats...

 


...RULE!
Posted by Picasa

Monday, January 07, 2008

The recent storms caused a wee bit of damage here.

 


The neighbour's tree came down, and took out about 12-15 feet of our fence. Their power is STILL not back on since Friday!
Posted by Picasa

I still call this the blue leisure suit...

 
Posted by Picasa

Especially when we hang out with Grandma...

 
Posted by Picasa

Happy Baby.

 


Yep, we get a lot of smiles from Lily...
Posted by Picasa

He also got several books.

 


Here, he reads one to Grandpa Frank....
Posted by Picasa

Owen got this from Aunt Kim and Uncle Paul

 


It's a farm of 26 animals, one for each letter of the alphabet. He loves it. GREAT PICK, GUYS!
Posted by Picasa

Xmas Eve, we're over at Wendi and Rob's



Wendi was styling in her PJs...
Posted by Picasa

"Where's Owen's Nose?"

 


He looks at me as if to say "RIGHT HERE WHERE IT WAS YESTERDAY, YOU MORON!"
Posted by Picasa

Nana Dee came to visit for Xmas

 


and to visit her granddaughter!
Posted by Picasa

How do you know when a baby is about to blow out her diaper?

 


When she looks like this...
Posted by Picasa

Thursday, January 03, 2008

Naptime with Mom...

 
Posted by Picasa

Owen holding Lily

 


with some careful Mom supervision...
Posted by Picasa

The Snip

On Dec 21st, I had an appointment with the vet. Yup, in an ongoing effort to talk more about my genitalia, I had a vasectomy. Lisa and I have discussed this at length, and we were both determined NOT to have her pregnant anymore! For those of you that want to look at more pictures of cute kids, come back in about 10 minutes and you'll be all set.

So I took my diazapam (generic for Valium) an hour before the surgery - as I was supposed to - and took another 2 at the doctor's office before the procedure. I don't think they had any effect on me for the procedure - although the afternoon was a bit loopy!

Although the procedure went just fine, I apparently have some extra fat layers down there that absorbed some of the anaesthetic - so I got to "feel a bit more than the average patient" - before I got numbed up again!

Things you don't want to hear from your doctor during this procedure:
1. "That's not what I want"
2. "Hmmm............."
3. "This might sting a little bit"
4. Him - PROD - me "YEEEEOW" - him "...oh, can you feel that?"
5. "Nope, that's not it either - let me start again"

At points, I swear he was reaching for my kidneys!

Anyway, all went well, and I was sent home with a fist-full of pain pills, strict instructions to stay off my feet, and a scrotal support. Yep, a jock. Haven't worn one since college, and I doubt I'll ever wear one again! Thankfully my mum was here for Xmas, so she was able to help out a lot with the kids - and Lisa was super-supportive - getting me drinks, ice packs, movies and food!

At my followup appointment yesterday, I still had more swelling than I should - so I'm back on anti-inflammatories for a week - but compared to the first weekend, it's NOTHING.

Ok, that's it for the post-op report. We now resume the cutesy pictures!

Remember we said Owen was sick?

 


Look at those cheeks! He was getting teeth in, and then had some sort of asthma/allergy/trouble breathing attack - so several visits to the doctor later, we're all healthy again.
Posted by Picasa

We got to spend some time with Aunt Linda

 


who tried to explain what the ornaments were on her sweatshirt, but to me it just looked like Owen was copping a feel!
Posted by Picasa

Where have all the pictures gone?

 


Well, we've been busy. Time for an update!
Posted by Picasa

Tuesday, January 01, 2008

New Year's Resolutions

1. I will update my blog more often - every 2-3 days, instead of weeks!
2. I will go back on my diet and lose weight
3. I will be more help to my wife - with whatever she needs.
4. I will reinvigorate my work ethic.
5. I will exercise more.

That's it - plain and simple. Happy New Year, all!