I don’t know what it is about the “Girl from Ipanema” and it’s traditional use in any situation on TV that requires muzak but it has been a brainworm that will NOT go away. ARRRGGH!
Author: Joel
Nashville Should Have Some Talent
We have the America’s Got Talent group in the hotel today and it is crazy packed with a line around the building and going west down Union. They’re here for two days and surely some sliver of talent will be found in Music City U.S.A.
I’m not a big fan of the show but I might have to watch to see how we fare as a talented city. For now, I will hide in my office and try not to come out.
I am Not Frightened by Some Ethereal, Supernatural Being
I have become a big fan of the show Ghost Hunters on the Sci-Fi Network. These two plumbers-by-day-ghost-hunters-by-night and their team are intriguing to me. I’m hooked on the possibility of maybe there being some footage of a glimpse of an apparition on video. I don’t know what it is about it but I’m addicted. My favorite episode is the St. Augustine Lighthouse. They all had some questionable personal experiences but seeing the footage and hearing the recordings has me a little convinced about otherworldly goings on.
Now they have a Ghost Hunters International show that airs on Wednesday nights. I thought it had some great potential especially with Europe’s history going a little farther back than ours. But I’ve been let down. The two downers for me are Brian Harnois, whose most memorable quote is, “Did you see that?” and Barry Fitzgerald the drama queen of the show. And, yet, I still watch. Now, I’m not saying I’d be spooked and see stuff or not want to continue a hunt but I wouldn’t do it in front of a camera to be shown on TV.
Lately, I’ve been checking out Paranormal State on A&E. I was slightly interested in the differences of their pseudo-scientific techniques between TAPS and PRS. Other than being a little more dramatic it’s not too bad. But the Elder Extroverted Holy One and I were watching Paranormal State last night and they visited a woman and her husband who were experiencing hauntings in their condo that was once a schoolhouse. As Ryan was interviewing the woman I saw that she looked very familiar. All of a sudden it hit me! She’s on the GHI crew! What the heck?!? I’m not sure how one becomes a haunted victim to a haunted hunter but she’s done it. With tacky outfits to boot (ya gotta watch the show).
Other than having some spooky vibes at one point or another I’ve never really had a personal experience. That is until the EEHO and I were at our dear friend’s parents’ house in Black Mountain, NC. Their family is probably one of the oldest in the town. Sitting around their great room one night I smelled pipe smoke and then so did the EEHO and we both commented on it. My friend had said that they had a relative (I can’t remember which one) had long since passed but used to smoke a pipe. That was kind of neat . . . as long as it’s not in my house! I have enough problems dealing with the brown recluses!
Few and Far Between
It has been a very long time since I last wrote something. Heck, it’s been a long time since I’ve even climbed the stairs to my mancave to sit down at the computer. I get home from work and just want to be with my ladies and then I’m too tired in the morning to catch up on reading all my blog-friends.
I am settling in to my new digs. I have been assigned to a new hotel and have been promoted. Now, I’m just adjusting to the new surroundings, getting to know the hotel sales staff, cleaning this extremely messy office and evaluating the old gear and hopefully getting new gear. I cleaned out a desk file drawer the other day that had paperwork that went back TEN years! As I went through it all I got a little history lesson of the company I work for which was pretty cool. But one of the early directors of audio visual here kept everything.
Life with the new one (who shall be named ‘the Bobblehead’ until she gains some neck control) is going well. I have moved to the Young Extroverted One’s room and the Elder Extroverted Holy One and my room/bed has turned into the Girl’s Room. Whenever a diaper change needs to occur the EEHO to calls my cell phone from her cell phone and I go get the Bobblehead to change her diaper. It seems to work out well for we all (except for the YEO) get to share in the interrupted sleep patterns and the EEHO doesn’t have to wake up to feed the Bobblehead and change her diaper.
So much for co-sleeping. The only thing we’ve succeeded in was getting me my own bed.
Thoughts on the Writers’ Strike
Thankfully, The A Daily Show and The Colbert Report are back on the air. As, the Elder Extroverted Holy One and I were catching up on our liberal elite media fix when we wondered about something: if Jon Stewart and Stephen Colbert are members of the Writers Guild of America then are they essentially on strike too? They can’t even write for themselves? We have noticed that neither of them have notes in front of them. That must be rough going for guys who are used to writing down their own ideas just so they can say them on the air. Can’t they get a non-WGA member, say a camera man, to write down their thoughts?
Winter in Nashville
I’m having a hard time reconciling the fact that it’s January 7th and it’s 67 degrees. The Young Extroverted One and I are on our front porch. That ain’t right.
The Okay-est Story Ever Told
Thinking back on the birthing experience I just have to chuckle to myself because it was very different than the Young Extroverted One’s birth. For the YEO we basically did all of the labor at home so the Elder Extroverted Holy One could eat stuff and move around. She also took an Ambien given to her by her doctor so she could get some rest in between contractions. Needless to say, EEHO tripped balls through the major part of labor and wasn’t counting minutes between contractions. I was sleeping in a different room and awoke to the sounds of grunting coming from the bathroom. Quick call to the doctor, labor confirmed, and off we go to the hospital. We beat the doctor there and EEHO was fully dilated and ready to drop the kid and a couple of pushes later the Young Extroverted One arrives and all of the nurses are quite amazed at the EEHO and had to ask if this was her first child.
Now that’s the way I like it. I don’t have to wait around and watch my lovely wife endure the pain of contractions. I was so worried that I would pass out up until then but when the time came we didn’t even have time to get the cameras, the boom-box and CDs with handpicked labor tunes and even our luggage out of the car. I have come to realize that I’m a good reacter (is that even a word?) and not a good waiter. If something comes up out of the blue I got your back. If I have to wait for something to come up I may have to lie down some.
Which brings me the birth of our second wonderful child. For now she’ll be named The Other Extroverted Child (at least until she gets a little older and is either very intimidated or encouraged by the YEO). EEHO’s water broke around 4AM. She woke me up with the wonderful news to which I had to lay down because I got a little light headed already. Made the call to the YEO’s grandma who came out and off we were to the hospital. As EEHO was checking in I had to lay down again. Woof, anticipation is a little rough on me (or it could be that the EEHO wouldn’t let me drink beer for two weeks prior because, “You have to be sober to drive us to the hospital!” Egad, up until then she was the designated driver and I was the one drinking for three!).
From 6:30-ish until noon or so we basically sat around and watched some crappy t.v. They have nice labor and delivery rooms at baptist but a little light on the entertainment end. Through a couple of more checks pitocin was added and contractions got a little rough. During this time I was updating my Facebook status and bidding on a Rudolph the Reindeer from the Build-a-Bear Workshop on eBay. So, in between switching out cool washcloths and making sure the EEHO was as comfortable as possible I was checking the intertubes to see if we got the friggin’ doll whose nose lights up, has a compass in the stock and a thing that tells time. Twenty minutes or so before the OEC arrives I announce, “We got it!” Luckily, the EEHO didn’t rip the side rails off of the bed and throw them at me. The pushing came and then so did the OEC! Around 2:34PM the doctor held her up to me and asked me to make the boy or girl announcement. Which took me awhile because I wasn’t quite so sure why she was holding this slimy, pinkish, purplish thing at me. I cleared my head and said, “It’s a girl!”
And we lived happily ever after . . . at least until the teenager years.
Obligatory New Year’s Day Post
Not much going on here. Just thought that I would drop a post to kick off 2008.
I don’t have much in the way of resolutions (other than to lose the gut that I’ve acquired) just a general sense of gratefulness. Grateful for surviving another year, grateful for the love of a wonderful woman, grateful for two beautiful daughters . . . basically, insert my Christmas post here. Or, just go back and read it.
Talking with the Elder Extroverted Holy One last night after the ball drop I was thinking out loud. I figure Thanksgiving day would be more appropriate at the end of the year, during which a person looks back at the prior year (for better or worse) and looks ahead to the year to come. I think that’s when one would be thankful and should celebrate with a big, fat meal to ring in the new year. At least, that’s the feeling I had last night as I looked over at my beautiful bride holding our second child as the Young Extroverted One slept in her bed (for the moment) . . . thankfulness.
“God Bless Us Everyone.”
I’m a gadget guy. I would love to have all the new stuff that’s out. I want an iPhone, the latest iMac, even a MacBook Pro just for kicks, a sweet slr digital camera, a flat-panel HDTV. Luckily, I can’t afford that stuff or I’d be consumed by my consumerism. Instead I have exactly what I need: snuggles from my five-year-old and six-day-old daughters and my beautiful bride on a cold night, a big ole dog in my lap on the couch, and family (blood, married-into and adopted friends who are now family) near and far who I love and love me. You can’t get that kind of warmth from the glow of a 60″ LCDTV (even though I would probably try).
Merry Christmas everyone!
The Parasite Arrives!
Yesterday (12-19-2007) at 2:34PM (CST) the parasite arrived into the wild, wooly world that we live in. She is a girl (if you didn’t catch the hint) and rings at 7 pounds, 15 ounces and 21 inches long. Both she and the Elder Holy Extroverted One are doing very well. In fact, people are very impressed that the EEHO was epidural-less. She is certainly more of a tough one than I. While I did hold in there during the right moments I also spent some time with my head between my legs trying not to black out and/or puke. I will write more when I have a chance, I just thought the blog-world (all one or two of you) might want to know how the Introvert/Extrovert family are doing, right now I have to hold the former parasite (acronym to be forthcoming). . . . . satisfied sigh . . . .
