Merry Christmas from the Jalas

Hope you all have a great holiday. We'll be in sunny Orlando with the rest of the Blanquera clan.

MiniMaz

Maz and Niloo welcomed their little one last Thursday. Yay! He looks just like his dad.

Like a rotten hemorrhoid...

We're bleeding money out the ass this year with all the house fixes. First it was the water heater and the floors, then the sewer line backed up and had to get snaked (but not before dumping a few gallons of water into the kitchen), now the furnace, which went tits up a couple weeks ago. That one's been due for awhile, we've just been opting for the quick fix-a valve here, a electronic widget there-but now Jala3 demands consistent, reliable heat. The little punk is probably right.

We're going to get a gas insert for the fireplace. Now we can have that space back.

Next year: the roof. Fun.

6 Months, Bishes!

After 6 months of parenthood, you would think by now I've got the hang of this thing. I suppose I do, if alternating between crushing fear and goofy bliss is normal. Here's a list of random thoughts:

• Crushing fears: basically every news story about sick kids, lead paint, superbugs, etc.
  
• Goofy bliss: sometimes I sneak into his room to watch him sleep. Sometimes he wakes up, looks around, sees me, and breaks into the widest, happiest smile ever. Gets me every time.
  
• I adore my wife. Jala3 is lucky to have her as a mom.
  
• I can be up to my elbows in Rocco-poop and still sing nursery rhymes, but if the dog so much as farts I'm having conniptions about it.
• Having a child is like having an instant best friend.
• We're already talking about the future Jala4. We're not getting any younger.
  
• Whoa. (see above).
  
• My one resolution this year was to try to see the world as Roc would, where everything is new and awesome, to explore along with him.
  
• Huggies>Pampers.
• Seems like everyone around us is procreating, or is it that we're just hanging around more prospective parents nowadays?
• Despite the crushing fears, I think that we're the most laid-back parents you'll ever meet. I just want my kid(s) to be normal. In an excellent way.
• I apologize for still not getting our 777 thank-yous out yet.
• Having 2 kids is still beyond my comprehension, like it was when we were still contemplating the 1.

What, you want profound?

Raiders crush Seahawks

No, not the '84 AFC championship, but actually last week's homecoming game @ Nathan Hale. We're trying to get into the local school spirit, so the family's making an effort to attend some of of the Raiders' events, when they're home.

We only stayed for the first half, since we were long past Rocco's bedtime, but he seemed to enjoy being out in the crowd. Seemed more interested in the cheerleaders than the game. That's my boy.

We were expecting some kind of homecoming type pageantry during halftime but that never materialized. Do schools not do this anymore?

Of course!

We should have seen this coming from a mile away...

Having been part of several corporate takeovers (on both sides), it's clear to me that every decision made by Sonics owner Clay Bennett's group has been well thought out and calculated. They had a vision: End basketball in Seattle ASAP. They had a strategy: End basketball support in Seattle by alienating "casual fans," and make the team look like a balance-sheet nightmare if they continue to operate here.

Everyone around here seems to be resigned to the Supes going to OK City, including myself, I guess. I haven't been able to muster much enthusiasm for the team since the days of Payton and Kemp. Geez, wasn't that like, 12 years ago? Part of it is marketable players, guys we fans can get behind, and part of it is the basketball product, which has been terrible *cough*WallyWalker*cough* of late. Thing is, once they're gone, we're not getting it back, not for a long time, if ever. I have nothing to base that on, of course, but what does it say that the NBA deems Oklahoma fucking City as more viable than Seattle?

Downtown Freddie Brown, where have you gone?

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Copyright 2007 - Baker/Jordan Photographic Brilliance - all rights

DSCF0033.JPG, originally uploaded by Blindwriting.

Carl's posted JayBay/NikBay's photos from Triple 7's. Jersey in da hizzy. I just may have to get myself a shirt with my face on it, though J does the sneer much better than I.

Speaking of Mr. and Mrs. Baker, it was a fun, fun weekend, just got home last nite, will collect our thoughts after we get back to some kind of normalcy...

R.I.P. Water Pump

2002-2007

It was good knowing you, my little Teutonic buddy. Who would've known your cheap little plastic impeller was just not up to the task? We had some good times...remember our road trip to California? Seems like yesterday. But like your brethren (or is that sistern? cistern?), you lived hard and died young. So long.

Day Cares

Today is Roquito's first day at daycare. I had gotten used to leaving him in the morning to go to work, but seeing him lying there in an unfamiliar room kinda got to me. I think it's knowing mom isn't there either. Maybe it's the $1300 check we wrote soon afterwards.

He looked happy though, and I'm sure he'll be well cared for.

Things I never thought I'd live to see, Part 2.

Why I ever thought that Stevie would be rusty from not touring/performing regularly I don't know. What a great, fun show. Stevie had people up and dancing from the get-go. Well, there was that story he told about his mother right at the beginning, then when people sat down for that song from Innervisions (I hate it when people sit down for these concerts, is that a Seattle thing? Kenny G, sure, but Stevie Wonder?), but once the hits started flowing, we were boogie-ing on. Our favorite song: the extended jam on Ribbon in the Sky. I don't have a set list handy, but he covered all the big ones. There were a few we heard during the sound check that he didn't play, while we were waiting in line outside the chateau...All Day Sucker was the one I remember...was hoping there would be an encore, but there wasn't.

What about Rocco? He hardly fussed at all about being up late, and even slept a little bit during the middle of the show. We taped a couple cotton balls to his head so hopefully his ears weren't ringing the next day. Turns out he wasn't even the youngest kid there. A couple nearby had their 4-week-old with them. Now THAT was gutsy.

Thanks, Pete, that was the best wedding gift ever.

Sour Milk

From the Washington Post...yet another clash of science vs. profit in this rotten administration. Guess who wins?

"In an attempt to raise the nation's historically low rate of breast-feeding, federal health officials commissioned an attention-grabbing advertising campaign a few years ago to convince mothers that their babies faced real health risks if they did not breast-feed. It featured striking photos of insulin syringes and asthma inhalers topped with rubber nipples.

Plans to run these blunt ads infuriated the politically powerful infant formula industry, which hired a former chairman of the Republican National Committee and a former top regulatory official to lobby the Health and Human Services Department. Not long afterward, department political appointees toned down the campaign.

The ads ran instead with more friendly images of dandelions and cherry-topped ice cream scoops, to dramatize how breast-feeding could help avert respiratory problems and obesity. In a February 2004 letter (pdf), the lobbyists told then-HHS Secretary Tommy G. Thompson they were "grateful" for his staff's intervention to stop health officials from "scaring expectant mothers into breast-feeding," and asked for help in scaling back more of the ads."

[italics mine] I don't understand why people wouldn't want to breast feed--it's a free supply of food, people!. And that's the issue-ever buy formula at the store? $25 for a can that lasts maybe a couple weeks. Fuck that. This is purely a grab for more profit, and not at all about childrens' health.

True, formula is useful for supplementing one's milk supply for those lean times and for those who can't breastfeed, for whatever reason. We've used it ourselves, but avoid it if at all possible, and only the free samples that the formula companies send new parents. Roc's moving on to solids soon; you can bet I'm going to be looking at baby food in a different light. Here's the posters that were shelved and the final campaign poster, judge for yourself which is more effective:

Brain Dump

Water heater's in, nice clean install by Washington Energy. Works great, we don't have to wait that long for hot water, and it's not brown anymore. I can't believe we lived with that as long as we did. Will post pics.

Tonight we're going to the Stevie Wonder concert at the Chateau. Woot! Pedro got us tickets as a wedding present. Whadda guy. And we get to bring Taco, so he can say that his first concert was Stevie. Not that he'll care, really. That's probably like me saying that my first concert was the Glenn Miller Orchestra. But it'll be fun.

Speaking of the slobber monkey, he's doing great. He can turn over from back to front like it's no one's business, but not so good the other way around. He'll be scooting around before we know it. Yikes. Seems to prefer interaction with people rather than play with toys. Which makes it hard when we need to put him down for any reason. We're starting daycare on the 4th, half days until Mom goes back to work. She's dreading those first days in the orifice after taking 5 months off, as would anyone. I'd be happy with being the sole earner so that she can take care of Roc, but that's not really doable yet. So hi ho, hi ho...

Remodeling

Our water heater shit itself sometime Saturday night or Sunday morning, relatively spectacularly (or in insurance-ese, we had a "catastrophic failure"). It looks like pressure was building up in the tank and started to force the lid off, the fittings on the top were leaking, and that's all she wrote. Our bedroom floor was soaked from the closet to about 3' all along the north wall, it was squishy under the flooring in the hallway, and the water heater closet had about 1" of standing water.

Of course, we didn't realize all this had happened until we woke up to feed the Taco on Sunday morning. At first, I thought "Great, the dog pissed on the floor again," but as the extent of the problem became obvious, we tracked it down to the water heater. ABJ called Pedro's plumber later that morning, who suggested that we contact our insurance company, that we may be able to claim the repairs. Indeed, that was the case, so Servpro came out that afternoon, and after about an hour of work, had torn out the carpet in our bedroom, the flooring in the hall, and had set up fans and dehumidifiers. Fortunately, they didn't find any damage or rot; though it appears the tank had been leaking awhile, there wasn't any mold.

So the upshot is we'll get new carpet, which we wanted to do anyway. We'll probably end up doing both bedrooms. We'll get new flooring, at least in the damaged area, possibly the living room too, if we can't find the material again. And, we'll get a new water heater. We're going to go tankless, while it's about 3x the cost of a tank, we'll get some much needed storage space and be more energy efficient. While it's not covered in the insurance claim, it's a good investment.

We've been talking about this episode as a good chance to clear out the house and start over, as far as interior design. So we may rent a storage space or POD and rethink how we're using the space. I think it'll be kinda fun, at least at first.

Better than making license plates

Another hat tip to Boing Boing, "Thriller" reenacted by a couple hundred prisoners in the Philippines. My people certainly know how to make lemonade from kalamansi.



I love the ladyboy/prison bitch playing the part of Michael's date. One minor point, Boing Boing, it's "Filipino," not "Philippino."

Ah, memories

Maziar's posted his photos from the wedding...





































































It was a good day.

Musings from a 9 year old

From Em, who came up with these words of wisdom for the rehearsal place cards:

The limbo will be the next Olympic sport.

Chicken won't cross your road but frog will.

Paris Hilton will be the next president.

Recycle your dryer lint by making sweaters.

You will find out you have a long lost Chinese grandpa that likes ramen noodles.

Beware your toenails will grow rapidly.

You may stop snoring if you roll on your back, but you will stop snoring if you get a nose job.

Beware your shower is more dangerous than you think.

Congrats you have received a deluxe line! (_______)

Eat more sushi!

Don't hit moose with manes!

You will inherit a big fortune...cookie.

You will wake up very confused in Cuba, wearing a pig costume with an apple in your mouth.

Chicken is in your future.

You will earn many new friends when you join pie eaters anonymous.

Ping-pong balls will eat you!

For your next meal, eat the free samples at the grocery store.

This will explode in 5, 4, 3, 2, 1...0.

Brush your teeth after you barf.

If you own a pair of red shoes you will always have a clown as a friend.

Beware, no one ever really forgets a bad haircut.

You will soon realize you have glowing stinky cheese in your freezer.

Beware hairball season is coming.

You will become a giant peanut!

You will soon learn how to ask "Where is the bathroom?" in 50 languages.

Happiness is a pair of fuzzy slippers.

You will dive sometime soon.

8 weeks

Hard to believe, huh? Well, it is for us. He's becoming more aware of the world now, starting to explore things. He can track moving objects, loves to play 'airplane' with me, and now we're starting to see glimpses of a smile. THAT will be cool.

Return of the Dorks

Hat tip to the Blogometer...starwars.com scores an interview with Mr. Hair, Conan O'Brien. Some highlights:

Which Star Wars film is your all-time favorite and why?

As a real aficionado, my true favorite is the obscure, never released Episode 2A: The Passive-Aggressive Email Chain of the Sith.

Obviously you have the best hair in our galaxy, but which Star Wars character has the best hair and why?

Chewbacca -- George Lucas revealed to me personally that Chewie has one massive comb-over that starts at his lower back.

Which character do you identify with the most in the entire Star Wars saga and why?

Princess Leia -- because I almost made out with my brother once, too.

May be a good time to revisit the classic Triumph the Insult Comic Dog's visit with the Star Wars fans in line to see Episode 1.

More than meets the eye

Fucking awesome.

Rocco Tacco

Here’s another pic

So it’s been a little more than a week now, hard to believe that only a few days have passed since Roc was born. I think we’ve made the adjustment to our new reality well, though going back to work yesterday was a struggle for me, in terms of lack of sleep and also the fear that I may miss something important in Roc’s development. Fortunately, all he does right now is sleep and eat, and by the time I get home, he hits his stride and wakes up for me. Ame’s taken some time off to come out from NYC to help us out for a couple of weeks, at least they won’t be alone all day.

We’re of the mindset that baby adjusts to our lifestyle, not the other way around, so he’s already been out for sushi, shopping, groceries, Flower World, BiZi Bee, Babies R Us, the park, the neighborhood, the backyard…we have to do some accommodating also; everything takes a little bit longer to do, we have to stop once in awhile to feed and change, etc. Jala3 takes everything in stride and seems to enjoy being out (when he’s awake anyway).

What’s he like? Still hard to tell, but the one adjective that keeps coming up is “mellow.” Seems to like music, especially when we sing to him (prefers ‘70’s pop and soul), is most content when he’s being held, doesn’t matter by whom, and loves his pop (mom too)…

One downside to giving birth: 6 weeks in the desert.

World, Rocco...

...Rocco, World.

More soon.

Waiting...

This is week 37, which means Ray Ray is officially full term, which also means we're operating under "any day now" mode. But that could mean next week, or 3 weeks from now (4/25 is d-day, which is a week past our due date; if he's still not here, we'll have to go and get induced). This may be the longest few weeks we'll endure yet, I'm sure.

We've taken almost all the classes, just the newborn care on Sunday and that's it, we're qualified to be parents. Went to breastfeeding class on Tuesday, which was a bit odd, but educational nonetheless. Weird to be talking about boobs for a solid 2 hours and not get even a little turned on (is that wrong to even think that?)...

Still haven't picked a name yet, we're going to be lame and wait until he "tells" us what his name should be.

MKA has a pool going, any guesses as to the stats? I'm guessing he'll arrive April 12, 4:42 PM, weighing about 8.5 lbs...

Where I've Been

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Shower pix posted

Thanks to SunnyD, still waiting for the others.

Rant On

You suck big donkey testicles, yesterday afternoon's riders of the 312...how could you sit there with an obviously (very) pregnant woman standing within sight of you and not offer your seat? In a city so famous for its manners, next time why don't you try and display some? I realize that you worked soo hard for that seat, but hey, it's not your wife and kid, is it? Fucking bastards.

End rant.

Random Snippets of Conversation Taken Out of Context

Scene: Greenlake jogging trail

Girl 1: "It's okay, but sometimes I get tired and take my hand off, but he puts it back on."

Girl 2: "Hmm."

This has been another edition of Random Snippets of Conversation Taken Out of Context.

"Pining for the fee-ords?"

Tip o' the hat to BoingBoing:

In this youtube, two West African scam artists are duped into re-creating Monty Python's famous "Dead Parrot" sketch. The men sent a "419" email to a scam-baiter (someone who tries to humiliate and waste the time of rip-off artists) who told them he was in a position to give large cash grants to promising film-makers, and advised them that the application process required applicants to submit their own Dead Parrot Sketch.

The thing is, these guys are actually pretty funny. They're certainly better at being comedians than they are at being rip-off artists.

The big haul

The surprise baby shower went off without a hitch, Arb had no idea what we were planning. How we managed to keep it a secret for almost 2 months is a mystery to me, but it worked. Many thanks to Ame, LHS, Peter Arthur and SunnyD, who hosted the shindig at their place. It was a good time, though I think I got a bit overwhelmed with all the stuff we got during the gift opening, knowing we would eventually have to find a place to put it. The onesies from Uncle Jason and Auntie Nicky were facking awesome, what baby wouldn't love to wear J's scowling puss on his chest?

Having people customize onesies at the party was a great idea. My fave is the Slayer one by Robb. I think that's going to be part of the "going home" outfit.

Don't have pics collected yet, I have to get them from the attendees, as I forgot my own camera.

I might have to sell my body to the night

for Police tickets

h/t Blindwriting

What did you think of their Grammy performance? I thought Andy and Stewart looked a little lost or nervous, Sting his usual overconfident self...the jazzed-up version of Roxanne wasn't bad either, though it sounded more like Sting's solo stuff than the Police. Which may be ok, since I didn't like the remixed version of "Don't Stand So Close to Me" on the Greatest Hits album.

June 6 in Seattle!

Lake City=Sunset Town

Reflecting on MLK day: Arb and I were visitng with Peter Arthur this past weekend, going over an old map of Seattle, when he mentioned that the city north of the Ship Canal was a “Sunset Town,” as in closed off to minorities after the sun goes down. It was a bit of a shock, given Seattle’s reputation as a progressive city. Dave Neiwert goes on further:

Here in Seattle, University of Washington history professor James Gregory has begun digging through the records, and we at least are beginning to get a little better glimpse of our true historical selves:

Seattle thinks of itself as a liberal city, one that has a reasonable record of racial integration. But we are also a city with a short memory. One of the things we have been forgetting is that only a few decades ago, Seattle was a sharply segregated city. It was a city that kept non-whites out of most jobs and most neighborhoods, even out of stores, restaurants, hotels and hospitals.

... Until the late 1960s, Seattle north of the ship canal was a "sundown" zone. That meant that virtually no people of color lived there and it also meant that African Americans were expected to be out of the area when the workday ended. After dark, a black man in particular was likely to be stopped by the police, questioned about his business and informed that he had better not be seen in the neighborhood again.

North Seattle was not alone. Queen Anne, Magnolia and West Seattle also were sundown zones. The suburbs were even worse. Shoreline, Lake Forest Park, Bothell, Bellevue, Burien, even White Center, vigorously and explicitly excluded people of color. But the ship canal was a special kind of boundary, an unmistakable dividing line between the part of Seattle where anyone might live and the part of Seattle that was off-limits to those whose skin was not white.

Until the early 1950s, North Seattle was also home to Coon Chicken Inn, which for almost 20 years stood as a beacon of bigotry on Lake City Way Northeast. Whites of a certain disposition made it a hugely popular restaurant and no one could drive along Lake City Way without noticing the massive grotesque "coon" head and the big-lipped mouth that served as the restaurant's front door.”

I did some quick digging, and found out that the CCI was located at the current site of Ying’s Drive In on LCW, which Arb and I pass every day going home. Here’s a postcard image, look how huge these restaurants are:

Ugh. Does this history have anything to do with why the North End is not more integrated? There is still some kind of de facto segregation operating in Seattle, though I think the forces of gentrification are changing that, perhaps for the worse. We’re becoming a Latte city.

Arb and I are struggling with this as we plan our family. We would like to move south, closer to friends and with cheaper housing costs, but lacking in quality public schools, particularly at the secondary level. Is this race or economics? Both? We're a long ways off from answering that for ourselves.

Shenanigans

(h/t AWOT)

We just received this report and photos of a massive First Goatse that was deployed yesterday at the San Francisco Apple Store during Macworld 2007. First Goatse is project where people are shown the infamous Goatse image and then their reactions are photographed. This is the first known instance of a First Goatse of this magnitude.

Check out the Flickr First Goatse pool for some more hijinks. High-larious!


Updated: If you don't know what Goatse is, click here before delving in too far. Not for the squeamish.

Fight on, Goober

Goo's going in to the vet Friday to have a couple tumors removed. Hopefully it's not a big deal.

Update: She had an epulis removed from her mouth. Doc says they got most of it, we'll get the labs back in a week to see what we need to do afterwards if anything. She seems a little out of it, but is starting to come back to the old Goob.

synchromaticity

From BlindWriting:

Here's what was posted on Sting.com:

01.03.07 30th Anniversary of the First Police Single - Official NewsAs numerous rumors have started circulating regarding plans for a celebration of the 30th anniversary of the release of the first Police single, the following is an official statement released on behalf of the band by a spokesperson at Interscope Geffen A&M Records:

"As the 30th anniversary of the first Police single approaches, discussions have been underway as to how this will be commemorated. While we can confirm that there will indeed be something special done to mark the occasion, the depth of the band's involvement still remains undetermined."

Color me cautiously excited. As long as they really want to do it, and not just go through the motions, like some "Bands Reunited" special on VH1.

"T minus 100," or "Im in Ur cribz, ste4lin Ur sL33pz"

If the magic dial-a-thingy at the doctor's office is right, Ray Ray will be here in 100 days.

I’m better at reflecting on the past than I am at getting a handle on the present and future, but here goes: This year, I resolve to remember how the world looks to a child, where everything is new and wonderful, even a little scary sometimes.

As fatherhood approaches (week 26 already), I’m a bit suprised by the lack of fear and trepidation I have about it. We can’t wait to meet Ray Ray, not because arb’s tired of being pregnant (yet), but we excited to get to know what this little squirming, kicking mass inside her belly is all about. It’s a role I wasn’t sure I wanted in the past, maybe out of selfishness, thinking that the kid would take over my entire identity, that I would just be someone’s dad. Yet I’ve always felt I had things to pass on, besides ½ of my genes, like how to throw a football, skip stones, multiplication tables, make the armpit fart sounds, you know, the important stuff. Now that I think about it, being someone’s dad sounds pretty good.

Name update: Lionel, Andre, Rocco and Theo (not short for Theodore, just Theo)…just letting those marinate, seeing what sounds right when we’re yelling it out the back door…

Way to go, Ohio

Had fun in Columbus a couple months ago for arb’s brother’s wedding. We were tempted for maybe 2 seconds to move there-housing prices are quite reasonable (huge houses for maybe ½ what we pay here), but a trip to the mall for a gift quashed that in a hurry. I’m not a Buckeyes* fan and it’s a little too Red-state for my blood.

Still, I got to meet the remaining members of arb’s immediate family. They were very welcoming, made me feel like a part of the family (even if I hadn’t already fornicated my way in). It’ll be good to have them all here in the summer, but how am I going to entertain 6 nieces?

*Maybe it’s me, but I hate it when someone says, “THE Ohio State University.” Puh-leeze.

Bon Voyaging

Mom and Dad leave in a couple days for a 3.5 month cruise on the QE2 around the world. I hope they have a lot of fun…they better, AJ and I are paying for this trip (with our inheritance anyway)…arb made me promise I would take her around the world when we retire.

I doubt we’d take the exact same trip, we’re the type that would have more fun exploring one place for a week or two instead of hitting a bunch of destinations. That said, I’m glad they’re going, they’ve worked hard for it.

Bloggerizing the blog

Converting to the new blogger version, hopefully this works...if you don't see this, then something's gone wrong...

UPDATE: The switch went off without a hitch, for the most part, lost a few links and my flickr photostream badge, will get those back on...