To quiet my sister

So I haven't been blogging much. I recently had a coworker call my blog pathetic or something like that because of the limited posting going on; he recommended I just shut it down and put it out of its misery. He has a point. That decision is pending.
As you all know from Paula's post, we are expecting child #2. I'm looking forward to it - should make for an interesting holiday season. The baby is due the weekend before Thanksgiving - the 21st. Given Lydia going over almost 10 days before we forced her out, I'm anticipating a Thanksgiving Day birth. Paula was adamant about not having a holiday baby, so the irony would be off the charts; of course, I predicted the reason for Paula's extreme duress w/ this pregnancy was that she was having twins. That turned out to be a poor prediction, much like experts with the Sugar Bowl this year.
The question has been posed to me: would you like a boy or girl? I'd like to have a boy before it's all said and done - that's for sure. So, in a way I want a boy just to make sure we get one. From a short-term economical perspective, it would be better to have a girl since we have a bunch of girl stuff; however, in the long-term a boy will be significantly less expensive. I feel much less responsibility to assist any sons I have w/ their higher education - no sense of obligation, really - but I do with my daughter(s). Then there is the whole wedding thing. I'd prefer not to foot the bill any more than I have to.
From an emotional standpoint, a boy would be beneficial. I've become (emotionally) soft since Lydia was born. If women living together can, through some form of chemical osmosis that I don't understand or feel like researching, end up on the same cycle then you can only imagine how being the only man in a house of three girls will mess with me. Pretty soon I'll be crying during Oprah.
Anyway, there's a quick rundown of my thoughts w/ the second on the way. Now to address the subject line.
Rachell is leaving comments about how I don't post any pictures of Lydia. I pose the following: do you know any man who has a blog and posts pictures of his kid? Not a family blog, but an individual man? That being said, I don't feel too guilty about it. Actually, I don't feel any guilt. But to keep the snarky comments to a minimum, here are some of Lydia Pics in no particular order and without any commentary. Since a picture says a thousand words...

One year down...eternity to go

I’ve been a dad for a little over a year now. While that may not qualify me to write books concerning fatherhood or have my own talk show on the matter it does provide me with knowledge – knowledge I didn’t have a year ago.

It’s incredible, really, the things that being a father does to you.

I find myself caught up in a desire to protect and shelter the tiny creation (of which I was an integral part) from anything that would cause those perfect brown eyes to rim with tears from slipping and scraping a knee as she masters walking today; or the breaking of a heart caused by cruel and thoughtless words muttered in derision by some stupid prepubescent boy down the road; or the catty and diabolical scheming of teenage girls when the edict of the popular minority has decided to ostracize or tear down.

Perhaps my angst would be different if I were the father of a boy; perhaps it would stay the same. Silly as it is to find my mind wander five, ten, and fifteen years in the future, the instant in which the twelve months prior have passed before me makes those coming years ever so relevant now.

Greater even than these anxieties – which cross my mind only on occasion – are the joyous moments of the now: the smile and squeal which greets when opening her door after a nap; the pitter patter of little feet racing around the kitchen during hide-n-seek; the intense babbling of words not known yet expected to be understood. Prior to that Tuesday afternoon at 1:23, I had no idea the ability to love someone or something else so perfectly and resolutely was within my capacity. Even now it surprises me.

So, between the angst of future events unknown and unseen and the elation found in the trivial happenings of today, I count being a father as the greatest privilege to have ever come my way.

Lskjfwerlkjsadfoiuw! (Again)

After such an intense couple weeks of posting, I had to take a break and gather myself. Apparently I’ve been gathered, because here’s another post. Hooray. And as is my M.O. after a some PTO, this is probably gonna end up long and random.

It’s summer in Georgia. Flamboyantly so. If the seasons were contestants from reality shows, this summer would be a like the gay little man who won Project Runway: fierce. On a straighter note, it’s hot as ding (ding is a fun little word that you can toss in anywhere: “Hot has ding”; “Smells like ding”; “Looks like ding”) here, with temps in the mid to upper 90’s the past several days and humid. My glasses fog up every time I leave the house/car/office. It’s the best. I can’t wait to head out west this July and spend 10 days in the mountains where humidity is as foreign as common sense in Congress. (Seriously, click on the 'Congress' link. And people expect these jokers to manage a health care system?!)

When I was but a youth, there was an ongoing struggle in my home between the forces of good and evil. Okay, not really, but there was a struggle over the television. My mother wasn’t a fan and my dad was (I take after dad here); during these years, sometimes the TV would end up on sabbatical in the attic for a few weeks. Anyhow, during one such break when I was 10 or so dad started reading these books to Nathan and I – the Shannara books by Terry Brooks. These aren’t little kid books either. But we loved them. We’d lay on the floor and listen as dad read for a couple hours at a time, until we fell asleep, and then we’d resume the next night. We ended going through the original trilogy in this manner – 1191 pages.
So real were the characters and so attached I became to them that I remember actually crying twice: once in the first book when Hendel died after he and Menion Leah had thwarted a secret attack at Tyrsis; the other was Helt sacrificing himself in the gear house to keep the gate shut.

Two weeks ago I finished the trilogy again. Dad sent the 25^th anniversary edition to us boys. Excellent, excellent, excellent books – the classic battle of good versus evil, right versus wrong. Some people would say those battles don’t exist anymore. I just think the darkness is better disguised. Regardless, I commend these to anyone who is looking for a good read. Though don't tell my wife you're reading them because you'll be labeled "nerd".

I went through and organized my CD’s recently. I seem to do this once a year because what happens is Paula and I get our music mixed up and pretty soon all I have in my case is Michael Buble (pronounced ‘Bubble”), some hip-hop junk and Jim Brickman. Anyway, while sorting I came across a bunch of compilations that took me back; I’ve grouped them by timeline – not so much when the CD was purchased or made, but rather the memories they create invoke. The titles are profound and deep with meaning - I'm not sure if I can decipher them, but here are some highlights (featured songs from actual CD):
High School 1994-1998: (Volumes 1-3). Spacehog, Nirvana, Better than Ezra, Seven Mary Three, Third Eye Blind, Reel Big Fish, Dogs Eye View, and even one Backstreet boys song. All the good stuff (and stupid stuff) that was popular during those formidable years. I don’t spend a lot of time thinking about high school anymore, but these tracks bring it all back – the best 6 years of my life.

Fall 2002: Ltrain’s PV 58 Mix. Lifehouse, Fuel, lots of 3 Doors Down and even some rap (shout out to T-boz w/ Welcome 2 ATL-Remix (edit)). This semester I bought a computer with a CD burner, so I did a lot of ripping and catching up on stuff I’d missed from 99-01. It was the Nerf and my first time together after 28 months of separation and meeting Zach. Good times.

I’m Angry. Linkin Park, Disturbed, Papa Roach, Puddle of Mud and such. For those times when things weren’t panning out right – or when we were going snowboarding. Nerf, Cackifer, Slam and I each had a copy. I think the Nerf’s was titled “Girls are Gay”. But we weren’t bitter.

TFTL. What is this acronym? In the interest of absolute candor, I abashedly admit “Tunes for the Ladies”. This was a little something called mood music, my friends. As you laugh, I remind you the Buck had a bench seat, which means no pesky center console, so…yeah.

Memorial Day AZ Campout 2004. Somehow a CD that starts with the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band, ends with REM and has Saliva, Hoobastank, Lit, Travis, and Mest stands the test of time (all four years). I made this little mix while spending a summer making just enough money to pay for gas but having the most fun I’ve ever had in four months. Ironically, I chased a girl down there and spent exactly 0 seconds of face time w/her. Should have broke out TFTL, I guess.

This little poem is to the rhythm of "Jack and Jill":

Lydia climbed up the stairs,
Mom and Dad, they were so proud.
When Lydia fell down the stairs,
Mom, she screamed; Dad, he cursed; both felt awful for the rest of the day and Lydia never had to cry for anything the rest of the day because she was super-indulged the rest of the day to ease the parental guilt.

I guess that last line doesn't rhyme. 14 stairs. Apparently she can get her cute, chubby little fingers in the crack of a door, open it up and zip on through; I was working, Paula was getting a recipe off the net and there it was. But she's super tough (kids seem to be) and after a 4-oz bottle, she was smiling and crawling again.
Gates have now been firmly established in the Roberts household.

Memorial Day Highlight

First things first: thanks to all who shared their insights/thoughts/concerns/opinions on the government assistance posts. If nothing else, it seems those who hadn't thought about it before now are and those who have might think a little more. 12 people have taken the poll in the upper left hand corner of this page and it seems 3 people have moved to the right of the line and none have defected to the dark side. Not a bad result as we celebrate Memorial Day and honor those who have died protecting the liberty which allows for such dialog.

Also, it has become apparent there should be a way for those want to carry on a dialog but not for the world to see; so, I've created an email account: Cyber.Commorancy@gmail.com. If you go to View My Complete Profile under About me, there's a link that says Email and that'll work too.

We had a good Memorial Day - thanks to the Cashman clan for their hospitality towards the Roberts fam. The highlight of my day was putting my own spin on Lydia's hair. She has a lot of it and for the first time I took advantage of it. As I was styling her hair, we started talking about when Beckett visited and Linds spiked his hair and it was cool. I mentioned to Lydia that Beckett might be a little jealous of all this spikeable hair.
She said she doubted he'd be jealous, just impressed, though most her Roberts uncles might be jealous of all her spikeable hair.

I couldn't help but laugh.

She'd been hittin' the bottle pretty hard over the long weekend

Laughing at her mom's reaction to this new, edgy style

Let us pray her head is never as bulbous as her dad's.

Lskjfwerlkjsadfoiuw!

Here’s a random mess of thoughts from my mind. Proceed with caution.

Poll, not pole: My site has been visited 96 times since I posted the Republic vs Democracy question, but only 10 people have done anything with the poll, which closes at the end of the day. There are probably several double hits in that number (maybe even triple?), so we’ll say maybe 50 unique visitors in the past week, making it a fifth who have an opinion on the matter. I think it is an accurate representation of how people:

1. Don’t have a basic knowledge of government
2. Don’t care about government
3. Think government is stewpud.

And I think all three reasons are why we let the government do pretty much whatever it wants with very little accountability.
Anyway, once the results are tallied, I’ll post my opinion. Dave made a very informed comment, so if you have any questions read it.

Tasteless: I surprised Paula with a trip to the outlet malls on Saturday; apparently we overpaid Countrywide and got a check in the mail, so it was a guilt free shopping day for her and stress free one for me. I like those days. Melissa, having been abandoned by her entire family for the weekend, volunteered to take Lydia so major thanks and kudos to her.
Before we left the shopping smorgasbord, I decided to grab a snack at this place called Harry and David for the drive home. I decided on some Wasabi Peas. They were delicious and hot, which was exactly what I was going for; unfortunately there were some negative side effects.
First, they were addicting so I overindulged, which in part led to the second and more damning (literally, not just looking for a reason to curse) consequence: My taste buds are done. Seriously. Sunday I had absolutely no taste – coffee cake for breakfast, bread, apricot chicken, spearmint gum – none of it did a thing. Monday, same story different day; yesterday I began to get a little taste back at the tip and very back of my tongue. Everything is tasteless. I feel like Kramer in the Seinfeld episode with the Mackinaw peaches after he spends time in the fumigated apartment. An excellent diet tool, yes; a miserable existence, for sure.

Harvard: It was the Nerf’s birthday last week, so happy birthday. Speaking of which, he was accepted to Harvard Law School for the Fall 2008 semester, which is pretty awesome. I believe he’s going to try and defer a year to save up some money but that is quite the accomplishment. I’d venture to say not too many kids from Wyoming have ever gone to Harvard Law, but he will. This is a big deal and since no one else has let the world know, I figured I would.

What up, Holmes?: Disclaimer: In no way do I hold a candle – nay, not even a match – to Natalie’s blog-sleuthing skills. In fact (I’ll probably have my site shutdown for revealing this, but such is the price of freedom) she was recently contacted by the Pentagon because she found Osama bin Laden via her blog surfing. Apparently he has a Facebook page also. But I digress…
Anyway, I stumbled onto a college friend’s blog via the Ames'. Averi and I had a ton of classes together (we were both in the grueling College of Communications) and I really got a kick out of her – very witty and sarcastic, so naturally we got along. This site is a real treasure trove of dry – like vacuum sealed – humor and I make sure to check it out. Well, low and behold there are a ton of links to other people in these classes that I hadn’t thought about, much less heard about, in three or four years. So I was checking some of them out and found that many are private. And I gotta ask why...

Do I know you?: Seriously, this is the INTERNET. If you don’t want people to be in your business, why are you posting anything on it at all? It's like celebrities being upset when people photograph them. Just don’t be dumb with the info you put there. Like your address, or where you work or your social security number. Seriously people, if you only want family and close friends to know what’s going on, that’s why Al Gore invented email. I have Google Analytics on tracking traffic on my site and I get hits all the time from cities I have no friends or family in. And these people aren’t the one and done ones either.
So, taking a chapter from Brother Obama, I am going to have the audacity to hope that we, as bloggers, can change. As a token of good will, I’m going to give a shout out to frequent visitors whose names I do not know:

Colorado: I know the Sucher’s are in Littleton, but to you strangers in Englewood, Johnstown and Denver, may this blog only enhance your Rocky Mountain high.
Illinois (Chicago-area): Do not let the windiness of your fair city keep you away. PS – I love your hotdogs.
Kansas (Topeka): I really don’t know anything about Topeka. But if ignorance is bliss, I definitely love you.
Minnesota: May your visits continue to be as numerous as your lakes.
New York: From the capitol to the Big Apple, would I go private on you? Fuggedaboudit
Texas: Your state takes forever to drive across! But it does not change my affections for you.
Wyoming (Cheyenne/Warren AFB): I saw Tim McGraw and Faith Hill at Frontier Days in 97. And it's the state of my youth. Cowboy up.
O, Canada: There will be no security checks for you on this blog, my friends of the true north, strong and free.

There are many other anonymous readers scattered across this great land, from sea to shining sea, and may you all feel welcome and safe in the knowledge Cyber Commorancy will never go private.
But if you steal my identity or try and hurt my family, I will hunt you down and inflict pain upon you until you wish your were at the receiving end of my Winchester 12-gauge.

A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away....

Episode VII
A New Jedi

With the Emperor and his minions having been destroyed, a season of peace has come and with it, the rise of the New Republic; still, an undercurrent stirs. As the Jedi try and keep this evil subdued, it becomes apparent the need for a new Jedi Master - one that will vanquish the Dark Side once and for all...

Who is this new Jedi...

...Sworn to destroy all who pledge allegiance to the Dark Side?

She is Lydi-won-Kanobi...

And she is very powerful.

"I pity da fool who chooses the Dark Side!"

Ramblings...and Round 2

Not much has been going on the past couple weeks - work on the house has slowed a bit, not that for a lack of things to do but more to just sit back and enjoy the fruits of my labor for a week or two. I have a list of things to get done by the end of the month before Nerf, Lindz and Beckett get here, but it's fairly minor. I did purchase a pair of nice shovels at The Home Depot so I can start to clean the exterior as the weather is shaping up. Good times; chance to work on the farmer's tan.

Last Saturday only a couple hours was spent on the house, after which Paula gave her blessing for me to participate in frivolous guy-time activities. I went over to Greg's where we started up Nitemare Symfony, currently doing shows throughout Europe as we build up a fan-base to get us stateside. That's right - we're rockers now, with over 50,000 fans from Stockholm to Rome. I'm on the drums, Greg on the guitar. We are looking for some vocals and a bass guitarist, so if anyone is interested, let Greg or I know so we can have you come audition during our next jam session. Seriously, we jammed for probably 5 hours, with a couple hours in the middle for a Chick-Fil-A run and screening of Anchorman. Basically, it was awesome.

Speaking of Paula, it was our anniversary this week - Round 2 of a lot of rounds. So far we're both still standing, so that's good. We managed to pick up a house, a daughter, some frequent flyer miles and a couple pounds this second half of this year of marriage, so we were pretty busy. But busy is good; keeps Paula out of mischief. She can really wear me out sometimes - forgetting to do the little things, wasting time gaming and forcing me to go to scary movies - so being busy has slowed her down a bit. She goes to bed at a decent hour now, not staying up till all hours of the night gaming online with teenagers and 40 year old men living with their mothers. Sometimes it's like there are two kids I'm trying to raise and I wonder if she’ll ever help me clean up after dinner. But I love her anyway, and she makes me laugh, so it's cool.

But, moving back to Earth from Bizarro World…

I’ve known I wanted to put a post up in commemoration of two years as The Roberts Family, but I haven’t really known what to say. I reviewed last year’s anniversary post and it was pretty good. I could have probably reposted it, changed a couple things and it would have worked for this year. But that’s sorta weak. And I’m not one to be sensitive, or rather put the sensitivity I may have on display for the world. It’s a conundrum.

As I’ve been thinking about our marriage, it’s led me down some interesting trails of thought – not only about our marriage but relationships in general. Reflecting on why I love Paula and what makes our marriage work, I can’t help but chuckle at the uniqueness of it. A perfect example is how Paula was cool with me being gone from 3pm to 12 am hanging out with Greg; there are a lot of wives who would not have let that happen, or at least not without making their husband feel like the world’s worst. It’s like how we go to the movies theater together but buy tickets for different movies once we get there. She’ll go and watch Becoming Jane while I check out Live Free Or Die Hard.

I'm a big-picture kind of guy - I can see things from a large, long-range view and work from that vantage point to accomplish a task. The little details, however, I am not good at. Not at all. If I can't set up the bill pay online so it's automatic, there will definitely be months where we get a double bill. Finding things around the house is hard for me - not because I have a bad memory, but the thing is usually small and I just miss it.
Conversely, Paula is detail-oriented. She is uber-organized and our house is always spotless; everything has a place and everything in its place; lists abound. People tease her about it (myself included) but make no mistake - if there's something that needs to be done that has a lot of moving parts, Paula gets the phone call. It's not a glamorous talent but is one that our household could go without. Now that Paula's learning Quicken, we'll never get our phone disconnected because I forgot to pay it (it happened - twice) and we are going to save over $600 a year in car insurance because she's so good at the details. When it comes to matters on the home front, I can honestly say I have no worries

As I was reflecting on our differences I was surprised how many things we differ on. I thought we had a ton in common – and we do; the list is easily as long of things we have in common – but there is a lot we are different on, or the one has a strength that is the other's weak point. It ends up being quite a complimentary pairing:

Paula: Details/Current needs
Logan: Big Picture/Long term needs

Paula: Organized
Logan: Scattered

Paula: Little
Logan: Big

Paula: Academic/Studious
Logan: Carefree/Relaxed

Paula: Woman
Logan: Man

Paula: Sensitive
Logan: If I have to be

Paula: Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants
Logan: Band of Brothers

Paula: Brown
Logan: White

As you can see, the balance is uncanny.
In previous relationships, I was always doing 'sweet' things - writing flowery prose, elaborate gifts, driving hundreds (even thousands) of miles for the other half of the relationship. I don't do that now - I don't think I've ever written a poem or the like for Paula. And it doesn't have anything to do with my affections for her, because I love her far more then anyone else - look at the lengths I went to even be in a position to date her (quit job, ended relationship, moved to different state, etc...)
The reason I did those things before was because I was putting everything I could into the relationship and it wasn't enough, so I had to put more in to sustain it. In every one of those relationships, my emotional bank account became overdrawn and the relationship would crumble and end.

I never feel like I have to give more than I can with Paula; sure, there’s times when more is required of me (or vice versa) and we have to dig into some emotional savings, but it’s the exception, not the rule. It’s an incredible and reassuring feeling to know your best is enough for your other half – whether in business, friendship or marriage, the principal remains the same – and that your shortcomings will be accounted for and forgiven as long as you keep trying. If one person is always making all the effort to keep the relationship together, or one is making constant demands with little return, the relationship will crumble and end.

Anyway, this became a lot longer than I thought it would be; still, I have the whole internet, so why not? Just thought the world should know my wife is awesome, let’s me be me while keeping me heading to a better version – Logan 2.0 – and that’s why I love her.

The Hobby

I've touched on this a few times in the past, but I am now ready to unleash the hounds.
If you didn't know before, now you will. I love to write and, despite the lack of actual posts on this blog, I have nevertheless continued to write as I work on my novel. That's right, folks, I have been writing a novel for the past few years. I've written and re-written hundreds of times, scrapping whole chapters and starting over. Over this time I've let a handful of people take a read; of those who have taken me up on the offer, I've received a little feedback and I really appreciate it. But I want more.
So, I've posted the entire thing online at bolokian.blogspot.com. Each chapter has it's own post (34 posts, including a Prologue and Epilogue) and they are in sequential order; I have not, however, made this available for public reading. Thus being the case, it will only be available to those I invite. If you're interested in delving into it, let me know (by a comment or an email or phone call or text message) and I'll send you an email so you can get in.
Please feel free to let me know what you think by making comments - what you love, what you hate; what parts are boring or exciting; places that are vague or unclear. Don't worry about offending me. I won't be with anything you say as long as you stop short of straight up telling me I suck as a writer.

The Holiday

Valentines Day. I've seen my share. Over a quarter-century of them. And I've never been the biggest fan of them, probably because I felt I always got the shaft and usually did. No, that's not completely true. Growing up, we were strongly encouraged by our parents to not pair off and date one person exclusively until after high school and after missions. I followed that plea for the most part (early on because there was no one who'd date me and later on because there was no one I wanted to date). But one thing has been constant for every Valentines Day for the past 23 years: Mom's V-Day sugar cookies.

These aren't little (I should have put something next to the pic for size) and Paula, Lydia and I got one this year, just like every year. The Constant in my Valentines Day universe

I've reflected on my Valentine Day experiences over the past 10 years and this is what I remember:
1998 - My dad punked me by sending a big balloon and a teddy bear to the high school during lunch from a Secret Admirer. I was pumped and then found out it was a practical joke from my old man.
1999 - In Pittsburg, PA working construction. Sent flowers to Tara back home.
2000-2001 - The annual cookie from mom and nothing else - to busy serving the Lord.
2002 - Dating Jeana, too poor to do anything but flowers. I think we went to some dance on campus.
2003 - Recently disengaged and thus, disenchanted; relied on the cookie.
2004 - Melissa broke up with me after - more like while - giving me nice Tommy Hilfiger tie. It was weird.
2005 - Spent the day in San Francisco with Abby; best chocolate ever at The Ghirardelli Chocolate Factory.
2006 - Engaged to Paula; laid down some flow for some Jimmy Choo shoes. Never, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever, ever again will I spend that much money on shoes.
2007 - Tried to go out and eat, but the first trimester skunked our plans. Curse you first trimester! Managed to score points with the iPod gift.
2008 - Tried to go to PF Chang's but ended up at Frontera because of the 2 1/2 hour wait; enjoyed an evening together vegging after a long week for Paula with the shop opening.

Anyway, that's the rundown - some good, some bad; some cheap, some expensive. In reality, the least eventful of my Valentines Day experiences have been the last three. But they've also been the best because of who I've been able to spend the time with - my wife. She's not perfect, but she is perfect for me and the man I am now is far ahead from the man I was before. It's funny how being with someone who loves you - for you and in spite of you - makes a slow night at Frontera the highlight of your week.
I wanted to post a picture of Paula, but after looking at our pictures, there aren't any of her and she just got this new haircut and looks really good. So, until I get that picture, I'll post pics of the greatest gift Paula has ever or could ever give me - little Lydia.

How am I ever going to say no to this? Dang it. I'm toast.

Paula always sure to have Lydia in the appropriate holiday attire.

Shower time. She's loves her showers. Ignore the pale man with the strange chest-hair pattern. He is of no importance.

Just enjoying a smoothie. Uncle Nerf and cousin Beckett, look familiar?

The House

The house is looking great. It really is. That’s been my focus for the past five months, and probably will be for the next five; I suppose a home owner’s work is never done, and that is fine. One of the things that has surprised me is how much we've been able to do at relatively little expense. I mean, we've spent some money but if you take into account the condition of the house before we bought it and the current state of our home, we've been able to make some great strides while not taking out any loans or opening credit cards or using any 'no interest til' gimmicks. In February, we’ve only spent $250 at The Home Depot, so that’s cool.

For me, the pride of our home is the 450 square feet of ceramic tile. It was my first experience with tile and the like. Will and I put down the quarter round last Saturday and I caulked and painted it and the baseboards with a white high gloss paint and it looks awesome. There are a couple things I need to tweak, but this has sort of pulled everything together and the first floor of the house is awesome.
With the tile done, Paula was able to do some deep cleaning this week throughout the house and it looks pretty stellar. The windows were the biggest thing as they hadn't been cleaned from the time the folks before us took everything and ditched in the dark of night (like a year ago) and now. They were awful, but there wasn't any point in cleaning them because of the crazy dust and debris being thrown around on a regular basis. But now they look great.

Big thanks to Todd and Will for helping me with the floor; to Greg, Melissa and Amy for their coming and picking up Lydia for the day on several occasions so Paula could work; to Papa K for saving us some coin in putting together the heating and air. This has saved us time, money and sanity. I think March will be fairly minimal - just some painting and touch up in prep for Nerf, Linds and Beckett- before we tackle landscaping chores in April.

Pierced Ears and Such

Side note: I also don't love Democrats, but I love my wife. (It'll make sense, trust me.)

Next time: The tale of the missing tooth...

A new way to blog

I'M SORRY!!!

I owe my family and the five other people who look at this blog an apology for the length of time I've gone between posts. I had one ready to go the second week of November but the pics wouldn't load right and I forgot about it. I've posted it now (it follow this one) so there are some month old pictures there from when G&G Roberts came out for Lydia's blessing the first part of November.
Anyway, life has been uber-busy. (Uber is a hip German world for 'really'; I don't know if that's an exact translation, but I'm not the New York Times...oh, maybe I am and I don't check my facts before I put it in print. Yikes! I am the NYT.) I haven't even read any blogs in the past month or so, much less written anything. Sort of out-of-sight, out-of-mind, you know? Anyway, to put the past month in perspective, this is what's been going on - my life since the first of November:

1st weekend: G&G Roberts come into town for Lydia's blessing. I end up have to work the weekend on a mock run of a major project at work.

2nd weekend: Have to Friday night, Saturday and Sunday on the live run of a major project at work; spoke in Sacrament meeting on the topic of service as it relates to the great commandment.

3rd weekend: Wake up Friday morning at 3:30 am to get everything ready to catch a 6am flight to SLC for Ty and Kami's wedding. It's our first time traveling with a child. Stay up until 11:30 local time with family and friends, making it a 22 hour day. Saturday is full of wedding activities and stay up until 12am watching the DVR'd BYU v UW game at the Brough's house w/ Elder Brough as we explore the intricacies of his new iPhone. Sunday wake up at 5:30 to go back to Atlanta. We also had a 4 hour layover in Minneapolis on the way home, which would have been awful if not for the chance to see Zach, Keri and Saylor as they caught a connecting flight to PA. It had been 1 1/2 years since we'd seen them and it was a pretty sweet reunion.

4th weekend: Thanksgiving on Thursday, paint the kitchen and dining room of the new house; Paula decided she doesn't like the color she picked out and has me repaint the kitchen and dining room with a new color that looks pretty much the exact same; attend Ty and Kami's open house; watch the DVR'd BYU v UU game. Get a call from my mom at midnight telling me the score of the BYU-UNC bball game, so I log onto the computer and listen to the game till 1am; get up early next morning for bishopric meetings; get released; smile.

1st weekend (December): As with week 4, spend every non-job working moment working on the house. Lay tile Thursday night from 8pm straight through until Friday morning 6am, with help from Todd from 11pm to 2am; go to the apartment for a nap, get up and pack boxes and work some more on the house; get up early Saturday to find out U-Haul can take a reservation, but they can't hold a reservation; get a different, oversized truck from Penske and move. Get a lot of help from some great friends.

So anyway, that's been the scoop. There are a lot of little things that go into moving into a house, especially one that needs work, and I'm not a "little things" kind of person. It's been a bit crazy and while I've managed to get all the big stuff done, some of the little stuff has hung around to bite me. Oh well, what can you do? Live and learn...live and learn.

There's the update. Pics will come later. Maybe.

G&G Roberts meet their granddaughter

Basically, you've got four kinds of bloggers:

1. The kind that blog everyday with little, pointless drivel (not that the degree of drivel differs among blogs in general) that doesn't really do anything for anyone. Like liberals.
2. The bloggers who post weekly, allowing interesting events to build up and turn the events into something worth reading.
3. Those who post sporadically but with distinct flavor and excitement and those who frequent the blog anxiously await every opportunity to read and comment, even if there's nothing there - like college freshmen and dating.
4. Then there are those who post once in a blue moon, so rare that you almost forget they have a blog and when they do post it's a mile long and takes almost the month before the next post to finish first.

Then there's this blog: pointless drivel, sprinkled with excitement sporadically as there are posts, but often far too long and sit down and really read. And I'm not sure that's something to aspire to.
Anyway, Paula posted some pics of my parents' visit to see their granddaughter. It was a good time, though I worked intermittently throughout their stay (Friday, Saturday and Sunday) which prevented ever venturing too far from home base. But we did have some good times. They are so great; Sunday night, Paula started feeling sick and their flight was leaving at 6:15am, which meant they needed to be at the airport around 5am, which meant we needed to leave by 4:30am, which meant getting up even earlier. So Grandma and Grandpa gave us the bed and slept on the single and couch while taking care of Lydia so we could rest. Seriously, a pair of troopers. They were so helpful and fun, not to mention very much in love with their first granddaughter. And Lydia reciprocated that love with a ton of smiles for them.
I'm going to just post some pics (with pithy comments) and wrap it up.

I'm practicing how I'm going to answer the phone when boys start calling for my daughter.
(Is Lydia there? Yep. Can I talk to her? Nope. Wha... Click. Dad!!! What? Wrong number.)

Statements like "My kid is the cutest in the world" always garnish an eye-roll from me. Really - yours is the cutest? Have you seen every kid in the world? So I won't say that. Cuz it's annoying and I'm a hypocrite in enough other ways I don't need another on the list. Even so, this kid's pretty darn cute.

This is at the World of Coca-Cola, not the North Pole. The polar bear really confused Lydia, but I assured her if it was the North Pole we'd have brought a jacket for her.

Outside the church building with G&G Roberts. Don't really have any smart comments for this...

Ah, the cousins. Both were very cute and both were imitating the other - Juliana awake and alert, Lydia passed out and fast asleep. What a couple of jokers. Whenever the general public finds out how close they are in age, the general consensus is that they'll be best of friends. We'll see; I hope so, but all bets are off when girls become teens.

Stuff

I just noticed that it’s been over two weeks since I last posted. The weird thing isn’t the lack of posting – it’s that somehow the world continues to spin in spite of this. Is it possible that I’m not as influential as I think I am? Hmmm….

Since the world’s spinning, that mean time marches on and stuff’s happening. Since 90% of you who read me read Paula, you know we’ve purchased a house. Yep, I’ve just accrued a bunch of debt. And honestly, I don’t even care. Sure, I’ll probably care when something breaks and I can’t call maintenance (not that it’s done much in our apartment) but right now I’m just excited. It’s a pretty sweet house and I spent most of my day there Saturday prepping everything for paint, changing locks, killing fire ants and ripping out a nasty linoleum kitchen floor. I did some serious sweating, grunting and a little bleeding – so yeah, a good day. I’m starting to come in early for work so I can leave early and spend the evenings getting the place ready. It’s a wild ride, but exciting.

Lydia’s awesome. Still. She’s a big hit at church and other places, so that’s cool. I mean, I’m a big fan, but am also admittedly biased; having other people affirm my prideful ambitions is nice. But seriously, she’s a great kid. I’m sure it would be helpful if I posted some pictures. I’ll do that later.

What else….oh, upcoming events. Tomorrow I’m going to a Smashing Pumpkins concert. That’s right. Wild, eh? Well, my coworker and friend Jeff had a ticket and his wife doesn’t like the Pumpkins so I’m going for free. I’m not a huge fan, but it’s free and I know a couple songs from back in the day, so what the heck. I’m pretty convinced there are going to be a ton of crazies there, dressed in black and stuff. I’ll try to get some pics. You can all look forward to that.

Thursday night/Friday morning Grandma and Grandpa Roberts are flying into town to visit their granddaughter. That should be a lot of fun – I’m excited for them to see her and her them. From what I’ve heard, Grandpa can be quite the baby-monopolizer. Luckily there are only two of them or it could come to blows. That wouldn’t be good. But seriously, I don’t know what we’re going to do while they’re in town, but it will be nice to see them. Sometimes living a couple thousand miles away from your parents really stinks.

I’ve just re-read this post. It isn’t really that clever or informative. But it fills the space. Here’s a song from Finger Eleven. It’s called Paralyzer.

Shout Out: Double Feature

It’s been a while since one of my world-renowned Shout Outs has made the blog – nearly 7 months. It’s time for another. This is going to be a dual S.O. (that’s what they call the Shout Out on the street), which would make this post SO-SO…basically like all the rest of this blog, minus the uppercase.

First S.O. goes to a fella we like to call F-Rock or Frocker. Forrest, the last of the brothers before the break (aka Rachell) and probably the sib who’s received the least amount of love on this blog. Not because it doesn’t exist, but just because he was away serving the Lord in a little place call Brazil for a significant portion of Cyber Commorancy’s existence.

My first vivid memory of Forrest was when Mom brought him to the elementary school for “Show & Tell” in my kindergarten class shortly after his birth. We called him Daniel then and for the first little bit of his life because Forrest sounded too old for a baby; while I don’t remember when the change took place, it wasn’t late enough for him to avoid having his chops busted in elementary school with the phrase “Run Forrest, run!” (To this day my mom hates that movie for that reason.) If memory serves correctly, Forrest let someone have it with a shot to the face after one such teasing and as such it stopped.

So, Frocker, here’s my tribute to you. While we have been separated by time, space and hair density for a large part of our lives, it doesn’t change the fact I’m a big fan. To the bond only brothers can have, the soon-to-be Forrest Roberts family and of course your b-day 22 years ago.

Now if you don’t think this F-Rock is the greatest F-Rock ever, I will fight you. That’s no lie.

Who is the second S.O. to? I’ll answer your question with a question:

I can look down on the world while being rooted firmly in it;
You may find yourself riding me if you make the team but aren’t good.

(I’m sorry. We needed that in the form of a question. We’d have accepted “What is pine” or ‘Who is Pyne”.)
I’ve always been a fan of both Greg and Melissa – Melissa for her unassuming kindness and generosity, Greg for his Halo skillz (that’s right, with a ‘z’), uncanny resemblance to Dr. Jack Shepard and ability to grow facial hair seemingly on demand.

Recently Greg and Mel have been uber-generous with their time and efforts with Lydia’s arrival in our family. Every week they come to visit us – the first time was at the hospital and for the past two weeks they’ve come to our apartment with dinner; afterwards Melissa watches Lydia so Paula can sleep; Greg helps me play Halo3. Last night was a particularly impressive effort as they stayed until 1am. This is no small thing as they live 40+ miles away. As those who've had children know, having someone come and allow you rest is invaluable. Cuz if momma don’t get her sleep than momma ain’t happy and if momma ain’t happy…dang.

So, Pyne family, here’s to you – to The Big Chill weekend in Augusta, the gin incident at Carrabbas, being addicted to Lost and to friends who are always there when you need them.

Finishing the Fight

Obligatory Baby Update: Lydia is doing well, just eating sleeping and soiling diapers. Not a bad gig, you know? She had an appointment with the pediatrician Monday and got a clean bill of health. In fact, she's gained two ounces since we brought her home last Thursday. Today she's a week old and as beautiful as ever (maybe more so). Half of my sleep deprivation comes at my own expense, wanting to hold her and look at her instead of actually getting sleep like I should. Oh well. Sleep will be there when I'm old and gumming up my food; my baby girl is only a baby for a little bit.

Well, today is the day. Master Chief is back to take on the Covenant horde, this time on Earth, in the final installment of the Halo Trilogy. I'm pretty excited about it and plan on picking up my copy on the way home from work today. I may even splurge and go with the Legendary Edition for an extra $15.

I'm not going to go into too much detail about the Halo Trilogy except that it revolutionized gaming and has a rich and compelling story line. (For those who want to learn more or if you lady's would like to read up and impress the men in your life with your intimate knowledge of the storyline, check it out here for an overview. Don't be afraid to click on some links to learn more.) And, like everything, it's exciting to have some kind of closure. Basically, without Halo 3 it would be like JK Rowling never penning HP and the Deathly Hallows - it would be frustrating and agonizing.

For those who say "What's the big deal?" let me throw some knowledge your way. The original Halo came was and is considered one of the greatest video games of all time and put the Microsoft gaming industry on the map, positioning it in the running with Sony and Nintendo. Halo 2 racked up $125 million in sales within the first 24 hours of its release; prior to the release today, there were well over 1 million pre-ordered copies of the game. The first two games have sold over 15 million copies worldwide since the original release in 2001. Even the stock market has reacted to the release of H3, with Microsoft stock rising 3.35 percent at one point.

Yes, Halo is just a video game. No, it doesn't really matter in the grand scheme of things. But either do shoe styles. Or trendy clothing. Or Harry Potter. (That sudden drop in oxygen levels are Pottheads everywhere gasping in dismay.) Or anything related to Hollywood and their ilk. It's simply a welcome distraction to the mundane; a guilty pleasure like Double Stuffed Oreo's and a glass of whole milk.
Except without the fat and calories and regret...and you save the world.

This first video is a teaser trailer. Very exciting.


This video is also a teaser trailer. More exciting.


This is a unique trailer done with a still frame diorama. Different and cool. Interact here.

Halo 3 - Believe 90 Second TV Spot

Cyber Commorancy Exclusive!

This is an exclusive for the viewers of my blog.

I know most folks will be looking at Paula's page for some pics and that her page will be the one filled with Lydia in the future, so I thought I'd give you faithful readers of Cyber Commorency a sneak peek. (Look quickly because once Paula finds out I haven't put any pics on her blog I'll be in trouble.)

Yesterday afternoon at 1:23pm, Lydia Roberts came into the world weighing 7 lbs. 15 oz.; she measured 19 inches and is sporting a full head of dark hair. I think she is gorgeous, though I am admittedly bias. But she has no bruising or smashed nose, is quiet as can be and loves sleep more than food.

Paula is recovering well. Though I loved her before Lydia, I love her even more now after seeing what she went through - what she was willing to go through - to bring our daughter into this world.

Anyway, I'll be sure to post with some deep and profound thoughts that will forever alter the view of childbirth in the 21st century (tongue firmly implanted in cheek) later on after I've had a chance to digest everything. But wisdom later, pics now

Immediately after Lydia was born - like 2 minutes. I was running around with a camera in one hand and blood on the other from the umbilical chord. It was a mad scene.

Grandma Kilgore with little Lydia. Paul and Julia came by about 1/2 hour before Lydia was born, so they were back in the room an hour later (Paula only pushed for maybe 15 minutes.)

Here I am. I'm going with the severe head tilt and look a bit like an idiot. Oh well. If you know me, I'm not one to get all excited and giddy (we all know my view on the over use of exclamation points) but I was running around like a decapitated chicken. What do you do?

Here's Lydia (right) with her cousin Juliana (left, obviously) a couple hours after the birth. Lydia was due on the 9th, Juliana the twenty....third? or twenty-second? but came last week on the 10th. They're almost the exact same size (L=7 15, 19in;J=8, 18in) with almost the same birthday. Weird, wild stuff.

Here's Paula this morning, about 17 hours after the birth of the little one. Like I said, Paula has become one of the people I most admire after seeing what she did. Incredible. They're a good looking pair. Heckagood looking.