Five Years Old!

It's hard to believe, but my little boy turns five today. As I write this, Rhys is with his mom watching "Wall•E". I'm a bit jealous, but he's been dying to see it since he learned that it was being released on the same day as his birthday.

I can still clearly remember that day five years ago when we went to the hospital for Kristen's C-section. We still didn't know whether we were having a boy or a girl. We weren't really hoping for one over the other. We wanted to be surprised and just wanted a healthy baby. We went to the operating room, I got all dressed up in scrubs, boots, hat and a mask while Kristen was wheeled in and prepped. They called me in and I sat down up by Kristen's head behind the curtain that hides the view of all of the icky blood and internal bodily stuff that most folks don't want to see. When they pulled Rhys out, I stood up and took a good look. I didn't care about the icky stuff since that doesn't really bother me. After a quick look I was pleased to announce to Kristen that we had a boy!!

It took Rhys quite a bit longer to turn pink and start to cry. Irene came out of the gates all full of piss and vinegar, crying and pink as a baby piglet. I carried Rhys up to the nursery so he could be checked out and cleaned up. After a couple of days we took him home, but there were some complications with jaundice that took many days to clear up. We made several trips to the hospital for blood tests and even had a special blanket at home (called a billi-blanket) that we had to keep him wrapped up in. Basically it was like a tanning bed in blanket form with lots of lights that helped to break down the toxins in his blood. Eventually, it was all cleared up and it's been (mostly) smooth sailing ever since!

So, Happy Birthday buddy!!

Bike Commute Part II

Didn't mean to leave y'all hanging there thinking, "Did he or didn't he make it back home? Why isn't there a Part II? Did he fall into the Truckee River" Nah. I just got lazy and busy and didn't have time to finish the bike commute saga.

The ride back to my car was actually better than the ride to work earlier in the morning. Even though it was really windy, it was mostly at my back and my side so it actually helped me. I made much better time. The tricky traffic spots weren't too bad, and I learned about a different route I might try next time. All in all, it was a positive experience and when I got back to the car I felt exhilarated and satisfied. Strangely enough, the moment I pulled my car out onto the main road I ended up in bumper-to-bumper traffic.

Just wanted to mention how saddened I am by the death of George Carlin. I saw him perform once at the Civic Center in San Rafael. He wasn't too funny that night, but I think that was a rare exception. Do a search on YouTube and you'll find a bazillion videos that will have you rolling on the floor (unless you're a conservative and/or have no sense of humor!) Here's a classic bit about football and baseball.

Bike Commute Part 1

I finally did it. After weeks of talking about it, I finally dragged my butt out of bed a bit early and rode my bike to work. Actually, that's a lie. I didn't ride ALL the way from home. That would take an hour and a half and would be suicidal. Instead, I left my car at a park along the Truckee River and rode from there. It cuts about 12 miles from my daily drive. So, instead of driving 32 miles round-trip, I'm doing more like 20. It may not seem like much, but if you do the math it turns out that I'm saving about .2 gallons of gas and about 80 cents each time I do it. It adds up! Plus it's a decent workout.

The ride was easy. There are only a couple of hairy traffic spots, and I avoided most of the bad areas by taking a detour into a residential area. The trade off is that the roads were in poor shape. Ah well, it's better to be safe. The ride back will be trickier because 1) it'll be hot, 2) it'll be windy, and 3) there are a couple of hairy traffic spots that I can't avoid.

Wish me luck!

Weekend Recap

Rhys and I had a delightful time in the Bay Area.

We left on Friday morning around 8:45 and made great time on our drive to Berkeley. We arrived at my sister's house at around 12:15. It was great to see my dad and all three of my sisters, as well as the other family members and friends who had come. We visited, ate some food, and Rhys harassed his cousins (especially his cousin Ben) while we waited for the graduation ceremony.

At about 3:45 a few of us headed over the Greek to save some seats for the rest of the group. There was lots of traffic on the Berkeley campus, but we finally reached our destination...and were greeted by a long line. Hmmm.... Fortunately, the wait wasn't too long and we were finally able to go in and grab some seats. I was glad I was wearing shorts because it was quite warm as we sat on the concrete seats waiting for the others to arrive. Rhys played with his Star Wars toys and snacked on some chips that I had brought. The Greek slowly filled to capacity and the rest of our group arrived just in time for the start of the ceremony.

Berkeley High School is a large, diverse school adjacent to the UC Berkeley campus. The student body is a mix of rich, poor, middle-class, white, black, Asian, latino, and many other groups I've negleted to mention. The ceremony itself reflected this diversity. It was loooooong (as all graduations are) and flowed is a somewhat haphazard fashion. Many beach balls were batted around and 'The Wave' occasionally flowed through the graduates' seating area. Rhys got more and more restless but he held it together and did very well. The weather turned from sunny and warm to foggy and cold; a feature I LOVE and miss greatly about the Bay Area. My niece finally walked across the stage and received her diploma. We all screamed madly, but our cheers paled in comparison to many of the other family members who sported air horns, cow bells, signs, and very loud voices.

After the ceremony we walked across the Berkeley campus to where the car was parked. Fortunately the walk was all downhill since I had Rhys on my shoulders most of the way. We walked past the Campanile (aka Sather Tower, the iconic clock tower) and my sister took a couple of photos. It had been a while since I had walked on the campus and it was neat to see some familiar sites. For those who don't know, I didn't attend UC Berkeley, but since many of my family members DID go there I have spent quite a bit of time on the campus.

We finally got back to my sister's house at around 10pm and I got Rhys to bed. He passed out almost immediately and, after having some champagne and visiting a bit more, I did the same.

The next morning we woke up, had a nice breakfast, and then headed across the Richmond-San Rafael bridge to San Rafael to visit one of my old friends. He drove down from Santa Rosa to his parents' house so I didn't have to drive all the way up to his place. His parents' house is the same house he grew up in. It's right across the street from MY childhood home, so going there was like a trip in the Way-Back machine for me. I got to see my old house (the current owners need to landscape a bit better!) and I got to see my friend's parents' house that I spent almost half of my childhood in. But that wasn't the most surreal part of the trip. The strangest part was watching MY son play with my friends' son (whom he had brought along with him) in the same trees and backyard expanses that my friend and I had played in when we were kids! Talk about deja vu!! It's a somewhat rural area with lots of trees, blackberry bushes, a creek and hidden patches of poison oak. The boys just kind of ran free while my friend and I had a couple of beers and caught up on each others' lives. The boys found a deer skull and large alligator lizard. We saw a doe and her two spotted fawns running through the trees. It all took me back to the wonderful times I had as I grew up. The place where we lived was a GREAT environment for a kid to grow up in. I wonder if our old house is for sale?? Oh wait, we could NEVER afford it!

Rhys (right) and friend playing on an old bay tree. Rhys is scratching his nose....really, that's all he's doing is scratching. Nothing more.

Our old house

Our street with my friend's parents' house on the right. We used to play football, ride bikes and skateboards, play catch, and get into all kinds of trouble on this street.

We finally left at around 3:30. Rhys and my friend's son invited each other to their respective birthdays and asked when the next play date would be. It was hard to explain to them that we live REALLY far apart and we may not see each other for a while.

I have a few more photos from the trip over on my moblog site.

The drive home was uneventful, especially since Rhys slept most of the way. We arrived home at around 7:30 and got the lowdown on what 'the girls' had been up to while we were away. There was much manicuring, hair dying, and Japanese food eating involved. I think I prefer what Rhys and I did...

Added later...I almost forgot about Father's Day! I received a wonderful hand-made card from Rhys and several hand-made cards and gifts from Irene. Perfect! They will make nice decorations for my cubicle. I also got to go on a bike ride and play lots of Lego Star Wars and the newly-acquired Lego Indiana Jones. I got to watch a little baseball as well as the Lakers-Celtics basketball game. To top it all off, I got to have pizza for dinner. What could be better?

Over the Hill

Rhys and I are headed over the hill to the Bay Area today. My youngest niece is graduating from Berkeley High tonight so we're heading down to cheer her on. The ceremony is at the Greek Amphitheater, which is also where I went for several concerts lo so many years ago. The other bonus to all of this is that I'll get to see my sister and her family who are coming out from Texas. Always a plus to be able to see them.

Tomorrow Rhys and I will hang out with one of my old friends. He's not old (unless you consider 40 to be old - I don't), it's just that we've been friends for something like 35 years. What's even more fun is that we're meeting at his parents' house in San Rafael which is right across the street from where I grew up as a kid. It'll be fun to see my old house and see the old neighborhood.

We'll drive back tomorrow night after our whirlwind tour. I'm glad we have the Prius to offset some of the costly price of gas.

Veggies

Kristen and I have signed up to join a local farmer's co-op here in Northern Nevada. Basically, we contribute a chunk of money (quite a bit, actually) that goes towards supporting local farmers. In return, we get a weekly share of what they're growing. Once a week we go and pick up a box of fresh fruits and veggies. It's different each week depending on what's being picked. We figured this would be a good way to help out local farmers who are getting hit hard by the rise in fuel prices (their tractors burn diesel which is the highest priced fuel), would also keep us from buying fruits and veggies from big chain supermarkets that truck it in from California (using lots of fuel) and it will also force us to eat healthier.

We'll get a box each week from July thru the first week of October. I'm curious to see how much we get and what the quality is like.