there are times when i love my wife, and then there are times when i love my wife. tonight, i love my wife.

the lady sparkler has wanted to see U2 since she was twelve, and when they announced the were coming to DC — er, suburban Maryland — earlier this spring, absolutely nothing was going to stop her from being there.

fast forward eight pregnant months later, i gave her every chance humanly possible to back out if she felt like she needed to. heck, *i* even tried to convince her that she needed to.

but she was undeterred.

based off our last horrific fedex field experience (real madrid v
dc united) we left a gazillion hours early, and were in the parking lot by 5 pm for a 7 o’clock curtain.

if there were seats farther away from the stage (and speakers) I’m not sure where they were, but that was definately by design. we also got tickets on the club level, so the lady sparkler was hanging out in cushy seats in the lobby for the two hours before the show.

… or should I say the three hours before U2 came on stage, because we made if it through about 10 minutes of the opening act (“Muse”) before retreating to the cushy seats. their music was hard to describe, but Bono later said “I’ve never heard three people make so much noise.”

the main event itself was incredible.

a lot of the reviews i’ve read about the tour has focused on the giii-normous spaceship stage thing, and argued that it overwhelmed the show … but from where we were sitting (opposite endzone, three sections up) it was the perfect extension of the ant-sized band, and brought the show into our living room.

the band spanned just about the whole breadth of their catalogue (25 years worth, shockingly) and the audience vibe was great (considering we were in DC). there was a decent amount of politics — Bono introduced his band as a “cabinet,” referred to himself as U2′s “well-turned-out” Speaker of House, and praised Bush for his work in Africa (?) not-once-but-twice.

a couple of interesting tweaks to the show through the stage’s media boards … they turned “Sunday Bloody Sunday” into a song supporting Iran’s so-called Green Revolution, and “Walk On” into a song for imprisoned Burmese opposition leader Aung San Suu Kyi.

my beloved was over the moon through out. she came in without hoping for a particular song for fear of being let down, but came out with all of her favorites checked off — “city of blinding lights”, “ultraviolet (light my way)”, and “with or without you” — none of which did i think she had a chance in hell of hearing.

(fwiw, one i heard them plow through “where the streets have no name” i decided that i could die happy…)

but the big takeaway? the Edge is every inch responsible for the band’s musical success. Adam Clayton plodded on his bass guitar, Larry Mullen Jr hit some things (including a bongo) and Bono pranced around the stage … but the Edge drove the show the whole evening long.

SET LIST: no line on the horizon · magnificent · get on your boots · mysterious ways · i still haven’t found what i’m looking for / stand by me · elevation · your blue room · beautiful day · blackbird / new year’s day · stuck in a moment · breathe · city of blinding lights · vertigo · you know i’ll go crazy … tonight · sunday bloody sunday · mlk / walk on · one · amazing grace / where the streets have no name · ultraviolet (light my way) · with or with out you · moment of surrender

Crib arrived. The box was bigger than the car, meaning yet again the new roof rack saved our bacon … though we looked a bit like the proverbial ant carrying off the proverbial watermelon. Watch a thirty second time-lapse of the assembly, and there’s a (static) photo on Flickr.

In unrelated news, i’m suddenly feeling like this all is really happening …

after months and months, the lady sparkler and i have finally narrowed down the potential names to just three, and we’ve started to “crowdsource” them — mostly to check for any negative pop-culture allusions that we might have missed, but also to make sure we aren’t ignoring one of our own rules for baby names.

it’s technically possible that we’ll come up with something thats not on the list, but that’s unlikely … it’s been 8 weeks since we added anything new, and we certainly won’t be adding anything once labor starts. if it’s not on the list before, we aren’t sure being sleep-deprived/overly-hormonal will help avoid naming mistakes that will haunt baby sparklet for decades.

we don’t have a leading candidate (which is actually a bit maddening) and both seem to have a new favorite each week. but, here they are, listed in the order that we thought of them (the oldest one’s first).

feel free to share your thoughts.

Kate Elizabeth Parker

this one is the very first name that went on the list, maybe a month into the process. we aren’t a huge fan of the longer name (katherine) so it’s really just kate. for a long time, it was the prototypical name (ie. “we need a strong name, like ‘kate’”) before we added it formally.

popularity — ranked 243rd (1978), 139th (2008). origins — Greek, meaning “pure” (Kate, Katherine); Hebrew, meaning “consecrated to God” (Elizabeth).

pros — Title character from Shakespeare’s Taming of the Shrew; Evangeline Lilly’s character on “Lost”; actress Kate Beckinsdale (Underworld, Serendipity). added gravitas — Katherine the Great; designer Kate Spade; three of Henry VIII’s six wives. curiosity — Kate Winslet (of Titanic fame) is actually Kate Elizabeth Winslet by birth.

cons — “Jon and Kate plus Eight”; Kate Moss; Kate Hudson.

literary — Kate Chopin. music — Kate Nash; Kate Bush; Katy Perry; Kate Earl; Kate “Songbird of the South” Smith.

googling “Kate Parker” — 41,200 hits, including a wedding planner, a couple photographers, a florist, and lots of 18th century geneology references.

in short — fun-loving rock/movie diva.

Elizabeth Anne Parker (“Ellie”)

we came at this name sorta backwards. we loved the nickname “Ellie” but didn’t like any of the names it’s usually attached to (Eleanor, Elena) so we hemmed, hawed and came up with Elizabeth instead. which is also convenient, because we aren’t a real big fan of Elizabeth’s “actual” nicknames either, such as Liz, Lizzy, Beth, Betsy, etc.

popularity — ranked 14th (1978), 9th (2008). origins — Hebrew, meaning “consecrated to God” (Elizabeth); Hebrew, meaning “gift of God’s favour” (Anne).

pros — The wife in Pixar’s Up is named “Ellie”; Jodie Foster’s character from Contact; there’s a 2005 movie called Ellie Parker, with the title character played by Naomi Watts. added gravitas — Queen Elizabeth (I & II); Elizabeth Ann Seton (the first canonized American saint); Empress Elizabeth of Russia; the mother of John the Baptist. curiosity — “Elizabeth Anne” is the name of the girl that Tommy Lee Jones left behind in Men in Black; also, “Ellie” was the asteroid’s nickname in Deep Impact.

cons — The large, flakey wooly mammoth in Ice Age 2 (voiced by Queen Latifa) is called “Ellie”; “Elly” was the name of the dumb blonde from “The Beverly Hillbillies.”

literary — Elizabeth is the protagonist of Jane Austen’s novel Pride and Prejudice; Elizabeth Barret Browning (poet). music — “Goodnight, Elisabeth” by Counting Crows; Folk musician Elizabeth Cotten; Ellie Greenwich of the 60′s “girl groups” the Ronettes, the Shangri-Las.

googling “Elizabeth Parker” — 125,000 hits, including an artist, poet, composer, jeweler, and lots of facebook entries.

in short — holier-than-thou, daddy’s little angel.

Allison Grace Parker (“Allie”)

we aren’t really sure where Allison came from, but *everybody* seems to love the middle name Grace. seriously, no one really seams to bite when we say “Allison Parker” but say “Allison Grace” or just “Allie” and suddenly it’s the best name ever.

popularity — ranked 75th (1978), 32nd (2008). origins — Germanic, meaning “of noble birth” (Allison); Latin, meaning “a blessing” (Grace).

pros — Jane Curtin’s character from TV’s “Kate and Allie”; Rachel McAdams character from The Notebook; Jessica Biel’s character in I’ll Be Home for Christmas; Allison Janney (“West Wing”). added gravitas — Not much, though Allison Taylor was the fictional President of the USA in the television series “24.”

cons — A character on “Melrose Place,” played by Courtney Thorne-Smith, appears to have been an alcoholic; Tropical Storm Allison struck Houston in 2001, killing 41; our child will be the farthest thing from “grace”-ful; nickname (“Allie”) confusion with dirty city sidestreets (“Alley”).

literary — None. music — “Allison” is a song by the Pixies from their 1990 album Bossanova; Alison Krauss; Allison Crowe; Alison Goldfrapp (of rock duo Goldfrapp).

googling “Allison Parker” — 66,100 hits. mostly personal social media profiles, results from sports competitions, and a “famous” Australian endurance motorcycle rider.

in short — everywoman, or the smart/pretty girl next door.

I started tweeting a year ago, today — so i’m archiving them for posterity, on the off chance that Twitter goes belly up and takes their historical archive with them. Not bloody likely, but I’m neurotic like that.

2-Sep-09	… was just run off road by a car with “What Would Jesus Do?” sticker, but at least now I know the answer.
29-Aug-09	… is it too late to get a dog instead?
24-Aug-09	… office space moment. woman w/ walker moving faster on foot than I am driving. need gangsta rap.
13-Aug-09	… wondering how many goats I could get by agreeing to an arranged marriage for baby sparklet.
10-Aug-09	… covering up coral pink paint with a sunshine yellow makes ones room look like the Easter bunny vomited all over the walls.
9-Aug-09	… flopping: 2, cristiano ronaldo 0.
30-Jul-09	… i’m so very tired of being tired of being tired of being tired.
25-Jul-09	… “our kids should summer camp in Texas. they’d learn to ride horses and shoot guns — important knowledge for kids living in DC.”
24-Jul-09	… surrounded by 70,000 people in Chelsea / AC Milan soccer jerseys. is this the bizarro world the GOP warned me of if Obama was elected?
19-Jul-09	… freaking hell, I’m in the ‘burbs again. reproducing = worst idea ever.
14-Jul-09	… Obama singled out the Nats as sucky during an All-Star Game interview, but it’s not a faux pax if everyone in DC agrees (and we do).
10-Jul-09	… mini-golf, then dairy queen. maybe the ‘burbs are okay every once in a while.
6-Jul-09	… baby sparklet is now (apparently) the size of a large mango, which seems uncomfortably large to me. http://tinyurl.com/mxdsgf
5-Jul-09	… every trip to the ‘burbs (specifically Bailey’s Crossroads) reminds me why I live in the city.
2-Jul-09	… my iPhone knows to autocorrect “jager” to “jŠger” which begs the question: who exactly programmed this thing?!?
28-Jun-09	… baby sparklet is kicking while watching the USA vs Brazil match, which is a good sign for future soccer-filled Saturday mornings.
27-Jun-09	… overheard from Tasha: “I agree that [in sports] all kids should get a ribbon, but I just think that should end at age 6.”
26-Jun-09	… if the FAA can’t keep planes on time during a recession (when no one is flying) what’s going to happen once the economy recovers?
21-Jun-09	… spent first father’s day helping my father rebuild my grandfather’s deck. seems strangely appropriate.
19-Jun-09	… we’re pregnant, and it’s a girl! http://theparkerfamily.org/musings/posts/2454
18-Jun-09	… spent all day tring to convince people that going to the ballet is manly (50 half-naked women jumping around) to no avail.
17-Jun-09	… just realized we have tickets to the ballet tmrw. how #@^%ing cool is that? like finding money in your pocket on laundry day.
12-Jun-09	… I’m pretty sure I just woke up from a dream in which I dreamt I got a bad night’s sleep.
26-May-09	… espn: spelling bee, followed by soccer. some where an Amer’can good ol’ boy is weeping.
24-Apr-09	… most beautiful words in English language: “British Airways flight 216 to London’s Heathrow Airport, now boarding.”
5-Apr-09	… made it thru my 34th birthday without experiencing any “unfortunate side-effects” of looking like Jesus.
31-Mar-09	… go Baylor Bears! grrrrrrrrrrrr.
30-Mar-09	… calling 311 actually works in DC. took maybe 30 seconds to report a disabled vehicle. I’m kinda proud of my disfunctional city.
28-Mar-09	… officially the first day in shorts of the new year, even tho it’s 48 degrees and rainy.
24-Mar-09	… never play video games with a recently unemployed sibling. *somebody* has been honing their guitar hero skills, me thinks.
21-Mar-09	… currently the only man at a lesbian bar in Rehobeth, and the band just broke into Melissa Ethridge.
21-Mar-09	… thirty-six hours in rehobeth. from here on out, I’m picking my friends based on their older sister’s beach house.
19-Mar-09	… fight, fight, fight for maryland! push up the score, keep on fighting for more, for maaaaryyyland — GO TERPS!
13-Mar-09	… really people, how many times do I have to say it? no white pantsuits before labor day. maybe ever.
9-Mar-09	… seeing docu-drama “ballerina” at landmark. pretty sure I’m the only boy who dragged his girl along and not the other way around.
7-Mar-09	… at the brand-spanking new Capitol visitors center. no wonder it was so expensive: it’s massive, and very shine-y.
6-Mar-09	… @ntenhross, is there an NTEN dc regional conference this year? a friend was asking, and i can’t find a thing.
2-Mar-09	… I have an embarassing love of snow that utterly conflicts with my curmudgeonly exterior.
1-Mar-09	… day o’ epic sports failure continues. just watched (in person) the Washington Capitols lose 6-2 at home.
1-Mar-09	… day o’ sports continues at my first capitals hockey game in nigh on 10 years.
1-Mar-09	… my beloved Tottenham is facing Manchester United in the League Cup final. nil-nil so far, tho not sure how long that’ll last.
1-Mar-09	… oi, nil-nil means extra time for tottenham. the 90 minute rolling heart attack continues.
1-Mar-09	… over 120 minutes, and not a goal to be found. penalties. come on you Spurs!
1-Mar-09	… sigh.
26-Feb-09	… at a mobile marketing conference, sitting next to Playboy’s mobile expert. I can’t even imagine what his day is like.
26-Feb-09	… New York is some of the most beautifully flowing chaos on the planet.
25-Feb-09	… #%^*+! I’m pretty sure I just saw the Jonas Brothers at the union square Virgin Megastore. my eyes, my eyes!
25-Feb-09	… on the bolt by to NYC. it’s filled with urban sophistocate bohemians, and I am the eldest by +/- a decade.
25-Feb-09	… the whole city of New York smells like pizza.
31-Jan-09	… crazy lines at the new American History museum. in January. can’t imagine July.
20-Jan-09	… $&@%! Tasha just flirted with john cusack (photos coming). I’m so screwed.
20-Jan-09	… google ball = prom for 30 somethings.
20-Jan-09	… in place for #inaug09, ready to count down the last three hours and twenty four minutes of the Bush administration.
20-Jan-09	… on the way to dinner, and then the Google/LCCR ball.
20-Jan-09	… Tasha just met ben affleck. pictures to follow.
19-Jan-09	… we got TICKETS!!!
19-Jan-09	… you wouldn’t believe the lines to pick up #inaug09 tickets on the Hill. probably a dozen lines, each with several hundred people.
18-Jan-09	… can’t wait for tuesday. if there were *this* many people at the concert, can’t wait to see how many people are at the main event.
18-Jan-09	… it’s nuts down here on the mall. two hours ’til showtime, and the place is packed.
18-Jan-09	… on the 42, heading to #inaug09 concert on mall and it’s standing room only after two stops.
17-Jan-09	… the vet is concerned that my cat freaked when her belly was shaved for an ultrasound. I’d be worried if she hadn’t.
12-Jan-09	… when did “dress jeans” become appropriate attire for the theatre?
11-Jan-09	… there is nothing sadder than a pile of dead Christmas trees on a city street corner.
5-Jan-09	… love the new 43 bus. just like the 42, but no Dupont Circle. publik tranzit rulez!
4-Jan-09	… isn’t it a tad early for valentine’s merchandise displays?!?
2-Jan-09	… learned how to knit, thereby annihilating my last remaining shred of masculinity.
31-Dec-08	… at the beach, and it’s snowing.
26-Dec-08	… at the brightest Christmas house in Virginia — photo: http://bkite.com/03fnX
25-Dec-08	… happy christmas, twitterbody — http://twitpic.com/we6z
23-Dec-08	… now obsessed with “Fairytale of New York” by The Pogues, as potentially the best Christmas song ever.
22-Dec-08	… oi! NORAD is going to twitter santa’s progress @noradsanta (thx @davidconnell for the tip).
19-Dec-08	… karaoake at the office holiday party. dear lord deliver me.
18-Dec-08	… guy next to me on bus is rockin’ out to his third consecutive replay of “You Can Call Me Al” by Paul Simon. disturbing.
16-Dec-08	… need a healthy dose of inspiration.
16-Dec-08	… surprise (free) tickets to Aimee Mann Holiday Show @ the Birchmere — http://bkite.com/0320K
14-Dec-08	… resting after a *spectacular* Christmas cartoon extravaganza.
13-Dec-08	… my wife is bonding with someone re: their hatred of squash — http://bkite.com/02YfQ
12-Dec-08	… is it the holidays that are making me blog/tweet/post less, or am i just spectacularly lazy?
9-Dec-08	… planning our 4th annual Christmas cartoon extravaganza this Sunday. who’s in?!?
9-Dec-08	… what is it about Illinois gov’t that makes “sleazy” okay?
8-Dec-08	… wondering how much of my life has been taken up by Proactiv acne solution commercials.
7-Dec-08	… ugh. first head cold of the season.
6-Dec-08	… if you are marching in a Scottish parade, Burberry plaid doesn’t count.
5-Dec-08	… it’s cold enough that even ear-flaps aren’t going to be enough.
1-Dec-08	… why DC is unlike any city in the world: the hostess at New Heights just corrected us on the status of the Minnesota senate race.
30-Nov-08	… getting through PDX without an ID is surprising non-traumatic. and maybe even a tiny bit pleasant.
30-Nov-08	… lost wallet. left in rental car. car rerented. at airport w/o ID. wish me luck proving I’m not a hippie/terrorist.
29-Nov-08	… food, friends, dirty girl scout martinis, wii. — photo: http://bkite.com/02FSE
29-Nov-08	… how is it possible that the best tex-mex from our Austin trip is in Seattle?!? — http://bkite.com/02Gny
28-Nov-08	… perhaps I’ll miss you, Stumptown, most of all. — http://bkite.com/02EQK
27-Nov-08	… movies are the new football games, and bacon-wrapped scallops the new turkey. all that is new is old again, or something-or-other.
26-Nov-08	… used to think hats w/ earflaps looked ridiculous. after hiking around mt. hood, I now deem them the very height of fashion.
23-Nov-08	… CTSG reunion! I love these guys. — http://bkite.com/02ypI
22-Nov-08	… realizing my life is defined by what I eat. — http://bkite.com/02x1c
21-Nov-08	… ah, Portland. just as cold and rainy as I remember. — http://bkite.com/02wYv
21-Nov-08	… final day in Austin begins with cheese stuffed queso omlet. now, I can never leave. @ http://bkite.com/02wdQ
20-Nov-08	… am I the only one bummed to see gas prices plummet? besides the Saudis and Al Gore, I mean.
20-Nov-08	… eating half a pound of heaven. @ Coopers Barbeque http://loopt.us/W0S4Zw
19-Nov-08	… austin meal distribution: 60% tex-mex (with 1/3rd queso kicker), 30% bbq, and 10% other. need late surge in the queso metric.
18-Nov-08	… embracing my inner geek. i’ve missed him.
17-Nov-08	… just admitted to reading shakespeare for fun. expecting my friend count to drop precipitously.
16-Nov-08	… I [heart] queso for breakfast.
15-Nov-08	… it’s 15 degrees *COLDER* in Austin than DC. dude, wtf?!?
14-Nov-08	… goodbye, Washington DC. the next time I see you, it will be time to start watching those bad christmas cartoon specials I love so much.
13-Nov-08	… deciding if loopt is cool, or creepy. in Washington, DC http://loopt.us/TanGmw
11-Nov-08	… street parking in the city is all well and good, until you realize you have misplaced your car.
8-Nov-08	… fall colors at the National Zoo, now with fifty percent less tourists!
7-Nov-08	… just paid 300% markup for a copy of the “Obama Makes History” WashPost. I’m a marketer’s dream.
6-Nov-08	… radio: “president-elect barack obama.” don’t think hearing that will ever get old.
5-Nov-08	… it’s a beautiful day.
4-Nov-08	… line to vote two blocks long. last year at this time, I was one of twelve.
4-Nov-08	… tearing up (like a little girl) every time i see a 90-year old say “i never thought i would see this in my lifetime.”
4-Nov-08	… tired, sleep deprived, but live blogging the election returns anyway @ http://ping.fm/KZvTc
3-Nov-08	… driving my DC-plated, hybrid, car-sharing ZipCar to Manassas to see Obama!
3-Nov-08	… plotting furiously to go to the Obama rally in Manassas tonight.
3-Nov-08	… unbelievable. the candidade was fantastic. the crowd incredible. if they say 80,000 attended, I’d believe.
1-Nov-08	… just pumped gas in my Jesus costume. hilarity ensued.
30-Oct-08	… realizing that some party is going to eat it’s young after this election. here’s hoping it won’t be mine.
29-Oct-08	… just thought about Shel Silverstein’s “Lafcadio, The Lion Who Shot Back” for 1st time in 20 years. now i want a marshmallow palace.
28-Oct-08	… screw the World Series, the Boston Celtics just raised championship banner #17.
28-Oct-08	… was just told that i would be “Gonzo” if my office was casted for a Muppet Movie. words can’t describe how happy that made me.
27-Oct-08	… first two coke day in, well, forever. not a good sign.
27-Oct-08	… open letter to idiot: don’t run on Wilson blvd, after dark, in the rain, wearing black, even if ur in the bike lane. just sayin’.
27-Oct-08	… say it ain’t so, ted: http://ping.fm/59puK
25-Oct-08	… settling in for the last 20 hours of the (TiVo-ed) Summer Olympics. who’s with me?
24-Oct-08	… fifty-nine percent of registered voters believe McCain will favor the wealthy. just 11% believe he will favor the middle class.
23-Oct-08	… at 3:30 am, 10 lbs of cat on your stomach feels more like fifty.
22-Oct-08	… feeling fat and happy.
21-Oct-08	… wishing anyone could differentiate between “normal race tightening,” “yet another comeback,” and “dead cat bounce.”
19-Oct-08	… back home after the *beautiful* Hutchins/Kazi wedding. (photos @ http://ping.fm/kr1Gn)
18-Oct-08	… my wife got her hands henna-ed, and I’m too tired to come up with a worthy punchline.
17-Oct-08	… in a rental car without power locks or windows. truley, this is the third world.
17-Oct-08	… Texas, it’s like a whole ‘nuther planet.
16-Oct-08	… going back to Texas for yet another wedding of the century. (see #1 @ http://ping.fm/Pabqp)
15-Oct-08	… thanking the dear sweet Lord that I am live blogging the *last* presidential debate @ http://ping.fm/CKMYK
14-Oct-08	… &$@%# red sox.
14-Oct-08	… short work week, and no one is in the office. must. stay. focused.
10-Oct-08	… @holdie1: was that the volkswagon i almost bought? i loved that car. *snif.*
10-Oct-08	… loving my new furnace that doesn’t sound like i’m on the deck of an aircraft carrier @ http://ping.fm/jdoDJ
10-Oct-08	… wondering how long it will take the neo-cons to argue that the meltdown happened because we didn’t deregulate *enough.*
9-Oct-08	… @pixelslave “Doooo naaaaht seeek the treaaaasurre.”
8-Oct-08	… awed that 86 percent of fox news viewers said mccain won the debate. when was the last time 86% of any group agreed on anything?
8-Oct-08	… love me some “oh brother, where art thou?” not much nutritional value, but you just can’t stop. like cinematic potato chips.
7-Oct-08	… not happy to be live blogging yet another debate @ http://tinyurl.com/4o4dcc
6-Oct-08	… if an anniversary falls over in the forest, but both participants are sick, does it make a sound?
6-Oct-08	… red sox, rays, dodgers and phillies. never would have picked that in a million years.
3-Oct-08	… glad to be getting out of the center of the political universe this weekend, even if it is to Joe Biden’s Delaware.
2-Oct-08	… live blogging the pending veep apocalypse @ http://ping.fm/CKMYK
2-Oct-08	… still recovering from Sox game (late) last night. all teams in the pacific time zone should be booted to the Japanese majors.
1-Oct-08	… contemplating my one-night return to bachelorhood tonight. considering (*gasp*) leaving my dishes in the sink, unwashed, overnight.
28-Sep-08	… caught a little off guard that our first anniversary is nary a week away.
26-Sep-08	… live blogging the debate @ http://ping.fm/35UnX
26-Sep-08	… more flipped out about the grotesque politics around the bailout than i am about the state of the financial system.
25-Sep-08	… wondering if people on the street below just saw me perform “i feel pretty” from West Side Story, complete with choreography. also …
24-Sep-08	… wondering if anyone thinks that dubya actually understands the script he is reading.
23-Sep-08	… Tasha just said our (hypothetical) child’s first words should be “Yankee’s suck.” I LOVE her.
22-Sep-08	… facing down five whole work hours without a meeting. paralyzed with fear and indecision.
21-Sep-08	… someone needs to remind me that it’s not a vacation if you don’t go home afterwards.
20-Sep-08	… lazy Saturday afternoon in Vermont. There’s nothing more relaxing on God’s green Earth.
19-Sep-08	… how do people visit Vermont and *not* end up moving here?
18-Sep-08	… loves me some Zo‘ Keating. most innovative musician in a long, long time. http://ping.fm/RPWJg
17-Sep-08	… @&$£%#ng red sox.
16-Sep-08	… i’d be at a demolition derby if my car hadn’t broken down. is that ironic, or vaguely creepy?
15-Sep-08	… pretty sure it’s bad when you have played four, won none, and are dead last.
15-Sep-08	… wondering why take-out food cashiers ask for your name when they are holding your credit card.

Well, forgive the crazy distorted pictures (wide-angle lens), but the nursery is pretty much done. We need two major things: the crib (which will be delivered later this month) and a name (so that we can put that on the wall above the white cube-looking changing-table thing).

All in all, we are super excited. There is still one major construction project left (framing in the new monstrosity in the kitchen) but we are about as set as we can be in the no-longer-spare bedroom.

strange things are afoot at the circle sparkler.

two nights ago, my cat, my wife and I conspired to pour half a bottle of wine into my laptop. fortunately, it fried the keyboard and not the whole computer. unfortunately, it was really good wine.

meanwhile, an electrician came this morning to replace our electrical circuit breaker box of death, which apparently has a bad habit of not tripping when small kids put their fingers in associated electric sockets. needless-to-say, the lady and I have decided that this is (in fact) a bug, and not a feature, and decided to replace.

back with the laptop … after I got the electrician settled, I started a long drive towards Suburban Maryland to drop off my computer with the people who we contract to service it when stupid people do stupid things. (did I mention it was my work computer?)

once I got to beautiful, non-historic Lanham, I went to where Google Maps said the repair service was. Found the road, found the street number, pulled into the parking lot. No computer repair people. I whip out my handly iPhone, double check where I am. then I double check where I am supposed to be. both are right, except they obviously aren’t.

fifteen minutes later, I realize that even though I am on Nicole Road, the building number i found (4421) is technically on Forbes Road, a street which (i should note) three blocks away. the 4421 I need is actually across the street from the 4421 that i found. there are two 4421s, on opposite sides of the same road that shares two names.

this, unfortunately, is the part of the day that will end up making the most sense.

back at home, we already know that we are getting a bigger (wider, taller) electrical panel box than what we had before, namely we had to rip out a kitchen cabinet to acommodate the new sized box. which we then had to special order a (smaller, daintier) replacement because our cabinets had been discontinued.

in the process of ripping out our old electrical box, our fearless electrician discovered that there is a pipe running along side the old box. a pipe that can’t be moved. on the other side is a door jam, that also can’t be moved. so our box won’t fit. and it’s the smallest box they make.

they suggest we put the box on the other side of the same wall, which, i should mention, would be in the living room. about four feet off the floor, right next to the couch. all I can hear in my head is future prospective owners having a conversation like, “do you like the first place we saw, or the one with the electrical box in the living room?”

I ask for other options.

at the same time, at the other end of the living room, another electrician is installing a light in our hall closet, which is both the most important room in our house (storage) but also the darkest. turns out that our closet is surrounded on all four sides (and ceiling) by concrete. turns out it is also hard to run wires in and through concrete.

back in the kitchen, our fearless electrician has decided we can put the box in the kitchen if it isn’t fully recessed. meaning it will stick out from the wall. meaning I am glad I’ve been too lazy to return my friends compound power mitre saw, because I will be putting a wood facing around our new electrical box this weekend.

they go about their business.

with the pressing computer and electrical stuff actively being resolved, I finally settle back to work. I use the term “back” because last night I had nightmares about elevator outages/accidents in the Capitol building, which got me out of bed at 5:00 am. for the record, I have no idea what that dream means either but, I was working at my desk by 5:30 am.

back to present day: I sat down in baby sparklet’s room, with my battery operated phone and my battery operated computer, and settled in for a long day’s work. it was only then that I realized I didn’t have a battery operated cable modem, or a battery operated router. so i wouldn’t be doing any battery operated work today.

so I headed off to find a café. I chose starbucks, entirely because they have ATT wifi, which I get for free because I have an ATT iPhone. turns out, free wifi is only if you access the Internet from your iPhone. so it turns out that i had to pay for access. at a place I hate. to a company I despise.

the rest of starbucks went better — I just had to fight for a table, fight for a plug, and then sit across from a random guy off the street who was rocking back and forth, talking to himself. this was fun and all, but I had to hop on a couple of conference calls for work, and didn’t want to givecrazy rocking guy a reason to think I was talking to him. I walked back home.

did I mentioned I hate ATT? that’s because I can’t really use my phone at home. I often have to go down to the courtyard in front of my building to use the phone, which is unfortunate because my coverage is especially bad when it’s raining and that’s not a fun time to be outside.

so, it was raining. and I couldn’t be in the courtyard. so I went to my car, and sat in the front seat for the next three hours. never once thinking of the ramifications of carbon monoxide in enclosed spaces. promise.

the good news is that my iphone sometimes drains quickly if I am doing network heavy things, like checking email or reviewing documents … otherwise known as working. well, to be fair, *that* wasn’t the good news, the good news is that in my car I could plug my iPhone in to a car charger, which should stave off my power problems.

but, I learned something new today — namely that my phone won’t charge (in the car) if you are talking on it. which is what I was doing. for three hours. in my car. because it was raining. and I had no power at home. or cell coverage.

I don’t remember much about the rest of my day. I wrote a large check to our fearless electrician, I finished up some work, I started prepping the electric box for my new weekend project, and finally took my morning shower around 6:00 pm.

the one thing i *haven’t* done today is try to install the new kitchen cabinet that we had to special order to replace the one we ripped out to make room for the new electric box. I think I might be stalling because, while the new cabinet is two inches smaller, and our new electrical box three inches farther out from the wall.

I think that might just about finish me off for the day.