Carl went to his first formal dance. He looked pretty good, and acted like a complete dork. I think this will work for him as he gets older. When asked if there was a girl he would like to dance with, he responded with an embarrassed, "Come on, Dad!"
He enjoyed himself at the dance, got the DJ to play some music he brought (The Gorillaz) and generally bemoaned the fact that most of the night they played Britney Spears crap and a bunch of lame rap music. When I asked if he danced with anyone, he said that he wasn't interested in dancing to that kind of music, which I thought was a nice dodge. All it's going to take is one time, him getting out there and being himself, and Lara and I will have some trouble. Of course, it wouldn't hurt his chances if he grew just a few more inches taller. He is by far the shortest kid in his class.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
Carl Is A Teenager.....What????
Yeah, 13 years old on December 17th. Crazy. I still remember taking Lara to Carbondale Memorial Hospital, getting her prepped for the C-section, and her doctor trying one last time to turn the baby before committing to surgery, and Lara about breaking his arm at the elbow.
Once the procedure started, everything was quick. In one moment, there was an incision, and the next, a perfect not-so-little baby. He really did look perfect, too, no head squishyness from being pushed through the birth canal. Then, after Lara was in recovery, and I tried to make calls, and was blubbering to all of my relatives. I was pathetic.
Flash forward 13 years later, and Carl is every bit the dork I hoped for that freezing Winter's day in Carbondale.
Once the procedure started, everything was quick. In one moment, there was an incision, and the next, a perfect not-so-little baby. He really did look perfect, too, no head squishyness from being pushed through the birth canal. Then, after Lara was in recovery, and I tried to make calls, and was blubbering to all of my relatives. I was pathetic.
Flash forward 13 years later, and Carl is every bit the dork I hoped for that freezing Winter's day in Carbondale.
Maggie And Katie Turn 8!
Here's my birth story for these two. Lara had them at Western Baptist Hospital in Paducah, which had a great room, with home-like fixtures, where she was prepped for giving birth to the girls. It so happened that a Murphy Brown episode was on, the one about how much trouble Murphy was having with her new baby, and then there was a Planet of the Apes marathon on. So, there was a little something for both Lara and me. Then, when the girls were born, (V-back) and a squirrely looking orange-haired swarthy kid with a weird shaped head came out, Lara and I had to decide real quick whether this was Maggie or Katie. We both agreed that this one had to be Maggie. For about 10 of the next 20 minutes, I think Lara and I were wondering, if this was how weird the first one looked, just what the hell might the second one look like?? 20 minutes after Maggie, the next one was born, and she looked perfectly round (not having her head stuck funneled into the birth canal like Maggie had) and could have been Carl's twin at birth (cute as a button, bald as a baboon's ass). As they have grown, Maggie still has been the wilder, unusual one, (though her skull bones finally moved to where they needed to be) while Katie still shares many of Carl's facial features.
Roger Is Old
Officially 43, on December 14th. In the second picture, I can really see my mom in my face. I always said to Mom that I looked forward to my birthday, because I set it aside for to express my thanks to my parents for having me. I always thought that's how it should be. Being born is no special event to you, but a huge event in the lives of your parents. Birthdays should be about reminding the parents that you're glad they stuck it out with you. Every year, until Mom died, I called her on my birthday, and told her I loved her, because she was the reason I have the celebration at all.
Winter Band Performance
Carl was part of the Winter concert band performance. He is hard to see, but he plays saxophone, and is seated next to the tall kid in blue (his best friend, Joey). He played well.
Spelling Bea
Carl won the right to represent his school for the 7th grade at the regional spelling bee. He didn't win, but he did enjoy himself. The "pronouncer" was terrible, mispronouncing some basic words like "rupee" and "synopsis." The kids were great, she and the judges were terrible. However, Carl lost fair and square, mis-spelling "anchovy."
Friday, December 12, 2008
Statistically Speaking....
I am in the process of completing my Ph.D. Or, I guess you could say starting my Ph.D. Regardless, I have just completed my second stats class Multiple Regression, with an "A." So far, I am batting a thousand ( a statistic, if you didn't know).
Can we test the likelihood that my gpa is 4.0? Yes, we can!
Ho: X bar = 4.0
Ha: X bar does not = 4.0.
Simple Regression model, use Student T test statistic, with alpha level of .05. Test. Result is not significant. Therefore, we fail to reject the null hypothesis. We accept that the mean gpa for this grad school monkey does not significantly vary from 4.0.
Now, thank God that part is over. On to the bigger and better things to study!
Can we test the likelihood that my gpa is 4.0? Yes, we can!
Ho: X bar = 4.0
Ha: X bar does not = 4.0.
Simple Regression model, use Student T test statistic, with alpha level of .05. Test. Result is not significant. Therefore, we fail to reject the null hypothesis. We accept that the mean gpa for this grad school monkey does not significantly vary from 4.0.
Now, thank God that part is over. On to the bigger and better things to study!
Monday, December 8, 2008
Home Is Where The Heart Is....
So, I'm not the skinniest guy in the world. I never have been, except for a few years in college when I was literally starving. What a great diet plan: be poor, for a long time.
Well, a year ago, I had my cholesterol levels checked, and they were a little high. I had them re-checked this last month, and the cholesterol levels actually were better, although the good cholesterol levels were too low, and my triglycerides were too high. Since I have had some pain every now and then in my chest, (which I had always been told was a torn intercostal muscle) since I have a family history of heart problems, and since the cholesterol and triglycerides were wonky, I had an echo stress test done today on my heart. It's not as invasive as a dye test, but better than a simple stress test and ekg.
The doc said he saw absolutely no evidence of blockages, which was nice to hear, but this test, although valuable, is limited. So, I am glad to hear he saw nothing catastrophic, but am convinced that now is the time I should really work hard to lose weight, eat better, lower the bad stuff in my blood, and raise the good stuff.
The nurse who was very nice this morning, unfortunately had to dig for a vein for the IV like she was searching for a ring dropped in her garbage disposal, which means she jabbed around several times, and hurt my hand like hell, but didn't find what she was looking for. So, she settled for the vein up a little higher on my arm. In fact, the worst part of the whole event was/is the really painful digs across the back of my right hand, and the swelling from her gouging.
On the other hand, I think one of the other nurses flirted with me :D Lara said that I better watch what cologne I am wearing (she picked it out for me).
Well, a year ago, I had my cholesterol levels checked, and they were a little high. I had them re-checked this last month, and the cholesterol levels actually were better, although the good cholesterol levels were too low, and my triglycerides were too high. Since I have had some pain every now and then in my chest, (which I had always been told was a torn intercostal muscle) since I have a family history of heart problems, and since the cholesterol and triglycerides were wonky, I had an echo stress test done today on my heart. It's not as invasive as a dye test, but better than a simple stress test and ekg.
The doc said he saw absolutely no evidence of blockages, which was nice to hear, but this test, although valuable, is limited. So, I am glad to hear he saw nothing catastrophic, but am convinced that now is the time I should really work hard to lose weight, eat better, lower the bad stuff in my blood, and raise the good stuff.
The nurse who was very nice this morning, unfortunately had to dig for a vein for the IV like she was searching for a ring dropped in her garbage disposal, which means she jabbed around several times, and hurt my hand like hell, but didn't find what she was looking for. So, she settled for the vein up a little higher on my arm. In fact, the worst part of the whole event was/is the really painful digs across the back of my right hand, and the swelling from her gouging.
On the other hand, I think one of the other nurses flirted with me :D Lara said that I better watch what cologne I am wearing (she picked it out for me).
Kids In The Christmas Parade
Maggie and Katie marched with the Girl Scouts in the Christmas Parade on December 6th. Carl played in the band. I marched with the Cub Scouts, Lara rode in the fancy convertible behind the Cub Scout float, and Dee escorted the girls to the parade line up area with the other Girl Scout leaders. Here are some pictures of the events:
Getting Ready For Christmas
Without further ado, here are some pictures of the family getting ready for Christmas. The nativity set has been in Lara's family for generations.
One of these pictures is likely going to be our Christmas card, which is okay by me. Truth, unruly though it may be, is better than the fiction you get from most holiday pictures.
One of these pictures is likely going to be our Christmas card, which is okay by me. Truth, unruly though it may be, is better than the fiction you get from most holiday pictures.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)