Random Thoughts for the Week of April 8, 2012

Just got back from a 4-day vacation in Omaha.  Weird considering it a vacation, when in fact it was really a trip “home.”  It gets a little gray, to be sure, when you’re basically straddling two cities you consider home.  So, allow me to vent/clarify by telling you …

WHAT I THINK ABOUT OUR TRIP TO OMAHA

• Let me start with the biggest thing:  our 4-day weekend has convinced us that we need to move back to Omaha.  We’re hoping to do it as soon as possible.  We’re working on ways to make it sooner than later.  Right now the plan is to stay in Columbus through August/September and then make the initial plans to move back (house hunting, lodging, job hunting, etc.).
• It was great to actually sit down and be with my co-workers.  Sure, I’ve kept up with them via IM and video, but there’s nothing at all like sitting across from a friend and joking during a meeting.  I came home Thursday night a new man.  Mindi noticed and was convinced I couldn’t work from home much longer.  I agree, especially now after my first day back in Columbus and I hate my job again.
• Quite possibly the best moment of the weekend was the hug I got from Elizabeth Hoffman.  I didn’t realize how much I missed her until the tears started coming.
• Baby shower was a big success … or so I’ve been told since I was out and about.  Got to see the Square One gym and all the great work Kevin’s been doing there.  Couldn’t be happier for a better group of people, especially him.
• It was weird driving around Omaha.  On Thursday, I felt like I was visiting the place and it didn’t feel at all like home.  By Saturday, it was like I was back and there’d be no time away, but it still wasn’t home.  Home was still back in Ohio.  By the time we left for the airport on Monday, I couldn’t wait until I could be back in Omaha and call it home.  Just too many good things there to stay away much longer than needed.  Lots to do and happen between now and then, though.
• God bless Kerry and Kresha for throwing the baby shower.
• Thanks to all our generous friends and family for the gifts for us and little Alex.  The diaper cake was very impressive!  Even still, going through the gifts, I couldn’t help but get a little teary at not just the arrival of my son, but the blessing he’ll have with so many good and loving people in his life from Day One.
• My friends have changed a lot in four months … hell, so have I … but it was good to get together at the bar again for one night and enjoy each other’s company, as well as some really bad jokes.  There’s no one here I can banter with like that, and I miss not having it around more often.  I am happy to see all of my friends, and that’s ALL of them, happier, healthier and enjoying their lives more now than before.  Even more good times ahead!
• Pacific Meadows looks like a good place to raise a family.

So, onto other thoughts for the week not dominated by babies or Midwestern cities….

• Wow, I never thought the day would come, but this past week I found myself 100% undeniably agreeing with the Republican Party on something.  When lambasting the Republican Budget proposal last week, the President pointed out line after line of programs that would get cut back by the budget.  The Republican response, particularly from Romney and Ryan, basically said that if he and the rest of the country need to understand why cuts have to be made, they simply need to look at the last 3 years of massive spending increases in the Obama Presidency and the trillions of dollars in debt we’ve amassed in such a short period of time.  I’m sorry, folks, there’s no way around it.  There are only two ways to prevent our government from going under financially: we either raise taxes or cut spending on programs.  I like a good entitlement program as much as the next liberal.  But I’m not going to support frivolous government programs and spending at the expense of my own well-being or that of my son’s in the near future.  So, yes, we’re going to have to cut back programs, including some of the biggies and certainly ones that I either support or benefit from.  But here’s a plain and simple fact, America: you need to start preparing to take care of yourself now and certainly when you’re older.  To do otherwise and expect the government to take care of you when the time comes is naïve and wrong.  You can copy this down and give it to me 50 years from now, and no matter how hard my life is at that point I’ll still be right.
• I like all of the new NFL uniforms, but the pictures they put on NFL.com to show them off where just too cheesy.  Sure, the women fans will love them (Mindi gazed longingly at Urlacher … probably still is), but for the guy fans it was just corny.  Happy that the Packers’ jerseys basically stay unchanged.
• Speaking of uniforms, a little worried about the “futuristic” Nebraska uniforms coming this fall.  I remember the changes made back in the Thunder Collins days.  I probably couldn’t give away that ugly jersey with the murderer’s number on it.  Hopefully they’ll do better this time around.
• Okay, second episode of “Game of Thrones” was much, much, much better than the first one.  Yes, because of the sex scenes.  It’s a show I won’t forget any time soon.  My glasses get steamy thinking about it.  The show just got renewed for the third season.  Mom says I need to give the third book more time to hold my interest, so I’ll get back into it later this year.
• I’m proud of myself for how I handled my conversation on Saturday.  Sure, I felt the fires building up inside me.  The urge to yell and hit were there, but I laughed at the jokes and was a good person instead.  Forgiveness may come in time, but it’s not here yet.
• So, it looks like Zimmerman won’t be charged.  Months from now, when the furor dies down over this, one boy is still dead and one life is ruined in the process.  Maybe we should be thinking about how poorly we’ve acted as human beings on both sides of this issue.  But, I’m sure we’ll find something else to get angry about instead.
• I read an article this week that suggested we redirect funds from exploring space (i.e. getting to Mars) to undersea exploration, citing the recent studies by James Cameron.  Well, I can see their point.  For the millions/billions it would cost to send a small handful of robots, much less people, to Mars, we could do a massive amount of undersea exploration.  I guess my question is … what’s the point?  I can see potential benefits to the space program from it.  Developing stronger, lighter metals can be done for ocean craft, even though they have to deal with pressure and not radiation.  We could test food stuffs and various trials underwater with similar situations as outer space (i.e. confined spaces, long-term missions, etc.).  Even still, and maybe it’s my personal bias, I think outer space offers more variety and wonder than the ocean.  Sure, it’s a lot safer and doesn’t require us to invent a new type of wheel to get it done, but I just can’t get behind it.  Exploration is always a good thing though. I’m not sure on this one.  Tough call.
• I want to golf again soon.  I’m not sure if there’s going to be time.

ALEXANDER UPDATE

• Well, our due date has been moved to June 2-3.  This throws off a couple of plans we had, not the least of which is sharing a birthday month with mommy.  But, it does mean we have to wait even longer for him to arrive (potentially).  If you ask me, I think he’ll be a May baby.  He’s moving around like a Week 33 kid.
• We’ve also got a pediatrician lined up.  “Greetings, Dr. Sheets!  Thanks for taking us.  Oh, by the way, we’re moving so don’t get too attached to our awesome son.”
• Next ultrasound coming in Week 36.  I’m excited to see what Alex looks like now.
• Listening to crying kids on the plane and in the airport, I kept telling myself “Alex won’t be like that.”  Then I realize it’s more likely that he will be like that.  Even though the idea of a free ticket is nice, I don’t have a problem not flying with him until he’s at least 2-3 years old.
• It’s going to be really, really hard to stop cursing once Alex is old enough to repeat the words I say.  Sometimes, I just love a good “fuck” let out loud for all the world to hear.
• I’m not ashamed to say I went all around Omaha telling everyone about my son, Alex.  “When Alex comes,” “After Alex comes,” and “I can’t wait until Alex” were very commonly used phrases for me.  It probably got a little sickening to the people I’ve been talking to, but I can’t emphasize how much I can’t wait until he’s here to play with.