2005-04-25

Happy Birthday Ethan!

well- one more notch in the little guy's belt. i think he actually carved four of 'em in it over the last week, but Sunday the Pacific NW Pelkey Clan and a large part of the Sargents got together for Ethan's 4th (and final) Happy #5 bash. Nichole and Chris have certainly done their best in accommodating all the well-wishers, and it's much appreciated. thanks guys, for setting a fine table (as always) and thanks to everyone for the excellent company- and especially to Ethan, who i think i spent more time with yesterday than i have since he was only a wee 4 year old. i decided Ethan's presents should be something both the Sargent boys would enjoy and gave him a Kerplunk! game and a Tom & Jerry video, from Loren and me. both those things were high on Loren's list of khoul stuff when he was about Ethan's age. hell- i'm 37 and i still like both those things [grin].

it occurs to me that i should hereby formally quote what i shall heretofore cite as Pelkey's Law: the chance of having money at the time of a person's birthday is inversely proportional to both 1) the degree to which one feels inclined to give a gift, and 2) the amount of time one has to shop. therefore, if one either doesn't wish to purchase a gift, or wishes to but has no time to shop, one will have plenty of money; but should one wish to give a present AND have plenty of time to shop, one will invariably be broke. this rule does not apply to belated birthday parties, nor should the user in any case reasonably expect this law to constitute a claim of accuracy. all other warrantees, express or implied, are void. actual results may vary. at participating universes only. odds of probability may be affected by local deities.

feeling too lazy right now to pick through and post selections from the 60+ pictures i took- with my current computer setup it's something of a logistical bear- but any interested parties can find them filed chronologically (as always) in my online photo album, under April 24, 2005. there are the usual so-so shots mixed in with what i consider some outstanding ones; the really good ones are labelled so, in one way or another. there's even a little bit of video of Ethan dancing around- love it :)

Loren didn't make it to the party. he had a friend spend the night (at his mother's house) and, still having company when it came time for him to leave, and being reluctant to go, i left the choice to him. i'm a little irritated that his mother didn't prepare him better to leave, and for Loren changing his mind about it between the time i left and when i got over there (all of about 45 minutes), and that i drove over to his mother's house for nothing (about 26 miles round trip) two days running (which cost me about 2 hrs of my weekend) but i suppose in the end the decision was his, and he made it. i told him today that Ethan was a little disappointed he didn't come (no surprise), which Loren anticipated. i think he truly regrets that decision- though he realizes what's done is done. Ethan asked if i might bring Loren over on Saturday this week and Loren's counted himself in for that. i should get those boys in a pool together....that might be fun this weekend.

i'm once again cellulated. someday someone will look back and try to find the origin of that term (which will have come to mean "having recently acquired or reacquired access to a cell phone") and here it will lie- though i doubt it will cause as much hype as, say, the recent uncovering of an original issue of the electronics trade mag that printed Moore's Law.

changing gears: decent day at work today....beautiful weather seems to be a trend lately- it's been in the mid-to-high 60s for most of the last week. always feel my batteries recharged when the sun comes out. i think i'm one of those "winter doldrums" people- though i always seem to like the cold weather when it comes, i think the shorter daylight hours gets to me after awhile.

talked to Loren briefly on the phone- it's getting to where he's dreading our phone conversations during the week since i invariably grill him about his school work; but i don't think now's the time to go all touchy-feely and soften up on him. i'm convinced his problem is one of self discipline, and motivating him to make the behavioral changes he needs to make is worth the effort. nevertheless i've got to be careful not to jump on him so hard he just tunes me out when he's not here. ahh, the fine balancing act....this weekend when we have more time to talk, things will get more relaxed.

time to wrap my mind around some food and laundry and maybe put a little larger dent in my book.

PEACE

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