power went out last night / today's events / etc.

killed my computer and clocks again. been pretty blustery around here, makin' all the Seahawks fans nervous: Super Bowl Sunday tomorrow, and everyone wants to watch the Big Game. the line seems to be Pittsburgh by 4 points, but i think the Seahawks are gonna take it. maybe wishful thinking- but they really are a damn good team this year, and i haven't been all that impressed by the Steelers in the games i've seen them this season. GO SEAHAWKS! Loren's excited- he's under the impression he's never seen a Super Bowl before (though i remember him being here for last year's, when Paul McCartney performed at halftime- following the Janet Jackson BS that happened during the previous year's halftime stupidity). i'll have to go back and check if there's a blog entry for that to prove it to him....[scanning old blog entries.....]...nope there's not. my memory will have to suffice, and as that's likely not enough to change Loren's mind, this next game will likely live ad infinitum in Loren's memory as the very first Super Bowl he ever saw. one more reason to hope the Seahawks take it all!

feeling quite handicapped without my wheels. can't imagine not having a vehicle as a normal state of existence. that would certainly take some getting used to, after 20 years of driving around pretty much at will.

looks like my folks'll be coming over to pick me up around noon tomorrow, for my sister and bro-in-law's Super Bowl party. [Editor's Note: this is undoubtedly the most usages of the term "Super Bowl" in any post in the history of this blog]. it'll be good to see everyone tomorrow, and even better for Loren to get to see all the family, something that happens all too seldom in my book.

my fantasy basketball team's been doing well against the stiffest competition there is in my league. don't know if my opponent's making mistakes or not, but today it seemed to me that he might've- he had some players on the bench that seemed eligible for today's games; is it possible that someone else makes a management mistake once in a while too? hope that's true, it'd even the odds a little bit. i've been more than a little consciencious handling my team this year, but i've certainly made a few mistakes. s'pose it's only human for someone else to as well.

today came and went all too quickly. i slept in till around 10:30am, Loren did his usual morning thing on Saturdays here, namely taking advantage of the existence of cable television (unavailable where his mother lives) and watching cartoons- a perfectly respectable activity. we spent a lazy morning updating NBA fantasy stats, going over some of his old homework assignments, talking about science and math (i can't ever resist quizzing him on things he knows, and teaching him about or drilling him on things i've taught him that his school hasn't). one of the more interesting ones for me is changing complex multiplication problems to a series of smaller multiplication and addition problems, which are easier to do in your head, i.e. 15x14 = (10 x 15) + (4 x 10) + (4 x 5) = 150 + 40 + 20 = 210. i don't know if that's part of what they used to call 'the new math' or not- it's certainly not something they taught when i was in school- it just seemed to me easier to do the problems that way, than try to carry numbers in your head. less to remember maybe. math is fun. i try to do it in my head as much as possible- and so does Loren, sometimes to the detriment of decent grades on math assignments, where it's not only required for a good grade, but also necessary to get the right answer. it's easy to make a small mistake when you do things in your head, and it's easier to check your work on paper than do the problem from scratch in your head again to compare your answer....not that Loren's much in the habit of checking his work. something to work on....

we managed to get a little farther in our book this evening, The Wishsong of Shanarra, something it's been nice to get back to after (for some reason....possibly spending more time watching videos when he's here than normal) a longer break than i like. i won't be reading to him in the evening forever; i know my parents certainly didn't read to me in the evenings when i was in 7th grade, but it's not really a little kid thing with us anymore, as we spend time talking about the story, etc. i guess it's more just traditional than anything now. i'm fairly certain the last book i'll read aloud with him is the last in the series of books we began a looong time ago: J.K. Rowling's Harry Potter series (fantastic books, by the way). i've been reading to him since he born, and i'll be a little sad to see that particular tradition end. but all things for children must end for them to grow. i miss singing him to sleep sometimes too- which makes me feel a bit more motherly than i'd like, i don't mind admitting- but since i've spent the last 12 years playing a single-parent role, it's not all that surprising. i'm living proof men can be as nurturing as women, but more surprisingly- and importantly, i think- is proving beyond doubt that most invidividuals have within themselves the ability to play both roles, if they allow it happen. a man understands what it is to be a man, and acting like a father comes naturally enough- but (in most cases) a man also remembers his mother, and can make a pretty good guess at what things he has to compensate for as a single parent. i'm not sure it's even all that difficult- if you love your kids.

that's as good a place as any to end a post.