I have moved my blog once again (hopefully for near the last time). What I have done is combined this blog with my professional blog (The Amphitheater) under a single new banner: The Fry Side, which is located at my new personal website, ebfryer.com. All my archives have moved as well, so returning to this address shouldn't be necessary. I have explained my move in a post there as well.
Toodles, Folks!
To the question of Nature versus Nurture, I give you this quote from my son when asked if dinner is good:
Indeed, it certainly is.
Yesterday started off with a bit of a bang. At around two in the morning, a large thunderstorm formed over the Cities, and a huge thunderclap hit right over our house, waking all of us on the top floor. I got up to hold Austin and he fell asleep in my arms a moment later so I put him right back to bed.
I got up with Michelle just after five. She rushed out the door, as usual, but I went through a leisurely morning routine. Getting up that early means I have some extra time to get completely ready before Austin wakes up. It isn't that necessary anymore, since he knows the morning routine and runs mostly on autopilot until I drop him off at school. Still, it's nice to read a bit of news and listen to a podcast or two while brushing my teeth without a kid under me asking questions non-stop.
Work started up again this week, and it's nice to be back. Not working during the summer makes me feel like such a bum, but now I'm back to contributing to the family. Everyone at work was pleased to see my return. My position usually has a lot of turnaround, so the staff is pretty happy to have me on board for a while.
Not much changed over the summer on my end of things, so work is rather light going into the school year. Only one lab needs to have new images put on the computers. The teachers have been back since the middle of last week, so they're working at a more relaxed pace too.
There's another reason that things are a little slow and quiet around the school. We're up this year to have to renew a levy to compensate for the increased lack of funding from the state, and on top of that, there's a potential teachers strike on the horizon. Those two facts aren't going to play well together with those who are up to vote on increases in their taxes to pay for the schools. It's a pretty dismal picture if our district doesn't get it passed. Oh yeah, all two hundred school districts out here are having to do the same thing. Go figure.
That's about it. It was a good first day back, and I'm about to head out the door for another day. Oh, a little before dinnertime, I got an email saying I made it into Hamline University and its Master of Arts in Teaching program. So my pipe dream of becoming a teacher is actually going to happen. Children of Minnesota, beware...
I just got off the phone with the Queen Mother. She called to check that we were all okay from the flooding up here, and I finally told her that we're having a baby. So when sending each other our love, here's her line:
Give Austin a hug. And give Michelle a hug. Though not too big a hug, you know what happened last time you did that.
This picture was for Uncle Ken. Oh the levels...
I knew M was warping him...
These amused me. He is pointing out what he knows about pine trees in the same manner as his dad and granddad.
This weekend was wet and rainy and dreary. So yes, in my opinion, it was heavenly. Everything is wet and dark green and misty. Everything smelled alive, growing, full energy. It brought to mind the Pacific Northwest.
Saturday morning, Mommy was up with the boy and I. She's doing well, though her stomach's feeling worse. She's good at fighting through it all, far better than I. So on a wet weekend morning, what is there to do with a feisty three year old boy? Mom had the brilliant idea: let's take him on his first trip to the library.
What a wonderful treat! He didn't quite know what was in store for him. He's been to the video store with me many times (we do the Blockbuster Online deal since we have the store right around the corner) so he understands the concept of borrowing things and having to return them.
But oh my goodness, the library! As soon as you walk into our local library, on the right is the children's section. For the first five minutes, we could barely get past the first cart of books. He was pulling them out left and right. And mommy and I were doing the same. I'll admit, I was pretty excited to get my new library card and to learn that it's a wifi hotspot, so just maybe, when mommy needs quiet time with the baby, he and I can go the library to read and hang out. I might even accomplish something outside the walls of my own house.
One might not be able to guess what we did for the remainder of the afternoon. What would a little boy with a dozen brand new books want to do? Have Mommy and Daddy read to him left and right! So yes, for a nice and dreary afternoon with a warm lunch and naps, we read lots of books. What a wonderful way to spend a day.
That evening, M and I watched part of the Twins game, basically through the Rangers winning 5-0 with no hope in sight for the Twinkies' bats. But at least she managed to catch what is apparently a regular special. On Sundays, when an adult ticket is purchased in the cheap seats or family seats (alcohol free section), you get two free kid tickets. And so, that was what we planned as a surprise for the boy.
Sunday morning was relaxing and lazy, just as a Sunday morning should be. We read more stories and had lunch. Austin had no idea on where we were going. We packed some water in his backpack and headed out. I was excited too. I love baseball, and actually going to a game is a particularly special treat. We got downtown, and I told Austin to keep an eye out for a big white building. He finally spotted the Metrodome, and without provocation, he guessed that it was a ballgame.
I'm such a dad sometimes. Soon as we walked in, he and I bought new baseball caps. The happiest moments for me is teaching my son what to watch for and having him cheer a strikeout.
The game was grand, a huge pitcher's duel. Johan Santana was on the mound for the Twins, and I was wearing his jersey. Michael Cuddyer hit a solo homerun, the only run of the entire game. Without notice or warning, Santana matched his personal best of fifteen strikeouts in a game, and then went on to set a Twins record of seventeen strikeouts. It was the kind of game I love. Amazing pitcher goes eight straight innings without shrugging and a closer comes in the 9th to seal the deal. It's how it should be. And my boy and I were standing and cheering for the final out.
We got home and had some dinner, and to calm Austin down at the end of the day, I popped in the classic Peter Pan. I think that it's by far his favorite movie; the crocodile cracks him up. Plus, Peter Pan is just one of those entities in our culture and literature that for some reason reaches me. And this old Disney movie is such a great touch of pure classic innocence. It was Mr Walt Disney's ultimate goal, what he always wanted to make, and I love it like that.
It's nice to have such a good weekend. That way, before six in the morning, when cats are meowing and I don't want them to wake the boy, I take it as an opportunity to wake up early and work out and shower before the day begins. I wish I could start every day like that.
"Tee dum, tee dee, a tiddly dum te day... We march, along, and these are the words we say..."
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On Monday night, a pair of very powerful storms blew through our area. 80 mph wind shears, two inch hail, some flood and tornado watches, knocked out power, lightning and thunder, the whole kit and caboodle. I really wanted to get out and see it, but my wife made me stay in the basement with her and the off their rockers cats. The boy was actually staying the night at Grandma and Grandpa's, and wound up sleeping through the whole thing.
There have been other reasons for my lack of posting lately: I can't seem to write a full thought anymore. By the time my mind finally puts itself into a place where a topic has formed enough to explore, something comes up. Even just now. Always, something breaks, some timer goes off, some chore must be done, someone's yelling at my from across the house, or some dumb animal gets themselves into trouble.
I apologize for the lack of updates this summer. But there has been a small reason weighing on my mind...
Cheers, everyone!
imaginative
adj.
1. Having or showing creativity or inventiveness.
2. My son, Austin.
This morning, Austin was playing at his corner Lego table. He was chattering away at me as usual, this time with the tale of him being on a baker's blue airplane. When I told him to play nicely while I was going to take a shower, the following conversation ensued:
"You can't take a shower, Daddy."
"Why not?"
"It's the Baker's shower."
"Oh it is, is it?"
"Yeah. It belongs to the Baker in the kitchen."
"Okay, Austin, I'll just ask the Baker to use the shower."
I walk over to the kitchen. "Hello Baker," I began, "mind if I use the shower? *insert gibberish as baker's reply* Okay sir, I will keep it clean in there; no splashing around." I turned back to my son at the table, "The baker said it was okay for me to use the shower. You play nicely and I'm going to go take–"
"You can't, Daddy. You didn't ask Tony the Baker."
"Oh? I thought I just had."
"No, you didn't say Tony."
"Ah, I see."
I stepped back to the kitchen. "Hey Tony," I said with a bad Jersey accent, "Mind if I use the shower? *More gibberish reply* Thanks, man!"
Back in the living room, "Alrighty, Austin, Tony the Baker said I could use the shower."
"Okay, Daddy."
I had to negotiate with an invisible baker named Tony in my kitchen in order to take a shower this morning. If that's not a sign of a free mind at work, I don't know what is.
It is absolutely mind-boggling just how much we did last weekend. Last Thursday night, we caught a plane from Saint Paul to San Francisco. Taking the red-eye flight was not as rough as one would think, even with our three year old boy. We slept a little bit, but not as much as we would have liked to. By 3 am, we were finally resting peacefully at my parents' house.
So the next morning, we got up a little late, but managed to get out and headed north to see my Granddad in Sacramento. The poor boy got a little antsy sitting in the car for so long (it was about 8 hours worth the previous night) but he pulled through well. He was excited to be in Great Grandpa's backyard to wander around and inspect things. Granddad hasn't been in the best of shape lately, but he was in plenty good spirits for our visit. Somewhere, my dad even has a picture of now four generations of Fryer boys.
We stayed for about an hour and a half, then we were off toward the coast to visit the rest of my dad's family in Saint Helena. We met up at my Aunt and Uncle's winery for a light lunch and visit along with one of my cousins and my Grandma Mary (the Queen Mother, as she is in our family). It was so good to see them all, and Austin continued to be extra good, and impressed the family. He's the first of the new generation, and I'm glad he was welcomed.
The big thing was when we finally got back into town and visited Grandma's house. She had books and toys from when my cousins and I were young and visiting Grandma. He dove right in (there were big legos) while I took Michelle on a tour of the house. We wound up standing in the library and just pouring over all the titles on those shelves. Michelle especially was utterly impressed with it all, and it turned out that Grandma Mary was impressed with her interest in it all. As if I could marry anyone who isn't a bookworm!
We piled back into my mom's car and headed back to Turlock that evening so we could wake up and not have to go anywhere. That morning, Ken and Rachel come over with their baby boy, Evan. It was amazing to finally see him. He was wide awake in my arms and muttering and kicking with a strong pair of legs. He'll be a tree climber in no time, I say.
For lunch, my Grandma and sister Leann came over and visited for the afternoon. It was all too brief seeing my Grandma, since I had to take off for the wedding rehearsal. At least she got to spend a little more time with my wife and son. I got up to Modesto and saw Ian for the first time in what felt like years. It was beyond good to see him, as well as Jaime and his family. The rehearsal was quick, then we were off to a pizza place where the rest of our brothers and Michelle joined us. It was grand, particularly when Ian fell over his bench.
It's amazing that nearly every time we brothers are together, stories for the ages seem to be written right on the spot. After pizza, we went and gathered all our preferred beverages and headed back to my parents' place for the evening. We did nothing but sit and talk, and it was grand. Warren's dad even came out to visit for a while, and I tell you it was damn good to see him too. It may have even finally proved the fact that I did wind up growing up and having a family. Since he knew me since Junior High, he along with everyone else was pretty darn sure I'd screw up somewhere along the way (as he tends to put it). It was totally a gas having us all together, just as always, only substituting Mountain Dew and Dungeons & Dragons for beer and wives. We're all just dopes who consider each other family.
The wedding on Sunday was perfectly lovely. The ceremony was short and sweet and we could then quickly get to celebrating. Erin looked absolutely stunning, and I tell you, Jaime's parents were nothing but smiles. Sadly, Warren, Eric, and Bee couldn't stay too long, but at least we finally made sure to get a picture of we five brothers together before the departures happened. It's getting increasingly hard for me to say goodbye to them or anyone out west, for that matter. I get too choked up to talk most of the time, which is surprising considering that Jaime's family from Mexico dubbed me the 'radio announcer' because I had the longest and apparently most clearly spoken speech of the evening.
Michelle, Austin, and I had to take off early to catch the plane home, and so we boarded our plane just after midnight, and by 7 am, we were home and sleeping in until noon. Next time we go anywhere, it needs to be when we don't have a specific event to attend, so we can actually relax with our families; no more of this in and out in three days nonsense. But it seems that anytime we go anywhere, the family keeps on growing, and that is even true here in Minnesota...
Over the weekend, we adopted another cat. Puma is a fat orange tabby that belonged to someone Emily knew and had to find a home for. We figured Tyrone needed a brother, and it turned out Puma is just about a month older. They're getting along okay, though Ty is quite a bit more territorial, of course, since it was his house first. But otherwise, it's fun having more animals around. Although Puma is playful, he makes Ty look like a genius. Puma has managed to get himself trapped up by the ductwork above the furnace twice today. Boy do we know how to pick 'em...
It's wonderful to be home, except when things around here are falling apart a bit. There turned out to be another leak in the basement, this time getting under the carpets a bit. Apparently over the weekend, our—wait for it—air conditioning system has leaked water (somehow) through our rusted-out ductwork. I am hoping it will have a simple solution, but fretting about it has delayed my writing this post a bit (that and recovering from the trip).
I leave you now with a few pictures, and hopefully more later. Toodles~
The Brothers: Ian, Eric, Jaime, Warren, Myself
Austin and his Tio, Jaime.
It's odd that when growing up, one hardly has an inkling of just how much a father does to keep a house and family running. So now that I have my own house and family, it is a near constant feeling of dawning realization of just how much dads do. This is not to say that moms never do these things. I think it is more a case of if there is a dad around, these jobs more often than not fall on him. Hence, I am now billed with having to do what I affectionately call Fatherly Duties.
These jobs around the house are hardly of boasting quality. The first task, and the one that brings me back to the idea of Fatherly Duties nearly every time, is the emptying of the litterbox. This is also, I think one of the lowest jobs a person can do. It's the job where, if extra terrestrials were watching, the obvious conclusion would be that I am not the master of this particular domicile. While it is probably true on other levels, I am still not a fan of thinking it in this way.
There are, of course, the maintenance and handyman type of things that abound from owning one's own house, too. Frames need to be nailed back into place, electrical circuits need to be monitored (or in this house's case, figured out just where they go, since what would be logical is not often the fact), furniture to be set up and/or moved, etc. I am also the designated mower of lawns and maintainer of yards. Nothing was decreed in as such, and of course I was not elected to this post, I simply do these things.
I actually like to maintain my house, and recently did enough cleaning of my garage to give me the hope of parking in there during this decade. But mostly what really falls on me to do is the unfortunate things. I've had to take care of a good many dead birds on my doorstep. And the truly unfortunate falls on me as well.
This morning, I was woken up by a knock on the door. Now, normally it is Austin waking up and coming to get me to basically yell in my ear that he's going to the bathroom now. Today, however, it was our roommate Emily. I opened up the door when she said 'It's Tyrone...' She explained that she saw him a couple blocks away in the street. My heart stopped for a moment, but I more or less froze. She felt so bad, so I hugged her as I thought of how I was going to take care of this while my boy was still sleeping in the next room.
I asked her to just stay at the house while I went and gathered up a box and a plastic bag and prepared to head out to collect my poor cat. It's easier to hold down the emotions choking me when I have a job to do. My mind was racing as I tried to think of how I would break it all to my poor boy and my wife. We're Fryers, so even the dumbest of our little animals is a part of our families. Austin is Tyrone's big brother. This duty falls on me. I'm the father.
I opened up the door to the garage to fetch a shovel, and from the dark came a meow and Tyrone flew into the house as if nothing was going on (because he's cat; nothing's going on for him). He was in the garage as he usually is after following Michelle out and getting trapped in there when the doors shut. Emily and I both gasped in sweet relief.
I dodged the awful today. I can't believe the luck I have in life sometimes. I do not shirk my duties, however. I live to take care of my family, no matter how terrible the things I must do are. I'm the commander of the submarine, and the responsibility to make us move without sinking is mine.
I made it through the end of the year no more scraped and bruised than I began. Plus, I managed to make off with a bunch of new toys to play with for the summer. (I'm doing 'research' on how to make readily usable mobile recording studios for the school). This decked-out MacBook I've snagged is pretty sporty, if you ask me. Once I'm in a position to upgrade (and I actually need to), it will probably be what I get. Though the black is nice and sleek, it shows greasy finger spots and scratches more readily than the white, so I will mostly likely spare myself the fifty bucks to go black, and thus also allowing me to go back if I so choose.
The past weekend was spent turning into something more akin to vegetation than animal. I've been reading and playing games and doing a few chores around the house and the yard. The lawn, as of today, has finally gotten fertilized and will hopefully soon be returning to its former green glory. We've also planted a few flowers in pots out front and on the deck, which, while rather sparse, do make a little difference in how those spaces feel.
At this point, I am still looking for summer work, and have been going through the classifieds in the local shopper, as well as word of mouth and fliers for summer lessons. Though I know I could be trying harder, it's a little tough to get motivated for it. I do rather enjoy reading and working on things around the house that have long been postponed and, at some point, writing again. Because of those personal things I'd like to do, I hope that summer lessons or some website work could come along, and then it could be done on my own time from my home.
Michelle and I are keeping Austin in daycare for the summer. He is doing far too well there and loves it too much to just pull him out and slow down that progress. He just moved into the next room up, where there are only about ten kids, and so he gets even more attention. Plus, Austin's with kids closer to his age, instead of anywhere from a year younger to half a year older. That kind of disparity at his age means that things had to be a bit simplified so the younger ones wouldn't just lose it and start veering.
I keep trying to reflect on what I've done at work, and I feel there's nothing really to tell. I did my job, apparently, well above par, and have job security there for as long as I want it. It's a great place to be, and aside from the occasional annoyances that crop up for every service position I couldn't be more pleased to work with the staff there. And if I could ever wind up with a proper teaching gig there, with my own classroom and everything, I'd be one happy little camper.
Ta~
My best friends have just had their first baby!
Meet Evan Michael. He was born Wednesday, 30 May 2007 at 11:32 pm at Emmanuel Hospital in Turlock, California. 8.4 pounds, 20 1/4 inches. Has the look of both parents in him, big time, and arrived at nearly midnight just as I did. The world is most definitely this kid's oyster. He's got two of the best parents you could ever find in this world. I wish I was there to celebrate with them. Now I have three Howenstines to miss every single day...
I neglected to mention what else happened Friday. I got called into the principal's office to have a chat about the work I've done this year. Thankfully, she was in a little competition with one of the vice principals to finish her reviews first, so the bandage was ripped off nice and quick.
I, as usual, was a little more nervous than I should be. I have never liked getting called in to the office. Especially since I have a knack for appearing guilty even when no crime was perpetrated. My wife can especially vouch for that trait. So yes, there was good reason to be nervous, and it is because the universe regularly conspires against me.
I was presented with a rubric that was something of an outline of the various aspects of my job and the four rating categories that each may fall into. The principal blew through it really fast, but explained about the categories 'unsatisfactory' being what it states, 'basic' would be the entry level of knowing how to do your job and is the expected point for doing one's job, 'proficient' is doing incredibly well in what is assigned and having above-average outcomes, and 'distinguished' meaning going far and beyond the call of duty to do something worthy of being pointed out. The last category is not meant to be the final goal of all job aspects, but rather something extra being done, which I thought interesting.
Well my review, as it turned out, left me rated as 'proficient' in all categories except my amount of work accomplished. In that, I was deemed 'distinguished'. That surprised the heck out of me, and as I told my reviewer, I thought I was just doing my job. She said that is usually how it happens. I must say, that is a nice way of putting it.
All of this makes for a prelude to an exchange I had with my mom via email, where I sassed her about emailing while at work, to which she promptly replied:
Like you don't blog on the taxpayer's dime, Evan.
So my midweek wrapped up with a tornado watch that sent me into a stinky basement. Good times, I say.
Thursday was Michelle's birthday. I had worked a non-student day, so I was able to have a floating holiday to use as I please. I took the day off, and headed down to Minneapolis to have a nice lunch with my wife on her birthday. Such was my plan all along, but as it turned out, she had been having a long week already by that point, so it also gave her a lovely little break. On my out to her building, I picked up a fresh bouquet of flowers from a street vendor, as well.
We had a long lunch at an Applebee's. Then I took her directly across the skyway hall to present her with her birthday present. It was a Borders bookstore, and I let her go hog wild in there. Thank the great forces that be (and my own amazing luck), they were having a 3 for 2 sale on her favorite author, Jodi Picoult. Plus we got a few other tidbits for reading pleasure too. I felt it was quite a proper Fryer gift, as little reading material was ever turned down when I was growing up.
Best thing about taking your wife to shop at a bookstore? It's fine if you pick up something for yourself. I picked up a book my father recommended, The Coming Anarchy by Robert D Kaplan, as well as something else I'm excited to read. I enjoyed reading Frank McCourt before, and have enjoyed them greatly. But this book seems rather appropriate: Teacher Man. I can't wait to dig in after reading Kaplan, which is also turning out eerily fascinating and telling.
That evening, we three headed up to the in-laws' for a nice birthday dinner. We also managed to negotiate with Grandma to babysit for Friday night. When Friday afternoon rolled around, Michelle's folks stopped by to say hi and Mike checked out the new sprinkler pump I picked up to replace our busted one and formulate a plan for installation. They took Austin with them, and all reports were clean; he was the consummate Mr Manners.
Michelle and I spent the evening being free and relaxed. We went out for a little shopping and other wanderings, and got some drinks and appetizers to finish the night. It was such a nice break for all the week's hullabaloo. We had real conversation, with actual thought and pauses free of whining. We love our son dearly, but if there's hardly a moment to be an adult, not just a parent, one's mind will surely depart this world.
I liked being able to celebrate my wife's birthday over two days. She deserves it. After all, she means the world to not only me, but to my son as well.
Okay, here's the recap of what happened this week, plus some extra fun things that managed to occur:
Monday's golf tournament was fun. It was set up as foursome scrambles, and all those playing from work took over the back nine of a pretty nice course in Anoka. I had a blast, and on one hole, we actually played off of each one of my shots, getting us a par. That sort of stuff makes me almost believe I could be good at the game. Of course, I then realize golf really is a silly game, plus it is quite a bit more fun when you plan to be awful in the first place.
Tuesday I went with my friend the band director and her 7th grade band to the Mall of America. Each half of the band performed their set, then it was off to a couple hours of eating and running amok. The MOA has an indoor (duh) amusement park, formerly known as Camp Snoopy. It was just going to be her as the sole school staffer on the trip and none of the parents going with on the bus from the school. She was pretty grateful to have me around to help, and I was more than happy to help my friend and get most of a day off from work.
Of course, after we had come back from those escapades, I still had to teach the final session of my Animation class after school for two hours. I had compiled all the kids' animations into a whole video, which I hope to post up somewhere on the web when I can. There was only a little tweaking left to do, and then we all had some pizza along with throwing the whole thing onto a DVD and setting up the good projector and sound system. Though there were some days I really did not have it in me to run that class (namely since spring makes kids lose their minds), I was still a little sad to have it end. Here's my small group of 7 kids:
Wednesday... holy cow Wednesday. Jazz Band was planned for after school, as I managed to have 'other things' planned after school two days before (like coming in second in a tournament). By afternoon, some of the storms that have been teasing us for a week finally arrived and dumped some precipitation. That is all well and good. Of course, then about 10 minutes into the final hour of school, the sirens across town went off, and then the announcement was made: we are under a tornado watch.
We had not, to my knowledge, run any tornado drills this past school year, so the kids went a little haywire. All they had to do was get up and head down to their designated areas in the basement. The kids did well enough, but it was slow going. Had we had a drill or two, I don't think it would have been so chaotic getting to the right places. Once finally in the basement (my group was in the wresting room with another few hundred) we had everyone sitting, but terribly noisy. And smelly. It was overly humid in general due to the weather, then we were all crammed into a basement room below hot water pipes. It was just a tad foul. At least no tornado actually formed, and we eventually all made it out of the school about 40 minutes past our normal day's end.
The short story is, I had my first jazz rehearsal canceled due to my first tornado watch.
That's it for now... it's a lovely Sunday morning, and I have a garage to clear out in the desperate hope of parking in there by winter. Plus, I'm sick of tripping over junk to get to what I actually need. I write again later.
Ta~
