A semi-real post for a change

With the court date approaching to set up visitation rights for me, I received from my attorney a counterclaim from the defendant's attorney. It appears that she is trying to get my petition for visitation dismissed outright; if that fails, then she wants me to have supervised visitation b/c of the relationship between Jalen and the M.R.S. Apparently the attorney is under the impression that the M.R.S. yells at Jalen and shows favoritism to Nick. I haven't seen that myself. I'm just sick of the whole mess. Of course, they want me to pay her legal fees as well as my own, and they want the judge to deny recalculation of child support monies... This whole situation is leaving a bad taste in my mouth; hopefully this will be the only time we go to court, and hopefully the judge will deliver the most equitable ruling for all parties. (A man can dream, can't he?) Anyway, I hope the court proceedings don't turn into a dredging-up of who-did-what-to-whom. I'll probably have the M.R.S. stitch up my mouth to insure that I don't say anything I'll regret later. On second thought, maybe I should stitch up her mouth...

Anyway, I'm off to visit the folks this weekend. We're meeting up at my brother's place, and my parents are coming over to spend the night. Lil bro was already marinating the steaks when I talked to him earlier this evening. I think the plan is for us all to stay at his place, but I think the me and my crew will drive on over to my folks' place to bed down. That'll knock an hour off the trip to Asheboro Saturday morning - which is especially important since services begin at noon. After that, we'll come back. We'll see most of my Dad's side of the family that evening; I'm still trying to figure out just when we're going to get together with Mom's side. There's no way I can go home without seeing them - Ma would kill me. (I felt so 12-years-oldish when I typed that line).

Nick is missing the opening of football season this week, but he hasn't expressed any disappointment. I'm quite proud of that fact. Hopefully the Sabbath won't ever feel like a burden to him (or Noah), but I know that Jalen does (did?) feel as though he missed out on some things when he was with us on the Sabbath. It's probably going to be a bigger problem once he starts playing high school football - especially given the importance of athletics in his mom's family.

Anyway, I guess I'll start working now. See ya...

Endorphins, schmendorphins

So... how long until I experience the mythical "runner's high"? And why do my calves burn so when I run? And when does running stop being boring?

I haven't even made it to the church picnic yet...

Nick's football team sold Krispy Kreme doughnuts as a fundraiser. We ended up with 4 boxes that we didn't sell. Well, make that 2 1/2.

I may as well finish off the cake the M.R.S. made for today's potluck. Might as well knock back the last of the butter pecan ice cream too. Looks like I'll be running tomorrow after the picnic.

Firsts

1st haircut... See any resemblance to his older sib?



1st day of 1st grade...

You can't make this stuff up.

Breast implants save Israeli woman from rocket
Updated: 7:11 p.m. ET Aug. 15, 2006

JERUSALEM - An Israeli woman's breast implants saved her life when she was wounded in a Hezbollah rocket attack during Israel's war with the Lebanese group, a hospital spokesman said Tuesday.

Doctors found shrapnel embedded in the silicone implants, just inches from the 24-year-old’s heart.

"She was saved from death," said a spokesman for Nahariya Hospital in northern Israel. The woman has been released from hospital.

Copyright 2006 Reuters Limited. All rights reserved. Republication or redistribution of Reuters content is expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Reuters.

At least there are no doctored photos accompanying this article. Sorry; I couldn't not type that.

10, 560 feet

TWO MILES.

That's how far I've run these past two days. I was visiting the in-laws yesterday, so I took advantage of the unseasonably cool weather and drove on over to Sertoma field in Walhalla. It was quite relaxing running on the dirt trail, next a small creek (brook? stream? malnourished river?). They were a slooow two miles, but I'll take it! Today, I went back to the track while Mr. Heisman 2020 practiced football. I'm down from 231 lbs to 215 since dieting/beginning couch-to-5K.

We registered Mr. Nick for school today and it took two hours. The actual registering part only took about 15 minutes, but when we went to meet the teacher... ...it turns out that she taught at the M.R.S.'s elementary school during the years the M.R.S. attended. So they spent pretty much the next two hours getting caught up on every teacher who ever taught at South Pine Street. She's been a finalist for the Golden Apple award (given to teachers who excel by a local television station), so I guess that's a good thing. She doesn't appear to have any problem with the Feast, so that's a good thing too.

The M.R.S. begins her final leg of nursing school next week. She attended orientation today and is all giddy and whatnot. By this time next year she should be receiving her LPN degree. I think at that point we'll have a big ol' party, and then I'll settle down to my new life as a kept man. Keep your eyes open for the invite.

If I can just stick with this school thing long enough to graduate... My committee member from Washington State U. is here for one of her other student's oral exams. She's pretty much offered me a post-doctoral position in her lab to work on some bioinformatics projects. I was also offered a position in central California, as well as one in Alabama. Unfortunately, accepting a post-doc position requires one be finished with one's doctorate, which I am not. *sigh* OK Mike - just suck it up and put your all into it for a year and knock this thing on out! Kiwigeek, you think you can give me a crash course in Unix & Perl?

This week has been hard as far as running goes. I just haven't had the energy or desire to continue. I missed yesterday, so I went out around 11 this morning to make up for it. The 90-degree heat beat me down halfway through, so I didn't finish. I think I'll take another stab at it while Nick's at football practice. He's loving it, btw. At least he's stopped asking to put on his football gear @ 9:30 in the morning (when practice isn't until late evening).



Noah is having a ball feeding himself. The first thing he does when he wakes up is run into our room, jump on the M.R.S.'s head, and cry, "Eat-eat" over and over again until she gets up. The boy eats constantly. Constantly! Anyway, his vocabulary is increasing rapidly, although I don't think many people other than us can understand what he's saying. Nick's lucky he's the older of the two - Noah definitely has bully tendencies.



Jalen started 8th grade two days ago, and football practice yesterday. I have a teen-age son. Seems like only yesterday I was trying to keep his little three-year old behind from playing on my stairs. "Eat-eat" was one of his favorite words too.

I found some pics from 3-4 years ago on some floppy disks. Here's one of my favorites.

Stop the Madness

Dakota Fanning to be "raped" in new movie... Story here.

It could've been worse

Let me calm down from my panic. I noticed that my check hadn't been deposited into my account a few minutes ago. I was about to call my employer to see if there was a mix-up, since the dinero is almost always in my account by midnight on Thursday nights. As I was going to find the phone number the phone rang; the woman who handles timesheets was trying to find me. She starts out by telling me she has bad news for me. Coming on the heels of some of the BIG changes being made here at work, I assumed the worst. Turns out she forgot to fax in my timesheet before going on vacation, and the lady who receives them didn't catch it b/c she too was on vacation. So, instead of being fired/let go/laid off, I just don't get paid this week. I guess I'll survive - I'll just gorge myself tomorrow at the Potluck. It's a good thing I picked up a couple of server shifts at Cracker Barrel this week.

Perhaps I'll get a call from my oldest son's mom for a change. No check for me also means no check for her.

Creation Museum

PETERSBURG, Ky. - Like most natural history museums, this one has exhibits showing dinosaurs roaming the earth. Except here, the giant reptiles share the forest with Adam and Eve.  That, of course, is contradicted by science, but that’s the point of the $25 million Creation Museum rising fast in rural Kentucky.  Its inspiration is the Bible — the literal interpretation that contends God created the heavens and the earth and everything in them just a few thousand years ago. (click to read more).

Miguelito's Inferno

I can do this. For the first time I actually believe I can complete the couch-to-5K program. Today I completed the first day of week 4. I ran 1/4 mile, then walked 1/8 mile; followed by running 1/2 mile and walking 1/4 mile. I repeated the routine for a total of 1.5 miles run and .75 miles walked (not counting the 5 minute warm-up and cool-down walks at the beginning and end). The last 1/2 mile was difficult, but it felt GREAT to complete it, as I've never run more than a 1.25 miles in my life. It didn't help that the temp was 95 degrees when I went to the track. I think our heat index is supposed to be 105. At least my pores got a workout to match my heart.

I'm currently sitting in the Multicultural Lounge on campus. It's located in our student center directly across from our ice cream shop, which means there's a lot of foot traffic. It's interesting watching people come to the door and look in, often with a look that says, "Are white people allowed in there?" Very few people actually attempt to come in, even though there are tables, a couple of couches, a PC, and a big-screen TV/DVD player. Maybe I'm just too intimidating. lol

The M.R.S. had some dental work done yesterday. She was pretty much a zombie for 8-10 hours afterward thanks to the pain medication. A nauseous zombie, at that. She's doing much better today.

Nick began full contact at football practice yesterday. He got the wind knocked out of him once when he was tackled by the coach's son, but he was fine. Noah ended up with a more painful injury, as he dislocated his elbow at some point. It was either when I was dragging him to the car, or immediately before that when some of Nick's friend were playing with him. We were about to take him to the emergency room b/c we noticed that he wouldn't use his left arm to do anything. The M.R.S. called the doc, and he told her to try a technique for popping the forearm/elbow back into place; she did it expertly. Two minutes later he was back to his old self. I think she's gonna make a fine nurse.

Oh, and the two new beef rib dishes @ Olive Garden are excellent. I think the tortellini dish is slightly better than the braised ribs w/ risotto.

Friday

I hate science.

Anyway, it's been a few days since I got on here. This week's been pretty uneventful (i,e. I haven't gotten much done). That's nothing new. I did go riding through the countryside of Anderson Sunday, attempting to find the new abode of Tman and Rebel. No luck with that, but I had a good time just riding (Yes, I know I could've picked up the phone and asked for directions, but that would've taken all the fun out of the journey). Of course, that ride was a little more expensive than it would have been this time last year, but you can't put a price on relaxation.

I guess I'll head on over to the gym to try and get some running in, and then head up to see the in-laws. I think there's supposed to be some cooking-out going on. I'll probably head over to the library near their house and try to get some work done while I'm there. Later!

FYI: I just found out that the Jacksonville Jaguars have a home game @ 4:05 vs. the New York Jets while we're at the Feast. I may try to check that out. And I might not be doing the ride around the track with a professional driver at the Daytona International Speedway - it costs $134 for 3 laps. Bummer.

Is it October yet?

I'm so ready to go to the Feast that I'm about to burst. This is the first year we've gotten our room so far in advance. There should be no worries or last-minute scares involving where we're going to stay. Of course, now that I've said it... The rest of the fam are eager to go as well. We know that some of our friends from OH and LA are going to Daytona, along with most of our local congregation, so there should be plenty of people there we already know. I'm looking forward to making as many new friends as possible while I'm there; I know it's gonna be tough devoting enough time to the friends we already have while making an avid attempt to incorporate new friends into our family circle. I think we'll have an event or two at our place, maybe a progressive dinner or something like that as well as a lunch. Maybe a fish fry, 'cuz I'm definitely going deep-sea fishing. We'll see.

As far as the exercise/diet, today I plan to wrap up week two of good ole couch-to-5k. I've lost maybe a pound this week (after splurging on lasagna to begin the week), and I'm currently wearing a pair of jeans that were uncomfortably tight a few weeks ago. Slow progress, but progress nonetheless. Tomorrow I'll probably wear a pair of black slacks that I haven't been able to button in months. They won't be as loose as they were when I bought them, but I tried them on today and at least now I can button them again. *Yay for small victories* Yep, I'm definitely gonna utilize the exercise room at Ocean Walk this Feast. Oooh, I get to have key-lime pie every day while I'm there. Yum.

Guess who just decided to look at the speaking schedule last night? Guess who's gonna be pulling a Manuel tonight?

Mom joins the club

I talked with my mom yesterday after a trip to the emergency room for stomach pain. She's been under a lot of stress lately, and she appears to have re-ignited an old ulcer. While they were running tests on her, they discovered she has diabetes. Let's tally 'em up:

Diabetes
Mom,Pop, maternal Grandpa (died from complications), paternal Aunt Berta, paternal Grandpa (died from complications), paternal Grandma, paternal Uncle Del, and I'm unsure about my 15 other aunts & uncles.

High Blood Pressure
Everyone above the age of 40.

Of course, the heavy consumption of refined starches and sodas, as well as even heavier consumption of fatback, fried pork chops, chitlins', and ham is probably not helping much.

For the past few weeks I've been trying to diet, and I think I've done pretty well. I think I've passed the craving stage, and as long as I don't skip meals I don't struggle with cheating. I've FINALLY started to exercise a bit too. A quick recap:

• Sunday: 1 hour of full-court basketball
  
• Monday: incline sit-ups, 1st day of couch-to-5K
  
• Tuesday: incline sit-ups, 1.5 hours of full-court basketball
  
• Wednesday: incline sit-ups, 2nd day of couch-to-5K
  
• Thursday: incline sit-ups, 30 minutes of full-court basketball
  
• Friday: sometime today, incline sit-ups and 3rd day of couch-to-5K
  

Hopefully I can keep this up as well as incorporate some weight lifting. Right now I have negative muscles.

The new melting pot?

I find my bus rides to and from work to be pretty interesting. I spend a lot of time just looking at people (not staring, stalker-like). As opposed to many small southern towns, being in Clemson means that a substantial portion of the CAT-bus-riding community is international. I get on at the first stop so I have my pick of seats, and I get to watch the faces come and go. My street has a heavy Chinese population. The next stop, Goldenwoods, offers a variety of passengers; some white Americans, some black Americans, some Turks(I think), and some Chinese. We then travel down Cochran road, which is heavily populated with Chinese and Koreans. The bus travels through an income-based apartment complex, (Sterling Woods) where the residents are mostly lower-middle-class-to-poor black and white Americans. There are also some Mexicans who get on here too. We then hit the LeMans apt. complex, or "Little India" in Clemsonspeak. This is where the bus fills up, unless you're riding in off-peak hours like I usually do. The route then takes us through downtown, and from there on to campus. After I get off I think the route continues on to the grocery stores and out past where Summa works.

I enjoy looking at the beauty and variety in the different ethnicities and nationalities I see living here. I enjoy comparing and contrasting the different hues, accents, hair textures, eye colors and shapes of my fellow bus riders. Back in my hometown, everyone was either black or white, with a few Native Americans thrown in. I kid about the public schools here being like the United Nations, but I'm glad that my kids get to interact regularly with those who are different from them. The boys recognize ethnic differences, but they know (without me telling them) that people are people, and that neither ethnnicity nor race lessen a person's worth.

Interesting articles

Dublin, Ireland (LifeNews.com) -- A scientist in Ireland has made a major breakthrough in the field of adult stem cell research by producing insulin needed by diabetic patients from the stem cells from the umbilical cords of living babies. The result provides real hope for diabetics because the insulin from embryonic stem cells doesn't work as effectively and involves the destruction of human life... (click to read more)

WASHINGTON - Circumcising men routinely across Africa could prevent millions of deaths from AIDS, World Health Organization researchers and colleagues reported Monday... (click to read more)

LDRs

My long distance relationships hurt.  There’s nothing like the buildup as the opportunity to see the object of one’s affection approached.  There’s nothing like the release of emotion when you finally get to see, hear, and touch that voice on the other end of the phone, or the hand that wrote those letters.  After the first day, the little monster called Dread would show up in whichever room the two of you occupied, usually starting out in the corner.  Its rate of growth was inversely proportional to the length of time remaining for the visit, and as it grew the monster would creep to the middle of the room.  One developed the art of pretending Dread wasn’t there.  Eventually though, Dread would force the two of you to acknowledge its presence – with said acknowledgement usually accompanied by a tear - or thirty.  And parting?  Food didn’t taste as good, comedies weren’t as funny, hanging out with friends wasn’t as desirable… …not, at least, until the planning for the next visit had begun.

The internet age has dulled somewhat the excitement of walking quickly (running) to the mailbox as the postman drove off.  Ooooh, and if you actually received a letter from your baby… … life was good.  Of course, there was the slight disappointment to deal with if you didn’t have any mail, but there was always the next day to look forward to.  Of course, IMing and cell phones with mega-minutes have made long distance relationships easier (and cheaper) to manage, but one still has to deal with emotional highs and lows.  I think I’ll just keep the M.R.S. close by.

Put some South in your mouth

The Food Network is becoming an obsession in the Hot Buttered Soul household.  It seems like every time the TV’s not on ESPN or Sci-Fi, it’s on the Food Network.  I must admit that I’ve even been caught watching the channel by myself once or twice.  It’s sort of like the weird attraction the M.R.S. (and certain other bloggers who shall remain nameless) had for Trading Spaces.  Weird.  I’m finding myself particularly fond of Good Eats and the show that shows how common food products are made.  I guess if I were one of Isaac and Rebekah’s twins, I would be Jacob.  I’m DEFINITELY stopping by Paula Deen’s restaurant The Lady & Sons on my was down to the Feast.

There is some intrigue going on here at the Institute.  Without going into details (since I don’t know them), my advisor is changing positions and will no longer be the director of the Institute.  Since this just happened today, no one is sure what the fallout’s gonna be.  My advisor is remaining on staff, and is still on the tenure track, so I shouldn’t have to change advisors.  I don’t know yet how (or if) this will affect the proposed Brazil trip, or the direction of my research project.  I know this interests absolutely no one out there, but I needed to pad this blog entry.

Desiree, I apologize for stepping away from MSN Messenger w/o letting you know.  I was recruited to help set up some cubicles and I forgot to return to the computer before dipping out to the library.  My bad.

The day after

The 4th was OK. I should've been here working, but after making a cameo appearance I dipped and went to a cookout at my (wife's) uncle's place. Most of the family made it over there, and there were plenty of cousins for Nick and Noah to play with. Noah was quite the cranky one yesterday, as he's being weaned by the M.R.S. and apparently this was causing withdrawal symptoms. That also led to he and I spending quite a bit of time together, as everytime he was near his mother he almost ripped her shirt off. (sorry honey). Things did not get any better last night; we finally had to drive him around for a while to get him to go to sleep, and when he woke up in the middle of the night the M.R.S. had to leave the bed and go sleep on the couch whilst the Tiny Terror and I fought in the middle of the bed until he went back to sleep. He awoke pretty early this morning, but seemed to be in good spirits as I left.

I spent the end of last week and the early part of this week trying to compare some of my cotton DNA sequences with protein sequences in an international database and just couldn't get it to work (even though it's not complicated). Turns out that as editing the Perl submission script in Wordpad, the text editor was inserting extra characters at the end of each line. Apparently UNIX doesn't like these extra characters. Our systems admin finally figured out what I was doing wrong, and now I'm good to go.

I'm waiting on my labmate to come back to the office. She's been in a meeting with here committee for the past 2.75 hours getting grilled on her research grant proposal. Hope she does OK. I'm sure she'll cry, as she's very emotional - but I'm also sure she'll pass, as she's very, very smart. Guess I need to go about scheduling mine. Yuck.

I don't want to be at work

The fireworks display @ Clemsonfest looked awesome - from my office window.