Seven - the number of completion

So today’s anniversary numero siete, and it’s getting close to 3 p.m.  What’s a guy to do?  I need to come up with something quick.  I think we might try this new restaurant that’s opening today.  I’ve got my eye on a 32 oz. Porterhouse.  Medium.  Ummm…  I guess we should put on something nice since it’s our anniversary and all.  Now to get rid of the kids for a couple of hours.  Mother-in-law?  Ashley?  Summer?  Mr. B?  Tom?  Rebecca?  *crickets*  No matter – we’ll dump ‘em somewhere.

14 days till the Feast of Tabernacles!  4.5 hours till Trumpets!  I guess I should go prepare.  See ya!

Addendum: I just accidentally replaced the previous post with this one. I hate it when that happens.

'Tis Only a Flesh Wound

Nick had an accident yesterday.  Nothing major, if you ask me.  We were crossing the street and he fell, skinning up his left elbow and left knee.  Typical boy injuries.  Well, not to dear old Nicholas.  Nicholas was hopping on one leg, and keeping his left arm stiff as a board the rest of the night.  Luckily he informed us that he would not be able to take a bath, as that would cause his bandages to become wet and lose their adhesion.  The M.R.S. had a different opinion however; guess who won?  I held Noah while the “OWWWs!” and “MAMA DON”T TOUCH ITs!!!” reverberated down the hall.  He made it to school today, so I assume he’s going to pull through.

I’m disappointed in Miri Ben-Ari’s new CD.  She’s a classically trained, Israeli-born violinist who now lives in the U.S.  She plays on many rap recordings, and I was hoping that her new CD would be primarily instrumental.  Unfortunately, it’s basically a who’s who of rap artists rapping, while she plays in the background.  I did hear one instrumental, an interesting rendition of the “Star-Spangled Banner”.  Maybe her next CD will actually feature her playing.

The same day Annette posted the picture of her niece sleeping, I got a wonderful shot of Nicholas.  I went to check up on him after placing him in the bed and tucking him in.  This is what I found:



Notice that he’s still wrapped in the covers.

Just when I thought it couldn't get any better...

...on comes the extended mix of Milli Vanilli's "Girl You Know It's True".

I know you'll never admit it, but you like them too.

092205

I didn't sleep well last night. Jalen was on my mind. I feel so powerless to guide him as he makes the transition from being a kid to becoming an adolescent. I so feel like I'm failing him. He's had a few failing grades this quarter because of not turning work in on time. I went and spoke with one of his teachers today, who stated that the failed assignment was an anomaly. However, he's had the same anomaly in almost all of his classes. Overall he's doing OK, but I need to address this before these "anomalies" become trends. Guys, PLEASE don't have kids if you aren't going to be there full-time.

Nick really made my day this morning. His class is covering the letter "D" this week. They have show-and-tell every Friday, and each student must bring an item that begins with the letter being studied that week. Well, the M.R.S. tells me yesterday that Nick wanted to take "Daddy" for show-and-tell! She told him to ask his teacher if it was OK, as I'd need to know what time I needed to be there. Anyway, his teacher suggested he bring a picture of me instead. So as we're leaving to go to school this morning, he is frantic b/c he forgot to get a picture. I was extremely touched. Of course, he then changed his mind and took a toy duck instead, but I was still happy.

I've FINALLY recovered from the Monday night football game. We OWN the Redskins - I think we'd won 15 of the last 16 games we'd played. And to lose the way we did... *sigh*... At least we have the scrub 49ers coming to town this week, so the natural order should be restored. And to lose like that on the night the Triplets are inducted into the Ring of Honor. Completely unacceptable, people.

I need to print Nick out the next coloring book (that's YES lessons for you and me). Great!!! Everyone just left the office, and "Burning Down the House" just came on XM radio. Lemme crank it up and get my sing on! It doesn't really matter that I have no idea what the lyrics are - except for "THREE HUNDRED SIXTY-FIVE DEGREES - BURNING DOWN THE HOUSE".

Summer, I just thought about that night at Renee's when "Baby Got Back" came on; we were commenting (or maybe it was just me)that the one line everyone knows from that song is "even white boys got to shout - Baby Got Back"... Or was that Ashley? Or was it you AND Ashley?

Rita - please disperse. Please.

Where's my Muse?

Ahhh, ABBA. "Dancing Queen" is helping me wind down. I'v been in the midst of a spell of writer's block for a few days. Perhaps the seminal Swedish band's harmonies can reach my inner Ernest Hemingway. Never mind. Now it's Motley Crue's "Looks that Kill." Great workout tune, but doesn't inspire me to put the pen to the pad, so to speak. Oh well - c'est la vie.

I'm finally settling back into a routine after being gone 3 of the last 5 weeks. I'm being requested by my department to go to DC October 2-3 on a recruiting trip to Howard University. Seeing as how HU is an HBCU (Historically Black College or University), and I'm one of two black grad students in the department, they really want me to go. The other black guy has to work and can't take off. I think I'm all traveled out though. Not to mention that I'd be hustling to get back in time for Trumpets - and there's the matter of my 7th wedding anniversary to deal with as well.

This past Sabbath was weird. Not the sermons, or the brethren. It was entirely me. I enjoyed my Sabbath, but I almost felt like I was somewhere else, while my body was on remote control. I think it was because I was tired from all the bus riding and whatnot. Rebel told me I looked really tired when we were at Russell Stover's. I guess that was all it was, b/c when I woke up Sunday morning to go to Cracker Barrel I was back to my normal self.

Well I've got to walk home and get dinner, so I'll stop here. I may come back tonight and pick up where I left off. I know - I can dazzle my adoring public with pictures of cotton fields... and charter buses... and cotton breeders... yadda yadda yadda...

Live from Tifton, GA

Made it to Tifton, my last stop. It's about 35 miles from Moultrie, GA, and not much farther to Tallahassee. Unfortunately, that makes Tifton about 4 hours away from Savannah. Incidentally, even though this morning was free time with which we could explore Savannah, I was scheduled for a meeting to last from 8-10 a.m. The meeting lasted until 11:30. We boarded the bus at noon. So much for seeing Savannah, other than the late-nite stroll I took along river street before I went to bed.

We pulled in to the Tifton experiment station for a catered dinner, and it was truly southern. Just about everything was fried. I don't know how much more fried food I can take this week. Anyway, they served cole slaw, potato salad, fried shrimp, shrimp cocktail, fried tilapia, fried grouper, fried catfish, fried crabs, fried oysters, french fries, and cheese grits. Ummm... My table was populated by a guy from India, one from Texas A & M by way of Michigan, one from Texas A & M by way of Idaho, and two Lubbock-area representatives. They were greatly amused by my obvious elation at being served grits. Not as much joy as I took in the grits, but they enjoyed them nonetheless.

After this repast, we were treated to a slide show chronicling this old breeder's international travels - complete with witty anectdotes. Following the slide show, we boarded our buses and went to the Courtyard Marriott; unfortunately, my roomate booked our rooms at the other Marriott. It was within walking distance though, so we eventually checked into our room. I sleep now.

Must... Find... Internet...

I haven't had internet access the past few days and I'm going through withdrawal. Let me say that I will be returning to Savannah with the M.R.S. at some point - this place is quite enchanting. I probably won't be staying where I'm staying now - downtown in the Hyatt in the middle of the Historical District, but I'm sure there's a Motel 6 or something somewhere here. I've already seen enough cotton fields to last me a while, but there's still 2 more days to go. At least tonight we ate dinner in some lady named Paula Deen's restaurant. Apparently she has a cooking show on the Food Network and is famous for putting butter in everything. The creamed corn was the best I've ever had in my life, and the banana pudding wasn't bad either (though I'm sure it's not as good as Country Girl's). Oh well, I gotta run now.

Scary thought: Tman getting a job in Clemson - that means I'd see him more often. Help!!!

Rambling...

In a column titled "Shock and Awe in America", syndicated columnist Kathleen Parker states, "No, he [Pres. Bush] didn't cause the hurricane, nor, by the way, did God in retribution against sin, or gays, or corruption - or whatever story the end-time gang is advancing this week." Now the major thrust of her column was to criticize the President's actions following Katrina's leveling of the Big Easy. I've heard everything from President Bush's failure to sign the Kyoto protocol to the diversion of levee funds to build a new casino given as reasons for the catastrophic destruction in the Gulf. I've heard numerous pundits emphatically deny that our sins had anything to do with the the tragedy. I don't presume to speak for God, nor will I definitively say that He directly caused this particular hurricane. I can say that at the least, He either allowed it, or He was powerless to stop it. I know the latter is not the case, but if it is, then it doesn't matter how we as individuals or nations live. If the former is the case, however...

I've stopped counting the number of times I've heard that some variation of "God wouldn't do such a thing". These thoughts (IMHO) are based upon two false premises: That any of us are truly "innocent", and Who and What God is. Deceived - yes. Ignorant - yes. Innocent - no. None of us. The Bible is full of examples of God punishing disobedient nations using catastrophes, famines, plagues, droughts, lack of peace, and subjugation. Once again, I'm not saying God targeted New Orleans, but there are most certainly plenty of precedents.

The people affected are certainly in need of any help we can give them. I feel helpless, but not nearly as helpless as I imagine the residents of New Orleans, Gulfport, and Biloxi feel. The suffering there is unimagineable to me. There are so many people out there like Heather who are in pain because their neighbors are in pain. There, but for the grace of God, go us. Everyone is wondering how we can prevent such a catastrophe in the future. The one sure way to prevent this type of thing, along with tsunamis, looting, rapes, murders, cancers, etc., is never broached - unless it's by the "religious crackpots."

On a lighter note, we took a pic after Jalen's game. They're 2-0, and have won their two games by a combined score of 80-12.

Home again

I haven't posted in forever... Not much has changed. Nick's begun practicing soccer; Noah's pulling himself up and still puts everything in his mouth; New Orleans and Biloxi/Gulfsport are still in bad shape. I'll be leaving Sunday to go on the Southeast Cotton breeder's tour. We'll be touring (obviously) public and private breeding facilities and farms starting in Raleigh, NC and ending in Tifton, GA. I'll be gone until Friday; I wouldn't mind hooking up with some brethren in Atlanta on the way home and spending the night; I don't think that's gonna happen though. There was a slim chance of having the M.R.S. pick me up in Tifton and spending the weekend in the Live Oak, Fl. area, but my financial advisor (my wallet) strongly advised against it. *sigh*...

T-minus...

Ahhh Fresno! I had a great time meeting the brethren up there. A sizable portion of their congregation was out of town, but the small group of us present had a wonderful Sabbath together. Mr. Mora came up from the Bay area and gave a sermon on The Counsel of God - why we need it, how to go about seeking it, etc. Two other gentlemen drove up with him, and they both had interesting stories to tell. One was Mr. Millich's roommate @ Ambassador as a freshman. They both had stopped attending for years, but now have been attending LCG for about 4 or 5 years. I met a brother (who's also a brotha)from Statesboro, GA. I chastised him for not converting the entire Fresno congregation to grits, but he handled the rebuke well. Everyone was soooooo nice. After services, we sat around in a sort of semi-oval and potlucked. Food makes everything better.


The scheduled songleader was hospitalized Friday night with a possible heart attack, but he was released Sabbath morning. Turns out his heart is fine - but he has pneumonia. We (me and the Medards, who treated me like one of their kids - in a good way)went by to see the gentleman and his wife for a minute. The minute turned into several hours, by which time the Sabbath was over. We stopped back by the Medards to pick up my car and change clothes before hitting the road back to Bakersfield. "Mom & Dad" wouldn't let me leave without fixing me a couple of sandwiches, a bag of grapes, an apple turnover, and a bottle of high-quality H2O for the road. Did I mention they fixed me breakfast when I got there that morning? A nice bowl of real oatmeal, with raisins, brown sugar, sunflower seeds, grapes, coffee, milk, OJ, and an apple turnover. Needless to say, I'm going back to Fresno when I get the chance.


The Medards are an interesting couple. They are much like a certain Barbados-bound couple I know. Mrs. Medard likes to talk, and Mr. Medard doesn't say much - but when he does, it's funny! They are such an adorable couple. Mrs. Medard looks just like her brother Galyn. I mean JUST like him. Without that whole Y-chromosome thing though.


Other than that, I've been chillin' in the lab, and occasionally in the field. My allergies have been on overdrive since my first foray into the flowering test plots. Hopefully that'll change once I get back to SC.

Katrina is wreaking havoc on La & Miss. I pray that all the brethren got out in advance. Judging from the rescue missions I just saw, not all of the New Orleans residents did. I pray that they're all OK - well, as OK as one can be after losing possibly everything. Wasn't Katrina a tropical storm like a few days ago?

Well, I ain't!

I was playing around with the camera, holding it at arm's length, when I took this picture of myself. My co-worker here saw it and said I had my "I ain't pickin' no cotton" face on.



I bought the M.R.S. some flowers today; a bouquet of sunflowers and yellow roses.



She was quite surprised – and quite pleased. MAJOR brownie points for me. I miss that chick. Seriously. And the boys too… Noah with his single tooth – the M.R.S. tells me he’s flying all over the house in his little walker (we’ve got smooth tile floors now). Whenever I call I him babbling DA-DA in the background. *sniff* And then there’s Nick. The first time I called home he got on the phone and without even saying “hello” he blurts out “I miss you daddy.”*sniff* I’ve even got to talk with Jalen a few times since I’ve been here. He’s not going to Jamaica with us though. I made sure to let him know that if he changes his mind we’ve got a spot for him. *sigh* We’re even laying over for a few hours in his favorite city, Miami. He’s the starting left tackle for his football team, and his 1st cousin is the starting right tackle. Their first game is the day after I get back, so I’ll be able to catch him in action. I’ve got to do something about the 215 lbs he’s carrying around though. That’s just not healthy. Anyway, it was good to talk to him, and hopefully I’ll have him the weekend I get back. Clemson begins their football season, and my brother & family will be staying at our place. It would be great for us all to hang out for a couple of days.

Oh to be back in the arms of my green-eyed sweetheart! It’s hard to believe our 7th anniversary will be this October – the day before Trumpets. We got baptized a week before getting married, and then we were married the day before the FOT in ’98. The Feast in Panama City served as our honeymoon. We found out about 2T pretty late in the game, so we didn’t have much loot. We pretty much financed our honeymoon with wedding gifts! We stayed at this somewhat sketchy place called the Value Lodge, and Shonta got sick for a day or two midway through, and we spent the last few days of the Feast without car insurance, and made it home with just enough money to gas up in Commerce, GA and coast home on fumes. It was absolutely fantastic! I hate that PC’s no longer a site, as it remains a special place to us. After all, we’ve spent 71.4% of our Feasts there.

Well, it’s late now, and I’ve got to get here early tomorrow to play in massa’s fields. Toodle!

PS: Desiree, if you’re reading this, I’m probably going to Fresno (11 a.m. Services??) this Sabbath. Do you think you can get Jim M.’s mailing address for me? I’d greatly appreciate it.
.

Yeah...

Just booked the Jamaica tix... Life is good.

Jam On It!

... Now Superman came to our town to see who he could rock
He blew away every crew he faced until he reached our block
His speakers were three stories woofers with woofers made of steel
And when we boys were sitting outside, he said "I boom for real
I'm faster than a speedin' bullet and when I'm on the set
I don't need no fans to cool my amp, I just use my super-breath
I can fly three times around the world without missing a beat
I socialize with X-ray eyes and ladies think it's sweet"
And then he turned the power on and the ground began to move
And all the buildings for miles around were swaying to the groove
And just when had fooled the crowd and swore he'd won the fight
We rocked his butt with a 12" cut called "Disco Kryptonite"...

Jam on It - Newcleus

I miss the 80s.

Resistance... is futile.

I’ve been here almost a week and I still can’t get used to some things – like the absence of sweet tea. Bakersfield reminds me a bit of the south, but L.A. is a different creature altogether. I went down there for services this past Sabbath and had a blast. I took a few pics of the mountains as I was leaving Bakersfield.

Mr. Meredith was there, and the Garden Grove congregation came up. There were several brethren from San Diego present as well. After services Jim Meredith invited me to join a group going to this Greek restaurant (Caesar’s) in Pasadena. The food was… interesting. I really enjoyed the rice and the beef tips; I wasn’t as fond of the grape-leaf-covered rice thingy served as an appetizer, and I don’t think I’m a big fan of hummus either. Jim must have reserved the place for us b/c we were the only customers present. There was lots of good conversation; I was sort of in the middle of our table, and constantly found myself engaged in conversations going on at both ends simultaneously. At our table were Daryl & Vicky, Ben & Stephan, Rachelle & Jake, Brandon & Lynette, and Greg & Karri. Oh yeah, Desiree too. I did a lot more listening than talking, but I don’t mind that – it helps me learn more about the people when I get to hear what they have to say. Some of you would be interested in knowing about the Napoleon Dynamite convo; let’s just say that people either love,love, love the movie, or they hate, hate, hate it. The Monsons definitely hate it. Lol



Afterwards, a group of us went to visit what was formerly known as Ambassador College in Pasadena. I’m not one to gush over architecture and landscaping, but the grounds were absolutely stunning in their beauty. I took a few pix, but the outdoor ones didn’t turn out too well. Desiree does a fine job describing our detour inside Ambassador auditorium. It was… in a word… surreal. Apparently we walked into the end of the Saturday night portion of Harvest Rock Church’s Catch the Fire conference. I kept waiting for a zombie-like participant to point at us and screech “Intruder!” at us before the masses assimilated us into the collective. After extricating ourselves from the Borg, we strolled across the campus until 10:00 or so, and then security informed us that the campus was closing.


I got back to my hotel around 12:30 and watched a little TV. By a little I mean until 5:30 a.m. I’ve got to stop doing that. Needless to say, I did not make it to the lab in Shafter until the afternoon.

Ah, the lab. Smack dab in the middle of nowhere, surrounded by lush fields of cotton and dirt. My work the last two days has looked like crap, and my boss here has (strongly) hinted that I might need to come back for a couple of weeks in December. *sigh* At least I got a new hat out of the deal – I purchased a straw hat to protect me from the blazing sun as I start my field work Thursday. Unfortunately, they sprayed the fields with insecticide the day I got here so I haven’t begun the fieldwork portion of my visit.

So much for watching what I eat. I’ve had pretty much nothing but McDonald’s, Jack-in-the-Box, and Carl’s Jr. (Hardee’s for you southerners). Oh yeah, and plenty of Mexican. For lunch today I had a quesadilla lengua – that’s a “cow-tongue case-a-dee-ya” for my non-habla espanoling readers. It was actually really good!

I found out last night that I’m not the one you want to call if something’s wrong in the middle of the night. Noah’s got another ear infection, and the M.R.S. called me around 3 .a.m. Pacific time to let me know, and to ease her frazzled nerves. Apparently she decided I wasn’t much help when I started making random comments about the forest fire. “What forest fire?” might you ask? I don’t know. I have no recollection of said statements. I was a little more coherent when she called again at 5:58 a.m. And what was up with the wrong number call on the cell phone @ 7 a.m.???

Anyway, I’m out. Peace.

BOOYAH!

My gel looks good, so I can go full blast starting Sunday! I feel like letting out a Lil John/Usher-like "Yeah!" I think I'll celebrate by going to Denny's.

It's good to know that the week I spent in that hot greenhouse in April was not a waste.

Almost Dinnertime...

T-2 hours till I break on up outta here. I'm kind of in a holding pattern at the moment - I need to wait and see if the gel I ran this morning looks good (meaning the DNA extractions I performed in April were successful) before I continue. If the gel image looks like crap, then I've got to do the extractions again, setting me back 4 or 5 days. I wanted to press on, but if there's no DNA in my samples, then I'd just be throwing away gov't $$$ on reagents - and so I sit. Gels work by forming a matrix through which the DNA molecules travel. The matrix is full of pores, and smaller fragments migrate through the pores more quickly than larger fragments. DNA has a slightly negative electrical charge, so the application of electricity forces the DNA through the gel matrix towards the positive pole. The separation comes as a result of varying fragment sizes. The following picture shows a gel; the row of bright spots across the top represent where the samples were loaded. The samples closest to the bottom are the smallest DNA fragments; the fragments increase in size as you go up. The last column of samples on the right are size markers; each band has a known size, and you use it to estimate the size of any particular band you might be interested in. You use a nasty mutagenic substance called ethidium bromide to visualize the DNA bands; the ethidium bromide binds to the DNA and flouresces in the presence of UV light.



Last night's blog ended rather abruptly - my labmate had taken care of my gel for me and was locking up as I began typing, so I had to leave. The same thing may happen today - everytime I try to type, I have to get up and do some work... Don't you hate that?

I'm heading down to LA tomorrow. I need to call Desiree, because I don't quite remember where the exit is off I-5, or "THE FIVE", as it's called out here. I'll try to take some pix. At least I don't have to worry about getting a duplicate sermon; Mr. Meredith's going to be speaking live. Oh well, I've got to go take a picture of my gel, and get ready to go to dinner. Ciao!

Bakersfield

Here I sit, 11 p.m. according to my inner Eastern Daylight Savings time clock, at work waiting for a gel to dry so I can use it in the morning. I'm also missing my family terribly... Absence most certainly does make the heart grow fonder...

I'm leaving...

... on a jet plane! Sunny California, here I come!

Blueberries...

... make everything better. Pancakes... Grape-Nuts... Cheesecake...

The Hotness

Well, my tickets are paid for and it's official - I'm off to Bakersfield Wednesday. That means two weeks of 100-degree temps, a trip to LA, and probably a trip to Fresno. I'm striving to win LCG's "Most Congregations Visited" award.

Yesterday I took the fam up to Charlotte for a picnic sponsored by HQ. We bothered my mother-in-law's Caravan because I need a new compressor for the AC unit in my vehicle. All was going well until we reached the town of Gaffney, where the rear driver's side tire blew. Luckily, we were only a few miles away from Super Wal-Mart. After dropping $75 we were able to continue on our way, arriving at the park around 1 o'clock.

The picnic was nice. It was quite hot outside, but under the pavillion is was manageable. We missed the burgers and hot dogs, setting up a mandatory dinner stop on the trip home. While there I got to watch a little softball, and play a scaled-down game of Ultimate. After working up a little sweat we were cooled off by a massive downpour. We got to meet a lot of new people and were able to spend time with old acquaintances as well. They should have these shindigs more often - only with more meat. lol

We were blessed to have the infamous Summa join us for the trip home. Once we hit Greenville we exited off and hit Tony Roma's, home of the best beef ribs in the Upstate. Nine or ten of us piled into a booth and ate like eating was going out of style. We had the privilege of being waited on by The Hotness, known to his mom as Kyle. He was the male embodiment of the blonde female stereotype (my apologies to any blonde females who might stumble across this. I'm sure none of you would fit the stereotype.). He wasn't stupid, just a little... I think ditzy is word I'm looking for. Just off-kilter enough to be a little endearing. He was pretty funny, and the female contingent at our table informed me that he was cute and had a dimple. Later on the adjective "hot" was used, and Kyle became The Hotness. He forgot to remove the used dishes from the table so that at one point, Chad had to sit his entree in his lap b/c there was nowhere else to put it. The splitting of the checks at the end of the meal was quite an adventure too - as he corrected the mistakes The Hotness told us we were lucky we got the right food! He was so likeable though that we all (I think)laughed.

Afterwards, we goodbye to our friend Aaron. I've got to adjust to Mr. Ridgeway's juke-joint style of hymn playing. Should be fun. We finally got Summa home around 11 - where I found there was a BODACIOUS bowl of blueberries waiting for me. Of course I drop the container when I got home and had blueberries all over the floor. That's what I get for coveting, I guess. Gotta go now and get caught up on everyone else's blogs...