Misled

It's not often that I get to leave the lab for other work-related duties, but today I did. Last week, I received an e-mail about a free seminar about managing your chemical inventory. It sounded like it might be useful, so I got permission from my boss to register, then obtained directions from Mapquest. The seminar was being held in a special science and technology complex in Skokie, near where Eugene grew up. Unfortunately, the exact address for the complex wasn't available from Mapquest; they gave me instead a range of numbers similar to that address. I printed out the directions anyway, then showed them to Eugene. He knew of the complex and thought the directions would work. He also pointed out to me that I would have to take one of the Chicago exits off of the highway (detour due to construction). Lovely; between that and the commute during morning rush hour, I started to dread this trip.

Eugene had to leave extra-early this morning, so he did as much as possible (e.g., prepare bottles for day care, fill out the sheet) to help me before he left. Alex wound up sleeping in; I had to rouse him to change him for day care. He wasn't ready to eat before we left, so, feeling guilty, I left him an extra bottle for breakfast. Then I got on the highway.

The highway portion of the journey wasn't as bad as I feared; traffic moved along steadily, and even though it was sunny, the sun didn't cause delays either for east-bound traffic. Even getting off of the highway wasn't bad, and I didn't have to venture into the city itself. In fact, it was easy to follow the directions, and I was on time--until they led me to a community college. I knew that couldn't be the place, so I tried driving around it to see if the street continued on the other side. No such luck. I drove around a bit more and came across the vet clinic where Eugene's dad works. I pulled in, thinking to get directions from my father-in-law. But he wasn't in; the clinic was closed until Halloween.

By this time I was late. I called Eugene at work and on his cell, then explained the situation. He gave me other directions to the complex, but that didn't work out either. I knew I had to be close, though, as I could see some industrial buildings in the area. Finally I pulled into a parking lot and walked around until I found the right address. I was about 40 minutes late by the time I found the seminar. At least there was still time for tea and cookies.

As for the seminar itself? It was essentially a sales pitch for a software/scanner combination. You can print out labels with barcodes for your chemicals and then track them with the handheld scanner. It seems like a neat setup, but it's too expensive for our small lab. Ah well, maybe I'll get some ideas for something we can do on our own.

Still Sick

It's been nearly three weeks (I think) since Alex and I got sick. We're both still congested, though I think I'm worse off than he is. I'm also beginning to wonder if I have a sinus infection. I have a headache that won't quit no matter how much Tylenol I down. Other people have it worse, I know, but this cold or whatever it is is pretty bad. If it's not better by tomorrow, I'll have to call the doctor.

Speaking of being sick, we almost didn't get to go up to Madison this weekend for our annual early Thanksgiving get-together with college friends. Alex had a slight fever Friday night. Luckily, we were able to bring it down with medicine, and since he was acting normally Saturday morning, we decided to go. We stopped first at a local pumpkin farm to meet with some other local families from a forum we belong to. Here's a photo of Eugene with Alex in his Halloween costume:

Alex handled the car ride up to Madison pretty well. He slept for the first part of the journey. We did have to stop and change him, but that didn't delay us too much. We went straight to the church where the dinner was being held. As always, there was a lot of food and a lot of fun. The kids, of course, provided most of the entertainment. As new parents, we spent most of the time sharing our experiences with the other parents in our group. We've definitely moved on to a new phase in our lives. Alex was quite vocal at times, and not in a good way. I think all the noise was too much for him. We gave him a bath when we got to the hotel, since baths seem to soothe him. We stayed in a nice suite complete with a microwave and mini-refrigerator for Alex's needs.

Sunday morning we had brunch with the gang before heading back. (The weather was too bad for going around campus. I guess we'll have to wait for next year to show it to Alex.) We visited my parents on the way back.

There isn't too much else to add, especially since I've been going to bed early for the last couple of nights. I did find this site which has some links to some cool videos on YouTube:

http://www.ready-set-bumbo.com/

And you can watch one of the videos here:

http://youtube.com/watch?v=j5dPMtuZsCw

National Novel Writing Month

In case anyone needs proof I'm crazy, this is it.

I just signed up for National Novel Writing Month. If you haven't heard of this before, the idea is to write 50,000 words of a novel during the month of November. You're allowed to come up with notes and an outline beforehand, but you can't start writing the actual novel until November 1st. In order to meet the word quota, you have to average about 1,667 words a day. I'm lucky to make 300 words a day, and that was before Alex. If I get even a fraction of the way to the goal, I'll be amazed. But the idea behind NaNoWriMo (as it's abbreviated) is to focus on quantity, not quality. I'll need to change the way I write in order to make quota. Also, I'll have to bring my laptop to work and write on my lunch hour--something I told myself I'd do but haven't so far. Whether I succeed or not, at least this will give me some motivation to get writing again. I haven't done anything for a while (it's hard with a baby), and I feel the need to write. Besides, this gives me a good reason to stretch myself and work on something different from Paul Harrison or my Season Lords.

I probably shouldn't say too much about what I'm working on, but it's a fantasy novel, and the tentative title is Only an Owl. I'll be using the rest of this month for research and outlining.

Wish me luck with this new endeavor, and if I don't post much during November, you'll know why--I'll be saving my words for my story.

Not Really Turned On Again

Last night was the Genesis concert. (I blogged about getting tickets for this show back in...oh, I don't remember what month it was. My memory is as sharp as a damp sponge these days.) It was at the United Center downtown, so it was a big pain getting there. Although Eugene got home early enough to pick up Alex, traffic for me was pretty heavy, even though I left right at 5:00. Then we had to pack up everything Alex needed and bring him over to Eugene's parents so they could watch him. Again, local traffic was heavy, and we got there later than we planned. We rushed through setting up the Pack-n-Play for Alex and giving the grandparents last-minutes instructions, then we dashed off for the concert. We worried on the way in that we'd be really late, but luckily the traffic wasn't too bad. We did have to grab dinner at the United Center, since we didn't have time to get some decent food elsewhere. I did have pizza--something I've been looking forward to since giving up dairy in July (we thought Alex might be allergic to milk protein, but so far he seems OK), but this was a disappointment. Ah well, I can always make my own za.

Anyway, we did make it to our seats in time for the official start of the concert, which was of course delayed. We had a decent view; we were on the first level. Still, it was much easier to see the band on the screens.

Phil had some decent interaction with the crowd; from time to time, he brought out a digital camera to take pictures of the audience. The music sounded good, but for some reason I didn't get into it as much as I did the first time I saw Genesis fifteen years ago. Part of it probably was being exhausted and sick and still wound up from dashing all around. Part of it too was thinking about our son and wondering how he was doing; both Eugene and I had our cell phones clenched in our hands, waiting for them to vibrate. And perhaps part of it was not being familiar enough with the early Genesis songs. They played a bunch I didn't recognize, and I waited in vain for "The Lamb Lies Down on Broadway." But even some of the songs I like, like "Domino," didn't get a strong reaction from the crowd. (Of course, we did have fun watching the drunks dance.) There were some good points, such as the drum duet between Phil and Chester Thompson. And I did get to hear one of my favorites, "Invisible Touch." But although Eugene and I did need the chance to have some couple time, I don't think we got our money's worth. Good thing we didn't pay for floor seating.

By the time we got home with Alex, it was about 1:00 a.m. (And yes, he still woke up in the middle of the night.) Gotta wonder how I made it through the day without caffiene.

P.S. Alex is still sick, but he seems to be doing better. His teacher at daycare said he was in a happy mood today, and his cough seems to be improving. Eugene picked up a humidifer for the nursery; hopefully that will help clear up his congestion.

First Cold

Alex and I are sick.

I first noticed it Thursday morning around midnight, when I fed Alex. I noticed he was breathing heavily but thought he didn't have the bottle nipple positioned correctly. But then at the next feeding, Eugene noticed the congested breathing and coughing too. The breathing seemed better when it was time for me to leave for work, so I brought Alex to daycare. At work, I called the doctor's office and on their advice took him in. He doesn't have a fever or an ear infection (though when they cleaned his ears he cried much longer than he did for his shots), so that's good. The doctor recommended against medicating him at this age, so we're just treating him with a vaporizer and chest rub. Alex is quieter than normal, but he still smiles and wants to play. I feel for him when he coughs and sounds congested, but all we can do is comfort him and tough it out. He'll have many more colds and illnesses, I'm sure.

As for me, I hope Alex doesn't have my symptoms, which include a headache, chills, and a sore throat. I'm not sure who gave it to whom, but hopefully the antibodies in my milk will help him recover faster.

We were planning to go to Lynfred Winery's Octoberfest this weekend, but with Alex being sick, we'll just have to forego it this year. He's too young for a stein anyway. ;) But it is a shame being sick on one of the last nice weekends of the season.

Overdue Update

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I've been meaning to blog for a few days now, but it's been hard to find the time. Alex doesn't go to sleep until 8:30 or 9:00, and some nights we don't get to have dinner until after that. So there's not much free time here. Last Thursday, as I was tele-experimenting and doing household chores, I thought to myself that I'm living the life of a Victorian housemaid. I've read somewhere that they would work from 5:00 a.m. to midnight. It hasn't been quite that bad for me, but only by a few hours. Hopefully things will get easier as Alex gets older (or gets better about falling asleep when he needs it).

It hasn't been all work and no play, however. Yesterday we went to a friend's baby shower in Chicago. Alex went too, of course, and he and two other babies were the stars of the show. Eugene made his (well, Paula Deen's) mile-high apple pie. It calls for two dozen apples, but he could only fit twenty of them into the bowl he used to stack the apple layers. What a shame. ;) After the shower, we visited Millennium Park and took pictures of Alex by the Bean. Here's a shot:
























Today we ran a couple of errands (such as spoiling Alex with toys and new clothes at Babies R Us) and visited Eugene's family. While we were there, Alex grabbed a set of toy keys and waved it around. It's always cool to see him do something new.

Writing: I haven't done much, but I've thought of a new opening for Lennon's Line (I mean, Thine Own Self.) I like the new first line; it's the rest of the paragraph that's eluding me.

I Still Exist...

At least, I think I do. ;)

I've survived two weeks of being a working mom. The mornings are hectic, as Eugene and I take care of Alex and get all the things he needs for daycare ready. Then I have to hurry off to the daycare to drop him off. He cries in the car, but most of the time he settles down once we get there.

In some ways, it's nice to be back at work. It's stimulating, and I get to pump and have a full lunch hour all to myself without worrying about Alex. Not much has changed over the summer, though there are now four people in the lab. (The summer intern decided to stay on longer.) This means we have to be more formal about reporting on our projects, and we're also having lab meetings--with treats! I keep busy, but I still think about Alex when I have a chance.

The evenings have become...interesting. Alex smiles at me when I pick him up, and he seems to be doing well at the daycare. But once he gets home, it doesn't take him long to start fussing, and he does it off and on until he goes down for the night (around 8:00-8:30). I think he may be overtired, but he forces himself to stay awake to be with Mommy and Daddy. It's nice to know he wants to be with us, but he needs his sleep. The problem is getting him to sleep on his own--and to stay asleep once we put him in the crib. Alex naps well at daycare, but he won't nap on the weekends, and he's definitely overtired. I'm afraid we'll have to resort to letting him "cry it out" so he learns to sleep on his own. In the meantime, we don't get to eat until after Alex sleeps, so it makes for a long evening.

Although the past couple of weekends have been gorgeous, we haven't been able to do much because of Alex's fussiness. Hopefully we'll be able to help him get over that. And no, I haven't done any writing either, not even during my lunch hour. I'm too drained to write, anyway. Probably the best thing to do is wait this out and remind myself it'll get better eventually.

Labor Day Weekend

It was a pretty busy weekend for us. Eugene took Saturday off, so he had all three days free, which was nice.

We spent most of Saturday baking an apple pie. Actually, I should say Eugene did, as he did about 99% of the work while I took care of Alex and did a couple of other things. Eugene tried a new recipe this time, one from Paula Deen that required twenty-four apples. He wound up using only twenty, but it still was a monster pie. In order to stack up the Tower of Apples, he layered thin slices of apples in a stainless steel bowl, which he then inverted over the pie crust. After it was done, he coated the top with carmel sauce and pecans. All of this and the strusel (?) filling made for one delicious pie.

So what was the reason for Eugene making a mountain of pie? One of our friends was celebrating her birthday Saturday night. We met her and several other people at a bowling alley. We brought Alex along as well. In retrospect we should have had my parents come down to babysit, as this bowling alley doubled as a club complete with music that was TOO DAMN LOUD. Call me old school--call me old even--but when I get together with people, I like to be able to hear them without having to shout. Alex tolerated it better than I expected as long as someone was holding him. Eugene kindly took charge of him so I could bowl. I used to bowl once a week with some of my co-workers at my previous job, but that was five years ago. I started the night with a scoreless frame, but I ended up with scores of 69 for the first game and 112 for the second. Ironically enough, I did better after ordering the Gutterball cocktail. For Alex's sake, we wound up leaving early.

Sunday afternoon we went to the Chicago Botanic Garden briefly, but again Alex wasn't quite up for it. We fed him, but he still fussed until we got back to the car, where he fell asleep. It was just as well we left a little early, as we had plans to get together with a couple we'd met in our birthing class. (See my Babies in Stereo post from earlier.) We grilled dinner and talked babies for several hours. It was nice seeing them again, and we may get together with them again later this month.

Today, after doing some chores around the apartment, we visited Eugene's parents and had another grillout. They hadn't seen Alex since the christening, so naturally he was the star. He was fussy again, but this time it seemed more related to hunger and to doing tummy time. (Alex gets frustrated when I put him on his stomach. It's supposed to help him develop his neck and arm muscles, but he screams more than he lifts his head.) At least he fell asleep (hopefully) for the night when we arrived home.

This is a bittersweet day for me; tomorrow I go back to work and put Alex in daycare. It's going to be a bit strange being on a regular schedule again after three months away. Of course, I'll also be undergoing "Alex withdrawl." It's a shame I have to spend so much time away from him just when he's really starting to notice things. I think ultimately we'll all be fine, but it'll be an adjustment for all three of us.

Baby Shower

Today Eugene, Alex, and I went to a surprise baby shower for my cousin's wife, Gina. This will be their second child, a boy (and possible play partner for Alex). The shower was held at my aunt and uncle's house. Although the weather was gorgeous, the house is next to a set of train tracks. As we opened gifts outside, trains kept passing by.

Gina's oldest child is a girl, so she needed boy clothes. She received plenty of them. We gave her a set of onesies, two bath towels, a pack of washcloths, some baby shampoo/body wash, and a pair of baby mittens I crocheted myself.

Alex was a center of attention throughout the day. He did well at first, but he had another episode of colic that required Eugene to comfort him. (Eugene could get a job as a baby whisperer--he can soothe Alex during one of his fits by walking him around the apartment.) He also seems to be going through a bit of a growth spurt; he's eating a lot today. There was another mother there with a six-month baby; she gave me some advice about colic and milk supply.

All in all, it was a nice day seeing my cousins again. We keep saying how we should get together more often; hopefully we can do so before the holidays.

Now This Is Getting Really Wierd...

I had to run a couple of errands today. As I drove to the bank, I noticed something grey had gotten caught in my windshield wipers. I thought at first it was a piece of trash, so I flicked the wipers to get rid of it. It didn't fly away, and it left gray streaks on the window. I couldn't believe it; it looked suspiciously like a mouse.

I took a closer took at it after leaving the bank. Sure enough, it was a rodent of some sort, with a furry tail. And it was obviously quite dead, though luckily it didn't stink. How the heck did it end up on my windshield? It's been a couple of days since I drove my car, so I have no idea how long it had been there. Perhaps the storms over the weekend had something to do with it, though it occured to me it might have been left there as a prank.

When I got home, I donned a pair of gloves, gingerly removed it (even though it was dead, I still had this irrational fear it would bite me), and placed it in the garbage. It was still clutching a leaf between its front paws. After thinking about it, I now wonder if it was a baby squirrel that had been killed by the storm. It might have fallen or been blown from a tree.

Of course, given all of the recent rodent sightings I've had, the writer part of my brain found a more sinister interpretation. It almost seemed like a warning, like something a mobster would leave in someone's bed. "The Mousefather," anyone? That could make a fun idea for a fantasy story: mobs among the rodents. Something else to simmer on my brain's back burner while I come up with a story to match this idea.

Rodents Are Spying on Me...

Yesterday, as I was doing laundry, I spotted a chipmunk in the laundry room. It ran behind the washing machines when I entered the room, then it later escaped through a pipe. I saw it again when I returned to transfer the loads from the washers to the dryers, and I saw yet another chipmunk sitting outside my front door. Add to that the squirrel that comes up to my kitchen door, and we have a conspiracy on our hands.

Of course, I could be nuts.

(rimshot)

Wait, where are you going? I've got plenty more jokes where that came from.... Oh, that's why.

Anyway, it's been a rainy weekend. Yesterday, Eugene and I had planned to get dinner from the Whole Foods deli in Palatine and eat by a lake there, but we had to settle for eating at the store instead. Today was a lazy day; Eugene let me sleep in (I really needed it). We did go out to pick up a few things from Babies R Us, but that's about it.

Writing: I finished reading First Draft in 30 Days. This was written by a full-time author, and I think you'd need to be a full-time author to complete a detailed outline (which she considers first draft) in this time, especially since she devotes only one day to character development. Someone like me, who would be lucky to have an hour a day for writing, would need that just to work up the main character. I've never had much luck outlining novels before writing them; I'm more of an organic writer. Still, if I could learn to outline, I think I could finish writing a book more quickly. But it might be worth outlining some of my completed works to evaluate the strength of their various plots/subplots.

College Friends

As I was tending to Alex this evening while Eugene cooked dinner, I heard Eugene let out a pleased laugh. He'd checked his e-mail and found a message from our friend and fellow blogger Russ. Another friend of ours from college, Ed, was in New York City, and they were getting together tonight. Ed and Eugene were lab partners in undergrad, but it's been years since we've seen him. So after dinner we called Russ on his cell phone. He handed us over to Ed right away. It was great talking to him; we picked up where we'd left off. Russ did send us a photo of Ed and his wife over his cell phone, but I'll be nice and not post it here. ;) Hopefully one of these days Ed can stop by Chicago so we can see him in person. So Ed, if you're reading this, don't forget to send us pictures of your daughters!

Busy Days

There's been a lot going on lately, especially with Alex being christened this past weekend, but I haven't had much time to blog about it. Time to play catch-up.

I'll start with last Friday. It was a spa day for me: I got a massage, facial, and a haircut. A bit self-indulgent, perhaps, but the massage was sorely (no pun intended), and it had been a long time since I'd had either a facial or a haircut. While I was at the spa, Alex tried out the daycare center he'll be going to when I return to work in September. Although I felt guilty about it beforehand and worried a little at the spa, he did quite well. Apparently all of the teachers wanted to hold him, and he ate and slept just fine. Hopefully that'll continue when he's there full-time.

Saturday Eugene and I spent prepping for Alex's christening. I did laundry, and Eugene made a couple of fruit salads and prepared a special photographic display of Alex. We were up pretty late getting everything together for the big day. Although it was Beatlefest (well, The Fest for Beatles Fans, to use the proper name) weekend, I didn't go this year. Probably just as well, since Alex was fussy during the afternoon.

We got up quite early Sunday morning and were on the road by 8:30. The baptism was in Evanston, at the church where Eugene and I were married. We stopped by his parents' house beforehand to drop off things and change. Although we got Alex a christening suit in size 0-3 months, it was still too big for him. We had to roll the pants up several times, and the shoes were twice as big as his feet! Unfortunately, I had to wake him up to change him, and he fussed for a while until I fed him. We got to the church at the start of the Mass and sat in the front row, ahead of my relatives. We'd chosen to have Alex baptized after the Mass, in case he was fussy. Of course, he slept not only through the whole service, but also through the baptism itself. Even pouring water on his head didn't disturb him.

There was a big celebration at Eugene's parents' house afterwards. There was lots of food, including two roast pigs and a cake my parents brought (from a bakery). I was quite busy talking to everyone who came, but I didn't need to worry about caring for Alex, as everyone wanted to hold him. Again, he slept through most of it. The party went on for hours, with people coming and going. People were still there when we finally left. Unfortunately, I misplaced my camera, so I don't have any pictures. Maybe I can upload some of Eugene's later on.

Monday and Tuesday I spent mostly taking care of Alex (he had some episodes of colic again) and running some errands. Today was slightly different because it was Eugene's birthday. Both Alex and I gave him cards and some DVDs. We also went out for dinner. How do you think Alex did? That's right, he slept through dinner, and we were in a loud, noisy restaurant. He's still sleeping in his car seat as I write, actually. I hope he won't compensate by staying up until 2 in the morning again!

Writing: Still haven't done any fiction writing; heck, I can barely find headspace to think about writing. But I did submit a funny-but-true wedding story to a publisher Maria (see link at right) posted on her blog recently. They'll pay me $100 if they use it, but I won't hear anything until January. Hopefully I'll be back in the writing saddle by that point.

Eye Exam

It's been a couple of years since my last eye exam; in fact, it was the summer before I got married. (I wanted to wear contacts for the wedding.) So I figured I would take care of that before going back to work. My parents came down to spoil--I mean babysit--Alex during my appointment.

I stopped first at work to take care of a couple of things. I chatted a bit with a couple of my co-workers and my boss. The first thing my boss said to me was something along the lines of "You were fooling all along about being pregnant; there's no baby." I guess I'll have to bring Alex in sometime so they can see him in person.

I had a little trouble finding the place (they'd moved, and I got the address wrong), but I still made it on time. I had to wait a while before the assistant came to do preliminary tests on me and dilate my eyes. I didn't enjoy that part, but at least they no longer do the air puff test for glaucoma; I always hated that. I had to wait for my eyes to finish dilating before the doctor took me. She had nine-month-old twins, so we talked about babies during the exam.

My prescription didn't change, but I decided to get a second pair of glasses as a backup. I currently have Transition lenses, but I wanted to get glasses with magnetic clip-on shades for driving. The person I worked with was very helpful about suggesting what frames would look best on me. She picked about a dozen frames from their selection, but in the end I chose a pair I had found myself. They should be ready in a couple of weeks. I'm looking forward to getting them, and when I pick them up, I might swing by work and show off Alex -- if he's having a good day.

Babies in Stereo

The past couple of days have been a bit hectic for me. Friday I took Alex on his first major grocery shopping trip (as in spending an hour in the store, not just picking up a few things). He was awake but calm, which is good. I was also glad that he's not at the stage where he asks for junk food.

Yesterday Eugene and I took Alex to visit a couple we met in childbirth class. They had their baby, a girl named Anna, a week after we did. It was cute seeing them side by side in their car seats. During dinner, Alex and Anna were both cooing, and we joked that they were exchanging tips on how to drive their parents crazy. ("So, what's this colic thing about?") Unfortunately, Anna was overtired to the point where she couldn't fall asleep, and she showed it. Alex had a couple of crying spells too, though I've heard worse. But since we and the other couple were going through the same thing, we were all understanding.

Today we stayed at home. While Eugene tending Alex, I caught up on domestic duties: I did the laundry, baked bread, and made sorbet. Now if I can finish the latest review I'm currently working on, maybe I can get back to my own stuff.

Secret Squirrel?

We have a very friendly squirrel visiting our patio. He comes up to the screen door and looks into the kitchen as if he expects me to let him in for a cup of tea. Today I caught him digging in our flowerboxes, rooting around and rolling in the dirt as if he was a dog. It's probably a good thing I didn't bother planting flowers this year, as they wouldn't have lasted. (Maybe he was a dog in another life, who knows?) One of these days I'll have to take a picture of him.

Weekend Recap

Saturday was Harry Potter Day. I spent most of it (besides caring for Alex and doing laundry) either waiting for UPS to deliver my book or reading. I didn't get the book until about 3:00 p.m., and yes, I was impatient. It would have been quicker to drive to Walmart and pick up a copy, but I'd preordered because I wasn't sure if I'd be able to take Alex to the store (depending on how he was behaving). Anyway, I finished the book and the Sunday morning. Without giving anything away, it was an enjoyable read. I foresaw a couple of things but not the main plot points. That's one of the things I respect Rowling for, her plotting. She does a great job of using minor details to great effect.

Anyway, Sunday the three of us drove to Evanston and met with the priest at the church where Alex will be baptized. Afterwards, we stopped by the Evanston Ethnic Arts Festival. The weather was perfect for it. I bought a couple of silk purses (one for a friend) and a pair of earrings. Afterwards, we stopped at Babies R Us before heading home.

Out and About

Would you believe I haven't filled up my car since May? I wasn't able to drive last month while I was recovering from surgery. But last week I was cleared by my doctor. Now I can take Alex to the doctor or run errands; I just need to time things so that he's sleeping. Last week I even got to go to the bookstore with him. We also managed to visit the Chicago Botantic Garden on Sunday with him. Although he kept us up during the night, he was quiet in his stroller. I didn't bring my camera because we had enough to haul around as it was. Eugene, of course, took his camera, so he may post some pictures when he has the chance.

Writing: Sigh, I haven't had a chance to do anything for a while, and two of my OWW critters have new chapters up. Do I work on that or my own stuff? And what project should I work on? It's too much for my sleep-deprived, post-partum brain.

Get Your Geek On

As you can imagine, I've been a bit busy since Alex arrived. It seems like as soon as I finish feeding him and putting him down to sleep he wakes up again. Plus I haven't been anywhere exciting; the last time I even drove my car was the day Alex was born. So that explains why I haven't blogged in a while.

Tonight on CNN's homepage, though, I saw something worth blogging about. There was an article about surprising things you can get for free. Among them was coursework at MIT. I guess this isn't really new -- other colleges are also offering noncredit online courses -- but I still found it cool. This would also be a good resource for science fiction writers looking to learn more about basic science or about something more advanced, like quantum physics or genetics. (They have biophysics as well, but that doesn't turn me on; I took it for my major, and it was a tough class.) There are also anthropology, language, literature, and even writing courses. I bookmarked the site, though I do have to wonder when I think I'll find time to do any of these courses. I suppose it would help if I stopped playing games and got to work. Even I can't convince myself learning about science is as relaxing as a game of Zuma, though.

Daddy's Bald!

OK, I'm a little slow on blogging this week. This picture was taken on Sunday. Eugene finally made good on something he's talked about for a while--shaving his head. Now Alex has more hair than his dad. ;)