Category: florida

I grew up here, sometimes I go back here.

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the very air i breathe is saturated


As Christmas vacation begins to draw to a close, the tightening noose of coming work is beginning to chafe against my neck.

The e-mails are still trickling into the BlackBerry, each little “tinkle” sound reminding me that I can never really get that far physically removed from a job that happens primarily in cyberspace. Unseen responsibility surrounds me, floating around invisible right in front of me, waves and signals buzzing silently around my head, needing only to be read and decoded to transform them into questions I need to answer and things I need to do. It’s sad, in a way, that the very air I breathe is saturated with invisible bits and bytes that represent the work I have to do. Let’s not think about it, OK?

We had a brief scare yesterday, ending up in the emergency room with Keaton. As I mentioned in my last blog, she’s been running a fever now for a couple days, and it’s been sitting around 101° for most of the time. After Sharaun put her down for her nap yesterday, she went out shopping. And, since Keaton wasn’t feeling well and likely needed sleep, I was happy that she chose to take a longer-than-usual nap, not to mention it gave me a little time to rest-off the pukes-‘n’-poops I’d been dealing with myself. When she finally did wake up, I got her some Tylenol-doped juice and sat down with her while she drank it. As she was finishing up her sippy, Sharaun got home and joined us on the couch.

Just then, she began to shiver, which I took to mean she was breaking her fever. As Sharaun took her from me, however, she began to shiver more, and we noticed her lips looked a little blueish. Freaking out a bit, Sharaun took her out to ask her mom if she could see the blue as well, and I jumped online to search for “baby blue lips fever” on Google. The modern sage that is Google said that if, during a fever, a baby’s lips and/or fingernail beds turn blue, you should seek emergency care immediately. Meanwhile, Sharaun and her mom had reached the same conclusion, as Keaton was still shaking, not speaking at all, and her lips (and finger/toenails) were now an even scarier shade of blue-purple. They were already strapping her into her carseat as I rushed inside to grab my wallet, sling a very hastily put together diaper bag over my shoulder, and slip on some flip-flops.

With the hospital literally just up the road, we were there in under a minute. But even by then, she had regained nearly all her color and was starting to talk normally. We sat in the emergency room for about twenty minutes, every passing minute of which I became more convinced that she was now fine, and then were ushered in to see the triage nurse. After taking her vitals, she pronounced Keaton A-OK, and asked if we’d still like to be seen. Faced with the prospect of spending four hours in the hospital, or going home and keeping an eye on her ourselves, we chose the latter and packed back into the car. And, although she continued to run a fever the rest of the day, we had no more blue-lipped scares, and she already seems much more “herself” today.

Frightening, and odd, but I guess ultimately nothing.

Well then, until later, take care peoples.

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in the bathroom


Hey there post-Christmas America. Your trees down yet? Ya bust out the ladder and take the lights off the house already? Still scraping the last of the leftovers from the corners of you casserole dishes? Either way, I hope you had a good holiday. Down here in sunny Florida, we sure did. Oh, and this year Santa came with some extra special gifts…

Christmas came with an extra bonus this year: a vicious stomach bug that had me alternately sitting on or kneeling before the john all day yesterday. It was ugly, and tiring, and I didn’t answer the phone or do anything much aside from trying to sleep through the twisty flip-flopping of my beleaguered bowels. I woke up this morning feeling much better, but still with a rumbly middle… which I attribute more now to not eating anything yesterday than the bug. So, I decided to jump right back into things and am currently pre-heating the oven for a Totino’s pizza. For some reason, my stomach was craving it. I figure, if I can keep that down, I’m healed.

It’s a gorgeous day here, the sun is out and shining, and it’s not too warm to go outside and enjoy it. The original plan was to go visit my Uncle Tom, but we decided to give that another day so I wouldn’t pass along this lovely stomach-thing. Since I am feeling better, we decided we’d take Keaton down to the park close by, but now she’s acting all funny and is running a fever herself… so it seems like we’ll be housebound instead. That’s OK, I suppose I do enough complaining about our Florida trips being nothing but run-here-run-there that I should be thankful for some downtime on the homefront. I know it’s selfish to enjoy how cuddly Keaton gets when she’s not feeling well, but I just can’t help but love her crawling up into my lap and snuggling for an hour. Bad dad.

Well, I’m off. So far, the pizza is staying put… and that’s a good sign.

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merry merry christmas y’all!


Merry merry Christmas y’all!

It’s Christmas Eve in Florida as I write, and the weather is wonderfully warm and just humid enough to make you skin feel tacky and soft. I love it. Today, Sharaun went Christmas Eve shopping, doing her part to clogging the retail arteries along with the throng of other last-minute folks. She enjoys the “rush,” she says. And, since I’d always rather sit at home and enjoy some vacation, that’s just what I did.

Sharaun’s folks got Keaton a little tricycle that has an extension-boom thing on the back you can push her with. She feels like she’s riding the bike while you push from behind, and she loves it. We took a “ride” down to the river and back, and then re-did the route on-foot since she wanted to stay outside. After that she sat with dad out on the back porch (what you Yankees call a “Florida room,” a semi-weather-proofed screened-in room) and colored in her Sesame Street coloring book while I surfed the internet. It was a good Christmas Eve.

And now, Keaton’s curled up in her Pack-‘n’-Play, waiting to hear reindeer on the roof, and we’re all sitting around watching TV like a good American family. I anticipate a fairly lowkey Christmas this year, Sharaun and I have already each exchanged our gifts-majeure, and what will be under the tree tomorrow morning (today, as you read this) is mostly smaller afterthoughts. As such, I plan to enjoy watching others open their gifts more than looking forward to more loot of my own.

I’m actually looking forward to a nice day with Sharaun’s family, and am in no hurry to get back to California.

Well now, having said nothing yet, I better go. See, as is with most Christmases lately, the (totally legal) music sites I frequent are doing their holiday season “free download” blitzes – so I’m wracking my brain to decide what I need that I don’t have, and am keeping the internet connection saturated. So, I’m off get that new Grateful Dead show.

Goodnight people, and I hope Santa brings you everything you were after. Merry Christmas.

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keaton gets the spirit


Today was our day at Disney, and let me just say that it was awesome. I haven’t been to the “Magic Kingdom” since graduating high school (it was our school-endorsed “sober” celebration), but have fond memories of the handful of times I’d been as a kid and young adult. Disney is a theme park done right: It’s clean, it runs like a well-oiled machine, and whatever you decide you may need or want never seems more than a short walk away.

The day was just about as hot as I believe physically possible. I was covered in a sheen of sweat from the moment we parked until the moment we un-parked, and, at times, the sweat poured off me in round droplets, plopping to the ground. My shirt clung moist to my back, and I sucked down water at each passing fountain. However, defying the many potential frustration factors: The stroller, the extra gear, and walking around in the ninth canto of Hell, we both actually sailed through the day with permanent smiles. We worked as a team, handing-off and taking turns and sharing, and the entire day was stress-free and enjoyable (a rarity for me, if you know how I can sometimes react to “doing things”).

Anyway, I got to thinking that I should really start learning to stomach walking around under the blazing sun – as I’ll be doing a week-solid of it come Monday when Anthony and I hit the Muir Trail.

Back to the story… Originally, I was unsure what, if any, enjoyment Keaton would be able to get out of the trip – still being a baby and all. Turns out, though, that she had a great time. Although we only stayed for little more than half the day, we were able to get on almost all my favorite rides. We hit Pirates, the Jungle Cruise, the Dumbo thing, Small World, and Peter Pan. Keaton absolutely loved It’s A Small World (yeah, I know it’s technically not supposed to be capitalized). In fact, her reaction was so awesome that I started tearing up watching her smile and clap and sing along nonsense words as she sat on my lap. She got a little scared on Pirates and the Dumbo ride, and seemed relatively indifferent on Peter Pan and the Jungle Cruise. By the end of the day, she was plum tuckered out – and wilted away into her stroller for our final walk down mainstreet to the monorail home.

Leaving, Sharaun said, “I feel like we had such a great ‘family day’ today, right?” And we did; it was awesome.

Tomorrow we fly home. I don’t look forward to the flight, but I am ready to get back to the homestead – even if briefly before the big hike.

Goodnight.

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powerless


Sitting here in a white t-shirt stained with barbecue sauce. No, not the country song – I really am sitting here with barbecue stains on my white t-shirt. See, we made another trip down to the beach today, and on the way back we stopped off to pick up some good old Southern style BBQ. I think my daily consumption of sugar must at least double while I’m here – these ‘rebs love their sweet stuff. Anyway, I plopped a dollop of the molasses-heavy sauce right on the undershirt. No big deal, as it is an under shirt, after all. But, it all feels quite “Florida,” really. Lounging around in some gymshorts and a stained t-shirt, drinking tea mixed to diabetes-inducing 1 cup sugar : 2 cup tea ratio. Ahh… Florida.

Keaton seemed to warm up to the beach today, her second visit of our time here. Last Tuesday she stayed rooted in place when we took off her shoes and set her down in the sand. She kept saying “durdur,” or “dirty,” while pointing down at her feet and refusing to move. She was also hesitant in the water, gripping tight to dad as each ankleslapping wave foamed past. But, today she seemed to come around. She happily tromped around in the sand, and even ventured out into the thin wash where the waves finally die. She had fun collecting shells and pointing at birds, and didn’t even seem to mind when dad piled wet sand around her feet. Kinda nice to have a beach so close.

The National show in Orlando last night was fantastic. The venue was small, the stage off-center and the standing area all asymmetric. This afforded one a pretty decent view from almost any spot in the house. The opening act, the Rosebuds, turned out to have a couple songs that I somehow recognized – and their set was outstanding. I allmusic’d them on my BlackBerry after they played and found that they’re a Merge act – figures. Anyway, Kyle ran into some chick he knows who works for Merge, and we ended up chatting to her a bit. On the edge of the “scene,” as it were – as she’s apparently buddy-buddy with the folk of the Arcade Fire. So, all in all, not a bad experience – and a darn good show. I trudged in the door at Sharaun’s folks’ place around 3am, washed the smoke off my face and out of my hair in the sink, and hit the sack. Too bad I couldn’t sleep in later than 8am – but I guess that’s what naps are for, right?

I wanted to write a bit about our experience going to the UF game on Saturday. Neither Sharaun nor I have been back to our alma mater to see a football game in seven years. So, we were both quite excited about perhaps reliving a bit of that college experience, and getting the chance to walk around the campus and reminisce. After walking what likely amounted to a few miles around the campus, checking out the old buildings to see how they’ve changed, we both agreed that, although it’s only been seven years, it almost feels so far removed that it’s as if it were in a different life when we were there. Those times are just so different from where we are now, with careers and family and a mortgage – that the memories seem almost unfamiliar. It was neat though, to walk around the campus again. To pick up a copy of the student newspaper and read it, to go visit my old study niche in the library, to walk through the student union.

And as for the game: It was great. Our seats were good, and the Gators won. The streets in town were even more choked with tailgating fans than I remember, especially for an lesser-known opponent – but I guess that’s what being NCAA champs will do to attendance. The atmosphere was perfect though, celebratory, drunken, and youthful. The in-stadium experience differed a bit, though. Sharaun thinks mainly because we sat on the more reserved “alumni” side of the house instead of in the more raucous student section. I think she’s partially right, but I also think it just has to do with the fact that we’re older. Back then, Saturday games were one of my single points of respite from the grind of homework and studying, and I looked forward to those days all week long. Somehow, swooping into town three hours before the game and then pulling up stakes again right afterward seems to lessen the gravity of what those three hours used to mean to me. But, over-analysis aside, we had an excellent time – and are both super glad we were able to go see a game after all this time.

Well, the power is out here in at the house, so I’m writing this in Word and waiting for the juice to come on before I can login and post. Until then, and then again until tomorrow – see ya.

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into the weekend


Some surprise me-time for a Friday in Florida.

Sharaun and her mom took off shopping, leaving me at the house with Breck and Doug and Keaton. I spent the morning flipping channels on the television and playing with Keaton. It’s now just after lunch, and Keaton has a mixed bellyful of turkey, cheese, nectarine, and rice cakes. I, on the other hand, am still contemplating my mealtime options. At first, I considered heading out for some chicken wings with the brother-in-law, but he denied me when his wife decided to cook grilled cheese sandwiches. Economical: yes; buffalo wings: no. I figured, since it’s 9am-ish back on the west coast, it’d be a good time to write a bit in preparation for posting sometime later today.

I was thinking today, how the full reality of being off from work for nine weeks hasn’t truly set in for me yet. Right now, with the trip to Florida panning out like our “normal” vacation visits here, my mind is fooling me into thinking that I’m just taking a run of the mill style vacation. The only indication of something bigger that I have comes when I think about how I should probably log in and check my work e-mail at least a couple times while I’m here. It’s something I routinely do while on vacation, just spend about 15min doing some quick dispositioning and deleting to save myself from a work-landslide upon return. But, when those thoughts come now – I’m quickly reminded that this is no ordinary vacation, as I have no desire to even see my e-mail until sometime in November. It’s a wonderful realization, actually, but it still doesn’t comprehend the full gravity of the time off. I’m thinking that may sink in somewhere along the John Muir Trail, or maybe in a massive tent during Oktoberfest. Either way, I hope it sets in soon – because I’m ready for the wave of awesome I think should wash over me the moment it does.

Wednesday we take Keaton to Disney World. We’ll acknowledge now that she’s likely a tad young to really appreciate the place, but we’re at least hoping that she can enjoy seeing the characters and perhaps get a kick out of some of the kid-friendly rides. Sharaun’s sister got us the hookup and we get into the $75-per-adult, $65-per-child park absolutely free (if you’re an accountant, that saves us something upwards of $200 on admission alone, not to mention the parking). And, from a selfish perspective, I myself am hoping to be able to check out the revamped Pirates of the Caribbean ride, and of course hit the Haunted Mansion – a favorite of mine since childhood. I’m not sure either of those rides are Keaton’s style, as I don’t know the rules on lap-children – but I figure, at worst, Sharaun and I can take turns (hopefully the lines won’t be bad during a midweek visit). I’ll be sure to post some pictures of the action once we’re back in California.

OK, that’s enough for today. Until Monday I guess, later.

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another fine day


Another fine day in sabbatical land. We went to visit my Uncle Tom today, spent a few good hours hanging out and visiting, and also managed to watch Dr. Strangelove, a movie I’ve always meant to see, but have only managed to catch bits and pieces of over the years. As I suspected, it was great.

Anyway, Sharaun’s cooking some spaghetti tonight and the whole family is gonna come over to mange. Should be a good time, and it’s one night we don’t have an obligation (every night from here until we leave is booked at this point).

Before we go on, I did manage to post two new galleries full of pictures:

I was so happy to read about the new iPod, which comes in a massive 160GB model (double what I have now), and is now dubbed the “classic” model to differentiate it from the also-new iPod “touch,” which seems to be just an iPhone sans the phone. As a solemn promise to myself, I decree that I will be carrying this new iPod with me to Oktoberfest. That’s how serious I am about getting it. Just think about how much media I can get on that thing, I can have all sorts of “good… but not good enough to take up space on my iPod” albums on there now, just in case I get the urge to listen to ’em. I will buy this. Perhaps even this weekend in Orlando, where I’m pretty sure there’s an Apple store (providing they’re not sold out).

Meanwhile, plans for our remaining days in Florida are coming together. It always seems like we end up blocking off time for this and for that, with little room left for improv. That’s the hard part about “vacationing” in the place where you grew up. The visits with friends and relatives, while not compulsory, always seem to fill up the calendar quite quickly. This coming Monday, my old buddy Kyle and I decided to catch The National in concert over in Orlando. I liked the National’s album Alligator, but have had a hard time getting into their 2007 effort. Maybe seeing them play some of the numbers live will cast them in a new light. I’m excited about that, actually, as I think the last “real” concert I saw with Kyle was a Bob Dylan / Carlos Santana double-headliner – a bit of a stylistic mismatch, but two heavyweights in their own right. Still, I feel now that I was too young to truly appreciate the show (plus, I remember having a killer headache that wrecked much of the evening for me). Should be fun to make the pilgrimage and see a gig.

I’ve been trying to work out WordPress’s “post via e-mail” feature lately. This neat functionality allows you to send an entry to an e-mail address, and have it auto-magically appear on your blog. WordPress checks the mail via POP3 and posts whatever’s in there. I had it working before, but had no real use for it. Now that I’m on sabbatical, and that I have a more thumb-typing friendly BlackBerry, I figured I may actually get some mileage out of it. Problem is, I switched hosting companies recently, to GoDaddy, and, for some reason, GoDaddy doesn’t like the WordPress POP3 methods. The PHP times out, it’s apparently a semi-known issue with GoDaddy. What’s worse, WordPress doesn’t support SSL connections (this means no Yahoo mail and no Gmail). I also can’t use free POP-able mail services that send e-mail advertisements as part of the deal, as anything new gets autoposted. Anyone know a good, free, non-SSL, POP3-readable, e-mail service that has good spam blocking capabilities? Lemme know.

Until later.