Category: Family (page 7 of 14)

September 22, 2009

Don’t look at the clock, just go to sleep

You know how when you can’t sleep, your eyes sometimes wander to the digital clock on the night table? At some point everyone does that. It’s no good since you are not going to sleep, you are just watching the clock countdown. The whole night can go by that way repeating that same counter productive routine.

Last night I was trying to sleep along those lines. But being an overachiever, I was much more counter productive than that.

Yesterday evening Lily and I went swimming and we did 10 laps together. She’s a better swimmer than I am, since I don’t push myself too hard. My muscles will not cramp up because at the first sign of warning I slow it down. Even taking it easy I still get really tired.

Just like last week, water got into my right ear and I could not hear much from that side. We got home and eventually went to sleep. Or Lily did, I spent the night pulling, tugging and prodding my sensitive ear.

At some point around 3 AM I went to the bathroom and poked at my ear with a q-tip. Then in a pre-dawn state of mind, I poured some hydrogen peroxide in my ear. My thinking was that I had a build up of ear wax. This flat out did not solve my problem but my ear sure got sore.

Now, I do not know anything at all about the human ear. If I was not so tired and had slept, then I am sure my response to my idea for treatment would have been “Wow, that’s just stupid”. Normally I would expect that my ear would get worse from that plan but at 3 AM it seemed like a pretty good idea.

I did not get to sleep at all and when the alarm went off at 5:30 this morning I tried to go downstairs to have my coffee. I did not make it, I was just too freaking tired. I thought that if I went to the office in my nervous state of mind, I would have a psychotic episode. So I called in sick and kept my hands off my ear.

It’s now 12 hours later and still no sleep. And my ear is only a little better. I have to do a parent-teacher meeting tonight, it’s my first one this semester. I think I will let my wife do all the talking. Next week I have a scheduled doctor’s appointment so I’ll skip any further swimming till I speak with him.

I’m really hoping I sleep like a log tonight.

September 21, 2009

10 laps tonight

I went swimming with my wife again and swam 10 laps. Not as exhausted as last time but pretty tired.

September 17, 2009

Making a Tooth for the Tooth Fairy

Note from Jan Dembowski: This post is from my friend André Quitta. André sometimes shares his stories here.

My son, Aaron, is six years old and just lost his first tooth. It was one of his bottom front teeth, one that had been loose for about a week. He had heard about the Tooth Fairy and was excited about the nighttime exchange that was to come. He had lost the tooth somewhere at sometime during the day and became sad about the missed opportunity. However, his mother had convinced him that a visit from the Tooth Fairy would still be possible. The next morning he was happy to see a quarter under his pillow and planned to ensure that future teeth were safely put aside.

He called me last night to tell me about his monetary gain and I mentioned to him that there may be additional funds possible at our house, because I knew a thing or two about the Tooth Fairy. He was convinced it was the lack of tooth under his pillow that caused the shortfall in expected funds. His solution was that we should build a tooth by making a small white box with the prongs that hold a tooth in place. We could go to Home Depot and get the right supplies. He suggested we get a kind of paint to make the manufactured tooth “super white, whiter than anything, like yellow.” He also said we should buy paint of a different color so that when the tooth fairy comes, she’d be splattered and we would know she was there.

I shared with him that paint tends to dry quickly. His solution was to apply multiple coats of paint on the constructed tooth so that it stays wet. I also expressed my concern that the Tooth Fairy may not appreciate getting paint splattered on her and it could impact future financial transactions. Ever quick thinking, Aaron said we would buy clear paint at Home Depot. I had not heard of this before but told him that we could ask the people at Home Depot for guidance. The last detail on the manufactured tooth was that we would need to buy cotton to fill the tooth. He reasoned that because the Tooth Fairy is clever, she would know if the tooth was just a hollow box and thereby feel tricked, thus diminishing any future financial funds. Ultimately, we may go with tissues or paper towels, depending on availability and most importantly authenticity. I’ll let you know how the project turns out.

September 14, 2009

Swimming once a week

I’m exhausted, my ears are clogged up, and I smell like chlorine. I’ve signed up with Lily to go to the Half Hollow Hills West Natatorium once a week for laps.

See, I’ve only been used to swimming at a leisurely pace to hang out. I have successfully avoided going to a gym my entire life. But Lily has been taking lessons for more than a year. Last semester she cast off all of her fear and swam in the 12 foot deep section.

Swimming is great exercise and tomorrow I will ache. I don’t think there is a muscle in my body that I have missed. I’ll keep up with it but I have to do something about my ears. My right ear’s hearing is off by half and that bugs me.

The things I do to spend more time with my wife.

August 19, 2009

Washington DC trip

Going to Washington DC this year was quite an experience. Here’s what I learned.

1. The Acela is more expensive and only saves about 30 minutes. But it’s worth it, the Acela is roomier and more comfortable. We took the Acela on the way there, but on the way home we took the regional. Not really a good idea with kids; that additional space counts.

2. Charge your camera battery before the trip. My camera battery ran dry and I ended up taking photos on the Botanical Garden Museum with my iPhone.

3. Don’t worry about high ISO when in a museum. See the above picture? I like how it and others came out. That’s part of the The Apotheosis of Washington fresco I shot using my Nikon D60 with a AF-S Nikkor 18-200mm 1:3.5-5.6 G ED lens and these setting:

1/25 second exposure
F/5.3
75mm focal length
1600 ISO (auto selected by the camera, I started at 200)
Auto ISO turned on with a maximum sensitivity to 1600
Active D-Lighting turned on
Noise Reduction turned on

Normally I frown at taking pictures with such a high ISO and less than 1/30 shutter speed. I took 600+ photos on the trip and shared on Flickr over 170. The one’s that were set to ISO >1000 came out really good too. You can see the results at this link here.

Here’s some of my favorite high ISO shots.

4. Plan out where you want to eat. We planned the hotel, the places we wanted to go to, and the travel arrangements. We did not plan out to well where to eat. The first night we ate at the hotel’s restaurant which had steak, some steak, and more steak. Not a lot of variety although the steak was good though and Lily had a bowl of clam chowder. The next day we ate at the Union Station. If you have ever been to Roosevelt Field’s food level or even Pier 17’s food court then you’ve had the same experience. Not a bad thing but the same.

5. I still want a better camera. Even though the Nikon D60 performed well, I am still jealous of low noise at 3200 ISO. The 18-200mm lens is on loan from Stefan but it’s way too useful to not include in my kit. It’s a good walkabout lens.

In September I hope to order my new kit. In the meanwhile I’ll keep abusing my Nikon D60.

August 15, 2009

Acela to DC mini vacation

My son is a huge train fan so we are going to take the Acela from Penn Station to Washington DC. The plan is to get to DC and spend lots of time in the Smithsonian. He’s more excited about the train than he is going back to the Air and Space Museum.

If there was a train museum in DC we would have to sedate him to get him out of there. He’s that fixated on trains.

Naturally I will have my camera. I’ll take some photos from the train but for me all the fun happens when we’re walking around the capital. I’ll be packing light so the only gear I’ll have will be the Acer netbook and lots of SDHC memory cards. For extended trips I normally take a laptop so I can dump the pictures but this will only be a few days.

It will be a good trip and I’ll post links to the Flickr page afterward.

June 16, 2009

No need to be competitive

So Lily put the kids to bed and was complaining that they were fighting.

Me: They like to compete with each other. That’s why they fight.

Lily: After a while it drives me crazy.

Me: Did you ever compete with your brother?

Lily: There was no need.

Wow.

March 2, 2009

What a great way to start March

It started snowing last night. Not a lot in an hour, but it did not stop. Now schools are closed and the roads are dicey.

In a very short while I’ll head out and clear the driveway.

January 31, 2009

Chinese New Year Parade

Since last week we were planning on taking the kids to the Flushing Chinese New Year’s parade today. This morning we got to the parking lot on Union Street before 9 AM and we were the first into the restaurant. The parade started at 11 AM so we were waiting for about an hour for the parade to start.

Except for it getting really cold, it was a good parade (with some funny moments). You can see the Flickr set here. The kids had a great time.

January 31, 2009

Kindergarten Hamsters

My daughter’s Kindergarten class has a pet hamster named Bear. Every Friday, one of the kids in her class gets to take Bear home for the weekend and get to feed and play with her.

Yesterday was my girl’s turn. Both kids are excited and I have to keep reminding them that Bear is not a toy. They don’t hurt the hamster but they are kids and they need a grownup to keep the pet in good shape. Now the kids want a hamster for a pet. That’s not going to happen unless I can get a cat (and since Lily does not want a cat, we remain pet-less).

It’s an interesting experience and I’ll take photos and post them on Flickr.

Category: Family (page 7 of 14)

Don’t look at the clock, just go to sleep

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10 laps tonight

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Making a Tooth for the Tooth Fairy

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Swimming once a week

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Washington DC trip

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Acela to DC mini vacation

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No need to be competitive

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What a great way to start March

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Chinese New Year Parade

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Kindergarten Hamsters

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Jan Dembowski