Hey Blog, Howya Doin?

Blogging is an easy thing to do. It's also an easy thing not to do. So why do I so often choose to not blog, than to blog?

I don't worry too much about not blogging until I take one of my trips down bloggery lane. I will occasionally find great joy in looking back on the early parts of this decade. I know that I will some day like to read about my experiences in the latter half of the decade. Unfortunately, I won't find such records here.

However, let's take a snapshot now, shall we?

Work is busy. Work is challenging. For the past two weeks I had this perpetual feeling of swimming against a tide, falling beneath the surface, and wondering why-oh-why did I leave ELDP island. I joked internally that I was waking up every morning and thinking, "Is this the day I quit, or get fired?" I kept that sentiment inside because I knew that neither would be the option.

Why? Because the fun part of growing up is realizing your own silly patterns. I've been here before often enough to know how I react. There's a wonderful moment when I realize, "Ah, you're going to quit, right? Like you said you would when you started all those rotations, and previous jobs? Remember how you ended up not quitting, and eventually doing a great job? I bet you'll once again remember that you don't excel because you're the smartest, but because you work harder than most. One might say you're too dumb to give up, so you'll win again."

It's like calling bullshit on myself, and I take great joy in doing so.

Outside of work, life is terrific. Oh, did I mention in this venue that Jackie is pregnant? Yep, two months to go!

The prospect of fatherhood is wonderfully exciting. Sometimes its unbelievable. Sometimes I sit back and think, "crap, I'm really grown up now." Of course, that's usually while I'm waiting for the Wii to load Mario Kart. Some things never change...

...but some things do! So fatherhood is going to rock. The road to fatherhood is full of thrills, and far less bumpy than the motherhood road our better halves take.

I now understand why wives are called our better halves, too. Seeing the perpetual discomfort and freaky things that happen to a woman's body in real time is wild. Thank you, dear!

A week ago we were watching Jackie's belly in a dark room with a light coming from another room. With the right lighting we could actually see the belly twitch as the kid, whom we gave the androgynous name, "Thumper", kicked. It's the kind of thing you can watch for hours and not get bored, like fail blog videos or a dog chasing its tail.

Speaking of the dog, Cara is still around. I mean, I love the dog! Newfoundlands really are the best breed. Obvious caveats include: you must not mind drool, or grooming a dog for 45min a week, or getting bumped around by a dog that doesn't know its own size. Also, when I write lists like that I realize how appropriate the dog is as a substitute when I'm not around.

Speaking of not being around, going back for an MBA is one of the most ambitious dumb things I've done. I've obviously forgotten any math skills from my engineering background, because if I did have them I would add up the number of hours in a week, and the number of hours I need to sleep, work, and live a happy life, and I would quickly realize I need to figure out time travel to survive.

Speaking of time travel, how awesome was Season 5 of Lost? Anyone keeping tabs on the comic-con videos this summer? It's as if they never crashed...

Speaking of crashing, it's time to end Friday before a weekend of leadership, Villanova style. Go Wildcats!

Analogesic

I'd like to compare my new job to a hamburger, but not just any hamburger. I'm talking the kind of hamburger that you order thinking, "I am SOOOO hungry. Find me the biggest hamburger you have, and then double the size of it. Put every topping you have on it, because I'm gonna eat it all."

The waiter walks away, and then 15 minutes comes back with the biggest burger you ever saw. As he approaches you think, "Ah, just the big burger I was looking for!" However, as the burger gets closer you start to realize the actual proportions.

"No problem, I can do this...just gotta loosen the belt," I think to myself. So I pick up the burger, barely able to hold it in two hands. Where do I bite first? Seems like no matter which angle I start at, the burger will probably shoot out the other side. Eventually, I'll just take a bite, "Not bad, I'm off and running, I'll kill this baby off in no time. What do they have for dessert?"

Then I realize some ketchup is running down my arm. Uh-oh, some burger toppings fell out and hit the plate. "Well, if I can at least eat the meat and roll, I'll call that a win." Ack, the structural integrity of the bun can't sustain this monstrosity! People that originally thought I could eat the burger are wondering if I can do it. Did someone just nudge my arm to try to knock the burger apart? I better eat faster! Am I feeling nauseous?

And now I just realized I didn't even notice the grad school...I mean side of fries.

Still hungry? I am.