Small kindnesses

I'm thankful for common grace in my neighbors, especially A.S. across the hall. He's been kind in specific ways several times in the past week. I hope that we'll have a chance to witness to him sometime before we move. Maybe that's why the Lord has so far been answering our prayers to help sell our condo by saying "not yet"....

It's official...

...I have a motorcycle endorsement on my driver's license. Hours of work, $18.98, sweat, driving a trailer and making u-turns on Rt 46 when detours randomly end in the middle of Little Falls, etc. have paid off. Sort of. See, I did all that for "M Motorcycle" in something like size 5 font on the back under "Endorsements". Ah, the beauty of bureaucracies, especially government-run ones. And I still have to renew my license next year, despite having just gotten a new one.

Many thanks to Jeffrey (and his family) for their advice, time and encouragement.

Scootering

This evening, after track practice, I got a chance to drive around in my first official scooter-driving lesson with JD (and a young D child in his sidecar). I tried the light-speed switch, but it seems to be stuck right now. So I was stuck going a pedestrian 6.67x10^-8 of c. Translation for non-uber-nerds: 38mph. The basic plan was once around the block on back-streets, then to TCS, practice weaving between lines at TCS, then drive back. Red Honda Elite Scooter (her name until someone comes up with a better one) handled excellently all the way up to 43 mph. (No, I didn't attempt to go faster. Especially at this point, what would the point be?) She had momentary issues idling in the church parking lot, but this was a known minor hose problem that poses no safety concern. It will shortly be fixed permanently. Next driving lesson later this week.

OK, on to Jackson: He can roll over both ways with ease. He is eating pureed vegetables (yuck!) and cereals, and has two bottom front teeth. He recently bought a tent so that he could join us at track meets. Jen says he adores his father. Let's hope the respect continues for at least 17.6 years.

On Real Estate: We've got a couple more leads on a condo buyer. Pray with us that one of them pans out!

Jackson, in brief

I've been getting some flack for writing about my new means of transportation, but not about Jackson.

So here's the significant recent news: Jackson got his first tooth! And then he got his SECOND tooth. Thankfully, there's baby Tylenol! He's getting big, but babies all seem to do that. He's also going to sleep without being held down anymore, as well as waking up in the morning and talking to himself for an extended period of time before crying.

Quick addition

The Honda scooter is now insured, titled, registered, and the NJ sales tax paid. If you have no idea what I mean, keep reading below....
In other news, this helmet is the exact one I now own.

And the winner is...

...motorcycle endorsement!

For those who participated in my recent poll, I thank you for your willingness to be good sports. Sadly, you will likely all be wrong. I mean, you still have a chance. Some institution of higher learning MIGHT decide to bestow upon me an honorary academic degree. Someone MIGHT send me to the Caribbean next week to learn SCUBA. It's possible the state police will issue me a handgun permit before I even apply for one. (I do have the application filled out, by the way.) And maybe I'll even play some crazy fiction character and "borrow" a plane from Lincoln Park airport to save the world with.

But surely you're all rational people, and you know none of these things will happen. What has happened is that (after 2 hours at the local DMV center) I have a motorcycle permit. I won't take the road test for several weeks, but I have the scooter and helmet, and by the end of the day I should have insurance, title and registration. No, I'm not going through a mid-twenties crisis. As you can see, this scooter is NOT cool by the standards of anyone with a real motorcycle. I sought the advice of a variety of friends, including the ever-helpful JD.

Feel free to leave appalled or ecstatic comments.

I know, very wannabe space-age. The brand, price, and engine size were right.

Far too long

Yes, it has been far too long. That being said...

Best news recently: Jackson falls asleep now without being held down (to keep him from flipping over). All three of us are far happier this way.

Other good news: There's been interest in our condo, and we're having an open house on Saturday. Send anyone interested to our forsalebyowner.com page.

Bad news: I've had a long series of sinus issues. Bad ones.

Check out our new poll.

Update of sorts

It appears that the muse has not inspired me for some time now. Or maybe my creativity dried up. Or maybe it was being away for a week. I suppose the busyness excuse won't work, huh?

Well, here's a quick update on Jackson:

He's smiling often, and finally getting back on a schedule of naps and dealing with being alone. He lost this ability when we went to CT for a whole week, but he's finally getting used to it again. Of course, his lungs and diaphragm are still growing stronger, so the crying is getting louder.

As many of you have, we've seen lots of friends and family in the past month. So Jackson has gotten lots of attention and introductions.

He met Wayne & Michele Kruzek (who have their own news...!) during an enjoyable evening of conversation and Jenga.

Within the past week, Jackson figured out how to roll over -- but only from stomach to back. And unfortunately, he sleeps on his stomach and dislikes lying on his back. So we're trying to teach him the reverse process.

In other random news:

I'm actually basically done with second term grades a week early! This is largely due to Jen's helping with grading so much this year, which in turn encouraged me to keep the grading folder relatively slim. I'm very thankful for the result. I also only have to write 3 midterms this year, which is great. I've ordered a new cell phone (Motorola W385), mostly because it was free and newer phones often have better voice quality. I've also been messing around a bit with Linux recently, including installing Ubuntu 7.10 on my old college laptop. This is mostly a reflection of a burning desire to avoid all things Microsoft (with the only exceptions being Excel and MS computer mice). I've also personally been encouraged by real quality conversations with friends (including Jen of course) over the past few weeks.

Well, I'll be updating our Picasa picture site a bit here and there over the next few days.

cheers

Snow Day... Days?

So we had a snow day today; TBC canceled all services because of inclement weather. Our family webcast the services from Tenth Pres in Philadelphia. Drs. Ryken and Tripp preached well and profitably on Solomon and choosing the right path in life, and God's love and our love as Christians respectively. We saw two of our friends - Sarah and Anne - in the congregation, which seemed rather like stalking, but we didn't choose which video feed to post....

Jen & I had a very relaxing and refreshing evening without Jackson last night, which included patronizing Baja Fresh and Starbucks, bringing towels to flooded friends, a brief stint as take-out delivery people, and Yahtzee. Do NOT ask about our Yahtzee scores. (Jen says, "Wow, that's a low score" ... looks over at mine "oh, um... oops" laughs)

Jackson slept through the night and had to be woken up at 7:00! Woo-hoo!

The weather forecast seems to indicate that school will not be hindered tomorrow morning. I will refrain from comment on what I prefer. Suffice it to say there may very well be snow-dancing tonight. Ask Wayne about where this came from; I'm not really that pagan.

Well, check the online picture album for several recent additions including videos.

Cheers

The Rest of November

There, my title covers me from being criticized that I skipped weeks of Jackson's life. Speaking of Jackson, three of the five who took our recent poll are to be commended for correctly identifying Edward as NOT being one of "Stonewall" Jackson's names. His full name was Thomas Jonathan Jackson. Check out our new poll ... whenever I write it.

Since last post, Jackson got to see 2 of his aunts baptized and added to the Grace Reformed Baptist Church in East Haven, CT. Of course, Jen and I are very thankful that 2 more sisters are now also sisters in Christ. The Cute Little Fellow also met his great grandma Lee, great uncle Gary and his new wife Delana. See our Picasa album for documentation of Jackson's first Thanksgiving. More pictures will be added once we've gotten contributions from the other cameras present.

Jackson slept through the night for the first time a few weeks ago, and was on a roll until a few nights ago. Now he's making a stink around 4AM every day. Maybe it's because he's already outgrowing his bassinet (thanks to the Seversons for that great gift!), and is now transitioning into his Pack-n-Play as crib.

Jen & I took Jackson with us to Willowbrook Mall yesterday afternoon. I hate malls. A lot. But Christmas shopping beaconed, and it turned out to be a useful trip. Jackson got cranky pretty quickly, and I had to keep walking in loops out in the halls (isn't there a better name for the halls in malls?). This meant I got exercise, lots of time with the little guy, and a serious allergy problem. How is it possible for every store that sells scented anything to pollute the entire airspace of a whole wing of the mall?!? (Don't tell me, Brownian motion, diffusion and all that good stuff.... It's still irksome, even if science seems to demand it.) Anyway, Jen had a useful trip, we even saw Tim Hartline there (and I had a "yeah, I NEVER come here either!" moment with him), and we got to introduce Jackson to Borders. And then I made my sole purchase... ok, technically there were two: a medium cappuccino and a 5"x8" planner/ address book. (It's Moleskine, it's "the legendary notebook, used by European artists and thinkers for the past two centuries, from Van Gogh to Picasso, from Ernest Hemingway to Bruce Chatwin" website brags. Don't worry, after trying my dad's "if it doesn't list a price it must be free" line, I got it for the price of a smaller sized version. And then I used a 25% off coupon. So I'm not snobby-because-I'm-artsy-simplistic. I'm practical.) Anyway, back to the main point: Jackson didn't like the mall, and I was pleased by this.

Oh, and one more mall trip complaint: That 23/46/80 interchange that is STILL under construction is STILL life-threatening, and now there's another bridge in the area closed (actually one-way) for no apparent reason. Finish the project this decade please!

Jackson gets to have several hours tonight with Grandpa and Gram so that Mommy and Daddy can share a few sane hours without worrying about feeding, crying and diaper changing.

This just in: My sister Alison was accepted to a creative writing masters program at prestigious university in the British Isles. No word on whether she'll take them up on it.

I've probably forgotten things, but I've got to get back to work. G'day.