10.17.08
Nutty Computer News
I just read that the Boston ACORN office was burglarized Wednesday night. Apparently, some computers (and vending machine change) were stolen, which seems a bit suspicious given ACORN’s recent scandals.
I don’t want to be paranoid (contrary to what they’ve told you), and I hate to assume a conspiracy lies in wait behind every act of vandalism. So, out of curiosity (and because I have time on my hands as I sit on the sofa under a blanket wondering if this sore throat means the kids have shared their Streptococcus virus with me), I utitlized Google’s handy technology to scope out the ACORN’s neighborhood.
Here is the street view for ACORN’s address:
ACORN (or thereabouts)
I did another search for computer stores in the area (supposing someone was hypothetically in the “market” for computers) and here is what I saw. The following are street views for areas surrounding some local computer dealers:
I’m not a burglar, so I’m not really sure what criteria one looks for in choosing a location, but to my novice eyes, I’m not seeing the appeal of choosing the ACORN office instead of the other computer stores to steal…well…computers.
Perhaps it’s time I Lysol off my tin foil hat….the kids have probably breathed all over it.
03.31.08
Hopping Along
Naomi is up on crutches due to a mysterious foot ailment, so I’ve been doing my best (or so I claim…do any of us ever really do our best?) to maintain a hint of sanity around our household. It has been a frustrating excercise in futility. I’m guessing all my excercise is really paying off, though, because I am becoming quite adept in this area….heck, I’m probably an expert in futility.
Through it all I am becoming much more empathetic to the struggles of Naomi’s plight as a homemaker (a term she disdains…she prefers the title “ringmaster”). I took Amelia to Church Sunday morning, and in the two hours (ish) we were away, the other two kids had managed to dump a nearly full box of sticky, tiny, granular, rainbow colored cereal all over the living room. Naomi, confined to the recliner had watched helplessly through through the fuzz of painkillers.
Actually, I exagerate. The painkillers Naomi was on have been fairly mild and non-haze-inducing. But, I imagine the flying rainbow speckles would have made for quite an experience if she had been a bit loopy.
Our kitchen is in a particular shambles at the moment, so we set up a blanket in the living room to have a “picnic” lunch. Unfortunately, that first required vacuuming up the sticky, specks of technicolored cereal. So the kids waited patiently as I cleaned up their mess.
Actually, I exagerate again. The girls ran screaming into our room and slammed the door behind themselves. Nathaniel scrambled up the couch in a desperate attempt to save his life from the certain peril of the vacuum cleaner. Scale is apprently a concept lost on them. But before I poke too much fun, Naomi recalled a time when she was terrified by the certain doom contained within the swirling vortex of an unstopped bathtub. I have vague memories of a similar terror.
After we had had our picnic, and cleaned up the resulting mess, I went to the pharmacy to get Naomi’s prescription filled. When I returned, frustrated as always, from my pharmacy misadventure, I walked in the door to find a can’s worth of chips crumbled into the carpet. Once more, the kids had taken advantage of Naomi’s state of helplessness and run amock in the living room. Once more, I did another repetition in my exercise regimen.
We are fortunate to live close to both sets of parents, so in a state of overwhelmsed crisis, we called for backup. Nathaniel went home with my mom, and Amelia went to Naomi’s folks. We spent the evening with just Arden, who is the most self-sufficient of the three, but who was disappointed because she had to stay with someone “boring”.
We watched Ella Enchanted from the warmth of a blanket fort (apparently, it was snowing in the living room, or so Arden claimed) before playing a game of Dora the Explorer “Membory.” She then got to sleep in our floor in a Dora Futon sorta’ thing. I think that while the other kids are away, it will be a nice chance for her to spend some quality one-on-one (and -two) time with Naomi and me.
Hopefully she won’t be too bored these next few days with the “boring” one(s), but I guesss if things get to be too much of a ho-hum drugery, I can always fire up the ol’ vacuum cleaner to liven things back up. The living room could use it again.
03.24.08
Easter Pictures
We went up to Gadsden this Easter to visit with Naomi’s immediate and extended family.
Here are pictures of the kids with their cousins Jackson, Malyn and Micah.
Then we ran the cousins off (okay, not really) and got a picture of Amelia, Arden, and Nathaniel in their Easter clothes. 
Nathan got a mandolin recently, so he, Scooter, and Aron performed for us all.
Nathaniel’s square dancing turned to slam dancing as he started to get a bit dizzy.
Arden enjoyed some egg hunting. 
…both with and without cousins. 
03.22.08
What’s with all this grease, anyway?
I am not much of a shopper. I enjoy going to certain stores (like Best Buy and…well, I’m sure there’s got to be another one), but even a leisurely stroll through the aisles usually takes me about 15 minutes, tops. The prospect of bumming around Wal-Mart for 1-2 hours while getting my oil changed is not a favorable one to me. So I changed my own oil this time, and instead of wasting an hour in a climate controled store listening to resonably, pleasant music, I spent three days in my dank, dusty basement. My victory is less satisfying when I think of it like that.
To be fair, I didn’t really spend three days just changing my oil. I had intended to change my oil, brake pads, and drive axle. I did the oil first, and then tried to tackle the hardest of the jobs, the axle. My CV joint has been announcing my turns with a steady click for some time now, and it’s a job that I’ve really needed to do (or “have done”, probably) for a while. I decided to buckle down to do it on Sunday. Naomi didn’t need the car on Monday, which was good to know just in case. I figured I could wrap things up Sunday evening, but it would be nice to not be rushed.
Well, Sunday came and went, and fortunately, Naomi didn’t have to have to car Tuesday either. She did need the car Wednesday morning, though, and at this point, that was starting to look more and more like an unreasonable deadline.
After all my progress (and regress) the first two and a half nights, I finally resigned myself to putting the pieces back together Tuesday night around 8:30 PM. Fortunately, I didn’t have too many extra pieces left-over, and I made it home from my midnight (well, 10:30, really) test drive through the neighborhood in one piece.
Four days later, my fingernails are still stained with grease, and I probably need a new tie rod end, since I managed to screw up the threading on my current one by beating it with a hammer. After all that, I probably did more harm than good. The one thing I did accomplish this week was a three-day oil change.
…Oh, and I think I also learned that I have a long way to go in learning to work on cars.
12.05.07
One of those days
Some people are quite emotional.
They wear their hearts on their sleeves as they passionately ride along the ebbs and flows of each passing moment. There is a vibrance and air of anticipation as I talk with these people, because each conversation has the thrill potential of a roller coaster (With a broken axle). I am not one of these people.
Generally speaking, I am fairly calm and reservered (probably even monotonous) and I roll with the punches of life with a stolid stoicism that I have somehow aquired through life’s myriad of influences. That being said, there are times I find myself frustrated by my cool and collected tendencies. There are days I want to self-destruct, but I really just don’t know how. Today is one of those days.
As an update: Nathaniel had surgery a few months back to fix his broken leg. He has congenital pseudoarthrosis, which basically means some of his bones formed false joints. Because of this, the bones in one of his legs have weak spots and low blood flow. Because of that, they’re curving, and one of them broke. Additionally, his condition complicates the normal “fixability” of a standard fracture. He is two and a half years old and has a lot of growing yet to do; at this point, we’re not really sure how well is leg is going to keep up.
This is a relatively rare condition and is usually a symptom of another disease called neurofibromatosis (I believe) or NF I , which has potential symptoms that run the gamut from splotchy skin to chronic pain and blindness (among many other things).
A few months back, Nathaniel’s surgeon performed a bone graft on his broken leg using a piece from his hip bone. The hope was that the bone would “take” and would fill in the gap and serve as the bridge between the fragmented ends in such a way that the bone would heal and continue to grow. He was going to be confined to a cast for about three months. This was Plan A.
Six weeks ago, Nathaniel’s pediatrician suspected an infection beneath the cast, so we had the cast removed just long enough to check things out and get a quick X-Ray. The x-Ray revealed that the bone was healing and Plan A seemed to be working.
The surgeon, who originally diagnosed Nathaniel’s condition felt fairly certain that he did not have NF I, but a second surgeon felt pretty sure he did, so we had blood work done a few weeks ago.
Yesterday, the results from the bloodwork came back positive, which means that Nathaniel has NF I. At this point no one knows what symptoms may crop up, and this news scares me.
This morning, he had his cast removed “for good,” and the X-Ray revealed that the growth we saw six weeks ago didn’t take like the doctor had hoped. The bone is not healing, and Plan A did not work. This news scares me as well.
Meanwhile, Amelia’s therapy is going well, I believe, and she is making progress towards — hopefully — walking with quad-canes before too long. Having two crippled children, both with uncertain futures and a third child – whose skin also seems somewhat splotchy – troubles me and feels overwhelming at times.
But here I am. At work. In front of my computer doing what it is I do (whatever that is). Life goes on, and other than writing my (monthly’ish) blog entry I will probably go about my usual routine as always: even-keeled and collected. I’m not sure how to bring this up in everyday converstaion (I’m not even sure what “this” is), and I doubt I would if I could, so I will continue to function in my little sphere and I will continue to smile and bob my head to passing colleagues. My day will continue to be a mostly-honest “fine.”
It may seem as if this stoicism is a form of faith — and in some ways, I suppose it is — but I’m afraid I’ve somehow crossed the line between faith and fatalism. I do believe in a sovereign God who intimately continues to sustain the fabrics of creation — from the robust purple mountain majesties to the delicate, numbered (and increasingly fleeting) hairs on my head. I believe that He intends the fall of each sparrow, and He is well aware of the braces now worn by both Amelia and Nathaniel.
This leaves me without excuse for doubt and worry (though I continue to do both), but it also offers no excuse for apathy. It’s a mystery, to be sure, but we are called to live the days that have been documented already and boldy follow the steps that were mapped before the world was made, and we are called to do so with eyes wide with wonder and worship rather than the stony stare of a stoic.
09.23.07
Lake Chinnabee
I realized that I hadn’t posted a blog entry in quite a while. Since we had a fun family outing to Lake Chinnbee recently, I figured it might be fun to post some pix. (Plus, since pictures are worth like a bazillion words – at least words in my blog — then this should make up for lost time).
We spent a good bit of time on the swings, since that’s a favorite of all three (5?) of the kids in our family.
Here is a scenic view of what little water was left after the drought we’ve had this summer
Since the water was so tranquil and serene, here is a picture of Arden, Nathaniel, and me riling up things by poking them with sticks.
And here is Amelia, stuffing her pockets full of souvenier rocks (because we don’t have enough of those around our house).
07.13.07
Now, if only I could save time in a bottle or something…
I think I must have ADD (or one of its derivatives). Ok, not really, I guess, because I know that that is a medical condition, and that there are people who truly do suffer from this disorder. The ADD that aflicts me (and about half the people I talk to and overhear in conversations at the grocery store) is more of a virtual ADD — a self-inflicted attention deficiancy that has come as a result of withdrawals from the perpetual stimuli and a steady stream of instant sensory gratification.
My computer at work is broken today, and as I’ve been sitting watching the hour glass float for twenty minutes (if not literally, awfully close) between each step I take towards fixing it, I have run out of things to do. I have drawn up an object model for my current project on the white board in my cubicle — three times over — and I have documented its many details in the same notepad I am now drafting this blog entry.
Last night, Naomi took the kids up to Hunstville to visit her brother Nathan, which left me as a bachelor for the evening. I don’t normally watch much television, but last night, FX was broadcasting American History X which I had never seen before, and I like Edward Norton, so I decided to watch it. (It was flipping interesting, but the freaking censorship overdubs were a bit awkward and funny at times). During commercial breaks, I alternately strummed my guitar and went online. The adverts didn’t get any longer, but my distractions did, and by the end, I was surfing the web with a guitar in my lap as I watched the movie out of the corner of my eye. I had to stop and turn for the dramatic parts, but the last half was a blur, and, while I don’t want to spoil the ending for anyone else out there, I’m pretty sure it had something to do with a seagull that flew off into the sunset.
All that to say that I cannot keep still. I also know that I am not alone (judging from the cellphone conversations I’ve eavesdropped on in supermarkets). We are a society of tremendous and mobile technology. We have mechanisms to keep us connected to entertainment and information at all times: 100 Gigabytes of our most (mostest) favorite music, Wifi connections to the World Wide Web, and cellphones that feed the voices of our friends and family into our ears with hands-free, on-the-go convenience, and increasngly, all-in-one devices that offer us this world in one small, self-contained box. We’re the generation that invented the box that holds the world, and we’re doing our best to ensure everyone has one.
We’re also the generation of ADD (and its 31 flavors), restless leg syndrome, and commercials for medicine that we should remind our doctors that we need; Pills that sound, increasingly, like they were named after alien life forms or killer robots or something (Greetings, Human! I am Prozac, from the planet Zoloft. We Prilosec are a gentle race, and We come in peace (heh heh), Earthling, to bring you this magic medicine)
We are a generation for whom the world is always at our fingertips, and yet, sleep elludes us…as the streaming flow of info is quick to remind me. I’m pretty sure I saw Abraham Lincoln, a talking beaver, and a technicolor butterfly last night while my guitar gently screeched, and no, I’m not referring to some far-out, psychodelic experience, man…Insomnia commercials are my anti-drug.
But enough of the chit-chat…I think I need to tweak the drawing on my dry-erase board just a bit more.
05.25.07
But is this safe?
Amelia has surgery coming up and we are quite nervous. She is slated to have a selective dorsal rhizotomy on August 1st, and, though the success rate is quite high, I get scared thinking of the implications of a slight misstep when work is done on the spinal cord.
From what I understand (which isn’t much), the surgeon(s) will make a small incision on her back to remove some of the sensory nerves in her legs. Apparently there is some sort of sensory over-spill, such that the sensation of one leg is being felt (sensed?) in the other, which would explain much of her stiffness and spacisity…each leg “wants” to respond to what the other one feels.
Amelia is supposed to be a prime candidate for this surgery, but it is still nerve wracking and the logistical implications are overwhelming when I think about them for too long. The recovery process will include therapy two times a day (on weekdays) for up to four months, and then once a day for up to a year. In the meantime, we would like to enroll her in a kindergarten program next year. There is a private, Christian school on the same road as the hospital at which she would have therapy, so a half-day program (between therapies) there would be ideal. We have yet to hear back about any openings, though.
Once she has had surgery, she will no longer be on her Baclofen “Yucky pills” (which eases the muscle stiffness), which I think will be a good thing, because she seems to be developing a dependency on those. I am also hopeful because of the high success rate of this operation, and all of Amelia’s therapists’ comments that she is such a hard worker with great enthusiasm and dedication. I am hoping this will be the thing that gets her walking (ideally unaided eventually, or at least with quad canes or something similar), but I am also a natural pessimist who worries that this will end up being a lot of trouble for little or no results. Also, I feel like we have somewhat reached the end of our metaphorical rope, so if this fails, I don’t know what else we will be left with to try.
Through all of this, I know that God is faithful, and I know that He works all things for His glory and for the good those whom He loves. I may have my own desires and agendas, but through disappointments and pleasant surprises I must remember that (as C.S. Lewis reminds us…indirectly) He’s good, and He’s the King.
The Taste of Summer
There is a Chinese buffet in town that we frequent and the kids love. Amelia loves crab (as well as the krab) and they all look forward to the rainbow ice cream that is often available (what’s ironic is that it’s actually vanilla flavored. It seems like a cruel joke to add superfluous, clothes-staining coloring to an ice cream that is “naturally” white).
On one trip, I teased Amelia by combining her two favorites and asked if she was going to have the Krab Ice Cream (I believe that fatherhood has made me less clever over the years…but some would probably argue that very little has changed). I thought my creativity made up for the lack of “clever”, but apparently I have been beaten to the punch (so to speak) with my dessert ideas.
Here are links to the wacky, wackier, and wackiest world of Japanese ice cream…
01.24.07
Attack of the Clones
I’m not as creative or original as I like to believe I am. Part of the proof of that is the fact that I stole this idea from someone else (Andy’s Soapbox), and the other evidence is in the Google search for my name: Steven Stewart
Now, admittedly, mine is a fairly common name from both fronts (much like Moon Unit Zappa), and I haven’t done many spectacular feats to rise above the waves in this vast sea of Stevens, but I was somewhat discouraged by the results I saw.For one thing, there is already a www.stevenstewart.com (Home of Steven Stewart Music). As a computer-geek/closet-aspiring-rock-star, this is an affront on several levels, and the fact that such an audacious stunt was pulled by a fellow who shares my namesake only adds insult to the injury.
Actually judging from the Google search result, there are several Steven Stewarts who are musicians. I am proud (although admitedly a bit jealous) of my fellow Steven Stewarts, and I am happy that they have been successful with their (ad)ventures. There is still a selfish side of me that wonders, though, if this is good news or bad. I guess on the one hand, it will be incredibly difficult to make a name for myself since there are already several people who have done that for me…or something like that. On the other hand, however, I could see this as being possibly advantageous to my plights towards fame and (mis)fortune…I suppose I could arrive at the gig-scene seconds before my imposter does and confidently slide in through the “Musicians Only” back door wearing a not-the-least-bit-deceitful nametag. “Why yes, I am Steven Stewart,” I can say with a cool demeanor should anyone question my credentials. I may not sing the greatest, and my guitar-pickin’ may be a bit rusty, but I am fully qualified to be a Steven Stewart.
Should that fail, Google also showed me that I could also ride the coattails of my noteriety if I ever travel overseas – to Australia, for instance where I will have plenty of interesting people to meet. Apparently, I have a doppleganger who is not only a member of “The Melbourne Dance Meetup Group,” but also a member of “The Melbourne Raw Food Meetup Group” (I was quite surprised to see which of those came first in the Google listing!)
I gave up on finding myself after about 10 pages, and I have quietly resigned to the fact that the quickest way one has to find his way to me is still with a search of ”Virtual Softie Doll.” Every few weeks or so, I notice that hits continue to trickle in from that search, so instead of clinging to impossible dreams of one day having a .Com named after me, or heading up a Melbourne-based group for dancing raw-food connoisseurs (I do hope they give their tummies time to settle before cutting the rug too intently), I suppose I should just be grateful for what I do have.
