1st vs 2nd Children....

For the first child, you watch every move and it's announced.
"I've been watching her every moment!!! I think she could roll over any day now!!!"
"This is so exciting! I can't believe our little girl is about to roll over!!"

For the 2nd child, it just kind of happens.
"Hey, did you notice that Erez seems about ready to roll over?"
"Oh yeah, I think I did."

Honesty IS the Best Policy...

I was talking on my cell while driving when I noticed the flashing lights behind me. I stopped.
The cop comes up and asks me through the window, "do you know why I stopped you?"
"If I give you the right answer, will you let me off with a warning?"

"Well, what do you think?"
"I'd have to say that I didn't come to a complete stop at the sign back there."
"Actually, you kind of went right through it."
"Well, a warning would be a very effective deterrent to prevent that from happening next time." "There isn't supposed to be a next time..."
"...which is why a warning would be a great deterrent."

I gave him my license and registration, knowing I was caught red handed and totally resigned myself to the ticket. Completely composed, I awaited my fate.

He returned.
"Everything checked out," (I guess I wasn't the mass murderer driving the stolen car for whom he was looking) "and you've been totally honest with me, so I'm going to let you off with a warning."
"Considering I'm 100% guilty, I do appreciate that. Thank you."

The look that your kids give you...

One of life's priceless experiences, in my opinion, is how your young kids look up to you (literally and figuratively) for your approval and involvement. They are so good at sending messages about when they want attention and showing appreciation when they get it. Man, it's worth everything.

On being nice...

I've been told by some that I can be abrasive and abrupt. Usually, I just shrugged it off and figured that the other person was being too sensitive.

Recently, though, I've met a guy...let's call him Frank, who gave me a taste of my own medicine. I get the feeling that he thinks his abrasiveness is funny. I just think he's a first class jackass.

Sometimes that'll do it to you. Thanks to Frank, I'm much more aware of what I say...though I still have a LONG way to go.

Giving Blood...

One of the easiest ways for an individual to help another is through donating blood. 14 years ago today, I received my first blood donor card while a student in college.

On the back of the card is a slot to enter the date of each subsequent donation, up to 28. Each donation is 1 pint (8 pints to the gallon), so 3.5 gallons of blood.

I've kept that card and it's gone with me to blood donations ever since. There were even 2 different 3 year spells in which I was prohibited from donating due to travel experiences.

It's not always easy to give blood every 8-12 weeks, but I make it a priority and it was further reinforced this year when our friend, who died of lymphoma, asked that people commit to 1 blood donation per year in his memory.

So, today, in memory of our friend, Ned, and in the spirit of Thanksgiving, I am proud to report that all 28 slots on the back of the card I obtained exactly 14 years ago are now full.

Time to start a new card....

Homeowners for a year...

Tomorrow is exactly one year since we became homeowners for the first time.

We certainly have learned a lot about what that means in a very short time. It's another one of those life experiences that you just can't explain without doing it yourself. You can understand it conceptually, but not fully.

Yesterday, as I was raking the leaves with Erez in the Baby Bjorn, I took a break and looked around. Yes, the house is expensive. Yes, there is ALWAYS something going wrong...that usually costs money (though I am proud of my Macgyver-esque solutions to some things) and yes, there are frustrations, but when all is said and done, my kids have a place they can run around in, make memories in, share with each other, and learn about life. I guess I knew it was an emotional buy as well as a financial one, but only recently, with 2 kids in tow, have I begun to see how much emotion goes into making a house a home.

The Power of Information...

Imagine this scenario in the pre-Internet world.
You get a cell phone that is "locked" to a certain provider. What are you going to do? The provider isn't going to make it easy for you to switch. The competitor to that provider is probably bound not to tell you how to do it.
You're out of luck.

Well, I got a new phone that was locked to AT&T. Within minutes, I was online and found a way to unlock it so I could use my T-mobile account.

I was getting calls, but not emails, but minutes later, I found a quick step solution to that issue and now, I'm up and running using the phone I want on the provider I want with the features I want.

Perception vs. Fact

A hard lesson I’ve learned recently is that facts don’t matter. Well, they matter, but not as much as I though they do.

 

What matters is perception. Facts sometimes play a role in perception or I guess facts play a huge role in perceptions, but you don’t always know which facts are being taken into consideration as perceptions are being formed.

 

What can you do to help ensure that the perception you want formed is indeed the perception that is formed?

Staying young...

People sometimes find it funny that my hobby is playing with technology…considering I spend a large portion of my day in front of a computer and my job is in the technology industry.

 

Sometimes I feel guilty about it, thinking I should have another hobby (I do have a few, truth be told).

 

Today, I read something that made me feel better though.

 

It came from my wife. Excerpted.

 

How to stay young.

3.     Keep learning.  Learn more about the computer, crafts, gardening, whatever.
Never let the brain idle.
"An idle mind is the devil's Workshop."
And the devil's name is Alzheimer's.

 

I guess the way I try to stay young is by always trying new things with technology to see how things work and what I can do with them.

 

"Sometimes when you run too fast, you fall down..."

I said this to Calanit earlier today after she had fallen down while playing.

 

Then, I paused and realized that the same applies to me.  Honestly, it’s been a rough couple of weeks at work. Normally, I’m used to delivering “A” level work, but I’ve slipped up a bit. Not because I want to, of course, but because I was overwhelmed. I guess I consciously made some choices to focus on some other things. In the long run, it was the right call, to spend time with my family and enjoy the holidays, but in the short term, it’s not always pleasant.  It’s like professional athletes mired in the middle of a slump and it’s what the announcers seem to focus on, the batter who hasn’t hit in his last 30 at bats, the shooter who is 0 for 15 in the game.  

 

What’s worse is the catastrophic ruminations which then ensue as your mind spirals out of control and you ponder all of the unpleasant things that could happen as a result. Of course, none of them have happened and none of them are guaranteed to happen, but does that really matter?

 

Then, there is the side of the slump that requires admitting your defeat or failure. That’s not easy and I get the feeling that our culture doesn’t necessarily like failure or reward it, though it’s a critical component to future success. I don’t know if it’s true or not, but people don’t like to hear about your failures-maybe there’s nothing to say? Success-sure that’s easy to hear about.

 

I certainly don’t try to fail, but it’s important to remember that when I (we) do, that it’s not the end of everything you had hoped for and possibly even the beginning of something better.

 

It's been a while...

since I've been truly blown away by something I've seen online, but I've got to tell you that the new Live.com service by Microsoft is amazing. It's fast, easy to use, it's got everything I want and most of all, it's REALLY fast.

This is impressive.

When something is free...

I know it's obvious that when you don't have to pay for something, you're more than willing to consume more than you would if you did have to pay.

It seems health insurance is the same way. To wit, the other day, I was told that I need orthotics, which cost $350...unless insurance pays, which it does.

Without insurance, I'd probably go w/out them and get by, but with it...why not?

Ah, but here's the catch...I do pay, we all do, it's just that we pay next year and the year after that...in higher premiums.

Still, probably won't change my behavior.