Good news and bad news..............

First the bad news. I nearly ran over the old blind guy that works on my floor in the building. I came around the corner and he was heading right for me.

The good news is that my cat-like reflexes allowed me to avoid any contact with the man. He likely never even knew how closely we courted disaster.

Hope springs eternal...........

Yes, it's that day again. The opening day of the baseball season. Another season arrives full of hope that this will be the year that the team overachieves and becomes a playoff contender. Realistically, a .500 record is a pretty good goal given the overall talent on the team, but even that would be a good improvement over the past several years of losing teams.

This year, we have good young players at several positions with some veteran talent sprinkled in to keep the kids pointed in the right direction. A new, more stricter approach is being implemented by Trey Hillman, the new head coach. He took a last place team in Japan and put them in the Japanese championship game in a few years. Hopefully he can reproduce that feat in Kansas City, though it's obviously a bit tougher job in Major League Baseball.

In a month or two, I'm hopeful that we'll be putting up a competitive record. If not, football training camp is just around the corner.

The day of reckoning draws near............

The project manager for my group just announced the change that I already knew was coming. She's headed to another group effective the last day of this month. I already knew that because our vice-president had already let me know that I was the one he'd like to take the project manager position.

So, in the coming weeks, I'll get dumped into the world of management. I'll have to hire someone to replace the outgoing project manager. I'll send status reports to my VP concerning the group's work. Approval of time sheets and vacation time fall in my responsibilities as well, though that shouldn't be hard to approve considering everyone works a straight 40 hours.

My only concern is that I'm going to be promoted to run a group that has a couple of people who are older than me. They honestly don't have the experience or education necessary to run a group, but it's never a great situation when a more veteran group member doesn't get the nod for a promotion over a newer member of the group. Thankfully, I have a very good relationship with both of them, so I don't think it will be too difficult to make it work.

Celtic romp...............

Last week, I took Kali 1.1 to her weekly music class. They had a class with Celtic music in honor of St. Patrick's Day. Only one other girl, Malia, was there for the class. She was 3 years old. Kali was a bit more outgoing than usual. She wanted to crawl over to play with Malia. She also kept pointing at the musical instrument bin, wanting to play with them before it was time.

I also played with Kali in the gym room. They have things like slide, bridges, climbing walls, etc. for little kids. Kali likes to play around on some of the equipment, but most of her time is spent watching other kids. She's learning a lot in the classes and from playing with the other kids.

On the way home, Kali and I stopped at McDonalds to have a snack. On the way in, I saw a couple of girls in a car at the drive-thru window. They were giggling a lot and looking somewhat sleepy-eyed. As they drove away past me (I was on the sidewalk), I quickly figured out the issue at hand. The smell of marijuana smoke filled the air. Those girls were stoned out of their mind. I counted my blessings that those girls would be long gone by the time I got back on the road. Scary stuff.

Kali and I shared a ice cream sundae. Kali loves ice cream. She'll eat plenty of other foods, but much like Mrs. Lime, she's a sucker for ice cream. The sugar didn't have much effect on her energy level. She fell asleep on the way home after a couple of minutes on the road and slept well all night. Music and food can have that effect.

Take notice..............

Our group got a notice about a short meeting this afternoon:

Me: Oh, look. We're going to have an improptu 15 minute meeting this afternoon.

Co-worker: Really? I didn't get any e-mail about the meeting.

Me: Well, if the meeting is for a short announcement and you weren't invited, I'm guessing you can connect the dots.

Co-worker: ***eyes bulging***

Good times. Good times.

Must be tourney time..........

I've overheard a few comments in the office today.....

"What are you talking about? We want Kansas to lose in the first round!"

"Kansas State is going to get beat today. They're not going anywhere."

Yes, it would appear that the NCAA Basketball Tournament has begun. My only regret is that no one is mentioning that MU will lose because we're not even in the tournament. Alas, there's always next year.

Random musings............

1. Local rumblings indicate that several administrators in our school district used corporate credit cards to make numerous personal purchases? If these people are dumb enough to think they'll be able to get away with this, do we really want them to oversee our child's education?

2. I received a speeding ticket last month. I intentionally set the speed control at 7-8 MPH over the speed limit to avoid going 10+ MPH over the speed limit, which is generally the line where cops start pulling you over. On the day in question, my speed control was set at 72 in a 65 MPH zone. Cop pulled my red Mustang over on the last day of the month for 'going 75 in a 65 MPH zone'. Either they round up 3 MPH when your car is red or they adjust the speed to make sure they fulfill their ticket quota on the last day of the month. Either way, it's awfully hard to argue against him.

3. If Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama keep pissing on each other's shoes, there going to hand the election to John McCain by default. Note to the Democratic party........starting the mudslinging before you even get to the point where your candidate is selected is a BAD idea.

4. I bought a new powder blue Royals' jersey. It's been awhile since I purchased one. Thought I'd spend yet another year building up my hopes. Perhaps this year will be a good one??????

5. Kali 1.1 tried to swallow a penny yesterday. Mrs. Lime wasn't sure if it went down the chute, so they got an X-ray to be sure. No pennies were found, so we don't know if it went through the system or if she missed her mouth. It would appear we have the next great sleight-of-hand magician on our hands.

6. Mrs. Lime brought home two containers of ice cream and one container of sherbet last night. She said she couldn't decide which one she wanted, so she bought all three. This wouldn't be the first time that Mrs. Lime was indecisive, but it would be the first time that three containers of ice cream came home with her as a result of that indecisiveness.

7. I think I'm one of the few people in the U.S. that's excited about the economic downturn. I see that stock market going down and all I can think about is how much quicker I'm going to increase my retirement savings by investing right now.

8. Someone I know mentioned that their parents bought a second home in a Florida retirement community. Unfortunately, a short time after they bought it, the developer filed for bankruptcy and now the subdivision is full of empty houses and unfulfilled promises. Note to self: don't enter a 'planned retirement' community unless it's fully completed.

9. I watched High School Musical the other night with Kali 1.1. I admit it. It was a fun show and the songs were catchy. Kali gave it a thumbs up.

10. A baby's digestive track leaves little to the imagination. What comes out in the diaper can be easily deciphered to determine what went in the mouth to produce the output.

Ink on the mind............

Mrs. Lime for some strange reason decided to write some messages on the back of my hand using an ink pen. She had been writing something while sitting in bed and just grabbed my hand and started writing on it. I pulled my hand back at first, worried what may be about to happen, but then I eventually relented. She drew a smiling face and 'I love you' on the back of my hand. Relatively harmless. I fell asleep shortly thereafter.

In the morning, I got to work and was typing away on my computer. I looked down and noticed a faded smiling face on the back of my hand. That's all well and good. But then, a wave of panic suddenly hit me. If Mrs. Lime drew that on the back of my hand, what might have she done to my forehead after I fell asleep?????? I walked to the bathroom to make sure that my head wasn't a ink billboard. Thankfully, Mrs. Lime had spared me from the behavior that I feared for some reason. My forehead was unscathed.

The only problem with this blog is that Mrs. Lime will now read it and likely get some bright ideas. Hmmmmm, maybe I shouldn't have related this story after all............

Da-Da, where'd the top go??????

Kali 1.1 took advantage of the 75 degree weather yesterday. She went with me to Target, which is only a 5 minute drive away. We make that trip all the time together, but this day was different. We drove to Target with the convertible top down for the first time.

Kali knew something was odd right away. I put her into the baby seat without opening the car door. Once she was buckled into the seat, I got into the car and pushed the button to open the garage door. Kali was entranced as she looked up and was able to watch the garage door slowly open on its own. She smiled the whole time.

We backed out of the garage and Kali kept looking up and around. She looked at the clouds and trees that she usually can't see with the roof in the way. We drove slowly through the neighborhood and Kali just continued to take it all in.

After a couple of turns, we got onto the 4 lane highway. We sped up to around 60 MPH. Kali's hair started blowing all over the place. She put her hands on top of her head, seemingly worried that her hair might blow off. It didn't upset her at all, but you could tell that she was caught off-guard by all of the wind. As we slowed down after a couple of miles, Kali took her hands back off her head and resumed her surveillance of the surroundings.

She did even better on the way back home, not even worrying about her hair blowing around. I'm sure we'll be making many more convertible rides as the summer approaches. She'll be a veteran co-pilot in no time.

An unholy alliance.............

I think that Mrs. Lime and I need to heighten our awareness of the situation in our home. There is evidently a slowly developing alliance in our midst. The main ingredients consist of one part Kali 1.1 and one part Nova 7.11.

My favorite daughter is playing the power cards to bring Nova to her side. The other day, I left the room for a moment to switch out the laundry. I left Kali in the high chair with her breakfast of Cheerios. While I was out in the other room, I kept hearing Kali make the 'Mmmmm!' noise that she often does when she's pointing at something or wants more food. I went back out to find Kali offering Cheerios to Nova. It was pretty apparent that this alliance has been brewing for some time now, as Nova was nearby waiting for the handouts. I told Nova 'no', but I think the cat may be out of the bag at this point.

Kali later tried to offer her animal cookies to Nova as well. He behaved himself then as well, though the mounting pressure being applied by Kali may end up being too much to handle.

Uncomfortable............

I had another chance to put my non-verbal people-reading skills to the test. I walked by a lady talking with a guy in the hallway.

Lady: ....well, I have one other brother.

Man: I see.

Lady: But we're estranged and never talk to each other anymore. So I might as well be an only child.

Man: (nervous laughter) Oh, OK.

Lady: Yeah, he's a bit of an oddball. He's never acted like he wants to be part of the family.

Man: (crosses one leg over the other) Mmmmm hmmmmm.

Lady: So, we've just refused to talk to him anymore. I can't say I miss him all that much.

Man: (arms crossed) Sure, sure.

Lady: I've always felt like an only child. Never felt like he was ever my brother.

Man: That's too bad. Well, I've got to run. Talk to you later!

Lady: Take care!

1. Nervous laughter was evident in his first response. He was already in the 'avoid saying something stupid' mode at that point.

2. Crossing his legs is a defensive posturing. It's a sign that he's uncomfortable with the situation and is trying to protect himself in some way.

3. Crossing the arms is another defensive posture. He's closing himself off from the discussion, hoping to avoid any missteps.

4. After saying he 'had to run', he took off walking at a speed that would make race walkers jealous.

The amusing part was that the lady in this conversation appeared to be totally oblivious to how uncomfortable the discussion was to the man. She wore a smile on her face the whole time as she verbalized a family situation that would have made most people cringe. Regardless, it was another situation where non-verbal communication painted a pretty vivid picture of the situation that most people wouldn't have noticed.

The bottomless pit known as Kali 1.0..........

Kali 1.0 is just piling home the food lately. She's got to be on some sort of growing spurt. I took care of her yesterday and took note of what she put down.......

8:00 AM - 8 ounces of milk

9:00 AM - Two large handfuls of Cheerios

12:00 AM - Three large spoonfuls of Macaroni and Cheese along with 2 heaping spoonfuls of peas

4:00 PM - One bag of animal crackers (about 30-40 crackers)

6:00 PM - A few bites of bow tie pasta and a plate of spaghetti with meat sauce

8:00 PM - 9 ounces of milk

It won't be long before she's eating more than I do.

The mighty Brick Layers finish their season..........

I put together a rec basketball league team called the Brick Layers. We played an 8 game season. Just a few of my friends that needed a reason to have some glory days of some sort. We came very close to making the championship game, but unfortunately ended up 0-8. OK, so we didn't come close at all. It actually was a shame that the season ended because we were playing much better in the last three games. The first 5 games, we were losing by 15-20 points a game. In the last 3 games, we were competitive in every game and nearly pulled out the last game.

We'll probably play in another league later this year, but for now, we're going to take some time off to relax and learn from our (many) mistakes.

Kali 1.0's first basketball season comes to a close.........

Last night, I attended the final home basketball game for Mizzou this season. As always, we had a good time. It was a great game, as Mizzou won in double overtime. Certainly been a disappointing season due to some off the court issues, but thankfully, most of the team members that caused the problems are graduating, so we should have a fresh start next year with some good, young talent.

I've been amazed over the course of the season how much Kali 1.0 enjoys going to the games. She watches movies on the way down to the game to avoid boredom. On the way home, she sleeps well and barely stirs when I put in her in the crib when we get home.

At the games, she absolutely LOVES the band music. Every single time the band starts playing, she stops whatever she's doing, smiles, and begins to clap. She doesn't stop clapping until the music stops, then she goes right back to doing whatever she was doing previous to the music.

Of late, she's also gone to stomping her foot to the music and doing some dancing as well. We sit in the same area each game with the same people. In addition to our group, there are several people around us who spend their time during the timeouts watching Kali clap and dance. She literally performs to an audience at this point. They get a big kick out of watching her. She waves to all of them when she comes in and when she leaves. She's going to be a social chairman of something in her lifetime. It's too obvious of a fit.

Another big hit for Kali is the Truman the Tiger commercials that come up periodically on the scoreboard video screen. She smiles and points at the scoreboard every time he pops up. Often, she notices him before any of the rest of us do. Smart kid.

One note of caution. Kali decided to take a header right on one of the seat edges. The bruise on her nose this morning is proof that the seats don't give too much.

It was fun to take her to some games this year and she had a blast going to them. Can't wait for next year.

Go figure..........

Mrs. Lime's truck is already paid off. I'm only 5 months from paying off my car. As a result, we will have no car payments by summer.

Only one problem........someone evidently told Mrs. Lime's truck. In the course of 1 month, I've had the shock absorber go out on the front right tire and the right front tire go flat. Mrs. Lime drove on that flat tire for several miles and, as a result, we're going to go ahead and get 4 new tires.

I put the spare tire on the truck to hold Mrs. Lime over until the new tires came in this week. Lo and behold, that old spare tire now has a slow leak on it. I can't say I'm shocked, but would it be too much to ask that the truck hold out for a bit longer to give us a few months to bask in the glow of our newfound money when the car payments end?

I won't bother mentioning that my car still runs well for fear that Murphy's Law may take that convenience from me as well.

Mac & Cheese eating lesson.........

For those that are unaware how to properly eat Macaroni & Cheese, Kali 1.0 has created a demonstration video for your benefit.........

Mac & Cheese Video

Happiness is a singing greeting card.............

Really, it doesn't get much better than a singing greeting card when you're a one year old kid.......

Singing card video