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Journal for 25 April 2007

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I’m kind of amused by The Current’s promos for their “Radio Free Current” day, which includes a brief clip from the start of REM’s Radio Song. Back when I was a student at UW-River Falls, I had a radio program named Radio Free River Falls–I was intentionally aiming for something I could refer to on-air as “the lamest radio show name possible”–and I kicked off each show with the exact same clip.

I guess I may have been more clever than I gave myself credit for. Well, probably not, but sometimes I’d like to think so.

Posted in Journal at 11:57 pm

Journal for 24 April 2007

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Well, we found a new place to live. We’re going back to renting, but we’ll be getting more than twice the space for about the same amount as we currently pay for our mortgage. Our new place has a big living room, a sun room, a large bedroom for mom and dad, a nice bedroom for baby, and a formal dining room for the Turkey Party. And an office. And a storage room more than twice the size of our current storage unit.

And, best of all, we’ll be moving back to Lowry Hill. Fuck yeah.

Posted in Journal at 9:49 pm

Journal for 21 April 2007

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Well, way too quiet around here lately. Lisa and I have been scrambling to find a place–hopefully we’ll have more news on that Monday–and I’ve been spending most of my free time preparing my application to Carlson. I’ve been struggling with the required essays somewhat. I’ve been communicating via blogs, emails and PowerPoint decks for so long that I’ve kind of lost track of how to write an actual essay.

It was a beautiful day today, but I spent most of it in front of a computer. If I get another essay done tomorrow, I’ll allow myself a bike ride. (Huh, kind of flashback there. Back when I was attempting to be an English major, I bribed myself to write all the time.) Lisa and I were planning on catching Modest Mouse at the Orpheum tonight, but the show was canceled “due to illness” just ten or so minutes before doors opened. They’re going to reschedule, probably on our moving day, Lisa’s due date or some other inaccessible time.

Back to my essays! More later.

Posted in Journal at 11:12 pm

Journal for 15 April 2007

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This has been one of those weekends where its become exceedingly clear that Lisa’s and my life is about to change in a very big way. We just finished our weekend-long parenting course at United Hospital a few hours ago, and late last night… we sold our condo! The closing date is May 31st, so for all practical purposes we have only four weeks to find a new place, and only a couple after that to move. I’m not going to write how much we lost on the sale, but let’s just say it was about five times what we’re getting for our tax returns this year. And our tax returns are, well, substantial.

The other big change this weekend was with Lisa. In the course of only a couple of days she’s gone from lowercase pregnant to capital-P Pregnant. All-caps PREGNANT appears to be only a week or so away at most.

Other deadlines loom. I’m applying to the evening MBA program at Carlson, and the deadline for fall admission is May 1st. (I’m applying to St. Thomas as well, but I have until June 1 for that application.)

So, this may be my way of saying there’s a lot to do right now and I may not be online much over the next few weeks. We’ll see how things go.

More later.

Posted in BabyLog,Journal at 6:19 pm

Journal for 7 April 2007

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Well, it’s late afternoon in Chicago. We’re sitting at the Comfort Inn a few blocks off Michigan Ave–it’s actually pretty nice for a Comfort Inn–resting our feet for a few hours before going to see Wicked this evening.

Aside from the cold and blustery weather plaguing this part of the country, it’s been a good trip so far. We got down here Friday afternoon, and spent the afternoon walking the Mile and visiting the Chicago Museum of Contemporary Art. For dinner we headed to a French restaurant I found online, Kiki’s Bistro, and it was excellent. I had a delicious lamb stew, while Lisa ordered the special, seared King Salmon with a herb dill dip. While my dinner was very good, Lisa’s was much better–quite possibly the best salmon I’ve ever had. We had an onion and bacon pizza for an appetizer and a wild-berry sorbet for desert, both of which were excellent as well. In all, it was probably the best meal Lisa and I have had since our first visit to Town Talk over a year ago.

Today we headed to the Shedd Aquarium, which was a bit of a mistake. The place was cool as always, but was absolutely packed. I’ve been there three or four times before and never encountered a line to get in. Today, not only was there a line, but it stretched for almost a football field outside the front door. It took us almost 40 minutes to get in, and once in some of the exhibits were too packed to visit. Lisa still enjoyed it though, although the next time we’ll make sure we bring ourselves–and our kid–on a non-holiday weekday.

This afternoon was marked by more shopping and a visit to Dunkin’ Donuts. Oh, how I wish we had those in Minneapolis.

Well, time to get ready for the show. More later.

Posted in FoodLog,Journal,Travelog at 6:55 pm

Journal for 3 April 2007

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Well, kinda quiet around here lately. Due to the number of irons in the fire, the next week may bring more of the same.

Much of the past week was spent studying for the GMAT. It seemed to pay off as I ended up scoring a 690 during the test on Monday, well above my goal of 650. Now all I have to do is not screw up my applications to Carlson and St. Thomas. I have less than a month to complete the Carlson application, and then a month after that to finish up things for St. Thomas.

After that, well, there will be a baby to deal with.

Aside from some nice comments on one of my condo photos, we still have no news on selling our current place. We’ve had a lot of showings, including a number of repeats, but no offers yet. We still seem to be more than competitive with similar condos in the area, but they generally seem to be sitting, too. Regardless, it’s pretty clear we’re going to be having the baby here, so we’re starting to work on contingency plans. Among them may be me getting a laptop so we can get rid of my desk and put a crib in its place. This place is going to get really small really quick.

Speaking of baby, or, at least, its soon-to-be parents, Lisa and I are heading to Chicago this weekend for a “babymoon.” (As is probably obvious, the trip was Lisa’s idea.) The weather isn’t looking that great, but it’s about as late in the year as we could push the trip. Lisa’s quickly approaching the point where they may be a shift from “glowing mom to-be” to just “really, really pregnant,” and if that happens mobility will likely become a problem.

More later.

Posted in BabyLog,Journal at 11:56 pm

Comment Spam Sucks

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My comment spam filter crapped out at about the same time I got linked from a number of sites for some of my SXSW note posts, and as a result my comment spam has quickly become unmanageable.  Today I got 803 spam submissions, the worst day I’ve had so far.  I quickly scanned them to see if there was anything legitimate, but who knows if I missed anything between the “value information” about gay fantasy art or info about sexy teen virgins.  If I don’t get the filter fixed soon, I may just have to turn off comments altogether.

I guess it may finally be time for that WordPress upgrade I’ve been thinking about…

Posted in Site Admin at 11:34 pm

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