Adventures in Hanging Out

Erica and I had the pleasure of hanging out with two of our very good friends last night, Eva and RJ. Some might call this "babysitting," but we like to think of it as hanging out with some friends.

We got to take them to the dining hall here in our building for dinner. It was quite a production. The dining hall didn't have any booster or baby seats, so we mainly fed the littlest one (RJ) on our laps. They were the hit of the dining hall, as some 100 undergraduates watched the little ones eat. (Truth be told, I think they were watching Erica and I struggle to feed them more, but whatever.) Dinner took about an hour and fifteen minutes. It was a lot of fun. We knew RJ was done eating when he through a bite of food at us. It was clear that he had enough and was ready for a change of scenery.

We brought them back to our apartment and played with them. They were both equally enthralled by our fish tank. Eva was certain that the lobster was waving at her from his "hiding" spot in his fake log. RJ just wanted to grab the fish. Either way, the fish loved the attention.



RJ crashed out 20 minutes after finishing dinner and Eva was close to falling asleep thereafter. We watched Monsters, Inc. (which is coincidentally Erica and I's first date movie).





We only "hung out" with them for a few hours, but we were exhausted when they left. We loved our time spent together and hope to do it again very soon!

Please Describe Yourself

The Graduate School interviews have started and I must admit, I really enjoy them. It is very stimulating to talk with potential colleagues about myself and our mutual work. One of the questions that one always receives during an interview of any sort is, "Tell me about yourself." I always struggle with that question because it can have so many dimensions. I think about this question a lot actually. It is one of the most basic yet complicated questions in existence. As I finished one phone interview the other day, I spent the rest of the afternoon reliving the interview in my mind. It went well, but I kept thinking about the "tell me about yourself" question. As I was driving home from work, I thought of something that really does make me quite unique that I had never really thought about.

I am incredibly curious about new things and have to find out the answers to my questions, especially in settings that appear banal.



Here are some examples.

Earlier that day I went to an eye specialist for an exam. The doctor was an "opthalmic specialist" and I immediately wondered what percentage of his customers were referral-based (doctor to doctor). When the nurse was administering tests to me, I wanted to know how much schooling she had to have to do her job. When I left, I saw a 100 gallon fish tank in the lobby and I wanted to know who picked out the decorations and the fish for the tank. (Needless to say I inquired about all three of these.) So here I was, going through a number of tests about my eyes, and I was more concerned about the fish tank than what the tests actually measured or were looking for.

Later that day I happened to run into the gentleman who refills our snack machine downstairs at work. My mind was so overrun with questions about his work that I started asking him a few questions. I wanted to know how many snack machines he fills in a given week, if he refills other kinds of machines as well, and how large of an area does he cover. He was very excited to converse with me and was happy I was taking an interest in him.

The way I've characterized my inquisitive nature here seems to indicate that people would find me annoying. Maybe they do, but I have found that people are genuinely excited that someone is interested in their work, and more than willing to share information. It also makes one very knowledgeable about how the world works in many important ways that often go unnoticed despite occurring right under our noses. I guess this aspect of who I am never really hit me until these graduate school interviews...

Medical News

This was a bit of a nervous week for me.

About two months ago, I was driving home from work and something hit me. I suddenly had very blurry vision and large blind spots with some "stars" mixed in. It was very scary, and I probably should have pulled over. I didn't think anything of the incident at the time. I just took an aspirin and slept it off.

Last Saturday, the same thing happened. But this time, I wasn't driving. I was working out. I quickly went to the doctor on Monday morning, and they did a number of tests on me, including a head MRI that was conducted in a trailer in the parking lot of the doctor's office. I took the test, and was told that I wouldn't find out the results until today.

Well, today at 3:30 I got the phone call from the doctor saying my MRI was normal. It turns out that I have ophthalmic (ocular) migraine headaches. They are quite peculiar, as I only experience blind spots and blurred vision--no headaches, no numbness, no slurred speech. Just blind spots. In fact, if there was a drug that produced such effects, it might be a desirable thing. I will have pills to take when I experience them to minimize the effects and the "hangover" that seems to occur the next day. (I just feel a little run down afterwards.) These migraine attacks might happen once every few years, every few months, or every few days. They are quite the medical mystery apparently.



So, I get off pretty easy this time. I am very thankful and relieved today. If the diagnosis would have been worse, we would have managed I'm sure. I have a great wife, family, friends, and faith to get me through anything. But for this little snag in life, all I'll need is a little pill and some peace and quiet!

Michigan Primary

Today marks the Michigan primary for the presidential election. As someone who claims residency in Michigan (still), I had to vote absentee a few weeks ago. I was very sad to learn that the Democratic primary was not a true primary, as only Hillary Clinton and Gravel were on the ballot. It was sad that Clinton decided to go against the party's wishes and leave her name on the ballot. I'm sure she isn't too saddened by the news, as her name will surely be mentioned numerous times during this primary. The Republican side should be much more interesting. I am writing this at 8:30 pm, and I'm betting that Mitt Romney wins. His shtick about invigorating the economy as someone who has added so many jobs to Massachusetts will likely sway many votes.

Speaking of voters in Michigan, the following people voted in today's Michigan election.



This is my father. His work does not give him the day off to vote until the November election, in hopes of keeping Michigan blue via the union vote. It's doubtful he made it to the polls today.



This is my mother. She is no doubt thrilled about this picture being on the Internet. She will probably be even more excited to learn that I am going to forward this picture to her co-workers.



And finally, this is Chance and Barbie (my brother and sister-in-law's dog). They aren't eligible to vote. (Well, at least not until 2051, when dogs enslave us all.)

Maggie in the Snow

When we were home for the holidays, we were the benefactors of 12 inches of snow on New Years Day. It was very pretty when it all fell. We took a number of pictures around Erica's house, which we think are quite good.







I like the one of Maggie, Erica's family dog. She is a Shih Tzu just like Chance (my sister's dog). They haven't met yet, although I am certain they would like to. Maggie got a lot of snow mats in her fur from plowing through the snow. Upon entering the house, Erica thought it was a good idea to use the blow dryer to melt them off her. Maggie was lukewarm to the idea to begin with, but after she heard the noise it made, she ran frantically from Erica. If Erica came at me with a blow dryer, I would probably run, too.

This blog is also a great excuse to put a picture of Erica up dressed crazily.

A First

I did something last weekend that I had never done before. I went to see two movies at the theater back-to-back. Erica was still at home visiting her family, and I was home alone. I really wanted to see Walk Hard at the theater, so I went to see it. When it was over, I had a striking realization that I had nothing else to do, so I went right back in and saw The Great Debaters. Both very good films in their own right.

Walk Hard is a parody movie about Walk the Line , the Johnny Cash story. It is a little over the top, but overall very, very good. Quite funny, too. The music and the arrangements in the movie make it truly worth while. There are also a number of cameos and one-liners that make the movie even better. It was good I saw it sans Erica, as I don't think she would have appreciated it.



The Great Debaters was a very good film based on a true story. It revolves around the efforts of debate coach Melvin B. Tolson (Denzel Washington) at historically black Wiley College to place his team on equal footing with whites in the American south during the 1930s, when lynch mobs and Jim Crow laws abounded. The Wiley team eventually succeeds to the point at which they are able to take part in a debate with Harvard University. It is one of the few movies that portrays professors in a positive and I would argue realistic light.



It was a great Saturday of movies to be sure. If you've never went to see a movie by yourself, it really is a gratifying experience. I also had Chinese buffet after the movies.

Holidays at the Homeland(s)

Erica and I spent the holidays back home in Michigan. It was the first holiday season spent as a married couple. We had a great holiday and are very blessed to have such great families and friends. We spent the first part of the break at my families, eating dinner on Christmas Eve. The year brought two new "official" members to the family to dine around the table, Erica being the first, and my sister-in-law, Stacy being the other.



We opened up presents early on Christmas morning, and scurried off to Erica's parents' house. We've become quite skilled at this practice, as this has been the case the last two years. As anyone knows who has to split time between families around the holidays, there is never enough time, and you always feel like you're rushing.

One highlight of being home was we got to meet Chance, my mom and sister and brother-in-law's shih tzu puppy. He is very smart, and becomes restless when you don't play with him enough. He has a hernia, but he can't get it fixed until he's a little older. Chance is quite feisty and lovable at the same time.