Yes...he LIVES...!!! :-P
"…It's late September and I really should be back at school…!" – Rod Stewart, from "Maggie May", 1971
Yes, yes, yes, yes…I know…why the heck do I take so long to post anything? Well, let me tell ya sumpin'…! (points to anyone who gets the reference to Jim Carrey's "Fire Marshall Bill Burns" character from the classic TV 1980s comedy series 'In Living Color').
Well, sometimes "real life" issues just overwhelm you to the point that you have to prioritize. Unfortunately that means that taking the time to post a blog has to take a back seat to other considerations. Recently, that has been all the time. If I had some free time available to me, I usually found myself too tired to really get around to starting something. This of course sets up another problem. The longer I go without blogging, the longer the blog will become once I actually make one. Naturally, after six months of no blogging, I have a lot to share, and that in itself is a daunting task, one that would make most aspiring bloggers drag their feet, and in turn further lengthening the process. As it is, it has taken me a couple of weeks, in bits and pieces, to complete this entry. After nearly six months, what's a couple more weeks, huh? So, without further adieu, on to the good stuff!
Well, I suppose the most obvious thing I should talk about first is baby Aiden! He is now six months old and is happy and healthy! He isn't as pudgy as Rowen was at the same age, but he is still in the middle of the length (height) and weight charts like Rowen was. Rowen shot up to the ninetieth percentile by the time he was a year old, though, so we shall see how Aiden does. Unlike Rowen, Aiden wasn't born with a full head of thick hair. His is definitely more fine, but it is coming in nicely now, and he is fair-haired, as we expected he would be (both Bridget and I were quite fair-haired as children). He definitely has a different personality than Rowen. Aiden appears to be more thoughtful. He appears content to sit back and observe. He is very sensitive to sudden and loud noises. We are now introducing (semi) solid foods, and so far he seems to like everything we have given him. Aiden smiles a lot for us, and is now truly laughing/giggling, especially with Rowen. He is paying a lot of attention to Big Brother, and we have so far been very lucky that Rowen is being so good with Aiden, and even interacting with him more than we thought he would.
What about Big Brother Rowen, you ask? Don't! Just kidding! The big issue with him right now is Operation Potty Training. And it has not been going so well. Rowen knows how to go pee-pee in the potty just fine. Getting him to actually do it is another thing entirely! For some reason, he often simply refuses to go willingly to the potty, and seems to have no problems at all with wetting himself. I learned from my mother Peggy that I was a real difficult case at age three as well, so I suppose that it should not come as some surprise to us. Otherwise, Rowen is doing very well with his daycare (where he is usually going to the potty, it is at home where the real difficulty has been), has learned a lot of letters by sight, and can sing the "A…B…C…" song! Most recently, he can identify his name! He is very independent and will do at least initially try to do everything himself, although if he isn't successful after the first attempt he is quick to ask for help!
Just before Memorial Day weekend, the transmission on my trusty 1998 Saturn SW2 station wagon gave up the ghost. At that point, I had 157,400-odd miles on the vehicle (all but 36,000 put on by us, as we bought the car used). I never had a major mechanical issue with the vehicle, and tried to keep up with the major servicing aspects. So, in a sense, we got our money's worth out of the vehicle, and we were very happy with it. The timing, however, was of course not good. Any kind of car payment was not in the already limited budget, much less paying for even a cheap used car outright, but I also had no choice but to get another car, as the old car's transmission was not economical to repair. The money would be better spent on a replacement car.
So, we went back to Saturn of Marietta. We had already purchased four Saturns in the past ten years from them, and from the same salesperson, a sweet lady named Charlsie. If you ever are looking to get a Saturn, go and ask for her, and tell her we sent you! Seriously!
We were initially looking for a late-model, slightly-used car, but there just happened to be a Memorial Day Zero-percent interest promotion going on for their "closeout" models, the Relay minivan and the ION. The 2007 model year is the last for these two models. The Relay was being phased out due to poor sales, and the "entry-level" ION was due to be replaced by another model for the 2008 model year. We did try applying for the zero-percent financing, and much to our amazement, we actually qualified! The financing offer only applied to new Relay and ION models, however. As it turns out, having interest added to our payment on a used car would have probably cost us more per month than that for a new car. I ended up picking out a nicely-equipped 2007 ION four-door, in black, of course, and the total price including the extended warranty, was only about $22K. My payments only came out to about $346 a month. That was about as good as I could get, given the circumstances, so we were happy with this. Remember, though, a car payment of any kind was not in the budget. Even though a new full-time job was on the horizon, there wasn't enough money to pay for everything. That is another story.
Starting in mid-June, I started working for Pirelli Tire North America (PTNA), in their consumer affairs department. PTNA moved their corporate headquarters to Rome, GA back in about 2003, and it is on the same grounds as the tire factory they built here. It is unfortunately a temp-to-perm type of position, and it doesn't pay very well at the moment, but if things work out well, I could end up being a full-time employee, making a bit more money and benefits. So far, I have enjoyed working there, and it is an interesting environment, as PTNA's parent company, Pirelli & C. S.p.A. , is based in Milan, Italy. So, I get to hear a lot of transplanted Italians talking around me all day! Perhaps I will learn Italian though osmosis! Based on feedback from my immediate supervisors, they are actually quite pleased with my performance overall. That does a lot for one's self-esteem! I am getting very close to working there ninety days now, and I know I will be up for a performance review soon, so I hope that this bodes well for future full-time employment! It is a typical office-type of job as far as the hours go, so it was going to come in conflict with continuing to teach with Kid Chess in the coming school year. I miss being able to enrich the minds of my Kid Chess "kids", but I had to again prioritize. As it stands right now, I have not burned any bridges with Kid Chess, and I am presumably welcome to return to teaching there if the circumstances permit; however I would classify myself as "inactive" with teaching at this time. If you live in the North Metro Atlanta area and have school-age children and want them to really broaden their minds and their mental aptitude, you should look into getting a Kid Chess program at your school or at least have your children attend one of their summer camps!
I am actively looking for additional part-time work to help cover the bills. As I am effectively under-employed at this time, I am simply not making enough money. We had hoped to be out of debt (at least what is considered to be "bad" debt) by this time next year. Due to my gaps in employment and/or under-employment in the past year, not to mention taking on the additional debt of another car payment, our overall debt has substantially increased. I am also counting whatever financial assistance our families have been able to provide us to the overall debt. It is my sincere intention that they will be paid back in full someday. Anyway, we will have to just keep working really hard towards reducing our overall debt as best as we can and hope we will be essentially debt-free in a couple more years.
The search has so far not gone well. Most area retailers, including one I used to work for last year, Kmart, are only looking for Holiday help, which means temporary part-time employment at best. I really need something that I could continue working rather indefinitely. I haven't given up! I can't...too much is at stake!
In mid-August, I noticed evidence of some kind of insect bite on my lower left leg, almost on top of where my shin bone was. It was rather small, and was not painful or itchy, but due to its almost perfect roundness, I thought it was likely some kind of spider bite. I immediately feared another bite from a Brown Recluse spider. As you might recall, two years ago, (and in August as well, apparently a very active time for Brown Recluses, as they are trying to reproduce) it was determined by my physician (after the fact) that I had been bitten on the top of my left ankle by one of these tiny yet potent beasties. I was fortunate that the bite itself wasn't too serious, due primarily to its location, but my later bout of cellulitis in my left foot a few weeks later was directly attributed to the spider bite. Then of course came the bout of cellulitis' more-evil relative, fasciitis, in my left leg almost six months later, which was a potentially a life-threatening condition. Now, granted, it was not the infamous "flesh-eating bacteria", aka necrotizing fasciitis, but it started as a case of cellulitis that developed into a more severe (and potentially dangerous) condition once this notably aggressive infection reached the fascia beneath the dermal layers. None of this was far from my mind when I first thought of the possibility that I was again bitten by a Brown Recluse.
Well, as it turns out, it probably was some kind of spider bite, but most likely not a Brown Recluse. Or it was and it didn't manage to inject much venom at all when it bit me. The bite healed quickly, and it didn't leave a noticeable mark afterward like my first one did (and it was actually a relatively small Brown Recluse bite).
The last weekend of September will find me, Bridget and the boys in Tallahassee, FL. My mom Peggy will be watching Rowen and Aiden while Bridget and I (and my sister Beth as well…her husband Josh will be unable to come down) all participate in our twenty-year high school reunion, the Robert F. Munroe school Class of 1987. Beth and I, being "Irish Twins" and born in the same year, were always in the same class in school, so we graduated high school in the same year as well. We are looking forward to this reunion! Beth and I went to our tenth in 1997 (that was also the time that I had my car literally go up in flames…another good story). We both initially felt that we would generally not enjoy ourselves, but much to our surprise, we had a great time! This time around, there has been a lot of email traffic leading up to the reunion, and everybody who is attending seems to be very excited, and those who know they will not be attending are most upset that they will miss out on what appears to be a great weekend coming up! Beth and I are also eager to show off Rowen and Aiden to our former classmates at the "family time" set up during the weekend!
After many delays and/or much foot-dragging, we finally have a date for Aiden's baptism. Due to the aforementioned reunion, it will be the last Sunday of October, October 28th. I feel bad that Aiden is going to have just turned seven months old and is just getting around to being baptised. Typically, babies are baptised within the first few months after birth. Rowen was not even three months old when he was formally baptised (he had also gotten baptised by a priest in the hospital just prior to his surgery…just in case). I hope that the Reinwald (Bridget's) family baptism gown will fit him, as I know that the Evans (my mother's) family gown probably won't now. It didn't fit Rowen either, but then again he was just so big, even at three months. Aiden is more "normal" sized, but he is also going to be seven months old. And we seem to have to go through more hoops this time around regarding godparents. Bridget's sister Sarah and her husband Edgar were Rowen's godparents. This time around, Beth and Josh are to be Aiden's godparents. I was pleased to find out that Josh was baptised Roman Catholic, although he grew up non-practicing in the aftermath of his parent's divorce at a young age. Hopefully, that will be enough. I want Aiden to have both a male and female godparent, but I don't have that many friends that are at least raised Roman Catholic, especially males. Beth was also Royce's godmother, but that was under extreme duress and very unique circumstances of the moment.
No promises, but I will do my utmost to post another update before the end of the year! Honest!
Bill
Yes, yes, yes, yes…I know…why the heck do I take so long to post anything? Well, let me tell ya sumpin'…! (points to anyone who gets the reference to Jim Carrey's "Fire Marshall Bill Burns" character from the classic TV 1980s comedy series 'In Living Color').
Well, sometimes "real life" issues just overwhelm you to the point that you have to prioritize. Unfortunately that means that taking the time to post a blog has to take a back seat to other considerations. Recently, that has been all the time. If I had some free time available to me, I usually found myself too tired to really get around to starting something. This of course sets up another problem. The longer I go without blogging, the longer the blog will become once I actually make one. Naturally, after six months of no blogging, I have a lot to share, and that in itself is a daunting task, one that would make most aspiring bloggers drag their feet, and in turn further lengthening the process. As it is, it has taken me a couple of weeks, in bits and pieces, to complete this entry. After nearly six months, what's a couple more weeks, huh? So, without further adieu, on to the good stuff!
Well, I suppose the most obvious thing I should talk about first is baby Aiden! He is now six months old and is happy and healthy! He isn't as pudgy as Rowen was at the same age, but he is still in the middle of the length (height) and weight charts like Rowen was. Rowen shot up to the ninetieth percentile by the time he was a year old, though, so we shall see how Aiden does. Unlike Rowen, Aiden wasn't born with a full head of thick hair. His is definitely more fine, but it is coming in nicely now, and he is fair-haired, as we expected he would be (both Bridget and I were quite fair-haired as children). He definitely has a different personality than Rowen. Aiden appears to be more thoughtful. He appears content to sit back and observe. He is very sensitive to sudden and loud noises. We are now introducing (semi) solid foods, and so far he seems to like everything we have given him. Aiden smiles a lot for us, and is now truly laughing/giggling, especially with Rowen. He is paying a lot of attention to Big Brother, and we have so far been very lucky that Rowen is being so good with Aiden, and even interacting with him more than we thought he would.
What about Big Brother Rowen, you ask? Don't! Just kidding! The big issue with him right now is Operation Potty Training. And it has not been going so well. Rowen knows how to go pee-pee in the potty just fine. Getting him to actually do it is another thing entirely! For some reason, he often simply refuses to go willingly to the potty, and seems to have no problems at all with wetting himself. I learned from my mother Peggy that I was a real difficult case at age three as well, so I suppose that it should not come as some surprise to us. Otherwise, Rowen is doing very well with his daycare (where he is usually going to the potty, it is at home where the real difficulty has been), has learned a lot of letters by sight, and can sing the "A…B…C…" song! Most recently, he can identify his name! He is very independent and will do at least initially try to do everything himself, although if he isn't successful after the first attempt he is quick to ask for help!
Just before Memorial Day weekend, the transmission on my trusty 1998 Saturn SW2 station wagon gave up the ghost. At that point, I had 157,400-odd miles on the vehicle (all but 36,000 put on by us, as we bought the car used). I never had a major mechanical issue with the vehicle, and tried to keep up with the major servicing aspects. So, in a sense, we got our money's worth out of the vehicle, and we were very happy with it. The timing, however, was of course not good. Any kind of car payment was not in the already limited budget, much less paying for even a cheap used car outright, but I also had no choice but to get another car, as the old car's transmission was not economical to repair. The money would be better spent on a replacement car.
So, we went back to Saturn of Marietta. We had already purchased four Saturns in the past ten years from them, and from the same salesperson, a sweet lady named Charlsie. If you ever are looking to get a Saturn, go and ask for her, and tell her we sent you! Seriously!
We were initially looking for a late-model, slightly-used car, but there just happened to be a Memorial Day Zero-percent interest promotion going on for their "closeout" models, the Relay minivan and the ION. The 2007 model year is the last for these two models. The Relay was being phased out due to poor sales, and the "entry-level" ION was due to be replaced by another model for the 2008 model year. We did try applying for the zero-percent financing, and much to our amazement, we actually qualified! The financing offer only applied to new Relay and ION models, however. As it turns out, having interest added to our payment on a used car would have probably cost us more per month than that for a new car. I ended up picking out a nicely-equipped 2007 ION four-door, in black, of course, and the total price including the extended warranty, was only about $22K. My payments only came out to about $346 a month. That was about as good as I could get, given the circumstances, so we were happy with this. Remember, though, a car payment of any kind was not in the budget. Even though a new full-time job was on the horizon, there wasn't enough money to pay for everything. That is another story.
Starting in mid-June, I started working for Pirelli Tire North America (PTNA), in their consumer affairs department. PTNA moved their corporate headquarters to Rome, GA back in about 2003, and it is on the same grounds as the tire factory they built here. It is unfortunately a temp-to-perm type of position, and it doesn't pay very well at the moment, but if things work out well, I could end up being a full-time employee, making a bit more money and benefits. So far, I have enjoyed working there, and it is an interesting environment, as PTNA's parent company, Pirelli & C. S.p.A. , is based in Milan, Italy. So, I get to hear a lot of transplanted Italians talking around me all day! Perhaps I will learn Italian though osmosis! Based on feedback from my immediate supervisors, they are actually quite pleased with my performance overall. That does a lot for one's self-esteem! I am getting very close to working there ninety days now, and I know I will be up for a performance review soon, so I hope that this bodes well for future full-time employment! It is a typical office-type of job as far as the hours go, so it was going to come in conflict with continuing to teach with Kid Chess in the coming school year. I miss being able to enrich the minds of my Kid Chess "kids", but I had to again prioritize. As it stands right now, I have not burned any bridges with Kid Chess, and I am presumably welcome to return to teaching there if the circumstances permit; however I would classify myself as "inactive" with teaching at this time. If you live in the North Metro Atlanta area and have school-age children and want them to really broaden their minds and their mental aptitude, you should look into getting a Kid Chess program at your school or at least have your children attend one of their summer camps!
I am actively looking for additional part-time work to help cover the bills. As I am effectively under-employed at this time, I am simply not making enough money. We had hoped to be out of debt (at least what is considered to be "bad" debt) by this time next year. Due to my gaps in employment and/or under-employment in the past year, not to mention taking on the additional debt of another car payment, our overall debt has substantially increased. I am also counting whatever financial assistance our families have been able to provide us to the overall debt. It is my sincere intention that they will be paid back in full someday. Anyway, we will have to just keep working really hard towards reducing our overall debt as best as we can and hope we will be essentially debt-free in a couple more years.
The search has so far not gone well. Most area retailers, including one I used to work for last year, Kmart, are only looking for Holiday help, which means temporary part-time employment at best. I really need something that I could continue working rather indefinitely. I haven't given up! I can't...too much is at stake!
In mid-August, I noticed evidence of some kind of insect bite on my lower left leg, almost on top of where my shin bone was. It was rather small, and was not painful or itchy, but due to its almost perfect roundness, I thought it was likely some kind of spider bite. I immediately feared another bite from a Brown Recluse spider. As you might recall, two years ago, (and in August as well, apparently a very active time for Brown Recluses, as they are trying to reproduce) it was determined by my physician (after the fact) that I had been bitten on the top of my left ankle by one of these tiny yet potent beasties. I was fortunate that the bite itself wasn't too serious, due primarily to its location, but my later bout of cellulitis in my left foot a few weeks later was directly attributed to the spider bite. Then of course came the bout of cellulitis' more-evil relative, fasciitis, in my left leg almost six months later, which was a potentially a life-threatening condition. Now, granted, it was not the infamous "flesh-eating bacteria", aka necrotizing fasciitis, but it started as a case of cellulitis that developed into a more severe (and potentially dangerous) condition once this notably aggressive infection reached the fascia beneath the dermal layers. None of this was far from my mind when I first thought of the possibility that I was again bitten by a Brown Recluse.
Well, as it turns out, it probably was some kind of spider bite, but most likely not a Brown Recluse. Or it was and it didn't manage to inject much venom at all when it bit me. The bite healed quickly, and it didn't leave a noticeable mark afterward like my first one did (and it was actually a relatively small Brown Recluse bite).
The last weekend of September will find me, Bridget and the boys in Tallahassee, FL. My mom Peggy will be watching Rowen and Aiden while Bridget and I (and my sister Beth as well…her husband Josh will be unable to come down) all participate in our twenty-year high school reunion, the Robert F. Munroe school Class of 1987. Beth and I, being "Irish Twins" and born in the same year, were always in the same class in school, so we graduated high school in the same year as well. We are looking forward to this reunion! Beth and I went to our tenth in 1997 (that was also the time that I had my car literally go up in flames…another good story). We both initially felt that we would generally not enjoy ourselves, but much to our surprise, we had a great time! This time around, there has been a lot of email traffic leading up to the reunion, and everybody who is attending seems to be very excited, and those who know they will not be attending are most upset that they will miss out on what appears to be a great weekend coming up! Beth and I are also eager to show off Rowen and Aiden to our former classmates at the "family time" set up during the weekend!
After many delays and/or much foot-dragging, we finally have a date for Aiden's baptism. Due to the aforementioned reunion, it will be the last Sunday of October, October 28th. I feel bad that Aiden is going to have just turned seven months old and is just getting around to being baptised. Typically, babies are baptised within the first few months after birth. Rowen was not even three months old when he was formally baptised (he had also gotten baptised by a priest in the hospital just prior to his surgery…just in case). I hope that the Reinwald (Bridget's) family baptism gown will fit him, as I know that the Evans (my mother's) family gown probably won't now. It didn't fit Rowen either, but then again he was just so big, even at three months. Aiden is more "normal" sized, but he is also going to be seven months old. And we seem to have to go through more hoops this time around regarding godparents. Bridget's sister Sarah and her husband Edgar were Rowen's godparents. This time around, Beth and Josh are to be Aiden's godparents. I was pleased to find out that Josh was baptised Roman Catholic, although he grew up non-practicing in the aftermath of his parent's divorce at a young age. Hopefully, that will be enough. I want Aiden to have both a male and female godparent, but I don't have that many friends that are at least raised Roman Catholic, especially males. Beth was also Royce's godmother, but that was under extreme duress and very unique circumstances of the moment.
No promises, but I will do my utmost to post another update before the end of the year! Honest!
Bill
posted by Bill Kargel | 9:41 PM
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