Domo!

Just another LOLcat...in honor of going to a Japanese restaurant yesterday, Gyu-Kaku. Domo arigato Mr. Gato!

My Cloverfield review

I loved it. It gave me a headache.

It inspired me, it made me want to vomit.

No, really. I've been interested in this film since the untitled trailer this summer. The biggest thing about Comic Con this year was JJ Abrams and I missed it! Still pissed about that. But baby came the day before the film's release, so there was no opening day/opening weekend visit to the local cineplex to check it out.

Instead we waited a bit over two weeks and after visiting one set of grandparents, we visited the others. The in-law grandma had complained of not even getting a chance to change the babies diapers yet! WTF? Oh, she got to change one all right...because we snuck over to the new theatre about five minutes away from their house to catch Cloverfield. Figured at 88 minutes long, it would be an ideal first time out without baby. Not too long.

The film was awesome. I love the concept. I love the lack of a clear ending. I love the lack of explanation. I love the sense of reality for a 'fantasy' film.

But oh my god I wanted to be sick. My urge to vomit wasn't too powerful, but it gave me a headache that lasted for hours afterwards. I had to look away at times, not because of what was on screen, but because everything on that damn screen was bouncing like mad. I did fine with Blair Witch, another "handheld" film that made others ill. But this was hardcore.

I'm not so sure about some of the acting, and let's be honest, who the hell is going into the jaws of hell for a girl just so you can tell her "I love you?" For a wife, sure. A child, yeah. But a friend or girlfriend? Sorry babe, but I'm sure the monster will enjoy you more than all the others it's gonna snack on. No offense or anything. But I gotta go.

Honestly, I do recommend the film, just with the caveat that you better have either a strong stomach or an empty one. And some Advils in your pocket. Might want to take one of those when the previews start...

Welcome Lorelei Leigh Silva-Jameson

Okay, so my last post was about no baby yet. Turned out I may have jinxed myself, as just after midnight I was awoken by Amanda to tell me that her water broke.

So we check into the hospital at about 1 am Thursday morning. Amanda just wasn't having contractions and with her water broken, they really wanted to get labor started, so they put her on Pitocin around 3am. By about 7 am they gave her some pain medication, then around 11am they gave her an epidural. But the problem was she still wasn't dialated enough. It wasn't until somewhere around 8pm that she really started active labor.

Oh. My. God.

It was horrible to see her in such pain, even through the epidural. Not to mention I could see everything. Let me tell you, seeing childbirth changes your impressions of the female anatomy. I'll leave it at that.

But then, at 9:56pm Thursday night, January 17th, 2008, Lorelei Leigh Silva-Jameson was born. She was 7 pounds and 12 ounces and 20 and 1/4 inches long. And just beautiful.

Unfortunately, that morning when the pediatrician checked her out, she had become jaundiced and more than she was comfortable with. So under a sun lamp in an incubator she went. Early Saturday morning, they took her to the nursery to go under two sun lamps. It was heartrending. We couldn't hold her or even touch her, she had to be under the lamps to help get rid of the jaundice. She had to even stay for an extra night at the hospital, which was even worse.

But she's home. As of Tuesday, she had already gained two ounces (which is a really good sign for a newborn) and her jaundice scores were well down and the pediatrician gave her a clean bill of health.

She's quite active for a newborn and she opens her beautiful eyes so wide and she seems like she's really trying to see and understand everything. Being the proud papa, I think this is a good sign of her obviously high intelligence...

I'll have to write more about being a daddy later. It's an amazing experience and it's only beginning.

Still no baby...

Despite what the ticker is saying above, no, she hasn't arrived.

I'm starting to get the feeling when I talk to people that they aren't really sure I was telling the truth about having a baby soon. You know, the whole thing of "no, really, I'm telling the truth, it'll happen any second now!"

Like when you were in the second grade and told all your friends that Mickey Mouse was gonna come to your birthday party or something.

I know it's all me, all my perceptions, but still, it's a bit weird.

The apartment is as ready as it'll ever be, the car is loaded up with what we need so we don't have to waste time packing, my sub plans are written for the rest of the month, it's all ready. Now we're just waiting for Lorelei to make her grand entrance and she's being stubborn and refusing to show!

Her due date was last friday, the 11th. I know it's very common for first time mothers to go past their due date. And the ultrasound and fetal heart rate check on Monday showed everything was fine. I'm kinda worried that Amanda hasn't had hardly any contractions of any kind though. The longer this goes on, the more worried I get that she'll have to be induced or even deliver via cesearean. Neither of us really want that.

I'm starting to lose sleep over this (not like Amanda who gets up every hour to go to the bathroom) and I'm really feeling it in my back. Of course, Amanda can now barely walk, so she automatically trumps any complaint I have.

I'm just ready to be a daddy and I just want everything to go nice and smooth and the longer things go, the more time I have to worry...

Merry Christmas!

Just a Merry Christmas to all of our friends. May you all have a Merry Christmas, a Joyous New Year and may this year upcoming be better than the last.

What D&D Character Am I?

Now this is just dumb...but in a goofy, geeky fun way. Found this on The Mullet's livejournal and just had to do it myself.

I Am A: Lawful Neutral Human Wizard (4th Level)


Ability Scores:

Strength-13

Dexterity-13

Constitution-12

Intelligence-16

Wisdom-10

Charisma-13


Alignment:
Lawful Neutral A lawful neutral character acts as law, tradition, or a personal code directs him. Order and organization are paramount to him. He may believe in personal order and live by a code or standard, or he may believe in order for all and favor a strong, organized government. Lawful neutral is the best alignment you can be because it means you are reliable and honorable without being a zealot. However, lawful neutral can be a dangerous alignment because it seeks to eliminate all freedom, choice, and diversity in society.


Race:
Humans are the most adaptable of the common races. Short generations and a penchant for migration and conquest have made them physically diverse as well. Humans are often unorthodox in their dress, sporting unusual hairstyles, fanciful clothes, tattoos, and the like.


Class:
Wizards are arcane spellcasters who depend on intensive study to create their magic. To wizards, magic is not a talent but a difficult, rewarding art. When they are prepared for battle, wizards can use their spells to devastating effect. When caught by surprise, they are vulnerable. The wizard's strength is her spells, everything else is secondary. She learns new spells as she experiments and grows in experience, and she can also learn them from other wizards. In addition, over time a wizard learns to manipulate her spells so they go farther, work better, or are improved in some other way. A wizard can call a familiar- a small, magical, animal companion that serves her. With a high Intelligence, wizards are capable of casting very high levels of spells.


Find out What Kind of Dungeons and Dragons Character Would You Be?, courtesy of Easydamus (e-mail)

The Holiday Season

It's exactly one week away from Christmas. Sure, the weather is cooperating as well as can be expected for SoCal. We've all the decorations up in the apartment. I've got the magic box making the outside lights dance. We've gone to Thoroughbred Lane to walk their streets to take in their nutty, over-the-top lights. We've gone Christmas shopping. We've seen the fake snow at Victoria Gardens.

But it just doesn't feel like the holidays yet. It still seems weeks away. I know part of that is the fact I have to work until Friday, the 21st. Then it's the weekend and suddenly it's Christmas. It sucks to have to work that late in the season. (Yes, yes, I know, working in education I'm lucky to have two weeks off for the holidays, paid, when no one in private industry does. Doesn't stop me from complaining sometimes.)

I think part of it too is that this is a weird holiday season. It's one in which Amanda and I and indeed our entire families are kinda waiting for the other shoe to drop. Amanda is 9 months in and could go into labor concievably at any point now. Her due date is January 11, and first time mothers are apparently typically late. So it's entirely likely little Lorelei Leigh will arrive somewhere around January 15 or so. But it doesn't stop us from having that thought in the back of the head that no matter what we are doing or where we are going, it might all have to come to a screeching halt to go to the hospital.

It's not a bah-humbug sort of mood; it's just kinda weird is all.