Thursday, February 19, 2009

Guilty pleasures

Since the beginning of the year, I've been trying an experiment of multi-tasking where I work from home while taking care of Lucy. Most of the time, it's quite the juggling act, like bouncing her on my knee while I write emails or feeding her while I'm talking on the phone. A couple of times, I've had to do presentations and had to bring her along and let an audience member hold her while I'm speaking. (Fortunately she hasn't developed the dreaded "stranger danger" or I'll be screwed.

Anyway, by the time Margaret gets home from work on Wednesday, I feel completely sucked dry... like I've had to pull a handcart across the plains, organize the church choir, draw up plans for the Salt Lake temple, AND get 5 poopy diapers changed... all in the same day! The main thing that I want after Lucy goes to bed is turn off my brain, and fortunately NBC has provided me exactly what I need! I'm ashamed to admit that I have been watching the new Knight Rider for a while now. I know, I know... turn away! Don't look at me; I'm HIDEOUS!

Admittedly, the show isn't all that great (hence its "brain candy" status), but just like it's 80's predecessor, I can't help watching because the car is just too cool... although in the 80's I would have said it was "rad." Whereas the 80's version was a Trans Am or something, the new and improved one can be ANYTHING. So far, it's been a Mustang, a F-Series pickup, and a 1973 Mustang. I'm just waiting for an upcoming episode where it will be imperative to the plot for KITT to transform into a Aerostar minivan. I can just see the story panning out something like this:

[Opening credits roll] KITT and Michael Knight are traveling at supersonic speeds through the Bonneville Salt Flats headed to Salt Lake City. They're in the middle of a message from headquarters giving them details about a smuggling ring in Salt Lake that is transporting illegal quantities of Jell-O throughout Utah and Idaho. The smugglers have been disguising the Jell-O as bricks of cocaine, something that the residents of Salt Lake wouldn't be able to identify, even if it was labeled "Cocaine." The cover story to infiltrate the smuggling ring is for Michael to pose as a father of 17 who needs regular shipments of the Jell-O. "KITT, we're going to have to go in stealth. Initiate transformation." And voilá! KITT becomes an Aerostar! The show then follows the usual formula with Michael Knight getting into some bind, some kid discovering that KITT can talk, KITT getting Michael out of his jam, the crime lords being brought down, and the kid getting a free ride in KITT. Only at the end, the twist is that KITT drives the little girl to her own BAPTISM! [Closing credits roll]

Man, people are going to feel the spirit when they watch THAT episode!

Tuesday, February 03, 2009

Oh yeah, this is what it was like

Last night Margaret and I got the opportunity to go to the symphony here in Portland. We haven't been to an event like that since well before Lucy was born and we were excited but also anxious about the prospect. We made an evening of it, meeting up at a restaurant for their happy hour menu before going over to the box office to pick up our tickets. As we sat down, we started talking... about Lucy doing this and Lucy eating that and Lucy pooping... well, you get the picture. We didn't even realize we were doing it until 5 or 10 minutes had passed of us doing that. We made the decision to not even mention her name, knowing that she was fine at home and we were just out to enjoy ourselves. After we did that, it was amazing. We talked about politics, religion, Super Bowl ads. It was great. We got to have a great dinner, eat dessert at a cool new mod restaurant nearby, browse around in Nordstrom, and see a great Mozart performance. Although the experience made us wish we lived closer to family; the babysitter effectively doubled the cost of the evening.

Monday, February 02, 2009

Schoolhouse Rock goes tin-foil hat

We all grew up with Schoolhouse Rock. I mean, without it, how would we know that a noun is a person, place, or thing. Or that three is the magic number. Anyway, here's a Schoolhouse Rock the government doesn't want you to see. Thanks to Obama's recommitment to freedom of information, it's finally come to light.