Mr. Horrible

"Would it be okay with you

if we wrote a reminder

of things we'll forget to do today

otherwise

Using a green magic marker

if it's alright

on the back of your head?"

-TMBG

I am still in a sort of a denial that it's NYE and I'm not with the BLD.

We'll probably go to bed at 9:30.

Have a good one.

Betsucco Cards

So I have now become a Mazzucco family card fan with the two quotes that made me laugh outloud and scare my father.

"I don't care what he costs, Mike. We need LaDanian Tomlinson on our fantasy football team."

And...

"Daddy, do you like cottage cheese? No! Have you ever had cottage cheese? No. Then how do you know you don't like cottage cheese?" I think the Mazzucco offspring have continued the BLD fight for truth, justice and an open minded pursuit of taste. =)

On a totally unrelated note...I have also learned that "Mind-Eraser" shots do work!

Happy New Year!

New Job?

I have a job offer in Audubon, PA. It looks like it's about 1 hour from my house. And I have to drive the Blue Route and/or Schuylkill. Any thoughts?

BLD98 Brewery

Who's in?
I'm thinking Big Green Stout, Queen of Putrescence Porter, Fayerweather Lager, Dread Pirate Pale Ale, etc... We could HQ in Jon's house because Cleveland rocks.

Addresses?

Anyone have an address for Doug or Cool Mo Dee? If so, could you send it to me? Don't post it here as we don't want to attract any stalkers.

Cool, swell.

Turns out that putting ice in bags in socks, tying the socks together on the top, and holding it on with a stretchy velcro-type thing is really cool, and in more ways than one. Looks swell while bringing down swelling.

Back to the Richmond

This Walsh clan is moving back to Richmond in June. I will be teaching at the University of Richmond Law School. My subjects will be constitutional law and two or three subjects to be named later. The law school hiring process required a commitment before we will know for sure about the match. But Shannon's interviews at the Medical College of Virginia ("MCV") Department of Emergency Medicine went very well. And we don't really have a backup plan. So it must work.

wisdom teeth extraction

Following a total breakdown in informed consent, I agreed to have all of my wisdom teeth removed tomorrow morning. I've just been looking at some of the sites that come up after searching "wisdom teeth extraction recovery" . . . and it's not pretty. My next post will probably be made under the influence of narcotics.

The reason I refer to a total breakdown in informed consent is that nobody I've talked to has been able to supply me with the most basic information necessary to make a proper cost/benefit analysis. Put aside the pain and recovery, and think for a moment about the possibility of nerve damage. Not an insignificant risk. Is nerve damage more likely to happen than some bad thing that results from keeping the teeth in? Nobody knows. Or if they know, they're not telling. What bad things can happen from keeping the teeth in? Many bad things. What is the likelihood? Nobody knows. I received some information -- information that did not add up to anything helpful. And then I gave consent. Is that informed consent? I think not.

Too Much Beer?

I've been meaning to post for the last couple of days.  Earlier in the week, I had a dream which seemed to last for the entire night.  We were all gathered at my and Hillary's house, just hanging out, but I spent the entire time in my basement trying to pick out the perfect beer for everyone there.  

The best part of the dream was when I found this cool beer bottle in the shape of a friar or monk.  It even had a built-in straw in the general shape of a halo (though I don't know why you would want to drink beer from a straw).  Anyway, I remember racing up the stairs with it, so excited to give it to Josh that I couldn't contain myself.  

In the dream, you were very appreciative, Josh.

Am I the only one

who cries while reading stories to my kids?

Rob, I need some Stanford Intel

Bubba (Rob)
Jay suggested that I contact you, but I don't have your contact info. I need to get to Stanford from Birmingham (yay!)...this is going to be easy (right.), I can tell...especially since I'm really not sure which airport to fly into (SFO?) and whether I should rent a car, ride a train, etc? Could you please give me some advice?
Thanks, dude.
Forest.

Meet Me in St. Louis?

Does anyone know anything about whether St. Louis is a nice place to live? We are likely to end up in Richmond again after going through this law school hiring and medical residency thing, although we may stay here in the Philadelphia area as well. The latest twist is a possibility of heading out to Washington University in St. Louis. I don't see why we'd end up falling that way, although I'm sure the cost of living is good, and many people assume I'm from the Midwest anyhow, so I might as well be.

BLD98 Blog Turned 6...

... and nobody noticed. Can you believe this blog has been around for over 6 years? It looks like Oct 6, 2002 was the birthday according to Walsho's first post. Keep 'em comin' ladies and gents.

New Years in July

For those of you who may have been wondering, I haven't really dropped off the face of the earth, it only seems like it!  (Though sometimes I wonder myself because Indonesia is pretty much the edge, in more ways than one.)  

Yes, the rumors are true that we have a baby girl on the way!  We affectionately refer to her as Bug, and if we don't manage to come up with a real name, which is a serious concern at this point, we might call her that for the rest of her life.  She is due on the 25th of January.  I'll be "moving" to Singapore the day after Christmas to wait out the last 4 weeks or so.  (No one will let me get on an airplane after that and if she does decide to arrive a little early, we'll be glad to be there.)  Jason will come on weekends until the baby is born and then stay for a few weeks thereafter.  Once Bug has a clean bill of health and a passport, probably about a month after she is born, we can bring her home to Jakarta.  (For anyone a little rusty on his/her Southeast Asian geography, Singapore is about an hour and a half by plane from Jakarta.)

The good news is that we know a good Constitutional lawyer who will help us convince the Supreme Court that Bug is eligible to be President someday even though she was born abroad.  

So, I would propose Singapore for NYE, but it's admittedly not very close to Kansas.  Dan is correct, that I've secretly been scheming to move our New Year's Eve tradition to the summer time.  For this year, it gives us Greenwalds a fighting chance of being able to attend and will give everyone the chance to meet the several next generation BLDers who are arriving between January and April of 09.  Plus, you all saw each other this past June and I know everyone needs a bit longer of a break from Lincoln.    

I will follow Dan's orders and begin sorting something out for July  - residency, rookie draft and international flight considerations included.

One last poll before I sign off:  Do Xingang, China and Jakarta, Indonesia look or sound anything alike on paper?  I don't think so either.  But somehow all of our worldly possessions got unloaded in Xingang a few weeks ago.  Now they must clear Chinese customs before they can continue on their journey to Jakarta.  This is only slightly better than if the MSC Lucy had sunk somewhere in the middle of the Pacific Ocean.  Our well-weathered container has been on it's way here in one way or another since we called for it in July.  I can't tell you how unprepared we are to bring a baby home in 8 weeks.  I'm thinking about going out and buying a box of diapers just so I don't feel completely helpless.  Those of you who know me should compliment Jason for managing to stay sane despite living with me through this. 

Miss you guys like crazy.  This is the hardest time of the year to be so far from home. 

parenting question

Not to turn this into a parenting blog, but holy crap I'm losing my mind. Any of you with children older than Joe go through a period at ~16 months where your child will not go to sleep without major fussing/crying? Joe has never been a great sleeper, but has been pretty good. Now, he wakes during the night and resists going back to sleep. He also resists being put to sleep initially. I'm not sure if he's figuring out the power of his own cries or what, but it's starting to take it's toll. I'm turning into a crazy(ier) person! If you have gone through the same thing, please tell me that it rights itself quickly. If you have not, please pretend. Thanks!

New Year (from Dan)

Since there hasn't been anything about new year, I wanted to post (a) what people have said to me and (b) my thoughts.

What I have heard is a strong push to not do NYE, and instead try to do something this summer. The main reasons I've heard are: 1) Amanda might be able to come and 2) Amanda might plan it. 

My thought is that Amanda's presence and Amanda's planning are two of the fundamental strengths of the BLD New Year, and that we appear to have moved away from these strengths in recent years for reasons that are not entirely clear to me.

I also think that NYE is a terrible holiday for people with young kids. You have little time off, you're cooped up inside b/c the weather stinks, you've already possibly been stressed by recent travel with kids, you're getting up at 6AM, so you don't want to also be up at midnight.

I would propose that, instead, those of us with young kids do what we want to do on NYE and go to bed at 8:30. And Amanda start planning in earnest the 9 1/2 th Annual BLD New Year's Eve party at the mid point of 2009 (~June 30) .

Thoughts? 

Dan

Yeah, softball

If my grandmother hasn't called you yet, you must not be on her rolodex of top 700,000 friends.

The Mazzuccos are having a girl! Despite the recommendations of the Doucets and the stern instructions of Marilyn Fasani, the Mazzuccos are having a girl, according to the reports of at least one technician at South Jersey Radiology Associates.

The father-to-be was seen tearing his hair out and issuing warnings to local fathers to keep their boys away. The grandmother-to-be was rumored to have purchased the entire girls' clothing section of a local Babies 'R' Us store. 

So, I thought I'd add a new post since there hasn't been a lot of activity lately. Of course my thoughts are frequently on Jaya, so I put a couple Halloween pictures on here for your amusement. We went to our neighbors'/coworkers' home as usual during our time here in Modesto. They are good Catholic folk and Notre Dame alumni (is that redundant?). They recently had a boy who they dressed up as Casey Clausen, Notre Dame's quarterback. We dressed Jaya up as a Redskins cheerleader. After putting them down on the couch for a photo together, their boy almost immediately grabbed Jaya's hand. It was pretty cute. I only got one photo in before he grabbed her hand so these two pictures pretty much sum up the progression. Note to self: keep an eye on that kid... You might also notice the Redskins baby booties on Jaya. I insisted she wear those because I bought them in 7th grade for my kid someday! I don't know why people say she looks like me... :-)

Late night amusement

I was reading the Daily D opinion pages tonight for some amusement before heading to bed. On a whim, I searched for "Kevin Walsh" and every column he wrote popped up for review. Kevin, I think you wrote a lot on abortion in college. In an effort to find something a little more lighthearted, I search for "Lincoln Willis" and "Dan Mazzucco". Ahhh, I miss sitting on the Collis porch, eating lunch, and reading the D. In an effort to bring you back a few years and help you recall some fond memories, I give you Dan Mazzucco's "Groups Don't Define Identity" from February 1, 1996. The only thing missing is a TPB reference...

http://thedartmouth.com/1996/02/01/opinion/groups/print/

Softball, It Is

Hillary and I wanted to let all of you know that, unfortunately, our first born child will most likely not be playing for the Cleveland Indians.  However, we are EXTREMELY happy to announce that we will be blessed with a little girl in March.  

I know that most of you have been through this procedure before, sometimes multiple times, but for us, seeing the ultrasound and all of the tiny details it revealed was amazing.  Our little girl was quite feisty, punching and rolling around, but eventually the nurse was able to take pictures of all of her important parts.  

Reflecting the obstinancy of both of her parents, she turned face down when it was time for her profile shot and steadfastly remained there.  So if anyone would like to see a beautiful picture of our daughter's spine, we would be happy to oblige.

Wrong blog

Oops. I wasn't paying attention and accidentally posted about Amanda's first Girl Scout meeting on this blog. I deleted it, but if you follow this blog it will still show up as a post. In case you were wondering...

Dartmouth Homecoming Shenanigans

I somehow got on the eDartmouth mailing list and was reading up on the typical Dartmouth student behavior during Homecoming when I came upon this paragraph.

"No arrests were made at Saturday’s homecoming football game, although one student chose to “rush the field” apart from the planned field rushing, Kinne said. Six students rushed the field during last year’s game, but no arrests have been made for rushing the field since 2006.

All Class of 2012 students were once again invited onto the field during halftime, a tradition which began last year to discourage students from rushing the field illegally."

I dunno what disturbs me more...that there's a "planned, legal" time for 'shmen to rush the field or that you can call something a tradition if it's only been done for two years.

I am pretty impressed that people still "illegally" rush the field somehow.

Go Mazzucco!

Sports Fan

Go Phillies and the Flyin Hawaiian!

Go Overachieving Browns (even though you busted my bracket)!!!

Prayin for lotsa family members. Love you all!

Following Blogs

Did anyone else notice this option on the Blogger dashboard? Dan, I think you can use this to see what I'm posting over at Our Home On the Range. Just add it. Let me know if it works.

I've added a bunch, including this blog, but I kept it private so people couldn't trace back to a blog that has our names in it. (Kristin, your blog isn't set up for feeds, so I couldn't follow it yet.)

Christmas Memories

Below is an advertisement from the magazine we receive free as members of an electricity cooperative:



Do cherished memories of past Christmas seasons make this holiday extra special for you? If so, perhaps you would like to share some of them with other Kansas Country Living readers.

In our December issue, we plan to print several of the best stories about Christmas submitted by our readers.

If you would like to participate, simply include your name and electric cooperative with your story. Please restrict the length to 250 words and mail it by November 1st.

If your story is printed, we will award you with the 2008 Willie Wiredhand Holiday Ornament:




I've left off the address because we don't want all of you to write competing stories and decrease our own chances of winning this fabulous prize.

Who is this BLD wannabe?

I was looking through some old photos yesterday that my mom recently gave to me and came across this one. Who is the BLD imposter on the left?

By the way, Rob, your hair is almost as cool as my t-shirt tucked into my jeans.

Hunting Anyone?

Maybe we can convince Lincoln to come for a visit.

There's also a decrepit deer stand in our woods.

You might be the BLD redneck if...

Adin's recent transition from a laid-back island girl to a driving force in the military-industrial complex certainly mixes up the status quo here in BLD land, and I would like to continue that trend by placing Lincoln on notice regarding his status as the reigning redneck of the BLD.

Now, Lincoln does hail from W. Virginia, shoots animals on a regular basis, eats meats of questionable origin (scrapple), and probably owns a fair amount of camo and blaze orange. That being said, I believe I am now in a position to mount a respectable challenge. Consider the following:

*I am the proud owner of a double-wide, which has the added attraction of being a fixer-upper.
*I have dispatched a number of furry little creatures to the great hereafter in recent days.
*I was disappointed to discover that the previous owner had taken the two broken down cars that I had previously discovered in the back corner of our property.
*There is currently a broken toilet tank resting in the "yard" outside our side door.
*I am now the proud owner of a lagoon.
*I am also the proud owner of a half-completed metal outbuilding of dubious structural integrity, which had been listed on the real estate listing as a "4+ car garage".
*I am looking forward to working with a contractor to fix some holes in our ceiling who perfectly fits the stereotype you are about to form in your mind as you think of "mobile home contractor". (To help complete the image, you should know that his fly has been conspicuously open every time we've met with him.)
*My home is technically a vehicle.
*I am feeling a strange desire to watch Nascar and possibly chew. (Ok, that one's a lie).

So, Lincoln, I welcome any rebuttal you would like to offer. As for the rest of you, if you might offer up a small prayer to the patron saint of home repairs and mobile homes, I would appreciate it.

The reappearance of the Hawaiian.

Man...I get taken offline for a month and a half by laser scientists and island science education programs and what happens?...BLD multiplication! What are you guys...rabbits? Just kidding...the child whisperer is very very happy.

On another ridiculous note I did so well for National Security that they want me to be the security officer for my office...so now I study away to make sure that you and yours are safe in this tumultuous world.

I do it for the children...and especially the ones who share my name. =)

Racing towards Doucethood/Walshdom

Having spent one and a half long years in the early Willis family design (3 boys), the Mazzuccos are moving on towards either the Doucets of Dollard model (4 boys) or the 3 boys & one girl model made famous by the Walshes of Townline. Will they ever achieve the elusive Fasani pentanarchy? God only knows.

To put it another way, we are expecting a fourth child! Due date April 6, 2009.

Sorry I didn't call everyone (or anyone, for that matter); in a post-Palin world, having your fourth child just isn't as newsworthy as it once was. If it makes you feel better, we haven't even told my parents yet. I think we'll just call them when it's time to deliver. "Hey, guys, can I drop the kids off for a few hours? Betsy's having another baby."

This whole experience reminds me of some line from an old movie I used to have heard of when I slept at night... "I might one day go as high as five, but I really don't know what that would do to you. So, let's just start with what we have. What did this do to you? Tell me. And remember, this is for posterity, so be honest -- how do you feel?"

Contrary to the implication of my silly comments above (I've been thinking for weeks about how to announce it, and I couldn't decide between the TPB reference or the family unit comparison), we really are quite excited about our new child. And we are looking forward to new baby Mazzucco getting a chance to play with Nora, Jaya, Moira Thome Hurst, Second Daughter, the Jewel of Jakharta, little Doucet #2, and anyone else born in 2008-9 that I may have overlooked.

Dan

P.S. Name recommendations welcome (sorry... "Lincoln" has already been claimed).

Life on the Range

The wise friend mentioned in this post is Betsy.

Check out the sidebar for an ongoing list of Josh's experiences as a home-owner. I'll be adding to it as I'm sure I'm missing some stuff and (of course), he's still working on it. Some of the fun and exciting adventures to come: installing a dishwasher (and the plumbing for it), replacing a pedestal sink in the kids' bathroom, devising a dryer vent, replacing toilet hardware and/or tanks and cutting the corner off a cabinet so our refrigerator will fit. And paint the rest of the house.

He has some great BLD posts planned, but hasn't had time to write them yet.

My Hometown

How come I'm the only one who blogs anymore? 3 kids = no excuse.

In any case, the town we live in just got named a "Classic Town." Yay us.

In other news, Aidan starts soccer on Monday. I am assistant coach. 45 minutes of strength and conditioning practice every evening. As Mama Marilyn used to say, "Discipline!"

VP Disappointment

Was anyone else diasppointed to find that the Republican VP candidate was the governor of Alaska, and *not* actually Sarah Bailin '98?

MS 150

Howdy folks!

I'm doing the MS 150 again this year. This time, Betsy's doing it also. For those who forgot, it's a 150 mile bike ride over two days. It raises money to fight MS, which is a devastating disease that affects many people.

I understand that everyone has many financial commitments, and so I don't intend for anyone to feel pressured.

However, if you have a little extra cash, I need to raise $250, and I'm hoping to do so by 10 $25 donations. Betsy is hoping to do the same.

I don't know her donation page, but mine is the link here.

Thanks for considering it.

Dan

Reunion photos

Check this out if you are a facebooker:

Baby Jaya

Good news! If Jaya continues to do well tonight, we'll be able to bring her home tomorrow. Devon and I are both very excited (obviously). Now the real "fun" begins with a baby in the house!

Who's the cat that won't cop out...

The cat copped out.

Thanks for the good music, Isaac.

It's a shame Jaya will never get to meet the legend. Then again, I had almost 32 years to meet him, and never made any effort to do so.

+1 Day

I wish I could say that Jaya was already here, but she's officially 1 day late. Devon is DEFINITELY ready to have her, but Jaya seems content to stay indoors for now. At the last doctor's appointment on Wed, Devon wasn't dilated at all, so we may have a bit of waiting to do... We will be sure to post pictures and news when she makes her appearance. After all, doesn't Clare need a BLD playmate soon?

Is anyone out there?

I miss hearing from y'all.

Dan

P.S. Our French exchange student, Claire, is back for 3 weeks, so I probably won't have time to post anything until September.

Clare Elizabeth

She finally arrived five days late at 12:07am Saturday morning. Her early departure (a day earlier than Caleb and Reva) might account for why she's the smallest thus far at 8lb. 10oz. Jill's labor was remarkably quick and we were only in the room for about 20 minutes before Clare arrived. Thankfully the on-call physician from Jill's OB's practice showed up about 5 minutes before the birth. I think the poor family practice resident was happier about that than we were. She didn't look too excited about delivering the baby solo.

Everyone is doing well. You probably received an email from Jill with some pictures. If not, let us know and we'll get you some. And as always, stay tuned to ourhomeontherange.blogspot.com for the latest news and updates.

Exile

Alrighty, so I heard Kiss You All Over by Exile today on the radio. Awesome. It reminded me of Shan, Mo and my River apt (the Grays) and cleaning that apartment in high heels listening to that song. That got me to thinking of Tipsy, the rabbit, and I quickly shifted my thoughts on that to other things. For instance, did I make up that we once heard a lot of banging and clanging upstairs and went up to find out what the heck was going on that Jamie (last name escapes me) was only wearing tube socks and that he was "wrestling" with other football players? I really don't think that I would conjure something like that, because contrary to general public belief, that's not really my style...
That aside, I really miss playing Taboo. Don't get me wrong, peek a boo is cool and all, but Taboo and beer is, well, different. And, I miss when cooking basically just meant making brownies.

I'll just say it

Phelps and Hoff are pretty impressive (in Phelps' case read: hot).

And, I heard that Brown Chicken joke yesterday and immediately thought of Lincoln, even though I wasn't at reunion. I pretty much just knew that it was associated with Lincoln somehow.

Introducing Norah

Greetings everyone -- Happy to announce the birth of Honorah Anne Walsh ("Norah"), yesterday afternoon, weighing in at a healthy 9 lbs, 10 oz (1 oz more than Christian). Sent an email around yesterday so if you didn't get it there must be something wrong with how I have your address -- let me know if that is the case.

Brown Chicken Brown Cow

Dear Lincoln,

Ever since the reunion, we have heard your joke way too many times. It is spreading to Ohio.

Happy Reunion

Hey everyone,

Just wanted to wish all that are attending the big 10 year extravaganza a super fun weekend in Hanover!

Please blog us a full report of the highlights - I wish I could be there!

I'll Show you Real Shame

Real shame is analyzing the average number of spins required to complete the Chutes & Ladders game as a function of location on the board.

If someone can tell me how to post an excel spreadsheet to the Blog, I think I can demonstrate conclusively that you are actually closer to the end at space 74 than you are at spaces 75-87 (obviously excluding space 80).

My calculation is that it takes, on average, 40.38 turns to complete the game. It would take only 33.33 turns if there were no chutes or ladders.

That is real shame.

I feel shame

I don't have a good reason for my extended seclusion. I have many poor excuses, such as working too much and putting my computer into storage, but no valid ones.

Hopefully you remember who I am.

Dan, I sent Betsy an invitation to the blog.

Jon, thank you for your support. Losing to the Flyers was extremely frustrating (8 posts in 5 games!), but if your powerplay only scores 5% of the time, you don't deserve to win. I was very disappointed that Detroit won the Cup. They play the most boring, clutch-and-grab hockey I have seen in years. They got away with a lot of interference. Still, Pittsburgh just didn't play well enough.

We're going to reunion but we didn't register. It seemed like a lot of money for a lot activities we have no interest in.

New Year's might be tough for us this year.

< pause for effect >

Yes, go ahead and jump to that conclusion. Daughter #2 is due in late October.

That being said, if we ever manage to sell our condo, I'd be psyched to have New Year's in Boston.

Oh, and we just bought a Wii. It was Anne's idea, believe it or not. She has already beaten me soundly in tennis.

10 points if you know what movie the title of this post is from.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to tend my screaming daughter who refuses to go to sleep.

No Hiking for me

I can't go hiking during the reunion. I'll be on crutches due to a bit of a knee injury.

Still looking forward to the reunion!

Dan

PS. Happy late birthday Jill

I Love the World

So, a video that we have been enjoying in our household lately -- Enjoy.

HEY

Is there going to be a BLD New Year this year?

I think I will just start volunteering people soon.

slideshow?

So, we all went to college before Facebook and things like that. Probably a good thing, all things considered. But we missed out on the opportunity to have our pictures from college life preserved for all posterity.

I think it would be a good idea to put together a BLD slideshow for the reunion, with pictures from our time at Dartmouth. Problem is, I don't have many pictures from that time period. Perhaps if we pooled our pictures together, we would have something to work with. Any ideas on how to do that? (I ask this realizing that I will look like a 12 year-old in most pictures. So please don't let your own amour propre interfere with making this project happen. If you have a recommendation as to how to make this work, SHARE.)

Blog Help

How do I invite Betsy to join the blog?

Mama?

So, Reva consistently calls all men, either in person or in photographs, "Dada." Likewise, pretty much every woman is referred to as "Mama."

Up to this point her accurarcy seemed to reinforce the one thing I remember from Psych 1: that a person's gender is the first, and most important, thing we notice about them.

However, as we were standing in the hall last night Reva very energetically stabbed at a BLD group photo saying, "Mama, mama" with her finger clearly falling on one well known Cleveland Indians fan.

(Please insert your own clever conclusions here.)

You won't believe it till you see it.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PfK-UzQ48JE&feature=related

This is what happens when you give Ukulele's to the Brittish.

Make sure your children are in bed.

Shaft...can you dig it?

I'm going to reunion. Make sure you see me.

Adin =)

MIA

My computer went down for a few weeks, so I missed a few things...

congratulations, Josh.

ew. Sorry to hear that, Josh

ew. Sorry to hear that, Amanda.

Ha. Sorry to hear that, Jon

Other notes:

Doug, I thought of you often this week during the Habs-Flyers series, but have been afraid to make contact. I am more, not less, afraid to make contact now that the Habs have lost.

I am amused that the Flyers' team marketing slogan is "Vengeance now." Betsy asked what they are avenging. The only reasonable answer is they are taking revenge on the league for exposing them as the worst team in the league last year. But aren't they really taking vengeance on themselves?

Reunion notes: whose going? What are you doing? We're going, but aren't registering. We'd like to go on a simple hike, but we don't want to pay Dartmouth to have a catered lunch while we do it. We'll bring PB&J and water if we are hungry. We're also going to try to see a couple of locals, and I guess we'd like to coordinate it so we do that when everyone else will be doing stuff that they've registered for. Can anyone comment?

this is not amusing

so i get home yesterday, only to find an envelope from the Boston Red Sox. I hate the Boston Red Sox. What's worse, here is the letter inside:



oh, and let's not forget the insert that came with the letter.



hillary's friend laura, who is my friend too and a huge red sox fan, swears that she did not do this.

that most likely leaves one of my lovely dartmouth "friends," unless the baseball universe is simply playing a cruel joke on me.

come forward and confess your misdeed, young fry of treachery.

Tales of An Amoeba

I truly hope to the bottom of my heart that none of you is ever as up-close and personal with a host of amoebae as I was a last week. I’ll spare you most of the gory details except to say that I proudly have a new feather in my cap. I have now officially puked out the window of a moving car.

There was one heart-warming aspect to this miserable trip to the clinic, however. Allow me to explain: Since the Bali bombings a few years ago, Indonesia has gone into hyper-security mode. Well, that’s what they claim anyway, but those of us who know better know that this is little more than a large-scale employment scheme. No fewer than 6 Indonesians guard the toll-style arm at the entrance to every building drop-off spot or parking garage in the city. One guard runs around the car with a giant dental mirror, one of them opens the hatch-back door to look around, a third raises the bar when you’re clear to pass through. The other 3 stand there taking themselves quite seriously but generally doing a whole lot of nothing.

So as we were approaching the ex-pat medical clinic with my head hanging out the window, the guards hollered loudly at my driver (who seemed quite concerned by the whole situation) and expediently waved us right through straight to the front door. One of the otherwise unoccupied guards managed to make himself useful by hollering at the motor bike that was about to come scooting around the side of the car. He was headed right toward my window to his potential detriment. God bless those security guards.

How do they know I had an amoeba causing the dysentery, you might wonder? Let’s just say that everything that goes in one side must come out the other…and they wanted me to collect it in a little container…twice.

Josh, I think your recent bad day might actually have been worse, but by a very narrow margin!

Even Dr's have those days

Anyone else out there have a 24 hour run like this?

Yesterday afternoon - Discover totally flat tire on my car at work
4:00 am - 30 minute visit with Reva
9:30 am - Call from daycare saying Reva got sick so we have to pick her up
11:00 am - Take car to shop; discover it can't be repaired and pay $100 for new tire
Noon to 8:00 - Reva gets sick approx. six times
5:00 - Jill, on the way to pick up child who's still at daycare is rear-ended (no injuries, but will require serious work on the van)

Nothing disastrous but one heck of a run of bad luck. Any of you messing with voodoo dolls by any chance?

And just a shade under a decade too, alright...

Well, it's hard to believe the day has finally come, but as of Friday your's truly is a PhD.

Of course, even after attaining such heights I still have to do things like leave work to get sick toddlers from daycare (which is why I'm home blogging in the middle of the day), but at least I'm doing it with a terminal degree.

I'll let you all know when the dissertation will be headed to your local bookstore (that is, if you happen to have a local bookstore that specializes in academic theology), and/or, when it is turned into a made for TV movie.

The quest for clearance.

You should all be so happy that our federal government works so hard for our national security.

With that being said, I need to ask Mazzucco and Papsdorf for their phone numbers...I need references to my patriotism and loyalty to my country.

The request stems from the fact that I lost all the phone numbers in my cell phone. But that is another story entirely.

Aren't you glad I'm not a secret agent.

I'm in for it...

You know how I grew up with 4 brothers and no sisters? While I have virtually no idea how to be a dad to a boy, I have even less of an idea how to be a dad to a girl. However, that's just what I'll be come early August. Devon and I are having a girl! And I'm on my way to the gun shop to buy a shotgun. After my dismal performance at Lincoln's bachelor party, I need to practice my aim so I can tag all those boys coming around some day. Especially the ones that are like Lincoln.

Beantown

We're heading to Boston for the weekend. Let us know if you'll be around.

Doug, I tried to email you and Anne but haven't heard back. Did you get it? Could we meet up on Saturday? I mentioned in the email we could do dinner on Sat, but we could do lunch, tea, drinks...really anything. No Saturday plans at this point (besides arriving at 1 am and sleeping for a while).

We could also meet up with you on Monday night, but that's a bit harder since we'll be Hanover for the day.

We're leaving the kids at home with grandparents. And, NSA, if you are watching, keep an eye on our house. We expect it'll be occupied a large amount of the time but with all those satellites you can probably tell when people are home. Also, if you're thinking of trying to steal anything (not that there's anything worth stealing), be aware we have a neighborhood watch -- and they really are watching!!

Homeland Security

"Have you ever been an officer or a member or made a contribution to an organization dedicated to the violent overthrow of the United States Government and which engages in illegal activities to that end, knowing that the organization engages in such activities with the specific intent to further such activities?"

This is the question I get asked as I strive to obtain Federal Security Clearance to be able to man-the-door at a security conference room that we have at my office.

Now really...even if I remotely happened to be Al-Qaeda...would I answer "yes"?

Americans are smart!

Adin's birthday

Yesterday was Adin's birthday. If you were thinking about her all day like I was, and missing her, I have an idea to make her next birthday a little better for each of us.
We should all host regional Adin's birthday parties. It's unlikely that she would be able to attend any or all of them, but at least the rest of the world could celebrate her birthday, even in her absence. We could hang up pictures of her, wear grass skirts and leis, and the like.

Another thought I have is that it is exceedingly unfair that Adin lives in Hawaii. Imagine how unfortunate for all those who don't get to hang out with her. They have to go through every day not only not seeing Adin Kawate, but also not living in Hawaii. It's like a double whammy.
Instead, Adin should live in somewhere harsh and cold like Saskatoon. Then people would say, "yeah, I'm stuck in frigid Saskatoon, but at least I get to see Adin Kawate." And others in Hawaii would say, "Well, I don't get to see Adin anymore, but at least I'm in Hawaii."

Just some thoughts.

Only in Delaware

can you be served rolls by Joe Biden at an annual farmers'/hunters' gathering called the Wild Game Dinner. The menu included bear, wild boar, goose salad, chopped deer, muskrat, bison...and rolls. I don't even know what a muskrat is, some kind of vile marsupial. Needless to say, Applebee's is looking pretty appetizing right now.

More importantly, Shannon, thank you for updating us on your Dad--we continue to think about and pray for you guys. Josh, I hope that your Dad is doing okay as well, and that the kids are back to wellness!

Hello Legionella

Hi all,

I have been out of touch for awhile, and am just getting reorganized. My Dad was admitted to the ICU 2 1/2 weeks ago with what turned out to be Legionnaire's disease, a very severe form of pneumonia. I went up to CT as soon as I found out, and just got home yesterday. He ended up spending 8 days in the ICU, and another 4 on a medical floor, and then came home on supplemental oxygen last Tuesday. It was a very scary, crazy, emotional experience, but he is now on the road to recovery. I stayed at his house while he was in the hospital, and then after he came home to help him get back on his feet. The kids were with a combination of Kevin, Kevin's parents, and me over the last few weeks, and have been remarkably good through the whole experience.

I am glad to be home, and to catch up on the blog posts, etc. I hope you are all doing well!

Shannon

As Clark Griswold put it

"Worse? How can it get any worse? Take a look around you [Jill] - we're at the threshold of Hell!"

In one of my low points as a parent I shouted the last part of that classic line as I pulled a Fasani and nearly put my fist through our bedroom door. This was following Reva's yacking up all over the bedroom right after I finished bathing the kids.

The Papsdorfs have been hit hard by a cold/flu virus something for many days now, and it is grim. I've cancelled four classes, skipped office hours, the kids are miserable, Jill can barely stand, and, to top it off, the one person who could typically help us through this, my Mom, can't, because my Dad has to go into the hospital tomorrow.

I just thought sharing my misery with you all might be a more productive, and less painful, form of catharsis.

That is all.

P.S. For those of you of a religious persuasion, your prayers would be appreciated.

IT help

Anyone know how to compress a movie? I'm trying to make a silly video fit into 100 MB.

Doesn't someone in the BLD know something about movies or computers?
I'm looking in the direction of Maurissa and Doug (that is, east northeast).

A word to the wise

If you ever find yourself at Kid Shelleen's in Wilmington, Delaware, DO NOT order the black bean burger.

It is most definitely NOT certified Angus beef.

Expensive diet pill?

Since I started taking Malerone, an antimalarial pill, I've lost 12 pounds. I lost 3 pounds before I left for India, almost 7 pounds in India, and ~ 3 more since I returned. I look much like the picture Jon posted from 14 years ago.

I go off the Malerone today, and I'm hoping to balloon back to my welterweight class. The other option is I have a tapeworm.

7th grade lunch break

This might be the only time in my life I have taken a picture with people my age and actually looked older than one of them.

If you're bored

If you're bored and want to see pictures and comments to my family on my current trip to India, check out mazzuccoindia.blogspot.com.

I was quite impressed that Mo set up her own blog so I now have one too.

Warning: the text is not intereting and the pictures are designed to remind my children that I exist.

A close-up

Can someone explain?

If you can't read the text, it says, "But dad, will Chennai be like New Jersey?"

Cheerio

Hey all,

First and foremost, congratulations Rob and Devon!!! That's wonderful news, I'm so happy for you both.

Secondly, I just want to pass along my new blog which I'm going to use to keep friends and family up to date during my time here in London. It's maurissauk.blogspot.com. If you want any other contact info, please email me whenever.

Lastly...well, I have no lastly. It was really just those two things.

Hope everyone is having a wonderful January 2008! I'm traumatized by the Colts' recent loss, but I guess the upside is I won't have to stay up all night here to watch the Super Bowl. So there's that.

Chip chip cheerio!

BLD v2.0

I was able to share (by phone) with those who went to NYE in DE the good news. We were still cautious given what happened the last time and had not shared with anyone but a few select family members. Check out the one of the newest arrivals to the BLD in early August! Arms and legs were moving and all there (whew!). Devon is sick and tired which, strangely, is a fairly good thing when you're pregnant. Otherwise, all is well. We're looking forward to seeing you all in June at the Reunion.

Backgammon

BLD Poll: Who is better/best at backgammon?

Why are bushes bushy?

USA! usa?
SEC! sec?

anyway, Georgia's dismantling of Hawaii was overshadowed by Florida's embarassing loss at the hands of Applachian State, I mean Michigan.

And I don't even want to talk about the Illinois game.

I think I'm over college football for this year. It made me sick like Space Mountain. Although, I like Space Mountain...and I guess I like college football. Just not this year.
Definitely not this year.
Given that my team, well.
Irish??

Happy New Year

Like Douglay, I was very sorry not to be able to be in attendance at this year's festivities. Hopefully, everything will work out for the reunion in a few months.

Hillary and I spent the better part of yesterday packing. I was in charge of the attic and stumbled across a box full of everything I'd saved from Dartmouth. In my folder from Modern Political Thought (Winter 1996), I found this scribbled on the back of a handout from Marcus Fischer, our Austrian professor.

Apparently, these were the early scribbles of the mad geniuses behind the advertising for BLD, the publication. Click on the picture for a better view of this museum-worthy artifact.