Funs...

So I took Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Monday and Tuesday off of work. I am trying to burn up some sick leave and comp time before my last day (November 11). While I would love to say that I have spent this time wisely kicking ass on my R&R or writing the great American novel, sadly, I have not. I have mostly been cleaning and organizing. I know, Booooo- right??!!

Except for today, when I took myself to see the new Footloose movie. Now, the way I see it, there are two types of people in the world: people who liked the first and those who didnt. I loved the first... so I was a bit suspicious- because, who can beat the original? Plus, does the plight of teenagers in a town like Bomount have play with young people in the more?



Turns out that the improbability of a ban on dancing in these modern times is a lot less a problem then I thought. And I loved it. Seriously. I know. I should be ashamed of myself, but I am not. I loved it. Just like the original, it had me wishing I could dance. Seriously- I loved it. Of course, I do have quite plebian tastes when it comes to movies... so you probably ought not to go with my opinion... just sayin.

Nico is getting really fun lately. He is saying things like, "I wanna show you a trick" and "I have an idea!". When we play ball he says, "Good throw!" and "Good pass!" It's really a lot of fun.

Burying the lead...

So, I have had a brilliant last couple of days. Friday, I had a soccer meeting with the WHS girls down in the county. When I got back, I scooped Nico up and we went to check out a backhoe loader that was by my work.

I probably shouldnt have let him climb on it (sets a dangerous precedent). But it was fun.

We started Saturday with a trip to Angelette's Cajun Kitchen for breakfast. FORGET ABOUT IT!! So delicious. They have shrimp grits that are completely off the chain. So delicious. We then went up to the Pumpkin Patch at the church off of Meridian. I took my camera hoping to get some pictures of Nico cutes.
Here is one:

We came home on Saturday and Nico had a nap. When I woke up, I went to shoot some pictures of my friend and co-worker Lavon. I dont know if she knows this or not, but she is really photogenic. She is sort of a goth type girl- wears black eyeliner and has long dark hair. She is the only person I know of whose skin has less melatonin than me... So you know I like standing next to her, because I look like a bronzed beach baby goddess next to her. In any case, I shot some pictures of her, her husband and baby for Christmas cards. Some came out pretty good.

Sunday morning Nico and Dave made me breakfast. When Nico woke up he said, "Its your birthday, we gotta eat some cakes!!" Which is pretty adorable. They got me two things I have been wanting for a while, but have been too gunshy to pull the trigger on (a Fitbit- which is a fitness device that records how many calories you burn throughout the day, along with sleep efficiency, etc and an adidas sling backpack... whoot). Am pretty excited about it. Mom and Dad gave me a gift certificate to Amazon...which is pretty rad. Amd trying to figure out how to spend it... on a really expensive digital watch (that can also be worn with a heart rate monitor) or on a Nifty Fifty lens for my Canon DSLR? I think I would love both equally.... I dont know.

Dave took Nico to Premeir for the kids room and some swimming on Sunday. I did some actual work on a presentation for a paper I am presenting on Thursday at SDA (its in Tally- whoot).

The REALLY big news is that I got my offer letter today. I told my boss at DOH. My last day is November 11... so that is really cool. I have 98 hours of leave that I am trying to figure out how to take. Turns out, I wont be in the office much... which completely rocks my face off. I might even take myself to see a movie. Probably the new Footloose, because I dont think Dave would go see it with me...

Season...

So we named teams yesterday. We only ended up cutting two players, so that is good. So far we have had relatively little drama. Seems to be working okay. Also trying to figure out how to get the best competition for the little big gun every day of practice. She is very fast and has a nose for the ball and the goal. Unlike midfielders, defenders and to a lesser extent, goalkeepers, a lot of the success of forwards is NOT contingent on good players getting them the ball. The best forwards make their own chances. She needs to do ODP... of course, its a struggle because the spring is for track... and its hard to convince a kid that finished 6th in the STATE in the 800 AS A FRESHMAN that her future is really in soccer. But we will try.

Of course, this is the part of the season that really kicks my a$$. We're driving down to Wakulla almost every day and I feel like I am on the verge of getting fired for not being in the office. Not getting enough sleep and still have major things to handle (like requesting buses for away trips and getting legit with the state's team management system. I am trying to make it so we dont have to cook when we get home, so I have been cranking out the crockpot meals and the make ahead dinners. Last night I made a (relatively) boring jambayla- that is in some serious need of some spicin' up.

It will get better once games start... almost every week this season we have three games a week. And I will try to give them at least one rest day a week, but lets be real here, I would rather drive five minutes from my house to go to Rickards than drive down to Wakulla to play them.

I did have a pleasant surprise when I came to work today. My friend and coworker Lavon "made" me cupcakes (I say "made" because she actually got the publix bakery cupcakes, which is good because they are about the only ones I like). And decorated them. Like so:

The meat ball is a Ferraro Roche chocolate thing (truffle). The sauce is strawberry jam. They are pretty much delicious!! I have already had two. What is funny is that usually when people give me cupcakes, I am all about spreading the love- I will offer them to everyone in the office. But today I have offered them to two people just to be nice. Not really expecting that they would say yes. Who says yes? They are my cupcakes? No you can't have one!! Get your own awesome friend that brings cupcakes on your birthday!

Coworker walks by looking longingly at my cupcakes.

Me (quietly): Would you like a cupcake? No! Great!! You're welcome. Move along.

Coworker: I would love one!

Me: Sure. Do you have a plate?

Me (thinking): Go AWAY!! Stop trying to take all my cakes!! Do I get up in your grill when you go get shitty vegetarian food for your birthday? NO. Leave my cakes alone!

Coworker returns with plate: These are so cute!

Me: Get your cupcake and GET OUT OF MY OFFICE!!

Tryouts and Texas

Not much going on around here... No offer letter yet from FSU. So I continue to go to work. I have a long laundry list of items on my to-do list before I go. I dont want anyone to shake their fist and say, "Bishop!" when they have to do something I didn't do (and should have) after I leave. So its a lot of crossing my t's and dotting my i's.

I also feel the need to use up all my health care before I go. So I'm trying to get my annual checkups done and the first consult for my left knee, which currently has the odd habit of catching when bent sometimes. Its the most disconcerting thing I have ever felt in my knee. Plus it grinds like its full of gravel, pebbles and small rocks. Which is never good for business.

It looks official- Nico, Dave and I will be going to Dallas for Thanksgiving. Whoot!! Pretty excited about that. I told Nico about it last night, that we are going to stay in Maddox and Emme's playroom (Nicody made the room above the garage a play room put a pull-out sofa in it.) The last time I was at their house (April 2010) all I could think about was how much fun Nico would have playing. See, we arent very good about toys in our house... for a variety of reasons... but let's just say that Nico doesnt really have that many toys and he doesnt play with 75% of what he has. That being said, he is going to have a blast. He doesnt have much of a chance to hang out with older kids (like Maddox). The oldest kids in his school are 3- so he is totally going to love playing with Maddox, who I am sure is really excited to hang out with "the little kids".

We started tryouts this week. I think we are going to have a pretty decent squad this year. Returning a lot of players from last year. Thig- who has been hurt a lot in the last two seasons looks pretty good- strong and healthy. Madi (the little big gun) looks like she has put on about 20 pounds of muscle... which is good, because she needed it. At the start of last year, we had one girl playing club ball in Tallahassee (Thig). This year, we're gonna have five on varsity alone. Which is pretty sweet. It raises the stakes, obviously... but I think we're gonna be good.

We have a bunch of new players coming in... but only a few that have a lot of skill. But the rest seem to be athletes, which I can totally work with. Also, I have a freshman who seems to not have a real strong grasp of reality. Seems to think she is going to be starting on Varsity as a freshman. And no, its not the freshman who is going to make the Varsity squad. They are so cute with their non-grasp of reality!!

My gk is trying to make the case for being captain. We try to have three captains, one of which is an underclassman. Lets the younger player learn the ropes and take on some leadership after the seniors graduate. As it is now we have two senior captains. So in order to have a younger player be a captain, plus my gk, I would have 4 captains...which is a little weird. Of course, she was an MVP last year, so there might be a good reason for it. Plus, it would be good for her to work on being a leader...

Her grades are not very good... but not because she is dumb. Her grades arent very good because she would rather do ANYTHING else than study... am wondering if it would be too much pressure to dangle it as a carrot. Like she has to maintain all Bs to keep the captain band? I don't know...

Nico's been pretty fun lately. He is really grasping language. And starting to ask questions. He was home sick with Dave on Monday and Dave had to leave to go to practice. When Dave got home Nico asked, "Daddy, where did you go?" So awesome.

Despite my fears about him being a band geek when he grows up, I think all signs point to him being in the band. Which is unfortunate... however, it might keep him off the football team... which I dont mean to disparage... I just see the way it is coached in places like Wakulla and I am not a fan... 15 under employed grown men as assistant coaches? Really? Getting in a kid's face to scream at him about how he better get his a$$ in gear? No thank you. The sense of entitlement that comes with being successful? Don't get me wrong, I have seen some entitled-a$$ soccer kids that I wanted to punch in the face. It just seems to be much worse in football.  Which, how could it not?  Down in the county WMS and RMS play each other at the high school.  Under the lights.  And the girls soccer team has to reschedule varsity games so that shit can go down.  True story.  This actually happened.  Which is terrible... I hate that because I come from a football coaching family (a grandfather and two uncles).

Plus music is good for kids... helps them excel in math and language. And lets be real here, he is going to need all the help he can get in math. But he is getting big and I am already sad for when he gets to be 13 wont want anything to do with us anymore :)

Weekend funs!

The weekend was pretty fun. I took Nico to work with me in the morning on Friday to show him off (my boss hadnt met him yet). We took bagels for the office and deemed ourselves, "Bagel Heroes!".

The weekend started a little early for me- because Nico's school called to tell me he has gastro-plague and to come get him. So I left work at about 11 and scooped him up. He was looking kinda tired, so we went home for lunch and a nap. I finished one christmas gift and started another (booyah!!) When Nico woke up, we went to run some errands, which included a trip to the pond in Myers Park to feed the geese. Coincidentally, all we had were some animal cracker type cookies... which the geese REALLY liked. Go figure.

When Dave was done with work, he came home and scooped us up to go to the Oktoberfest that was in town. We had brats, apple struedel, pretzels, cupcakes, snocones, and beer (I know the cupcakes were a little out of place, but Lucy and Leo's was there... Hello....). Nico didnt have any beer, but did play a few games of cornhole, where in he insisted on standing over the top of the game and slamming the bags into the hole.

I stayed up late and revised my IRB application. When we got up in the morning, Dave took Nico to the highland games in Ocala. I stayed home to catch up on some soccer stuff and house-cleaning. Which is kind of a bummer...

Sunday morning we got some groceries. When Nico went down for a nap, I started some cooking. I made chili and jalepeno popper things. I also managed to burn the hell out of my thumbs with the unidentified hot peppers I have growing in back yard. Since starting them in my garden, I have been rather cavelier with jalapenios. Which are delicious in grilled cheese. These other peppers are green, but shorter and fatter. So I thought they were just the dull boring cousin of the jalapeno. Apparently not so much. After washing my hands several times, I made the mistake of taking my contacts out with an affected thumb. And promptly burnt the s$#t out of my eye. IDIOT. In any case, I have been proclaimed "Chili champion!" of the house!!

In any case, Nico and I made some blueberry muffins (based on Alton Brown's recipe) after nap. And they are off the hizzie, fo shizzie (translation: they are very good.)We also cleaned his pool, watered the garden, played ball and did his favorite thing: take the garbage and recycling bins down to the street. Dave played soccer in the evening and I went for a run. It was a great weekend.

Nico's language is REALLY coming along. He is now bargaining... so if I tell him "One video, then we have to get up and do some laundry," he says: "How about two more videos?" His memory is getting to be insane. Dave and Nico drove by Cross Creek Animal Hospital this weekend. Cross Creek is where our neighbor took Drake when Drake escaped and cut his foot. Nico has only been there once (when we went to check up on Drake) so there is no reason for him to associate this memory with anything else. And it happened 9 months ago. He pointed out crosscreek and said, "where Drake went when he was hurt." How can he remember that? Its amazing. Still adorable. Still makes me want to bite him. :)

I'm no Steve Jobs, but...

I accepted the post-doc. I am waiting for an official letter before I resign from the Department of Health, which should happen Friday or Monday. I explained it to IE like so (in an email): Got in touch with RH, but he couldnt talk till Friday... I could have waited, but started thinking about it and decided that the potential benefits to doing the post-doc far outweigh any negative consequences that might occur as a result of taking it. Besides its a decision I have to make- and it's not right to ask others to validate it and talk me into it. Either I am willing to make the decision and deal with the consequences or I shouldnt make it. Further, its not like I am quitting my job to tend bar or serve pancakes.

I was kinda nervous about the decision until I heard a broadcast of the Commonwealth Club of California today at lunch when I was driving back to work. Some of you may know, but Steve Jobs (the former CEO of Apple) died yesterday. The broadcast included a commencement address by Steve Jobs at Stanford in 2005. In it were a couple of quotes that resonated with me:

"For the past 33 years, I have looked in the mirror every morning and asked myself: "If today were the last day of my life, would I want to do what I am about to do today?" And whenever the answer has been "No" for too many days in a row, I know I need to change something."

and

""Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish." It was their farewell message as they signed off. Stay Hungry. Stay Foolish. And I have always wished that for myself. And now, as you graduate to begin anew, I wish that for you. Stay hungry. Stay foolish."

The first quote might seem ridiculous for someone who has only been working a grownup job for a little over a year, especially when some many dont have jobs, or work back-breaking (literally) jobs like roofing, construction, and plumbing. I know I am being petty... But there are a lot of days when I dont want to go. For a variety of reasons... but a major one is that I dont want to do the actual work that I am doing.

The second quote is hits home for me because I have made some weird choices in my academic career. Going to Lee University was probably the first. Going to Africa and NIH are in there too. But fact is, if I hadn't gone to Lee my life would be so very different... so while it was maybe a mistake at the time, its a mistake I am glad I made. And while going to Africa and NIH may have had the effect of slowing me down in the process of getting my degree, doing both gave me some perspective.

So that is my choice. And I feel good about it.

Got it..

So. I got the post-doc at the med school. I think I am going to take it. While it is an amazing opportunity, I am still really nervous that its the wrong decision. But this is me. Sometimes I am just a nervous nelly.

I spoke with a peer who is an assistant professor at a teaching school. And I am trying to talk to another faculty member to get some more perspective, but if he tells me what I think he is going to tell me, I'm going to accept it.

That is kind of exciting. I dont know how it works with work... taking leave and such. I havent told my supervisor yet, but I probably will today (if I can talk to this professor first). This is literally, the toughest part of this whole thing... because I really like the other people in the arthritis program. And it wont be easy to meet our grant goals in this last year while trying to fill my position. I hope it can go well...

So that is that.

Anyone see this story? About the woman who was given the wrong lottery ticket and won 15 million dollars. That is pretty awesome.

I been around the world...

I was in Orlando, Florida.

In any case, Nico and Dave survived last week, with no scarring. So that is good. While I was gone, Nico started putting "Can I?" on the front of questions. So instead of saying, "Nico wash the dishes." he is now saying, "Can I wash the dishes?" Its pretty awesome. He has also started inquiring about the world around him. Like, "Mama, did you take a shower?" "Is Daddy in the bathroom?" and "Where is Drake?"

He is also addicted to Calliou... a show about a preschool boy on Sprout. There are a ton of Calliou videos on youtube... so there is that. They aren't bad... usually about 8 minutes a piece. Is it good that he watches 3 in a row when its time to go to bed? No Is it good that he generally only wants to watch when he is bored?" No. Are Dave and I terrible parents for letting him? Probably. Oh well. If it means that now he wont be a doctor, I guess I am going to have to do a good job on selling him on why its awesome that he isnt going to be 150,000.00 in debt when he graduates. Meh.

So the weather here was beautiful this weekend. I got home on Friday night and we spent the night just hanging out and catching up on my Nico snuggles. Saturday we did some errands and ran up to Thomasville to catch part of a TUFC game (several of our high school girls were playing in a tournament). We ended up stopping by PoBoys on the way home and having an early dinner. Sunday we did some more errands and I stayed home with Nico while he napped so Dave could go to the gym. We made chef salad and homemade chicken noodle soup and pretzels for dinner. Dave had wanted to check out Oktoberfest in the All Saints neighborhood, but apprently it wasnt very Festy... This adds to Dave's annoyance with Tallahassee. He is a little spoiled because in Louisville, with all the Catholic churches everywhere, you apparently couldnt swing a deadcat without hitting a festival for some saint, for some reason.

In any case, Dave wants to take Nico down to the Highland games next Saturday in Ocala. He is thinking about making it a day trip... if I dont go, I could stay and watch the dogs. If I did go, we would need someone to let the dogs out (cue song, "Who let the dogs out?")

I applied for a job in Tallahassee last week. I had a phone interview on Thursday and have a face to face interview scheduled for tomorrow. Its managing a project at the Med School. The PI said that they could convert it to a post-doc, which would benefit me immensely. It would be a dramatic improvement in my LIFE. I would be able to work a job that would inherently add lines to my CV through publishing. Plus maybe I'd be able to have a more flexible life... and work the way I like to work, which is early in the morning and after Nico goes to bed. This way I wouldnt have to be trying to bang out papers and job applications at 3 in the morning because my 40 hour a week job expects me to work while I am at work. Pfft. The real benefit for me is that I would be a lot more competitive on the market when I go back on in a year... unlike now, where I dont feel very competitive.

Of course, IE says that its hard to say how competitive I am because rejection letters havent started going out yet. It may be that I am short listed in all the places I have applied (which would be awesome). Highly unlikely, but it would be awesome. Then I would end up in a place where I have to make the choice between staying in the post doc (which will end in two years) or leaving to take a tenure trach job somewhere.

He also says that doing a post doc with the college of medicine might take me further away from sociology and demography. Which I think is a valid concern... it might be hard to go back to demography or even sociology once working with the med school for a while. Of course, I have papers in the pipeline that could keep me solidly in demography. So there is that. But its a nice place to be in. And its definitely nice getting job applications off. Last week, I applied to the University of Delaware, University of Maryland Baltimore County, University of Louisville, Connecticut College, University of Missouri Kansas City, Francis Marion University and Denison University. My next batch includes The College of New Jersey, U of Nebraska, Loyolay New Orleans, Kent State, UC Santa Barbara, American U., Utah State and Old Dominion.

If I got this job then, I would probably not send out the next round of applications. Then I could spend more time with this guy:

Seriously. Dont you just want to bite him?