Photo Hunters - Furry

Here's a photo from last year of Dova and our cat Wysiwyg (what-you-see-is-what-you-get for the non-geek readers).



Hosted by tnchick.com.

WW - Sledding

There wasn't much snow in New York, but what was there was icy and fast!  Of course, Adam loved wiping out.

Twilight Zone Tower of Not-So-Much Terror

This shot was taken from the Lights Motors Action show.

I had been to Walt Disney World three times since the Twilight Zone Tower of Terror opened and I finally took the plunge (literally) during our last trip. This time, I had company (my mom) and a willing babysitter who had no interest in taking the ride (Doug). I had taken one drop ride before in my life and all I can remember was screaming so hard that my eyes were shut and I totally missed it.

Here is a shot of the Hollywood Tower of Terror at night. The flickering neon lights really give it an eerie glow.  Can you tell I'm hedging?



My mom and I got Fastpass tickets for the Tower of Terror so that Doug and the kids wouldn't have to wait long for us. They didn't collect the ticket, so here it is if you've never seen one:



Since I have never taken the ride and had only a few anecdotal reports of what it was like, I held on to handle, conveniently located next to my seat. With both hands. Like a total idiot. OK, OK, here I am:



Notice the Asian family to the left with young children, all their arms up and no fear whatsoever. Scan over to the right to see a 72-year-old Chinese grandmother (my mom) having a blast. And then next to her, a fearful looking middle-aged woman with bat wings (that would be me). Argh!! The thing is, it wasn't even all that bad. They had changed to ride to be more random, stopping in the the middle of the free fall and then randomly going back up or down again. There were no 13 story straight drops. It was tame! So the next time I take this ride, I will have my arms up, like I do in other ride pictures (hopefully the bat wings won't be so bad). I love rollercoasters, remember?

Just to vindicate this horrible picture of myself, my mom and I checked on Doug and the kids and asked to go on the neighboring Rock 'n' Roller Coaster. Adam was traumatized from taking the Big Thunder Mountain Railroad the day before so he had no interest in any more rollercoasters. This time, I was determined to have my hands up, or as far up as I could get them with the shoulder harness. And I succeeded:

Photo Hunters - Chipped

Here are Mrs. Potts and Chip from Beauty and the Beast. Amazingly enough, Dova found these tiny accessories to her tiny Belle doll.

Irreverence and Hope

Yesterday, I made a offhand reference to JonBenet Ramsey and the Bibbidi Bobbidi Boutique.  In googling the correct spelling of JonBenet's name, I happened upon a YouTube video of her.  Naturally, my curious self couldn't help but click on the link.  Right in the description of the video, there was a warning in capital letters saying that there were autopsy photos.  Unfazed, I watched the video.  I had totally forgotten that I can't even watch the news when it involves something bad happening to a child.  I watched in horror as I saw photos of this beautiful girl, dead in compromised positions.  She was only a year older than my own daughter.  About half way through, the 9-1-1 call from her mother was played.  The sound of her voice was just too much to bear and I had to turn off the video.  I felt terrible for using JonBenet's name in an insulting manner.  I don't agree with her parents choice to put her in beauty contests.  The sexualization of young girls is completely abhorrent to me.  But just because I don't agree doesn't mean that I can poke fun of her.  What happened to JonBenet is the absolute worst fear of any parent.  It's what we desperately try to protect our children from at all costs.  I am terribly sorry for mentioning her in this way.  I won't put a link to the video here as no parent should see it.  Trust me.

A Mighty Heart: Mariane Pearl, Sarah Crichton

I had another experience with a video that has haunted me, which I wrote about four years ago.  I had just finished reading A Mighty Heart, by Mariane Pearl, the widow of journalist Daniel Pearl who was beheaded in Pakistan.  Mariane made the smart choice of not watching the video of her husband being murdered.  I did not.  When I watched the killers, I couldn't believe that their sense of humanity was completely gone.  I think one guy had to leave the room and the other guy felt he just had to get the deed done because they said they were going to do it.  But it only proves that evil really does exist.  I'm not sure whether I'm better or worse for seeing these videos.  It's no good putting your head in the sand and not facing the fact that horrible, evil things happen in this world.  You need to face it to combat it.

I won't end this post on such downer topics, but instead focus on the positive with the new Administration.  I have high hopes for President Obama.  He has a huge mess to clean up and it will take time.  But I have no doubt that he will inspire this country to clean up its act at home and in the world.  His letter to his daughters in Parade Magazine was truly inspiring.  From photographer Callie Shell's viewpoint, he obviously puts his family first.  And thanks to Kristen McLane, I found that you can Obamicon.Me!

WW - Unicorn Face Painting

Dova got a beautiful unicorn face painting at Walt Disney World. We totally stayed clear of the Bibbidi Bobbidi JonBenet Ramsey Boutique, but we did indulge in this. She was quite relaxed during the whole process and enjoyed the attention she got walking around afterwards.

Never-Ending Illness, Avelox, Deafness, and Dreams

Image from Infectious Wearables. I thought Giant Microbes were cool (so do my kids), but Infectious Wearables make really cool ties. Who would have thought that mold/fungi could look so beautiful?

But as usual, I digress. Ever since I got back from Walt Disney World, I've been coughing and feeling ill. I wasn't so sick that I missed any work until this month. A week and a half ago, I was hit with a high fever which finally prompted me to see a doctor. Here's the rundown of my illness so far...

• December 5: Cough starts.
• December 6: Flew back from Florida. As expected, my ears clog on the plane and I had an extremely painful descent. Every time that happens, it feels like my ears are bleeding.
• December 11: My ears unclog and I can hear again! Cough continues though.
• December 25: Coughing continues through Christmas. I cancel a trip to visit my mom for the holidays and plan to go during New Years. Instead I blog about coughing and pantyliners.
• December 28: I miss a get together with Doug's family. I was probably fine to go, but Dova had a fever and was vomiting, so I stayed home with her.
• January 1: Fever around 101F, we obviously didn't visit my mom again for this long weekend.
• January 2: Sinuses hurt badly.
• January 4: Fever finally going down on my birthday. I forewent a New Year's party which the rest of my family attended. Instead I filed lots and lots of papers. Apparently, this is what obsessive organizational people do for fun on their birthday.
  
• January 5: Finally took a sick day and fever went away.
• January 10: Fever over 102F and vomiting. This time I really feel like hell, but can't get to the doctor because Doug was out and I didn't want to lug the kids with me to the doctor's office. That night I added an raging ear infection to the mix too.
• January 11: Finally drive myself to the doctor after Doug shoveled the snow after yet another snowstorm. Doctor said there was crackling in my lungs (pneumonia) as well as an ear infection. Got a nice strong prescription of Avelox. Threw up a half hour after my first dose, but luckily the pill made it down into my small intestines already. Chronicled my dreams while on this medication.
• January 12: Took another sick day. Fever was gone, but I was still extremely weak.
• January 19: Course of Avelox is almost over. Cough and fever are finally gone, but my left ear continues to be clogged, somewhat painful and nearly deaf. I ought to call the doctor about it...

So during this time where I managed to get almost every possible ailment, I formulated some theories about the cavities in my head. Not cavities in my teeth, but those darn spaces like ears and sinuses which I seem to have so much trouble with.

Whenever I'm sick and I get on a plane (which unfortunately occurs much more often than I like), I always have trouble during the descent, but not during the ascent. It's as if my Eustachian tubes have check valves in them. They will let pressure out, but not in. So the negative pressure forming behind my ear drums turns into extreme pain. When my ears finally start to unclog a few days later, the tubes finally let air in (pop!) and I can suddenly hear again. During the day, the air slowly escapes through the check valves, building up negative pressure again (and deafness), until I open my mouth wide and pop! I can hear again. When the check valves finally stop the one way air exchange, my ears are finally back to normal. The same goes for the sinuses. When I'm sick, all the openings to my sinuses have check valves that let air out but not in. It is the negative pressure that is so painful. I know this is totally a mechanical engineer's point of view, but I can't help but overanalyze everything around me.

This latest ear infection has lasted nearly ten days and has not had much improvement from the antibiotics. It's only on one side, but I'm constantly shifting myself to hear out of my good ear. I have to sit on the floor to watch TV so that the volume isn't way to loud for the rest of my family. I've had to work at our customer's site and deduce what the heck they are saying. I just want to pop a hole in my eardrum, drain the gunk out and finally equalize the pressure. I can't take the deafness any longer! The pain and irritation goes all down my Eustachian tube. I can even feel the spot where it opens into my throat. Yes, I know, time to visit the doctor again...

In terms of the dreams, I haven't had too many that were way out of the ordinary. I usually have vivid dreams with some anxiety about whatever is going on in my life, turned into an irrational saga. By the second night, I was having anxiety about having interesting enough dreams! So I stopped writing them down. The only dream of note lately was a couple nights ago. I was walking down the streets of Cambridge, MA waiting for the parade for President Obama. He was out in the open on top of a huge float, and I felt that he wasn't being protected enough. Then later, he was walking on the same sidewalk and he passed me and walked into a building. He was within three feet of me! I just held my breath in awe and didn't say anything as he passed. Later I walked into another building and signed up for a writing class. The other students in the class just laughed at me and said that engineers couldn't be writers. I think I'm having anxiety about writing for BlogHer (did I mention that I'm now a contributing editor?) but so far, my posts seem to be doing fine. And oh, to be so close to Barack Obama, the thrill! Too bad, I won't be seeing the real parade tomorrow.

Photo Hunters - Hats

At Walt Disney World, Dova loved trying on the various Mickey ear hats, or rather Mom put them on her to snap photos.


Pink Minnie ears


Pirate Princess ears


Adam and I tried on these Mickey wizard hats which light up. This video is proof that I'm turning into my mom. "No, no, no, no sideways videos, Doug! You have to take it again." The subsequent non-sideways video was boring in comparison though...

Are you an annoying co-worker?

Image from Emotional Freedom Technique

In my monthly work health newsletter, I came across this interesting list of "How not to annoy your co-workers". Some of them are totally obvious but then some of them were things that I actually do. Oh no! I chalk it up the George Carlin quote, "Have you ever noticed that anybody driving slower than you are is an idiot - and anybody driving faster is a maniac?" Here's the list with my commentary:

• Loud talking, laughing and playing voicemail over a speakerphone.  Voicemail over speakerphone should a be a punishable offense.  However, some people (perhaps moi) have voices that naturally carry, and can only control it to a certain degree, barring a voice operation. And stop laughing!  Work is not supposed to be fun!
• Strong perfume or cologne, body odors, bad breath, or food at your desk.  I totally agree with the first three items, but food?  I have a huge pantry and a fridge at my desk and am CONSTANTLY eating.  This annoys people?  I'm always offer them snacks...
• Coming to work sick and spreading germs. I take the daycare line and stay home only if I have a fever, diarrhea, vomiting, etc.  Otherwise I would have missed the last month and a half of work!  Cough!
• Being messy in common places and careless with equipment. Agreed.
• Whining, making excuses, and reacting defensively. No whining allowed!  What are we, in kindergarten?
• Talking too much about your personal life or non-work topics. Some people give way too much information. Other people are way too private. There is a line where you can be work sociable and not gossipy or gabby or a total robot.
• Excessive personal phone calls or use of the Internet. Oops, definitely guilty as charged on item two there.
• Personalized cell phone ring tones and interruptions, especially in meetings. We have a company policy about using cell phones and they do still ring sometimes, but most people have them on vibrate.
• Tapping pencils, clicking pens, and other noisy habits. I've been know to smack the keys on the keyboard pretty hard, especially when I'm mad.  It's just typing in forte!
• Rude or sarcastic responses, always being late.  Me sarcastic?  Never!  And I always come in late, but not to meetings.

They did provide some helpful hints in how to deal with an annoying co-worker.

If you choose to confront an annoying co-worker, find out first if you are the only one bothered and if you can do something to avoid being affected.  Be honest and constructive, and let the person know how you are being affected.  Be clear about what you want, and pick the right time and place for the conversation.  In all likelihood, the person is unaware of the impact of his or her behavior.

And if you come to me with any of these, I can see right through you.  The fridge stays!

WW - I Spy Jack Sparrow

Taken at the Pirates of the Caribbean ride at Walt Disney World. Of course this was not quite as good as getting within kissing distance.

Don't Pay for Anything That Is Free

The title is obvious, right?  Not always.  On our check-in to the timeshare near Disney, we were offered a free 5x7 family portrait.  Our first five days there were packed full with trips to Walt Disney World, and on our free day, we finally to the opportunity to get our free portrait.  Now our yearly holiday family portrait at home is always a major ordeal and I'm too cheap to actually go to a professional photography studio for a family portrait.  Such is the curse of being a cheap frugal "good enough" amateur photographer.


Here is the wax replica of our family.

The onsite photographer had a Nikon DSLR with a Speedlight flash mounted directly to the camera.  No better than my own setup, but still it was free...   The good thing about this photographer was that all the backdrops and poses in the natural surroundings were all pre-determined.  He quickly assembled us for each shot and snapped one full-length portrait and one zoomed-in landscape shot.  I would have preferred a zoomed-in portrait shot of the family.  He tried to take separate photographs of the kids, but they refused to comply, so we only had shots of the kids together.  We also had a few shots taken of Doug and me as a couple.  In all there were around 10 shots of our family.  I definitely wanted the free 5x7 family portrait, but those shots of the kids were so cute...

Now here comes the not-so-free part.  The price for extra photographs were $20 plus tax for one sheet, $38 for two and up from there.  A sheet could have one 8x10, two 5x7s, three 4x6s, four 3.5x8, or some number of wallets in any combination of images.  A CD with full resolution JPGs was $50.  I wasn't going to fork over $50 for the digital images because frankly, they weren't worth it.  The photos were over-exposed and not studio quality.  In the end, we settled for one sheet with these three 4x6 prints of the kids.  So was it worth it?  Should avoid all free things that end up costing me money?

Photo Hunters - Aftermath

When I thought of the theme Aftermath, the most obvious thing that came to mind was the aftermath of opening presents on Christmas day. This year, we opted to sleep in and let the kids have at it, so there were no pictures taken at all! I tried to think of another messy occasion, and the only thing that came to mind was Adam's penchant for taking everything out of bookcases when he was a toddler.


Here he is finding the exact album that he was looking for. Just look at that satisfied look on his face! By the way, Olivia Newton John, The Doobie Brothers and Burt Bacharach?  Doug.  Khachaturian Piano Concerto and The Beatles?  Mine.  The albums are still out of order from numerous incidents like these.  It used to be a weekly occurance.


Adam thought that his book shelf would be a cozy place to sleep. Why stuff them with books when the floor is just as good?  Thankfully, he's outgrown using albums and books as a floor covering and moved on to Legos.

PSF - Tooth Fairy FAIL

We are letting Adam's hair grow long for the winter. Doug can't take anymore of this bushiness, but Adam loves it. Me? I love running my fingers through his hair, but as soon as it blocks his vision, I'll give it a trim. On to the story...

A few days after Christmas, our 8-year-old Adam lost a tooth. It's been over a year since he last lost a tooth, so he was pretty excited to receive a visit from the tooth fairy. We've had a spotty record in past experiences, so I was determined to make sure that she didn't screw up this time.  He went to bed pretty late, around 10pm, and Doug and I caught up on some TV.  At 11pm, I waved a couple dollars in front of Doug and asked him to take care of it. He did the deed and came back down to watch some more TV. 

About a half hour later, we hear Adam come out of his room.  He came down the stairs and we asked what was wrong.  He said, "I can't sleep. You know, I saw Dad come into my room and take my tooth and put money under my pillow."

Doug quickly came back with, "It's just in case."

Adam replied, "Is it a myth or something?"

Doug shot me a look of alarm and mouthed, "Myth?  How does he know that word?"  We just shooed Adam back to his room and pondered our dilemma.

The next morning, Adam and Dova woke up before us and he spilled the beans to Dova.  The first thing she told me when I woke up was, "There was a FAKE tooth fairy that came to see Adam last night, and it was Daddy!"  Oh no, spoiled it for our baby who's never lost a tooth yet.

I considered leveling with Adam and telling him that he couldn't ruin it for his sister.  But Doug decided to explain to Adam that there was a lot of sickness going around and that the tooth fairy had asked him to take care of it for her because she couldn't make it that night.  Adam kept asking where the tooth was, but we wouldn't say.  He kept asking whether the tooth fairy was going to pay us back and all these logistical questions about the exchange.  Finally, he's stopped asking about it.  We agreed that next time he asks, we'd just say, "Oh yeah, she came by last week and picked up the tooth." 

Hopefully that will go over for a few more teeth. And thankfully, Santa never came up in all the myth questioning.


Hosted by Cecily and MamaGeek

Thursday Thirteen - Carousel of Progress

One of Doug's favorite attractions at Walt Disney World's Magic Kingdom in the Carousel of Progress. It chronicles the state of technology from the 1900's to "today". I, of course, take the opportunity to practice my low light photography. Here are thirteen photos and videos of the ride.


The 1900's without electricity. They did have gas lamps and a kitchen pump.


The ice box of the 1900's was just that, a box to hold a big block of ice and some food. My question is where exactly did they get blocks of ice in the summertime? Good thing I live in the 2000's and there are Yahoo! Answers.


The collapsible ironing board was invented in 1892, but hadn't come to this family yet. This scene was behind a cloth screen which was lit for a few moments.


In the 1920's, houses began to have electricity, but it was not very reliable. This kitchen was strewn with wires everywhere which kept shorting out.


Jimmy and Grandpa listened to the radio.


I barely captured Uncle Orville in the tub as the lights were going down.


The 1940's brought much modernization and the beginning of the rat race.


This video shows the transition from the 1940's stage to today's. And we get to hear that song, There's a Great Big Beautiful Tomorrow.


The kitchen of today is full of high-tech conveniences. But I guess pots and pans are still here to stay.


Grandma plays a virtual reality space game. In my reality, grandmas love Bejeweled.


Here's Christmastime of today. The rear entry ski boots are hopelessly 80's in my opinion.


The turkey got burned at 975F because of mistaken voice commands.


Last but not least is this video at the end of the ride. I tried to capture Doug's rapt expression, but it was too dark. Bye-bye, see you real soon!

Yes, I know I've drunk the Disney Kool-Aid.

Post note: Just found out that Thursday Thirteen is no more. Oh well, just one last one from me!