Summer, baby and vaycay

I have not written in forever. Life is a whirlwind right now and I don’t see it slowing down anytime soon. With summer here, the wife and kid are home, which for me means a few things. One is that I get about 5 more phone calls throughout the day than I normally get from the wife, which is usually just one after school. Then, there’s the home projects. Which, for the most part, are dreamed up by Holly and executed by me. But, I think it’s amplified this summer because we are expecting the baby in November and we want to have just about everything done that needs to be done before summer is over.

Speaking of baby…we just found out the gender of baby Berger #2…it’s a ….

GIRL!

We’re very excited! I was telling Holly that I really never knew any “girl Bergers”. I mean, my Mom, but I meant like little girls. My cousins were older than me and we hardly saw them growing up. So this is going to be neat! Zac is stoked about being a big brother to a little sister! He’s already kissing Mom’s belly and talking to his sister. Sweet, right?

The light pink and brown bedding with lady bugs has already been ordered (thanks to Grammy). Once it’s in, I’ll be getting paint from Lowes and getting that nursery all pretty. 

The due date is officially Thanksgiving Day (turkey berger) but, since Holly will be having a c-section, they are going to schedule it a week to 10 days prior. So we are looking at the Nov. 17-20 range. That’s just a couple of weeks after Zac’s birthday. Say goodbye to your Christmas/Hannukah presents if you’re reading this by the way.

One more week of work before vacation and I can’t wait! We’re headed out to Cali with the in-laws and niece for Berger family visiting and Disneyland (and probably beach and schlepping around elsewhere).

Hitting the sweet spot

For those who don’t know the baseball term “hitting the sweet spot”, it means when you hit the ball right on that part of the bat that it’s meant to hit…the meat…the largest part. The feel is incredible because it barely even feels like you connected with no vibration in the hands, yet the ball takes off!

Well today I feel like I hit the sweet spot at work. I was given the task to get up in front of the company (50 or so people) and give a marketing department update from last month and what’s upcoming. I had about 15 minutes. First of all, let me say it felt great! There is something about being up in front of people when I have something to say or share, be it a character in a play or strategies and stats from marketing efforts, that is extremely fulfilling to me.

What’s better? Well, when it goes really well and everyone is either impressed, interested or just happy with what I’ve done and how I did it. It went as good as I could have hoped and the feedback was amazing. The people that have nothing to do with me or what I do in the company said they felt connected to my department and understood what was going on…they felt like they could relate to me and what I was talking about. And even cooler, the higher-ups were impressed with how I came across.

The funniest part was when I was done, everyone clapped. As I walked back to my seat I said, “Wow, applause! I’ll be here all week.” That got quite a laugh! Well deserved I thought.

My hands didn’t vibrate at all.

Comfort in my pica pole

I’ve had this pica pole since I was in little old Platt College back in L.A., circa 1991. It has stayed with me from L.A. to Colorado Springs to Seattle and now to Houston. From a small ad agency to a direct mail Volkswagen parts company, an Internet travel company and a publishing company. And now it sits here in a risk management company at the base of my keyboard as it usually does.

Honestly, there’s a comfort there for me. Maybe a sense of consistentcy and stablization in my career…hell, in my life. I can feel it there under the heel of my palms as I type and when it’s not there, I know it. Occasionally I use it to measure something. Almost always in inches, though sometimes in points. Never in picas anymore. Most times I use it while I talk on the phone, bending it and gesturing it with it.

I love my pica pole.

 

Small steps make for huge strides

After reading my friend’s recent post about procastination, it brought to the surface very similar feelings I have been going through lately. Similarly, I have so very much to do, but in my case, there are things I hesitate to approach because I doubt my abilities. I doubt I can handle every part of the huge process of getting something done. Major self-esteem issues here. I’m a vocational school guy, that has mainly worked as a creative, trying to keep up with Baylor MA’s. To me, that is intimidating.

I’ve been given no reason whatsoever to think and feel that. No one is saying or suggesting anything of the sort and I’ve been performing over and above in the 2 and a half months I’ve been here.

And this seems to be the main obstacle in tackling my to do list. I stop because I get swallowed up by the whole. I often forget that these seemingly large projects, tasks or goals simply start with a step and are followed by one step. There may be 40 or 400, but it’s simply about taking the next one.

You never fail if you just get up ONE more time than you fall. Be it mentally, emotionally or even physically. That one time you get up, you’ve won. So just keep getting up. Just one more.

That’s for both us buddy.

Love me dead

Okay, my new favorite song is Love me dead by Ludo. No idea who they are or where they came from as I am not usually up on the newest releases. For someone who loves music, I pretty much have stuck to the stuff I grew up with…or High School Musical soundtracks. Sad.

Anyhow, I heard the song as a bumper coming out of a sports radio program and had to find out what it was. Before I even took that step I heard a commercial promoting the song/album by Ludo.

For me it’s absolutely hilarious but not in a laugh out loud way. It’s great. It’s how I feel. But beyond the lyrics, the melody is what does it for me. I hope I never get sick of it. Great, great song. Brilliant.

Zac’s buzz cut

The kiddo got a hair cut yesterday and because it’s hotter than hell, we got him his very first buzz cut! DAMN, he’s cute! Click on the pic for a gallery of cuteness, funny faces and the Inredible Hulk!!!

 

 

There is no charge for awesomeness

We saw Kung Fu Panda yesterday and it ranks as one of the best animated movies I’ve ever seen. It was funny with many laugh out loud moments, but it had a great message and an over all good feel to it. The animation was incredible and probably some of the absolute best action squences in animation that I’ve ever seen. Jack Black was made for the role of the panda, Po.

Up next as far as kid movies is Wall-e, but I’ve got to see You Don’t Mess with the Zohan and keep my loyalty to Adam Sandler.

End of year program

Just had to share Zac’s end of year school program. It was cute!

 

 

 

 

Last day of school & summer

In my house, today is the last day of school. Zac understands what that means. Not to the point that he’s so excited that he doesn’t have to go to school, because, well, he loves it (right now). But he knows that he is going to get to do a lot of swimming and movies and the zoo and just hanging out around the house with Mom. Although he asked multiple times if I will be staying home with them.

Uh…no, I tell him…I have to go to work every day buddy. I can’t even remember what it was like to have the summer OFF. Shit, I can barely remember when I first started to work full-time and how depressed I was when I knew school was out and I still had to get up every morning and go to work. But unfortunately I do remember that feeling. But oddly enough, I don’t know how I’d manage (I’m sure I’d figure it out) having two plus months off a year. I’m energized by work. I enjoy the sense of purpose and sense of accomplishment. Not that there are days …. like this lazy Friday, where I’d rather just put on flip-flops and chill.

The one thing summer does do for me is that it tends to be less stressful since the spousal unit is not working. And you know what they say…wife happy, life happy. Seriously though, it’s just a lot more mellow, which in turn, makes my life better.

We are wanting and are planning to go to Los Angeles on vacation, but airfare is like $350-$400 right now. RIDICULOUS. Multiply that by 3 and put a fork in me, I’m fried. And that’s just air…add hotel, car, food, Disneyland, other activities. I don’t know how to pull this off.

The absolute worst part of summer is that on the way to work this morning (at like 7am) it was 81 degrees. At 7. Uh, so at lunch it’s 96 (at least) and pretty much stays that way until 8pm.

[turning the fan on and getting back to work].

Crazy busy, the kids program and bad tomatoes!

Oy! So busy, but awesome busy at work. So much to do and so many things I am doing and it’s just fabulously exciting how many different things I get to be involved in and I can track the difference I’m making. I love it. Next…

I get to leave early today to catch a class of 3-5 year olds doing their end of year “program” which consists of 5 or 6 songs. They even sent a CD home with all songs months ago so the kids the could practice on their own. Should be hilarious and I will have video and pictuers. Woo Hoo!

FDA WARNS CONSUMERS ABOUT TOMATOES
Posted: 04 Jun 2008 02:15 PM CDT

The FDA is urging consumers in New Mexico and Texas to stop eating raw tomatoes until they find the source of a salmonella outbreak that has been linked to the fruit.

So far, 57 cases of salmonella infections have been confirmed in New Mexico and Texas spanning from late April through May, and 17 of those required hospitalization.

Investigation continues into another 30 possible cases in Arizona, Colorado, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas and Utah.