Strange Noises

9:30 pm in the Abbott household. All was quiet except for the droning of the television. The kiddos were asleep. Or so we thought.

A creaking sound announced the opening of the door to the boys’ room. It was closely followed by the padding of their footsteps on the stairs.

“Mommy and Daddy,” said Timothy, “we heard some funny sounds.”

This isn’t the first time we’ve come across sleep-depriving strange noises. But they’re usually identifiable. Sometimes, it’s the cats. Other times it’s thunder or fireworks. So, our natural response is to roll our eyes, (just a little), and ask, “What did you hear?”

Tonight’s response: “Bruhhhhhh-ackkkkkkk.”

I tried to stifle my laughter. After all, the boys were so serious about this sound.

My wife said, “Sounds like a frog coughing up a hairball.”

I laughed so hard tears rolled down my cheeks.

Kids. Frogs. Hairballs. Hysterical.

Guess you had to be there.

Space: A Dream Delayed?

Much of my childhood was spent with an eye on the stars. I envisioned myself orbiting the earth on a space shuttle or headed beyond earth’s gravitational pull on a mission to Mars. I read everything I could about space travel. I even went to Space Camp as an 8th grader in 1987.

Side note: my mom sent me a link to a Slate.com post about Space Camp complete with pictures from that era. No, I’m not in these pictures. But I do have a picture of the simulator seat I occupied as commander of a simulated shuttle mission. (Did I mention that I was the youngest commander for a shuttle mission during the week I attended Space Camp?) While you laugh at my geekiness, here’s the pic:

Space Camp Shuttle Simulator - 1987

Space travel is a dream that has faded in my adult years, but never entirely disappeared.  A few years ago, my heart ached as I watched television coverage of Columbia’s demise. Most recently, I’ve watched the last missions of the space shuttle program with a bit of sadness.

Earlier today, I think my son recognized my nostalgic look-back for what it was. He said, “Dad, maybe you and I can fly into space someday.”

“Maybe son, maybe,” I said with a smile as I envisioned the possibility of commercial space travel. Could it be a dream delayed?

You never know.

You know you’re up too late when…

It’s another late night of capstone writin’ and research. Not necessarily in that order.

I was taking a brief break, so I turned on the ol’ TV tube. (Yes, it’s actually a tube. We haven’t graduated to one of those flat-screen thingies. Just call me cheap.)

Anyhoo, on comes a commercial that makes me wonder what those folks in Hollywood are smoking. (Maybe my li’l bro, an aspiring, and talented, screen writer can help answer that question.)

Smurfs.

A movie about Smurfs. You know those smurfy (obnoxious) little blue critters who smurf (follow) the bearded dude around. Oh yeah, there’s only one girl in the group. How exactly does that smurf (work)? Maybe the movie will answer that question. Did I mention that you can smurf (experience) it in 3D? Just don’t expect me to smurf (run) on out to the theater for this one.

Seriously, I’m rooting for Gargamel and his cat.

Zzzzzz’s

Hope you had a great 4th of July weekend. We did. It included Friday fireworks, a visit from my folks, pizza and wings, a family trip to the park, and burgers and dogs on the grill. Definitely fun. Definitely a little tiring.

Here’s the evidence:

Now, that’s one exhausted two-year old.

Oh yeah, special thanks go out to my parents for their valuable advice and help in the ongoing living room renovation project.

Now, back to my capstone project…

The Blue Lemon

Big Blue Lemon. That’s what I now call my 2006 GM piece-o-junk… I mean Saturn Relay.

The latest in a long series of frustration is the air conditioning. For the sake of accuracy, it’s the lack of AC that bugs me. Don’t get me wrong, I can live without the AC, but it would be nice to have the capability in at least one of our vehicles. My 1996 Saturn SL2 lost that capability a few years ago, but four windows rolled down provides effective cooling. On the other hand, airflow through the Blue Lemon is rather underwhelming.

When new friends of mine, (Adam and Kelly), offered to take a look at the AC system, I gratefully accepted their offer. We hoped it was just a matter of recharging the system… something Adam is qualified to do. I took the Blue Lemon out for a quick look. (Thanks Adam and Kelly!)

Of course, a system recharge wasn’t the problem. Nah. It’s probably something electrical. Time to setup Blue Lemon with a date with the mechanic.

I know there’s an old saying advising people to make lemonade from life’s lemons. Exactly how can I do so with this vehicle?

Wait… maybe I can donate it to Mythbusters sometime in the future. At this point, I’d love to see it blown to smithereens in super slow-motion!

 

Bubbles and Smiles

This was a highlight of my day: an early 4th of July party with the boys.

In a day full of craziness, a day with its usual stress, sometimes all you need are soap bubbles and a smile.

Capstone

Tomorrow is my last day of grad school classes. It will be bittersweet. Sure, it’s an accomplishment. But I will truly miss my classmates — my friends who make the communications program at The College of Saint Rose so much fun.

While it is my last day of classes, I’ll still be three credits short of my graduate degree. Just one small hurdle stands in my way: a capstone project.

Actually, it’s a pretty big hurdle. My project is a look into local political campaign strategies from a public relations perspective. It requires a significant writeup including a literature review, methodology, thorough analysis, and conclusions.

It’s a boatload of work, and I’m eager to get it finished.

I ask for your patience if my already shortened blog posts become a little shorter.

Back to the capstone…

Floored

There’s something cathartic about ripping out old carpet to discover nice hardwood floor hidden underneath. I needed a little rainy-day stress relief last week, so I finally decided to rip out the ugly living room carpet that’s been collecting all manner of dirt. It’s impossible to clean. Time for it to go.

Blech!

Things were going great. The floor underneath looked pretty good. That is, until I pulled up the section near the front door:

Ugh. Not a pretty sight.

Looks like there was tile in that area prior to the carpet. I knew that my wife, none too enthused about the project anyway, was going to be less-than impressed with the entryway.

My prediction was right on the mark. She’s already contacted my folks to move this project along a little faster. While I’m sure I can accomplish this on my own, I won’t turn down the help from my folks. They’ve done an amazing job at converting an ol’ barn of a house into a cozy home!

Either way, there’s some work ahead.

Like so many projects in life, this one will likely take on a life of its own:

• The floor needs some sanding and refinishing.
• The walls need some paint.
• The windows should probably be replaced.
• And I need some new baseboards and quarter round.

At least the ugly carpet is gone!

Eagles, Beetles and Wishes

“No,” I said as I answered a question from my son. “I’ve never seen a bald eagle in this part of New York.” We had looked up “eagles” in the encyclopedia.

Two days later, one flew over my head while recording dragon boat footage for my digital video class.

Bald Eagle

Fast forward a couple days, and we were looking up “beetles” in the encyclopedia. We were learning about ladybugs, and came across a picture of a particularly scary-looking beetle. “No, I’ve never seen a stag beetle where we live.”

Last night, we discovered one on our front porch. I kid you not, he’s almost two inches long!

Not your average beetle.

The scary jaws are too big to be effective pinchers.

The claws look like grappling hooks.

Stag Beetle by Timothy.

I probably just ensured no one will ever want to visit us again.

After hearing the tale of my recent ironic commentary, my wife urged me to limit my comments to things less creepy and more helpful. I’m trying to take her advice. Therefore, I’m trying this wishful thinking:

• I’ve never received a check for a million dollars.
• I’ve never won a campaign for county legislature.
• I’ve never seen a child receive a full college scholarship at age five.
• I’ve never been offered a job solely consisting of riding roller coasters.

Phew, that should take care of our future.

Uh-oh. Wait. Tonight, we read about dung beetles in a library book. Without a thought, I heard myself say, “No, I’ve never seen a dung beetle.”

Awwww, crud.

Petitions in the Rain

I’ve been collecting signatures today for my campaign for County Legislature, (as well as for my fellow candidates). It’s something I thoroughly enjoy: good exercise and the opportunity to meet some great folks.

Except when it pours rain.

I was doing my best to ignore those grey clouds a little while ago. However, they didn’t ignore me. Down came the soaking rain. Since I was canvassing my neighborhood, I opted to wait out the rain at home.

When I opened the door, my wife looked at me quizzically. I stood in the doorway with water dripping off my head. With an amused smile on her face, she asked, “Is it raining again?”

I answered nonchalantly. “Nope. Just fell into a swimming pool.”

Looks like there might be a break in the precipitation. Time to clip the pedometer onto the ol’ belt and head out with some more petitions…