Thoughts from Left Field

Best they could get?

I sat here watching the Republican National Convention wishing the cable guy could have been scheduled much earlier than this Saturday. Trust me...I would rather have watched reruns of Eight is Enough on TV Land than this, but since this was my only TV choice tonight, I decided to check it out.

I can't compare what I saw tonight to the DNC (mainly because I had cable at the Howard Johnson) but I just can't believe that the BEST the Republican Party can put on display is The Terminator....er...the Governator. The Democrats got Bill Clinton and the Republicans bring in the Kindergarten Cop.

Is anyone else getting tired of him working in quotes and references to his movies into political speeches? He made no less than 4 references to movies and even got in an "I'll be back" near the end. It's like he's a caricature of himself....it's so weird. And check out this classic line...this opened his speech:

Speaking of acting, one of my movies was called �True Lies.� It�s what the Democrats should have called their convention.

Who writes this stuff? Does he have a speechwriter that writes all of his official sounding lines and as they are polishing it at the very end, Arnold speaks up and says, "I think think I should open up by talking about the movie I was in, 'True Lies,' and then say the Democrats lie a lot. That would be funny." What does the speechwriter say then? How can you say no to the guy? He was Mr. Freaking Universe and could snap a person in half!

And my favorite part of the night...

To my fellow immigrants listening tonight, I want you to know how welcome you are in this party. We Republicans admire your ambition. We encourage your dreams. We believe in your future. One thing I learned about America is that if you work hard and play by the rules, this country is truly open to you. You can achieve anything.

If you work hard and play by the rules, you can achieve anything. Anything? I saw immigrants in Washington DC working their butts off, playing by the rules and barely had 2 nickels to rub together. I am guessing that if you ask them, they don't really feel that the sky's the limit for them. Maybe what Arnold was trying to say was if you work hard and play by the rules, you can achieve something. Or maybe if you work out hard, play by the rules, win Mr. Universe with your freakish body, catch a break by getting a movie role as a mute Barbarian with a freakish body and then marry a Kennedy, THEN you can achieve anything.

Oh...and he called Democrats "economic girlie men." I'm guessing the speechwriter wanted to fight that one until he rembered the whole "snapping in half" thing again.

Apple of my eye

I am far from an Apple / Mac advocate. I've used them. They're nice. My very first computer was an Apple. And my second and third. I just prefer using PCs because there's more choice, they're cheaper and it's what I know how to use. So sue me.

I DO have to say though that I am incredibly jealous of all of the die-hard Mac users out there that are going to be able to get their hands on a new G5 that was announced today. Apple has just great HCI engineers and designers and all of their products just look and function great. The new G5 looks to be just a monitor. All of the computer guts are already in the monitor. Oh, and it's a widescreen. And the keyboard and mouse are wireless. So, from what I can tell, there's only one cord in the back and that is to get power to the thing, which I don't think there's any wireless solution for (yet). Amazing design. I want a PC that looks JUST like this. But I DON'T want a Mac.

http://www.apple.com/imac/design.html

Office Space Lives

OK...so I have started working for a new company, AG Edwards. Their dress code is a little more buttoned up than I am used to, but the shirt and tie isn't so bad once you get used to it. Each Friday is the now customary business casual day where I can ditch the tie but still have my oh-so uncreative slacks. In addition to this, each month, a Wednesday is chosen and you get to wear jeans to work. Nevermind the fact that I could wear jeans anytime that I wanted to at US Airways, it seems like a special occasion here. I can dig it.

So anyway, each jeans day has a special theme. Tomorrow is our jeans day for the month of August and the theme is Hawaiian Luau. Apparently Aramark puts on a special lunch to match the theme and its good times. So, the entire home office gets an e-mail today explaining the day tomorrow, and if you have seen the movie Office Space, you will not believe that this was actually sent out:

Go Hawaiian on Wednesday, Aug. 25, with a jeans casual day, Hawaiian luau and Hawaiian attire contest. Feel free to wear your favorite Hawaiian shirts, in addition to your jeans (no holes or rips) and tennis shoes.

I am already looking forward to tomorrow knowing that Bill Lumbergh will be there along with the Bobs.

Update on the Move

Well, here I sit in the Howard Johnson "hotel" in O'Fallon, IL enjoying my free wireless internet and the constant hum from the sometimes too warm, sometimes too cold air conditioner. I have learned that the sweet spot is somewhere between 4 and 5 on the dial with the setting on "Cool Lo." I guess that extra letter "w" was a little too much to ask for.

This is the middle of my third week in the HoJo and I am starting to kind of enjoy the place. Aside from not having any of my stuff, being alone, and the faint smell of moisture and feet....it really isn't all that bad. It has a pool....and everything. Since this is my third week, this is my third different room. It really is eye opening having different rooms in the same hotel. I always assumed that each room was the same within a single hotel. If you thought that too, you would be wrong. In 3 rooms, I have had 2 different TVs, 3 different remote controls, 3 furniture configurations, 2 shower heads and 2 alarm clocks. Nothing ever seems to synch up.

We are inside of 2 weeks now until we close on our house here and so far, there have been no problems with either of the house sales. Best of all, the new house has wiring in it for a home theater. I requested it. And they did it for free. I'm pretty sure they charge like $5,000 for that in DC....but it's free here. I love it here.

Back up the moving truck

After over a year of semi-casual looking for other jobs in St. Louis in an attempt to move back, it has finally happened. Ta-da! AG Edwards is officially the best company in the world. Unfortunately, given my track record with airlines, it might be in bankruptcy soon after I arrive on the scene.

I'll do my best keeping everyone updated on the move, but I expect to be settled in by the end of August....hopefully.

My First Dr. Visit

When Emily was pregnant the first time, I went to nearly all of her monthly and then weekly doctor's appointments. I wanted to be a part of the entire process and not miss a thing. Yesterday, I went to my first doctor's appointment during this second pregnancy, and while I still want to be a part of the process, this might be my last one. I learned quickly that these visits to the doctor become completely different when you are there with a toddler on the verge of wanting to eat dinner.

We were at the office on time for the appointment, but at the end of the day, who could expect the doctor to be on time. Well, Mackenzie thought we should have gotten in on time because her patience level ended about a half hour of waiting. This completely stressed out Emily which, when she finally got back to see the doctor, was expressed by an elevated blood pressure reading. Really elevated.

So, we were asked to come back this morning to check again (sans Mackenzie in the office). The first reading was again elevated a little, which was blamed on Emily worrying that the reading was going to be high. Are you serious? Anyway, the next one turned out OK, but we are going to be monitoring it from home regularly.

I just know this one is a boy....he's already causing problems.

How Kerry Can Win

Not that I am a big politics snob, but living in Washington, DC, it's difficult not to get drawn into it. Even my morning and evening drive time radio shows have gotten into drawn out political discussions in recent days when the usual shows revolve around hottie interns, throwback jerseys and the Jackson family (not all usually on the same day).

With all of the controversy recently with the drawing out of the war in Iraq and the mistreatment of prisoners, I have been thinking about how the next presidental election might play out. If you are planning on voting in the election and you still aren't quite sure who you want to vote for, please read this article from In These Times. Well, if you make more than 7 figures each year, maybe you should skip it, but chances are, if you make 7 figures, you aren't reading this on my little web site.

Just a snippet....

Republicans are working feverishly to divide men from women, straights from gays, whites from black, native born from immigrant, and urban inhabitants from those who live in rural America. President Bush ran for election in 2000 as a �uniter not a divider.� The truth is the Republican Party is doing everything it can to develop hot-button issues that will divide us as never before.

Dad's Diary Part Deux

Many people know, but some probably do not. So, surprise. We've got another one on the way. And with a second baby on the way, I have to do a couple of things. First, I have to make an appointment to get my head examined (just kidding....I already knew I was pretty messed up). Second, I have to start another Daddy's Diary.

If you missed Season one of the diary, you missed out on quite a bit. I recapped our lives and how they changed throughout Emily's first pregnancy and into Mackenzies first months at home. And since I don't want our second child to have a complex that I didn't treat him/her like I did our first born, here comes the riveting second iteration. Hopefully, it will be just as interesting as the first, but without having childbirth education classes this time around, my best source of material is now gone.

So, sit tight and fasten your seatbelts. We are right in the middle of morning (and pretty much all day, any day sickness), this ride could get bumpy. Stay tuned.