I come home the other day to find this piece of "art" hanging on our living room wall.



Now i'm all about encouraging the artistic development of my little man, however i've got a few serious misgivings about this whole idea of celebrating this form of non-art.
It's totally lame!
Now before y'all criticize me, i must declare that i understand he is a baby; and as such has had no formal art training. That's not my point. The problem i have is that it is hanging on the wall.
Oooh, look, my kid made a mess on a piece of paper! Let's sign and date it, and we'll hang it next to the faux Picasso in the living room. Even better yet i'll hang it up in my office, so that when people come in to discuss work, they'll think that someone forgot to throw away a used napkin. How would i possibly get any work done looking at that distracting car wreck all day long?

But the important this is to see what this is teaching Alexander:
1) Look what you did! It's horrible! Yay!
2) If we hang your scribblings on the wall, perhaps you'll see this as an approval and hence cover the rest of the walls (and furniture) with similar etchings.
3) Don't worry about achieving anything meaningful in your life. Just go with the absolute minimum.
4) At least he got some on the canvas.

What are we really celebrating here folks? Mediocrity. Seriously. If i threw a wet squirrel on a piece of paper it would look better than this. Just because he happened to enter into a course of action that resulted in the monstrosity above doesn't make him a Rembrandt. As he progresses then will come the paltry block people. You know the ones; they look like a bunny rabbit after an entire herd of elephants just ran over it. And they're always the wrong color. No, people are not dark green no matter how seasick they are. But as long as there's an arrow pointing to what looks like a drunk rock with the words "daddy" above it, that makes it all right, i'm sure.

Now this doesn't mean i love the little tyke any less. It's that i'm simply not impressed. I honestly would be embarrassed to even take this piece of paper home from the school. And am i going to have a new one of these things on my wall every week? Oh goodness i hope not....

The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from the government and I'm here to help.

               -Ronald Reagan

My best bud steve came over to see the new diggs a few nights ago. I showed him around the house and all the work i did. He was impressed, of course.
And then he sprung the best possible housewarming/Christmas gift on me: a brand new Playstation 3!!!
Man, was i speechless! I've wanted this thing way back since it first came out in 2005! I've simply been way too busy lately to ene think about shopping around for this, and perhaps it will give me an excuse to slow things down a bit and actually relax in my new home. In addition, the best game ever came out a few months ago for the PS3.

Of course i immediately needed to get it and thanks to good ol' craigslist, got the game, brand spanking new, for half price. Now i can rock out with my you know what!
(the answer is 'guitar' for you sickos out there)

I am extremely grateful to stevie for this gift.
Thank you!
...now you all know where you can find me... :)

I didn't get a chance to say goodbye to apartment #210. A lot of memories were made in that little place, on the second floor. Some good, some bad. I'll try to throw out a few, as a final serenade to ye olde Toluca Lake.


Oh, our apartment. With the forever dusty balcony and the super nice neighbors. The new parents just like us to help us through the tough spots. The "free" internet that was spotty at best. The garbage trucks that rolled on by the apartment much too frequently. The local dogs that pissed and peed all over the place. The fireplace with holes that let the rats into the living room. The fatty that got stuck under the fridge. That awesome couch that then became their home.
Many nights spent watching movies. Many nights spent on the couch. Many sad night arguing and shouting. Many happy nights, with wine and delicious food. Many nights with yummy seasonal beers & ales. Many mornings with hangovers.
The cursed commute. Oh, how i will not miss thee. So much time. So much of my life TAKEN from me, given to strangers, miscreants, metro-riders. Why did THEY deserve it? No more. This time now goes to to my family, my home, myself, my SON.
Alexander.
This was where he was born. Oh, how he grew so quickly. The apartment just couldn't contain the little guy. He longed to go on walks outside. 'Get me OUT' he clamored! He loved the strolls, the neighborhood sights, the snowman & the penguin.
His first solid food: peas! His first steps. His first words.
Many, many falls, and spills, and bumps. Thank goodness for that carpet!

Even though we've lived there for almost two years, i'm not sad. Not even a little bit. We've got a bigger place. A BETTER place. A place with a HUGE yard for him to run in and play, all day and all night. A safe place. He can be a boy. With a dog. And soon, some chickens & ducks!
The future is so bright, and so... POSSIBLE!
This is our little niche in California. This is now the new place MY family can call home.

Welcome.

We started off our Christmas by spending the traditional Christmas Eve at my parents place.


Alexander got to open a few presents with his two nieces, ellie & ruby.


Don't they make a great team!?




Christmas Morning was spent just like i've always wanted: waking up in my very own, brand-used house! A beautiful lit up Christmas tree was there just waiting to help us celebrate this wonderful season.


Alexander got to open a few more presents from friends & family:








And then he got his favorite present of all: His very first car!



Merry Christmas to all!