I Bet That Hurt

So we decided it was time to buy Shaan a "big boy" bed. We purchased the bed on Sat. This "big boy" is plastic and shaped like a giant train. A Thomas the Train for those in the know about these things. It is blue and plastic and nearly indestructible. It has as part of a little storage area for toys and other things that need to be kept out of sight, lest a you enjoy colorful eyesores.

So we got the bed on Sat., in the late morning. I put it together relatively quickly. We bought it used, so there was no instructions. But the guy who sold it to us broke it down for me. However, as with all people who wear the blue tooth thing no matter what they are doing, I couldnt always tell if he was telling me "we left the screws where they go" or his high powered clients in the construction industry.

Shaan, ever the one to do something new, wanted to help me put it together. Now this is adorable in a "I don't have kids and don't really get what its like" sort of way. He insisted on grabbing the screwdriver from me. Now as most parents know, the screwdriver is not the best toy to give a child. It was a phillips head, but a flat head fits nicely into the electrical socket. So he would take off with it. This was causing a delay. So I found an Ikea tool - you know the one that is shaped like an "L" and used on every piece of Ikea furniture. That kept him entertained long enough for the wife and I to get the bed together.

So later that afternoon, its nap time. We are excited and nervous to see how he is going to react. So the wife puts him down and leaves the room. The boy requires no additional help falling asleep - he really is great that way. From the stories i have heard, that is borderline angelic. So anywho, she puts him down. We are point attentively paying attention to the monitor. There is no sound, still time goes by and no sound. Then we hear it. Every toy being yanked out of the compartment and thrown to the floor. Then the sounds stop. we are a bit worried at this point, but still no crying. So I go upstairs and as I look through the key hole. I see him just standing in the middle of his room with his blanket. So I go in and pick him up. He immediately say "sleepy" - which he only says when he is really tired and wants to sleep right away. Perfect. I put him back in the bed.

Everything is great. he falls asleep. The wife and I decide to take a nap. About an 1 1/2 hour into the nap, we are awoken to a loud thud, pause and horrible crying. He fell out of the bed. My wife races over to him. Apparently, he fell the approximately foot and a half out of bed and landed on the hard wood floor. He cried for about 10 minutes, till convinced to stop crying by the prospect of watching Finding Nemo.

Later that afternoon we purchased a guard rail for the bed. Happiness all around. There is a small opening for getting in and out, but he can't roll off.

So sunday morning, we are woken up by the little guys voice standing next to our bed. We woke up to "Hi Mama." Much better way of being woken up.

Elmo's World

So in what I think will be the greatest thing I have done as a father, I will be dressing up as Elmo for my son's second birthday party on Feb. 15. His actual birthday is the 10th.

My wife was mentioning the guy she hired, but I thought some random that didnt know the boy, might not be able to engage him as much. So I said I would rather do it. We found a costume shop that had the rental available, and now all there is for me to do is practice the voice and get to know the songs.

This is going to be fucking fantastic. I hope I dont scar him - mentally or physically.

Slumdog Millionaire Review

So this past weekend, the little lady and I went to see Slumdog Millionaire. Despite the fact that Review is in the title of this blog, I am not really going to review the movie, aside from saying that I thoroughly enjoyed it and would recommend it to just about anyone.



With that said, I think some of the movie may be lost on some people. The movie really seemed to be a tribute to the city of Bombay, and subsequently Mumbai. A clear distinction was made in the two. But I actually, in stealing from the movie wanted to highlight a few of my favorite scenes or aspects (without giving anything away hopefully) and how they relate to my life.



Now one of the scenes that was my favorite is when the two boys start working as chai wallas in some restaurant. An order is called down, which includes a bottled water. One of the boys is then seen filling a used plastic bottle with water from the tap and then after putting the cap back on it, he is seen gluing the cap shut to the little plastic ring remnant that is usually left when new unused bottles are opened. This of course reminded me of every trip to India, where we were forbidden to drink tap water - only boiled (and chilled) and bottled water. On every trip back to India, our family there would prepare by spending a large amount of time boiling water for us. Even when we went out we took our own water. To the point, that if we ran out of the "homemade" - it meant no water for us. When finally the bottled water arrived (the earliest trip I remember was my 1997 trip - prior trips included 1992, 1990, 1989 and 1984) it was god sent. And in retrospect, maybe it wasn't.

One of my other favorite parts of the movie, was the anti-bollywood, bollywood reference at the end. So if you haven't seen it, don't read this. It wont give anything away, or it might, I just make this shit up as I go along. But at the end of the movie, which featured no lip- sync singing, choreographed dancing or other general bollywood bullshit, the movies end credits included just that. It was perfect. A bit of an homage to the land the movie was based on, without taking away any of the seriousness of the film.

And despite what anyone tells you, it isn't a love story. There is a love story, but its truly a story about the city and some of its less desirable elements and their co-existence with the people of the city.

I think some of the movie may be lost on those not familiar with Indian culture or the recent history of Bombay - the greatness of Amitabh Bachan, the riots, the street beggar children, the slums, and the overall reality of the city. I cant claim to know the reality of it myself, but having heard stories and being generally familiar may have given me a different perspective.

Lastly, the brother. In my humble opinion, the best character in the movie. He reminded me of my own brother - not so much the specific activities of course, but in the sense, that he was always looking out for his younger brother and doing what he thought he needed to do. Especially when it was just them in the world on their own.

So I've Been Busy

This post should mark my triumphant return to the world of blogging. Or just another random rambling, in which I have no point, talk about things that only concern me and generally bore most people to death.

Recent highlights and lowlights: got a new job. I joined a new law firm as the head and sole member of the immigration department. They havent quite gotten to know me yet. Once they do, I'm sure they will tell their children stories about me. And write fanatastic haikus in my honor. I just started this week, but I already got to use the expression "C-bomb" in a a conversation. This cant fail.

Also, they boy is doing well. He will be 2 on Feb. 10. Which means, if I can make it that far without Child Services coming to my door, I will have been somewhat of a sucessful parent. The wife wants to get him a dude that dresses up as elmo and makes balloons. Clearly he is a big fan of both of these things. But frankly, is it right that a guy who dresses up as elmo and makes balloon animals gets paid an hourly rate of $150. What. The. Fuck.

The wife is doing well. She continues to rock my world. But like most couples, every so often we fight. At which point she just slow jams my world.

My sister in law is going through some hard times right now. With her permission, I will explain my convoluded involvement in her problems.

The dog is angry and bitter. He gets no attention and has become the red-headed step child of the family. I feel horrible. But do you know how hard it is to take a dog for a walk at the end of the work day, after taking care of a high energy 2 year old in the winter in Pittsburgh. I dont either. I just let him out in the yard. I did make him an egg with his breakfast this morning.

A few more highlights. I have been asked to co-organize a pub crawl after a friend's wedding. I am as giddy as a tweener that just met those jonas douchebags. I've never had the honor and downtown pittsburgh is perfect for a pub crawl. I hope to help make this one that is talked about for years and maybe if I'm good enough, every anniversary the wedding couple will celebrate another year of marriage by sending me coasters from their annual anniversary pub crawl.

And lastly, to the individuals who have visited this site, even though I didnt -thank you. To those from China, South Africa, Way the fuck up there in Canada and Russia - really? this page?

More to come later. I'd also like to see if the readers can tell if I am drunk or sober when writing these without looking at the post time.