Testing… testing…

This is only a test. I repeat, this is only a test. If this were a real blog post, this announcement would be followed by content. Instead there is nothing.

In other words, after monkeying around with my blog a couple weeks ago, I’m trying to figure out if the darn thing still works. Not that it might have suddenly stopped putting my random words up on the Internet, but that functions like letting my rabid fanbase on Twitter and Facebook know when I post something. Here goes nothing…

Early in the morning… evening… late… whatever

When I woke up and realized it was only 6:30 despite feeling more like 8:30, this title made more sense. Since there was no exhaustive haze keeping me in bed I ambled downstairs for some tunes and a chance to see if this blog still existed… it does! After spending half an hour determining the appropriate soundtrack, it’s finally time to settle down and tap away at the keyboard…

You may or may not have noticed a bit of “radio silence” over the past month or so. Beyond the usual “I’m going to post everyday” mentality that falls apart after 3 days and results in 3 weeks of not writing, nothing was really showing up on my Facebook, Twitter, or Tumblr feeds. And now it’s also forced this post back into draft for another day or so. Rather then writing from the comforts of my office/Kayleigh’s play room, I’m at a bar in Hoboken typing on my phone. That’s one way to gain some new perspective on a topic.

Life since Disney has been a bit of a whirlwind. While that wind started out in a rather positive direction, by the end of March I was reaching all sorts of breaking points. One day I’m ecstatic about catching up with old friends and feeling nostalgic in a healthy way; the next I’m looking at job listings and wondering just how much money would be lost selling our house right now. The last month has been a roller coaster of emotions fueled by miscommunication and extremely late nights – at least one of which also having involved way too many martinis.

But somehow life creeps out of these funks. For the second time since our return, I find myself hanging out with a dear old friend from my capricious youth. These encounters no longer trigger sighs indicative of lost freedom, but excitement at seeing progress down that hideous road of adulthood. As ridiculous as it might seem, rehashing the good ol’ days has found its way into the maturation process and I’ve grown rather comfortable as I reach the midpoint of my 30s.

Holy crap, this post was supposed to just be about recent craziness, not some introspective bullsh… you know what. Let’s just blame it on the Magic Hat #9, which is rarely involved with my early morning writing. Rarely….

Anyway, I am, sadly, not here to guarantee daily, frequent or even regular posting. A morning and an evening that have helped to clear my head in very different manners simply serve, in this instance, as yet another kick in the pants to stop complaining about the complexity of life and just deal with it. That’s the kind of philosophical musings normally only available via cereal boxes and Bazooka Joe comics, now offered free of charge on this blog. Just imagine what tomorrow, and the potential of a slight hangover, may bring…

… Apparently nothing, since another week has past without me pressing the publish button. Time to stop adding more nonsense and move on to the next post.

Spring has sprung and so has…

We got back from Florida about 2 weeks ago. I say “about” because the difference is a matter of hours and for some reason that makes it seem inaccurate to me. Probably because I remember being rather proud that we pulled into the driveway mere seconds before the clock said 5PM. Like that was some sort of deadline – part of a race against our perceptions of when we would arrive at various destinations throughout the trip.

As I was saying, we got back from Florida 2 weeks and 6 hours ago… crap… I forgot about the time change. Should I add an hour or subtract one? Ugh…

Once more – it’s been 2 weeks since we got back from Florida. Not too surprisingly, I still don’t feel totally at home. As usual, our suitcases have not been 100% unpacked (not much need for the warmer weather apparel that currently fills them). Kayleigh has not made the transition back to sleeping in her own room as smoothly as desired (can’t exactly blame her, but it’s still killing our nights for the most part). And work has left me in a perpetual state of semi-confusion.

Maybe it’s more of my own inability to adjust back to not sleeping on my own. For most of the vacation I was in a separate room from mother and child, which allowed me the opportunity to watch movies, read blogs, and listen to music with complete impunity late into the night. Now I struggle to return to the previously cultivated schedule that shifted sleep patterns to more appropriate times – opening up the mornings for real activities rather than whatever I would attempt while half-asleep just before midnight. Almost everything night for the past 2 weeks I have stared at a screen willing myself to write about our Southern adventure only to realize my eyelids had no intention of co-operating.

So I’m thinking that the start of Spring is a good time to try to shift my habits once again. Stop trying to squeeze something out of every last second in the evening – sometimes it’s best to just let go and get a good night’s rest. That way I’ll be refreshed to take on each new day and whatever snowfalls it may bring… Seriously, another 2-4 inches?

Maybe it’s time to head south again…

I love it when a plan comes together

Guess where I am. If you guessed Disney World, you’d be… almost right. Now guess how I got here. If you said by plane, you’d be totally wrong.

That’s right, thanks to the current run of “security theater” being put on by the TSA, this year we opted to drive down to Florida for our annual trip. While we’ve done this before, this is a first for The Moppet. And once the plan was set in motion, I really had to question my sanity in deciding to hop in a car for 20+ hours with a 2 and a half year old kid. That kind of travel is tough on adults. A toddler? That’s just crazy.

Yet somehow it worked – and worked really well, at that. Our plan was to get started by 4:30 on Saturday morning and drive as far South as possible before hitting the nearest serial killer-free motel. In order to pull this off, days – nay, weeks – were spent hinting at the pure joy that lay ahead in Florida and Disney. So much so that Kayleigh popped up, wide awake with excitement, when we tried to slip her sleeping body into the car seat. Amazingly an hour into her delighted cries of “Where are we going? Florida!” she actually managed to zonk out.

And by the time she woke up well over 2 hours later, we had already made great time and were ready for a buttery breakfast courtesy of a Cracker Barrel in Virginia. Beyond that, Kayleigh entertained herself with reading, coloring, and singing all the way through to her nap. And just when it seemed like she might be getting a little too cooped up, we were able to take breaks to rejuvinate everyone. By 8 at night, quittin’ time for the day’s journey had arrived and we grabbed a hotel room in South Carolina.

And get this – she actually slept! Unlike our last attempt (down in Atlantic City), The K was able to wind down in a reasonable amount of time and stay down for the entire night. I keep expecting her to freak out about going back in the car, but she seems to have caught on to the concept of travel and vacation.

Her excitement upon reaching out destination was pretty awesome to watch – and yet the big stuff doesn’t start until we hit The Magic Kingdom tomorrow. I’ll write about that after we’re done.

P.S. Please pardon any typos. This is, believe or not, the 3rd or 4th post typed exclusively on my phone while laying in bed. Time to go to sleep in preparation for my little girl’s big day tomorrow.

Week in, week out

I started February rather well. I was writing everyday. There were these ideas in my head. Those ideas became words. Those words were put to paper… er… keyboard. The keyboard… alright, this isn’t working. Anyway, I had unofficially decided to go for a post every day. By the 5th day I was too busy during the day and too tired at night – big shock, eh? Inevitably my idea to just skip a day soon turned into the typical week and then some hiatus.

No biggie, it’s not like I have that many people check here on a regular basis. But the point has always been to write – whether here or elsewhere.

You may have noticed on Tweethead or Friendface, I’ve posted some links over to certain articles on The Man in the Gray Flannel Suit. If you actually bothered to follow those, you might have realized that they were written by me. That’s right, I’m now on another site, too. But unlike my failed/abandoned music blog, it’s life does not rely solely on me, therefore it’s likely to survive the week.

You see, my friend Chris (he of the aforementioned Gray Flannel Fame) asked me a ways back if I’d be interested in writing for him. Initially there was some scoffing, seeing as how my own blogs demanded so many words I couldn’t possibly spare any. But as time went on and my annual music posts weren’t really building any traffic I figured, why the hell not? While there are still designs in my head regarding a second failure at a solo music blog, nothing says I can’t review something for his site while continuing to babble incoherently on mine. HE DOESN’T OWN ME!

Where was I? Oh yeah, if you get a chance, check out my recent review for the new Iron & Wine, it’s pure genius (the album that is, the review is pure dreck). Hopefully I’ll get a new review up there at least once a month so Chris doesn’t keep harassing me. And in between perhaps some effort to lend my witty way with… you know… words to some other topics of interest… note… other things.

Oh yeah, this is going to work out real good…

Hello stranger

After running some errands this afternoon, we decided on an impromptu dinner at Panera. Well, Kayleigh decided. We asked her about going to the local pizzeria, but she insisted on going elsewhere as she had to have mac and cheese from Panera. Oh well, you pick your battles.

Anyway she was well on her way to being overtired thanks to fighting a cold as well as her nap. Lack of her early afternoon downtime leads to crankiness and/or loopiness. Tonight she went for loopiness.

After finishing her dinner she conned her way off her seat by pretending to want to hop on my lap and then maneuvering to the floor. Then I saw a glint in her eyes. That glint said, “I’m going to say hi to everyone in this restaurant.” And sure enough, she set off to do just that. Working her way from one table to the next Kayleigh greeted as many customers as she could and inquired what they might be doing.

Fortunately The Moppet brings out the best in people. Pretty much everyone smiles back and actually puts in effort to join her conversation – although that one guy was not going to give me a hug no matter how many times she suggested it. I worry sometimes that her overly friendly attitude might rub some people the wrong way. But most people respond in a genuinely positive manner – I’ve even noticed a couple here and there waiting for her to swing by their table. My main goal is just to make sure that she doesn’t over stay her welcome, or invite herself to any dinner parties.

Of course there is also the fear of “stranger danger”. But the reality is that abductions like that are few and far between. As long as I can keep an eye on her and teach her to be aware of her surroundings, a little friendliness can go along way to brightening her, and other people’s, day.

Sunday morning thought #3

I’m not sure where “eating the entire bagel and not just the inside” ranks as a development milestone for most parents and their kids, but for me it’s just a couple notches below walking and talking. The next one will hopefully be “puts sunglasses on right-side up” or “does not demand a side of butter with every meal”. Actually the latter one is not likely to stop for at least a few more years.