Friday, May 22, 2009

no fate but what we make


I have to apologize for the complete lack of interesting blog material. I feel like that will probably change sometime in June. Until then, you will just have to read about whatever I can come up with on the spot. We had a doctor's appointment on Monday. Everything is fine. He told us that if we have anywhere else to go, do it before June 1. Unfortunately, I have nowhere to go, so I guess we are grounded. The good thing is that I have about a million things to do around the house. The baby has been pretty active. We have already decided that he is a Metallica fan, since he tends to move around a lot when the music is playing. Last night we went to see Terminator Salvation. I didn't think it was as good as the original, but I do think it is a great beginning to a new trilogy. Christian Bale was amazing, but the support cast was stellar. I guess it's been a good couple of years for Bale, who apparently loves to play superheroes. Maybe John Connor is not technically a superhero, but I would put him up against Batman any day. For some reason I have always loved this franchise, and I am pleased with the latest addition. This comes just three days after Fox canceled The Sarah Connor Chronicles. I need to watch less TV anyway.

Wednesday, May 13, 2009

Seasons of Love/Business Time/The Final Frontier

It has been another eventful couple of weeks. Maybe we are just trying to squeeze in a few more things before the baby gets here. Tiffany has already taken to calling the baby Ethan. It was a name that was mentioned a while back, and it seems to have stuck around. Either we really like it, or we are just too lazy to think up another name. You wouldn't think that naming a child would be so complicated.


Last week before heading to Dallas, we had an appointment with Dr. Tadvick. Everything still looks normal. We have another appointment this coming Monday. After that one, he will see us every week until the baby is born. I guess that means it's getting close. Monday will be 34 weeks, and apparently that is the major milestone to overcome. As I was saying, we spent three days last week in the Big D. We had some shopping and last minute baby errands to run. The first night we were there, we took it easy. We hit a couple of malls before checking out the new X-Men movie Wolverine. It was pretty good. The next night we went to see Flight of the Conchords. They were absolutely hilarious. In case you don't know who they are (most people don't apparently), you can check them out here. Some people don't seem to get it, but for those of us with a highly developed sense of humor it is one of the funniest things ever. Maybe I'm just chemically imbalanced. The next night we met my cousin Sarah and headed to the Music Hall at Fair Park for the touring version of Rent. The two male leads were the same two that opened the musical on Broadway. Not only were they great, but the rest of the cast was fantastic as well. This is the third time I have seen Rent on stage, and I think it was the best production so far. Again, it probably isn't for everyone. Put the movie on your Netflix list. If you like it, you may be ready to step up to the far superior stage version. The weekend was pretty boring around here. We worked most of it and did little else.


Last night in Abilene, we went to the last musical of the season at the civic center. It was called Rain, and it was basically a Beatles tribute show complete with costumes and "long" hair. I'm not generally a fan of these kinds of things, and this was no exception. They were really good musicians, and Paul was dead on. I did not say Paul is dead. They covered all major periods from Ed Sullivan through the psychedelic era and Abbey Road. I actually was pretty amused by all of the old ladies in the crowd that were screaming out loud and dancing the whole time. It isn't what I expect from a town that hates rock music. I have yet to figure out the difference between the music I listen to and the music our parents listened to. The main difference seems to be that our parents' music was all about sex and drugs, which are clearly appropriate topics for teenagers. As far as I know, there were no noise complaints. I guess I won't write a letter to the paper.


The show was over a little before 10. We weren't ready for bed yet, so we stopped by the movies on our way home to catch the new Star Trek film. It is definitely a rival for The Wrath of Khan in the best film category. My friend Jerry says it's better, but I think that might be blasphemy. Of course, he's a bigger sci-fi guy than me. I will say that it was well done, and the things they will have their work cut out for them when they decide to make the next one. This movie was directed by J.J. Abrams and produced by Damon Lindelof. These guys are two of the masterminds behind the great TV series Lost. That show is concluding its fifth season tonight. Unfortunately, I am working late tonight. Thank goodness for DVR. Hopefully that catches everyone up.


To my faithful blog reader Betty: I will try to get some pictures of the reunion up this week. I don't have the pictures on my laptop, which is where I have been doing my blogging from.

Saturday, May 2, 2009

I'm baaaaaaaaaaack!







I just realized that I let two weeks go by without posting anything. I'm sure at least some of you missed me. I will try not to forget anything. We have pretty much gotten past the "Letter to the Editor" debacle. I say pretty much, because there is one more thing I have to add. A little over a week ago, we did get a piece of hate mail delivered to the house. I find it hilarious and creepy that someone would take the time to find out where I live (I'm in the phonebook) and write such a crazy letter. I'm not going to post the letter here. Many of you have seen it already. If you haven't, I will be glad to send you a copy. The letter is not particularly well written, and it makes a lot of assumptions about who we are and the kind of lives we lead. Deep down I want to write a response and send it to the paper, but I think I will probably just let it go.
Last weekend was our annual Murray family reunion. We had a wonderful time, and we got to meet a few family members that we hadn't met before. They even threw us a surprise baby shower, which was a lot of fun. We had another sonogram this week. Everything still looks healthy and normal, although the doctor did say that it would probably be a good-sized baby. I think that is freaking Tiffany out a little. Here is some help with the pictures: the first one is a foot (I think), the second is the heartbeat, and the third one is his face. We also had to go by the anesthesiology department and watch a video about spinal epidurals. I don't think we really learned anything, but they won't give you the drugs if you don't watch it. I think that about catches us up. At least that's the short version. We are both working this weekend, but Monday we are heading to Dallas for one final trip before the baby arrives. We have tickets to a couple of shows, but mostly we are just going to bum around and enjoy our freedom for the last time.
One final thing: Danny Gans died yesterday. We had the opportunity to see him a couple of years ago. He was a terrific entertainer, and surely he will be missed.