Post Turkey Assessment

The dust has almost settled from the turkey consuming, Rock Band playing, and online shopping. I decided to skip the crowds this year, mostly because it was a hassle but also to avoid the frenzy of capitalism. What with store employees being trampled to death at Walmart, I think shopping at home is a pretty damn good alternative.

So I popped online and got a few things off Amazon, including a 320 Gig hard drive for the PS3. About 70 bucks with free shipping, which is pretty good. Then I won't have to be shy about placing media on the PS3. I have the extra stuff on an external HD, but I hardly switch that on. Besides, most of the stuff isn't media, but save files, games, and what have yous.

Well, at Target now and got myself more stuff, but at a very good price. Lego Batman for my PSP and Guitar Hero 3, both for 20 each. Nice. But also got 2 leapster games for 15 each, which is also good. Target is actually quite busy for the day after Black Friday.

So Thanksgiving day itself was pretty good, lots of hours of Rock Band and the kids cycled through Mario Brawl and Mario Kart and just acting generally wacko. Alex had a major meltdown toward the end of the night regarding apple pie, especially after he dropped a single slice of apple on the ground. Boy was so tired.

Yesterday though, Alex had a curious streak when he asked what plastic looks like. Then he asked if Zoe was made of plastic. I told Alex I was made of rubber which he found amusing, but when I told him that he was made out of butterflies, you could literally see the joke travel from his ears to his brain to his funny bone. He just busted out laughing. Then dinner was useless after that because he just wanted to goof off more.

But anyway, having a four day weekend is kinda nice, probably will be the longest stretch of vay-cay i'll get this holiday season, though I won't put it past me to pad my christmas holiday a little with a bit of the PTO.

Well, still got three hours of driving to go. So I better get to it.

My Kids Rock!

Dead Space is epic.

I'm not a huge fan of Horror Survival games, let alone horror movies. But after 5 chapters of Dead Space, I'll have to place it up there next to Resident Evil 4, and one of my favs of all times. I played it for two nights for hours at end, with the volume slightly lower than normal, and some pop music playing in the background for levity. There are just so many things that are done with such detail and care, with the right amount of creepy moments that'll just make you just stare at the screen and go, "Did that just happen?"

Spoiler alert, but there's like a couple of times when these necromorphs will run past the door, or head into a vent in front of you, but when you go look for them, they're gone. You never encounter that specific one. Also, there are moments whereby members of the ravaged crew will show up, but they ain't quite right in a big way, and the least graphic instance is when a crew member is just crying over an empty sickbed, hysterical and obilvious to you being there. The other big thing about the game is the FPS aspect. The weapons, which are mining tools, are just plain awesome.

So with Black Friday coming up, the idea has come up that maybe a HDTV might be in our oversized stocking. With 42inch LCDs coming down to about 800 bucks, it's been a little more negotiable, as far as expensive ass TV sets go. But the pros of having a nice LCD (nice picture quality) vs. the cons (extra costs in HDMI cables, new entertainment center, HD programming, Blu-Ray, getting rid of our 34 inch regular TV), it's hard to justify. Plus, I've gotten kinda fond of having the PS3 in the other room, so when I play Dead Space in one room, my wife isn't stuck without having a TV to go to when I'm on the PS3. It keeps them separated.

Spongebob and Patrick were just walking around all wobbly asking, "I don't know what do you want to do today?" back and forth, and it just cracked me up. It's like me and my wife. Complete with wobbles.

Jimmy Macs for lunch today. Yeah, boyeee.

The blog has been a little silent lately mostly because I've just been exhausted and scattered. My week has been a little different but I think a part of me is wanting the same, while the other part of me wants to find a different profession altogether. How come there's no job that just pays you to be you?

So on Monday, I received an email that said that I was to be part of a Kaizen event, in a nutshell, it is a team consisting of one engineer, a production worker from each affected section, coming together to implement a new system of moving product from one location to another. Its sold to us as a team effort, but really its 95 percent engineer, and us grunt who know the stuff to build and implement it.

So the first two days I was being a slight lump in the testicle, challenging his ideas and questioning the quality of data collected. I was keep throwing wrenches in his presentation because I was truly curious and wanted to understand why it is that way. But after the second day, I scaled it back a bit. Anyway, after 4 eight hour days we finally finished it, and on the last day I did a process diagram on Microsoft Visio, something I've never done before, and also make a video showing the entire process. I got all weird and director-y on them, blocking the action and being meticulous. Because we had a time limit, I explained that we had to shoot in sequence without cuts, and then insert the voiceovers after the presentation, and then noticed that my coworkers eyes were glazed and a small residue of drool had formed at the corners of their mouths.

Anyway, it was a good experience except it brought up the feeling of dissatisfaction about my place in the world, that I wasn't quite good enough to work on the important company changing stuff, but I was really too valuable to be shipping. I hate that feeling because I'm all about practicality, and I feel like the 52 inch HDTV and I'm showing Standard Def infommercials. Sigh. Or like people who buy 120 gig iPods and they have 5 albums on it playing through some cheap Walgreen's 20 dollar speakers.

But shooting the video yesterday did make me realize how much I miss doing shit like that, even though it was with people who don't act, and about an activity that's work-centric. Perhaps I should get back into shorts. To keep sanity at bay. Like I told a co-worker at work, I don't have to be a working filmmaker, just a active one. It just keeps the mind from going to dark places.

The other drawback about being in a week long event was that I wasn't listening to any podcasts all week, which actually messed me up a little more than I anticipated. Not getting my podcasts was akin to living in some sort of a cave, devoid of any information and being a little left behind. So in a big way, I'm looking forward to going back to my regular gig, even if it's a gig that doesn't pay so well and requires very little of me mentally, but drains me physically.

We came back from the doctors and the good news is that he doesn't have any Auditory Processing Disorder, nor does the doctor think he has any clear indication of ADD or ADHD. What she does see is that he's got a big gob of anxiety, some expressive obstacles, and does have problems remembering things unless it is hinted at heavily. So the next step is for us to try to get him into some occupational therapy, which sounds like something I might be interested in myself. I need therapy for my occupation.

Finally returned Far Cry 2 to the store and rented out Dead Space. Far Cry is pretty good but it's such a long ass game that it would be worth buying. I thought that maybe I'd just give it up for now and just buy it when it gets cheaper. About a year from now. So going in, I had the option to rent Bioshock 2, Dead Space, Fallout 3, and COD: World at War. It was a very tough choice. I'm not a big horror survival fan, but Dead Space looks awesome. Heard nothing but raves about Dead Space.

Well, next week is a short week, plus we get Thanksgiving lunch on Wednesday. Always a bonus.

Bzzzzzzzzzzzz.

Landscapers outside are scrambling my brain.

So I'm just sitting here and feeling like my laptop is looking at me funny. "Write something", it nags at me. It's a blog, not a flippin' will that you visit whenever you like. So here I am. Writing out of guilt. Awesome.

Really not much going on, except today we're just sitting around waiting for the insurance guy to show up to assess the water damaged ceiling in our place. Somehow our tub or pipe upstairs in the bathroom has produced a leak, and it's made a nasty hole on the downstairs ceiling. So maybe after the guy shows up, we'll go to a playground or maybe Renton, since Renton seems to be the bomb when we're bored.

I think the biggest worry I'm having isn't really the recession and the major companies cutting so many jobs, but it's Christmas. Although I'm not really strapped for money, it's a combination of listening to the headlines and acting with caution and also the fact that we simply have more people to buy for this year. People we know procreating and what not. So perhaps this year, we're trying to adhere to some sort of budget. I did a quickie budget that if we spent 50 bucks for everyone we knew, it would be somewhere in the 700 dollar park. Which freaked me out. So we'll have to trim it, or spend a little more wisely in order to make Christmas not be such a dreaded pocketbook event.

We watched "Kung Fu Panda" last night on DVD, and my two thoughts were "I need a better TV" and "This is actually a pretty good movie." The fighting was pretty good as was the action, and the comedy was also not as forced as I expected it to be. Jack Black seems to me to be one of those celebrities who people point at and say, "Laugh at him, he's funny," rather than being naturally funny. Will Ferrell is halfway like that, whereby half the time I think he's murdering a concept to make it funny, but he is naturally funny as well. But Jack Black did enhance the character instead of overwhelm it, so I recommend it as a fun watch. But tonight, I think I'm going to take my wife to "Zack and Miri make a Porno." I've become a bit of a Kevin Smith fan, although I would say more of the person than the filmmaker. His Smodcasts really showcase his comedic nature, but also his skills as a storyteller and his brutal openness with his life is just refreshing in this world of spin. But the thing that motivated me to watch the movie was a review by the folks at Filmspotting, a podcast based in Chicago which I'm growing to really like. Their review of "Zack and Miri" really created this urge to catch the film and support Kevin Smith.

Alright, enough blogging. There's a bunch of chores I need to do now.

Reason #768 Why Alex is So Cool.

DSC_4980.JPG, originally uploaded by diegomcnamara.

The kids are Mommy are upstairs doing an duck ghost exorcism. Seriously.

Being 33 and seeing the Duck Ghost

Alex either doesn't know how old he is or is always just wanting to be slightly older then he is. I sometimes suspect the latter as he really really wants to attend kindergarten. So this week when I took him to yet another doctor appointment I told him the lady there was going to have him practice homework to see if he could go to kindergarten yet. He was quite excited to show the lady that he was ready for kindergarten. As the doctor came into the meeting room and asked Alex if he was ready to go in, Alex was quick to jump up. The doctor had stopped to talk to me for a brief moment as Alex stood paused in the doorway, leaning against the wall, hands in his pockets with the most serious look on his face waiting patiently. The doctor then kneeled down to his level and asked Alex how old he was. In a serious James Dean sort of expression came Alex's reply "ahh... thirty ..three" Usually he is only 6 or once in a while maybe twenty one. But this week he has spent three entire days being in his thirties because as he explains to me. "I growed up more."

So as the week continues and I am doing housework I get called into my bedroom by Ms. Zoe. She is telling me that "It is really the truth I saw it. It's not made up, it's real Mommy." Just as serious as she can be. The she pauses as I say "ohh" and she continues hand behind her back standing on my bed "It's true I saw it. It's the Duck Ghost." "Ok," I say and continue on with my Mommy life and walk downstairs to do some computer stuff.

A moment later, Zoe comes downstairs in tears with Alex lagging behind her. She is scared because why? Alex told her the Duck Ghost is invisible and right behind her about to eat her. I guess it's no fun being a thirty three year old brother if you can't sometimes scare your little sister with stories of the Great Duck Ghost. And he IS REAL too according to Zoe who believes and even when she needs more information now she ask Alex what color he is. And if you ask Alex what the Duck Ghost eats of course the answer is "People's ears."

Posted by Mommy.

Living in an Obama World, Day 1

Last night as my wife and I watched the election coverage, I felt waves of emotion sweep over me. My eyes welled because it felt as if finally, enough Americans like me had banded together to change the system. Enough of us had placed our trust in the electoral voting process to elect one of us, a politician who was from modest means, had not been treading in the tainted waters of the system, and who seemed humble and burdened when he stepped up on stage to make his speech. I felt as if we had finally taken a look at where we were, and decided that after all, we needed to do something drastic to survive. We couldn't drown in the moat that we had dug.

Watching the newscasts, I wasn't sure if it was intentional or just the fact of the matter, that McCain supporters were primarily white, whereas Obama supporters were decidedly mixed. Everytime they cut to an African American supporter, I wondered if the press was making a concious judgment call. I had been listening to a lot of NPR election coverage, and this election has really brought racial relations and prejudice front and center. People started to wear their prejudices on their sleeves. Some were honest about it, others hid it under the labels of inexperience, religion, and even loose associations with terrorism. I didn't really want to look at it that way, figured it was just those middle states, whereby they were mostly Republican and not progressive thinking.

But this morning when I went to work, I witnessed the kind of bitterness in McCain supporters that I honestly didn't expect. They were almost spiteful in their attitudes. I didn't flare up when Gore lost, but I was upset when Bush got his second term because it seemed evident that America was heading in a terrible direction. But Obama really doesn't have the history to signify that he was going to lead the country in a bad direction. He didn't seem to have any radical ideas or overt promises that would lead us astray.

So to be upfront, most of the people I work with are Asian immigrants, mostly Southeast Asians, and some from the African nations. They are also mostly at most high school educated also. So in the morning, one of the more vocal assemblers, a 20 some year veteran, was sarcastically cheering for Obama. Then as work progressed, my immediate co-workers, some of which didn't even vote, starting talking about Obama.

"4 years of hell."
"He's going to give tax breaks to hip-hop artists."
"What does Michelle Obama do? Freebase."

It's one of the moments when I get absolutely disappointed with humankind, our potential to hate without reason, to judge with extreme prejudice. It's a crushing feeling because it's human nature at it's ugliest. It's like someone scraped the bottoms of our dark souls and stuck it on the tip of our tongues. I may not be able to state Obama's stance on healthcare, education, or his policies, but I simply refuse to talk to anyone who cannot look past the color of his skin. I'm not saying that I'm impervious to casual prejudices and generalizations, but outright bile like the shit I hear at work makes me angry. Not because they are mocking my candidate and our future president, but because they are expelling hate toward an individual who has not warranted any of that aggression past the color of his skin.

Obama has a tremendous burden to bear, to live up to the expectations of Democrats, Republicans, African-Americans, and world leaders. It is a bittersweet victory to see Obama get elected, and at the same time see all the racism that's been simmering in so many souls.

Elation

Today is a great day to be an American, when one of our own is elected to be the next President. We were peeking at the news when Obama had 207 to McCain's 147 and I was getting nervous, then we switched to the Backyardigans for the kids. Halfway through my mother in law called, we checked the telly, and sure enough, he had gained 90 more votes to secure the election. A lot of welling up of tears, but I go to bed feeling hope and pride.