Christmas 08

Wow...it's been two months since I last posted anything here. That's not good at all. Sorry bout that folks, but it's been a busy 2 months. Been to Puerto Rico, Chicago, and Mexico. Not fun at all. But it's now the holiday season and I am getting ready for it.

The day after Thanksgiving, we did manage to put up our Christmas tree. It's always an adventure, but you throw in a 3 year old into the mix and it's downright scary. Charlie wanted to help so bad, that in the end, we gave in and let him help putting the ornaments on the tree. Seemed like a harmless idea at the time, but it became quite humorous. Since Charlie was helping, Sarah and I took care of hanging the glass type ornaments; letting Charlie do the non-breakable ones.

Well, Charlie could not grasp the idea of spreading around the ornaments as he placed them on the tree. Instead, we have 2 areas where there are several, and I mean several, ornaments in a congested area. Not 2 or 3 in an area..we're talking about 10-12 all in one small area. Sarah and I tried to move some around but Charlie was adamant about his placement of the ornaments. We even tried to fix it while Charlie was not home, but to no avail. He would come look at the tree and scream, "hey! Where's my ornament?" He would continue to say this until we showed him where it was and he demanded that we put it back. Oh well, what can you do.

So our tree is a little odd looking this year. Not only do we have congested areas of ornaments, but they are only 2 feet off the ground cause of Charlie's height. So we have about 10 ornaments for 5 feet of the tree from the top down. And about 50 ornaments in 2-3 areas on the bottom 2 feet of the tree. Yeah, it's goofy looking, but we had a good time putting it up. I have posted pics with this post that show the dreaded ornament congestion, as well as Charlie's Santa pic.

Enjoy!

Unglamorous Travel

When I tell someone that I travel for work, they immediately think, "cool, you get to go to the beach, play golf, etc..." Well, that is so far from the truth. I am currently in San Juan Puerto Rico stuck in my hotel room thanks to Hurricane Omar. This past week I was in St Lucia for work and thought it would be pretty cool. But from the day I arrived to the day I left, it rained like you couldn't imagine. It rained sideways half the time...nothing like I have seen in Atlanta.

The only good thing about the rain was that the vegetation of the island was a spectacular green. Everywhere you looked, nothing was dead...just a bright, luscious green color. But that only takes you so far when you think of an exotic island. But since I am there for work, you really don't get much time for sightseeing. Overall, it was ok...not sure I would go for a vacation there. But the worse part had not happened yet.

My flight back home was scheduled at 10:30am Thursday morning on a Liat Airlines. I know there are many of you going, "who airlines?" That's exactly my point. My options for getting to St Lucia were slim, thus I ended up on Liat airlines. Since they only fly in the Caribbean, all the planes are prop planes. I for one have never, ever been a fan of these planes. They feel like someone built them in the garage out back. Well, I knew that Hurricane Omar was reaking some havoc in the islands, and headed towards straight for San Juan. But the weather reports were optimistic about it skimming the very east coast of Puerto Rico, thus nothing had been cancelled or delayed.

But at the airport, the Liat rep said that the flight was delayed and might not even leave. What!?!?!? I had a connecting flight to Atlanta on Delta and they hadn't cancelled anything...and this was out of San Juan. 10:30am rolls around and the Liat rep tells us that we would leave at 12pm...giving me just enough time to make my flight in San Juan. Now the airport in St Lucia is the size of a shoebox with no air conditioning nor enough seats for everyone there. Did I mention that the humidity was 100% and around 95 degrees! By the time 12pm rolls around, my navy blue shirt is now a nice shade of DARK BLUE...I could feel the sweat rolling down my arms as I sat there in this tiny room with other sweaty tourists.

At 2:30pm we are told that we would leave at 3:30pm. By that time, my connecting flight is gone and I will have to spend a night in San Juan. At least in San Juan, they use air conditioning. We finally board the plane at 3:00pm. Another prop plane that holds 32 people. You would think that Liat had stock in Duck Tape cause it felt like the whole inside of the plane was held together by the stuff. I've been in some remote areas in Mexico and this had to be the nastiest aircraft I have ever been in. You didn't feel like touching anything...and I'm a guy. Oh, and the plane's a/c was not working 100% so the sweat fest continued.

We finally get in the air and the engines are so loud my ipod was useless. And you didn't want to fall asleep with you head against the side cause you might catch something bad. But we did get a snack on this flight, which caught me off guard. So the flight attendant rolls the drink cart through the aisle and asks me, "what would you like to drink?" Since I hadn't had a Coke all week long, I asked for one. Oh no, that was asking for too much. All they had were fruit juice boxes. Just like the ones I give Charlie at home. A fricking fruit juice box?!?! You got to be kidding me. But I was thirsty, so I took it and made the best of it.

Everything was going ok, even considering the fruit juice, until we hit some turbulence. Mild turbulence is one thing...the kind that makes you tighten your seat belt is not good...ever. I look over to a couple I had befriended in the airport (they cut their vacation short in St Lucia cause their resort was "horrible" with no TV. They had no idea that there was a hurricane in the area) and the look on her face said it all...after 8 hours waiting for this flight and we might not even make it to Puerto Rico. Throughout the whole flight, we'd hit some of this bad turbulence that made everyone grip the arm rests so hard that our knuckles turned white.

Finally the island of Puerto Rico came into view and I let out a "thank freaking God." It was that kind of day...should had stayed in bed and slept all day. But I am halfway home, closer to seeing Sarah and Charlie. I feel so bad cause I told Charlie on Wednesday night that I would be home tonight. I'm pretty sure he'll make me buy him a gift for "Lying" to him. It's a small price to pay to see the little guy.

Chair-tastrophe!!!

I know it's been a while since I last posted here, but it's due to my bruised ego. I really don't know how else to explain it, but I think chairs (any type you can think of) and myself just don't get along. We are like oil and water...we just don't mix well together.

You might be asking yourself, "what is he talking about?" Well, this past Saturday our friends Brian and Andrea came over to hang out. Nothing unusual there...a few drinks, some games, and more drinks. Well, it was a nice night outside so we decided to sit outside while Sarah put Charlie down for bed. As we sat there enjoying our drinks, we caught up with one another since it had been a while since we had hung out.

Then, all of the sudden, I feel myself slowly going backwards...the stars of the sky suddenly in my sight line. I look back towards Brian and Andrea and I see my feet flying into the air and knocking over Andrea's beer. Then finally, KABLAM!!! I had successfully fallen backwards in my chair (in slow motion, mind you), knocking over a few beers, and making a bunch of noise in the process. All three of us were laughing so hard at my unfortunate predicament...I was like a turtle upside down trying to right myself. After 5 minutes or so, Brian finally asked me if I was ok, and i responded that I was...just embarrassed.

Once I finally got to my feet, I looked at the chair and realized that the chair had broken during my fall. I held it up and Brian and I just couldn't stop laughing. There was no way of saving it, and we're unsure how it happened.

When we told Sarah about what happened, Sarah lets out that I am "cursed" when it comes to chairs. What does she mean by "cursed?" Well, this wasn't the first time a chair has broken with me in it...it's actually the third one. A few years back while at the beach with my folks, I sat in one of those retro-ish lawn chairs that 90 year old people use to sit on the front porch. While I sipped on my beer, I thought I was slowly sinking into the sand as I sat in this chair. But then, KABLAM!!! My head hit the sand as the back legs of the chair just bent and gave way. My dad, the funny guy that he is, just couldn't stop laughing as my sister sprayed us all with her drink unable to contain her laughter. Hahahaha! Very funny guys!

That was until it happened again on the same trip with another chair. I told them that the chairs were old and weathered from the sun and sand. My family would have none of that. I had to go to Alvin's Magic Mountain and buy 3 new chairs...the 3rd one just in case another chair buckled under my mass of untoned muscle.

So after this past weekend's chair fiasco, I have made it a point to only sit in chairs made of solid concrete or steel. Hopefully, these will not suffer the same fate as the other poor chairs!

Finally...

Well, the 2008 Summer Olympics finally ended tonight after 16 long days of fierce competition. Don't get me wrong, I like to watch the Olympics and see certain events, but at times, it seemed as if the Olympics were everywhere I went. The first memory I have of the Olympics is from 1980, the winter games from Lake Placid. I know most of you are saying, "oh sure, you're just saying that to talk about the US Hockey team." Yes and no. I do remember watching the hockey game, but it was on tape delay. For a southern kid like me, hockey was a fringe sport at best. And being 9 years old, I really couldn't grasp the concept of USA vs the USSR. I saw it as a good vs evil match, but not to the extent that underlined the spectacle. But I look back now and watch the TV specials regarding this historic moment and I realize that it's something quite special. But back in 1980, it was just another win for the US of A.

But back to these Olympic games. What about that Micheal Phelps? Is he human, or the Man from Atlantis (sorry Patrick Duffy)? This brings me to two points regarding the Olympics:

1. I can honestly say that I witnessed the 8 races of Micheal Phelps, all 8 of them history making. Like the 1980 USA Hockey Team, this was a special moment. You could feel the pride that his parents felt, and most Americans did as well. 8 fricking gold medals!!! I can tell Charlie about this a few years from now, and I hope he understands how hard it was for Micheal to accomplish this feat. And I also hope that one day, Charlie can witness something just as amazing.
2. But this brings me to my second point. In this day and age of doping and steroids, I hope that Micheal Phelps swam without the help of something other than training and hard work. This problem of doping etc has made me jaded towards the Olympics and all the records that fall etc etc. After the Marion Jones debacle earlier this year, is it a little bit fishy that the USA track team didn't do so hot? Please don't let that be the case with Micheal Phelps. If it is, God help us.

But now the Olympics are over and we have to wait for the Winter Olympics of 2010. Until then, I leave you with a video of some of the best Olympic moments. Enjoy!

Wipeout...

No one can deny that summer is the best time of year. It usually means spending time at the beach on vacation or having your kids home from school. But it also brings with it the worst time to watch TV. Try to find a decent TV program during the summer and it's virtually impossible. Yeah, you could watch some bad reality TV like my brother...who thinks that Shear Genius is one of the greatest shows on earth. Or better yet, Tori and Dean. Who watches this kind of crap besides my brother David???

But this summer has brought one "reality" show that everyone in my family is watching. I'm talking about Wipeout. The show is a copy of MXC from Japan, or is it China, or something like that. Basically you get some poor saps competing for $$$, but in order to win the money, you have to complete some crazy obstacle course. The obstacle course cannot be done without falling into mud, getting hit by a punching machine, and the best one...the big red balls. Here at the balls, the poor saps bounce high into the air and face plant into the next ball. Or if you're unlucky like one poor guy was, you do a split leaving you manless.

The reason I bring this show up is that it reminds me of the time we as a family went to Stone Mountain park here in Atlanta. There really isn't much to do at the park, but there is a "beach area" that allows you to sunbathe, swim, or ride the two rides that were there at the time of our visit. One of the rides was a slide you did with a plastic board. Nothing great, but it was fun...and tiring. The other ride was a zip line. You held onto the zip line and rode all the way towards the water. At any point you could let go and splash into the water.

Well, me being a daredevil in my youth wanted to do the zip line. Once I stated I wanted to do it, my brother wanted to as well. My dad did not want any part of this, but if you put up enough of a stink, then you eventually get your way. So my brother and I make the swim out to the tower and start the process through the line. But before I get to this point, I guess it's time to mention that my brother was not the fittest person back then...I guess you could call him husky for his age. But God bless him, he wanted to be like his older brother (which has gotten me into more trouble than you can imagine) and followed me to the top of the tower.

We reached the top of the tower and David was first. The ride supervisor looked at David like, "you got to be kidding me." But he gave David the zip line handle and told David to go when he was ready. David took a deep breath and pushed away from the tower. Little did we know that when you put a 5 inch wide handle in the hands of an overweight kid, gravity was going to do it's job. The handle, nor the line, could not support the weight placed on it and Viola!, you have a chubby kid falling through the sky. One second later he was in the water doing a splendid feet first spike into the lake with little splash. The ride supervisor looked over the edge and screamed down, "are you ok," trying to hold back his laughter. I looked over the edge and saw David swimming towards the shore, where my dad stood like a guard at Guantanamo...laughing and concerned at the same time. I took the handle and proceeded to zip past my brother in the water and letting go as my feet hit the water.

After one hour in line to ride the zip line and David's ride lasted all of one long second. At least he had good form as he entered the water. It's a memory that none of us can forget and to this day, David hates it when it comes up. It definitely was a Wipeout moment that proves that David could easily try out for the show. If I went on the show today, I would definitely pull a David moment at the first sign of an obstacle. Oh how the tides have turned.

Attached is a video of Charlie's Wipeout moment. I was not in favor of Charlie riding the slide, but Sarah was. Here is his Wipeout moment...enjoy and laugh away.

What the heck is a Save Um?

As a parent, do you find yourself humming the title song of a kid's TV show? Or have you begun to watch these shows even when your kid isn't in the room? Well, I can honestly say that I have done them both. Seems that I'll get these silly little songs stuck in my head for days at a time. The title song for the "Save Ums" sounds like it was ripped straight from a Village People's song (In the Navy just so you know).

Which brings me to my other point? What the heck is a "Save Um" anyways? Unlike the Wonder Pets which contain a duck, a guinea pig and a turtle, a Save Um is just a blob of goo. But if you ask Charlie, it's the best thing since sliced bread...for now. But if you ask Charlie about Kong Fu Panda, then it's all about the Panda. How soon he forgets.

The Backyardigans and Little Einsteins are quite good. I'll watch The Backyardigans even without Charlie by my side. The shows are well done and quite humourous. Charlie goes through phases with this show. Some days, he loves Pablo the blue penguin; other days he hates Uniqua, the unknown creature. What is Uniqua? I really couldn't tell you what she is...same with Austin. But at least it's a good show.

The pic is from Great Grandpa's birthday party...Charlie has an eye on the petifores.

Houston...we have problems.

This past weekend, there was a rash of foot injuries involving my family. Not sure how to explain it, but here is the rundown.

1. Charlie vs. Pancho Villa: when my parents moved from my childhood home, they got rid of lots of odd knick knacks that I grew up with. One of the items I got was a statue of a Mexican sleeping on a burro. Not sure why we had it growing up, but it had been in our house as long as I can remember. This statue is quite heavy, bout 25 pounds. Charlie decides to play near the thing and it tips over. Unfortunately, Pancho lands on his left pinky toe and a shriek rang out throughout the house. Not a pleasnat sound at all. Well, I think the toe is broken and we call the doctor's office for help. Not much we can do but make sure he stays off it etc etc. Well, being David Alfaro's nephew, Charlie becomes the new Tom Hanks and he starts to act as if his whole foot is broken. David A would of been proud of his acting abilities. But by Sunday afternoon, Charlie was running around Grandma's house as if nothing ever happened.

2. Luli vs. asphalt: when do you realize that your feet are burning? I figure for me it would be the second my feet hit asphalt during a day that hits 98 degrees outside. But my brilliant cousin chases after her dog on asphalt minus shoes to catch the booger. Once she caaght the dog is when she realized she had blisters on her feet from 2nd degree burns. Nice! Now she is walking like a modern day Forrest Gump as she prepares for her first week of school. Her new walking abilities might hamper her blending in with the cool kids...unless they need a corky to join.

3. Gou vs. the front steps: Luli's dad, better known as Mikael Barishnakov, had his own problems with his front steps. These five steps conquered Gou as he decided to pull a Gene Kelly on them. He's not sure how it happened, but he now is the proud owner of a sprained ankle, blue toes, and a walk very similar to molasses.

4. Brenda vs. the front steps: my sister had the same dancing issues with Gou's front steps. Seems as if these steps are out to get everyone in my family. She didn't incur the same wrath (not of Khan) as Gou, but it did conquer my sis as well.

I thankfully have not injured myself in some time, but would require me getting out of the sofa.

Movie Time

Here are a few movies that Uncle Colin did for Charlie. Check them out.

Travel Thoughts

As I sit here in the Panama Airport ready to fly home, I realize that airports abroad are a lot easier to go through as opposed to the airports in the USA. It took me all of 5 minutes to get through security and exiting immigration here in Panama. And then the thought of going through Miami's airport gives me the chills since that may be America's worst airport. Thankfully I have 4 hours between flights since customs there will take me over an hour...easy.

Panama itself was quite nice. Not sure what I was expecting before coming down here, but it was a surprise. It was very San Juan PR to me...very large downtown area, clean, and the people were very friendly. A lot if construction going on down here, as if there is no economic problems. Which I find odd since they use the American dollar as their currency. Since I was down here for work, I was unable to see any of the tourist attractions, such as the Canal. But just from my visit to Panama City, not a bad place in my opinion.

One of the fun parts of my job is the chance to travel the world. There are several places I have been to that I definitely would not have even thought about visiting if not for this job. The places include Mexico (all over the country), Puerto Rico, Guatemala (quite a surprise here), Costa Rica, Panama, and several cities in the USA. Some of these sound glamorous, but don't think Mexico includes Cancun or anything like that. I usually visit the capital city or some towns that have one stop light and dirt roads.

It isn't so bad, and it pays the bills. The hardest part is leaving Charlie and Sarah behind. Once Charlie gets a little older, I might take him down with me. Unlike my folks, I plan to enrich Charlie's life by visiting other places beyond a 5 mile radius from the house. My first trip on a plane was in 1986, when I was 15 years old. Charlie has already been on a plane, when he was 1 to visit family in Texas. Quite different from the days of us growing up. And thinking back, flying back then was a bigger deal; people would get dressed up to fly. I remember that my mom and sister were decked out and in heels for a 23 hours flight (with layovers). Once we got to Chile, I think they were both one big wrinkled mess. Oh well...times change.

Not much else to say, just posted to kill some time at the airport. Adios from Panama.

98 Years Old!!!

What do you give a man who just turned 98 years old? Socks? Fiddle Faddle? I have no clue so we went with the old stand by...a birthday card. Sarah's grandpa just turned 98 and he had a birthday party. Now you would think that someone this old would have a piece of cake and some milk. But no...the old guy has a party with over 200 people attending. I don't even know 200 people. But I guess if you live that long, you make a few friends here and there.

For being 98, I think he has more energy than most people I know. Maybe not Charlie though, but darn near close. It was good to see grandpa; it had been awhile since I last visited. He always seems to be in good spirits, especially when the family gets together...until Cathy shows up.

Cathy is Sarah's "sister" and is quite special. She might be the most materialistic person I know. Oh did I mention that she's a Bible thumper as well? You know most Bible thumpers are very materialistic and own a Mercedes, etc. Not only does she crave material items, she is super superficial. She decides to like you if you are cute and skinny. If you are a bit overweight, A) she'll tell you in your face, B) laugh at you, and then C) hate you. You know the Bible says this is how everyone should act when being this close to God. How Sarah didn't kill her, I have no idea.

During the whole weekend, she kept saying the rudest/dumbest things on earth. Here's a sample:
1. Want to try some of my adult M&M's? They're designer M&M's.
2. Hugo, your house is not functional. For $100,000, I could remodel it for you.
3. Sharon, you look fat and slutty in that dress. (How can one be fat and slutty at the same time?)
4. I only have expensive things in my house, no cheap stuff.
5. This looks like we're at an AARP convention.
6. Want some adult M&M's?

Man oh man, I was tempted to say something, but I am too nice a guy. Plus, if I did,she might send God after me!

Quick Pics

Some say I haven't posted enough pics of Charlie...so here are a few from his Birthday Party!

I'll post more soon.

A crazy zoo...

Charlie turned a big 3 last Tuesday and we celebrated at home with some cake and presents. However, Sarah had a brilliant idea to host a birthday party for him at the Little Jumping Bean. The LJB is a place where little kids (6 and under) get to jump around in those big moonwalk type things. The party consisted of 1 hour of jumping and then 30 mintutes to eat cake and settle down. Oh did I mention that up to 15 kids could attend? Can you spell nightmare???

So Sunday arrives and we get ready for the party. All day Saturday, Sarah and I put together goody bags for the kids that show up for the party. What the *&&^*^???? What is this about? When I was a kid and went to a birthday party, the only person who received anything was the birthday boy. When did this crazy tradition start? I mean, aren't I paying for the party already and letting the kids have fun? What a dumb idea.

We get to the place and Charlie runs around like there is no tomorrow. The kids, his daycare friends and family kids, all arrive and its pandemonium!!! Kids jumping around all over the place, sweating like little pigs. Charlie really loved the big boy slide and kept going up and down this thing all day long. All the kids were having fun, while I stood around praying no one got hurt. Thankfully, only Rilan got banged up a bit, but he was a big boy and continued playing with the bigger kids.

Cake time is a joke and a disaster all in one. How do you get kids to stop having fun jumping around for cake...and then tell them that that play time is over? Not easy at all. I don't think anyone of them ate cake thinking that they could go back onto the jumping things. I was labeled the bad guy for standing guard over the place. Nice huh?

But overall, it was a great time. Charlie had a blast as did the other kids. Like I said earlier, I'm just thankful that no one got hurt. I did get pictures and once I get back into town, I will post them.

Until then...fight the goody bag tradition!

Why not???

After spending a weekend with my dear friends John and Julie, and their adorable son Maximo, I was pressured into starting a blog about...well stuff. I guess you could say it's to help family and friends keep in touch with our lives, and in this case, I mean Charlie.
I should have started this blog when Charlie, our son, was born but that was, um, three years ago. I know, why start now? Well, we have several friends and family that live in different states as well as countries. So I will try to keep up daily with this blog with little stories and pics involving Charlie and maybe my crazy family.