// newmodernscience

Every time I look at blogging, I keep thinking: I have nothing interesting to post. And for the most part, I haven’t, but here’s a rundown of the last couple of months:

• We’ve all been on and off sick for the last couple of months. Maren’s had 4 ear infections. Just last week She had a double ear infection and pinkeye.

• I’m moving toward doing more video stuff at work. I’ve been learning After Effects for compositing and motion tracking, and I put a greenscreen for keying in my office, and I’m working on a soft box for lighting interviews.

• Taxes suck. Somehow I screwed up my W4 last year, and now we have to pay over $1K because no one took out as much as they needed. hate. hate. hate.

• I went on a diet, lost 25lbs, then went off the diet, and kept it off. Amazing! Started working out 3 times a week at a local gym. It hurts, but it hurts good. I sleep alot better for one, and I’m already seeing the benefits in my lower back muscles.

• I’m working on way too many side projects and everyone wants them at once. And I want some time to work on my own.

• Playing lots more drums lately, and that makes me happy. Picking up guitar better and have started lessons. I’d really love to get into some worship leading, but I need to learn an instrument that I can lead from, and something tells me that leading from a Keytar would be frowned upon.

• I’ve been working on some music of my own again, a little more melodic this time with minimal beats, lots of Fender Rhodes, and a bit of analog synth patches. This time, I’m working on being able to perform the pieces, even if it’s just to myself in my bedroom. It’s fun to come up with stuff and listen back to it, but it’s more fun to interact with it. We were at the church garage sale today, and I picked up an old late 70’s/early 80’s analog tape deck. I’m going to experiment with processing sounds through it and back into the computer.

• And the most exciting thing so far? Friday at approximately 12:30, Maren ran through the living room, tripping on her ruby slippers and headfirst into the coffee table. I wasn’t there for it, but I understand there was alot of blood. I came a half hour later, saw the cuts and immediately called the pediatrician. They’re right down the street and had us in immediately. She haw two rather large cuts on in the inside of her lip, and there wasn’t a whole lot you could do about those. The one on the outside though was the issue. The first thing the doctor suggested was a plastic surgeon. After calls to the surgeon at the Salem Hospital, they determined that it would probably be ok to just do a regular suture without having to call in the PS. So having to explain stitches to Maren and then having to watch them put them in was just about the most traumatic thing I think i’ve been through. There’s just nothing you can to tell a 3 year old about a surgical procedure. They tried their best to numb it topically, but ultimately they had to inject a local, reopen the cut, clean it, and the put in 4 stitches with the hook. She hated it of course, but man was she tolerant. I expected her to thrash around, but she held perfectly still, even though she cried like i’d never heard her cry before. You parents out there will get this probably, but i can tell when Maren is faking, when she’s tired, when she’s angry, when she’s honestly in pain. Some are obvious, some are subtle. This was one I’ve only heard her cry when she’s had bugs on her or when we’ve tried to put her down to bed in a dark bedroom. This was genuine terror. And why wouldn’t it be? Even in a world as medically advanced as ours is, it’s a pretty barbaric procedure. Thread and what looks like half a fishhook. By the time the 4th stitch was going in, Maren pretty much went limp and her eyes drifted. I’m sure she fainted a couple of times. In the end though, she made it through, and is coping with it pretty well. We give her Tylenol and try to make the best of it. She goes in a week from now to get the sutures out, and that’s going to be a whole other adventure, i’m sure.