Saturday, May 21, 2005

The Long Hard Week...

... is finally over. Seems like any other week at the beginning, but after a near over withdrawl of our checking account and the subsequent failed attempt to save it, it just got progressively more stressful as the week continued. It all worked out in the end like it always does, but everyone's just frazzled by one thing or another. I think the only person relatively untouched by this week had to be Zoe, who seems to have her own agenda of growling deeply at random things, like the freezer aisle at the supermarket.

So this week I've spend way less time thinking about my Super Lottery Ticket Movie Feature Idea, and thinking about career choices. I liked the idea of videography, and still do from time to time, but I really hate the business aspect of it. Running it, chasing after sales leads, and worrying about getting enough jobs... that stuff just worries me to no end. Not like a movie. It's a different, and more difficult sort of worry, but it's just a feeling of accomplishment when you see it together for the first time. But I have been thinking about picking up the camera again, putting this 2 grand piece of technological wet dream to work.

The other thing we've been preoccupied about is still sorta under wraps, it's a tougher decision to make because of so many people who are going to be affected. More on that later if it ever evolves.

Anyway, Alex is having a tough week this week, so much so that he's picked up the bad habit of slamming his head into things to get attention. It's tragicomical because he'd whine and whine, then either walk up to a wall or lay on the floor, and with swift precision, bang his head on the surface, and then cry. I'm not saying it doesn't look like it doesn't hurt, but just the dubious motive behind it are so silly, that you just have to ignore it so he doesn't think that hurting himself would get him the attention. I don't know why it seems this way, but it always seems like your kid is doing the worse thing than other people's kids. I know Alex is a good boy, but sometimes the things he pulls just makes me worry about the kind of trouble he'd get into later.

Today my step-grandkids were around, and my wife was doing the Ring Around the Rosie thing, and it was fun to watch Alex, Joseph, and Jane just have a ball going round in circles, and then falling down at the end of the song. You see some of their personalities emerge, as Jane tries to fall on her grandmother, Joseph attempt to join in the fun, and Alex is always pulling away to fall on his own terms. In a lot of ways, that's something that I would do. I'd always pretend to do my own thing because it was easier than trying to fit in, socialize, and fit myself in the social situation. So Alex would fall apart from the group, and then get back in. Jane and Alex also danced a little, and it was cute despite the odd implications of dancing with your Uncle.

I was also a little surprised at how comfortable Jane and Joseph are around me. Jane jumps into my lap and cuddles with me, and Joseph has no qualms doing the same. Of course, Alex does this too, only if he's tired or upset. When he's happy, he usually could give a flipall about cuddling. Zoe's very much the same, not wanting to cuddle unless she needs it. I suppose it's because we're there for them, so they don't show that affection because we're always present. Who knows.

I worry a lot about what my kids learn from me. I worry about what they inherit from my genes. Does anti-social behavior carry through DNA? Neuroticism? Hmm, I'd better go cheer up before bedtime.

Sunday, May 15, 2005

Yes, It's True.

Yesterday, when Alex was having a tantrum field day, I mimed shooting myself while grocery shopping. My wife asked if she could have one too, so I mime shot her first, and then shot myself.

Alex isn't a bad boy, he just plays one on some days. He has his bad days whereby he'll just whine all day and explore extreme indecision. At the supermarket, he didn't want to be picked up, didn't want to be put down, didn't want to walk or be in the cart... he wasn't happy unless he was levitating at exactly 3 feet off the ground, only facing north, with his four left finger extended. So we put up with it the best we can (not very well), and just waited till bedtime.

Zoe's a cutie, she's learning to clap now whenever she's happy, and it's the cutest little expression on her face. Alex's new thing is mimicking words at random points, like this morning when I got him. Since I broke into a Wiggles song at 8:30 in the morning, singing, "Testing... 1,2,3..." He actually said, "Testing..." Which reminds me and my wife not to swear around him anymore. I certainly don't want him in the middle of the grocery line spurting out, "Cock." That's what you get for having a father like me, I don't have traditional swearwords.

Zoe also has this ability to do raspberries with her mouth open. Still don't know how she does it. She's also moved on to more solid foods, eating bits of bread and banana. Alex on the other hand, has a rather developed sense of taste. Having a Chinese father will do that to you. This boy won't shy away from onions or be that picky annoying kid that whines, "No, I don't like that." He actually prefers meals to snacks. He sure likes his Chinese food.

There are other things going on, but primarily routine drabby things that aren't worth mentioning. Watched a lot of TV today when the kids are sleepy, I think my brain is officially dead. Watched a two-hour documentary on the Z Channel, and about Jerry Harvey, the Lead Programmer for the pay channel. Made me miss having all the free time to watch all these films. Now I have to choose my cinematic fare, like last night's choice, Blade Trinity. I really have to make wiser decisions.

Babies are up, so I have to shut down the computer to avoid fussy Alex. Eject! Eject!