Like a Thief in the Night

Emily was having sudo-regular contractions all day on Sunday (which turned out to be a fast day because we have Stake Conference next week). I was starting to get nervous around 3:00 so I decided I should go ahead and break my fast and get something to eat in case she was having a baby. It was probably a good thing because I've had a looong day on Monday.

Emily called the midwife around 10:30 p.m. and we had some friends come over to stay with Nora through the night. Emily was really good and strong and amazing. And the midwife and nurses were great, too. And then our baby came at 3:42 a.m. He's just the best thing and he's healthy and beautiful.

We came in thinking to name him James Royal. That didn't change. So he's named after Emily's paternal grandfather and my paternal grandfather. We're thinking of calling him James or Jay. Thanks to James Taylor he has a great theme song until he's a toddler.

Borrowed Light

While I was caving, I had an experience that taught me something. After climbing back up the waterfall and squeezing my way back (getting stuck sometimes), I noticed that my headlamp was getting dimmer. Then finally the batteries died and the light went out. Luckily I was with two other guys who were ahead of me and I could make do with their light. It was also a good thing that we were mostly out of the tight part. The way out of the tight slot canyon was up a hole into a bigger room. The two guys ahead of me went up and I was left in the dark feeling around for some purchase to lift myself up. The other guys came back (I guess they were just looking at the surrounding for a while) when I was almost out of the hole.

I was thinking that we need a light to find our way in this life. For us LDS folk, that would be our testimony in Jesus Christ and His teachings. But for others it might be good values, the Golden Rule; something that gives this life purpose and explains how we are to act and be. Sometimes you can make it by with the light of others. But there comes a point where we are alone or our situation is difficult and unique to ourselves so that we can not rely on other people. Everyone experiences this. Even our Savior, who was a perfect man and had the companionship of Heavenly Father with Him for most of His life, experienced being alone. At this point we can no longer tread our way on borrowed light. We must find it within ourselves and it becomes our strength to press forward and live life with a fulness that brings joy and peace.

Holes in the ground

I just got back from a trip down memory tunnel. I went with the scouts to Buckner's Cave today. I went a long time ago when I was a scout and then again with Seth one time. We had one turn back when he saw the entrance. The opening is pretty big, but then it turns off to the left into the "birth canal." To get in there you have to go head first into a hole-like tunnel and out into the canal. Then it's roughly 100 yards of crawling/rolling/scootching. Then it opens up so you can stand. The cave is too big to explore all in one day (we only stayed 3 - 4 hours). We decided to go towards the waterfall. I don't think I've ever gone that way before.

The way there was like a really narrow slot canyon. Parts of the way you could traverse above the stream, but there came a point where I had to crawl in the water. Then the stream goes down a hole that is at the top of another room. People have put in a rope to climb down. That was fun climbing down and up a waterfall. It was only about 15 - 17 feet.

The only bad part is knowing that you have to go back out the same way you came in. That wasn't so fun. But all in all an excellent trip.

Sorry I don't have any pictures, but it was really dusty and wet which equals muddy in places. It feels good to be clean again.

Plastic make the world go 'round

And it goes around the world. Unfortunately it finds its way into the ocean. I was reading an article in the Sierra Club magazine today and it talked about the giant mass of trash in the Pacific Ocean and the life cycle of plastic. Every year in the U.S. 12.5 million tons of plastic is unaccounted for (Plastic that doesn't reach the dump or to the recycling facility). That's a lot. I'm glad that where we live it's not too difficult to recycle. In Utah, they didn't have recycle bins for pick up or somewhere we could take it to. Right now we collect our recyclables during the week and take it to a recycle center five minutes away. I makes me feel good that I can do something to lessen (although only to a small degree) the garbage being spewed out by our society.

Our Economy

Stephan Pastis gives an explanation of our current economy that I think is fitting.

LoveSac

I just wanted to thank Ron and Christy for lugging their huge LoveSac from Iowa to our place in Indiana. We visited them over spring break and they said that we could have it if we could fit it in our car. We tried buying a moving kit from the store, but they were sold out. I tried looking around for large plastic bags to put it in so that it could be shrunk down in size, but the biggest ones I found were too flimsy. So instead of selling it on Craigslist.com, they brought it down (mostly for me...Em wasn't all that excited about it) over Easter. I think we're going to wait and see what's going to happen with me finding a job first before we let it out of the bag. But it's still awesome!

"True Essence of Cajun Music"???

I could not wrap my head around this. It's hard to feature such an instrument that only makes one sound. But somehow someone thought it was worth almost an hour's worth of time on a CD.

I love this quote:

"Melodic or harmonic content just gets in the way of, you know, what the triangle can really ... The nuances that can really be brought out ... You'll notice the nuances and the differences," Justus says. "Each song has a story all its own."

I don't want to knock the triangle. It has its place in music, don't get me wrong. But the spotlight is not where I'd expect the triangle to be found.

Beware the cunning of an almost 3 year old

BeeBoo has lately been trying out a new tactic on getting to do what she wants to do even after we tell her she isn't allowed. Mommy will say, "Don't climb on the desk, BeeBoo. You might fall and hurt yourself." Then she says, "Mommy, go upstairs and do read a book." I think it's hilarious. She's got a good mind on her.

When toddlers do laundry...

Nora decided that she wanted to do some things that Mommy does. She grabbed a pair of panties from the basket in the bathroom and one by one took them here to "dry."

Capstone Project

This is my final week of working on my program's final project where we use all that we have learned to solve a real problem from a real company. My team and I have been working with a company to help them with their IT staff recruiting and retention. It's been quite the experience interviewing current employees of the company about what they like and don't like about where they work. Our goal was to sift out what makes people stay (some have been there 25+ years right out of college) and what could be improved upon to attract young college grads, such as myself.

We've done most of the hard work already, but now we're compiling it all together in a report and slide show presentation. We are presenting our findings and recommendations to the CIO, VPs, and other interested parties next Monday. I think we're on track with what they wanted and we also have solid recommendations that will help the company attract college grads. I've focused on telecommuting, flexible time off, suggestion box, streamlining decision making and creating a career path and development program.

After Monday, all I have left is one class that meets twice a week. Let the good time roll...