Still not the world's forum for great thought
There was once a tent that aspired
To be more than mere shelter required.
So when the wind shifted,
Into the air it lifted,
And soared like a kite though unwired.
Things get a little exciting at Gerrit’s camping-themed birthday party when the
4-man tent gets caught by a sudden wind and flies over the neighborhood.
June 5, 2006
I went with Shannon to see her obstetrician a few weeks ago. The doctor put Shannon’s due date as November 21st, but started asking when the most convenient day would be to have the baby. I thought that was a little odd, but given that Shannon’s doctor was seven months pregnant herself, maybe she needed to have things a little better scheduled. And since the uncertainty of the baby’s sex has been a little hard (we didn’t peek), we thought it might be nice to have a definite due date. After all, that allowed me to plan when I’d be away from work, when a meal from the Relief Society might be nice, and who would be available to watch Ethan and Gerrit. So we picked Thursday, November 17. But in spite of that early planning, things were still a bit chaotic as the day drew near. Continue reading “Afton”
Before this past Thursday, I was not what you would call a successful fisherman. Not that I had fished much, to be sure, but the time I had spent so far had yielded only a single fish that wouldn’t have been overly cramped in a goldfish bowl. So it was with a slight sense of futility that I set out for a day of fishing with my good friend, Sang, who was visiting from California. Continue reading “Fish Story”
Since, in spite of fears, our road trip to Memphis a couple of years ago turned out to be a fun time, we thought we’d do it again. And while the current family members are all seasoned road trippers, we’re expecting a baby this fall who might need a few years to build up its sitting-for-long-stretches-of-time muscles, so this summer seemed like a good time to go.
Ethan and Gerrit wrapped up their community basketball seasons recently. For Gerrit, it was his first time playing “organized” basketball. I use the word “organized” somewhat loosely. Sure, there was an official coach, and regularly scheduled games and such. It was the on-court aspect that was laden with entropy.
A few years ago, I created a little HTML widget that would sit on my computer desktop to remind me of people’s birthdays and other annually occurring events. I think it’s kind of handy, and I’ve always thought that it would be nice to share it with my family and friends. The trouble is, most people would want to customize the events, and that’s a little difficult. To try to make it easier, I’ve created an event editor. So, presented here to you is my old-fashioned homemade Christmas present, which I’ve named “DeskMinder”. (Updated 21 Dec 04 — easier imports).
Desktop computers these days give you the power to express yourself creatively in ways that were unpractical just a few years ago. Or to waste time in unprecedented ways. However you look at it, Sparks from the Smithy proudly presents its first movie, titled Viper Strike, which, thanks to the titles and credits, weighs in at over a minute long.
I was talking with Ethan the other day when he started figuring out how old he’ll be for the next few presidential elections. It occurred to me that presidential elections correspond with several life milestones for him. He was born just a couple of weeks before Bill Clinton got a second term. If things continue as expected, election 2008 will see him ordained a deacon, in 2012 he’ll be getting his driver’s license, and then he’ll be around “hump-day” on his mission in 2016. That seems forever away, but oh how time flies. This election it was time to get baptized.
I got an email at work Friday from the receptionist saying I’d gotten a package from Verizon Wireless. Since I have no relationship with Verizon, I figured she had made a mistake, and it was probably for a VP who is also named Eric. People sometimes accidentally send me email meant for him. When the receptionist got tired of the box cluttering her desk, she brought it to me, and sure enough, it said “Eric Smith” right on it. Then I wondered mildly if it might be a bomb.
As Shannon and I anticipated our approaching anniversary (last Friday), we felt growing pressure: Would we actually do something, or would we just sit around the house because we didn’t want to bother finding a baby-sitter? So in a bold move of activity planning, I booked us a room at the Homestead, where we had gone on our wedding night ten years ago. And for a little extra adventure, we decided to travel by motorcycle.