Wednesday, April 14, 2004
Strange dream I had this morning. I was looking out the window, and noticed something very odd about the tree in the adjacent yard. I watched for a bit and discovered that something was moving in the tree. Was it a squirrel? An oppossum? It looked to be too large for that, though. Eventually, something smaller and greyish came slowly scurrying down the trunk. It did indeed look like an oppossum, which was very odd since it was a bright, sunny day. Also, the tree was oddly thick and tall, but bare of any foliage. So as I watch this odd animal scurrying down the tree, I realize that there is still something in the top of the tree...something immense. I watched a little longer and realized that it was actually an elephant with a strangely deformed head. I realized this with one of those sensations you have when you are looking closely at something and discover that you're actually looking too closely at something that is much bigger than you thought. At this point, I realize that the elephant has seen me. Its one beady eye is trained on me, but the look in its eye is one of despair, loneliness, sadness, and old, old age. It seems to be asking me "please don't tell anyone I'm here." I feel like my heart will break.
Then I woke up.
Got comments? Email me.
Then I woke up.
Got comments? Email me.
Cripes. I'm not doing so well with keeping up with this blog, am I? Well, let's try to get caught up, shall we?
So far this year has been a crazy one. We went through some tests on Wendy and the baby that eventually came back looking good. Wendy seemed to be slightly anemic about a month ago, so she's been on a hamburger kick ever since. Gotta get that iron!
In early March, the project I was on at work got cancelled. Whee. Two in a row, and both were adventure games. It's great for morale! No word yet what my next project will be.
Between our crazy schedule with the pregnancy, and Tim being obsessed with Neverwinter Nights, we've only played D&D once this year, and that was in early January. Even though we're super-busy, we miss it -- both the game and the people. Maybe once we get the house finished we can get the campaign started again for a bit before the baby arrives. The Fellowship of the Dragon's Song will ride again, I swear!
Oh, yeah, the baby is (will be?) a girl. As I tell people when they ask, we're currently in discussions regarding the name. :-)
Wendy took another class from Berkeley extension toward her Project Management Certificate. It was quite an ordeal. The class was about team dynamics, which meant they had to work in teams. Unfortunately, Wendy's team had NINE people from all over the Bay Area, which made it practically impossible for them to all get together. For the first two weeks of the class, Wendy was a stressed-out emotional wreck (thanks in no small part to the pregnancy hormones). She eventually worked it out and got an A in the class. Even though it was a drain, she enjoyed the class and says she got more out of it than any other class she's taken so far.
Among the things they did in the class was analyze people's personalities and temperaments, along the lines of Jung - Meyers-Briggs and Keirsey. Wendy and I both find it extremely interesting. Wendy is an INTJ Rational with strong Guardian tendencies. I am an ENFJ Idealist, also with Guardian tendencies.
I gave the temperament sorter tests to my parents and my sister, and surprisingly my parents are both Guardians, although my mom is extroverted and my dad is slightly introverted. My sister is all over the place. It seems like every test she takes gives a different result!
Anyway, the temperament thing has really been enlightening for Wendy and I. It has shed light on a number of things that get under our skins or cause friction between us, and provided us with a tool to defuse potential situations with a simple phrase like "How Idealist of you" or "OK, Miss Rational." It really is an amazing relationship tool, and it has provided an avenue of discussion between us on many issues.
On the musical front, I've picked up some CDs lately that I plan to review soon, and went to see the Church in concert, as well as Sir James Galway (for Wendy's birthday). We also caught an Easter performance of the musical Mamma Mia! which is based on the music of ABBA.
The Church show was one of my all-time favorites, due to a number of factors: 1) they are one of my favorite bands, 2) I saw the concert from the "front row" (right against the stage), 3) they rocked, and 4) I MET THE BAND! Watch for my review. The Galway show was entertaining; he played at the LBC, with piano accompaniment and an occasional assist from his wife. He played a variety of pieces, but they were all classical flute compositions, which was a little disappointing; Wendy and I were both looking forward to hearing some folk tunes. However, his performances were remarkable, to be sure. Mamma Mia! was an enjoyable adventure. Parking was remarkable easy, at a lot right up the street from the Golden Gate Theater for only $7. I might do a full review later, but for now suffice to say we enjoyed ourselves and found most of the performances absolutely delightful, although there were a couple folks in the cast whom we just didn't like (Sam and Sky, if you just can't wait for the review).
I think that's pretty much everything except the house renovations. I'll save that for the next message.
Got comments? Email me.
So far this year has been a crazy one. We went through some tests on Wendy and the baby that eventually came back looking good. Wendy seemed to be slightly anemic about a month ago, so she's been on a hamburger kick ever since. Gotta get that iron!
In early March, the project I was on at work got cancelled. Whee. Two in a row, and both were adventure games. It's great for morale! No word yet what my next project will be.
Between our crazy schedule with the pregnancy, and Tim being obsessed with Neverwinter Nights, we've only played D&D once this year, and that was in early January. Even though we're super-busy, we miss it -- both the game and the people. Maybe once we get the house finished we can get the campaign started again for a bit before the baby arrives. The Fellowship of the Dragon's Song will ride again, I swear!
Oh, yeah, the baby is (will be?) a girl. As I tell people when they ask, we're currently in discussions regarding the name. :-)
Wendy took another class from Berkeley extension toward her Project Management Certificate. It was quite an ordeal. The class was about team dynamics, which meant they had to work in teams. Unfortunately, Wendy's team had NINE people from all over the Bay Area, which made it practically impossible for them to all get together. For the first two weeks of the class, Wendy was a stressed-out emotional wreck (thanks in no small part to the pregnancy hormones). She eventually worked it out and got an A in the class. Even though it was a drain, she enjoyed the class and says she got more out of it than any other class she's taken so far.
Among the things they did in the class was analyze people's personalities and temperaments, along the lines of Jung - Meyers-Briggs and Keirsey. Wendy and I both find it extremely interesting. Wendy is an INTJ Rational with strong Guardian tendencies. I am an ENFJ Idealist, also with Guardian tendencies.
I gave the temperament sorter tests to my parents and my sister, and surprisingly my parents are both Guardians, although my mom is extroverted and my dad is slightly introverted. My sister is all over the place. It seems like every test she takes gives a different result!
Anyway, the temperament thing has really been enlightening for Wendy and I. It has shed light on a number of things that get under our skins or cause friction between us, and provided us with a tool to defuse potential situations with a simple phrase like "How Idealist of you" or "OK, Miss Rational." It really is an amazing relationship tool, and it has provided an avenue of discussion between us on many issues.
On the musical front, I've picked up some CDs lately that I plan to review soon, and went to see the Church in concert, as well as Sir James Galway (for Wendy's birthday). We also caught an Easter performance of the musical Mamma Mia! which is based on the music of ABBA.
The Church show was one of my all-time favorites, due to a number of factors: 1) they are one of my favorite bands, 2) I saw the concert from the "front row" (right against the stage), 3) they rocked, and 4) I MET THE BAND! Watch for my review. The Galway show was entertaining; he played at the LBC, with piano accompaniment and an occasional assist from his wife. He played a variety of pieces, but they were all classical flute compositions, which was a little disappointing; Wendy and I were both looking forward to hearing some folk tunes. However, his performances were remarkable, to be sure. Mamma Mia! was an enjoyable adventure. Parking was remarkable easy, at a lot right up the street from the Golden Gate Theater for only $7. I might do a full review later, but for now suffice to say we enjoyed ourselves and found most of the performances absolutely delightful, although there were a couple folks in the cast whom we just didn't like (Sam and Sky, if you just can't wait for the review).
I think that's pretty much everything except the house renovations. I'll save that for the next message.
Got comments? Email me.
