Benja

I have been pretty busy these past few days, so I ought to get another post out there.  What better to talk about than Ben?  Sup does a great job helping Jet and I out over the weekends by watching him.  Sup always mentions that Ben will be a great football player because he ‘feels no pain’, always following it up with a story or two about how Ben will run into something or fall down and simply shake it off and keep going as if nothing happened.  The most recent tale that Sup told us is one that Sup can’t tell without laughing.  On Friday while Sup was watching Ben, Ben climbed inside a small ottoman that we have.  The ottoman has a removable top and we usually store toys in it, but from time to time, Ben just loves sitting in there among the toys.  Well, when Ben was climbing out, Ben slipped and came down on his, er, boys, landing on the side of the ottoman.  Sup said that Ben just gave him a look and a subdued “oh”, finishing climbing out and just kept on going. 

Jet then told me a story this morning about what Ben did last night.  I guess Jet put Ben in his bed to go to sleep and a few minutes later walked into our room.  Jet pretended to sleep, I guess so that Ben might go back to his room on his own, but after a short time, started hearing some noises next to her.  Jet slowly peeked over to see Ben playing with a set of the large Lego’s and whispering a conversation with Buddy, his teddy bear.  Jet said that Ben would say “shhh” every few seconds, which I guess was directed either at Buddy or even himself as a reminder.  Jet said that she couldn’t help but laugh.  Unfortunately, I was out cold before both of them as I was just plain exhausted.

Today is the start of Lent and again this year, I will give up sweets.  I even asked Jet if I could get her a chocolate cake for her birthday so I wouldn’t be tempted to break my pledge.  I guess that pledge doesn’t come that easy right now as I have a whole apple pie (with ice cream) at home and Jet continually saying that she could not possibly eat it all.  This will be tough.  Thank you Kristin for the hot ham (and cheese) sandwhich lunch on Sunday, Dad for picking me up at the airport, and to Maggie for picking up those pies.  Jet was surprised when I brought them home, but I had the feeling that she might have been expecting them. 

I checked the TSA Website to see if I could bring pies back with me on my carry-on and it does state: “Note: You can bring pies and cakes through the security checkpoint, but please be advised that they are subject to additional screening.”  Just to be sure, before I left the Milwaukee airport, I stopped and talked to the first TSA agent I could find and I was crushed when he told me “no”.  He likened the pie to peanut butter or cream cheese, which you cannot bring on the airplane with you.  Looking for a second opinion, I asked the last agent I saw as I was walking away from security, the one that sits up at a podium, and I was excited when she said, “Sure.  No problem.”  That was good enough for me – I was going to take my chances.  So when I did come back to the Milwaukee airport with two pies in hand, I walked up to the shortest of two security checkpoint lines and looked up and saw the man that told me “no” there checking people walking through the metal detector in my line.  I swiftly, but calmly switched lines and never looked his way.  When it was my turn to go through the security checkpoint, all of the security people had some comments about the pies.  “Can I have a slice?”  “You must have just came from Mukwanago.” “My daughter is just loves those pies.”  It was actually a pleasant experience. 

As I walked up to my gate, people were boarding the plane for the flight before mine, but four TSA agents were there going through by hand each carry on.  I had never seen this second security check before and I just hoped that they wouldn’t keep me from bringing my pies on the plane.  Once the plane left the gate, however, the TSA agents left as well.  What a relief. 

When the next plane arrived (my plane) and the passengers on it got off, among the mix of people I noticed John Malan getting off as well.  What immediately came to mind was the last time I saw him sitting about 4 rows ahead of me at a Brewer’s game at Miller Park several years ago.  Being a goofy college kid (has that really changed?) trying to impress my friends, I approached John Malan and was very gushing about how excited I was to see him and what I big fan I was (which I secretly really was).  He was a good sport and allowed my friends to snap a picture of us together – which I still have.  I also remember that game (which I believe the Brewers lost to the Pirates) because severe weather was approaching during the game and it was the first time that the roof was ever closed mid-game at Miller park.  We knew that we were safe, though, because the chief meteorologist was sitting just in front of us.  If John Malan is not getting excited about the big storm approaching, why should we?  Good memories.

We Are Safe

Just wanted to pass along a quick update on the weather we had yesterday (Wednesday).  The forecasters said on Tuesday that there was a good chance for severe weather on Wednesday afternoon, and there was.  Just as we were about to head to our monthly departmental meeting at 3:00pm, the tornado warning sirens started going off.  I quickly check the weather radar online and saw that there was a spotted funnel cloud heading out of Birmingham going along I-20, but it looked like it was going to stay south of Jacksonville and JSU.  I called up Jet and she was just heading back from Birmingham from shopping, and despite my objection, she ended up driving back home literally following the storm and funnel cloud the entire way home (just minutes behind it).  Incidentally, Donald and Linda were only a few minutes behind Jet as they were returning from some doctor’s appointments in Birmingham.  I ended up waiting at JSU in one of the ground floor lecture halls with everyone else in my building for about an hour watching the weather radar online.  Once that storm passed, it seemed that the worst was over so I headed back home in Oxford.  From the reports I heard on the news, the funnel cloud did not reach the ground as it passed through Oxford 3 miles just north of our house, but if it did, the tornado hit nearby the Winn-Dixie as there were trees downed and other substantial damage there.  There were some good pictures of the wall cloud and damage in the Anniston Star.  As I was passing through Anniston on the way home (about halfway home), I looked over to my right out to the west and thought that it looked like another wall cloud approaching.  By the time I reached home (about 15 minutes later), the tornado warning sirens were going off again as indeed another funnel cloud passed where I had just been.  There was one further tornado warning another hour later (around 5:30pm – 6:00pm) for another funnel cloud that was about 15 miles south of us in Lineville, but by then the sun had gone down and the threat for any more tornadoes went away.  So we are safe after an eventful afternoon-evening.

365!

Here it is – my 365th post on this blog!  I guess it means nothing more than having one post for every day of a single year, but who cares.  So what can I do to celebrate?  Why not address a few things that people have asked for but I never got around to.  But first, how about some interesting statistics about this blog?

The first day that I blogged on this site was on June 12, 2006 as Jet (only 1-2 months pregnant with Ben) and I drove down to Jacksonville, Alabama for a week to buy a house.  That was 979 days ago (about 2. 68 years).  With 365 posts, that means that I averaged about 1 post every 2.68 days.  With 850 total comments, that averages out to 2.33 comments for every post I wrote.  There have been 36,213 visits to our blog, which averages to 1,131.65 visits per month or 36.99 visits every day.  The most visits we got to our blog on any one day was 393 on Wednesday, January 17, 2007, which was the day after Ben was born.  The top two pages that are viewed, however, are “Slovak Christmas Eve” (1,366 views) and “Oplatky!” (439 views).  I wonder how much traffic I have driven to the Polish Art Center as a result of me blogging about them?  And the most popular search terms used on our blog are: “oplatky” (311 times), “sweet home alabama jet” (190 times), and “blackberry winter” (111 times).  Just a few interesting statistics.

So to honor this occasion, I have first updated our “About Us” page that was a bit dated.  But instead of re-writing this page completely, I simply “added on” to the story so that we would not lose some of the history of this blog and us.  Who knows what the next update (perhaps another 365 posts from now) will have?

The second and final item to commerorate this event is to publish the “Acknowledgements” section of my dissertation for all to see.  This is something that I have gotten several requests from multiple people (for unknown reasons), but never got around to sharing.  So here it is.  Enjoy and celebrate with us!

ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS

My dissertation is dedicated to the many individuals that have played a significant role in my life.

First and foremost, I would like to thank my wife Jet (Jittima).  She is the perfect complement to me as she can always find a way to challenge me with a perspective that is both refreshing and unique. I am indebted to her for the many things that she has provided me, not the least of which is her unconditional support of my goals.  Her patience with me to see me through my doctoral pursuits is truly a wonder that I aspire to emulate.  In addition, she has introduced me to a mother that I can love as well as a father and sister that I freely call my own.

I would like to next thank my father, Robert.  His honesty and willingness to help and support me have allowed me to endure these additional years in school.  Despite the fact that he is now retired, he rarely takes a day off from working – an indication of his commitment to all his children.  My father is the best role model that any impressionable young man could ever hope for.  There is no greater complement that I can bestow, and none more deserving.

I would like to next thank my siblings for their support during this wonderful adventure.  My sisters Kristin, Jenny, Stephie, Janette, Sandy, and Maggie, my brother Chris as well as my brothers-in-law Bryon, Scott, Matt, and Jeremy, in their own way, have instilled a competitiveness and eagerness to surpass all expectations.  “Shoot for the moon, even if you miss, you’ll be among the stars” is a sentiment that best captures the spirit they engendered within me and is a lesson that will continue to be relevant throughout my life.

I would like to next thank my adviser, Dr. Dave Haseman, for the personal and professional relationship that he has shared with me.  Without the support and guidance that he has always so generously given me, I can say with great certainty that I would not be the standout student and individual I am today.  Professor Haseman, both as an educator and mentor, has truly helped shape my life personally and professionally. 

I would also like to thank my dissertation committee, Dr. Ram, Dr. Nazareth, Dr. Priem, and Dr. Haines.  My relationship with many of them extends beyond my enrollment in the doctoral program and will continue to mature as I progress professionally.  I am deeply grateful for the countless hours of assistance and advice that they were so willing to sacrifice to ensure that I would succeed.  I appreciate their friendship and support, and I look forward to the promising work that we will perform together in the future.

I would also like to thank my colleagues and fellow doctoral students for their friendship and support during my years in the doctoral program at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee.  Sup (Suprasith Jarupathirun), Joe (Hangjung Zo), AC (Ananth Chiravuri), Lisa, Gail, and Ryan are some of the best friends a guy could ever have.  They were always around to keep my mind stimulated by freely giving advice and constructive criticism for every new hypothesis I had and every challenge that I faced.  For that I am eternally grateful and they can always count on my support whenever it’s needed.

Finally, I would like to acknowledge the Wisconsin Distinguished Professorship Program (awarded by my adviser and Wisconsin Distinguished Professor, Dr. Dave Haseman) and SAP for providing me with financial assistance during my tenure in the Ph.D. program.  Without their generous support, I would not have had the opportunity to pursue in-depth the many different research topics that I have found to be so rewarding.

Classic on (Almost) Valentines

We are planning to go to Classic on Noble for brunch to celebrate Valentines Day this morning, albeit one day late.  We had eaten there once before and it is by far the best buffet I had ever eaten at – and that includes all of the Las Vegas buffets I tried a few years back.  We are going out this morning because we did not celebrate much at all yesterday, with the exception of the card that Ben and I made to suprise Jet (I did the writing, Ben did the artistic).  We will be going with Jet’s friend Amber and Matt and Sup will stay behind and watch Ben and Olivia (their daughter).  It should be a great time, but hopefully I don’t end up eating too much!

Donald gave me a call yesterday morning and offered me two pancake breakfast tickets that he did not plan to use so Sup and I took Ben for some hotcakes (not “Sandy cakes” or “slappy jacks”).  The breakfast was hosted by the masonic lodge in Anniston, so when we arrived, I knew quite a few people there running the show.  Sup and I each got three pancakes and two sausage patties and an invitation to come back for more, but that was plenty for all three of us.  Ben ended up getting more syrup on his hands and shirt than on his pancake, but he seemed to enjoy himself. 

We stopped by Winn-Dixie to pick up some brat buns (actually, Philly cheese steak buns were the closest thing they had) in case Jet had a taste for some brats.  When we got back home, Jet was surprised (and happy) that I picked them up because she was trying to reach me so that I would buy brat buns, but I accidentally had my cell phone turned off.  I suppose that was a “Valentine” connection working there.  Jet grilled the last of our “old” brats for lunch (“Packer” brats that we brought back with us from Christmas) and they were tasty and so filling that I didn’t need to eat any supper.  Unfortunately, it gave me heartburn late last night that was not too pleasant, which is strange because I have a pretty robust stomach and I actually can’t remember the last time I had heartburn (several years ago I am sure).  Oh well, onto a delicious brunch this morning.

Meat In the Mail

So I get a big package again this year with heaps of brats and cheese in the mail again this year.  What a great idea!  As soon as I got the package on Thursday night, I rushed over to Dan’s house (my Wisconsin neighbor) and opened the package there.  They would be the only ones to truly appreciate such a wonderful gift that it was.  Jet and I look forward to eating a little slice of Milwaukee over the next few weeks.  Thanks Kristin and Sandy!

I have been grading reports for much of the week and have been rushing to get several research papers either completed or revised and sent back out.  I am pretty sure that work will keep me busy for at least the next week or so.  Sup was terrific last night playing with Ben, which allowed me time to sit at the computer and get work done.  Sup has really become Ben’s best friend right now.  When we pulled into the driveway yesterday afternoon, the first time that Ben had seen Sup since Sunday (Sup spends all week working at JSU), Ben gave out a big “Yeah!” and ran to him instead of me.  Oh well, the rest of the week when I come home alone, Jet gets Ben worked up to see me and he usually runs to give me a big hug. 

Ben is getting bigger, though, even if his weight might not be changing that much to support that claim.  I was cleaning up after him in the living room on Thursday when I noticed the door to the garage open.  I rushed over to see if he was wandering around outside, but he was just waiting at the step of the door just barely peeking back, as if to see if I was either noticing what he was doing or waiting for my approval.  The good thing about Ben right now is that you can tell him “No touch!” or “No!” once (at least I can) and he will follow my instructions – at least for the rest of the day.  I wonder if that will last.  Ben is also getting much tougher too.  Anytime he runs into something or gets hurt somehow, he simply shakes it off without crying, gets back up and slaps whatever it is that got in his way while shouting “knee”, which I guess is Thai for “What did you do that for?”  It actually sounds like Monty Python and the “Knights who say Ni”.  It’s actually pretty funny when Ben will simply trip on his own, get up, and then slap the ground saying “knee”.  Priceless.

Birthday Review

What a great birthday I had.  The weather was terrific (it has been in the mid-70’s since Friday) and it was great just spending time with Jet and Ben.  It is surprising how much time we have been away from each other these past weeks with the extra hours I am putting in at JSU and Jet working at the Olive Garden.  We met the Thai JSU student and her mother at the Thai temple on Sunday morning and they invited Jet to join the Atlanta Thai Association.  They told Jet that they have special get-togethers for things like Mother’s day and also have Thai language classes for children on Sundays, so we are thinking of getting involved in some form.  The Thai student also asked us if we needed a babysitter for Valentine’s Day.  It turns out the sorority that she belongs to at JSU is offering free babysitting for faculty members, but since Jet is working and we do not have plans to be in Jacksonville, we will likely pass.  It was also great to hear everyone singing “happy birthday” in the evening and to get pictures from Janette only a little while later.  I have included those pictures in the set below.  As for my birthday present, Jet surprised me with new (and very expensive) running shoes.  It was a very thoughtful gift, but I already have two pairs of shoes that I run in now and there are a few other items (electric shaver, toothbrush, etc.) that I will need to get replaced before we leave for Thailand in a few months.  As for the “iPod” that Jet won on eBay, we got it in the mail yesterday and it turns out that it was a “knock-off”.  Jet contacted the seller back (enick12) about the fake “iPod” she purchased (eBay item id here) because it was listed as an “iPod” and had pictures of actual “iPods” in the description.  The e-mail that enick12 sent back was “It Said our iPod Style Mp4/Mp4 Player so You didn’t read the description.”  In fact, the description NEVER said “iPod Style” but only “4GB Style MP3 Player”, which is funny because we purchased a 2GB player.  So what does enick12 do next?  They remove the item description from eBay and are now no longer a register user with eBay.  I figure we are now stuck with the fake iPod, but at least it was only a $30 mistake.  Live and learn.

Birthday Meal

Being the cheap person that I am, I wondered which places in the area I could get some free food for my birthday.  As it turns out, there are quite a few by simply registering at the restaurant’s Website.  I brought back a free jumbo fish platter for us to eat yesterday and I have a few more coupons to use up at other places within the next two weeks.  Boy, I am cheap.

I went for a short (2.5 mile) run with Sup yesterday afternoon.  It was sunny and about 60 degrees – a nice change of pace from the 5 mile run in 25 degree weather on Wednesday.  Jet had already gone to work, so I just strapped Ben into the jogging stroller and headed off.  I had only used the jogging stroller once or twice before with Ben and if I am not mistaken, it was almost exactly one year ago too.  The funny thing was that Ben did the exact same thing sitting in the stroller this time as he did one year ago – just sit there motionless with his arms resting at his sides.  After finishing the first of two laps around the neighborhood, I asked Ben if he wanted to “go again” and he said “yes”, which were the only words he spoke during the 20+ minute run.  While running pushing Ben, I remembered why I hadn’t done it much more often; the stroller pushes to the left unless you raise the front end up and go only on the back two wheels, it is tough to push the stroller up hills, and it is really tough to run without swinging my arms (two hands pushing the stroller).  Regardless, we finished and I felt good about myself for getting the run in.  I now have a scratchy throat this morning so I am wondering if I caught a cold from being outside.  Gosh I hope not.

Our neighbor Dan walked across the street to our house last night and had two bowls of piping hot soup in his hands.  It turns out he made some very good soup yesterday for dinner (and made plenty of it), but he just wanted to share some with Sup and I.  What great neighbors we have.  I don’t know if I was more impressed with Dan sharing his soup with us or with Dan walking over with two piping hot bowls of soup in his hands for us.  Regardless, the soup was delicious.

Almost Birthday

Just finished having a quick chat with Kristin on Facebook and she brought up the Turkey meal(with all the fixings) that she will be making to celebrate Janette’s and my birthday on Sunday.  Too bad that I won’t be there to celebrate.  I hope someone at least gives me a call at about the time everyone starts singing “happy birthday”.  Jet has been prodding me for weeks about what present I want for my birthday so I just asked for a 2GB iPod shuffle.  The one I currently have (which I haven’t been able to find for the last week or so) only has a quarter of that space and holds a little over 100 songs.  I just love the iPod shuffle because I took it everywhere with me in Thailand - running, traveling on the long bus rides, waling around the city, etc.  I also use it when I cut the grass and do some running, well, not lately that is since I can’t find it.  Well, if there is something to say about Jet it is that she doesn’t like secrets (e.g., the countless stories that she tells of me giving her surprise gifts) and even worse, she can’t keep secrets.  I sat in the back seat of our car with Ben on the way to get BBQ on Monday and saw the DVD movie “Fireproof” on the floor.  I asked Jet what it was and instead of coming up with some clever story, she simply said “Nuts … that was our Valentine’s present”.  Like I wouldn’t have found the DVD before Valentines’ sitting there on the floor.  Yeah right.  Anyways, I was looking at eBay yesterday and beganto make bids for a new 2GB iPod shuffle when Jet excitedly told me that she just bought me one for my birthday on eBay.  Even worse, she won the eBay auction using my eBay account.  She did access my e-mail and deleted the ‘winner’ notice, but come on, really – like I would not have found out some other way.  I guess that is what makes Jet so special though and is the charm about her.  I can’t imagine a better birthday present.

Our American Idol

I returned home at about time for dinner last night and Jet mentioned that she had a taste for BBQ.  I don’t need to be asked twice to eat BBQ.  In fact, Jet tried to back out a few minutes later, “maybe we should just eat at home”, but my mind was already set.  So where to go?  It actually has been a few months since I had gone out for BBQ (probably sometime in October), so we decided to go with the “safe” choice, the Golden Rule.  We call it safe because they usually have great BBQ.  I ordered a BBQ sandwich while Jet got the combo sandwich and ribs.  The food came out very quick for us (less than 5 minutes) so that made us happy, but the food was not the quality that we were used to.  Jet has high standards for ribs (any rib down here will invariably be compared to Dad’s) and when they brought out two large ribs, we were surprised.  When Jet tried to eat one, however, she noticed that the meat did not fall right from the bone, in fact, it was tough even cutting any meat from the bone, and the ribs were a little cold.  Jet told our waitress this and she took the ribs back and put them under the “warmer”, but that didn’t solve the problem of them being of poor quality and perhaps not cooked thoroughly.  The waitress took the ribs back again and came back out with two ribs that were half the size of the previous pair, but were ones were indeed, you could get the meat off the bone.  Jet didn’t even touch the baked beans that she ordered because she felt they didn’t taste good.  After Jet’s troubles, I didn’t have the heart to tell her that much of the BBQ meat in my sandwich was dry and tough to chew.  Besides, our poor waitress had already made several trips back and forth to our table.  I had a taste for BBQ and I was very hungry, so I just kept dipping my sandwich in loads of sauce and never said a word.  At least till now, that is.  A very disappointing experience at the Golden Rule, which is surprising because we usually have very good food there.

When we got back home, Jet gave Ben a bath and then we watched American Idol.  While we were watching the contestants sing, Ben would either want to stand up and start dancing (he does some wild shaking of his arms and legs while twisting his body … still a better dancer than his daddy) or sing along with them.  Amazing!  He will actually howl along with the contestants and try to mimic what they do.  And he just turned two.  I am just so surprised by this because he watches so many singing DVD’s (e.g., Sesame Street, Barney, Thomas and Friends, etc.) and never sings along to those.  It’s just too bad Ben didn’t get one little ounce of talent from his daddy to go along with his big desire to perform.

Super Tuesday

Well, I guess there is nothing special about today, so why not call it “Super Tuesday” just to liven things up?  The Super Bowl party at Dan’s house was fantastic on Sunday.  Ben woke up a little late from his afternoon nap, so we arrived closer to 5:00pm instead of 4:00pm.  That turned out to be alright because all of the food (especially the beer brats and kraut) was ready and waiting for us.  We watched the first half and then headed out for our second-annual halftime football match-up.  My team (Dan, Miranda, Peyton, and I) started out hot and kept pace with our competition (Brandon, Natalie, Patrick, and Mr. Brown … Jason was all-time quarterback), but the breaks kept falling their way and turned a close game into a laugher.  Although Dan has a few flood lights around his house, a good part of the playing field was dark, which made it interesting catching the ball.  We went back into the house just in time for the start of the second half, but by then Ben was about ready for his nap.  Sensing the game was about to go all the Steelers way, we walked back home across the street to call it a night.  It was a good thing I turned the TV on before bed or else I would have missed the exciting finish to the game.  Although I am not a Cardinals or Steelers fan, I am confused why there was not an extensive “booth” review of the Kurt Warner “fumble” at the very end.  Wasn’t that a pretty big play that might have merited a second look?  Oh well, it was an exciting finish.

There is not much happening this week, just a lot of paperwork.  I spent some time over the weekend finishing our taxes while Jet was finishing up the paperwork to get Ben a Thai passport.  With all of the travels that we do back and forth to Thailand, we figure it will be easier if Ben had a Thai passport.  Hopefully that is the case.

This weekend is my birthday, but it is almost an afterthought after all of the birthday cake and sweets that I have eaten in the past month from everyone else’s birthdays.  We will head to Atlanta on my birthday (Sunday) for a celebration that is happening at the Thai temple, which should be fun.  Jet did book our tickets to Thailand and we will be leaving on April 30th and returning on July 10th.  Now we just have to work on finding a ride to and from the airport.  Dan was such a great help to us last year with that, so hopefully he is willing and able to help us out again.