The semester is finally over and I feel a tremendous pressure lifted. I just finished the last of the discussions in my Protein Purification lab notebook, so I am completely done.

School pwnage

This has been one HELL of a semester, if indicated by nothing else than the fact that I have not been able to write a single blag the entire time.  Seriously. Melissa and I were both enrolled full-time (12 cr.) each. My schedule was noted on my last post, so I don’t need to go into that again. But let’s just say that between working ~40 hrs a week, doing 12 credits, taking care of house work, being a husband, and being a father to a rather ornery 1-year old, I had my arms, legs, and kidneys full.

The good part is that I know two of my grades so far: In Organic Chem II Lab, I got a 93% (A-). YES! And in Organic II Lecture, I got an A+. YES YES!!! I’m not sure of my grades in Biology or Proteins, although I suspect A’s (or at the very least, high B’s) in both.

House awesomeness

We recently discovered IKEA. OMG. I CAN HAS FURNITURE? I am in hot, sweaty, debaucherous love with that store. A couple days ago we spent roughly $800 on various furniture items, including a new computer desk (pictured), a dining room table, four chairs with pads, two shelf units for the kitchen, a bathroom sink/faucet/cabinetry/mirror combo, some plants, and various odds and ends.

I know that $800 seems like a lot, but it’s totally worth it. Those Swedes make damn fine products, and the price is right as well. (The computer desk pictured, or as Mel calls it, my “Geek Oasis”, was $90 and is FAR better quality than ANYTHING at Officemax. The dining room table we got, with four chairs, was $280 altogether.)

What really blows me away about the IKEA people though is how sensible they are; about EVERYTHING. The carts in the store? They have four rotating wheels so you can move laterally instead of only rotationally. The instructions are all clearly mapped out when you get them. They use s-shaped allen wrenches for much of the assembly (the s-shape makes it easier to rotate — most allen wrenches are L-shaped). They give you this little plastic widget for nailing in tiny nails so that you don’t accidentally hammer your fingers.

The table we got (pictured, left) has two leaves for expansion, but get this: the leaves are contained WITHIN THE TABLE! To expand it, you lift up one side of the table top about 2″, slide the leaf out, and then it locks into place. To un-leaf it, you lift up the table top again 2″, push the expansion back under, and there it is! You have to see it in action to appreciate the awesomeness.

In the past, at most furniture stores we go to, there’s generally an inverse relationship between price and quality. I expect that if something is cheap, it’s probably cheaply made. But I swear everything we’ve bought has been both inexpensive and really solidly made. They don’t use any particularly special materials, it’s just engineered very well.

But enough gushing about IKEA. The store is in West Chester, OH (near Cincy), approximately 48 miles from Richmond. You must go there and check it out. (They have a full restaurant, several mocked-up apartments in the showroom (full apartments!) — it’s quite easy to spend hours of time and lots of money there.

Oh! And we got CARPET finally!!!!

Sullivan

Sullivan is growing up so fast. He walks, runs around, wrestles with the dog, has already started signing, just had his first birthday, is downright hilarious at times, and learns things really quickly. Our Birth-to-five representative did some assessments on Sullivan and in all the categories except speech he’s as skilled as a two-year old. (He is 1 year, 1 month right now). Speaking he’s right on par (he says Da-da, but we’re not sure if he knows that he’s saying it yet).

I think part of the reason he is learning so quickly is that we just let him grow on his own. We don’t have any kind of agenda for him to stick with — no time schedule or “milestones” for him to meet. Neither of us are concerned that he’s developed physically before developing his ability to talk. We figure that when he’s ready to learn something, he’ll learn it — and we should be prepared to give him the exposure he needs to figure things out on his own.

We’ve been doing baby sign language. For anyone who has a toddler, or is expecting one, you *must* try this out. It’s awesome. Sullivan knows the signs for “hot” and “more”. It’s the most adorable thing in the world when you’re sitting there, giving him a cup of juice, and he makes the sign for “more.” It’s so neat to see what goes on in his head.

Fermentation

I’ve been brewing Ginger Beer/Ale. The only ingredients I use are ginger root and sugar. No yeast added or artificial flavors or anything. The yeast is airborne and grows in a culture beforehand. Melissa and I are planning on making a website with instructional videos for how to do it yourself — it’s really easy to do and it tastes pretty good once you figure out the formula right.

I’m still experimenting with some flavor options, and I plan on doing Root Beer next as soon as I can get my hands on some sarsparilla root and winter green leaves.

Freethought Society

The Richmond Area FreeThinkers Society website is finally up. RAFTS is a group that a few of us founded to be a collective haven for freethinking folks in this region. We’ve got a little over 20 members so far and our website is finally up. We have monthly meetings and a discussion list. All are welcome to join us any time! Check out the website for more information.

This Summer

• I’m taking a class: Decision Support Structures and Data Analysis (Informatics 430) on the Internet this summer. Should be a lot of fun — we’ll be learning about data mining and how to analyze large datasets.
• We’re getting our bathroom finished (finally!) in a week or two. Pictures up when it’s done.
• We’re planning a couple vacations — small ones. We’re thinking maybe Toledo, maybe Philadelphia area, maybe Dollywood — not sure. I’ve got about a weeks worth of vacation and thought we could really make it stretch if I do a series of 4-day weekends rather than a single week.
• We’re gardening vegetables and herbs. Haven’t planted yet, but planning to plant next weekend.
• Mother’s day and Melukkah are both coming up as well, and I know that Melissa is excited about that.
• We’ll probably be making routine trips to IKEA to buy more things. I’m totally addicted.
• I’ll try to blag some more this summer as well.

Categories: Friends, Family & Pets, Geekery, This New House, Ziggy aka Sullivan
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Sullivan just had his first illness last week. It was pretty horrific — he woke up in the middle of the night crying and then just started vomiting. He vomited on more or less regular intervals for about a day and a half. It was a little scary, but he didn’t have a fever or anything, so we both kind of figured he picked up a stomach bug from the Newark International Airport. (Our Ped. confirmed that it was just a little stomach thing)

So we did the (faux-)Pedialyte thing, but he mostly worked it out on his own after a couple days. Melissa did take him into our Ped’s office out in Dayton, just to make sure there wasn’t a greater problem. This brings me to my next issue:

We’ve been trying to find a local doctor for several months now. We’d like a family practice, someone that I can go in and see with my bizarre “does this look normal?” questions, someone that Sullivan can see for regular Doctor visits, the works. Our current Doctor(s), Seiler and Shah, are wonderful. The only reservations we have is (a) they don’t accept plastic payment, which means we can’t use the pre-tax medical-fund I enrolled in, and (b) they’re about 45 minutes away (just North of Dayton). Melissa applied with a local practice, Dr. Reichley, but was turned down when the Dr. found out we are refusing / delaying vaccinations for Sullivan.

Apparently the vaccinations issue is a deal-breaker for some Doctors. Melissa has done more reading about this than I have, but there’s a legitimate concern here. Most of us (myself included) know vaccinations as “those icky shots we have to get when we’re kids, to keep us from getting nasty contagious illnesses.” This is partly true. Vaccinations do indeed serve a purpose for some illnesses, but not all. Polio, for example, has not had a confirmed case in the U.S. for decades.

The real issue here stems from the method of delivery. Many Doctors do the “cocktail” method. They take a young kid, right around 1-2 years old, and inject them with the “MMR” (Measels, Mumps & Rubella) shot, sometimes throwing in a few others (Polio? Bubonic Plague?) for good measure. And here’s the rub: there have been quite a few documented cases of child development being stunted, skewed, or otherwise interrupted directly after being administered this shot! I know, I know, post hoc ergo propter hoc — just because the complications show up AFTER the shot doesn’t mean it was caused by the shot. But when you start getting enough cases that are similar with similar outcomes, it starts to look convincing.

Jenny McCarthy, whom you will either remember from Playboy, MTV’s Singled Out, or a number of television & movie cameos, has a son from her former marriage with Director John Asher. Her son was developing normally until about 15 months, when he was given his vaccinations - shortly after that he began to develop Autism. She has since taken a very active role in Autism Awareness.

Apparently, this issue is quite controversial. Some people believe there IS a link between MMR Vaccines and Autism, others think that it’s bunk. Honestly, when it comes to my son, I would rather err on the side of the curable-disease. Measels, Mumps, and Rubella all suck, but they’re curable. Autism isn’t. So even if it’s a 1% chance of acquiring it because of the vaccine; it’s not worth it to me.

UPDATE: We found doctors for all of us, and my appointment is in an hour.

Categories: Friends, Family & Pets, Health, Ziggy aka Sullivan
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The diet is still going well. I say this first because it’s still really challenging. Last night my wife decided she wanted to melt Barking Chocolate (like for covering pretzels or buckeyes) on some Vanilla Bean ice cream. I had a bite, just because I was curious, but no more. Today I was offered chocolate by my Organic Chemistry Prof during our Final Exam, and I successfully declined. Ditto for the chocolate donuts in the break room yesterday (ate NONE), and the various donuts and goodies they had at Exam Jam on Tuesday. Go me.

I haven’t been able to walk in the morning lately; Partly because it’s FREAKING COLD OUTSIDE and the snow and ice make jogging somewhat treacherous, but also because I’ve been up late studying and catching up with things.

Today was my Organic Chemistry Final Exam, where I was asked questions like:

“A newly isolated natural product was found to have the molecular formula C₁₅H₂₈O₂. By hydrogenating a sample of the compound, it was determined to possess one pi bond. How many rings are present in the compound?”

(the answer is 1, I think, due to degree of desaturation). I think I did ok. With the bonus points I’ll be getting in the course (around 20) and my grade as of the last exam (88.5%), as long as I get at least a B on the Final I should have a high-B / low-A over all. Fingers crossed!

Last weekend, Melissa, Sullivan and I all flew out to NJ for my Grammy Westerdale’s Funeral services. My Grandpa Westerdale died earlier this year (March) and shortly after that, Grammy found out she had cancer already in metastasis. It only took about 8 months to do her in, and she passed on Thanksgiving of this year. The funeral services were very good - we interred her’s and grandpa’s ashes into the memorial garden of their church (St. Paul’s Episcopalian) and I got to say my final goodbyes then. There was no viewing like with Grandpa (her request), but this was just as good, I suppose. None of us were very surprised by it.

We all drove out to see her earlier this month, because my mom said it was “going to be any day now”, and I wanted Sullivan to see her one more time before she went.  It was a good visit.

I think in some ways, I still haven’t had a chance to fully deal with this all. Sure, I cried at the funeral, like the rest of my family; And yeah, it wasn’t really a surprise to anyone. But I think the back corners of my mind haven’t quite come to terms with her being gone.

The best part of the trip (for me, but probably not for Melissa) was the family gathering after the Funeral. All of the branches of our family, the Westerdales, the Watkins, and the Magnussons (along with some neighbors and friends of my uncles) all came over and everyone drank Whiskey Sours (the official drink of the Westerdale Family), Gin, Wine, and Beer. It was a grand old time. Sullivan got to hang out with my siblings and other family members. He’s getting more comfortable with them.  We’re going back in a couple weeks for Xmas. Non-stop this time. (Missed our connecting flight on the return this time..had to spend the night in Cleveland! Ick!)

For those of you who are wondering, yes the blog theme is different. My wife decided that she couldn’t be married to someone with an ugly blog theme, so she logged in and changed it. I think it looks nice.

that’s it for now, I have more finals to study for!

Categories: Friends, Family & Pets, Health
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Sullivan

Sullivan has begun to crawl. Everywhere. He pulls himself up onto things as well. His new favorite hobby is finding new ways to bang his head into solid objects. Everytime he loses balance, gets that frightened look in his eyes, and then *THUD* right into the floor, coffee table, couch, table, chair, television, crib frame, kitchen cabinetry, computer, subwoofer, or some new object I have yet to see.

It’s hard to not feel like a bad parent when you see your son’s head collide with a stationary object but every parent I’ve talked to (including my own) have said that it’s totally normal. In some ways, it’s kind of funny — America’s Funniest Videos kind of schadenfreude kind of funny. But I still feel bad for him.

In addition to being more mobile, he’s a lot more lively. He cackles, shrieks, yelps, makes merry, cries, whines, bitches, moans, etc. He watches my mouth move when I talk. His eyes have a lot more character in them and his facial expressions are much more varied. He still doesn’t mimic quite yet, but I think that’ll be soon. (And then we get to teach him baby sign language!)

He can almost completely stand on his own, a prospect that frightens Melissa and I with a portent to the near future when he’ll be walking; elevating his head into a whole new echelon of objects to run into. I swear this kid is going to be a frenologists wet dream.

The House

The house is currently in a quasi-state of disarray. The bathroom, still unfinished, is lacking both a sink, a toilet seal (so it smells gross), and paint. The drywall is nearly done. All I have left to do is sand off one little area by the entrance, and it’ll be ready for painting. We picked up some primer to get it started, but haven’t really picked out a color yet.

The living room has one wall with primed-trim. The wall with the entrance door and large window have their trim painted (the door too). We finally decided that painting the trim would be a good idea, and I have to admit, it really does improve the appearance of the room. When we get carpet laid down, possibly next year, I think that’ll help it even more. It seems a shame to cover up the wood, but the hardwood floor lost it’s novelty after my eighth foot-splinter.

So painting, painting, painting. Anyone want to help? I also need someone skilled with doing ceramic tiling, because I think that’s what we want to do in the bathroom.

My Grammy

Earlier this year, in February I believe, my Grandpa Westerdale died at 83 years. He had some chest problems and knee difficulties, but pneumonia did him in. My Grammy Westerdale is currently in the hospital with cancer, and Mom says that it’s not gotten any better in spite of Chemo and Radiation therapy. I guess at this point, she’s done with treatment and just wants to go into pain management. Mom thinks it’s quite possible she won’t make it to Xmas.
This Thursday, Melissa, Sullivan and I will be driving out to NJ to see her and visit family. Saturday will be when we actually get to Jersey, because we’ll be staying at my Mom’s in PA. It’s supposed to be a bit of a surprise. My car is currently in the shop getting some much-needed repair work done to it, so it’ll be drive-viable for the trip.

I don’t think I’ve really had time to stop and let this whole situation sink in, but I’ll have a 10 hour trip each way to do it. I think the most significant thing about this is that this trip will be the last time any of we three ever see Grammy alive. Being able to say that with certainty is profound.

I know that I, and probably most people, have read stories and anecdotes about death / near-death putting life in perspective. But just like parenthood, you don’t comprehend how true it is until you’re actually in the situation yourself.

Categories: Friends, Family & Pets, This New House, Ziggy aka Sullivan
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This past Tuesday, while Melissa was at home writing an English paper, I took Sullivan to Indiana University East’s first volleyball game as an NAIA team. I’m not one who usually frequents sporting events at all, but I made an exception in this case because, as part of External Affairs and Marketing, we’re supposed to make a big deal out of this.

Our team played AWESOME. While I wouldn’t say the girls played as good as professional / Olympic teams, they were pretty well coordinated and talented players. There were quite a number of serves that would just BARELY scrape over the top of the net (that’s a good thing — low serves hit the ground sooner and are harder to return. Especially if they’re fast). They played 3 games altogether, and only two of them did their opponents accrue more than 15 of the 30 necessary points. So, Go Lady Pioneers!

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Categories: Friends, Family & Pets, Humor
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Another year come and gone.

Yesterday, I celebrated my 27th birthday. I am now officially as old as my mom claims to be.

This whole birthday has been a rather bizarre one. For starters, it’s the first birthday I’ve had where I’ve celebrated it in the company of my progeny (See picture). But there’s other things going on as well. I was excited about my birthday, as usual, but when Friday rolled around, I felt a bit frustrated. In a bizarre coincidence, 4 of my friends all picked this week to do out-of-state travelling. Two flew to Florida to go to Disneyworld, One went to Oregon to see family, and one to Ohio to go to a wedding with a girl he’s about to break up with. Honestly, I really expected my birthday to blow by with no visitors and no fun and games.

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Categories: Friends, Family & Pets, Humor
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