What Dog Breed are You?

Laid-back, sociable and well-groomed, you've got your own hip little pack of groupies who just love to be around you. You have a brain inside that adorable little head of yours, though you use it mostly to organize your hectic social calendar. You never poop out at parties, and since you're popular with ladies and men, as well as children and adults, you dish out your wit, charm and luck to whomever is close enough to bask in it. The top dog likes you and wants to be your best friend, despite the fact that he doesn't really know what the heck you do. No one does, in fact, but everyone loves you all the same. A true foodie, you’ve got your keen ears fine-tuned to make sure you don't miss out on the opening of a trendy new place to nosh. But your youthful days of being able to wolf down food 24-7 are wagging behind you, meaning you've got to watch what you eat so you don’t pull a Brando and outgrow your coats.

World Kidney Day

It's World Kidney Day!

Please take a moment to become more educated HERE. Take the Quiz - it's very informative.

To read about MY kidney story, click HERE.

For those that have asked recently - I'm feeling really good right now. I'm feeling more run down from a sick baby than from my kidney's causing problems. I've gotten a lot better about laying off of the potassium recently, and am looking forward to continuing my afternoon walks with the girls of the house as the weather continues to get nicer.

The one thing that I wish everyone knew about FSGS (my type of kidney disease) is that sometimes I really just don't want to do anything but sit. A normal day does not take the wind from my sails, but some times I get really quiet if I'm doing a lot. That usually means that I'm pooped.

The other thing (I'm going with two, just for the fun of it!) that I wish folks knew is that, I'm not avoiding your mashed potatoes because I think they aren't good. I want banana pudding more than anything sometimes, too. I can't have potassium in quantity, and those two are the biggest culprits.

For Contest Purporses, I'm linking over to Krissy! You should check her out, and not just for the contest prizes!

New (and Contradictory) Sins

(For the record, I am not Catholic and do not subscribe to much of the theology and hierarchy. I am just observant.)

The Vatican released a list of new sins for the 21st Century. These do not take the place of the old standards, but add onto it. The new ones are:

• Environmental pollution
• Genetic manipulation
• Accumulating excessive wealth
• Inflicting poverty
• Drug trafficking and consumption
• Morally debatable experiments
• Violation of fundamental rights of human nature

Okay, some of these are just common sense as bad. Numbers 3, 4, 5 and 7 are blatantly so. I don't think that numbers 1 and 2 are good, but sins? Sometimes humans need to be the experiment. Trust me, I would jump at the chance to be a test subject if there was a chance that my kidney problems would go away!

Then there is number 6 - Becoming Obscenely Wealthy. Isn't that what the Catholic Church is known for? They have more money than....Sorry I can't type it!

To top that, there is a report that the Papal Visit to DC in April is going to cost upwards of $3 Million. How is that for obscene wealth!

Air Drumming

Quick post from the office (ahem) about the drive in this morning.

At a light behind the University I noticed this guy air-drumming in his big SUV. He was into it more than I have seen anyone before! In his mind, he was playing an entire set of drums, not just the steering-wheel-snare-drum that I prefer.

At the next light I noticed that he had gotten MORE into it - even picked up a REAL drumstick to rock out with! I gave up faulting his bad driving, because he was happy on his way to (I assume work) someplace on a Monday morning. I was struggling to keep my head up and he's rocking out.

At the NEXT light he went even further. He pulled out a second drumstick! He was rocking out, drumsticks in hand, over the entire dashboard of his car! It was hillarious!

Okay, I am going back to working. I just HAD to share this. (And who knows, maybe it's only funny in my head. You know, one of those "had to be there" moments.) Sure made my morning go a little smoother.

Inclusive Christian Scale Results

Thanks to reading a friends Lenten Blog for her church I participated in an online study today that measures how religious Christians are in six different dimensions, described as follows:

The authors of the Inclusive Christian Scale have found over the course of previous research studies that religiosity could be thought of in terms of the following six dimensions: evangelical, Christian conservative, activist, golden rule, community involvment, and mystic.
The Evangelical dimension refers to a particular focus on prayer, evangelism or outreach, and faith as a source of strength.
The Christian Conservative dimension reflects a particular focus on avoiding acts seen as sinful, on a literal interpretation of the Bible, and on a transforming spiritual experience.
The Activist dimension refers to a focus on changing unjust structures in the world as a part of one’s practice of faith.
The Golden Rule dimension refers to a particular focus on attempting to live so that one treats others as one would wish to be treated. This dimension highlights a concern about many of the same issues found on the Activist dimension, but the focus is more on individuals and less on social structures.
The Community Involvment dimension underlines a particular focus on active participation in the church as a fellowship of faith.
The Mystic dimension reflects a particular focus on an intimate, pervasive relationship/connection to God.

My Scores:

EVANGELICAL: 83 %
CHRISTIAN CONSERVATIVE: 33 %
ACTIVIST: 80 %
GOLDEN RULE: 89 %
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT: 88 %
MYSTIC: 75 %

Not at all surprised to see Christian Conservative lags so far behind the rest. I think that my Mystic dimension would have been higher five years ago.

Wanna take it? Do it, and let me know what you come back with!

What You Say You Said

Trip to St Louis was incredibly great. Rightly timed time-away from home and downright relaxing time with Sarahlynn, Paul and the girls. Abby did not learn to crawl, but did pick up clapping! I even got to go to a Blues (pro hockey) game! Really, though, the best part was spending quality time with the family.

I planned to write two posts in the last few days, one about the trip and one to celebrate my two year blogoversary, which was Valentines Day. I have decided not to delve into either far enough for a full post. Instead I am looking to see if I'm the only one dealing with craziness.

I got an email from one of my supervisors: "Rob, I need your help writing this check request."

Let's break that down:
Rob - that's me
I need your help - we need to work together to get this done
writing this check request - with this mundane task

It seems that what she meant was: "Rob. Write a check request for this."

When I was ready to leave for the day, I asked what kind of help she needed for the (again, mundane) check request. An account number to charge it to? An address? A pen? She told me that I was to have written it on my own, and we had conversation about our roles in this relationship. She is the boss, I am the worker bee. Boss says "do this" and should expect it done. I think we're on the same page now.

At home the situation is similar, but different: "Rob, would you vacuum this weekend?"

Again, a breakdown:

Rob - That's me! People know my name!
would you - Please do this
vacuum - Get out the stupid machine, and do the deed
this weekend - 72 hours that begins roughly Friday at 5 pm and ends Sunday at bedtime
? - Implied option - yes or no.

What Anny means is: "Rob, vacuum this morning please."

Anny says that she does not want to be a nag. I keep telling her that she is not nagging, she is being direct. There is a difference to me.

Do you deal with issues like this? Am I not being perceptive enough, or should people be direct in what they are asking for?

I'm Leavin, on a Jet Plane

Okay - we're not flying out until Friday, but I know that Thursday is a special day for my blog and I won't post properly about the upcoming weekend preview. Knowing where we are going, though, I am sure that I will post on my blog over the weekend.

Where-o-where might the Monroe's be traveling? Saint Louis, MO, of course! For the first time EVER Anny has conceded to taking a day off of school for fun purposes! If Anny can take a day off, I can certainly match that! We decided to head out of town on Friday morning rather than wait until the evening, which would mean really only one fun day out of town. Late Friday arrival and leaving Sunday after church is not nearly as fun as a full Friday and Saturday, with an afternoon return on Sunday.

When I was looking at a calendar, ready to press "buy now" on Southwest to confirm our reservations, I noticed a pretty long word on my calendar. H-O-L-I-D-A-Y. The Presidents are doing us a favor this year, we're making an even longer weekend out of it!

Another upside for me, not as up for Anny, is that we truly can make Friday into a full day. Yes, we ARE leaving at 7:00 am, thankyouverymuch. I'm so much of a morning person that I didn't flinch. Anny does not mind too much, but will admit that it will be hard to get to sleep early on Thursday. A big thanks in advance to Jason for getting up early to take us to the airport.

I'm excited to spend time just hanging out with the St Louis part of the family. Nothing scheduled - no baptisms or road trips - except hanging out.

On a completely different note - Abby is officially 8 months old today! I'm going to go wake her up to celebrate. (It's election day, so Anny and Abby have the day off.) WAIT - She is waking up on her own......Time to change a diaper and hug a baby!

Observations from the Last Few Days

Some Observations:

On the Abby Front:
A fat lip on an infant is both funny and cringeworthy at the same time. Sorry, no pictures. Can't have social services after me.
She is scooting toward her toy basket, but only when she can touch it already. She's gotten up on her hands and knees, but gets confused pretty quickly at that point. Hopefully a weekend with Ada will get her moving.

On the Sports Front:
I apreciated hearing Plaxico Burress after the SuperBowl. His comment was "This is the greatest feeling in professional sports." So often we hear that something in sports is the greatest thing in LIFE, and I just can't believe that.
Who really cares who the next Redskins coach will be? Aparently a lot of people. What I can tel you is that he, whichever he it is, will come in and change the system, personnel and feel of the team. Oh yeah, and it's not your decision, it's the decision of the guy that owns the team. He does not come to your office and tell you who to hire.

On the Political Front:
There are a lot of people in Virginia that don't know how to listen. Seems that they got almost 1,000 calls yesterday furious about closed polling stations. Yeah, Super Tuesday was not in your state. That's NEXT Tuesday, just like they keep telling you in the paper, radio and TV.
Because the folks in VA, MD and DC want to feel important they have dubbed next Tuesday, our TV Stations have dubbed it Chesapeake Tuesday. Get over it. It's just another Primary Tuesday. It started yesterday and I'm already annoyed with it.

On the Music Front:
When someone posts a new Celebrity Playlist on iTunes, check it out. Thanks to one list I have discovered Brett Dennen and what is now one of my top 10 songs to listen to. (Oh yeah, check him out based on my recommendation too!)

I Need Hair Help

Okay - I'm trying once again to grow my hair out. Here's my problem: I don't know what the end product should look like! I'm completely and totally open to ideas, and welcome them. The way I see it, I have two weeks before I have to either cut it back to "normal" or decide on a style-goal.

Your job is to help me figure this out. I'm open to having to primp in the morning.

Two options: paste a link in the comments below to a picture of a style you think might work; OR, take the picture below and play with it, then email it to me.

Thanks for your help, or at least suggestions.

A Short but Well Lived Life

Yesterday I had an experience that I hope to never be a part of again. On Sunday our pastor told us about a friend of her 10 year old son. He went into to hospital on Friday for a seemingly minor issue, was diagnosed with lukemia on Saturday, had a stroke and was dead on Sunday morning. There was no way to have seen it in advance, so there were not opportunities for family or friends to say goodbye.

She proceeded to tell us that the family did not have a church or pastor. She knew that she could volunteer our space, which she did, and we would welcome this grieving family with open arms, which we did. I made sure that Amy knew thta I could be at church for as much time as needed. When the family told her that they wanted to show a movie (slideshow) that was made about his life, Amy dropped me an email. Luckily my office is flexible enough that I can volunteer for things like this when they are important.

Our church is not big. On Sunday's we have seating set up for ~250. (We don't have pews, we have movable chairs. Very good idea when you only have one gathering place in your building.) The staff moved more chairs into the sanctuary to bump up seating to 325 on the floor. Chairs were added to the choir loft, too. As we began to see the number of people coming to the service, we began to add seating to our narthex, which we counted at 75 sitting. People were literally standing in the aisles.

This boy was only ten years old, but had lived his entire life in one place. His community knew him. His private school knew him and a ton of teachers came out. His fathers office has representatives, too. When all was said and done, we counted at least 450 people in attendance for the service.

He was ten. His family had only lived in Maryland for 10 years, but their friends, co-workers and community were all present. It was an incredible experience. But I don't want to do it again.

I could not watch the slideshow. Too many pictures are identical to ones that I have just taken of Abby. First food. Sitting for the first time. There weren't even graduation pictures. He didn't make it that far.

I hugged Abby a little tighter yesterday. I will hug her even tighter today.

I pray that none of us - no parent ever - has to have this experience.