Sep 032006
 

So I’ve not been able to sleep tonight, which is going to make Sunday a lousy day.

I finally gave up about 10 minutes ago and decided to snag my laptop, do a little web browsing, and hope that would help me doze off.

As I was heading down the stairs in the dark, laptop held in both hands in front of me (the pulsing sleep LED makes a surprisingly good headlight — or so I thought), I missed the second to last step and pitched forward.

The maneuver that followed would have been pretty spectacular to see, were there (a) any light and (b) anyone around to see it. In midair, I swapped the (owned by Mozilla) MacBook Pro to my left hand so that I could have my right hand free to reach out for the ground to keep it from impacting the laptop.

In the meantime, my right foot caught on the edge of the child gate that was propped up against the wall, unused for the moment, bringing it through the air along with me.

I landed on both knees on the tile (ouch), with one hand on the ground as well, laptop held up in the air to save it. The child gate landed across the back of my legs and on the tile with a loud clatter.

At that rather painful moment of impact, three thoughts rather rapidly wafted through my brain:

  • Ouch
  • Please don’t wake the baby
  • If I break this laptop, I’m going to be really ticked off

Fortunately, the laptop was saved, and as I answered weakly, “I’m fine” to Sarah’s called out, “You okay?” I set it gently onto the tile so I could look into getting myself untangled from the gate.

That accomplished, I repeated, “I’m fine,” and slowly got up.

So now I’m sitting here in my comfy chair, writing a blog post at 4:43 AM with very sore knees developing what I think will be some rather spectacular and colorful bruises.

Baby’s still asleep. Wife may or may not remember anything happened (until she reads this and gets a big laugh out of it). Laptop is intact, saving IT from having to give me a hard time. Whew!

 Posted by at 4:45 AM
Sep 022006
 

The title for my 2001 Ford Expedition arrived in today’s mail, following my making of the final payment two weeks ago. Woohoo!

I bought the car during interesting times, at the beginning of October, 2001, when uncertainty was thick in the air. I needed the car in the first place, but it made me feel good to inject some cash into the market in those days following 9/11. It was like saying, “Screw you!” to the terrorists. “I’m going to keep doing what I want to do.”

But then, I like to think dramatically about the things I do.

It’s been a good car. I bought it because it had enough legroom for me (I’m a tall guy), not because I really needed an SUV. But I like to drive it, and now that we have Sophie, it’s extra helpful. Lots of room for the stroller, the baby, and a bunch of luggage or groceries.

I don’t expect to replace it for many years to come. Having that extra money available each month is going to help the budget.

 Posted by at 3:57 PM