A Night Out in Janesville

On Saturday night, Grandpa Phil and Grandma Debbie took us to see the lights at the Rotary Gardens in their hometown of Janesville, Wisconsin. Our camera didn't cooperate very well, so I don't have many photos but here's a taste . . .

As we arrived, there were a number of model trains set up. Here, MelodyJoy and I are counting the cars in one train . . .

Pretending there was mistletoe . . .

The princesses sitting on Santa's throne . . .

Christmas Recap

A collection of pictures likely to bore all but grandparents and aunts . . .

This year's Christmas was a little different for us. Late Christmas Eve morning, the three younger kids gathered in our bed to snuggle with their mother in the Christmasy sort of way that she appreciates. Appreciates so much that she summoned Jordan to join in. Jeannette says the kids talked her into opening gifts that day, but I'm not so sure it wasn't her idea.

After a breakfast of scrambled eggs and cinnamon rolls, we went to the living room and Jameson read the Christmas story from the Bible while Jeannette and MelodyJoy reenacted it using our Precious Moments nativity set. It's a variation on a tradition we've followed since Jordan was a toddler, though usually the evening of Christmas Eve or on Christmas morning.


One of Melody's first gifts was one that I picked up at Kohl's for her: A Curious George stuffed animal. Jeannette's not big on stuffed toys, but I thought Melody would love it, since Curious George is one of her favorite shows. As you can see, I was right. In fact, she has the monkey by her side right now as she falls asleep.

We assumed this would be a thin Christmas, given my employment situation. However, as you'll see below, grandparents, aunts and uncles all did plenty to fill the tree for us.






One of Phillip's smallest gifts--a pair of earbuds for his mp3 player--was one of his favorites . . .

Jeannette decided she should reward Jordan with a big kiss for his gift to her . . .


The Russian tortoise from us and his Aunt Laura and Uncle Jamey was Jameson's big gift this year, and we added on a travel case so that he could accompany us to Wisconsin . . .



For some reason, I think this photo makes me look like an Interpol officer but, trust me, my new clothes look better than it appears here . . .


On Christmas morning, we surprised Phillip and Jordan with new leather jackets--a gift from us and Laura and Jamey. Phillip knew we had been shopping for a jacket for Jordan but not about his own, so we had him carry Jordan's jacket out to him. While he was doing so, I walked behind him carrying his own new coat. Both of them were very surprised and now Jordan no longer has to wear my old jacket and Phillip can put away the faux leather jacket that Jordan handed down to him.

Jameson's last gift was a Calvin and Hobbes book to read during our drive north. We knew if we let him open it any sooner, we wouldn't see him again until he'd finished it.

And MelodyJoy was thrilled to get her final present, from Jameson: a Wall-E DVD that she watched on our way to Wisconsin.
After that, we fired up the new GPS unit and drove off to see Grandpa Phil and Grandma Debbie, arriving just before dinner time. More to come on our visit there.

Christmas Cheer

Last night, our small group got together for a Christmas party. It was almost a year ago that we first met most of these folks, when Lance and Mary invited us to their New Year’s Eve gathering. It would have been impossible for us to anticipate how close we would grow to them over the last twelve months and it’s the prospect of leaving them that adds to our anxiety about the possibility of leaving Fort Wayne.

Denny, Lance, Dave, Eric & Palmer

Back: Jeannette and Becky
Front: Jayne, Mary and Deb

The evening started with soup and chili and other foodstuffs. All the high schoolers were in the living room, all the younger kids around the kitchen table and the adults jammed into the dining room. It was loud. It got louder later. Here, Dave waxes eloquent . . .

They have a tradition of a book exchange at their Christmas get-togethers. You’re supposed to pull a book off your shelves, wrap it and bring it for a white elephant type of exchange. It’s kind of a dilemma, because you aren’t sure if you want to give away your favorite books but you also don’t want to bring something that no one else wants. I ended up taking a book by Hemingway or someone that I’d never been able to finish while Jeannette brought an autographed copy of a book by one of her friends. We came away with a book by Jerry Jenkins that we’re going to regift to Phillip for Christmas and a beautiful book from Eric called, appropriately, Beautiful Evidence by Edward Tufte. I don’t think I understand anything in the book, though.

Jeannette models some fairy wings that Mary gave MelodyJoy for Christmas . . .

Most of the high schoolers had long since abandoned us for a party elsewhere, stranding Phillip with the old folks, but we put him in front of a computer and he was fine for an hour or two. MelodyJoy had great fun in the meantime with Rachel and Jameson.

After the gift exchange, the men made our way to the basement, where the kids were playing Guitar Hero or Rock Star or something in the back corner and we sat down to watch part of the Packers-Bears game.

Soon, however, the video game called like a siren and the old guys took over. And this is where things got louder. I was the only one with too much dignity (i.e., too many inhibitions) to participate. And this is what it looks like when the senior citizens take control . . .

Winter Wonderland

I imagine that at least half of the personal blogs in the United States today feature "snow pictures," so I'll join the club. We got hit with an ice storm last night about 1:30 in the morning, which led to almost every school in the area being closed today. It was followed by some warming conditions and rain, so the streets were a slushy, soggy, flooded mess while the sidewalks and driveways were slicker'n snot. Jordan took most of these photos.



This is a shot of one of the trees in our backyard, bent over the sidewalk. We lost a lot of branches off this particular tree, including a really large one that is stuck halfway up.

Alternate Currency

From http://imgs.xkcd.com

Random Musings on Being Unemployed

• I always thought I'd hate retirement and not having a job to go to. Two and a half months into this "sabbatical," I'm not so sure. I just wish hunting for a job paid better.
• "Sabbatical." That's what one of Jordan's clever friends said I'm on. "Retired." I thought that sounded better than unemployed. Even though I'm pretty okay about all that's happened, there's still something uncomfortable about having your wife tell the dentist, "My husband lost his job." ("Hey! Where did I put that dang job? I know I had it a little while ago, then I put it down and now it's lost!)
  
• Job searches are unpredictable, capricious things. I've applied to over two dozen jobs. One place had already filled the position but, oops, never bothered taking the job down off their HR site. Several have "suspended" their searches, for various reasons/excuses. At another place, the person who formerly held the post decided to come back.
• I really like The Bonnie Hunt Show, on at 9:00 AM locally. I've also found myself compulsively drawn to CBS at about 11:45 to watch The Showcase Showdown on The Price is Right. I was appalled to find myself rushing to the TV at about 11:55 today to check it out after I finished a phone interview.
  
• At the other end of the TV schedule, I also really like Craig Ferguson . . . despite the 12:30 AM start time.
  
• It's a good thing we don't have cable. As it is now, I really don't watch much more television than I did when I was working, but if we had a hundred channels, it'd probably be a different story.
• My kids and Jeannette have been amazing in all this uncertainty.
• It's challenging to learn to start conversations with other guys with something other than, "So, what do you do?"
• For someone in a field like mine, job hunting is a lot easier now than it was fifteen years ago. You used to have to subscribe to The Chronicle of Higher Education and then plow your way through page after page of job advertisements, which were organized but not perfectly. Then you had to create a letter and resume and mail it off. Now, I can hit about eight or ten different websites that post job announcements and look for the newest listings in a matter of minutes. When I find one that is interesting, I can electronically transmit my documents and sometimes get at least an acknowledgment the same day. This entire job search so far has cost me $1.71 in postage, for the one school that still requires a physical application to be submitted.
  
• I had thought that this job search would grind to a complete halt as the holidays approached. Whether it's just God's sense of humor or my misunderstanding of how things work, things instead have really picked up. After almost no real encouragement for most of November, I've recently had a number of requests for phone and campus interviews. I do still believe that things will dry up very soon until after the New Year.
• On one of the TV shows this morning, they were interviewing people about how friends could help them through the loss of a job. One person said that she felt like her friends avoided her because they didn't know what to say. That hasn't been my situation at all . . . folks have been very good to keep in touch and express their concern and support.
• But it would be nice if every conversation didn't start with, "So, any new news yet?" I guess there's only one way to fix that.
• I can't believe I typo'd my own e-mail address on my resume.
  
• I've become a little more frugal in my dining habits . . . things like eating the peels from Melody's apples, drinking Diet Coke instead of milk during the day (no great sacrifice), switching to Big K Diet Cola With Lime Flavor soda (it's actually pretty good), and eating things that have fallen on the floor.
• Not working does have some economic advantages: Less money spent on gas and lunches. And I can live in old t-shirts, jeans and sweatshirts for the most part.
  
• I thought I would read a whole lot during this season. I've actually only read a couple of books so far. The computer seems to get my attention first.
  
• I'm really enjoying The Good Earth right now. But, having read it before, this time I'm reading it with a sense of dread, vaguely remembering some of the bad things soon to come in the story. I thought it would be a good idea to read about people in true poverty, so I'd be less inclined to feel sorry for myself.
  
• I got to experience the unemployment office for the first time on Tuesday. It was enlightening to listen to people's conversations about $3 this or $21 that, people who were there waiting for their turn to find out how a handful of dollars might come their way or be lost. I thought the staff there seemed pretty nice, though there's no need to go there if you're in a hurry. Needless to say. I learned that Wednesday and Thursday are lighter days there so I should try to arrange my schedule around that.
• It sure would be nice if all the people doing hiring posted the salary ranges and benefits with the job announcement. And if cost-of-living didn't have to be such a big factor in your thinking as you consider different jobs.
• I must say my schedule is quite flexible nowadays. "When am I available for a phone interview? Hmmm, you can pretty much name your time . . ."
• I miss having office supplies and a fax machine and a photocopier.
  
• I don't think I've ever known anyone without a job before and now I know way too many. Which--sadly, honestly and in a strange way--has made this all a little bit easier to handle.
  

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