Snowed in

Hi folks! As some if not all of you may know, the great snowstorm of 2010 has paid a visit to those of us who live in the D.C. Metro area! I did not intend to but ended up (so far) taking Friday off (when the snow storm started.), my work location was then closed to all employees for today (Monday), as well as tomorrow (Tuesday).

Being a contractor, I'll pretty much will have to make up for the work hour missed, and that's going to suck. I've only got a very limited amount of work that I can do remotely...so.

We got a one of those fetal heart monitors in the mail, ordered it from Amazon.com, and we didn't get the most expensive model (as they're the most sensitive at picking up heartbeats.). Tried for almost 2 days to detect Pinhead's (that's what we're calling the baby before we know the gender.) heart beat. The GF was very patient was finally she was able to find it.....to hear it was the neatest thing in the world!

We won't be able to find out about the baby's gender until early next month....and I can't wait! I don't really care about whether or not Pinhead's a girl or a boy, I'd just like for Pinhead to be a healthy and happy baby!

So once again we've had a pretty hazy and lazy weekend, with the exception of the GF and I (she did most of the work.) shoveling snow. We finally were able to go out today and get some chick fil-a, and restock some of our groceries (nothing big, just milk, and some frozen foods.). It sure was nice to see the sunlight again....however short of a duration it was!

Forecast called for more snow tomorrow....at this rate I have no idea how long the offices will remain closed!

Nevertheless, I'm taking all the lazy times that I can get, once Pinhead gets here, no more lazy time for the next 18+ years!

Stay warm, everyone!

Week 12

Hi everyone! Sorry that I had not posted much lately. The holidays and braving the cold winter has taken a bit more out of me than I'd like to admit.

However, I am now in my 12th. week of pregnancy, and so far, everything seems to be going well. I've not had any morning sickness, and my weight gain has been minimal, which is great because even before I got pregnant, I was already overweight.

About the only really noticeable difference in me (at least that I can feel) is that I now tend to get tired more easily....growing a baby is work!

It's way to early still to know the gender of the baby, but I think as long as the baby is happy and healthy, we'll be happy as can be!

Up until week 11, the only person in my side of the family who knows about this was my sister, and she had managed to keep a really tight lip on everything. By the beginning of week 12, I just let it rip and told the rest of my family (surviving members include my uncle, aunt, and stepmom.). My aunt was a bit in shock but by her second e-mail (she is currently traveling abroad.) she was sounding happy about it. Maybe this baby is the ticket to my family finally getting a piece of good news after the past 3-4 years of people passing away.), and accepting my GF.....I mean, we've been together longer than most of the marriages that I've seen!

I"ll post ultrasound pictures as I can get them (the first few weren't that clear). Everyone please stay warm! (This has been one of the coldest winters that I can remember!) I will update more as events warrant!

At 7 weeks....

I'm happy to report that as of now, I am still with child!  We're going to get a second ultrasound on Friday before this doctor (the fertility doctor) releases me to a regular ob/gyn.  (I hadn't found one yet, but I really hadn't tried either.)  Our first ultrasound, which was done at week 4 (give or take) showed a blob the size of a grain of rice with pulsing heartbeats!

So far, I haven't had any overt morning sickness, thank God! I do, however, feel more tired than usual, and have these pangs of cramps to which the doctor explained as my "inside" is trying to grow to accommodate the new life. My pants are starting to feel tighter, so I guess elastics will be my new best friends sooner than later! The GF and I couldn't be more excited about the addition of this little guy/gal!

No one in my family knows except for my sister, I plan to tell what remains of my family at about another 5-6 weeks from now, as that time will be somewhat of a milestone.... the end of the first trimester, I believe. I don't exactly know what their reaction will be, they've not yet accepted my GF as my GF, but for God's sake, it'll be a new child, you know?

A handful of my friends also knows and they seem to be very happy for us. People at work don't really know it yet, but they'll find out as I expand.

I haven't really had regular exercise for the past few weeks and my diet probably could stand to get a bit better.  (I don't eat badly normally.)  With the holidays and work it has been a kind of difficult to juggle, but I'm sure that things will eventually get to a certain level of normalcy and I'll be back at it!

Lastly, for now, we're calling this baby Pinhead, because when we found out that we're finally expecting, the size of the baby's head was approximately the size of a tip of a pin. That nickname just stuck. No, we're not going to call it Pinhead for the rest of his/her life (I won't find the gender out until about week 24) so don't you worry about that!

Big news to report

Long time no see! Sorry for the long pause in blogging! My life now involves about 3+hours of commuting time to and from work, and it's not so much the distance that I've got to drive, it's more or less the Northern Virginia traffic. Maybe one day it'll get better, but then again, maybe not.

Things are changing at a fast pace after my grandpa's passing in August...my family make up is changing, with my uncle's upcoming move to China, my sister is working and trying to do what she can to make the ends meet, I'm still at my job and working for da man, and this army thing for me is still neither here or there.

Turn to the last 3 weeks, the GF and I had our 4th. try for a baby, and the what are different this time are that: 1. I had a little bit of help with a hormone shot that the GF administered to me, and 2. I picked a different sperm doner. (I have almost no information about him, except that he's 6' 2", wavy brown hair, and possibly in the military.) It took this time! So at this point, I've been with child (or children) for about 3 weeks now and the GF and I are very much looking forward to finally meet this person!

Next week, we'll go and get an ultrasound to make sure that the little Pinhead (his/her current nickname) is in the right location and that it's growing properly.

It's so hard to make sense of it all, after having experiences 3 deaths in the family in the last 3 years, to having a new life come in, due in July/August of next year. It's too small for me to feel so I'm not really feeling much yet physically, but I am sure that'll be changing sometimes soon!

Here's to the hope of a happy, healthy life for this little being, and end of life as we know it!

A month later...

Today marks the one month anniversary of my grandpa's passing, funny that it actually feels longer than that, for some reasons. I'm doing alright. Made the decision to go talk to a grief counselor through my work's employee assistance program, but so on the lists of counselors which was provided to me, most are not taking new appointments (in these tough economic times, I guess there are a lot of people grieving over the loss of $) and the one person who was available not only didn't want to work with my insurance, but she'd leave these ass-long messages on my phone that just went on and on.  (I guess that she is one of these people who have problems communicating in short sentences... can you imagine being counseled by her? She'd be the one doing all the talking instead of yourself!) I'm not giving up yet and will keep you updated.

I miss my grandpa, and the rest of my folks who have passed away over the last three years, and I think I always will until the Alzheimer takes over or the bus finally runs me over.

My sister has been doing really well, since grandpa had passed, it's now just her and her dog living in the house. I don't even know how I could have handled living alone in that house, so empty but yet so full of memories.

The GF has been trying to keep herself busy, now that her work situation is being wonky. I do feel for her and hope that she'll be able to find something that she'll enjoy. 

With my job? Well, I like the pay but that doesn't mean that it's that interesting or I feel a sense of strong bond of loyalty with my bosses. While I am grateful to have a job, in the back of my mind, I'm always wondering what's next and how I don't want to spend such a long time in commutes anymore. My sister called me today right as I got out of work, and during the course of our commute conversation, she had driven from her job to a buffet restaurant, eaten 5 plates of food, paid, and then drove home... while I was still driving. That was just an example of how the commuting traffic is, and today has been a good commuting day!

Still no news to report on the army front of things... so I am still in limbo. As far as I know, I am still a reservist, but my level of involvement is so low now, it's amazing to think that just about this time last year, I was waist deep in the affair of that particular reserve unit. Well, that's life, for now, and I just hope that it'll all end well, whatever outcome that might be. I'd think about some of the people who I had gone to the officer course with, most of them have already finished with their training and have now either gone back to their civilian lives (if they're reservists) while others have moved on to their duty posts (if they're active duty) and I just wish them lots of luck, safety, minimal politics, and knowing when to say when.

I will post more later, but right now, I'm just trying to enjoy life and the people in my life the best that I can.

Rest in peace, grandpa

My grandfather left this world at about 5:30 PM today. I knew his time was limited so I purchased tickets to fly down to Houston, but I didn't know it was that limited of a time. I've been getting updates on his status from my sister via phone or e-mail, and when I im'ed her today, she told me to fly down to Houston right away, it had gotten so much worse that grandpa was no longer taking any food, and the hospice nurse that the hospital had provided started him on a morphine drip about two in the afternoon. He made it until about 5 ish and when I frantically called the house down in Houston just a few minutes after the im.... my uncle answered the phone crying, telling me that grandpa was gone.

They held the phone close to his ears so I can say something to him while he was still warm. I told him not to worry, go and be with grandma, plus my father and all his friends who had passed on before him, that we'll do the best that we can until we meet again.

So this heaven thing will have to be true, otherwise, I'm going to be pissed!
I will be traveling down to Houston soon, I think his burial will be sometime this weekend.

I'm glad that I was lucky enough to have him for the majority of my life, and that I'm really thankful that he did his best to take care of all of us.

Even though I knew this day was coming, still there is simply no way to really prepare for it.

So until later, we'll do the best that we can until we meet again.

Long time no see!

I know that it has been awhile since I've last blogged. I've not been entirely dormant in the blogosphere though. I've started my first food blog "Nerdstar Eats", with the encouragement of my GF. I am hoping to post more on the site soon. The writing is nowhere near that of a professional food critic, but simply from my own perspectives.

My new job has been good so far, but the longer commute is something that I can do without. Learning how to adequately arrange time to sleep, eat, work, and exercise is a fine art. I don't really know how these people do it, you know, those upward-mobile carreristas who go to work during the day, then attend graduate school, and still finds the time to party looking like these people from these fashion or fitness magazines.

Could it be that I'm older and slower?

As far as things on the family front are concerned, my grandfather has not been doing too well lately. He was at the hospital for the last week and a half with some dehydration and pneumonia. During his stay, the doctors also found that he has an aneurysm in his abdominal cavity and on top of that, his organs are failing. Being 92, he is already too old to undergo surgery, and as much as we don't want to face it, his time is running out. I'm sad and wondering what's going to really happen after he is gone. Ever since my grandma had passed away, things just have not been the same with my family, as if the glue that held everyone together just all of a sudden gotten weaker. Right now the best that I could hope for is that grandpa will not have to endure so much physical pain and will finally feel some sort of peace. If it's true then he'll join my father and grandmother on the other side, partying it up until it's our time to go too.

Of course, I really hope that he'll be able to make it through the year, but I don't even know if it's a possibility at this point.

I will, of course, update any changes or the lack thereof from time to time.

What about the army thing? Well, lately it has just been "live and let live".