Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to ME!!! 

Unfortunately, I'm now "old" for 2 months until my wife catches up...

Posted by A_Burn @ 7:29 pm EDT | Permalink | 7 Comments

F**k You March!

F**k You March!

 

“Rain on Me!” The Who

 

            As the saying goes, March comes in like a lamb and goes out like a lion... and I’m ready to shoot the %@!$ lion with a bazooka.... Freaking lions.

            If you read my last blog, you know about the boy at my daughter’s school who died. Well it doesn’t end there. The hits just keep on coming.

            My wife’s friend died this last week. She was only 45. I can’t even describe how hard this has been on my wife. She and her friend hadn’t known each other very long, 6-8 months, but they were truly kindred spirits and had become close in that short time. They were the type of friends who would get into fits of giggles over the silliest things to the point of their sides hurting and tears rolling. Her sister and niece flew out here from the Midwest yesterday and are trying to get everything done by Sunday morning before they fly home. My wife and I are trying to help them as much as possible. (Anyone in the SF bay area want to adopt a cat? Just PM me, and I am serious) the first memorial is tonight. We will miss you.

            On top of everything else, my wife’s parents’ health is not doing so well. Her dad has had this weird thing over the last month where he’d start slurring his speech during meals. This originally only happened while he was eating, then it started happening randomly throughout the day and now if he is talking for more than 5-10 minutes it happens. It has also gotten progressively worse to the point where he cannot form words. He went to his doctor who sent him to a neurologist. The neurologist diagnosed him with Myasthenia Gravis. For the lay people out there, a progressive muscle paralysis that works its way from the head down. There are a few possible causes of this (I won’t go into those yet) He gets an MRI and CT scan this next week, of course this happens while we are on the road to my parents’ house for Spring Break. We will know more when we get the results.  

 

I won’t be sad to see this month end.

Posted by A_Burn @ 1:47 pm EDT | Permalink | 1 Comments

Funerals

Funerals

 

            I attended a funeral yesterday.  I didn’t even know the deceased or his family.  I went because George was a 13 year old classmate of my middle daughter and she wanted to go. I went to support her.

            George choked to death at a family dinner last weekend. When EMS arrived he was already in cardiac arrest, and despite their best and most heroic efforts he died. Thirteen is too young to die.

            This was my daughter’s and most of her classmate’s first time facing their own mortality. It stared at them through the closed eyes of their friend from his open casket. It stared at them through the sheer pain, grief and disbelief of his parents, younger brother and large extended family. She told me later that while she and her friends were saying good bye, his father came into the little anteroom, went up to the casket and started talking to the boy, petting his head and trying to coax him to come and play baseball. This hit them all very hard.

            On the way to the cemetery, she asked me if I had gone in to see George. I told her no, not only did I not know him I had seen that the family was in there most of the time and wanted to give them their privacy. She accepted that and started talking about the funeral procession with the police escorts. She talks when she is nervous or scared.

            One of the things that struck me most was the family. I think any and all parents can feel and share the pain and anguish that George’s parents were feeling. Just the dead disbelief and weariness in their eyes said it all. The whole family is from the somewhere in the Middle East, I’m not sure where though. Part of the service was in Arabic and when everyone arrived at the cemetery, about 10 or 15 of the men started to sing (for the lack of a better description) an Arabic dirge. Even though I couldn’t understand what they were saying, I was very moved and haunted by it. They did the same when the coffin was being lowered. The other thing that moved me was in the way his family and friends greeted each other. It didn’t matter man or woman, they would hug and kiss each other on both cheeks. It showed a sense of joy and love at seeing each other again no matter what the circumstance.

            I think the thing that hit the kids the hardest of all, was the lowering of the casket into the ground after seeing him in it just an hour before. I think that is what made it real for them. My daughter was very quiet on the way home and the rest of the afternoon.

            I know that in a day or two or three, they will all be feeling invincible again.

That's a good thing about being 13.

Posted by A_Burn @ 5:46 pm EDT | Permalink | 4 Comments

the Quest

Who knew? Who knew that my 10 year old daughter is in the cultural elite? Or at least has her finger on the pulse of what is hot and what is not? She asked Santa for a Nintendo DS. Not just any Nintendo DS, but a PINK Nintendo DS with Nintendogs. Now being the good parents, I mean Santa that we are, my wife and I go shopping yesterday to get presents for the good kids, including the PINK Nintendo DS. First stop is Target. No, sold out a few days ago and we won't get any until after Christmas. We do have several white ones though. Next is Game Slop (I have always hated this store). Did I forget to mention this is Sunday. Two Sundays prior to Christmas and we are in a mall? Just getting from store to store was like being a salmon swimming up stream, while dodging bulls dressed as people with lots of packages ramming their way through the crowd at the same time stepping around the slowly meandering teenagers who suddenly, and without warning, abruptly stop in front of you to adjust their Ipods, hair, or because the conversation they are currently engaged in on their cell phone is so engaging, their legs instantly stop and become rooted to the ground. So as I mentioned, we went into Game Slop. There is a line from the register that snakes all the way to the back of the store and is starting to come back to the front, complete with a customer arguing with the cashier. The store looks like it has been looted in some 3rd world civil war. The only thing missing are the goats and chickens running around. Between the line and the huge groups of kids around the xbox 360 and playstation 3, it is very difficult to move. We work are way into the store and find a lonely and busy employee engaged in the futile attempt at restocking the shelves. We ask the dreaded question… He said that he thought that they were sold out. He was good enough to check with one of the other employees (the one arguing with the customer in line). Nope, all sold out and none before Christmas, but we do have some white ones…( I do have to say that this was the best customer service I have ever gotten at Game Slop) Back into the pulsing throng. On a lark we stopped in FYE, nope… We do have some white ones though. Crap, Crap, Crap, Crap… Who knew the Pink ones were so damn popular? So I called my last bastion of hope, my favorite video game store. Of course it is not in the mall though. “Hello, this is Game Crazy may I help you?” Do you… Pink DS? “Yes, we have one left.” You do!?! Can you hold it? You can?! I will be there! To make an already long story shorter, it turns out when I called them about the Pink DS, they were finishing the sale of the only other Pink DS they had. And while I was buying the last Pink DS, someone called and asked if they had any Pink DS’s. “No sir, we are selling the last one as we speak, but we do have both the White and Black ones available.” I swear I could hear a sob over the phone. So now my daughter will find her Pink DS with Nintendogs (with the Dalmation on the cover) under the tree. Happy Holidays to all and Happy New Year! Matt

Posted by A_Burn @ 1:37 pm EDT | Permalink | 5 Comments

PS3 Hype

I just got home from San Francisco. If you don't know about SF, there is a "Playstation Store" at Sony's Metreon. The Metreon is basically a fancy but limited mall/theater complex complete with IMAX that has mostly all things Sony. I called the Playstation Store and found out that they are closed tomorrow to prepair for the PS3 launch but they will not (or at least not to me) divulge how many units they will have for sale. Fishy if you ask me. But they do have some big event thing planned though. The funny part is as of 8PM, there is already a line a whole city block long complete with tents, chairs, guitars and other sundry stuff and it is getting longer! I have only camped out for an event once and that was for Pink Floyd tickets (3rd in line for that, sat 1st row up from field on 50 yard line! Awsome show and I'd do it again... BTW those tickets sold out in approx 13 minutes! Broke all records for the evil Ticketmaster) All I can figure is one of three things... 1. These people have the knowlege of 1,000 PS3's in stock at the Playstation store. 2. They are going on blind faith that Sony will not let them down. or 3. They are all Complete SUCKERS! except maybe the first 2-3 people in line. Good Luck to all you PS3 campers, I hope all of your dreams come true, and you get your $600 console. Your loved ones will be able to make a fortune on ebay after you die from pneumonia.

Posted by A_Burn @ 12:01 am EDT | Permalink | 1 Comments