I Remember

10 years ago on September 11th, I had just started my second year at the community college near my home in Illinois.  I was getting ready for work when my mom called and told me to turn on the TV.  A plane had run into one of the World Trade Center towers.  I turned on the TV and watched the footage of the burning building.  I couldn't believe that had happened.  How could that happen?  That's a little low for a plane to be flying around a city.  Maybe something was wrong with the pilot?

I called my dad to see if he had seen the news.  He hadn't.  As I stood there pondering over what could have gone wrong with my dad, the second plane ran into the second tower.  Wah??  Did someone manage to get video of the plane running into the tower and they were just playing it over?  No that can't be it.  I can see the first tower on fire behind the second.  The SECOND tower got hit??  I'm so confused.  What the hell?

My first class that day was calculus and the teacher was this really angry woman that I didn't feel like testing.  I thought about not going into school. I didn't know what was going on.  But then I thought about that teacher and her irrational anger at the world.  I made the choice to go in.  I left the TV on while I got ready and it was so horrible.  People were jumping out of the building.  I could only imagine the fear these people were facing.  

While I was driving into school, I heard that the Pentagon had either been hit by a plane or a bomb.  Not sure which.  Still confused.

When I got to class, only half the students had shown up.  The teacher asked the remaining students if they would be up for a lesson.  We all said no, so she let us go early.  I went to the lobby area of the school where they had set up a bunch of TV's all set to different news channels so I could watch the events unfold. 

I could not believe my eyes when the first tower fell.  All I could think about were all the people in that building.  My second thought was about all the people on the street that they showed staring up at the burning buildings.  The dust in the air was tremendous.  The the second tower fell.  Insantiy.

Then I heard about the fourth crash into the field in Pennsylvania.  By this point, I wasn't sure what was true and was rumor.  I walked around in complete disbelief for the majority of that day.  I wasn't close with anyone living in New York, but I was still numb about the whole situation.  How could something like this happen in the United States?  Don't we have excellent safeguards against stuff like this?  Come to think of it, how could the US prevent other stuff like this from happening?  We can't be everywhere at every time of the day to 100% guard US soil.

Suddenly I was afraid for my family in and around Chicago.  What if there was another big attack?  Oh the stress that surrounded that whole situation and I didn't even know anyone who was there.  It just struck me as so intense that an attack had occured on US soil.  Is this what people in 3rd world countries feel like every day?  At any moment, their village could be attacked and they wouldn't have any police to run to.  Hell, it might be their very own government that's doing the pilaging.

Life is scary.  We've got to make the best of it.

I thought this 9/11 timeline at Wikipedia was really interesting if anyone wants to look it over.

Summertime is Here

I didn't let Aiden's pain hold us back from a full weekend. Saturday afternoon I went to a couples baby shower for Kathryn, a girlfriend from college.

When I moved down here from Illinois, I didn't know anyone except for Travis. To remedy this, I joined the Sailing Club at TAMUG. The first person to befriend me was Kathryn. We hung out for the remainder of our time at A&M. Since we graduated, our lives caught up with us and we only got around to seeing each other once or twice a year.

She has a new house since I last went to her home. It was great to see where her and her husband are living. I was really impressed with the neighborhood. It is a gated community with its very own golf course and cul de sacs aplenty.

Travis worked all weekend, so he didn't go to the shower with us. I got to catch up with one of Kathryn's friends and I was surprised to see one of Rachel's friends there too. I ate BBQ and cupcakes while Aiden ran around with the other kids. He made occasional trips back to me for a bite of mac and cheese or cupcake here and there.

Kathryn and Blake (and Kathryn's mom):

I was a little conflicted on what to do about Aiden's interest in adults. He went up to every guy in the living room and either climbed up on their lap, opened his mouth for a bite of their food, or pulled on their pant leg until they squatted down to have a chat. I love that he is being a social butterfly (even if it was only with the guys), but I don't know if it's bothering the other person or if I should teach Aiden to be more leery of strangers.

I think this is the first time we've gone to a party with kids we didn't know. He got along with them so well. I was ecstatic. I suppose he gets lots of practice playing with multiple children at once at daycare. But I was surprised to see him playing with other children; as opposed to along side other children.

He ran around with three older kids most of the time (between 2 and 5 years old), but the child that seemed to intrigue him the most was a baby boy around 11 months old. He was still crawling, but he could pull himself up on furniture. Aiden kept squatting down next to the ottoman the baby was hanging on to play peekaboo. It gave me hope for our next child.

Sunday morning we went to Ariel and Robert's to celebrate Robert's birthday. I got there before Aiden's nap, so I could help out while he was sleeping. They grilled corn and a couple different meats. I brought Greek pasta salad. Mmmm... Oh and there was watermelon too! For dessert, Robert requested a fruit pizza. Ariel was unable to find Cool Whip, so we had to made due with whipped cream. It turned out really well! I love the summertime.

Those yellow flowers behind this fantastic beer holder are the result of unpicked broccoli (similar to lettuce).

Travis came over as soon as he got off work - somewhere around 2 o'clock I think. A couple of Robert's friends came over soon after that. We ate fruit pizza and enjoyed a glass of champagne with frozen grapes. We got caught up watching the news coverage of the horrific footage of Japan. I am thoroughly distressed that they are continuing to have aftershocks that are larger are still considered large earthquakes. I found this article about how the earthquake affected the planet very interesting.

Besides that, it was a nice afternoon.

That evening, we went to watch Ariel and Robert play softball. Travis is not playing this "season" because of his surgery. I haven't gone to a game in so long because it got to be too hard to chase Aiden around. I was thoroughly surprised that Aiden sat happily between his dad and I through the whole game. He spent the first half eating an entire giant slice of pizza and drinking out of a big boy cup. Second half he seemed content to just sit between us.

I think if I could have Travis sitting with me I would go to more games. I would still give it a try if Travis was playing. I don't know if it was Travis' presence or the fact that he is older and 'more mature' these days. I'll give it another try, that's for sure!

Seeing Orange and Blue

Sounds like Alex is really enjoying spreading his wings in college. I love it. His first day of class was last Monday (Aug. 23). He said that all of his classes are going well so far and his Physics teacher is really fun. That makes such a huge difference in how well you can learn a subject. I couldn't understand a word my Egyptian Organic Chem professor said to me. That was a rough semester. But I had an excellent Physics instructor, so I understood the concepts and aced both I and II.

Alex is sharing a dorm room with a friend from high school and is enjoying it thus far. I mailed him a care package last Tuesday and was super disappointed when it still wasn't there Friday (expected delivery date was Thurs). Turns out, the U of I mail system delays things a bit, so he got his package on Monday. Phew! I put lots of fun stuff inside: a mini-basketball hoop, dry erase board, snacks, hamper, etc. He loved it.

My dad makes up his own acronyms during text messaging. One of the most commonly used is SOF for Smile On Face. All I can think of right now is SOF.

He joined a group called Illini Pride. It has thousands of members who are students that dress up in school colors, go to sporting events and support the University of Illinois team. Alex is regularly going to the volleyball games with his roommate. In his other free time, he has been playing a lot of basketball with some friends. Sadly, this resulted in a double sprained finger. He jammed both sides of the joint in his right index finger. He is right-handed. Meaning, note-taking is going to be difficult for a while. As is playing basketball.

I am a little jealous of Alex' college experience. He is going to a big school with all the traditions that go along with a large state university. He is living in a dorm and may possibly try for a fraternity next year. He is living. it. up!

One Semester of Sailing

My short stint of sailing for TAMUG was awesome. That was my first time to sail ever, so they taught me everything. We raced 420's, a two-person boat. I have never worked so hard on anything in my life. Those boats beat the crap out of me and I loved it. We practiced several times a week, but I only sailed in two regatta's. One in Austin, Texas, the other in Pensacola, Florida.

The one in Florida was something to remember. I always sailed with a girl name Jill. We made a good team. Only problem was two girls didn't add much weight to the boat. That was good when you were sailing in good weather. Bad when you were sailing in windy weather. There was nothing to keep the boat down.

That's the problem we had in Pensacola. It was raining really hard and the wind was all over the place. The race started and we were keeping up with the group. But halfway through the race, University of West Florida called the regatta due to inclement weather. HA. Time to bring the boat back to the yacht club. On our way back, the boats got scattered, as everyone took their own route.

Figures that this is when our boat decides to blow over. We both did exactly what we were supposed to and jumped over the side of the boat opposite of the direction it fell. The center board is only big enough for one person to land on and Jill got to it before I did. I just hung on to the side of the boat in hopes that our combined weight would be enough to fight the cold, choppy water that was threatening to eat our sail.

It felt like minutes, but was probably only seconds, before our boat righted itself. Jill had let out the sail, so there was no impending danger of flipping again immediately. I wasn't thinking about the fact that the bottom of my dungarees were velcroed shut against my ankles, so when Jill offered an arm to pull me back in the boat we both struggled severely. As soon as both feet were in the boat, I realized my mistake and opened the bottom of my pants. The water poured out and added to the puddle in the bottom of our boat. I took a moment to bail water while Jill did her best to keep the boat in control.

Once that was done, we fought our way back into dock. We did great. Even though we didn't get to finish the race, I felt confident in our ability to maneuver our 420. We and the other boat from A&M, along with a couple people from the University of South Alabama celebrated at an Irish Pub for dinner.

That was by far, one of the most liberating experience of my college years. We made the road trip there and back, found food and fought the sea. Doesn't get much better than that when you're in school.

August 2002

Eight years ago, Travis and I moved to Texas. I was set to start at Texas A&M, Galveston (TAMUG) in September. Travis planned to move with me, work a job for a while, then start at the local community college. That summer, I made plans to come visit Galveston with my mom and search for an apartment. The week before we were set to leave, I received a letter from TAMUG stating that I must live in the dorms for my first year at the school. I called to make sure that was the case, since I was coming in as a Sophomore. I was furious because that put a serious damper on Travis being able to afford to move down with me.

The school ensured me that no matter the age, I had to apply to stay in the dorms my first year there. I sent in my form and left for my visit to Galveston the following week. My mom and I took the chance to see what there was to do on the island and had a little vacation. A couple weeks after I got back, I got a letter from TAMUG that said the dorms were full and there was no room for me.

Seriously?!?!?

I kicked myself for not looking at apartments just in case. I honestly hadn't even seen it as an option. I quickly got online and searched for a place to live. I was crazy worried because the apartments get to choose what you see, but it was my only choice. Since the apartment option was back on the table, Travis decided to move to Texas with me.

We packed up three cars, one truck and a U-Haul trailer and started the trip down. Unfortunately, the trailer could only go max of 55 mph. Travis dad, who was pulling the trailer behind his truck, told us to go on, since we had to make it to the apartment complex before closing to sign the papers and get our key. The trip took us 18 hours (the trailer took 21), but we made it just in time. That night, we sat on the carpeted floor of our very first living room with our family.

The apartment complex was not that bad. Definitely not top of the totem pole, but it was better than I expected it to be for shopping over the Internet and phone. We spent the next few days unpacking and Travis went to apply at the local Quizno's. He had been working at the one back home for a year, so he figured it would be easy to get a job there right away. He was right.

That was the start of my third year in college. Several of my classes didn't transfer, so I had to "repeat" my Sophomore year. Being that this was my first year at a major university, I was worried about how well I would be able to keep up with the school work, so I decided to take the first semester off from working a job. To help jump-start our search for friends, I joined the Sailing Club at A&M.

Travis worked at that Quizno's for a few months before he found a job working at a plant in Houston doing odd jobs. It was horrible. He worked there my entire first semester of school. It was a two hour drive each way and he was working 10-hour shifts. I never saw him. Eventually, I convinced him to look for a job somewhere close. After talking with our new friend Kai, he started to work for him building a house.

Towards the end of my first semester, I felt confident about working again. I found a job working as a receptionist at a vet clinic (where we still take our pets). I made even more friends there and stayed at that clinic until I graduated from A&M in August 2005.

Travis finished building that house with Kai and then got a job working for a general contractor who had done some work on that house. He worked for him for a year or so before deciding to specialize in electrical and started working for an electrician that the contractor worked with frequently. That company trained him on most everything he knows.

That next semester in the spring, Travis started at the community college part time. It took him several years of going to school in the evening to get his degree. He stopped there, since he wanted to focus on the electrical trade.

Add a few more jobs, a few more apartments, a roomate, a house and a kid and you're all caught up. ;)

Fields of Soy

My brother Alex has spent his summer working at the University of Illinois. He got a position working in the Horticulture Department. His job mostly entails working the experimental corn and soy fields, but occasionally consists of lab work (on the rainy days). This is a lab that creates strains of corn and soy that are disease resistant or more resilient to droughts, etc.

Yesterday, Alex sent me this photo - the subject: The dangers of soyface.

After a little research, Rachel and I found this to be a Yellow Garden Spider. While it may be harmless to humans, it is capable of catching small birds in it's web.

I am not okay with the existance of this creature.

My response to his text:

1. Ahhhhhh!
2. What's soyface?
3. What's the blue string hanging below the spider?

Turns out, soyface is the name of the fields he works at. It stands for Soybean Free Air Concentrated Exchange. The blue string is a part of her web. In reality, the "string" is not blue, it is white. That blue is just because it's a cell phone photo.

::Shaking off heebie jeebies::

Alex' move in date at the dorms is on the 18th of August. One week from today. He's rooming with a friend from high school, who just happens to be the valedictorian. Ha! It will be the dorkiest room on their floor and that makes me ecstatic. It will probably also be the most in-shape room, since they are both runners.

My dad's wondering if Alex will lean more towards the frat-boy persona (he is already looking into joining one of two fraternities), or if he'll be the college student who spends all his time running with the high school track and cross country teams. Only time will tell.

Croupy Recovery

Aiden has been a sick baby for the past several days. We're pretty sure he has Croup. He had the barking cough for a couple days. Now he just sounds raspy. He hasn't been eating, drinking or sleeping well either, which is just making him even more cranky. As far as I can tell, he has never developed a fever though.

We have some friends from college (Chris and Tehina) who moved to LA when they got some great jobs. They have just recently moved back to Dallas. Chris' job involves monthly trips to Houston, which means we'll probably be seeing more of them now! Wednesday night, we decided to risk taking the cranky man in public so we could meet Chris and Tehina for dinner. Since they are staying up in Houston, we met "halfway" at the Kemah Boardwalk. They were craving seafood, so we hit up the Flying Dutchman.

I tried Mahi for the first time and thought it was delicious. I've come to the conclusion that I like white, flaky fish. Anything that deviates from this description is generally too fishy for me. How fun is that? I like fish! Ha. Anyhoo, Aiden sat in a high chair and ate his dinner. Then he played with his toys and books, but eventually he was too bored to stay seated. Travis and I took turns passing him back and forth to help keep him busy. Unfortunately, we knew he just needed to go home to bed. It was past his bed time anyhow.

We had just enough time to catch up with what our long lost Sea Aggie friends have been up to. I am mostly jealous of their time living in L.A. That is something I really would've liked to have done in my lifetime. I know there's still time for that, but there's not really the money for it. They both seemed to like living there, but were ready to come back when they got tired of all the uppity folks.

I was excited to hear that there are job opportunities for me at the place Tehina works. Maybe someday I'll take her up on the offer! For now I am happy where I am.

We tried to meet with Chris and Tehina last month, but since it was their first month coming down for this trip they decided to postpone. Now that they know what the visit entails, they have more freedom to move around. Hopefully we'll get to see them next month!

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I realized about a week ago that Aiden's first birthday party is just around the corner. It is set for July 3rd and I realized that I had yet to write out a grocery list of everything we need for the party. I worked on that last night and I think I have everything. This weekend I need to go to Hobby Lobby to buy and create the remaining party items. That way I can focus on cleaning and decorating next week.

This Saturday is Aiden's friend Kate's birthday party. Rumor is there will be a moonwalk!! I cannot believe our babies are growing into little kids. Here they are at just two and a half months old: