Work is dragging to a halt; these last few weeks are taking forever. But we are slowly but surely getting there. It is very strange driving to work alone. Ellice and I have been riding together all year and not having her with me for that hour every day makes me lonely. However, we adapt and move on. Just seven days left (six with kids), then summer-a much needed break.
Not much but reviews at this point.
American Idol (TV)
In the 'Battle of the Davids' the right one won. Maybe the acoustics are different live, but the judges sounded like they were lobbying for the young Archuleta to win, even though he sounds dippy and weak on every song. Cook sounded like he had been doing concerts all along--a real professional. It seemed no contest to me. The three backslid from their effusive praise on the last night saying that the competition was 'a little closer than they made it sound' the night before. That makes me believe all the more that they knew who was going to win. Well, in the end, the best contestant hands-down won and they got the right result. I'm knocking down the entertainment value of the show a bit for the lack of genuineness I've perceived in the judges this year. **
Prince Caspian
The second installment delivers in a big way. Tons of action. The book was expanded upon greatly (which it needed) to fill the big screen again. This one is more for the tweens whereas the first was targeted for children. The depictions of violence warrant the rating. But I do recommend this film for most kids. ****
Indiana Jones and the Kingdom of the Crystal Skull
This latest (and from what I hear, not the last) installment of the Indiana Jones series lived up to my expectations. It is not as good as the originals, but is good enough to belong in the set. The inclusion of Soviet psi research (paralleling the Nazi obsession with the occult) is great. This is a subject that I have looked at quite a bit in the past and it was fun to see that stuff on the big screen. Harrison Ford delivers as the crusty, more booky, elder Jones who is still able to strap on the Fedora and bullwhip and kick some butt when he has to that I anticipated. Mutt (Shia) is a good character and acted well. Villains were classic Jones and the finale is pretty big. Only real drawback is Marion, as something was just off with her. I'm bumping this half a star because it is Indiana Jones. ***1/2
Friday, May 23, 2008
Monday, May 12, 2008
Another Week
Ellice's parents came into town to help out this week, which is no small feat. Her parents live in Vienna, Austria. So the two flew in to make it possible for me to eventually return to work without worrying over Ellice home alone. They have been a huge help, physically and emotionally. Praise to God for providing transportation via the Mission.
Work was hard to face, even just the two days, Thursday and Friday. The hardest part is facing all the people. I'm not the most social person in the world, and the situation compounds my anxiety. I had to explain what happened over and over. I suppose I didn't really have to, but when someone asks, I tend to honor the question. It was exhausting more than anything. I feel like that little zoloft ball in the commercials.
Anyway, the week at home was a little better. My biggest challenge is deciding when it is best to prepare food or eat leftovers. The generous people at Ellice's work and from our Sunday School class have been providing meals, invariably more than we can eat at a sitting. Dealing with household stuff like cleaning and cooking seem meaningless, and having other people take care of those areas for a few days is a great help.
Ellice and I have buried ourselves in Civ (video game) and watching Scrubs; the combination has lightened our moods considerably on occasion. It is amazing how cathartic teaming together and beating up on the computer can be. Reading has been surprisingly difficult; concentration is hard to come by, but steadily, we are re-establishing our old routines. I find some comfort in routine, which shouldn't be surprising.
I read in some literature lately that 70% of couples have a lot of trouble including separation and divorce after something like this, but I don't fear that with Ellice. If anything, the whole thing seems to have brought us closer together.
Trumps of Doom by Roger Zelazny
This is book six in the Chronicles of Amber series. This one deals with Corwin's son, Merlin. Frankly, I miss Corwin. This book was a little weird. Merle has invented some mega machine called the Ghostwheel, and naively made it uber powerful. Lord of Amber Random tells him to turn it off so the bad guys don't get it. Unfortunately, the book was just interesting enough that I have to read the rest of the 10 book cycle. **
Iron Man
This movie was awesome. ****
Survivor: Fans vs. Favorites (TV) **1/2
This would have rated higher if the stupidest move in survivor history and a bunch of injuries hadn't affected the season. Erik gave the immunity idol away. Not the hidden one, the regular immunity idol. Of course, the four women immediately turned and voted him out. What a dolt. And Parvati won, the one I wanted to win it least (except for Fairplay). Ugh. I've been screaming for them to vote her out the whole time. Amanda came in second, two Survivors in a row.
Work was hard to face, even just the two days, Thursday and Friday. The hardest part is facing all the people. I'm not the most social person in the world, and the situation compounds my anxiety. I had to explain what happened over and over. I suppose I didn't really have to, but when someone asks, I tend to honor the question. It was exhausting more than anything. I feel like that little zoloft ball in the commercials.
Anyway, the week at home was a little better. My biggest challenge is deciding when it is best to prepare food or eat leftovers. The generous people at Ellice's work and from our Sunday School class have been providing meals, invariably more than we can eat at a sitting. Dealing with household stuff like cleaning and cooking seem meaningless, and having other people take care of those areas for a few days is a great help.
Ellice and I have buried ourselves in Civ (video game) and watching Scrubs; the combination has lightened our moods considerably on occasion. It is amazing how cathartic teaming together and beating up on the computer can be. Reading has been surprisingly difficult; concentration is hard to come by, but steadily, we are re-establishing our old routines. I find some comfort in routine, which shouldn't be surprising.
I read in some literature lately that 70% of couples have a lot of trouble including separation and divorce after something like this, but I don't fear that with Ellice. If anything, the whole thing seems to have brought us closer together.
Trumps of Doom by Roger Zelazny
This is book six in the Chronicles of Amber series. This one deals with Corwin's son, Merlin. Frankly, I miss Corwin. This book was a little weird. Merle has invented some mega machine called the Ghostwheel, and naively made it uber powerful. Lord of Amber Random tells him to turn it off so the bad guys don't get it. Unfortunately, the book was just interesting enough that I have to read the rest of the 10 book cycle. **
Iron Man
This movie was awesome. ****
Survivor: Fans vs. Favorites (TV) **1/2
This would have rated higher if the stupidest move in survivor history and a bunch of injuries hadn't affected the season. Erik gave the immunity idol away. Not the hidden one, the regular immunity idol. Of course, the four women immediately turned and voted him out. What a dolt. And Parvati won, the one I wanted to win it least (except for Fairplay). Ugh. I've been screaming for them to vote her out the whole time. Amanda came in second, two Survivors in a row.
Saturday, May 03, 2008
Hope
I regret to inform you that this has been a most tragic week in our household. This is very difficult, but here goes...
On Monday, Ellice didn't feel the baby move very much, and with motherly concern and intuition knew that something was wrong. We went to the OB-Gyn in Lexington; there was a strong heartbeat, but the baby responded 'sluggishly'. The thinking was that Ellice was dehydrated, and they carted her over to the hospital, 50 feet from the office. Within a few minutes of arriving in the hospital room, they did an exam and had trouble finding the heartbeat that was so strong moments before. Within minutes, chaos erupted and all hell broke loose.
People were bustling about prepping Ellice for an emergency c-section, as the baby's heart rate had fallen from 133 over at the other office to 35, and finally to nothing. A blizzard of papers were thrown my way to hastily sign, and then the question no husband/expectant father ever wants to hear, we can operate, putting your wife at risk, but even if we bring your baby back, it will have been ten to fifteen minutes without a heartbeat. The damage will be so severe to make long term survival improbable. I told them to stop.
The doctors involved were shocked at what had happened, as there was no indication of what had happened and the one who had examined her said he'd never seen the situation degrade that fast from the office to the hospital in 22 years of practice.
So, we lost the baby at 33 weeks in utero and we still have to deliver. They tried to induce for a couple of days, but Ellice's body wasn't ready. Unfortunately, the drugs caused her to 'hyperstim' (hyperstimulate); instead of regular contractions, she had grand maul 10-15 minute contractions. There also was a delay in getting the epidural. Which was a mixed blessing. Without the pain, we may not have called in the doctor for what came next. She was having complications, so, long story short, on Wednesday we have the c-section anyway. At least this time, it wasn't as hurried as it might have been. I stayed with her in the OR, through the whole thing. So the hospital kept us for another three days.
To sum up, we got a lot of visits from church, friends, family, and chaplains to help us in our hours of grief. We decided to name the baby Hope, for we have hope for a better tomorrow.
We spent some time with our daughter, watched our favorite movie, the Princess Bride. A fairy tale we treasure sharing with her forever. She was in our lives only for a little while, but she is a blessing to us. The pain is incredible, and looking down on her I could tell that she really is our child. And they were right, when you have your own, you know exactly how to hold them; it feels so natural.
The nursing staff consoled us, and gave us a memory box with pictures, footprints and locks of hair from our little Hope (and did she have some hair, let me tell you). We never found out what went wrong, but they are still running tests. We most likely will never know.
We are home now (Saturday), and have some very difficult times ahead of us. We appreciate all the thoughtful gifts, cards, support, prayers and remembrances we have received over the past week. God Bless
On Monday, Ellice didn't feel the baby move very much, and with motherly concern and intuition knew that something was wrong. We went to the OB-Gyn in Lexington; there was a strong heartbeat, but the baby responded 'sluggishly'. The thinking was that Ellice was dehydrated, and they carted her over to the hospital, 50 feet from the office. Within a few minutes of arriving in the hospital room, they did an exam and had trouble finding the heartbeat that was so strong moments before. Within minutes, chaos erupted and all hell broke loose.
People were bustling about prepping Ellice for an emergency c-section, as the baby's heart rate had fallen from 133 over at the other office to 35, and finally to nothing. A blizzard of papers were thrown my way to hastily sign, and then the question no husband/expectant father ever wants to hear, we can operate, putting your wife at risk, but even if we bring your baby back, it will have been ten to fifteen minutes without a heartbeat. The damage will be so severe to make long term survival improbable. I told them to stop.
The doctors involved were shocked at what had happened, as there was no indication of what had happened and the one who had examined her said he'd never seen the situation degrade that fast from the office to the hospital in 22 years of practice.
So, we lost the baby at 33 weeks in utero and we still have to deliver. They tried to induce for a couple of days, but Ellice's body wasn't ready. Unfortunately, the drugs caused her to 'hyperstim' (hyperstimulate); instead of regular contractions, she had grand maul 10-15 minute contractions. There also was a delay in getting the epidural. Which was a mixed blessing. Without the pain, we may not have called in the doctor for what came next. She was having complications, so, long story short, on Wednesday we have the c-section anyway. At least this time, it wasn't as hurried as it might have been. I stayed with her in the OR, through the whole thing. So the hospital kept us for another three days.
To sum up, we got a lot of visits from church, friends, family, and chaplains to help us in our hours of grief. We decided to name the baby Hope, for we have hope for a better tomorrow.
We spent some time with our daughter, watched our favorite movie, the Princess Bride. A fairy tale we treasure sharing with her forever. She was in our lives only for a little while, but she is a blessing to us. The pain is incredible, and looking down on her I could tell that she really is our child. And they were right, when you have your own, you know exactly how to hold them; it feels so natural.
The nursing staff consoled us, and gave us a memory box with pictures, footprints and locks of hair from our little Hope (and did she have some hair, let me tell you). We never found out what went wrong, but they are still running tests. We most likely will never know.
We are home now (Saturday), and have some very difficult times ahead of us. We appreciate all the thoughtful gifts, cards, support, prayers and remembrances we have received over the past week. God Bless
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