Belly buttons and bloodwork

So, in the last 5 days or so, I've begun to feel like Audrey has discovered my belly button and is determined to "break out" through it. :) Not only has the button, itself, nearly completely flattened now, but it's very sensitive, and it really feels like she's pushing on it from the inside, trying to poke out. I don't think she'll be successful, but it is an odd feeling. I have felt her moving a lot more...

BTW - my expectant friends had their baby a few days ago - a boy. Yay for Ari and Terry!

We're currently on the East Coast with Ken's family. We've had a lovely Christmas, and today was my birthday. At Christmas, my sis-in-law passed on the "Marsh booties" to us as a gift. These booties were knitted by my father-in-law, Dave, in anticipation of his sister, Tina's, first baby over 50 years ago. They've been worn by Marsh babies home from delivery ever since. My mother-in-law, too, has been busy accumulating family heirloom and new receiving blankets, plus a prayer shawl that the ladies at her community group blessed en masse and knitted together. It's gorgeous - oranges, and greens and browns. And, soft.

Today, I got a call from the midwife re: some bloodwork results we were awaiting. Turns out, the good news is I don't have to worry about gestational diabetes. On the flipside, it turns out I have such LOW blood sugar that she wants me to eat protein at least 6 times a day, if not every hour or so. Plus, I'm apparently just "one point" above the oh-shit-sound-the-alarm! results for anemia. So, joy, I get to go buy an additional supplement of iron pills to take twice a day. This, in addition to the supplement she added a week ago to alleviate the symptoms of the pregnancy-induced slight heart murmur I've developed (I get "winded" a LOT easier these days, I tell you - and, even lying down makes my heart beat harder than I'm used to). I know, I know, just suck it up, Lorie, and take all the pills, powders, etc. I really don't mean to complain. It's just a habit I'm not used to - still (even 6 months into gestation) - taking handfuls of pills and powders.

I'm finding it rather fascinating to have these physical processes, overages and deficiencies, supplements, and so forth brought to my attention, though. Most of the time, I just expect and experience my body to function "normally." Like it's a machine. If it ain't broke, don't fix it. But, it's being used for different processes these days, so it's requiring more attention and support. And, I've never experienced my belly button feeling sensitive to the touch, for instance.

Omigod, and am I burping all the time, or what? To top that off, I find that, without thinking, I tend to announce, "I'm gonna burp." in advance of each gutteral projection. Which is OFTEN. It's almost like there's an invisible string in my back that gets pulled every time I have indigestion, "I'm gonna burp. I'm gonna burp." Just in the last day, I've been trying to just GO FOR THE BURP without any pronouncements, with so-so results. :)

Oh, and one last thought. By the end of the day these days, I feel so round and usually, full, that I can't imagine my skin stretching to get any bigger. Though, I know I'm going to. This is rather blowing my mind.

Bike story completed.

I finally wrote part two of my Runyon Canyon bike ride story! Find out what happened to the out of shape guy on his unreliable bike in the magical park of the blurting Buddhist and dogs! Dogs! Dogs!:
Land of Film and Money: Cycling Adventures in LA: Part 2

Nothing new, really

Well, here I am.

Felt like checking in, but now I don't know what to write about.

My college friend, Marijayne, phoned this morning. It was just so great to jump right in with each other, despite not having spoken since I can't remember when.

I've been thinking a lot about my friends Ari and Terry, and the impending birth of their second child. Terry was due, like, a week ago (?), and I wonder if they've welcomed their new addition, yet?

I've had a couple temp assignments - a day here, a day there. The other day I affixed stickers on hundreds of signs to note The Coffee Bean and Tea Leaf stores' holiday hours.

Yep.

Usually, I like this time of year. I like the whole year-in-review, what-do-I-want-to-do-next-year? process. But, I'm not feeling that so much this year. Everything's pretty much a big question mark.

Audrey's fine. She moves around in there. Sometimes, it feels like she's doing multiple somersaults or cartwheels. :) Our neighbors want to give us their crib... I'll check that out tonight. And, two distant relatives out here (each with 8-month-old boys) have offered to give/lend us baby stuff, which is nice. I'll follow up on those possibilities after the new year.

I guess that's it for now.

Baby, baby, baby

So, today, I'm gonna meet up with Lisa (Tracy's life partner and all-around cool chick), and we're gonna go down to Manhattan Beach to The Children's Orchard, a resale shop for kids, maternity, etc.

Last night, I trolled Craigslist for infant car seats and snap-n-go strollers and responded to a listing that had what I wanted. I talked to the seller today, and I'll pick up her things tomorrow for $75. Yay! The snap-n-go stroller thingies are, like, $65 just by themselves - so, I'm getting the infant car seat and stroller for a makes-me-happy price.

Today is all about me and baby. No production stuff. No Hollywood stuff. No stress. No job stuff. No nothin'. Just ooohing and aahhing over onesies and binkies.

Did I tell you that a lovely friend back in Austin sent Ken and I a baby outfit as a gift last week? All my life, I haven't really gotten excited about baby stuff - little dresses or outfits or whatever. But, I pulled her gift out of the padded envelope and felt myself enthralled with the little onesie top, the little pants, the leeetle socks and cap, and finally the leeeetle hanger upon which it all hangs! I've become sappy. As my midwife put it, 'the harder-core they are, the mushier they become.'

Oh, and you'll get a kick out of this. Ken and I went to the Birthing Center's Holiday Party this past Sunday. We thought we might meet some other expectant parents there maybe...? Anyway, we both totally neglected to realize the party'd be overrun by kids. Kids everywhere! Infants, toddlers, 8-year-olds (!) with ponies and Santa and wind-up toys buzzing around underfoot.

We lasted 10 minutes, then left to drive to our favorite Pho restaurant in Koreatown to soothe our senses with Vietnamese comfort food. :) So I'm getting sappier, but I still have my limits.

Defeat

This afternoon, we folded the project I've been producing. We were supposed to start shooting this past Saturday, and then again tomorrow. We just couldn't surmount all the details and emergent flake-out factors that kept popping up.

I said in an earlier blog entry that attempting this project was near impossible from the beginning... But, now I'm home, and I'm wiped out. I want to cry. I already have cried today. I've worked my ass off for the last two weeks straight, and I'm not gonna have a project or the meager stipend to show for it either. Just a lot of frustration and stress, and ultimately being the One Who Said It Can't Be Done. The Writer and his know-it-all peanut gallery friends think it is a failure of will. Which is SO false. Their presumption is insulting to the folks who've been working like nuts to make this sh-- happen...

I have met people on this project that I didn't know before, whom I like. I'm glad I've met them. I'm also glad Colin (the writer) and I had our little arc together, and that that's over.

Oh, and did I mention that I got "fired" from my freelance writing gig this weekend, b/c they didn't like what I submitted?

Yeah, that was nice.

Feelin' really great about everything today.

I passed the "Network +" exam!

Now that I passed it (phew!) I can safely announce that I've been studying for an information technology certification exam called "Network +". So this Wednesday evening I took the exam and passed it with a very good score! The subject matter of Network + is very basic general networking stuff which I already learned years ago, but I've been out of the IT world for a while and needed the refresher. Not to mention, Ethernet technology has advanced considerably in the interim. And finally, my employer wanted me to take this exam and even paid for it. How could I resist?

Next, I need to update my MCSE certification (all about Windows servers and networks), since I got that a couple of generations ago and it is now mostly obsolete. That cert is going to require about 6 exams (ugh!), so wish me lots of luck!

No pithy logline here - just agh

Need a moment to vent here. Project I'm working on has presented several headaches. Not enough funds (always), creative control/differences, a writer who's so focused on getting HIS shot, his output on the page that he keeps getting in the way of the whole team who's trying to execute production of his script...

We're two days away from the target start date of our shoot, and he's turning in additional pages, with additional locations, extras, stunts... I just shake my head and marvel how clueless he is. And, how, despite my best efforts, I can't seem to herd this cat into the corral. I find myself this past week constantly climbing back on top of the pile, so to speak. Every time I, and the rest of the key crew team (which ROCKS), get to where we think we've got things covered, we get toppled off.

All this is making me think, 'what am I doing?'

I think to myself - I knew he was green. I knew this project was just about impossible to pull off - mostly b/c of the extremely short timeframe there was to work with. But, I thought, the "vibe" among the team was something I liked, it came with funding, and the compressed timeframe could be a good "whittler," gauntlet through which to shape the writer's material, force difficult choices.

And, that's been the case, to a great extent. But, then he revolted. He got stressed out and freaked out about changes, and I got mad at his revolt, his immaturity. Between the stresses of pulling monkeys out of my butt the last two weeks and pregnancy hormones, I didn't swallow my anger and hold back -- hold back to come around from a calmer angle. I just threw my hands up in the air and left the room.

Thirty minutes later I came back. And, I'm glad I left (because he was being a pinhead), and at the same time, I'm chagrined to have lost control (because I am not a pinhead).

So, here we are today at ANOTHER precipice, and I doubt that I've been a good enough producer. I doubt that I still care. I'm doubtful and mad that I haven't been able to stay serenely "above it all," and remain the calm, focused voice of We-Can-Do-It. I think to myself, 'oy, this drama; I'm so not into this.' I just wanna pack up my toys and go home.

But, I won't. I'll suck it up, clear my head, face this latest hurdle, and work toward a solution that is best for everyone.

Sigh. Agh. Pflltt.

Ack!

Just read Ken's entry below - fun! - and thought I'd check in ever so briefly. Yes, I'm producing a spec tv pilot, a comedy set in the Midwest about a 20-something guy who leaves his podunk town with Big Hollywood Writer Dreams, loses the last of his dough in Vegas betting it all on the Chicago Cubs' tragically failed World Series attempt in 2003, and returns home penniless, having never finished a script or made it to Hollywood. But his hometown friends think he's returned because he's "made it." Comedy ensues.

In the meantime, I've picked up freelance work writing copy for websites, and I have my first deadline tomorrow. I've spent the greater part of Friday and today gnashing my teeth, literally and figuratively, and using colorful expletives to describe my despair and anxiety.

I've gone from having days of time on my hands to not having enough time in each day.

Go figure, huh?

Enjoy Ken's posting... :)

Cycling Adventures in LA: Part 2

So, nothing unusual happened on the rest of the way up the
hill. My rear tire didn't sever its valve stem, and I did indeed reach the summit after stopping to catch my breath only three
more times! It's nice to know I can still do this kind of exercise! At the top I was rewarded with this nice view of our 'hood. On the right you can see the winding path that brought me here, and you can see our apartment in the near end of that strip of white buildings that stretches away into the distance.


At the summit I discovered that Runyon Park actually continues north into the Hollywood hills, so I stayed on the path and came upon this panorama looking east:


On the left is the Hollywood sign, and on the right, that tiny white building in the distance on top of the hill is the Griffith Observatory, and all of that land around it is the humongous Griffith Park (including the Hollywood sign.) If I was more ambitious I'd Photoshop these two pics together, but if you compare them you'll see where they overlap.

A little further along the path and around a bend, I did come across more magical creatures! Two horses, a goat, and a sheep, but they would not speak to me at all.

Notice again, "The Sign" behind the horses, and downtown LA behind the sheep. For some reason I'm greatly amused by barnyard creatures in urban settings -- especially chickens as you'll see in another post.

A few minutes further north along the path I came to the park's northern gate which is on the famous Mulholland Drive -- an east/west road that runs many miles along the tops of these hills, mostly west of here. There was nowhere else for me to go, so I turned around and headed back, and was quickly met by this mysterious creature all alone on the hillside. He didn't seem
to notice me as I coasted past, and he also did not speak to me. Just beyond him, I shot this lovely southeast photo of downtown. Notice you can actually SEE downtown from here. This is rare indeed!

The path got steeper again as I descended, and soon I was applying the brakes constantly to avoid hitting dogs/pedestrians or losing control and flying off the path into the brambly ravine. I made it safely to the bottom of the park, and just as I was passing through the gate I remembered I wanted to call Lorie and tell her I was "on top of the world" looking down on her at her TV pilot auditions in Hollywood. I stopped and inspected my rear tire one last time (no slippage, yay!) and dialed Lorie. Before the first ring ended I heard the dreaded "POPWHOOOSH!" But the rear wheel was solid. Wha?

I had neglected to keep an eye on the front tire! The strain of coming down the hill with the brakes on constantly was too much for it. The front tire had shifted and its valve stem had just now given up the fight. DAMN! And Lorie didn't answer her cell phone, so I complained to her voicemail. DAMNDAMN! At least my front tire hadn't popped while I was going down that hill. THAT would have been a disaster, not to mention embarassing in front of all the hikers and dogs.

So, I flipped over my bike on the sidewalk and changed the front tube using my one and only spare. Since my little portable hand pump can't build nearly the pressure a big standing pump can, I decided to walk my bike down the foothills to Hollywood Blvd. to avoid the greatest braking stresses. From there I followed my same path home.

Wouldn't you know it, about 10 blocks from our apartment, "POPWHOOSH," and the front tire was flat again with a severed valve stem! Oh well, it was a particularly beautiful day in sunny California and I hadn't died in Runyon Park, so I didn't mind walking the rest of the way home.

Lesson Learned: Don't leave your spare bike tires baking in the 100-degree south-facing laundry shed of your Austin Texas house for three years, and then put them on your bike just before moving to Los Angeles and expect them to not be completely dried out with no grip on your wheel rims.

Epilogue:
That same day I drove to a bike shop and replaced both tires with brand new juicy ones, and the bike remains locked in the garage to this day. We'll see what 2007 brings.

Cycling Adventures in LA: Part I

You asked for it, you got it! Another too-long post from Ken about nothing important!

Months ago I said that our neighborhood is great for cycling: grid pattern streets and very flat. It IS great for cycling, but I haven't done much because my bike has been plagued with tire troubles from day one here. I can't seem to go more than a few blocks before my rear wheel rips the valve stem off the innertube. Months ago our first LA bike ride went like this: We got all geared up/pumped up/prepped up (at least a half-hour of work) , set off into the west, got maybe four blocks, my rear valve stem popped off, tire immediately went flat in a rush of escaping air, we walked our bikes home (me carrying the rear of my bike so as not to damage the deflated tire) , I replaced the tube, we set out again, got about 6 blocks, rear stem broke off again, "pop-whooooosh," I sat on the curb cursing while Lorie rode home and returned with the car, and we gave up trying to ride that day.

After going through about 5 more tubes over the next couple of weeks, getting more and more discouraged, it was obvious that the rear tire was slipping around the rim, pulling the tube around with it, eventually separating tube from stem. "Pop-whoooosh!" I could see what was happening, but I couldn't stop it. In all my years of cycling, I never had this problem. It was VERY discouraging and inexplicable. I tried several remedies, but finally gave up and took the rear wheel to a bike shop. They cleaned up the rim and the tire, replaced the tube yet again, pumped it up to rock hard max pressure, and I haven't had a problem with the rear wheel since! However, I've been so discouraged that I haven't really ridden anywhere since then. It's no fun getting 10 miles from home, blowing out your primary tube and then on the way back blowing out your spare with 5 miles still to go.

Which brings me to today's cycling adventure. It's been months since I rode my bike, but today while Lorie was out working on her TV sit-com pilot project, I suddenly decided to ride to the top of Runyon Canyon Park. You may recall we hiked up there a while back. We haven't returned since.

My destination as seen from our 'hood:


So, I got all geared up and pumped up and prepped up (took at least a half hour) and headed west on Clinton a few blocks, then turned north on Martel crossing Melrose, Santa Monica, and Sunset. It was, of course, a beautiful day in sunny California made even more beautiful thanks to the gusty winds we've had the past few days which have blown all our filth into the next county to the east! Every couple of blocks I stopped to make sure my rear stem was not deviating from its normal position. Looking good. After I crossed Hollywood Blvd the street started to get "San Francisco steep" so I shifted into granny gear and inched my way up N. Fuller Ave. towards the park entrance. After only two blocks of climbing I had to pause to catch my breath, and began to seriously doubt if I was going to reach the top of Runyon Canyon. I wasn't even in the park yet! Oh, how I missed those fit Austin days back in 2001 when I could pedal non-stop for an hour during my morning and evening commutes. Now I always carry a spare tire and can't get enough air.

Another half-block of climbing and I was at the gate. Here I found a "groovy dude" sitting on a blanket on the sidewalk next to his weathered red car. The stereo was playing some very freaky psychedelic electric guitar manglings and the "groovy dude" was attempting to mangle along on an acoustic guitar. Scattered on the blanket next to him and all over his car were the wares he was peddling to park-goers. I wondered how long it had taken him to get that primo parking space on this popular street as I maneuvered around him and through the pedestrian gate into the park.

Head down, huffing and puffing, I concentrated on maintaining my balance at this slow speed, and tried not to think about all that steepness in front of me, glancing up occassionally to avoid other pedestrians. I passed several descending hikers and their dogs on their way out of the park. This is a very popular park for dog owners.

One lone descending hiker caught my eye, because from a distance the color of her shirt made it look like she was topless. What do I know, maybe that's normal in this kooky town!? No, just a tight flesh-colored shirt, but she was walking very deliberately, holding something with both hands at chest level, and as we got closer I could hear her chanting softly. Just as I passed this presumed reverent Buddhist lost in meditation, she blurted out, "Wow, I like your mirror! That's cool," referring to the little round rear-view mirror attached to my helmet like so many other little round mirrors attached to so many other cycling helmets on this planet. The gears on my bike turned almost as slowly as the gears in my head as I tried to make sense of the last 15 seconds. A topless chanting blurting Buddhist thinks my common helmet mirror is cool? Automatically I glanced over my left shoulder in her general direction, smiled and chuckled pleasantly which probably came across as a sneer and more huffing and puffing from the flabby man straining up this little hill. Proving once again, the window for meaningful cyclist/pedestrian communication is very small.

So, did I make it to the top of Runyon Canyon? Did my rear wheel withstand the strain? Did I encounter any more strange and magical creatures?

Stay tuned.

(to be continued)