Just too busy to blog, I guess...

After a long-term sabbatical from the Lake Country Zoo blog due to circumstances both within and without my control, I made the time to write on this Labor Day weekend. It is still morning, so there is a good chance the call center will dispatch me to some wayward location. If that doesn’t happen, I hope to work on the yard and catch up on the housekeeping. Since this is a 3-day weekend, I am hoping to have at least one uninterrupted day off. Oh crap, I just cursed myself… the telephone will ring anytime now.

Oh well… I can use the money.

There is so much that has happened that I don’t know where to start, and if I covered it all, anyone who took the time to read this would be bored to tears. Josh (the brother-in-law) is here for the weekend with his dog, Caleb. He is a good boy, just big and he is a drool machine. Uh, the dog, not the brother-in-law (who incidentally, is a good boy, too). We are probably going to fire up that beautiful Husqvarna to drop a jack pine or two to make room for the eventual relocation of the dog kennel. The woods are being developed and the dog kennel is too close to the new lots being created. I hate that, but such is life. They call it progress... I do not. But since I don’t own the land adjoining our property, it is out of my hands anyway.

Gabriel is 7-months old. He weighs 19 pounds and is building a regular vocabulary, if one can call babbling a conversation (the politicians do, after all). Gabriel is a happy baby most of the time. He began teething at 2-months, but remains a joyful kiddo. His first word was “Hi!” which he said for the first time when he was 3-months old. We thought it was pure coincidence at first, but Gabriel gave me the same greeting as I entered the room enough times that we concluded his little hello was his first word. He said “Daddy” at 5 months, which rocks, if you ask me. Heather was thrilled when Gabriel said “Momma” last weekend. He isn’t entirely sure when to stop though. Sometimes, he says “Mommamamamamama…” Heather loves hearing that. The funny thing? Gabriel said “Heather” a few weeks before he said “Momma.” I love the irony, but that is just because I am who I am, much like Popeye, but without the spinach and the suspiciously distended forearms. [Those hefty muscles could be due to illegal steroid use, you know].

We found out this week that my nephew, Marty, and his wife, Tara, are expecting a baby. Whoohoo! They will make excellent parents, no doubt about that. I am sure that their child will be wearing the Minnesota Twins colors frequently. Congratulations to Tara and Marty! I wonder how Karen feels about the idea of being a grandmother. This is very exciting for the family, and will be the first great-grandchild. I will soon be a great uncle, a new title I can wear proudly, since my last “new” title is becoming comfortable for me. I am no longer a rookie dad. The time really flies so fast, and Gabriel will soon be a year old. I think we should have another little one soon, but it isn’t entirely up to me. =)

Dave started his college "career" in August. I think that is fantastic. Everyone should get a higher education and have marketable skills. His college program is business-related, but I think he is focusing on business accounting. My program is business admin.

Speaking of which, in two weeks, I will complete the next series of college courses. I am still maintaining my GPA, somehow, but the last month has been challenging. I have put in a ridiculous number of hours at work, been away more nights than normal lately, and am so looking forward to these classes to be done. The next classes? Environmental science and Humanities/Religions of the world. That should be interesting. I am sure that I will hear about how Islam is a religion of peace, Christianity is being forced on vulnerable atheists and that the Roman Catholic Church is responsible for almost everything that has ever gone wrong. That reminds me of the Ethics class I am taking now. For six weeks, I have been reminded that every single thing that is now or has ever been wrong in the world is the fault of the white males in the United States (other than the tribulations that the Roman Catholic Church is responsible for, of course). By the way, that whole synergy gibberish (a.k.a. human resources junk science!) was apparently written by the pot-smoking protesters of the 60s. It is euphorian nonsense, prevaricated hypocrisy and out of touch with reality out here in fly-over country. To all the complainers, I say, “Build a bridge and get over it, you big whiners!”

Okay… so I didn’t learn anything in sensitivity training. That is life! In the words of Rod Tidwell, "These are the ABCs of me, baby"!