Anytime You Need a Good Laugh

I have a good friend I went to college with who now has a 2 1/2 year old. Because his family lives here in Austin, I have gotten the rare treat of seeing him grow as an infant and toddler. I have found that his energy and innocence have actually increased my patience level as an adult. He is a pretty funny and cute kid who just this moment is running around the apartment trying to get our attention. Two hours ago, he successfully opened the front door (despite to bolt locks and a childproof device on the knob) before dad ran to scoop him up.

I remember the first time I came over and his dad told me he could climb out of the crib. In my excitement his uncle and I took him to his room to see it done. We walked him in, put him in the crib, and motioned him to come to us. Oh right now he has the wire of a PS2 controller in his mouth trying to make me laugh. His uncle then took out his camera phone and we recorded 60 seconds of it. We were both amazed at his creativity and laughing uncontrollably as we realized what this meant for dear old dad.

I know I am not related by blood but I have come a part of his world. In fact I have been known affectionately as "Aggie" since he learned to speak words. Darn he still can't say Erik. I think his mom and dad are practicing that with him just so he'll keep saying it. Oh, now he has a green cap cover stuck to his mouth trying to make me laugh and dancing in front of the TV. He was extremely entertaining the first time he opened the sliding door, climbed over the child gate, and wanted to blow bubbles just to name a few. I have managed to store pictures on my camera phone of various stages of his life so far. I hope he keeps his creativity and sense of humor for many years. Oh now his is trying to open the zippers and close the clips on my backpack. Yes he's been able to do that for about a year and "No" just doesn't work.

I suddenly have an incredible urge to go blow some bubbles.

Reengineering Project

You know when you have spent too much time in school. In my case it has been 13 long years moving from undergraduate to law school and finally graduate school. That's right, one can spend too much time in books thinking that all the answers can be found there. When you start college you think that your going to get all the answers. You are looking for that Holy Grail which will get you the A in every class. I know I wanted the "stereo instructions" for everything such as grades, relationships, work, etc. Then you get into law/grad school and learn about the grays. No longer to do you get nice pretty black and white answers.

Every question leads to more questions with very few answers and the answers you were so certain about are no longer so. Then you take stock of your life and realize you spent so much time in search of knowledge (well at least trying), you forgot there are things you can't learn in school. I am so close to the end of my formal schooling but I still sense that something is missing. This past weekend, I decided enough was enough. So today, I made the commitment to begin a significant personal development project. It will probably take longer than I have time left on my degree to complete, but I think it will be worth it.

Quote of the Day

"You'll have to forgive Hank. His heart's in the right place but he keeps his brain in a box at home." - Arthur (Rip Torn) from "Larry Sanders Show, The" (1992)