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| Happily announcing the new addition
to the family on September 26th, 2007 - 4:31
AM
At 8 lbs. 12 oz. and yet to be
determined length (but not surprisingly with the family TALL gene) he whom
is soon to officially be named: Spencer Dean.
On September 25th, Nicole
was scheduled to be induced at 8:00 am. Long story short… nothin’.
Contractions were getting more intense and closer together. By the time 10:00
pm rolled around, she was getting severe pain in her lower abdomen and half-way
up her back. In that entire space of time her cervix had dilated 3-4
centimetres. Her face was beginning to show signs of grimacing pain, mostly
from her back. Movement helped, and a 10 minute bath before her water
immediately broke in the tub just didn’t do much good; so by that time she
really needed an epidural. Additionally, Nicole was also administered a drug to
assist the softening of her cervix and motivation to dilate about 1 cm every
hour…or so everyone hoped. When 1:30 am came around, her cervix had seen only 1
lousy centimetre of progress. Our little guy was also not engaging against it.
Since her water had broken much earlier, it was thought that something just
wasn’t right. C-Section time! We had already discussed all options long
beforehand, and neither of us was concerned by then. All of the on-call
surgeons were assembled for her by 4:00 am, and not long after, we finally had a
baby. It turns out Spencer was being cradled like a basket by the umbilical
cord that was over his shoulders and around the back of his neck. He wasn’t
going anywhere in that position, so that was that.
He’s happy, healthy, and has good
color. The only thing noticeable was a possible hernia above his belly button
that seems to be smoothing out; otherwise, he’s FINALLY joined the
world!
My name is ShadowDog™. I can do tricks.
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| Our baby is over-ripening.
The due date of our child was September 14th, and we're going on to day seven afterward. At one point, I think it was the 13th, we did make one trip to the hospital due to steady and moderate contractions; however, after about an hour, they became less frequent and mild. Since then, my wife has been feeling contractions about every five minutes for the last six days, and they haven't been anything but mild ones. The doctor stripped her membrane a couple of days ago, but that doesn't seem to have done too much. The final straw is next week when the doctor will have begun to induce labour. This little guy just doesn't care to see the world. On one hand, I don't blame him; while on the other hand, he'll only hurt himself and the others around him.
My mother-in-law somehow figured that when we told her, from our last visit to the clinic, the doctor said, "I'd hope to see your wife in the hospital in the next couple of days," it actually meant, "I expect to see your wife in the hospital in the next couple of days." This was way back on 11th when we talked on the phone and she said she would be coming out here to give us a hand with things. My wife and I both tried to tell her that we were only calling to find out if she had everything at the ready for when we called to actually say she was going into labour. None of that seemed to matter because she heard from us what she thought was the doctor's expert opinion. Why is this any concern? Well, because she's been here since the 12th and there's still no baby. This whole time, after those first couple of days here, she's been complaining that she can't stay all this time just to wait; that all she's going to get to do is see this child for a little while before having to go back home. My wife is thrilled at the notion that all her friends and family are being told by her mother that coming out has been such a waste of time. It's been a glorious visit from the stereotypical mother-in-law; in fact, so much so that my wife has been talking to our child through her belly, encouraging him to come out into this wonderful world just so her mother can 'hurry up and go home'. The whole situation has been a stressful adventure. I'm beginning to wonder if our little guy is just too scared to get involved, enjoying his little, warm corner.
If anyone wants to get some updates, I'm also on that little site called facebook.com - Just search for csapriken@msn.com.
I'll be on my way to my little escape now... work. I'll be sure to hear from my wife, "Noo, please don't leave me here alone with... ugh!"
Don't get the completely wrong impression. We both love our entire family. It's the situations and the attitudes that sometimes make it difficult to appreciate.
My name is ShadowDog™. I can do tricks. | | |
| First, we'll start off with a mellow chuckle. Then, we allow it to develop into the half-hearted, 'tee-hee-hee's. Before long, we're deep into the gutteral howling and fits of breath between all-out laughter. Finally, we close with the image of piercing eyes amidst the sadistic tones bellowing from my throat. Why? Might you ask? I just had the most amusing, yet highly stupid of days. It's my first shift in my new position uptown and I have already been tested to the extreme. I was informed last night that one of our senior day-time supervisors was stuck out of town, and I was supposed to cover the evening from noon-to-nine. I decided to come in early, 8:00 am, just to ensure things would start smoothly in that senior employee's absence. So, it would be a thirteen hour day, which is certainly not at all unusual for me. 5:00 am, the security company calls to inform me that a temperature fault detection was triggering their advisory alarm for the down-town operation. Basically, this means a freezer was too warm and I would have to go in and check it out, as well as reset the alarm. So much for my beauty sleep. When I got home at 5:45 am and attempted to go back to sleep, I dozed and I 'think' I managed to get in another fifteen minutes of coma-time before turning off my alarm clock seconds before it would go off at 7:00 am. So, I do my morning ritual, then take a refreshing 15 minute bike-ride uptown and get right at it. I worked here about a year-and-a-half ago for two years, so I was like a duck-to-water right through the doors. Almost immediately, I get a call from our dairy supervisor that he wouldn't be able to make it in due to a stomach flu that's made its rounds through the city ...great. Now, since the division manager is gone until Wednesday, my assistant-manager is on vacation for a week, my senior super. is stuck out of town, my dairy super. is sick, and the rest of the evening crew of six doesn't arrive until 4:00 pm to work a 1000-piece delivery, I have to work this entire blinkin' operation all by myself (with a team of eight cashiers of course). I figured I could handle things until noon, which would be when I could get one of the evening clerks to come in earlier than 4:00 pm. That worked well enough to get through the morning. BUT WAIT!!! We're not at the point of sadistic laughter just yet! Oh no! THAT didn't come until I opened the warehouse freezer doors and found the stock plugged all the way to the back. I couldn't even walk inside the room, which just happens to be about 20 feet deep by 15 feet across. I stood there and blinked while a meat cutter happened by and saw me standing there, dejected, and then he laughed, "Welcome back, Chris! Now you just KNOW we've missed you! Can't you tell?!" "Just...fuck off," I casually replied as I gently swung the door without any movement but of my hand. I threw on a coat and closed another different door behind myself. I chose to work in peace in the dairy department. Nobody else likes the cold, but my internal temperature was more than enough to balance that out for the rest of the day. Here I sit now, just after 6:00 pm. I think I can comfortably stroll around just to make sure everyone else is doing their jobs; which, is actually what I'm supposed to be doing in my job. ...through, wait, I'm not even sure if that's really what I'm supposed to be doing anymore, either. Oh well, I guess I'll just figure that one out tomorrow. My name is ShadowDog™. I can do tricks.
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| I'll do another post, okay? Happy? My wife will read this and think, "So THAT'S what he did the whole time he went to work at 9:30 PM?! Make a Xanga post at 12:30 AM?! I'm gonna beat him with a fly swatter!" <-- would you, please? Right on my tush? No, actually, I'm [trying] to finish my employee appraisals before I leap from this high-speed-cruising, reaching-critical-mass, nuclear vessel of an operation. There was a posting for a new manager at the larger operation up north in the city, and I didn't consider it until my boss asked me if I wanted to. In other words, HE wanted me to. I talked it over with Nicole and we agreed that there was little reason not to apply. The main reason I hadn't considered it was because I thought I was needed more here. The operation is just exploding with business and challenges, and I figured it would be great to see it through a full year. Even so, the north operations were my home for two years before I came here, so it wasn't as though it was anything new. Long story short, I was basically handed the position without the prerequisite interview process, hoop-jumping, and red tape. I start on the 1st of May there while they post for someone to take over my position here...which means, I'll likely have to work out of both operations for about a friggin' month until they fill the position here. That wouldn't matter anyhow, since I still have to sit down with all the employees to perform their appraisals over the next two weeks. I like the north operations, in the sense that I'll have less weight on my shoulders by way of having people qualified to deligate tasks to. Here, I have but a small handful of select individuals that I have to carefully consider just what the heck I can have them do without having to constantly review, modify and complete myself. Up there, I have long-term experience and the larger will to do a job well done. That was but one major reason to take the position; otherwise, I would have loved to see this place through its first full year of excellent results after our recent renovation. Even though I'm typing this at 12:37 AM from work, I don't want to talk about work anymore. Come September 14th, 2007 - we will have brought a new life into this world, and HE will be my best challenge. I love challenge. I won't enjoy getting peed on, but I love challenge! We only found out last week that the little rugrat will be a boy, so I'm getting through the initial fun of telling all. I'm not scared of the pending issues of raising a child. I grew up with young children all around me, whether through babysitting friends and relatives, or helping look after my two neices as they grew. There's nothing I really haven't seen, so I'm prepared. I just have to remind myself that I can't rely on anybody to pick the little guy up after he's tired me out...and that I won't be getting PAID for the torture. No...no, don't focus on the negative; stay with the positive on all points of child raising. What else can I say? This summer should be a blast. I'll be sure to take some good pictures of the fun this time. There's sure to be a lot more to share than ever before, so I guess I can look forward to less mail from people telling me to post in my 'damn Xanga already'. Challenge accepted! I'm going home now. I'm finally seeing the pointlessness in being at work at 1:00 AM. My name is ShadowDog™. I can do tricks.
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| ...and I feel fine. Contrary to popular belief, people really do enjoy their jobs... that is, as long as there is something to do! While I manage one operation down south, I was asked to supervise a Saturday at another operation while the regular management could get some holiday time worked in. It's not as if I don't have anything else to do, but I have been given so little to do here, I'm in brain-drain mode. I've read all my e-mails, checked all my messages, browsed everything there was to browse, and caught up on all the Xanga posts I'm subscribed to. It would figure that so much more happens during the periods when I have little time to keep pace with everyone's entries. Now, if I post up a comment, it's as if I'm wishing someone a Happy 29th birthday when they're 31st is due. I need a phuckin' life! Okay, so that was blurted out without much foreshadowing as to what is really nagging at my brain these days. I suppose the winter blues have caught up with me by now. At this point, I'm okay with the notion that I'm about to snap because of the crummy snow and ice; this, because it's all melting from all of the excellent weather we've been so fortunate to receive. NO! I won't subject you to the boredom of conversation that is the damned weather! I reserve that topic for the old-farts and general public who seem to think that they absolutely must have something to talk to me about. With spring and summer soon upon us, and the never-ending workplace renovation that is likely to be renamed the 'almost-over' renovation, I suppose there will be more opportunity to enjoy something other than the couch and television. My work project for a kitchen pantry cabinet is waiting for me, as well as the alterations to the house in order to cram in another mouth to feed this fall. Oh yeah, I forgot to mention, I'm pregnant. Well, we're pregnant... I mean, I'm not, but Nicole is pregnant. Christ, you know what I mean. I just have to move some furniture around and set up the place appropriately for little-tyke numero uno. It's been over a year's worth of half-assed trying to get to this point as of the end of December. We're about 13 weeks in and I'm still very happy; though, my expression of excitement is not unlike that of a basset-hound's. At any rate, each day goes by and I get happier with the notion that I'm going to become a father, a dad, a baby-sitter, a role-model, a law enforcement official, psychologist, medical doctor, marriage councellor, chauffeur, national bank, etc. Am I ready for it? Pff, heck if I know, since all challenges that come my way tend to be surprises, so what the hell, why not? Anyhow, back to needing a life. I have minor hobbies that tend to look more like 'tasks' in the eyes of a person thinking that the things I do look more like work. I like my job and the little things I get to do to make work easier for my employees and the customers. These little things take an awful lot of my time, so I find myself always on a thinking level that has more to do with the workplace than anything else. I come home with brain-drain and set my body on cruise-control until I need to sleep and do it all over again. Lately, I've managed to begin training the appropriate staff on the things I would normally take on as exclusive tasks. Now, I can slowly begin to simply walk in and watch things go, directing and delegating where necessary. You would think I would be content with this, knowing that I can finally just let my operation run on its own with the personnel I'm so fortunate to have? Yeah, you would think that would be enough? Nope... it's quite likely that I'll be taken from that operation and upgraded to this one, where I am currently filling in for the day. The original manager from this location resigned, so they've been getting things done with the assistant manager and foods division manager. They posted the position and the FDM asked if I wanted to apply, which is another way of saying that he'd hoped I would. This means, if I am given the job, I have to start from scratch all over again and train everyone here to perform the things I would otherwise take on as exclusive tasks. What a cycle, indeed. I'm fortunate to have very competent staff at this location as well, so I'm even more confident with their abilities here to be able to do exactly what I need of them. So, it would seem that getting a life might take some time. Sports and leisure (hey look Nicole, another word that doesn't start with 'i'-before-'e'-except-after-'c') will be something to look forward to this new season. I'm looking forward to it. Until I can figure out something else to talk about, this should do. I suppose I could begin talking about the development of the rainclouds in the near future... ... stick a fork in me, I'm done. My name is ShadowDog™. I can do tricks.
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