Jesse and G

So what do you think Fiona’s first words would be. If you were a betting person and thought the logical choice, you’d probably would guess some swear word. Think you got it right? No, thankfully not. Two weeks ago Fiona said “Daddy” or “Da-Da”. Yes, papa chanimal won the bragging rights to Fiona’s first word. Mommy came late last week, but it wasn’t numbero uno. I didn’t gloat that much (other than in this blog) because I think the first word being “Da-Da” was a sore spot for G. Fiona really is a Mama’s girl at heart; she could care less about daddy – I think she’s still a little sore that daddy wasn’t at her first birthday. She’ll be scarred for life. Oh well, I guess we will definitely have to have another one. I’ll make sure I’m at her/his first birthday this time around. I promise… right now.

Fiona had a doctor’s visit the other week and she was in the 90-95 percentile in height and was 75th percentile in weight. That’s impressive, but her cousin Grayson is even larger. I think last time I checked their blog he was off the charts both in weight and height.

The title is a bit deceptive. We aren’t really living off the land, but here at the Chanimal household, we have started our own little garden. It’s a far cry from self-subsistence, but give us some time; we’re working on that.

It was a fun project from start to finish. It involved quite a bit of wood working and general troubleshooting. What I had sketched out first in Google SketchUp wasn’t exactly what I ended up with – in the photo gallery I included the first sketch. It might look like the planter in the rest of the photos, but we had some last minute alterations. Most of these changes came about after we started planting stuff. After pouring 12 cubic feet of soil in the raised planter, we started to notice some engineering abnormalities; the planter was bowing out in the center. The raised planter could probably survive for quite a while just like I had it, but that wasn’t enough for Papa Chan – no, it had to be rock-solid. I couldn’t invite any of my man-friends over with that potential disaster. I wouldn’t hear the end of that one. Thinking I just needed to reinforce the 2 x 4s on each corner, I hastily threw some angle brackets on each side of the planter. Again, that would probably do it, but that wasn’t good enough for me. This feat of engineering wouldn’t go down in the annals of history with the likes of Tacoma Bridge or the New Orleans Levees.  Now the problem with reinforcing the underside of the planter was that I already a crap ton of weight on it . I needed to raise it a bit to put some wood reinforcements under the bottom. Using a little ingenuity, I got two car jacks (thank you Jim for letting me borrow yours). Once the bottom was jacked up, I reinforced the botton with some a small length of wood  and to preventing horizontal bowing, I put some wooden dowels that ran the width of the box. Overall, it’s pretty fucking sturdy.

Now after most of the structural issues were solved, I came to the second issue, water. Yes, after watering the garden, I noticed a shit ton of water raining down on all the stuff I stored under the planter; I had made a bottom rack on the planter and planned on using it for storage. To solve that problem, I installed a length of PVC roofing panel on the bottom of the planter to collect all the water run-off. I wish I could’ve used a metal panel, but I really had no way of cleanly cutting the material. To tell you the truth, it was hard enough cutting the PVC panel straight.

So having the hard part done, now we’ll come to the inventory of edible delights we planted. Here is the full list of vegetables and fruits we have growing outside our kitchen:

• 4 varieties of strawberries
• 3 varieties of lettuce
• 4 varieties of tomatoes
• 2 zucchinis
• cantaloupe
• 3 bushels of cilantro (not sure if a bundle of cilantro is called a bushel – it doesn’t sound right, but I’m sticking to it)
• 2 basil plants

We’ve already managed to use the basil in some pasta and hopefully soon we’ll be able to make a huge salad with the lettuce.

In line with keeping our garden nice and vibrant, we also decided to start composting. Actually, we’re not quite sure what came first, the need to garden or compost. Either way, we have a really stinky pile of shit in the backyard. I’m sure our neighbors love us and the surrounding wild life. Yes, even in San Diego we have critters.

Our little Fiona turned one last Friday. Little Fi doesn’t quite know the significance of the occasion, but we believe she recognizes it means a massive influx of toys. Yes, Fiona was quite spoiled by Grandma, Gung Gung, Mimi and Papa.  On that subject, I might have to back up and explain the grand parent’s chosen names. The Grandma and Gung Gung set comes from my side of the family. My mom settled for the traditional female grand parent name “Grandma”, while my dad went for the traditional Chinese male grand parent name. As for G’s side of the family, my mother in-law chose the “Mimi” to reflect her French roots while my father in-law chose “Papa” to reflect his Italian heritage (much like my dad’s choice). Everybody must be unique. If I’m so fortunate to make it to the ripe age when Fiona has kids, I better start getting my creative on. I can’t really claim my Asian heritage, because like most know, I’m quite the banana - yellow on the outside and white on the inside. Please! Don’t get offended by that one. Because I can’t really claim my Asian roots, I can’t go with Gung Gung. I’ll try to be more hip than Grandpa, so what should I go for… Ok, I think I’ll have to incorporate my Chanimal roots, so let’s try Granpimal. That’s it! I’ve got it.

After you look at the pictures of Fiona’s first birthday you might be thinking to yourself, “Where is Jesse in the pictures”. Well I have to come clean on this subject. I wasn’t actually there on Fiona’s first birthday. I know this looks bad and writing this confessional on the blog might just grant G sole custody of Fiona if we were ever to separate, but I will continue with my backstory. In fact, this might be the time to plead my case on why I abandoned my first child on her first birthday.  Here is my disposition. Fact A. Aren is a long time friend. Fact B. He will most likely never have a bachelor party ever again. Fact C. Most of my really good friends were going to be assembled at said bachelor party trip. Fact D. When Fiona matures into her first year, she will have no clue what is going on and will most likely not remember her first birthday. Granted I only have 5 facts assembled for you, it is enough to make the logical choice of going on the bachelor party trip. I’m sticking to that line of reasoning. This choice will probably exclude me from being runner up for the Father of the Year Award in ’10, but I’m coming back with a vengeance  in ’11. That is if, some other really good friend were to have a bachelor party around Fiona’s second birthday. If that were to happen, I’d plead my logical case again because Fiona will never remember her second birthday either. Right? Ahem… Maybe I’m already out of the running for the Father of the Year Award in ’11 just by writing this. Oh well, there’s always ’12. Are people abbreviating the years after 2010? I’m not sure if  I’m short-handing the year appropriately. I digress.

So on the topic of the bachelor party. I had a great time on the trip and I thought it was well worth it. I can’t speak for everybody, but I had a hard-rocking time out in the wilderness. In case I didn’t tell you, we went  on a backpacking trip in the Trinities to send our friend Aren off on the martial adventure he is about to undertake in October. I definitely can’t say I remembered it all, but what I can recall was definitely AWESOME. Yes, I used caps and bolded that. It was needed and appropriate. I just barely survived the ordeal coming out of the bush with three of the largest bruises I have ever had (I can’t remember what happened), poison oak  and one of the hugest hang-overs I’ve ever had in my life. That’s saying a lot too. What made the hang-over worse is that the hike to the lake was over 5 miles. I thought going up it was bad because it was all uphill (with about 100 pounds of gear – 30 beers were strapped to my  back), but it was even worse on the return trip even if it was all downhill and much less weight due to the pounding headache. The pain-train was almost too much for the Chanimal, but he persevered. It takes more than one weekend of debauchery to take him down. I swear some day, I’ll learn to pace myself; but until then, I’m rocking with my… um, front foot out.

Switching topics 180 degrees, my sister closed on her house the other day. She just purchased her first house in Elk Grove. From the pictures we’ve seen so far, the house looks fantastic. Her commute might be over an hour each way, but it looks like it might be worth it. Congratulations Emily!

Before I close this post, I’d like to mention that I still love my iPad. It might keep me up past my usual bedtime, but it’s worth it. I’ve heard bad reviews about its e-reader, but I think it’s great. I’ve already downloaded a few books and I have no problem flipping through the books. I finally reading again after a very long hiatus; the iPad was influential in this change of events. I got stuck on Robert Jordan’s last book (I can’t stop reading a book if I’ve cracked it open) and hadn’t been able to start any others. I’m now getting into some H.P Lovecraft in preparation of Guillermo del Toro’s movie “At the Mountains of Madness”. Work hasn’t started yet from what I read on his wiki page, but I’m already getting excited. I’m sort of a fan-boy for his movies.

The iPad came the other day and I’ve been frantically trying out all sorts of apps for this new device. On that note, I’m actually using the WordPress app to write this post. I like the iPad so far, but I’m having an adjustment period. First off, I suck at typing on this thing. The keys are far enough apart that I have to strain to get to them (I’m looking your way t and h). Another thing I noticed right away was that all my iphone apps didn’t translate well to the increased screen size; their iPad manifestations are a far cry to what I was expecting. Oh and one big thing that I got miffed about at the start was the close integration with iTunes. I really was expecting this to be a standalone appliance rather than a sleek looking appendage to a laptop or desktop computer. I know the ipad is not designed to compete with a net book, but throw me a little bone here; I think some compromises could be found, right Mr. Jobs?

Despite the grumblings, I really do love this device. I think after two or three product iterations I think I’ll get the device I really was expecting. Wait that last sentence sounded a little too harsh again – I really love it, I swear!

One of the greatest things I’ve found on the app store is a little game called Words with Friends. I’m hopelessly addicted to playing that I’ll find myself getting one last turn in at midnight which is way past my bedtime. And the big kicker about the addiction, you might ask? Oh, I really suck at it. After playing all sorts of games with my friends, I’ve only won one game; and it wasn’t even a decisive one at that.

Here are some unwrapping photos.

On the Fiona front, she is still recuperating from being sick. Just last week she got a fever of 103.7. We all had a rough night when the fever was at its worse. The next morning I went to the doctors office to find out what was wrong. We all thought it was a UTI infection, but it turned out not to be (from the lab test). Anyway, we still think it is a UTI because after some antibiotics she got better right away. As scary as it was, G and I really liked it when she was feeling ill because she actually liked to cuddle. We included a picture of her sound asleep on my shoulder – something she never does when she is healthy.

At the Chanimal household, we’re celebrating Father’s Day early because G leaves town for 4 days on Sunday. I wish I could embed a questionnaire into the post, but are you not supposed to do any work on Father’s Day? Isn’t that in the bylaws somewhere? G is catering to me today, in that I got to sleep in (that was very welcome because I stayed up till 1:30 am watching Party Down Season 1), but after that, everything was fair game. On special occasions we will have a full-on breakfast in the morning that includes pancakes, bacon and other delicious breakfasty treats. The last special occasion fell on Mother’s Day and I kindly took the apron and cooked the breakfast. Did that happen on Father’s Day? No. I donned the apron (figuratively) and got to work in the kitchen. Again, I’m not necessarily complaining, but just figured I was excused from this activity this morning. Ok, this is officially complaining so I’ll stop doing that right now – I have removed the tampon and replaced it with a toolbelt (yes, it hurt REALLY bad).

Oh, I’m going to sound like a jerk soon, but guess what I got for Father’s Day. Wait, let me back up. Let me tell you what I’m green-lighted to get for Father’s Day (because I actually haven’t received it yet). You might of guessed it, an iPad! When I got back to the house Friday there was a gift waiting for me on the table. Nah, it wasn’t an iPad, but it was an iPad case with the promise that I could purchase one in the future. It came as a complete surprise because I was continually denied access to the checking account to acquire the technology tool of the future. I love you Giovanna. You truly have made my dreams come true this morning.

This comes to my next topic of conversation, Father’s Day. Perhaps they should change the title of Father’s Day to something more appropriate to what it really is. How does “National Day of Technology and or Power-tool Purchases” sound? I’m sure BestBuy, Apple, Microsoft , Dell,  Home Depot / Lowes make a killing this weekend and the days leading up to it. I’m sure over 90% of the Fathers out there got something from one of those establishments. The other 10% got a tie and are secretly envying the guy down the street who just got the iPad. Yes, neighbor, look who came up on top this year! Oh and my kid will make the honor roll more often than yours.

Ok, now onto more family oriented stuff. Last week we had a visit with our Texas based brethren. The Mouritzen’s came for a short trip to San Diego for a graduation. It was short, but sweet trip. Here are some photos of the visit.

On the Fiona front, she’s getting cuter than ever. She’s getting into everything now that she’s walking all over the place. Fiona gets a kick out of anything that isn’t a legitimate toy. It seems she’d prefer to play with some tin foil over some $100 Fischer Price toy. I guess that’s good for us. I can entertain her with some household junk over anything I would get at Toys R’ Us. Next Christmas I’ll just empty the recycling bin in a big box and put a bow on it; it’ll be the best Christmas EVAR!

Have a happy Father’s Day!

Our little one is well on the way to walking. It all started almost 2 months ago. It began with her propping herself up on anything she could get her hands on – from the coffee table, to the sofa, to our knees, to the toy chest, to the armchair, it was all fair game. Fiona learned to stand up fairly fast, but it’s taking awhile for her to master the art of walking. Her first 3 steps occurred when she turned 7 1/2 months. Nothing much has changed, but she’s getting more and more used to those couple of steps and even more used to standing on her own. You have to laugh as she experiments with the walking. While Fiona is taking those wobbly steps you can’t stop yourself from chuckling. She kind of reminds me of how I walk after [insert any holiday party here]. Below is a photo gallery of her learning to walk.

Here are some videos showing the same thing in the gallery… her walking and standing.

Other than the walking, we’re getting settled into the new house. Almost all the boxes are unpacked, but there are a few still waiting to be cracked. To tell you the truth, they are probably going to stay that way indefinitely. The essentials are out and there’s no room for anything else – so sorry wicker basket and fondue set, you’re shelved!  Work is slow on getting the house setup too. I’ve reduced the weird dirt pile to nothing but scattered remnants in the back; apparently a cousin tried, but failed, at creating a garden in the backyard. The cousin was successful at making a hideous dirt pile. If he/she was practicing growing weeds and snails, I’ve got to commend them for a job well done. They have got to make sure that’s a bullet point on their gardening resume. I heard Anderson’s garden has an opening – you’re going places, kid. Next on the home-agenda is finishing the garage. My man-cave is almost half-finished. I’ve put down the epoxy floor already with the help of my father in law Frank. Between him and I, we finished that little bitch of a garage; oh yeah, I can use profanity on the blog. When Fiona learns to read, I’ll start toning it down, but until then, out comes the adult language. That brings me to another point. I’m unsure when I need to clean up my language. I can’t help it, but I find myself still dropping f-bombs and the occasional “ass” and “shit”. I’ve really gotta start toning it down or my little one is going to have the biggest potty mouth in school. I digress… Other than the floor, I plan on putting up dry-wall and doing something with the ceiling. I’m really unsure what to do about the ceiling though. I don’t want to lose the storage so I can’t close it off, but I do want to have a finished look so I kinda want a ceiling. I’ll have to post some pictures to show you what I’m talking about. Hopefully any general contractors reading this blog can throw some (free) advise my way.

Oh and another thing. We did sell our other house. The blog doesn’t mention it, but in a two week period we got our buyers for the 1111 Eureka house. While we were away on Christmas vacation, we sold it. By the time we came back to San Diego, we had only one week to vacate. Yeah, we had a two-week escrow. Between trying to pack up the place and finding a rental in North County San Diego, we were really stressed out. Luckily it all worked out and we got a place that was minutes from my work in Carlsbad.

I know my wife is patiently waiting for me to publish this post, so I’ll say good-bye. She’s currently at a bid defense (CRO term for trying to bring in the bling) and is up in LA.

The Chan family is absolutely in love with our new home. I think Bella is the happiest with the new yard! We are almost settled too. I have to finish getting my office together and Jesse has a lot of plans for his man space, the garage, but other than that we are pretty much done. We have decided to live in our new home for a while until making any renovations. I am starting to get heart palpitations just thinking about another remodel, but the house does need a little updating and it really doesn’t reflect “our taste”. At least this time around we won’t move immediately after we remodel. At least that is the plan for now.

Fia is doing fantastic. She is crawling all of over the place! She is so curious and gets into everything. Jesse and I try to encourage her to explore her world, but it is amazing how quickly she gets her hands on something that could be potentially disastrous in the hands of a 9 month old!

It’s official (well, almost) the Chan’s are home owners again! We have opened escrow on our new home, and will be moving in at the end of March. I couldn’t me more excited to get out of “the rental”! Below are some pictures of our new home.

The house is in GREAT condition, but we’ll be doing some cosmetic remodel work to make it more our style. I started having heart palpitations at the thought of another remodel. However, this time around we’ll be able to enjoy the fruits of our labor for more than a couple of months. I have promised Jesse that we’ll stay put for a while after we get the house how we want it. I have already met the neighbors and they told me no one ever moves out of the neighborhood, so if that holds true, we’ll be there to stay for a while. Besides, we are living next to a family with teenage daughters who have already offered to babysit. Love that!

Since the last time we posted a real update, Fiona has learned a lot. She mostly eats solid foods now. Her favorites include sweet potatoes and chicken – this is of course processed. Well maybe the next time we post, she’ll be using a knife and fork and eating real solid foods. I kid. Giovanna and I have made it a priority to update the site more.

Fiona is also a very good crawler. It all started with her tucking her knees under her belly and rocking, but now she’s scooting all over the place. We will have to start child proofing the house soon because she loves exploring her world. Oh we also have some great news (on the topic of houses). Just last weekend we submitted an offer on a house. We just got word tonight that offer was accepted! Giovanna, Fiona, Bella and I are home owners once again. In the next couple of days, I’ll post pictures of the house; there is a home inspection scheduled on Friday, so I’ll take a bunch of pictures and post them.

Because we are on the topic of pictures, here are some pictures of Fiona we’ve taken during the last couple of weeks.

Ok, so I know I haven’t updated the site in awhile, but should I be punished for that? I guess it is punishable in China, and the punishment you ask? Yes, a nice all-Chinese hack-job.

A curious person might ask how did you ever find out your website was hacked if you don’t ever update it. Well, I stumbled across the problem while trying to convince a person (Aren Hansen) to start using the same platform I use (that also is vulnerable to chinese hackers). While trying to boast how easy it was to setup and administer a WordPress site, I found out my site was redirecting to some search engine across the world. I might know how to set them up, but I never said I knew how to secure them.

In case you are wondering, I do know how to fix’em though. The fix was fairly easy. You may notice also that the theme changed on you; very observant my young Padawan. Well the fix actually called for changing the theme.

Now that I’ve fixed it, I’ll see you in another two months!