Is he your son

I had to take Christopher into school this morning as we left his book bag as at school yesterday. While we were walking down the hall a cute little black girl starts walking with us. She asks if I am Christopher's daddy. I say yes. The little girl then says but he looks white and you are black. I then ask the little girl if everyone in her family are the same color. She tells me yes. So I try to explain to the little girl that my mom is lighter than me(light skinned black) and my dad is darker than me(dark skinned black). I don't think she understood but it was funny to me.
We had our first parent teacher conference last night. We were a little nervous going into it but it all worked out. The teacher seemed pretty happy with his progress. He is on track to complete all the targets the school has set for kindergartners. It was a little awkward when he drew a picture and wrote that his family likes to play wii.

Still Not handy

I will be the first to tell you that I am not the most handy person in the world. As a matter of fact I prefer not to mess with most things around the house. For some odd reason My wife and I decided to to install shelves in the laundry room. we ordered a new washer and dryer and wanted to get more storage. So we spent all day one Sunday taking down the shelf that was in there and planning how we wanted the new shelves to look. After we figured out what we wanted we went to work. I must say I really like the finished product. I put the shelves up and my wife filled holes and painted. We might even try to put a few more up. I still don't mess with electricity. Thats another story for another day.

How Far We Have Come....

I am not sure how I feel this morning. It would seem that having a black president would make every black person in the country extremely happy. I am not sure I am there just yet. I do understand the importance of what happened. There are many black people in this country that never thought this would ever happen. Or better yet that they would live to see a black man elected to the highest office in this country.

As far as this country has come it still has a long way to go. Here are a few comments from foxnews.com as to why Obama won. http://foxforum.blogs.foxnews.com/2008/11/04/youdecide_11043/comment-page-57/#comments

"He won because black people finally got off their lazy a$$es and voted!
They’ll be the ones getting the handouts so they didn’t want to miss their opportunity!"

"1)black people believe that he will pay their bill .Spread the wealth around . Remember!!! (92% black people vote for him)
2) Young people just want to be a part of history."

"I am just glad that I am not one of his “Secret Service Agents”. Don’t forget to duck!!!"

"Very simple. minorities voted for him. The attitude that “I’m entitled” and Obama will get government to provide those entitlements is the big issue here."

"It was very racial. The Black community voted for him because he is Black, I witnessed it at the voting areas. People wouldn’t be there long enough to even read the the whole ballot sheet, it was
amazing. I also found the people there quite rude.
Also all these people making under 250,000. think they are going to be getting all this money, and the dead beats are especially looking for the handout, they don’t desire to live the American dream of working hard, getting ahead and being proud of what you’ve done with your life and contributions to society. They want it all for doing nothing in return. Obama makes this possible for them."

I am not looking for a hand out. None of my black friends are looking for hand outs. But this is what a portion of white America thinks of me and people who look like me. Once again I am not sure how to handle this. No matter how hard I work and no matter what I achieve there will be people in this country who can only see the color of my skin.

Have we come a long way yes. Do we have a long way to go yes we do. I guess we can say this is a step in the right direction.

Batman Legos

Ok I must admit......I am hooked. I am by no means a serious gamer. I usually play sports games Madden and NCAA football being my favorite. After trick or treating my son played at a neighbor's house. He came home and all he could talk about was Batman Legos. So while my wife was at the spa on Saturday we went out and got Batman Legos for PSP. We have not stop playing since. At this point I think we will own the entire series which includes Star Wars and Indiana Jones.

The game play is very simple and fun. Which is why a five year old and his 33 year parents enjoy playing. You start out playing with Batman and Robin. As you clear levels you gain access to more characters you can play with. Batman and Robin have different suits that give them special powers. The games includes the major characters from the comic such as The Riddler, The Joker, Mr. Freeze, and The Penguin. Along with simple and fun game play the story clips are funny.

I look forward to playing the other lego installments.

Election Day

Today the family went and voted. With all the talks of long lines it was a pretty smooth process. We went right in and placed out votes. They even had a a little area for the kids to vote. So Christopher cast his vote also. Often times I try not to look to the past but in this case it is hard not to. Not so long ago many people where not allowed to vote. I know some times I take the privilege of voting for granted. Many people made sacrifices so that I would have the right to vote. We have come a long way.

Lunch Time Sports

We play team sports at work during lunch. It is a great way to break up the day and get some exercise in. Never a bad thing. I have been playing for about two months now. I am getting my wind up a little but the man the injuries are staring to get to me. I am not old by any means. I would think 33 is still pretty young. Some times it is hard to tell my body that the morning after playing the day before. In the last three games I have pulled a hamstring(flag football) and turned my ankle pretty good(ultimate freebie). Don't get me wrong I like the fact I we can go out at lunch and enjoy some fresh air and get a good work out in at the same time.

We are not too competitive when we go out at lunch. Some times you have a few people yell to get back on defensive or man up. For the most part we are pretty cool. There are varying levels of athleticism out there. So you don't want to get on some one who is out there trying.

Not much going on

Christopher finished up fall soccer this past Saturday. It took about two months for the little guys to start playing together as a team. Being a huge sports fan it is interesting to see how you start to teach and train a young athlete. Each week through out the season the coach had a different point he wanted to in still in the players. Simple things such as keeping your head up when you run to taking a good angle to cut off a player advancing the ball. I am not a big fan of soccer but it seems my son is not bad. Although I may be biased; that is my story and I am sticking to it. He will play spring soccer it will be a little cold out but that only makes him tougher right?


Tonight he begins swim lessons. If I am not mistaken this is the third time he will have taken swim lessons. At this point he is learning different strokes. Maybe some time in the next year or so he will be on a swim team. This is something else I know little about as I did not learn to swim until my freshman year at NC State. He really enjoys swimming so this should be great for him.

Not much going other wise. We got a new washer and dryer that will be delivered on Monday. We are thinking about stacking them to make more room in the wash room/closet. We would then need to find some shelves to go in there. I think it will turn out good. My online Dynasty (NCAA09 Footbal) season just ended. I was not bowl eligible with NC State. I should have a pretty good recruiting class so next year should be better.

But what do I know......

First Bus Ride

Today my son wanted to ride the bus to school. His first day was yesterday and my wife and I took him to school and helped him get settled in. He has been saying for a while now that he wanted to ride the bus to school. I did not think he would like it but if he wanted to I would let him. He was very excited when he woke up this morning right up until he got on the bus. All smiles. So yet another first.

The Mets beat the Brewers last night in 10 innings. Granted the blew a four run lead they hung in there and got the job done. Should I now get excited.. NO they only have a 2 game lead over the Phillies and over 20 games to go. I am happy but will not go over board.

Camping Labor Day

This weekend we went camping at Morrow Mountain State park. It was a great time. We got in Saturday around 230 or so. Got the tent set up in a short amount of time. After that my wife and several other families went to the pool and swam for a little while. In the mean time some of the dads and I got a little work out (twelve ounce curls) and started to get dinner ready. We had dinner then sat around the camp fire. Sunday we got up had a great breakfast. Then we set out to go canoeing. I had had only been in a canoe only once before with my brother many years ago. It was me my wife and my son in a canoe. My son was actually a little scared at first but he did warm up to the idea after that. All and all I think it was a great experience for him. Mom and dad had a great time also canoeing. We spend most of the time going sideways but we worked together. We just relaxed after that. I am also told that Sunday night kept a few people up with my snoring.



Today was the first day of kindergarten for my son. My wife and I dropped him of and met his teacher. She is a little bubbly but we will see how that goes. It brings back memories from my days in kindergarten. Best story from kindergarten; I was in the bathroom messing around and my neighbor while waiting to go wet her pants. Well my teachers though it would be a good idea to put them in the toaster. Needless to say they got burnt. Good times. But what do I know…..

First time for everything.

Truly there is a first time for everything. First tooth, first step, first day of school and so on. My son is starting school this year. I vaguely remember my first day of school. My parents on the other hand love to tell the story. My mom and dad took the day off to take me to school and bring me home. Once we got to school I looked back at my parents and told them I was ok and would ride the bus home. Hearing that story for all these I did not notice what that must have felt like. Well now I do. I have taken my son to day care for most of his life. That has been our time. Now he wants to ride the bus to school. So now I know what my parents felt like when I looked back and told them I am ok and I would ride the bus home. First day of school for my son and first time for dad letting his little boy grow up.

Updates From Training Camp

Marques Johnson will transfer from NC State’s basketball team. Marques Johnson played in 21 games and averaged 2 pts and 1.2 dimes last year. With Degand and Gonzalez coming back this year, Johnson would be hard pressed for playing time. Only if one of the starters were to get hurt would Johnson get to play. I hope he is able to find a place where he can find some playing time. Seeing how it will be his third school in as many years.

In Wolfpack football news Coach O’Brien says the QB race is down the three. Three huh? With the start of the season days away you would think we would know who our qb would be at this point. So all we know is it will be either Daniel Evans, Russell Wilson, or Mike Glennon.

Mets win 12-0 over the Washington Nationals. The Mets batters did not give the bull pen a chance to blow yet another save. Hope Wagner will be back soon. Wagner has two more rehab starts and if those go well then he will be back on Monday. Daniel Murphy went 3-6 in the win over the Nationals is batting .467 since being called up from Triple-A. Good to see the farm system working.

In Dolphins training camp Chad Pennington and Chad Henne are getting most of the snaps and we will see lots of them in Jacksonville on Saturday. Jay Feely was released. I guess there is not change we will be in many tight games so we don’t need a reliable kicker.

I really can't wait until the start of football both college and professional. The Mets are tied for first place again but I have not confidence in our bull pen. After last year I will not get my hopes up until the last day of the regular season.