The beast has skin!

Some more pics of my project progress.

Step 2:

Those of you who know me well know that Halloween is one of my favorite holidays. ”Why?” you ask?  Well, I suppose it’s becuase it feeds right into my already hyperactive imagination.  So I really like to get into it.  I’m fortunate in that respect, because the place where I work is just as nuts about it as I am, which gives me lots of room and budget to feed my need for Halloween showmanship. 

So this year, I’m undertaking a very ambitious project for my department’s presentation, and I thought, I’d better document how I did this for the sake of those who come after me.  So I’m going to be taking pictures of the construction process, and then I’ll post some video of the final results.  So enjoy.

Step 1:

I’m sitting here in the hospital while my wife is prepping to give birth to our second son (heretofore known as Chachi). It has been almost exactly 10 years since we did this the first time. If Chachi had waited until his due date 2 days from now (the 24th), it would be exactly 10 years to the day. Of course we recognized this coincidence before today, but it just dawned on me that it is exactly (again, almost) a decade since Johnson’s only real birthday. What a curiously symmetrical number. Especially considering that this is likely our last go ’round. First and last on the ~ same ~ day with a decade between them. I should have something profound to say but the only thing I can think of is “Whoa, deja vu”.

It feels different this time. For instance, while this time I am thinking about this blog, 10 years ago I was thinking I might blog in my pants. I guess you get used to the process.

Another big difference: 10 years ago Donjuanica and Suz had been dating for like 10 years instead of married for like 10 years. Happy anniversary guys (holla back!) Again, sorry I couldn’t make it to the reception.

One thing is no different at all. We still don’t have a name picked out for this boy (though Chachi may remain a permanent fixture in nickname form). I don’t like to pick anything before seeing the baby. It’s my own little idiosyncrasy. So now I’m scouring for baby names in a stupor, looking for ideas. Just like the last decade, only on the internet this time instead of with books. In the brilliant words of Yogi Berra, “it’s like deja vu all over again.”

I guess the point is that I’m bored. And that Yogi WBAGNFABB*.

Please submit your other name suggestions in the comments.

* Would Be A Good Name For A Baby Boy; variant of WBAGNFARB

I have no real reason for posting this picture (which is of a donut box that someone brought to work) except to say that, for some reason, it does not make me want to eat either donuts or prunes. It does, however, make “me” want to “start” using unnecessary quotation “marks”.

The first person to identify this house wins…uh…something.  Maybe an e-card.

A little history: My wife grew up in Long Beach, California.  We were down there over the weekend for the funeral of her maternal grandfather–a remarkable man, I must add, but that’s for another post–and we spent a little time revisiting her old neighborhood.  This house is just a few blocks away from the home where she grew up and belonged to a family that my wife used to babysit for frequently.  That said, the house has a much more historic and important place in American pop culture.

So submit your guesses.  Your e-card awaits!

Today I went to lunch with my wife.  I took some pictures on my camera phone.  Here they are.

OK, so I stole this from Dave Barry’s blog, but it deserves the attention.

Punchline options:
A. I should say “ultra - extra strength”!
B. Take THAT, not-so-fresh feeling!
C. Mom, do you power wash?
D. SEE COMMENTS

UPDATE: I suppose it was inevitable that Wal-Mart would change it eventually, even though it was Wal-Mart *Canada*. For those of you who care, I refer you to this screenshot (which may also have been taken down by now, who knows?).