Separate Celebrations

Confusing title, I know. But I don't have much time and really need to get this down. Today is Catherine's birthday.
I am not with her.
That stinks. A lot.
Especially since in addition to celebrating the special day in the life of my favorite person on the planet, I want to be with her to celebrate my national championship!
Yup. Four boys from little 'ol Waco went all the way up to the cold and daunting campus of Michigan State and beat out 25 other teams to win the National Trial Advocacy Competition. It was amazing. We got back today. And it is back to studying like crazy for PC (finals start in 6 days).
So, I am here in Waco. Catherine is there in Beaumont with the girls. And we celebrate apart. I want to include what I wrote to her this morning. I just want everyone else to know how much I love her, too.

I am so thankful to call you my wife. You are an amazing woman. I have thought about you so much this trip and really wished this tournament would have been any other weekend. You are my heart. You are the one I think of when my mind isn't "working". You are the one I remember when I need inspiration. You are the one I imagine when my heart is lonely. You are the one I rush to whenever I can. You are nothing I ever expected. You know that. You know how much I wasn't looking for you. And you know how absolutely blessed I am that, in spite of not looking, I found you. My wife. My love. My passion.

Alright. Back to work...

Signs of the End of Days

1) "Beverly Hills Chihuahua" grossed $29 million, the best October debut in Disney history.
Even at $10 a ticket, that's still almost 3 million people that PAID to watch a feature length taco bell commercial.

2) I have posted to the blog two days in a row.

Parenting I can relate to

I don't like to discipline the girls a lot when I am only seeing them on weekends. But I also don't want them forgetting the rules. Fortunately they are, for the most part, amazing. They "helped" us paint our bedroom in the new house today. Things are going very well on that front. The finished product will be worthy of HGTV. Too bad I have lost the charger for my fancy-schmancy video camera. We have a lot of before photos, though. Maybe I'll get a chance to post those somewhere on the www someday.

Blog Rec

Don't get excited. I have no time to write anything earth-shaking. PC is still hard. Ike has kept my family out of Beaumont for two weeks (no damage to houses). I am going to miss Cat's 30th because I am on a mock trial team and the tournament is that weekend.

But I did want to quickly recommend a good friend's good blog. I quite enjoy the openness and sincerity of it. http://marchingthroughthewilderness.blogspot.com/

Getting Edgy

Ok, I love politics as a spectator sport. Seriously, what a bunch of whack jobs. I was so excited with the Palin pick. I thought it did away with many of the superfluous arguments about minority, experience, outsider/insider, etc. I thought we were going to have a real debate on the issues. Then Jamie Lynn Spears had to go and send Palin's daughter gifts of support. Anyhow, the thing that I have to say something about is the insanity from the RNC floor. Listening to Pouts '08 on XM (the best coverage around) is driving me mad. Every person they talk to, from Orrin Hatch to random delegates is OUTRAGED by the media "bashing" Palin. But I haven't seen that AT ALL. Bloggers and talk show hosts, maybe. But they are idiots. The pundits and the journalists (even using the word losely) have kept it about the issues related the story. And nobody is questioning her parenting. Obama has specifically said the kid's kid is not an issue reminding people that he comes from a single parent home (nice self promotion, by the way). Anyhow, XM started asking all the people at the convention who was doing the bashing. Nothing but the ubiquitous "them." I have a favorite new expression. I don't think I am stealing it, but I doubt I am the first to say it - THERE IS NO THEM! And while in politics there likely is, there isn't always a them. And without a single hard example, those attending the convention have slipped easily into the standard "the media is slanted" line that allows them to completely avoid confronting issues. It really is a brilliant strategy. Rove used it to perfection.
Alright I just had to write that down. done.

Time flies...

When you're studying for finals, taking your last one on Thursday, moving temporarily to your family in Beaumont, getting reaquainted with your wife and kids, finally seeing the house you have a contract to purchase, starting a new job on Monday, working your tail off to impress possible future employers, working your tail off to secure financing on the house, figuring out how to completely remodel the house that was built in 1967 and not touched since, going to Houston to see your parents and faimily on Saturday, visiting new churches every Sunday, picking out cabinets, driving a Vespa to work in the rain for two weeks, going to Houston the next Saturday to pick out granite for the house that you still haven't secured financing on, teaching your 7-year old how to ride a bike, driving to a wedding in Bay City, billing 22 hours in 2 days as a 1L summer associate, finalizing financing (a whole other blog later, maybe), finalizing cabinet plans, single-handedly tearing out 2000 sf. of carpet, finishing up the temporary job on Friday, tearing out an entire kitchen on Saturday, moving back to Waco tomorrow and starting the most difficult quarter of a BLS career on Monday.

So. Sorry I haven't posted since before summer finals. But I don't know if I will be posting any time soon either.

Effects of being left to my own devices

I am too busy now to be lonely. That is a good thing. But I am also busy enough to use that as an excuse not to shave. I have only been shaving once a week since Cat moved, usually the day before or the day I leave to see her. But it is now 11 days and counting. At what point does a man become furry, as in covered in fur, a woodland creature if you will. I mean, at some point the neck hair will merge with the chest hair. At this point there is only about half an inch keeping me in this particular genus specie.
pic added for cache (if you know what i mean)