.: bistan.net :.

• So Tristan lost his first tooth at school — literally lost it on the playground. Should the tooth fairy come when there's no tooth to get? #
• Dear Drug Companies: Diet and exercise never "fail", people do. #
• They say take your hobby and make it your job and you'll be happy. So I did. Now I hate both my hobby and my career. So now I just go run. #
• Favorite band is coming back to Atlanta in November. Time to start lining up a babysitter . . . #
• Local news station (@13wmaznews) just aired interview of a lady standing in front of a camouflage casket. Thats why our community = #FAIL #

• Mackenzie has been playing in the bathtub for almost an hour. Went to get her out and noticed that she never put any water in it! Ooops! #
• Congrats to the War Town girls for winning the little league world series again! #
• Ok maybe that was "ace use laces". That's why I'm not coach. #
• Aces use bases. Bozos use toezoes. Apparently that is good soccer advice. #
• Congrats to Toy Story 3 for becomming the top-grossing animated film of all time! But now, I'll never be able to throw out my kids toys…. #
• This morning's 5 mile run was the equivalent of running through a bowl of warm soup: heat and humidity! #
• After a dip in the river and three weeks in a bag of rice, my digital camera seems to be working!!! (Too bad my memory card is at work!) #

I think we finally found a sport that my kids enjoy: Soccer.  As you know from reading this blog, t-ball did not work out due to various reasons.  Soccer seems to be working out well.  Both kids had their first game this morning, and the only thing that could have made it better is if I didn’t have an awful cold.

They play through the Upward program at a church within walking distance of our house.  The program is extremely well-organized and the coaches are very enthusiastic.  The program is designed so that every child plays and every child is a winner.

I volunteered to be an “assistant coach” for Mackenzie’s team and it’s great.  I don’t really know much about soccer, but I seem to be okay at rotating the kids out every three minutes and getting them plenty of water breaks.

Here are a few photos from this morning:

• Tristan watching gymnastics: "Wow, her shirt is tight!" #
• If muslims were as peaceful as they claim to be, they would recognize that they are causing an issue and simply build somewhere else. #
• This morning: 10K, 2 soccer practices, then nap! #
• Another Mackenzism: "Ewww, Tristan said the 'E' word" Me: What is the 'E' word? Mackenzie: "Eee-dee-it (idiot)" #
• Mackenzism for today: "The rain can help the flowers get wet" #
• Mackenzism for today: About oreos — "Some of the are broke, but some of them are fixed" #
• The Internet is the first thing that humanity has built that humanity doesn't understand, largest experiment in anarchy ever – Eric Schmidt #
• Ask me next week AFTER you pay your tuition. #
• Boss is vacuuming the floor. Sure sign of a new dean on campus. http://yfrog.com/n4esmj #
• Yes. I'm on an elevator held together by duct tape. http://yfrog.com/2cz34kj #
• If the new dean doesn't realize that work is also accomplished at the desk, then I'm in trouble. #
• These people around here are making up "out-of-office" work to do, hoping the new dean sees them working hard. Ha Ha Ha Ha. #
• New dean starts this morning. Which means all of the middle management is here on time (for once) and running around like lost pups. Fun. #
• Waiting in line at Turner Field so the kids can run the bases. Braves won 5-2. #

This was certainly a baseball weekend! Saturday night was Mercer night with the Macon Pinetoppers.  Sunday we went to the Braves game, part of Kimberlie’s birthday present.  On Sundays, kids are invited onto the field after the game to run the bases.  They get a t-shirt and certificate and it’s free!  On top of all that, it was kid’s day at the game with tons of stuff to do.

Enjoy the photos below:

Mackenzie started 4K this morning!  Of course, the morning has been well-documented with photos, some of which you see below.  It’s hard to believe how much she has grown since last year.

This is Mackenzie with her teacher, Mrs. Pam.  Not only is she the 4K teacher, but she is also the director for the entire preschool where Mackenzie has spent the past two years. Needless to say, Mackenzie already LOVES Mrs. Pam.

I’m just glad she’s still small enough to hug and kiss me goodbye. Next stop, prom night.

• About to head to work, because I stupidly answered the "I know it's the weekend, but" email. I'll learn my lesson one day. #
• Just got an email: "I know it's the weekend, but . . ." Good thing she told me it's the weekend so I can ignore the email. I had no idea! #
• These walls, too hard to climb. And that ladder is too hard to find. I don't want to be here anymore. #
• My running bling has a new home: #wdw #run #wdwmarathon http://yfrog.com/0nzfcrj #
• How to eat an ice cream when you don't like the cone: http://yfrog.com/n43pij #
• LOVES LOVES LOVES LOVES LOVES my new iPhone 4. #
• HELP!!! http://yfrog.com/jb5eilj #
• Watching Invictus. Great movie so far. #
• Wife really thinks I'm good at Jeopardy now that we have DVR and can rewind. #
• Congrats to Manchester, Connecticut for achieving your 15 minutes of fame! (and better luck next time) #
• Made a great ham sandwich for lunch today and "accidentally" ate it on the way to work. Must have been hungry after that humid 4-mile run! #
• Exactly two months and 30 minutes from now I'll be running Disney's Inaugural Wine & Dine Half Marathon! #wdwmarathon #run #
• Dear @ATTCustomerCare, It's been 10 days since my iPhone 3G went for a swim. Please hurry and ship my iPhone 4. I'm in withdrawal. Thanks. #
• Watching Intervention in HD. Crackheads look awesome in high-definition!!! #
• Happy that Tristan got the teacher I wanted him to have! Looking forward to him going back to school tomorrow. Life will be normal again! #
• Realized that we don't get Lifetime with our @dishnetwork subscription. No complaints from me there! #FTW #
• I put recyclables at the curb this morning for the first time in my life. You should be proud. #
• First grade open house this evening, 4K open house on Thursday. Can't believe I have a first grader! #gettingOLD #
• Busy mastering the art of ICACLS #
• Boss called in today. We must be getting a big delivery. Figures. #
• Wife is watching Julie and Julia. Not my kinds of movie. I would be asleep right now if it didn't have @rajskub in it. @rajskub rules! #
• Workweek hasn't even started and the trophy is already lost. Maybe next week . . . #
• Why is Tristan laughing so hard at a movie he has seen 1000 times? At some point, it shouldn't be funny anymore! #
• This is tweet number 1000 for me! #

Tristan started first grade this morning!  We went to open house last night and were pleased to find out that he got the teacher that I wanted him to get.  She actually taught first grade at the school when I was in first grade and has taught first grade there longer than Kimberlie has been alive!

It’s hard to believe that I’m old enough to have a kid in first grade.  I can’t wait to get home and hear about his day!  I’m sure I’ll have to fill out tons of forms too.  Sending your child to school is more complicated than buying a house.  Mackenzie starts 4K on Monday and then our lives will be back to normal.

• Just had dish network installed: 120+ channels, HD and DVR. I'm never leaving home again. Ever. #
• Assange has posted a 1.6GB encrypted "insurance" file in case something happens to him or #wikileaks Feels like we live in a movie! #
• Donate your spare change to #Wikileaks – the way a handful of people are managing to shake up the US government just fills me with glee. #
• Mike Mullen cracks me up. Anyone who cares about american soldiers lives wouldnt have them in a foreign country being shot at. #wikileaks #
• Win a new Canon 5D MK II or $2500 of photo scans from @scancafe & Scott Bourne. Pls RT. Info at: http://bit.ly/9FxEUA #
• I've been #thinkingboutsomethin other that you. #
• Julian Assange is my hero! #
• #wdwmarathon finisher's medal just announced for 2011. It's not the one I voted for. #
• Thank God for caller ID! #
• tanga.com has another awesome shirt up today for $6.00 . . . The Constitution: I read it for the articles . . . Ha! #
• If we could charge admission fees to ants, I wouldn't have to go to work today . . . or ever! #
• Local pastor trying to have high school get rid of "demons" mascot. Churches should be known what they are for, not what they are against. #
• Mackenzie told me she doesn't want to go to jail because they don't give you stickers there. #
• Losing my mind today without cable television, iPhone, and small digital camera. Hope this week goes a little better. #

So far, 2010 has not been a great year . . .

In January:

• Kimberlie’s mother died

In February:

• Mackenzie gets kid-mono.  Between the two of us, we spent almost two weeks away from work, doing nothing but this:

  

In March:

• We went through a tough eating-out hiatus.
• T-ball.  Need I say more?

In April:

• Tristan learns to stick things where they don’t belong.
• Tristan has a major accident during a day trip.
• I went to the doctor (for the first time in 20 years).

In May:

• A house catastrophe.
• No raises at work.

In June:

• I ended up in 2 graduate classes during a 4-week summer semester.  Of course, I ended up with A’s, but it was a tough month.
• Mackenzie ended up sick (and very irritable) for half of our trip to Philadelphia.

And now, July:

• The cat chewed up my Macbook power cord.
• We lost our “free” cable and I my iPhone and digital camera went for a swim . . . in the same week.
• Ants seem to invade a different room of our house everyday.

Of course, there are things that have been happening (or not) all year:

• The stock market has really sucked for the last few months.
• I’m 31 and still not rich enough to retire.
• Publisher’s Clearinghouse still hasn’t knocked on my door.

Don’t get me wrong.  I still love my life.  But even number years just never work out for us.  2008 was equally as bad.  2007 and 2009 were fabulous.  Let’s hope I can make it through the next five months alive!