As for myself, I picked up and moved across the country to Philly. It's definitely a change, but I like it. I've been receiving the entire spectrum from very friendly to very offensive, but luckily, everyone that I've been meeting in my graduate program is extremely nice. I haven't eaten cheese steak yet, and I don't plan to. And Mexican food here is terrible.

I'm lost on what's new and hip, but I've been listening to The Good Life, The Little Ones, and Beastie Boys.

Fortunately (or unfortunately depending on your point of view) my life is pretty much the same...still working at the same place (for almost nine years now)...still enjoying my job (taking on more responsibilities and moving toward more actual design work as opposed to just strictly doing drawings for plan sets)...and still happy with my life.

Aimée has also been expanding her responsibilites at work...she' been having a tougher time getting recognition for her efforts, however, which has been frustrating...she does enjoy her job but she sometimes feels as if her supervisors merely pay lip service to the amount and quality of work she does...in other words, she'd like to get paid better. Its a tough situation since she's got tenure with the company and she enjoys the work but they could be doing better by her, monetarily. Unfortunately, I don't make enough on my own to support us and in life we've grown accustomed to (with the whole living in a house and eating food thing) so she's not really in a position to throw out ultimatums...if the powers that be called her bluff, we might end up living out of boxes...so she's trying to find a roundabout way of getting her point across without resulting to empty threats.

Caitlyn is five and will be six in January.

Allow me to repeat...Caitlyn is five and will be six in January.

She started Kindergarten earlier this month and totally loves it. We opted to keep her in private school for now...our reasons being that the school that was just completed in our neighborhood is brand new and has no track record by which to judge their merits (whereas the school that she's attending is well respected and comes highly recommeded by many co-workers who have their children there) and the fact that sending her to public school would cost merely $150 less a month than keeping her at private school (public school would be free of course but before and after school care in our district is quite expensive)...the school she attends now allows us to drop her off before "official" school hours to a supervised environment where she's hanging our with children her own age and also provides supervised activities after "official" school hours for no "extra" charnge other than the base tuition fee.

Anyway...Caitlyn is doing really well. She's amazing. She's reading now (she began reading earlier this year...maybe around March) and one of her favirite books at the moment is Fox In Socks. She often acknowleges that one of her Daddy's computer friends bought if for her ...Shes in an accelerated kindergarten program at school too. It astounds me at just how much stuff kids can retain...her teachers literally just throw a bunch of knowledge her way and see what sticks! And most of it does stick!

She plays soccer too...micro soccer (three on three with a reduced size feild). So far she's averaging a couple of goals a game. Sometimes she loses focus and we catch her dancing around on the feild...but she's working on that.

Man, I'm sure it's almost sickening how I go on and on about my kid, but she's literally the best thing I've ever done. It's difficult not to gush. Sorry.

The one thing we neglected to do this year was take a "real" vacation...we did however decide that next June we're Hawaii bound so there's that to look forward to. Should be sweet. It'll be the first time for all of us. We may end up doing a small vacation during Caitlyn's winter break (when they'll take a break in curriculum but still open the school for child care purposes...another bonus that public school doesn't provide).

Teaching again at the same business school this year. Last week was "intensive English" week; this week normal classes begin. Also will be doing some work in another, very competitive school (think ivy league, but specialized in political science), which just opened a campus in Le Havre specialized in Asian studies, although it's unsure how many hours I'll be doing there (looks like two or four per week, most likely two if things don't change in the next couple days) -- that starts up Oct. 1st.

University classes also start up tomorrow. Assuming there aren't any surprises, this year will be the last before I receive my BA. Which is cool.

Not sure what next year will bring. We are playing with the idea of relocating, but haven't really concretely looked much further into it as of yet. It's all hypothetical, and we don't even have any real destinations in mind. But it's the moment to do it if we're going to.

David is still working really far away, and is getting REALLY fed up with it. But other than that he's doing the same stuff.

In terms of music, uh, I'm pretty out of touch. I was back in AZ recently (my grandmother passed away, and it was summer so I went home for a month to help out with all the stuff that goes along with that), and came back with a few CDs: the new Matt Nathanson, Regina Spektor, Smoosh, William Fitzsimmons. I think I am mellowing out in my "old" age, or something.

Actually I got promoted at work. But I still have the same bad haircut, car and personal hygiene. Form an orderly queue ladies.

-)

Life is crazy for me right now. I am starting a business, along with working full time, along with being a father to a THREE YEAR OLD. I think I mentioned previous that I got a new job in April. Less work, more time with the family, and a slight bump in pay. Not a better job, mind you, just better perks.

I still live in the ghetto house, but I want to move soon. (soon being next year or so.) Lisa wants to get out of Michigan, but she isn't sure where she wants to go, other than Center City Philadelphia. Homes there are out of our league, and well, I don't want to live there. So we shall see.

Calvin is rocking. He is going to be Elton John for Halloween because we have raised him on a steady diet of old muppet show reruns. He also loves to rock out with his daddy. His favorite rock out songs...
Firecracker & Deville –Strung Out
I'm Not Okay– My Chemical Romance
Any MFAGG but really Sloop John B
assorted Face To Face songs (but he hates Disconnected)
and pretty much any Lazy Town.

I have tried breaking him in on some other stuff, but if he hates it, he gets pissy and we have to listen to Sesame Street or The Wiggles.

As for life stuff, like RJ, Lisa and I didn't get a vacationn this year, but that is nothing new. I haven't had a vacation, for the sake of vacation in 10 years. We may get one in January though, have to see how my work schedule goes.

I'm also going to be an uncle for the first time tomorrow.

I've been listening to The National a lot, and the new Streetlight Manifesto album is sweet as hell too.

(oh god, this is almost a Winter update, even though it's like 74 degrees Fahrenheit outside today)

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"Hats off to the nun with the man hands."

The university is blocked again (this time the students are protesting the privatization of French universities), which means no one can get into the building except for the students that are doing the blocking. Which means that on Tuesday I spent about 45 minutes hanging outside at 7am in chilling temperatures.