About 2 weeks

Tomorrow Mo will be 38 weeks pregnant. This is a good thing because we really hoped Josiah would go at least 38 weeks. Hooray. His due date is in 16 days (or 15 if you don't count the day of). So in about 2 weeks there will be a new kid on the block.

No, damn it, that's not what I meant

As I tell people, getting Mo pregnant was amazingly hard. However, she 'does' pregnant really well. She looks fantastic, she's had very few of the negative side effects of pregnancy, and exactly zero complications. It's all very textbook. Even now, she's yet to have a Braxton Hicks. Although, he's been kicking up a storm every few days. She told me he had hiccups today.

I predict he will come within 12 hours of noon December 13th. I have my reasons for predicting this, but calling it science would just be a lie. I know the truth is that Josiah will come when he is damn well ready too. Until then, we will just hang tight.

I said "tight" damn it.

Racially Neutral Friday

I did not go black Friday shopping. I thought about going to watch the madness with a detached, scientific interest, but decided that CastleVille and sleep were vastly more interesting.

I used to play real video games damn it.

I thought about going shopping for gifts, but then it dawned on me that I had no idea what Mo wanted. So I asked her. She couldn't think of anything other than "baby". I then thought to myself.

"Well Jeremy, you can always spend money on Legos. That's like a drug. But is there anything you actually want?" and to my shock, the answer was "not really."

I mean, sure I'd love and iPad, but I'm not going down that path till I see what the 3 (or 2 HD or whatever) is like. That is at least a few weeks in the future, maybe months. Who knows? Certainly not this Christmas. The new Warcraft expansion is likely to roll out Dec. or Jan. I might do that...just cause a Panderan Death Knight sounds fun.

totally awesome.

But, really. I can so live without it.

Plus, let's get real for a second. The first week of new baby is basically a survival mode of no-sleep. The 2nd and 3rd weeks (sometimes) get better. So anything I get is not likely to be remembered or enjoyed for at least a month.

I should probably get something for my nieces and nephews. My parents won't likely give a crap about anything other than seeing the grand baby.

So, I am totally into the spirit of Christmas this year. I am dying to go see lights, drink coco, eat holiday food, and watch horrid-horrid-horrid television specials. I am super down with that. I just don't think I much care for the gifts part. It's not a bad thing, I just have no interest.

A Christmas Warning

Last year I, somehow, got "into" Christmas. I wasn't sure why. Mo and I had just gotten horrid news. We made the best of it.

But this year, not only did we get really good news, we are pretty much both getting what we want this year.

We want a total lack of this. duh.

So. I am trying to keep the 'holycrapI'mgettingababythisChristmas' restrained until at least after Thanksgiving. But seriously, I am probably going to lose my mind a little. I've actually considered doing some shopping on Black Friday.

"Yes, let the madness consume you! bwhahahaha!"

I'm not talking about "At the store on Black Friday". I'm talking "Dude, I was here at 2am, get your hands off my novelty socks!"

You can have the socks, when you pry them from my cold dead hands.

We already have a little tiny tree in Josiah's room. Someone at the baby shower got him a little ornament for it. This is the level of crazy we're talking here.

Like this, but with more slobber

So, to my friends and family. I'm sorry. I really am. But, this Christmas, you best just hunker down and get ready, cause this ride is gonna get real, real fast.

Secret (Ninja) Jew

A few months back, my martial arts instructor (Mr. Epps) asked me if I was jewish. I'm not and I replied as such. He then tells me that another instructor (who also happens to be an professor at UCO) told him I was a "secret jew" or something along those lines. I told him that no, I'm not a jew, he's confused or something. I thought it was absolutely hilarious because I would be a horrid, horrid jew (I love pork chops...and bacon...and bacon wrapped pork chops).

totally a thing

So I asked the professor why (in hell...or sheol, whatever) he thought I was jewish.

He said "you speak hebrew."
I said. "I do, that's awesome! wait, I totally don't. What are you talking about?".

It turns out that a few weeks prior he asked me what I planned on naming Josiah. I told him Josiah Daniel. He mentioned they were both Biblical names and I told him yeah, it was that or Maher Shalal Hash Baz and I pronounced it correctly (thank you Dr. Glenn Pemberton).

This is of course hilarious.

So I corrected him that I am not jewish and would (as I mentioned) be a terrible jew. Still, he has a point. It would be super cool if I got my black belt and was, actually, jewish.

I can totally pull off that beard.

The reason I bring this up is because recently a picture and connected discussion attributed to Ben Stein appeared on Facebook. As with so many things passed around Facebook, much of it is incorrectly attributed to Mr. Stein. However, much of it is accurate. (click here for more details).

Regardless if all of it is correctly attributed to Mr. Stein or not, much of the discussion is interesting. I know several atheists and a few agnostics (I call agnosticism the lazy man's atheism - because it's funny to say that). Most are decent folks and show the same kind of respect to me and jewish people as I show to jewish people and atheists. Some of them, are...well, less tolerant (you know, kinda like how some christians are intolerant and some jewish people are intolerant - it's a human thing).

I think that really is the part I most connect with (and it's actually something Mr. Stein said)
"I do not like getting pushed around for being a Jew, and I don't think Christians like getting pushed around for being Christians. I think people who believe in God are sick and tired of getting pushed around, period."

I'm not suggesting we start beating up on our atheist friends, but on an emotional level I connect with Stein's words. But, on the other hand, I tend to push back. Like I said, I'd make a horrid Jew because I'd want to grab one of these.

I'd leave #4 for my Jewish brothers and sisters.