Dreamin' in the evenin'.

Oh boy.  LAST night's dream was weird too.  I dreamed I got fired for accidentally wearing the wrong pants with my uniform.  I was like, what!  I forgot to change my pants!

What scares me most is the very real possibility that it could happen just like that in real life.

Wait, you have a daughter now?

Yeah, it's been a little while, eh?  I meant to write earlier, but got distracted by a kid being born.

Anyway, apparently I'm stressed out, if my dreams are any indication.  Know what happened in last night's dream?  An ad on the TV said, "Are you tired of breathing the same old dull polluted city air?  Well, there's a place you can go..."  It suggested that everybody go to the forest and lie down, and just breathe the air.  Not build anything, just inhale and exhale the natural, unadulterated wilderness air.

Sounds relaxing, right?  Except everybody did it, and the world ran out of air.  The human population outnumbered the trees, and we all started to die.  Just before I woke up, I heard a man beside me say, "We shouldn't have done that."

My dream three nights ago was interesting too.  We lived in a post-apocalyptic world that was just rebuilding itself, and I drove a taxi in NYC.  The thing about it was, there was no government-produced money.  The only currency we had was dead bugs.

So I get into my cab and a guy hails me for a ride, and he hands me a plastic bag full of flies.  I look inside it, and say to the guy, "These are raisins."  And then I woke up, irritated that the guy had the chutzpah to pay me in dried grapes rather than insects.

Then there was the dream where I was Gordon Freeman in Half-Life 2, and I'm running from Combine soldiers and zombies and all manner of alien-war machine hybrids, and I'm about to escape City 17 in a boat when my real-life boss shows up and tells me that before I can leave, I have to stack all these supply crates and burned-out cars in an orderly fashion.  He told me it should be easy, if I use the gravity gun.

Anyway, when I woke up from that one I uninstalled Half-Life 2 and went back to playing solitaire on my breaks.

Awesome.

Lucky Day.

I am tempted to call this my lucky day.

Before Brittany-Ann left the house this morning, she and I shared a breakfast of blueberry waffles which were toasted to actual perfection. Usually we either undertoast them or burn them crisp. And so began my day of good blessings, though I didn't think much of it at the time.

When Britt got back in the early afternoon, she suggested going out for ice cream. Ideal, I said, and off we went. Britt let me drive, since I'm still learning. Upon arrival downtown, we had to find a place to park. It was intense, since I've never parallel parked before. But we found a spot, and, much to both our surprise, I executed a perfect parallel park. A triple-P, if you will. A quadruple-P, when you consider that it was my premier perfect parallel park.

We strolled up to The Nutty Chocolatier, and learned that today was Twoonie Tuesday, and large ice cream cones were on for $2 each. How fortuitous! Britt got banana and chocolate, and I got Sarasota orange sherbet, and we did not spill a drop of melting goodness like we normally do.

I climbed back behind the wheel of our 2007 Hyundai Accent hatchback, and pulled away from the curb so smoothly, you'd think I'd been doing it for twenty years.

Yeah, it's been a good day. Might not seem like much, but we both enjoyed it. And it's only four o'clock.

Ultrasounding a Mosaic.

I suppose it isn't news to many of you that Britt & I are expecting our first child. Britt has been pregnant for about five months now. The due date is August 2nd, and though the weeks are flying by, that date can't seem to get here fast enough.

Today we went for our second ultrasound. We had one at the hospital a couple months ago, earlier than most folk usually go, if only to set our minds at ease that our baby was healthy and well. Not only was it healthy and well, it was so small that it could wave its arms around and bob its head like a retro-night clubber. It was more than a thrill to see the little one so active inside my wife's womb. Sadly we didn't get to keep a picture from that session, but we were notified of an obstetrician who will take pictures, so we made an appointment.

It came about that not only would this doctor give us a picture, his ultrasound machine could project 3-dimensional images, and could thereby more accurately predict the sex of the baby. This gave rise to a debate which has become popular among those who are expecting: would we find out? I voted no, because life has so few surprises, and I figured we'd never regret saving this one. Britt voted yes, because it would help her make clothing choices, make decorating choices, and ultimately, keep her own peace of mind.

I staunchly defended my opinion for as long as I could. In the end, though, I admitted to myself that Britt's mental tranquility held more weight than my wish for secrecy. So I told her we'd find out. She kissed me a bunch.

Today was the day of the ultrasound. We arrived at the obstetrician's office and filed in among the dozen or so ladies & couples who were also waiting. The doctor, it seemed, had been called to the hospital, but would be back shortly, don't you fret. We sat on the floor in the hall and busied ourselves with my mp3 player, snack foods, playing hang-man, and being bored.

Somewhere in there, the doctor arrived and started seeing people. Two hours after our scheduled appointment time, he called us into the examination room. My breath started to catch, as I prepared to meet my son/daughter and give him/her a name.

The first images on the ultrasound machine were unidentifiable; just blobs and loops of goop, as far as I could tell. Then the obstetrician pointed out that we were looking at the baby's head, top-down. He indicated the baby's brain, which is developing nicely. I look forward to holding that kid and cooing, "We saw your brain!"

The doctor switched the view a bit, and showed us an arm. The baby's fingers are more fully developed now. One arm was extended out to the side, the other folded behind the baby's back. Over the course of the ultrasound session, the baby moved that arm to cover its face.

The baby's foot was beautiful, tiny toes and heel curling towards each other, very active, very healthy. Tibia & fibula were shown to be in good order. The spine curved gracefully from pelvis to skull. Normally spines creep me out, but this was anything but creepy. This was my baby being formed inside of the woman I love; that spine was a part of her and me.

So, is it a boy, or is it a girl?

Well, it was hard to say, the obstetrician told us. Actually, close to impossible. See, one of the baby's legs was folded up over its groin, the foot obscuring the vital area that would have allowed us know its sex. The doctor poked Britt's belly a little, trying to get the kid to move, but no dice. The baby reacted by curling up more. The doctor shrugged and supposed that we wouldn't get a better look at it today.

And so. We ended up not finding out after all. But we did learn that the baby is alive, well, and active, which is enough for us really. Yes, it was a little disappointing that we couldn't see more. But I guess we'll find out soon enough, right?

Hi, baby.

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