The summer completely got away from me and September has been trying to sneak up on my ass, like, in stealth mode. Yesterday I had a panic attack, realizing that we’ve only got a few weeks before the little man’s birthday - and birthday party. But then I took a deep breath and turned to ebay. I bought a bunch of Star Wars-themed stuff for the party. And one of my lovely designer friends from work has agreed to assist - by whipping up a simple invitation to distribute to the lad’s classmates (so much cooler than store-bought). Also, I’ve borrowed an idea from another parent…an idea that the little man might not like so much. I’m going to inform party guests that, in lieu of gifts, they will be welcome to pledge to our fundraising drive instead. I’ve done the Headwaters Walk for Justice in years past, but this time out the little man will be joining me. And the timing is perfect. It’s the day after his party. Not sure how many folks will take us up on this, but the kid already has oodles of cool toys and books. And the husband and I are getting him even more stuff so he’ll still have plenty of presents to tear into.
Hint hint: pledges are also accepted online.

In other news, the kid was crowned King…Richard, that is, when we went to see Robin Hood over the weekend. One of his favorite teachers is also an actress. Her theater company has been putting on the production at Minneapolis parks. The little man enjoyed it so much Saturday, at Powderhorn Park, that we went back again yesterday to catch it at Whittier. And yesterday he raised his hand when volunteers were called for and that is how he came to be King Richard. Well, that, and I kinda rigged it by asking his teacher before the show if they could, you know, pick him. And it was worth it. He was so stoked! Naturally I snapped off some photos.

Bonus: Tomorrow night The Clientele are playing at the 400 Bar and The Shys are playing the Ascot Room. I’ll likely miss both shows in favor of a night in, making a batch of Lubeeyah with ingredients purchased at the Mill City Farmers Market on Saturday.
Plus: In the too much information department, my body hates me. I’ve now had my period three different times this month. The husband says I should call it my ellipsis instead. Sigh.
And: Great, now flickr has added a new feature that promises to suck away even more of my precious free time - geotagging. Evil geniuses.

Thursday was surreal from start to finish. I kicked the day off by taking the little man in for his first psychiatric consultation. It was his psychologist’s idea. I’ll admit I was hesistant. Resistant even. The appointment was much longer than I’d expected, but also less painful than expected. The doctor was remarkably reasonable. After a lengthy conversation we came to the joint conclusion that meds aren’t necessary right now. The potential side effects would outweigh any potential benefits, and the little man is doing well enough on his own right now. That was the good news. The bad news? Well, I had just been describing his “staring episodes” when he was kind enough to demonstrate. It was beneficial to have the doctor witness it for herself, but it’s scary to hear the word “seizure” used in reference to one’s child. We’re going back next week for an EEG.

Later on I was to go to the State Fair, to see the Flaming Lips/Sonic Youth tag teaming it at the Grandstand. But my enthusiasm level was low. I was feeling tired, physically and emotionally, but I talked myself into going. I already had the ticket after all. But just as I was heading out the door a crazyass storm blew into town and knocked our power out, with the bonus of a tornado watch. I didn’t think the outdoor show would even be happening, but the box office confirmed it was. After some confused shuttling to and fro we got the husband and little man over to the safe haven of my in-laws’ home, and the husband chauffeured me to the Fair. By this point the rains had swept through, leaving behind cool, fresh air. I managed to hook up with friends and get to the Grandstand not too long after the show started. And I’m glad I did. It was great to see Kim Gordon, twirling around on stage, in her twee babydoll dress. And if I didn’t have a Wayne Coyne crush before the show, I sure do now. It turned out to be a magical evening.

Afterwards, well, that’s another story. Our power was still out. I had the husband pick me up sometime after midnight, and we went back to our house (the little man was asleep at the in-laws’). I wound up feeling like a burglar in my own home, stalking through with a flashlight in hand. And hey, the place is so messy these days (even by my own low standards) that it already looked like it had been ransacked. We grabbed some necessities and headed back to crash with the kid. Thankfully the husband set up his parents’ house with wireless. The next morning I found out our power was back on by sitting on their couch with my powerbook, and logging into one of the servers at our place. Yes, we are nerds.

The good:

• Monday night I made it to Loring Park to see Low (though the guys declined to join me).
• Yesterday we had a playdate at Brackett Park. It was lovely, even if the little man was a bit on the tired side. Dinner seemed to reinvigorate him so our little family unit went for a walk down to the neighborhood library. All in all a good day.
• Next month I plan to take the lad to Seattle. The husband may or may not join us. More on that to come.

The bad:

• Last week and over the weekend something was off - and I punked out on every single happening I planned to attend. Bad Sharyn. Bad.
• The husband’s luggage still hasn’t turned up. He’s supposed to call back tomorrow or Friday and will likely have forms to fill out. The filling-out-forms phase generally means all hope is lost.

The ugly:

• My ragweed allergies have kicked in full force and I now have fluid in my ears. This is a first. And a small taste of what it must have felt like for the little man, before he had tubes installed.
• Tomorrow I’m going to the State Fair, to see The Flaming Lips and Sonic Youth. A hard rain is supposed to fall. All afternoon and evening. Naturally the show is outdoors. Sigh.

Bonus: I love Tony Jaa. Sure, The Protector, looks to have a very similar plotline as Ong-Bak, but that’s not what it’s about. I will happily shell out money to watch that man’s Muay Thai and acrobatics on the big screen.
Plus: Man, everything is finding its way to YouTube these days. I remember being fascinated by the crayon-making process when I was a kid. To no one’s surprise, I still am.

Since the inception of this blog I’ve made it a general rule to avoid the topic of work…especially the specifics. These days, maybe not so much. I’ve been happily employed by Clockwork Active Media Systems since early 2005, and our kickass little company was just named one of the “Great Places to Work” by Minneapolis/St. Paul Business Journal. Another Clockworker put together a Clockumentary video to mark the occasion. Enjoy!

Bonus: The little man is on another impromptu overnight with grandma. I’m going to get the jetlagged husband out of the house for a night on the town. He wants to see Talladega Nights: The Ballad of Ricky Bobby. Well…why not? We’ve already seen Little Miss Sunshine (fan-freaking-tastic) and I have reservations about The Illusionist…but only because another movie about magicians, The Prestige, is coming out soon too, and I adored the book by Christopher Priest. Personally I wouldn’t mind seeing Quinceañera. But there is no way I’m wasting my time or money on Snakes on a Plane, and that’s final.

It was an anticipitation-filled day but the husband is home now, safe and sound. Unfortunately his luggage is not. It figures. This trip marked the first time he’d ever checked luggage and now it’s gone, without a trace. Hopefully Finnair will find it soon.

In other news, I have been such a slackass about getting us out of the house lately. Last night I fully intended to go to my friend Lani’s birthday BBQ/party, but wound up taking the little man to dinner at Evergreen instead…and then heading straight home. And there are all sorts of other events coming up. Saturday night - a friend’s going away party. Sunday is the husband’s grandpa’s birthday party, and the Japanese Lantern Lighting Festival at Como. Monday is music and movies in the park with Low (and Cary Grant). And later in the week The Flaming Lips/Sonic Youth show at the State Fair. I guess I’ll just have to be determined, and not allow myself to be sidetracked by laziness, or by my rediscovery of this online Scrabble game.

Bonus: Looks like Neil Gaiman is sharing the husband’s troubles, and they even passed through the same airport today.

Today is our third wedding anniversary…and the second one we’ve spent apart. Last year I’d taken the little man to San Francisco, but the husband stayed behind as he had to work. This year he’s in Helsinki. Working (or, as he told me this morning, “being paid to traipse about Europe”). Next year I’ll try to top that. Perhaps I’ll head to Beijing. The year after? Well, it’ll be his turn. Maybe someone can fly him to the moon.

After a long yet uneventful journey, the husband arrived safely in Finland. He attempted to call me but Skype doesn’t play nice with our landline’s security screen settings. And when he tried my cell phone the connection kept cutting out - so that I barely heard every fifth word or so. We wound up going old school and using talk. It felt more like 1996 than 2006. But it was oddly comforting and, dare I say, sort of romantic-like.

Other than the husband’s adventures, it’s been a fairly quiet weekend. The little man had a decent swimming lesson yesterday, and I was able to try out my nerdy new goggles. While they performed well they did draw some odd looks from passers by (but hey, I’m used to that sort of thing). Today we dropped by my folks’ house for a visit. The little man knows my Dad has a GameCube, so he brought along his latest obsession - Lego Star Wars. My Dad is, essentially, a big little kid so they had a good time with it. Sadly I think they bonded more over gameplay today than they ever have through other means. Typical.

Today a co-worker and I went out to grab some lunch. On the way we stopped by the eye doctor, so I could pick up my new prescription swimming goggles (yes, I am Queen of the Nerds, all other nerdlings shall bow before me). When we walked in the dude who works the counter asked if this co-worker was “my boy”. At first I interpreted this as “boyfriend” or some such variation on that theme. But a few further remarks made it clear that he meant as in “son”. Sure, this co-worker is a bit younger than I am, but no, I was not bearing children when I was eight years old, thank you very much. And way to make my day, guy.

Nerves are also on edge, what with the husband’s impending international flight. Rationally I know it will probably be just fine, but still. And aside from angst over the added risk, there’s the more practical matter of plain old additional hassle. The man generally travels light, carrying a single backpack, which eliminates the need to check luggage. But he is planning to bring some sketchy substances, like shower gel and toothpaste, so he’ll have to check a bag after all. And I wonder if security will make him take a few puffs off of his asthma inhalers at the gate? Sigh.

I’ve waited until it was official…but the husband is going to Finland. Sure, it’s for work. But the only place I’ve ever been sent for work was Faribault, MN. When I first heard the news I thought maybe I could tag along, you know, lend the husband some much-needed moral support. But then I found out how expensive the airfare is. Initially Travelocity gave me fares in the $2200+ ballpark. Now that it’s closer to departure I tried lastminute.com - but it’s still over $2100. And that’s $2100 I shouldn’t be spending just now. Besides, the little man would be completely heartbroken if we both went off without him. It’s bad enough as it is. I tried to be clear about it - when I told him that we’d be taking the husband to the airport on Saturday. But his wishful thinking got in the way and he assumed we’d all be flying away on some grand adventure together. Not this time, dearie.

On to more practical matters. It turns out the power adapters we bought for our laptops, for our trip to Iceland, will work in Finland. Score. And the husband asked his boss how he should dress when meeting with the clients. A button down shirt with jeans is acceptable (except that the husband possesses neither) but his boss suggested he check out www.Hel-Looks.com for more extravagant Helsinki fashions. That only makes me want to go that much more. And I can’t even live vicariously through the man. He doesn’t own a camera. I offered mine, but he has politely declined.

Bonus: I’ve seen these USB drives before, but a co-worker went down to the Wizard World Chicago con last weekend and was able to handle them in person, and brought back some promo materials from their booth. Too cute. Also too spendy. Sigh.

This morning I got out of my pajamas for the first time since Thursday afternoon. But only so I could get the little man to the bus stop without looking like a complete slob. I’m still running hot and cold, simultaneously. My stomach is sour and my sense of taste is shot. I’m off coffee. And my lungs are burning. At least the whole of my body no longer aches like one giant bruise. That’s progress, I guess.

I attempted to work from home today, in between lie downs, and did manage to get a bit done. But I missed the ambiance and communal vibe of my workplace. It’s the little things. We usually tune each other out when one of us is on the phone, but last week one small snippet reached our collective consciousness: “So basically he was just pulling my pigtails?” No idea what it was in reference to but it made us all laugh.

A few gleanings from the last several days:

• My life has been full of “Liberty Bell” moments.
• It was my turn to be Iseult’s muse.
• Cheek shares my love of Freaks and Geeks.
• The next time I hit the gym, PSC (post-summer cold) I’ll be thinking of Ok Go’s stellar treadmill choreography (and I will likely giggle to myself and frighten others).
• If I were feeling well tonight I’d be lounging in Loring Park, for a doubleshot of STNNNG and Bringing Up Baby.
• Kylark has called it quits, but Northern Transplant is back in business.