If only I had a spare $95

I can barely stand how fantastic this is. I love you, Lynda Barry!

Slippery Slope

Jim got me a new iPod for Christmas. It was a very exciting and momentous occasion until we realized that the beautiful silver jewel is not compatible with my home computer. I haven’t upgraded operating systems since I bought my G5 a couple of years ago, so now it’s practically obsolete. I started researching what it would take to make things right and started to realize that it wouldn’t be simple.

So we spent part of the afternoon at the Apple store today (along with the veritable throng of humanity who were engaged in post-Xmas shopping madness) , trying to figure out what to do. Apple stores are offering a new personal shopping service, which came in quite handy. You can utilize the service when you’re looking to buy/upgrade and you have more questions than can be quickly answered by one of the standard floor personnel. The personal shopper will spend up to an hour with you to helping to figure out what you need, and the service is free.

I can’t remember our personal shopper’s name but she was very knowledgeable and TINY. Like, I’m talking 4′5″ or so. But what she lacked in size she made up for in helpfulness. The big question was whether I should upgrade my current system or “just” buy a new computer. I say “just” because COME ON. My computer is barely 3 years old and I paid out the nose for it. It was a top-o-the-line professional beast when I got it, but unfortunately it’s now it’s just run-of-the-mill. If even.

Anyway, we determined that in order to upgrade I would not only have to buy the new operating system, but a couple of gigs of memory to help everything run smoothly. So we pondered which option would make the most sense in the end.

I could tell Jim was totally annoyed by the whole scenario and was second guessing his choice in gifts. At one point he said, “You know, I think this is a real racket they’re running here” and I said “You think?” because OBVIOUSLY they reel you in with new features, periperhals (the iPod), etc. and then you’re sucked in and forced to commit to upgrades, new hardware, etc. It’s the same way with cell phones and satellite radio and you name it. One of the sales people told us a story about his (PC-using friend) who bought an iPhone and then proceeded to shell out another $1500 buying whatever else he needed to make the phone sync up with all the other software/hardware he was running.

After quite a bit of debate we determined that upgrading my current system makes the most sense, at least monetarily. I couldn’t stomach the idea of a new computer, and an upgrade is a decent fix until I’m ready to go whole hog and buy a new system a couple of years from now. So I ponied up for an external memory drive (which I’ve been needing for a while) and over $1200 worth of software. The good news is that we can write off the entire cost thanks to my freelance work. That’s actually why we were scrambling to get everything done before January 1st: I needed to spend some $$ on business-related expenses to help balance out my design income. Between our outrageous medical expenses and business expenses we should get a decent return. At least that’s the hope.

So now I need to get my computer in the shop for a memory upgrade and then I can start installing all the new programs. I’m going to cross my fingers extra tightly once that happens because you never know what ill winds will blow when you start messing with your computer. At the moment everything works perfectly and I’ll be beyond bummed if it all goes to hell in a hand-basket once I start the renovations.

At the very least I figure I should be able to use my new iPod once everything is in place. And that alone might offset any related headaches. So pretty and shiny!

The Fear Redux

Last week I scheduled my c-section for January 29th. It’s so weird to know that while the baby might arrive sooner, he’s definitely not going to arrive later. And even though I’m getting bigger every day, it just doesn’t seem possible that I only have a few weeks left to go.

But the reality of the timing is slowly starting to sink in. So this past weekend I decided it was time to start getting the rest of the nursery in order. My specific goal was to manage all the clothes/gifts that we have received, which up until this point have been stacked in the closet.

Of course, the minute I started moving things around I got all panicky again. I couldn’t bring myself to take things out of boxes and remove tags from clothes because I was overwhelmed by the thought that I might be jinxing myself. Part of my brain was yelling “I can’t do this! I can’t do this!” while the other part of my brain was yelling “You HAVE to do this!” Because Max will be here soon and I’d rather not have things a complete mess when he arrives.

Jim was out running errands, so I did what any logical person would do: I called my mom.

As ever, she was the voice of reason, which was especially needed because by the time she answered the phone I was practically bawling. Instead of getting more excited as the baby’s arrival draws near, it seems that I just feel like I have more to lose. Now that I’m finally getting attached to the idea of him being here, that is. It’s taken me a while to believe any of this is real.

My mom was in turns sympathetic and practical, which was exactly what I needed. She suggested that I have all the hand-me-downs washed and ready to go and told me we can deal with everything else when she arrives. That was exactly the encouragement I needed, and once I got off the phone I was able to muddle through the organization much more easily knowing I wasn’t making any big “commitments” like taking the baby monitor out of its box, washing the new clothes, etc.

I figure everyone goes through this pre-baby fear to some degree, but I’m sure that having gone through so much to get pregnant in the first place doesn’t help matters. I know exactly how easily things can go wrong, and it’s hard to shake the feeling that the black cloud is looming on the horizon.

Luckily I also have Jim on my side. He’s so positive and perfectly balances my neurotic tendencies. When he got home he helped get the last things in order and told me that everything WILL be OK. And he said it so convincingly I chose to believe him, at least for the moment.

Progress

So Jim and I finally decided to get moving on the nursery now that Jr. will be here in less than 2 months. We spent last weekend painting, like the true painting professionals that we are. If there is one thing that we’ve done a lot of in our relationship, it’s paint. And REpaint. This time we went with zero-VOC paint so I could help out a bit and not have to worry about fumes. It’s really amazing how much of a difference it makes—it barely smells at all in comparison to the normal stuff. And luckily, we were happy with the way the job turned out the first time, so no repainting necessary.

We spent this snowy weekend putting together furniture, and once again our efforts were successful. I kept waiting for something to go drastically wrong, but it never did. We have determined one thing though: the Scandinavians have a serious edge on the Americans as far as assembly directions go. Though it did take a while to put together the three items we ordered from IKEA, we did so with relatively little difficulty. The diagrams were clear, all the parts were there, etc. The crib from Wal-Mart was another story. I felt guilty for buying a crib from them in the first place after seeing The High Cost of a Low Price, but I just couldn’t find another crib that I liked for less than $500. And believe me, I tried. I searched the internet obsessivley.

Anyway, I know it’s not specifically Wal-Mart that we can blame for the crappy crib instructions—it’s the manufacturer. But I like to think Wal-Mart is somehow culpable because I don’t like their business practices. AND because they failed to notify me that my shipment had arrived at the store like they were supposed to.

But we powered through and now everything is set up and ready to go, furniture-wise, with the exception of a rocker/recliner (no assembly required!) that should be arriving soon. Progress pictures below.

We’re going to change out the hardware on everything from the black to a brushed silver, but overall I like the way it’s all coming together. We also need to add some flava to the walls—I’m planning to create a series of friendly monster illustrations (with Jim’s help) and arrange the frames above the crib. And I think we’ll put these up above the dresser/changing table. Probably painted yellow and orange.

In case anyone is wondering, the pig represents the fact that Max will be born in the Year of the Pig, according to the Chinese calendar. Apparently this is a special Pig year, a lucky golden Pig year. I’ve seen several news stories about how the hospitals in China have been inundated with women having babies. And the monkey is there because as I’ve mentioned before, I heart monkeys.

It’s still hard for be to believe that in 7 weeks (at most) we’ll be parents. I’m still a bit nervous about everything, to the point that when we were in the middle of assembling the crib I had a moment of panic wondering if we’re jinxing ourselves by preparing the room. Ridiculous, I know, but at some moments it’s still hard to get past The Fear. I think it will take me a few more weeks to have the courage to prepare Max’s clothes and other items. Let’s just hope he sticks to the schedule and makes his debut in 2008. If he’s anything like his extremely punctual and anal retentive mom, he’ll be right on time.

Elftastic

I’m not positive, but I’m pretty sure if you look up “ridiculous” in the dictionary, you’ll find this next to it. If only all the aspects of the holiday season were as delightful.