April 6th Hi all, and greetings from the Soggy Pacific Northwest·I know, I know-I have been saying that you should check my "What's New" page every two weeks for updates or rants, whichever you might want to call them, but after a little soul searching, I have decided to update the "What's New" page pretty much once a month. I'll instead do more conversation and rants on the Boards @ Fabersplace.com. This just makes it more manageable and easier for me to post on the fly; I can have a post on the board up in two minutes, compared to the half day it takes to update "What's New". So anyway, I'll still post new information on "What's New" as usual, and include new pictures of William and the family, and post my opinions of stuff happening around the world. Now that I'm coming out from behind the computer desk, things in my life have been as crazy as ever. Work has been quite good, but just very, very busy. The company at which I work is growing quickly, and actually participated in a job fair last week in downtown Seattle. Of course, being a faithful employee, I got to spend a frantic afternoon smiling and talking to potential employees (my face still hurts from smiling so much·LOL). I actually found it odd being on the other end of the booth; in other words, I didn't have to put on a show while applying for jobs from booth to booth, hoping that someone might actually take the time to talk to me (let alone hire me). After five hours of hosting my company's booth, I was totally wiped out, and realized how good I have it working at Infopop. No, I'm not trying to kiss ass, but I do realize how nice it is to be at a job that I actually like, and that they like and appreciate me.
Around the house, spring has hit in quite a big way, with all the flowers in our neighborhood blooming. I've spent the last three weekends outside working in the back yard, and finally getting the house in a shape where we want to it to be. It's hard to believe that my family and I have already been living in the house for almost a year. (I just remember how long it took to build it, and I remember thinking it would never be done-LOL.) Now we have a nice back yard, full of grass, and lots of flowers and three trees that we have planted. So our house will be nicer in the next few years, especially next summer when our trees grow taller. William is doing great-everyday, he seems to experience something new in the growing process. It's totally cool to see him grow so much. Last Saturday, William passed a really big milestone and hit his six-month birthday. Wow, it still feels like yesterday that we found out that Angela was pregnant, and boom, now I have a little kid who wants to explore the house and get into everything. For the past month or so, William has been starting to talk (well, baby talk), trying to form words, and having baby conversations. It's quite cool. William has also started teething; he already has had his first two teeth come in. Of course, feeding him has gotten a lot more fun since he's been on solids, starting at the first of the year. Now he's eating oatmeal, mixed veggies, and fruits from the jar. Also, even though he's still drinking milk from a bottle, Mr. Big officially drinks his water from a cup. Yup, that's right-William wants to be a big kid and join in drinking from a cup like the rest of us. Okay, I'm starting to sound too much like a proud poppa, so I'll change subjects (but I can't help it, I love the kid).
In the world around us, things just get stranger. The U.S. presidency is now officially down to two very boring candidates (depending on your point of view, but since it's my page, you get my opinion): George Bush (for the Republicans) and Al Gore (for the Democrats). It's sad, but when I go to vote in November, my decision's going to be based on who's the least worst of the two candidates. I know that's a poor attitude, but I don't think either candidate has the quality or "stuff" it takes to be President. It's almost like a wait and see what will happen-type of situation. Down in Miami, the continuing saga behind poor little Elian Gonzalez continues and gets crazier by the minute. The reason I'm calling him "poor little" Elian is because he's being used as a martyr by his American relatives and the Cuban American community in Miami. He's only six years old; he doesn't have an opinion about government issues or such. All he probably wants to do is have fun and play with his friends. It wasn't his decision to leave Cuba on a boat; it was his mother's decision to escape Castro's regime and come to the United States. Fate just played a hand in the process, and let Elian be the only survivor when the boat that he was on sank in the Atlantic Ocean. Next, his American relatives fight the US government, and say they only want Elian to have a "normal life." Oh, give me a break! What kind of kid can have a "normal life" with thousands of protesters outside his home, and dozens of camera crews stationed across the street following his every move? Now that his father is coming to the United States, I have a feeling this issue is just going to get a lot uglier before it's over. (The pessimist in me doesn't even think that the little kid is going to survive this ordeal, but we will see).
Last week in Seattle, the major event was the imploding of the Kingdome-yes, my friends, the former home of the Mariners and the Seahawks has gone. It's kind of sad to think of it gone (it was the first place I had seen indoor baseball and football) to make way for a brand new football stadium. Here are some pictures of the event:

That's about it for now! Have a great spring and I'll talk to you all soon.

See Ya, Peace Mike

P.S. Baseball season is here and I have to say I'm really looking forward to how the Mariners will do this year without a certain #24 playing center field (BTW Mr. Griffey is 0 - 12 since going to the National League, but I'm not rubbing it in).