February 11th Greetings everyone, and welcome back· You might notice a few changes around the site lately, because I'm always looking at different ways to constantly update and improve the site. As always, please feel to comment on things you like or dislike, or even suggest something new. Also, I'm going to change the "What's New" format, and this edition of ""What's New" is going to be the last in the current format. Starting toward the end of February, the column will be a lot looser, and based more on random thoughts occurring in my life at the time (so more in a "stream of consciousness" format). Also, "What's New" will be a lot shorter, because I'll be making updates weekly. All in all, I'm opening the site up to some ideas I had since I first developed the concept for the entire Faber's Place site-just wait and see; the wait will be worth it. Wow, where did February come from? January just flew by without me even having time to breathe. The New Year started off pretty quietly, but then, as well as many of you know, that's never the case with my life. This past week, we took William to Children's Hospital to meet with the surgeons responsible for operating to remove the cyst on his neck. First off, the doctors all feel that William's development is going perfectly for his age. His weight is in the 90% range, and his height is at 50% (As of January 31st, he was 18 pounds, 10 ounces; and was 25.3 inches tall).
After looking at the CT taken in December, the doctors feel that the cyst isn't getting bigger on impending on any vital organs, so it's a good idea to wait until around William's first birthday (late September, early October) to operate on him. By the time his first birthday rolls around, his overall size will be more attuned for microsurgery, and a successful operation can be guaranteed. The doctors assured us that there won't be much of a scar on William's face afterwards; the scar will actually run from the tip of his ear, down the inside of his ear ridge, down the side of his neck vertically, and then across his throat, so the amount showing will be minimal. We can only hope for, and will do anything to provide, the best for him. If you want to read about a Cystic Hygroma the condition William has, click here. In other William news, he has just gone through some major growth milestones. As of last weekend, he is officially eating solid food-well, okay, he's eating rice cereal, but hey, it's something other than soy formula. William also is starting to show a full range of emotions, and is turning out to be a very good-natured happy little kid. Of course, the best of all is that WILLIAM IS SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT!!!! I'll repeat that, just in case you didn't hear me the first time-WILLIAM IS SLEEPING THROUGH THE NIGHT!!! For about the past month now, William has been sleeping from about 8:30 till about 5:30 in the morning (of course, we had a night or two with a bad dream or such, but it comes with being a parent), so we are actually starting to get caught up on our sleep. This past month, I celebrated my 33rd birthday, and celebrated it in the most low-key of ways. Angela wanted to fly me back to Maryland to spend my birthday with my dad and Dan, but I wanted to keep it small and with Angela's family, especially because it was the first birthday I spent as a dad myself. In truth, this birthday was the smallest that I have celebrated for the past few years, but it also felt quite special in its intimacy. I didn't feel a loss by not having a "blow out" or such. Wow, 33! When I was younger, that sounded so old, especially when I was a little kid and used to think, "in the year 2000, I'm going to be 33 years old; that's ancient." Well, in all truth, it's not looking too bad; I'm finally working for a company that I like, and my career is heading in the right direction. In addition, our problems with the new house and the builder are finally being rectified, and, of course, I have a great kid and wife. What else could anyone want? (OK, a chance at being on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" would be a great bonus.) It's kind of weird for me to see myself so content with my life. I know it probably won't last long.
This past month, I celebrated my 33rd birthday, and celebrated it in the most low-key of ways. Angela wanted to fly me back to Maryland to spend my birthday with my dad and Dan, but I wanted to keep it small and with Angela's family, especially because it was the first birthday I spent as a dad myself. In truth, this birthday was the smallest that I have celebrated for the past few years, but it also felt quite special in its intimacy. I didn't feel a loss by not having a "blow out" or such. Wow, 33! When I was younger, that sounded so old, especially when I was a little kid and used to think, "in the year 2000, I'm going to be 33 years old; that's ancient." Well, in all truth, it's not looking too bad; I'm finally working for a company that I like, and my career is heading in the right direction. In addition, our problems with the new house and the builder are finally being rectified, and, of course, I have a great kid and wife. What else could anyone want? (OK, a chance at being on "Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?" would be a great bonus.) It's kind of weird for me to see myself so content with my life. I know it probably won't last long.
In the world around us, everyone survived Y2K with no major problems or meltdowns. Even the most levelheaded person had at least a second or two of doubt when the clock hit midnight. Kudos go out to ABC on their TV coverage of the coming millennium around the world. We actually had the TV on to see it actually hit midnight around the world. My two favorites were Sydney, Australia; and Paris (watching the fireworks off the Eiffel Tower was breathtaking). I won't even go into the dud of a celebration here in Seattle, and the "chance" of a terrorist attack at Seattle Center. After watching all the different celebrations around the world and having it end with Seattle's dud of a celebration, I was even kind of embarrassed.
On the sports front, the Super Bowl came and went with the usual fanfare, and as I predicted last month, the St. Louis Rams have become Super Bowl champions in one of the best football games I have watched in years. Okay, I do admit that, during the first half of the game, I thought, "Oh God, another blowout!" However, to my surprise, it turned out to a thriller of a game-heck the Tennessee Titans were only one yard short of sending the Super Bowl into overtime. It would have been great if the game HAD gone into overtime, but still the game ended with a great finish. Another Super Bowl tradition is, of course, the TV commercial blitz. Usually, a few commercials just catch your eyes every year, and make you go, "WOW", but this wasn't one of those years. This year's batch was a little lackluster and flat. The only three that I can even remember are (counting backwards from my least favorite to my favorite) as follows: 3. E-Trade - This one showed two men and a monkey in a garage, clapping in time to cha-cha music, as if to say, "Well, we've just wasted $2 million. What are you doing with your money?" 2. Nuveen Investments - This commercial showed the future with a walking Christopher Reeve. 1. Budweiser - The acting dog brought a movie set to tears with its moving performance. An honorable mention goes to Schwab.com with its retirement home for former sports stars. The other major sports news is actually just happening as I type Ken Griffey, Jr. has been just been traded to the Cincinnati Reds (not to anybody's surprise). For awhile, I was completely disappointed to hear that he wanted to be traded for the Mariners. I always used to think that he would be with the M's for his whole career, but that's not the case. In all truth, it ended up being an ugly mess of a deal. I'm not going to bore you with all the ugly details; you can look at any sports Web page and read all about it all yourself. What the outcome will be in winners and losers is anybody's guess-only time will tell. Even without Junior, and with all the off-season signings, I think I'm more excited about this team than in past years. (I know I say that each year, but hey, you've got to support your home team, and you'll see where I stand in October.)

That's about it for now, but I will update this site more often, so don't forget to check back·

See Ya, Peace Mike

Must be getting early, Clocks are running late ,Paint by number morning sky, Looks so phony

Dawn is breaking everywhere, Light a candle, curse the glare, Draw the curtains
I don't care 'cause, It's all right

I will get by / I will get by / I will get by / I will survive

I see you've got your list out, Say your piece and get out, Yes I get the gist of it but it's all right

Sorry that you feel that way, The only thing there is to say Every silver lining's got a Touch of grey

I will get by / I will get by / I will get by / I will survive

It's a lesson to me The Ables and the Bakers and the C's, The ABC's we all must face And try to keep a little grace

It's a lesson to me The deltas and the east and the freeze The ABC's we all think of Try to give a little love.

I know the rent is in arrears, The dog has not been fed in years, It's even worse than it appears but it's all right.

Cows giving kerosene, Kid can't read at seventeen, The words he knows are all obscene but it's all right

I will get by / I will get by / I will get by / I will survive

The shoe is on the hand it fits, There's really nothing much to it Whistle through your teeth and spit causeit's all right.

Oh well a Touch Of Grey, Kind of suits you anyway. That was all I had to say, It's all right.

I will get by / I will get by/ I will get by / I will survive
We will get by / We will get by / We will get by / We will survive - The Greatful Dead, 1983

25 SIGNS THAT YOU'VE ALREADY GROWN UP

The Engineer

A Microsoft engineer was crossing a road one day when a frog called out to him and said, "If you kiss me, I'll turn into a beautiful princess".

He bent over, picked up the frog and put it in his pocket. The frog spoke up again and said, "If you kiss me and turn me back into a beautiful princess, I will stay with you for one week."

The engineer took the frog out of his pocket. Smiled at it and returned it to the pocket. The frog then cried out, "If you kiss me and turn me back into a princess, I'll stay with you and do ANYTHING you want."

Again the engineer took the frog out, smiled at it and put it back in to the pocket. The frog agian cried out, "What's the matter? I've told you I'm a beautiful princess, that I'll stay with you for a week and do anything you want. Why won't you kiss me?"

The engineer said, "Look I'm an engineer. I don't have time for a girlfriend, but a talking frog, now that's cool."

The Truth Accourding To Kids

HOW DO YOU DECIDE WHO TO MARRY?

"No person really decides before they grow up who they're going to marry. God decides it all way before, and you get to find out later who you're stuck with." - Kirsten, age 10

"You got to find somebody who likes the same stuff. Like if you like sports, she should like it that you like sports, and she should keep the chips and dip coming." - Alan, age 10

WHAT IS THE RIGHT AGE TO GET MARRIED?

"Twenty-three is the best age because you know the person FOREVER by then." - Camille, age 10

"No age is good to get married at. You got to be a fool to get married." - Freddie, age 6

HOW CAN A STRANGER TELL IF TWO PEOPLE ARE MARRIED?

"Married people usually look happy to talk to other people." - Eddie, 6

"You might have to guess, based on whether they seem to be yelling at the same kids." - Derrick, age 8

WHAT DO YOU THINK YOUR MOM AND DAD HAVE IN COMMON?

"Both don't want no more kids." - Lori, age 8

WHAT DO MOST PEOPLE DO ON A DATE?

"Dates are for having fun, and people should use them to get to know each other. Even boys have something to say if you listen long enough. - Lynnette, age 8.

"On the first date, they just tell each other lies, and that usually gets them interested enough to go for a second date." - Martin, age 10

WHAT WOULD YOU DO ON A FIRST DATE THAT WAS TURNING SOUR?

"I'd run home and play dead. The next day I would call all the newspapers and make sure they wrote about me in all the dead columns." - Craig, age 9

WHEN IS IT OK TO KISS SOMEONE?

"When they're rich." - Pam, age 7

"The law says you have to be eighteen, so I wouldn't want to mess with that." - Curt, age 7

"The rule goes like this: if you kiss someone, then you should marry them and have kids with them. It's the right thing to do." - Howard, age 8

IS IT BETTER TO BE SINGLE OR MARRIED?

"It's better for girls to be single but not for boys. Boys need someone to clean up after them." - Anita, 9

"Single is better, for the simple reason that I wouldn't want to change no diapers. Of course, if I did get married, I'd just phone my mother and have her come over for some coffee and diaper- changing." - Kirsten, age 10

HOW WOULD THE WORLD BE DIFFERENT IF PEOPLE DIDN'T GET MARRIED?

"There sure would be a lot of kids to explain, wouldn't there?" - Kelvin, age 8

"You can be sure of one thing - the boys would come chasing after us just the same as they do now." - Roberta, age 7

HOW WOULD YOU MAKE A MARRIAGE WORK?

"Tell your wife that she looks pretty even if she looks like a truck." - Ricky, age 10