Top of the World

Two years of planning and preparation (also referred to as madness and mayhem) involved in the project downtown only to have it still come down to the wire as usual.  Craziness, stress, pressure, anxiety...all culminating in the grand unveiling of my blood, sweat, and tears merged together in the form of wood veneers, faux finishes, and a giant wall of glass.  Visitors arrive with mouths agape and the sound of oohs and ahhs dribble out uncontrolably--but I arrive and see every flaw, every dent and ding, every oversight, every missed opportunity, and every shoulda' woulda' coulda'.  As I stand in the space and play the male cabinet salesman version of Vanna White during the awkwardly named "Uptown Living Expo" (like it's craft fair or something?) while gawkers and hopeful clients come in, I wear a nametag hung around my neck that says simply, "Lee Williams, Cabinet Concepts," but couldn't it just say, "It's not my fault". 

On the flip side of the nametag I carry a black and white image that looks like something produced by either Air Traffic Control or the Red October (ladies, that is a submarine from a classic movie).  This image is the icon of a year and a half undertaking which also required hard work, determination, perseverance, procedures, appointments, etc.  This image is the ultrasound of our not-yet-born child.  I carried it around so I could show it off to past and current clients at our Grand Opening party on the 16th floor.  I carry it while I play Vanna and sneak peeks to distract me from my throbbing feet. 

Despite the heartaches, despite the frustrations, and even when I'm not up on the 16th floor...

I'm on Top of the World.

Who's the pregnant one?

It's 2:30 am and I'm awake--UGH.  Who's the pregnant one, anyway?  Oh don't worry, she's fast asleep upstairs...sleeping as she has done most of the day.  Don't get me wrong, she needs the sleep because she is literally--as we say--growing another human being.  But what about me?  I need sleep too!

Full moon.  A lot going on at work.  My mind's racing.  ...or maybe it's just the caffeine.  I'd bet on a wicked brew of "All of the above."  I guess aspiring daddies have to get used to not sleeping and running on our preferred method(s) of energy supplements also.

At least we can eat hot dogs and take Nyquil though.  Now there's an idea...

the name game

my wife and i had to come up with names for a new blog so we could be official with our lives.  i came up with several AWESOME names which sprouted mostly from tv shows we enjoy together.  apparently stacey had a different idea in mind.  csi was a show we shared early in our relationship, which brought to mind some options.  can't you imagine a blog called "blunt force trauma" or "pitichial hemorrhaging"?  or from the office, "tell me before i come there" or "that's what she said"?  totally appropriate!  also from the office, "protruberance" or "the moonfaced kid".  and then there's the MMA fights which offers a plethora of submission names:  "rear naked choke" or "the peruvian necktie"...all gold (or at least diamonds in the rough).  stacey opted for a much less aggressive option and one that was much more inclusive and descriptive of us.  i'm honored to be included in the title of "stackeylee".  "stackey" the name that was donned somewhere amidst the mayhem of youth ministry, "lee" the name that was given to me upon, well, birth (apparently john was too boring and leland was too weird).  so there you have it. 

so why "fiestaleland"?  

WHY NOT.

THE NERD OFF (6e657264206f6666)

what better way to kick off an online computerworld blog than to dedicate this inaugural post to a nerd-off conversation by brother and i (and my undercover-nerd wife) just had as he/they explained how binary works, and the ins-and-outs of the art of hexadecimal.

hexadecimal? it's "base 16"...derrrrr.

...you know, how "0" (pronounced "OH") can't be the letter "O", because in computerworld "OH" has no place in hexadecimal (because it only goes to "f"...of course!), but in the builderworld "o" (pronounced "OH") is most always a "zero" usage...like a 3068 door (three-oh-six-eight) means 3-feet wide by 6-feet 8-inches tall--the "oh" signifies "zero" inches.

WHAT?! yeah, i'm still lost. so you know what i said to him? i just stomped my foot and said,

"7768617465766572206e657264".

HA! that'll show 'em!