This Should Work

Last night my wife gave birth to a healthly little girl. Her name is Lily Grace and both her parents adore her. Click on the picture below to see a slideshow of her first few hours in this world.

Unless something happens tonight, my wife will be induced into labor tomorrow morning at 6am. Either way, we’ll be parents by the weekend!

Wish us (really her more than me) luck.

About a month ago I was out to dinner with some folks from work and a couple of software reps where sushi was served as an appetizer. One of the reps had never tried sushi before and I persuaded her into to trying some.

“Come on,” I said, “live a little. It’s not going to kill you, and you can tell everyone that you have at least tried sushi.”

When the dessert menus were passed around our waiter pointed out that their desserts were served with Blue Bell ice cream, a new brand of ice cream for Kentucky. While the locals were buzzing about this new brand of ice cream, one of our reps didn’t understand what the big deal was, she grew up in the state that Blue Bell calls home (Texas). She started telling us about all her favorite flavors including a cake-flavored ice cream that tasted just like cake. I’m more of a ice cream-and-cake person not an ice cream-as-cake person so I was a little skeptical about this.

Then last night while walk through the grocery store I saw “Cake Batter” ice cream by Blue Bell and remembered this conversation with the software rep. Even though I thought it sounded weird, I thought ‘she tried sushi, I can try cake-flavored ice cream.”

I found it to be one of the strangest eating experiences I’ve had in a while. It was good, but very surreal; I’m eating something that smells and tastes exactly like cake batter, and the only thing that reminds me that it’s not cake batter is the chilly feeling left on my tongue after each bite. Adding to the surrealism of this event, when I brought the cake batter ice cream home, my wife says “I’m baking a cake for snack. ”

Later on last night, I’m sitting on the couch with my cake batter ice cream and my wife with a slice of her cake. I’m eating my ice cream saying “this is so weird! It tastes exactly like your cake batter. You’ve gotta try this, dear.” She agreed that the taste uncannily resembles her cake batter…however she preferred to eat her cake instead of the ice cream.

I’ve been a Golden State Warriors fan since they drafted Mitch Richmond in 1988. I remember when Don Nelson was taking the Warriors into the playoffs in the early 90’s, when Latrell Sprewell choked is coach in the late 90’s, and when they drafted Todd Fuller (who is now playing in the Australian Basketball League).

I state all this to prove that I really am a long-time suffering Warriors fans, not just someone who’s jumped on the hype train after they beat the Dallas Mavericks. So now that Warriors are back in the playoffs I’m watching their games…that start at 10:30pm…and don’t end until 1:30am. By the time post-game analysis is done it’s 2:00am.

I watch every minute of it and the day after I feel tired, can’t concentrate, and usually take a 10-15 minute nap during lunch. Now that the Warriors are in the playoffs–and winning– I’m staying up more nights to watch their games. It’s not easy, but it’s worth it because I’ve been watching them suffer through so many horrible seasons that it’s nice to see them on top.

I’m guessing that this is what my life with a new born will be like: I’ll be tired, can’t concentrate, but it will all be worth it.