We're okay

I just wanted to say that yesterday my company laid off almost 200 people. Both Matt and I still have jobs and I appreciate everyone who reached out to make sure we were all right.

The thing is, my department got hit pretty bad. The man who promoted me, the man who helped shaped my writing and my boss were all laid off. So were some very good friends.

Everyone says I should get out of the industry, but the truth is I still love newspapers.

When I went to see Titanic, I always figured I'd be like Kate and Leo and get the hell off the doomed boat. Who knew I'd actually be more like those musicians who stayed and played until the very end.

I only hope that the bottom is still a long way away.

Just your typical Wednesday afternoon

(Grass skirts courtesy of Mima, who, mind you, refused to let me get a job at Hot Dog on a Stick, which, by the way, is where all the cool girls worked, because she had a problem with the uniforms.)

8K in 8 minutes

I guess Marina really can teach her dad how to run.
Who else can cross an 8K (5 mile) finish line after eight minutes?



But if you look closely, it's Ella who kicked everyone's ass.

The teacher and the student

Me: "Marina, what classes do you want to do when you're three?"

Marina: "Um, ballet class. And swimming. And basketball. And running."

Matt: "Uncle Barnaby and I can teach you basketball."

Marina: "And Soccer."

Matt: "I can teach you soccer in the backyard."

Marina: "And I can teach you how to run, Daddy."

My night out

I'm sorry for the work jargon but:
I am uploading these photos on Cost of Beans because I need to post them for work. Only, I do not have Photoshop on my computer and Blogger can size them down to what I need.

So here you all get to see Derrik's very arty photos of the local music scene. We went to The Black Mamba CD release party and it was really great.

Casbah lights and rat tail.



Dancing to Morrissey.



Christmas in April.


My new favorite band, The Paddle Boat.

The new game

Now that Marina is a gymnast, she climbs and jumps off things all the time. Like the red chair in her room.

But then Ella, of course, needs to get in on the action.

It's one thing when Marina jumps off the chair because, well, she actually knows how to jump and she lands on two feet and all is good.

But Ella walks to the end of the chair and lets herself drop. She stands there and waits for me to turn my head. Then I hear a terrifying THUD and she's on the floor laughing and laughing and laughing.

The first time this happened I completely freaked out.

I was like, she's not going to just walk off the chair, is she? She wouldn't. She can't. No. I'm going to let her do it just to prove to myself that she won't walk off this chair.

But she did. And she does.
It's actually super entertaining now that I know she lands like a cat and doesn't get hurt.

Still, next session, Marina is totally doing ballet.

Inner Hipster

Marina's unicorn shoes have been retired.
All of a sudden, they gave her blisters and she was super pissed at them all day yesterday.

Turns out her unicorn shoes were a size and a half too small!

So we went shopping for a new pair, and I swear, I had absolutely nothing at all to do with her selection.




Yes, Marina walked right up to the sparkly Converse section and said "I want these."

I tried to get her into a toddler-appropriate pair of white sandals. Some monkey Vans to replace her unicorns. But these were what she wanted.

On the way home, as she learned that her shoes can be called Chucks, she watched them sparkle in the sun and then asked:

"Can I have the Xanadu song?"

Marina is slowly becoming my total BFF.