Musings of a Punk Rock Father

I was just outside eating lunch with my son and daughter while listening to my iPod. Mae's "The Afterglow" came on, and my 2 1/2 year old son looked at me with an extremely serious look on his face and said, "This is a really good song, yeah," and nodded his head up and down. Then he began dancing in his chair.

A few months ago, I was listening to Eso-charis, which features somewhat growling vocals. He called it the Dino song, believing that a dinosaur was singing. Another time I was listening to an album called "Sideways Soul" by the Jon Spencer Blues Explosion and the Dub Narcotic Sound System. Two songs featured the word "banana" in the title and the word was used throughout each song. Aidan asked me, "Are these guys monkeys?"

Yet another time, I had an L7 album on and he told me, "That guy is screaming." I shrugged my shoulders.

"It's actually a lady, but close enough," I replied.

This morning I took my son to see Ice Age: The Meltdown at one of those early morning, cheap kids movies. Only $1 per person, and it was a nice theater, not one of those second run theaters.

This was his first time at a real movie theater, and he loved it. I predicted to Melanie that he would utter "Whoah!" a lot, and he did. He laughed loudly through most of the movie, and he made me laugh out loud too at some of the silly gags.

This was the first time I've been to a movie where crying kids was accepted, if not expected.

Oh my, I still have a blog?

I was pretty much forced to end my blogging when my employer decided to block this website. I tried to transfer my blog to blogspot, and they blocked that too. And the last thing I ever wanted to do when I got home was look at a computer.

I now have a little more time for these things, though, since I have been laid off. Ah, the joys of "structural expense reviews." Let's just say that Des Moines, Ann Arbor and Mumbai, India are all cheaper than Chicago. The best part is that my branch was actually number one in the country for our last full month.

So I am once again writing resumes and cover letters, and practicing the answers to questions like, "What would you say is your biggest weakness?" I also was able to enjoy the ambiance of the local unemployment office.

I have been able to spend some extra time with my wife, 2 1/2 year old son and 7 month old daughter. We went to Brookfield Zoo on July 3rd, and that ruled. The zoo is so much cooler when you go with a 2 year old. He was chilling in his stroller as we walked past an okapi (yeah, I'd never heard of it either) and he has the zoo map open in front of him and yells, "There's an okapi on my map!" Everything is so much more exciting when seen through his eyes.

The thing I am missing most right now from my job is the CD club that I started with 2 of my co-workers. We would pick a theme (90's songs, songs about war, songs over 10 minutes long/under 2 minutes long) and make comps for each other. In a few months the biggest thing I will miss wll be the paycheck, but for now it is the comps.

I don't know how regularly I will be able to write. I suppose it will depend on what job I get next.