Choo-Trains, Merry-Go-Rounds, and Gazebos. Oh My!

It was a beautiful day with sunshine and 70s, so we took the kiddos (mostly for Rachel) to Fremont Park here in Emporia today. The park has playground equipment, a gazebo, and the engine and caboose you see in the picture above. While we were there, we discovered two things:

1. Rachel really likes the merry-go-round (she calls it "whee-ing")

2. Mom and Dad can't stay on the merry-go-round very long any more.

Apparently sometime between 12 and 27, you lose the ability to stay on the merry-go-round for more than 30 seconds before your head starts swimming and you really feel like you're going to show everyone what you had for lunch. Rachel, on the other hand, really really really liked it.

After we were done with the merry-go-round (we being Laura and myself), I took Rachel over to look at the engine and caboose. Fremont park just happens to sit right next to the BNSF line, and as Rachel and I were making our way to the stationary "choo-train," a real one started blowing its whistle. So I took Rachel on over to the train tracks and she got to watch a real-life choo-train up close. I was worried that she might get scared since it's loud and big, but she really enjoyed watching the train go by with me. It reminded me of when I was little and my brother and I would watch the trains with Dad.

I told Rachel that maybe we could ride on a real passenger train with Grandpa sometime. Little does she know that would be as much fun for myself and Grandpa as it would be for her.

Voter Pains

The wife and I will be going to the County Clerk's office tomorrow (Thursday) and cast early votes for the election to avoid any hassles with voter registration that our upcoming move to Wichita will cause (we will move before the election, but after the deadline for Kansas voter registration). After watching the final debate tonight, I still don't know who I'm going to vote for. I will take any comments on this post under serious consideration before I go out to vote tomorrow.

I don't like the misleading statements that accompany any campaign, and I am dissapointed, though not surprised that this election is no different on both sides. I am a registered republican who did not vote in 2004 because I didn't like either candidate.

McCain

I like McCain's call for a government spending freeze. I think he's right that the budget needs a hatchet, then a scalpel. I like that he calls Obama a good man on the campaign trail, and that he thinks that Obama would do a decent job as President (he then says that he [McCain] would be a much better President, of course), but I don't like that he turns around and releases an ad attacking Obama's character; calling Obama a liar, Palin's comment that he "pals around with terrorists," and so forth. I don't like that neither he nor Sarah Palin have rebuked the idiots at McCain rallies who shout out things like "terrorist" and "kill him" in reference to Obama. Granted, those are only a very small handful of people, but they need to know that they have crossed a line, a line that McCain should not allow to be crossed. I like his idea to take $300 billion of the $700 billion bailout and buy bad mortgages. I like that he says that he will elect judges based on their qualifications, not their ideology, though I'm hesitant to take his word on that, due to the partizan pressures applied to the President. Of the two candidates, I believe McCain is most likely to be bi-partizan, though not to the extent that I thought he would have been 9 months ago.

Summary:

I've lost quite a bit of faith in McCain. I don't believe he has managed his campaign very well, and I'm concerned that mismanagement will stay with him in the White House if he's elected. He was supposed to be the maverick, who didn't give a damn what partizanship says he should do. I think he's sacrificed a lot of what originally appealed him to me in order to appeal to more of a partizan base. I think he's been around Washington long enough to know what will and won't work, and I believe he would be a better Commander-in-Chief of the armed forces. However, he promised "to take the high road" in his Presidential campaign, a promise he has failed to keep.

Obama

I like Obama's ideas regarding health insurance. However, I'm concerned that he doesn't have enough experience in Washington to know what will and what won't work when it comes to these types of policies. Though I like his plan, it's not exactly bi-partizan friendly. I disagree with most democrats on a majority of moral issues, such as abortion. So I am concerned that Obama stated in the debate that a judge's ideology is a big factor in whether he would consider appointing them. However, I am beginning to recognize that voting based on a candidate's ideology regarding issues such as abortion is only one of a number of issues that should be given full consideration. I like how democrats in general, and Obama in particular seem to be more focused on giving financial relief to working-class americans in this economic crisis, and I believe his tax plans appropriately reflect that.

Summary:

Obama has managed his campaign very well, and the advisors he will have with him in the White House will make up for his lack of experience compared to McCain. I think he will have to make some changes, or just flat-out not do some of the things he would like to do simply because when he gets into office, he's going to find that it's easy to say you will do something when you are in a campaign, but find that it is more difficult to actually do it (or get it through the Senate) once you get to the White House.

5 Things We Will Miss in Emporia

I've blogged before about how I've never really felt at home in Emporia. I've never even really considered a permanent stay in Emporia. That is still true, even more so now that I finally have a job lined up in Wichita and will be moving in the middle of next month. However, there are still some things that Laura and I will miss about Emporia.

1. Wheat State Pizza (http://www.wheatstatepizza.com/) - The best pizza we've ever had. You can get either white or wheat crust, but when you're there, why get anything other than wheat? Every other pizza place does white crusts. The wheat crust is simply phenomenal. Maybe we'll get lucky and they'll open a store up in Wichita.

2. ESU Coworkers - You couldn't really ask for better coworkers. They have their flaws and quirks like everyone else, but I wouldn't have enjoyed my time at ESU nearly as much if it were not for them. They know who they are.

3. Dayton's Hobby Shop - This shop in downtown Emporia has served our hobby and craft needs from model paints to doll stands for Transformers. It's locally owned, and although more expensive than the bigger box hobby stores like Hobby Lobby, it has a different atmosphere that we like.

4. Via Crucis - This is the group that Laura plays flute for at local area churches and occasionally other functions. Liz, Mindy, Rick, and Brian have been great, especially with the kids. Liz cantors at the Mass that we normally attend, and every time after Mass, Rachel wants to "go see Liz."

5. Emporia State University - The campus is beautiful and grows on you after a while. If the leaves change and cover the ground before we leave, I'll have to actually take my camera there this time and get some pictures.

In the time since I last blogged, I have been to a family reunion in Michigan, a wedding in Montana, left alone at the house for a weekend, had the thermostat that controls our central air & heat break on me, neglected my lawn mowing duties to the point that I had to raise my mower in order to get through the weeds, and numerous other things that various people might find interesting and/or humorous. However, i have not blogged about any of them. It's not that I don't want to blog about them, it's more like I don't think I have the time to (I actually do, I just like to tell myself that I'm too busy). I'm not going to apologize for not blogging - if I do that, my blog will probably be nothing but apologies. However, if you've been wondering why I haven't been - there ya go.

I've been thinking about starting a comic and posting a strip on here every week. Or month, knowing my motivation. In the next several weeks, I may draw up some character profiles and post them. I've been wanting to do a comic for a while now, I've just haven't been able to decide on a setting for it (and I still haven't - I probably won't decide on one until right before I start the first strip - I'm also open to suggestions). I'd like to try to avoid the creativity trap of "dreaded continuity." In other words, I'd like for each strip to be able to stand out on it's own, without the reader having to have read all previous strips in order to understand what's going on. I'm not saying that comics that use continuity to tell stories aren't creative, they're just too constricting for me, and since I'm not terribly creative to begin with, I need as much freedom as possible. This is a pretty big deal for me, as I haven't done something like this for a quite a while - and now that I've blogged about it, it's even more likely to happen.

No Ribbits For Me, Thanks

This past week, I was offered a job working at Ribbit Computers in Wichita. Despite my desire to move to Wichita to be closer to family, I ultimately decided to turn the job down. With a little help from some friends and family, I decided that the offer was not better than what I currently have.

I find it difficult to weigh my decisions based on what's best for my family, as opposed to what meets my goals. One of my goals, in this case, is moving to Wichita. Don't get me wrong, Emporia is a great place, there's just something inside of me that tells me it isn't "right" for me or my family. We have found it somewhat difficult to make friends that are our age since we are no longer in school. Although our house feels like home, the town does not feel like home, to me. The only two towns that have ever really felt like home were Harper and Hays. I'm guessing it's due to the experiences that I have had in both towns. I'm hoping that those same type of experiences will manifest in Wichita as well, as I still hope to find employment there.

I suppose one could say that the reason Emporia does not feel like home is partly to blame with me. I could try harder to make friends with people - such as the neighbors to the east, who are around the same age as myself and Laura. Or I could do more to fit in with the community, such as volunteering for one the many community service projects that are available. The other side of the coin is that I have never planned to stay in Emporia very long. I have always said that once I get enough experience to be hired somewhere else and make more money - we're out of here.

I am grateful for the opportunities that Emporia has provided for us. My current job is the most obvious example. Others include the City Band that Laura plays in during the summer and the church band that she plays in throughout the year. The people that we have met through church events, though nowhere near our age, we are thankful for knowing. Even the old neighbor lady to the west of us, who offers us her basement when the weather gets rough. These things and people will all be missed when we move (see, there I go again: I said "when" instead of "if").

I'm hoping that as my family grows, my experience increases, and I mature - I will find it easier to make decisions that are best for my family. Until then I rely on the expertise of my parents and other relatives, whom I appreciate more and more as the years pass.

Weekend Whirlwind

What a weekend! This is going to be a recap post, rather than a reflection - no waxing philosophical for me tonight, thanks.

On Saturday, one of our friends was ordained into the priesthood at the Cathedral in Salina. The best part about this, is that we got to see a lot of our friends from Hays that we haven't seen for a while.

There was a dinner following the ordination Mass, and we took our time getting in there for various reasons. By the time we got our food and scanned the area for a table, we realized that our friends had already filled up a table, so we decided to sit at the next table over. Our friends would have none of that, though. They went out of their way to make room for more chairs so we could sit with them, crowded around the table. It made me feel real good. Coming from someone who, in High School, had a lunch period opposite my friends, I usually had a difficult time trying to find someplace to sit in the lunch room, and a lot of times ended up by myself. So I am really grateful for my friends, who I don't have to put on an act when I am around them - I can be myself and be accepted (okay, so maybe some minor philosophical waxing).

Then we went down to visit some other people that I can be myself around - my family. I was really excited to get to see Uncle Max, Aunt Sherri, Uncle Dennis, and Aunt Ruth, who came from Michigan and Texas for the Harper High School all class reunion. We usually only get to see them about once a year during the Plank Family Vacations (PFV, copyright pending - HA!). Watching Rachel interact with them was not only cute, but also put a big smile on my face.

We look forward to seeing everyone in July for this year's PFV, and look forward to celebrating Rachel's second birthday. Hopefully the trip will go smoothly, and we will limit the number of "adventures" (Dad's code for getting lost).

Kidney Stones Aren't Much Fun. No, no, no.

Guys: Imagine, if you will, someone punching you in your left testicle (yes, just your left one). Now think of that wonderfully uncomfortable sensation immediately after the punch. You got it? Now add to that an excrutiating pain in your lower left abdominal region. This is the type of pain that does not let up, it's continual and sharp, it keeps getting worse and doesn't ever get better. I'm not done yet. Now imagine throwing up everytime after the pain worsens. This is what I had the joy of experiencing yesterday.

The cause of all of this, in case you haven't guessed yet, was a kidney stone, making its way down from my left kidney into the bladder. We were visiting family in Wichita when it happened, so my Dad ended up taking me to the ER at Galichia Hospital on north Woodlawn. The drive over there seemed like it took forever, but once we got there, I only had to wait about 5 minutes to get into a room (still in excrutiating pain). Once they put an IV in and took some blood, they were finally able to give me some pain medicine. Since it came in intraveniously, the relief came pretty quickly. This was the first let-up in the pain that I had experienced for about an hour and a half. And it was good.

This is my second stone. The first one I had, I started feeling pain for about 2 weeks ago in my lower back. It managed to travel from my right kidney into my bladder without causing any more pain. I passed it just last Monday. Of course, I didn't bring my pain medicine with me from the first time, because I was feeling pretty good and didn't know about the second stone until I started hurting. But that's okay. The doc prescribed me the strongest dose of percocet that's available in pill form, along with an anti-nausea pill to take with the pain pill so it doesn't make me sick to my stomach.

My conclusion is that kidney stones suck. I hate them. The worst part is that I don't think there's much I can do to help prevent them. According to the lab reports, my kidney stone is a calcium oxalate stone, the most common type. I'll have to change my antacid pills to something without calcium, try to eat a little healthier, and drink more water. Other than that, I'm not sure what else to do. I'll have a chat with my family doctor in Emporia and see what she thinks.