So yeah I know I've been gone...things just were a bit too busy for me the last month or so.

The art gig is going well...done a few animations and some photoshopping of existing pieces to edit one thing or another and those went well. Overall I feel that my boss and coworkers feel that I'm a good addition to the group.

The minion is getting big. He's getting ready to upgrade to the next size clothes and since we didn't get too many hand-me-downs in that range it could get mildly expensive. He still isn't crawling but he is trying to take steps so I'm guessing that he might just bypass the crawling stage as I have heard that some kids do. We've updated the pics on his site if you haven't been by there recently go and check them out. http://aeharman.aboutmybaby.com/ in case you lost it.

I'm kinda stoked as I just got a PM from a person organizing the next issue of a webcomic that is a coordinated effort of artists that frequent a site that allows you to share work and get feedback on it. I had just added colors to a image done by a great artist who goes by Inkthinker and these folks saw it and asked me to do colors for an upcoming issue of the comic. It's not a paying gig but at least it'll be something to add to my resume for the future.

All in all life is good...just thought I'd share.

So I've been conspicuously absent a lot lately. Obviously it is due to real life taking way too much time and effort for me to tell everyone (all 4 of you) about it. Luckily I get the occasional break from school so now I can try to catch up on various other things between now and the first week or two of January.

The minion has been doing better. He's actually been sleeping most of the night (except last night due to another bout of teething.) and has been happier overall. He's been "talking" a lot more and is starting to get better at the whole crawling part...though he's still stuck in reverse.

In other news, the tooth that I had the root canal on broke in half last week. The inside part of the molar sheared off and after going into the dentist he cleaned up the sharp edges and told me that we'd move up the post and crown for that tooth...Joy!

Art is fun...but can be slightly tedious at times. Especially when you are working on an animation...it's almost like you are doing the same thing over and over and then you remember you basically are doing the same thing over and over.

Another new thing is that Runo, of runoknows fame has convinced me and the wife to start doing reviews for the site he reviews for. So look for something in the near future on www.gamersinfo.net as I have already started playing a couple games.

This is ridiculous The top news story today is about hundreds of people dieing in a suicide bomb in Iraq...then it segues in to a story on how Christmas trees are being taken down in a Seattle Airport...because a Rabi asked them to add a menorah to their display as well (admittedly he threatened to sue over it as well) That story then closed on how Wal-mart has brought back the use of "Merry Christmas" in their stores.


Who the hell cares! I mean it's the same damn thing every year. While one person might celebrate Kwanza and another the Yule why does it need to effect anyone else. I could care if I see a tree, a star, a candle or whatever other religious symbol. I just want my damn presents.

Don't have the energy to type it all out now but it's been a heck of a week. Between working through Thanksgiving and Black Friday to having a sick little minion and all while starting my new job (Finally!) as well as my fun filled day on Jury Duty (sent him away for a few years)...I'm wiped.

I just caught up on homework that was a few days late and now I'm gonna veg out for a bit and sleep early. Should have a bit more spare time tomorrow.

So I've been gone for a few days. I had computer access and the urge to post but I have stayed busy for the most part and I don't know about everyone else but I feel that I need a good block of time to post tidbits about my life.

Let's see...I worked my two 12 hour days over the weekend and not much happened. Got homework done and spent some quality time with my games. Speaking of I got an invite to the expansion beta for World of Warcraft...pretty cool so far though I haven't played it much. Most interesting part of that is that I had canceled my account about a month ago. So I got an invite without having an active account. My theory is that they invited me to draw me back into the game.

I also spent some time with Final Fantasy 12 and can I say...Great game. I love the changes and the visuals are wonderful.

Well my new work computer got delivered yesterday. I hope no one messed with it. I plan on spending my shift tonight setting up the machine.

Please move along.

Well nothing major to report today. I think the couple extra hours of sleep last night actually hurt me more than helped. Maybe if it continues I can actually get back into a normal routine of sleep.

So once I got up with the Minion this morning I decided to put together his new changing table. The one he had he quickly outgrew and this one has almost double the surface on the top so should last for a little while.

I like to put stuff together though this unit was a bit more a beast than expected. I was pleasantly surprised to see it was made of real cuts of wood and not the crappy press board most of my furniture tends to be. (I like to spend less on furniture)

So my plan was to quickly put that together then sit down for some quality Final Fantasy 12 time...go figure it never works out like that. It took me almost 3 times as long to put this beast of a changing table together. Once I finished with that and the clean up I was so worn out I almost needed a nap. Then the wife went out to run errands leaving me with the minion for a few and go figure he decided that that was his time to fuss. So when she gets back it's already to the point where I need to start getting ready to go. Didn't even have the drive to make lunch...luckily a friend wanted to visit and offered to pick up a pizza for us.

So got ready, ate pizza and now am at work for my short shift before my day off. Then I have my two 12 hour days over the weekend...maybe then I can play Final Fantasy.

Ok so second day of using it and he slept until 5:30...I'm impressed Will see what tomorrow brings.

So we started to use a "method" for training the little one (henceforth known as "The Minion")to sleep better. The method is known as the Ferber Method and the gist of it is to leave the crying baby in the crib for a bit longer than your natural reactions want. So over a period of a few days they learn that they don't need to wake up and scream every two hours and then wake up at 4 am ready to play. Not sure how well it'll work in our case but here's hoping. It's going to be hard to ignore (even if it's for a few minutes) the minion crying at all. It's become second nature to pick him up when he's cranky.

Will keep my reader (yeah you Runo...I see you there) updated on the progress.

So today started off with trying to sleep through that then figured the worst was over...then I remembered I had a dentist appointment. Not just any dentist appointment though...the first dentist appointment I've had in 5 or so years. Now I take moderate care of my teeth. I hate flossing but I do tend to brush regularly and such so I was only mildly concerned going into the appointment. Once I straightened out the insurance fiasco (I had no idea who I had dental insurance through) and filled out the appropriate paperwork I got my x-rays done.

Those are the most painful things ever. Hard squares of film wrapped in hard plastic that have to be awkwardly shoved in your mouth and then held very still so the can irradiate your head. After that I got to chat about my issues with the dentist. Told him about my various pains and pits and then he poked around with his sharp pointy metal object and called out unintelligible things to the dental assistant.

After all the fun stuff he told me the wonderful news. I need a root canal on at least one if not two teeth...either that or he pulls the tooth. I chose the former. I have a root canal scheduled for Monday . After that I'll have a good 6 months of work to be done cleaning up the mess that is my mouth. That'll teach me.

So it looks like I'll have another week (at least) in this old position. Blah...this means I probably have to work through Thanksgiving and Black Friday. Oh well I can deal with it...it just frustrates me as this move has been pending for quite a few months now.

I'll be back later when I feel less grumpy and more jovial.

So about 2:30 this morning the minion decided to wake up fussy. Both the wife and I got up with him and tried everything to get him to clam down. Finally he slept for a bit and we both got a bit more rest but then he was still not feeling well after that. Took him to the doctor to make sure and he found nothing wrong...so my assumption is probably right...constipation. How do you get constipated when you eat mush?

So I come in to work (IT related) tonight and find out that they are making the offers to the replacement person(s) today...finally! This means that the "you'll be out of the group when we hire a replacement or the 20th" might actually happen by the 20th. Though I have to spend my last weekend in the group working the weekend. Hopefully it'll be quiet enough that I can get quality time with my PS2 and Final Fantasy 12...I don't get nearly enough gaming time as of late. My console was starting to worry about me. Especially since I traded in his friends the Xbox and Gamecube. They looked at me funny and with their lack of new and interesting titles I found that they would make much better credit towards other games than dust collectors.

After this weekend I should be able to spend time with my games a bit more in the evenings...that way my son won't get jealous and start fussing. When he's asleep he'll never know.

So I'll be going from nights back to day the beginning of next week. It's almost as if my son it preparing me for this over the last few weeks.

He started waking up around 5am and as my wife is nowhere near a morning person I've started getting up with him. Of course I try my damnedest to get him to sleep again but that rarely works. Most of the time I use that time to check mail and do some school work.

The biggest downside to this is that I still have to work until 11pm...feh!

So last night we have a couple friends over for a board gaming night. Since May (son's birth) we really haven't had regular guests and it was kinda nice to have adults to spend time with again...that and the beers...I like beer.

One of these days I will officially catch up on my sleep. The job I am doing now is an evening shift so 5 days a week I am in the office from 3pm to at least 11pm...throw in a fussy baby at home and my willingness to help people out in various things such as the movie I was a Production Assistant for over the last 3 weekends and you end up with a very tired Harm.

But along the lines of fatherhood...I wouldn't trade the feeling of seeing your baby for anything (sorry sappy moment)

So I have no idea where to start on this. I've had a journal in the past but never really kept up with it. I figured with my life going a different route here soon I might as well share it with the unwashed (and washed I suppose) masses.

On and off for the past almost 10 years I've been a tech...I've gone from helping friends work on/build machines to being the director (admittedly I only directed myself) of IT for a small supply company. Most recently I have decided to shrug off the want for being a manager in any shape or form and just be a "worker bee". This has been my job for almost a year. Come in, do IT work, go home...simple if it wasn't combined with full time school (online)and being a new father (5.5 months old at this point...and cute as a button...but how cute is a button actually?)

The gist of that wordy paragraph is that I have recently been offered a move to the Art department within my company...this means using the degree I am working towards about a year and a half before getting it. It'll be great to work and learn at the same time.

I guess this place will be a good outlet for becoming something new...and if you're lucky I'll throw in cute pics of the baby every once in awhile.