A LOT Has Changed!

posted on: 2007-02-17 at 3:33:00 PM

Where do I begin? Oliver is now five and a half weeks old! Where has the time gone? I've updated the Pics section with a collection of images from his first month of being part of this tiny blue marble we all live on -- CHECK THEM OUT!

I'd say "he's doing great," but that would be a bit of a lie. Angie and I took him to the hospital last week for another hearing check-up, and through many hours of intense testing, it looks as if he has mild permanent hearing loss. He has "combination hearing loss" which means he's having both middle-ear and ear drum issues. The middle-ear stuff should be able to be "fixed" through some form of medical intervention (of which we're not sure of yet). Even with that prognosis, it looks like he's going to live his life with a small hearing loss, which could effect his speech development.

Because of his diagnosis, he's now a part of the "Oregon Early Intervention Program" which will give us all tools and guidance through this.

Personally, I'm not worried or upset. I have similar mild hearing loss and my dad has lived most of his life with severe hearing loss. We're both just fine. There's a wonderfully expansive network of help within all circles of Oliver's life (family, medical, spiritual, etc.). I have accepted this and I say "make the best of it!"

Otherwise, the little bugger is kicking ass and taking names. In his first month, I've watched him pudge up and learn some muscle coordination. He's gained a few pounds and has a very healthy and predictable cycle. He's starting to crack little smiles on occasion! He's very lively and spirited and enjoys my interaction.

NEXT THING I KNOW HE'LL BE SHAVING AND ADDING FRIENDS ON HIS MYSPACE ACCOUNT AND RIDING HIS MOD'ed GAS-POWERED SCOOTER AROUND THE SCHOOL YARD! Heh.

So, the other giant news in my life is... wait for it... I QUIT MY JOB! It's a long story -- but the short version of it is this: I ran into my old boss in December while shopping at a local computer super-store. He had just become the store manager and after chatting with him for awhile, he showed an interest in bringing me into his store. A few months of interviewing and waiting passed, and I was actually turned down the position that I wanted originally! But later the position opened back up to me and an offer was made. It was too good for me to pass up.

I've been with my current job for over four years (since October of 2002). My little video game store is an extension of my soul -- and it was VERY hard to let it go. I've calculated that I have probably spent nearly 9000 hours in that stinkin' place! I love my staff and I love most of the regulars that shop there -- and it will be hard to let them go. But I can't lie. I'm very happy to be done with that company. As much as I've loved about that job, I have also found nearly unbearable -- especially their technology decisions (we ran on MS-DOS 6.22 for most of my stint there... WTF?).

I gave my two week notice and finished out my tenure while training the "New Carl." His name is Mike, and I think he's going to do a great job. Amy and Julia have been awesome through all this (although they were sad at first). It will be nice to be JUST their friend .. and not their friend and boss. I was thrown a going away party complete with cake and punch. If you can't tell, the cake says "U Suck, Kbye." ^__^

The last day there was awesome. My newest employee was interviewed by the regional loss-prevention manager because some other employees (ones not at my store) suspected that he was dealing drugs IN THE STORE, WHILE ON THE CLOCK. Well, during his interview, he fessed up to not only doing that, but a lot more (stealing). Wow. He wasn't even ratted-out! He was simply .. acting stupidly. Evolution at it's finest! Yay Darwin.

Also, the credit card machine failed. Over six hours on the phone with various support personnel, giving up our main phone line and fifty feet of copper phone cable finally fixed the problem (read: the company MAKES HORRIBLE TECHNOLOGY DECISIONS).

So now I am on a very small break in between jobs. I start the new job on Wednesday. Tomorrow is the Daytona 500 and I cannot wait to see my boys in HD! I wonder which driver Oliver is going to root for?

Labels: hearing loss, nascar, new job, oliver

posted by Carl | 1 Comments | Leave a comment

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