Where I have been

Meet Oldenburg Jr., at 8 pounds 4.2 ounces and 21.5 inches, he the reason why I have been out of pocket for so many days. Poor Ms. Oldenburg was induced on Tuesday, but did not give birth until Thursday morning via C-section at 35.5 weeks. I have spent three nights on hospital futons, but that is nothing compared to Mrs. Oldenburg.

Its funny, I love reading, writing, and talking about politics, but the Democratic Convention and John McCain's Hail Mary Sarah Palin seemed uninteresting to me after this started to happen. By tonight, all 4 four grandparents will be here, and we are blessed to have so much support from all of them.

Meanwhile for me, two firms in town have made offers to me and both are terrific offers and places. One even sent up a bouquet to the hospital room. It is nice to know that the little guy won't go hungry because his papa found a job, which was my biggest stress these last few months.

Enjoy your Labor Day weekend, I know I will.

It's go time


Dear Reader, don't expect much in the way of posting for the next while.  Ms. Oldenburg is being induced today.  More news when I have it. 

the good thing about high gas prices

(Photo Credit: Al Hartmann/The Salt Lake Tribune)

"Typically, the first three days of back to school are always a little crazy," [UTA spokeswoman Carrie] Bohnsack-Ware said, "until people find the schedule that works best for them and people settle into their routines."
This year, though, the [University of Utah ("the U.")] is trying to boost the ranks of students riding buses and trains with the passes they can get after paying tuition and fees. The school is expecting a surge, thanks to the run-up in gasoline prices and the first increase in campus parking fees in seven years.
Daily campus ridership could reach as high as 16,000 this year, but officials need to complete parking surveys and obtain UTA ridership figures before reaching any conclusions.
"We anticipate an increase of 15 to 20 percent," said Norm Chambers, the U.'s vice president for auxiliary services. "Right now it's more an intuition until we get some more data."

During my three years at the U. I never bought a parking pass and drove near campus maybe a half dozen times. Parking is horrific, the passes are going up 20 percent a year, the TRAX/Bus passes are free, and gas is expensive. Plus getting into a really hot or cold car sucks. Unless you live out of range of public transit, why wouldn't you take FrontRunner or TRAX or a bus or car pool?

T-shirts make all the difference

For me, it has been phone calls that has change my life, but for my Constitutional Law professor, Erika George, it was a T-shirt:

It read: "Real men marry lawyers - Harvard Women's Law Journal."
The year was 1991, and George was just about done with her undergraduate degree at the University of Chicago. She was thinking about law school and couldn't help but ask the man on the Stairmaster about the shirt slogan.

And who was the man on the stairmaster? Barack Obama.

He told her he married a Harvard law graduate (Michelle Obama), though he failed to mention that he also went to Harvard or that he was the first black president of the Harvard Law Review or that he was a recently hired University of Chicago law professor.
"All he did was talk about his wife," George recalls, "and how wonderful she was."
George mentioned that she was thinking about going to law school, to which he replied: "You should think about Harvard. You can do it."
The statement shocked George, who, worried about the $50 application fees, expected to stay within Illinois. "It never crossed the smallest part of my mind that I could go to Harvard Law School."
From then on, every time Obama saw her on the treadmill he would needle her about going to Harvard, remind her of the approaching application deadlines and tell her she could do it.

Of course, Obama was right, and she got in. And the rest they say, is history.

Would you be that nice when some girl comes up to you in the middle of your workout to ask about your t-shirt? I some times miss people calling out my name while I am on the stationary bike (so if I don't respond, don't take it personally, I am just off in my own little world). And I think this story also tells us that we need to be careful what ratty t-shirt we wear to the gym.