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| February 14th, 2004 |
| ICQ # : 106684786 |
| Yahoo! IM ID: wkargel |
| MSN Messenger ID: Bill_Kargel (wkargel@hotmail.com) |
| AOL IM ID: wkargel |
| As always, feel free to email me at wkargel@yahoo.com |
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| I turn 35 tomorrow.
Is reaching age 35 a "milestone" like reaching sixteen? Eighteen? Twenty one? Twenty Five? Thirty? Or even older ages like Forty, Fifty or One Hundred? To me, reaching age 35 is, like when I turned 25, a "benchmark" in observing where I am in my life and what I have accomplished so far. To be honest, I feel that I haven't accomplished all that much. In fact, the setbacks I have suffered in 2002 were quite devastating. Although I like my job now, I am making at least a third less than what I used to make at IBM (half if you count the differential pay), and that has hurt us a lot. At this time in 2002, other than our vehicle payments, Bridget and I were over eighty percent debt-free...then the bottom fell out of our lives, and we lost control of the situation, so now we have considerable debt again...and with a new baby on the way, makes for a very scary proposition, as children are a further financial burden, and I am afraid we will NEVER get completely out of debt...it is as if we blew our only chance to be debt-free. My musical endeavours have gone dead in the water, and I cannot foresee that picking back up any time soon...right now I cannot even afford the lessons that I wanted to take to improve my skills. I have also realized that I am now 35 years old and I have no retirement plan, and nothing saved for retirement. The prospect of having to work every day for the rest of my life to just make ends meet until I literally drop dead is quite discouraging. On the bright side, however...my relationship with Bridget is stronger than ever despite all the setbacks we have endured, and we are very hopeful about a positive outcome with the baby boy wre are soon to be welcoming into the world! I have a lot of fears...fears that have been amplified by impending fatherhood. I want so desperately to be the best parent that I can be for my son (and any children I have), and I feel an overwhelming amount of pressure as far as being able to adequately provide for my family. I am really worried that given the present circumstances, I will not be able to keep up. If it weren't for everything else, we would likely make it without much difficulty at all. Yes, I have issues. So do us all. About Baby Boy...we went to Atlanta for another Level II ultrasound exam on Wednesday, February 11th. Baby Boy has gained over 1 1/2 pounds since our last visit three weeks ago...he is now approximately 4 lbs. 3 oz., and while we are in week 28 of the pregnancy, Baby Boy is showing to be the size of a baby at 31 weeks. Dr. Korotkin was not available, as he was stuck in surgery, but nobody seems to be too concerned at this time. They do want to know the results of the upcoming glucose tests Bridget has to undertake to check for gestational diabetes. As you recall, with her pregancy with Royce, she had these tests. She failed the first one, but passed the second, more intensive one. Gestational diabetes WAS NOT a factor in regards to the problems Royce had, although it was first though that Bridget might have had it anyway, as Royce was exceptionally large and had blood sugar control problems after birth (typical of babies born to mothers who have the condition). It may or may not be a factor this time...but we are anticipating that the present rate, if Bridget carries Baby Boy to term, when he is delivered at the end of April, he may tip ten pounds! The week before, we had a visit with Baby Boy's pediatrician-to-be, Dr. Robersteen Howard. She turned out to be a very nice lady, and we felt very comfortable with her being our baby's doctor! As an added bonus, it turns out that she has had some exposure to the condition that Royce had, persistent hyperinsulinemic hypoglycemia of infancy, or PHHI; otherwise commonly known as nesidioblastosis. She observed a toddler that had undergone surgery to treat the condition and was in recovery while an intern at a children's hospital! If this baby ends up having the condition, we will feel that much more at ease knowing that she already knows a little about it beforehand! As it is, we gave her a detailed account about what had happened before, so she will be prepared! I have to apologize. I was going to post the lastest ultrasound pics of Baby Boy, but I suffered a PC hard drive crash a couple of days ago (yes, even more drama that I don't want or need right now), and so for the moment the scanner is not available for me to scan them in for uploading. I have swapped out the hard drive for the original one, and am trying to make that one 100% before trying to see if I can save the bigger (and better) drive. I am just hoping that it is just corrupted files and not a physical failure...Windows Xp was loading (barely), but I could do nothing else. I have the most important stuff backed up of of the PC, but I would like to be able to salvage other stuff that is on there if at all possible...if the drive is OK, then I will just reformat it and start over. If the drive is bad...well...I don't know when I will be able to afford to get another one. This PC is over 4 1/2 years old already, and it may not be worth putting a lot more money into it. And getting a new PC is financially out of the question right now. I will try to have this issue resolved ASAP. Thanks for your patience! |
| HAPPY VALENTINE'S DAY!!! |
| HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO ME |
| I thought that this may be interesting for at least a few of you...famous people throughout history that I share a birthday with (February 15th), starting with the earliest I have found...this a much larger list than I anticipated...and there are a lot of cool people on it! ;-) 1564 - Galileo Galilei Scientist, Author, Astronomer 1803 - John Sutter early California settler: owned Sutter’s Mill near Sacramento, site of first gold strike in U.S.; died June 18, 1880 1809 - Cyrus H. McCormick inventor: mechanical reaper; died May 13, 1884 1812 - Charles Lewis Tiffany jeweler: jeweler who had a lot of breakfasts at his store; name synonymous with highest quality jewelry; died Feb 18, 1902 1820 - Susan B. (Brownell) Anthony suffragist: 1st American woman to be pictured on a coin: the Susan B. Anthony dollar; died Mar 13, 1906 1882 - John Barrymore actor: renowned 1920's Shakespearean Actor of the stage and screen, grandfather of actress Drew Barrymore 1905 - Harold Arlen (Hyman Arluck) composer: composer w/Ted Koehler: Stormy Weather, It’s Only a Paper Moon; w/Gershwin & Mercer: That Old Black Magic; Oscar-winning songwriter: Somewhere Over the Rainbow [1939]; died Apr 23, 1986 NOTE: Somewhere Over The Rainbow, sung by Judy Garland in the 1939 movie adaptation of L.Frank Baum's The Wizard of Oz, has got to be one of the best songs EVER due to it's timeless beauty. 1907 - César Romero actor: TV: Batman (1966-68) - The Joker; Falcon Crest (1981-88) - Peter Stavros...Film: Ocean's Eleven (1960) - Duke Santos; died January 1, 1994 1914 - Kevin McCarthy actor: Final Approach, Ghoulies 3, The Howling, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Buffalo Bill and the Indians, Matinee 1918 - Hank Locklin (Lawrence Hankins Locklin) country singer: Please Help Me I’m Falling, Send Me the Pillow You Dream On 1927 - Harvey Korman acotr/comedian: Emmy Award-winning performer/music/variety show: The Carol Burnett Show [1972, 1974]; The Tim Conway Show, Blazing Saddles, High Anxiety 1929 - Graham Hill auto racer: Indianapolis 500 winner [1966]; killed in crash of his private plane Nov 29, 1975 1929 - James Schlesinger politician: U.S. Secretary of Defense [1973-1976]; Secretary of Energy [1977] 1931 - Claire Bloom actress: Separate Tables, The Spy Who Came in from the Cold, Queenie, Alexander the Great, Anastasia, Brideshead Revisited 1933 - Adolfo (Adolfo Sardina) fashion designer: fashion-wear, sportswear, personal leather goods, accessories 1935 - Susan Brownmiller author: Against Our Will, Femininity 1941 - Brian Holland songwriter: Motown’s Holland-Dozier-Holland: Baby Love, Stop! In the Name of Love, solo: Don’t Leave Me Starvin’ for Your Love 1942 - Sherry (Sharon) Jackson actress: The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, Ma and Pa Kettle series, The Breaking Point, The Mini-Skirt Mob, The Incredible Hulk: Married, Stingray 1944 - Mick Avory musician: drums: group: The Kinks: You Really Got Me, All Day and All of the Night, A Well Respected Man, Sunny Afternoon, Lola, Celluloid Heroes 1945 - John Anthony Helliwell musician: saxophone group: Supertramp: Dreamer, Bloody Well Right, The Logical Song, It's Raining Again 1947 - David Brown musician: bass: group: Santana: Soul Sacrifice, Samba Pa Ti, Black Magic Woman, Evil Ways, Oye Como Va 1947 - Rusty Hamer actor: Make Room for Daddy; died Jan 18, 1990 1946 - Marisa Berenson actress: Cabaret, Barry Lyndon; model 1948 - Ron (Ronald Charles) Cey The Penguin: baseball: LA Dodgers [World Series: 1974, 1977, 1978, 1981/all-star: 1974-1979], Chicago Cubs, Oakland Athletics 1949 - Ken Anderson football: Cincinnati Bengals quarterback: Super Bowl XVI 1951 - Melissa Manchester singer: Don’t Cry Out Loud, Midnight Blue, You Should Hear How She Talks About You 1951 - Jane Seymour (Joyce Penelope Wilhelmina Frankenberg) Emmy-award winning actress: Dr. Quinn, Medicine Woman [1996], Onassis: The Richest Man in the World [1988]; Live and Let Die, Somewhere in Time, East of Eden [TV], Lassiter, War and Remembrance 1954 - Matt Groening cartoonist: creator of The Simpsons, the longest-running animated show in TV history 1955 - Christopher McDonald actor: has starred in a number of minor but rememberable roles: Outrageous Fortune, Thelma & Louise, Happy Gilmore 1959 - Ali (Alistair) Campbell musician: guitar, lead singer: group: UB40: Food for Thought, My Way of Thinking, I Think It’s Going to Rain, Dream a Lie, Red Red Wine, Don’t Break My Heart [w/Chrissie Hynde], Orchestral Dub 1960 - Mikey Craig musician: bass: group: Culture Club: Do You Really Want to Hurt Me, Time [Clock of the Heart], Karma Chameleon 1964 - Chris Farley comedian, actor: Saturday Night Live, Wayne’s World, Wayne’s World 2, Coneheads, Billy Madison, Tommy Boy, Black Sheep, Beverly Hills Ninja, Almost Heroes; died Dec 18, 1997 1967 - Jane Child singer/songwriter: Don't Wanna Fall In Love, Welcome To The Real World, Do Watcha Do 1967 - Michael Easton actor: soap opera star - One life To Live (Johnny McBain), Port Charles (Caleb Morley); roles in Mutant X and Ally McBeal 1971 - Rene O'Connor actress: best known for her role as sidekick Gabrielle on the TV series Xena: Warrior Princess (1995-2001, now in re-run land) 1973 - Sarah Wynter actress: ABC TV series "24" 1976 - Brandon Boyd musician: lead vocalist, Incubus: Pardon Me, Stellar, Drive, Nice To Know You, Wish You Were Here, Warning |
| ICQ # : 106684786 |
| Yahoo! IM ID: wkargel |
| MSN Messenger ID: Bill_Kargel (wkargel@hotmail.com) |
| AOL IM ID: wkargel |
| As always, feel free to email me at wkargel@yahoo.com |
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| February 16th, 2004 |