this biochemical life

Another monday morning.  I wasn’t able to catch up on sleep over the weekend, of course, so I’m still pretty tired.  It was a nice weekend though, especially with the incredible weather.  Yesterday we bought some supplies for the E-man’s birthday party on Saturday.  On Wednesday, he turns 1 year old!  It seems so unbelievable to me.

Sometime this week, I’ll be finalizing some big blog news!  I’ve been in the process of moving my blog to a new site.  As you might know, this blog is currently being hosted by Typepad, and I’ve had great success with them.  I would highly recommend them to any new blogger.  I’m stretching out a little to try some new things, to get a little bit more control over my blog too.  Later this week, when I’ve finalized the move, I’ll give you the new site!

In the spirit of introducing my family and myself to those of you who might be new here, I thought I’d list 10 or so Introductory Posts. They’re either my favorite posts, or contain information that will help you learn more about us. I hope you enjoy them!

1. First Post:
This first post, written when I started my blog back in August 2006 (when there were ONLY 14.2 million weblogs, not the 36.4 million there are now) is a quick introduction to my family and what I originally planned for my blog. Ever since we found out that the E-man was on his way, I wanted to set up a blog to share information and stories and pictures with family and friends. It turns out that I’ve had a great time doing so, that I’ve learned a great deal about myself and about blogging, and that there are some great people out in the blogosphere, especially authors of other parenting blogs.

2. My Work:
As a graduate student in Biochemistry (a clue to the name I chose for the blog), I’m currently working towards a Ph.D. – I have 4 months until I start law school at Syracuse University, so I’m working as hard as possible to finish in time. Written last August when I had 12 long wonderful months to finish, this is just a brief summary of what I’m trying to accomplish.

3. My Law School Decision:
Last spring, when attempting to figure out my future career plans, I chose to enter the field of law to specialize in Intellectual Property (IP, aka Patent Law). Over the course of the past year I took a LSAT review class, did well on the actual test, applied to law schools, got acceptances and a rejection or two, set up a blog with all of the information I spent so many hours researching and collecting, withdrew my application from schools, and finally accepted an offer at Syracuse University. So starting Monday, August 21st, I will officially be a 1L (first year law student).

4. The Cat:
Before the E-man, my wife and I made another foray into the world of parenting when we adopted a kitten we named Ferdinand. Although he’s a cat only a mother could love, he’s an integral part of the family. As an interesting aside, the word “foray” can be defined either as “an initial attempt (especially outside your usual areas of competence);” or “to briefly enter enemy territory.” Appropriate.

5. The E-man’s First Report:
This post was written with a little help from the E-man. It was posted last fall when we were ramping up for the Christmas season. I’m hoping that he’ll be doing more posting when he gets a chance.

6. Lake Placid:
My wife and I were married in October 2002. Our honeymoon was a week in Lake Placid in the Adirondacks, one of the most beautiful places on earth, especially in the fall. We try to go back to the Adirondacks every fall to celebrate our anniversary. This post is our trip last October for our third anniversary. It was our first big trip with the E-man, and it went off without a hitch. We had a fantastic time and got some great pictures.

7. Genetic Genealogy I:
Ever since a middle school assignment to fill out a 4-generation family tree, I’ve been addicted to genealogy. Before that day, I’d never given it a single thought. Being the overachiever that I am, I had to attach extra sheets of paper to add the ancestors that I learned of from my paternal grandmother. Perhaps it was the visualization of all those empty branches that spurred me to continue genealogical research, an endeavor that I pursue to this day. This post is a brief summary of my first experiment with the new and rapidly emerging field of Genetic Genealogy. I’ll soon be getting my results from a second experiment in this field, so stay tuned for Genetic Genealogy II!

8. Our First Thanksgiving:
Some pictures of our first Thanksgiving.

9. Our First Christmas:
Pictures from the Christmas season, including the E-man’s first exposure to Santa Claus! Although he looks a little frightened in the picture, he actually liked Santa and would laugh with him, at least until the camera was taking a shot, of course.

10. Toys and the Lies We Tell:
This controversial post relates a story that I think happens often to new parents. We received from a grandparent a toy that the baby already had. Caught up in the moment, we withheld that fact and tried to hide if from them. Hilarity ensues.

11. Spring is Here!:
A recent post celebrating the start of the E-man’s first full spring. We took some beautiful shots outside on one of the nicest March days in memory.

Every Easter when my 3 siblings and I were younger, my mom used to bake and decorate a cake to look like an Easter Bunny. She’s hasn’t done it in years (the youngest of us is now 23), but this year, with the two new grandchildren, she thought she’d start it up again. This was the E-man’s first piece of cake, and he loved it!

Hey, this is pretty good!

Notice the red hair in the sunlight:

All done!

On Easter, we drove up north and spent a day with my family, including the E-man’s cousin who was born just a month after he was. She’s adorable, and everyone had a great time. I have a few more pictures to post in a few days, so stay tuned!

Here’s the cool dude:

Just receiving a new toy:

And here’s a VERY tired E-man. He refused to nap because there was so much to do and see, until Grandma rocked him to sleep.

This is just as he’s waking up from his nap:

Last week Mommy took the E-man to the Zoo where the penquins had just made their re-debut (after six months of problems)! This was only his second time at the zoo, and he had a great time!

One day last week, when Mommy was out, Daddy and the E-man had a day of play. Here’s a few pictures:

So my final decision has been made – this fall (God willing) I will be attending the Syracuse University College of Law. To be honest, it wasn’t what I was planning to do just a few weeks ago (see this recent post). I had made up my mind to attend the University of Akron. But then my wife and I sat down and had an extensive talk about our options, about the possibilities, about our goals. My goal is to stay in New York and/or New England after law school. Undoubtedly, the Syracuse University name will have FAR more name recognition in those areas than Akron. Secondly, as far as the 2006 rankings go, Syracuse was in the top 100 (i.e. the second tier), while Akron was firmly in the third tier. Unfortunately, Syracuse fell into the third tier in the recent 2007 USNWR rankings, but I think it’s temporary and it hasn’t changed my mind. Although Syracuse doesn’t have an IP program per se (and Akron does), according to all the research I’ve done that doesn’t play a very large part in the hiring process after law school. It seems to be all about “getting into the best law school you can” (A big thank you, by the way, to the person who left this comment and spurred me to think seriously about Syracuse). And thirdly, a new financial aid option made the $5,000 gap in Syracuse’s tuition scholarship more affordable.

There were a few other important factors as well. Our families are both in the area, and we liked the thought of being nearby. As well, my wife has a great job here and the thought of quitting it and trying to find a new one in Ohio was daunting. The hoops she would have to jump through would have been enormous. This way she can keep a job she loves without the very scary but real possibility of not finding a new one in another state.

This process, which I started almost a year ago, has been both extremely expensive and challenging. The twists and turns have taken us on a rollercoaster-ride of emotions. More than anything else, I must thank my wife who has been so incredibly supportive. She too went through the ups and downs of the LSAT and the application process. As of just a few weeks ago she was willing to leave a job she loves and everyone she knows so that I could follow my dream, and that means a lot to me. And I’m about 99% sure she’s not just doing it for a decent alimony check either, but because she loves me.

So enough about law school for now. I’ll be sure to keep you all updated on future developments and the many challenges to come, but I look forward to writing a little bit more about the E-man, who turns 1 year old in just a few weeks!!

What a weeks it’s been! The E-man has been battling an ear infection and the resulting diaper rash, and I’ve fallen ill with a chest cold and an ear infection myself! I haven’t had one of those in many years. That’s what happens when you send your child to the Giant Germ Incubator sometimes known as daycare! I think I’m on the downward slope, and I know the E-man is, so in a few days all will return to normal.

When we picked up the E-man from the Giant Germ Incubator daycare today, we saw a little piece of artwork had been put into his cubby to be brought home. It was made from pudding and green jello, and apparently he really got into it. It’s his first painting, one of many to follow! I took a picture of it and wanted to share it with you, at least before the ants find it and take it away. By the way, reproductions are available from the E-Man Collection (for an outrageous fee, of course - we have to pay for college somehow). And here, for the very first time, an original E-man:

I have never considered that fact that Daylight Savings Time could wreak havoc to a child’s schedule. I’m sure this is something that all established parents know, but I had no idea! (On top of suffering from an awful earache), the poor kid hasn’t been ready for bed until 7:00 (usually goes to bed at 6:00) and doesn’t want to get up at his normal time.

We all fight the time change with caffeine-delivery systems such as coffee, but we’ve been hesitant to try that with the E-man. This has actually given me insight into how much DST (daylight savings time) affects each one of us. Although I typically try to downplay it or ignore it, the switch has obviously screwed up my system as much as the baby’s!

I stayed home with the little guy yesterday due to a fever and a terrible night’s sleep. We got in at the doctor’s office and he has a terrible infection in his left ear. This has been going on for a while now, and when we visited the doctor about a week and a half ago the ear wasn’t too bad so we all decided to lay off the antibiotics and try some Zyrtec (an antihistimine). These bugs really love the kid, so we’re back to the antibiotics that worked on the other ear a month ago. Both his mom and I had ear problems as children, and I even suffered some nerve damage as a result. I’m hoping this is just a phase and that he won’t have to go through what we did!

By the way, I’ll have more news on the law school front in my next post! See you then!

While spending time online when I should have been doing something more constructive, I made a little Photo Strip called “A Day Out 2″. I built it at bubblr, an online tool to create photo strips using digital pictures you’ve found at flickr or that you’ve uploaded yourself. It’s lots of fun!

Did anyone else barbeque or spend some time outside this weekend?

It’s a quiet and chilly Sunday morning. Outside a little fog blurs the border between the ground and the gray sky. But neither the E-man or my wife is here to enjoy it with me. They left yesterday morning to visit a new baby in the family, and because I came down with a pretty bad cold on Thursday I didn’t go with them. It’s so quiet around here. I noticed yesterday that as I was watching a movie I instinctively worried about the noise level, as if the E-man was upstairs sleeping. Then I’d worry because I couldn’t hear the monitor. I sure do miss them.

According to some estimates, approximately 106.7 billion people have been born since Homo sapiens first walked the Earth about 52,000 years ago. The current world population is estimated to be about 6.505 billion, meaning that of all the “human beings” (i.e. Homo sapiens sapiens) ever born, 6.09% are alive today. That’s actually a pretty significant number!

On Monday, the Eastman Online Genealogy Newsletter made an announcement regarding America’s GenealogyBank, a major new online genealogical resource that will soon be launched by Newsbank.com. The database will contain millions of images of documents ranging from genealogy books to obituaries, local histories, and many other types of records. The records will be totally searchable, and amazingly, 99% of these records have never been available electronically and 50% have never been available on microfilm! It sounds as though this might be one of the biggest boons that Genealogy has seen since digitized censuses. Unfortunately, although this service is set to be formally announced this week, it is not scheduled to be available to the public until very late this year or perhaps early next year.

Monday morning, The E-man was playing in the nursery and decided to crawl into the clothes basket and have fun. Notice the large rack of toys being ignored:

Tonight I discovered that if I say “Yayyyy” and clap my hands, he’ll clap his hands! And they’re real claps, making a real clapping noise. He thinks it’s hilarious!

Here’s a quick panorama of tonight’s sunset:

My 16% Irish heritage wishes you a wonderful St. Patrick’s Day!

So guess who’s ahead in the department NCAA pool? That’s right, yours truly! I messed up 3 of the 16 games yesterday, putting me in the lead (damn Syracuse). I was working at my bench, blissfully unaware, when the head of the department comes in looking for me. He congratulates me and asks me about one of my picks (Montana over Nevada, a 12 seed beats a 5 seed almost every year, I got lucky). The funny thing about it is that I rarely see him, and two years ago when I published a review in a high impact journal, he didn’t come down to my bench to congratulate me then! He’s a huge sports guy though, so I understand where he’s coming from.