Hello bed wetting.

Emily hasn’t worn a diaper during the day for well over a year now. She will happily go to the toilet all by herself and even wipe and wash her hands without supervision. But we never got around to doing the whole nighttime thing out of pure laziness. Well those days are gone. Whether she’s ready for it or not, I decided that Emily is big enough to sleep without diapers. So I did a little reading to prepare myself and, four days ago, Emily went to bed a few ounces lighter. And let me tell you, she was so excited. Any step that could possibly bring her closer to “big-girl” status is fine with her.

I asked her, she said she was ready. We didn’t let her drink for an hour before bedtime. I woke her up for a nighttime potty break four hours after she went to bed. And in the morning, the bed was soaking wet. That’s OK. It was the first night. So we tried again. On day two, the exact same thing happened. Thank goodness we recently bought a new tumble dryer. But on day three, Emily woke up in the morning bright-eyed and bushy-tailed to a bone-dry bed. What a great feeling! And then she wet the bed again last night.

The trick is for them to sense, in their sleep, when their bladder is filling up so that they can go to the toilet on their own in the middle of the night. Well, not only does Emily sleep through this filling sensation, she easily sleeps through the resulting tsunami. You sometimes can’t wake this girl up if you try. So we’re trying to put her to bed a little earlier each night with the belief that, if she is better rested, she’ll sleep a bit lighter. That’s the theory, as least. Here’s hoping this starts to work sooner than later.

I just got home from a concert. I hadn’t done that in a long time. And I have Nick and Sarah to thank. Thanks, Nick and Sarah.

When I wrote my Best Albums of 2009 list, I asked if anyone had any favorites that I might have missed. Nick dutifully left me a comment about a band called The Leisure Society. I had never heard of them before. But Nick was never one to lead me astray so I found an album of theirs and was ready to give them a shot. But before I could even listen to the album, Nick was back in touch to tell me that The Leisure Society would be playing a concert in Barcelona the very next week! I placed my order for a ticket without a second thought.

The concert was Tonight. After a scrumptious but modest dinner of dumplings and spicy piranha (no!), we headed over to an intimate little venue called Sidecar in Plaça Real for the gig. If you want to pronounce the name of the club like a real Spaniard, you have to say “seed-eh-CAR”. Silly Spanish. The line had already started to snake around a nearby restaurant and I quickly observed that – from all the beards, vintage glasses, self-rolled cigs, and tight black pants – we were surrounded by hipsters! I instinctively tried to make a run for it but Nick talked me down by reminding me that the band had been favorably likened to a British Grizzly Bear. I was intrigued.

I would rather see a halfway-decent band in an intimate space than an amazing band in a stadium where you end up watching a video monitor all evening. It’s a good thing that The Leisure Society was much better than halfway decent. They were great. I would liken them to a Sufjan Stevens-inspired amalgam of Fleet Foxes and Vampire Weekend with the occasional Beatles harmony thrown in for good measure. I didn’t fall head-over-heels in love, but I had a very good time and look forward to hearing more from them in the future. Good times.

Hey, wanna see the lovely photos I took while we were in England a few weeks ago?

Untrodden Snow

They’re all here. From waiting at the Barcelona airport to frolicking in Grandma & Granddad’s snowy backyard. From buying Christmas dinner at the hectic local butcher to going out for a lovely meal with friends. From fantastic presents on Christmas morning to going absolutely nuts in some soft play parks (where Jan actually managed to break her toe, but that’s another story). Just click on the following link and be whisked away:
**Fancy-shmancy full-screen slideshow**

I think I need to design some sort of a button that people can click on instead of a text link to these slideshows. Hey, anybody wanna make me a button?

And as an added bonus, here are a couple of Christmas morning videos. Huzzah!

Here’s a quick entry with nothing more than a video. I hope it brightens your day 🙂

I haven’t produced or directed a play in over a year and I’m starting to go a little crazy. Granted, nothing drives me more nuts than actually producing or directing a play, but it’s a different kind of madness. One that I desperately miss.

But, as much as I’d like to, I can’t just go and impetuously throw my hat into the ring. There are too many variables to consider. The most important of which is the fact that I would have to give up a significant amount of my free time at the weekends – time that is currently dedicated to my family. I’ve spoken with Jan about this and she said that I could probably do it if I promised to delegate some of the meatier responsibilities to other people – a skill at which I am infamously bad. So I’m looking into it.

But there’s no time to look into it!!! I just realized today that, if I wanted to put up a play this spring, I would have to start rehearsing in March. To do that, I would have to hold auditions before we go to Florida on February 11. To do that, I would have to start spreading the word about the auditions at least a few weeks beforehand. And that would be next week.

In order to spread the word about my auditions, I usually post a classified ad in the Barcelona Metropolitan magazine – the best-known English-language magazine in Barcelona. I always get a good response when I place an ad there. But the magazine comes out towards the beginning of the month and, if I want to hold auditions on Feb 6th or 7th, it wouldn’t do me much good to have the ad go public on the 5th. So I was just about to give up and postpone everything until the fall when I received an email from… Barcelona Metropolitan!! They apparently have a new weekly newsletter that they’re trying to push. So I could definitely put an ad in there if I wanted. Now I just need to decide if sticking Jan with both kids for over four hours on every Saturday and Sunday for three months would be a very nice thing to do. Unfortunately, I think I already know the answer to that.

Over on Facebook, people appear to be celebrating a little thing called Wayback Week 2010. So like a lemming off a bridge, so am I. The idea is that you change your current profile picture to one of you from a long time ago. Granted, I still think most of my friends look very similar to how they looked back in high school, just married with kids and trapped in adult-sounding jobs. Well, some of them.

So here I am. In 1993. 17 years old. Standing outside Matt’s house. On my way to pick up Rose and bring her to her Senior Prom. I was only a Junior! (so not technically my Prom)

Prom King
(not really)

As I said, I’ve been making a concerted effort to get my photos out of my camera, onto my computer, edited, and uploaded at a faster rate so I don’t end up sitting on a backlog of a gagillion photos. I just spent the past couple of days clearing out all of November and half of December. I stopped at Christmas as that will be a project in and of itself.

In any event, I’ve uncovered a few choice images that I should probably post here. Remember that you can see all of my favorite photos on my Flickr page. These are just a few that made me smile.

Castell de Sant Joan

Curses

From The Fourth Step

Dressing the Tree

Daddy’s Sweater

Indestructable

Show Me Scared

Ball Pit

In The Glow

Family Viewing

I really have to train myself to say “twenty ten” and not “two thousand ten”, otherwise I’ll sound pretty silly come 2739.

Wait a minute. 2010? Where the heck is my flying car?!!

General consensus seems to indicate that 2009 was a bit of a crappy year, at the tail end of an even crappier decade (I said “general consensus”! Both you and I know that the decade won’t end until next year). Yo peoples, I see where you’re coming from and I’mma let you finish, but for me 2009 may have been one of the best years OF ALL TIME. And here’s why:

Yes, my job at HP is still going strong, allowing me a flexible work schedule, requiring the mind-numbingly close attention to detail that I appreciate, and providing the infrequent yet much-needed opportunity to play volleyball. But that wasn’t it.

Yes, I’m still doing the “acting thing”, lending my voice to hilarious cartoons and respectable corporate videos, appearing on both TV and the silver screen, and anxiously anticipating the resurrection of my theatre company. But that wasn’t it, either.

Yes, I bought my first “real” camera in 2009 and am absolutely loving every nuance of my depth of field, optical viewfinder, wide apertures, interchangeable lenses, and bokeh. My pictures are just soooo much nicer and my kids will never be this age again! But the camera wasn’t what made the year so great. It was the subject of those beautiful photos.

Yes, my family.

Topping all headlines in 2009 was the joyous birth of our son, Sebastian, who came swimming into our lives last February – the day before my birthday. It has been fascinating to watch him grow into the little roustabout he his today. Milestones were too plentiful to enumerate here, but he is currently eating solid food (and most of Emily’s toys), has six teeth, soulful greenish-brown eyes, a healthy tuft of light brown hair, and is walking/running anywhere his inquisitive little feet can take him. It’s fascinating to go back and read blog posts or watch videos from when Emily was this age. Far from the “boy Emily” we may have expected, Sebastian is his own man. While just as much of a genius, he is much more laid back than Emily ever was. He enjoys warm cuddles, lounging about on soft cushions, and quietly observing from a distance. Emily never stayed in one place long enough to let you cuddle her. He does, however, have a penchant for throwing and smashing things and a possible unhealthy obsession with wheels. He is just amazing.

Now three years old, our little princess is now a big girl (so says she). Three years is a funny old age. All of a sudden, there is a level of comprehension and reasoning that absolutely jars with the minuscule appearance of the host. Emily is a negotiator, a liar, and a manipulator – and I mean that in the nicest possible way. She started public school in 2009 and, in just a couple of months, was speaking Catalan better than her parents. She loves school, by the way (I’ll have to write an entire entry about that). This year, we survived swimming solo, the Dummy Fairy, pooing in the toilet, and a particularly bad case of night terrors. Nowadays (meaning this week), Emily is very much into Mary Poppins and the Disney princesses and I am absolutely loving the insights she brings to our conversations.

And then there is Jan, the proverbial linchpin of our humble little family. My beautiful wife has been nothing short of amazing – surviving, nay, flourishing amidst the insanity of a home with three children. Granted, life is a bit easier while one is at school and the other is working. Jan celebrated a very significant birthday in 2009. Jan turned 30! Ten years ago. I cannot imagine how she could have possibly done a better job raising Emily and Sebastian and putting up with my shenanigans. I am very thankful and proud of all that she does.

And now on to twenty ten! I guess I’ve got a few things that might be considered “new year’s resolutions”, though I don’t like to think of them like that. Please note how none of these are tied to any arbitrary future date, as I am already doing them. First, I’m making more of an effort to blog more frequently. I am also blogging about more varied subjects and not always, “Hey, guess what my kid did today!!!” I still need to get my photos out of my camera, onto my computer, edited, and uploaded with a faster turnaround. OK. Secondly, I’m taking more of a proactive approach to my financial planning. This includes seeking out the highest possible interest rates for our savings, paying the fewest possible bank charges (goodbye, La Caixa), and possibly dabbling in mutual funds. Fun! And finally, I’m doing everything in my power to get my theatre company back up and running while minimizing the negative effects this might have on my family. I’m currently researching the possibility of producing/directing a show this spring but it’s all still very much in the air. Watch this space!

So, do you have any big plans for 2010?

It’s that time of year again. Time for me, you, and your uncle Larry to post our finely-tuned lists, sharing with the world our choices for the best new albums of the year. I did this last year in 2008, back in 2007, and even way back in 2006 – so here’s 2009!

I will not, however, attempt to fashion a “Best albums of the decade” list. First of all, we’ve still got one more year left in this decade!! Get that through your skulls!! Secondly, I just haven’t got the bleeding time.

As is becoming more and more often the case, this year’s list is made up mostly of bands that you won’t find repeated ad nauseum on your local top-40 radio station . Are they “indie”? Some of them. Are they “alternative”? What does that even mean? In any event, labels are irrelevant. They’re just good. Damn good. And here they are. No excuses. No explanations. Just my favorite albums from the past 12 months:
 

 
10. Bat for Lashes
Two Suns

Dark, but never needlessly so, Two Suns offers a rich, distinct world of subterranean lullabies, spacey timbres, and ghostly beauty. [Slant Magazine]

9. Sweet Billy Pilgrim
Twice Born Men

This is a beautiful, beautiful album, which will appeal to fans of alt country and a very English strand of art-pop. It should also be appreciated by lovers of great music everywhere. [musicOMH]

8. Neko Case
Middle Cyclone

Neko Case hasn’t produced a disappointing solo venture yet, and between “Fox Confessor Brings The Flood” and Middle Cyclone, her recent production is the strongest of her increasingly beautiful catalog. [No Ripcord]

7. Wild Beasts
Two Dancers

Wild Beasts certainly aren’t the first rock band to stand up society’s dregs and outcasts, but few others immortalize them on such a wondrous, mythic scale. [Pitchfork]

6. Allen Toussaint
The Bright Mississippi

Upon the first listen, The Bright Mississippi merely seems like a joyous good time, but subsequent spins focus attention on just how rich and multi-layered this wonderful music is. [All Music Guide]

5. Phoenix
Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix

Though the album trips lightly from slinky roller-skate jams (‘Fences’) to near Brit-rocky rave-ups (‘Lasso’), the underlying vibe is both retro and somehow outside of time–like a memory made sweeter than the real thing it recalls. [Entertainment Weekly]

4. Grizzly Bear
Veckatimest

Underneath the orchestral flourishes and children’s choirs, beneath even the frequent textural shifts and melodic detours, are a set of melodies that find new ways to cut straight to the listener every time. [Paste Magazine]

3. Animal Collective
Merriweather Post Pavilion

Soulful and almost structurally flawless, Merriweather finds one of the most talented, most creative pop bands finally and gloriously figuring it all out. [Slant Magazine]

2. The xx
The xx

It is so fully formed and thoughtful that it feels like three or four lesser, noisier records should have preceded it. The xx didn’t need a gestation period, though xx is nuanced, quiet, and surprising enough that you might. [Pitchfork]

1. Yeah Yeah Yeahs
It’s Blitz!

So let any indie bands planning a trip to the keyboard shop take note: this is how it’s done, with a desire to surprise and be surprised. [Q Magazine]

Honorable mention (in alphabetical order):
Florence + The Machine – Lungs
Kasabian – West Ryder Pauper Lunatic Asylum
La Roux – La Roux
Lisa Hannigan – Sea Sew
St. Vincent – Actor
Sunset Rubdown – Dragonslayer
Them Crooked Vultures – Them Crooked Vultures

Do you have any favorites from this year that I may have missed? Leave me a comment and let me know!

This is Emily’s fourth Christmas but it is definitely the first one that is infused with the magic of the holiday. She is finally old enough to grasp the whole (commercial and secular) concept and, as a result, is so incredibly excited. The thrill of seeing snow falling. The pleasure of watching twinkling lights. The excitement of exploring the packages under the tree. The anticipation of Christmas Eve, waiting on something magical to happen. There is nothing cuter.

Speaking of cute, I should also take this opportunity to note that Emily has finally agreed to start pooing in the toilet!! She has been potty-trained for well over a year now but pooing has always been a traumatic experience. No more! Locking her in the bathroom until she complied was maybe not the subtlest way of handling the situation, but subsequent incidents have involved a lot less screaming now that bribery has been introduced into the equation. Let’s just say that Santa should be bringing an extra “poo present” tonight for a certain little big girl.

This is only Sebastian’s first Christmas but he, too, has taken the opportunity to level-up. As we have observed with Emily a few times each year, Sebastian’s brain experienced a major developmental breakthrough last night. Starting at around 4am last night. Why do they always have to happen at night?! As a result, not only has he been walking and exploring all over the place today, but he is noticeably much more interactive and aware of people around him. That’s always nice.

Here are a few videos filmed today. Christmas Eve in England and Emily is preparing for Santa’s arrival at Grandma and Granddad’s house.