Ohai! Remember me? Here’s a list of some stuff I’ve been doing over my spring break:

Using Twitter instead of blogging – I still won’t call myself a Twitter lover, but I have definitely learned to embrace it. And for those who do follow me on Twitter, you probably already know everything I’m going to mention on this list. But you should probably keep reading anyway, for my ego’s sake.

Working – You’d think summer would be a slow time when working at a university, wouldn’t you? I know I would. And in fact, I expect that every summer, even though 5 of the 7 summers I’ve worked there have been pretty crazy. (Isn’t there some saying about that, how the definition of crazy is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results? Yeah.)

Playing guitar – I haven’t really learned a ton more songs (much to the chagrin of those who live with me and hear me practice), but I’ve been trying hard to work on things like keeping a steady rhythm and making sure notes ring out properly. The good news is that I still really enjoy it. The bad news is that I still pretty much suck.

Playing tennis – For Christmas, my wife signed me up for a tennis class (yes, Christmas. We intentionally deferred until now, because what good is it for me to learn tennis in the winter?). My class finished up last week, and I’ve gotta say, it was more fun than I thought it would be. The teacher was great. The best part was that the class was held at a private club. This particular class is the only one that non-members can sign up for (I am not a member). So after every class, they were pushing free food and drinks on us, in an effort to show us how much better our lives would be with them in it. I’m still not joining, but their recruitment efforts sure were tasty!

Losing weight – I joined a “Weight Watchers at work” program back in April. For years, I’ve had a weight system where I gain in the fall and winter, then lose in the spring and summer. I didn’t love it, but it worked for me. That is, until the past two years, when I kept up the gaining in fall and winter, but didn’t do so much losing in the spring and summer. So by March, I was at an all-time high weight. Since joining WW, I’ve dropped 22 pounds. And there’s still a month and a half left, so I hope I’m not done yet! Of course, the real test of how well the program works will not come until weeks after the Weight Watchers sessions are done, but I can’t say enough good things about it now. I’m at my lowest weight since 2003. I haven’t significantly increased my level of activity, I’ve just learned how to not eat like a pig. Funny how that works.

Boy: Why does a boat float?
Me: Ask me tomorrow (makes a note to do some research)

The next morning…
Boy: Why does a boat float?
Me: A boat, or any object, floats because it’s lighter than the weight of the water it displaces.

Boy: But some boats are heavy.
Me: Yes, but if they’re boats that float, they’re not as heavy as the water they displace.

Boy: What’s “displace” mean?
Me: Um, it sort of means to move something out of the way. If you have a cup of water that’s filled all the way to the top, and you put a rock in the cup, some of the water will spill out of the cup. That water that spills out is the water that was displaced by the rock. And because the rock doesn’t float, that means that the rock is heavier than the water that spilled out. I’ll show you next time you’re in the tub.

Boy: Where does water from the ocean go when it spills out?
Me: … Let’s watch TV.

3 – Length, in days, of my daughter’s birthday.

57 – Number of remaining square feet of floor space in my house after her parties.

1 – Number of new guitars I got for my birthday from my awesome in-laws.

1000 – Approximate number of hours I’ve spent playing it. You’d think I’d be good by now.

2 – Days we participated in my neighborhood’s annual garage sale.

4 – Moist dollars I received from out of a gross lady’s bra. [shudder]

43 – Dollars of change requested by the lady who only had a $50 bill on her.

1,000,000 – Grossly exaggerated number of dollars received for our junk at the garage sale. I thought about getting all Scrooge McDuck and swimming around in the sea of dollar bills, but then I remembered the bra lady. [re-shudder]

A couple of months ago, I was at home with my daughter. We were in the kitchen, I had just given her a bottle, and I set her down so that I could make myself some lunch. She was in the typical baby phase of putting everything in her mouth, so I had made sure to spot-check the floor and pick up any debris before I let her crawl around. As I was putting together my sandwich, I looked over at her to find her trying to pick up something from the floor. I went over to look, and it turns out that it was just a blemish in the floor. She seemed to quickly lose interest when she realized it wasn’t something she could pick up. So I go back to making my sandwich. Like 10 seconds later, I look back and see that she’s now lying down on the floor. Assuming she was tired, I went to go pick her up and found that she was LICKING the spot on the floor. She couldn’t bring it to her mouth, so she brought her mouth to it.

We celebrated the girl’s first birthday this weekend, and I’m pleased to say that this is the grossest story I can think of for year 1. (I missed posting on her actual birthday, but whatever, she can’t read yet. And by the time she’s old enough to read AND care about what her dad wrote, blogs will have gone the way of the 8-track.)

I’m even more pleased to say that she seems to be out of the floor-licking phase.

32 – Approximate number of gray hairs I counted in my facial hair alone.

32 – Years since the Wooley v. Maynard decision, when the Supreme Court ruled that people can refuse to display their state’s motto on their license plate(s).

32 – Number of pieces of candy I wish I had eaten on Sunday (actual number was ZERO).

32 – Number of strokes it took Phil Mickelson to complete the back 9 at Augusta National on Friday at The Masters.

32 – Number of teams in the NFL.

32 – Number of years old Sarah Michelle Gellar turns today. Happy birthday, Sarah Michelle!

32 – Number of years old I turn today.