Category Archives: Blog

Offbeat Thoughts and Ideas

Half Year

Well the year is half way over. It has been a busy one for me. Classes, writing, moving, working, and a new baby. Work projects are just finishing up. I feel like I finally have time to catch my breath.

After a quick break, I am going to have to get going on new projects for the rest of the year. Not sure if I want to stick with the freelance work or find a more permanent job. I like the flexibility of the freelance, but it seems like I am spending 3/4 of my time looking for the work and only 1/4 of the time doing it. I really enjoy the work part of it, but not so much the looking part. The money is certainly a lot better with the freelance work, so I am still not sure of what I want to do.

My First Father’s Day

It was a very special day today. I got to experience father’s day from the other end today. Joy is such a wonderful little girl. She is such a bundle of herself. I got to spend a little time holding her tonight while Virginia was getting ready for bed, and I was so amazed at her little expressions. I think she even smiled at me (or maybe she just had gas).

My mom and dad came over yesterday to see Joy for the first time. They were both beaming grandparents. I am sure that they will want to spoil her as much as they can.

I am looking forward to many future Father’s Days. (next time I’d like a tie, though). Brat didn’t get me anything this year. 🙂

Tim Russert Died

Tim Russert Died today. I really loved that man. He was the best reporter that there was. I was always impressed with his interviews. He kept everyone honest and asked hard questions. Sunday mornings won’t be the same without him. I was looking forward to hearing his commentary this election season. He will be missed.

Joy is Born

Today I have the very special treat of introducing my first guest blogger.

Virginia is going to tell you a little about the birth of Joy!

——
Hello, Friends and Family!!!

At 8:12 Pm on 6/10/08, Joy Alison Paris was born in Chicago, IL. At 8:13, she took her first breath.

Stats:
8lb 6oz
20.5 inches
14 inch head circumference
full head of dark brown hair*
dark blue eyes w/ brown center *
Gemini Sun/ Virgo Moon/ Capricorn Rising
Very healthy
Adorable

*subject to change, as newborn hair color/type and eye color often change in the first months of life

Joy Alison Paris

Joy is the first reaction Brian and I both had upon discovering I was pregnant, so when I was looking through baby names, Joy popped out at me. Plus, I love the idea of bringing Joy into the world. It feels so beautiful. When I was nearing full-term, I enjoyed saying, “I am full of Joy.” Also, she is born into the world with many great songs written for her. “Ode to Joy” is a great example.

Alison is a friend of mine and Brian’s. She is a friend we both love very much, and has played a big role in both of our lives. Brian and I would not likely know each other had it not been for Alison. Joy would not be born if Brian and I had not become friends while working on Prairie Fire, the PBS show that Alison produced. While I was working at WILL in Urbana, Alison took me under her wing. In just over two years, I went from a fairly inexperienced Production Assistant to a reasonably skilled videographer, producer and editor. She is an amazing woman, a brilliant producer, and a sensational mother. Her kids are bright, happy, healthy and radiant. I hope I can be as good of a mother as her.

Paris… Many people do not know this, but I will be changing my name to Paris in the coming months. No, Brian and I are not getting married. But, I have felt for some time that I needed a new name. Taking on a new last name marks a fresh legacy in my life, a legacy I choose. Virginia Paris has an excellent ring. Brian and I are “Team Paris,” as we begin out Joy’s life.

Labor Summary

At 6:15 AM, on 6/10/08, my water partly broke. At apx. 6:35, contractions started. Between 8 and 9, the contractions got really intense. Between 10-11, Brian brought me to the hospital, 100% effaced and 3cm dilated. Jen, one of my doulas, met me there and helped to get me settled. Shortly, we were joined by Eusebia, my other doula, and Maureen, my midwife. Although I did spend some time laboring in the tub as I had always wanted to do, I also moved around the room quite a bit and tried lots of positions. The birth was 100% natural, no drugs. I was successfully able to use the meditation/trance skills I have to cope with the pain.

I am very proud of myself that I never got mean. I felt irritable sometimes, but I did not lash out at anyone. My team was amazing. Often, they just gave me the space I wanted to do my own thing, but whenever I needed anything, they moved as a well-oiled machine. I felt well taken care of. Brian was awesome, and worked in synch with everything else that was going on. His presence was very calming for me. And, they all tell me I did very well. I took direction from Maureen when she gave it, and I worked really hard. Often when Maureen would suggest a position change, it would hurt more than the previous position, but would be more effective. The closest I got to meanness is when I said to her (at about 8cm) that, “If I didn’t think you were amazing, I would call you a sadist.” She thought it was funny how I could occasionally go from a pure non-verbal trance state to being very lucid and clear. Apparently, that’s unusual during transition.

I pushed for 2 hours. There ended up being maconium, which was scary. The baby came out dark purple and gunky. The nurses took her away to suction her mouth (before she tried to breath in) and clean her up. Within a minute, she was breathing. Within 5-10 minutes, she was making noises and wiggling like crazy. This was a very scary time for me, but the nurses were amazing. They were very loving to Joy as they took care of her, and 20 minutes after she was born, she had fully recovered and was ready to come into my arms.

Joy, the person

Joy is a very bright baby. While she was being cleaned up, I talked to her from across the room. Her head swiveled my direction. She is very strong. While they were finishing up cleaning her, she was wiggling so much they joked that she might manage to escape their little table. She seems to be overall a very happy baby. When she is awake, she seems very curious, and her big eyes roam everywhere. She does fuss some, but is not too difficult to calm. She likes eating a lot, and is a pretty good sleeper. She loves being held, and gets upset after a little while when she is not being held. This works for me, because of my parenting philosophies, so I hold her as much as I possibly can.

So far, the transition into parenthood is going pretty smoothly. I have been able to sleep an adequate amount so far, and so I’m not too worn out. Brian and I both are doing well with Joy, and are learning very quickly about how she likes things. Brian, in fact, is amazing, and is great at calming her and being goofy with her in a super-loving way. He patented the “yes” style of soothing. Instead of making “shh-shh” noises at her when she cries, he says, “yes, yes, yes” to her. I modified it, and repeat, “yeah.” I love this, because it’s soothing, and at the same time affirming. I feel like we are affirming her right to express her feelings however she wants to, even as we attempt to calm her. I love it. I am enjoying this whole process a lot!!!

Pretty Baby

Joy is the prettiest baby of all time. And, I’m not just saying it because I’m her mom!! It’s actually true. Newborns are supposed to be squishy and funny-looking, but she’s not. She is so beautiful, I can’t stop staring at her!

Joy’s First Picture

Joy is Eating Her Hand

Joy Again

I’m a Papa

Virginia delivered the baby on Tuesday night. She was amazing. Hard labor for around twelve hours, all natural with no drugs. I’ll write a little more about the experience when I have had time to rest (if that ever happens).

Here are the stats that everyone wants to know.

Joy Alison Paris
6/10/08 at 8:12 pm
8lbs 6ozs
20.5 inches long
Lots of hair (dark brown)
Dark Blue/Brown eyes
My Nose (Ha!)
She is adorable.

Everyone is doing great. Virginia and Joy come home tomorrow morning. There wasn’t much sleep the first night, but hopefully everyone gets a few hours of sleep tonight.

-Papa Paris

Go ‘Bama

Barack Obama got the delegates that he needed to become the democratic nominee. He gave a great speech touting his win, congratulating Hillary, and defying McCain’s attempts at defining him. It was such a historical moment. Forty years ago Martin Luther King was assassinated and tonight an African American is the presumptive nominee to run for the presidency. Some of the best oratory that I have ever heard. I felt the need to do something to make the world better. It feels like we can change the world if we want to.

I have been very dispirited with the state of the world and didn’t really see things getting better. I still don’t know if Obama can create the change that he is talking about, but I have hope that he can.

I was still thinking that Clinton would pull something out and take the nomination. Actually she still hasn’t given up. Don’t really know what she is up to now, but it doesn’t seem like a very classy way to go out. There are reports that she is trying to get the VP spot, but I doubt that Obama would want her on the ticket after the way she has been in the primary. Even tonight she chose to be petty instead of congratulating Obama on his win.

Moving Sucks

I have been moving the rest of my stuff over from the old place. I realize I have way too much junk. I need to get rid of most of it. I hope that I’ll be able to finish up tomorrow. Right now I am just exhausted.

Level E

Started the new improv term at Second City. New teacher is Jackie Stone. She seems like another good teacher. We went over what to expect from this term, and it is quite different than the other classes. We will be concentrating on putting up a full show (45 minutes) at the end of the term. We will be working on improving our improv, coming up with new games, and maybe even a little written sketch in there also. It is going to be a lot more outside work than we have done in the other classes, but it should be fun. There was one new person in class – Kal, and we lost one – Valerie. I didn’t know she wasn’t continuing with the improv. I’ll miss her.

New Places in Chicago

Met my friend Emily downtown today. We went to a couple of new places. First up was the Chicago Cultural Center. I didn’t even know this place was here. It is a free art/cultural gallery in the old Chicago library. It is such an amazing building and it was great to see contemporary artist from Chicago on display in a gallery setting. Some of the stuff was a little out there, but some of it was really good. They had a couple of video pieces there. It reminds me of the crappy stuff that we used to see at the Krannert Student (or Faculty) shows. Maybe I am just a video snob, but I expect a little better execution when people use video as a medium. It may seem easy to point a video camera and shoot some footage, but in reality if these people want to be serious artist they should spend as much time learning the craft as a painter would learning his medium. Too much of a free pass on some of this stuff.

After lunch we hit the Gallery 37 shop. I feel bad that I thought most of the pieces were pretty bad, then realized that it was all done by young students. You have to give a lot of credit to people this young putting their art work out there. Not sure who would spend $400 on an amateur painting, but I guess there are people who will.

Then from there we went to the Museum of Contemporary Art. They have a new Jeff Koons exhibit going up. They had the galleries roped off, but we were able to see his large balloon sculptures in there. Not only that, but he was in there himself. He was doing an interview on camera for something. Got to see Jeff Koons, but didn’t get to touch him. 🙁

The rest of the museum was a little depressing. Don’t know what is up with artist these days but they have chosen to focus mostly on the dark side. I guess that I just don’t get it. I wanted something happier.

Forgot to mention: I saw my friend Chris Derose driving one of the trolleys downtown. He didn’t even run me over. I really need to check those tours out.

Jeff Koons
Creative Commons License photo credit: t_a_i_s