First off, the Dish TV guy got everything hooked up perfect, and I now have MSG network and NFL network. I have 2 dishes on my house now, too.

We got our new split-queen boxspring and we now have a REAL bed again. Now we have to find out where the heck our baggies of screws went to put Mikey’s crib back together.

The dryer was delivered and it is really, really nice. It matches enough. And it dries clothes.

Oh, and the Giants are going to the Super Bowl. Who’s coming over?

Just freaking done. DONE. We had a nightmare of appliance proportions today:

1. This morning while I was closing up our old place, Aimee rushed ahead with the baby just in time for Best Buy to come and deliver our new washer and dryer. Except the dryer didn’t fit down the stairs. NO, REALLY. Neither doorway was greater than 29 inches, which was the size of the dryer itself. Sonuva…oh well. We skittered off to Sears since they were having a 15% off sale and ordered a smaller dryer that had the same features. Except…

2. While we were at Sears, mom and dad Strauss called us to let us know that the new refrigerator we purchased last Thursday DIDN’T FIT INTO THE FRIDGE SPOT. What the HELL!!? I MEASURED THAT MYSELF. The guy gets on the horn with me and tells me that the fridge is 36 inches wide and that since my width is ~34 inches I’m SOL. That sounds fishy to me because I’m fully aware that I didn’t ORDER a 36 inch wide fridge, I ordered the smaller 33 inch model. What the hell, I ask myself, inquire of the man: You sure you’ve got a 22.4 cu ft model there? Of course he’s sure, it’s 36 inches isn’t it? I tell the guy to take it back and we’ll take care of it here. Except you know what, I’m standing right in front of the 25 cu ft model and let me see what it says the dimensions are for the 22.4 cu ft model: 32 7/8 inches. WELL WHADDAYA KNOW, JACKASS? I was right.

3. This now entails me speaking to 5 different people (well, I think maybe 4 different but one Indian accent threw me for SUCH a loop) over the span of the entire day, wasting a shitton of time only to find out on the 3rd call that yes, they rescheduled my delivery for Monday.

*SCREECH* Monday? MONDAY? IT IS SATURDAY. I HAVE NO REFRIGERATOR IN MY HOUSE. MY CHILD NEEDS REFRIGERATION FOR HIS BOTTLES OR THE MILK WON’T KEEP. After finally getting through to floor supervisor “Homer” on the 5th call, wherein I laid into Indian Girl #24601 that “I need to speak to your manager immediately, I have been hung up on several times now, and I have a 5 month old child who cannot have his food or his medication (slight exaggeration) because of a foulup on your delivery driver’s part, put me through to your manager NOW,” I still have a delivery date of Monday because “Sunday’s schedule is already complete” and an additional $50 for my irritation.

4. Our queen-sized boxspring won’t fit up the stairs. I mean, WON’T fit up them. At all. With the railing off and EVERYTHING. WTF again, mate? WE NEED A SPLIT QUEEN BOXSPRING!! 1-800-M A T T R E S (leave off the last S for SAVINGS, don’tcha know) and that’s coming tomorrow PDQ. WELL THEN

that means tomorrow’s lineup includes:

• Dish TV guy coming between 8 and noon to set up the new HD DVR and satellite service, with plenty of time before the Giants game.
• 1-800-M A T T R E S delivering the new boxspring between 11 and 2
• Sears delivering the new dryer between 1:30 and 3:30

Somewhere in there we have to go get the cats (aw, man. do we HAVE TO??) and I need need NEED to get to Home Depot and Lowe’s to get the stuff we need, like a new programmable thermostat and shower heads and a stud finder and a washer hose and screws…

The joys of home ownership, indeed.

JANUARY
• We went on our honeymoon to Walt Disney World
• We went public with the baby
• I was featured in a magazine article

FEBRUARY
• I attempted to install Windows Vista on my old laptop and it crapped out
• We celebrated our 3rd dating anniversary
• I froze my ass off twice a night in an unheated rehearsal space for the Odd Couple

MARCH
• We found out that the baby is a boy
• Our office toilet had a bad poop incident
• I finished the run of the Odd Couple at the Pitman Broadway Theater

APRIL
• I gave up the ghost and decided I really just didn’t love MMOGs anymore…but we’d still be friends
• I’m sure there was other stuff. The baby was eating our brains.

MAY
• Another academic year ends: myage++, freshman.age==freshman.age.
• We graduated from prenatal class.
• Mikey kicked me for the first time while I was laying next to Aimee in bed

JUNE
• I started applying for jobs in North Carolina. Que sera sera.
• We had the Baby Shower North, where it was mostly my family
• The Zombocalypse came
• HOLY CRAP WE WON THE UNIVERSITY SOFTBALL TOURNEY!!

JULY
• Aimee finished her thesis. I helped her format it. @#$!!!
• We waited for the baby to come
• and then we waited some more

AUGUST
• We saw the Simpsons Movie.
• THE BABY CAME!!!
• He brought baggage
• It was my 29th birthday

SEPTEMBER
• Students came back. It was pretty tough but we had Kelly so we got through it.
• I was hired-not hired-hired-not hired at Duke.
• Pavarotti died :(
• Things Were Set In Motion

OCTOBER
• Our ONE YEAR ANNIVERSARY!!
• Other stuff, I’m sure. Baby.

NOVEMBER
• I applied for the new position that opened here at Rowan
• Mikey got more like me every day
• My 360 Red Ringed
• We got a house!

DECEMBER
• I GOT MY NEW JOB
• WE GOT A GREAT MORTGAGE
• LIFE IS FANTASTIC!!

ALL LOVE!!!!

Some may remember this cryptic post from quite a while back. That was the first inkling of the possibility of the following announcement:

I have interviewed, passed the gauntlet, been offered and have accepted the offer of a promotion within my division at Rowan from Desktop Support to Junior Network Admin, Cisco Stuff.

This is also what was edging Aimee and I towards buying a house in the area. Fortunately this has now come true, and with my mortgage being based on the salary of my previous position we will have a good amount of breathing room within my paychecks to allow for Aimee to go back to work at her leisure, and to use her salary to pay off her school loans until we’re out from under them.

So we’ve gotten married, had a beautiful baby, almost moved to North Carolina, bought a house, and gotten a promotion.

My father has said, and Aims and I agree, that life seems to have fallen into place pretty nicely.