Turn It Down

My niece's birthday is coming up, and as Tim looked over the wish list, he read off a gift DJ got for his first birthday, saying, "she doesn't want that." I knew exactly what he meant. It's a gift DJ loves, an Elmo See 'n Say, and can play with for hours, it seems. Our objection is that it's a really loud toy.

We understood, going into this whole parenting thing, that he'd get noisy toys, or want to play the same song over and over. But what surprised us is how loud many of his toys are.

A tool bench toy that he loves has two volume settings, but Tim and I both cringe at the lowest one. What were the toy manufacturers thinking? That they wanted him to be able to hear if he played with it during a Metallica concert?

The tool bench was one of his favorites at day care, though they wisely removed the batteries.

I can't wait until (a) the batteries run out on some of his toys and (b) he gets old enough for toys that don't make noise, such as coloring. Until then, I guess we'll have to get some Excedrin and ear plugs.

It's been awhile

I have a new job, and that is...looking for a new job. Yes, I landed on the wrong side of This Economy and here we are. With this extra time, I thought it was a good time to resurrect my blog. It keeps me writing and helps my various online profiles. I hoped to change the blog’s name, but can’t think of a new one.

It’s amazing how different this job search is as opposed to the last one, which took place a scant two summers ago. This time I’ve got a Netvibes page collecting RSS feeds from job sites. I’m following job listings on Twitter and finding good leads. LinkedIn has also been a great place, as it instantly answers the question of, “do I know anyone there that can help me get that job?”

The job search is in the early days, and I’m still focusing on the positives this “sabbatical” allows: more time with DJ, more time to take care of some things around the house; the opportunity to take small trips; more time to myself. It also gives me the opportunity to contemplate a tough question: is it time to change careers? So far, the answer changes by the hour.