As I am awaiting word of my father and stepmother's arrival in Madison for the Thanksgiving weekend, I contemplate all the things I can be thankful for...

As I stated in an earlier entry the above mentioned parents were evacuated from their home earlier this summer. They lived about one Madison city block away from the Cedar River. I can be thankful that the only casulty my family suffered was the loss of their old dog (not the flood but old age took her) and couple photos. They are currently living in an apartment until they can move into a new house (hopefully far from the river).

As Maeve (lil jester) was born January of this year, I can be thankful for my addition and that she gets to spend her thanksgiving day with parts of both sides of family (hopefully in peace). Since her birth she has brought happiness and joy (and lots of work) to her family. It makes me truly happy and at peace with my life to this point. For that I am truly thankful.

From me to all of yours I hope you can find the same peace and enjoy this the beginning of the holiday slide into '09,
The Jester (Josh)

Life in the last week has been a horrible daze caused by reality. It started last week Tuesday when I was informed by my father his neighborhood was under voluntary evacuation. For those that don't know my father lives in Cedar Rapids, IA. To be exact two short blocks from the Cedar River. So for the past week my dad has been suffering through water shortage living in a hotel room with my step-mom. The water is now receeding but the damage to the personal effects is still unknown.

Other than that yesterday was my first father's day and after watching my 5 month old daughter beam as her Grandpa Jim played his guitar. I have decided I need to somehow afford to get or build myself a guitar and start relearning. Goodie! Another expensive hobby on my back.

For those that don't know or haven't heard on 1/15/2008, Ro gave birth to our first child, a little girl. We had only days earlier settled on a name, Maeve Marie Holder. Everyone is smitten with her and after 4 months I still find it hard to believe she is a redhead and more importantly that I am a father.

I started my 3 season as the first baseman for the Nothings Changed softball team. The season has not started quite the way the last has. Hopefully there are no other 3 game surprises either.

Otherwise I still play in a role playing group on Saturdays, which lately has me tweaking the new world of darkness into the dresdenverse that game is set to start on the 24th of this month which is cool.

Til next time (hopefully not a year from now),
Da Jester (Josh)

So I will start this blog off by beating myself up. I know I don't post near enough to keep anyone interested, but hell thems the breaks. My softball team, Nothing Changes, is currently two weeks into a ten week season and we still haven't lost. This is quite the shock and we are all holding our breath and hoping that it will continue.
It was just this past Monday when my significant other found me after an extra innings near disaster to give me the news that will change my life and yet I have wanted for such a long time to hear, I am going to be a father. After hearing that it wiped all the aching away (though not the dehydration).

From Cloud 9,
Da Jester

Real life has been so insane of late that I have hardly had time to keep with other peoples journals much less write to my own. The first big news is that we have our closing date on the house in Columbus, which means someone is actually willing to buy it from us. The second we know now when our return to the Mad City is to happen. Now all thats left is the hard part packing and waiting.

The other news is that Ro and I decided to play fall softball together. However, with the rain the season has now been delayed another week.

I guess that is really all the news,
CJ

I know it has been a VERY long time since I have posted anything here. Those few of you that read what I write may well believe me AWOL, like some others that I know on a personal level. I am not however AWOL or MIA, I have just been too busy and/or in too frazzled a state of mind to put to words.

Firstly, provided we can sell our house in Columbus, we will be to Madison by the end of Summer. The house has been located and a offer agreed upon pending the sale of this house. This happened about a month ago and has helped to improve my state of mind.

Secondly, I may not be as clutsy as I believe. I shook the "diamond rust" and now with two games left I probably rate as one of teams most consisent hitters and an anchor on the infield. This weekend we play for a 500 record meaning we have won as many as we have lost. I have found that for the most part stepping on the playing field puts me in a meditative and relaxed frame of mind. Odd considering I quit playing because the game itself was rattling my very core so many years ago.

Well that's where the Jester roams,
CJ

For those that know me best they know I have always been a sports/competitive type of freak. For those that can remember my family closely the sport of choice is softball or baseball. I remember being a sophomore or junior in High School and deciding not to go out for baseball because my grandfather had passed away. This man made every game he could since the time I was in little league. I knew it wouldn't be the same...

Enter the current, after 3 years of non-forceful prodding my lovely wife convinced me to join a rec softball league. All was good I was psyched to have someone backing me this way again. I always believed deep down that I was going to have my grandfather watching from where ever his spirit rests. Then it happened two innings into a seven inning game I come to bat. I hit I was told was a really solid basehit. I am at first with one out. The batter after me hits a bouncing line drive, so I take off for second, my cleat catches in the dirt just before the base. I go tripping over second and crumble, I try to will myself to stand up but my right leg won't support weight. What feels like an eternity passes and I am helped off the field by two teammates. My wife who has no part besides spectator rushing the field on the verge of crying.

I returned from the doctor yesterday with a a somewhat fruitless diagnoses, he found fluid below and behind the knee but doesn't believe anything is torn. He recognizes a definite stability issue when I try to put weight on it. My treatment is experimenting with putting weight back on the knee (which to this point has caused no problems), take an anti-flammatory, where a knee brace.

I am not sure when I will take the field again, I am not sure to this point what the signs of this are or if I am reading to much into it, or if in the years since playing last I have just grown to clutsy to play a simple game.

CJ

I know it has a long while since I gave you all an update, so here it is. We are still house hunting; However, that may become a lot more serious now because our Columbus house is now cleaning and a few small touchups away from completion.
We had some friends down visiting us and helping with the house. They were a big help and I don't think we could have gotten that far without them. All they had really come for besides the visit was for a Card Tournament and that ended up not happening so I felt kinda bad.
In other news, I joined a slow pitch softball league. I will be playing on the same team as my uncle and cousin and few friends from work. This should prove interesting since I haven't done a lot of this sort of activity since High School. We had our first practice and you never realize how truely out of shape you are until you send that body in motion running, stretching, catching and throwing. I still bear an edge of stiffness in my legs this morning two days after the fact.

And now you know all that fit for news,
CJ

Well I will start this off by saying I am on the mend.

After much consideration and discussion. The wife and I have decided to come back to Madison. For the last two weeks we have started looking at perspective houses in various North and East side neighborhoods. Though we haven't found "the one" yet; We are fairly determined to do so as soon as possible.

It isn't so much that we hate our house in Columbus, as it is that we enjoy the close proximity of family and friends and stores that don't close promptly at 8. At first we weren't sure we could afford such a move, but checking with a loan officer and doing several property searchs, we have found that it is quite probable.

So look for my return to Mad town before the end of spring.

Once again,
The Jester

Its just one of those days when you don't want wake up. Everything is f*cked, everybody sux.

That about sums up my morning is off to a wonderful start. I woke up with my stomach so knotted up so bad I was ready to throw up. Ever since 4:00 I have been in and out of the bathroom. Those that know me know that this early compared to my normal schedule. Not that I necessarily wanted to go to work, but I would rather be on an island somewhere compared to in a bathroom with the flu. Also I feel bad because I know what happens when the records department I work in gets short staffed.

God that last line makes me come off as such a corporate pet! In any event I am in no condition to work, hopefully peaceful sleep is somewhere in my near future. Maybe some WoW or other gaming related stuff later.

Just the update everybody wanted I am sure,

Maybe later,


Til then Goodnite,
Chester's Jester

I have sat by and read long enough. I have voice that can be heard, so I will speak with it.

Life of late has been borderline depressing, friends moving on with life and others just moving on. I am lucky to have a relationship that has lasted 9 years steady. Without it I probably would be as crazy or depressed as some people fear I am. I come here now to hopefully reconnect with some friends I have lost or let fall to the wayside and to maybe meet new people.

Thank you and Goodnite,
The Jester