Ah, much better.

Yesterday they shut the Chicago office of my old company down, so I went there for lunch and pillage. They're shipping the big-ticket items -- computers, printers, fax machines and, alas, Aeron chairs -- to the head office in Waltham, but it's not worth it to ship the little fiddley stuff, like office supplies. They were just gong to throw it all out. So I loaded up on printer paper, file baskets, pens, zip disks and the like. Also, I may have won a Mac. We're still waiting on the outcome on that one. I should know more next week.

Also, being a geek, I went to see Harry Potter last night. I mean, duh. Of course. It was longer than necessary, the little coda with Hagrid at the end was nonsensical, and, as Dean said, the special effects tended to overact. I still liked it, of course. However, the biggest thrill of the night was seeing the preview for The Two Towers. My little heart goes pitter-pat.

Party tonight, with doubtless much to report tomorrow. Stay tuned....

How about now?

Blogger is being recalcitrant. Hello? Is this thing on?

I finally got to talk to Laura and Jorge today. Laura is sounding great -- in fact, I think she's almost a terrifyingly active and energetic as our mother. Maybe it kicks in at childbirth.

Andres is, of course, perfect -- he doesn't cry, he just coos. I'm guessing that will change. The birth was relatively .. well, not painless, obviously, but not hideous. I do think it's incredibly cruel to have a birthing center on the second floor or a walk-up . I don't know what they were thinking. She was thrilled with the way they treated her, though, and says she recommends birth centers to all and sundry. I don't think they're legal here. Hmmm.

We had the following conversation:

Me: I heard he scored high on the test thingy...
Laura: Yeah, APGAR. He got a nine.
Me: Cool.
Laura: That's one less than you.
Me: What? I got a 10? I was just the perfect baby, wasn't I?
Laura: Yeah, well, I guess they didn't test your hand-eye coordination.
Me: Hey!
Laura: [chortle, as both Jorge and Andres give her a high-five for the "burrrrrrrrrn".]
Me: Actually, I probably had perfect hand-eye coordination for a newborn. It just hasn't developed at all since then.

APGAR, for anyone who cares, is a score give minutes after birth that measures the health of the baby. It stands for Activity (i.e., are you moving), Pulse, Grimace (Reflex Irritability), Appearance (are you blue) and Respiration.

Look at that list again -- I scored a perfect 10 on Grimace/Reflex Irritability. That's one trait I've kept, I guess.

Look! Here he is!



Newton's typically restrained and tasteful response to my announcement: "20 inches long is pretty good - I didn't manage that until well into puberty...."

Bah-dum-bum. Newton Emerson, ladies and gentlemen. He's here all week....

In other news, I finally -- finally! -- got my car back. It looks all pretty and undented. It's quite a shock.

I've been running around like crazy for the last couple of days, and one of the things I had going on was a baby shower. So I was sitting at this shower on Sunday, and there were a bunch of people with babies there, and it occurred to me that we're perilously close to a time when more of my friends have babies than don't, and it's all a little overwhelming, and I just got to a point where i wasn't sure babies really were such a good idea -- I mean, they're demanding and noisy and you have to take care of them and all that stuff. So I was thinking -- babies, eh, I can do without them. I'm prefectly happy for other people to have them, but they're just not my thing.

Then my mom called this morning to tell me I had a nephew.

He's born. Andres Miguel is here. And I can't imagine being more happy.

I have a nephew. A little baby boy, who's kind of sort of part me. Someone I can spoil and coddle and take places and introduce to comic books and legos and great books and movies and god knows what else. My sister had a little boy. My family has a new little person in it. I still can't believe it. I have a nephew.

I kept repeating that, over and over on the phone: I can't believe it. I can't believe it. Which is stupid, of course, because it's not exactly a surprise -- Laura has been pregnant for, oh, about nine months now. I've had plenty of time to get used to the idea. Andres showed up a little early, but not shockingly so. But it feels so much different to know he's really, really here. And I'll be able to meet him in a couple of weeks. I can't wait.

I've been grinning like a fool all day.

Welcome, Andres Miguel. I'm so happy you're here. And congratulations, Laura and Jorge -- you just made a person. I can't believe it. And I couldn't be happier.

Oh, for those of you who get hung up on details: He's 7 pounds, 12 ounces; he's 20 1/2 inches long; and he scored 9 out of 10 on that thingamabob scale. Yup, he's already an overacheiver. He has lots of thick dark hair. Everyone is doing fine. Laura, from the pictures my dad sent, looks fantastic. (Jorge apparently spent the whole labor massaging her pressure points. Note to self: If I ever give birth, have massage guy there.)

And Andres --- he's pretty fantastic too.

He's here! He's here! Yayyy!