phantoms hockey: notes from the IR

Although Evenkeel spent the past two games on the IR with a sprained ankle, the game played on. Read all about game five, and even game six, where Evenkeel tried his hand at coaching...

a rolnick thanksgiving

Let me be honest with you for a second, I'm just not a fan of turkey. I don't really dig the taste, and I'm not such a traditionalist that I "have" to have it at Thanksgiving. Since my lovely bride has an excellent propensity for "rolling with the punches," we came up with a substitute holiday bird: Cornish game hens. Yep, little birds that cook up big. This way, not only do we enjoy the taste that much more, but everyone gets their very own bird to eat. Imagine the satisfaction when you get to say, "Yeah, I ate the whole bird...and still had room for dessert!"

Overboard is a helluva cook, and has even begun refining her Cornish game hen technique. With Grandpa Jesse in from Atlanta to celebrate with us this year, she cooked up a mini-feast, that I'm proud to say was "delicious." And I'm not just saying that because she's carrying my child...though that doesn't hurt.

Add to all of the above the fact that Thursday was a great day for this sports fan. We got to watch the Falcons play (and win) their very first Thanksgiving day football game, and I got to watch a post-meal hockey game of the Thrashers vs. the Rangers. Now, while the good guys didn't win the second half of the double-header, there's always next year (the Thrashers always play at home on Thanksgiving, just like the Lions and Cowboys). Maybe then all of my birds will have a winning day: Falcons, Thrashers and Game Hens.

I look forward to indoctrinating young Dr. Rosenberg in the ways of the Rolnick Thanksgiving. Go Fighting Game Hens!

dr. rosenberg, you're looking well

Overboard went to the doctor for another checkup and found out that the "Dr." is now a whopping two and a half inches long, and doing quite well, thank you very much. She even got to hear Dr. Rosenberg's heartbeat, which was described as an up-tempo number, much like a DJ club remix, but less annoying. Check out the good doctor's developing noggin', limbs, organs and spinal cord. At this point, the Dr. even has started to develop fingerprints! Very exciting stuff indeed, especially if we need to find out who's been messing around in Mommy's belly. "Nice try, buddy, but we've got your prints all over the joint."

five more minutes, mom

Sleep. Everyone and their infant is telling us these days to start stocking up on sleep, as once Dr. Rosenberg gets here, we'll be as sleep-deprived as a product tester for Jolt cola back in the '80s.

I'm not really that good when deprived of my rest, so this should all be very interesting. However, my real question is: Just where am I supposed to be stocking up all of this time sawing logs? Do I store it in some secret room in the new house? And how do I access it when necessary? See, no one really explains this part, they just smile and say things like, "Sleep now, 'cause you'll never sleep again once the baby gets here." Cheery stuff, really.

Now, while Overboard is doing an admirable job of existing without her daily coffee fix, I've actually been somewhat caffeine-adverse since college. No coffee, and the occasional soda once in a blue moon for 'ol Evenkeel. Shocked? Meh.

See, back in college, I came up with an ingenious plan. If I cut caffeine out of my diet, I would make it easier to really zap myself into action when necessary. Hence, when I needed to pull an all-night editing session in the film lab, I just grabbed one cup o' joe with a couple of sugars, and, "BAM!" I was wired for hours. Over time, I just lost my taste for soda, and I never really like coffee all that much anyways, so no big deal. But that brings me to life post-Rosenberg's arrival.

If all of this sleep-deprivation really kicks my ass the way everyone is warning me it will, does that mean I'll be forced to embrace the evil Starbucks god? I sure as hell hope not, but I have noticed that the morning after a late hockey game, I'm pretty sluggish, and have even found myself drinking a Coke or two at work to try and keep my eyes open during morning meetings. Which stinks, because Coke is great going down, but leaves that "blech" taste in your mouth afterwards...sort of like coffee. Oh, what's a sleepy copywriter to do?

So, here's my plan: No caffeine addictions. Instead, I'll just haggle a deal with the good doctor at an early age: The doctor sleeps like a champ now, and he/she can have a hoverboard at age 10, just like in "Back To The Future Part II." Now I just need to get on the phone to the R&D department at Mattel and make sure they're not sleeping on the job over there. After all, I've got some serious sleep of my own at stake here...

"don't worry, i grabbed the instruction manual"

And the award for best pop-culture reference/new baby gift goes to one Adam B. Silverman of NYC. Knowing Evenkeel's predisposition towards anything Coen brothers, Adam sent a copy of "Raising Arizona" along with Dr. Spock's Baby & Child Care.

For anyone not in the know, when Nicolas Cage and Holly Hunter's characters steal the baby, Nathan Jr., from Nathan Arizona and his lovely wife, Cage reassures his movie wife in the car by pulling out Dr. Spock's book and announcing, "Don't worry, I grabbed the instruction manual."

Genius.

Kudos to you, Mr., ahem, "Dr." Silverman.

phantoms hockey: exorcise the taz devils

phantoms win, evenkeel scores then sprains ankle, overboard stifles urge to panic and gets bag of ice instead...read all about it here.

take my condo, please

Before we can move into our new home in Glenview, we need to sell our condo in the city. We're currently trying to sell it ourselves, and keep those pesky real estate agents out of the process. Consequently, we've organized open houses every Sunday for the past four weeks or so.

The open house "rules of conduct" include: a weekly condo scrubbing/cleaning, a thorough de-cluttering (Shoes has kindly offered to temporarily house some of our crap in his basement), sending the Sadist down the street to "Camp Kramer" for a playdate, tons of smelly candles, and as always, a fresh batch of Tollhouse cookies, to give the condo just the right, "Smells so good you want to buy and eat it" appeal.

The result? Some nibbles, but no bites.

Now, while Overboard is ready to hit the panic button and call in a fleet of agents, I'm thinking we'll hang in there just a bit longer. I mean, after all, that's my job, right? I just need to keep a level head, positive attitude, and do a little more promotion. Besides, I'm not quite ready to give up my Sunday chocolate chip cookies just yet...

the pregnant lady spicy jojo handroll blues

When you're pregnant, you're not allowed to indulge in things that can be detrimental to the baby. Okay, fair enough. Unfortunately for Dr. Overboard, this includes Dunkin' Donuts coffee and raw fish.

Our favorite sushi bar, Tanoshii, is run by our buddy, and favorite sushi chef, "Sushi Mike" Ham (pictured above). Mike makes incredible sushi creations, and has completely ruined us for other purveyors of raw fish. M-J and I haven't been able to visit him for a while now, as it would be the world's most obvious, "Yes, we're pregnant," tip-off to roll in there and ask for only cooked items (yes, even more of a giveaway than buying a house in Glenview). However, now that we're able to tell folks about Dr. Rosenberg, we were jonesin' to tell Mike and sample some of his culinary creations.

While Overboard enjoyed a brand new concoction involving cooked fish in a fried tempura batter, resting on thick slices of ripe persimmons, I got to experience having a full plate of sushi to myself (because, as some of you may know, "Joey doesn't like to share his food").

Working with the fellow "regulars" around us at the bar, I attempted to convince my beautiful bride that the fish wasn't really that good tonight, and that she wasn't missing out on anything. The guy next to us, who is in all the time, kept making an impassioned yummy sound, followed by a guilty look in Overboard's direction.

When the time comes that Overboard can eat and drink what she likes, I'll take her out for an infusion of raw fish, soft cheeses, expensive wines, and a quadruple latte with extra foam...but maybe not all at once.

the quotable schumann

It's a lot of fun telling friends and family about Dr. Rosenberg. Inevitably, much like when you announce you're getting married, there a barrage of questions you are destined to receive: "How long have you known? When is the baby due? Do you know the sex? Do you want to know? Do you think your genetic makeup will help or hinder the child in their later quest for greatness on the sports playing field of battle, corporate boardroom, or political arena?" You know, the usual.

M-J and I won't know the sex of Dr. Rosenberg until January (the 20 week mark), but we *do* want to know, and yes, we will tell. The one thing we're keeping to ourselves are name possibilities, although anyone and everyone are welcome to throw out suggestions (as long as they're willing to be politely ignored). Our Man In LA offered up his last name as a first name, but little "Wieland Rolnick" just doesn't have the right ring to it...

Proper responses to pregnancy questions are extremely important. When a co-worker asked M-J if she was pregnant, before we had decided to tell anyone, she diffused the situation by retorting, "You callin' me fat?" I tells ya, nothing stops a conversation between two women colder than that. Well played, Overboard, well played indeed.

I'd like to leave you with some words of wisdom from the always quotable Rob "Shoes" Schumann: Rob offered that when someone asks whether we're looking to have a boy or a girl we simply state, "As long as the baby is happy, healthy, and has a penis, we're all set..." Oh, Rob, you card...

phantoms hockey: never a dull moment

Check out the recap of the latest Phantoms game here.

Although Evenkeel failed to score, he still played well, and more importantly, the Phantoms won in the face of sure defeat. (trust me, this is a good read -- and not just because I wrote it)

it's a bird! it's a plane! it's a cheap halloween costume!

For the first time in forever, Overboard and I went in costume for Halloween, dressing up as Clark Kent and Lois Lane. Now, while M-J's getup was not unlike her usual day-to-day office wear, it's important to note the cleverly designed press badge accessories (makes the outfit, eh?). What you can't see here is that I also had a red cape flowing out the back of my jacket. We didn't get a pix with him, but there was also a guy at the party dressed as Batman...

the new digs

With the help of an excellent scouting report from AJ & Victoria, we came across our new home in Glenview. Sure, the move from the city to suburbia is a bit daunting, but we needed to make sure we had a proper home base of operations for Dr. Rosenberg and Sadie. Besides, Prof. Evenkeel finally gets a real office, basement, and an outdoor ice rink just down the street in the winter! Dr. Overboard gets to breathe easier by having the Professor air out his stinky hockey gear in the new laundry room, rather than the living room. So, as you can see, it's a win-win all around...

Check out some pix of the new digs here.

dr. rosenberg, i presume

On Friday, October 21, 2005, M-J and I went to see the doctor for our first pre-natal visit. After witnessing metal stirrups in action for the first time in person, I have a better understanding of why women are less than thrilled for gynelogical exams. However, all was forgiven when we got to see little Dr. Rosenberg for the first time on the sonogram. The good doctor was all of two centimeters long at this point, but had a very healthy heartbeat (which we could actually see). Very exciting stuff, indeed.

So, without further ado, may I present our progeny (limbs coming soon!).