New Baby, New House, New Job, New Blog, Same Man!

Here's some new stuff.

Check out my new blog, Lower Paxton Journal on Pennlive.com! This will be a local interest blog for Lower Paxton Twp and surrounding areas, geared to entertain, inform, and start good healthy dialogue on the Pennlive forums, as well as at the local Dunkin Donuts or Borders.

Other new things.... Baby is now walking and talking.... Well, not really, but he is growing really fast. I swear he will be a big ball with little arms and legs sticking out soon! He has passed three months now, and I simply cannot believe it has been that long. Time has been flying.

Also, we have moved to a new house.

Also, I have taken a new job.

Well, that's about enough major life changes for a few months span!

Let's explain how this all came about, shall we?

I had been going about my business, waiting for Declan to be born, and working hard to increase my straight commission income, knowing my wife would be off for maternity leave and that we would need the money.

Anyway, Declan was born on Easter, and shortly thereafter new neighbors moved in next door. More on the neighbors in a moment. I sent out emails to co-workers and former co-workers letting them know that Declan was born, and was healthy.

About a week after I wrote the emails, I received an email from my former boss and he said that there was a job opening, he thought that I would be perfect for it, and asked if I was interested in talking about the position.

Explaining that I was very happy where I was, I said, sure we could talk about it. Anyway, they offered the job to me with a nice steady larger paycheck (no more straight commission highs and lows) and gave me the opportunity to advance.

I took it.

I the meantime, the new neighbors moved in and the first night in the house there are six police cars and an ambulance over there. After several hours of yelling and swearing, the man called the police on his girlfriend. Not knowing the situation, I can not elaborate, but it was not a nice night, and it shook my wife around pretty good.

We started looking at houses the next day.

And then we found one. Put quickly, there was haggling, we didn't quite get the price we were looking for there, but did get close, so I can't complain.

We haven't sold our old house yet, so if you're looking for a nice duplex, make us an offer!

So there you have it... You're caught up to date with my life, and I hope it wasn't truncated too much, but otherwise it would have been a book (and you have to pay for those, by the way!).

There will be more stuff posted on a regular basis here, since my life is settling down a bit. There is now actually time to breath, next comes time to do fun stuff again. Maybe.

Thanks for reading, and stayed tuned!

Bret

-30-

New Stuff Coming Soon!

Alot has been going on, and I will be posting soon. I apologize for everyone I have not replied to, but things have been flying fast and furious!

New Baby Has Arrived!

Here's a quick note to let everyone know that my son was born on Sunday. His name is Declan Parks Fledderjohn, he was born on Easter Sunday, March 27th at 7:33am. He weighed 7lb 2oz, and was 18.25 inches long. Declan is pronounced dek-lan.


He's a bit jaundiced right now, but besides that, both baby and mother are doing well.

-30-

Grammar

Here's an article by Jesse Kornbluth on ten deadly sins of grammar. I enjoyed it quite a bit, and as a side note, mediabistro.com is a very valuable site for writers and other media professionals.

http://www.mediabistro.com/articles/cache/a4028.asp

Londonderry Township Rejects Rezoning Request

Here's my latest article from the Patriot-News.

http://www.pennlive.com/news/patriotnews/index.ssf?/base/news/1111141455253090.xml

My thoughts on agriculture, Londonderry Twp., and proposed developments will follow over the weekend.

A Fun Evening with the "Crew"

I had a great time earlier this evening, and rather than work on the article which is due tonight, I figured that I would report on the meeting rather than work on the article... How's that for priorities?

Actually, I am going to only write a quick entry here to say my impressions.

I really enjoyed meeting everyone (and some for the second time Alan and Sara). Unfortunately, I think that I may have led the meeting a bit off track by talking more about PennLive and the Patriot-News more than blogging. That's kind of 20/20 hindsight, and I hope that I didn't offend anyone.

Ross and Nathan, I hope you don't feel that I moved the meeting the wrong way. However, I did learn more about blogging, so the slant on the tools involved in blogging was enlightening.

Alan Hayakawa is a past customer of mine when my family and I owned the Mail Boxes Etc. store on Rt. 22 in Harrisburg. As I run into past customers, I miss the business. Did I make a mistake by not buying the store out from my father when I had the chance? Yes and no. My divorce from Star could have demolished the business, so I would say that it wasn't a mistake, but perhaps I would like to go into that business again, who knows? Boy, I never thought that I would say THAT!

Sara Bozich's father, Frank was a customer of our Mail Boxes Etc. in Etters.

Considering that Alan works for the Patriot-News, Sara has a column with the Patriot, and I freelance for the Patriot, we have a HUGE amount in common considering the Patriot and out Mail Boxes Etc. connections.

It's very interesting how worlds collide, or better yet, how small the community really is.

Coming soon! Entries based on my conversations with Ian Rankin (Scottish Mystery Writer), Larry the Cable Guy (comedian), and John O'Connolly (Irish Mystery Writer).

Any feedback on who you want me to interview and write about, let me know! I'll try my best, but will respond to everyone regardless of whether I can get the interview or not.

Bret

I Dreamt of Unconsciousness

I Dreamt of Unconsciousness
Why are Mondays always such a struggle? It takes every fiber of my being to hoist myself out of bed and wrestle my body into clothes.

The drive to work makes me feel like a man on death row moving slowly down the institutional halls on the way to the electric chair.

It doesn't help that the very first event of the day is a long, drawn out meeting. After an hour, and frequently more, of mind numbing boredom, we make a break for the coffee machines desperately seeking out the stimulation which will move us forward into the day.

Today the topper was an hour teleconference. It was a grim feeling of deja vu, as I strained to understand the people on the other end. Through the noise, I did gain about 15 minutes of good information, which is actually a fantastic meeting.

There ya go. I'm just floating down the stream of consciousness without a paddle.

Why do I only post about pregnancy?

Well, hello again!

There has been a ridiculously long gap in posting and it looks like I am starting back up with another update dealing with pregnancy. What can I say... Life changing events are worth writing about.

We are in week 34. Since the way our last pregnancy ended with Lincoln, Mary Jane is being watched like a hawk. Right now she is going once a week for a non stress test on the baby (a boy, Declan will be his name) and once a week for an ultrasound physical profile of the baby. Also, she is taking two shots of Heparin in her stomach per day.

But the ends justify the means, I suppose. In the end, all looks well with Declan and we have been tentatively scheduled to be induced on Good Friday, March 25. Stay tuned for updates.

On other fronts, I am now selling advertising for a large broadcasting company (radio) in Harrisburg. On the freelance writing scene, I have also had the privilege of interviewing some very interesting people.

I'll talk more soon.

Bret