Dads Who Really Do Nothing

Big City Mom recently wrote on being a mother who does nothing.

There is no greater task than the nothing you did yesterday, the nothing you are doing today, and the nothing you will do tomorrow. Caring for a baby is all about the immediate experience, yet the first two years are all about investment. It’s give, give, give, and give some more. These are hard-fought, rough-and-tumble years that can cut us down to our core and take us soaring high above the clouds, all in the space of 5 minutes. And yes, as you do the hardest work of your life, it will seem like you’re not getting anything done at all. Crazy, huh?

Our daughter was born 18 months ago and I've loved every minute of being a father. I was fortunate to take one week off prior to her birth and followed it with another 4 months. Both my wife and I were home for those crucial months and I wish everyone this opportunity. Furthermore, I wish that our society put these initial months of nurturing as a number one priority - but that's another topic. Leaving for the first time was difficult but each time after that has been equally just as hard, if not harder.

I'm blessed that my occupation enables me to dedicate 100% of my time off with our daughter. I couldn't have asked for it any other way. There are times where I would rather enjoy a stress free shower without the worry of her crying, a little gaming here and there, but singing along with her during the intro to Sofia the First, Daniel Tiger's Neighborhood or even Dr. McStuffins, brings me joys that I can't even speak of. Watching her feet wiggle with happiness when I feed her or teaching her baby sign language trumps mashing buttons, reading technology news and yes, even flying.

My day usually entails changing her nighttime diaper, changing her into "outdoor" clothes, playing with her, feeding her, changing her diaper, playing some more, followed by a delicious 1.5 hour (or more!) nap, then doing the same that afternoon until my wife comes home.

I'm able to get a few things done around the house, but it's even more amazing how much my wife is able to accomplish. She cooks, cleans, does laundry and washes the dishes. She even plans big parties including writing and mailing her mother's invitations for her upcoming 60th birthday party. All this with our daughter still nursing and sometimes throwing small temper tantrums. Not to mention, the previous month where our daughter was sick almost the entire time proved to the hardest yet, but we got through it together. Compared to me, I'm beat from hanging out and literally doing nothing. I like to call it playing hard.

At the end of the day, I sometimes find myself still in pajamas! After we lay her to bed, my wife and I cuddle on the couch and reflect on the past months. Sometimes we think that we haven't done anything barely remembering the first couple of months, but we come to the realization how amazing life truly is. There's no need or want to do anything else but hold her, hang out with her and play. Sometimes I have to resist the urge to wake her up and play more!

Yes, my wife and I joyfully co-sleep with our daughter on the floor of her room. I really don't understand the need to ever sleep in separate beds, or rooms for that matter, especially during these first two years. Maybe it's me being away for days at a time that I rather be with my entire family. I have friends, some with and others without kids, that look at us like we must be in a living hell, but that couldn't be further from the truth. Our setup makes it rather lonely when I leave and stay in the bed of a hotel in a distant city. I love my family so much and the happiness from being together is truly wonderful.

Sometimes we're able to get things together and venture outside the house. When we do, the beach is usually our go to. There are a few times that I look back and really have to think about what I've done, but then my daughter gives the biggest smile and I know exactly, right there, that what I'm doing is all I need to do. Did I mention, I love my family!

Ultimately, the days go by too fast. She's growing up too quickly but I always cherish every day and every minute I get with her.

Never too Late but Merry Christmas, Happy New Year, Go CHARGERS!

This is coming to you a tad late, but with Captain upgrade training, traveling back and forth to and from Atlanta then Washington Dulles, back to Atlanta then Dallas, it's been quite hectic. Norah enjoyed her first plane ride to Atlanta and we as parents enjoyed the happiness that comes with traveling with a young mobile child. I know, we know it's shocking that with me being a pilot that we waited so long to take her on a flight but our schedules only lined up recently to which of course they are now out of whack again. This, plus all the exciting happenings at home with our daughter growing up too fast and my wife starting a new job, the tail end of 2013 slid right into 2014 and it's off to a running start!

There are a couple of changes that I'm lining up for elijahnicolas.com to say the least and first and foremost is the styling. (maybe hosting or platform as a whole) I'll have more on that much later but enjoy this family photo and Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year!

Oh yeah I forgot to mention. I'm also starting it off this week with a guest post scheduled for tomorrow morning so check back then! It's going to be a great one! GO CHARGERS!!!

Wordpress Throws in Built-In Support for Markdown

With the Ghost platform recently launched and proving to be a viable medium for easy publishing and a clean writing style, it comes as no surprise that Wordpress finally supports writing in Markdown. For those that are unfamiliar with the style, here's the definitely from creator John Gruber.

Markdown is a text-to-HTML conversion tool for web writers. Markdown allows you to write using an easy-to-read, easy-to-write plain text format, then convert it to structurally valid XHTML (or HTML).

I've been learning how to write in Markdown and have installed awesome plugins for support in my Wordpress site such as Markdown on Save Improved and WP-Footnotes. Of course with this launching, I suppose I can turn these off now but I still have yet to find where to "activate" the setting.

You can find a quick reference guide here.

Footnotes Finally!

I've finally found a viable, easy Wordpress plugin for footnotes and activated it here on elijahnicolas.com ((first post with embedded footnotes)). I decided to go with Simon Elvery version instead of Austin Sweeney's only because I could customize it within a "Settings" tab. I like Austin's idea about how his Civil Footnotes makes decisions for you and that you could edit the output easily in the plugin, but I just proved to be a little lazy. They seem to operate in similar fashion and I couldn't be happier. ((for some reason, my social plugin and the new wp-footnote plugin are conflicting in the spacing area beneath the body of my main text in preview mode but not when the post is published. Weird.))

Fundraising for the Philippines

It's truly amazing to see all the fundraising opportunities that are popping up all over the internet for the Philippines for relief from Typhoon Haiyan. From free voice calls and text messages via AT&T, Verizon or Sprint, free shipping from LBC or you can also donate directly to the Red Cross Typhoon Appeal. My two favorite are from the folks at Ironman and San Diego Bolt Complex. Click on any of the images or the links to proceed and support this cause, country and people ((I was born and raised in San Diego but both my parents are originally from the Philippines. This is a cause and time that holds dear to my heart. I would appreciate any donations you can make)) I also have friends that I can get you in touch with that are accepting donations and shipping every week as well.

From the Ironman Foundation:

To support victims of Typhoon Haiyan, IRONMAN and The IRONMAN Foundation want to provide one meal a day for 1,000 families for a month. We need your help to achieve that goal. We’ve teamed up with a Philippine non-profit organization dedicated to fighting poverty, Gawad Kalinga (which means "give care").

Your $30 contribution for one shirt will feed a family of five every day for a month.

From San Diego Bolt Complex

We, the BX, will donate ALL proceeds to this organization, http://www.savethechildren.org. Millions of vulnerable children are at risk in the aftermath of Super Typhoon Haiyan. More than 300 miles wide, the typhoon left a deadly path of destruction in its wake. In response, Save the Children is working around the clock to help children and families with emergency assistance during this difficult time. Thank you.

A friend of mine composed a bitly bundle that is showcasing all the Philippine Charity Tee Shirts. I'm sure with all the various tee out there, you can easily pick one!

Which iPad Am I Buying?

Both the new iPad Air and iPad mini with Retina Display are set to debut three weeks apart with the iPad Air going on sale this Friday, November 1st. Available for pre-order online and available for "in-store pickup", if you want it same day with no lines, reserve it online and pick it up. If you ask me, I'm doing just that. If I didn't make it clear already, I'm grabbing the 32GB LTE, T-Mobile option, leaning towards 51% space gray. You can't beat 200MB free of data and they'll have various one time plans available too. Just incase you go over 200MB, they'll just cut it off and reset it the following month so no overages! During this afternoon's Apple earnings call, CEO Tim Cook mentioned that he believes the iPad mini with Retina Display is going to be hard to come by this Christmas / Holiday season primarily due to manufacturing constraints. So yes, I too will be pre-ordering a mini and make my decision on which one to keep after I've handled both new iPads. While we're at it, if you must know, I'm also opting for the 32GB LTE, T-Mobile option in space gray… maybe. Or maybe white. Darn it!

"In terms of the retina or the iPad mini with Retina Display, we'll start shipping later in November. Uh…i t's unclear whether we will have enough for the quarter or not. We know how many we will have but we really don't know the demand until we start shipping, so we'll see how that goes. I think we'll do fairly well with with iPad as i'd mentioned before. we felt like its gonna be a great holiday season." - Tim Cook

Helping me with which size to pick, here's Jon Gruber's take on the iPad Air.

Calling the new full-size model the iPad Air says it all. In one year, the iPad Air has dropped 30 percent of its weight, narrowed considerably, and doubled in performance. A weight drop like that is significant for any product, but especially so for a device that is primarily used while being held in your hands. It’s startling when first you hold one.

I’m an iPad Mini convert. After just a few weeks last year, my Mini became my one and only iPad. My iPad usage is mostly for reading, and not much for typing. The smaller size and lighter weight just fit my usage better. I went into this year’s event assuming I’d walk out wanting to buy the new Mini. But the new Air is so much lighter, and thus so much more amenable to holding it in just one hand, that I walked out of the event completely unsure which one I want. In fact, the new Air (469 grams) is closer in weight to the new Mini (331 grams) than it is to the old iPad 3/4 (650 grams) that it replaces. (Those weights are all for the Wi-Fi-only models.)

The Verge posted their hands-on glimpse of the iPad Air last Tuesday during the Apple Event. In case you missed it:

http://youtu.be/6XunU-iXwyc

I'm excited, none the less, to once again have a full-sized iPad so that I can enjoy my comics, magazines and movies on my commute or while I sit in the pilot lounge during prolonged stays.

For further reading, iMore's Rene Ritchie offers his advice on which color to get and which model to get. I stand by it and agree with him. It didn't make it necessarily easier for me but I'm sure that you might be able to take something away.

Also if you want to read an edited transcript of Apple CEO Tim Cook Macworld has you covered. He also goes on record saying, "I think it’s going to be an iPad Christmas." If you ask me, exciting times ahead for Apple especially with the mention of new product categories.

I'll leave you with Apple's awesome pencil commercial. Take a peak. What do you think? Which one are you going to buy?

http://youtu.be/o9gLqh8tmPA

Three Flights Down to One Long Extended Flight

Something things go right sometimes they don't.  Yesterday wasn't something out of the ordinary but I guess some of you never experience the frequency of weather or maintenance that we encounter working at an airline.  Looking at the weather prior to our departure from Dallas-Ft. Worth, we knew that we could expect some thunderstorms during our approach into Charleston, West Virginia. Blocked to just a little over two hours, and looking at the terminal aerodrome forecast (TAF), we took off with confidence that we could "beat" the storm.  Whether or not to jet east and then up and around the front or penetrate earlier in the flight and fly behind it, we chose the former.  Usually you chose the latter, but once we were in the air, the weather didn't look that bad.

Almost an hour after our scheduled arrival, we made a safe approach and landing safely getting all our passengers to the terminal.  It wasn't without bumps and initially the weather at CRW wasn't calling for landing conditions, but after 45 minutes, the initial thunderstorm cleared and calm winds presided.

Arriving at the gate, the plan was to leave as soon as we could board up, refuel and clean the aircraft but things changed. The plane gave us a flashing light notifying us of a maintenance item which after two hours of coordinating with dispatch, maintenance control and crew scheduling, ultimately led to the cancellation of the flight. Repositioning the aircraft to another portion of the airport, coordinating a shuttle and hotel stay our day came to an end with nine hours of sleep.  We also had the opportunity of riding the hotel shuttle back to with some passengers who were taking the cancellation well.

So back to present time, scheduling had us report at 5:15am this morning and to no surprise without a phone call or notification from anyone back at company, we came down for the scheduled shuttle back to the airport only to find out that the aircraft wasn't ready. I'm now back in the hotel room killing another two hours before our next scheduled van ride. At least I can now grab some coffee.

update: I just got a call a couple of minutes ago notifying us again for a change to 6:45am which as I spoke to her was actually six minutes in the past.

A Great 1st Birthday Party

Over the weekend, my wife organized an awesome birthday party for our daughter Norah Renée. We had a lot of help from cousins, aunts and uncles and close friends. Thanks to everyone for coming out and celebrating the special day with us!

Thanks to James for capturing this awesome moment!

21 8.2013

 

I know that the title and post are redundant but it marks the day that I said the special two words, "I do" to my lovely wife.  We've actually been dating for over ten years (wow time flies) but only married for three of those.  Things have only gotten better and it couldn't be more perfect especially with the added bunting.  Happy anniversary sweetie!

Twelve Months of Sprinkles Cupcakes

Celebrating month number one is exciting for new parents.  Adelle and I also thought this would be a great idea.  Who knew that cupcakes, representing each month in celebration of our daughter's special day, would amount to just a little over $270 in the course of a year!!!  It was expensive but in the end, we got to gorge on cupcakes, take great photos and celebrate with friends and family! Here are each one of Norah Renée's photos along with her wonderful cupcakes from Sprinkles.  We learned that the S'mores cupcake is our favorite, vanilla with sprinkles is a great treat but sometimes too sweet, and that if we invested the $270 dollars in Tesla stock instead, we would have quintupled our cash.

[gallery link="file" ids="4080,4081,4082,4083,4084,4085,4086,4087,4088,4089,4090,4091"]

On another note, if you haven't tried out Wolfram Alpha, you should give it a shot.  I used the summation formula from Wolfram Alpha for a quick figure.

Looking Back at Norah Renée

Exactly one year ago to the date and time, we welcomed my daughter into this world.  Everyday since then, my wife and I have been living a truly blessed life with such a vibrant, loving, huggable, and curious little munchkin.  As cliché as it sounds,  I really can't believe how fast time has gone by.  Happy Birthday to you Ms. Norah Renée.  Momma and I can't wait to celebrate and share more life experiences with you! Here's a photo of Norah at six months pushing herself up and staring back at me.  Not staged, not planned, my wife captured this wonderful moment.  The photo below is also unedited.

I've also just entered the photo into the I Shot It Child Competition 2013 No 3 for kicks and giggles. So far, with my entry, I'm at number 470. Ends in five days and there are so many great photos!!!  Wish us luck.

If you really want to know more about the composition and the photo, check out Jeffrey's Exif Viewer.  Here are the basic details: Olympus OM-D E-M5 ISO 800 1/40 f1.4 25mm

iPhone 4S for One More Day

One of my best friends happens to be getting married today, September 22nd. That's iPhone 5 Day + 1. Fortunately for me, I was successful in completing a preorder via apple.com thus receiving both his and her iPhone 5(s) on the morning of the 21st. Incase you're wondering, I ordered a white 64gb for myself and a 32gb black for my wife both of us sticking to our "unlimited data" with AT&T.

For some reason, UPS had my order on two separate trucks. Mine came in first and hers eight minutes later. I chose to setup my wife's first because she deserves the best and I'm a little particular in the way I setup a new iPhone; I don't restore.

Where am i going with this? Ultimately I held off upgrading knowing that i5+1 would be a long day. I would awake at 0700, unplug and not charge until maybe 2200 if not later. That's at least 14 hours of usage. To help me with this day of festivities, I would need my trusted Mophie Juice pack.

Because the iPhone 5 uses a different connector, my $100 battery pack remains incompatible. Because of this reason alone, I chose to stick with my iPhone 4S for one more day.

p.s. The groom upgraded immediately after delivery and during the rehearsal dinner, he ran out of juice. He also neglected to bring the new plug to his hotel so this morning, the day of his wedding, he's stuck at 0%.

p.s.s. Don't get me wrong, I love Apple's new connector. It's so thin it even had a handle. I can't wait to see how Mophie makes their next battery pack.

*update* I mentioned that the groom has no charge on his iPhone 5. Now we have found out that it's not taking a charge at all. He's going to be phone less for today and his honeymoon. What's up Apple? Defect in the cable or phone? No time to figure it out. The wedding is in 45 mins.

Online iPhone 5 Pre-Order Fiasco

For some reason, Apple thought that handing out online reservation tickets would be a great idea. It was a complete and utter disaster that prevented me from ordering any of my phones and now I might be stuck waiting in line if I want the new iPhone 5 on day 1, September 21. Yes, it could have been AT&T's fault due to carrier processing on subsidize costs and eligibility, but that's doesn't matter.  I hated every minute of it.  None of the "reservations" say that they phone will deliver by the 21st but instead say 2 week shipping.  I logged into Verizon Wireless website where 2 hours after this whole ordeal took 3 minutes to go through and complete. I'm just waiting for my confirmation that I'm moving from one crappy company to the other "pompous, more expensive because we know we can be" carrier.  Hopefully the grass is greener on the other side.

Here are some images that you'll enjoy that pretty much depicts what I went through.