I can't think of a good title

Apparently the election of Mr. Obama has in fact caused Hell to freeze over, or at least East Tennessee. Alixa has begun to put a towel on her windshield to avoid the awful chore of scraping ice off in the morning. For that little trick we owe a thanks to the Ericksons, and we also recommend it to anyone who doesn’t like cold mornings. But I suppose winter has to arrive everywhere, even here. The good news is that along with cold weather comes trips to Cleveland for Thanksgiving (next week), a trip to Memphis for a long awaited wedding (the next week), and a trip back to Delaware for Christmas/another wedding (more weeks later). For now Jarom is busy wrapping up school and Lix is busy trying to not throw up.



One of the cool things about being a sport management major here at UT is that Jarom gets to see some world-class facilities. This week he had the chance to tour the football stadium and basketball arena, both of which are top tier according to just about any rating system. He was able to see how the media was set up for TV production, got to see some of the areas beneath the stadium that are used for recruiting, and toured the skyboxes.




There is a new book for my book club this week: Blink, by Malcolm Gladwell. Jarom has already read it and Lix is working on it now, although I am not sure she is enjoying it that much. It is sort of a thinking person’s book, not a novel, and she needs a story to keep her interest. Speaking of books, one that did catch her interest was the Twilight series, which is now in movie form. I read an amusing review of it today, and thought I would include a few tidbits. The whole thing is here-

Look, I know the drill. If any element of the Twilight movie varies even slightly from the way you pictured it in your head, then it is the worst film ever made and you hate it and Catherine Hardwicke has ruined your childhood. Or, alternatively, you've built up so much anticipation for the movie that you're going to love love LOVE it no matter what, even if it's bad, you don't care, you refuse to listen to any criticisms LA LA LA I CAN'T HEAR YOU. I know how it goes.
…
This is not a vampire movie. This is a somber teen romance that happens to have some vampires in it. Little attempt is made to establish the mythology of the bloodsuckers, and the supernatural elements are downplayed. All of which is in keeping with the tone of Stephenie Meyer's book, which is eight parts romance and two parts action/fantasy. That's why it's been such a phenomenal success with women, and why the male-dominated geek industry -- the Nerderati, if you will -- has been so skeptical of that success. "What?" they scoff. "A super-popular vampire book that we, as men, AREN'T interested in? Inconceivable! It must be terrible, and its popularity is probably being over-reported!"
…
One of the reasons I only liked Meyer's novel rather than loving it was that it felt bogged down by endless descriptions of how beautiful Edward was. Don't get me wrong -- I love hearing about hot 17-year-old boys as much as the next person. But the continual mooning and swooning made me impatient.
…
In the film, of course, this is mostly eliminated. There is no need to tell us about Edward's beauty when he's right here in front of us and we can see for ourselves (assuming we are not distracted by his tall, disorderly hair, that is). There are other problems, too, mostly with the Cullens, who always appear to be practicing their Zoolander Blue Steel faces. The vampires' pale skin is represented by too much powdery face makeup, which makes Dr. Cullen in particular look like a mime. The crucial baseball scene, with the Cullens whacking one homer after another out in a forest clearing, is underwhelming. (In a game of vampire baseball, do they use vampire bats? Get it? Vampire bats? I got a million of 'em!)



Unfortunately, Lix will have to wait until it comes to Redbox, but she is OK with that. I think she knows that she won’t like it that much, as is usually the case with a book that she likes turned into a movie (see-Harry Potter, The Devil Wears Prada). However, that isn’t all bad news because when she watches it on DVD she will be watching it on her very own 42” plasma TV!!! That’s right ladies and gentlemen, the Winns have finally befriended someone who just happened to be giving away a big ol’ flatscreen TV. It is a few years old, but in good condition. It was replaced by a newer model because of a problem with the VGA connection (used for computers) which doesn’t matter to us. To add to their good fortune, Jarom got paid this week for his work with Adidas during the past few months. That means $1000 at shopadidas.com! I make no promises, but if you ask nicely and quickly you might be able to get a Christmas present from him. Soon there will be lots of very nice exercise apparel sitting in the closets not being used. I can’t wait.

This is not the actual TV, but is the same model.  I'll put up a picture of the new living room setup as soon as Jarom takes one.

Room for Expansion

As I am sure you are all aware, there was a week filled with big news in the Winn home: I finally got a bigger half log that fits me! For this I owe a debt of gratitude to Lixi’s mom, who graciously funded the improvement after seeing me in my impoverished state last month. Thanks PJ!

Old and new homes. Quite an improvement.

Also, Jarom and Alixa went public with the news of their pregnancy. My last blog post set a new record for comments with 11, and that number keeps growing. It is nice to see that there are lots of people out there who have nothing better to do at work or school than surf the internet and read about our lives. Since the announcement, Jarom feels as though a weight has been lifted off his shoulders. He was very worried that he would say something to someone and give it away, as he is not very good at keeping secrets. Both Jarom and Lix are very excited about the growth of their family, and their lives are already starting to change. Jarom is now getting a life insurance policy that will make him worth 10 times more dead than alive, Alixa has stopped drinking diet coke and eating grapes to protect her pea sized child, and they are currently trying to change some vacation plans that might interfere with the due date next June. I am not immune from the effects of the pregnancy either. You probably noticed the alien bouncing around in a snowglobe at the top right corner of my blog. Alixa put it there and told me she would step on my noggin if I took it off. Alixa had her first doctor visit this week and came home with her first ultrasound images of the kid. She maintains that it is already a very cute baby, although if you ask Jarom it looks vaguely like a mouse. At any rate, those pics are up on the fridge, the first of what will surely be millions of photos throughout its life.

Jarom and Alixa continue to meet new friends here in Tennessee, and are enjoying themselves more and more with each passing week. This week they went out to dinner with the Groses (see last week’s entry) and the Branners, who played on the softball team with Alixa. It is a little strange to hang out with them, because they are a little bit older, have kids, and are not flat broke like us. But they are great people and it is nice to have something to do on weekends.



In honor of all the craziness surrounding Prop 8 in California I will mention something Jarom saw recently. It was a bumper sticker for Gatlinburg, TN, which is the home of Dollywood and other fun country attractions. Unfortunately, at least in Jarom’s eyes, they chose to represent themselves on this bumper sticker with the same three letters used to refer to Gay, Lesbian, and Bisexuals. He thought it was pretty funny.

1000 words

November Sunshine

Tennessee’s beautiful weather has continued this week, with temperatures up in the 70’s all week. This has prompted the Winn’s to do more things outside, at least while they still can. They went golfing on Saturday with some friends, and Alixa is starting to feel much more comfortable with her new clubs. She had two pars and a bunch of really great shots. Jarom also got to play nine holes earlier in the week with a nuclear scientist who worked at a naval base in Pocatello (that’s right, Pocatello, Idaho has or had a naval base.) He worked on the prototypes for the Nautilus and Enterprise projects, which were the first nuclear powered submarine and aircraft carrier.

In order to help Lixi pay for life, Jarom has begun to sell his plasma at a local donation center. Apparently this sort of work only attracts the lowest dregs of society. This is startling, because as you sit in that place and look around, these are not necessarily the kind of people that you want to be sharing bodily fluids with. They test the blood, so I assume that it all comes out clean, but it makes me nervous for those who might be on the receiving end. But they pay between $20-$40 a pop, which isn’t bad for an hour or two of sitting.

This picture doesn't do it justice, but this is what happens when the folks at the blood bank don't know what they are doing.  I guess Lix doesn't have to worry about Jarom taking up heroin.  He bruises like a peach.

One of the rules about donating is that you must weigh at least 110 lbs. To verify this fact, all donors must step on a scale before starting. It was during this weigh-in that Jarom realized that he has cracked the 200 pound barrier for the first time in his life. This made him sad, and has inspired him to increase his exercise regime. He is also motivated in part by his many friends and family members who have recently run marathons. They all tell him that it is great and that he should try it, but he doubts that he will ever go that far off the deep end. His lazy personality will probably keep him from ever becoming one of those runners, like this lady who finished her jog despite having a rabid fox attached to her arm, or this guy who finished his cross country race despite having a rusty nail embedded in his foot. In fairness, I guess such craziness extends to all sports, as evidenced by this college football player who had his finger amputated instead of sitting out the last few games of the season.

The Winns also made some new friends this week. The Grose family (unfortunate, I know) lives in their ward and consists of two adults (about 5 years older than Jarom and Lix) and two kids (about 20 years younger) and a dog. They are nice people who seem to get along well with others, but the best thing about them is their media room. It has a projection screen, speakers as big as bookshelves, a Wii and PS3, and 2 400 DVD changers. On Friday night they went over to play Rock Band and watch a movie. I anticipate that there will be many more visits to the Grose residence in the future.

Change We Can Believe In

This week Tennessee Football Coach Phillip Fulmer was asked by the AD to resign at the end of the season.  This is not a huge surprise, given the disappointing year the Vols have had and the pressure that has been mounting for several seasons.  As new denizens of Knoxville, we haven't really had the chance to form an opinion about Mr. Fulmer until this week.  Watching the press conference (the video is here) made me (and Lixi and Jarom) big fans of his.  Getting a new head coach might be the right direction for the team, but they are losing a great man and a great coach.  Lix shed a few tears watching it, and Jarom thought about it, which is just as good.  Sports really do allow for wonderful moments and create special bonds between people that can last a lifetime.

We also elected a new president today.  As I have stated before, I am no Obama hater, despite holding some very different political views.  I highly doubt that the United States will fall apart during the next four years, despite what some on Fox News may claim.  From an apolitical viewpoint I think that all Americans should feel good about this election and the fact that a black man has achieved the highest office in the land.  I really believe that this is a great sign of the progress that we as a society have made.  Obviously I was not around for any of the civil rights movement or fighting for gender equality, so to me it really isn't that big of a deal that Obama is part African.  And I think that may be the best sign of all.  Many years ago the US decided that it would combat racism by forcing desegregation upon its citizens.  Perhaps we are getting to the point where coercion is no longer needed and race will now begin to recede into a non-factor.  We are certainly not there yet, but this is a good step in that direction.

Lather, Rinse, Repeat as Necessary

After a week long cold snap where temperatures dropped all the way down to the low 30’s at night, Tennessee is enjoying an Indian Summer. The daytime highs have been around 70 all week, and the forecast predicts that next week will bring more of the same. It sure makes life easier for Jarom, who does not enjoy riding his bike to his 8:00 class in chilly weather. It also keeps the links open, which is a nice treat.

Sadly, as the temperature rose around us so did tempers in the house, as Jarom and Lix got into a huge fight this week (That, boys and girls, is what we call a segue [pronounced segway, like the two wheeled vehicle for lazy people (now I just want to see how many different sets of parentheses I can get in here [it’s 4.])]) This may surprise most of you, because you have never seen Alixa and Jarom fight, and because you are not sure that Jarom is even capable of caring enough to cause a ruckus. If you had these thoughts, then you were correct. They didn’t really have a fight, just a disagreement of opinion. You see, the Winns are poor. This is mostly Jarom’s fault, as he makes no money, which has prompted him to begin to sell his blood at the local plasma center, which is a subject for a whole other blog entry. But all fault aside, they need to work on being more frugal. While shopping the other day for shampoo, Jarom noticed that the type of shampoo that Alixa likes to use is roughly 3 times as expensive as other shampoos. Having never really purchased shampoo, for obvious reasons, Jarom wondered what ingredient this brand contains that would cause it to clean Alixa’s hair thrice as well. It is cetrimonium chloride. This particular ingredient emits an aroma that dupes suckers into paying extra money in exchange for the belief that they are receiving a superior product. Jarom won the battle and a less expensive brand was purchased. Alixa won the war and went back to buying top-shelf shampoos after a one-bottle hiatus. I anticipate a few comments from women telling me that the $10 bottle is in fact much better than the $4 one, but rest assured, you have also been duped.

Each of these shampoos contain false claims about adding body 

and protecting hair, but the one above is way more expensive.  You can tell because the name is in French.  That means it is really good.

Alixa has also recently taken up knitting, after Ansally taught her how last week. She started by making potholders, which have gotten closer and closer to functionality as she improves her technique (the first one ended up being a triangle and not a rectangle). It gives her something to do while she watches TLC and Desperate Housewives.

The Winn’s new calling as primary teachers is also going well. They taught their first lesson last Sunday, and it went well enough. They messed up the story of the Good Samaritan, but none of the kids know anything so it slipped under the radar. I think that they are both going to like it, even if they will miss interacting with adults. Being able to eat and draw and play games during class is a good trade off.

Don't forget to vote on Tuesday, or you won't be allowed to whine and complain during the next four years about how all the country's problems are someone else's fault because you voted for "the other guy."