Plus ça change, plus c'est la même chose

Or, for those out there who (like me) do not actually speak French, "The more things change, the more they stay the same."

I really have to remember to update this blog more often so as to not leave readers hanging. Assuming, that is, there are any readers. Nothing like a little existential angst to get your morning started, I always say...

Anyway, the reason for this particular post is to mention that, in fact, nothing much has changed. Despite my fears of losing my job (which seemed like a near certainty last time I posted), things managed to actually work out pretty well in the end. The company that bought my company informed me that I needed to either relocate (to Wisconsin or Toronto) or quit. I had no desire to relocate and fully expected that to be the end of things. Except... It turns out they really did value my contributions and want me to stick around, and this wasn't just a ploy to avoid having to pay unemployment benefits. And so, after much discussion, the company agreed to let me keep my job and work from home. Which is exactly what I've been doing for the last six or so months.

I have to admit that working in my basement is not exactly something I was looking forward to (I am a social guy by nature and enjoy face-to-face interactions with co-workers), but so far it has actually been working quite nicely. I still have plenty of interactions with co-workers over the phone and via e-mail, and I find I am actually more productive without the distractions at times. The lack of a commute to and from the office is obviously a plus, although I was actually starting to look forward to that commute after buying a Chrysler 300C AWD (with the 5.7 liter 340 HP Hemi engine) a few months prior to the change. Seriously, though, now that Joshua has started Kindergarten, it has been extremely convenient to be able to drop him off and pick him up without having to worry about running late due to traffic or other problems. So I got that going for me, which is nice.

Speaking of Joshua, he is really enjoying Kindergarten and doing quite well at it. Jun was concerned because he didn't seem to grasp the concept of reading before starting Kindergarten, but he picked up on it very quickly and is now reading at least at a first grade level. His teacher says she has never had a kid as bright as Joshua in her class, although he is still a bundle of hyperactive energy and we may need to do something about that at some point. I hate the thought of giving him drugs such as Ritalin to help him calm down and focus, since I really see that as a failure on my part. And Jun agrees with me 100%. What society labels ADHD is what used to just be called "normal" not too long ago, and neither of us want to drug him just so the pharmaceutical industry can keep making money. But we'll see what happens. Right now, his hyperactivity isn't affecting him academically (although it's certainly likely to cause social problems at the very least). If and when it does, well, we'll burn that bridge when we come to it, I guess.