Rob and the California George Family

For anyone that didn't already know, my son Andrew is a professional mage! OK, he is not so much the "fireball" kind of mage as he is the "pick a card, any card" kind of mage. Nevertheless, he gets paid to do magic.

He currently works at Houdini's Magic in a kiosk at Disneyland's Downtown Disney district. He has to wear a tux and he helps with the performances that the store puts on every 10 to 15 minutes. He has even received a number of cash tips for some of his performances.

Andrew is a performer at heart. Whether it is drama, guitar, improv comedy, or magic, he has a fun time. It's great that he has found something to get paid for that he really likes.

P.S. The picture at the right is Andrew in a costume similar to what he wears at work. I don't have a picture of him at work though. This picture is from a performance where he played Dr. Watson (of Sherlock Holmes fame).

Labels: Andrew, Disneyland, Mage

I bought "mom" a TIVO for Christmas. It has been a fun device and she has a number of regular shows that are easier to watch now. Additionally, the girls have gotten into watching some of the shows with mom before bed. However, we learned that we need to prepare for some new show content due to this.

One of the shows in TIVO is Oprah Winfrey. I have seen some for the first time ever and found some interesting topics. Anyway, Hayley and mom were watching an Oprah episode last week and the topic was about a Catholic family where 4 of the boys are now gay men. Hayley is very good about asking questions when she doesn't understand something. In this case she said to us "I don't understand what they mean when they say they are 'gay.'"

After some awkward looks between mom and I, we gave her a simple answer. "It means that they don't want to get married to a woman. They just like to be with men." Simple, basically accurate, but not too much detail to complicate things.

A day or two later, we are at the breakfast table. Hayley has a friend visiting and those two and we parents are at the table. The topic somehow went to one of the bridesmaids from our wedding and her two kids who were young at the time. I commented that they are grown adults now. Mom mentioned that they probably have kids of their own.

Hayley's innocent comment: "Unless they're gay."

We did a pretty good job of not bursting out laughing in front of her. Good thing I wasn't drinking anything at the time!

Labels: Family, Hayley

Our local Souplantation is reported as the source of an E. coli outbreak here in the O.C. This happens to be the one that we visit frequently. It turns out that we were there on one of the two dates when the virus was present.

The good news is that only one of us got sick. Bethany came home last week Monday with a mild fever and severe stomach cramps. The cramps and other symptoms stuck with her through the week. We took her to the doctor late in the week and they suggested some dietary help, but nothing else. She felt better as of last Saturday and is fine now.

It was only when the news came out earlier this week that we figured out that she must have gotten the virus. We don't have clinical confirmation, but I have no doubt. The rest of us either ate something different or just fought it off better. In any case, I am very curious now to see what they come up with as the source of the problem.

Labels: Bethany, Family, Health

Labels: Tent Trailer