He is adorable. I shall call him....

I've had this whole dinosaur motif going on for quite a bit. It's like the Moebius strip Halloween - it goes on forever. Not that I'm complaining. I'm getting to go to parties, to eat food I'm normally not allowed to eat, to see barnyard animals and the highlight was I got to make a new friend.

This little guy in my hand is az apam's coworker's dinosaur. I found him at a Halloween party at his office. That's the kind of job I need when I grow up - one with Halloween parties. Once I'm running the world, I wonder if I can have these Halloween parties at world-running-headquarters.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=4732889741043451039&hl=en

Back to the little dinosaur. He is so adorable. I just need to give him a name. Suggestions are welcome.

Busy like a bee

Last Friday I went to az apam's office for a big Halloween fiesta. Before the festivities started, whilst az apam was otherwise occupied, I took the opportunity to check out his office.

I was all hacked in to the accounting and payroll systems and ready to funnel all sorts of money into my accounts in the Cayman Islands, when I realized the security cameras were all over me. This was going to be my big score for the seed money for the whole world domination scheme. C'est la vie.

The pictures are a little grainy as they are from the security cameras.

I just love this picture of az anyam and my first felony.

What a birthday!!!

Az apam had a birthday last week. I decided to help him celebrate.

Do you know how many drinks he had? Neither do I - I couldn't count that high. Of course I can only count to three by grunting noises that sound kind of like egy, kettö*, hááááááárom. And then my parents swing me by my arms.

*No hosszú ö in this tool.

Lions or tigers or bears oh my

I've got the sidekick. I'm getting close to settling on a name. Now I am trying to accessorize. I've got the outfit. Now I'm thinking of an animal. Kind of like Blofeld's cat or Mr Bigglesworth. But I hate cats. They're smelly and evil. Cats work when you are aspiring to be an evil tyrant, but I am looking for more of that benevolent dictator je ne sais quoi.



When we were at Halloweenpalooza this past weekend, I saw the perfect animals. They're smelly and ornery, which is much better than smelly and evil.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6317861555362321452&hl=en

I'm trying to decide whether to go with a goat or a sheep or avoid the barnyard and bother of having a pet. I think az anyam is partial to the goat, but with Balazs Bacsi's history with Kecske it might not be appropriate.

The alter ego

Auric Goldfinger and Ernst Stavo Blofeld both came close to taking over the world. Their biggest mistakes were not taking on alter egos. That enabled MI6 to realize who they were, to track them and ultimately stop them in their tracks.

I've decided to be a little more surreptitious than these clowns. As I mentioned yesterday, I'm searching for a name. I have decided on an outfit though - check out this wicked cool dinosaur outfit.

You're probably saying to yourself, "Self, but isn't Mate giving away his secrets by posting his plans/alternate identity on this website?" The answer, "No."

Only about 10 people read this blog and you are all too enamored by my cuteness to stop me.

------

Balazs Bacsi, Would my name with this outfit be Szoknyasaurus?

The Pythons

There's no point even trying to take over the world if you are a scrawny girly man like Pee Wee Herman or Barack Obama. I've been exercising, getting into shape.

Here I was stacking these huge blocks. To you they might seem small, but you're not 32 inches tall, are you? I got the idea from the World's Strongest Man Competition. If anyone is looking for a Christmas present for yours truly, four words: Draft Horse Pulling Harness. Click the link it's worth it. My goal is to one day take on my arch-villain - Laszlo Fekete and the Draft Horse Pulling Harness is just the training aid I need.

And now the laugh

I have not talked about my plans to take over the world recently. I've been pretty preoccupied with other topics lately. I haven't stopped planning.

I've been spending months working on my laugh. All people with plans for world domination have cool laughs.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=3978107926390964397&hl=en

I believe I'm set with the laugh now. Now I just need a good name. Suggestions are welcome.

Cooking is all about the accessories

Nagymama has been helping out around the house while az anyam continues to recover. She's done a ton of cooking for us. To make her life easier, I decided to help her help us.

You have to start with the basics when cooking. The basics to cooking are the toys. Good oven mitts are a one of those building blocks essential to good food.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7700657864507455959&hl=en

Of course, the danger with good accessories is sometimes you get so caught up with them you don't get around to helping with the cooking.

Walking, Yes indeed, I'm walking

Yesterday, I discussed getting carried because, I'm bored or tired or whatever in either a physical or a spiritual sense. Sometimes I just need a change of pace.

Walking is so standardized. There's little room for creativity. I've been looking for ways to jazz it up. Big shoes really work.

http://picasaweb.google.com/MatthewStrada/Export/photo#5122823602692461106

But big slippers. Big slippers are even better. Not only do they make walking more interesting, they scream humor. Of course that's a fine line to walk (pun intended).

It's a slippery slope. If I start with the slippers, do I descend into a cesspool of big shoes and ties and tiny cars? Instead of enjoying my new mode of walking and making people laugh, I could end up hawking processed beef. Next thing I know, I'm being tossed into a paddy wagon and being blamed for the lack of self-control and dietary restraint in our country.

I'll stick with big slippers.

Walking does get old

I've been walking for years now. Or months. Whichever is shorter. I get them confused sometimes. I have found that I expend a whole lot of energy walking. That leaves that much less energy for moving water from my sandbox to the watertable, for throwing the football, dancing and doing all the other things that I like to do.

I've found it great to have people willing to carry me EVERYWHERE when I feel like it.

Every once in a while parents, and even grandparents, will try to do things their own way and not my way. They may expect me to walk when I don't feel like it. I've got two weapons to fight their logic and reason - cuteness and screaming.

Being a master of all things I try, I can employ both at the same time and never have to walk again. A little scream, a whole lot of cute and people come running to carry me whereever I want be.

Time, time, time. See what's become of me.

I apologize for not posting yesterday. Things have been a little hectic here lately. Az anyam is getting better, but she's still getting a bunch of help. The toughest part is that guy who takes my dictation has been busy and slacking off on his work.

Mama was helping out for two weeks, but she went home on Saturday. I missed her so I gave her a call. We chatted.

http://picasaweb.google.com/MatthewStrada/Export/photo#5122071300515860930





Nagymama is here to help now. Her last visit got a bit messed up by zany circumstances, so we brought her back for Nagymama's October Visit - Take II.

Tis better to give than it...yeah right.

I have the bestest cousins in the whole wide world. They were worried that I would be sad since az anyam has been a wee bit sick lately, so they got me gifts. They got me gold, frankincense and myrrh.



Not really. My Sari cousin got me an uber cute stuffed bear. My Sandor cousin got me one of the last Feels-Real books that I didn't have.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-239191208517777448&hl=en

Wish you could have cousins like these? Tough. I'm the only one with them.

Az Anyam - Second post of the day

Az anyam won't let me post a recent picture of her, so here is one of her arm and me looking cute.

You can see a little bag under her arm that has a pump in it. That is pumping antibiotics into her picc line all the time. This seems to be really helping az anyam. She's gotten much better over the last week. She still gets really tired and needs a lot of sleep. Az anyam has even gotten a little better at taking it easy and not pushing herself.

She's awesome.

Read, read, read. I really like to read.

Every night before I go to bed, I read some books. It is a fun pasttime, but it seems to take longer and longer. It used to be that whoever was putting me to bed would just read a few books to me. Then I started picking out the books to be read to me.



Now, it's sometimes me picking out the books, sometimes it's my animal puppets.



http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-7859430431526829453



Sometimes I read to the puppets. I figure if I like a good book, they must like a good book.


http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-60682562519635115&hl=en


More and more (as you've seen the previous few days) I just like to read to myself.


http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-6138585646381435140

Special note: Most of these pictures are of my favorite tome - How Do Dinosaurs Say Goodnight?

Not a one-trick pony: Books

I've highlighted my book reading ability. You're probably saying to yourself, "Self, Mate's an impressive reader of books for his age, but is that all he's got? If he plans to rule the world, he better be able to read more than just that."

Well, hear me now, and believe me later, and think about it sometime, but make a note of it now - I also read newspapers, pamphlets, books, magazines, the backs of cereal boxes, brochures, etc.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=5348773430780175832&hl=en

I do have to admit, the size of newspapers does occasionally give me trouble.

Reading - It's not just for home anymore

I mentioned I've been reading to pass the time lately. I'm so into it that I don't just do it at home. I've found it's just as fun in the car.





If that world domination thing fails. And that badmitton thing fails. And the superhero thing fails. And all that other stuff fails, then I can find a living doing Books on Tape for kids.

http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=-8785692756009125187&hl=en

Talk, talk, talk

I've been busy talking to all sorts of people on the phone lately, filling them in on az anyam's situation. One of the things I like about being a child of the third millennium is that I have the technology to live my life the right way. If I want to talk on the phone in my pajamas on the stairs, I can. It's a thing of beauty.

http://picasaweb.google.com/MatthewStrada/Export/photo#5118569347391459586

Of course, now that technology is no longer a restraint, other limiting factors are in my life. When I try and talk on the phone in the bathtub az apam comes down on me hard. Technology is usually good, but parents are sometimes a real drag.

Mothers, pincushions, Edward Gibbons and the combustion engine

Az anyam is doing sooooooooooooo much better. She is back at home trying to get rested. Unfortunately, az anyam is not getting as much sleep as she should, not by any lack of trying but because of all sorts of other stuff going on (like, oh, I don't know, um, maybe the gallons of drugs coarsing through her veins). She's got a PICC line in her upper arm with a bag of antibiotics that stays attached permanently. Other than that, she's dandy.

I am currently occupying myself by playing with Mama, Papa and az apam. I am also reading a lot. Sometimes to Mama. Sometimes to Papa. Sometimes to az anyam. Sometimes to az apam. Sometimes by myself. You get the idea.

http://picasaweb.google.com/MatthewStrada/Export/photo#5117929938430234850

Silver linings are sometimes more of a greyish hue

The upside of this downer of a week was that I got to spend time with people I rarely get to see.

In particular, I got to see Papa on his 65th birthday. I don't think I'm going to learn that number until 2nd grade in 6 years.

Watashi wo korosanai mono wa watashi wo tsuyoku suru

What a woman. What a weekend.

Nagymama came for a visit starting Thursday night. It was a good time hanging out with her and az anyam and az apam. Az anyam and az apam were going to go out on a date on Saturday. For some reason they wanted to do this without me.

Well, that date turned into more of a weekend trip to a spa-like place. By spa I mean hospital. Az anyam went to the ER for a bad headache, tummyache and fever. Everyone thought it was appendicitis including the ER staff. Fortunately, they did a CT scan and realized it wasn’t appendicitis before they cut her open. They finally figured out it was meningitis as she was getting very sick from it.

She was pretty out of it for a few days from the infection and the associated fever and swelling around her brain. Between a boatload of antibiotics and a dash of steroids, her fever has come down, the swelling has dissipated and she got to come home today. As fast as her health crashed, she has recovered amazingly. What a woman.

Thank you to everyone for your thoughts and prayers.

Although I did enjoy my time with Nagymama and I have gotten to spend a whole bunch of time with Mama and Papa, I think it would have been easier to just go on a picnic.