David J Baldwin

Current mood: excited 



On Sunday night my sister Laura gave birth to my first nephews! Yes, 2 of them!

 JAYDEN MICHAEL, 2LBS 4OZ 13.5 INCHES

 REGAN LUKE, 2LBS 1.5OZ 14 INCHES

 They were 3 months early, so they are tiny. Their hands and feet are the size of my an adult fingernail, and their arms are as long as a man's pinkie finger. But they're putting up a fight in the ICU!

This week held two of the most perfect days imaginable. The weather was OK (could've been warmer for my taste,) but Wednesday and Friday were just the perfect days.

Wednesday, I slept in a bit and met Brandon for brunch at Orange, where I ordered the Green Eggs and Ham with a cup of orange-infused coffee. Delicious. We ran some errands, watched American Idol, dropped by Swirlz for a cupcake, and I went to the gym. After my workout, I met friends in the burbs to see a house, after which we went back to their place, wrote a contract, and chatted over coffee and cupcakes from Swirlz. 

Though Wednesday was hard to top, today is doing it! I slept in this morning, took care of some contract details, and Christi showed up at my house--ON TIME--with coffee in hand! We had planned to visit the Cezanne to Picasso exhibit at the Art Institute, but this morning Gary called with an offer of Cubs tickets. So, Christi and I took Puck for a walk, shopped, pre-ordered the new Harry Potter book, a

Good or bad, I think that iTunes' Party Shuffle today represented my musical interests pretty well, so here it is!

 1. To the Floor--Mariah Carey
 2. Superstar (Carpenters Cover)--Sonic Youth
 3. Pieces--Alice Ripley 
4. I Feel Bad--Rascal Flatts
 5. Sea & Sky--Over the Rhine 
6. There's A Small Hotel--Ella Fitzgerald 
7. Ubiquitous Hands--Over the Rhine 
8. Tune Up #1--Rent Original Broadway Cast 
9. Jonas & Ezekiel--Indigo Girls 
10. Don't Leave Home--Dido 
11. The Hairbrush Song--Veggie Tales 
12. Addicted--Kelly Clarkson 
13. Calling Baton Rouge--Garth Brooks
 14. Live and Learn--Michael W. Smith 
15. My Innocence--Lindsay Lohan 
16. Born--Over the Rhine

Current mood: Discouraged; 
Category: Discouraged Romance and Relationships How great a part of the relationship equation should be played by physical attraction? We all know that time diminishes the fireworks between two people. The initial chemistry can't continue full-strength, so when should we start relying on the other components of a relationship to determine whether the relationship will live? 

I read an article in O! Magazine last year while waiting at a doctor's office. It was an old issue, and I don't know the date, but a therapist spoke about a turning point that all relationships face. It is a time with the physical chemistry cools, and the participants must make a decision whether to continue in the relationship. This can happen early, or as late as 2 years into the relationship. 

I faced this turning point in a past relationship after about 2 years. One day, I realized that the partner with whom I was living felt more like a roommate than a lover. The physi

A quote I love from the book I just finished:

"What I did not know--I was a young man--is that there are two kinds of love. The kind that starts off big and slowly wears away, that seems you can never use it up and then one day is finished. And the kind that you don't notice at first, but which adds a little bit to itself every day, like an oyster makes a pearl, grain by grain, a jewel from the sand."

Dr. Azad, Brick Lane by Monica Ali

Current mood: loved 
Category: Friends I was lucky enough to meet Christi this year through Mikey. We were first introduced at Pride in June, when her hair was a bit more strawberry blonde than its current shade. We shared the parade with Tim, Jeremiah, Mikey, 3P, Cole, Andy, and ?Mike?. And a few hundred thousand other people. A few days later, I received my first Snapfish. Christi always has her camera and shares the photos with Snapfish. I appreciate this about her, and I try to be like her by sharing my photos when I remember to take them. 

Christi came to see my show this summer--only a few other friends did. 

Christi gives my dog peanuts so that he can poop them out the next day. :)

Christi thinks I'm pretty butch. And she always expresses such joy when she sees me. 

Christi lives by her convictions, cooks a mean vegetarian dish (with blue cheese on top!) and would do anything to help her friends. Yes, meeting and growing to know this extraordinary person was one of my j


Current mood: annoyed 
Category: Life Every year, my condo building takes up a collection to be given to the maintenance and office staff as a Christmas bonus. This year, they have posted in the lobby a THANK YOU card to those who contributed--signed by the staff--AND they have listed who contributed to the fund!

I was unable to contribute this year due to constraints on my budget, and I imagine there are many unemployed, disabled and elderly people in the building who also could not contribute due to limited income. It feels as if this letter was posted to shame those who did not contribute in front of their neighbors. Surely those who did give would have felt amply thanked by a simple note addressed "to those who contributed to the holiday fund" and there was no need to list each one individually. Omission from the list feels like a "Shame, shame, you didn't contribute." 

How tacky.

Current mood: hopeful 
Category: Goals, Plans, Hopes After Kirsten's bulletin about her horrible 2006, I started to look back on 2006. My first instinct was that 2006 was a bad year for me too, but when I started thinking about it, I wondered whether my instincts were serving me correctly. So, when forced to make a complicated decision, I once learned that you should make a list of Pros and Cons. So here goes:

Ways that 2006 sucked: 
big breakup overseas, living with a friend while waiting to get back into my condo after the breakup, making less money than 2005, Tia moved to Minnesota, Tim H moved to Boston, Bethany moved to Canada

Great things about 2006: 
no longer teaching in Chicago Public Schools, no retail for the first 9 months, living in Italy, working at the Winter Olympics, seeing Olympic events for free, cruise with Jason through the Caribbean, my new car, performing in A New Brain with La Costa Theatre, meeting Christi Lynn and having her come see my show, Turandot a