"Having a Baby Will Change Your Life."

You hear people say that quite a bit, and they are, of course, correct. But on the same token, a new job, new responsibilities, new auto loans, et cetera also change your life just about the same way. So... if the "random appearances" of Sloth & Company seem to be fewer and farther between... here are reasons why:

James Returns to Mulick Park...

While Harrison Math & Science Academy appeared to be an ideal environment for Mr. James Matthew Veenstra (see article in Newsletter #29), the hard-working and dedicated staff at Mulick Park Elementary won us over. So, after a few months of testing out the Grand Rapids Public School Academies, we brought James back to his local neighborhood elementary... and he is now *much* happier. His class has an interesting and unique setup: in the morning he is in his "home room" learning social studies, English, and writing, and then he moves next door with a different teacher for math and science. The two instructors are happy as well, as they both have the opportunity to teach the subject they like best to a variety of students. Interesting!

Heather Leigh Becomes She-Hulk...

Well... without the green skin, of course. But at seven months (at the time of writing), our baby bumpkin is already starting to cut teeth (and *boy* is she thrilled about those hard objects pushing their way through her gums!), sit up by herself (for a few seconds, anyway), and can roll from her back to her tummy and vice versa (entertainment in and of itself!). She can now grasp objects and play with them (or stick them in her mouth) and can track motion very well. No complaints on our end... Heather is very much a joy to have in our lives!

We continue to add pictures to the unpublished website for Heather at our SlothWerks.Com address. Bear in mind that this *is* an unpublished website; please do not link to it from a published page without first consulting the family. Thanks!

Just type the following link into your web browser. CAUTION: The link is case sensitive!

[Unpublished website; email us for link]

Again, if you do not have access to the internet and you would like to receive a copy of the site text and photos, please feel free to contact us and we'll ship one to you.

Above Left: "No further photos are available without first consulting my agent."
Right: Heather, posing for the first time with her professional photographer.

1

Sloth Hired in at Peninsular Technologies...

After many months of work as a temporary employee, the team at PenTech brought Sloth in as Manager of Conversion Services. The title is long and impressive (as it should be), but bear in mind that the department for which he is manager only contains one employee: himself! But the work is interesting and far more "right-brained" than any other position that he has had recently. For the past few months, Sloth has been entrenched in the world of video production, and is getting a crash course in non-linear digital video recording and editing as he attempts to perfect a "Home Video VHS to DVD" conversion process. But not all videotapes are made equally... good luck, Sloth!

The Underground Acquires Stealth Cruiser!

In August, the staff at the Underground traded in the old 1988 Honda Accord for - you’ll never believe this - a 1998 Honda Accord. The purchase was not as polished and simple as we would have liked, but in the end we acquired our sweet new ride - the envy and scourge of junk heaps everywhere.

Left: Notice the sleek new style in the 1998 model of the Honda Accord. Additional extras in the Limited Edition were a smokescreen, oil slick, emergency eject button, and other paraphanalia, but we were looking for something simple.

The Sloth Family Joins SpiralScouts!

After some random browsing on the Internet, Steph learned of a brand-new alternative scouting program called "SpiralScouts". The program was so new, in fact, that there were only a few troops in the state of Michigan... and one of them was in Grand Rapids! We contacted the youth leader at that time, and now, one year later, we run the troop ourselves. (Funny how these things happen...) Sloth is the acting "Parent Committee Chairperson / Troop Co-Leader / Guy Who Does Stuff", while Steph is coordinating meetings, program content, and brainstorming for events and the like. Check out information on this program in West Michigan and beyond at...

http://www.slothwerks.com/spiralscouts/

The Virtual World of SlothWerks.Com...

Well, after the relocation of one of our computers into the dining room area and the complete wiping away of the hard drives, our home network is even more accessible and faster than ever. Sloth even broke down and purchased more memory for the two PC’s in our home, and now he can open Adobe Photoshop, 50 copies of Internet Explorer, and 100 directory folders simultaneously. (There is even a little bit of room on the monitor for a workspace!) So with all of this, why isn’t there an update to the main website and a plethora of new episodes coming in for Operation: Snow Weasel? Patience; patience... all in good time...

2

Family Trips Abroad!

With our new vehicle now allowing us to safely travel more than - say - 10 miles, the family has embarked on a number of road trips to various locations in the state. Here are reviews of two of our humble journeys...

Sloth and Company Explore the Inner Mysteries of Traverse City...

Accepting a generous offer for overnight accommodations, the staff at The Underground planned a weekend trip to Traverse City and the Traverse Bay area. Hitching a ride with the gang was Aunt Jessie, who rode along with us on a tour of the many fine small tourist towns along Lake Michigan and humored Sloth with several rounds of "20 Questions" and "The Alphabet Game". We were even able to hit a few garage sales, visit the Zoo, and explore some of the roads on our trusty bikes. So if anyone knows of a good, high-paying job in Traverse City and a cheap house...

Apple Cores, Pumpkins, and More... a Visit to the Jollay Orchards...

With some of our friends in the West Michigan extended SpiralScouts family, we were also able to hit up an orchard before the frost really started settling in. And what a better place to go than a fun-loving, "mom & pop" family business like Jollay Orchards (www.jollayorchards.com). This year they sported an extensive corn maze, a haunted house (not for the faint of heart!), games, pumpkin picking, freshly baked and fried snacks (such as homemade cinnamon donuts - YUM!), and a giant inflatable worm tunnel for the kids. The Jollay family is one of the most hospitable in the business and treated us well. Perhaps we’ll have to make this a yearly event...?

Only the Strong, the Brave, and the Birk-Wearing Shall Survive...

We raised more than $900 as an unregistered team in 2002, and now it’s time to make 2003 a better year than ever! Join Sloth and his motley crew as they travel from Grand Rapids to Allegan to Holland to Allendale and then back to Grand Rapids in the MS 150 Bike-a-Thon, slated for June 2003. If you’re a cycling enthusiast and love a good challenge, here is a way for you to do so and raise money for a good cause as well. If you’re interested, contact us at (616)475-5532, or check out our MS 150 website on www.slothwerks.com.

NEW MUSIC NEW MUSIC NEW MUSIC

We’re paring down this section yet again due to monetary and space constraints, but still there are a few discs that *must* be reviewed. And here they are, live from the Underground:

Tori Amos Scarlet's Walk - First, ignore all of the bad reviews that the critics have wrote and listen to a review of a true Tori Fan. Tori’s first two CD’s - Little Earthquakes and Under the Pink - were the "Girl and her Piano". In between those albums, she has still continued to awe me with her ability to express herself, but her first two albums hit me at a point in my life that made me feel like she wrote her songs for me. Scarlet’s Walk is the journey of a "Girl and her Piano". Tori revisits her original style (but a little updated) that made me fall in love with her. And while the former two albums had their high peaks and occasional valleys, this new release is solid: one full LP of wonderfully-crafted songs... beautiful and sensuous, just like Tori herself. - Stephanie Ford

India.Arie Voyage to India - Motown’s second release from India.Arie paints her in a happier state: she wrote much of the material on tour, full of energy; she has a good relationship with a man who loves her; she is rising as an international R&B act in her own right. The question is: is India.Arie revealing anything new to us in her second LP, or is it her debut revisited? Yet again we have the Donny Hathaway and Stevie Wonder references (hence the title), the "going back to my roots" vibe, the "I feel like a natural woman" accounts, the songs written from the perspective of "I’ve learned from my mistakes", et cetera. Now, don’t get me wrong - India.Arie is a *wonderful* listen. She is funky, spiritual, and vibrant. But is she simply retreading familiar ground instead of giving us a breath of fresh air as she did in her wonderfully understated debut? - Sloth?

3