Yesterday we took Evan rock climbing at The Climbing Center in Knoxville. He is a natural! Once attached to the rope, he shot up the 40 foot walls without fear. Understanding that his next handhold could be discovered by straightening a bent leg seemed intuitive to him. Noah made it up the wall twice before feigning to hunger. Cathy only had her hand sucked into the ATC (brake) once. My supple skin only lost a few layers of epidermis due to belaying. We had a blast!
Category: Daily Life
Ramblings, often stream of conscious, journaling the events of my life.
Sending her to Costa Rica
My ten year old girl has this wonderful opportunity to travel to Costa Rica. This is where she will be:
Confession
Occasionally I purchase a lottery ticket then refuse to look at it because the thrill of thinking I am walking around with a winning ticket is more fun than the disappointment in verifying that it is a loser.
At war with my house
My garage looks like it could do a guest appearance on the television Hoarders. This weekend I declared war on that garage and made significant progress yesterday. Today the battle continues!
Update: I’ve dug out our commercial grade deep freezer! There is food in there that reads "best used by 7/1/09." Yuck.
Update: The garage has gone through a major transformation. I performed archaeology. Found things long since forgotten. Threw away a lot. Created a large donation pile for Ladies of Charity. And transformed the garage from a good candidate for Hoarders to a good candidate for This Old House or the Martha Stewart show. I hope to work this hard on the house every weekend.
Shopping Pain
Took the wife and ten year old shopping during lunch to prepare for my little girl’s upcoming Costa Rican adventure. Now my left ear feels like someone is doing brain surgery through it. Coincidence?
Trade Wars
I feel like the odds are stacked against me. Apparently I’m the guy no one wants to see win.
From the mouths of babes
Evan, 7 years old, talking to Mom: "I thought Daddy and I were still cleaning the garage today. I’m his best helper."
I love that boy so much!
No sign of letting up
This has been a long hard day. Unfortunately, it needs to continue well into the night. Maybe on Sunday he can rest.
Interviewing
In 1998, I began working for myself. Thirteen years later, on Oct 4, 2011, I left the basement, put on clothes (had to buy a wardrobe actually), and rejoined corporate America to work 8-5 in Cubeville (think Dilbert) with the understanding I could maintain a little freelance on the side to support my existing clients. Although I am a full-time, benefited employee, I am technically classified as an LDA (Long Duration Appointment) which basically means I am on a three year contract which renews annually. Today, I have the pleasure of interviewing for my position to reclassify it from LDA to a regular employee. The catch? Outside candidates have applied so if today’s interview goes poorly, or the other candidates’ interviews go exceptionally well, I may find myself out of work and trying to re-establish my consulting career. Am I nervous? Oh yes, totally wigged out.
Stranded
Before I was of age to drive, I worked at a bus company "cleaning" the buses. I really learned to drive the buses (everything from 21 seater buses to full size city buses) including sliding them around in the snow for fun. I also drove the cars of the employees of the bus company and the surrounding businesses as they would pay us to wash their vehicles.
In high school, I learned to drive in a station wagon then had the pleasure of rebuilding a Triumph Spitfire.
In college I walked and used the bus for 3 years then bought a Dodge D50 pickup which was estimated to have a year’s life left in it. I made it last 5 years.
My first brand new vehicle was a 1995 (purchase date Nov 1994) Jeep Wrangler. It ran until a few weeks ago when the head gasket developed a horrid leak and it now sits in the driveway awaiting evaluation and repair. The engine may be beyond repair.
My wife’s first brand new vehicle was a 1995 Dodge Neon. It ran until a couple of weeks ago when it finally just died on the Interstate and was towed to the house. It is either a) a timing belt problem which is internal to the engine and makes the car scrap metal, b) a head gasket repair similar to the Jeep, or c) (hopefully!) a bad water pump.
We’ve been through other cars including an Aerostar, a red Ford thing that I cannot recall the name of, a motorcycle, and of course our current primary mode of transportation, a Dodge Grand Caravan.
Today, the Caravan decided it no longer wanted to shift gears. The diagnosis? A transmission rebuild and the family eats ramen noodles for the rest of the month.
A family of 7, with 6 people still at the house, 5 of driving age, 3 with licenses and a 4th taking his driving test today, goes from 3 cars to zero in a matter of weeks. Knoxville really needs better public transportation! And I need a full-time mechanic at the house!
Reintegrating with society
I’ve been 7 nights in the Utah canyons (8 days) with 2 days in a hotel on either end for a total of 10 days away from the usual rigaramor (hmmm. can’t find a proper spelling nor definition). I swore to return with a clean mouth and even temper. I did return super chill but am finding my reintegration into society trying to drag me back into the pre-canyon temperament as strongly as the Sirens tempted ships to the rocks. I will not succumb!
Packing Weight
Instead of waiting until the morning of our departure, I’m starting to pack early this time. Granted, I probably should have been packed by now. So, how much does my gear weigh? Let’s list it as we go:
- A 20 year old Osprey pack: 7 pounds
- Moonstone sleeping bag: 2 pounds
- Clothing: 5 pounds
- …more to come
That time of my life…again
To accomplish the mass number of things that must be achieved before I can go camping for 10 days with my son, I must start brewing coffee at both 8am and 8pm. Deadlines must be met! No slippage allowed.
Oh my!
There is indeed more than one way to skin a cat!
Happy Memorial Day
In case you are unclear, Memorial Day is the holiday we remember the fallen soldiers. Veterans Day is when we honor the living soldiers. Memorial Day has its origins from the Civil War in a practice called Decoration Day when people would place flowers on graves of the soldiers. May 30th was Memorial Day. In 1968, Congress passed the Uniform Monday Holiday Act to increase the number of three day weekends for federal employees. Memorial Day officially moved to the last Monday of May in 1971.
Please be safe this weekend. The weather is beautiful! Relax some and be sure to take a moment to remember those soldiers who made the ultimate sacrifice.
