Union Pacific's Great Excursion Adventure

“That’s the thing about weekends and Quik, they both go so fast…”

comics and animation, dining and cuisine, event, everyday glory, family and friends, movies and TV, workout No Comments »

Sunday – 15 July 2018
Man, it’s already after 9:00 and I am sitting here wondering where the weekend went. There’s just one “problem.”

I know exactly where.

Friday, after work, I left work a little later than planned, made a quick stop at a local toy store (again, surprising absolutely NO ONE), met Sara and Team DiVa for dinner, and headed off to Clitorati. After that was all buttoned-up, back home for some Overwatch with friends.

Saturday morning, I did not want to get out of bed… which might have had something to do with staying up late. Maybe. But, I got up, ate and went to work out while DiVa had swim class. For some, as yet unknown reason, I decided to throw squats into the mix. For the record: NOT MY FAVORITE. (Put a pin in this, we’ll be coming back to it shortly.) Back home to shower and change and head off to Dr. Volt’s to judge a tournament. I was pleased; it went well.

Back home to knock out a couple of things and get ready for an evening out with Sara – we finally got around to celebrating promotions that we got back in the Spring. We dropped the ladies off with their grand-parents for the evening and headed downtown. We had dinner and dessert at Fleming’s Prime Steakhouse and Wine Bar; it had been far too long since we had been there. As usual, the food and service were both excellent.

Next, we decided to check out Jurassic World: Fallen Kingdom. Yeah, yeah… not exactly Oscar fare, but we kind of knew what we were getting into. Kind of. Our best summation was that it wasn’t the best movie we’d ever seen – and it was far from the worst – but we were entertained. C’mon… it’s got dinosaurs, for Pete’s sake! Yeah, you know what I’m talkin’ about. Back home and we both crashed pretty hard.

This morning, I woke up tired. Remember that pin from earlier? Here’s where it makes its reprise: Somewhere in the middle of an already not-great sleep (a series of unpleasant dreams kept waking me up), I encountered “The Revenge of the Squats” – my thighs delighted in making turning over and even lying still “somewhat unpleasant.”

Ibuprofen, my old friend…
I’ve come to be with you again…

We headed back to the in-laws’ for breakfast. Oh… and to pick up the girls. My father-in-law makes a mean waffle. And he makes LOTS of them. Sara’s local sibs and their families were there for breakfast, too. It was a good way to start a busy day.

It was a “busy day” as today was (“is,” still… technically) National Ice Cream Day, which means Sara and I put on our annual Ice Cream Social.

Please note: It was, apparently “The Twins’ Ice Cream Party” Fine. Next year, they get to foot the bill and do the heavy lifting.

That meant a lot of “spending the rest of the morning and afternoon getting ready.” Thus, we did. One thing that we didn’t fully account for were the number of unexpected guests, in the forms of bees and wasps.

Fortunately, there were no cross-species incidents, for which I was supremely grateful. There was ice cream, toppings, pink lemonade, good company and conversation.

After our guests left, there was a little bit of clean up – we pretty much have set up and teardown down to a science after… six or seven years of doing this – and then time to get ready for dinner. I somehow managed to convince Team DiVa that it would be a “good idea” to take their showers while dinner was getting ready. Not quite sure “how,” but I wasn’t about to look a gift horse in the mouth. We ate dinner – salads (light post-ice cream fare = WIN) with chicken. And lemonade. Duh.

Sometime during the post-dinner “What do we do now” period, I stretched out on the couch. My mistake. I fell asleep for almost an hour. That might not have been such a mistake, after all. I woke up in time to find Sara and the girls watching the tail-end of a two-part Sofia the First episode… with mermaids. Yes, I just made that pun and decided not to edit it out. When the episode was over, the girls got ready for bed. Once they were tucked in, it was time for a greatly sought-after cool summer shower. It was sublime, just in case you wondered.

Now, I still have a little bit of free time before I have to make my way to The Dreaming. I should probably figure out what to do with said time…

A few moments’ quiet…

everyday glory, family and friends, food for thought, movies and TV, travel No Comments »

Tuesday – 26 June 2018
I’m at home today with a pair of young ladies who are getting over fevers. They just finished lunch and are hanging out in the living room. So, I’m going to jot down a few things, while it’s quiet – and, more importantly, while I’m not being summoned.

Three weeks ago, we went to Boise for Sara’s grandmother’s funeral.

 

I didn’t meet her until she was in her mid-80s; even then, she was more active that some 20-somethings I knew. That didn’t stop over the time that I knew her, either. (For example, she didn’t stop driving until two years ago, and then only because her eyesight had deteriorated to the point of making it… “somewhat untenable.”) Just listening to some of the rather amazing adventures she undertook was enough to make one tired.

It was a somber occasion, but it was good to see members of Sara’s side of the family with whom we don’t often get to visit. Added bonuses: Getting to spend time with friends in the Boise area whom we don’t get to see that often, as well.

We also took the opportunity to make another stop at Shoshone Falls on the way home.

Two weeks ago, I got to spend an evening with my Godmother, whom I haven’t seen since before I moved out here. She and her husband were visiting Utah for the first time and they spent a week traipsing around central and southern Utah. The occasion also marked the first time they met Sara and the girls. It was fantastic seeing them and catching up on things.

Otherwise, the past couple of weeks have been pretty quiet and uneventful.

Stray Toasters

I fed the ladies, I should probably find something for me to eat, too… while it’s still (relatively) quiet.

Yeah… that’s about to happen. Right. Now.

Yes, thank you! May I have another?!

everyday glory, family and friends, football, geekery, movies and TV, news and info, travel, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot...?! No Comments »

Friday – 25 May 2018

I am ready for the long weekend. ‘Nuff said.

Stray Toasters

  • From our Mother’s Day Southern Utah Parks Tour:
  • Ostracised and Fetishised: The Perils of Travelling as a Young Black Woman
  • The NFL continues to be a mess. I’m going to wind up not watching this season, either, at this rate.
    • This saddens me for many reasons, not the least of which is the complete missteps that have been taken with respect to players’ rights to silently protest and the League’s response. But also, Torrey Smith, former Raven has been traded to the Carolina Panthers, meaning that I have a reason to watch him play again.
  • Black sergeant was ‘loyal klansman’
  • I saw Solo: A Star Wars Movie a few nights ago. I liked it. I should get around to reviewing it and Avengers: Infinity War one of these days…
  • The Sky Was No Limit: The WASP Women Pilots of WWII
  • A couple weeks ago, I had a couple of odd things reach a weird personal convergence:
    • I learned that a coworker spent part of his mission in my mother’s hometown. Yeah, a small town in West Virginia that few have heard of and fewer still have been to. He spent six months there.
    • Later that same day, Sara and I watched Logan Lucky. Turns out that part of the movie was also set “somewhere” in West Virginia.
  • This is how the federal government made a Star Wars tweet go viral
    • Hat tip to my friend Denise for this amusing look at life above the 54′-40º.

Back on the block

business and economy, engagement/wedding/marriage, event, everyday glory, family and friends, food for thought, geekery, movies and TV, music, notable, politics and law, science and technology, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot...?! No Comments »

Saturday- 24 February 2018

I’ve been (somewhat) trying to write a post for a month now. Seriously. There have been fits and starts, but no finished product… until now. It’s strange to think that this is my first blog post (on here, at least) this year. But, here it is.

Today has been a good day. It snowed last night. It’s as if Mother Nature finally decided to remind people that “Yes, this is still Winter and I still have a few tricks up my sleeve,” and do it all in one week:

Oh, y’all wanted to call me out for not giving you any snow this winter?

BLAOW!

How ya like me now?

Said snow contributed to our decision to not venture out to Team DiVa’s swim class and, thus, gave all of us some prime sleeping-in time. Selah.

Next up: Ballet class for the ladies. Sara and I had supplemental breakfast and coffee while the girls were in class. From there, we headed down to Draper to catch an encore presentation of Mary and the Witches’ Flower. We’d wanted to see this a month ago, but it sold out rather quickly. Eagle-eyed Sara saw something a couple of weeks ago which noted another showing; we decided to make a family movie adventure out of it. The movie was quite cute and had a couple of take-away lessons. Even more importantly: Team DiVa liked it.

Next, back home for a hot minute so I could get my car and head off to record “a very special episode…” of Geekshow Podcast with Jay Whitaker (1, 2), Kiki Furia, Kari Keone, Dr. Paul White, and Stephan Watson, with Kerry Jackson as our host and moderator. The episode was about Black Panther and will be out Monday. NOTE: It’s heavily spoiler-laden and not exactly safe for work. You have been warned.

Now, I just need to finish this morning’s greatly-belated Instagram #morningcoffee post and all will be well with the world.

Stray Toasters

Out.

Merry Christmas!

everyday glory, faith and religion, family and friends No Comments »

Monday – 25 December 2017

Christmas 2017

Merry Christmas from our family to yours. May your holiday season – no matter what holiday you celebrate – be joyous, safe, and spent in the company of family and friends you hold dear. Best wishes to you for the new year.

Welcome to the Sprawl, Chummer.

cyberpunk/steampunk, everyday glory, family and friends, games, geekery, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot...?! No Comments »

Sunday – 24 December 2017
Last night, my gaming group got together for another Shadowrun session. It was a little touch-and-go as to whether or not the game would actually happen earlier in the day, but it did.

Game night!

I quite enjoy my group and running games for them. Most of my players are (relatively) new to the world of Shadowrun, while others have experience from the computer/console games. Watching them come together to experience the pen-and-paper world of the late 21st Century has been fun and occasionally highly entertaining. Case in point…

In our last session, the group had been contacted to find a missing person. And, as they were leaving the meeting, they were contacted by another agent to do a semi-related job, finding an item that the missing person was investigating. Serendipity AND more money. They followed some leads to the person’s last known location: A room in a fairly upscale hotel. They didn’t find the person, but another set of clues that led to a location in underground Seattle.

That’s where tonight’s game picked up. They walked into the location (see map)…

(c) Catalyst Lab Games

…and right into the middle of a gang war. Literally into the middle of it. So, they did what any intelligent adventuring party would do: Dove into the nearest cover – the ladies’ restroom. Or, rather, they tried. Two players had… issues: One stumbled and slammed into a wall, making her a target for getting shot. (Hooray for armored clothing!); the other… just… fell and almost got his head caved in by an exuberant – but very clumsy – ganger.

Members of the party, leaning out of the women’s room doorway, open fire on Gang #1 (on the right, near/around #1 on the map; Gang 2 was on the left, near the big red arrow)… just as the first wave of cops is hitting the top of the steps to the underground. Shots are exchanged to little effect. The team’s mage decided to cast a wicked stun spell on a massive radius, centered on the nearby gang. And she was SERIOUSLY successful. Five of the seven nearby gangers dropped. So did some tourists. Go figure. Then things got ridiculous:

  • Stumblebunny finally makes it into the restroom.
  • NEXT ROUND: More shots fired.
    • Decker (computer hacker) decides to hack the optics of the last two nearby gang members.
      With goatse. (DO NOT LOOK THAT UP)

      • He was successful and, not surprisingly, they stopped shooting, just as…
    • The cops arrive at the top of the stairs to the underground level.
    • Mage’s turn: She casts a spell on one of nearby gang duo, making him think that he’s COVERED in insects, even inside his clothes.
      • Again: Raging success. So… he starts stripping.
  • NEXT ROUND: The cops hit the level where the fighting was going on.
    • So, a couple cops are like “WTF?! Why is he getting naked?!”
    • Three cops decide to head down the corridor and confront the other gang, who are still shooting. Because…  gang.
  • NEXT ROUND: Mage decides to cast another spell. “Swarm,” making the cops coming down the escalator think that they are in the middle of a swarm of bees.
    • Again, wickedly successful – it hits most of the cops on the escalator.
      • They lost their shit…
      • …for about 5 seconds, until the cops’ combat mage dispelled it.
    • As the three cops head down the hall to the left (towards Gang #2), one of the party flips a flash-bang out the bathroom at them… as the mage is celebrating her success, like this:

      (click image)

      For clarity’s sake, I asked if that’s what her character was really doing. She said “Yes.”
    • Flash-bang goes off.
    • Cops – in helmets and riot gear – shrug it off. Two of the three cops head down to face Gang #2, Cop 3 throws a flash-bang into the bathroom.
    • I just looked at the group and told them, “I don’t even need to roll this. Everything goes black. For all of you.” For a moment, they thought I killed them.
  • Eventually (20-30 minutes later), they all come to, surrounded by 20+ not-so-happy cops.
  • …when a 3m tall troll (cop) walks up. The team’s negotiator decides to go kind of hard-ass, while the Infiltrator (stealth guy/think “rogue”) is basically, “Yep, we’re shadowrunners,” when the troll cop asks what they’re doing there.
    • The cop-mage was also casting “read thoughts’ and “detect truth” when the troll cop was asking questions.  He kept saying that the negotiator was telling “mostly truths, but there’s some… grey… in there.’
    • Wasn’t making troll cop overly happy.

The best part of the troll cop asking questions sequence was the out-of-character conversations going on around the table, because half the party was ready to throw the mage under the bus for casting the swarm spell on the cops. To be fair, in the first adventure we ran, the mage tried to use her stun spell to stop a magical creature from escaping a zoo enclosure. She put two of her teammates to sleep instead. There may be some lingering resentment about that. Oops.

 

As I said above: I enjoy my gaming group.

Enter: October

art, books, comics and animation, event, everyday glory, games, geekery, kids, LEGO and Rokenbok No Comments »

Sunday – 01 October 2017
And, so, we come to Birthday Month…

So far, it’s been pretty good. Chilly, but good. Of course, any month that starts off with sleeping in can’t be all bad.

Today was a low-key, mostly spent-at-home kind of day. After the hullaballoo of last week, it wasn’t a terrible change of pace. Of course, being at home meant that (some) chores had to be tackled. Some were. The world didn’t stop spinning. This afternoon, Team DiVa and I jetted off to the mall for an errand (for me) and some walking around looking at things time (for the three of us) and a little play time at The LEGO Store (for them… mostly). All missions were accomplished nicely. The evening has been pretty quiet. I consider that a good way to end the day and start the week.

Stray Toasters

  • Earlier, I posted my first-ever submission for Inktober. I haven’t really drawn anything in months and haven’t seriously drawn anything in years. This should be fun.
  • Last night, we had our final session of the Shadowrun adventure my group’s been playing. The whole team survived; that’s a good thing. (For them.) I’d been co-GMing our group with my friend, Josh. He’s bowing out of running things and it seems that I’m going to be GMing the whole shebang from here on out. May the deity of my players’ choices have mercy on their souls…
  • I completely spaced off a few things in my recap of Salt Lake Comic Con ’17:
    • I got to meet Michael Stackpole and have him autograph a book I’ve had for many years.
    • I also met Yale Stewart, writer and author of JL8, a webcomic based on the Justice League… as grade-schoolers.
  • I know it’s probably going to get nerfed, but I love what the latest Overwatch update has done for Mercy (my main).
  • Two or so months ago, I discovered a new-to-me webcomic: Star Power. I’ve quite enjoyed it.
  • I’m still rather amused by how Team DiVa has taken to DuckTales – both the old and new series.
    • I think that we’re only a few episodes away from seeing my favorite Duckberg denizen: GizmoDuck!

Okay, time for  a snack and a little gaming before bed.

Namaste.

“I don’t want to grow up, I’m a Toys ‘R’ Us kid…”

business and economy, everyday glory, exhibits, food for thought, kids, monkeys!, music, office antics, toys, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot...?! No Comments »

Monday – 18 September 2017
In alignment with my rationale for #NBNThursday, today has most definitely been “a Monday.” That’s okay, this too shall pass. OK Go said so.

See? Told ya so.

Today started far too early. 5:15 AM early. I was in the office at 6:15. Much respect to those of you who are up, out, and making the doughnuts that early every day. The reason for such an early start was to handle last-minute prep for a week of meetings. In itself, that’s not so bad. It became “not-so-great” on Friday evening when – long after the day had been “done” – I was notified that said meetings were going to start at 10 AM, rather than the 2 PM we had originally been told. In short, our timeline for handling things just had four hours lopped off the top. As there was nothing to be done about it, I simply replied with “We can only do what we can do.” And then, I proceeded to enjoy my weekend.

“Enjoying my weekend” included, but was not limited to:

  • Judging a game tournament.
  • Watching the new DuckTales cartoon (and Star Wars: Rebels and Care Bears) with Team DiVa.
  • Going to the State Fair
  • Playing too few video games.

Fast forward (or would it be “rewind,” in this case) to this morning. We got the prep work out of the way for the influx of meeting participants with time to spare. Yes, there were a couple of glitches, but on the whole, we were done and life was good.

A few minutes after the presenters got started setting up for the day, we were informed that they were changing the configuration of one of the meeting rooms. Okay, fine. Whatever. Then we were informed “why” they were doing it: In the original configuration, only one of the projectors in that room was activated. That was news to me, but it didn’t preclude them from making the room work. As this news was being relayed, a coworker started laughing to himself. Naturally, I asked why. He proceeded to tell us that he knew of this idiosyncrasy.

I’ll pause here to note that he was here last week when we were setting up the room, but said nothing about it.

::: braincramp :::

Mischief managed. And external ire restrained.

The morning wore in afternoon with out much further ado. Thankfully.

And then, I saw this article: Toys ‘R’ Us could file for bankruptcy this week.

I was struck with a sense of nostalgic sadness. One of the first things that went through my mind upon reading the article was the childhood glee of trips to the TRU in Catonsville with either my mother or father. We may not have gone weekly , but there were definitely a lot of trips there. For me, those were the days of The Adventure People, Micronauts, and electric trains (mostly Tyco, when you could buy a decent train set – or just pieces – at your local toy purveyor). I remember asking my father to drive down “the roller coaster road,” a hilly back road ending at the Toys ‘R’ Us parking lot, which – if you went just fast enough – would send rollercoaster-like butterflies into the pit of your stomach. I remember wandering the aisles of the store, while my mother shopped at a clothing store next door. Hell, I still remember the 1970s commercial jingle – the long version.

Roughly a year ago, there were three (3) TRU locations in the Salt Lake Valley. One closed last November, the other closed a few months ago. The lone remaining store is down the street from my house. Yes, I still go there, but it’s not just for me, these days. Over the past couple of years, I’ve noticed the quantity of some toy lines diminishing, while others have… not-exactly “flourished,” but at least survived. But it hasn’t felt like the same store that I used to visit as a kid for a long time. I’m sure that a fair portion of that is attributable to having gotten older.

There was no mention plans for the chain to close in the article, but like so many things, perhaps its time is nearing an end.

My inner kid still hopes that’s a long way off, though.

Vent II: The Wrath of Rob

everyday glory, kids, monkeys!, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot...?! No Comments »

Saturday – 02 September 2017
Today started off with sleeping in. Until after 9:00 AM. (Those of you with kids understand what this means. Those without, just nod, smile and move on.)

Team DiVa’s fall session of ballet classes started today; they have advanced to “Elementary” from “Beginner.” They were also excited about their new uniforms. (BONUS!) Their teachers is one of the BW dancers, who recognized Sara immediately, when we dropped the ladies off at class this morning.

After their class was done, Sara and the ladies dropped me off at the comic shop, so that I could judge today’s HeroClix tournament. We had a great turnout and there were some good matches. Sealed events – buy boxes of figures and make a team out of what you get – can be kind of a crap shoot, so I was pleased that there were good matches in each round.

Next, a trip to the nearby pet store. Team DiVa has declared their wish for fish for their birthday. This was a part expeditionary run/part “We want to show Daddy pets in a/the store, since he didn’t see them the other day when we went” trip. We were successful on both counts. WIN!

A little while ago, we went to Home-Away-From-Home Depot to purchase a new dishwasher. Yay, home ownership! The one we have is on its last legs and has probably been one foot in the grave, one foot on a banana peel for the past year or two. Mission accomplished.

Okay, hold up a minute. Wasn’t the title of this post something about “Vent” and “Wrath?” So far, this seems to be… rather… well, mild. And nothing really worth getting upset over.

Which brings us to…

On the way home from Home Depot, there is an alternate route we occasionally take, which cuts through another neighborhood near us. We took that route today. Driving down the street, we saw a little kid – three-ish, MAYBE – on a balance bike. Standing at the studded corner of an intersection. Alone.

Kid.
Corner.
Bike.
Intersection
Alone.

I’m going to give those a moment sink in.

Back?  Okay, buckle up. This is not going to be pretty nor easy to read. Sorry.

We pulled over and I got out to talk with the little boy. He pointed across the intersection – across the busier, non-residential street – to the dog (not on a leash) that had run across it. I asked if it was his dog. He just pointed and said “Dog!” I looked back down the residential street and saw a man and another small kid on a bike, two or three houses away. I yelled down and asked if this was his kid on the bike, he acknowledged that it was and started walking in our direction. About the same time, a gentleman came out of the house on the corner and started walking towards me, mostly just assessing the situation unfolding outside his house, which is totally understandable.

The man and Kid 2 got a little closer. I knelt down and pointed towards them, telling Kid 1 (at the corner, but a little farther from it now), ” There’s your dad,” hoping that he would telepathically pick up on the “Don’t play near the street, go back to your dad” vibe I was projecting.

There was a gentleman in a car, approaching the intersection from the residential street, who looked out his window and said, “Thank you” to me. I just nodded and continued to point the little boy to his father.

At the same time, the dog decided to run across the road.

I missed the initial hit, but turned when I heard it, in time to see the back wheels… you know.

Not going to lie: I recoiled.

I looked at the dog, lying in the street. Then, my initial thought was to keep the kid from looking into the street, as I was beginning to suspect that it was the family pet.

The father and Kid 2 drew nearer and I asked if it was their dog. He asked “Black and white,” and there was no further doubt about it: Family dog.  He looked past me and just repeated, “Oh, no…” He walked out into the street and picked up the dog’s body… as Kid 2 started back to the corner to follow him. I shouted at the kid to “…come back this way.” The father, returning to the corner, started yelling at the kids about how he told them to stay in the driveway and not go down the street.

Issue #1: These kids were three-ish/four-ish. Who the Hell lets a kid that young just wander off – let alone on a bike – to the busy intersection?!

As if that wasn’t enough, he started blaming the kids for the dog not only getting hit, but dying. There was really no way to misinterpret his words on that one, especially when the phrase “…is why the dog is dead” was used.

Issue 2: Are you kidding me?!  Blaming the kid for the dog getting hit?! A kid whose sense of self-preservation is undeveloped. A kid who doesn’t know that his dog is going to follow him, wander around – even across a street – then realize, “Oh, hey! My human is over there! I should go there!” How about you keep track of your kid and make sure that he’s safe. While you’re at it, you might want to keep an eye on your dog, too. Just saying.

Once the father and two boys walked down the sidewalk a little way, the owner of the house on the corner approached me and noted that the kids were often up near this end of the street/intersection and just walked away, shaking his head.

::: DEEP BREATH :::

Sometimes, I feel that I might be a little overprotective of Team DiVa. Years ago, we made sure that they knew just how far down our driveway they are allowed to go. (This rule has changed slightly in the past two years, but when we ask the girls, they know what their limit is.) We have emphasized the importance of staying with or near an adult with approaching a crosswalk. We have set and maintained rules about walking in parking lots, whether busy or not.

After seeing this situation unfold, I think that Sara and I are doing just fine.

I don’t like playing “The Balance Game,” but while I’m sad that the dog (needlessly) lost its life, I’m ecstatic that it wasn’t the little boy on the bike.

tl;dr – I saw a dog get hit by a car this afternoon.

Vent

everyday glory, monkeys!, office antics, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot...?! No Comments »

Wednesday – 30 August 2017
Of all the things I had considered posting as a return to this blog, this wasn’t one of them. But, it also wouldn’t fit within Twitter’s constraints… so here we are.

I was notified of a possible system problem this morning. Oh, hey, #LifeInIT. Got it. I contacted people to get more information and feedback, got to the office, dealt with it, had a couple of follow-up meetings and emails. And life was good again.

About 30 minutes after we’d resolved the issue, I got an email from a user. They noted that they were having issues connecting to one of the affected servers. I contacted the user directly and explained what had happened and that their should also have been resolved. User checks… confirms…. and moves on. And life was good yet again.

>> Fast forward TWO HOURS >>

An email arrives from users manager. Um, okay. In rather terse terms, I – along with my not-completely-former boss and HIS boss – and a few other IT staff were informed just how crucial it was that we resolve the problem quickly – did I mention that this was TWO HOURS LATER – because it was affecting important work.  Uh… pretty much all of the work here is important as, if it’s not done, we don’t make product. And if we don’t make product, we don’t get paid. Funny how that all goes together, isn’t it?! And, as if that email wasn’t enough, said manager sent a separate copy to me.

::: braincramp :::

 

It took three or four drafts for me to compose a reply that would not be considered “career-limiting.” But, I did. I made a point of noting that the original issue had been resolved before I got the user’s email and that we had already discussed it. I even added that if anyone was still experiencing similar problems, that they should contact me directly. And replied to all. I even copied my not-completely-new boss, just for good measure. Because I’m that guy.

Less than one minute later, I get a reply from user’s manager, thanking me for the prompt response.

*grblsnrkx*

It’s a bloody good thing that today isn’t Thursday.

tl;dr – I am Jack’s raging bile duct.

Independence Day 2017

dining and cuisine, event, everyday glory, family and friends, kids No Comments »

Tuesday – 04 July 2016
Today is Independence Day.

I hope that everyone had an enjoyable holiday.

Once again, Sara and I decided to go the “find a hotel overlooking a fireworks display” route. She tracked down a few potential locations last week and came up with a winner in North Salt Lake – which, for those of you not in Salt Lake City isn’t simply “the northern part of Salt Lake City;” it’s its own independent city. Go figure.

We picked up the ladies from summer daycare yesterday and we were off…

We went to Bountiful Greek Cafe for dinner (site of an EPIC meltdown on the part of one of the ladies) and then to Bahama Buck’s for sno cone desserts.

 

Then it was off to the hotel… which was just down the street. We got to the room and Sara surprised the girls by announcing that we were going swimming. (There were a couple of stunned little faces who thought the idea of swimming was good… but didn’t know what they would swim in, as they didn’t know that Sara had packed their swimsuits.) Off to the pool!

I’m sorry. That should have read “pool… and James Brown’s Celebrity Hot Tub.” From there, it was back to the room to get the girls cleaned up and mostly ready for bed. An hour or so later, the fireworks display started; this year’s fireworks were over a golf course in North Salt Lake and we had a great view. The show lasted about 30 minutes and was better than Sara and I had anticipated.

This morning, we got up – “a bit” earlier than Sara and I had hoped – got ready, checked out, and went breakfast at a nearby IHoP. After breakfast, we dropped in on Sara’s parents for a few, to say “Goodbye” to Sara’s sister, Melissa, who was in town for the weekend. We followed that up with a trip to a park near our house, so the girls could teach us how to play “Double Dots,” a game they’ve been raving about for the past week or so. They did. (Sara and I won. Surprise!) The girls played a bit more before it was time to come home and have lunch and some quiet time. We also celebrated our freedom to make a pilgrimage to The Garden of Sweden in the late afternoon. We wrapped up the day with some grilling, a DC Superhero Girls movie, and sparklers.

All told, it was a great way to spend a family holiday.

Father’s Day: Coda

comics and animation, event, everyday glory, family and friends No Comments »

Sunday – 18 June 2017
Today has been a great day.

Sara and Team DiVa let me sleep in this morning. Since I was gone – and on the go – all last week, this was a boon. DiVa wanted to give me breakfast in bed, but Sara prepared French Toast and I’m not so sure that would have been such a great idea. So, we all ate at the table. The ladies presented me with cards and a gift bag. In the bag:

Superhero-themed Father’s Day swag: Superman t-shirt, Guardians of the Galaxy boxer-briefs, DC Super Hero LEGO, Reese’s Minis, and a hand-painted picture from Team DiVa

They know me so well.  🙂

After breakfast, Team DiVa came up with all sorts of suggestions… of things they wanted to do today. Sara reminded them that today was Father’s Day and that I got to choose what our adventure would be. To be honest, I didn’t really have an agenda for the day, so I was happy to do something they wanted. Thus, we wound up at Utah’s Hogle Zoo. On the way, we stopped off to wish Sara’s father a Happy Father’s Day and give him his gift and card. Then we were off.

The zoo has a new exhibit called “Bugzilla,” comprised of large – giant, really – animated insect statues.

There be bugs here…

 

 

Team DiVa and me… and an elephant statue.

 

On the Hogle Zoo Train… because TRAIN! 😀

 

Selfie with Sara!

 

After we returned home, the little ladies played Disney Infinity while I read last week’s comics. Then it was time for dinner – Butter Chicken Curry! – and baths for the little ones. They followed that up with an episode of Super Hero Squad and then they were off to bed. Sara asked what I was planning for the rest of the evening, before noting that I could wind up my day with a cigar and a cocktail… and that’s exactly what I did.

It was the perfect way to end an excellent day.

Selah.

Happy birthday, Mom!

event, everyday glory, family and friends No Comments »

Wednesday – 07 June 2017
It’s my mother’s birthday.  She’s kind of a big deal.  🙂

I spoke with her this morning, but would like to wish her the best of all possible birthdays (again!) and hope that she takes advantage of the opportunity to do – or not do – whatever she wishes today!

Love you!

Love you!

Coffee! STAT!

everyday glory, kids, quote of the day No Comments »

Wednesday – 31 May 2017
I’ve gone on the record – many times over – saying, “I love my kids.” And, it’s true. Parenthood has been… an interesting experience, but one that I wouldn’t trade for anything.

What I would like to trade, however, is the lack-of-sleep that Team DiVa occasionally affords me.

Case in point: Last night…

I got into bed about midnight (early night for me…).  I read and chatted for a little bit before I realized that I’d been doing a lot of extended inner-eyelid studies. So, I decided that it was time to call it a night and go explore The Dreaming.

And that’s just what I did.

Less than an hour into sleep, I woke up because I felt a weight on the bed, by my legs. I turned to find a kinder-form sitting on the bed. Staring at me. Too groggy to do much more than grunt, I motioned for her to come up and get under the covers. She did. A few minutes later, she was ready to head back to her room. She asked if I would carry her back to her bed; I told her that she could walk. (C’mon… I was all snug and comfy in bed.) She climbed down and ambled back to her room. I fell back asleep.

Some indeterminate amount of time later, weight on the bed. Again.

This time, there was a bad dream involved:

“Can your body parts fall off?  Like your crotch and your bum… can they fall off?”

“No.”

“Oh.” *crawls under the covers and falls asleep*

At this point, I was relegated from the comfort of half a queen bed… to approximately one-sixth. For the rest of the morning.

Let me clarify a few things: I love getting cuddles from my kids and welcome them whenever they are given… especially since I know that in a few years, there is a better than average chance that they won’t be nearly as freely given. On the flip side, I like my sleep. I don’t usually need a lot of it, but I do like it.

But, there I was: Doing the delicate balancing act of not falling off the bed and not squishing my kid.

Oh, and not sleeping well.

Thus, I’m here at my desk… mainlining my coffee, wishing that I could just configure it into an IV drip.

But, it was totally worth it for a kid who slept soundly and at peace.

Namaste.

End-of-the-week musings

art, baseball, business and economy, everyday glory, family and friends, food for thought, geekery, history, kids, LEGO and Rokenbok, movies and TV, office antics, science and technology, travel, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot...?! No Comments »

Friday – 21 April 2017
Another week comes to an end.
And, apparently, it’s been a month since I dusted off the trusty blog. I really need to get better about this…

In short: It’s been a good – and eventful – month. The highlights of the month include, but are not limited to:

  • Going on a business trip.
  • Surprising my parents by showing up on their doorstep on the first leg of the trip.
  • Meeting some new coworkers on the trip.
  • Getting to visit with my uncle towards the end of the trip.
  • Coming down with some travel-related bug that had me down for almost a week.
  • The start of baseball season and the O’s getting off to a great start. Hopefully, they’ll keep some of this momentum through the season.
  • Meeting a Twitter and Facebook friend.
  • TRAINS!  Well, getting to head up to the train.. museum(?)… and one of my favorite train shops.
  • Traveling to Boise to visit family and friends over Easter.

    Sara, Team DiVa, and Grandmother – Easter 2017

  • Watching Team DiVa hunt for Easter eggs while we were gone and seeing their surprise at discovering that the Easter Bunny had apparently left Easter baskets for them at our home while we were out of town.

I’m sure that I’m leaving more than “a couple” things out, but all-in-all, it really has been a good month.

Stray Toasters

And with that…

So Long, Farewell, Goodbye.
(Big Bad Voodoo Daddy, not “The Sound of Music”)