This morning I switched over to a new ISP for...

September 27, 2001 by Adam in Family

This morning I switched over to a new ISP for DSL access. Believe it or not, I had about 5 minutes of downtime and am up and running now. Yeah!

The family is doing well. After work yesterday, I carried Sam around in a cardboard box, pretending he was "Captain Brainstorm" and the box was his rocket. I did that until dinner, then we went swimming while Jamie visited with Victoria. Afterwards, Sam and I watched the season premiere of Enterprise until he announced he wanted to go to sleep.

Also, note that Seraph & Robbie have a new e-mail address of isacortez@earthlink.net.



A very quiet weekend visit to the coast

September 24, 2001 by Adam in Family

A very quiet weekend visit to the coast. Jamie, Sam, and I headed up Friday and I took Sam to the aquarium. We had a good time going through the tubes, touching sea anemonies, and watching sea lions playing. Saturday was shopping, mostly getting things for Sam's upcoming birthday and Christmas, though I picked up a robe for Jamie's birthday too.

We puttered around on the beach most of Sunday, and I headed back with Brant, Wendy, and Steve in the afternoon. Jamie and Sam should be home by the time I return from work today.



Nothing too exciting these days

September 20, 2001 by Adam in Family

Nothing too exciting these days. Jamie's birthday was yesterday, but we're pretending that it's not until this weekend. She left soon after I got home, then returned close to 9 o'clock. I balanced a votive candle on a cupcake and sung her happy birthday.

Tomorrow we leave for the coast, and I'm starting to get excited. I'm also seeing an eye doctor today for my ongoing eye irritation problem. It's a lot better, but I've learned to see the doctor whenever anything's remotely wrong.



Sadie called this morning at 4 am

September 19, 2001 by Adam in Family

Sadie called this morning at 4 am. She basically said, "Hi, it's Sadie. Tell everyone I love them." She was so quick that I couldn't get to the phone in time. Sigh.

I'm also working hard to get a new ISP. Lots of hassle. It looks like The Pond closing is also affecting lots of others in the family. Please e-mail me if you have good suggestions as to an ISP. I'm trying to stay local, but haven't found a good one yet.



We had dinner for my mom on Sunday

September 18, 2001 by Adam in Family

We had dinner for my mom on Sunday. It was good to get everyone together and hear strange tales of her airplane ride over to England. Glad to have her back.

The week has gone well. I've been watching Sam at night, as Jamie has full evenings every night this week. She rescheduled her Tiny Tots orientations to this week, unfortunately leaving her busy on her birthday. We're going to pretend it didn't really happen and instead celebrate this weekend.

We're heading to the coast on Friday. I get to go the the Newport aquarium and see it the first time with the new fish tubes. Then it's to a place on the coast with all of Jamie's family. Should be quite the adventure.



Mom just called! She's in LA, as suspected

September 16, 2001 by Adam in Family

Mom just called! She's in LA, as suspected. She has a flight out tomorrow morning and should be in Portland at 10:27 am. We're crossing our fingers. Hopefully we'll see her soon.



Sam and I took the "Batmobile" (his big strol...

September 15, 2001 by Adam in Family

Sam and I took the "Batmobile" (his big stroller) down to the library. We met up with Seraph, Robbie, Honni, Isabell, Jenny, Destin, and Jordan and watched the parade. It was more subdued than last year. Lots of flags and patriotism, though some people marching for peace as well. Sam loved it, especially all the costumes.

The web site was down for a few hours this morning. I also found out that The Pond is cutting off my account at the end of the month. Evidently they're dropping DSL customers. Very frustrating and extremely bad timing. I wrote them a nasty letter and will no longer recommend them to people. The rumor is that they've been bought out by Earthlink.

Dick called this morning. My mom's flying into LA as we speak, but the airline to Portland has been cancelled. She may be stuck in LA for a couple of days - far worse than being stuck in London. I'll post more as I find things out from Dick.



It is days like this that I am thankful that ...

September 14, 2001 by Adam in Family

It is days like this that I am thankful that I put together this little web site. Reading the messages from Sadie and my mom, in places far away, brought tears to my eyes.

This week started out grim, burying Frank, and trying to work with an empty place on our team. The next day, waking up to disaster, strengthened the sense of unreality. I've been going through the motions at work, coding away in strange computer languages.

My family has been my strength. Coming home to Jamie and Sam is the highlight of my day. It seems a reaffirmation of life when little Sam and I play with tricky Legos together. Visiting and talking to my sisters, parents, and other hangers on, has been so helpful these last few days. Love you all.



At 4:00 am, I heard the phone ring

September 13, 2001 by Adam in Family

At 4:00 am, I heard the phone ring. It was Sadie, calling from the other side of the world. She wanted to let us know that she was fine and I told her that everyone was okay on our end. Evidently the people in her program and their families were okay too.

The only person she hadn't heard about was her friend Sara. She goes to school in New York, though I'm not sure how to reach her.



7:10 am Back at work

September 12, 2001 by Adam in Family

7:10 am
Back at work. Supposedly, my mom gets on a plane home today. Not sure if it will really happen, but we're hopeful. No word on Jamie's dad yet, other than he's still in Nebraska.

8:10 am
Got an e-mail from Dick. My mom's flight today was cancelled, so it will probably be a few more days before she can head back.

10:50 am
Dick called. My mom and grandfather are safe and staying with Mary Steane. My mom flies back Saturday, going to LA then Portland. Bill has to wait until Sunday when he'll fly into Philadelphia. Glad to know there's finally a plan.

4:50 pm
Just updating to let everyone know that there aren't any updates. Quiet day at work - hard to get anything done. I'll probably take Sam swimming and give Jamie a little quiet time.

8:00 pm
Went swimming with Sam. Jamie mentioned at dinner that her dad called and was flying back on Saturday. It looks like everyone is accounted for and soon to be home.



8:30 am We just got news of the terrorist at...

September 11, 2001 by Adam in Family

8:30 am
We just got news of the terrorist attacks to the World Trade Center towers and the Pentagon. My mom is in the air today, returning from London and heading towards Washington. They're redirecting all international airplane travel to Canada, so we're hoping she's headed there. I'll keep everyone updated.

9:00 am
Finished talking to Jenny, Seraph, Dick, and my dad. We're not sure about my mom's flight, but a web lookup seems to point to United Airlines flight #1. Our guess is that she's headed to Canada, though they're talking about closing those down as well. Hopefully it will be after incoming flights land.

We're also worrying about Sadie in Botswana and thinking about pulling her back to the United States as soon as we can. My dad's talking to the Pitzer college people to find out what's happening. Since she's in such a backwater, she may be hard to reach.

9:10 am
Finished talking to Dick. It looks like my mom is on the ground in England. The plane was either delayed, or they turned around and landed. They're going to make a decision within an hour about how to get them back. Jamie called, shaken about the news.

9:30 am
Just talked to my dad, who contacted the Pitzer folks. They're contacting all their student leaders, so Sadie should know what's going on fairly soon. They don't plan on pulling anyone out yet. I think they're waiting for the State Department to issue warnings.

9:40 am
Dick called. My mom is booked for a flight home tomorrow, though no one knows if they'll be allowing international flights by then.

10:25 am
Dick called. Meg is trying to reach my mom in England, with no success so far.

1:00 pm
Dick left a message. The people my mom was staying with have called, but have been unable to reach my mom. Phones and e-mail are proving unreliable, but we hope to hear from her soon.

3:05 pm
ABC news is showing pictures of bombing in Afghanistan. Not sure who's doing it or why. No word on my mom yet.

3:15 pm
Dick left a message. One of the Marys from England called after she got through to the airport. My mom's airplane was in the air when the attack hit, so they turned it around and landed it. Now they're working on getting hotels for everyone. The phone lines from the airport are jammed, so that's probably why we haven't heard anything.

4:00 pm
Heading home. I think our family is going to try to get together tonight. No word so far on where we'll meet. Jamie has a meeting tonight, though I'm not sure how many will attend.

4:40 pm
More updates. Judy's building was evacuated in Portland due to a bomb threat. Sam and I are meeting with family at Papa's Pizza at 6 pm. Jamie remembered that her dad was supposed to fly back from Omaha today. No word on him.

7:20 pm
Back from pizza. Dick stayed faithfully by the phone, but everyone else was there. It was nice to visit, if only for a bit.

8:00 pm
Cousin Mary called. My mom is sleeping in a hotel in London, and will try to fly out tomorrow. Jamie's dad is still in Nebraska, as today's flight was cancelled. Hopefully we'll know more tomorrow.



We had a good, productive weekend

September 10, 2001 by Adam in Family

We had a good, productive weekend. I put together a sandbox for Sam and did some miscellaneous home repairs. I worked on the computer case with my dad. Everyone seemed in good spirits.

I'm going to be heading off to a memorial service for Frank shortly. Sam should be in his first day of preschool already, while Jamie works out beneath my feet (in the basement gym).

All the various world travellers are in my thoughts. Yayoe returned from Hawaii. My mom and grandfather are in England. Sadie is in Botswana, still learning the language. I wish you all well.



Frank, my coworker, passed away a few hours ago

September 07, 2001 by Adam in Family

Frank, my coworker, passed away a few hours ago. It's been a long battle with cancer, and the last couple weeks went quickly. For our small team at work, it's been very emotional. He will be hard to replace, both work-wise and as a friend.



It's been a good Memorial Day weekend so far

September 03, 2001 by Adam in Family

It's been a good Memorial Day weekend so far. Yesterday Sam, Dave, Josh, and I went out to Amazon park to shoot off rockets. It was more scary for Sam than it was the last time, though plugging his ears and closing his eyes for the launch seemed to help. Watching Dave and Josh run after the rockets was the best part. Unfortunately, we melted the parachute on our new rocket - not enough wadding.

Today was pretty low key. Serena returned from her month in Australia, so our house was again cleaned. Jamie and I snuck out for dinner while the boys watched Sam (as well as the football game).



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