Virtual Face to Face

December 04, 2019 by Adam in Adam

Instead of traveling to Salt Lake City this week, we've been having a virtual face-to-face.  It's worked relatively well and I appreciate being at home.  This morning I was tasked with hosting a Jackbox session, so we played Bracketeering and TKO.  They both worked out quite well and the winning t-shirt used my art.

I Am the Only One Here

November 20, 2019 by Adam in Adam

Work is moving along.  Lots of meetings while I try to get work done.  This morning I jumped on to one of our many work communication tools and got the message "You Are The Only One Here."  It was a little too philosophical for eight in the morning.  Apparently we're adding in even more conferencing tools - I think we use Slack, Teams, Skype, WebEx, GoToMeeting, and soon we'll add Zoom.  At least we have a variety of things to try if one fails.

I still am really enjoying my job.  There's always a tension of quality versus new features, but hopefully I'm walking that tightrope.  It's cool making features that people get excited about.  I also occasionaly talk with clients and sort through problems, though I find I get the most satisfaction making stuff.

It's strange having these forced vacations a few times a year, this one being the week of Thanksgiving.  I've already got a fair amount of house and yard projects queued up, though I'm hoping I can make some good progress on Red Dead Redemption 2.  My cowboy game continues to be entertaining, though I can see how I'll eventually want to wrap things up.

Birthday Boy

July 21, 2019 by Adam in Adam

I had a great birthday.

I worked a bit in the morning, wrapping up the last bug assigned to me and having everyone say nice things about me at work.  I got out early and started hanging out with kids, getting to talk to everyone.  Sam, Emma, Joanna, and I all got to play Jackbox games over the Internet.  Later Sam and I played Tabletop and mostly messed around and looked at different games.  Later on Emma and I played several rounds of Magic, where she kindly let me win.

Eventually dinner rolled around and Joanna laid out assorted tasty veggies and rice so we could  make our own Yumm bowls.  This was followed by the best cake ever - chocolate and rum and whip cream frosting, topped with almonds and chocolate covered espresso beans.

Finally, there were presents - a couple great books, an Amazon Fire stick, soap and a drawing from Emma, and an external hard drive.  It was a great start to a new year of my existence.

Moon Baby

July 19, 2019 by Adam in Adam

It's nice that everyone is getting so excited about my birthday today.  There are endless stories about the moon landings on NPR and YouTube.  Emma was telling me last night "50 years go your mom was in Canada waiting for a boat race."  In many ways, it's just another day - I took a shower, did the dishes, got breakfast ready, and headed out to the back shed to work.  At the same time, it's hard not to reflect on my life with all the twists and turns.  I'm generally happy and proud of the things I've done.  I've got a great family and built things that made people's lives better.  Hopefully the next 50 years are equally rewarding.

Cathartic Cleaning

July 04, 2019 by Adam in Adam

After getting Sam and Skye off on their journey, I finally took a peek into the bedroom and bathroom that Sam had inhabited for the last ten years.  It wasn't exactly in the cleanest of states, so I started by moving everything out into the "play room" area and doing some serious cleaning.  The carpet was vacuumed, emptying the dust container five times, then treated and vacuumed again.  I washed the walls and surfaces.  It started looking pretty good, though I decided I wanted to touch up the paint and headed to True Value with fifteen year-old dry cans of paint.  They worked their archeological miracles and matched the color, so this morning I was ready to go.

I painted the walls of Sam's bedroom, then worked on the trim and doors.  I listened to a science fiction audiobook, so the time passed quickly.  I managed a run in the middle, which is weird considering how worn out I was, but I suppose staying tired helps me not miss Sam so much.  I finally got to the point where I could put some furniture back, though perhaps not in the final location.  Tomorrow I start in on the bathroom.

Sam's been good about keeping me updated.  The van's air conditioning died as they passed through Idaho, and they decided to change their plans and drive through Texas at night so the cat doesn't cook.  I just heard they were shopping in Espanola, taking a break for a couple nights before making the final push on their trip.  I'm glad they're doing okay.

Maps

June 19, 2019 by Adam in Adam

I stepped off the treadmill at lunch and found Sam packing up his room into cardboard boxes.  He seemed a little quiet, understanding the scope of the changes ahead.  There were some things that had been in his room for a decade or so that belonged to me - books, maps, and old RPG manuals.  I told him he could take what he wanted.

He handed me a map he'd found from a D&D game I used to play with Sam and Emma.  It was a town that they saved and built up, working together to drive out assorted evils and help the villagers.  I remember Emma was never quite sure what to do and would sometimes leave Sam behind in some spooky mine to get advice from the town elder.  Things didn't go well for Sam and they eventually learned not to split the party.

Another time Sam and Emma and I went camping out in the woods and I handed Sam a walkie talkie to go explore while Emma and I followed the stream.  Sam headed through the deep brush, returning scratched up and cheerful.  He loves maps, but has never been afraid to head off towards the edges where things aren't as well defined.

It's strange having the first of the kids to head out.  It feels like the end of an era and I'm not quite sure how to read the map ahead.  Though I worry, I hope all the adventures, real and imagined, have prepared them to journey out into the world.  I wish them well.