Monday

January 30, 2017 by Adam in Family

Well, I've made my big decision and moving things along.  Talked to a ton of people over the last few days - the help from everyone was great.  I'm strangely calm.  The process getting here was stressful and challenging, but now it's just time to move forward.

The weekend was generally pretty good.  I managed to accomplish some of the pre-spring cleaning I was wanting to do - putting things away, cleaning the sand off the front walkway, and so on.  Sam showed me his latest game development progress, which is fairly impressive.  I mentored Daniel on Unity programming while Emma hung out with Kate.  Berry went with me to get a haircut and was her usual sweet self.  Duncan and Flynn hung out most of the weekend.  Emma and I finished our first co-op game and moved to another.

Emma and I also took a walk up to Hendrick's park.  Lots of trees were down, including the one the held the swings there.  I think every kid had a turn on those swings.  Sad to see them go.

What should we do?

January 29, 2017 by Sue in Wielesek

What should we, as a family, do? I'm watching the airport demonstrations.  This has gone too far. I can up my monthly donation to the ACLU. I just wrote to Trump about health care. I donate to the various Democratic organizations. We know we aren't going to break any laws or resort to violence. But what more, what specific, can we do?

Mocha Friday

January 27, 2017 by Adam in Family

I'm downing the last drops of my mocha, pondering what I want to be when I grow up.

The kids are all doing well, the weather is improving, and the dark days of winter seem to be fading fast. 

Emma's been really into hanging out with me lately when she's around.  She showed me her new art last night, we worked on homework together, and managed to play our latest cooperative video game.  Lots of high-fives were had.

I have some errands to run this weekend - getting car issues fixed and a hair cut.  I'm also itching to do some yardwork and prepare for spring.

Wednesday Already

January 25, 2017 by Adam in Family

Things are moving along at a fast clip.  Doing a quick post before rushing off to work.

Joanna had a good birthday bash on Sunday.  Lots of people arrived for cake, tea, and conversation.  Emma and I hung out and played video games.  Sam's working on a new game himself, and I helped him work on cool monster effects last night.  Berry has been generally enjoying basketball.  Duncan is all about video games and hanging out with friends, mostly Flynn.  Apparently we're a pretty game-based household.

I continue to settle into my office, though I've yet to hang up all my wall stuff.  My car's electrical system is being flaky - I think I need to replace the battery.  There's always some weird maintenance task to do somewhere.

Belated Mocha Friday

January 21, 2017 by Adam in Family

I'm slowly getting used to my office.  It's a little warm, but generally spacious and I like being able to close my door.  People kept coming by to say hello, which was nice.  I was a little worried I'd be lonely there.

It's Duncan's half birthday today, so Joanna is making him his favorite meal and he'll get a little treat to go with it.

Moving Into A New Office

January 20, 2017 by Adam in Adam

I moved into an office today, leaving my cubicle of 7 years.  They want the security team to be able to close the door should sensitive things come up.  It's understandable, though I hope I don't become isolated from my coworkers.

The new office is generally nice, and I like the space.  Though Dave is retiring soon, it's still the end of an era.  We've sat next to each other for most of the last couple decades.

Middle of the Week

January 18, 2017 by Adam in Family

Life is moving along, getting into the post-Christmas swing of things.  Sam applied for the U of O, which was a relief for me.  Emma's teeth continue to recover.  I'm getting ready to move into an office at work, keeping my secret conversations slightly more secret.

Joanna and Berry's weekend illnesses cleared up.  Sam and Isa have been working on some text parsing game, with Sam practicing his object oriented programming skills.  I've actually played a few video games lately, which has been rare for me.  I'm slowly working on my next security certificate - plenty to study for.

Putting Away Christmas

January 16, 2017 by Adam in Family

The last of the Christmas decorations went away, the lights all packed away in boxes.  Joanna and Berry were both pretty sick, with Berry throwing up a bunch.  Emma's been taking pain pills regularly and generally doing well.  She still can't eat anything hard.

I had my first mentor session with Daniel - we spent a couple hours writing code and making a game in Unity.  It turned out pretty well and I think he was excited to continue.  Kate hung out with Emma at the same time, which I think they both enjoyed.

Sam's working on a new game, feeling better about the quality of his code.  He and Isa were working on a seperate project that involved typing in sentences and breaking down the gramattical structure of the words.  Cool and esoteric - not sure where it's going exactly.

Otherwise it was a pretty quiet weekend.  I got one help desk call.  We stayed at home and the sick people took it easy.  We ate pizza and watched The White Rabbit Project, which has a bit of the Mythbusters feel.  Hopefully everyone recovers before school starts up on Tuesday.

Another Game Update

January 16, 2017 by Adam in Adam's Games

I finished up Witcher 3, or at least got to the point where the main quest was finished and I felt pretty satsfied.  There were endless little quests scattered around, but none that felt that important.  It was a fine end to a great series.

The kids had fun watching me dig up Surgeon Simulator, mostly because I played so badly.  Emma and I played through Trine 3, which was great but far too short.  I picked up a Telltale game for cheap - Tales From the Borderlands.

Finally, I got X-Com 2 a couple days ago.  It's different enough that there are some surprises, yet still has that same feel.  I gave my soldiers names of everyone in the family, which means I have to reload when they die.

Chilly Mocha Friday

January 13, 2017 by Adam in Family

It's slightly nippy outside today, but the roads were mostly clear and I shuffled off to work.  I was handed the key to an office yesterday.  Apparently they want me in there so I can keep my sensitive conversations more private.  I'll need to start the ball rolling on getting it set up and everything moved.  It's kinda weird, as I've been in this cubicle for approaching a decade.

Emma seems to be on the mend after her teeth extraction yesterday.  She's been eating mashed potatoes and taking Advil.  I think she'll be okay.

It feels like we're still cleaning up after the snows and ice.  Hopefully this weekend I can take down the Christmas lights and put away assorted camping gear we surveyed.  Joanna's birthday is coming up and I need to prep for it a little more.  Duncan wants help setting up a Minecraft server with his mod.  I'm being a mentor with Emma's friend Kate's brother Daniel, and need to figure out the best way to teach him game development.  Should be entertaining.

Farewell Baby Teeth

January 13, 2017 by Adam in Emma

We took Emma to see my dad in a professional capacity today.  Her baby teeth were somewhat reticent about coming out, so my dad pulled them out today.  She did pretty well, despite being a little nervous.  They came out quickly and in a few weeks she'll get a retainer put in place to keep her teeth in place so her adult teeth can come in.

Isa's Birthday

January 12, 2017 by Adam in Family

We all went out for sushi to celebrate Isa's belated 18th birthday.  It was a good time and the kids were mostly well behaved, though we had a few wasabi related accidents.

under the weather

January 10, 2017 by Sue in Wielesek

Am staying over at Bob's with a bad case of the flu. Thanks, Dr. Bob

Snowy Weekend

January 08, 2017 by Adam in Family

We're generally sticking at home through this most recent snow and ice storm.  Friday night we put Sam in charge and Joanna and I walked through the cold for a date night dinner.  Saturday Joanna braved the weather in the chained up minivan to bring chains and a friend to Jamie's house, and return with Emma while Jamie flies out to Arizonia.  Mostly we hung out at home, ate pizza, and watched Adam Ruins Everything.  Emma and I played a lot of Trine 3.  Duncan had his friend Flynn come over and they alternated between computer time and the basement.

Today Sam and I walked through the ice and rain to get to the store and pick up supplies.  We've started taking down Christmas ornaments - the tree is currently bare and awaiting delivery to the curb.  I suppose it means spring is on its way.

Snowy Mocha Friday

January 06, 2017 by Adam in Family

It's late in the day, my mocha long gone.  The snow madness has hit everyone, I think.  Everyone had school today, with Joanna driving the kids to school in our chained-up minivan.  I braved the streets to come into work as well.  The hill was slick, but the main roads were good.  Tomorrow is supposed to be pretty bad.

We spent the last two days mostly at home.  I barely made it up Willamette street to fetch Emma yesterday afternoon.  We were sidetracked when Isa's mom got stuck on Charnelton.  I had to talk her through carefully reversing and going back down.  It all worked out in the end.

Work has been the usual mix of fascinating and terrifying.  Plenty to do.  I still enjoy it, despite and because of the challenges.

Winter Wonderland

January 04, 2017 by Adam in Family

It was theoretically going to be the first day of school, but I just heard that schools were closed.  Snow covers the ground and it's still slowly coming down.  Not sure if I'll make it into work - maybe a little later this morning.

Happy Belated New Year

January 03, 2017 by Adam in Family

It somehow became 2017 over the last few days.  We celebrated New Year's Eve by watching Japanese boy bands and drinking piña coladas as the ball dropped in New York City.  It was a fairly uneventful weekend otherwise - I accomplished a few house projects like replacing the warped door of the little free library.  The Christmas decorations are still up, though I need to take those down soon.  

I went into work yesterday, which was incredibly quiet.  I spent some time looking for trouble and only came up with the run-of-the-mill kind.  Today should be a little more exciting I suspect.

It's the last day of vacation before school starts up again, assuming it doesn't snow tomorrow.  I'm not sure anyone is ready for it, except maybe Joanna who's looking to get some work done again.