Mocha Friday

October 28, 2022 by Adam in Family

Just finished my first few sips of my Friday Mocha.  It's fun having a little treat once a week - something to look forward to.  It's been a generally good week, despite Jonathan's absence.  Monday was a bit of a slog, troubleshooting install issues and fixing our various release pipelines at the last minute.  Fortunately I know what I'm doing so it was all resolved by the end of the day.  I also got my big feature working to the point where I can show it off to people, which is exciting.  And I'm doing a big technology update which involves slowly moving code from one project to another which also went really well yesterday.

I heard from the Texas people that they're now in Chicago, visiting family and taking in the sights before driving south again.  Then they start packing up and doing another road trip.  I imagine they'll be happy to settle down for awhile.

I've got a bit of the sniffles, which my test says isn't COVID, though it's more annoying than really feeling sick.  I'm hoping for a bit of downtime this weekend - play some video games, do some D&D prep, visit with Emma, garden a bit with Joanna.  I managed to read more of The Expanse series and take a bath last night which was nice.

D&D Weekend

October 24, 2022 by Adam in Family

It was indeed a D&D filled weekend.  Things always take longer than expected, but I'm hoping next sessions will be more "jumping into the action" and not just moving from one place to another.  The jungle campaign said goodbye to their giant robot friend, which was a little sad for everyone.

I'm slowly getting back into the routine after our Texas visitors.  They're off at Yellowstone, enjoying the snow, bison, and hot springs.  I'm cooking normal-sized dinners again after more industrial-sized meals.  There were a few brief hours over the weekend where Joanna and I did a bit of gardening, turning over compost and amending the beds.  We still have some green beans and tomatos ripening on the vine.  Being outside after the rains is wonderful.

Mocha Friday

October 21, 2022 by Adam in Family

Jonathan leaves today, which is certainly a loss.  I have faith that Jacquie and Corinne and I will be able to carry on.  Today we're getting together to play Jackbox games and say farewell to Jonathan.

The Texas visitors made it safe and sound to their now-repaired truck in Boise thanks to Jamie driving them over.  They're off to Chicago by way of Yellowstone, returning back in Eugene to stay a little longer in a month or so.

Life's somewhat returning to our normal routines.  Jo has their office back down in the basement.  I'm starting to return to my running/weights/meditation schedule.  We had date night last night, where we broke open one of the old date boxes.  It involved yoga poses, mud masks, and a lot of laughing.  It was great.

It's a back-to-back D&D weekend.  I feel woefully unprepared and am printing out miniatures that I decided I needed at the last minute.  Hopefully it all works out.

Coffee Shop Gaming

October 19, 2022 by Adam in Family

I took some time off yesterday to hang out with our Texas visitors their last day in town.  We headed to Hideaway Bakery with some board games, playing Betrayal at House on the Hill.  It's one of those "one of you is the traitor" games, with a bunch of different endgames.  I was the traitor, playing an old professor, and chased around the others with a cell phone, trying to drive them crazy with my friend requests on social media.  Unfortunately for me they escaped before I could drive them mad.

I'm not sure if it's the terrible air quality or a cold, but I've been especially sniffly lately.  It's also the last few days Jonathan is at work and we're starting to figure out how to do things without him.  Fortunately Jacquie and Corinne are awesome coworkers, so hopefully we can muddle through until things get sorted out.

It feels like there's a lot coming up.  This weekend is back-to-back D&D.  Halloween, Thanksgiving, and Christmas seem right around the corner.  Busy, busy.

Boardgame Weekend

October 17, 2022 by Adam in Family

Saturday was filled with boardgames while Emma went off to measure plankton for a school field trip.  There was Betrayal at Baldur's Gate where I was the traitor and was quickly dispatched.  Next was Elder Sign where we managed to keep Cthulu from destroying the world.  The evening wrapped up with pizza and anime, this time a pretty funny one involving spies.

Sunday morning I made a big breakfast of crepes, whipcream, and lots of filling, not to mention coffee and mochas for everyone who wanted one.  We went with Emma to the library to both show things off and visit the kid section - I kept hearing "everything used to be bigger."  After lunch was a trip to the farm where Seraph talked about all the work that needs to be done to our visitors.  They seemed excited, though I feel overwhelmed by it all.  I snuck home early and painted miniatures until I achieved a little bit of zen calm again.

It's another busy week, with work and kid appointments and trying to sneak in another hike.  Our visitors depart on Wednesday to pick up their hopefully repaired car, though they'll return to stay for a few months starting December.  It's also Jonathan's last week at work, so we'll see if we actually figure out how to do the things he used to accomplish.

Mocha Friday

October 14, 2022 by Adam in Family

I learned the other day that Spotify classifies the music I listened to when I was 18 as "Early Alternative", so I've been listening to Talking Heads, Kate Bush, The Clash, as well as more obscure things like the Sparks and Bauhaus.  Life seemed simpler then with economic turmoil and Russia as the evil empire . . . wait a minute.

I sometimes feel my morning meditation kicking in as I go through my day, being present in each moment rather than worrying about what happens next.  "Now I'm saying goodbye to a coworker" "Now I'm cooking dinner for Sam and Mars"  "Now I'm getting a COVID shot".  Maybe my life is just so full of events that I haven't had a chance to reflect on anything yet.  I'd like to think I've reached some form of new enlightenment.

As for the weekend I think the pace may be slowing down a little.  Emma has a field trip on Saturday.  Sunday I'm hoping to go to the library and the farm.  Somewhere in there maybe I'll think about the future a little more.

Eye of the Hurricane

October 13, 2022 by Adam in Family

The world continues to swirl about.  Jonathan gave his notice yesterday, moving from my manager at Health Catalyst to a role at Microsoft.  I worked with him at PeaceHealth too and have known him for over two decades, so while his departure isn't unexpected, it's certainly given me pause.  While I'm not the last person on the team, it feels like we're moving in that direction.  I think I'm the only person who knows how everything generally works now.

Hanging out with Texas people continues, with a D&D one-shot yesterday afternoon with Emma and dinner with Seraph, Robbie, dad, and Hanni.  It was non-stop from the time I rolled out of bed and included getting a COVID booster and flu shot, making quiche, and all the setup and teardown for a D&D session.

I think the next few days are a little calmer and I'm weirdly hoping to get some work in on my fun little programming feature.  There's also talk of a library trip and visit to the farm this weekend.  Probably Sunday as Emma has a field trip to the coast for school on Saturday.  I'm also hoping to make a huge batch of crepes - at least their bellies will remember the trip fondly.

Everything, Everywhere, All At Once

October 11, 2022 by Adam in Family

Sometimes all the things feel overwhelming at times, though somehow I've remained generally calm despite everything happening all at the same time.  Hanging out with the Texas people has been absolutely wonderful - hiking, playing board games, and chatting away.  The weekend itself was pretty quiet as they were off at the beach, though I managed to sneak in some work and played a little on the computer, not to mention getting ready for a D&D one-shot this Wednesday.

We're all vaguely sick with some crud.  I took Ben to school who woke up feeling cruddy and switched him for Duncan who went to school but started to feel bad.  The fires have made the air quality terrible, which I'm sure isn't helping.  So far both Joanna and I have taken COVID tests and come up negative.  Tomorrow I get my latest booster and the flu vaccine as well.  Hopefully those help prevent the most nasty winter blahs.

I'm hoping to get a hike in this morning and have a counselor visit in the afternoon.  There's a Cthulu-themed board game waiting for us to wrap up the day before an early dinner and taking Duncan to an appointment.  Busy, busy.

Quiet Saturday Morning

October 08, 2022 by Adam in Family

I picked up our Texas visitors late at night after a Boise bus trip.  They've been recovering and hanging out, managing a hike around Hendrick's park as part of a trip to see all the places we used to go all the time.  They've been scooped up by Jamie and Emma for a beach trip.  Joanna and I have some yardwork on the agenda and perhaps little free library building.  Tomorrow I'm hoping to spend some time with Jenny who's having a rough week.  I might sneak a little actual work in there as I'm taking quite a bit of time off and I'm weirdly excited by the feature I'm building.

Life does seem full of catastrophes and change at the moment, though our particular household is hanging in there.  I guess we all do what we can to take care of ourselves and the people around us.

Dayquil Haze

October 03, 2022 by Adam in Family

My annoying cold continued through the weekend, so I tool some Dayquil on Sunday so I could be a useful DM for the game.  That plus way too much coffee made it a fun experience for all.  This morning I'm still feeling somewhat fuzzy and a little sniffly, but hopefully I can still function okay.

Our Texas visitors are stuck in Boise due to a broken drive shaft and punctured fuel tank.  Hopefully repairs will get them on the road in a couple days.

The roofers have arrived and the sound of shingles being scraped off the roof has begun.  We've got a couple days of that and then the crew putting up the roof arrives in another week.  It's a lot of money, increased by $500 due to inflation after getting it setup earlier this year, but it'll be good to get it done.

I did have a good time this weekend with the two D&D games.  On Saturday Emma was almost eaten by a zombie t-rex and later saved the day as a sneaky monkey.  Sunday had Jason impersonating a cult leader and doing bardish hijinx for all.