Busy, Busy

November 29, 2023 by Adam in Family

Somehow I missed my usual Monday update - such is the life of a jetsetter like myself.  Work continues to be a worker's collective in the absence of a manager.  It's actually going fine and I feel like I'm at my usual level of productiveness.  Hopefully we'll get some details about the new org structure soon.  Our client support person gave her notice yesterday - this is Jess that I met in Chicago.  I'm happy for her and she will be missed.  I think this is the last week for many of my coworkers.

Emma's been sick this week, the second one this term.  She had a bit of a cough when we tromped around the farm over the weekend.  The farm was cold and the pond had frozen over, though I don't think that's what caused it.  We made two big loops around the property, surveying some of the logging, and headed back to warm ourselves as Jo worked on putting up the shed walls.

I keep reaching out to various resources on the farm plan - it's looking like December 14th may be a big get together between various governmental and non-governmental agencies.  There's a brand new Oak Savannah forest management plan template that I'm hoping to get my hands on.  I think the next big challenges will be around controlling blackberries and potentially planting a lot of trees.  Hopefully we can get some good advice on both those things.

Planning a Future for the Farm

November 22, 2023 by Adam in Family

I picked up Emma and mom to head out to the farm to meet with Matt the stewie (aka Stewardship Forester).  We picked up some great information and talked about various approaches to take care of the land, along with our legal requirements if the property continues to be zoned as a forest.  I wish I had more time as logging on the northern side of the property was wrapping up, but I suppose everything should be done in just a few weeks.

Our Chicago kid called up - he's going solo camping in the upper peninsula for a few days.  Duncan's sweetie Jace arrived from Florida.  Ben has his friend Charlie over where they're enjoying the basement hangout zone.

As for me, my first day of vacation was a little exhausting, driving people around followed by keeping an eye on the Hunter Communication people as they installed the new Internet service.  It's date night, so limited cooking and cleaning responsibilities for me.  Hopefully I can get some downtime tomorrow before the various social events.

Power Level Over 9000!

November 22, 2023 by Adam in Adam's Projects

The Hunter Communication people just left after installing 2.5 Gb fiber Internet to the house.  So far I have only one computer hooked up and it's technically only getting 1 Gb through the port on the router, but it seems plenty fast so far.  I need to upgrade some network infrastructure and move things over, then I'll make sure everything is stable before ditching Xfinitity, which is slower, more expensive, and the data caps are annoying.

Mocha Tuesday

November 21, 2023 by Adam in Family

It's the last day of the work week for me, so I'm treating myself to a mocha.  The last few days have felt fairly busy and productive, along with a dash of fun.  Hopefully the upcoming five days off are equally entertaining.

Saturday was the family D&D game, with the party somehow avoiding sudden death and limb removal despite their best efforts.  Things ended on a cliffhanger, with Jordan's character stuck inside a mirror while summoned velociraptors kept jumping in and pushing out the things trapped within.  It's hard to explain, but it was a good plan from the players.

Sunday morning Emma and I picked up mom to have a farm meeting.  I was the assistant while the two of them talked, picking up coffee and pastries and promising to setup meetings with various government agencies.  Yesterday I followed up with a bunch of people and have a meeting with our forest steward (aka "stewie") tomorrow morning.  It sounds like it's possible to turn the forest into a white oak savannah as long as we jump through the right hoops and work with the right people.

Ben and Jo are switching rooms, with Ben's bedroom going to the basement and Jo's office going to the main floor.  It was hard work, but Ben's appreciation and enthusiasm drove us onward.  He's been in his one room since he was three, so it's quite the change.  Hopefully the kitties find him down there.

Work continues to be weird, with many coworkers on vacation or taking things easy.  I keep getting things done, maybe out of habit.  Hopefully I can figure out what to do next.

Tomorrow's a busy day with Duncan's sweetie coming to visit, Emma, mom and I going to the farm to meet with the forester, and Hunter Communications installing fiber at our house.  Hopefully I can find some time to relax in there too.

Mocha Friday

November 17, 2023 by Adam in Family

I'm sleeping better this week, which is a relief after all the tossing and turning of the week before.  Work continues to be weird without a manager, but the three of us keep working away and getting things done.  Rumor has it our application is still appreciated by our clients, so hopefully that means I'll continue to have a job for a long while if I want it.

Ben and Emma both seem to have recovered from their COVID boosters after a couple days of feeling wiped out.  I took mom out to tea on Wednesday - she has a new pickup now and the logging at the farm should start soon.  Emma continues to be excited to use the farm for her thesis, and maybe do some actual work helping restore the white oak savannah there.  Ben wants to move into the basement bedroom where Jo currently has an office, so there's a slow migration that's begun.  I still have things from my old office in there, so I'll need to find a place for that too.

As for me, I continue to do the usual fun things - watching shows while running on the treadmill, painting miniatures and listening to podcasts, playing Baldur's Gate 3 when I have a moment.  We've got a D&D session with the family tomorrow which I'm excited for.  Emma will want to go to the library.  I'm sure we'll have some hearty breakfasts along the way too.

Tromping About the Farm

November 13, 2023 by Adam in Family

Emma started getting excited about the farm this weekend, spending hours making maps, looking up topography and thinking about savannah restoration.  At a minimum I think she'll try to turn it into her thesis project.  She'd also love to get all the cousins involved in a cousin cooperative of some kind, seeing if they can all get more involved in the land management somehow.  As to what that means I'm not quite sure, but her enthusiasm was contagous.  Saturday we wandered around mapping streams and trees and such, picking apples while we were there.  Eventually we returned home tired and soggy but enthused, then headed off to get our COVID shots and the flu shot for Emma.  We were both sore and sickish the next day, Emma more than me, but it was hopefully much better than the real thing.

Sunday was D&D day with my friends.  I was excited to hear that Jason will be able to drive again soon, though I'll miss our hang out times.  It was a very old-school module - I had the original which I picked up as a teenager from Endgames, which no longer exists.  Now I'm running a far more modern version and entertaining the players with some classic "the wizard made a weird dungeon" puzzles.

Sadly we've got plumbing problems this morning - the classic clog in a weird place problem.  And I'm back to the weird state of work, with meetings disappearing off my schedule as the people running them have gone.  I did write a nice LinkedIn recommendation for my old manager, which was bittersweet.  Hopefully things settle down as I've got code to write and features to work on.

Survivor Mocha Friday

November 10, 2023 by Adam in Family

It's been a weird and rough week at work - lots of layoffs and figuring out what happens next.  Still not sure who we'll report to, but Jacquie, Corinne and I are muddling forward as we have in the past after losing a manager.  We pulled off a solid release, the last until next year, and we're all feeling good about that.  I've been trying to write LinkedIn recommendations to all my past and current co-workers in hopes that helps with their journey to their next jobs.

As for me, I'm trying hard to find the time to carve out time for training and taking certifications.  I'd much rather just get on with things and keep on working, but preparing for any eventuality just takes a lot of time.

The rest of my life is generally good.  I probably spend an hour or two doing kitchen stuff while listening to podcasts every day, toss in work and running at lunch, followed by an evening of cereal, miniature painting, video games, and/or watching tv.   It's a pretty good life, though sneaking in extra time for things is sometimes challenging.

I'm excited to hang out with my sisters at Hideaway Bakery later this morning and celebrate Seraph's birthday along the way.  Then it's a weird day at work doing whatever I want, then hanging out with Emma and a touch of D&D this Sunday.  We might go out to the farm to see it before logging begins, which is bittersweet for all of us.

Ah, Corporations

November 07, 2023 by Adam in Adam

Work had layoffs yesterday.  I still have my job, though a number of my coworkers were not as lucky.  Not sure who I'll be reporting to starting today or what we'll be working on.  Having done this before, I'm feeling the expected survivor's guilt and trying to figure out my next steps.

Walks in the Woods and Other Sensible Things

November 06, 2023 by Adam in Family

Our bosses' boss told us to play hooky on Friday after our morning meetings, so I headed off to Ridgeline Trail to enjoy the beauty of the turning leaves while listening to my Giantslayer podcast.  It was a funny mix of serene and exciting, and I felt better upon returning home.  I picked up Emma late in the day, who showed off her beautiful Book of Hours project for school, an illuminated page that looks like it was made in an medieval monestary.

Saturday was a fun D&D with family, almost killing Jordan's character through the hijinx of Francis and their urge to grab everything not nailed down.  Emma's been perfecting her sourdough bread, which we all enjoyed at lunch.  The afternoon was low-key, with a productive library trip and a couple new Goes Wrong Show episodes that made me laugh until my stomach hurt.

Sunday morning started with crepes and whip cream, watching the fall leaves and their colors as I slowly sipped my mocha.  Emma and I played a bunch of Baldur's Gate 3 and stopped for a couple hours for a long chat with the Chicago boy.  The day wrapped up with some pewter metalworking, pouring hot metal into the molds for the pilgrim badges.  It was surprisingly tricky getting them just right, but we got a few good ones in there.

Now it's off to work shortly.  Hopefully the day goes well.

Mocha Friday

November 03, 2023 by Adam in Family

Work continues to be somewhat stressful, in between organization changes and the latest go-live.  Hopefully I can get through the churn relatively intact, though it's currently more bumpy than I'd like it to be.

The week was mostly uneventful.  Halloween came and went, with fewer trick or treaters than in years past.  Ben continues to expand the number of aquariums in his room - all the fish have French names.  Emma's been working on a Book of Hours project for school, complete with calligraphy and funny animals from medieval texts.  Dad came over for dinner and we caught up on his trip and boat race.

I look forward to the weekend - D&D with family, doing some pewter casting, and generally hanging out.