Weekend Projects

February 28, 2022 by Adam in Family

Joanna and I both worked on different projects this weekend.  The shed ladder is sanded and stained, ready to get installed out at the farm cabin this week.  I fiddled around with a D&D setup that's probably a little too technology-heavy, but it does look cool in action.  Emma and I went to the library and picked up some dice at a local gaming store.  I also 3D printed more odds and ends, trying out a new wood stain I picked up at the hardware store.

The weekend was otherwise pretty quiet.  Ben listened to Murderbot with his friends.  Duncan played games.  Emma did homework.  We all got together for the usual pizza and anime.

I think I got my fourth player for a D&D session, though everyone is pretty busy these days.  Hopefully it provides a chance to hang out and have a good time.

Somber Mocha Friday

February 25, 2022 by Adam in Family

With the invasion of Ukraine and all I'm feeling somewhat out of sorts.  The Star Trek future I dreamed of as a kid seems far away sometimes.

It's been a relatively uneventful week.  Kids went to school and I slowly got things done at work.  Life has felt full of obstacles - the spa getaway for Joanna and I had to be delayed until April, my D&D group isn't getting players together like I'd hoped, and poor communication at work has been frustrating.

I did manage to print a fun dice and miniature holder for Emma in hopes we start playing.  I also picked up Elden Ring, which is the latest Dark Souls game.  Performance is a little iffy, but the gameplay is good so far.  I have a particular way to hold the controller that Sam taught me years ago - it's funny how my fingers move into that familiar position when I start playing.

I finished my mocha and put on some chipper music - hopefully it lifts my spirits.

3D Printing Fun

February 24, 2022 by Adam in Adam's Projects

After using my Prusa Mini+ to 3D print a wide variety of practical things, I turned to printing a bunch of less practical things, including this boat that I hope to use in an upcoming D&D session.  It's by far my biggest print and has taken a couple weeks to get all the pieces printed out.  It's made out of a wood-based PLA filament, so my hope is I can stain it to make it pretty.  It's silly fun, and though I'm having problems pulling together the old D&D group, putting it together has been very entertaining.

Three Day Weekend

February 21, 2022 by Adam in Family

It's been a pleasant three days, with future plans falling into place and a nostalgic visit to the Hult Center.

Emma and I skipped our usual library run and instead Emma worked on her D&D character, printing and painting her miniature.  I put her in charge of dinner that night, as Joanna and I went out with Seraph, Robbie, and Jenny to Poppi's Anatoila for dinner before the play.  Then it was off to the Hult Center to watch Fiddler on the Roof.  Back in junior high school we performed the same play at the Hult Center, though I admittedly didn't have as fancy dance moves.  It was fun to go out and nice to spend time with family.

Joanna brought me in to a couple projects on Sunday, helping with the ladder a little and assisting in starting some seeds in the green house.  It looks like Jamie, Emma, and I are going to Texas to visit, so we put together airline tickets and a place to stay.  That night was pizza and anime, wrapping up Emma's weekend who unfortunately had to go to school today.

Monday was pretty low-key, taking Emma to school, printing miniatures, playing video games and generally relaxing.  Joanna and I are planning a spa getaway soon - yet another thing to look forward to.  Now the long weekend is wrapping up - hopefully I remember how to write code again.

Mocha Friday

February 18, 2022 by Adam in Family

My giant unicorn mug full of cafe mocha rests beside me as winter holds on for a few more weeks.  It looks to be a quiet day at work and I've been making good progress finishing things up and starting in on new and exciting things.  Joanna and I are having dinner with my sisters and hangers on, then going to see Fiddler on the Roof this Saturday.  I'll try to hold my tongue when they say "bagels, fresh bagels!"  It was my one line in my middle school play and I didn't actually get to say it due to how long it took to change costumes between scenes at the Hult center.

Other fun future plans are coming together.  I reached out to my old friend Jason and he's down for playing some D&D.  Next is reaching out to the rest of the old group and see who's still up for it.  Hopefully all those miniatures and the giant ship I'm 3D printing won't be for nothing.

Joanna and I are putting together the pieces of a spa getaway.  I'm trying hard to nail down a trip to Austin.  Meditation, counseling, physical therapy, and mouth guard wearing aren't as fun, but it feels good to get those in place as well.

As for the rest of the crew, we're all generally doing well.  Joanna's getting fingerprinted in order to volunteer at Ben's robotics club.  Emma's slogging through the next four weeks of a hard term.  I had a nice date night with Joanna on Tuesday night and played video games the other nights, often with Joanna on the couch nearby doing the same.  It's not so bad a life.

Happy Valentine's Day

February 14, 2022 by Adam in Family

I hope you all got chocolate and Valentine's Day cards like we all got this morning.  I've still got a little something for Joanna for our lunch date later today, but the kids got chocolate and silly D&D themed cards I printed off the Internet.

As for the weekend, it was generally good.  The weather was amazing yesterday so I managed some gardening and going out with Ben and Emma to do some geocaching.  The first was amazing and involved discovering a concrete version of a Gravity Falls character in the forest.  The second cache we couldn't find and I ended up scraped up and empty handed.

I kept printing and painting miniatures, including a huge boat out of wood-based filament.  It's coming along nicely, though burning through filament faster than expected.  I think I'm done painting all the miniatures I need for the first few sessions and I suppose all that's next is to send out a call to adventure to my old nerd friends.

Joanna continued to work on the ladder, which is coming along nicely.  Ben and I both feel better from our stomach issues.  He was watching his friend livestream the birth of their kittens, so Joanna and I watched our own show last night.  Emma did endless homework, some of which was really challenging. Between talking through gene expression and the absorption of photons, I think I was helpful.

Mocha Friday

February 11, 2022 by Adam in Family

It's been a mostly okay week, the cold and mist reminding me that spring is still a ways away.  Life has been relatively routine this week.  Dad came over for dinner and we chatted about 3D printing, rockets, and Teslas.  Yesterday I had tea with mom, returning home with a trove of assorted historic artifacts, my favorite being a baby picture of me in a sailor's suit.  The cats are up to their usual mischief, Data getting stuck in Emma's bedroom for a couple hours.  Ben and I both had stomach aches this week, though I hope I'm finally on the upswing.

My month-long work feature is finally coming to an end, one of the more complicated things I've worked on.  We've had more interruptions than usual as we developers keep filling in for people who are on vacation or left for other positions.  We semi-officially have a new project manager, a really nice guy who I've worked with in the past.  I'm slowly coming up on five years at Health Catalyst, which almost seems like a long stretch of time.

We hopefully sorted out some school stresses with Duncan this week, the biggest change being that he's no longer in a class that was stressful for various reasons.  Ben's doing well as usual, hanging out with his friend after robotics class last night.  We also started watching Murderville, which is pretty funny.

I promised a worn-out Emma a trip to the library and some time painting D&D miniatures.  Between biology and chem, she has a lot of homework and her biology class is especially tough.  Hopefully this is the toughest term she'll have to deal with and next term should be somewhat easier.

I continue to try to take care of myself - counseling, meditation, physical therapy, and finally getting used to my mouth guard.  And spring is coming, which always helps.

Pleasant Weekend

February 07, 2022 by Adam in Family

It was a nice, low-key weekend.  Joanna worked on their ladder with my occasional help holding things.  Emma did homework and played the ukelele, along with organizing her Oceanography team to get an assignment done.  Duncan visited with friends to all watch Squid Game.  Ben continued writing projects. 

My magnifying glass arrived, so I started painting miniatures in earnest, very much enjoying the meditative quality of the experience.  I also ended up making little stand-offs for the downstairs tv so I could lay it flat and display maps.  I guess I'll need to actually get some friends together to play D&D together.  Emma jumped in to paint quite a few of them, which was much appreciated.  I heard from the Texas branch of the family that the miniatures I sent along were finally put to use.  It's been fun making so many different things with the 3D printer.

Ben and I are feeling a little under the weather today, though more tea and a brownie have perked up my spirits.  Hopefully we improve soon.

My New Friends

February 04, 2022 by Adam in Family

I decided I've been far too socially isolated, so I've been spending the last few days 3D printing new ones.  That's what I've been telling Joanna anyway - in reality I'm hoping to start up our old D&D group again, though admittedly that gets back to fixing the social isolation issue.  In any case, I've been having fun making giant weasels, skeletons, and the like.  I might try my hand at painting them - the magnifying glass with a light shows up today.

I also wore my night guard last night, which unfortunately meant I kept waking up because of this weird thing in my mouth.  I had weird dreams of dogs messing up my childhood backyard and flying around to find pieces of gold hidden in the garbage.  I'm sure it's deeply symbolic somehow.

In other news, my new counselor seems cheerful and competent.  I dusted off the Headspace app to sneak in some daily meditation.  Running and physical therapy continue.  So far I'm enjoying this taking care of myself thing.

I finally finished my giant work feature and now I'm on to the fun part.  Time to finish my mocha and write some code.

Too Many Scary Villages

February 02, 2022 by Adam in Adam's Games

I've been playing a few different games over the last few weeks, finishing up games I picked up over the winter sale.  Death's Door was first, a cute souls-like game where you play as a raven reaper, fixing the woes of the afterlife.  Next up was The Forgotten City, set in a subterranian city with ties to the afterlife.  Now I'm playing Resident Evil: Village, where the townsfolk seem mostly transformed into horrible creatures.

Maybe my next vacation should be somewhere relaxing and tropical.