Wednesday

March 30, 2016 by Adam in Family

Just a quick mid-week update.


I'm driving my old car again, with a very shiny bumper.  It felt good and familiar, and I didn't miss the weird buttons of all the rentals.

Berry started soccer, with Joanna taking Berry to practice last night.  My dad came over for dinner which was fun and pleasant.  Sam and Isa continue to hang out whenever possible.  Sam also started his new classes, which he's generally enjoyed despite over fifty kids in his AP European history class.  Joanna's health issues continue, though perhaps improving somewhat.

The new consultant arrives today.  He seemed enthusiastic, and fortunately just about anyone would be better than Dennis.  Karl's also lining up a bunch of interviews, so perhaps my lone developer status with eventually be over.



Happy Easter

March 27, 2016 by Adam in Family

The kids have been served chocolate bunnies, with an afternoon egg hunt ready to go.

It's been a fairly exciting week, so much so that I haven't posted for a while.  Between work, dealing with Joanna's accident, and vacations, it seems like there's always something going on.

We had a good visit to the coast, which miraculously had nice weather the full day we were there.  The day before we stopped by Lincoln City beach and it was wet, windy, and crowded.  The second day we headed south to a small park which was very cool.  The kids collected weird beach things.  I took Google Cardboard images.

It was nice seeing my dad and Ana.  We chatted about networking and technology.  He watched us play a bunch of Drawful. 




This weekend I've been recovering from vacation and doing a few house projects.  We returned the rental, discovered the auto repair place broke something during their repair, and picked up a new one until they fix it on Tuesday.  The sleeper sofa was delivered and Sam and I barely squeezed it into the shed.  I continue to tinker with the Raspberry Pi - the latest project is to turn it into a picture frame that downloads new photos from Reddit.  I think I've got the tech part sorted out and just need to make a wood frame for my old monitor.

Sam and Isa appear to be dating again.  She was over this weekend, which made Emma quite happy - the three of them were furiously working on art in the basement all day yesterday after walking down to the art supply store.

Emma's been cheerful, spending a couple hours with her friend Baily at the park.  Duncan has had various friends over to play.  Berry has spent her hours alternately playing video games and reading.

As for poor Joanna, her injuries continue to bother her.  She's had headaches and weird numbness in her hands, though she seems less tired and fuzzy.  Ironically when picking up the new rental yesterday, we witnessed another rear-end collision.  It's a dangerous world out there.



Crazy Week

March 21, 2016 by Adam in Family

It's been a weird and crazy week.


Joanna steadily improves.  Her headaches have mostly faded, as well as most of the fuzzy/tired feelings.  She drove around the block yesterday and has been seeing various healthcare people off and on.  I think she'll be better by the time we go to the coast.

Emma went to the coast with her mom over the last few days.  I tidied up her room and moved the desk in from the shed.  Now she has a cute little writing area if she ever wants to hide away from everyone and draw.

Sam played D&D with friends on Friday, but otherwise has been hanging out with me.  We've played a ton of Isaac and watched some Always Sunny.  He seems a little mopey and misses Emma strangely enough.  He also helped make pizza Saturday night and we watched a science show on quantum mechanics, which was pretty cool.

Duncan and Berry have been hanging out with their dad while he's in town.  They've generally had a good time and Kevin seems a bit more mellow than usual.  There were a couple Berry meltdowns, but nothing too major.

I'm back at work, with the usual craziness.  A new consultant starts next Monday.  I've got tons to do and little time to work on it.  Looking for my next five-day vacation in a couple days.



Wednesday Update

March 17, 2016 by Adam in Family

Dennis is no more.  There was a day he didn't show, along with an odd email to my boss. To be honest, it was a relief.  A couple of my coworkers are lending a hand with coding and testing, which has been handy.

Joanna slowly improves.  She's yet to drive and has had headaches the last couple days.  Lots of people have offered help, such as our neighbor Victoria coming over to help fold laundry and Yayoe coming by with honey.  I'm home for the next four days, and went grocery shopping after dinner, so she's in good hands.

Sam and Emma arrive tomorrow morning and Duncan and Berry go off with their dad.  Emma's off to the coast with Jamie for a few days.  Sam's playing D&D with friends and recovering from a bad cold and finals.  I have a few house projects I'd like to get around to, but just taking it easy for a few days sounds nice too.



Another Exciting Weekend

March 14, 2016 by Adam in Family

I could get used to calm and boring weekends, I think.


Saturday morning Joanna got rear ended while stopped at an intersection.  Duncan was in the back, but seems generally okay.  Joanna got bumped up a bit, though nothing externally obvious.  The car's bumper got scraped and the muffler was pried downward a bit.  The other driver apologized and they exchanged insurance information.

The next couple days were a little rough for Joanna.  She went to urgent care where they diagnosed a concussion.  She had some neck soreness, headaches, nausea, and general fuzziness.  Sunday late morning the symptoms got worse, so I took her to the ER.  There was a lot of waiting around, mom thankfully relieved me mid afternoon, and she returned home later that night.  The CT scan was okay and by that evening Joanna seemed a little sharper than before.  

As for the rest of the clan, Duncan played his last basketball game, scoring a basket and bringing home the MVP ball.  He was proud of no fouls and perfect attendance as well.

Sam studied for finals and entertained Emma and I with his musical tastes and Isaac playing.  Emma drew tentacles on her folder.  Berry made strange creatures of of clay.  I was thankful to all of them for being calm and helping each other out as we dealt with car accident issues.

The car was towed away this morning.  My mom is getting kids from school this afternoon after I dropped them off.  Hopefully all will work out soon enough.



Where have I been for the last four months?

March 14, 2016 by Sue in Wielesek

I went to the Coast with my book club over the weekend, which was very much fun. Very very stormy though. We were in Yachats, and I remembered a nice weekend when Mom and Dad came to visit and we rented cabins in Yachats with all you kids and maybe some camp followers.

When I came back, Joanna's concussion had not improved and Adam had taken her to the ER. He and I switched places, and eventually she got a cat scan. She does have a concussion and all the crappy stuff that goes along with it, but not anything worse. Ie, her brain isn't bruised, and it's not bleeding. When the doc told her not to do things which might tax her brain, like watching TV, texting, or reading, she wailed, "Well, what will I dooo?" I tried to explain to him that for Joanna, not thinking was just not an option! Too many of you smart people in this family!




Mocha Friday

March 11, 2016 by Adam in Family

Well, my mocha is done, but the memories linger.


It's been a generally good week.  Berry was up before me this morning, putting away dishes and getting breakfast ready.  Emma was visited by "Krampus" last night, and as I left the house Joanna was helping her find a period tracking app for her tablet.  I also found Emma's glasses finally, squished in the couch cushions.  And to think I cleaned her room for no reason.

Joanna and I had a fun date night on Wednesday, drinking cider at Wildcraft Cider and listening to an Americana band.  Sam has finals next week, with lots of studying over the weekend.  We're also gearing up for spring break and a trip to the beach.  It'll be nice to see my dad - I'll be sure to bring lots of board games.

As for work, Dennis wasn't here yesterday and hasn't arrived today.  I suspect it may be time for a new consultant, but I'm really hoping we get an actual hire soon.  Josh's resume arrived yesterday, and it was actually pretty good.  He'd be in a junior position obviously, but I'm really hoping he'd be a good fit in terms of being hard working and showing up on time.

No exciting weekend plans.  Emma wants to learn programming and make a video game.  Sam has a lot of studying.  I'm sure Emma and I will play more Never Alone - she made a great drawing inspired by it.  I'll try to sneak some science in there somewhere.



Halfway to the Weekend

March 09, 2016 by Adam in Family

The week has been relatively uneventful so far.  Joanna and my mom nailed down the last of the plans for summer vacation.  It looks like we'll be staying at Sol Duc Hot Springs Resort.  Getting rooms and campsites for everyone is tricky, but hopefully we can cram everyone in.  I bought a third hammock in case we sleep in the trees.

Work continues to be weird.  It was a no-Dennis day yesterday - he emailed that he was sick.  I got a ton done and am waiting for more work to be assigned to me.

Joanna was off last night at a children's stories writers' group.  I hauled the little kids over to pick up Sam.  Apparently he and Emma made themselves vegetarian burritos for dinner.  Later Sam wrote an essay on the nature of man just for fun.



Science Filled Weekend

March 07, 2016 by Adam in Family

We had another weekend full of science and hanging out, mostly staying indoors out of the rain.


Friday night Joanna and I went out to sushi and to listen to a writer's talk at the U of O.  It's always interesting to hear about the professions of others, so I had a good time.

Saturday morning Joanna left for an all-day writer's conference.  I took Duncan and Berry to the library and store to get dry ice.  They were generally cheerful, which was fortunate as I was battling a headache all day.  Emma went to Kate's house, and Duncan played with Flynn, but Berry, Sam, and I had a good time doing science for a couple hours.




Sam and Emma are both trying a vegetarian diet, so there was no Pac Man pizza.  Instead Sam chose a mushroom pizza and the rest was cheese.  I made a palatable gluten-free pizza for Joanna and we settled into the second to the last Mythbusters.

Sunday was pretty low-key.  Emma and I played Never Alone together, with me being the spirit fox.  Sam and I played more Child of Light.  I hacked my way through if else.heartbreak() some more, which continued to be quirky.

In the afternoon we played Dixit, Emma and I went for a walk, I watched Sam play more Isaac, and we had a bunch of people over for my dad's birthday dinner.  Good times.



Happy Birthday Dad

March 07, 2016 by Adam in Lohring

My dad got together with his ex-wives and some of his children for a birthday bash at our house.  Joanna made her usual amazing meal with cake and we spent the evening chatting away.  He and Sam spent a long while talking about science and the various world wars while discussing school.  We also managed some practical conversations about the summer family reunion and I got a will update, as I'm the trustee on both my parents' wills.


It was a fine family dinner, with good conversation and good food.  Sam and Emma are trying a vegetarian diet, so it's been interesting watching them choose different food to eat the last week or so.  We'll see if it lasts.




Mocha Friday

March 04, 2016 by Adam in Family

Spring seems to have arrived, early as usual these days.  My mocha is gone and it's time for me to hunker down and help manage our new consultant.  I'd love to get back to writing code, but we'll see how much I can manage.


The last few days have been relatively uneventful.  Emma's still sniffly, but was cheerfully playing me goodbye songs on her ukulele this morning.  She's also into Elvis, which is hysterical.  Sam and I played some Child of Light last night, with Berry looking on.  Duncan had a basketball game and Joanna went to a writer's workshop.

I'm hoping we can do some science this weekend.  I'm scoping out places for dry ice, which is a central ingredient in various experiments.



March Game Update

March 02, 2016 by Adam in Adam's Games

I seem to have one or two games I'm playing in the background.  I finished up the latest Tomb Raider, which was technically solid if a bit uninspired.  I've been playing Child of Light with Sam, which has beautiful watercolor backgrounds and excellent art.  With Emma I've been playing Never Alone, with her as the little Inuit girl and I'm the spirit fox.  They're both fun coop experiences.

As for me, I'm playing a quirky Swedish game where you can write code and hack any object.  Last night I was trying to hack a door combination by trying every possible combination.  Sadly it didn't work, but I'd like to try some other commands and see if I can sneak into forbidden places.



Wednesday

March 02, 2016 by Adam in Family

It's the middle of another week.

Sam seemed a little down last night.  My guess is relationship issues.  Emma's been sick the last couple days, with Jamie swearing today was a school day.  Joanna's done writing hotel descriptions, which I think is a mix of relief and sadness at the loss of income.  We've had a friend of Joanna's staying here the last few nights.  Andi has been a polite and helpful house guest, which is much appreciated.

As for me, I handed a project to Dennis with some general instructions and decided to get some work done.  It's deeply satisfying - I really enjoy my job when I'm able to do it.  We've also sat through a couple interviews - I suspect this is going to be a lengthy process.



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