Adam Miller and Family

I was deathly ill last night, with massive he...

November 28, 2007 by Adam in Adam

I was deathly ill last night, with massive headaches and throwing up. Fortunately I was much improved this morning, to the point where I made it to work, though admittedly a little late.

I might have gotten Sam's stomach bug that made him stop eating last night, though I have a decent appetite this morning. It could also have been Jamie's soup and food poisoning. So tasty and so deadly, just like Jamie.

I'm sick today

November 15, 2007 by Adam in Adam

I'm sick today. I sniffled my way through the night, not getting as much sleep as usual. I waffled back and forth on coming into work. After taking various medications, I feel tired but much more normal, so here I am.

I'm going to a concert at the Hult center with my mom tonight. Hopefully I can stay awake.

My taste in media doesn't always overlap with...

August 21, 2007 by Adam in Adam

My taste in media doesn't always overlap with Jamie's, but we've found a common love of the new show Mad Men. It's about a man who works for an ad agency in the early 60's in Manhattan. The whole thing is surreal, pointing out how life was like back then, in stark contrast to our own. Everyone smoked, drank, and hit on the office girls. The kids don't wear seat belts, play dress-up in big plastic bags, and always eat at the little kids' table.

I'm going to have to check with my mom and dad to see if life really was like that back then. It almost seems like a parallel universe, where I keep thinking they're normal people until they do something really bizarre.

Just for fun, I made a little Lego person of ...

August 13, 2007 by Adam in Adam

Just for fun, I made a little Lego person of myself. You can try it too, right over here.

It seems that my fellow family bloggers have ...

August 08, 2007 by Adam in Adam

It seems that my fellow family bloggers have been fretting over me after my overly dramatic tale of illness and suffering over the weekend. I am completely recovered, no sanatorium required. I actually just got back from the gym moments ago, back to my usual peak physical condition.

I discovered I missed my 20th high school reunion, which was last weekend. It's probably a sign that I wasn't part of any of the usual social circles. There's only a couple people from my graduating class that I really hung out with. Still, it would have been interesting to take the kids down to the picnic and see familiar faces.

Jamie called in a request today. I'm to take the children away from the house for the night. I can only imagine what plans she has. Perhaps bubble baths and frolicking naked about the house.

Of course, when she called, I was on a conference call with a coworker (who I'd put on hold) and had another coworker in my cubicle. She was on speaker phone, which I pointed out and added jokingly, "No swearing." "No swearing?" she replied. "Oh, sh..." Needless to say, my cubicle neighbors thought it was vastly amusing.

Periodically, I really earn my keep at work

July 23, 2007 by Adam in Adam

Periodically, I really earn my keep at work.

Today I woke up around 4:45 in the morning, a little later than I'd planned. The alarm didn't go off at 4 am, and the lazy part of my brain let me sleep in a little.

Then it was off to work to help with the final part of a server migration. This is the one that everyone in the organization uses, so it's a pretty big deal. As expected, things went horribly wrong in a variety of unexpected ways. Our whole team has been working away to resolve the issues and only now, around 3:30 pm, feel like we have a handle on things.

So, jobs are running and I think I actually get to go home at a reasonable hour. I'm on call tonight, but I'm hoping I don't get paged. I really want some blissful sleep for tonight.

I finally got to use the gym at work yesterda...

July 20, 2007 by Adam in Adam

I finally got to use the gym at work yesterday for a quick stair-stepper session. Today I was able to use the weights as well.

It's pretty amazing, from big, clean locker rooms to huge amounts of different exercise machines. To top it off, there was only one other person in there, making it feel like it was my own private gym.

The only odd thing was the security cameras. I best not do anything too embarrassing lest it show up on YouTube or something.

I came across a page that has links to Eugene...

July 19, 2007 by Adam in Adam

I came across a page that has links to Eugene blogs. Most are dull or out of date, but a few stand out. Creative Overload Junction has a bunch of knitting projects that Jamie might like (there's a pirate cap at the bottom of the page). Though it's old, Places to go when you're bored in Eugene had some interesting tidbits. Discover Eugene seemed to have lots of daily content, though it didn't have much personality.

There's lots of personal blogs, such as Following Edge, Between the Miles (running), and more.

It's funny how geography and technology mix.

Well, I'm in my new cubicle in my new place a...

July 18, 2007 by Adam in Adam

Well, I'm in my new cubicle in my new place across town. It's pretty odd driving over to Springfield. I think I've figured out the fastest route, about 16 minutes via the various highways. All the Portland folks are probably giggling at my complaints, but it's a big change from a ten minute bike ride.

The building itself is relatively nice and new. I finally unpacked everything this morning, surrounding myself with familiar photos and trinkets. With my plants all around, it's starting to feel somewhat homey.

I've got orientation for the gym in an hour or so. I tried to work out yesterday, but it turned out I needed to be shown something or another before I can be trusted to touch the equipment. Maybe I shouldn't have been licking the dumbbells all these years.

Jamie pointed out today that our anniversary ...

July 10, 2007 by Adam in Adam

Jamie pointed out today that our anniversary was on Sunday. Both of us completely forgot since we're doing our celebration of the even this upcoming weekend. We've been married 12 years. I guess by that time, every moment is like an anniversary.

I stepped on a bee last night while I was wat...

July 06, 2007 by Adam in Adam

I stepped on a bee last night while I was watering the garden. It hurt like the dickens for a few minutes, though I got the stinger out very quickly and took some Advil. The worst part is that there was no one to fuss over me, since my whole family was out of town.

At the library I picked up the horror film 28...

July 02, 2007 by Adam in Adam

At the library I picked up the horror film 28 Days Later. A couple weeks ago, Dave delivered Jim's old treadmill. I tried it out while watching the film, finding horror films to be highly motivating. After 30 minutes or so, I stopped and went to bed.

Unfortunately I ended up having zombie nightmares all night, which is a rarity for me. This morning I popped out the DVD from my computer, put it away, and likely won't finish the film.

I feel old.

Well, I got the new DSL modem and router set up

June 24, 2007 by Adam in Adam

Well, I got the new DSL modem and router set up. It has some funky issues, but generally seems to be working okay. It took me forever to realize I had entered a "1" instead of a "7" for the static IP address of my computer. Everything looked great, but I just couldn't talk to the rest of the world. Finally I figured it out.

At this point, I'm going to see if my Internet connection is more stable. Theoretically if my web server goes down, I can still connect to the rest of the world. It's also a more flexible configuration, I suppose, even though I'm not trying anything fancy with my little network.

My Internet connection went down again last n...

June 12, 2007 by Adam in Adam

My Internet connection went down again last night - complete inability to connect to our ISP at all. Extremely frustrating. Jamie's mom even called, asking to make sure our house hadn't burned down or something.

At this point, I'm thinking I want to spend some money. My server is several years old and the DSL modem I'm using is similarly ancient. There's a chance that the issue is on the ISP's side of things, but it's probably time for an upgrade anyway.

I caught some sort of bug yesterday

May 31, 2007 by Adam in Adam

I caught some sort of bug yesterday. I ended up staying at work for a long meeting, and my stomach started to hurt towards the end. Later on I watched the kids while Jamie went to work. Fortunately they played really well together while I sat quietly and tried not to move.

This morning I feel a little better, though only a little. I'm at work, sitting still, and taking my mind off my tummy by typing away at the keyboard.

We had a weird thing happen at work today

May 24, 2007 by Adam in Adam

We had a weird thing happen at work today. At one of our Bellingham offices where some coworkers live, someone reported a man with a rifle entering the building. The SWAT team was called and rumors flew everywhere. I got a call from a coworker in the parking lot, asking me for home phone numbers of other people so he could let them know.

It turns out that it was a man carrying his prosthetic leg in for a tune up. The floor above our team does work on prosthetics and I guess someone thought the leg looked like a rifle.

I guess it's another case where people have a hard time dealing with risk.

It's the last day on the road

May 02, 2007 by Adam in Adam

It's the last day on the road. We have power this morning, but our main data center lost power. We're scurrying about trying to get things working again, which doing remotely is loads of fun. In any case, I'll be going to the airport in a few hours and heading south. Can't wait to be home.

Well, we made it to the meeting room just fine

May 01, 2007 by Adam in Adam

Well, we made it to the meeting room just fine. After being here for 10 minutes, the power went out. It turns out that power's out in much of the city, which could make today's meetings exciting.

I'm posting from a hotel room in Bellingham, ...

April 30, 2007 by Adam in Adam

I'm posting from a hotel room in Bellingham, having had a day being bored in airports and airplanes. Shortly I'll be going to a gathering of Web Services people, which hopefully will entertain.

Emma gave me the best send-off this morning. She and Sam were being herded out the door by Jamie to go to school. Suddenly Emma rushed back in, lips puckering for a kiss. With a kiss and an "I love you daddy," I was on my way.

I woke up this morning, made myself blueberry...

March 28, 2007 by Adam in Adam

I woke up this morning, made myself blueberry pancakes and sausages, and foamed up a double mocha. It was an enjoyable last meal, and I contemplated the expression "nothing focuses the mind like the sight of the gallows." Delaying as long as possible, I headed out to my morning doctor appointment. I was about to go under the knife.

Well, it wasn't nearly that dramatic. I got a couple moles removed, one with a blowtorch like device. I enjoy the smell of burnt flesh like any other guy, but to have it be my own is somewhat disconcerting.

Currently I have a couple bandages, including a tiny one over my eye. I'm tempted to exchange it for an eyepatch, but then I'd look silly without the parrot and hook hand.

The unfortunate orange peel incident conclude...

March 27, 2007 by Adam in Adam

The unfortunate orange peel incident concluded with me finding a sliver of orange peel under my nail. No wonder it hurt so much.

I thought this week would be quiet, but so far it's felt rather busy. I'm bouncing around odd projects at work. Last night I watched the finale of Battlestar Galactica and then went to my mom's for dinner. She, Bob, and I chatted about eating cats and Jenny's possible house purchase. I came home late, took a quick bath, and went to bed.

Tomorrow I'm going in to get some moles removed, using it as an excuse to take the day off. I'm getting rid of what Emma calls my "Kill Dad" button. She'll miss pushing it and giggling maniacally when I keel over and stick out my tongue.

I hurt myself in a rather odd fashion today

March 15, 2007 by Adam in Adam

I hurt myself in a rather odd fashion today. I was peeling an orange at work and managed to slide part of the stem under my finger nail and give myself a nasty cut. Even better, orange juice squirted in for bonus pain.

Fortunately I was able to rip apart and eat the orange afterwards. If only all my problems could be dealt with in such a satisfying way.

Work was good today. I spent a fair amount of time working on a lengthy backlog of requests. A few of them were sort of fun, including an Internet application that lets family members see where someone is in the whole surgery process.

Slush and snow were falling from the sky this...

February 28, 2007 by Adam in Adam

Slush and snow were falling from the sky this morning as I rode into work. A few sprinkles were stuck to our lawn as I headed out. As always, I felt pretty "hardcore" as one of the few cyclists on the road. Still, after the thrill was gone, I started thinking positively about driving to work once it moves across town.

Half a lifetime ago, I went to the mall with my then-girlfriend and got my ear pierced. It was one of those "whim" things that teenagers often do, part of a Halloween costume, as I recall. I wore an earring all through college and graduate school, but stopped wearing once I went out to get a job. I'd occasionally wear one, like last Halloween for my pirate costume, but it's quite rare.

A couple weeks ago Emma was playing with my old jewelry container and wanted me to always wear an earring. Since then, I've had one in my ear. What's really weird is that virtually no one at work has made any comment about it. These are people that I know really well and am very comfortable with.

The only person who said anything was my coffee buddy Jim, who once had earrings as well, but is now over 40 and the father of two twin toddlers. He jokingly said I looked "Totally badass."

I can live with that.

Jamie came and visited me at the gym today

January 10, 2007 by Adam in Adam

Jamie came and visited me at the gym today. It was pretty fun being able to show off to her. I think her eyes got big with a couple of the weights, making me feel like a burly man.

Long ago, before we had children, we used to work out together regularly. I think it was mostly stair-step classes, with me stumbling over myself for the first six months. I miss having a gym buddy. These days it's mostly me and a book on the stair-stepper.

Older Posts

Adam

Family

Features