Birthday Boy

July 21, 2019 by Adam in Adam

I had a great birthday.

I worked a bit in the morning, wrapping up the last bug assigned to me and having everyone say nice things about me at work.  I got out early and started hanging out with kids, getting to talk to everyone.  Sam, Emma, Joanna, and I all got to play Jackbox games over the Internet.  Later Sam and I played Tabletop and mostly messed around and looked at different games.  Later on Emma and I played several rounds of Magic, where she kindly let me win.

Eventually dinner rolled around and Joanna laid out assorted tasty veggies and rice so we could  make our own Yumm bowls.  This was followed by the best cake ever - chocolate and rum and whip cream frosting, topped with almonds and chocolate covered espresso beans.

Finally, there were presents - a couple great books, an Amazon Fire stick, soap and a drawing from Emma, and an external hard drive.  It was a great start to a new year of my existence.

Moon Baby

July 19, 2019 by Adam in Adam

It's nice that everyone is getting so excited about my birthday today.  There are endless stories about the moon landings on NPR and YouTube.  Emma was telling me last night "50 years go your mom was in Canada waiting for a boat race."  In many ways, it's just another day - I took a shower, did the dishes, got breakfast ready, and headed out to the back shed to work.  At the same time, it's hard not to reflect on my life with all the twists and turns.  I'm generally happy and proud of the things I've done.  I've got a great family and built things that made people's lives better.  Hopefully the next 50 years are equally rewarding.

Cathartic Cleaning

July 04, 2019 by Adam in Adam

After getting Sam and Skye off on their journey, I finally took a peek into the bedroom and bathroom that Sam had inhabited for the last ten years.  It wasn't exactly in the cleanest of states, so I started by moving everything out into the "play room" area and doing some serious cleaning.  The carpet was vacuumed, emptying the dust container five times, then treated and vacuumed again.  I washed the walls and surfaces.  It started looking pretty good, though I decided I wanted to touch up the paint and headed to True Value with fifteen year-old dry cans of paint.  They worked their archeological miracles and matched the color, so this morning I was ready to go.

I painted the walls of Sam's bedroom, then worked on the trim and doors.  I listened to a science fiction audiobook, so the time passed quickly.  I managed a run in the middle, which is weird considering how worn out I was, but I suppose staying tired helps me not miss Sam so much.  I finally got to the point where I could put some furniture back, though perhaps not in the final location.  Tomorrow I start in on the bathroom.

Sam's been good about keeping me updated.  The van's air conditioning died as they passed through Idaho, and they decided to change their plans and drive through Texas at night so the cat doesn't cook.  I just heard they were shopping in Espanola, taking a break for a couple nights before making the final push on their trip.  I'm glad they're doing okay.