I Am the Only One Here

November 20, 2019 by Adam in Adam

Work is moving along.  Lots of meetings while I try to get work done.  This morning I jumped on to one of our many work communication tools and got the message "You Are The Only One Here."  It was a little too philosophical for eight in the morning.  Apparently we're adding in even more conferencing tools - I think we use Slack, Teams, Skype, WebEx, GoToMeeting, and soon we'll add Zoom.  At least we have a variety of things to try if one fails.

I still am really enjoying my job.  There's always a tension of quality versus new features, but hopefully I'm walking that tightrope.  It's cool making features that people get excited about.  I also occasionaly talk with clients and sort through problems, though I find I get the most satisfaction making stuff.

It's strange having these forced vacations a few times a year, this one being the week of Thanksgiving.  I've already got a fair amount of house and yard projects queued up, though I'm hoping I can make some good progress on Red Dead Redemption 2.  My cowboy game continues to be entertaining, though I can see how I'll eventually want to wrap things up.

What Did We Do This Weekend?

November 18, 2019 by Adam in Family

Not all that much happened this weekend. 

Emma had brunch with Yayoe.  Ben had a friend over and they made a pillow fort to sleep in downstairs.  Duncan had a sleepover at a friend's birthday party and they stayed up too late watching vaguely inappropriate movies. Joanna went to a writer's conference both afternoons.  I played my cowboy game and kept everyone fed and in clean dishes.  Emma and I did sneak away to play board games at 16 Tons before going food shopping, which was nice.

I chatted with Sam for a long while.  He was playing a game that involved hiring people and exploring a sci-fi world, so we chatted while he played.  

And now it's back to a week of work and school again.  I'll probably continue listening to the impeachment hearings while writing code, though I have a fair bit of meetings this morning.

Mocha Friday

November 15, 2019 by Adam in Family

The kids are getting ready for school and I've got my mocha ready to be made.  It's been another typical week.  Joanna and I went out for sushi on Wednesday, strolling around downtown in the cool night weather.  I've been working on a somewhat tricky work project that I'm hoping to wrap up today, probably while listening to the impeachment hearings.  Hopefully this weekend we can have some good hangout time, though Emma has warned me of some homework help she'll need.

Minecraft at Mopop

November 12, 2019 by Adam in Duncan

Duncan's video editing continues to impress.  He threw together a little video of his Minecraft exhibit visit in Seattle while coming back on the train.

Three Day Weekend

November 12, 2019 by Adam in Family

I haven't updated for awhile, mostly as the the days have been generally uneventful.

Joanna took Duncan up to Seattle on the train Friday afternoon to see the Minecraft exhibit at the Museum of Pop Culture.  He reported he had a good time.  Joanna generally took it pretty easy and it was relatively quiet the last few days.

Friday night was just Ben and I and we ate cereal for dinner as we threatened to do.  It was actually pretty fun for the two of us to hang out - we played Lovers in a Dangerous Spacetime and lots of Human Fall Flat.  Emma joined us Saturday afternoon and we watched YouTube videos about moon rocks and underwater lasers while eating pizza, as is the way of our people.

I chatted with Sam, who had his first week at work.  I think he's doing relatively well.  He said he was trained by one person who didn't speak english very well, then Sam had to train someone his third day in.  Still, I think he's happy to be finally working after a long search.

I managed to do a little yard work, putting leaves in our compost, on the garden beds, and the rest out in the street.  Sweeping the patio was satisfying as I slowly work through my scifi audiobook.

I haven't seen mom in a little while as she reported having a lung infection and was steering clear of everyone, though I'm hoping to see her today.  

The only other event of note is that Emma went with Jordan and Nick to Swan Lake, getting all prettied up for the occasion.  I think she liked it quite a bit.

Moving Along

November 07, 2019 by Adam in Family

It's Wednesday.  Not much has really happened.  Joanna was feeling tired and sore yesterday after running around, so she's taking it easier than normal today.  In theory it's date night, but I suspect it'll really involve picking up takeout and having a quiet dinner at home.

I continue to play my cowboy game.  My favorite part is hanging around the campfire with my gang, singing along to the songs or drinking coffee in the morning and watching the sun rise.

Toilets, Television, and Video Games

November 04, 2019 by Adam in Family

It was another low-key weekend.  Emma fixed a couple toilets, with me providing parts and instructions.   Joanna took Duncan and Ben to see a musical - Newsies, which had our neighbor Flynn in.  More of my cowboy game was played.  Emma and I watched Disenchanted.  I took Joanna for a little walk around the neighborhood.  Emma was proud that she read a couple books, so we went to the library to get more.  Sam's done with his training and starts his job today.  

I've got a little running around this morning, first to Oregon Research Institute to answer questions about mom.  She's apparently in a research study.  Then it's work meetings all morning.  Presumably dad is coming for dinner tonight.  Busy, busy.

Post-Halloween Mocha

November 01, 2019 by Adam in Family

I'm working on my Friday mocha, recovering from the Halloween festivities from the night before.  The kids managed to carve pumpkins and throw together costumes at the last minute, heading out with friends.  Ben got a little overwhelmed at one point and came home with patient friends and a costume change, then headed out again much more cheerful.  Joanna and I stayed near the door, handing out huge globs of candy to whomever came by, though we still ended up with leftovers.  Both kids finally returned with big loot hauls.

Emma called and kept me entertained as she worked on homework and I handed out candy.  It'll be nice to see her tonight.  Sam reports that his first day of training involved watching videos.  Joanna had her surgery checkup and all seems normal.  I'm wading through a somewhat tricky import/export feature today, redoing a fair amount of someone else's work.

Happy Halloween

October 31, 2019 by Adam in Family

The days keep getting darker and coler.  Last night Joanna and I walked down to our neighborhood mexican restaraunt, bundled up in scarves and wool hats.  I should make a final pass on our garden to harvest whatever is left before the frosts come every night.

We're pretty disorganized this Halloween.  I don't really have a costume for the day.  I scooped out the guts from a couple pumpkins last night, roasting the seeds.  We'll see if anyone ends up carving them.  Ben applied to be a gravedigger a couple weeks ago at the house with "gravedigger wanted" sign.  Much to our amusement, they got the job, helped put up graves, and have another gig handing out candy tonight.

It's also Sam's first day of training at his new job at a supermarket.  Hopefully that goes well.  It's his first birthday far away, so I'm trying to put together a birthday package I can mail him.

Work's doing relatively well.  I got a small bonus for essentially doing my job, which is nice.  I helped get a security certification by answering questions about our application.  My big feature is 95% done, importing and exporting stuff between systems.  It's not necessarily glamorous, but it's fairly important to have.

Fall Weekend

October 28, 2019 by Adam in Family

It was a pleasant, low-key weekend.  We didn't do all that much beyond the usual cooking, cleaning, grocery shopping necessities.  Emma and I had some good hangout time, watching Disenchanted and playing my current cowboy game.  We watched some science YouTube channels while eating pizza.  I took Emma and Duncan to the library on Sunday, with Emma reading over half a Young Adult book later that day.  Joanna continues to heal, increasingly capable and cheerful as time passes.

Sam and Skye called and I gathered up kids to play the new Jackbox games.  We picked a few good ones and spent quite a bit of time laughing until they had to go.  One was a personality test, another guess-the-alien, and another was defining a new word.  My personality test was a little spot-on.  

It sounds like Sam's doing well and he thinks he'll be getting a grocery store job shortly, which I think would be a relief for all.