There is always a first time for everything right? I have logged quite a few miles on treadmills, but today I had a new first. I got flung off. It was my own fault, but damn was it funny. See, at the YMCA they have these over head flat screens right in front of the treadmills. I got sucked into watching an episode of "Monk" which I hardly ever watch. So I'm staring up and to the left and not noticing I'm slowly getting off center... I go to stop for a moment, only my feet don't land where I expect them to land (on the edges), BAM, next thing I know, I'm flung completely off the end of the treadmill.
Now, being as tall as I am, and 180+ pounds means the crash and landing sounded much worse then it was. People around thought I could have been seriously injured. I did scrape my leg up in one spot pretty good and got a nice rash burn on my arm but was otherwise fine. I kept running after my spill. The best part was when a few women behind me said, "Don't worry that's happened to me too."
Okay, on to the promised movies for today. These are from Thanksgiving day. This first one doesn't have anything special in it. Just a random 2 minute clip from my Thanksgiving day. Notice all the cheating going on in this game of "Cootie".
This next clip is of Megan playing the tuba. She has never been given specific directions on how to blow, to make your lips do that vibrating thing they need to do for brass instruments. She just sorta does it, and very well. I honestly don't think I could do that if I tried. Papa B says we should definitely consider wind instruments in her future.
Sunday, November 29, 2009
Saturday, November 28, 2009
Video & Picture Series
I'm currently in the process of uploading another 500 megs worth of movies to youtube. Only a few minutes worth of clips, but dang do I love my new camera.
For that reason, I'm going to do a 3-day series of just movie clips and pictures from the last few days. Fun stuff from before, during, and after Thanksgiving. This year was a nice mellow Thanksgiving, and for the first time since I can remember, we only did one Thanksgiving destination this year. That made things even less stressful and also made it easier to not over eat!
To kick things off, here are a couple videos taken the night before Thanksgiving. I was just going to snap a few pictures when the camera was accidentally on video mode, so I just ran with it. Megan just loves performing for the camera, what can I say!
And more of Casey as well!
For that reason, I'm going to do a 3-day series of just movie clips and pictures from the last few days. Fun stuff from before, during, and after Thanksgiving. This year was a nice mellow Thanksgiving, and for the first time since I can remember, we only did one Thanksgiving destination this year. That made things even less stressful and also made it easier to not over eat!
To kick things off, here are a couple videos taken the night before Thanksgiving. I was just going to snap a few pictures when the camera was accidentally on video mode, so I just ran with it. Megan just loves performing for the camera, what can I say!
And more of Casey as well!
Monday, November 23, 2009
2 days to weekend
Gotta love the short weeks. Today just dragged on after 2pm, because I didn't feel like starting anything ambitious that late in the day. The next two days will probably be more of the same, unless I start working on some side projects. You know, that one side project of mine to re-architect a 10 year old software product from the ground up. Hey, I might win the lottery too.
I had a ton of free time this weekend for various reasons, but I didn't get a chance to blog because I was too busying playing a new video game, Dragon Age: Origins. I'm a huge fan of Bioware games and this one is shaping up to be one of their best, if not THE best. It has one minor flaw in my opinion, and I already have a workaround via a user created mod. Gotta love the PC gamer community.
I got about 8 hours of gaming in over the 3 days of this past weekend, which is a lot for me. The progress tracking aspects of the game say I've explored about 10% of the world/game. That's decent if that is the case. I'm not rushing through it or anything, trying to explore everything/do all side quests. If that gives me 80 hours of gaming, I'd be very happy. I think Wolfenstein gave me a whole 15 hours, if that.
Thanksgiving is going to be a lot less stress this year, as we will only have one destination. Less travelling, less rushing around. Should make for a pleasant visit. And more importantly, I only have to worry about over eating once instead of twice! Yes!
I had a ton of free time this weekend for various reasons, but I didn't get a chance to blog because I was too busying playing a new video game, Dragon Age: Origins. I'm a huge fan of Bioware games and this one is shaping up to be one of their best, if not THE best. It has one minor flaw in my opinion, and I already have a workaround via a user created mod. Gotta love the PC gamer community.
I got about 8 hours of gaming in over the 3 days of this past weekend, which is a lot for me. The progress tracking aspects of the game say I've explored about 10% of the world/game. That's decent if that is the case. I'm not rushing through it or anything, trying to explore everything/do all side quests. If that gives me 80 hours of gaming, I'd be very happy. I think Wolfenstein gave me a whole 15 hours, if that.
Thanksgiving is going to be a lot less stress this year, as we will only have one destination. Less travelling, less rushing around. Should make for a pleasant visit. And more importantly, I only have to worry about over eating once instead of twice! Yes!
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Future Generation
At least half the time I take Megan to McDonalds, I see something rather disturbing. Usually my follow up thought is "Man, I should post about that." Anything from worlds most angry parents to the absolute rudest teenage workers, swearing up a storm behind the counter, ignoring people waiting to order.
Usually I end up forgetting or not having the motivation by the time I get home. But tonight was disturbing enough to post. There was an elderly black man working the counter. Clearly he was new and had trouble taking orders. A young boy came up and said they forgot the honey with his order. The man didn't quite understanding him and didn't know where the honey was. Finally a younger white worker came over and showed him where it was. As I ordered, I did my best to patiently order and help the guy out. I even jokingly said, "I'll take 2 of those honeys also, now that you know where they are." He chuckled a little. I watched as the next person ordered in absolute disgust that the guy couldn't take her order in under 10 seconds. Getting verbally frustrated that she had to repeat herself twice that she wanted the MIGHTY kids meal, not the normal kids meal. (I didn't even know there was such a thing). I got sick to my stomach as I listened to the exchange get worse, and had to walk away.
Later, when I took Megan to the bathroom, the younger worker that was helping train the older new guy was talking with another worker. The exchange went something like this:
Guy 1: "Why do they have me training that guy?"
Guy 2: "Cause I'm not gonna do it."
Guy 1: "I'm not even black, why don't they get one of the black guys to do it."
Now, I'm not going to pretend McDonalds is a bastion of good morals, or that they hire the most quality people, but seriously wtf? I've seen some crappy things there but this one takes the cake. I felt like saying something, anything, about having a little more respect. I didn't because it obviously wouldn't matter. But is this attitude of the next generation? Is this the type of prejudice my kids will grow up around? Is today's youth full of smart ass kids who think they deserve whatever they want? Does asking these questions make me a crotchety old man?
I like to think I'm accepting of different types of people. I might not be 100% comfortable in every situation I could think of, but I can imagine at least trying. Is respecting people and being tolerant of differences something that is taught by parents? I don't recall my parents teaching me anything in particular about that topic. (sorry Mom!) So how did I come to this conclusion that basic respect of other humans is a standard way of living? Who knows... but I do know two things. One, I will never ever let my kids work at a fast food restaurant. (no offense Keara!) Two, I don't know if I want to just "hope" my kids end up with those basic qualities I deem essential to being a "good" person.
Church anyone?
Usually I end up forgetting or not having the motivation by the time I get home. But tonight was disturbing enough to post. There was an elderly black man working the counter. Clearly he was new and had trouble taking orders. A young boy came up and said they forgot the honey with his order. The man didn't quite understanding him and didn't know where the honey was. Finally a younger white worker came over and showed him where it was. As I ordered, I did my best to patiently order and help the guy out. I even jokingly said, "I'll take 2 of those honeys also, now that you know where they are." He chuckled a little. I watched as the next person ordered in absolute disgust that the guy couldn't take her order in under 10 seconds. Getting verbally frustrated that she had to repeat herself twice that she wanted the MIGHTY kids meal, not the normal kids meal. (I didn't even know there was such a thing). I got sick to my stomach as I listened to the exchange get worse, and had to walk away.
Later, when I took Megan to the bathroom, the younger worker that was helping train the older new guy was talking with another worker. The exchange went something like this:
Guy 1: "Why do they have me training that guy?"
Guy 2: "Cause I'm not gonna do it."
Guy 1: "I'm not even black, why don't they get one of the black guys to do it."
Now, I'm not going to pretend McDonalds is a bastion of good morals, or that they hire the most quality people, but seriously wtf? I've seen some crappy things there but this one takes the cake. I felt like saying something, anything, about having a little more respect. I didn't because it obviously wouldn't matter. But is this attitude of the next generation? Is this the type of prejudice my kids will grow up around? Is today's youth full of smart ass kids who think they deserve whatever they want? Does asking these questions make me a crotchety old man?
I like to think I'm accepting of different types of people. I might not be 100% comfortable in every situation I could think of, but I can imagine at least trying. Is respecting people and being tolerant of differences something that is taught by parents? I don't recall my parents teaching me anything in particular about that topic. (sorry Mom!) So how did I come to this conclusion that basic respect of other humans is a standard way of living? Who knows... but I do know two things. One, I will never ever let my kids work at a fast food restaurant. (no offense Keara!) Two, I don't know if I want to just "hope" my kids end up with those basic qualities I deem essential to being a "good" person.
Church anyone?
Tuesday, November 10, 2009
Tuesday going on Friday
Oddly enough, this time last year turned out to be almost exactly the same. Great weather all weekend in the first weekend of Nov, 2008 lead to 3 days and 24 miles. This weekend was no different. Only difference this year was 3 days and 30 miles.
Last night I took Megan to get an H1N1 shot. She was a champ, totally brave. For being so good about the whole thing, we grabbed a couple chocolate dipped cones from Dairy Queen afterwards. Today she said she wanted to be a Doctor when she grows up, like the lady that gave her the shot.
Casey is also doing well, finally over the whole series of colds that came through the house a few weeks ago. Seems to be sleeping well but I know Andrea is still longing for the days where she can sleep straight from 9pm to 7am. The funny part is how I've completely forgotten when that occurs. And if it wasn't for this blog, I'd probably never remember.
It looks like Megan had some long sleeps around the end of July 2006. That would put her at just under 2 years. And then we transitioned Megan to the bed when she was just over 2 years old. Despite the fact that time seems to be flying by lately, Casey being almost 2 years old seems very far off.
Tonight I'm alone with the girls and decided not drag them around to go watch V. Casey has been going to bed around 7pm a lot recently, so I figured I don't need to push it and make her stay awake until past 8pm. I suppose I should actually go, you know, do actual Fatherly type things instead of blog about it.
Last night I took Megan to get an H1N1 shot. She was a champ, totally brave. For being so good about the whole thing, we grabbed a couple chocolate dipped cones from Dairy Queen afterwards. Today she said she wanted to be a Doctor when she grows up, like the lady that gave her the shot.
Casey is also doing well, finally over the whole series of colds that came through the house a few weeks ago. Seems to be sleeping well but I know Andrea is still longing for the days where she can sleep straight from 9pm to 7am. The funny part is how I've completely forgotten when that occurs. And if it wasn't for this blog, I'd probably never remember.
It looks like Megan had some long sleeps around the end of July 2006. That would put her at just under 2 years. And then we transitioned Megan to the bed when she was just over 2 years old. Despite the fact that time seems to be flying by lately, Casey being almost 2 years old seems very far off.
Tonight I'm alone with the girls and decided not drag them around to go watch V. Casey has been going to bed around 7pm a lot recently, so I figured I don't need to push it and make her stay awake until past 8pm. I suppose I should actually go, you know, do actual Fatherly type things instead of blog about it.
Friday, November 06, 2009
Gift from Above
Not that I actually believe in that sort of thing... but today was certainly amazing. Considering we were within 5 degrees of the record high for this time of year. I left work at 3pm and immediately got outside for a nice 10 mile run. The even better news is I have another one planned for tomorrow afternoon. Awesome way to start out the weekend in my opinion.
Tuesday this week, we decided to put TV at the top of the priority list. We headed over to Grandma Gayle's to steal my TV for an hour and watch the first episode of the new V series. I remember the original so vividly from my youth, I was just drawn to watch the remake. The fact that I was only 7 or 8 years old when the original came out is even more interesting. It was a television mini series, so it couldn't have been THAT bad, but who can forget the famous gerbil eating scene? That's something that stuck with me all these years. Will they bring that scene back? Oh, I can only hope.
Wed night we got to babysit baby Elizabeth for a few hours. My Mom had bought some T-Wolves tickets for my brother and his wife a while back. Elizabeth is only 2 weeks old, so she is still just in that sleep/eat/poop mode. The babysitting was pretty easy, as she was mildly awake for an hour or so after being dropped off, but then slept the rest of the time.
Not much else going on this weekend. On Sunday, Andrea has plans to spend some time with her Mom and hopefully get a small break and some time to herself. I'll be home with the girls all day, but Grandma Gayle will be helping out, taking Megan swimming at the Y, etc.
Tuesday this week, we decided to put TV at the top of the priority list. We headed over to Grandma Gayle's to steal my TV for an hour and watch the first episode of the new V series. I remember the original so vividly from my youth, I was just drawn to watch the remake. The fact that I was only 7 or 8 years old when the original came out is even more interesting. It was a television mini series, so it couldn't have been THAT bad, but who can forget the famous gerbil eating scene? That's something that stuck with me all these years. Will they bring that scene back? Oh, I can only hope.
Wed night we got to babysit baby Elizabeth for a few hours. My Mom had bought some T-Wolves tickets for my brother and his wife a while back. Elizabeth is only 2 weeks old, so she is still just in that sleep/eat/poop mode. The babysitting was pretty easy, as she was mildly awake for an hour or so after being dropped off, but then slept the rest of the time.
Not much else going on this weekend. On Sunday, Andrea has plans to spend some time with her Mom and hopefully get a small break and some time to herself. I'll be home with the girls all day, but Grandma Gayle will be helping out, taking Megan swimming at the Y, etc.
Monday, November 02, 2009
Halloween Pics
Good weekend, I'm too tired to post more. Spent the last 20 mins trying to come up with something fun/interesting/thought provoking to talk about, but I'm mentally spent. Everything in my life right now seems to have the volume turned up, and it's becoming hard to concentrate. So in the meantime, just some pictures up for Grandma Gayle.
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Spoke too Soon
I should be in bed. I have a bad cold and haven't been sleeping very well. Actually, last night I got a decent nights sleep because I went to bed with Megan in her bed at like 8pm. Andrea woke me up a little after 9pm and I just went back to bed right away.
I spoke too soon about the weather apparently. Tuesday night it was so sunny and semi-nice out, that despite the fact that I didn't pack for an outside run, I went for it anyway. It was a TAD cold in standard shorts and t-shirt, but after the first few miles it was great running weather. With some sunny days in the upper 40s yet to come... Who knows. After doing a full 2 hours on the treadmill last Sunday, I'm dying for more outside running.
Work is getting interesting. Interesting meaning, I can't hardly talk about it anymore, because it's gotten that bad. Thankfully, at this point, it's mostly just bitching and moaning, and not anything real. As far as the bottom line is concerned, the company as a whole seems to still be making money despite some serious attempts to fail at that. Not like what my Mom is going through, who just found out her entire COMPANY is being "sold off". And what is even worse, is my sister-in-law got a job there too, so that's two people in the "who knows if we will have a job tomorrow" camp. I'm gonna take a wild guess that is more stressful than what I'm dealing with.
It's times like these, where I start to think again about how nice it would be not to have to be a part of a system that puts no value in the individual. In other words, finding a way to work for myself and not for some abstract "company" that puts zero value in me. Sure, my manager might shower me in praise, and my co-workers might depend on me day to day. But when push comes to shove, none of that matters. Anyone I work with would stab me in the back to keep their jobs. Restructuring, lay-offs, down-sizing, whatever form it might come in. It's all just a stupid game, with everyone jocking for position to appear the most important so when that day comes, they aren't the one that's out of a job.
Maybe... just maybe, I need to start giving some serious long term thought to what it might take to become self-employed. After all, studies show that business owners have the highest overall Well-Being Index.
I spoke too soon about the weather apparently. Tuesday night it was so sunny and semi-nice out, that despite the fact that I didn't pack for an outside run, I went for it anyway. It was a TAD cold in standard shorts and t-shirt, but after the first few miles it was great running weather. With some sunny days in the upper 40s yet to come... Who knows. After doing a full 2 hours on the treadmill last Sunday, I'm dying for more outside running.
Work is getting interesting. Interesting meaning, I can't hardly talk about it anymore, because it's gotten that bad. Thankfully, at this point, it's mostly just bitching and moaning, and not anything real. As far as the bottom line is concerned, the company as a whole seems to still be making money despite some serious attempts to fail at that. Not like what my Mom is going through, who just found out her entire COMPANY is being "sold off". And what is even worse, is my sister-in-law got a job there too, so that's two people in the "who knows if we will have a job tomorrow" camp. I'm gonna take a wild guess that is more stressful than what I'm dealing with.
It's times like these, where I start to think again about how nice it would be not to have to be a part of a system that puts no value in the individual. In other words, finding a way to work for myself and not for some abstract "company" that puts zero value in me. Sure, my manager might shower me in praise, and my co-workers might depend on me day to day. But when push comes to shove, none of that matters. Anyone I work with would stab me in the back to keep their jobs. Restructuring, lay-offs, down-sizing, whatever form it might come in. It's all just a stupid game, with everyone jocking for position to appear the most important so when that day comes, they aren't the one that's out of a job.
Maybe... just maybe, I need to start giving some serious long term thought to what it might take to become self-employed. After all, studies show that business owners have the highest overall Well-Being Index.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
Quiet Evening
Due to a series of events, I find myself with more free time this weekend than I have had in quite some time. My Mom earlier in the week volunteered to have Megan over night tonight, which worked for us. Tomorrow morning, Andrea is taking the girls down to New Ulm and I'll have the day to myself.
What will I do with all this new found free time! Not much really... relax in what little ways I can. Exercise, clean, and if there is a little time left over, play some video games.
Speaking of video games, I'm sorta not happy about my Dell purchase. The damn thing keeps locking up on me, 5 minutes into any game. And it's a hard lock, meaning I have to force reboot my computer. After the reboot, I can then play for whatever length of time and it seems to be fine. I've done some research and found that this particular product line of Dell (XPS 630i) is particularly plagued with hardware problems. Question is: do I feel like figuring it out myself, or do I deal with the Dell red tape and send it back under warranty, with the generic "It locks up on me occasionally, fix it and send it back."
As the continuing rain threatens to turn to snow any day now, I'm wondering if I might not get any more outdoor runs this year. Can you believe November is right around the corner? And Casey is already 5 months old tomorrow! Zang.
What will I do with all this new found free time! Not much really... relax in what little ways I can. Exercise, clean, and if there is a little time left over, play some video games.
Speaking of video games, I'm sorta not happy about my Dell purchase. The damn thing keeps locking up on me, 5 minutes into any game. And it's a hard lock, meaning I have to force reboot my computer. After the reboot, I can then play for whatever length of time and it seems to be fine. I've done some research and found that this particular product line of Dell (XPS 630i) is particularly plagued with hardware problems. Question is: do I feel like figuring it out myself, or do I deal with the Dell red tape and send it back under warranty, with the generic "It locks up on me occasionally, fix it and send it back."
As the continuing rain threatens to turn to snow any day now, I'm wondering if I might not get any more outdoor runs this year. Can you believe November is right around the corner? And Casey is already 5 months old tomorrow! Zang.
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Right On Time
We had marked down Valerie's due date as October 21st on our calendar. It was the day I originally remembered being told. And lo and behold, what do we find? Baby Elizabeth born on October 21st, in the early morning hours right before 4am. We stopped by the hospital tonight to get a peek at the newest Anderson on the block.
I'm so excited for my brother, and so nervous right along with him. I know what he is going through in some ways, and not at all in others. Our lives are on such different tracks, that it isn't always easy to relate. I do know he is going to be a great Dad even if he doesn't know it yet. It took me time to figure that out as well. And Scott, if you are reading this, I recommend going back to the start of our Adventure and reading up. Maybe you can find some words of wisdom in my ramblings from those first few weeks Megan entered our lives.
Congrats, I love you bro!
I'm so excited for my brother, and so nervous right along with him. I know what he is going through in some ways, and not at all in others. Our lives are on such different tracks, that it isn't always easy to relate. I do know he is going to be a great Dad even if he doesn't know it yet. It took me time to figure that out as well. And Scott, if you are reading this, I recommend going back to the start of our Adventure and reading up. Maybe you can find some words of wisdom in my ramblings from those first few weeks Megan entered our lives.
Congrats, I love you bro!
Sunday, October 18, 2009
When things go as planned
As I pulled into my standard break stop to down my first gu-gel and some water, the sign on the bank said 58 degrees. Perfect running weather! I'm still hoping for one more outdoor run, even if it ends up being in colder weather. But today was perfect and exactly what the doctor ordered. 17 miles where the last mile felt good instead of wishing I was done. There is absolutely no way I could run 17 miles on a treadmill. In fact, I don't even think it would be good for my legs / feet if I could.
The rest of this weekend was pretty low key. With my Mom out of town, and just coming off Megan's birthday last weekend, we didn't have much to do or in the way of visitors. Andrea and I took the opportunity to have a little "YMCA" date, where we dropped the kids off at Kid's Stuff and just spent some time in the pool/whirlpool/sauna. After that, we grabbed 2 Disney movies from Redbox and watched them over at my Mom's place.
This morning, before my run, I took Megan to the Zoo. It's our default activity when nothing else is going on and we just need to get out of the house. It turned out to be a great time and the weather was nice enough that Megan was able to enjoy the outside stuff (new playground and the bears). We also got to see something we had never seen before, they were training the new dolphins! It was pretty cool to see a dolphin know the difference between a blue triangle and a red star shape. And then we had a nice Zoo employee sitting next to us as we watched (there was only a handfull of people there). She was very engaging with Megan, telling her about what they were doing with the dolphins. And Megan kept asking various "Why?" questions and she just kept on answering them.
Megan got up close and personal before I realized we weren't supposed to.
Dolphin learning to pick out a specific shape/color.
Megan and the bears.
The leopard was out - very rare for early morning. This is only the second time Megan and I have seen this elusive guy. The last time we saw him was at 5pm right before zoo closing time.
The rest of this weekend was pretty low key. With my Mom out of town, and just coming off Megan's birthday last weekend, we didn't have much to do or in the way of visitors. Andrea and I took the opportunity to have a little "YMCA" date, where we dropped the kids off at Kid's Stuff and just spent some time in the pool/whirlpool/sauna. After that, we grabbed 2 Disney movies from Redbox and watched them over at my Mom's place.
This morning, before my run, I took Megan to the Zoo. It's our default activity when nothing else is going on and we just need to get out of the house. It turned out to be a great time and the weather was nice enough that Megan was able to enjoy the outside stuff (new playground and the bears). We also got to see something we had never seen before, they were training the new dolphins! It was pretty cool to see a dolphin know the difference between a blue triangle and a red star shape. And then we had a nice Zoo employee sitting next to us as we watched (there was only a handfull of people there). She was very engaging with Megan, telling her about what they were doing with the dolphins. And Megan kept asking various "Why?" questions and she just kept on answering them.
Megan got up close and personal before I realized we weren't supposed to.
Dolphin learning to pick out a specific shape/color.
Megan and the bears.
The leopard was out - very rare for early morning. This is only the second time Megan and I have seen this elusive guy. The last time we saw him was at 5pm right before zoo closing time.
Thursday, October 15, 2009
Crazy Tongue Action
Figured I might as well do a few days in a row with some pictures. Having lots of fun with the new camera. With an 8gig memory stick, I can take all sorts of pictures and video for a long time. I think at maximum quality, I can take over a full hour of video footage. That's awesome!
I'm hoping that I can get outside this weekend for a decent long run on Sunday. They are promising 60 and sunny. I would kill for that, hell I'd be happy with 50 and sunny. The whole treadmill thing is getting old fast and I've only done it for 2 weeks now. I've even tried hill programs and random settings to try and keep it interesting. That helps, but it is still just not the same. Honestly, I'm also starting to think that subtle differences in muscle usage occurs when on the mill. Enough such that I am sore in weird places that I've never felt when running outdoors.
I honestly can't believe October is already half over. Where does the time go? Within a week or two, my brother is gonna be a Dad for the first time. I can't believe that is happening already! Next thing you know, our kids will be crawling around and playing together. Expect lots of footage of that coming up here by the end of the month.
For Sarah, the picture that Megan took:
Megan's first snowman of this winter:
Casey doing funny faces:
This one is priceless:
Megan holding Casey:
And finally, more fun video footage:
I'm hoping that I can get outside this weekend for a decent long run on Sunday. They are promising 60 and sunny. I would kill for that, hell I'd be happy with 50 and sunny. The whole treadmill thing is getting old fast and I've only done it for 2 weeks now. I've even tried hill programs and random settings to try and keep it interesting. That helps, but it is still just not the same. Honestly, I'm also starting to think that subtle differences in muscle usage occurs when on the mill. Enough such that I am sore in weird places that I've never felt when running outdoors.
I honestly can't believe October is already half over. Where does the time go? Within a week or two, my brother is gonna be a Dad for the first time. I can't believe that is happening already! Next thing you know, our kids will be crawling around and playing together. Expect lots of footage of that coming up here by the end of the month.
For Sarah, the picture that Megan took:
Megan's first snowman of this winter:
Casey doing funny faces:
This one is priceless:
Megan holding Casey:
And finally, more fun video footage:
Sunday, October 11, 2009
Return of the Pic
If you haven't noticed by now, it's been a huge dry spell in the picture / movie department on the ol' blog. Last time I posted a picture was back on August 9th, and those images were just horrible in quality. A combination of age and letting Megan play with my camera whenever she wanted lead to it finally breaking enough to warrant a new one.
So after much prodding, I had my brother give me a recommendation for a new one. Something reasonably priced, but still good quality. Since my brother has spent more on camera based products than I probably ever will in my life time, and has done way more research than me, I figured he would have good advice. It was basically an upgrade to my current Canon, the A1100 IS. Definitely more compact, just as easy to use, and very decent button press to picture taken response time. It's also kind of weird upgrading a camera from 512meg capacity to 8gb capacity. About the only thing I regret is that I wanted the new camera so bad, I just went and bought it from a physical store. Damn immediate gratification just cost me $20 bucks. Grrrrr...
So after much prodding, I had my brother give me a recommendation for a new one. Something reasonably priced, but still good quality. Since my brother has spent more on camera based products than I probably ever will in my life time, and has done way more research than me, I figured he would have good advice. It was basically an upgrade to my current Canon, the A1100 IS. Definitely more compact, just as easy to use, and very decent button press to picture taken response time. It's also kind of weird upgrading a camera from 512meg capacity to 8gb capacity. About the only thing I regret is that I wanted the new camera so bad, I just went and bought it from a physical store. Damn immediate gratification just cost me $20 bucks. Grrrrr...
Wednesday, October 07, 2009
The Sun Rules
After all this rain, and 4 treadmill runs, today was an awesome change of pace. A breezy but comfortable temp for an outdoor run. Probably won't be too many left this year, sometime in October always spells the end for me. I just won't run in the snow, period. I can handle 40 degrees, but not snow.
I decided I will NOT be doing a $65 dollar half marathon race at the end of this month. The price tag is just too high for the quality of that run. Too much potential for it to be way too cold or wet or both. Last year, the only reason I did the run was because it was free (paid for by work). So technically speaking, I did not run any half marathon races this year. Only two 10k's, the 25k, and that silly 1 miler. The highlight for this year was my second 10k, which was a HUGE PR of 6:50 pace. I never dreamed I could run 6.2 miles straight at under 7 minute miles. Even saying it now sounds crazy.
So the end of the year running will just wind down with whatever outdoor runs I can manage and then it's the long harsh treadmill winter. I'll survive, but I think it's going to be the hardest winter yet, based on the level and types of running I got to this year. I have really come to look forward to my long weekend runs (13-16 miles, with a few 18-20). It's a solid 2+ hour block where it's just me and the road. A lot of tough things have sorted themselves out in those chunks of time, and trust me, you just can't run on a treadmill for 13+ miles. It's damn near impossible.
Translation? It would be great if I had no big stressors over the winter. Given a few of the big things that went on this year, that I have not, and cannot share on the blog, let's hope there aren't many more
I decided I will NOT be doing a $65 dollar half marathon race at the end of this month. The price tag is just too high for the quality of that run. Too much potential for it to be way too cold or wet or both. Last year, the only reason I did the run was because it was free (paid for by work). So technically speaking, I did not run any half marathon races this year. Only two 10k's, the 25k, and that silly 1 miler. The highlight for this year was my second 10k, which was a HUGE PR of 6:50 pace. I never dreamed I could run 6.2 miles straight at under 7 minute miles. Even saying it now sounds crazy.
So the end of the year running will just wind down with whatever outdoor runs I can manage and then it's the long harsh treadmill winter. I'll survive, but I think it's going to be the hardest winter yet, based on the level and types of running I got to this year. I have really come to look forward to my long weekend runs (13-16 miles, with a few 18-20). It's a solid 2+ hour block where it's just me and the road. A lot of tough things have sorted themselves out in those chunks of time, and trust me, you just can't run on a treadmill for 13+ miles. It's damn near impossible.
Translation? It would be great if I had no big stressors over the winter. Given a few of the big things that went on this year, that I have not, and cannot share on the blog, let's hope there aren't many more
Thursday, October 01, 2009
Ground Zero
Sticking feathers up your butt does not make you a chicken.Confession time. Work effects my mood. No matter how hard I try not to let it, or how many times I try to tell myself it doesn't matter, it does. Why? That's the more important question. I had to think long and hard about that, and I finally figured it out: My ego.
- Tyler Durden
I remember well getting ready to leave my first job. I was convinced they'd be screwed without me. And when I told my close co-workers of my impending exit, they were down right frightenened because they depended on me so much. I had created an artifical sense of importance in order to feed my own ego. After I left, no earth shattering things occured. The machine kept on chugging as long as it could, with or without my help. Eventually all those people I worked with and that entire division was moved off-shore and they all lost there jobs.
So here we are today, and I've come to recognize the same thing. I have a self inflated sense of my own worth at "work". That things would just fall apart if I wasn't there. But they wouldn't. The machine will roll on, with or without my help. I might make minor contributions here and there, but by and large, the success of a company is way beyond what I do. If the current company I works for starts losing money, my contributions count for exactly dick. I'm just another line item in a budget. I've lived through lay-offs before, and to hell if I'm going to lose sleep over it.
The real lesson I should take away from my first job is this: I'm smart enough to see the end of the tracks. I knew Micron wasn't doing so well, and I could see the division I worked in was not doing so well. And although I survived a first round of lay-offs there, I was smart enough to see that sticking around longer was a gigantic waste of time, since no amount of contribution from ANYTHING would have changed the fact that the entire division was cut and everyone was out of a job.
So instead of letting work effect my mood, I'm simply going to do my best, ignore the rest, and remain unstressed. Nice little rhyme, eh? I'm so clever.
Monday, September 28, 2009
Just Another Monday
I was able to enjoy what was most likely the last good weather this past weekend. I did a quick 6 miler on Saturday evening and a 14 miler on Sunday late morning. The Sunday run was windy as hell and drizzled a little bit, but nothing too bad.
It's crazy to think there are only 3 months left in this year, with Casey already hitting the 4 month mark. Maybe it felt different with Megan because she was born in October and we had the long winter together. Or maybe I've just been too busy with work, running, or Megan. Whatever it might be, it feels like Casey is growing up dang fast. In Megan related news, she is totally excited to turn 4. For various reasons, she has it in her head that once she turns 4, she can go outside all by herself. She is always talking about things she will be able to do when she is bigger. It's fun to hear her get so excited for the future.
I've been thinking a lot lately about that very topic. The future. About goals and aspirations. About home life, personal life, family life, work life. The pieces of the puzzle are constantly in flux, and just when I start to solidify a picture, something will come along to jumble it all up again. But one question has been rising to the top of "Shawn's bag of questions" more often recently. What kind of Father do I want to be?
So far, I've been surviving on the default approach. Love, caring, and support. They are pretty safe bets, and if you do nothing else, you're probably doing okay if you stick to those basic needs. And when you're almost 4 year old looks up and you and tells you for the first time, "You are the best Daddy ever." you have to assume you are doing SOMETHING right.
But love, caring, and support only go so far. Kids need teachers. They also need limits and boundaries. Things I absolutely suck at. Megan's asleep on the couch next to me, because it's easier than dealing with forcing her back in her room. Is it not that big of a deal, or will it come back to haunt me when she is 13 and trying to walk all over me?
It's crazy to think there are only 3 months left in this year, with Casey already hitting the 4 month mark. Maybe it felt different with Megan because she was born in October and we had the long winter together. Or maybe I've just been too busy with work, running, or Megan. Whatever it might be, it feels like Casey is growing up dang fast. In Megan related news, she is totally excited to turn 4. For various reasons, she has it in her head that once she turns 4, she can go outside all by herself. She is always talking about things she will be able to do when she is bigger. It's fun to hear her get so excited for the future.
I've been thinking a lot lately about that very topic. The future. About goals and aspirations. About home life, personal life, family life, work life. The pieces of the puzzle are constantly in flux, and just when I start to solidify a picture, something will come along to jumble it all up again. But one question has been rising to the top of "Shawn's bag of questions" more often recently. What kind of Father do I want to be?
So far, I've been surviving on the default approach. Love, caring, and support. They are pretty safe bets, and if you do nothing else, you're probably doing okay if you stick to those basic needs. And when you're almost 4 year old looks up and you and tells you for the first time, "You are the best Daddy ever." you have to assume you are doing SOMETHING right.
But love, caring, and support only go so far. Kids need teachers. They also need limits and boundaries. Things I absolutely suck at. Megan's asleep on the couch next to me, because it's easier than dealing with forcing her back in her room. Is it not that big of a deal, or will it come back to haunt me when she is 13 and trying to walk all over me?
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Regularly Scheduled
Been a pretty good week. Nothing spectacular, but nothing overly stressful either. Probably the most stressful thing right now is that Casey has a bad cold which Megan also just got. This has made for some rough sleeping nights and grumpy day time. I'm just waiting for it to turn into ear infections...
Although I haven't been worried about work much this week, I have been thinking about it. Thinking about my place in the machine and all that. I have grandiose ideas, but I've come to terms with the fact that I'll never do anything with them. For various reasons, not the least of which is, I'm more or less convinced I wouldn't get the recognition (and compensation) I would deserve. But earlier this week, I had a crazy work dream. I dreamt I was in a meeting that was so pointless, I just had to say "This is stupid" and walk out of the meeting. That exact meeting, with all the players from the dream, took place today. Weird huh? Only difference is I didn't walk out, I suffered through it.
I'm still not looking forward to being forced indoors, so I'm going to try and enjoy as many runs these last few weeks as I can handle. Last night I wussed out due to being tired (I went to bed at 8:30pm I was so tired!!). But I've been pushing out some hard miles. I'd say there's a greater than 50% chance I'm going to do the half marathon race on Halloween.
Although I haven't been worried about work much this week, I have been thinking about it. Thinking about my place in the machine and all that. I have grandiose ideas, but I've come to terms with the fact that I'll never do anything with them. For various reasons, not the least of which is, I'm more or less convinced I wouldn't get the recognition (and compensation) I would deserve. But earlier this week, I had a crazy work dream. I dreamt I was in a meeting that was so pointless, I just had to say "This is stupid" and walk out of the meeting. That exact meeting, with all the players from the dream, took place today. Weird huh? Only difference is I didn't walk out, I suffered through it.
I'm still not looking forward to being forced indoors, so I'm going to try and enjoy as many runs these last few weeks as I can handle. Last night I wussed out due to being tired (I went to bed at 8:30pm I was so tired!!). But I've been pushing out some hard miles. I'd say there's a greater than 50% chance I'm going to do the half marathon race on Halloween.
Monday, September 21, 2009
End of Summer
With the crappy race and my general mood of last week, I didn't have much hopes for the weekend. In fact, Friday night I went for a "run" that could hardly qualify as such. I was just so mentally beat that I even stopped to walk a few times, and only managed few miles. Ugh, bleh, and general blah.
Saturday rolls around and we do some basic stuff. Megan at dance class followed up by a quick (and hot) afternoon birthday party with visit to grandmas as well. We were sorta all over. But Saturday evening I was able to sneak away and spend some time with a good friend and catch a movie.
That evening with my friend basically flipped my entire weekend around, for a few reasons. You see, my friend is going through some incredibly tough shit. Stuff that, in my humble opinion, would just destroy someone. And in a way, that's exactly what happened. I had been getting glimpses of what was going on over the last year, but it wasn't until this weekend that I got the whole picture.
Part of me was just so completely saddened to hear all the ways that life was essentially kicking his ass. And just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, life found ways to kick him while he was down. Another part of me was disappointed in myself as a friend. Shouldn't I have seen this? Wouldn't a better friend have made time to realize what was going on? Is this another side effect of being too wrapped up in my own life?
One last part of me also started to realize how good life HAS been to me, and how quickly it can all change. Maybe I'm just insanely lucky. Maybe my "plan for the worst" approach has some merit. I might be overly pessimistic, but in this day, can you afford not to be?
Sunday morning I took all that jumble of stuff and ran it out. No more complaining, no more whining, no more blahs. If life is going to continue to beat up on my family, my friends, and everyone I love and care about, then the last thing I'm going to do is let it beat up on me too. If you dig deep, and push hard enough, sometimes you can surprise yourself and find just a little more.
Saturday rolls around and we do some basic stuff. Megan at dance class followed up by a quick (and hot) afternoon birthday party with visit to grandmas as well. We were sorta all over. But Saturday evening I was able to sneak away and spend some time with a good friend and catch a movie.
That evening with my friend basically flipped my entire weekend around, for a few reasons. You see, my friend is going through some incredibly tough shit. Stuff that, in my humble opinion, would just destroy someone. And in a way, that's exactly what happened. I had been getting glimpses of what was going on over the last year, but it wasn't until this weekend that I got the whole picture.
Part of me was just so completely saddened to hear all the ways that life was essentially kicking his ass. And just when you thought it couldn't get any worse, life found ways to kick him while he was down. Another part of me was disappointed in myself as a friend. Shouldn't I have seen this? Wouldn't a better friend have made time to realize what was going on? Is this another side effect of being too wrapped up in my own life?
One last part of me also started to realize how good life HAS been to me, and how quickly it can all change. Maybe I'm just insanely lucky. Maybe my "plan for the worst" approach has some merit. I might be overly pessimistic, but in this day, can you afford not to be?
Sunday morning I took all that jumble of stuff and ran it out. No more complaining, no more whining, no more blahs. If life is going to continue to beat up on my family, my friends, and everyone I love and care about, then the last thing I'm going to do is let it beat up on me too. If you dig deep, and push hard enough, sometimes you can surprise yourself and find just a little more.
Thursday, September 17, 2009
Dark Moods
With October right around the corner, my self diagnosed minor case of Seasonal Affective Disorder seems to be kicking in. Funny thing is, it hit me in April too, I just had too much stuff going on to realize it at the time. I like to think that it has a lot to do with being trapped inside for a few months with no running, but who knows. Maybe I'm just not getting enough sleep.
I was watching Megan and our neighbors kids jumping on the trampoline tonight, and my neighbor comes over and asks, "Is everything okay?". I assumed he was referring to the kids, and of course, everything was fine. But perhaps he just happened to notice me in one of my brooding states (and if he reads this, maybe he'll let me know which it was ☺).
We also had another conversation, which for various reasons, included him asking me what I thought the purpose of life was. At first I was taken a little off guard. It's not too often someone goes there. In fact, I honestly can't recall the last time someone just straight up asked me that. I tried to articulate an answer, but that's tough to do in 60 seconds, and his youngest was crying for Daddy to come inside. Fast food philosophy, deep thoughts in a minute or less or you're next question is free! Oh the challenges of parenting.
It did get me thinking though, about how much I missed discussing/thinking about deeper things, and how nice it would be to just have long talks about those things in life that you don't talk about much. Am I alone in my peers, not having a defined purpose? Am I weird for thinking the "search for purpose" is something that should never stop until the day you die? Do all 30 somethings around me have it all figured out, with a clearly defined since of purpose, that somehow I passed up because of my life choices and life views?
I was also reminded that at one point, I had high hopes that my blog would be an outlet for deep thought. I've attempted to from time to time, but it always either comes out wrong, negative, or as rants. There has got to be a middle ground where I can still "vent" about things that piss me off, but also share other things I think about from time to time. Maybe I'll work on that for October...
I was watching Megan and our neighbors kids jumping on the trampoline tonight, and my neighbor comes over and asks, "Is everything okay?". I assumed he was referring to the kids, and of course, everything was fine. But perhaps he just happened to notice me in one of my brooding states (and if he reads this, maybe he'll let me know which it was ☺).
We also had another conversation, which for various reasons, included him asking me what I thought the purpose of life was. At first I was taken a little off guard. It's not too often someone goes there. In fact, I honestly can't recall the last time someone just straight up asked me that. I tried to articulate an answer, but that's tough to do in 60 seconds, and his youngest was crying for Daddy to come inside. Fast food philosophy, deep thoughts in a minute or less or you're next question is free! Oh the challenges of parenting.
It did get me thinking though, about how much I missed discussing/thinking about deeper things, and how nice it would be to just have long talks about those things in life that you don't talk about much. Am I alone in my peers, not having a defined purpose? Am I weird for thinking the "search for purpose" is something that should never stop until the day you die? Do all 30 somethings around me have it all figured out, with a clearly defined since of purpose, that somehow I passed up because of my life choices and life views?
I was also reminded that at one point, I had high hopes that my blog would be an outlet for deep thought. I've attempted to from time to time, but it always either comes out wrong, negative, or as rants. There has got to be a middle ground where I can still "vent" about things that piss me off, but also share other things I think about from time to time. Maybe I'll work on that for October...
Sunday, September 13, 2009
Monday Already?
After a few 3 day weekends, the whole 2 day weekend just doesn't seem like enough. I wanna say there was something blog worthy last week, but time just snuck away from me. Of course, the new computer doesn't help matters. Squeezing in the time for video games has got to take time from something. I bought a new game on Friday - I've installed it, but not even started it once yet.
On the work front, I'm predicting that the next 4-5 months will be "interesting". And when I say "interesting" I mean, even if a bunch of things that are currently in motion go "well", there is still a large chance of fail. The thing that will be interesting, is to see how that fail plays itself out. Who will point fingers? Where will the blame fall? Will there be a shake-up or will we just move on?
As for running, I just had my last race of the year today. The long cold winter and loss of motivation is going to set in soon enough, but I should be able to get in at least a few more weeks of outdoor running. Last year, my last race ended on a high note. This year ended on a flop.
I set out with a goal pace of under 7:30, and I achieved that. Offical time has me at 7:27 pace, my watch was 7:22 pace. But overall, it was just a bad race. There were a few possbile contributing factors. I maybe didn't eat/fuel correctly yesterday. Maybe the humidity/heat got to me in the later half of the race. Perhaps I started too fast for a 25k race. Whatever it was, although I achieved my goal, mentally I did not. My per-mile pace tells the story:
I essentially ran two races. The first half of the race where I was feeling good, going strong with a 7 minute pace. I wasn't worried about keeping up the 7 minute pace the entire time, I figured maybe midway I'd slow it down to 7:15s (which I did). However, shortly after mile 9, things just fell apart. I just had no energy, I had nothing to dig into, and I wanted to quit more than any race I've ever done. Mentally I had basically given up. Every time someone passed me, instead of trying to keep pace, I just fell farther behind. It took every ounce of will power just to maintain sub 8s.
I'm honestly not sure I can end this year with this race. I might have to cough up some dough and end on the same race I ended with last year: the Monster Dash Half Marathon . $65 dollars is a lot to pay just for my bruised ego.
On the work front, I'm predicting that the next 4-5 months will be "interesting". And when I say "interesting" I mean, even if a bunch of things that are currently in motion go "well", there is still a large chance of fail. The thing that will be interesting, is to see how that fail plays itself out. Who will point fingers? Where will the blame fall? Will there be a shake-up or will we just move on?
As for running, I just had my last race of the year today. The long cold winter and loss of motivation is going to set in soon enough, but I should be able to get in at least a few more weeks of outdoor running. Last year, my last race ended on a high note. This year ended on a flop.
I set out with a goal pace of under 7:30, and I achieved that. Offical time has me at 7:27 pace, my watch was 7:22 pace. But overall, it was just a bad race. There were a few possbile contributing factors. I maybe didn't eat/fuel correctly yesterday. Maybe the humidity/heat got to me in the later half of the race. Perhaps I started too fast for a 25k race. Whatever it was, although I achieved my goal, mentally I did not. My per-mile pace tells the story:
I essentially ran two races. The first half of the race where I was feeling good, going strong with a 7 minute pace. I wasn't worried about keeping up the 7 minute pace the entire time, I figured maybe midway I'd slow it down to 7:15s (which I did). However, shortly after mile 9, things just fell apart. I just had no energy, I had nothing to dig into, and I wanted to quit more than any race I've ever done. Mentally I had basically given up. Every time someone passed me, instead of trying to keep pace, I just fell farther behind. It took every ounce of will power just to maintain sub 8s.
I'm honestly not sure I can end this year with this race. I might have to cough up some dough and end on the same race I ended with last year: the Monster Dash Half Marathon . $65 dollars is a lot to pay just for my bruised ego.
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