The Questions:
1. I don't think anyone gets the childhood they THINK they deserve. Because parents are human and they make mistakes. That being said; what did you lesson(s) did you learn from your parents that you used when raising your own children?
I was lucky to have a great childhood with exceptional parents. I like to think I learned from my parents to be fair, loving and be involved in your kids lives.
2. I find myself caught up in the lives of people I only know through blogging. Who have you "met" through the blogosphere that you would like to meet in real life and why?
I have many blogs I check in on almost every day. Here are a few:
Tantrum Warehouse - Elizabeth is funny and a fairly new Mom.
Keep Up with Me - Zandria is local, which makes many of her posts of interest since I know the setting, etc.
So the Fish Said - Beth is also local and encouraged me to start a blog. She's sort of overwhelmed these days with two young children.
A Quiet Life - Laura lives in Alaska and has a lot of cats. We connected through Holidailes last year. We both work for the Government so we had that connection. She takes great pictures as well.
True(ish) Story - Tess is just plain funny.
This Isn't What I Ordered - What can I say? Fannie is witty, has a cute terrier and agreed to interview me.
There are plenty more I follow. Just ask.
3. What three things MUST you have to spend a night away from home?
A. A toothbrush
B. Contacts or glasses
C. Clean underwear/socks
4. In my opinion there are "Mountain" people and "Ocean" people. Think about where you would live, work, vacation, etc given the chance. Which are you?
Definitely ocean people. We vacation at the beach every year. I'd love to retire and live at the beach.
5. What adjective do people use to describe you that secretly pleases you?
Hmmm..I don't really know how people describe me other than quiet and short. I did attend a meeting in LA recently where we all had to get up and introduce ourselves including what we did for fun. When I mentioned rowing and biking my Deputy Program Manager later said to me he had wondered what type of workouts I did (he's big runner) to be in such good shape so I guess that was a pleasant surprise.
The Rules:
1. Leave me a comment saying, "Interview me."
2. I will respond by emailing you five questions. I get to pick the questions.
3. You will update your blog with the answers to the questions.
4. You will include this explanation and an offer to interview someone else in the same post.
5. When others comment asking to be interviewed, you will ask them five questions.
Wednesday, February 25, 2009
Monday, February 23, 2009
Relationship
I've seen this relationship meme making the rounds on the Internet such as at Tantrum Warehouse, Sundry, Dooce and Bitchypoo, so I'll take a stab at it.
What are your middle names?
Ann is Cecilia. I have no middle name. Weird but true. I had a heck of a time convincing my 3rd Grade teacher that I didn't have one to the point she sent a note home to my parents.
How long have you been together?
We started dating in 1975 and were married in 1976 so that's 34 years. Damn we are old.
How long did you know each other before you started dating?
Maybe a week. We met in a class our employer sent us to. I was living in Charleston, SC and Ann was living in Virginia, where the class was held.
Who asked whom out?
Ann asked me out during a class break. There was a Holiday Inn with a lounge/bar next door to the office building where we were taking our class. We went there after class for drinks/dinner.
How old are each of you?
We are both 57. Ann is two months older than me.
Whose siblings do you see the most?
Ann's only sibling, an older brother, died in an auto accident along with his wife when he was in his 20s so we that leaves my siblings by default. Of my brother and sister, I see my sister the most.
Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple?
Right now it's money and dealing with The Son.
Did you go to the same school?
No. Ann went to Ohio University and I went to Auburn. We did go to Graduate School at George Washington University together though.
Are you from the same home town?
No. Ann was born in Washington, DC and grew up in Maryland. I was born in NJ and grew up in NJ, North Carolina and Maryland.
Who is smarter?
I'd say Ann is probably smarter. She graduated with high honors. I graduated. Enough said there.
Who is the most sensitive?
Ann definitely. I'm much more laid back.
Where do you eat out most as a couple?
We eat out usually once or twice a week. Every Friday we have pizza at the Pizza Gourmet. It's our Cheers. The waitresses bring us our drinks without having to ask what we want.
Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?
Probably Miami to watch Daughter#2 play in a soccer tournament.
Who has the craziest exes?
Neither of us dated much in high school or college so crazy exes are not existent.
Who has the worst temper?
Ann by a wide margin.
Who does the cooking?
Ann does the majority of the cooking. I cook Wednesday and if we grill outside, I'll do that.
Who is the neat-freak?
Ha, if you saw our house it would become obvious that neither one of us is. We have people come in to do the cleaning for us. We think it's money well spent.
Who is more stubborn?
Definitely it's Ann. I think I see a trend here.
Who hogs the bed?
I'd say probably me, but only because Ann is not a cuddler and flees to her side of the bed to avoid contact.
Who wakes up earlier?
Ann does. She gets up at an ungodly hour even on weekends. Sleep is to be savored.
Where was your first date?
At a place called the Purple Parachute. That was the name of the lounge/bar in the Holiday Inn. Our Happy Hour date lasted much longer than either of us planned.
Who is more jealous?
I can't say either of us acts very jealous.
How long did it take to get serious?
Almost right away. We were taking a four week course together so we saw each other every day in class and went out every night and on the weekends. We knew each other pretty well by the time I headed back to South Carolina.
Who eats more?
I do by a far margin.
Who does the laundry?
I'll get the laundry started. I gather all the dirty clothes and get them down to the laundry room and starting the first load. As far as keeping things moving along, it's whomever is available. Its about 50/50 for finishing up and doing the folding.
Who’s better with the computer?
We both know the basics, but not much more. I might have a slight edge here. When things get hairy we call The Son.
Who drives when you are together?
I do 95% of the driving when we go somewhere.
fell free to copy the questions and answer in your blog.
What are your middle names?
Ann is Cecilia. I have no middle name. Weird but true. I had a heck of a time convincing my 3rd Grade teacher that I didn't have one to the point she sent a note home to my parents.
How long have you been together?
We started dating in 1975 and were married in 1976 so that's 34 years. Damn we are old.
How long did you know each other before you started dating?
Maybe a week. We met in a class our employer sent us to. I was living in Charleston, SC and Ann was living in Virginia, where the class was held.
Who asked whom out?
Ann asked me out during a class break. There was a Holiday Inn with a lounge/bar next door to the office building where we were taking our class. We went there after class for drinks/dinner.
How old are each of you?
We are both 57. Ann is two months older than me.
Whose siblings do you see the most?
Ann's only sibling, an older brother, died in an auto accident along with his wife when he was in his 20s so we that leaves my siblings by default. Of my brother and sister, I see my sister the most.
Which situation is the hardest on you as a couple?
Right now it's money and dealing with The Son.
Did you go to the same school?
No. Ann went to Ohio University and I went to Auburn. We did go to Graduate School at George Washington University together though.
Are you from the same home town?
No. Ann was born in Washington, DC and grew up in Maryland. I was born in NJ and grew up in NJ, North Carolina and Maryland.
Who is smarter?
I'd say Ann is probably smarter. She graduated with high honors. I graduated. Enough said there.
Who is the most sensitive?
Ann definitely. I'm much more laid back.
Where do you eat out most as a couple?
We eat out usually once or twice a week. Every Friday we have pizza at the Pizza Gourmet. It's our Cheers. The waitresses bring us our drinks without having to ask what we want.
Where is the furthest you two have traveled together as a couple?
Probably Miami to watch Daughter#2 play in a soccer tournament.
Who has the craziest exes?
Neither of us dated much in high school or college so crazy exes are not existent.
Who has the worst temper?
Ann by a wide margin.
Who does the cooking?
Ann does the majority of the cooking. I cook Wednesday and if we grill outside, I'll do that.
Who is the neat-freak?
Ha, if you saw our house it would become obvious that neither one of us is. We have people come in to do the cleaning for us. We think it's money well spent.
Who is more stubborn?
Definitely it's Ann. I think I see a trend here.
Who hogs the bed?
I'd say probably me, but only because Ann is not a cuddler and flees to her side of the bed to avoid contact.
Who wakes up earlier?
Ann does. She gets up at an ungodly hour even on weekends. Sleep is to be savored.
Where was your first date?
At a place called the Purple Parachute. That was the name of the lounge/bar in the Holiday Inn. Our Happy Hour date lasted much longer than either of us planned.
Who is more jealous?
I can't say either of us acts very jealous.
How long did it take to get serious?
Almost right away. We were taking a four week course together so we saw each other every day in class and went out every night and on the weekends. We knew each other pretty well by the time I headed back to South Carolina.
Who eats more?
I do by a far margin.
Who does the laundry?
I'll get the laundry started. I gather all the dirty clothes and get them down to the laundry room and starting the first load. As far as keeping things moving along, it's whomever is available. Its about 50/50 for finishing up and doing the folding.
Who’s better with the computer?
We both know the basics, but not much more. I might have a slight edge here. When things get hairy we call The Son.
Who drives when you are together?
I do 95% of the driving when we go somewhere.
fell free to copy the questions and answer in your blog.
Monday, February 16, 2009
In Hot Water
This past Saturday as Ii turned on the water in our shower I heard this "clunk" noise. I really didn't think anything of it and proceeded to shower. After showering I tried turning the shower off and it wouldn't, at least not all the way. I played around with it for a bit, but the best I could do was get the water to slow to a trickle. Ann got on the phone and finally managed to track down a plumber who would come out on a Saturday. I turned off the water at the main shut-off valve so we wouldn't run up our water bill. The plumber showed up about 2:30 and inspected the defective valve and then called me into the bathroom. I know whenever repairmen, regardless of their trade, call you into look at something, it is never good news. So it was in this case as well. What had messed up the valve was debris from the hot water heater. Apparently our hot water heater is of the age (it's about 18 to 20 years old) where it had started to disintegrate from the inside and sending debris through the water pipes. Clearly it needed to be replaced. In fact I had discussed replacing it back in December before all the kids and their families arrived as the hot water heater was not operating very well at all. It barely could handle back to back showers. The plumber, after repairing the valve, said he could install a new one on Sunday without the weekend overtime and we agreed. Here is a picture of the old hot water heater. It sits in a very tight space in the basement inside the furnace room. It's a 65 gallon tank.
So on Sunday the plumber arrives, only 30 minutes late, and begins the roughly three hour job of replacing the hot water heater. About half-way through the operation I get the dreaded "could you come down here for a moment" request from the plumber. Turns out that they no longer make 65 gallon hot water tanks. They now come in 66 gallon models. That makes no sense to me, but I'm also not a plumber. The new model, beside being a gallon larger is also a bit shorter and stouter than the old tank. Guess where it will no longer fit? If you guessed the old space in the furnace room, you would be correct. The new tank wouldn't fit. The good news he could locate it such that it still fit in the furnace room and not block access to the furnace or to the water shut-off valves in the back of this room. It looks a bit strange sitting where it does, but it does give us hot water so I can't complain too much. Except for the empty feeling in my wallet. Our new hot water heater:
So on Sunday the plumber arrives, only 30 minutes late, and begins the roughly three hour job of replacing the hot water heater. About half-way through the operation I get the dreaded "could you come down here for a moment" request from the plumber. Turns out that they no longer make 65 gallon hot water tanks. They now come in 66 gallon models. That makes no sense to me, but I'm also not a plumber. The new model, beside being a gallon larger is also a bit shorter and stouter than the old tank. Guess where it will no longer fit? If you guessed the old space in the furnace room, you would be correct. The new tank wouldn't fit. The good news he could locate it such that it still fit in the furnace room and not block access to the furnace or to the water shut-off valves in the back of this room. It looks a bit strange sitting where it does, but it does give us hot water so I can't complain too much. Except for the empty feeling in my wallet. Our new hot water heater: 2009 High School Erg Sprnts
Saturday my rowing club hosted our annual erg sprint competition (6th year!) for the local high schools. What are erg sprints you ask? Basically an erg is an indoor rowing machine. Its primary purpose is to keep rowers (and others) in shape. It mimics what you experience out on the water or close anyway. While some erg all year round, most of us tend to use it most during the colder months when going out on the water is no longer possible. The thing about erging though - it's boring. Concept2, the maker of the erg, is always running various challenges on their web site to give us something to shoot for, to relive the boredom. Our erg sprints, we like to think, gives the high school kids something to train and shoot for as their winter training starts to wind down. Something to break up the monotony. To see how they match up with their counterparts from the other local high schools. They will begin on the water training the end of this month. My job for the sprints was the set-up and take down. A roadie of sorts. We hold the sprints at our local Golds Gym where we (my rowing club) and Golds have about 20 or so ergs available. We use only 10 for the sprints so we have to move the others out of the way and reconfigure how the ergs are lined up. We set them up facing each other to make the cabling to the computer easier. As the kids race, you can watch their progress up on a TV brought in for this purpose. Each erg shows up as a small boat that travels across the screen at a speed based on how hard and fast the rower ergs. Various information during the race is also compiled, stored and provided to their coaches. Here the ergs are set up and we're testing the connection.
In this picture, which as I remember is for the freshman girls, sit ready for the start. The girl on the far right, in the green shirt, ended up having some sort of what I perceived as a diabetic episode, almost fainted as they tried to push sugar into her via a candy bar. She didn't finish this race, but came back later and erged in the relays so good for her for hanging in there.
Here lightweight girls sit ready for their race. Lightweight girls weigh 130 or less. When Daughter#1 did high school crew the weight limit was 120 lbs. Lightweight boys weigh 165 lbs or less. When The Son did Crew, the weight limit for boys was 145 lbs or less.
Next up the senior girls open weight category. The two girls closest the camera broke the record for their category. Congrats to them.
Another picture of the lightweight girls during their race. It gets quite loud as the crowd gets into urging their racer on.
One of the final races before the relays, was the coxswain race. They race for only 500 meters as opposed to 1,000 meters for the freshmen and 1,500 meters for everyone else. These three girls (left to right) Molly, Devon and Katie also coxed for the men's side of my rowing club. They were a delight to work with and did a heck of a job for us. Molly finished first, Katie second and Devon fourth. Nice work ladies.
Finally I've included a video for your enjoyment of the start and first minute of the senior women's race. Just remember that after the video stops, they still have another four minutes of hard rowing to go. On Saturday we had no fainting, although two close calls and only one puker. Enjoy and congratulations to all that participated.
In this picture, which as I remember is for the freshman girls, sit ready for the start. The girl on the far right, in the green shirt, ended up having some sort of what I perceived as a diabetic episode, almost fainted as they tried to push sugar into her via a candy bar. She didn't finish this race, but came back later and erged in the relays so good for her for hanging in there.
Here lightweight girls sit ready for their race. Lightweight girls weigh 130 or less. When Daughter#1 did high school crew the weight limit was 120 lbs. Lightweight boys weigh 165 lbs or less. When The Son did Crew, the weight limit for boys was 145 lbs or less.
Next up the senior girls open weight category. The two girls closest the camera broke the record for their category. Congrats to them.
Another picture of the lightweight girls during their race. It gets quite loud as the crowd gets into urging their racer on.
One of the final races before the relays, was the coxswain race. They race for only 500 meters as opposed to 1,000 meters for the freshmen and 1,500 meters for everyone else. These three girls (left to right) Molly, Devon and Katie also coxed for the men's side of my rowing club. They were a delight to work with and did a heck of a job for us. Molly finished first, Katie second and Devon fourth. Nice work ladies.
Finally I've included a video for your enjoyment of the start and first minute of the senior women's race. Just remember that after the video stops, they still have another four minutes of hard rowing to go. On Saturday we had no fainting, although two close calls and only one puker. Enjoy and congratulations to all that participated.
The Phone Man Cometh
During the past year or so, Verizon has been in our neighborhood installing fiber optic cable. This past week, it was our street's turn to receive the glass ribbon. I watched as their crews slowly made their way down our street toward our house. Finally they reached our house and began digging. This is the view of our front side yard. Our cable line comes around the front of that bush back through our side yard to the back of the house. Right where they were digging. We were sure they would end up cutting our cable line and disrupting our service. To their credit they didn't, but they did leave some sort of, I'm guessing, large connection box in the middle of side yard where they are digging. Its the box just to the right of the basketball hoop pole. It took them most of the day doing several house at once. At the end of the day, they filled everything in and left.
This morning at 6:45 AM, they were back. This time to run the line across our front lawn to run a line along our side of the street. As I write this, several house have these small trenches dug in their front yards. I'm assuming they must tunnel from trench to trench, but it's hard to see what they are really doing since the trenches are waist deep. Since most of the digging is being done by hand, they are not loud or disruptive.
I suspect shortly that a Veriz@n representative will be knocking on our door to see if we want to switch from Comcast TV and Broadband to Veriz@n TV (Direct TV as I understand), their Internet Broadband Service and phone service (which we already have). It will be interesting to see what kind of deals they will be offering and whether Comcast will try to counter with promotions of their own. Stayed tuned.
This morning at 6:45 AM, they were back. This time to run the line across our front lawn to run a line along our side of the street. As I write this, several house have these small trenches dug in their front yards. I'm assuming they must tunnel from trench to trench, but it's hard to see what they are really doing since the trenches are waist deep. Since most of the digging is being done by hand, they are not loud or disruptive.I suspect shortly that a Veriz@n representative will be knocking on our door to see if we want to switch from Comcast TV and Broadband to Veriz@n TV (Direct TV as I understand), their Internet Broadband Service and phone service (which we already have). It will be interesting to see what kind of deals they will be offering and whether Comcast will try to counter with promotions of their own. Stayed tuned.Friday, February 13, 2009
A Fishy Interview of Sorts
Beth of So the Fish Said offered to interview her readers and sent out five questions to those who volunteered. As Beth is a neighbor of sorts and one who encouraged me to start a blog, I took her up on her offer. Here are my though provoking answers to her questions:
1. Remember the movie Brewster's Millions? That happens to you, except on a smaller scale. You receive a million dollars that you must spend in 30 days. However, you cannot have any assets to show for the money at the end of the month (and you can't buy something and then destroy it), you cannot waste the money, you cannot give it away, and you cannot tell anyone what you are doing. How do you ditch the dough in a month or less?
This is harder than it sounds. I guess I would try to make the best use of it within the confines of my interests. Certainly donations to organizations doesn't constitute "giving it away", say like to relatives. So the Red Cross and the ASPCA would be in for major chunks of it. I like to get rid of it to others who share my love of rowing and to those that have helped my family with the love of the sport. So a boathouse for the Ohio University Crew Teams would be in order and one for Virginia Tech as well - as long as they share it with Radford. I'd also like to get another boathouse built on either the Prince William or Fairfax side of the Occoquan. Right now there isn't enough room for everyone and every school that wants to row. Another chunk would go to the Rails to Trails Conservancy to build more biking/jogging/skating trails on abandoned railroad right of ways/roadbeds. I love riding on the W&OD Trail as opposed to riding on the streets and the more trails the better.
2. You are locked in a toy store overnight, with no way out until it reopens in the morning. What do you play with all night?
Assuming I was alone, I guess I'd be playing with their video games, riding the bikes, playing "Sorry" against myself or creating epic battles with their stock of action figures.
3. If you could have a dinner party with any three famous people, living or dead, you would be wasting your supernatural powers on hosting dinner parties. What would you do instead?
Since I have the power to raise dead people, I'll assume I can also time travel. I think witnessing a historic event as it occurs with those responsible would be fascinating. Say watching D-Day unfold with Eisenhower, Churchill and Rommel and get their take on things as the invasion happens.
4. What's the best thing since sliced bread? Now, sliced bread ain't all that impressive, so what's the best mediocre, hum-drum improvement or advancement that has made modern life just ever so slightly more convenient for humanity, along the lines of saving yourself five seconds every time you want a piece of bread.
Having watched the PBS series 1910 House, I can say that the washing machine and dryer have done more for the cause of freeing mankind (mostly women, lets be honest) than anything. Lord washing use to be an all day or two affair. None of this loading up the machine and coming back 45 minutes later to throw the clothes in the dryer and another hour has them dry and ready to fold. It was all manual. Drudgery thy name is laundry.
5. What's your best quality? The response to this question must be a simple declarative statement. You may elaborate on that statement, provided that your elaboration does not include the words "but," "however," or "although," or any other hedging, equivocating, back-sliding, gerrymandering (which is not at all appropriate in this context, but I think it should be, don't you?) or any other type of backing down from the simple declarative statement with which you began your response.
I am a "the glass is half full" person. I'm always looking for the positive. I can remember my mother once telling me when I was quite young that I had a "sunny" disposition. I'd like to think that is still true. I don't indulge in office politics. I'm a loyal friend. You'd like me.
If you'd like to be interviewed, leave a comment and I'll send five questions your way.
1. Remember the movie Brewster's Millions? That happens to you, except on a smaller scale. You receive a million dollars that you must spend in 30 days. However, you cannot have any assets to show for the money at the end of the month (and you can't buy something and then destroy it), you cannot waste the money, you cannot give it away, and you cannot tell anyone what you are doing. How do you ditch the dough in a month or less?
This is harder than it sounds. I guess I would try to make the best use of it within the confines of my interests. Certainly donations to organizations doesn't constitute "giving it away", say like to relatives. So the Red Cross and the ASPCA would be in for major chunks of it. I like to get rid of it to others who share my love of rowing and to those that have helped my family with the love of the sport. So a boathouse for the Ohio University Crew Teams would be in order and one for Virginia Tech as well - as long as they share it with Radford. I'd also like to get another boathouse built on either the Prince William or Fairfax side of the Occoquan. Right now there isn't enough room for everyone and every school that wants to row. Another chunk would go to the Rails to Trails Conservancy to build more biking/jogging/skating trails on abandoned railroad right of ways/roadbeds. I love riding on the W&OD Trail as opposed to riding on the streets and the more trails the better.
2. You are locked in a toy store overnight, with no way out until it reopens in the morning. What do you play with all night?
Assuming I was alone, I guess I'd be playing with their video games, riding the bikes, playing "Sorry" against myself or creating epic battles with their stock of action figures.
3. If you could have a dinner party with any three famous people, living or dead, you would be wasting your supernatural powers on hosting dinner parties. What would you do instead?
Since I have the power to raise dead people, I'll assume I can also time travel. I think witnessing a historic event as it occurs with those responsible would be fascinating. Say watching D-Day unfold with Eisenhower, Churchill and Rommel and get their take on things as the invasion happens.
4. What's the best thing since sliced bread? Now, sliced bread ain't all that impressive, so what's the best mediocre, hum-drum improvement or advancement that has made modern life just ever so slightly more convenient for humanity, along the lines of saving yourself five seconds every time you want a piece of bread.
Having watched the PBS series 1910 House, I can say that the washing machine and dryer have done more for the cause of freeing mankind (mostly women, lets be honest) than anything. Lord washing use to be an all day or two affair. None of this loading up the machine and coming back 45 minutes later to throw the clothes in the dryer and another hour has them dry and ready to fold. It was all manual. Drudgery thy name is laundry.
5. What's your best quality? The response to this question must be a simple declarative statement. You may elaborate on that statement, provided that your elaboration does not include the words "but," "however," or "although," or any other hedging, equivocating, back-sliding, gerrymandering (which is not at all appropriate in this context, but I think it should be, don't you?) or any other type of backing down from the simple declarative statement with which you began your response.
I am a "the glass is half full" person. I'm always looking for the positive. I can remember my mother once telling me when I was quite young that I had a "sunny" disposition. I'd like to think that is still true. I don't indulge in office politics. I'm a loyal friend. You'd like me.
If you'd like to be interviewed, leave a comment and I'll send five questions your way.
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
The Leader of the Band - Dad's 80th Birthday - Part II
The leader of the band
Is tired and his eyes are growing old
But his blood runs thru' my instrument
And his song is in my soul
My life has been a poor attempt to imitate the man
I'm just a living legacy
To the leader of the band
I thank you for the music
And your stories of the road
I thank you for the freedom
When it came my time to go
I thank you for the kindness
And the times when you got tough
And papa I don't think I said
"I love you" near enough
Leader of the Band - Lyrics by Dan Fogelberg
Leader of the Band - Lyrics by Dan Fogelberg
That song was a tribute by Dan Fogelberg to his father and it always reminds me of mine whenever I hear it. i don't mind admitting that is sometimes makes my eyes a bit misty. To continue on Part I of our trip to Florida to celebrate the 80th party of our family's leader of the band, Saturday finally dawned sunny and reasonably warmer. It was in the high 60s. High 70s would have been much better. My sister put the party all together. Did all the planning and arranging and paid for it all. That was her gift to Dad. Apparently we managed to keep the party secret from him and he was pleasantly surprised when he entered my sister's house and everyone yelled "Surprise!". I missed that part as I was out back feeding the dog crackers to keep her quiet. My sister doesn't have a dog so that would have been a dead giveaway if he had heard Rosie. Speaking of Rosie she was apparently personna non grata even though we cleared her with my sister before we brought her with us. She's 15 years old now and leaving her by herself at our house for five days was not an viable option in our mind. We checked with dad's gf about her being in the condo and got an ok. We also called my sister and also got an ok although she had to stay out by their pool. That was fine with us since she would be close to us so she wouldn't be barking. However, once we got there, my sister and her husband said she had to stay outside the pool area since they would have the house open into the pool area and my niece's family are very allergic to animals. Putting her out in the yard away from everyone didn't really work as she barked constantly and she was eventually banished to the garage where we had hid our car. Ann spent considerable time out there with her and missed a good deal of the party. Anyway, my sister also arranged for a professional photographer to come and document the festivities and record the various families in attendance. First up was Dad's family. From left to right: me, my dad, my sister and my brother.
This is my niece's family. My sister's only child. I haven't seen her since she was in her early 20s and still single. Now she is in her 30s, married and with two kids. It was also the first time I got to meet her husband and her kids. They were all great. The baby was the hit of the party and everyone took a turn holding him.
When we were growing up my sister never exhibited an athletic bone in her body. The closest thing she did was when she was a twirler in the Newfoundland Fire Department Drum and Bugle Corps. Since she's moved to Florida and took up golf she's become the Tiger Woods of her country club. She's won the women's club championship at least once, if not more. She is forever hustling people on the course including our dad before he had to give up the game. So she decided we needed games for entertainment at the party. The first game was putting. My niece's husband was ultimately the winner. I went out in the first round. So much for my golf prowess. Here my aunt takes her turn:
After the putting, we continued the celebration, but most of all there was picture taking by everyone. It's the first time we've all been together as a family since the twins were 8. They're 26 now so its been a while. Here is my family again. From the left: my sister, brother, Dad and me. For those that might be curious of where our Mother is, she passed away from ovarian cancer in 1984.
Of course no party would complete without a drink or two. sometimes it still seems weird to have adult children old enough to drink. Here demonstrated by Daughter#2. The Son In Law must have been between drinks.
Here is picture of my brother and myself. He's 363 days younger than I and my sister is a year older than I am. Our Mother was literally pregnant for three straight years and then, as she has said, they finally bought a TV. My brother got the height and I got the good looks. Growing up we actually gotten mistaken for twins all the time. Not so much any more. He's actually a regular visitor here although he never comments, even on Delurking Day. He works for TSA and if you ever took a late evening flight out of Phoenix, you might have had your unmentionables x-rayed by him. He had some great stories. Maybe I can get him to do a guest post about working for TSA and having to deal with the public. 
Prior to and after dinner, my sister brought out the Wii for some bowling. It was my first time to actually play a Wii and I have to admit it was a blast. Not that the rest of the civilized world has known this for years. I finished 2nd in the first go around and then got spanked by my niece's 4 year old the next time I tried it. A lesson in humility. Notice my great form.
We even got Ann up from the couch (or out of the car in the garage dog sitting) to give it a try. They had to do something with the controller or whatever because she is a lefty. She needs to bend more from the knees. LoL. My dad's gf, who owns the condo we stayed in, is in the background. She's a doll for all she does for my Dad.
My sister prepared an amazing dinner for everyone. Surf and turf. Steaks and lobster tails for everyone and oh it was good. Obviously Daughter#2 skipped the turf part, but did double up on the lobster tails so all was good. Finally there was the cake. here Dad cuts a piece for my niece's oldest, the one that spanked me on the Wii.
Needless to say fun was had by all. Special thanks goes to my sister for putting this all together. Lets hope the Leader of Our Band has many more birthdays to come.Monday, February 9, 2009
Dad's 80th Birthday - Part I
Before I get into discussing our trip to Florida to celebrate my Dad's 80th birthday, let me digress a bit. In this post I lamented about our lack of snow despite our cold weather and how it would probably snow the week I was in sunny California. Low and behold it happened. So while I still haven't seen any snow, Ann and Rosie have
As I mentioned in my previous post, Ann, Daughter#2, The Son In law and Rosie drove down to Florida to celebrate my Dad's 80th birthday and to also give Daughter #2 a chance to meet with her advisor and current professor (different people) at the University of Florida. The birthday party wasn't until Saturday and we drove down Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. It was a long drive. We stayed at my dad's girlfriend's condo for the days we were in Florida. It's always a bit weird saying my father's girlfriend. Anyway as evidence below, the trip was more tiring for some than for others.
I also mentioned that it was cold in Florida. Apparently the longest sustained cold snap in like 13 years. Just our luck. We had to bundle up every time we went outside to walk Rosie. A picture of Ann and Rosie on the Cocoa Beach. They were only on the beach long enough for the picture as dogs aren't allowed on the beach, numerous sightings of dog prints on the beach to the contrary.
We didn't have a lot to do waiting for the party so we just hung out and walked the dog, ate out a lot, surfed the web on Daughter#2's laptop via "borrowed" wireless Internet signals from the neighbors in the condo and enjoyed various adult beverages. Here I am on one of our dog walks.
Daughter#1 and The Fiance joined us on Friday. They were brave enough to take a walk on the beach. I stayed inside with the dog and sent Ann along with the camera. Did I mention it was cold?
Friday evening we went to Rusty's Seafood and Oyster Bar to enjoy some seafood and cold beer. Rusty's is usually our traditional last night party place. Even though it wasn't our last night, it was the last night we would have an opportunity to eat out before the birthday party. Much clams, shrimp and Amber Bock was consumed. Ann was tired and elected to stay at the condo with Rosie. From the left, The Fiance, Daughter#1, The Son In Law and Daughter#2. Speaking of Daughter#2, on her stop over at the University of Florida she ran into Tim Tebow, the Florida quarterback. The girl she was with at the time ran up to him and requested an autograph. Daughter#2 had no idea who he was, of course, until he was gone and the new friend explained to her who he was. Still a pretty remarkable coincidence.
On Saturday morning, the day of the party, Daughter#2 and The Son In Law decided to try their hand at kayaking. It had warmed up a bit, maybe low 60s although with the wind it didn't feel like it. I drove them over to the Banana River and Calema Windsurfing and Watersports so they could give it a try. Here they begin to suit up for their row.
Here they get a few pointers from the owner of the rental shop. Turns out he use to live in Falls Church and attended George Mason University for two years. It is a small world after all. I wasn't thrilled when he told them they really should be wearing wet suits given the water temperature.
I lend a helping hand carrying their paddles for them down to the water.
While Daughter#2 and The Son In law carry their tandem kayak down to the water.
They load up while The Fiance and I prepare to launch them on their way.
And they're off. They got a bit wet and cold and it took them a while to get their act together so they were paddling together right, but all in all they had a good time and that's what counts.
Next up, the birthday party itself and our family reunion.
As I mentioned in my previous post, Ann, Daughter#2, The Son In law and Rosie drove down to Florida to celebrate my Dad's 80th birthday and to also give Daughter #2 a chance to meet with her advisor and current professor (different people) at the University of Florida. The birthday party wasn't until Saturday and we drove down Tuesday night/Wednesday morning. It was a long drive. We stayed at my dad's girlfriend's condo for the days we were in Florida. It's always a bit weird saying my father's girlfriend. Anyway as evidence below, the trip was more tiring for some than for others.I also mentioned that it was cold in Florida. Apparently the longest sustained cold snap in like 13 years. Just our luck. We had to bundle up every time we went outside to walk Rosie. A picture of Ann and Rosie on the Cocoa Beach. They were only on the beach long enough for the picture as dogs aren't allowed on the beach, numerous sightings of dog prints on the beach to the contrary.We didn't have a lot to do waiting for the party so we just hung out and walked the dog, ate out a lot, surfed the web on Daughter#2's laptop via "borrowed" wireless Internet signals from the neighbors in the condo and enjoyed various adult beverages. Here I am on one of our dog walks.Daughter#1 and The Fiance joined us on Friday. They were brave enough to take a walk on the beach. I stayed inside with the dog and sent Ann along with the camera. Did I mention it was cold?Friday evening we went to Rusty's Seafood and Oyster Bar to enjoy some seafood and cold beer. Rusty's is usually our traditional last night party place. Even though it wasn't our last night, it was the last night we would have an opportunity to eat out before the birthday party. Much clams, shrimp and Amber Bock was consumed. Ann was tired and elected to stay at the condo with Rosie. From the left, The Fiance, Daughter#1, The Son In Law and Daughter#2. Speaking of Daughter#2, on her stop over at the University of Florida she ran into Tim Tebow, the Florida quarterback. The girl she was with at the time ran up to him and requested an autograph. Daughter#2 had no idea who he was, of course, until he was gone and the new friend explained to her who he was. Still a pretty remarkable coincidence. On Saturday morning, the day of the party, Daughter#2 and The Son In Law decided to try their hand at kayaking. It had warmed up a bit, maybe low 60s although with the wind it didn't feel like it. I drove them over to the Banana River and Calema Windsurfing and Watersports so they could give it a try. Here they begin to suit up for their row.Here they get a few pointers from the owner of the rental shop. Turns out he use to live in Falls Church and attended George Mason University for two years. It is a small world after all. I wasn't thrilled when he told them they really should be wearing wet suits given the water temperature.I lend a helping hand carrying their paddles for them down to the water.While Daughter#2 and The Son In law carry their tandem kayak down to the water.They load up while The Fiance and I prepare to launch them on their way.And they're off. They got a bit wet and cold and it took them a while to get their act together so they were paddling together right, but all in all they had a good time and that's what counts.Next up, the birthday party itself and our family reunion.Thursday, February 5, 2009
Back to Back Trips
Its been a while. I'm finding out it's hard to update when you are traveling and it's also hard to find the motivation to do so. For the past two weeks I've been on the road. Lets see where I've been:
Last week I traveled to Los Angeles for business. We awarded a large contract to a new to us Contractor. Last week we all gathered together to go over the contract, meet our counterparts on the Contractor side and do some touchy feely exercises designed to break the ice. First let me say that traveling by air really sucks these days. Even flying out on a wide body 767 it felt like a cattle car. The plane was overbooked and they were offering free round trip tickets to get people to give up their seats. I was in the middle seat of the middle three seats in the next to last row of the plane. Can we say long flight? Six hours worth due to head winds, Yuck. We stayed at a Hilton, which was very nice, but they charged $10 for Internet. In this day and age who charges for Internet? Even Super 8 doesn't do that. The meetings were held at one of the hotel meeting room so that was convenient. They fed us well for breakfast and lunch. Dinner we were on our own to explore for ourselves. Luckily there was a brew pub next door to the hotel so we didn't have to walk far. The meetings, on the whole, went well. Of course at the beginning of a new contract it's all roses and sunshine. Lets see how things are at this time next year. Our last meeting was on Thursday and my contingent was split with half of us taking the red eye home Thursday night and the rest flying home Friday. Frankly I hate wasting a whole day on an airplane so the red eye appeals to me. I can sleep on the plane and get into Dulles at 6:00 in the morning, drive home, take a nap and be ready and bright eye in time for lunch. Before we left LAX Thursday night, my boss and I did the touristy thing and had drinks out on the Santa Monica Pier as the sun set over the Pacific. As business trips go it was better than most, but in general business trips suck.
Currently I'm sitting in a condo on the beach at Cocoa Beach, Florida. Sounds like fun, right? You would be only half right. Being on the beach anywhere rocks anytime. But right now it's a freezing 35 degrees. In Florida. This is so not right. No walks on the beach today. It is suppose to slowly warm up over the next few days, but still. We'll have to indulge in indoor fun and games before all the kids show up. I'll explain what has brought us down to Florida in the next day or so. We decided to drive down as Daughter#2 and The Son In Law didn't want to fly and we decided to carpool. We picked them up in Richmond around 10:00 PM and started our trip. I drove the first leg. It snowed on and off all the way through North Carolina, which was a bit weird. Around Lumberton , NC I-95 was closed due to a bridge repair and we had to do a detour for about 10 miles. I made it to the Georgia state line before turning the driving over to The Son In Law. Part of the reason for driving down versus flying was so Daughter#2, who is working on an on line Masters Degree form the University of Florida, could stop in Gainesville and meet her Advisor and current Professor and attend a lecture and a lab., We pulled into Gainesville around 9:00 in the morning all of us pretty wiped out after driving all night. We had breakfast at the 43rd Street Deli and dropped Daughter#2 and The Son In Law on campus and headed off to the beach. The plan was for Daughter#2 and The Son In Law to hang on campus to attend the classes and then camp overnight at a nearby national forest before joining Ann and I at the beach. However as the forecast was calling for wind chills in the teens, they decided to ditch the camping idea and they drove down to beach last night. They are currently out hiking at a wildlife management area, Hippies.
Time to get cleaned up for the day. Hopefully I can find time to update a little more regularly. Till next time.
Last week I traveled to Los Angeles for business. We awarded a large contract to a new to us Contractor. Last week we all gathered together to go over the contract, meet our counterparts on the Contractor side and do some touchy feely exercises designed to break the ice. First let me say that traveling by air really sucks these days. Even flying out on a wide body 767 it felt like a cattle car. The plane was overbooked and they were offering free round trip tickets to get people to give up their seats. I was in the middle seat of the middle three seats in the next to last row of the plane. Can we say long flight? Six hours worth due to head winds, Yuck. We stayed at a Hilton, which was very nice, but they charged $10 for Internet. In this day and age who charges for Internet? Even Super 8 doesn't do that. The meetings were held at one of the hotel meeting room so that was convenient. They fed us well for breakfast and lunch. Dinner we were on our own to explore for ourselves. Luckily there was a brew pub next door to the hotel so we didn't have to walk far. The meetings, on the whole, went well. Of course at the beginning of a new contract it's all roses and sunshine. Lets see how things are at this time next year. Our last meeting was on Thursday and my contingent was split with half of us taking the red eye home Thursday night and the rest flying home Friday. Frankly I hate wasting a whole day on an airplane so the red eye appeals to me. I can sleep on the plane and get into Dulles at 6:00 in the morning, drive home, take a nap and be ready and bright eye in time for lunch. Before we left LAX Thursday night, my boss and I did the touristy thing and had drinks out on the Santa Monica Pier as the sun set over the Pacific. As business trips go it was better than most, but in general business trips suck.
Currently I'm sitting in a condo on the beach at Cocoa Beach, Florida. Sounds like fun, right? You would be only half right. Being on the beach anywhere rocks anytime. But right now it's a freezing 35 degrees. In Florida. This is so not right. No walks on the beach today. It is suppose to slowly warm up over the next few days, but still. We'll have to indulge in indoor fun and games before all the kids show up. I'll explain what has brought us down to Florida in the next day or so. We decided to drive down as Daughter#2 and The Son In Law didn't want to fly and we decided to carpool. We picked them up in Richmond around 10:00 PM and started our trip. I drove the first leg. It snowed on and off all the way through North Carolina, which was a bit weird. Around Lumberton , NC I-95 was closed due to a bridge repair and we had to do a detour for about 10 miles. I made it to the Georgia state line before turning the driving over to The Son In Law. Part of the reason for driving down versus flying was so Daughter#2, who is working on an on line Masters Degree form the University of Florida, could stop in Gainesville and meet her Advisor and current Professor and attend a lecture and a lab., We pulled into Gainesville around 9:00 in the morning all of us pretty wiped out after driving all night. We had breakfast at the 43rd Street Deli and dropped Daughter#2 and The Son In Law on campus and headed off to the beach. The plan was for Daughter#2 and The Son In Law to hang on campus to attend the classes and then camp overnight at a nearby national forest before joining Ann and I at the beach. However as the forecast was calling for wind chills in the teens, they decided to ditch the camping idea and they drove down to beach last night. They are currently out hiking at a wildlife management area, Hippies.
Time to get cleaned up for the day. Hopefully I can find time to update a little more regularly. Till next time.
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