Tag: friends

  • Tournament Town and Toddler Tantrums

    Tournament Town and Toddler Tantrums

    Taylor was gone for a few days, and Mercy got a fever. What could go wrong?

    Normal or not? Leave a message in the comments below.

    Mercy wanted applesauce, but she already had too much sugar while she was home sick.

    Taylor doesn’t go on many work trips, but she goes on a few. The day before Taylor left (Tuesday), Mercy’s school called and said that she was running a fever and had to be picked up. This meant she had to stay home the next day (Wednesday).

    Mercy was home sick, this was day 1.

    She was getting old enough to be (slightly) entertained without me, right?

    5 minutes later, sickness day 1.

    The answer was no; she was not old enough to be entertained without me. I let work know I wouldn’t be on for the day (even though this was my second week at Storable, I knew it would be best to just focus on getting this kid a little better.

    She woke up without a fever on Thursday and went to school.

    The day off was great, and it wasn’t too bad to spend some time bonding with Mercy. She went to the doctor, who gave her a strep throat test (which was negative), so she went to school.

    90 minutes later, she was not ok at school

    THere is a “germ corner” at school. They called a few minutes after she was dropped off, and said her temperature was slowly rising. I said I was on my way, and they said she was talking to the germ in the corner, saying “Bad germ, you make me sick! You make me not feel good.”

    Mercy talking to the germ

    90 minutes after dropoff:

    Though it seemed like I won, I actually didnt win. At this point, the germ was still winning. It was good to have Mercy back home for the day to spend some quality time with her.

    She wanted to go to the “new park” and kept talking about it all morning.

    The “new park”

    After climbing two rungs on the ladder, and asking for the swing, then asking to get off the swing, we left; total time at park: less than 4 minutes.

    But we made it to Friday.

    On a team call.

    This new position sent me some kinda fancy noise-cancelling headphones. They didn’t seem important, until they were important.

    Deborah (Taylor’s mom) offered to come help for a minute. It turns out, Taylor called and asked because I was too prideful and thought I could handle it. I could not handle it.

    After a team call.

    The team had a technical problem: The .csv file was opening wiht a blank document before the real document was ready to be downloaded. I immediately knew what the answer was, so walked the team through the process of identifying the issue and the solution, and how to implement it. Like a boss. Thanks Deb!

    Mercy was sick. No big deal, right?

    Friday came, and Friday went. I worked, but wasn’t super productive.

    Mom made it home

    Luckily, everyone was healthy and happy bu the time mom arrived. But thats not it; there was another half of the week, I like to call “Tournament Town” that happened each night after the kids went to bed.

    Tournament Town.

    A few friends from church and I decided to buy a book of tickets to the ACC tournament. Tickets to all 14 games for $200, if purchased wayyyy before the brackets were announced. We bought four seats together, and just tried to go to as many games as we could.

    The ACC Tourney group.

    The first day was general admission, and no one else could make it that Tuesday evening, so I embraced my inner introvert and went solo. It was general admission, so I floated around and kept finding the best seat I could for 2 or 3 games that night.

    Day 1: Boston College vs Louisville

    I spotted the guys from the ACC Network that I had seen on tv all week:

    I got the nerve to get a pic with Joel Berry:

    From the 2017 UNC national championship team, Joel Berry II

    10 out of 10; the first day was so much fun.

    Ok, there is no point in describing a play-by-play. I saw the better part of 10 games. It was enough basketball to make anyone sick. Thank you Taylor for letting me enjoy this (it was planned before Taylor’s work trip). And thank you Deborah and Julie for babysitting to make the week work.

    From the moments after the clock ran out on the championship game.

    In short, here is the summary: UNC was terrible this year, and they lost. The bad guys (Duke) won the championship. I got to watch NC State play 2 games (more than anyone of my in-laws saw this year).

    Me and Ramses

    The ACC organization is leaving Greensboro, its home since it was founded in 1953.

    Mr. and Ms. Wuf were in the ACC Hall of Champions.

    Was this the last year it would ever be held in Greensboro? It is hard to tell, but it will be sad to see this tournament leave.

    UNC Vs UVA: UVA won.

    There were too many games to count.

    Patrick really wanted one of those shirts that fell from the sky.

    Patrick never got his shirt, and that was a bummer.

    NC State vs somebody

    After halftime, we managed to get some pretty awesome seats just about every game.

    Day 2: NC State vs. Virginia Tech

    These were the seats we paid for for the week.

    UVA vs. Clemson.

    Each team-intro was pretty similar, but here was one.

    If you are still reading, I am impressed. This is just rapid fire at this point.

    5th row seats to watch the bad guys take the trophy

    By the last day, Patrick and I were whipped. It was an awesome week.

    Puffy eyes by day 5.

    We made it. We watched the championship game. Neither of us are die-hard fans. But we had a blast.

  • Sleepovers, spring cleaning and slam dunks

    Sleepovers, spring cleaning and slam dunks

    Rosie is 8, and in the throes of little-girl sleepovers. Do you remember that time of your life? When it would seem to make or break your outlook whether you were invited to sleepover?

    And here we are. There are some moments that come up though. For example:

    When a little kid is NOT spending the night at our house, Taylor and I read with Rosie, pray with her, and give her a hug goodnight. What the heck am I supposed to do when there is another 8 year old girl staying the night? Do I try and read with them? Heck no, this is a sleepover. Do I pray with them? Their family doesnt go to church, that might be weird. Do I hug them? NO, just no. So I just awkwardly let Taylor help the kids get set up, and at the last minute, go in and give Rosie a hug, and tell our guest “I am glad that you are here”.

    Really digging this game.

    Two weeks ago we had one of Rosie’s friends over, and it was great. Sleepovers are so much more fun now than when we were little kids, and we were given some microwave popcorn and a trip to blockbuster for a sleepover.

    This is the only game that matters.

    We had a bunch of leftover coins for this local barcade- where kids are allowed in before 7 on weekends, so we went. These girls had so much fun, it really looked awesome. We love having this friend, DK over. She is a blast.

    Lady with a parrot on a leash. Rosie and DK were interested, of course.

    Spring Cleaning.

    Ok, lets get real here. Where are you with your yard? Is it as good as you want it to be? On a scale from 1-10, how would you rank your own yard in terms of the grass, landscaping, trimming, mulching, etc? And do you have kids? What does a “10” yard look like for someone with kids?

    15 bags or so? Maybe 20?

    Taylor can get anxious looking at our yard, and for good reason; our yard is only 2 clicks better than the beverly hillbillies sometimes. She asks if I get anxious, and I respond with a quick “Heck No”, simply because at this point in life, with kids, both of us working full time, etc. the priority in our house is to have a fun yard for the kids to play in. Beyond that, our priority is to spend a few dollars on some trips over the coming years.

    So when I mow the lawn and it smells like green onions instead of fresh-cut clippings, its fine; the kids love playing in the yard. And we have some awesome trips planned.

    Thee chairs were an awesome father’s day gift last year. Thanks Tay!

    Anyways- our yard does need some help, so I spent this weekend cleaning up a bit of the leaves that were leftover from the fall, and mowing and bagging the first cut of the season, since we have had a very warm winter this year.

    Hanging out while I do yardwork might be Stormy’s favorite thing. She is almost 11, and found this patch under a bush for yesterday’s yardwork session.

    Slam Dunk(s)

    Ok, maybe there was only 1 dunk. But I am not entirely sure. This weekend, Rosie had a last-minute night out at a sleepover with her grandmother, so Taylor and I took the youngest to the ACC Women’s basketball tournament game on Friday night. Tickets were $10 (before fees, $20 with fees) and we went to see the UNC-Duke game. If you are reading this and you are not from North Carolina, UNC vs Duke is considered one of the “greatest rilvalries of all time”. Though, I do not follow women’s sports, so I am not sure how this moniker translates. Is it the same? Maybe- but the game was fun.

    From the Virginia Tech section

    The coliseum where the tournament is held is just around 10 minutes away from our house, so it was a fun night out. Mercy did not smile for the camera.

    Mercy was concerned about the Pittsburg Bear mascot
    The General Admission seats we paid for. This section was almost sold out.
    These cuties.

    Other odds n ends.

    These are just a few other fun pics.

    Stormy often gets out and wanders around our neighborhood. She is getting old, always comes back, and no neighbors have complained. Since our street has zero traffic, we often let her. This time we spotted her coming home from the store, so Rosie walked he back.

  • Bye Bye Apple, Hello Mardi Gras, Happy Birthday Jake

    Bye Bye Apple, Hello Mardi Gras, Happy Birthday Jake

    Where is Apple going?

    For about a year, I have been working as a contractor for Apple Pay, out of their office in Cary, North Carolina. This has been the smartest groups of people I have ever had the chance to work with.

    I have been working on a small, internal project, and it has been a blast. I am almost done with that project, and I started applying to internal jobs, but found that most of the careers that cater towards my area of expertise (Front end engineering) are in Cupertino, California. So, I would have to move to California to become a Full Time Employee. Or, even if I got a job out of the Cary office, there is a chance that I would have to go in to the office a few times a week (2 or 3) at a one-way drive of 1:15, that would be really hard to incorporate into our daily lives.

    There are a few other details that can’t be shared here, but I got an AI website to help me re-write my resume for a few different roles. I applied to many, got 2 callbacks; 1 company did tech layoffs after my 1st interview. The other company, Storable, offered me the job; and I happily accepted.

    Happy Birthday Jake

    Happy Birthday Jake! You are now an old man (at 41 years old). I hope you have a great birthday! Even if we don’t see eye to eye on a few things, thats ok, your little brother loves you. Here are some fun pics through the years.

    Jake and Grandpa Woody
    Jake and I on a boat in the mediterranean in 1991
    Me and my brothers in Turkey in 1992
    I have no idea what the context was, but Matt grew into his teeth nicely.
    Jake and I at Merle Fest, possibly 2000?

    Fun fact: did you know that when we had a gap in dental coverage when I was in high school, and needed my wisdom teeth taken out, Jake stepped up to the plate and paid for it? That was cool, and I think about that from time to time. It speaks to the heart of who Jake is: he cares for people well (Better than me, most of the time).

    Jake at my College graduation, 2007

    Starmount Forest Mardi Gras

    Great view of one of the floats

    Several years ago someone moved into our neighborhood from New Orleans, and started a tradition here in our corner of Greensboro. I don’t know many details about the rich history of the event because we have only been in this house 3.5 years or so, but each year the finest of Starmount Forest turn out to watch this parade. There are a few golf carts, some great food, and a cajun-style band (Is that what you call it? Or “bayou”?).

    Either way, it is fun. Rosie was nowhere to be found: she has so many little 2nd grade friends (she is just like her mom), that she had a total of 0 minutes to hang out with mom or dad. And that is great: she is an awesome kid.

    A float from Mardi Gras

    Rosie then had a friend over. This is just where they are in life: Rosie is a busy social person, and an awesome big sis. There is nothing special about this one, I just thought it was a special moment: