August 2005 - Posts
I am starting to get excited about my camping excursion this weekend. I still need to get packed, but I can do most of that tonight. I picked up some lightweight hiking shoes, since I didn't think the big solomon boots were going to be very comfortable in the heat, and we're only packing in a couple of miles. I went and looked at a backpacking guitar, but decided I wasn't going to spend the money on it just yet. Jodi and I aren't going to get to go camping much in the near future (although we're talking about trying to go this fall), so I'm not sure how much use one would get. Anyway, I am not taking it easy at work, since we are already behind on getting going on our next release (that didn't take long) -- I better get going...
In theory, my life should be getting a little calmer for the next couple of weeks, as we commercially released the major version of our product suite I had been working on for a LONG time (almost 22 months). You always find something wrong at the last minute, and for my team it was an ugly documentation gaffe, but nothing functionally wrong. At this point, we all are keeping our fingers crossed that everything goes well for those customers who upgrade first. We'll be at the ready to help them, as they often end up being references for everyone else.
So, I am going to try to relax a little this weekend and not think about work. I should probably do all the stuff that's been delayed because of release issues, so I can relax next weekend, but that's just not in the cards right now. Speaking of next weekend, Matt, Dale, and I are planning to backpack Nordhouse Dunes next weekend. I am really looking forward to it. I've never actually backpacked, but I love the area where the Dunes are (just north of Lundington State Park). Should be a nice long weekend.
Today, my Mom is coming to visit and to give Joshua his birthday present. Maybe we'll cook up something decadent. It has been a while since I've gotten really crazy in the kitchen. Black pepper Tenderloin with roasted bell pepper arugula sauce is always tasty... mmmmmm.
I just put up some low-res copies of
Joshua's 3-year pictures. He's turning into such a little man already.
I am having a really un-fun day, so instead of throwing pencils at peoples eyeballs I will post a Red Jeep Mix. Oh, how appropriate, Red Jeep Mix #10 is Grumpy Jeep -- matching my mood today impeccably.
Red Jeep Mix #10 -- Grumpy Jeep
1. Apotheosis - O Fortuna (remix)
2. Prodigy - Firestarter
3. Rage Against The Machine - Killing in the Name Of
4. Fatboy Slim - Give the Po' Man a Break
5. System of a Down - Sugar
6. Chemical Brothers - Block Rockin Beats
7. Refused - New Noise
8. Crystal Method - Keep Hope Alive (Hardknox Remix)
9. Rob Zombie - Dragula (Hot Rod Herman Mix)
10. New Order - Confusion (Pump Panel Reconstruction Mix)
11. Gravity Kills - Guilty (Techno Remix)
12. Incubus - Pardon Me
13. Rob D - Clubbed To Death
You might recognize a fair representation of science fiction movie soundtracks there -- purely coincidence. (Clubbed to Death and Dragula from Matrix, Confusion from Blade). I can only say that in retrospect, Pardon Me isn't angry enough, and Keep Hope Alive takes too long to get crunchy. Also, I should have put something by Disturbed on there, but I didn't know their stuff when I made this one. Godsmack or Tool would fit, but I'd rather just listen to their whole albums. Enough rambling -- I need to get back to wishing I could explode things with my mind powers.
This morning, as I was running stress tests on one of our components, I started having a lot of difficulty reading my computer screen. At first I was thinking it was eye strain. After about 10 minutes, I starting getting a little nervous, then remembered it could be a migraine aura. Sure enough, it has now been about an hour since I noticed something, and now I am getting a full blown migraine. Way not cool. My head is pounding, my eyeballs hurt, and I am feeling slightly nauseated. Wah.
It is really rather frightening the speed and ferocity of these things. This is only the second time in my adult life that I can recall having something like this, but the first time was a doozy, and this one, only about a half-hour old (on the head-hurting front) is already shaping up to be pretty wicked. I just took a bunch of ibuprofin to try to dull the pain, we'll see if that does any good.
UPDATE: Holy throbbing head, Batman. Migraines and staff meetings don't mix...
UPDATE: 800 mg of ibuprofin, and 6 hours, and I am finally feeling like a human again. For about an hour in the middle there, when I was in a meeting, I felt like my eyes were going to explode. Not fun...
Yeah... this is pretty funny. I like the neons underneath especially...
Pimp My Stroller
Jodi's been sick to her stomach a lot lately. Wierd. ;)
I guess I am more worn out from the refreshing weekend than I realized.
I ran 3 miles last night. I made it about 1.5 miles (~15 minutes), then backtracked while walking, starting running again at the same point I had stopped and made it another .8 miles (~8 minutes), then walked a quarter, then finished out the final half or so (~4.5 minutes). I am obviously jogging pretty slowly, but my endurance is slowly increasing. That was the best run I've had yet, and it was 2 days after running pretty good with Matt. I am still a long way from running a 5K or anything, but seeing progress is good.
So I was feeling a little frisky after the run, thinking I was full of energy, and sat down and practiced the guitar for about an hour. When my fingers were sore enough that it was starting to actually hurt (blistering, almost), I sat in the chair and watched the monday night NFL game and started reading my Harry Potter book (the 2nd one -- I'm behind). I was asleep within 15 minutes, and when I woke up around 10:30, I decided to give in and go to bed.
Now, normally, I am a night owl all the way -- but I was toast. I slept until 9 this morning, and felt like I could sleep more. I guess my body is working hard at recovering from the increase in physical activity of late. That part is good, but I don't think I am going to be able to pull of ~12 hours of sleep a night for long!
Anyway, now that I am at work and have some food in me, I'm ready to roll, so I better get back to it...
Friday, I took off from work pretty early, and went home to pack. We left for Sage Lake around 2 PM, and got there around 5:30. Kind of a long drive, but the endpoint is worth the trip. The Cook cottage on Sage Lake in Ogemaw County. Cute little place that I have some pretty awesome memories from (during and just after college I visited pretty much annually). We were the first ones there (other than Craig and Mary) and hung out for a bit and let the boys run around. Matt got there just as we were heading out on a boat ride, and Rob and Karrie and their boys arrived while we were out cruising. We hung out for a bit, and got the kids settled in, then made a campfire and I got a little (okay a LOT) tipsy drinking gin and tonic (note to self: less gin and tonic). Matt and Rob entertained everyone with some guitar playing, and it was just good to be out of the city and away from everything.
Saturday, Ryan and Cathy Lebster and Todd Macleod all joined us. I attempted to ski in the morning, but I just couldn't seem to get up. I gave up really frustrated. Craig still skis like a pro -- it is pretty fun to watch him cut, as he gets a pretty solid lean on -- yes, I am jealous. Once upon a time, I was a pretty decent slalom skier, but nearly 10 years away from it has left me unable to get up on one. I should've just gone with a combo ski and dropped, but I guess I wasn't thinking straight.
Matt and I got out and ran around lunchtime, going about 3 miles, but we had to stop a lot since I am still not nearly ready for distance. I made it the first mile and a little change (including hills), so it was still a good workout for me, but I think Matt only got about a 50% workout. Oh well, the conversation was good.
I was feeling pretty rough from a combination of hangover, lack of sleep, and what had to be some pretty wicked dehydration (dizziness and feeling faint when standing, racing heart and head throbbing when laying down) so I guzzled as much water as I could stomach and layed down with Caleb for a 'nap.' He spent most of the 'nap' poking me and saying "dada?" and if I opened my eyes, he'd crack up. Little stinker.
Joshua, Robbie, and the Lebster girls seemed to get along pretty well, and they played and played. After we got some food in us, Rob and I took Robbie and Joshua for a ride on the Aquacycle (it's a pedal-powered paddle boat) and got even more tired out.
As evening approached, and kids were put to bed (with some entertainment from 'Buck' the talking deer head -- voiced by Matt) it was sadly amusing how lame we have become. Every time a kid could be heard crying, one representative from each of the three couples with kids would jump to make sure it wasn't theirs. Pretty funny actually.
Matt got out and skied -- dropping one for the first time. All that skating pays off when it comes to skiing -- he was a natural. Leb also did a stint, starting on one and throwing down a couple of nice turns (from what I could see from shore). Mary and Craig finished off the daylight with a couple of nice runs themselves.
With campfire going, Mary busted out the s'mores, and we all kicked back and chatted and joked for a couple of hours.
With Sunday morning came the usual end-of-weekend buzzkill -- clean up all of the empty beer cans laying in the yard (that Ryan and Macleod hadn't burned, anyway), and start thinking of getting on the road. It was a nice morning nonetheless, as everyone was in good spirits. After a nice breakfast, we all started packing up for the long drives back to reality. I could have stayed for a week...
Now it is Monday, and I am sore from the longish run and the repeated upper body punishment doled out by trying to get up on the ski when I should have just given in and dropped (I think I gave it 6 or 7 attempts, which is a little hard on the upper back). Needless to say, I woke up this morning sore, but still feeling good. I think the weekend was just what the doctor ordered. Kudos to Craig and Mary for getting us all up there and putting up with the hassle. I, for one, had a lot of fun...
I have been pretty busy of late, and the blog has been ignored somewhat. So, I'll post a little something about what's been going on.
First off, Jodi's mom had her heart surgery, and it turns out that it was a benign tumor on the valve in her heart, but they were able to remove it without damaging the valve, so valve-replacement was unnecessary. Also, because her arteries and veins and everything were looking good, they didn't need to do any bypasses, so overall the surgery was as low risk as open-heart surgery can be. All went well, and she is on her way to recovery from this whole ordeal. She had us pretty scared there for a bit, but things are a lot more normal now.
I have been working quite a few hours, but I have been sticking to the diet and am running 2-4 days a week. I have lost 34 pounds now, and am officially past the half-way point. Unfortunately, the first 20 were a lot easier than the next 14. I am guessing the next 30 will take some time. Running, I am finally getting my legs back, although I still feel like an elephant rumbling down the sidewalk. Tonight I went almost 3 miles, but I only made it a little over a mile before I walked for about a minute. I still feel like I have no stored up energy when I run (except the first time I run after not running for 3 or 4 days), so I am thinking this diet and endurance running aren't a good mix, but I'll lose the weight before I worry about my running too much. I hadn't been able to stick with it for extended periods at any point in the last 10 years, so I shouldn't go nazi about it now...
Stickerblister -- the band Matt plays rhythm and sings in -- has asked me to help out getting a website going, so I am in the early stages of getting stickerblister.com going. Right now it is pretty ugly because I've only had about an hour to fritter around with it, but I am hoping to play with it a little this weekend up at Criag's cottage, and maybe we can get a rudimentary site up and running for next week.
I've been playing guitar whenever I can still, also. I am still pretty horrible, but I am picking up little things, and my strumming is a little better. I also have started tinkering around with a ukulele that Jodi's mom had. It is form Jodi's great aunt Billie (Emmaretta Bloom). It is a bit different than playing the guitar, but the general concept is the same. It is kinda neat.
Joshua's birthday was Saturday, and we got him a bicycle for his 3rd birthday. He seems to like it, but he doesn't get pedaling just yet. We're working on it.
Today is our 8th Wedding Anniversay. Sure doesn't feel like we've been hitched for 8 years already. Unfortunately, we don't get to celebrate it today, as Jodi has already left for Traverse City to be with her mom after her open heart surgery (which occurs late this morning).
Well, I drove to Grand Rapids for the weekend, and it was a nice little getaway. The parents weren't home, so I had the house to myself, and Friday night, I just listened to some tunes, watched ESPN, and read the ebook I'm reading (Space, by James Michener). Had a couple of beers and a cigar and called it good.
Saturday, I got up a little late, got some food in me, and went shopping for some clothes and some food. Got myself some comfortable running shirts and some extra cargo shorts for bumming around. When I got home, I called Michelle to go running, and we went to Richmond Park and ran the old cross-country course. It brought back some memories, that's for sure. We actually probably ran a good 2 miles of it, and briskly walked the rest. Good workout, and I got to hang with my li'l sis.
After I got all cleaned up and ate some lunch, I went over to Matt's to listen while the band practiced before the show, then helped them load up and head over the hall. I wasn't too sure what to do to be helpful (as opposed to in the way) so I kind of just hung around and whenever there was something they could use help lifting, moving, or hooking up, I did that. I think I was a little help. Then I mostly drank beer and waited for the music to start. They were a little loud for the room, but they sounded pretty good. Bert dropped out about halfway through the first song for a good 3 bars, and that was a little awkward, but he recovered, and most people probably hardly noticed. Overall, they sounded good, but the vocals were a little drowned out by the guitars. They made some adjustments at the break, and it was better after that. Toward the end of the show, I bumped up the treble on Matt's mic and that seemed to crisp up the vocals more. When they play their battle of the bands show, they'll have a real sound guy working with them, so I bet they'll sound a lot better then. After the show we went to the Radio Tavern and I basically ran out of gas. John got me back to Matt's and I got home to the parents' house and collapsed.
Sunday, I got up and ran 2 miles (I actually made it the whole way without walking, too -- hills and all). Once I got the house all picked up and secured, I headed back to Matt's to pick up some stuff I had left there and to take a look at his Jeep, which is having some wierd clutch issues. I got home around 5ish. I actually felt very refreshed after the weekend, even though I didn't get much sleep Saturday night.
Today was back to the grind. Lots to do, and not much time to do it in. For lunch, though, my boss took all of our dev managers and product managers to lunch to celebrate my 10-year anniversary with the company (10 years already?), so that was a nice break in an otherwise busy Monday.
Also today, Matt asked if I would be willing to help him promote the band with a website. So, I'll be procuring a domain and some webhosting for him, and I'm sure you'll see links to the upcoming website soon.
Tomorrow Jodi and the boys are heading back up north, since Jodi's mom has her heart surgery tomorrow -- send her your prayers and good wishes.