This year Sarah has made the decision not to go to homecoming with date. Instead, she is planning on going with a bunch of her friends. In fact, the last count I heard from Sarah was 21 of her friends. That number does, however, include a few couples who will be going with them. I'm not sure why, if you you have a date, you would want to go with a huge group of people. I could see double dating, or ever triple dating to go out to dinner, but with a group of 20+ people, that just seems excessive. Then again, there are a lot of things that they are going to be happening that seem weird to me. Kris told me things are different now as compared to when we would have gone to homecoming. So I guess that makes me a geezer.
And now you might think that without a date we'd be getting off cheap. Well you'd be wrong. Sarah still needs to have a new dress (or rather needed since Kris found one a couple of weeks ago), which also means that she'll need shoes to match. Kris found those too. So I think she's all set. The only thing I don't know is whether she needs a flower for her dress too. I would say no, but then again I would have thought that without a date we wouldn't have needed to get a new dress either.
Boys would have been so much easier.
Wednesday, September 18, 2013
Greener Pastures
There has been some re-organizing at work (again) in the last couple of monthsso I finally made the decision to actively start looking for something new. I had a couple of interviews that were promising in the late spring and over the summer, but unfortunately, nothing came from it.
So far I have had a couple of hits. I had a phone interview last week, one just yesterday, and another one scheduled for next week. I don't think the one on Tuesday went very well. I got a bit flustered on one or two questions and I feel like my responses left something to be desired. The woman I met with didn't even give me the opportunity to ask questions about the position or the company, so that can't be a good sign. After I got home I thought of better answers for the questions, and a coupe of other things that I should have tried to work into the conversation. Oh well. I guess I just use it as a learning experience and move on.
It was a plastics company and would have been a completely new direction for me. Not that I wouldn't have been up to the challenge, but I think that it would have been some long hours learning a totally new process and getting up to speed on an entirely new CAD system. The plus side would have been it was close to home, a shorter drive than I have now. It was also a very new, modern building, so the working environment would have been great. And finally, it was a very innovative company, so I am certain that I wouldn't have been bored. The down side would have been that after seeing all the other people working there, I think I would have been one of the oldest people there, if not the oldest. That is just depressing.
Who knows, I may still get a call back for a second interview, but I am not going to be holding my breath. As I said, I will just use it as a learning experience and do better at the next one.
So far I have had a couple of hits. I had a phone interview last week, one just yesterday, and another one scheduled for next week. I don't think the one on Tuesday went very well. I got a bit flustered on one or two questions and I feel like my responses left something to be desired. The woman I met with didn't even give me the opportunity to ask questions about the position or the company, so that can't be a good sign. After I got home I thought of better answers for the questions, and a coupe of other things that I should have tried to work into the conversation. Oh well. I guess I just use it as a learning experience and move on.
It was a plastics company and would have been a completely new direction for me. Not that I wouldn't have been up to the challenge, but I think that it would have been some long hours learning a totally new process and getting up to speed on an entirely new CAD system. The plus side would have been it was close to home, a shorter drive than I have now. It was also a very new, modern building, so the working environment would have been great. And finally, it was a very innovative company, so I am certain that I wouldn't have been bored. The down side would have been that after seeing all the other people working there, I think I would have been one of the oldest people there, if not the oldest. That is just depressing.
Who knows, I may still get a call back for a second interview, but I am not going to be holding my breath. As I said, I will just use it as a learning experience and do better at the next one.
Tuesday, September 17, 2013
Jr. Indian Cheer Season
We have had two weeks of Jr. Indian football now and Alison has yet to cheer a full game, The first week we had a long delay in the game due to a pretty bad thunderstorm that came rolling through. The kids had to wait for the lightning to pass. We all ran to our cars to wait it out, and after 30 minutes, the girls were told that they didn't need to hang around until the game started back up. The football team eventually played the game but they had to wait around for around two hours before they started back up.
Then last week, Alison was fighting a cold. Sarah was sick at school on Friday and over the weekend, so I think that Alison caught a touch of what Sarah had. Ali made it until halftime, but then we ended up leaving because she wasn't feeling well. When we got home she laid down for a nap and rested the remainder of the day while Kris and I ran errands.
Hopefully this week we'll be able to make it the entire game.
Then last week, Alison was fighting a cold. Sarah was sick at school on Friday and over the weekend, so I think that Alison caught a touch of what Sarah had. Ali made it until halftime, but then we ended up leaving because she wasn't feeling well. When we got home she laid down for a nap and rested the remainder of the day while Kris and I ran errands.
Hopefully this week we'll be able to make it the entire game.
Tuesday, September 3, 2013
Back To School
Summer is officially over today. The girls went back to school this morning. Only two more years of this for Sarah. And just like the previous 11 years (at least for Sarah, it's only been 7 years for Alison) I took the girls' pictures in front of the house before they left.
Ali is going to be walking with one of her friends who lives one block over from us. She walked over to our house this morning, though I think they'll be switching on a regular basis.
So Ali started middle school and apparently she had a really good day. She found her way around to all her classes, and she has friends in every class. So that works out pretty good. And she really likes changing classes. But it's early. I hope she still feels the same way in October.
At the moment, Sarah isn't home yet, she's at still at cheer practice so I'll find out how her day went when she gets home. If I remember, I'll report on her day too.
In the mean time, this is Ali and her friend Emma:
And just like every other year, Sarah and Brittany:
Ali is going to be walking with one of her friends who lives one block over from us. She walked over to our house this morning, though I think they'll be switching on a regular basis.
So Ali started middle school and apparently she had a really good day. She found her way around to all her classes, and she has friends in every class. So that works out pretty good. And she really likes changing classes. But it's early. I hope she still feels the same way in October.
At the moment, Sarah isn't home yet, she's at still at cheer practice so I'll find out how her day went when she gets home. If I remember, I'll report on her day too.
In the mean time, this is Ali and her friend Emma:
And just like every other year, Sarah and Brittany:
Sunday, September 1, 2013
Not So Smart Smartphone
Last month when we got Alison her phone, I decided it was time for me to finally upgrade my phone. So I got myself a smartphone, a Motorola Atrix to be exact. It isn't bad, though it is taking a little time to get used to it. and typing things on the touch screen has been an experience. One of the main reasons I wanted one was so that I could finally stop hauling around my dayplanner with me to work, and I could keep all my work appointments in the phone.
The problem that I discovered was that it didn't sync with the calendar on my computer (I use Thundebird/Lightning rather than Outlook). I was able to find myself an app/program that would allow me to use my current calendar and contacts without having to upload everything to Google first, which is what I wanted. However, it was only a three week trial. Which was fine, I figured if I liked it I would just buy it.
Well it turns out that the program is $30. I am not about to pay $30 just to sync my calendar with my phone. Does that make me stingy? Well I uninstalled everything and tried to just go back to the old calendar program that came with the phone, but it turns out that it messed everything up. It made double entries on some things, changed the color coding, mixed up the dates of thins themselves, and just pretty much made things unusable. It took me half a day to go through and delete everything by hand, and now I will need to redo it all by hand, unless I can find something else that will sync my computer and phone calendar and address book. This smart phone isn't very smart right now.
The problem that I discovered was that it didn't sync with the calendar on my computer (I use Thundebird/Lightning rather than Outlook). I was able to find myself an app/program that would allow me to use my current calendar and contacts without having to upload everything to Google first, which is what I wanted. However, it was only a three week trial. Which was fine, I figured if I liked it I would just buy it.
Well it turns out that the program is $30. I am not about to pay $30 just to sync my calendar with my phone. Does that make me stingy? Well I uninstalled everything and tried to just go back to the old calendar program that came with the phone, but it turns out that it messed everything up. It made double entries on some things, changed the color coding, mixed up the dates of thins themselves, and just pretty much made things unusable. It took me half a day to go through and delete everything by hand, and now I will need to redo it all by hand, unless I can find something else that will sync my computer and phone calendar and address book. This smart phone isn't very smart right now.
Tuesday, August 27, 2013
Lacking A Green Thumb
After the drought we had last year, my lawn was in some serious need of repair and some TLC. I spead some topsoil and seeded it on the spring, kept ti watered, and about a couple of weeks I had new grass growing, which was good. Then about the middle of July we had a dry spell where temps got up into the 90's. I thought with how good the grass was doing it would just go dormant and as soon as we got a little rain and it cooled back down it would come back. I was wrong.
My backyard is now full of brown patches, and not just the dormant kind, it's full on dead. Just from a week or two of little water. so now I have spread a little more seed and I have started watering it again on a daily basis, but after a week and a half so far, nothing. I am hoping that I get something growing before the end of the year, but if not, I may just go with some sod in the spring to patch it.
My backyard is now full of brown patches, and not just the dormant kind, it's full on dead. Just from a week or two of little water. so now I have spread a little more seed and I have started watering it again on a daily basis, but after a week and a half so far, nothing. I am hoping that I get something growing before the end of the year, but if not, I may just go with some sod in the spring to patch it.
Sunday, August 25, 2013
Driving Practice
I spent about a half an hour today in a parking lot with Sarah letting her get the feel of driving my car. My thought being that when she gets her learner's permit, it'll be February and it is better for her to get the hang of driving when it is warm and dry than when there is snow and ice on the roads. I thin she has it easy too, because I had to learn on a manual transmission. After today, I shudder to think about what it would be like if she had to work a clutch.
I had her practice just driving in circles, up and down the rows. It was very jerky at first. They taught her in drivers ed to keep both hands on the wheel at all times, so she was trying to keep both hands on the wheel as she turned, which is pretty much impossible. So we had to go over how to go hand over hand and then back as the wheel turns.
By the end our lesson, she was getting better at it. The next thing that we have to work on is keeping it in her own lane when she makes turns. But I think that after a few more times in a deserted parking lot and she has the feel of the gas pedal and how to brake properly she'll have no problem turning into her own lane. I am going to try and give her some practice every couple of days so that by the time she gets her temps she'll know what she is doing.
I had her practice just driving in circles, up and down the rows. It was very jerky at first. They taught her in drivers ed to keep both hands on the wheel at all times, so she was trying to keep both hands on the wheel as she turned, which is pretty much impossible. So we had to go over how to go hand over hand and then back as the wheel turns.
By the end our lesson, she was getting better at it. The next thing that we have to work on is keeping it in her own lane when she makes turns. But I think that after a few more times in a deserted parking lot and she has the feel of the gas pedal and how to brake properly she'll have no problem turning into her own lane. I am going to try and give her some practice every couple of days so that by the time she gets her temps she'll know what she is doing.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)