2023

Spent a good chunk of the weekend cleaning the house and making the yard look presentable because we had some friends and family over on Sunday for a barbecue. The kids played with water balloons and a cheap slip and sl…

My week in review - An Elephant in the Delta Waves https://inthedeltawaves.blog/2023/06/01/spent-a-good.html

Tomorrow is my 8-year work anniversary. Total time warp feeling.

May

Ended up having so many healthy tomato starts that I gave a half dozen to my neighbors. I have too many pepper plants too, makes me wish I had more space.

Our roses are looking pretty good this year.

I’d like to thank our janky office printer for helping me hit my step count today.

I almost never see replies in my timeline. Are people really that diligent about changing replies to “unlisted”? Is that the culture? Or do I just follow a bunch of people who don’t reply to things?

Years ago, an old coworker taught me to always save those kudos you receive from coworkers, business contacts, and customers, in an email folder. Whenever I’m having a rough day, I open a few. They’re also pretty useful…

A friend started talking about the old Kmart on State Street in Saginaw. Got me thinking about all kinds of memories, like getting new clothes and those nasty submarine sandwiches at that Kmart with my mom as a kid, bei…

Today I start working on a task I asked someone else to do a year ago.

I need to put a self ban on looking at Zillow listings in the Midwest.

Beautiful day on the Oregon coast.

Remembering my brother today and every day.

And while I’m old-man ranting, have you seen the eye rolls they give you nowadays when you refuse self checkout? While paying for said $7 deodorant?

Has anyone seen the price of deodorant lately, or are we all collectively ignoring that along with everything else? $7 for Old Spice.

Perhaps the biggest difference I’ve noticed between suburbs in the Pacific Northwest versus those in the Midwest is that the PNW has much better landscaping. If you’re going to have parking lots everywhere, you might as…

Yesterday was hard to beat.

I almost always feel awkward taking videos on my phone. But I have never regretted having even just a few minutes of a recorded memory to look back on. That’s especially true on weekends such as this when I’m thinking m…

Sick kids again.

All you folks who eat fish and seafood, were you born without tastebuds? I can barely stand the smell let alone put it in my mouth lol.

Mac ‘n cheesin’

An annual zoo membership is the best bargain in town when you have a couple little ones.

Is there no way to mute keywords on #bluesky?

I’ve been thinking about new volunteer opportunities I could do and I think Habitat for Humanity ReStore would be great except for the fact that my garage would be filled with materials for home improvement projects I’d…

I should know better at this point to never wear light colored shirts. My kids are always using me as a napkin.

It’s been a couple years now and you’d think Apple would’ve fixed their weird glitch where the Apple TV remote randomly freezes at least once per day and needs to be restarted.

I had to quit certain social media sites long before a certain dude took over, simply because of hatefulness and politics. I’ve seen a big uptick in politics on Mastodon lately, which makes me sad. I’ve been using that…

An absolutely perfect Portland evening for some back porch lounging.

Sometimes I think it would be cool to have a Jeep or a Bronco to take to the beach. But let’s get real, there ain’t no way I’m taking a carload of kids and a dog anywhere without the van. I’m a convert.

Never thought I’d say this, but I’m ready for my son to be past the Scooby Doo phase. Watching every episode and movie dozens of times is beyond my limit. Time to expand your horizons, boy.

Took a chance on the Grammarly plugin for Outlook. Verdict: the free version is unusable. Anyone have a decent alternative?

Nothing quite like the feeling of scrimping and making smart choices to put away over 50 grand into retirement since 2021, only to have the balance remain about the same as it was 2 years ago.

Got my tomatoes planted outside yesterday. Really wish I had more space because I only have room for 6 plants or so and I have a lot of good starts left over. I might put a couple in some 5 gallon buckets. I did get the…

Had kind of a weird day. Broke the news to my coworkers that I had taken a promotion in a different department, but didn’t feel supported by a few teammates I thought would be happy for me. Trying to not let my thoughts…

One crazy thing about taking stimulant medication as a person with ADHD is that it paradoxically helps me sleep at night. I used to have to take a sleeping pill just to shut my mind off.

I have neighbors who bought the house two doors down from us over 3 years ago now that I still have never met. This sums up American culture.

I swear, men’s shirt sizes are meaningless anymore. I can wear anything from a large to an XXL, depending on material and brand. I think we need an oversight board or something.

S is away for a few nights for some much needed girls’ time, perhaps the longest she’s ever been away from our kids. She’s probably stressing about them so much she can hardly enjoy herself. I could hear the tenseness i…

PSA: Despite what the athletic and “athleisure” wear industry wants you to believe, underwear made from synthetic fibers is not good for your nether regions. This includes rayon, polyester, and so-called bamboo. There’s…

I’ve been chewing a bit on the saying: “[don’t take] the path of least resistance.” Knowing full well that much of life is work and few things are worth a damn without putting in at least some sort of energy toward them…

The first rose of the season. The Rose City isn’t just a fancy moniker.

I know whenever my wife says we’ve got to put the kids to bed early it means she’s got some seriously psychotic movie for us to watch. Never fails.

What started off as a trip to the library…

Anyone on Micro Blog run their own Mastodon instance and run into trouble authenticating for cross posting from Micro.blog to Mastodon?

My 4 year old yesterday: “I’ve had a really hard day mom, I just need to lay in the hammock for awhile.”

Met up with an old friend downtown yesterday. It was nice to get out of my bubble.

Watching Silo on Apple TV+.

It’s every parent and pet owner’s favorite night of the year: the air show. /s

Fun light.

Not really sure why I wear an Apple Watch anymore when it’s just sort of a daily reminder of how out of shape I am.

Just washed my car today. Pollen.

One of the most unfortunate things about public sector urban planning is that we tend to farm out the most creative work to the private sector and then keep the boring and monotonous work for ourselves. Personally, I th…

Still hoping to check out Bluesky if anyone has an extra invite.

We’ve had a couple of car break-ins over the last year. I caught them on the security cameras but the outdoor lights just aren’t bright enough to show enough detail. They are just kids, I think deterrence is the best we…

My wife asks me at least once per week if the shirt I’m wearing is new, even when I’ve owned it for years. This woman watches our checking account with a microscope and thinks I went to Target without her 😂

I wonder about those in my industry who hire people who have bounced around to a new job every 1-2 years. What is it they think will be different this time around?

Who needs ChatGPT when Google Photos randomly creates slideshows of pizzas I’ve eaten over the past 5 years. 🍕

“Okay daddy, I’ll go to sleep but I’m NOT tired.” Truth be told, my favorite part of the day is chatting with my son about life through his eyes before he falls asleep.

One sad thing about getting older is that now when I wear a polo on a 90+ degree day, I just look like any frumpy middle aged wanker in a polo on a hot day. Back when I was 20 with a BMI to match, I could make anything…

3 of the ‘best lake towns in the U.S.’ are within driving distance of Portland - Oregonian Spoiler: there are no real lake towns in Oregon.

Waiting for a haircut today, I decided to grab a quick lunch. With so few choices, I figured I’d give Panda Express a try. I was surprised that they don’t have a single vegetarian option. Puzzling business decision in 2…

Sometimes I initially feel bad when I’m a few minutes late to my job in the morning. But then when people who don’t have two young children come in after me I just have to laugh.

It’s crazy to me that the only apparent way to circumvent the product-steering happening on Amazon is by doing a Boolean search on Google.

I have a Strava account that I started pre-kids when I was a lot more active and going on lots of hikes. I follow all these really active people and ultra runners. Now I just hit record when I’m getting the mail or walk…

Got all the yard work done. Got a new-to-us lawn mower from my wife’s coworker who is moving into a condo and no longer needed it. Pretty nice! Maybe it’s my blue collar midwestern roots, but I’m one of the few in our n…

Definitely going to have some tomatoes this year.

Happy Mother’s Day to all you mothers. Hope you get pampered today.

An awesome day. Got out to Ridgefield National Wildlife Refuge before it got too hot and hiked a couple miles with some friends and the kids. Stopped off for a beer and some food on the way home. Looking like nap time n…

We lucked out with this one. Happy Mother’s Day, Sharayah. We love you!

Off to do a little hike with some friends in Ridgefield, WA. There’s a nature reserve there along the Columbia River that’s flat and easy enough for our 4 year old to walk himself. Our daughter is 1. She can walk some b…

I ended up accepting the promotion yesterday and I’m actually pretty excited about it. Initially I was nervous because I have a young family and change can throw life into a tailspin. But more than the money or the extr…

I recently switched over 100% of my microblogging from Mastodon to Micro.blog. I thought I would miss seeing reblogged and tagged content. Honestly, I don’t. Previously, it was a lot harder to see content from the peopl…

In a reflective mood tonight. Just 14 years ago I graduated during the Great Recession and landed in a kitchen making $6.50/hr. What a wild ride it’s been.

Somehow I missed that Michael Hurley is opening for Horse Feathers on Sauvie Island later in the summer. Of course it’s already sold out, because, well…Portland. www.etix.com/ticket/p/…

Fun fact: I applied for and received a grant a few years back for a 3,200 gallon cistern that collects rainwater from my roof all winter long. There’s a pump inside that I connected to a drip irrigation system and I use…

Is it just me, or is SMS spam getting out of control?

I was offered a promotion today in a different department but I’m not sure if I should take it. Several other promotional opportunities within my department just opened up. A big part of me is saying to take the one off…

Planted my zucchini starts outside last week and I worried it might be too cold for them. Now we’re heading into another weekend in the 90s. Our weather here in Portland can’t figure out what it’s doing. #pdx #gardening

We had some pictures taken over the weekend and I’m really happy with how they turned out. Jenkins Estate was in full bloom.

One perk of taking the kids to preschool/daycare every morning is that on the way home I occasionally treat myself to a breakfast burrito from one of the many excellent purveyors of Mexican food in my area. Today was on…

These clearer, warmer, longer days are everything right now.

Rocking my daughter sleep, listening to some chill music. Looking forward to seeing Lucinda Williams and Big Thief at Edgefield this summer. Lucinda Williams - Fruits of My Labor🎵

Although the view from inside a car may be perfectly clear, glare obscures us from outside. We know this as pedestrians, but forget it as we wave to them as drivers. A simple analogy of how our perspectives can be selfi…

I can’t believe I’m raising my kids in a country where, in just a few years, they will be participating in active shooter drills. I’m still trying to figure out a way to make a decent living abroad. If I could do my edu…

A coworker lost her mother over the weekend. It wasn’t completely unexpected, but that still has to be one of the heaviest feelings we can feel. It’s got me thinking a lot about my own mom and how I wish I didn’t live s…

Went to the post office today to mail a package to my mom. I’m always struck by just how shabby our public institutions have become. Comparing the architecture of train stations and libraries and post offices today to t…

We’re training her for the X Games.

We had our friend Alyssa watch our kids for a few hours today so we could have some time to ourselves, something that is so often in short supply. Went for a nice bike ride in the rain on the Banks-Vernonia Oregon State…

Spring is still being moody but the redbuds are in full bloom.

Four food carts just opened in an underutilized industrial spot within walking distance of my house. Mexican with excellent birria tacos, Hawaiian-Filipino infusion, Salvadoran, Venezuelan. This is bad. Real bad.

This month marks 8 years since I moved to Oregon, and the same for my work anniversary. Time flies!

Just realized I think I put half and half instead of milk in my daughter’s sippy cup for daycare. Mornings can be chaotic sometimes! Update: Definitely did. it was so thick that her teacher thought we gave her spoiled m…

I guess our house is the one all the neighborhood kids like to crash.

I have this habit of planting too many veggie starts because I think I’m going to kill them all. But as I’ve gotten better at it, I’m thinking I might need to build more beds.

April

One of the occupational hazards of being an urban planner is that you’r…

One of the occupational hazards of being an urban planner is that you’re constantly being critical of the built environment around you. While out and about, all I think about is access management plans, lack of pedestri…

Went down a rabbit hole tonight reading my first blog on Livejournal, the first entries of which turn 20 this year. Thinking about exporting them to my current blog in spite of my embarrassment.

Watching the Tigers on TV and it’s cool to see the Hudson’s tower begin to rise over the outfield. It will be something to see once it hits 700 feet and becomes Detroit’s second tallest building.

Some unusually nice days this week in Portland. Decided to get up early and head over to the Oregon Zoo.

What’s one thing you used to love that you just don’t anymore? For me, I used to love staying up late and sleeping in on the weekends. But since having kids, I’m pretty exhausted early on. Anxiety still gives me trouble…

Have to applaud Cursive for performing their Domestica album two days in a row at one of Portland’s smallest venues instead of just getting a bigger venue.

90°F in my 2nd level office today. Ashamed to admit I broke down and turned on the air conditioning. A week ago it was ten degrees below average and now it’s like July up in here.

Had a scammer try to buy $600 in nonsense from a pharmacy 2,000 miles away this morning. Glad I got the email from Instacart saying my address on file had changed, and that I woke up early today. I was able to chat with…

Getting back into Duolingo lately and thought I was doing so well that I’d try watching foreign shows on Netflix with the Italian subtitles on. Boy, was that ever optimistic.

It’s a point of pride for me that I treat people with kindness and respect. However, I get a kick out of proving people wrong who treat me poorly. As a public servant, we get served more than our fair share of angry kno…

As a man of above average height, it will never stop being funny to walk into a restroom and see a short man at the tall urinal when the short one was available. Whenever I’m forced to take the short urinal in this situ…

Not exactly sure why, but I get some sort of strange gratification pulling up next to Teslas and Mercedes at my kids’ preschool in my paid off 12-year-old Subaru with its bumper hanging off.

Why yes, those are my frozen corn dogs in the office freezer. I am an adult, I swear.