Not sure why I’m surprised by the language being used by all sorts of young kids at the neighborhood park, but I am. I need to check my inner grumpy old man in those moments to counter the urge to scold them while they’re cursing like sailors in front of my little ones.
Reading
A Pattern Language
Christopher Alexander
Notes
Notes
I never know the right way to pronounce ‘dachshund’.
Notes
I just learned our IT dept finally added Power Automate to our enterprise 365 subscription. I asked for access to this for two years in hopes of making my last job more sane considering the vast amount of form work I did. No idea how this could be useful in my new position yet. Anyone use it?
Notes
According to Portland Nursery, there are only 48 days (Feb 15) until the ideal time for seeding tomatoes and peppers indoors.
OSU says the last chance of frost is May 31, and to count backwards 8 weeks (March 31). That’s a pretty wide spread.
Notes
To make living itself an art, that is the goal.
Notes
Still one of my favorite scenes that ever chose me
Notes
My personalized stations on Apple Music have been so strange since they started including starred songs. I was diligent about starring things way back in the day but then fell off. Suddenly, songs I starred over a decade ago are making their way into my mixes. They are dredging up memories of past lives.
Essays
Reflections on my quit anniversary and the new year
I had my last cigarette 7 years ago yesterday. Since that time, I've saved something like $25,000 in direct costs and have hopefully added years to my life. I don't write about this anniversary for praise or pats on the back, but instead to honor myself and explore my own feelings on the subject, which are complex.
Avoiding lung cancer and saving money are of course two of the biggest motivations most people cite for wanting to quit smoking. But what nonsmokers might not realize is that many smokers experience profound psychological stress about their addiction, which in my case was what …
Notes
Smirking my way through the doldrums
Notes
My kids will eat curry, tofu, sushi, Thai, Indian, Tibetan, Vietnamese and Chinese food, but they won’t touch Chef Boyardee if their lives depended on it. I guess I’m raising some bougie kids.
Notes
Just applied to community college.
Notes
Heading into the chaos of my in-laws’ house. Just a self reminder to relax your shoulders and take regular deep breaths. A Klonopin or two might also be in order.
Notes
My new boss got me a nice gift box from Made in Oregon. I think this is the first time a supervisor has ever gotten me a gift. A small thing, but it made me feel appreciated.
Notes
Testing syndication without titles
Notes
Someone sent me a photo of myself I'd never seen before from my high school graduation.
Notes
Listening
I blinked and Sufjan Stevens came out with a new album.
Notes
My new gym keeps its outdoor pool open all year. It’s 40° outside.
Notes
A tale of two children visiting Santa
Notes
The winter solstice is nearly upon us.
Notes
Here goes nothing.
Update: this site is currently being mirrored on an 11ty site. Things seem to have transferred really well, but I haven’t had a chance to polish the starter theme. I'm not sure what the advantage is to going the headless route when Ghost seems to be fine. I'll continue testing.
Notes
As most of us are sick this week, we didn’t do much this past weekend. So I’m looking back at last weekend’s photos. This is my favorite one from our visit to Zoo Lights at the Oregon Zoo. We all rode the narrow gauge train and had a lot of fun. A few friends J, H & K even showed up.
Essays
The holiday blues
I'm just not feeling the holiday spirit this year. Both my kids are young and I am trying to show up for them. I even saved up quite a bit of cash to pay for toys and gifts and take some of that stress off us, but I just can't get in the mood.
I think more than anything, I'm feeling tired of Oregon and feeling the pull to move back to Michigan. We’ve outgrown our house and feel trapped due to prices and interest rates. Looking at real estate back in the Midwest looks like a bargain. The pay isn’t even that different in my field, and we’d have a huge down payment if we sold our current house to …
Essays
Holiday Festivities
We had a very busy but fun weekend with the kids celebrating the holiday season.
We went and saw Santa Claus in North Plains on Saturday, and then went to Steeplejack Brewing for pizza. Then, on Sunday, we went to the SHARC for swimming and later went to Zoo Lights at the Oregon Zoo.
Notes
Today was an interesting day. I got to tour our old jail, part of which is now empty, to hopefully repurpose it. Also made some progress on understanding the historic building in which I work, to hopefully rehab. Feeling good, but tense from the desk, so I spent some time in the hot tub and sauna:
Notes
Went to a ninja gym last night and it was a lot of fun!
