Time off? I spoke too soon...
Wow!! What a typical Monday. I try not to look at things negatively - including, labling a day each week as a bad day - but today certainly fit. It started out OK but went to h*** by mid-morning. I even had to call my team in for a meeting at lunch time because I had to spend the rest of the day fighting fires. Well... Here it is, 7:30pm, and I'm still working. Monday Night Football in the background. Gotta get things done...
I'm sure Lisa had it just as difficult with the kids all day.
*raises glass* Here's to tomorrow....
Quote of the day:
Monday is a lame way to spend 1/7 of your life. ~Author Unknown
Wow! That's funny considering the circumstances....
A little time off...
Since I've been working later and away traveling, I asked if Lisa would like a little time off on Friday. She made plans with Christie and went to a movie and drinks for the afternoon on Friday. After the kids' nap, I took them over to Grandpa and Grandma Clayton's. They were ready with books and some snacks (which dad - me - ate most of...). We got back home, whipped up a quick dinner, gave the kids a bath, and the night was over...
Today, I went to the gym while momma took the kids to the park. I met up with them then we all went to McDonald's for lunch. I took advantage of a little personal time by going over to Tony and Jen's for some video games and a Bloody Mary.
What a relaxing couple of days....
Quote of the Day:
There is nothing so useless as doing efficiently that which should not be done at all. ~Peter Drucker
Wow! Think about that one...
Whew...!!!
Well...another Thanksgiving dinner complete. This year, we had Lisa's family come over to the house. We got started with the prep at around 11:00. People started arriving at noon. Dinner was at 2:00. It was a great feast (as usual, I didn't think there was enough food but there was more than enough...). Lisa kicked everyone out by 5:30.
There are numerous advantages to having Thanksgiving dinner at your house: you don't have to pack up the kids to go anywhere, you get to keep most of the leftovers, if you choose to *partake*, you can partake as much as you want (just don't make a fool of yourself...), the kids can go down for their nap in their own bed, and many other reasons...
There are really only a couple of disadvantages - but boy are they doozies: the preparation and the clean-up. The prep wasn't bad this year because everyone had a part in bringing something. Lisa purchased pre-cooked turkeys at Raleys that only took a couple of hours to cook. Lisa also made the mashed potatoes. I slaved over the rice cooker... We provided a couple bottles of wine and beer - seems like everyone else came with a bottle too... The prep was easy. The cleanup started right after dinner - about 2:45. Lisa and I cleaned as we attempted to socialize. We even sat down for five-minutes a couple of times (or was it 2-minutes?). We continued cleaning and socializing until it was time to bring Aly and Mitch in for dinner (this is about the time Lisa decided we had enough socializing...). We cleaned through their dinner and kept cleaning until after 6:00. Done! Our backs were aching! How do people do this year-in and year-out?
Some Highlights
One of the best things about the Holidays is getting the family together - especially, the kids and grandkids. Unfortunately, we didn't get to see Adrienna because she was spending the holiday with her mom. However, we did get to see Matias and little-Bricker (Adam, Jr.). What a blast!
Aly and Mitch got to play with their twin cousins all afternoon. They loved it! It was a non-stop funfest with the only casualty (that we know about) being one of the plants in the back yard.
Most of our (Lisa and I) highlights occurred in the kitchen. The funniest were right before dinner. Lisa's mom was a livesaver - helping out with the final preparations. Like, draining the boiling water so Lisa could mash the potatoes. Or, picking up the roasting pans with the turkey in it and draining the turkey juice thus enabling me to straighten out the towel on the counter where the hot roasting pan was. Probably the most help was that she was able to operate the turkey baster. She could fill it up and distribute the juices on the turkey where it belonged. When I tried it, I could fill it a quarter of the way. When I tried to transport the juices by turning the baster upside-down, the juices heated the air in the baster causing the air to expand and shoot the juices about 3 feet.....cleanup!!
Of course there's football... Atlanta won easily over Detroit while Dallas lost a heartbreaker in overtime vs. Denver. The missed field goal in the 4th could have been the winner....
I'm sure there were many more highlights that I missed. There were family and friends that I missed too: mom, dad, dad, brothers, sisters, aunts, uncles, cousins, the Landrum family, nanny, Jessica and Nick, and many, many more!!!
Something's wrong with the ability to post pics. Will post some later.
HAPPY THANKSGIVING!!!!!
Don't forget to think about all the things that you're thankful for: family, friends, job, money, etc. Whatever it is.
Quote of the Day:
So once in every year we throng
Upon a day apart,
To praise the Lord with feast and song
In thankfulness of heart. ~Arthur Guiterman, The First Thanksgiving
OMG...!!!
Going back in time to.......yesterday. Day before Thanksgiving. Slow work day - right? Go home early - right? Get a jump on the holiday weekend - right? Wrong! I worked from home yesterday. Got started around 7:00. It was non-stop until after 5:00 - and I still wasn't done. Reports, interviews, meetings, issues, ..... After the kids went to bed, I got started again. Finally finished up around 8:30-9:00 in the evening. Just in time to plop a DVD into my computer and watch a movie....ahhhhhhh......f-i-n-a-l-l-y.....
Pending......
Well... It's exciting and, at the same time, a little sad... Our house went pending sale today!! The past couple of weeks have been a roller coaster as we're entertaining offers and other opportunities. That, coupled with my non-stop work schedule, made things just crazy around here. I don't know if Lisa and I finally came to a mutual understanding of each other's stresses and contributions lately or if we're just plain tired but we've been able to keep things at a pretty even keel thus enabling each of us to focus on our respective areas of influence (which, if you haven't been paying attention, is the house sale and moving for Lisa and the new job for me...). Anyway, this puts our move in motion. The next things are planning the move, finding a temporary place to live, and preparing our belongings (packing, DVD player for the kids, tearing down the gym, moving my stuff, etc....). The goosebumps are forming....
This all is a little anticlimactic though... There were some other opportunities that we were looking at that would have kept us a little closer to family and friends. Those were longshots that didn't pan out though so it's not like we weren't prepared.
WORK
I spent the last couple of days in Fremont at our NOC. Funny, but as busy as I think I am every day, I'm even more busy whenever I'm in Seattle or Fremont - non-stop takes on a whole new meaning. We had a lot of good meetings on processes and operational items and a couple of bombs on the hiring front. I'm too exhauste dto worry about it all now though....
HOTEL
I stayed in an Extended Stay ___ hotel overnight while in Fremont. Now, I remember this chain as a Residence Inn type place - clean, mini-suites that are little home-away-from-home type places. Nope. This place was a dump. The carpet was filthy, the couch and chair looked like something you picked up at a dump, there were visible fill spots on the wall (looks like they used wood putty on a painted white wall...), and there was the obligatory mildew in the shower and on the shower curtain.... Definitely off my list of places to stay (until we're on our two-day trip to Seattle that is....)....
Quote of the day
I'm too tired to look up a quote of the day.....
B-U-S-Y...
Work
I finally get a candidate for one of my positions that I'm ready to hire and what happens? The recruiter takes a vacation... Geez. I've been busting my butt trying to fill the other two positions. Question for the engineers reading this: When did senior network engineers stop having to do configuration and verification? I've had several engineers comment that this was NOC work. What do they do? High-level design and pass it off? Geeeeeezzzzz. Here's another pet peeve: just because you can spell spanning tree doesn't mean you're a 'senior network engineer'. You might want to know what it is and how it works.... Might want to know how routing protocols work too.... Can you spell summarization and redistribution?
I have so much other stuff going on at work that I can't even begin to list it all.....
Home
I got to have my birthday dinner and cake at home with the wife and kids. The kids even tried to sing part of the happy birthday song. Pretty cool.
Things are happening with the house. Looks like we should be wrapping things up soon. Good thing. I think all the stress of work is getting to me and all the stress of the house is getting to Lisa.
She's been doing an awesome job with the house arrangements!!! I think the kids are picking up on our stress - and I don't like that. Hopefully, we can keep them out of it.
We definitely need to get the kids separated more too. They are starting to refer to everything as "Aly and Mitchell's". For example, we were having spaghetti the other day. Aly remarks "Aly and Mitchell" don't want spaghetti - Mitchell loved it. It's Aly and Mitchell this and Aly and Mitchell that... They need their own individual identities..... I think we're going to work on that by separating them a little each weekend...better clean my car out and install the child seat.....
Quote of the Day:
Opportunity is missed by most people because it is dressed in overalls and looks like work. ~Thomas Edison
Happy Birthday...
...to me. 41 years old. Met up with some friends at the grand opening of Hooters restaurant a couple of minutes from my house. Had a couple of beers and some hot wings - 3 mile island (they were mild to me - I guess I'm just used to them). To tell the truth...at this point in my life I would have preferred to spend my birthday with my family (then go to Hooters the next day of course).
What I thought about on my birthday:
- I need to make sure that I have work/life balance. I need to give as much to my family as I do my work.
- Focus on certification - I should have had my major cert(s) a long time ago
- Don't stress - enough said.
- Work out!!
Laid back weekend...
We had a pretty slow weekend. We hung around the house Friday and Saturday. Mitch was a little under the weather.
Sunday morning, we took the kids to the Railroad Museum in Old Sacramento. We had a great time. The kids' favorite part was the 2nd floor - the toys. They set up a large Thomas the Train set that the kids can play with. Aly had to have the purple one... Mitch was the only kid who made train sounds as he played. It was an excellent morning....until lunchtime....as we were finishing up lunch, Mitch had a meltdown - probably because he was still a little sick, tired, and overstimulated. We quickly cleaned up our area and rushed to the van. By that time, Aly joined in on the fun... Luckily, we only live about 10-minutes away from Old Sac. The kids were screaming and kicking the seats all the way home.... They took good naps though....
Funny...
Normally, the office where I sit in Sacramento is dead quiet. You can hear a pin drop - until I start my conference calls. This morning at about 8:15, some guy went through an expletive filled tirade for a couple of minutes... apparently, he didn't like someone telling him what to do... livened the place up for a few minutes. Everything's quiet again.....
Quote of the day:
Obstacles are those frightful things you see when you take your eyes off your goal. ~Henry Ford
Quote of the day...
Since I ran out of cheezy cliches (actually, I found that, because I wrote them down, they stuck in my head and I started using them...), I decided to post Quotes of the
......
Today's Quote
A positive attitude may not solve all your problems, but it will annoy enough people to make it worth the effort. ~Herm Albright, quoted in Reader's Digest, June 1995
Whew!
I just got back from 2 days of all-day meetings in Northridge, CA. The customer and several of our managers and key personnel went over implementation processes and found several pain points and inefficiencies. We assigned owners to all OAIs (open action items) and will put timelines to them next week. All-in-all, it was pretty exhausting but very productive. I got to (finally) meet one of the engineers on my team and several of the onsite field engineers, implementation consultants, sales persons, and customer delivery managers.
More armrest woes...
Another one to add to my list of bothersome "seatmates"... fuzzy jacket lady - with the tickley, static-y fuzz that keeps you from putting your arm anywhere near the armrest. Ick!
Leather...?
I've seen the commercials for Southwest and their "comfortable leather seats." Who thinks that it's really more comfortable to sit in leather seats? Not me. They're hard and you slide all over the place (especially, when your seatbelt is loose on landing - I almost ended up in my primary storage space under the seat in front of me...).
I'm tired....going night-night....
Today, I feel...
...Jittery
I think I need to cut back on the coffee. I'm not drinking much more than I used to but lately, after the second cup, I've been getting the jitters - something fierce. The stress of a new job, selling the house, relocating, and thinking about leaving the family and friends behind may be contributing also. It's all good though. I think we'll find our way back someday. Or, we could end up on Bainbridge Island, which is always in the running for best place to live in the U.S.....then, we'll invite people to come up our way... ;-)
...Stuffed
Went to Baja Fresh for lunch. Now, I've been there in the past and had the salad that filled me up for, like, 20-minutes. I've also had the Baja Burrito, which, since it's the signature burrito, you'd think was filling...not. This time, I ordered the Burrito Dos Manos (two hands) - steak. I was pretty hungry but I didn't expect my lunch to come in a shopping bag! That was a big burrito. I ate about 3/4 of the burrito at noon and was still full at dinner time.
...Hot!
I went to get my haircut today. Man! I hate that vinyl sweat wrap they put around you. It feels like 100-degrees under there. That, coupled with the nervousness of the "stylist" cutting your hair they way they want instead of the way that you want, and the sweat flows freely. Today, I'm sure that my shirt back looked the same way it did when I drove my old dark blue Mitsubishi pickup truck with vinyl seats and no AC home from work at 5:00 on a July afternoon...good thing I used deoderant this morning....
...Sore
Of course, I know better than to go all out in the gym unless I'm on a regular routine (which is difficult with the new job, travel, etc.). Yet everytime I go, I try to go heavier and more intense - than I ever have before!! Sure, trying to go a little bit harder than the previous workout is a worthy goal but , nooooo, I go all out - especially at my home gym -
Gold's Gym Natomas - which is a very nice gym with all new equipment. Now, if I could just raise my arms to scratch the itch on my head...
...Happy
I got off work a little early today to get my haircut and got home by 4:30. So, I was able to spend a little extra time with the family. The kids were in a pretty good mood, which meant that Lisa and I were in good moods too...
...Like laughing
The creator of the Dilbert cartoon, Scott Adams, now has his own blog called the
Dilbert Blog. Over the past couple of days, he posted about the death row inmate who escaped from the Texas prison. Hilarious stuff...
...Sick
Still can't get over that Raiders loss yesterday....
Well, I'll be...
3rd post today.
KINGS WIN!!!
The line on the starting five:
Peja with 33
Abdur-Rahim with 23 and 12 rebounds (including the last 6 points for the Kings)
Brad Miller 17 points and 10 rebounds
Mike Bibby with 19
Bonzi Wells with 16
Corliss Williamson didn't play again. I think the Kings could use his toughness, inside scoring, and rebounding when the starters are out. Corliss can play PF and SF. IMO, the bench should be Corliss for Peja, Thomas for Abdur-Rahim, Skinner for Miller, Martin/Garcia for Wells, and Hart for Bibby.
One of those days...
...where I didn't have patience for anything. The day started out OK...slept in a little bit, played with the kids for awhile, had an intense workout at the gym...then everything went to h***. Everything bothered me (including the Raiders game...see previous post). To top it off, I got a fax on my cellphone. Who the h*** sends a fax to a cellphone. More importantly, how the heck do you get the fax? Finally, after two hours, I was able to send the fax to my home fax machine...it wasn't even for me....geez...
Lisa took the afternoon off and took in a movie with Christie. The kids have been a little rough lately so she deserved the afternoon (and, probably, more)... The kids weren't too bad though they did test me a little.
iTunes
I got on iTunes for a little bit while the kids were napping. It's been awhile since I've been on. I've been into that Kanye West tune Golddigger lately. So, I downloaded that. I also downloaded the new Disturbed album (not that they're called albums anymore but I can't say CD because CD refers to the media....). The kids liked the video that came with the album (they probably just like the way the band jumps around and bangs heads...I can do that without music and they love it.....). I downloaded Eminem's Lose Yourself too. I'm looking for some Ray Charles and some Michael McDonald (his Motown album...).
OMG! I'm sick...
The
Raiders take the lead with 1:45 left in the game against KC - which is an eternity in the NFL. So, you hold 'em to 0-6 yards per play and keep them inbounds - right? Worked well except the 13-yard (or so) play to Kennison and - the killer - the 36-yard play to Johnson which brought KC to the 1-foot line. How does nobody pick this guy up? The guy runs to the 5 before anyone lays a hand on him. Johnson takes it in easily from the 1-foot line as the Raiders defense gives up on the play. KC 27 - Raiders 23.... I'm going to go throw up now....
Another meeting day...
My first meeting started at 9 my last one ended after 3. Since when did every little issue get its own meeting? Can't we number them? We could number the meetings too. Meeting 1 9-10, meeting 2 10-11, etc. Then, we could take issues 136,598-136,603 in meeting 1......
One of the problems with meetings - and I hear it from EVERYONE - is multitasking. That's a polite way of saying that either 1) I've been in meetings all day and I need to get work done so I'm attending but not paying attention or 2) I'm bored with this meeting so I'm talking with my buddy or I'm IM-ing someone else who is bored with the meeting or I'm surfing the net or I'm checking my email...
Oops, 4:30 on Friday and I forgot one of my reporting requirements...OUT!
Long Day...
I spent the day in Fremont today at our NOC down there. The people down there are nice and the atmosphere is very casual. For the second time, they had a barbeque while I visited - steak, burgers, and polish dogs...and strawberry cheesecake to top it off.
I was in meetings all day. The four managers and our senior manager don't get in the same place often. So, when we do, it's meeting after meeting after meeting... We also interviewed a couple more candidates for the engineering positions. I just might have those positions filled by the end of the month...
I left the house before 6am and got back home around 7pm... Luckily, I got home in time to kiss the kids goodnight.
I went to Borders bookstore this evening. I had my mind on three things: ITIL books, CCIE books, and leadership audio books. I must say that the IT book selection is getting very thin - especially, the networking and IT management sections. I found zero CCIE books in stock and zero ITIL books. I did find a couple of audio books that I picked up and a couple of children's books. The guy at the register thought it was kind of odd. I told him that as soon as the kids listened to a leadership CD, they can read the Dora the Explorer book....
Busy, busy, busy, ...
Haven't posted in a few days. I've been crazy busy at work - especially trying to cram everything in 8-10 hours so I can get home and be with the family for a couple of hours before the kids go to bed, Lisa gets on her computer, and I check and respond to my work email. Still trying to fill the engineering positions. I have some pretty good candidates now so I expect things could be completed soon (thank goodness). Seems like everyone is pretty set in their positions these days...
We took the kids out for Halloween this year. They went door-to-door - knocking on the doors or ringing the doorbells by themselves. It was pretty fun. We went around the block once (which was enough because their buckets were filled). When we got home, we gave them each a little candy and let them hand out candy to the kids who came to our door. I think they enjoyed that as much as the trick-or-treating. It was a blast...but what do we do with all that candy...?
Took the wife to On the Border for dinner tonight. It was pretty nice to get away for a couple of hours (we got home before 8 and were both exhausted...). Found out that they're building the Hooters next door though. Might have to stay in Sacramento now since I have a place for Mitch and me to watch Raiders and Kings games...
