Sam's Blog

Pics....

Some pics from this weekend...including Friday's icy road and resulting beautiful day, Lisa and the pup, and the kids at the SuperMall...

posted by Sam @ 8:57 PM 0 comments

Shortest weekend ever...

...After the short but incredibly busy workweek, I was ready for a couple of days of rest and relaxation. What happened to the weekend? It's not like we did much more than normal...

Saturday
We went to the SuperMall on Saturday morning. The SuperMall is basically a bunch of outlet stores in a single-story mall setup - nothing special as the name would indicate. There is a little play area that the kids love though. They ran around for 1-1/2 hours or so and were exhausted...and, shortly after we left, very crabby. We couldn't get them in for a nap soon enough...

For the third time, I disassembled the elliptical machine so I could move it from my office/gym. The first one was plain broken. This one wouldn't incline. The movers were scheduled between 2 and 5 to pick it up and drop off a new one.

We took possesion of our house finally. Lisa met the realtor there at 1:30 on Saturday. Lisa came back reporting that there might be a little more to do than we anticipated before the house is where we want it to be. I'll be the judge of that...

To celebrate, we took the kids to BJz again. The kids played in the play area while mom enjoyed a glass of chardonnay and I enjoyed a Mac-n-Jacks Amber Ale. I got the rib-eye and Lisa got the strip steak. The kids got chicken nuggets and mini corndogs. It took a little longer than usual to get the food. The kids were starving (and so were we...). When the food finally came, Lisa put Aly in the high chair and I lifted Mitch over me to put him in the booster chair. When I had Mitch over my body, he decided to kick his leg an put his boot into my plate...I ate the steak anyway. Lisa's still laughing about it. The steak was pretty good.

The delivery people didn't come when they were supposed to but called right when we got home. So...Lisa put the kids in the bath and I helped the delivery guys get the 2nd elliptical machine out and the third machine in...

Sunday
We got out of the house pretty early to head over to the new house. When we got there, I did my own inspection. Lisa was right. There's a little more than we anticipated. No biggie. It'll just take a little more work. We dropped off some of the paint supplies and tools that we already had then took off to Home Depot....the kids do not like Home Depot....I love Home Depot.... We picked up some primer for the garage and some primer and paint for the laundry room. We also picked up some paint supplies - rollers, brushes, stirrers, tape, etc. By the time the paint was mixed, the kids were crabby again so we quickly paid and headed outside.

Luckily, they were cooking hotdogs on the grill outside of Home Depot. So we picked up a few and ate standing up (as usual) right there in front of the store. After eating, we headed home.

I packed a few more supplies and tools and headed back to the house to drop everything off. Then, I went back to Home Depot and picked up a garage door lock. As I was headed back to the house, I made a quick stop in GI Joes (Sports and Automotive). I picked up the Washington fishing regulations and a couple of books on fishing in WA. I spoke to Tony on Friday. If he makes the trip up here, he wants to do some fishing...I'd better know the rules and where to go...

I went back to the house, removed a bunch of hardware in the laundry room so Lisa can paint during the week, and installed the garage door lock. Then, I headed home. I stopped by Safeway on the way home and picked up a few things - including a bottle of Chandon Sparkling Wine. Domaine Chandon is located near Napa, CA. I love their sparkling wines. I opened a bottle when I proposed to Lisa also.

After dinner, I took apart the third elliptical machine, moved it into the room, and reassembled it. We tested it out. Looks like it's ready for the workouts... If this one breaks, we're going to get our money back...

Whew! I'm exhausted...and the workweek is going to be a busy one... I'd better get some sleep...

posted by Sam @ 8:24 PM 0 comments

Rain...and a little ice...

When I hopped off the bus last night, it was about 34-degrees and there was a mixture of rain, snow, and ice comingdown. It was clear this morning but the roads were iced. Luckily, because it's a workday, the cars broke up much of the ice on the road so it wasn't too bad getting to the bus stop. The bus, however, had to go down some pretty lightly traveled roads. So, it took 15-20 minutes longer to get in this morning as the bus driver drove s-l-o-w-l-y down some of the roads. When I got to downtown Seattle, the sun was rising and it was a beautiful morning.

Pi**y People
Wow! When the bus driver misses a stop, people can get downright enraged. And have mercy on his soul if he forgets to open the back door.

TGIF
I'm probably jinxing myself but TGIF! This has been one crazy week. Non-stop from when I walk into work until I walk out the door (usually late). I'm hoping today will be laid back and I'll get outta here early.

Litter!
One thing that really chaps my hide is someone who litters. How lazy can you be that you can't hold on to the scrap of paper, napkin, wrapper, soda can/bottle, beer can/bottle, etc. until you reach a trashcan? It gets to me more in downtown Seattle because they really try to keep the streets clean and have trashcans available every block or two. /end rant

posted by Sam @ 8:29 AM 0 comments

I created this wordcloud of my blog from this link. Pretty cool. ...

posted by Sam @ 8:01 AM 0 comments

What a day!

Man! Am I glad this workday is (almost) over. It has been firedrill after firedrill. Issue resolution after issue resolution. Project escalations, meetings, impromptu phone calls, aaaaarrrrrgggghhhhhh.....

posted by Sam @ 5:03 PM 0 comments

Closed...

...well...signed anyway. Now, the prep begins:

• put up a shed
• painting
• finishing the garage - paint, shelves, dog door, etc.
• moving the garage stuff
• moving the yard/shed stuff
• some fixup...

Oh, boy....here it comes......

posted by Sam @ 12:07 PM 0 comments

Closing Time...

We close on the house today at 9:30. We'll officially be Washingtonians for at least a couple of years. Hopefully, this Spring and Summer, we can take in some of the sights...

posted by Sam @ 6:10 AM 0 comments

It's Freaking Cold!

20-something degrees with a breeze. I thought my ears were going to fall off. They were actually (painfully) stinging. Thank goodness Lisa talked me into buying this wool jacket and gloves at Macy's in December. ...

OK. That's It...
...do I have a sign on my chest (or on the seat next to me) that says "Large People Only." Look, first off, to each his own. I'm no skinny frenchman myself. But geez...the other day, the woman sitting next to me took up at least 1-1/2 seats - and that was just her rear. And...she had the nerve to put her arms at her side instead of folding them in front of her. I literally was riding half-a-cheek...Today, the biggest guy (not really fat, just big) decided to sit next to me. And he was wearing one of those down jackets that could make Flavor Flav look like Lou Ferrigno... My freaking back is aching from having to lean over for the rest of the trip in...

posted by Sam @ 7:42 AM 0 comments

A Pic From Our Yard...

...just kidding. This is from the Space Needle a couple of weeks ago.

posted by Sam @ 9:18 PM 0 comments

Sick as a dog...

...but true to form, I don't take the day off unless I'm throwing up or close to it... I may have to revisit my standards...

Sleeping in would have been the wise choice this morning...

posted by Sam @ 7:48 AM 0 comments

Happy Valentines Day

The flowers and the bear were already delivered at 7:30 this morning. Lisa got her pup on Saturday. (Love Ya Sweetness!!)

Apparently, Valentines Day is a holiday in Seattle based on the lack of people on the bus this morning. The streets seem a lot less crowded too.

SNOW!
It was pretty cold this morning...not too bad - mid-30's. They expect it to be colder by weeks end - into the 20's... It was snowing when I got off the bus this morning. But now it looks like the sun is going to come out.

Oops. Time's short. Gotta interview a candidate in 3-minutes.....

posted by Sam @ 7:53 AM 0 comments

Happy Birthday Mom!!

Love,
Sam, Lisa, Alyssa, Mitchell, Madison, Cassandra, Rockefeller, and the new edition - Zoey

posted by Sam @ 8:18 PM 0 comments

Yes!

I was up at 6 this morning (OK...slightly after 6) working out on the elliptical for 30 minutes... One more day and I'll be ripped.........

I really don't think I need buns of steel. I'd be happy with buns of cinnamon. ~Ellen DeGeneres

posted by Sam @ 7:13 AM 0 comments

Awesome pics of China...

Here...

Wow! Very cool... I've always been into photography - especially, landscape pics - but I never seem to have time to go out and take pics. Besides, my old 35-mm is so yesterday...it's all about digital photos now...need to get one of these and some of these and some of these... but first, I need some of this

posted by Sam @ 8:34 PM 0 comments

Zoey, Elliptical Machine, and SuperBowl...

Lisa's Valentines Day present, my Valentines Day present, and our compromise with the kids during SuperBowl XL...

posted by Sam @ 8:02 PM 0 comments

Blog or study? Blog or study?

...study...

I'll get some pics of our Valentines Day presents to each other and post them tomorrow....

What I'm Listening to Right Now:
"Triumphant March from Aida" - Giuseppe Verdi

posted by Sam @ 10:16 PM 0 comments

Grrrrr!!!!!!

So...I go over to Sears and pick up the new elliptical machine. This is a big, heavy piece of equipment...and it's disassembled. I get it into my gym/office spend 3 hours putting it together. I'm on the last step when i find out it's broken. I have to put the foot pieces into a certain position so I can attach the hand pieces. As I move the foot piece into position, I hear rattling in the back part by the motor. I take the motor cover off and there is a little electronic box that obviously was broken off. On the bottom of the motor cover, there are several pieces of broken plastic - obviously from the electronic box.

Lisa called Sears. Luckily, they offered to come over with a replacement tomorrow and take this one back. I think they're going to have a hard time getting the new one inside the house and the old one out. But at least they offered to swap it...

Super Bowl
Well...as I expected, Pittsburg took the Super Bowl. To me, it wasn't that good of a game. Full of mistakes and questionable calls. The one call that I don't understand was on the interception that Matt Hasselbeck threw. As the guy is running the ball back, Hasselbeck tackles him by taking out the runner's legs - happens all the time in football. They flag Hasselbeck for blocking below the waist...HUH?! First, he was tackling - not blocking. Second, that call is usually only called when you're blocking low while a teammate is engaged high. Third, I see that tackle made every game that I watch. Did they change the rule before the game?
Anyway, good game for the Steelers. They made less mistakes than the Seahawks...and that touchdown pass from Randal El to Hines Ward on the reverse was just like they draw it up...
How's this for karma...after all the running of the mouths this week, Joey Porter was a non-factor and Jeramy Stevens drops 3 passes...

Part of the Super Bowl happened during the kids' video time... Luckily, I had picture in picture on the TV so they could watch Dora while I watched the game. I'll post pics later...

posted by Sam @ 8:35 PM 0 comments

Today's the Big Day....

...Home and Garden Show at Qwest Field...

j/k... SuperBowl time baby! This area has Seahawks fever. Time to see what they're really about... I think they're a good team that deserves to be in the SuperBowl. They also beat some good teams along the way. The offense was ranked 2nd overall for the season. While their defense was tied for 16th. (stats based on total yards)

For some reason though, it seems that Pittsburg had a tougher road and overcame more obstacles. The Pittsburg offense is OK...ranked 15th over the season. They're defense is the X-factor. They seem to get up for big games and shut down the opponent. The defense was ranked 4th - but it seemed that they were much better than that...

We'll see... The Seahawks did beat Carolina's 3rd ranked defense....Go 'Hawks.

BTW. Still on-call. Yesterday was crazy due to the weather in the Northwest. We're starting out OK...but not perfect...hope I don't have to have one eye on the computer and the other on the TV for the game....

I have to find time to go pick up the new elliptical machine and go to Costco for stuff....gonna be a busy day....

posted by Sam @ 7:27 AM 0 comments

On-call

Well...here's how I woke up for Day 1 of on-call... Up to 80-mile an hour gusts in the area... As you can imagine, our NOC is dealing with power outages and all the issues that come with them....

posted by Sam @ 8:03 AM 0 comments

Are you sure it's Friday...?

Man! I've been at it all day. I have a couple of minutes before my next call so I thought i'd make a quick post. It has been crazy all week (year actually)... I must have received 300+ emails today...

Ruh-Roh
I went to the pet store last night to pick up some dog food. I saw that they had a little boy Boston Terrier pup. He is a skinny thing with a longer snout (like Madison and Cassie). My mistake was going home and telling Lisa that the pup was there.

This morning I get a voicemail indicating that Lisa and the kids are at the pet store...playing with the puppy. She went home with the kids and without the puppy.... We'll see how that goes...

The Lab (cont'd)
I received another piece to my lab yesterday - a 5505 switch with RSM and NFFC... Now, if I can just win one of those eBay auctions for a 3550-EMI...

Yippee!
As I was writing this, my 3:00 rescheduled for Monday. Now I can finish up a few things and get outta here on time...! (I hope....)

Quote of the Day
I named my dog Stay so I can say, "Come here, Stay. Come here, Stay." ~Steven Wright

posted by Sam @ 2:48 PM 0 comments

ROFL...

So...My office overlooks a fairly busy intersection downtown. there is parking on the opposite side of the street. Instead of parking meters, there is a ticketing system where you purchase arking, take the ticket, and place it on the inside of the driver's side window. Today is a very windy day.

With that scene set, I'm sitting at my desk totally consumed with an RFI that i'm reviewing when I glance out the window across the street. Some guy just parked his car, paid for his ticket, and was in the process of attaching it to the window when it blew out of his hand. The ticket blew to the corner, across the street, then down the middle of 5th Avenue...with the guy chasing it all the way - not looking behind for oncoming cars. Luckily for him, he caught up with the ticket a block-and-a-half away, stepped on it, and retrieved it from the center lane - all while avoiding cars. Looked like something out of The Benny Hill Show...

OK...It was funny to me........

posted by Sam @ 8:43 AM 0 comments