Random

Randomness:

* This month marks 2 years since Mom’s cancer was diagnosed. She’s still kickin'.

* I’m going to try and blog much more. Facebook’s great. Twitter’s great. Sometimes, though, I just can’t hear myself think in there. Blogging’s much more composition and reflection.

* I’ve learned to say ‘No’. I’ve de-committed some things at church. Whitney and I have worked out some ways to get time for ourselves: Every other Saturday morning, we get ‘Off’. The opposite parent takes the kids, no questions asked. It’s still a work in progress, but I like where it’s going.

I’ve kinda “lost that bloggin’ feelin’” myself. I …

Jeff Roberts - Dec 3, 2008

I’ve kinda “lost that bloggin’ feelin’” myself. I think mine used to be more “Look at the hole I dug!!!” and thanks to drought and being busy at everything BUT the yard, I’m not sure I could find the back 4 acres right now.

Did you say distraction? Here I am!

Was kin… Jeff Roberts - Nov 1, 2008

Did you say distraction? Here I am!

Was kinda jazzed that everyone’s coming to us for Thanksgiving this year until I realized that meant a couple of nights of housecleaning!

Quick hits on a few things:

* Quote of the Day: “We have two speeds of development: Fast, and Scalded Dog. Which is appropriate here” (no, that was NOT LXK ;-) )

* It’s a fabulous day outside, if you’re a duck. And, it’s supposed to snow tonight. What month is this, again?

* Thanksgiving: Looks like we’re doing the Combs/Brentzel shuffle again this year. Thursday at the Combs family. Friday at the Brentzel clan.

Fits Sandra and I anyway. Kate must have more of t…

Jeff Roberts - Sep 2, 2008

Fits Sandra and I anyway. Kate must have more of the last-born-ness of the only child, as she’s more like Sandra.

I like it. I’m a huge fan of order-of-birth explanations and probably try to apply them way more than is appropriate - so, again, love it. Maybe you have seen something like this about the effects of China’s imposed only child family structure. Of course, halfway through they assure that order-of-birth stereotypes are shaky, but we know better!

Insomnia consists of the inability to fall asleep …

Whitney - Jul 1, 2008

Insomnia consists of the inability to fall asleep NOT being consistently awakened by your husband snoring, jumping up and down, rolling on top of and smothering you, and hitting you in the back. Which is why I was pissed when I nudged you and asked you to roll over bc you were snoring and you told me to GET UP AND READ A BOOK bc that helps you when you can’t sleep and then followed me upstairs after I’d halfway fallen asleep and yelled at me. Yeah. I’d say most of America would be pissed.

Sushi, eh? I like tuna and salmon, so is it anythi…

Jeff Roberts - Jun 4, 2008

Sushi, eh? I like tuna and salmon, so is it anything at all like that?

Yes and no…there are flavo… HarryC - Jun 4, 2008

@Jeff Roberts:

Yes and no…there are flavors and textures in the sushi that simply aren’t there once the fish is cooked.

• Sometimes, when I find someone insufferable, my wife does, too. Algorithm IS a latin word, but it’s a bastardized version of the original Arabic.

• Wood stain is like chickenpox for horizontal or vertical surfaces.

• I really like sushi. As in, if I had the money, I’d eat it every day for lunch.

• I can tan, much like a rump roast can cook: Eventually.

Sounds like a full and fun weekend. I’m trying to…

Jeff Roberts - Jun 1, 2008

Sounds like a full and fun weekend. I’m trying to decide if my class will go feral if I leave it next weekend and go with Sandra to pick up Kate from camp.

What an awesome, awesome weekend it was! Productive, surprising, exhausting, with both family time and some time to myself.

Friday night Whitney and I watched Juno the indie hit from last year that made Ellen Page an ingenue phenomenon. A nuanced film, it has the same deep characters and self-deprecating humor as Little Miss Sunshine. We both liked it.

Saturday was busy, as most Saturdays before Autocross are for me. But man, was I motivated–up at 6:30, TODO list in hand, ticking-off chores. It freaked-out Bella just a tad: “I get freaked out when you’re…organized.” We were the snack-bringers at the final Coach-pitch game of the regular season at 4, but we decided to head into Lexington to buy Bella some new running shoes and head to Sams.

Every summer, my step-son Joey leaves us to go live with his Dad in Louisville. We get to see him alternate weekends, and we get 1 week of “vacation” during that time. To give him a send-off this year, we took a mini vacation down to my Mom & Dad’s Friday through Sunday.

I had a very good time, though I did eat nonstop. Mom’s house is a little like Willy Wonka’s chocolate factory–lots of omnipresent chocolate goodness. What’s not chocolate is sugary or sugar-free (Dad’s Type 2 diabetic).

The weekend was a blur–running Joey up to Louisville, taking Maria down to Mom & Dad’s Saturday, and lunching with the church at the Cane Ridge Shrine Sunday afternoon. The weather powers-that-be missed the forecast–each day was beautiful in Georgetown.

Today, I’ve too many meetings, and much too much to do…yep, must be back in 082.

* * *

Coolest part of the weekend? Working on a New Holland Hay Baler with my Dad. Just like old times…grease everywhere, gears, chains, clutches. I’m just a tad more mechanically capable than I used to be. That was my Father’s Day present…hanging out with my Dad.

Too funny. I helped a few with CS101 homework, to …

Jeff Roberts - May 2, 2008

Too funny. I helped a few with CS101 homework, to no avail. But then, what did I expect for counting open and close braces in their Pascal that wouldn’t compile?

Pretty awesome (if mundane) weekend:

Saturday, we went to Sam’s Club and filled two carts in supplies for our new Chest Freezer (thank you, Tax Rebate!) Then, I mowed & trimmed the yard while doing an oil change on the Odyssey. Pretty quiet, stress-free day.

Sunday was just…perfect. Church was great–our pastor preached a message on how unbiblical debt is (unless for urgent necessities), complete with a “come forward and shred your credit card” alter call. (only 1 person did). Then, Maria and I cruised down (at 55mph!) to Mom & Dad’s in the Camry.

Well, at least you’ve still got the bad haircut……

Whitney - May 3, 2008

Well, at least you’ve still got the bad haircut…. Still haven’t gotten my tip from last month’s “Stylist Appreciation Day”….

:-)

* After talking to Jeff, looks like there’s a Motorcycle Safety Foundation (MSF) class just across the street from me. Don’t know if it’s something I’d like to do or not, but seems like a good way to learn. Bit pricey, though. Though, as my in-laws commented the other day, it’s not so good to announce you’re riding a 600cc motorcycle in a residential neighborhood w/o a license (or even a learner’s permit). Have been researching, and sounds like most 250cc entry-touring bikes get like 66 mpg and don’t have a problem cruising down the interstate. (Put the phone down, Mom…)

* From the “not worth reviewing” file: Beowulf was awful. How do you take a blood-soaked elegiac epic and turn it into, essentially, The Devil and Tom Walker. Plus, the CGI was good, but not quite there.

* A cold snap has hit, with frosty mornings and cool, windy days.

* I’ve *got* to stop staying up late to watch bad movies on DVD. A netflix queue reordering is…er…in order.

* Everyone’s doing well. Whitney’s recovered from her stomach virus last week. Maria’s managed to no maim herself lately, and seems ready to break-out running any day now (with injuries to follow, no doubt). Joey’s school year is winding down, and he’s enjoying baseball on his very good coach-pitch team, the Reds. (“Communism was a red herring”)

empty printer boxes to get for bart and bridgette….

Whitney - Apr 2, 2008

empty printer boxes to get for bart and bridgette……

I vote for VI++, except that sounds like a hopped-up text editor.

Lots of randomness from an awesome weekend:

• Saturday was the Georgetown College Academic Team (GCAT) tournament at my Alma Mater. I served as scorer in the Division I room, alongside my old pal Joe Guillory and the delightful freshman, R. (Did I see R. making eyes at Joe? Perhaps!) Georgetown’s dominance and capability stunned me–this was a team of depth and quiet competence, obviously playing a level above their competition. They’re going to Nationals (College Bowl?) and I expect they’ll do well.

Ah, I yearn for my firebrand, idealogue days, when being a Republican didn’t mean you parrotted everything that Ernie Fletcher & George Bush said. The days when I could hold my head high and say how much the democrats were ruining my state and my country.

Ooops. The Republicans are doing just as badly. Amazing how the view from the top isn’t as clear-cut as the view from beneath.

I ask myself why this is, and I return to what I thought in 2004: Conservatives can stomach a Liberal leader, but Liberals can’t stand a conservative, especially one as hapless as Bush. Why oh why didn’t we elect John McCain?