#28 - Aria returns - June 29, 2012

Today, my week is almost over.  I got up early this morning to find the front door locked.  It appears I was the first one up.  I left the house and went to work, cleaned up my email box to the 20s.  I had received an email back from one of the moms in church and knew I had to pick up Aria around noon.

I left the office at 10:40 to go to the house and meet with the seller.  She's a very nice woman, short, maybe 50, very athletic.  We walked through the house, she showed me the moving they were doing.  The Lego area is already clear.  She is leaving the paint that matches, the work tables, and we talked about the furniture she wants to leave.  So I bought her bedroom set for Christian and Libby to use: 2 nightstands, a dresser, an armoire, a hope chest, and a queen bed.  Very nice, and quite large enough for 2 kids to split it.

I also bought a round kitchen table she had, with tablecloth and chairs, as well as an automatic pool vacuum. I offered to help in the evenings, she wasn't clear if she would want that or not.  We'll keep in touch.  I explained the oil tank thing having to be removed from contract and offered to pay her right now.  She said no, later would be fine.  She did want the furniture paid for, so she could pay someone to help her move out.  So I wrote her a check and left.  She's reasonable in person.  Less so on the phone.

Then I went to Whaley lake to pick up Aria.  She had had a great week.  We got in Gortja and she talked for half an hour straight.  It was excellent.  I love it when my kids are happy.  We stopped at a pizza place for lunch, then I took her to the office so I could finish my workday.

We left just after 4, stopped by the storage unit to drop off everything we could - Tim's bike, camping gear, a box of food.  Then we went to the train station to see our train pulling out as we pulled in.  A quick check of the schedule, however showed that an odd train was coming.  Trains are usually every hour, but another train was coming in 20 minutes.  So we finished parking, walked down the hill, paid for parking, bought our tickets, and waited for 10 minutes.  There was plenty of room on the train filled with Yankee fans. Must be a Yankee game tonight.

Hundreds and hundreds of people in blue shirts.  I've never seen anything like it.  And they all got off at 125th St, and the train was empty.  When we got to Grand Central, we talked about dinner.  Aria was okay with a pretzel and ice cream, so we set off to find both.  The pretzel was easy, but the cart was a charcoal grill cart.  Aria said the pretzel tasted like ash, so she tossed it.  We continued on our search for a MrSoftee by walking uptown on Madison Avenue.  In a few blocks we found a frozen yogurt cart.  He only sold vanilla and plain, but you can get fruit topping on it for free.  Aria got blueberries, I got blueberries and strawberries.

I have pictures of this, but I don't have an easy way to get them on this computer right now.  They'll show up when I get back home.

We were thirsty, and asked several places for a drinking fountain.  No luck.  We wandered into Trump Tower, though, and there was a bathroom.  So we took a break, filled our water bottles in the sink, and went on our way.  We found the subway stop at 60th and Park Ave, and had an uneventful rest of the ride to Aki's place.  We ate some dinner, watched Gravity Falls (a new cartoon about some kids in the a cabin in Oregon), and set up for sleeping.

A very nice day.  Sleep for everyone, swimming tomorrow!

#27 - The saga continues - June 28, 2012

Today I finalized the last pieces of our loan paperwork.  Homeowner's insurance, motorhome documentation, what I thought were the last pieces.  The lender has put someone else in charge of gathering the final pieces of information, and she is not clear on what I need to do.

But I learned that splitting the oil tank cost can't be in the contract.  The underwriter sees that as an additional concession, so it has to be removed.  I called the seller and emailed her.  We agreed to meet at the house at 11am tomorrow to look at furniture that she wants to sell.  I'll ask her about the oil tank funding as well.  We'll have to write her a separate check for it.  No big deal.

Work was nothing special.  I've been able to knock out more long-term things this week as other projects complete or start to propel themselves forward with less effort from me.

For the evening, I got things done - I went to the mall.  I needed a new laptop backpack for about a year.  This week I had the time to buy it, and BestBuy had almost exactly what I wanted.  I shopped for TVs there.    Waiting for TV sales seems silly to me.  If you look at Walmart, Sam's Club, Costco, and BestBuy, one of those places will have a TV that meets your needs at a great price.  It's pretty simple.  BestBuy had the best deal on a 60" that I've seen so far.  I went to JCPenny to pick up a bunch of shirts I ordered a few weeks back.  And I also went to Target to get a laundry bag.  I have all my dirty laundry sitting in a pile on the floor inside the closet now, which is not where it belongs.

I got home to an empty house, went to my room and turned on the AC.  Then I relaxed.  The family was at a friends barbeque.  Some blogging, a couple games of football, some reading.  During my downtime, I heard a little slapping sound.  It didn't stop, and when I investigated, I found that the AC unit was leaking condensation into the room.  I placed my water  cup to catch the drip and got back to my relaxing.  The cup filled in a couple hours.  I didn't want to leave the room.  So I drank the water quickly.  It was the grossest thing I've ever consumed.  It tasted like mold.

I had some stomach queasies that I suspected were mental, put the cup back, and went back to my football game.  Eventually, it was time to sleep.  So I turned off the AC and slept.  It was a hot night, and the AC had done a good job of cooling the room down, but it was still too hot to sleep well.  I tossed and turned a lot.

#26 - life at home, but not mine - June 27, 2012

Work was a normal day.  Tim had breakfast with Jack, and mentioned our housing situation.  So Jack immediately called me and sent me an email inviting us to stay with him.  Really.  The kindness that has poured out on us here is astonishing.

I had received an email from someone at work who wanted to spend some informal time.  So I went over to his place and we talked for 4 hours.  After that I went home.  My colleague and his son were out at baseball practice, so I helped his fiance make enchiladas.  We talked about just about everything.  She's very sweet, smart.  A really great person.

The guys got home eventually.  The enchiladas were excellent.  We sat around the living room and ate and talked until 10:30.  Far later than I thought.  Perfectly relaxing and peaceful.  Really a nice time.

And then I went to sleep, after finding out that my parents had FAXed the paperwork for the motorhome sale.  Another good day.

#25 - Signatures! - June 26, 2012

Today we officially breached the gap that has eluded us for 4 months.  We saw a signed contract.

I got back from work about 2am again, slept for a few hours, worked on packing the hotel.  I took Aria to girls' camp, went back to the hotel, and loaded up Gortja with everything that was ready to go (which went pretty well, actually).  On my way back in to the hotel on one trip, I got a call from my attorney, asking if we would be willing to split the cost of the new oil tank.  I asked Katrina, called her back and we had then met the last condition.  The negotiation was finally done.  About 4pm, the contract came to my inbox, and I forwarded it to our lender.

We had an actual, fully executed contract.  The kind we could use to get the kids in their new schools.  Work was pretty normal - I tried to stay awake and mostly succeeded.  And once work was over, I went to my new place to get settled.

Which is something  I missed when writing yesterday. I saw a month-to-month apartment yesterday morning for a reasonable price, about a mile from the office.  It was a really cool place.  Much more than I wanted to pay, but it was huge and nice.  And the landlady is a sweet Irish woman named Mary.  But at lunch someone from my team at work offered me a room at his place.  It's a small room, but it's in a house, and I wouldn't be alone.  And it would be cheaper, and no contracts or anything.  It was not too hard of a decision.  I went to stay with my colleague.

So after work I went home.  Katrina and the kids had arrived safely in Queens.  I was exhausted and went to sleep.  I slept well.  Lots accomplished, and lots of luck.

#24 - Moving forward with the house - June 25, 2012

This week I am focused on finishing the house purchase.  By Friday, I want there to be nothing else I have to do. 

So today I followed up on some paperwork for the motorhome sale.  Dad hasn't had the time to work up anything yet, so I'm trying to make it easier for them both. 

The thing I'm focused on today is staying awake enough to function and be alive.  I got home from work at about 3am, and slept until 5.  Got up, went to passdown, and came back to the hotel.  We're leaving the hotel tomorrow, and much cleaning and packing needs to be done.  But I was not very functional after 3 nights of almost no sleep, and 2 days of physical activity.  I took the kids down to breakfast, then went to the rental unit to buy some boxes, and got home about 9:30, barely able to hold the boxes up. 

Then I went to work for a few minutes, and Katrina called to ask me to figure out Aria's immunization records.  I was able to figure out a way to get them that day: I walked into the clinic and asked for them.  They asked for her doctor and her name, but that was it.  I could have gotten anybody's shot records.  They never asked for my name or ID.  If it was more important information, I'd expect to be asked to provide some more personal information.  It was a little weird (and stupidly easy) nonetheless.  I got off about 3, picked up Aria and went shopping.  We spent 5 hours together before we were done - Wal-Mart, the dollar store, Shop Rite, and the storage unit.  By the end, she had all of her girls camp stuff put together. 

We got home at 8, and after getting the kids to bed, I tried to sleep from 9-11, but it didn't work.  I didn't drop off at all, I don't think.  And then it was in to work again from midnight-2.

Random pic of the day is for Katrina: this truck was 1 block off Grand Central when I got in on Saturday night.  I was short on time, so I didn't buy one, but it was there!  Tim also mentioned that he thought we were crazy about Mr Softee, but then he saw a truck and understood what we were talking about.

The Mr Softee truck is on the far side of the street in front of Citibank.

#23 - A real workout #2 - June 24, 2012

I woke up this morning a little after sunrise, having slept better than I had in 3 days.  And I was also sore in both my arms, and some areas of my legs.  And I had to move furniture from the 4th floor to a moving truck.  My theme for the day: dig in and get it done.  I don't have to do much more than move a mouse most days, and this weekend was to be 1 huge exception.  Embrace it.  And win the day.  Thanks, Chip Kelley.

We were both up by 8, took showers, took several trips down stairs to get a jump on it.  Tim cooked a "what I have left" egg scramble which was quite tasty, and his phone rang.  It was the mover guy.  He thought the move was supposed to start at 10.  We were planning on 11.  So we got after it, and by 10:45, the guy had showed up and we had started loading.  Tim had planned the day quite well. 

By the time we had finished loading the truck, we were both sweaty and beat.  We all scrunched into the cab of the moving truck and drove to the storage unit.  The storage unit turned out to have its own set of problems.  We were able to fit all of his stuff in it, but the elevator door had a 5-second closing timer, making it extremely difficult to load. 

We finished loading the unit at 12:15.  Then Tim realized he had forgotten his lock at the apartment.  And the office at the place was out of locks.  So he went to get a lock.  At 12:45, we left the place and went to get lunch.  We settled on Janelle's, a Caribbean place.  I got ox tail because I could.  Tim got the curried goat.  And then we were off to pick up the Toyota Tacoma Zip Car.  We went back to Tim's, loaded the rest of his stuff, cleared out all the garbage, and drove to Aki's.  We took the desk back up 3 flights of stairs to her office room, and got back in the truck to return it.

That brown stuff on the left?  Genuine ox tail.  Tasty.
Everything was tasty, actually.

I have rarely been so tired and relaxed. 

We returned the truck, I put on my backpack, and Tim guided his bicycle to Prospect Park.  We sat there in the shade and talked for a few hours.  In a different forum, I need to write about our talks.  Tim is a deep-thinking and caring individual.  He's not perfect, but he really does want to do the right thing, even if it's not the easy thing. 

The park is amazing.  Large open spaces, lots of people having fun, lots of trees.  Evidently, the designers had made Central Park first, and they thought they did a better job on Prospect Park.  There are dirt trails through the trees, old ponds, private places where you won't see another person.  In the middle of Brooklyn.  The park is so large that the entire Borough would have to be there at once for it to be crowded.  Unbelievable. 

At 5, it was time for me to start heading home.  Tim had persuaded me to borrow his bicycle while he was in Oregon (which was easy), and so I adjusted the seat and headed out of the park.  Tim thought I was crazy to ride through downtown and midtown Manhattan because the drivers are crazy.  But that's what makes them so nice.  The ride directions were easy once I got onto Bergen St.  At Court St, there were signs to the Brooklyn Bridge. 

The Manhattan skyline is probably something I'll never get used to.  The middle of the frame there has the mostly-finished World Trade Center tower.  I got other shots that had the Empire State Building, and of course the Statue of Liberty was easy to see.  The bridge is really very scenic. 

Once off the bridge, the streets flow together - Market st, Center Ave, Lafayette Ave, 4th Ave.  Keeping up with the cars is easy because they have to stop all the time and they can rarely go more than the 15mph that I was going.  Passing cars is easy because they are stopped all the time, so I split lanes.  Everyone expects taxis to stop in the middle of the street, they expect people to be parking, and they expect me to go around those cars.  Never had a close call.  Much safer, I think, than riding the country roads in Washington County that I used to ride. 

4th Ave leads right to Grand Central at 42nd Street, and I was there.  10 minutes in Brooklyn, 25 minutes in Manhattan, 5.3 miles.  10mph including stop lights and checking for directions.  Good time.

I grabbed a couple pretzels and a Sunkist for dinner, cooled down on the marble inside the station for a few minutes, and got on my train.  Lots of space for the bike, and I was able to relax on the way home. 

The ride was simple, short, and exhilirating.  I've always loved riding in cities - Osaka, Kobe, Portland, and now New York.  I love riding with the cars, how aware of everything you have to be, trying to flow with the traffic.  It requires complete attention, and I love the zen of doing it.  At the end, I was a little tired, but my legs would have been fine for another 10 miles.  Some hydration and some calories were all I needed to feel good again.

I got back to the hotel, said hi to the kids, took a shower, and headed in to work.  I needed to talk to some people, and night shift was the time to do it.  I got home after midnight.  What a day.

#22 - More camping goodness - June 23

Today I woke up with the sun and promptly tried to go back to my fitful sleep.  It worked for a bit, but I could only put off getting out of the sleeping bag for so long. 

I found the boys awake and over at another brother's fire, roasting marshmallows.  I had told them they could - it wasn't fair to make them wait until a late breakfast.  The rain had given way to sun - my phone told me the forecast was 80 and sunny.  So I set the sleeping bag, rain fly, bed roll, etc, all in places where they could dry, and chatted with the boys.  The campout has a second phase, which is a service project at the campground.  Today's projects were to remove and rebuild the roof of an outbuilding at the camp and to demolish and clean up a huge gazebo.  The men were to do the work with help from the teenage boys, and the younger boys were supposed to play.  So Christian and Jake helped me for a few minutes, and then they went off.

And here I must comment on their maturity and growth.  When the boys are together in a setting where they have to rely on each other, they do really well.  Christian and Jake stayed together, had fun, and were kind.  I didn't have issues with Jake doing crazy things or running off.  He followed directions, and he followed Christian.  And Christian didn't run too fast.  Christian has his moments where he is overwrought about some minor thing, but he is a very sensible, responsible, respectful, helpful person.  He is a genuine pleasure to be around.  I think being with him is what excites me the most about scouting.  We're going to get a lot of stuff done together. 

I worked on the gazebo, hauling large and heavy pieces of wood down a hilll to a huge dumpster and then trudging back up the hill.  My legs were fine, but my arms tired quickly. I sweated up a storm, and when I couldn't safely lift things any more, I cleaned up our camp site.  When I went back to help, the job was largely done. 

The boys had explored the whole place, found where the frogs were hiding, gone swimming, and wanted to get in the canoes.  The lake was amazing.  I got in with my cargo shorts.  The water was warm, there were fish swimming around, and the area is large enough to really stretch out and enjoy.  Plus the bank is sandy, not rocky.  Perfect.  By 1, we had done the canoe thing and the boys were toast.  Jakers went to sleep in the back of Gortja, and Christian and I hung out.  Sometimes together shooting hoops in the gym, sometimes separately with me reading. Eventually the girls showed up without swimsuits.  I took them out on the canoe, and we had a great barbeque.  It was a great experience, but I'll have to write about it separately.

Then I took off and caught the train to Grand Central.  I got to Tim's place about 9:30, we talked until 11 or so, and then I went to sleep.  The morning found me all too soon.

Here are a few pictures of camping.

Jake on Saturday afternoon.  He slept for 4 hours.

Always frogs.  Christian has a knack for finding them.

Whaley Lake, looking South from the dock.  What a perfect day.

The roof on this building was one of the projects. 

#21 - Camping in NY - June 22, 2012

I had to start today early - my intent was to get us out to the camp site as early and as prepared as possible.  So I swung by Walmart on my way to work and picked up what we needed - pastaroni, trail mix, marshmallows, the standard car-camping fare. 


Work went by easily - nothing really down.  I made more progress on my projects, and made a run to the storage unit at lunch to get our camping gear put together.  I made some calls about the house, but nothing important.  I did get to talk to my attorney, but she had no news for me. 

I got home, picked up the boys, and we left for camping.  I was expecting something cool, but I was shocked by what I found there. 

Behold, Camp Liahona!

 I parked, and nobody else was really there yet. So we hung out for a while - Christian and I threw a frisbee inside due to the rain.  And there was an inside to be in.  The gym is relatively large, there's a stage, and on the other side of the stage is a large open room with a fireplace.  In between there is a small kitchen.

The camp is 80 acreas along Whaley Lake, which is a man-made lake close to Pawling, NY.   There are a few large flat areas for camping, large bathrooms with showers, canoes to rent, a lifeguard on duty during the summer, large fire pits.  The place is amazing.

These first 2 pictures were taken Friday night as I wandered the camp and played basketball with a couple guys and frisbee with Christian.

Before it got dark, we had worked out that neither of the boys wanted to sleep in the tent alone, so I got set up in there.  We cleared out space in the back of Gortja (without the 3rd seat, it's rather spacious) and borrowed a couple sleeping bags from the someone on the ward.

Then we went up the lodge and did a get-to-know-you game until Jake had had enough and so had I.  We left, roasted marshmallows and settled down to sleep. 

The boy scouts ran around and screamed until midnight as I tossed and turned in my tent.  I think the boys dropped right off at 10 and slept all night.  Right as the scouts calmed down, a torrential rain started.  I've never experienced a harder rain in my life - it was as hard as the worst rains of tsuyu in Japan.  In the middle of this, the rain fly earned its name and flew up off my tent.  Just a bit, but enough that I had to go outside in the rain and fix it.  The rain let up about 2:30, which gave me about 2 hours to toss and turn on the hard ground before the sun came up.

It was a nice night - Christian did not want to share a space with Jake, but he eventually relented.  I suppose the main thing is the teamwork that Christian and I can now enjoy.  I needed more water to cook dinner, and he willingly put his shoes back on and got some.  After dinner, I wanted to fill my water bottle and he asked me to fill his.  So I did.  Christian is so personable.  He gets emotional easily, which I don't mind and I understand.  What I really appreciate is that he is slowly working through his emotions and eventually comes around.

Usually when we disagree on something, we will both state our reasons.  Sometimes he is right, and we'll do it his way.   Or it doesn't matter, and we'll do it his way.  When he's not right and it does matter, I make the decision.  He gets upset, and makes the same arguments over and over again.  Eventually I cut off the discussion.  He goes off, thinks about it, and usually comes back with, "You know, dad, you were right.  I really wanted to not share a space with Jacob, but I can see how that wouldn't be fair."  And he'll nod his head.  And I'll thank him for working through it and understanding why I had to make the decision.  And we're done. 

It was a great night. 

#20 - Clearing up the inbox - June 21, 2012

Wow.  What a day.

The fab was in really good shape today, not many machines down, and the team had all of those under control.  So I got to spend the day accomplishing things. 

Firstly, I took my inbox from its 100 initial messages to 48 messages that needed action to just 23 messages that needed action.  I prepared for my meeting with the VP, and learned some good things there.  It's interesting to talk with people at TEL. Nobody EVER makes you feel that you asked a stupid question.  The meeting was about something that we're trying to improve on and we've made a lot of progress.  I asked what I thought might be a dumb question, but it seems nobody from my site had asked it before, because the people in the room with me got interested looks on their faces.  So I may have found a way to save us $100K a year without too much effort. 

I finished working up our new schedule, and made good progress on our training plan.  My inbox is well under control, and tomorrow I have 6-8 more things I can knock off.  And next week I don't own the fab, so I should be able to push into some brand-new projects, which is really exciting.  I've been plugging away slowly at many things at once, and it's nice to put some of them on auto-pilot and start some new things percolating.

I called our attorney yesterday, and got no answer.  So I called his cell and got no answer.  Today I found out that the sellers did sign contract, but there is a question their attorney has and our attorney has to answer it.  I know what the question is, and I gave the seller's attorney the answer.  But despite calling my attorney again today, there is still no answer at either phone, and no movement on our contract.  I'm very frustrated with NY attorneys. 

When I got home, I cooked up some Jumbalaya and went down to watch the kids swim.  Tonight, Libby showed my a true breast stroke for the first time!  No nose-plugging, just a solid overhand.  Good stuff.  And tonight, I watched the Heat beat the Thunder for the 4th straight time.  A beautiful game, 2 great teams.  But tonight, no team could contain the Heat.  They were just too good.  And LeBron James is a class act.  Period.

Tomorrow I'm taking the boys camping overnight, and then Saturday night I'm heading down to Brooklyn to help Tim move.  Busy days coming.  Now for a little sleep.

#19 - day of the waking dead - June 20, 2012

I was up until after midnight.  Awoke to shut off my alarm for the first time at 4:03.  Then 4:13.  Then 4:23, at which point I decided to keep stumbling around and get moving.

My entire workday was focused on staying awake and being productive, and I was able to marginally accomplish that.  In the afternoon, I found out that my boss would be gone for 2 days, and that I needed to run a meeting with my senior VP tomorrow.  Which was cool.  He's a nice and smart guy and I like him.

I was also able to make a happy decision with my comanager about hiring, which always feels good. 

I got home before Katrina and the kids, and layed down for a little shut-eye.  Then they got home, we ate something (I don't remember what) and I was asleep at 8:30. 

Not very interesting, but there it is.

Random pic:

Captain Christian and First Mate Libby survey the land.  At Bowdoin park.  Hudson River in the background.

#18 - A very good day - June 19, 2012

A very interesting workday - morning putting some things together that have sat for too long, lunchtime giving a potential new member of our team a tour of the area.  Had some email exchanges with my old boss. Then I had a fascinating talk with someone.  I needed some information from him but I thought he would only give it to me reluctantly if I asked straight out.  So I went at it a different way and got what I needed.  I'm rarely good at being sneaky like that, but it worked this time, and it was the right thing to do.

Then I had an interesting meeting where I learned some important strategic things.  Hard to explain why it merits mention here, but it marked a point in my development here where I'm trusted with information that isn't widely spread.

Then home, a little video game, then off to pick up Aria's bedroom set.  It took Katrina and I over 2 hours to load it in and on Gortja and load it in the 4th floor storage unit.  Glad that's over.  Looks like a heat wave is coming our way.

Good stuff going on.  The next 6 months are going to be so much fun.  It's just going to be fun to be a part of it.

Oh yeah - and then I came home to watch the Heat beat the Thunder, and they did.  They're up 3-1 in the series, each game decided by less than 10 points, right down to the wire.  So much fun to watch 2 great teams play.

#17 - A nothing special day - June 18, 2012

Today was a little tired, but productive and fun.  I spent much of my workday in the factory with my team, and was able to get some things done to help them move their projects forward.  And I got an earful from someone about someone else.  The longer I'm here, the more of that kind of thing I hear.  It's interesting - the people trust me more, and expect me to do something about their complaints. 

We had been looking at bedroom sets and things to finish the initial furnishing for our house on Craigslist, and Katrina had worked out a set that Aria liked.  So we went to pick it up.  Aria and I.  She did her final inspection and she was in love with it.  We weren't quite prepared to take it home, but we paid for it and we made an appointment to go back the next night and pick it up. 

Then home, and then to bed.  I was tired.  Plus I knew I had to be rested so I could stay up to watch the Heat beat the Thunder again.

Random pic: sometimes you just know that your kid belongs to one parent or the other.  This is Libby's salad - notice the even bed of cheese, the symmetrically placed and evenly sized pieces of broccoli, the liberal application of ranch.  She belongs to her momma.  From dinner last week.

#16 - A sleepy daddy's day - June 17, 2012

Today was sleepy.  Hitting the sack at midnight and getting up at 5 to prepare for primary is not enough. 

Katrina got me some stuff for a grill.  A grill goes with it, we just have to pick it out.

We hit church late.  As the kids got up to sing for Father's Day, the primary pianist came up to me: "Can you lead?"  Not knowing which song they chose, but deciding that I could wing it anyway, I walked up.  Thankfully, the kids knew me from last time and they followed me.  It was "I'm So Glad When Daddy Comes Home".  Fun song.

The Young women passed out bottles of root beer, blow-pops, and popcorn with a note that said, "We SODA thought you're on awesome pop!" or something like that.  Then I got to do music with the kids.  I had a great time, and I think they did, too. 

After church, we hung out for over an hour.  Katrina had a meeting, so we all went to the nursery.  The kids use the huge set of blocks to make bowling lanes, duplos to make pins, and a little plastic bowling ball.  Some other kids hung out with us, too.  When the other ward started, we went outside.  Finally, at 1:20, Katrina came out of the building and we went home. 

We had leftover pizza for lunch, and then I took a nap.  I woke up at 7.  I haven't had a 5-hour nap in a very long time.  Katrina and Aria made waffles for dinner, and I had breakfast in bed for probably the 3rd or 4th time in 13 years.  Then the kids went to bed, and I sat down to watch the NBA Finals.  The Heat led most of the game, and despite some surges by the Thunder in the 4th quarter, they held on for a 6-point win. 

I tried to sleep after the game, but the nap completely killed my sleeping mojo.  Usually in the past I would have given up and gone out of the room to read or something, but I decided to try an experiment, and I stayed in bed trying to fall asleep.  It was a little frustrating, but very interesting. 

We called my dad, but had to leave a message.  Katrina was able to talk to hers.  A sleepy, low-key Father's Day for me.

Random pic: from Friday night (I think it was Friday). The girls had a good time at Pizza Hut.

#15 - A Perfect Saturday - June 16, 2012

Today, I slept until I woke up.  The day was already off (or not off) to a good start.  The kids woke up, but they left me alone while I blogged a couple days of activities and read the news.  At 7:30, I got out and we had a short discussion. 

We had had plans with friends today, but they have a sick child, so the day was free.  We had a list of things to accomplish: clean the rooms, do laundry, go to a park, watch a movie, and buy Sunday shoes for Aria.

I told Christian I was skeptical that the kids could get the rooms cleaned while I did laundry down in the laundry room.  The older kids took that as a challenge to prove me wrong.  So Christian reported that the younger kids took themselves out of the project, and that he "worked hard, but Aria is generally faster." 

When I took the laundry back to the rooms, I was surprised.  I had told the kids I wanted the rooms to look so clean that the maids wouldn't have to do anything.  I got almost what I asked for.  2 loads of dishes had been done, the garbage was in bags ready to dump, and things were put away.   I was impressed enough with how clean it was that I decided to not have housekeeping come after all. 

We ate lunch, mostly leftover pizza from last night, and then we headed out.  We had decided in the mean time to go to Bowdoin park, known for its turtles, instead of Fahnestock, which has a really cool swimming beach but is the other direction.  I expected something far less grand than what I found there.  The park is built on a hill, and at the bottom of the hill there is a pond with reeds and a wooden walkway built over the pond.  We headed down there immediately.  And were immediately greeted with frog sightings on the bank, follwed by snapping turtle sightings in the water. 

The park has tons of rooms to run, pavillions and rooms to rent, good bathrooms, a nice playground, shade trees with picnic tables and benches, and beautiful views. 

By 3, everybody was hot.  So we went to 7-11 and got large Slurpees all around.  Then to the movie theater, where we were going to see Mysterious Island.  But the web site had given us wrong showtimes, so we had to ditch that.  Instead, we went shoe shopping.  Aria needed her Sunday shoes, and 3 of the kids needed sandals as well.  So we found some good quality stuff for cheap at Kohl's.

We made another stop at Cracker Barrel's store for fun, and then came home.  I put together some Voila! for dinner, and we watched Rango on Netflix.  Really well done - very fun movie.  Then we had dessert, and went to bed.

Some pics from today:

Aria points out a turtle to Jacob

Christian communing with frogs on the bank

huge snapping turtle in the middle of the frame

The kids couldn't wait to run down the hill to the pond

The playground was cool, too.

#14 - My first day off - June 15, 2012

Katrina spent the night with her cousin, as she was planning, so Aria and I got the kids ready for school and out the door.  I dropped Aria off.  Christian had asked that we go to Tymor park to play, so we went to drop Jakers off and then to the park.  But once Jake went into the daycare, he laid down on the couch while I walked to the car.  As I was pulling out, Lori ran out of the day care.  Jakers had just thrown up.

I went in, and he was standing over the garbage can.  I felt his head - feverish.  And he had certainly thrown up.  I knew my work calendar was clear, so I decided to take a day off.

I brought Jake back to the car, and we all went to Tymor park.  It is owned and operated by a little town/community called Union Vale, and is only open to residents of Union Vale.  This is the kind of place you have here because people have to pay town taxes. 

The park is expansive - 2 play areas, picnic areas, and wide-open, well maintained lawn areas everywhwere.  There is a farmer's market here, and some large farm buildings that appear to be rentable for special occasions.

Libby and Jakers mostly were on the play equipment - amazing how that draws kids.  It's like a TV.  If the TV is on, it draws attention, even if it's the Kardashians.  If there is a stream and acres of space to explore and run, the playground equipment draws the kids.

Except for Christian.  He's unique.  He went to the stream to look for turtles, I think.

When it was time to leave for school, the kids all came.  No complaining, didn't have to tell them twice.  I'm so grateful for kids who don't whine much.  "It's time to go?  Oh, ok."  I just told each of them it was time to go, gathered my laptop (I finished a small project for work while they played) and walked to the car.  They all followed.  They take their own meandering paths.  Christian walked slowly along the creek, making the most of his opportunity.  Libby and Jakers had taken off their shoes on the playground, so they had to put them on.  But they came. 

I dropped off 2 kids, and drove us home.  I got to play a game of football, and then I packed up a bunch of stuff and loaded the car.  We're moving out of this hotel soon, so I arranged for a self storage unit while we're between housing situations.  It's complete weirdness, but that's how it is.  We have been working very hard to buy a home here since early March.  Here it is, mid-June, and we're still not done, having to figure out where we live for 3 weeks between leaving the hotel and moving into our house. 

Anyway, after my nice morning break between dropping kids off and needing to pick them up, Jake and I went to pick up Aria.  Then we sat in the car for an hour and I napped while waiting for the other kids to get out.  Good thing it's 80 degrees, hardly any clouds, and no wind.  Perfect day.  I got the other kids, and we headed home.

The evening was filled with getting the keys for the storage unit, moving the stuff from the car to the unit, buying some things for Aria to make a no-bake peanut butter pie with, dinner at Pizza Hut, and swimming.  The younger kids all went to bed, Aria stayed up to finish her pies, and I could not stop my re-read of "The Way of Kings".  I finished it again.  The 2nd time was better than the first. 

Because Jake was home from school and I had the day off, I called Katrina in the morning, thinking she'd like to stay away another night.  I was right.  She's coming back sometime on Saturday, having been able to help someone she loves.  And I got to take my first day of vacation at my new job.  I have been hoarding my vacation days so far, but I'm at nearly 2 weeks now, so I can start to use them a little.

Tomorrow, we plan to clean the hotel room so it can be serviced, I'll try to close on a room I can rent while the family is in Queens in our transition period, and do laundry.  I don't know what else we'll do.  All of the plans we had fell through, so we're unexpectedly free.

#13 - Off to the Rescue - June 14, 2012

I took the kids to school this morning.  It was a half-day, and after Katrina took them to the hotel, she went off to rescue her cousin.  A second surgery, this one to clean a clogged liver duct, has to happen, and Katrina wanted to help.  So off she went.  I spent most of the work day interviewing people for our new spots.  I did have a very pleasant 3-way discussion about our roles and responsibilities and manpower and strategic planning with my comanager and boss.  Which ate up most of the time I was supposed to spend working on something else.

We have an hour between Arai's school start and the other kids, so after we dropped her off, we went to the elementary school where Christian and Libby played.  It was a no school day for Jake, so Katrina kept him with her.

The school placement here is odd.  It's in the country (there's a small farm with cows a quarter mile down the road), and you can see grassy hills behind it.  But I don't think anyone has to drive more than about 10 minutes to get there. 

It opened in 2004, and everything still looks immaculate.  There is a swale off to the left, with wild forest and a pond.  There is no street bordering the school.  It's not meant for walking access, it's meant to be driven to.  And it feels like an oasis in a forest.  The forest broke, and a school popped up.  It's extremely peaceful and pretty there.

After I finished work, I headed home.  Aria made mac and cheese, and I headed over to buy milk and root beer float supplies.  She finished the stuff, we all ate dinner (except for Jake, who I caught dumping his dinner in the garbage).  Then we had root beer floats.  Actually, only Libby did.  Jake didn't get dessert (dumping), Christian wanted just ice cream and so did Aria, and all I wanted was some root beer.  But we all COULD have had root beer floats.

Then I sent the kids to bed, and I watched the Miami heat keep the Thunder under control for the entire game.  Great game to watch - 2 really good teams, both valid champs.  I'm looking forward to the game on Sunday.

#12 - Signatures! - June 13, 2012

Today I was in a meeting when our attorney called.  I called her back a little later, and got some good news.  The sellers had an appointment to sign contract later in the day, and the signature page would be FAXed over right away.  The fully signed original contract would arrive on Friday, at which point they can be sent to the loan officer.  Also, it appeared that the intent of the sellers is to sign the contract as is, meaning they accept the conditions in our rider. 

Whew.

I also got some feedback from our final loan application.  It's a letter of agreement with the lender and us, where they tell us the last questions they have, and we agree to their terms.  We did the same thing before, so this is nothing new.  There were a few questions in there, so I spent a few minutes to gather information and send it back.  And I found a storage unit for us.  So we can now start packing up unnecessary things and put them in the unit while we live like we're on vacation (with fewer clothes, toys, etc) for a few weeks.  I also have a bunch of stuff to put in storage - my guitar, my camping gear, a bunch of extra clothes, winter gear, etc.  We have a lot of stuff in these hotel room right now. 

And we can also start to purchase some larger things that we'll need right away, and that will be very nice. 

The big thing today is that I expect that tomorrow we'll have fully countersigned and executed contracts.  That's the big hurdle, the one we could not bridge with Bank of America.

Random pic of the day: Katrina and I went to the drive in on May 14, and came back to a clean room with this note from Christian.

#11 - Missing the Finals, Getting a Good Time - June 12, 2012

Tuesday was all set: Game 1 of the NBA finals, which were shaping up to be a great finals for me.  No Phil Jackson team made it.  I've harbored a grudge against Phil since the Bulls wiped up the league in the 90s.  I like LeBron James.  I thought his move from Cleveland to Miami was logical, and his publicist/agent probably pushed him to "The Decision".  I like that Wade and James took pay cuts to get Bosh and the other guys on the team.  The team is fun to watch.

I like the Thunder because Kevin Durant is a huge scorer (I expect high-scoring games, which I prefer), and they used to be in Seattle.  So I was all set - the game was going to start at 8pm, and I was going to watch it, maybe with Christian for a while, even.

But I got a Facebook message in the morning that changed our plans.  We were invited to go to dinner with friends instead, so we went out.  Aria took charge on the home front.  We went to Little Sorrento in Cortland Manor and had a fabulous time.  3 hours for dinner. I ordered a manicotti, and I'm pretty sure that dinner took so long because they made mine from scratch.  Great food.  And Jen and Matt are awesome people and their little girl is a total sweetheart.  We had a fabulous evening.  Could not have been better.

In other news, we're working out housing arrangements.  We may have another set up worked out.  Odd that we have options here despite not being here for very long.  We heard that the sellers of our house got quotes to remove the oil tank, so that's something positive.

And I don't know how weird it is, but I'm going to send them a letter.  I'll tell them how excited we are to purchase their home, offer to buy 3 tables they have, to help pack if they'd like, and to give them a cash incentive to close early.  That's really what we want.  And we don't trust that simple message to get through their realtor.  So we'll do a little bypass.  If they don't feel comfortable dealing directly with us, that's fine - they'll have the option to not respond, and we'll let it go.  As long as we close on July 15.  We need to get in there within a couple days of July 15.  Hopefully it will be earlier.

Random picture of the day: we were signing contract for our previous purchase attempt, and brought the kids.  Aria borrrowed my phone and took this picture of her squishing Christian's head.

#10 - Nothing Special - June 11, 2012

Monday was uneventful - I stayed at the hotel interviewing candidates for open positions in my team, then made yakisoba for dinner and bought a couple shirts. 

Here's my shirt story.  A week ago, I left 4 shirts at the dry cleaner.  I have 5 dress shirts for work, so this was significant.  They were supposed to be ready on Thursday.  Nope.  Friday morning.  Nope.  Friday afternoon.  Nope.  I had had to wear a t-shirt to work on Friday because I was out of options.  Saturday I went back.  No shirts.  The guy said he would deliver them.  Nothing Saturday, nothing Sunday.  I did a hand-wash of my old Sunday white shirt and wore it for interviews yesterday.  Then I went to Sam's club and got a couple cheap short-sleeve button down shirts.  They will do me for this week.  I have to order some dress shirts today.  We'll see what the dry cleaner comes up with. 

Katrina's cousin is having some health issues, so we talked about how Katrina could make some time to go upstate to help her and we settled on a plan.  And a friend from childhood (pre high school) is about an hour away on vacation.  So we made a plan to get dinner together on Tuesday.  Should be fun - a double date.

Here's a random pic from our day in the city on 6-2.  We got to Grand Central earlier than Katrina and Aria did, so we got a donut from a street vendor on Lexington. 

#9 - More Circus! - June 10, 2012

Sunday itself was pretty packed - but I'll finish Saturday first. 

We rested a bit after the record-breaking, and just after 3, I left to buy slightly-in-advance tickets to the Cole Brothers Circus.  It bills itself as the world's largest circus under the big top.  I have no way to tell how accurate that is. 

I got to the location and went up to the ticket booth.  The woman behind the counter had some crazy eye makeup and an Eastern European accent.  "Why not?" I thought.  "The circus takes all types."  So I put the tickets in my pocket and walked back to Gortja.  I had the Kindle and read for a while.  The rest of the family came a little later, and we walked into the Big Top.  The first thing we all noticed was written in the grimace on Aria's face: the smell of animals is strong here.

Indeed, walking into the Big Top was like taking a trip into a time machine.  There was a pony ride going on in the middle, sawdust in the middle of the ring.  The bleachers were hastily constructed, with metal folding chairs that had red cushions set on them. 

Bright lights, guys walking around with bags of popcorn and cotton candy balanced on their heads.  A balding, older announcer who only spoke in rhymes using words like "amazing" and "incredible" about every single act as they left the stage. 

The entire experience was surreal - the metal cage you see suspended from the ceiling came down for the first acrobatic act, which featured a guy and his female partner running inside the cages as they spun.  Then he got out of the cage as it was spinning, and ran around it, and then he jumped rope on it.  We saw him nearly fall half a dozen times from 30 feet up.  Someday he's going to get seriously hurt.  I would also say that the term death-defying is not hyperbole in this case.

There were 10 tigers in a cage (insert comments about the questionable morality of caging tigers here) and they did a few tricks.  Disappointing, actually - not a good value for the money and not nice to the tigers.  There was a baby elephant that danced, and a cute poodle act, some gymnasts from Romania (and I think the guy said they were former Olympians).  There was a metal cage for 3 motor cycle riders to ride at the same time, a magic act, and then intermission.  At intermission, Christian cried he wanted to go home so badly, he was so bored.  Libby hid on the floor she was so bored.  Jakers said he was bored, but then he was watching the whole time, too.  Aria and Katrina and I were fascinated: those women are swinging by their hair!  The clowns were not fun to watch (see tigers above), and the show after intermission was just a rehash of the first hour.  Except for the finale: the human cannonball.  You see that streak of red and white coming out of the cannon?  That's the same guy that runs on the outside of the squirrel cage.  (see the last picture)

Here's a bunch of pictures - the experience was something I'll never forget.  It was completely something from early in the 20th century.  No technology newer than recorded music played over a speaker, with the exception of the use of a lot of spandex and polyester.  It was not a modern take on retro.  This whole show is positively a time machine into the 1930s. 

Sunday, to sum up, was: church, choir, me prepping for a work presentation and then delivering it, eating something, doing laundry, and going to sleep.  Uneventful.

Here are some selected pics from Saturday:

#8 - WAHOO!!! - June 9, 2012

Today saw a dream fulfilled.  Since I was about 10, I've wanted to be in the Guiness Book of World Records.  I read most of the 1984 edition at one point, trying to find some record that I could break.  The attempt was fruitless.

Earlier this week, I started hearing an ad on the radio for a world record attempt at the Walkway Over the Hudson.  It would be the largest number of people doing the same dance at the same time.  We talked it over with the kids, and they were excited.  At the same time, we saw fliers for the Cole Brothers Circus - kids free!  And adults not so much!  And it was only 10 minutes away!

An additional freebie: a car lot was having a grand re-opening with free burgers and hot dogs.  It was located between the bridge and the circus.  Perfect.

So we got up a little earlier than normal for a Saturday, I got a dozen donuts from Dunkin Donuts and chocolate milk from Wal-Mart and we munched.  Then we headed out.  It was overcast, high 60s, and no wind.  We got to the bridge about 7:30.  The place was already packed.

We walked toward the middle for a while - we weren't quite over the water, but the kids' legs were tired and I wanted to reduce the complaining as much as possible.  So we stood there, talking, spinning Jacob around.

The forecast called for 30% chance of rain,and we got some sprinkles, but it wasn't windy at all.  I think we can thank the temperature for that - I think the water temp was also in the high 60s, so there wasn't any differential to cause the wind to blow.  Of course, the kids aren't interested in that.  They made a fort instead.

Christian lost his coat a while ago, so I had him choose one of mine.  That's him under the green.  Aria figured out that Libby's light blue coat and Jakers' Super Mario coat could zip together.  So that's what she did.  A tent on the bridge.

The weather held, a news helicopter came out to photograph us, and some newspaper reporter thought that Katrina was cute enough to come over and interview us.  He talked to her most of the time, but got all of our kids' names before he moved on.

Eventually, a news helicopter came out to the bridge and got some footage before it backed off and we danced just after 9.  It lasted 6 minutes, just a loop of the dance. We had a ball. 

And then it was over.  Everybody shouted, and we walked back to the van.  We turned on the Oldies station and drove down route 9, waiting for the news.  We made a stop at a uniform store that sells Cub Scout supplies, and while I was out of the van, the station made the announcement. 

Yes, we did it.  The next steps are that we should be able to register with Guinness and download printable certificates.  So we are official.  As of Sunday evening, the old record is still on the web site, but I'm excited for the change to the new record.

I'm going to save the rest of Saturday's trek for tomorrow's blog entry.  Lots of pics to go through from the Cole Brothers Circus. 

#7 - Making record-breaking plans - June 8

Today set some things in motion.  Firstly, Katrina took care of registering our family for an attempt to break the Guiness World Record for most people doing the same dance at the same time.  The radio has been advertising, and the kids want to do it.  Each ticket is $15; the money goes to improve the Walkway Over the Hudson.  It needs things like running water, a paved parking lot, etc.  So we made a donation and will get to be a part of the attempt tomorrow.  (Spoiler for tomorrow:  WE DID IT!!)  We also figured out the situation with the circus tomorrow afternoon, which should be fun as well.

Secondly, Katrina was talking with someone from church who offered for us to stay with them for a few weeks, between leaving the hotel and moving into our house.  They're a really cool family, and it should work out okay.  So the fruitless search I was doing for a temporary place for us to live may be over.  We'll have to figure it out for sure in the next week. 

I have to make mention of the weather here.  It is spectacular.  I think it's just annoying to many residents, but it is truly spectacular.  Yesterday morning was bright and completely clear.  Christian and I walked over to Wal-Mart at 4am to buy a notebook for him.  The full moon was bright, it was nearly 70 and windless.  At about 1pm, thunder shook my office building.  Nobody stops work, but I've never heard thunder like that in a building. It sounded like construction.  Rain pelted the windows.  In 30 minutes, it was gone and the sun was back.  When I got home, the rain was pouring in sheets and lighting lit up the sky.  Gorgeous. 

I cannot wait to lay in the living room in our new house and watch a lightning storm through our skylight. 

#6 - Yet another move - June 7, 2012

We settled on a few things yesterday.  First is that we accepted that we will not move in to our new house until the middle of July at the earliest.  Which is a bummer.  Second is that we accepted that we will move out of the hotel near the end of June.

So I went looking for furnished places on Craigslist yesterday, and found some in our price range, relatively closeby.  I put out a few emails, and today I'll make some calls.  I need to figure this out in the next 7 days so we can move out of the hotel as early as possible. 

I also was able to do some work at the office that I had been dreading.  Turns out that it's not actually that bad, now that I can do it right.  The first time I did it, I messed it up completely and it took me 5 hours.  I got it down to 2 hours this time, and I'm pretty sure I got it right.  The numbers all look right.  And I got it done just in time for my boss to pull some graphs out of it. 

And then I put together some more slides for our company president to see next week.  I expect my boss will change them dramatically, but I did create a little bit of content.  So I suppose I have crossed another bridge in my acclimation to life here.

Not only can I contribute,  but my boss sometimes needs my work and input.  At my old place, I felt that I was consistently contributing.  But I rarely got the sense that my boss needed my specific contribution.  It made me feel good.

On top of that, I saw my first bonus check in my boss' hand last night.  So I should get that this morning, and I'm quite excited.  How nice to be in a company that has bonuses.  I also learned something about future bonuses, and that's also nice information to have. 

Off to work and to find yet another temporary place for us to live!

#5 - Signing Contracts - June 6, 2012

Today's entry and yesterday's entry have the same date.  But it's because I decided to fix the offset.  I write each morning about the previous day, and I was titling these with the day I wrote it.  But I was writing about the previous day.  So now the title date will match the day it was written about.

Anyway.

Katrina and I used the middle portion of our day yesterday to drive to Newburgh.  "What's in Newburgh?" you may well ask.  "Isn't that a college town?"  On this side of the country, Newburgh (which isn't a really inventive name when you think about it) is a town driven by the Stewart Air Force Base and Stewart airport.  It happens to be the town where our attorney has his office. 

We arrived on time to this run down office.  Which is 2 of 2 that have been a little shabby.  I always thought of lawyers as TV lawyers, or at least dentists when it came to offices.  Both of our real estate lawyers have worked out of shabby, run-down offices.  At this office, I get the distinct impression that the lawyer doesn't do anything. 

Unlike our previous lawyer, however, he hired someone who does do everything.  Karen is the paralegal there, and she is excellent.  Our contract had been emailed the previous night, and she had printed it, but had not had a chance to read it yet.  She printed it in triplicate, and we sat down to read and sign it, and add our own rider.  We chatted as we went - she was raised in Manhattan, worked on Wall Street as a junior accountant, raised 6 kids, etc.  Really friendly, hyperactive woman. 

We ended up with a little certainty.  We paid the 2% down they requested, added a few details to the rider, and signed the documents.  Our closing date is July 15.  Later than we wanted.  But we've been wanting clarity, and this seems pretty clear.  On the good side, I did a little looking on Craigslist, and found several fully furnished 3-br places available that are in our price range.  I can't ask the company to extend us again at the hotel, and I want to move out.  I'm done living there.  So we'll make that decision in the next week or so, and probably leave the hotel as soon as the kids finish school on June 22nd. 

I also got to go to Cub Scouts with Christian last night - turns out I'll need to drive his advancement much more than I expected.  Time to get busy - the clock is ticking.  They have fun, but they are not very advancement-driven.  We may move to a local non-LDS pack and troop for him to really get into scouting.

#4 - A writer in the midst - June 6, 2012

I had the opportunity to read Aria's most recent piece of fiction.  I was impressed.

The assignment was to write a fictional account of survival.  Aria (like her father) does not have a knack for creating something new out of whole cloth.  But she can take a realistic setting and change it into a fictional account.  This story involved 2 kids who promised to not go on the train tracks.  They went to the tracks, and stood in between 2 different sets of tracks.  A few minutes later, 2 trains came by in opposite directions, passing the kids on both sides.  The younger child is sucked under a train and dies.

Aria's account was beautiful - haunting, exciting, believable.  The dialogue was consistent with her characters, and she described the setting really well.  I did a full edit - a couple misspellings, lots of commas removed, a couple grammatical issues, and a few suggestions for where to add detail to bring the story more to life. 

Overall - I'd say the story as she wrote it as just as good as any Rick Riordan I've read.  With some additions, it will be better.  I'm really glad I can be a part of her creative process.  Academics in my house growing up (as I remember it, anyway) was the responsibility of the child and the school.  My parents never really got involved in it.  Probably because I didn't want to share and because I didn't get it done in time. 

Thankfully, Aria gets her stuff done in time, and she shares it with me.  I love to see her grow. 

On the same topic, but a different kid, Christian is becoming a cartoonist.  I'm jealous.  I wish I had been that confident in that kind of thing when I was young.  His latest shows a clearcut forest, and the caption, "Save the trees!  Ban homework!" 

My parents have their tickets to come see us in August.  We're very excited.  My mom is overcoming some health problems, so we'll be glad to see her hale and hearty again.

#3 - Coaching - June 5, 2012

Today I got to do some coaching.  It is the best thing about my job.

I initially went to college to become a teacher, but became an engineer by accident instead.  Since changing from a field engineer to management, I have been able to teach sometimes at work.  It is wonderful.

Last week we had a traumatic event at work, a momentous decision that I had to make.  The lead up to that decision involved several other people, and it didn't work out exactly as it was supposed to.  As I thought about why it didn't work out, I realized that the other people involved did not know how to do it the right way.  And I had not taught them. 

So today was my chance to fix that.  I set up an appointment with one of them, built a training presentation, and we sat down for an hour and talked.  I told him how the system was supposed to work, why certain aspects of it were important, and what to focus on moving forward.  I was not reprimanding him for doing it wrong the first time.  The first thing I did in the meeting was apologize for not having this conversation months ago so he would be prepared for the situation.  He's a good student, and I'm glad he's on my team. 

It is true that a manager's most important responsibility it his team's safety.  His second most important responsibility is his team's growth and development.

It is also true that it is VERY easy to get caught up in the other daily tasks that demand attention while your team does good solid work without your intervention.  This constitutes a huge missed opportunity.  And I'm determined to miss it less than I used to.  I know some of the specific things my team needs, and it is my opportunity to deliver.

#2 - Good news - June 4, 2012

Yesterday was a true day of rest.

We got up, got ready for church in record time, and arrived on time.  Jakers was tired and thus squirrelier than normal during Sacrament meeting.  The kids headed off to primary, I went to Gospel Doctrine, and Katrina worked on her Relief Society duties.  She is in charge of conducting this month, and had to pull the agenda together.  The lesson revolved around the kids of the people who heard King Benjamin's last speech and them falling away from the church.  There was a fair amount of discussion about it, but really it's just 1 sentence out of a page that we focused on. 

The other pieces were the gathering of Limhi's, Alma's, and Mosaiah's groups into 1 place.  The melting of these various peoples had its own issues, but they were all assimilated pretty easily.  We also talked a bit about Alma's growth as a leader, from priest of King Noah to the high priest over the church. 

Elder's quorum was fun this time - we played a scripture chase game.  1 person flips to a random place in the Book of Mormon and starts reading.  The rest of the group finds where the person is reading and starts to read along with him.  Then the person who was reading sits down, and the person who found it stands up.  It was fun.  And very competitive.

We sang for choir, and went home.  Katrina and I took a nap until 5 and then checked in with dad.  My mom is still in the hospital, and they're going to keep her 1 more night.  But she's walking around, and is able to sleep now that they figured out a pain med regimen that works for her.  She won't be able to sit in one place for a long time, but she can be up and around, and sleep on her back while she recovers. 

The kids had leftover tortilla soup for dinner, and went to bed at 8.  I blogged a little and went to sleep.  I haven't had a Sunday quite that calm in a long time.

In other news - the sellers rejected all of our requests for repairs.  But they are going to sign the contract on Tuesday.  So we'll be signing soon, too.  Possibly as early as Tuesday, but certainly Wednesday.

At any rate - the house purchase is moving forward and we are gaining some certainty about things.