Tuesday, September 30, 2008
Done for 2008
Saturday was the last cricket match I will be playing this year. My club, The Mad Dogs, played its 2nd "Old Dogs v Young Pups" game. We broke up the club on age lines, which this year turned out to be 39...so I was one of the oldest players on the "Young Pups" team. Fortunately, unlike last year, the young boys were able to hang on and win, so the title and the more important bragging rights will be ours for the next year. Once again 3/4 of the family had a great day out, however Mindy can now enjoy tthe winter with no more days out in Connecticut (at least for a while).
Friday, September 26, 2008
Mindy's Phone
Mindy lost her current mobile phone, kind of hard to understand how this might have happened since the dimensions resembled a house brick. We decided to get her a new phone and add her to my current plan, so there would be the added hassle of porting her number from her current company. I was assured by Sprint (my provider) that this would be an easy process. On Wednesday night I spent the best part of 3 hours on the phone getting transferred around, getting disconnected etc trying to get this resolved.
In the end, I was told that the process was underway and to call back in "24 to 72 hours" to check on the progress of this. The stupidity of how to call in "24 to 72 hours" just added to my frustration. So if I call in 30 hours? What does this really mean? Anyway...I guess I will find out tonight - that will be 48 hours - so hopefully it will be straight and we can put this behind us. I did complain loudly enough to get offered 100 bonus minutes, so I guess that is something.
The biggest question for Mindy is what song should she use as her ringtone. I suggested that for the ring whenever I call, The Divinyls "I Touch Myself" would be quite appropriate - not sure if she will go for it.
In the end, I was told that the process was underway and to call back in "24 to 72 hours" to check on the progress of this. The stupidity of how to call in "24 to 72 hours" just added to my frustration. So if I call in 30 hours? What does this really mean? Anyway...I guess I will find out tonight - that will be 48 hours - so hopefully it will be straight and we can put this behind us. I did complain loudly enough to get offered 100 bonus minutes, so I guess that is something.
The biggest question for Mindy is what song should she use as her ringtone. I suggested that for the ring whenever I call, The Divinyls "I Touch Myself" would be quite appropriate - not sure if she will go for it.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Car Troubles
The good news is that my car is fixed...the bad news is that it cost over $1200. Apparently the water pump broke, causing the engine to overheat, causing the head gasket to blow, causing them to have check the head to ensure it had not warped or cracked. Of course, all of this could be completely bogus as I know pretty much nothing about car repair, however I do, perhaps foolishly trust my mechanic not to rip me off.
Naomi told me that she is looking forward to getting back in the Neon to go to school. "It has the most AC/DC music ever and has rainbow colors on the seats.". Her opinions on the merits of cars are not to be trusted however - she has also previously said that she likes the Neon "because it squeaks"!
Naomi told me that she is looking forward to getting back in the Neon to go to school. "It has the most AC/DC music ever and has rainbow colors on the seats.". Her opinions on the merits of cars are not to be trusted however - she has also previously said that she likes the Neon "because it squeaks"!
Monday, September 22, 2008
AC/DC
On Friday afternoon on the way home, about two blocks from the house, a warning sounded in my car. I noticed that it was overheating, so made it home and checked the engine (not that I was really checking for anything other than a REALLY obvious leak or something). The coolant in the car was boiling, probably not a good sign. So, booked the car in to get checked out for the Saturday.
Saturday morning was devoted to the vital task of securing tickets for AC/DC's upcoming tour. Everything was set - I was to get tickets to their show in Wilkes-Barre Pennsylvania (the first show of the tour) and Errol was to get tickets to their show in Charlotte. All was set, waiting until 10:00 for the onsale time to tick over. I even had my home PC and my work laptop logged in in case one internet connection had issues. Good thing that I did - my PC hung on the Ticketmaster site so the backup PC was needed. I managed to get the seats, as did Errol for the Charlotte show...which was actually not a guarantee as they sold out in 20 minutes. So now I have proclaimed that I will be celebrating the next month by wearing AC/DC shirts only for the next month - Mindy is thrilled at the prospect. However, it is a great chance to update my wardrobe - 2008 concert shirts!
After this, nothing much could happen to deflate my good mood...except, perhaps finding out that the head gasket on my car had blown and I was looking at an approximately $900 repair bill. Having 135000 miles on the car already, I briefly considered getting a new one but then decided that there was still another 70K miles left in it (completely arbitrarily) and so am going to get it fixed. Fortunately one of my friends was able to lend me a car for the week while it is in the shop, which seriously reduces the inconvenience of the week.
Sunday involved a picnic and a hike with a few friends, enjoying the early Autumn weather. It was quite relaxing and the kids had a great day exploring. I would have spent some time watching football but it is under the "you can't watch cricket, rugby AND American sports too" ban. Instead, we now are almost finished our Babylon 5 adventure. Only two episodes left in the final season and then we will be done - except, of course, for the DVDs that my brother Mick has sent me for my birthday. Thanks Mick! This, combined with the new fall TV schedule will give us no shortage of couch time in the coming months.
Saturday morning was devoted to the vital task of securing tickets for AC/DC's upcoming tour. Everything was set - I was to get tickets to their show in Wilkes-Barre Pennsylvania (the first show of the tour) and Errol was to get tickets to their show in Charlotte. All was set, waiting until 10:00 for the onsale time to tick over. I even had my home PC and my work laptop logged in in case one internet connection had issues. Good thing that I did - my PC hung on the Ticketmaster site so the backup PC was needed. I managed to get the seats, as did Errol for the Charlotte show...which was actually not a guarantee as they sold out in 20 minutes. So now I have proclaimed that I will be celebrating the next month by wearing AC/DC shirts only for the next month - Mindy is thrilled at the prospect. However, it is a great chance to update my wardrobe - 2008 concert shirts!
After this, nothing much could happen to deflate my good mood...except, perhaps finding out that the head gasket on my car had blown and I was looking at an approximately $900 repair bill. Having 135000 miles on the car already, I briefly considered getting a new one but then decided that there was still another 70K miles left in it (completely arbitrarily) and so am going to get it fixed. Fortunately one of my friends was able to lend me a car for the week while it is in the shop, which seriously reduces the inconvenience of the week.
Sunday involved a picnic and a hike with a few friends, enjoying the early Autumn weather. It was quite relaxing and the kids had a great day exploring. I would have spent some time watching football but it is under the "you can't watch cricket, rugby AND American sports too" ban. Instead, we now are almost finished our Babylon 5 adventure. Only two episodes left in the final season and then we will be done - except, of course, for the DVDs that my brother Mick has sent me for my birthday. Thanks Mick! This, combined with the new fall TV schedule will give us no shortage of couch time in the coming months.
Thursday, September 18, 2008
Tito Just Shit In The Sun Room
Tito is still having stomach problems. It has been getting better lately but he still has the occasional lapse. The other day Mindy and I were sitting in the living room when Fiona walks in and proudly announces: "Tito just shit in the sun room!". Perhaps we should not have laughed, but when your cute, little 4 year old daughter says this, it is quite tough not to. Also, she did use the word correctly I guess!. We asked her to repeat herself and I walked in to investigate. Fiona pointed and said: "See, there it is...Tito's shit". We then asked her where she heard that word and she told us that "Naomi said it is a word for poopy". We had a talk to her (and Naomi) about the need to not say this word at school, to her friends etc...and I think she understood. Perhaps we will find that we were wrong when we get called into the school one day!
The Feud
Last night, while channel surfing, I decided to stop at GSN (Game Show Network) and watch an episode of "Family Feud". Not really sure why but I do have a fascination watching people struggle to blurt out the first thing that pops into their heads. And the results of this blurting can be quite funny...
Q: "Name an activity that people begin when they retire."
A: "Skiing".
Q: "Name a phrase that BEGINS with 'turn'."
A: "How about...'It's my turn'?".
Q: "Name a COUNTRY that women feel has the most exciting men.".
A: "Paris".
All of this in one 30 minute show...truly TV gold (at least in my opinion!).
Q: "Name an activity that people begin when they retire."
A: "Skiing".
Q: "Name a phrase that BEGINS with 'turn'."
A: "How about...'It's my turn'?".
Q: "Name a COUNTRY that women feel has the most exciting men.".
A: "Paris".
All of this in one 30 minute show...truly TV gold (at least in my opinion!).
Monday, September 15, 2008
So Near and Yet...
This weekend became a weekend of near misses. Saturday morning involved watching the Australia v NZ rugby. We played well in patches but made too many silly mistakes to deserve the victory. However, losing by such a close margin considering the soft tries we allowed is a little frustrating.
Saturday was also the first playoff game for one of my cricket teams, because of my bad back right now, it was decided that I would sit out the Saturday game and be ready to play on Sunday. The catch was that we had to win on Saturday to get the chance to play on Sunday. Apparently, we were chasing 160ish and were 5/140ish when a message got sent out to our captain who was batting at the time. We were ahead of the other team on run rate and the light was quite bad, so we should ask the umpires about the light. If they agreed it was bad, we would win by run rate. So, the light was bad and they called the game...but when they did the calculation, we were 1 run short, so the other team got the victory. Our captain was shattered after the match. I was annoyed that my ill-timed back injury kept me from playing. All in all, a disappointing way to end the season.
So, Sunday was not a family day - we spent it at the house and with friends in the afternoon - so it was a nice, relaxing day. Kind of quickly coming to the end of summer, you feel that the warm weekends are coming quickly to an end. Of course, I will then be able to burn all of the wood I have been stockpiling...so I must admit to looking forward to it in a weird way.
Saturday was also the first playoff game for one of my cricket teams, because of my bad back right now, it was decided that I would sit out the Saturday game and be ready to play on Sunday. The catch was that we had to win on Saturday to get the chance to play on Sunday. Apparently, we were chasing 160ish and were 5/140ish when a message got sent out to our captain who was batting at the time. We were ahead of the other team on run rate and the light was quite bad, so we should ask the umpires about the light. If they agreed it was bad, we would win by run rate. So, the light was bad and they called the game...but when they did the calculation, we were 1 run short, so the other team got the victory. Our captain was shattered after the match. I was annoyed that my ill-timed back injury kept me from playing. All in all, a disappointing way to end the season.
So, Sunday was not a family day - we spent it at the house and with friends in the afternoon - so it was a nice, relaxing day. Kind of quickly coming to the end of summer, you feel that the warm weekends are coming quickly to an end. Of course, I will then be able to burn all of the wood I have been stockpiling...so I must admit to looking forward to it in a weird way.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Welcome to 36
Last weekend I turned 36. This Friday I got home from work and mowed the lawn. After coming inside, I noticed my back was a little sore. This proceeded to get worse for no reason whatsoever, pain also shooting down my leg. The most frustrating thing about all of this is that I have no idea what caused it, other than simply being 36! So, no cricket on Sunday and a weekend of lying around hoping that it gets right for next weekend when we are set to play our cricket playoff game(s). The only positive is that it pretty much excuses me from most household chores for the week, so every cloud has a silver lining I suppose.
Friday, September 5, 2008
School Days
On Thursday, Naomi began the school year at her new school - Unity Charter School. The location of the school is about 30-45 minutes from our house but we thought the benefits of the school outweighed this inconvenience. Making it more appealing, at least in the short term, is the fact that the school is around the corner from my current client...so I will be able to bring her to school saving Mindy a trip.
She was a little nervous about everything but the day largely went well. In the evening, she was talking about her friends and the things that she had done during the day...so hopefully it will be a good experience for her.
A surprise for us was Fiona's transition to going to school without Naomi for the first time. Mindy noticed that she really missed her sister during the day. It was good for us to know that even though they fight occasionally, they really are good buddies.
She was a little nervous about everything but the day largely went well. In the evening, she was talking about her friends and the things that she had done during the day...so hopefully it will be a good experience for her.
A surprise for us was Fiona's transition to going to school without Naomi for the first time. Mindy noticed that she really missed her sister during the day. It was good for us to know that even though they fight occasionally, they really are good buddies.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
Last Days of Summer
Over here, summer officially ends over the Labor Day Weekend, which includes the first Monday of September. So this was the last weekend before the kids go back to school and summer hours (half day Fridays) end at work.
Saturday brought a trip to Mad Dog Park for a cricket game. One of our team members works for a beverage company and so had brought along a few cases of a new energy drink - "Burn". As the day was quite hot and I wanted to drink something with a little more sugar than water, I ended up knocking back three of these things in about an hour. I was to find out that each can was the equivalent of over two Red Bulls...so I was bouncing off the walls for the rest of the afternoon. I certainly got my daily allowance of caffeine...along with "taurine" and a bunch of other healthy sounding chemicals. As to the game, it was a very satisfying victory. I bowled shockingly and now officially have the "yips". Fortunately I had a good knock, getting 39 before getting fired on a dubious LBW call. This is the team that we have beaten in the final for the past two years and while we will not be there to defend our title, it was nice to score a win over them.
In the evening I downloaded and watched the Australia v South Africa rugby match. What a waste of time that turned out to be. A horribly bad performance that cannot be defended. Hopefully we sort things out again before the decider v NZ in a couple of weeks.
On Sunday, Mindy was doing henna at a street fair, so I spent my birthday with the kids. We ran some errands, grabbed lunch and played a few games at home before I took a brief nap on the couch (a 30 minute TV show was the diversion for the kids!).
Monday was also a busy day. We went to a local nature reservation with some friends to (we thought) have a picnic, walk to a stream and let the kids play there before heading home. Well, it turned into a serious hike...not really a problem except for the fact that none of us were wearing appropriate shoes and I did not bring any water. We ended up walking around for 3+ hours, carrying Fiona for the last 1/2 of the journey as she had a blister from her shoes. Eventually we made it back and all set upon a watermelon that our friends had brought.
The evening brought more Babylon 5...we are now almost done with this and are about 1/2 way through the final season. I think Mindy is enjoying it even more than me! It will be like losing an old friend when we finish it I feel. Fortunately, we should get through it right when the new seasons of our TV shows will be starting up, so we will still have plenty to keep us occupied!
Saturday brought a trip to Mad Dog Park for a cricket game. One of our team members works for a beverage company and so had brought along a few cases of a new energy drink - "Burn". As the day was quite hot and I wanted to drink something with a little more sugar than water, I ended up knocking back three of these things in about an hour. I was to find out that each can was the equivalent of over two Red Bulls...so I was bouncing off the walls for the rest of the afternoon. I certainly got my daily allowance of caffeine...along with "taurine" and a bunch of other healthy sounding chemicals. As to the game, it was a very satisfying victory. I bowled shockingly and now officially have the "yips". Fortunately I had a good knock, getting 39 before getting fired on a dubious LBW call. This is the team that we have beaten in the final for the past two years and while we will not be there to defend our title, it was nice to score a win over them.
In the evening I downloaded and watched the Australia v South Africa rugby match. What a waste of time that turned out to be. A horribly bad performance that cannot be defended. Hopefully we sort things out again before the decider v NZ in a couple of weeks.
On Sunday, Mindy was doing henna at a street fair, so I spent my birthday with the kids. We ran some errands, grabbed lunch and played a few games at home before I took a brief nap on the couch (a 30 minute TV show was the diversion for the kids!).
Monday was also a busy day. We went to a local nature reservation with some friends to (we thought) have a picnic, walk to a stream and let the kids play there before heading home. Well, it turned into a serious hike...not really a problem except for the fact that none of us were wearing appropriate shoes and I did not bring any water. We ended up walking around for 3+ hours, carrying Fiona for the last 1/2 of the journey as she had a blister from her shoes. Eventually we made it back and all set upon a watermelon that our friends had brought.
The evening brought more Babylon 5...we are now almost done with this and are about 1/2 way through the final season. I think Mindy is enjoying it even more than me! It will be like losing an old friend when we finish it I feel. Fortunately, we should get through it right when the new seasons of our TV shows will be starting up, so we will still have plenty to keep us occupied!
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