The Weekend Ahead

I received a less than positive response from one of my readers for going political in my last post. I guess I don't do politics well. I was listening to NPR on the way to work yesterday and they did yet another piece on gay marriages. That's what got me started.

Tonight Michelle and I have soccer practice. We practice only an hour a week then play a game on the weekend. This week we play two games; Saturday and Sunday. It's tough to teach the kids anything in one hour a week but we are in a recreational league. We are just there to have fun and if we learn some soccer at the same time we are doing well. Of course "Winning doesn't matter" ;-) I will post the game results on Monday. Oh, By the way, I won't give up my day job (voluntarily at least) to become a sports writer either.

;-)

The boys, Tyler and Kyle, have evening band rehearsal tonight from 5:00 - 8:00. They have two marching competitions this weekend in Charlotte. Karen Michelle and I are driving down to Charlotte straight from Michelle's game. We probably won't get home till after 2:00 Am. A long day. The band has not been to either of these competitions before. At least not since Bob was a freshman. We don't know how good the other bands are typically. We do know of a couple of really good bands that will be at one or the other so I can guess neither competition will be a cake walk.

Jazz Band tryouts are coming up. Tyler auditioned last year and did not make it. He is pretty sure he will make it this year. The jazz band is one of the best in the state and competition is fierce. Kyle is also interested in trying out. He knows his chances are slim because there are two really good drummers returning from last year's band but he wants the experience of trying out. Who knows perhaps he will get to play auxiliary percussion. His drum teacher is working on jazz set with him to get him prepared.

Bob comes home this weekend. He hasn't been home in a month. Karen will drive down Friday morning and pick him up after his last class and drive back. Bob works Friday night at the apple store, m aybe Saturday I am not sure. We will not see him Saturday but hopefully he will spend some time with us Sunday, Karen's birthday, before we drive him back.

Bob has some buddies from High School who are in the Marines. They are supposed to be returning from Iraq sometime this weekend. That will be good. It is always terrible to hear that a soldier is killed or injured in the news but specially when you know these kids and their families personally. It kinda hits a little harder. Last year while we were at Disneyworld with the band we got word that one of the boys was injured. His sister and girlfriend were both in the band. It was tough on both of them. It turns out he was not seriously injured. I think the story was a bomb or mine exploded near by and he lost hearing in one ear for a few days. Anyway he is fine now.

I hope everyone has a good weekend. At least no more storms are in the forecast!

Political Awakening

I don't know what has taken so long. I am over forty after all. But I have noticed recently, say over the past couple of years, that more and more many government policies and actions, and Politician's just, pardon the expression, piss me off.

One example of public policy that has me gritting my teeth lately is this whole Gay marriage debate. Now, this has nothing to do with me personally. I don't plan on divorcing Karen and marrying a man. But why should anyone but me have the right to make that decision?

I don't understand the distinction between gay and heterosexual marriage. Forget the sexual aspects, that is none of anyone's business, regardless. Marriage, has two purposes. The first and probably most relevant is it is a commitment between two individuals to 'love, honor, and cherish'. Secondly it is a contractual agreement between individuals that can be recognized by others, including governments, that entitles the parties in marriage to act on the behalf of and be responsible for the well being of each other. Others will include the religious aspect of marriage but that is a personal decision and should not be dictated by law.

I guess this issue bothers me because most arguments against gay marriage, as well as most other hot button issues, invoke religious morals as the primary supporting argument; opponents quote the bible and carry on. I know that ALL laws are based on some sort of moral value, by definition. Morals being the distiction between right and wrong. This is the rub. What says my morals are any more or less correct than yours? Are you morals better because it is based on the word of God. In the end it may buy you a seat in heaven but until then the argument to me is unsubstantiated.

So if our laws cannot be religiously based, what should we use as a yardstick? Where do we draw the line?

I am not a student of law or the constitution. I do believe the founders of the constitution were all "God fearing" men and based much of the constitution on their morals, as, if not defined by, at least influenced by, their religion. But it is my general interpretation of the constitution, and the bill of rights, that the laws should be drafted, foremost, to protect individual liberties; to prevent infringements upon those liberties. That is a huge generalization of course. There are other aspects of government that must be taken into consideration; Taxes and infastructure and National security and the general health and well being of ALL US and indeed world citizens....

Based on that general interpretation of our constitution, How does marriage to anyone, gay or heterosexual, infringe on the liberty of others. Certainly not everyone has to like it or agree with the lifestyle but that should not make it illegal should it?

Now I think I am about to contradict myself a little here but so be it. I believe lawmakers should ask themselves a set of questions before passing any legislation:

• Is the law supported directly, not indirectly, by The Constitution and/or The Bill of Rights?
  
• Is the law/policy in the best interest of ALL citizens? (e.g. national security)
• If the law/policy reduces personal liberty is it adequately justified by the interest of all citizens?
• Does the law/policy dictate personal behavior that is the generally acceptable behavior of (in this order) the community, nation and world. (State vs. Federal laws)
  

There are two sticky points to the above guidelines, the definition of personal liberty, and the definition of acceptable behavior. I could go on for pages trying to support a specific definitions of personal liberty and I probably would still not get it right so I will leave that to the constitutionalist.

The "acceptable behavior" guideline is where I may have contradicted myself slightly. Generally acceptable behavior can be defined as behavior acceptable to the majority of all those who would be affected by a behavior. Since we live in a democracy, the definition of "generally acceptable behavior" is defined by those we elect and place in office to define the laws. If the elected officials truly vote the conscience of those who elected them then the laws that are drafted will, in theory anyway, enforce the generally accepted behavior of these same constituents. Me, I won't vote for a man or woman who bases public policy, domestic or international primarily on biblical or other religious beliefs. BUT if the majority of ALL people feel strongly enough about this or any other issue, over time, laws will be put into place to reflect the generally acceptable policy. Then it would be up to the judicial branch to enforce or overturn these policies. Hopefully enough folks will see this type of legislation for what it is, at best, a deviation from "equal protection", and stop this nonsence.

Forcing religious beliefs on other, to me is not acceptable behavior and I will not use my vote to support that behavior.

Team Israel is impressive in their Season Opener.

Team "Israel" defeated team "Paraguay" Friday night in a 2-0 shutout. The only goal of the first half goal came ten minutes into the game on a passing shot from Kayla Daniels. Team Israel maintained possession probably 2/3 of the first half limiting Israel's goal keeper, Michelle Grissom to only a single touch.

Team Paraguay came back the second period with new determination, generating several shots on goal. Team Israel's second half goal keeper, Allison Walters, managed to swallow up or deflect every one. Five minutes into the second half, Michelle Grissom dribbled through several Paraguay defenders and put the ball in the back of the net to put Team Israel up 2 to zip. Grissom, Jackson and Daniels had several more runs on goal but Paraguay's goalie managed to keep the ball out of the net for the remainder of the period.

Coach Grissom made comments after the game. "It was a good win. The players all played hard. We had some brilliant individual plays and good individual efforts. But we need to work more as a team if we are going to continue to be successful in this league."

Michelle Grissom was selected player of the day by the coaching staff.

Team Israel faces a tough "Team Tunisia" in an early 8:30 game Next Saturday. Then turn around and face Mali Sunday afternoon at 1:30, a makeup game from the September 17th rainout.

It's been a long week

It's Friday already. I just hope the weekend does not go as quickly.

I have been incredibly busy this week. Work is hammering me. On top of my old responsibilities, I am responsible for a new product, and like all new products it has ... well, some issues. I am getting hammered. It seems like, I receive a new "HOT" issue every day. Anyway, my apologies to my loyal readers for the lack of posts.

Medical Update: Tyler went back to the Dr. on Wednesday. His cough was not getting any better. They did a chest X-ray and his lungs were clear but they noticed his air pathways were really swollen. There was a technical name, Hyper something or other. I just cannot remember exactly what it was. The long and short of it is Tyler's Asthma is acting up causing constriction and problems. On top of that, allergies are causing congestion. I THINK I got that right. They gave him a higher dose of the Inhaler and something for the allergies. He is to take both only temporarily till it clears up. That was Wednesday. Between Work, Soccer, Band and homework, I have not seen to much of him since then so I don't know if he has gotten any better.

Karen is still having the PVC issues. They do not appear to be getting any better. She has stopped taking the Claritin, She all but stopped drinking / eating anything with caffeine. She is walking every day 3+ miles. We are giving it till early next week, time for the Claritin and such to completely leave her body. If it does not get better by then she will make a Dr. Appointment.

Karen and her Mom's Bowling team is doing well. They won all four games again this week. They are on a roll! (sorry, couldn't resist)

Michelle is on her fall intersession. She has 3 weeks off of school. She has been super helpful to Karen these past couple of days. She has helped clean and cook and run errands without any fuss. I don't know what has gotten into her. Wednesday and Thursday she even wore a Dress/Skirt! What did someone do with my Michelle?

Karen Michelle and I had lunch yesterday and Michelle came to work with me after that so Karen and her mom could go for a walk (and Karen could get a little break from the energy of a 10 year old.) Michelle helped clean my cube up, and played some cards and just hung out. We headed to soccer practice right after work. Our First game is Tonight. Michelle will be goalie for the first half of the game. Every player on my team must play goalie at least once during the season. She figured she would get it out of the way. She is hoping that for the teams won't be that good yet so she won't have to work so hard back there.

Tyler and Kyle had a football game Thursday night. Ok they had a band performance AT the football game. Karen and I didn't go. My soccer overlapped a bit and honestly I just needed to relax a bit. The football team won again. And the boys said the band did pretty well.

I have not talked to Bob in a while but have been keeping up with his BLOG posts. He seems to be working hard, both with his academics and his job. He is scheduled to come home on October 1st.

I have not had time to think about what is going on this weekend yet. Hopefully I will able to get a bike ride and a Disc golf in.

October 3rd is Karen's Birthday!

"Have a Blessed Day"

As many of you already know about me, I am not a particiarly religious man, at least not as defined by traditional or recognized religions that I am aware of. But that is a subject for another BLOG.

Along those lines I generally consider myself a pretty tolerant person. Folks can have their beliefs, ideas, strengths and weaknesses. That's what makes the world go round right. As long as you generally do not infringe on others rights or beliefs go for it.

One thing that has always bothered me is that "Christians" believe it is their right and duty to "save" those "non-believers". To me this is like the telephone solicitor trying to sign me up for a free foundation inspection for my home. I have no concerns about my foundation, thank you.

The National "Do Not Call" list has pretty much taken care of the calls from Acme Foundation Repair but on occasion I am still asked, by perfect strangers mind you, if I have found Jesus yet. Now, understand that if these people really had my best interests in mind it wouldn't bother me so much. But, based on my, albeit short, stint, with "Christian-ism" these folks are predominantly interested making themselves feel good by "helping a lost sole" and putting another notch on their biblical bed posts.

If a friend or co-worker comes to me and wants to discuss religion, I am generally up for that. These folks have earned my time and attention by putting up with me for some period of time. I will listen to their beliefs with an open mind as long as they reciprocate and don't condem me for not sharing their views. I have taken a lot from these kind of candid, non scripted discussions.

On the other hand, I had one co-worker, exasperated after her attempts to corral this lost sheep, insist I was not fit to parent because I was not exposing my children to Christian values. "The lease I could do is take them to church." That person did her cause no good.

I have noticed over the past year or so that I have been accosted less with the "Jesus Saves" approach and more with a simple "Have a blessed day" salutation. Most often I encounter this at the end of some business transaction, from a sales person or receptionist etc.. This use to annoy me a bit but after thinking about it, it does not bother me so much. These folks are, in effect, just wishing me a nice day. How many times have I done that.

I have always believe that the most effective way to convert folks to your beliefs is to lead by example. If someone see a positive, happy, confident individual, stranger or not, they may wonder what that person has to be so happy and positive about. I will typically provide a simple "Have a good day" at the end of a conversation. It says I am in a good place and I wish the same for you. BUT, and here is the cleaver part, "Have a blessed day" says "I am in a good place because I believe in God/Jesus, and I wish the same for you." Now me as the receiver of this gesture can take it as simply a kind gesture or, a kind gesture in the name of God. Either way it is, to quote Stephen Covey, "a Win - Win situation."

Here are a few news snippets on this very subject:

• http://www.eeonews.com/news/religious/havea.html
• http://caselaw.lp.findlaw.com/cgi-bin/getcase.pl?court=7th&navby=case&no=011486
• http://www.christianlaw.org/blessed_day.html
• http://www.secularlife.org/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&p=607
  

I like this new trend in evangelism. Now, rather than having to be rude and walk away from, shut the door on or hang up on the holy rollers, I can simply reply to them a confident "You have a good day".

Support Your Local Golf Course

We did our part to support our local golf courses yesterday. Both Karen and Tyler had unscheduled Dr. Visits.

Tyler has had a nagging nasty cough for weeks and weeks. We took him to the Dr. 2 weeks ago and they gave him some Anti-Biotics. They thought it was possible allergy related, perhaps a little of his asthma contributing but I think the thought was a sinus infection was the cause of the mucus causing the cough. He did the course of Anti-biotic. No help. Also he had developed a wart or two on the bottom of his foot, under his toes. Back in July, when we took him in for his annual checkup they attempted to freeze them off. Well it apparently didn't quite go deep enough because the wart just got bigger and now was quite painful. So because of the constant hacking cough and the complaints about his warts, Karen took him in to the pediatrician. The diagnosis was pneumonia and he had grown a wart underneath the original wart! He's a talented individual huh?. So they froze the warts again. This time much deeper. The Dr. kept freezing, waiting for some sign of pain indicating time to stop. Tyler on the other hand did not understand this and did not want to show signs of discomfort. As you might imagine. He now has discomfort. As for the pneumonia, he is on a different antibiotic. Let's hope for a speedy recovery.

Last night I had to run Karen to the Urgent Care clinic. She had been noticing a "fluttering" in her chest on and off since Sunday. She had experience these before so there was no reason to worry. Through the week they were becoming more and more frequent, a couple every few minutes. They were more noticeable and therefore more worrisome.

You have to understand Thursday nights are a big night in our household. Not only is "The Apprentice" and "Joey" on TV but it was the first episode of "Survivor". So when Karen started to become worried and wanted to go to the Dr. . I knew she meant business; She wouldn't miss the premier of Survivor over nothing! To shorten this up a bit, She is fine. They did an EKG and the Doc assured her these fluttering were nothing to be concerned over. Everyone has them. Sometimes they become more frequent or noticeable than others. And some people are more susceptible to them than others. He called them "PVCs" (Premature Ventricular Contractions).

Her PVCs are benign. This is what Karen needed to hear. He speculated they became more noticeable due increased caffeine consumption. Karen is always concerned with her caffeine consumption because it affects her sleep, always an issue with her. So she does a good job limiting her tea or soda consumption. The only thing we thought that may fall into this category (and I don't necessarily believe it is the cause) is the killer chocolate cake she made for Nancy's birthday Saturday night. She also has had small amounts of chocolate each day since. Neither of us believe she needs to (or is willing to) totally giving up chocolate. But she is going to try and completely stave off all caffeine, chocolate, tea, sodas) for a week or so to see if the PVCs stop or reduce.

So between the wart destruction, the Urgent Care visit, the EKG, and Tyler's meds, I figured we paid for a round of golf or two for two doctors and a pharmacist.

BUT, All is well and we consider ourselves fortunate.

And the winner is...

Kyle!

Karen and I went out to lunch yesterday to discuss who deserved the honor of Kid of the month. We talked nearly 2 hours. It was really close but in the end we chose Kyle.

The kids really didn't give us much of a reaction. That's good, I guess. Maybe we were just a little disappointed....

I worked late last night. The only good thing about it is I got to sleep in. I watched Ivan hammer the coast. Thinking at lest the peninsula of Florida was, for the most part, sparred... this time. There is always Jeanne.

"Kid of the Month"

Karen does a good job of running our household. We are always well loved and cared fore. We have clothes on our back. We always have good food to eat. The bills get paid on time. The towels get washed every Thursday and the sheets every Friday. Dr. Appointments are made and kept. ... I could go on ad nausium.

However there is something wrong with that picture. There are 6 members of our family. As a member of our family, it is our duty to support the rest of the member of the family, emotionally and physically. Regardless of what ever else a member of the family has going on.

This summer especially, it became obvious that the kids and I lost sight of our responsibilities. Not only were we not pulling our own wait but in fact each of us were adding extra burden to other members of the family; primarily mom. A few small examples are leaving a project or game and going off to do something else leaving it for someone else to clean. Leaving dirty socks all over. Or not emptying the dish washer on your day until dinner time so all of the dirty dishes sit in the sink or on the counter getting in the way of cooking the meal. Not doing chores without constantly having to be reminded to do them. Sometimes even then.... You get the point. While I am sure these are normal behaviors for kids, specially teenagers, When there are 4 kids and a husband all negatively contributing... well. It isn't pretty.

All of us had become too self centered. We heard, and said things like "I didn't do it." or "Those aren't my socks" or "I'll mow the lawn tomorrow". Just so we didn't have to interrupt our TV or computer or whatever.

We were in trouble and Karen was bearing the brunt of the problem. So, to encourage appropriate family participation, Karen and I established "The Kid of the Month". It is not a contest but more a recognition of the child who participated in the family in the most positive and consistent manner. We sat down with the kids and put forth the proposal. All parties agreed.

The recognition will be of the recognee's choosing, of small monetary value, less than $20.


In deciding the kid of the month Karen and I will consider the timely, unprompted completion of required duties, chores etc. but also attention personal responsibilities, Eating appropriately, Doing Homework, Brushing teeth, getting enough sleep. On top of that willingness to do extra little things, help with groceries or putting a glass in the dishwasher someone else left behind. Cleaning up a hairball rather than pretending you didn't see it. Helping another family member with homework. Or willingness to do someone else's chores if they are busy with homework etc. Finally, attitude and demeanor will also be factored in. Spending time with each other, being positive, supportive, not sniping. Willingly participating in family activities.

The program started August 15th. Today, September 15th is the last day of our first month. There has been a real synergy in the house. Even I have, I think, been more aware of my less than optimal tendencies, though you would have to ask Karen about that.

The program is going will however, again, we have a problem. All of the three kids at home have really taken notice of their behaviors. Each of them have stepped up. This past month was enjoyable, by no means perfect but no one expects that. The problem I alluded to is that Karen and I now have to choose. In our preliminary discussion we both have different kids as the front runners. It will be tough. We will announce our decision tonight or tomorrow.

The real test will be how each of the kids react to the decision. I will keep you posted.

Poor Kyle (and the pictures I promised.)

Kyle had a bad day yesterday. He stayed after school for a drum lesson from one of the senior drummers. Karen had told him that she would be late picking him up because she was babysitting Lana, from next door. So when she went to pick him up Kyle was no where to be found. The school was locked. She had to find a Janitor to let her in the school. The bandroon was locked and dark so apparently Kyle was not there. So she came home. What else could she do.

It wasn't 5 minutes after Karen got back home that Kyle calls asking " Where's Mom". Apparently they were in one of the practice rooms off the band room with the door closed. As opposed to sitting out in front of the school waiting for their ride. Anyway I told him, and his friend, to start walking and I would pick them up on the way. I did. We droped his friend off and went home.

Well Michelle needed new cleats and shin guards, Tyler needed new sneakers and Karen and I didn't plan a meal for the night so we all piled into the stratus and off we went. We ate at Jason's Deli. The food was good etc. Kyle had a bit of a headache.

Tyler wanted to stop by Barns and Noble while we were there. Of course anytime you go into a book store it takes a while. Kyle is feeling worse. But we still needed to do the shoe shopping. We pile back in the car and head accross the parking lot to Dick's sporting goods. Kyle decided to stay in the car and wait for us. As we were walking away from the car I naturally locked the door with the remote.

Well we were in Dick's for quite a while. They were busy and we could not find shoes or shin guards that fit or that they liked etc. So Probably 40 minutes later we head out in the parking lot. Kyle is sill in the car, that's good. We get in and head down the road. Kyle is upset we took so long, as you might imagine, but what's worse is that he tried to get out of the car but evertime he opened the door the alarm went off. Of course he is telling us this as we are driving away and we are ROLLING with laughter. What made it even funnier is that he could have gotten out of the car and shut the door and the alarm would have stopped just the same. So poor Kyle, not feeling well was trapped in the car for 40 minutes.

Maybe you had to be there but it was halarious at the time.


Here are a couple of pictures to share from the weekend and other recent events:


Tyler is getting ready to blow out the candles on his birthday cheesecake. (July)


Bob blows out the candles on his birthday cheesecake. (August)


Nancy blows out the candles on his birthday Almond Joy Cake.


Kyle is not only taller than everyone in the house but has the longest hair as well.


Kyle sets up his Marimba and symbol for McDonald's Day.

Tyler playes the Jordan HS fight song

The weekend, forwards

Ok, I went back and read the backwards weekend post. Don't worry I won't give up my day job to be a writer. I didn't come off as well as I hoped. So, this weekend I will do it forwards.

Starting with Friday...
Nothing. We did nothing. Drove some kids around. Sat in front of the tube... Basically that's it. I would like to say we relaxed. It just didn't quite feel relaxed. It was a long week.

Saturday the marching band performed at McDonald's. The local McDonald's donates a certain percentage of all sales made while the band performs. Of course you could not fit 120 kids and their instruments in a McDonald's restaurant, they performed in the parking lot. They played from noon to 2:oo PM. The band made close to $1100. Not a bad chunk of change for 2 hours worth of work.

Michelle spent the night at a friends house Saturday night. Melodie, Tyler, Kyle, Karen and I went to Howard and Nancy's, Karen's Parents, for dinner and to celebrate Nancy's birthday. Howard made virgin Pina Coloda's for everyone. Tyler and Kyle did not care for them. After dinner everyone, 'cept me, played 'hand and foot', a card game. Karen made an Almond Joy cake for desert. It was yummy.

Sunday was pretty quiet. Karen went for a walk with a friend, Allison, while Kyle and I went to the mall so he could buy a DVD. He bought "Pink Floyd: The Wall." After that we headed to Home Depot to pick up some lawn fertilizer.

When we got home, I trimmed the bushes and trees in front of the house. They were getting a little out of hand. The pear trees on either side of the driveway were starting to grab the car antennas. It is not the time of year to do any serious pruning but I did trim things back a bit.

Tyler went with Melodie's family to a Hispanic festival in Raleigh. This is the third year he has gone. He specially enjoys al the ethnic cuisine.

Karen, Michelle and I went to Michelle's girl scout meeting in the afternoon. Karen and I are not the leaders but Karen did volunteer to do the paperwork/treasury functions. And I volunteered to plan/lead a couple of meeting.

Now, like last week, Karen and Michelle are doing crossword puzzles and I am writing this log entry.

Other notable things:
Karen and Nancy's bowling league started up again. This is their third year. They named their team "Chocolate Chicks". If you know how much the both of them enjoy chocolate, you understand where that name comes from. They bowl Thursday mornings. So far their team has won 6 out of 8 games. Not to shabby.

At Nortel, my Director had a all hands meeting on Thursday. When asked how the layoffs were going to affect our departments, he said "We are not walking anyone out the door today". Which basically means nothing. He also said the layoffs in Raleigh should be done by the end of September. I am pretty skeptical of that as well. In the mean time I do my job one day at a time.

I was gonna put some picture in this post from the weekend but I could not find the cable to download the pictures from the camera. Maybe tomorrow.

Blog Round-up

I have not posted since Monday. Work is keeping me jumping. And since Monday's post was... well, lengthy, I thought I would give you a break.

I was trying to do something a little differently in that post just to see how it would work, writing back-words (a little pun there). I have not gone back to read it yet but that is the plan. The idea is to wait a couple of days, go back and read it and see if it still makes sense. I suspect it was a bit confusing. We shall see.

My desire is to use this web log for a number of things. The first is to maintain a journal. This is something I always wanted to do and in fact started several times over the years. Someday, when I become famous, I can use this to write my autobiography eh?

The second desire is to provide a means for family and friends to keep up with what the family and I are up to. This way I don't fill folks e-mail boxes with mail they don't want to read. But if they are interested they can come here and see what's up. It would be nice if more folks in the family followed my lead. Actually Bob's lead. I borrowed the idea from him.

Finally I want to use this to improve my writing skills. It may not look like it at times but I am trying and use correct sentence structure, spelling and grammar. Also, on occasion I may try a different writing style, e.g. Monday's post. I don't do much writing in my job or anywhere else so the BLOG will hopefully help improve my skills a bit.

I enabled the ability for folks to leave comments to the posts. Feel free to do so. Under each post there is a 'comment' link. click it and it will allow you to compose a comment. Mom indicated she tried it but it asked her for a password etc.. If you look at that password screen you will see, at the bottom, an option to comment anonymously. On the other hand if you start your own BLOG on Blogspot then you will have a password :-)

OR you can e-mail comments to me directly if you would rather.

A quick update on happenings since Monday:

Work. Lots of work. Besides that, Karen and I went on a field trip with Michelle's class to Harris Nuclear Power Plant. It was interesting, however listening to the presenter you would think nuclear power was the cleanest safest source of energy on the planet. The kids had fun and most I talked to admitted to learning something.

Another good thing came out of this trip. We found that the park surrounding the power plant has a disc golf course. It is a bit of a drive but it looks like it is a nice course so we will probably try it this weekend.

Thursday evening team Israel had another good practice. I am trying to teach the girls to be less timid, not afraid to use their bodies to go after the soccer ball. In years past the girls on my teams have been afraid to touch the other players or to even step in front of them to gain control of the ball. So we are concentrating on more the physical aspects of soccer. The other area of concentration, along the same lines, is possession, maintaining it and gaining it. If the other team does not have control of the ball then chances are they cannot score. This is a little different approach than I have used in years past. We shall see how it goes.

That's it for today. Talk to ya soon.

The weekend, in retrospect.

Karen is sitting in the love seat doing a crossword, Michelle is on the couch next to me doing a crossword, even thought she was supposed to be in bed 10 minutes ago. I am on the couch, my laptop where the name implies, writing this log entry.

Kyle made dinner tonight because Bob Michelle Karen and I drove Bob back to ECU. Michelle wanted to come and see where Bob was going to school. We unloaded the van, loaded his room then took off for home.

Tyler and Mel pretty much occupied each other much of the weekend. She came over this morning. Karen, Michelle, Tyler and Melodie played Carcassone. Mel went home right before we left to drive Bob back to school.

Earlier that morning, Bob went to Jamie's so they could spend every last minute with each other before heading in opposite directions on the road back to academia. As I expected, we did not see to much of Bob this weekend.

Bob loaded down the van with the rest of his stuff pretty much first thing after waking up. He took just the 'basics' to school previously because he was waiting until he moved into his own room. By basics I mean computer stuff, refrigerator, microwave, some food, and some clothes.

Sunday night Karen had to pick up her parent's at the airport. Their flight came in just before 11:00 PM. They went to Arizona for 10 days. Arizona! in the middle of the summer. What were they thinking. As I understand it, they visited the Grand Canyon and Played some golf and other than that did the tourist thing.

Michelle, Karen and I played a game of Carcassone before Michelle had to go to bed. This was the 'Hunters and gatherers' version as opposed to the 'Knights and Castles' version they played Monday. Kyle pretty much spent the majority of the weekend either banging on his drum practice pad or the computer keys.

Before dinner, Michelle and I went to the park and kicked the soccer ball around. We worked on some ball handling, fancy moves to fake out a defender in a one on one situation. And we worked on corner kicks. We had a good time though I admit after Kyle and my bike ride earlier in the day, my legs were a little wobbly.

Our bike ride covered around 14 miles; to the Durham Bulls Athletic Park, in downtown Durham, and back. We road on the American Tobacco Trail (http://www.ncrail-trails.org/trtc/ATT.HTM). A paved path along old train track bed. Meanwhile Karen Michelle and Tyler played Disc golf up at Valley Springs Park. Tyler apparently won... Again.

I could not sleep in Sunday morning because I needed to change the oil in the Stratus before Bob went to work. I was able to do it in record time. Unlike the ordeal I had with the Volvo.

Saturday night We played Phase 10, a card game. We won't talk about that game because I had a REALLY bad game. We did not get a chance to finish it before Melodie had to leave. Thank goodness, otherwise I would have come in dead last. Since we didn't finish the game, I didn't loose!

Danny, Kyle and Tyler's boss called me Saturday evening because he wanted to tell me how impressed he was with the boys work that day and the previous weekend. They worked from 9:00 AM through 5:30PM Saturday. They were bushed after working hard all day.

While the boys were working, Michelle, Karen and I played a round of Disk Golf. I pulled out a 2 shot victory after trailing Karen after the front 9.

Before golf I HAD to do the things I had been trying to get done for two weeks. I was able to cut my hair and change the oil in the Volvo. Bob took the Stratus so I could not get it done. What a pain the Volvo was. After all said and done, I had cracked the seal on the drain plug. Because I could not get the drain plug out, I resorted to banging on it with a hammer in an attempt to loosen it. I did not realize I had damaged it until after I put it back in and filled the engine back up with $20 worth of oil. About 10 minutes after finishing I noticed oil drips on the driveway. I guess I will either need to deal with the drips or drain the oil and replace the plug.

I woke up Saturday morning after Marimba pounced on me, wanting to be fed. I grudgingly got up, fed the cats and made pancakes for the 2 legged creatures in the house.

In retrospect it seems like a full weekend. Tomorrow I am taking the day off so Karen and I can go on a field trip to the Nuclear Power Plant with Michelle's class.

A little bit of this and a little bit of that...

It's Friday, hurrah! And a long weekend to boot. It's going to be an even longer weekend for our loved ones in Florida. The NC Grissoms wish you the best. If you end up driving north. Come on up to Durham! We would be glad to have you!

Team Israel had it's second practice yesterday evening. We were scheduled to have it at Pineywood Park, on the Soccer fields. We show up and a Charter School has apparently booked the field with Durham Parks and Rec. during this time slot for at least another week or two. Of course WE also are supposed to have it booked Every Thursday evening from 5-6. We ended up having a really good practice in a grassy knoll near the soccer fields. I have two assistant coaches and it looks like we will work well together. We divided the girls up into three small groups, one with each coach. Each coach worked on a different skill. This arrangment allows us to have a much more productive practice than trying to keep all the girls on task doing the same thing. At the end of each practice we have a scrimmage, to put the skills we work on into a game setting. Michelle had a good practice again. Nice energy and leading through example.

To follow up on a previous post, I was able to sell the desk that I purchased at auction. A friend of mine from work bought it and is quite pleased with the quality and price. So a good thing all around. Thanks Vinod for getting me out of the dog house.

I have been wearing my new pedometer. It works great. Yesterday I logged 8600+ steps. Not the 10,000 target but it's getting there. I have to make a special effort to get it above 5000 on any given day. I have been taking the long route to the bathroom or other destinations at work. I walk with Karen in the evenings when I can. With the results of my highly controlled scientific study I have supported my hypothesis that "Sitting at my desk at work then coming home sitting on the couch working does not facilitate a high step count." Further analysis, I am certain will show that such a one dimentional lifestyle does not facilitate healthy marital relationships either.

Bob is coming home this weekend. Karen is driving to Greenville this morning to pick him up after classes. He has to work Saturday and Sunday at the Apple store. Karen and I will drive him back Monday sometime. Jamie, his girlfriend will be coming home for the long weekend as well. So I don't imagine we will be seeing a whole lot of Bob outside the trip to and from. Bob moved into his new "roommateless" dorm room on Thursday. He is on a higher floor now so now he receives a stronger signal on his phone and can actually receive and make calls from inside his room.

I cannot address Bob's schooling because, well, he is in Greenville. But as for the rest of the kids, I am really impressed this year how they all are working hard and taking school seriously.
Michelle comes home, does her homework, comes to us for help when needed, after trying the problems herself first I might add. This year when she asks us to quiz her on her spelling words, she actually knows most, if not all of them. Last year I had the feeling this was the first time she ever heard of the words sometimes.

Kyle is planning ahead for big projects, he practices his drums every day, and though I have not looked in his backpack lately seems much more organized and on top of things this year. The grades he has reported to us are all A's or B's. He seems to enjoy being treated more like an adult in school. Unlike middle school.

Tyler especially is working hard. He is taking all Honors or AP courses with the exception of Spanish I think. He has a 100 average in Spanish and though I have not seen the grades for the other classes, he has also been working hard most every night doing reports ahead of time, making flash cards etc..

This is awesome! Keep it up Kids.

No great plans this weekend other than hopefully getting a round of Disc Golf in. And AGAIN, trying to get my hair cut and change the oil in the Stratus and Volvo. We bought new tires for the Van and had the 30K mile transmission service done this past week. $$$. They charged us $22 to replace a freaking tail light. Remind me next time to do it myself will ya?

We are still waiting to hear details on the layoff and reorganizations at Nortel. The company reported 3500 job cuts words wide. The latest rumor is 550 of those will be in RTP, where I work. We have MAYBE 2500 folks in the area so if this number is accurate, roughly 1 of every five folks will be directly affected. The cuts are supposed to be completed by Christmas break. Keep your fingers crossed.

Have a good weekend!

"The Lip" Is coming to Durham

It is not officially official yet so I cannot, even unofficially, state that Maynard Ferguson and his band are scheduled to play a concert at Jordan High School in February. I have a date but that would sound to official so I won't unofficially post it here.

For those of you who do not know who Maynard Ferguson is, he is a trumpet player/ band leader. He is best known for is range and redefining Jazz in the 80s. He can generate some un-naturally high notes with a trumpet. He probably could have gone higher than he did but what was the point? Only dogs can hear those frequencies. He has been leading his band for some 40 years.... Rather than re-create a Maynard Biography in my web log I will just tell you it can be found at: http://www.gr8music.com/Ferguson,_Maynard/mf-bio.html

Why is this event important to me? I can honestly say Maynard Ferguson is 'the' reason I took up trumpet.

I was a freshman at Lee High School. I played bass clarinet in the 9th grade band. Mr. Gilmore, the band director, had noticed my interest in audio and had enlisted me to be principally responsible for recording all band performances and some rehersals; A position I took great pride in. As it turns out the responsibilities included recording the district High School Jazz festival. Bands program from all over Fairfax County would bring their jazz bands and perform for a panel of judges, who would provide critical feedback and a score or rating for there performance. Because they were a smaller school, Lee's band performed early in the day. As I remember it, they performed well, at least as well as you might expect a high school Jazz band to play. As the day wore on the bigger schools performed. I remember sitting there, at the apron of the stage with my head phones on, mouth open, just in awe of some of these performances and, some of the music. I can distinctly remember hearing,a big band rendition of James Taylor's "Country Road". Another Band, Chantilly I think, played "Give it One" by Maynard Ferguson. And then Lake Braddock's Jazz band played Maynard's Chameleon. Unbelievable. After that festival I was hooked. I went out and bought as much jazz and particuarly Maynard as I could. And while I never was able to play jazz, I was inspired to take up trumpet and still I try to play.

I remember as a Freshman at James Madison University when Maynard came to give a concert. It was Family day and mom came down and took me to that concert. It blew me away. I think mom enjoyed it as well.

Now Tyler listens to my Maynard collection. He downloaded most it down to his IPOD. In fact we listened to Maynard on the way to school this morning and I have him "screaming" in my ear as I type this.

You can hear a snippet of Maynard "Chameleon" at the following link.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/clipserve/B00000273G001001/0/104-3771130-4929529

You can hear a snippet of Maynard "Gospel John" at the following link.

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/clipserve/B00000273G001002/0/104-3771130-4929529

Needless to say Maynard is getting up there in age. I think he is in his 80's at this point but he reportedly can still play, and his band, from what I understand, is as good as it ever was. I am, unofficially, really looking forward to taking my kids to the allegedly upcoming concert.