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giving work the short shrift

Thursday and the sand in my vacation hourglass is running low.

Also running low, the time between my writing this and our departure in a little more than a week for our John Muir Trail “redo” hike.  I put a meeting on the group’s collective calendars for next Tuesday to do a shopping run at REI and some pre-trail pack stuffing and checking (yes, we are so bound to technology that we “calendar” our hike planning sessions).  As time gets closer, I get more and more excited… I really can’t wait to get out on the trail again.  Later next week I’ll publish our finalized itinerary with GPS links for the data-driven and curious.  But, for now, let’s do some boring blogging.

Vacation with the parents-in-law has so far been perfect.  Sharaun’s folks are low-key vacationers, not really wanting to run around and see this or do that… but rather wanting to spend time together hanging out and relaxing.  I can really identify with this kind of vacationing.  Last night (Wednesday) we had some friends over for some barbecue, drinks, and Olympic-watching socialization.  We’ve been to a couple different parks to let Keaton run around and play, made a visit to the zoo, and are planning a trip halfway up the mountain tomorrow to go swimming and picnic at a little tucked-away spot on the river.  And, even though I’m technically not on vacation today… I sure am giving work the short shrift.

Now to change the subject a bit, to the nerd-stuff…

With the advent (or rather, my recent discovery) of programs like Simplify Media, which streams your home-based music collection to your iPhone, I’ve become painfully aware that, despite previous monumental efforts on my part to clean up and standardize the MP3 tag structure of my music collection, I’ve still got a long way to go.  This becomes immediately apparent when using applications like Simplify, which rely solely on the MP3 tag data of your collection to sort and display your music.  Minor differences in band naming schemes (to capitalize the ‘I’ in Architecture in Helsinki’s name or not, for instance) presents as two different artists, as an example.

Because of this, I’ve dutifully undertaken my most monumental tag “cleanup” effort to-date: Using a combination of tagging and renaming programs to scroll through my entire library and edit things for efficiency, accuracy, and useability.  I figure that this whole remote-streaming/access to home music collections is the way of the future, so I may as well baseline now and be ready for the glory that is to come.  It’ll take time to change all those instance of “Eric Burdon and The Animals” my preferred “Eric Burdon & The Animals,” but I think it’ll be worth it.  Update: I wrote these paragraphs a couple days ago (on one of those days I didn’t end up posting), and have since finished my great tag-update.  The work didn’t end up being that bad and, even though I still have a few things to tidy, I got it done in relatively short order.

Bye guys, I’m off to dial into a meeting (told you it was some sort of quasi-vacation)…

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size doesn’t matter

Monday and I did nothing  — it was great.

Well, not nothing.  I finished fixing the sprinklers in the backyard (requiring another trip to the Home Depot) and put up the speakers stands I’d had down since we painted in here.  I also went out and picked up an ice cream cake for Sharaun’s birthday (which is today).

I got Keaton her own card to give her Mom, and we locked ourselves up in the bedroom with a box of crayons so she could decorate it and make it personal.  Was another low-key vacation day (it’s how her folks tend to “vacate,” and I can’t say I have anything in the world against it), and a low-key birthday for Sharaun too.  Enjoyable.

Friday, as I was about to leave work, a buddy sent me a mail about a new free application for the iPhone that he thought I might dig.  Called Simplify Media, it’s a program that you run on your “main” PC at home (or wherever) and on your iPhone.  The part that stays resident on your home machine talks to your home-based or main music collection and streams it to your iPhone.  That may sound trivial, but what it actually means is something else altogether: Size doesn’t matter.  I mean, guys… with this free application, I can seamlessly access and listen to my entire ~250GB music collection from my iPhone – even though it “lives” on a machine in our closet at home.

Anywhere I have internet, I have my entire music collection in my pocket.  All this time, I’ve been waiting for a bigger capacity iPod… and I never thought that all I really needed was connectivity.  Brilliant.  What’s even cooler?  You can share your library, let other people access it.  So, if you’ve got an iPhone, you’ve also got my ~250GB of music.  Honestly, this is just the beginning of the eventual… a future when you’ll have access to any piece of music, anytime, anywhere…

Folks around here seem to have the sniffles… Keaton and Sharaun’s mom both, and now I’ve got that telling tickle at the back of my throat that says something’s up with my sinuses.  Hoping this quasi-vacation doesn’t get stolen away by a cold.  Wish it with me folks: Let me not be sick; let me not be sick; let me not be sick.

That’s it, that’s all I’ve got.  I offer my apologies.

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before i knew it

A Monday morning and I’m comfortable on the couch instead of at work.  OK, so I have me work e-mail open and I’m actually doing things I shouldn’t be… but still, I’m on the couch.  That counts, right?  It’s gonna be short today, but I just can’t let this thing go for nearly a week.  Last week was super busy again at work, and I just didn’t have time to write at night – sad but true.

Saturday Sharaun’s folks got into town, and we’ve been spending the past couple days just hanging out and settling into vacation-mode.  Yesterday after church, I ran up to Home Depot and grabbed some sprinkler parts for a little job I wanted to do in the backyard, father-in-law came along (men do trips to Home Depot like women do trips to bar bathrooms – together).  Gary (my father-in-law) helped me work the sprinklers a bit, and we both enjoyed some cold beers in the sun.  We enjoyed them so much, in fact, that before I knew it was going on 11pm and we were still sitting around the table in the backyard.  Sharaun and her mom had long gone inside and left us alone, we’d moved the beer into a tableside cooler for easier access, and the iPod was kicking the classic Motown (Gary’s favorite).

Eventually, we wobbled inside and watched a little Olympics with the womenfolk before calling it a night.  Was a good day: got the sprinklers fixed, and hung with Sharaun’s dad like we were old college buddies.  And now, I’m looking at three mostly-vacation days before I do some “working from home” vacation days (part of the many subtle shades of vacation my sawmill permits, neither really 100% disconnected – but both still very fulfilling).  Should be a good week.

See ya around.

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babydoll kidnapping

Ahhh, the sun sets on another day.

In some charade of preparedness, I’ve been taking Keaton on long wagon-pulled walks now for a few evenings running.  I know these will in no way actually prepare me for the 65mi Muir Trail hike we’re doing in just a few weeks, but, somehow, they ease my conscience at not doing anything more tangible.

Tonight all three of us walked over to the nearest home improvement warehouse store and looked at their selection of ceiling fans (I hope to have one installed in the new front room before Sharaun’s folks get here this Saturday).  After that we indulged my wife’s sweet tooth and stopped at the local McDonald’s for soft-serve cones all around.

Oh, I remember what I wanted to talk about today… Keaton has been baaaad lately!

I mean, our daughter has always been (to us, at least) a shining example of perfection.  Every once in a while she’d have a little too-tired meltdown… but, to be honest, I always thought she was pretty easy to deal with. Not so anymore friends, not so anymore.  Lately, she’s really been playing with just how much she can get away with and how far she can push.  In some ways, I find it interesting to see her flexing her control – but her methods leave a little to be desired.  She’s particularly fond of screaming, flailing, lying dead-weight on the ground ala passive resistance, the word “No,” and complete and utter disdain for, or ignoring of, our instruction – the list goes on.

All of this started as the occasional boundary-checking, but it’s gotten a little more systemic of late.  Today, Sharaun supplemented our trite and predictable nouveau-parenting technique of “timeouts” with something I dubbed babydoll-kidnapping; because, see, Keaton loves her babydolls.  She has, by my estimates, near ten of them.  In fact, let’s count them to be sure…  From memory (pretty good Dad, eh?), they are: Baby Kia, Baby Claudia, Baby Finna, Baby Finny (I think they are brother/sister), Baby Hannah, Baby Sabrina, and Muñeca (she’s from Mexico).  She usually knows where each baby is at all times, whether they are sleeping, playing, hiding, crying, need to be burped or fed or held, etc.  Today, however, they all got rounded up and put on the high shelf of our closet.  Yup, Sharaun interned them all as some measure of additional bad-behavior deterrent.

When I got home from work, the first thing Keaton did (after my required big hug and lip-kiss) was to follow me into the bedroom and point out her dolls on the shelf.  “Look Dad,” she said, “My dolls got put up.”  Using my new-grown parenting skills, I deduced that there must be some logic behind all seven dolls being put in the closet, and chose not to comment aside from a, “I see that baby…” When I got the chance to ask Sharaun what was up with the hijacked dolls, I could hear the frustration seep back into her voice: “When she misbehaves from now on we take dolls away in addition to timeouts!, ” was her simple yet authoritarian reply.  Mmmm-hmmm; sounds good.  I’m on-board by decree at this point, “OK, I’ll remember.”

Poor Keaton; dolls all up in the closet gathering dust.  I guess we’ll see if the new technique works… but I have my doubts.  I figure this is just part of the “two year old” phase and that we’ll have to simply weather the growing and stretching and rattling fetters.  For what it’s worth, she’s still my favorite thing on Earth and I can never really be all that mad at her…

Goodnight internets.

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I dunno about you, but I loved that

Closing in on 7pm Sunday and I’m about to sit Keaton down a for a late dinner (it’s OK, we shared some chips and guacamole after we woke from our naps a little earlier).

Today was an extremely lazy day, with the entirety of our post church activities being an Olympics-in-the-background nap. I broke down last week and hired an acquaintance who does landscaping to send a crew out and fix-up the slope above the retaining wall, adding some circular stone planters and new greenery – so they toiled out there under the sun while I napped inside… which made me feel a bit guilty. I mean, it’s not like I’m some rich landowner or anything… so sleeping while I pay folks to do labor that’s rightfully mine is kinda much even for me. But, the yard looks nice – and just in time for Sharaun’s parents to get into town next weekend.

Moving on…

Remember a loooong time ago when I wrote about Keaton’s “first song?” And then, a few times after that, I’ve written about how she has been able to sing along with it now for a while. In fact, she sings a lot now, and the number of songs she remembers the words to constantly impresses me. Tonight, after we all got done eating dinner, she started serenading Sharaun and I and we decided to get it on tape. After one unaccompanied run-through, I put the real song on the computer nearby and asked her to sing along with Paul. I liked it so much I wanted to share. Here, then, is Keaton singing along with the Beatles (well, Paul, at least – it was the turbulent White Album era) to the song I Will:

[flv:https://blog.pharaohweb.com/video/I_Will.flv 320 240]

I dunno about you, but I loved that.

Well then… I suppose it’s time to give up the bloggin’ for tonight. Monday tomorrow and, since I’m taking some time off next week while the parents-in-law are here – it’s a happy Monday (I just get excited the week before I know I get to vacate).

Goodnight folks, love you all.

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mercedes. i have a mercedes. mercedes.

Happy Friday all.  Welcome to the entry that almost wasn’t, but came together in a rushed half hour around 10:30pm last night.  Guess sometimes it all just works out, huh?  Moving on…

Today I left work around 11:45pm to meet Sharaun and Keaton at one of the local parks.  We had lunch in the shade and then hit the playground for a while before I had to leave and rejoin the ranks of corporate zombies back at the sawmill.  I love doing this, having some time during the day to spend with Keaton is the perfect way to break the spell of to-dos and teleconferences.

During lunch there was a couple of moms sitting at a picnic table near us.  As their young’ns played some kind of stupid Pokemon or Dragonball game on the playground (“You’re an egg now!”  “No, I’m a human already – and if you look into my eyes you’ll die!”), they sat and gabbed.  Well, one of them did – the other one just listened and gave deferential harrumphs and confirming nods.

The one talking, and boy could she talk, was rambling on and on and on (and on some more) about a car accident she’d been in recently, and the harrowing events which befell her life thereafter.  The thing is, though, she somehow managed to work in the fact that her wrecked vehicle was a Mercedes SUV at every turn of the conversation.  Soon, I began to think this was no mere coincidence:

Yeah, I had to take the Mercedes to a special Mercedes body shop that the Mercedes dealer recommended, because not just any body shop can work on a Mercedes, you know.

The rental replacement SUV they gave me was some GM or Chevy thing, and when I climbed in for the first time I couldn’t believe how small it was compared to the Mercedes.  I had to call my insurance agent and ask if they had anything more truly comparable in size the the Mercedes, because my back just couldn’t handle that thing – it’s so used to the Mercedes.

The people who hit the Mercedes were Yugoslavian or Russian or something.  When they pulled over I parked the Mercedes right in front of them because I was afraid they might try to run.

On top of this, she bemoaned how the wrecked Mercedes had hampered her and her husband’s plan to buy a boat, as they now had no vehicle to tow it with (presumably, the time the Mercedes would be in the Mercedes body shop would ruin an entire Summer boating season?).  She admitted, small hints derision vocalized at the corners of her words, that they had “settled for” an old pickup that they’ll “only use to tow the boat around,” but “never to just drive.”

I felt intensely sorry for her rough life.  And, also because I am pretty sure she was only telling the story so her friend (and whomever happened to be within earshot) had no option be to be keenly aware she owned a Mercedes, a boat, and a truck specifically for the purpose of lugging around the boat.

Not that I’m not occasionally taken into a swirl of materialism and status-symbol one-upmanship myself, but I hope I never hawk my wares quite like that.  Eh, it wasn’t even that egregious an offense… just made for quick and easy writing. And, now it’s over.

‘Night.  Have a good weekend, see ya Monday.

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back when i did nothing

Hi from Wednesday night.  Sitting here playing with an iPhone… yeah, I know I said I wasn’t going to jump on that wave, but when the sawmill finances it – it’s hard to deny.  So, on the bandwagon I climb…

Right now the iPod shuffled up “Morning Bell” from Radiohead’s brilliant Kid A album. I think I’ve written about it before, but this album brings back such strong memories for me. It dropped shortly after I started working here at my current job, when I was still the new guy and no one know what I should be doing. I can remember spending what seemed like interminable days simply browsing the internet, listening to CDs, writing, having absolutely no clue what I was supposed to be working on, and feeling guilty about it to boot. In fact, and I’m almost certain I’ve written this before, I can recall vividly standing in the bathroom after work one day staring at myself in the mirror, angry and ashamed for essentially stealing money from the sawmill.

I used my time as best I could: Spending it online researching various things, letting the web lead me from one topic of interest to the next. During those long months of being corporate flotsam, I became fascinated with alchemy (both the “let’s make gold from rocks” kind and the more metaphysical Jungian kind), brushed up on my knowledge of serial killers (no real explanation there), and did a good bit of “spiritual” research (I dunno, a phase, at the time). I listened to a lot of music, I wrote a lot, and I wondered what the hell this “career” I’d chosen was ultimately going to end up being. Looking back now, I can understand how things like that happen – and realize that those pointless months in the grand scheme of an operation as large as this really mean next to nothing. So I skated along under the radar, they’ve got me in a reverse-naked now and are wringing me for every dollar. Honestly, I prefer the crunch…

Anyway, just hearing this album reminds me of those days instantly. The environment then was so lonely. I sat isolated from most of the “team” I was supposed to contribute to, and I had bounced back and forth between no less than three managers (always a bad thing for someone knowing what the heck you do). The people who did sit next to me were in roughly the same boat, but I didn’t really hit it off with either of them – and wasn’t that interested in developing non-working relationships with them. I still think back to the time when I finally got transferred under a good manager with a team that was executing. From there it was a simple connect-the-dots to meeting the friend-base I have now.  Time, time, time… I suppose.

And, that, is what I have to say tonight.