| Halloween Weekend |
[Nov. 2nd, 2009|10:42 am] |
Hope everyone had a great Halloween weekend!
Ours has been a mixed bag, though on the whole I think the good has outweighed the bad. I’ll knock the bad out of the way first, so I can get onto the good which is much cooler.
First of all, the car failed inspection last week. The problem is the catalytic converter, which is going to cost us in excess of $950.00 to replace. This means that all the money we’d been setting aside for Christmas this year, plus a lot more, now has to get dumped into the car.
Bonnie, sadly, spent Halloween sick :(
Now, for the good. Saturday morning my/Lily’s soccer team won in big fashion. But not only that, they played a great game as a team. We were so proud of those kids!
Evan spent most of the afternoon building himself a costume. See, I had decided that this year when I took the kids out Trick-or-Treating I wanted to dress as a bloody scarecrow. On hearing this, Evan decided that he wanted to be my crow minion. So he took an old ski mask and hot glued black feathers and a cardboard beak that he made to it, and taped a bunch more feathers to a black shirt. Then we took a pair of black-feathered costume angel wings we had, cut them apart, and strapped them to his arms. The result looked pretty cool, and he got a lot of compliments on it as we went around the neighborhood. Lily dressed up in a bride costume (this was surprisingly hard to find, but it’s what she wanted and we persevered).
So I took the kids out Trick-or-Treating. Both got a lot of candy and compliments. Meanwhile, back at the house, Bonnie gave away 5 bags of candy, and by the time I brought the kids home I had to make an emergency run out to restock. We usually don’t get that many kids, but this year we really decorated up the yard and apparently that attracted more. I’ll have to post pics of our yard somewhere – I liked it :P
Yesterday I managed to get to fighter practice – an increasingly rare accomplishment these days. And much to my surprise Gerry, who I hadn’t even know was acquainted with them, brought Sean and Hope to check it out. So ![[info]](http://l-stat.livejournal.com/img/userinfo.gif) ishtar137 and I got to have some fun sticking them in our armor and showing them what it was all about.
That’s really the highlights of the weekend. Hope everyone else had a good one! |
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| Just a Post |
[Oct. 16th, 2009|11:28 am] |
So, out here in the wilds of New Jersey, we continue to be alive (despite the LJ silence). Bonnie and the kids have been sick, but so far I’ve been spared (knock on wood).
It’s funny… I know a bunch of things have happened since the last time I updated, but for some reason none of them seem to rise to the level of importance that makes me want to write about them. I think part of the reason for that, though, is that I keep going so long between posts that in order to cover everything it just becomes a list of activities – which isn’t much fun to write or, I’m sure, to read. I should stay on top of things better.
Anyway, time for a vent! The soccer league in which I coach and Lily plays only just sent out notices to the coaches this Tuesday, by email, that team pictures were going to be done tonight (yes, on a mere 3 days’ notice, and that’s if the coach happened to read their email the very day it was sent). What’s more, they forgot to include me in the list. Fortunately the other coach on the team just happened to read her email the next day and notified all the parents. I could go more into how they’ve continued to screw this up since then, but suffice it to say that this league gets more poorly run every year. |
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| September Update |
[Sep. 9th, 2009|01:48 pm] |
It’s been quite awhile since I’ve updated (notice how more and more of my posts are starting with some variation of that sentence? :P ). So time for the latest info dump.
Let’s see… Since Pennsic we’ve been to visit my parents once, which was pretty uneventful (well, other than Bonnie and I fighting some more :( ). Just catching up. Apparently my cousin is in a bit of a freak-out because his fiancé bought him season tickets to the Redskins – with pretty good seats even - as a birthday present, and he knows he will never, ever be able to match that for her birthday :P
Two weekends back we went to the opening weekend of the Maryland Ren Faire. It was threatening rain all day, which kept the crowds down, but it never actually rained. If anything, it was a little too hot and muggy. But we had a good time even if we spent too much money. And the kids came away with nice new leather mugs.
That Tuesday I had dinner with the Gornsteins and cyan_fireflash, and got to play some Dominion (rockin’ card-based game). That was a very welcome break in my week, and I love those people :)
This past weekend we went to Swamp Thynge, an SCA event held in Delaware over Labor Day Weekend. Camped with ladyandromeda with that guy she keeps insisting on hanging out with (her husband, I think :P ), along with cyan_fireflash and some other SCA friends. Gave us a chance to catch up with some old friends from the Delaware shire as well, which was great. I fought in the tournament (a Pas d’armes style, which basically means it doesn’t matter who wins or loses any of the fights, just that you attract the notice and approval of the ladies doing the judging – naturally I won none of the prizes :P). The rest of the weekend was dedicated to hanging out with our friends there (I mentioned I love them, right?), and projecting sharp pointy objects at targets. Evan has completely fallen in love with thrown weapons, and even Lily got in on that action. The three of us competed in the thrown weapons tourney, and Evan won the under-12 division! Lily got a point for cute in the tourney, but didn’t manage to score any point on the target – which is a shame, because she was starting to get the hang of sticking the knives in during practice, she just had bad luck in the tourney.
After the event we went and hung out with my parents again for a couple hours (they live literally 5 minutes from the event site) before splitting up to return to Lancaster (Bonnie and the kids) and New Jersey (me).
Evan will be testing for his karate Orange Belt this Thursday night. After that, Bonnie and the kids will be coming back home full time, officially ending this year’s summer excursion to Lancaster. |
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| Well, we've been back to Pennsic... |
[Aug. 10th, 2009|01:11 pm] |
...and now we're home. Well, technically we've gotten as far back as Bonnie's parents' place. I still have to get back to New Jersey later today.
It was pretty much what I expected based on my pre-leaving post. Everybody in camp had their own thing that they do, and the things that they do together from long years of sharing the experience, that we're just not part of. But I was expecting that, so it didn't get me down like it might have when I was younger and had less realistic hopes.
So we were two days later than expected getting into camp (arriving Sunday instead of Friday) due to the need to sew vast quantities of garb before heading out. We managed to get in on Sunday with just enough light to set up the tent and unload. Then we made a town run, got back to camp, and dropped into bed around 1 am.
I fought on Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday (the River, Gate, Field, and Woods Battles), giving Helm's Deep a miss on Friday because the "personal protection" portion of my armor was chafing me like mad. Kinda regret missing that one, though - it looked like a lot of fun, and if they do it next year I'll definitely get in on it.
We went to the Gypsy/Pirate mixer, and I spent most of an evening at the Three Skulls party which was a pretty good time. That was it for partying for me, though - as I said, I'm terrible at trying to fit in at parties on my own, and was never really given an opportunity to join friends at any others (well, except for the Iron Lance party on Friday night, but Bonnie and I had to give that a miss due to having other plans).
We also got to see a hilarious production of Shakespeare's "Much Ado about Nothing" on Friday night put on by the Known World Players. That was a lot of fun, and unfortunately the last really fun moment of Pennsic for us due to, well... stupid reasons, imo.
Saturday was just kind of a lazy day spent in shopping and hanging around the encampment for me, and by then I was ready to go home. We ended up packing up as the sun went down Saturday, and driving through the night to get back to the in-laws'. |
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| Pre-Pennsic Blues |
[Jul. 28th, 2009|02:37 pm] |
So… two more workdays before I begin the first leg of the journey to Pennsic. Thursday night I leave New Jersey to meet up with Bonnie in Lancaster. From there, we leave for the big event on Friday (in theory, assuming all the sewing and packing actually gets done – not a guarantee by any stretch).
To be honest… I’m not really all that excited about it.
The reason, actually, is pretty simple. Historically, I just haven’t had all that much fun there.
I mean, yeah, I enjoy doing the fighting (though truthfully, I often feel like a let-down for my unit because I’m not really very good). But that only accounts for three or four afternoons. I sleep poorly, I have a hard time finding classes that I’m really interested in (and shyness will often prevent me from going to many of those that I do), and I’m absolutely godawful at going to parties with strangers and fitting in. Which basically leaves sitting around in camp, or wandering the merchants looking at things I can’t talk myself into buying.
Maybe things’ll be different this year. In the past, I’ve never been in the company of friends for Pennsic for one thing. But I also know that most folks have friends they only get to see at Pennsic who they’ll want to spend time with, so I can’t help feeling that they’re not gonna want to be saddled with me too much of the time. Thusly, I’m not at all certain that it will make much of a difference.
Ah well. I guess we’ll see how it goes. |
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| Long Overdue Update |
[Jul. 23rd, 2009|01:04 pm] |
Wow, it’s been a long time since I’ve done an update! I guess I should fill in a little on what we’ve been up to.
Bonnie and the kids have mostly been out in Lancaster with her parents for the summer. They’ve been taking swim lessons (in addition to going to the pool for fun nearly every day), Lily is in gymnastics class and Evan in martial arts (Tang Soo Do, to be specific). For awhile Bonnie was considering staying out there in the Fall and registering the kids for school, since the homeschooling thing hasn’t been working out as well as we’d hoped. But by now she’s sufficiently sick of her family that she no longer wants to stay once the summer is out.
I’ve mostly been sitting around the house, doing little to nothing of consequence.
Last weekend we went to the Southern Region War Camp for the SCA (preparation for Pennsic). All four of us went, and had a pretty good time. And for the first time in more than a year, we went camping and didn’t get rained on! Evan saw a blacksmithing demonstration there, and decided that’s what he wants to do. Lily, of course, found another little girl her age and made fast friends.
Bonnie and the kids will be back in New Jersey this weekend for a kid’s birthday party, and will stay a few days beyond that. But then it’s the final push to Pennsic. |
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| Well, this couldn't be more wrong. |
[Jul. 9th, 2009|01:44 pm] |
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Your result for The 4-Variable Buffy Personality Test...
Faith
Faith is a powerhouse, and you might be, too. Passion-driven, down-to-earth, and willing to do what it takes to get things done and have a good time doing them, she is tough and sexy. Now, this test didn't rate your sexiness, but with these kinds of traits, that's probably true as well. You rate as one of the most dynamic characters of the Buffy universe. Congratulations! If you enjoyed this test, I would love the feedback! Also, you might want to check out some of my other tests if you're interested in the following: Nerds, Geeks & DorksProfessional WrestlingLove & Sexuality America/Politics Thanks Again! -- THE 4-VARIABLE BUFFY PERSONALITY TEST
Take The 4-Variable Buffy Personality Test at HelloQuizzy
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| Ready for the Week to be Over |
[Jul. 2nd, 2009|07:10 am] |
Could’ve done without most of yesterday or the day before. The one bright spot was getting to hang out a bit with ishtar137. But prior to that…
For my current project I’ve been preparing a test plan to submit to the FAA. I wrote it, the other engineer in the Floats group reviewed it, the engineer we report to in France has reviewed it, the VP of Engineering has reviewed it, we’ve discussed all of this in our weekly meetings (which said VP attends) and that we were going to get it signed off and submitted this week. So I get the department secretary to print the thing out (it’s actually several different documents and appendices, each of which needs to be signed by myself and the VP). I signed them off and gave them to the VP. This was Monday.
So Tuesday, I get the stack back from the VP with a whole bunch of new comments and changes (and a note asking if the guy in France had reviewed the document – which he’d already been told had happened in the weekly meeting). So I go back and make the edits, send the files to the department secretary to get prepared for signature again, sign them off and give them back to him.
Around 1 o’clock I get them back… still unsigned, and with new comments and changes. So once again… edit, submit, sign, give back to the VP. Haven’t gotten them back yet – maybe he actually signed them this time?
I also sliced my thumb open while trying to assemble my project prototype.
Around 2:30, I got a call from Bonnie telling me that her car had broken down (that makes the third time this year, and we’ve already put over $1000 into that heap trying to keep it running), and that I’d have to leave early from work to pick Lily up from her day camp.
I checked out her car a little bit that night. Looks like there’s something wrong in the electrical system. Sigh.
Yesterday, the Internet was out all day at work. And my whole evening was taken up with waiting in a parking lot for the tow truck to come get Bonnie’s car (he was about an hour later than promised), and doing household shopping.
And now it’s another work morning, and I don’t want it to be. |
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| X-Chicks |
[Jun. 9th, 2009|11:53 am] |
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Your result for Which Woman of the X-Men is Right For You? Test...
Kitty Pryde aka Shadowcat!30 Kitty, 8 Emma, 20 Betsy, 18 Jean, 3 Rogue, 8 Storm, 18 Rachel and 0 Lorna! 
You like Kitty Pryde, aka Shadowcat! And as Deadpool put it she's totally getting ripe! Kitty is the quintessential american girl next door and a great girl for any guy.
Take Which Woman of the X-Men is Right For You? Test at HelloQuizzy
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| Bad Day for Workplace Diversity |
[Jun. 5th, 2009|01:52 pm] |
Some days the ignorance of my coworkers astounds and disappoints me. Today is one of those days.
Went down to the cafeteria today to get my morning cup of coffee, where I heard one of the maintenance guys telling the cafeteria manager that “Any man… any real man… needs a woman.”
Today at lunch a couple of the people I eat with were talking about one’s sister-in-law and the ways in which she was screwing up her life. She (the one whose sister-in-law was under discussion) made the comment that her husband should tell her sister to “Try praying to Jesus, because the goddesses she’s praying to aren’t doing sh*t for her.”
Well, I tried pointing out that her religion is her own business and probably a separate issue from the other things going on in her life, to which the response was along the lines of “Yeah, well, I just wish she wouldn’t force it on her daughter. Asking her to pray to the goddesses for her and stuff.” So I sallied again that most parents raise their children within their own religion, and it’s just as valid for her to ask her daughter to pray to her goddesses as it is for a Christian to ask her child to pray to Jesus. This prompted a response from someone else at the table along the lines of “She’s an impressionable young girl and shouldn’t have that stuff forced down her throat. If someone wants to be a witch then be a witch, but don’t expose your kids to it.”
At this point I withdrew from the conversation because I was getting angry and decided to follow the maxim of “Don’t discuss religion or politics in the office.” I do, after all, have to work with these people… sadly. |
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| Weird Thought about Death |
[Jun. 4th, 2009|12:56 pm] |
Dunno why, for some reason, I had the urge to post this today. I don't expect it to be necessary for anything happening in the near future. But since it was on my mind, here it is.
Not having any particular set of beliefs about the afterlife, or even if such a thing exists, it seems to me that whatever mourning/funeral rituals might accompany my death are really for the sake of the living. So if, for whatever reason, my current plan of living forever fails to pan out I have this to say on what I would like.
Do whatever helps you manage best.
Bury me, burn me, donate my body to science… whatever. If dressing my corpse up in a pink tutu helps you to cope, go right ahead and do it. Hold a party, hold a wake, cry, laugh… heck you can even blast rap music (which in general I despise) out of a 40-foot high wall of speakers if that’s what it takes for you. Or just shrug your shoulders and forget about me. Do not worry one little jot about “what I would have wanted,” because if you’re doing something that helps you to cope, then you are already doing what I would have wanted. |
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| Happy Anniversary |
[May. 26th, 2009|10:06 am] |
| [ | mood |
| |  happy | ] |
This weekend Bonnie and I had a party to celebrate our 12th wedding anniversary. It worked out nicely that we were able to hold the party on our exact anniversary date!
We rented a pavilion at Bellevue State Park in Wilmington, DE, and even though they were calling for thunderstorms in the late afternoon the weather ended up being perfectly beautiful all day. We did run into thunderstorms on the drive back to Lancaster in the evening, but that was well after the party was over :P
It was great to see everyone who came – including some people we haven’t seen in years! There was grilling (I hope nobody died of my cooking!) and games, and hanging out and just talking with folks we don’t often get to, and we ended up closing down the park. It was a long and tiring day, but more than worth the effort. |
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| Where are my Toys, Then? |
[May. 15th, 2009|08:53 am] |
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Your result for The Social Persona Test (What kind of man/woman are you?)...
Lord of the Misfits (QLAM)Quirky Liberal Alpha Male 
You are similar to The Fratt Boy, in that you often try to take care of peers you percieve as less successful, but with the added benefit that you actually understand those on the fringes. You are a good ally to have, but people might be hurt if they believe your universal good will is a sign of a close friendship. You are nice to everyone, but you know who your true friends are. In terms of dating, you want someone who shares your interests; other than that, anything goes. You are more QUIRKY than NORMAL. You are more LIBERAL than TRADITIONAL. You are more DOMINANT than PASSIVE. When picking a date, consider: The Rarity (QTAF), The Renaissance Faire Wench (QLAF), The Librarian (QTBF), or The Emo Girl (QLBF) (Image from UNC Library Website)
Take The Social Persona Test (What kind of man/woman are you?) at HelloQuizzy
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| Show me the Data |
[May. 13th, 2009|08:08 am] |
Your results:
You are Data
| Data |
| 64% |
| An Expendable Character (Redshirt) |
| 60% |
| Beverly Crusher |
| 55% |
| Worf |
| 55% |
| Mr. Sulu |
| 50% |
| Leonard McCoy (Bones) |
| 45% |
| Deanna Troi |
| 45% |
| Chekov |
| 40% |
| Jean-Luc Picard |
| 40% |
| Geordi LaForge |
| 40% |
| Spock |
| 37% |
| Uhura |
| 35% |
| Will Riker |
| 35% |
| James T. Kirk (Captain) |
| 30% |
| Mr. Scott |
| 30% |
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Even though you are a genius
you are always striving to be better.
 |
Click here to take the "Which Star Trek character am I?" quiz...
Well, at least this time I'm not the expandable redshirt (but just barely). |
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| Anniversary Party! |
[May. 8th, 2009|12:28 pm] |
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Against all odds, Bonnie managed to find us a cheap and reasonably central place to hold our anniversary party. So set aside time on Sunday, May 24th (that's Memorial Day Weekend) for us to celebrate 12 years of marital bliss. As a nice bonus: it is the exact date of our anniversary! |
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| Soccer Soccer Soccer |
[May. 6th, 2009|11:17 am] |
So last night my soccer team lost their game (which puts us at 2-3 on the season), but I was extremely proud of them anyhow. This same team thrashed us a couple weeks back 7-1, and the only thing that kept the score from being worse is that the league has a mercy rule that forbids teams from continuing to score if they’re ahead by 6 points. Last night our kids went out and played aggressively, exhibited great teamwork – and scared the other team badly by scoring the first 2 goals in rather quick succession. The final score ended up being 5-3, and the other team had to hustle their butts off for everything they got. It was a remarkable improvement for us, and hence why I am so proud of our kids.
They’re great kids, and we have a lot of fun running practices and games with them.
On the down side… ( rant ) |
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| Camp and Damp |
[May. 4th, 2009|11:56 am] |
This past weekend was a tad bit hectic. Evan had a Camporee for Cub Scouts, and we weren’t allowed to bring siblings. So we shuttled Lily down to Delaware to spend the weekend with her grandparents, meeting them at the Olive Garden to treat my mom to dinner for her birthday (mom was quite distressed by the appearance of the number “6” as the first digit in her age).
Then we drove back to New Jersey, and had to stop and buy a new tent and some supplies on the way. By the time we got packed up and to bed, it was after midnight – and we had to be up at 5:00! Early mornings on weekend trips – one of many things I definitely don’t miss about Boy Scouts :P
It was raining when we arrived at camp, and since there wasn’t going to be time to do it later on we were compelled to set up our tent for the very first time in the rain. But it was pretty easy to erect despite its size, and stayed pretty darn dry even though it continued to rain almost constantly throughout the weekend. We love our new tent, and I’m far more pleased than I thought I’d be with the screened porch feature.
We had a lot of fun. They kept the kids busy all day, and we trailed around with Evan and his Pack to each of the events. The worst part, actually, was not the rain but the extremely cornball activities of the campfire gathering at the end of the day.
Evan impressed his Pack, and thrilled himself, by scoring a bullseye at the archery range (and getting 3 out of 4 arrows into the target – and the one that missed was because the arrow fell short due to this being the first time Evan had ever drawn a compound bow, so he didn’t know quite how the draw was supposed to feel and didn’t pull it back far enough).
By the way, Bonnie and I have decided that we will go to Pennsic this year – we just need to know if we can camp with our friends (you know who you are) and how kid-friendly the encampment might be. We’re not planning to bring Lily, and if it’s not a kid-friendly encampment then we may just come by ourselves. Give us input! |
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| Easter Weekend |
[Apr. 14th, 2009|09:47 am] |
So the weekend was a mixed bag. I took Friday off from work so that we could have some extra time at the in-laws’ for the Easter weekend. We left Thursday night, and stopped on the way to have dinner with ishtar137, which was great but all too brief.
Friday we spent much of the day dyeing eggs (four-and-a-half dozen, to be exact).
On Saturday we attempted to go to a local Easter Egg hunt, but unrelenting rain forced a cancellation. Though the people sponsoring the hunt also provided a very good breakfast which kind of made up for it. Evan was kinda grumpy, though – at least until Bonnie agreed to let him try coffee with his breakfast. He took it with lots of sugar, declared it good, and was very excited most of the weekend about how he got to have coffee for the first time.
Later that afternoon Bonnie wasn’t feeling well (she’d been suffering from a cold) and took a nap while I took the kids to the local second-run theater to see Coraline again. It wasn’t in 3-D this time, and Lily declared that she liked it better this way.
After the movie I ran down to Delaware to attend my first Changeling game in far too many months. On the way I had to stop and do the last-minute Easter candy shopping, so I was late to the game. The game itself was kinda slow and sparsely attended, but I had a good time – except that by the end of the evening I was starting to feel the onset of the cold Bonnie had been suffering from.
Easter Sunday was mostly a misery of cold symptoms. But I was able to forget about it for awhile when we took all those eggs we’d dyed on Friday and hid them in the in-laws’ front lawn for the kids to hunt (they ended up finding all of them… eventually).
The kids have been left in Lancaster for a few days, since Bonnie is going to be needed at the tax office in the last mad rush before the deadline. I stayed home from work yesterday because the cold had gotten even worse, though today it’s relented enough that I actually came into work. Not that I’m being terribly productive, but I’m here.
Oh, did I mention that the starter in Bonnie’s car fried itself? |
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