Archive for the Family & Friends category
My Dad's Christmas gift
My Dad gave me a generous Border's gift card for Christmas. I love to read, and having a gift card and a 33% off Borders Rewards coupon is like a little slice of heaven. (I didn't realize it, but I also had $5 in Border's Bucks.)
The new Robert Crais book was released today, and I had to get it — even though I'm half-way through another book, and won't be able to start the new one for a few days. I also got the first books from two series — Beguilement by Lois McMaster Bujold (I love her Chalion books), and Fer-de-Lance, the first Nero Wolfe book written back in 1934. I love my book series, and if past performance is any guide I should enjoy these two for years to come.
I also got a Robert's Rules of Order In Brief. Just because. The full version is massive, and unless I run for city council I think the shorter version will suit me just fine.
When I got to the registers, there were three cashiers working, and a couple of people in line ahead of me. As I was waiting, one of the customers was getting a new Borders Rewards card, and the cashier asked her for her e-mail address. The customer quietly told her, and the cashier then loudly repeated it so that everyone could hear: sexybooty@...com. Everyone smiled, except the customer...
The man in line two ahead of me got to a cashier, and asked if they had anywhere he could plant a banana so that his friend could come back in twenty years and it would be as fresh as if it was newly picked. The cashier politely apologized, and said they didn't have anywhere for him to plant his banana, and the man thanked him and left.
One of the more interesting visits to Borders in a while...
Thanks, Dad!
New Year's Eve
Most years, I don't do anything special on New Year's Eve, but this year I doubled up, and it was all pretty cool.
Back in October, my company had a massive reduction in force, and both my friends Cory and Kevin were let go. Kevin had been my manager for the last ten years, and had 23 years with the company. I'd been in the same group as Cory for all of my 24 years, and Cory himself had worked there for 31 years. Yes, sometimes my company makes poor decisions.
Anyway, we'd been talking about having lunch together for a few weeks, and the stars finally aligned for December 31st. I picked the Elephant Bar in Burbank, about halfway between Kevin and Cory's homes, and we met around 12:30pm. We talked for a couple of hours, and only about 25 minutes was work related. They're both doing well enough, and are in good spirits.
Most years, Carole and I stay in on New Year's Eve, but this year we wanted something more. At lunch, Cory had mentioned that some years he and Roxi go to a late movie on New Year's Eve, and it sounded like a great idea, and Carole thought so too. When she came home after work, we decided to head out early and grab dinner too.
On the way, we drove across Huntington Drive, and got stopped at the light at Sunset. They were moving a caravan of Rose Parade Floats up from the float builders on Lower Azusa. They had a few mechanical problems on some of the floats, so we were stuck there for about 25 minutes, but we had plenty of time so we just enjoyed the sites.
We were a little surprised by how busy the restaurants were. We doubled up, and put our name in at both Wood Ranch and Cheesecake Factory - we'd eat at whichever one called us first. Wood Ranch won by a nose (and yes, I turned in the pager and canceled our spot at Cheesecake Factory...), and we shared a combo meal, with two tri-tips and a roast chicken. Carole had fries, I had mashed potatoes, and we finished with a nice chocolatey dessert.
The movie was Up In The Air. Clooney at his best, and a great story too. There were more than few people with us who needed to learn some manners, but we didn't let them ruin the movie for us.
It was the best New Year's Eve I've had in forever.
Florida
Using all the special mojo that her brother possesses, Carole flew with Michael to Orlando (using Michael's flight privileges), spent three nights in a Disney hotel (using Michael's cast-member privileges), and went to Epcot and the Wild Animal Park - all for about the same total cost as one meal at a really good restaurant.
I missed her, but she had a great time, and that's what it's all about. I picked her up at the airport yesterday.
Mandy's birthday
Our friend Mandy celebrated her fortieth birthday last night at party thrown by her mom.
Hockey!
On Friday, Jason gtalked me and asked if I wanted to go with him to a hockey game out in Ontario on Sunday. His friend has two season seats to the Ontario Reign, and gave them to Jason. It's always good to hang with Jas, and I hadn't seen a hockey game live in a long time, and it was his birthday, so I didn't hesitate to say yes.
First we all went to Casa for a late lunch/early dinner. Jeremy came too - he'd been over doing some laundry. We made good time on the drive out to the Citizen's Bank Arena, which looks to only be a couple years old. It holds about 6,000 people on two levels, and seemed just about perfect for a minor-league hockey arena.
The game was really fun. The skill level isn't quite up to NHL standards, but they play with passion, and the crowd was really into the game. The Reign scored an even strength goal in the first period, a power-play goal in the second, and an empty net goal late in the third. Their goalie was on fire, making a lot of impressive saves, and there were a couple of skirmishes - overall a great game. You forget how much better hockey is in person.
I had a great time.
Cindy visits
Our friend Cindy visited us for ten days.
Home Improvement
Our friend Cindy is coming for a 10-day visit, and it will be great to see her.
House guests, like the proverbial dinner party, also have a way of focusing one's attention on the long-neglected list of home improvements. There's no better way to get things done around the house than to have a hard-deadline.
The list was extensive: a refurb of the front bathroom, with new paint — lilac walls with white ceiling and trim — and new fixtures; strip and refinish the closet door in the den; a new faucet in the kitchen; a new refrigerator; carpet cleaning; and a myriad of lesser tasks. We got almost everything done. It wasn't without stress by any means, but it was needed — not for Cindy, but for us — and I'm very glad it's over.
Super Sam's birthday
My niece Sam turned 20 today. Sheesh. I remember her when she was just a little brat, instead of the big old brat she is today...
Here she is with Justin, who's apparently enjoying some weed.
Kitty-in-the-box
We have two cats at home. Gavin, who turned 13 back in May, is a seal point Himalayan, and Smidge, who is 11 and Gavin's half-sister, is a Himalayan blue lynx point. We love them both.
Smidge has had medical issues all of her life, including a botched Cesarean that nearly did her in. One constant is a skin condition that requires her to get regular injections at the vets. She tolerates the visits to the vet pretty well.
A few years back when I brought her back from the vet, I left the cat carrier on the living room floor by the front door, with the door unlocked. For whatever reason, Smidge decided she wanted to live in the carrier for a few days — maybe the cool plastic felt good against her itchy skin, or maybe she just likes being in a cozy spot. In a few days, once the medicine has made her feel better, she comes out and resumes her normal routine. Since that first time, we always leave the carrier open for her to use for a few days after a shot.
She got a shot last week, and I left the box on the end table in Justin's room like always. And, like always, she hung in there for a few days. Today, though, we got a surprise.
I'm working from home today (don't ask), and when I went to get a glass of water Justin waved me into his room, telling me to look in the carrier. Smidge was sitting on Justin's table (like usual), so I wasn't sure what to expect.
I peered in — and saw Gavin laying in there, all cuddled up, with his face towards the open door. It was very cute. He's never done this before. I thought he hated the cat carrier.
By the time I got my camera together he'd woken up and moved onto Justin's bed, but it was still a cool sight to see.
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| Smidge | Gavin |
Where Carole's Been
Here's a map showing the states that Carole has visited. It does not include South Dakota and/or Nebraska, which she likely visited as a very young child with her parents. It now includes Wyoming and Montana, which she visited on her way to Spokane in August, 2009.
She has also visited three Canadian provinces: British Columbia, Ontario, and Quebec.
The Den
When I got back from CFR, I found that Carole, Justin, and Jeremy had been working hard to get the bedrooms rearranged. Carole and I moved from the back bedroom to the southwest corner, and the adjacent room became the den. Justin moved to our old bedroom.
During the planning for the move, I said I wanted to have a recliner in the den, so I'd have a place to read and maybe watch a little TV. As a surprise, Carole had bought a recliner while I was gone on my trip, and Justin and Jeremy set it up. It's just about perfect — overstuffed, medium brown micro-suede fabric, and it rocks and reclines.
It was a fantastic surprise!
Tea and Moms
Carole will be visiting Cindy in Spokane next Sunday, so we had the McConnell Mother's Day festivities yesterday at the Tea House in Big Bear. The Casey's all came (including Kristie), along with the Bowsers, Rob and his clan, Crystal and the kids, and Shane.
The tea was very good, but I wound up drinking a little too much, and had a bad caffeine hangover on Monday morning. The nice but somewhat ditzy waitress at the teahouse made a mess of splitting the checks, but everything worked out in the end. We went back to the house for dessert, and most of the guys (old and young) went down to the park for a little touch football. The drive both up and down the hill was fast and fun in the 'Vette.
A good day.
Barry
I got up at 3:45am this morning to drop Carole off at LAX. She's flying to Spokane to stay with Cindy for the weekend, and most importantly to see Barry Manilow in concert.
Cindy and her husband Ernie heard about the concert on a call-in-and-win segment on the radio. When they didn't win, Ernie called the arena to ask if they had floor seats, since Cindy's vision isn't too good right now. They said there were no floor seats available, and Ernie said he was asking because his wife uses a wheelchair, and that made all the difference — they hold back floor seats for that.
Cindy has been calling Carole every day for the past two weeks to count down the number of days before the concert. They should have a great time. Carole flies back on Monday night.
Holiday Break
The holiday break has been a little different this year.
Jimmy's wedding on the 27th meant that Rick and Ann couldn't make it to Big Bear on Christmas Day. After a lot of back-and-forth, the McConnell Christmas was moved to Sunday the 20th. William missed having the traditional Christmas Day festivities, but everyone else seemed to enjoy not having to slog up the hill on an already busy day.
The (now) traditional Christmas Eve dinner at my house went really well, except we didn't get dinner ready on time. By the time we opened presents, everyone was tired, and my Dad was dozing a little. Next year, we'll make sure it runs more smoothly.
Christmas day was nice. Kristie joined us for gifts and breakfast, and everyone had a great time, as usual. I got a Spot Messenger for the FJR, and Carole got a Vita-Mix.
I started noticing a developing chest cold on Christmas afternoon. When I woke up on Friday, it was full-on — sore throat, deep cough, runny nose, aches — the whole deal. Since I couldn't call to cancel, I got up early and went to donate platelets, but the nurses decided I shouldn't once I got there — after the finger poke, of course...
Saturday was Jimmy's wedding. Outdoors, at 4:45pm (but scheduled for 4:00pm), in about 40° with a apparent wind-chill of 30°. I was suffering, and worked hard to avoid coughing during the ceremony. The poor bridesmaids in their sleeveless gowns were noticeably shivering. The reception was quite nice (other than my illness).
Sunday was spent dealing with my symptoms, and resting.
Today I'm starting to feel better, and have grand hopes of seeing the end of this bout. We'll see.
London IS a big city
Michael and Carole were talking last night, first about Dublin, then about their favorite cities. I added a comment that London was a big city, like New York. I then got nothing but grief, as they both went on and on about how many skyscrapers there were in New York, and that London didn't have nearly as many tall buildings, and how you could walk for miles in New York and become claustrophobic in the urban canyons, and I didn't know because I hadn't been to either city for decades.
As they went on about it, I chose not to press my argument - they were having fun and I was grumpy after a long day at work. If I had kept at it, I would have told them that London may not have as many skyscrapers as New York, but its population, population density, cultural impact, status as a financial center of the world, and drawing power for visitors makes it comparable to New York as world-class, big cities.
A Family Weekend
There were two family parties scheduled for Labor Day weekend. A McConnell birthday party at Rick and Ann's on Saturday afternoon, and a couples bridal shower on Sunday afternoon. Both were more fun that I had hoped.
Justin and the Jetta
Justin was cut off on the I-210 freeway by a woman in a Jetta. He got a broken right collar bone and an uncountable number of stitches on the inside of his right knee, along with various other nicks and scratches.
The Emerald Isle
Carole and I went to Ireland for our 28th anniversary in June, 2008.
Getting ready for Ireland
Carole and I leave for Ireland on Monday. Actually, we leave for Newark on Monday with a stop in Seattle, then leave JFK on Tuesday night for an overnight to Dublin, where we arrive at 9am Wednesday morning.
I've got my checklist pretty much in place. We're going all carry-on, which makes packing more challenging. The only choices left to make are the mix of clothes, how many books to bring (it looks like three right now), and what jacket to bring.
Carole and I have been reviewing electrical needs, to see if we really need to invest in a transformer. It's a toss-up right now.
31-2
Crystal, Michael, and Alexis left for Washington, D.C. and New York yesterday, and left Logan to hang out with us. Logan's all-star basketball team has a tournament this weekend — in Twentynine Palms of all places.
Carole and I worked out a plan to get him there with a minimum of fuss and expense. I left work early on Friday, picked Logan up at the house, and drove him out to Twentynine Palms for his 6:00pm game. Afterwards, we stopped at a Carls Jr. in Banning, and he had a Double Western Cheeseburger and a vanilla shake. Overall, we spent just short of six hours of driving for his 32 minute game. The final score was 31-2. His team made a couple of free throws.
Today, Carole left with Logan for the second game, at 11:00am. They're going to spend the night at the Motel 6 in town. Sunday's game is either at 10am or 11am, depending on today's results.
He's a really cool kid.
A walk on the beach
Carole had a focus group on military recruiting (for the record, she's against it...) out in Santa Monica last night. Knowing I wasn't feeling all that well, she asked everyone else if they wanted to go out to the beach, but no one was free. After taking some medication (including my second straight Imitrex), I was feeling pretty good, so I told her I'd meet her on my bike.
When I got to Santa Monica she was just finishing up, and we agreed to meet at Gladstone's. They weren't especially busy, but had short staff, so we had to wait a little while. Carole persisted on the worst table in the house (which they occasionally make mysteriously unavailable), and they finally relented.
Carole had her filet, and I had a swordfish steak that was good but not great. Afterwards, we walked on the beach, staring at the stars and listening to the waves crash. The moon was a cool waxing crescent with the crescent on the bottom, out over the ridge to the west.
A very nice evening with my lady.
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The boys go riding
Justin and I rode up to Santa Ynez, then met Carole and Mandy for dinner at Joe's in Santa Barbara. A fun day — but a little cold.
More to come...
Happy Birthday, Sarah
I hope your day was special.
There's nothing like...
...a lazy cat, basking in the morning sunshine. Their fur is so soft and warm.
Gavin loves it when we leave the blinds open in the family room in the morning. Early in the season, he has to sit on the top of the chair to find a patch of sunlight, but in a few weeks he'll have sun patches on the carpeting. He'll sit in a sunny spot, and wait until it has all moved away, then get up and find the new spot.
Clearing the cache in EAland
Super Sunday
Today I made enchiladas, spanish rice, beans, and yesterday I made a run to Galco's and Sams' Club for real sodas. The game was only so-so, but the food was good (even if the rice was a little crunchy).
Math test
I hope Sarah did well on her math test yesterday.
The edge
"If you're not living on the edge you're taking up too much space".
Andrew Knight
Enchiladas
Mandy came over last night. I made enchiladas (which my spell-checker just told me has only one L), spanish rice, refried beans, the whole deal - along with some veggie dip for starters, and a choice of a fresh fruit salad or brownies and ice cream for dessert (which I know has two S's).
We played Phase 10, which was pretty cool. I took over Justin's game when he left to pick up Crissany at work, and together we took the title.
Father-son ride
Justin is getting better and better riding his new Kawasaki ZZR-600. Last weekend he wanted to go for a ride with me, but I had messed up my foot moving his bike out of the garage. (I was barefoot, and didn't put his kickstand up; when I put the bike down after moving it, the side-stand landed on the top of my right foot. D'oh.) We rescheduled for today, with some minor twisties and some introductory freeway driving on the agenda.
We suited up around 11am, and hit the road. I almost immediately went onto reserve. D'oh. We took the surface street route to my old work - Muscatel, Longden, San Marino, Huntington (briefly), Monterey, El Molino, Mission, Grand, Columbia, Arroyo, San Rafael, Laguna, Hermosa, San Miguel to Colorado. Under the bridge to Linda Vista, over the I-210 to Oak Grove, then Berkshire and the freeway, north-bound.
I forgot to ask Justin about his break-in speed limit, but we kept it under 75 anyway - mostly. We got off at La Tuna Canyon, took it down to Honolulu, then got back on the freeway going south. Justin looked comfortable with the freeway riding, so we took the 210 all the way back, getting off at Madre.
The FJR had 34.5 miles on reserve when we pulled into the driveway. D'oh.
Google Maps of the route.
Gavin update
Gavin's still working on his digestive issues, so I missed work this morning to take him to the vet's for a check-up. They were happy with his weekend output, but want to see him again on Tuesday unless more is done today.
Jan at work asked me about Gavin this morning, and we talked about how much we love our cats. During our chat, I told her about one of the cute things that Gavin does.
From time to time, the food dish will run out while we're out of the house. When we get back, Gavin will meet us at the door, and follow us around yowling to let us know that he's hungry. Smidge will almost always be waiting by the food dish, somewhat agitated (which is pretty normal for Smidge). When we fill up the food dish, Gavin will always hang back and wait for Smidge to eat, no matter how hungry he might be. He's a good big brother.
Gavin
When Carole and I were away in Banff, no one figured out that Gavin needed to be combed, so he had huge patches of mats on his hips and stomach when we got back. We combed and combed for a few weeks, and made some good progress, but he was picking at his skin so much that sores were cropping up. This meant a trip to the vet was in order on Thursday morning.
The vet quickly dealt with the mat problem by shaving them off. He looked a little weird afterwards, but had to be more comfortable. While we were there, the doctor did a routine exam, and noticed that Gavin was constipated - as in, all blocked up.
They sent us home with a couple of prescriptions to help things along, and told us to come back in the morning if nothing moved. Smidge took one for the team by spending the day and overnight in the back bathroom, so we could verify Gavin's exclusive use of the litter box.
Friday morning brought no evidence of action, so I took him back to the vet first thing. They felt the problem was serious, and potentially very serious, and recommended an enema and other treatments to make things happen. I left him for the day to get treated.
I'm sure it will be a day Gavin will not forget. By the time I picked him up at 6:00pm, he had had a total of five enemas - three medicinal, and two with warm water. He'd been pocked, prodded, had subcutaneous fluids, a couple of baths, and looked like he'd been through a war zone. But still, only a tiny bit of output. If something doesn't happen soon, the vet says they'll need to sedate him and use more direct ways of clearing things out.
They sent us home with still more medicine, and the cat version of Ensure. Gavin is getting pretty annoyed with me squirting medicine down his throat, and the treatments left him a little unstable, so he gets to spend the rest of the weekend locked up in the kitchen so he doesn't soil the carpeting.
Around 9:00pm Friday night, I found a big blob on Buddy's blanket in the back bathroom - a very good sign. I've never been so happy to see cat poop outside a litter box. I bagged it up and labeled it for the vet.
This morning I sat and petted him for a good twenty minutes, and combed out some of his post-bath tangles. He got his three medicines (which he really, truly hates), but was purring heartily while we sat together. On my way out, I checked, and there was another big prize in the litter box. I bagged and tagged it, and told Gavin how happy I was.
We'll do this same drill throughout the weekend, and I'll take him back to the vet at 10:15am on Monday. I'm thinking his progress should remove the need to surgery, so I hope it continues.
Justin's ZZR-600
Justin and I drove down to Santa Ana this afternoon to pick up his brand new Kawasaki ZZR-600. It's a cool shiny black, and a great first bike - plus, he got a killer deal. He let me drive it home from the dealer, but took it out around the neighborhood once we got back.
The Getty Villa
Carole, Jason, and I went to the Getty Villa today. The tickets were for Sunday, but thankfully they let us in. I can be a dweeb from time to time.
I'm glad we got to see the pieces that are scheduled to go back to Italy next month, like the Landsdowne Herakles. We enjoyed the gardens, and had a nice lunch at Gladstones - even though they wouldn't seat us at the worst table, which was empty all through our meal.
Jeremy and Sarah
Jeremy proposed to Sarah while kayaking at Catalina, and she accepted. Yay!
Insanity
Going in, we knew it was risky. We didn't know that it was insane. The day after we got back from Alaska, we started a week with Kobe and Logan.
I don't know, Alaska
Every year, Carole and I go away for our anniversary. Usually we pick somewhere close, but when work, time, and finances allow we head off to somewhere new. My brother-in-law Michael is working for Alaska Airlines, so this year we used his guest passes to fly up to Kodiak, Alaska.
One of the problems with guest passes is that you are stand-by. If there's no available seats, you don't get on. This forces you to make some hard choices - if the flight you'd like is too booked, you have to either gamble that you'll get on anyway, or choose another flight with more open seats. We wanted to leave on Tuesday morning, but that required two stops — one in Seattle, another in Anchorage. We decided to take a direct flight to Anchorage from LAX late on Monday night instead. This necessitated a five hour layover before the connecting flight left for Kodiak at 6:00am on Tuesday. It also meant that we got to Kodiak at 7:00am, and couldn't hope to check-in to our B&B until 3:00pm.
The flight to Anchorage was mostly full, and our row was full-up with us and a family of four. Dad sat next to me in the aisle seat, with Mom and the two daughters across the aisle. This made for a tight fit on our side, but we managed well enough. Early into the flight, however, this family started in. Mom left to find an empty seat a couple of rows up, and Dad and the younger daughter wound up in the right side seats with the older daughter next to me. They were all sniping with each other, and were generally pretty unpleasant. They all kept getting up, then sitting, then up again - over and over.
At one point, the older daughter (about 15 is my guess) was sitting next to me, and stood up to stretch her legs. She asked the Dad something, and he snapped at her to "sit down - now". Just after, I noticed her doodling on her bookmark: first she drew a figure of a girl with pig-tails, followed by a cloud up above, then finished off with rain-drops falling from the cloud unto the girl. Freudian, to say the least.
This family's antics made it pretty impossible to get any sleep. About an hour before landing, they were all back in our row, and really got into it. I didn't catch the details, but the younger daughter (about 12) was bawling loudly, Mom was sniping with older daughter, and then Dad reached across the aisle and slapped the older daughter — who proceeded to slap him back. I'm sure they all enjoyed their trip.
The airport in Anchorage was ideal for a long, overnight layover. We grabbed some water and snacks at the Starbucks, and found a nice open section of chairs. Carole was able to sleep for a couple of hours, but I could only doze a little.
The flight to Kodiak was much less full, so we got a window and an aisle seat to ourselves. The flight was short, thankfully. We wound up with a nice, nearly-new Rav 4 from Avis, and set out to kill 8 hours until B&B check-in time.
- Exploring Kodiak
- B&B check-in
- Nightmares
- The Talk
- Where to stay in Anchorage
- The Paris Club
- Michael visits
- Portage and Whittier
- Back home
Revlon Run/Walk
Carole, Mandy and I did the Revlon Run/Walk for women's cancer research this morning. Over 50,000 people started on Figueroa just outside the Coliseum, with the runners off at 8:45am and the walkers at 9:05am.
The route went north on Fig, west on Adams, a jog down to Jefferson, then south on Menlo (just east of Vermont). We entered the Coliseum through the tunnel, and got a medal and some snacks.
We had lunch afterwards at Twohey's. A fun morning.
A record-setting thief
Casey Ties PCC Stolen Base Mark, Baseball Goes 1-1 v. Compton
In splitting a home-and-home series against El Camino Compton Center (formerly known as Compton College), the Pasadena City College baseball team had something to cheer about. Sophomore rightfielder and leadoff hitter Sheehan Casey tied the current PCC record for stolen bases in a season with 25, swiping three bases in the team's 4-3 loss Tuesday at Compton.
An old friend
Today's front-page article in the Wall Street Journal on the legal troubles of Gemstar founder Henry Yuen caused me to google a few of my friends from back then.
My old friend Shannon was featured prominently in an article in the March 25, 2007 edition of the New York Times. Shannon and I did some work together at both Gemstar and Idealab.
Northeast Los Angeles: Set for a Close-Up - New York Times
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