Personal - page 2
-
Video Games in Quarantine
We have tried to avoid allowing Max to use tablets, computers, or video games. Ashley and I were in agreement from the start: we did not like the idea of Max spending his time playing on a tablet or playing video games. We eventually made concessions for long trips (whether it be for car rides or air travel). Then came kindergarten, where use of tablets and computers became semi-frequent as our public school system adopted this technology for testing. It irked me, but I was not going to move Max to a new school over it.
Read More -
Backyard Camping
Max has been asking to go camping for awhile now. We waited a few weeks for good weather. This weekend was the best weather, overnight, that we could ask for: overnight lows would be in the 60s. Additionally, it would be dry. This was our weekend.
Read More -
13 Minutes to the Moon
I recently discovered a new podcast called 13 Minutes to the Moon. The first season documents NASA’s Apollo Eleven mission. “13 Minutes to the Moon” references the descent of Eagle from Columbia to the lunar surface. I am halfway through the first season and I am loving it. It is such an emotional, powerful story. The second season is about the Apollo Thirteen mission. I am looking forward to that season as Thirteen is my favorite Apollo mission. I love the resourcefulness exhibited to safely return the crew back to Earth.
Read More -
Adelaide
In January, Ashley and I welcomed Adelaide into the world. The last few weeks have been quite emotional and very tiring. Max is now six years old. I am completely out of practice. Even if you are out of practice, it comes back to you. After a few hours, I felt comfortable holding a newborn. After a day or two, I remembered how to adequately swaddle a newborn.
Read More -
2019 Kentucky Gubernatorial Race
I am unhealthily obsessed with my home state’s politics and state-wide races. I have not lived in Kentucky since 2009, yet I still follow Kentucky’s political news via a Courier Journal subscription. I was disappointed when Matt Bevin won the 2015 Kentucky gubernatorial race and became the governor. I knew he was running on the idea of rolling back Kentucky’s Medicaid expansion. This concerned me as Kentucky’s enrollment in the Medicaid expansion had been sweeping and popular. I was concerned about Kentuckians losing their health insurance or not getting the medical attention they need.
Read More -
Goodbye Instagram
Since 2016, I have almost entirely checked out of social media. I made my Twitter account private and no longer log into it. I also do not check Twitter anymore. I initially deactivated my Facebook account, then eventually deleted it altogether as I realized I had no use for it and I also did not like the thought of Facebook retaining my data 1. I still occasionally check Snapchat, but only when people share things with me; I rarely share anything with Snapchat. The only strong hold out to social media prohibition had been Instagram.
Read More-
I’m not delusional here; I have no faith that Facebook has actually deleted my data and it would not surprise me in the least if they still retain some or all of my data. ↩
-
-
Expedition: Gatlinburg
Back in August, Ashley and I decided to get a new car. Our Land Rover had been in the shop quite often over the last six months. The cost of gasoline had started to wear on me. I had been lusting over a particular electric vehicle over the past few months. After calculating the cost of the vehicle and researching our charging options, we finally decided to buy an electric vehicle: the 2019 Jaguar I-Pace.
Read More -
Eddie Money, 'Two Tickets to Paradise' Singer, Is Dead at 70
I will not pretend that I am the world’s biggest Eddie Money fan. However, his music played a special role in my childhood. Like most children, I listened to much of what my parents considered “good music”. The typical radio station of choice in our home or vehicles was one of the few “classic rock” stations broadcast in the area. I have fond memories of Pink Floyd, Aerosmith, and Queen. Eddie Money was firmy in that second tier. I could name a few of his hit songs, but would recognize many more songs from him if played them for me.
Read More -
10 Years
Ten years ago, during our honeymoon in Hawaii, I told Ashley that we would come back to the island for our ten year anniversary. I wasn’t sure what would happen during those ten years, but I was adamant of what would happen at the end of that period. During that time, I have had six different jobs, while Ashley has had two. We bought our first house. Ashley gave birth to our beautiful son. We moved across the country. We lived on the beach and wet our feet in the Pacific Ocean. We lost a friend. We moved across the country again. We adopted new friends; we lost another. We missed our return trip to Hawaii.
Read More -
Tips
I had a first while staying in a hotel on a recent trip. I usually try to leave a tip for the housekeeping staff. Even if it’s a business trip, I’ll try to leave a tip out of pocket. This trip was no different. The first morning, I left a tip on the nightstand. When I arrived back at my room, I realized that housekeeping had not entered the room (bed was not made, towels not cleaned up, etc). The tip was still on the nightstand. No big deal; the room was still clean and I don’t need the bed made every day. I had plenty of towels and still had some coffee. The second morning, I left the same tip on the nightstand. When I arrived back at my room on the second evening, my bed was still not made, towels not cleaned up, coffee not restocked. However, this time, the tip was gone. 😱
Read More