Pat's Journal

Are you reelin' in the years

Sitting here watching SNL on a Saturday night, so I thought I'd actually write something on this blog. I've just been so busy with work and life that writing a whole blog post seems to be too much to handle. It's easier to whip out a 140-character update on Twitter.

As Kenan Thompson would say, "What up with that?"

Work continues to be a struggle. I have several small projects currently, and all the project leaders want their project done NOW, before the end of the year. We are also supposed to use half of our banked vacation plus all of our earned vacation by the end of the year, and I foolishly decided to use some of those days around the holidays. In order to meet the project deadlines I may have to work on some of my vacation days. I'm not happy about this.

I am enjoying the pleasant weather we've had this November. It has allowed me to take time in preparing the yard and house for winter. For every day we have good weather, it makes the winter that much shorter. I also discovered that mowing leaves and bagging them is much more efficient than using the leaf blower.

So what else have we been up to the last few weeks?

-- Performed in the East Metro Symphony Orchestra's inaugural concert
-- Went to see Steely Dan at Northrup Auditorium; great concert!
-- Family members had various medical procedures done
-- Bought new furniture for our home theater in the basement

The Steely Dan concert was excellent. Donald Fagen and Walter Becker performed with an 11-piece band that faithfully reproduced the music that they recorded in the studio during the '70s. Although I enjoy all their music, old and new, they played almost everything you currently hear on classic rock radio. It was a display of superb musicianship.

The furniture for the basement was long overdue. Now we can actually have people over to watch a movie. In addition to the furniture, I've been purchasing various components to complete the surround-sound system. The current piece, a Klipsch subwoofer, will arrive next week. I'm looking forward to shaking the house foundations. The final piece will be a Blu-Ray DVD player, which are getting cheaper every day.

Today we had Sharon's parents come over to visit. Sharon and her mom went to a few estate sales, while her dad stayed with me at home while I put up the Christmas lights on the house. When it's in the 50's outside, it's a great time to put the lights up.

Still not exactly sure how Thanksgiving will turn out. The current plan is we will be staying home, but I'm not sure which house the meal will be at. Because S has a follow-up appointment from his medical procedure this past week on Friday, he and Sharon will be staying home while K and I travel to Milwaukee to visit my mom, who needs a few tasks done around her house. I'm hoping to only work on Monday this week, and take the rest of the week off.

Hopefully I'll be more witty next time, and have pictures to post. Right now I'm just happy I actually wrote an entire blog post.

posted by pat @ 11:01 PM