Friday, 24 February 2023

 Today is a day off for me--even more rare, it is a Friday and a day off. If time could just stand still now. It was -17 degrees this morning, but the coffee is hot, I've got a comfy chair and a good book. It could be -50 for all I care.

I have worked, it seems, every day for weeks on end. I've taken extra call for my work, so one work day is equal to three eight hour shifts. Plus a weekend of call, which is 64 hours. That's the equivalent of eight working days alone.

So if it feels like I haven't been home, that's why.

Things are going to get very busy in a few days. My daughter is going on a trip to New York City with her high school band in early March, so the next couple weeks will be early mornings and late nights of band rehearsal, not to mention she's the stage manager for the spring musical, which started rehearsals this week as well. 

Anyway, the band is flying to NYC and she's never been in a plane before, so I'm not so sure how this is going to go. She seems pretty chill about it, or at least she's putting on a heck of a brave face. I am accepting as a parent that at some point you've got to let go and let your kids spread their wings. I'm not going to be around forever. she's got to do things on her own. This will be a huge confidence booster for her.

My son is keeping himself busy playing trombone and working out after school in a power conditioning program; today is his last day of winter session and he wanted me to sign him up for spring session. So at least he's enjoying it, although I suspect a big part of the "enjoyment" is the fact he doesn't have to ride the bus after school. But he says he works hard and is always complaining of how sore he is the next day, so I hope he's getting some good out of it. 

I just signed him up for NDSU football camp in June; this will be his third year attending. I had to take his measurements for camp and he's now 5'10", 180 pounds... the size of a full grown man... He won't be 14 years old until July, so he's a big dude.

We had a feast of junk food for our little family Super Bowl party (me, my wife and my son). My daughter came out of her spider hole (her bedroom) to eat and to watch Rhianna at halftime and quickly scurried away. I was pleased the Chiefs won. When Brian and I went to a game at Arrowhead Stadium a few years ago, almost every Chiefs fan was friendly, talkative and respectful, which is the polar opposite of Eagles fans. They are obnoxious assholes. And if you're reading this and you are an Eagles fan, don't even argue. Own it. 

I was quite happy to see them cry in their beer afterwards.

My goofy son, posing with his "Chad" look. Evidently the "Chad" look is a thing. Anyway, he made wrapped smokies with mozzarella in the shape of a football for the Super Bowl. Deelish!

Otherwise, I am not doing much during these long winter days. although lately I've been working on putting together a new fantasy football league with a group of guys, so that's keeping me occupied. Hopefully the league will launch this fall. Fantasy football has been a hobby of mine since 1991. It is something I absolutely love to do.

I just started reading The Lives and Legends of Buffalo Bill by Don Russell, which I purchased last August at the Buffalo Bill Center of the West museums in Cody, Wyoming (highly recommended if you are ever in Cody). So, I am finally getting around to finishing the books I bought last summer. 

I Delcare This Bathroom Open!

 Yet another long gap between posts. As usual, I think about writing all the time, but never do it. But today seems a good day to mark time.

Our upstairs bathroom renovation is, at long last, finished. It only took five months (literally). The project was started on 23 September 2022 and went through delay after delay, including replacing two (out of three) damaged surround panels, which meant contacting the company not once, but twice, to send replacement panels. Then waiting for the contractor to come back and install them. 

Then we waited for a contractor to put in the flooring. 

Finally we waited for a contractor to drywall around the new shower. First, he was finishing a larger project (which took more than a month), then he was delayed for a month due to illness.

Wait. Wait. Wait.

Finally this weekend I put the finishing touches on the project on my own, including caulking, recutting floorboards that no longer fit, and cutting and fitting quarter round molding around the vanity (first time using a miter box and it actually looks nice). 

New flooring replaced crappy linoleum.

Partial picture of the surround. Only one panel was undamaged when we opened the original box.

My very first attempt at cutting a 45 degree angle using a miter box. The molding was $17 so there was a little pressure to get it right the first time.

After the new tub went in, waiting for undamaged panels. We looked at this for two months. You can see the old linoleum floor in the lower part of the picture. 

I also completed our taxes today. So, it's been a productive weekend. On top of that, I took a major fall in my driveway today--slipped on the ice. Luckily my bones are pretty strong, but my hip, elbow and wrist are going to be black and blue for a while. How dumb. 

Speaking of breaking shit, our garage door broke last week as well (it has been exciting around here). The spring above the garage door broke in two which meant there was not way on God's green earth I was fixing anything (oh, and it was 20 degrees below zero). It also happened on the day the drywall guy was finishing our bathroom. It was like we were being challenged to the very end.

I've been listening to the band Bowling For Soup lately. My own band has learned their hit "1985" and I just couldn't get the song out of my head (this happens frequently to me), so the way I exorcise that demon is by listening to the culprit song really loudly wearing headphones. 

Once I listened to "1985" a couple times, I started exploring their catalogue (they've been together since 1994 so I'm a little late to the party), and they've got a bunch of fun, tongue-in-cheek, power punk songs. Nothing complicated, nothing earth-shattering. Just fun party music. I needed to find a new band to dig and I have.

I'm currently reading The First Conspiracy by Brad Meltzer and Josh Mensch and I'm loving it. Last year I read The Lincoln Conspiracy by the same authors and it was excellent. Both are well researched non-fiction history, but they read like a suspense novels. Not an easy task.

These days I am spending my free time (when I have it) watching college basketball and, on occasion, hockey. I'm a football guy to the core, so I just take a passing interest in sports during these winter months. Obviously I am looking forward to the Super Bowl next week. Then the long offseason.... maybe I should write more since I'm not distracted by football every weekend?