Long, dang long, day at the office - didn't get home til nearly 6:30PM. Lots to do in advance of leaving tomorrow on this nine-day trip. Mexico City, Washington DC, and Philadelphia. I do the first two cities tomorrow through Friday and then Friday to the next Friday, it's Philadelphia. I will be at the Wharton School attending a week-long Executive Education session, like an MBA "boot camp." It should be quite interesting. I'm looking forward to it.
I'm also looking forward to this Friday as I am meeting my dad in Philadelphia. He has been trying since about as long as I can remember to get his children to Philly to see where he grew up. My sibings have been but he and I have never been able to make it happen. And now we are. It will be just me and him for the weekend and I am really looking forward to it. It will be fun to reconnect and I am looking forward to seeing where he grew up. It will be interesting to see the environment that helped shaped Dad into the man he is and the father that he has been to me.
This is a long time to be gone from the family though. I hate long trips like this. I haven't had one like this since 2000, as close as I can recall. I'll miss Shari and the kids tremendously. I just hope that we don't get a pounding snowstorm. It's no longer funny but whenever I leave on a trip of more than two days, we get pounded. Pounded. Right now, it's just stupid cold and only trace snow in the forecast, but I'd really like to go knowing that Parker isn't going to have to spend his life shoveling while I'm gone.
Courtney and Parker are at Mutual (Courtney drove again - gaining more and more confidence each time she's behind the wheel). Sarah is home - she's out of Young Women now. Strange to have her home. This is a whole new dynamic at Casa Lyons....
19 February 2008
17 February 2008
Just for the Dell of it...
Quick update on our computer trials and tribulations....per Dell.com, our two new laptops are in production! This is good news. They should arrive while I am on my nine-day trip which starts this Wednesday. Shari and I can't wait to get these new computers. The kids will be supremely relieved! Sarah's watching me like a hawk right now, waiting for me to get off their computer.
Better news is that our hard drive and its associated data is salvagable. That process is underway as we speak. It's crazy how dependent we've become on computers. Our lives are almost at a standstill with this breakdown!
Better news is that our hard drive and its associated data is salvagable. That process is underway as we speak. It's crazy how dependent we've become on computers. Our lives are almost at a standstill with this breakdown!
16 February 2008
It Happened 18 Years Ago Today
I know that the title of today's post sounds a bit confessional in nature, but it's not. It's much more reflective in nature. Eighteen years ago, on this auspicious day, 16 February, a very young couple, (OK, it was Shari and me) marched into that famed factory of mass baby-birthing, Utah Valley Regional Medical Center, in Provo, Utah, in order to bring our first child into the world.
I think it's safe to say we were pretty clueless on that day. We were, however, brimming with excitement. We didn't know if we were having a girl or a boy (student health insurance was not especially generous then and so ultrasounds were out of the question). We just knew someone great was coming. It was a Thursday (I remember this because this was the heyday of "LA Law" and Shari was in the middle of some heavy contractions when it was on so I missed most of that night's episode) and then, very early in the hours of Friday, that someone great arrived. Sarah Ann was born the morning of 16 February 1990. What a wonder and a blessing she was! I remember the first time I got to hold her. I could not believe that Shari and I had been blessed with this little girl. I was overwhelmed, to the point of sobbing, at the thought of having to now be responsible for this baby and her mom. I was a senior at BYU at the time! But then as panic began to envelop me as I held her and watched the doctors tend to Shari, I was flooded with a sense of love for that baby that was all encompassing. It filled every fiber of my being! I sensed then that we'd be OK.
So here we are, eighteen years later, celebrating Sarah's birthday. I'm not going to recount the last eighteen years in this space-that would be completely lame. As I watch Sarah today, I am filled with a sense of pride (and not the evil pride, people!) and admiration for this young woman. I still can't believe that I have been blessed to be her dad. She is a testament to the amazing mothering skills of her mom. Fortunately, she's got a lot more of her mom's tendencies than mine (I think that can be said of all three of our children). As I've reflected on the last eighteen years, I almost feel the way I did when she was born. Eighteen years ago, she joined us to embark on an adventure of growing up. Today, she's on the precipice of leaving home, going to college, finding out what this world is all about. She's ready. She's smart, she's tough, she speaks her mind, she's amazing. She's solid in the gospel of Jesus Christ. I am comforted by all this.
In spite of it being a big day for her, she's chosen to spend it at home tonight. She's asked Shari to make her favorite meal, chicken croissants. We'll probably watch a movie and just hang out. Next year, she'll be at school having fun with her roomates, etc. I am excited for her, but man, I'm going to miss her.
Happy birthday, Sarah. Love you, Dad
I think it's safe to say we were pretty clueless on that day. We were, however, brimming with excitement. We didn't know if we were having a girl or a boy (student health insurance was not especially generous then and so ultrasounds were out of the question). We just knew someone great was coming. It was a Thursday (I remember this because this was the heyday of "LA Law" and Shari was in the middle of some heavy contractions when it was on so I missed most of that night's episode) and then, very early in the hours of Friday, that someone great arrived. Sarah Ann was born the morning of 16 February 1990. What a wonder and a blessing she was! I remember the first time I got to hold her. I could not believe that Shari and I had been blessed with this little girl. I was overwhelmed, to the point of sobbing, at the thought of having to now be responsible for this baby and her mom. I was a senior at BYU at the time! But then as panic began to envelop me as I held her and watched the doctors tend to Shari, I was flooded with a sense of love for that baby that was all encompassing. It filled every fiber of my being! I sensed then that we'd be OK.
So here we are, eighteen years later, celebrating Sarah's birthday. I'm not going to recount the last eighteen years in this space-that would be completely lame. As I watch Sarah today, I am filled with a sense of pride (and not the evil pride, people!) and admiration for this young woman. I still can't believe that I have been blessed to be her dad. She is a testament to the amazing mothering skills of her mom. Fortunately, she's got a lot more of her mom's tendencies than mine (I think that can be said of all three of our children). As I've reflected on the last eighteen years, I almost feel the way I did when she was born. Eighteen years ago, she joined us to embark on an adventure of growing up. Today, she's on the precipice of leaving home, going to college, finding out what this world is all about. She's ready. She's smart, she's tough, she speaks her mind, she's amazing. She's solid in the gospel of Jesus Christ. I am comforted by all this.
In spite of it being a big day for her, she's chosen to spend it at home tonight. She's asked Shari to make her favorite meal, chicken croissants. We'll probably watch a movie and just hang out. Next year, she'll be at school having fun with her roomates, etc. I am excited for her, but man, I'm going to miss her.
Happy birthday, Sarah. Love you, Dad
14 February 2008
In the seventh ring of Dell
In looking to see if Kelly had responded to my challenge to take my pending libel action against her and her other "Moms4Mitt" cohort Naomi to a cagematch on "Judge Judy," I saw that she has gone offline due to computer problems. I thought that was some sa-weet justice for her Photoshop shenanigans, but no sooner did I begin to delight in said thoughts that the computer that Shari and I have shared for years, essentially gave up the ghost. Karma is a cruel taskmaster. So's a fried hard drive.
A buddy of mine (and, conveniently, our trusty home teacher) is an IT guru for a big ol' advertising agency downtown came over last night and diagnosed the computer as barely clinging to life. He didn't offer a whole lot of hope for saving the old gray mare either. He's handy though - he had a spare hard drive laying around his house and he brought it over to help diagnose what was ailing our computer. So after the bleak assessment, we have plunged into the seventh ring of Dell and are on the hunt for the right solution for our computing needs. And we are leaning towards his-and-hers laptops. I'm thinking that's a very workable solution. This much is true though that we need to do something fast. Shari and I have hijacked the kids' computer and that's not fair to them. I can't use my work laptop either for personal stuff-the Bank no likey likey. So we need to make with some new computers right now. And we'll probably go with Dells again, further enslaving us to their corporate machine. Is it even possible to unhook from corporate servitude?
Speaking of corporate servitude, the ex-Pandering Presidential Politico, Mitt R., flip-flopped yet again today. Less then two weeks ago, the Mitter was running vitriolic negative ad campaigns against the angriest man in the U.S. Senate, John McCain. And what do we have today...Mitt's new BFF is none other than McCain.
A buddy of mine (and, conveniently, our trusty home teacher) is an IT guru for a big ol' advertising agency downtown came over last night and diagnosed the computer as barely clinging to life. He didn't offer a whole lot of hope for saving the old gray mare either. He's handy though - he had a spare hard drive laying around his house and he brought it over to help diagnose what was ailing our computer. So after the bleak assessment, we have plunged into the seventh ring of Dell and are on the hunt for the right solution for our computing needs. And we are leaning towards his-and-hers laptops. I'm thinking that's a very workable solution. This much is true though that we need to do something fast. Shari and I have hijacked the kids' computer and that's not fair to them. I can't use my work laptop either for personal stuff-the Bank no likey likey. So we need to make with some new computers right now. And we'll probably go with Dells again, further enslaving us to their corporate machine. Is it even possible to unhook from corporate servitude?
Speaking of corporate servitude, the ex-Pandering Presidential Politico, Mitt R., flip-flopped yet again today. Less then two weeks ago, the Mitter was running vitriolic negative ad campaigns against the angriest man in the U.S. Senate, John McCain. And what do we have today...Mitt's new BFF is none other than McCain.
So suddenly McCain is, in Flipper's words, "...a true American hero" and that "the caliber of the man was apparent." As Chief Wiggum says when he is frequently stymied, "Wha...?" This much I'll say, at least Romney's consistent. He keeps flipping. I'm just not sure why he's doing so in this case. He can't be jockeying for the Vice President role. Maybe there's a Cabinet position he's got his eye on - who knows?!
I am so glad it's Friday tomorrow. It's been a heinous week at the office. Shari and I have a dinner tomorrow night and then we celebrate Sarah's 18th birthday on Saturday. She's taking the day off and so she gets to take it easy. She deserves it.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)