Swamped

Yeah, that pretty much captures my life right now. Swamped. So much going on at work and no relief in sight for about another week. My group has been managing three significant events and two are now done, with one more to go. I've hardly been home and I am just swamped. Need to do the mundane things like banking and updating the blog and then there's the important stuff like talking to my wife and kids. "Calgon, take me away." But that would require taking a bath and baths are about the grossest thing ever to me, so maybe a long hot shower and a good night's sleep will do the trick. I'll get caught up this weekend.

Parent-Teacher Conference

It's that time of year and as this is the Boy's last year of junior high, this is our last year of the dreaded dream date known as the Parent-Teacher Conference. And for whom does the Parent-Teacher Conference instill fear and dread? Ask the Boy. Sometimes the post-conference "chat" we have at home doesn't exactly go the way he'd like. That being said, it's not like are like discussions with a parole officer. They aren't. They are the discussions parents have to have with a "sports are my life"-crazed fourteen year old, that's all.

Sometimes reminding him that he does need to stay focused as much in his studies as his sports is not the easiest discussion. The Boy gets it. He just forgets sometimes. Like any fourteen year old boy. So he's not all that different. So we'll see if his teachers pull any rabbits out of their collective hats tonight.

It's been a wicked, wicked long week that culminated today with the biggest event of the year that my team manages. I can't even begin to tell you how GLAD I am that it is over. Glad doesn't even begin to cover it. With this one done and one more big one next week, I'm hoping I can start to get some balance back, or at least a semblance of it. I need to get my running back. It's been all off-kilter because of the hours I've been working and the time I've been spending offsite. Looking forward to getting back at it this weekend. I miss a good few miles each day. And given what the weather is doing here, it would appear that the nice fall days are numbered. I want to stay off the evil that is the treadmill for as long as I can...

A weekend to be unwell

Who among us likes being sick? I don't see a lot of raised hands or affirmative nods, so for most of us, being sick is not high on our list of things to do. My fall cold arrived, as best as I can tell, as I slept Friday night. I was jarred awake harshly at 5AM Saturday because I forgot to turn off my alarm and that's when the lung-racking coughing began. It was immediately followed by the crankiness that is pretty much a lock anytime I get sick. So I've pretty much spent Saturday and today in the following state:

The miracle that is Tylenol Severe Cold has helped, I must admit. It's also been good that it's Conference Weekend, which meant no formal Church meetings this weekend. It was an at-home church weekend. Every six months, members of our faith convene in a General Conference that is broadcast throughout the world. Since most major satellite and cable systems carry the Conference, we get to hang at home for the eight hours of meetings (not as bad as it sounds, four sessions in two hour blocks). It's a time to be together and it has become a time of tradition. With food. Of course. It's two days of spiritual feasting and filling the stomach as well.

It's been a good couple of days of counsel and I've come away recognizing that I can do more as a father, husband, and servant in God's kingdom. It's up to me to make that happen. I take comfort in what I heard though too. God knows who each of us is and He is watching our for us. That's comforting to know.

So now as Sunday winds down, I'm getting ready for "The Amazing Race." Last week's season opener was completely boss. The wasabi bomb was brilliant and I'm ready for more of Asia tonight. Bring it on!

Ouch! Kind of.

It was supposed to be a day of celebration here in Chicagoland as there was a sense that the 2016 Summer Olympic Games were going to be ours. Alas, no. We were the first city tossed to the curb. I thought this picture in the Chicago Sun Times website was really appropriate:
Richard A. Chapman, Chicago Sun Times

It's a bit of a bummer. It looked like Chicago had put together a really solid effort, although what value Oprah brought is really questionable. I would say none. I'm sure the President's detractors, who are legion, will try to use this to say his cachet means nothing. I would argue they're are stretching, pathetically.

Rio, frankly, deserves it. Congratulations to them. This will be the first time the Olympic Games will be held on the South American continent. Brazil is a resurgent economy and a growing force in the world. And the people are amazing. And it's the home of Diet Guarana Antarctica.
My favorite beverage that I can't get in the US to save my life. Now, if the IOC thought Rio was going to be safer than Chicago, they are sadly mistaken. They are in for a wild ride. Brazil will be a fun place for the Games but boy do they have their work cut out for them. I wonder how many favelas will be mowed down in order to build the venues? The Chinese mowed down a slew of hutongs for the Beijing Games, so we'll see what Rio does.

Very glad the weekend is nearly upon us. It'll be the first weekend I've been home since my Dad died and it'll be good to get back on schedule. Almost there, I think. Still can't believe he's gone so that's not normal but I am glad to be back on track with my family. It's good.