There’s a part of me that really wants to start off my blog with this… “It’s 9 o’clock on a Saturday… the regular crowd shuffles in. There’s on old man sitting next to me, making love to his tonic and gin”. But that wouldn’t be right – it’s a Sunday night, and I’ve never been a G&T guy.

I’ve got classes to teach this week, Azure Fundamentals, and I am grateful for the opportunity. One of the things we’ve been focusing on within our team is trying to improve the quality of our virtual deliveries, and I hope that I am a bigger part of the solution than the problem. Remote virtual training has it’s own challenges, not the least of which being the lack of feedback an instructor gets back from the attendees. I like to see faces, I like to answer questions in real time, and I like the banter. When you;re teaching remote classes, you miss out on some of that.

It’s the last month of the year. I’ve had a great and sorrowful 2019. I accepted my dream job, and I lost my dad. Every time I start to think about the old man, I get a little whelmed. Like any son (or daughter), I’ve got my regrets. I spent so much time away, focused on work, that I didn’t get over to Clay Center to see him as often as I should’ve. Hindsight is 20/20, and there isn’t a damn thing I can do about it now. I know he was proud of me, I know he loved my family, my wife, and my three kids. I know he’s with me.

December.

The last month of the year.

A few scant weeks to try and get everything squared away that need to get squared away within this calendar year.

2020 is right around the corner. I think my hindsight will be very active in the coming year, because… after all… hindsight is 2020.

Yeah, that was too easy.

Sorry.

Peace y’all.

OK, it’s Saturday night here in rural Douglas County. Bonnie has been returned to Columbus, Ohio. Lisa is off to bed. Dane has crashed in the basement. And I am practicing poor punctuation, but at this point, I don’t really care.

It’s the last day of November. Tomorrow, we begin the last month of this year, 2019. I have had an incredible year. Who knows what’s in store for 2020? I sure don’t.

I met my literary goal for the month, so that part of my blog-bligation has been addressed. I’ve had some things on my mind, and I addressed some of those things publicly, but certainly not all of the things that are troubling me these days. A guy has to have some secrets, right?

It’s a dad thing, a husband thing, a friend thing. Stuff happens, and we think about it, but don’t spend any time talking about it with others.

I met my goal for the month well before I started this entry, and I’m going to avail myself of the opportunity to call it a night and head off to bed.

Only about twenty words shy of two hundred now. I am confident that I will reach my pledge of two hundred words on this day.

Peace y’all.

It’s Friday night… (It is Friday, isn’t it? I swear, sometimes during the holidays when you’re working and then off, then working then off… it can get confusing!).

It’s been a good Black Friday. There were at least two online specials that I took advantage of. One was a 2 TB hard drive, and another, giant tube of fantasy monsters to use in a gaming environment.

I need to replace my system drive on my main desktop. The 1 TB SSD is starting to fail, and there was a heck of a deal on a 2 TB SSD for $171.00. OK, I’m mentioning the price on this blog entry for historical purposes. I want my grandchildren to know what we paid for a 2 TB storage device in 2019.

Oh, yeah, grandkids, btw… clean water was essentially free.

Another harsh reality that is worthy of discussion.

The ladies went out and did their Black Friday shopping early, out of the house at 5:00 AM. Dane and I got up, made some corn beef hash and eggs, then watched all of the available episodes of “The Mandalorian” on the Disney + stream.

We then did a little Christmas shopping after grabbing a bite of lunch at one of ou favorite local sushi places.

It’s been a good day.

I hope the world is treating you better than you deserve.

Peace y’all.

OK, I welcome you and hope all is well in your world.

I’m not going to dwell on anything negative that is happening in my life this day.

(I need to think about starting off every day with that phrase… that in itself might be life-changing. Might also be good to soften up on my punctuation malfeasance as well. I’m good with words… not always so good at commas).

Today is the day we express gratitude. I am a person who says “please” and “thank you”, but I have to admit, not nearly enough.

I would not be the person in this place in my life without the help of others.

My parents.

My teachers.

My coaches.

My friends.

My family… blood or extended.

My bosses/managers/employers.

I have often stated that I know I’m a work in progress. I have flaws. I recognize them, and I face them, like a deer in the headlights of life approaching at dangerous speeds with poorly maintained brakes.

I am a work in progress.

Today I had to deal with feelings. Love, worry, and concern for family members, especially my mom. Too many things to digress on there, due to timing and privacy. We’ll accept that part of my reality and move on… because, after all, who doesn’t have a mother-issue or two.

Looked at my younger brother Tom at an odd angle, with a particular light, and he looked like my dad. I had a moment there.

I have so many things to be grateful for, bit mostly, I am thankful for my health and the health of my immediate family. We have our fair share of the common ailments, bad knees, kidney stones… but heaven knows it could be worse.

(BTW, God, if you’re reading my blog… I’m not interested in any additional drama in that particular area right now)

Time to wrap this up. Dane and I have an annual breakfast experience tomorrow, and I should think about heading off to bed.

I am thankful for you, too. I write to satisfy a personal need, but I know a number of close friends, family, and professional allies read this, and I hope that what I write interests you more often than it doesn’t.

Peace y’all.

It’s a Wednesday night in rural Douglas County, and I’m counting my monthly words. I figure right now I need to write eight hundred words between now and Saturday, so that means two hundred and sixty seven words today, and then two more entries over the next three days to get me to my pledge count.

Today is the day before Thanksgiving, so that mean preparations must be made for the journey tomorrow… over the river and through the woods to grandmother’s house we go.

OK, not so much my mom’s house, as it is the home of my sister and her family just down the street from my mom. It’s going to be a moment… this will be the first Thanksgiving without dad. Everything since August has been the first anything without dad. I worry about my mom, and I should try to get out to see her more often. It’s been hard to do anything to get over to see her, as my work schedule has been pretty demanding since August.

I’ll do my best to see her more. I’m going to do a better job blocking out my down weeks. I haven’t done that as well, but I’ve blocked out non-travel weeks for the first quarter of 2020 already. That will help.

Lisa and I have had all three of the kids home for the day. Worked out well with the KU-Dayton game, the championship of the Maui Invitational. It was a great game with the Jayhawks winning in overtime against a talented and scrappy Dayton Flyers team.

Tomorrow is a driving day, with a Thanksgiving dinner with family. I’ll try to keep my feasting manageable. I’m kicking myself out of ketosis for a couple of days, but come Saturday I should get back on the train and cut the carbs.

I have an incredible amount to be thankful for, as we move into the Thanksgiving holiday. My wife, my kids, my career. My friends, and my coworkers. The love of a couple of dogs. The lessons taught me by my parents, especially my dad.

That’s enough for now.

Peace y’all.

Yeah, it’s late. It’s a Monday night, and I’m in a good mood, as Kansas worked their way into the next round of the Maui Invitational, which means they have a game tomorrow night.

On that note, let it be known to all readers far and wide that I’m good. I could fill up a blog with drivel (OK, the word “drivel” is interesting… and I’m glad you are reading it. It’s one of those words you don’t throw out there in everyday conversation, unless of course, you are having a deep conversation about the use of the Oxford comma, or your daughter’s boyfriend that doesn’t catch everyday Monty Python jokes because he’s never seen “Holy Grail”… seriously, WTF dude?)

KU won the night and I am glad. Other than that, I’ve got some work stuff hanging about in the air…. like a normal human being, and some family stuff that creates a high level of frustration. Can’t say much more than that tonight. I love my family, I love my kids, and I really, really, love my wife. Lisa creates the least amount of drama in my life, and I am thankful everyday for that.

I should just pause and focus on the things I have to be thankful for now.

I’m going to bug out now.

Peace y’all.

Today I closed out the day with good news and a reacquaintment with an old friend.

Lisa and I got up this morning to a sunny and brisk Sunday morning, with black coffee (Tanzanian Peaberry, medium roast) and omelets (the ream cheese made the meal).

After the breaking of the fast and another cup of coffee, we ran off to church. It was good to have most of the kids with us at Mass this morning. Family time is important.

Lisa and I did a little shopping after church before dropping her off at her best friends house so thy can catch up.

After that, it’s been pretty blah. The Chiefs are on a bye week, so I want to watch football, but that compulsion just isn’t there. Only regret is not watching the Jets shellac the Raiders… I would’ve liked to have seen that.

Tomorrow is going to pop up too soon, as always. Numerous meetings and call throughout the day. Maybe getting to bed sooner rather than later is the right call tonight.

Peace y’all.

OK, a short post tonight before I head off to bed. It’s been a good day. Started off with me getting into bed at 1:00 in the morning, going back to the airport late in the morning to pick up the Bonnie monster.

Tonight is just one of those nights.

I’ll write more tomorrow.

Peace y’all.

It’s a Friday afternoon, and we’re doing a few labs here in Cambridge. I’ve got a while before I have to worry about a couple of business related activities, a check-in with my manager, and a flight back home to enjoy a Thanksgiving holiday break with family.

I’ve enjoyed my time here. Granted, I’ve spent most of my time in the evenings in my hotel room. I’m not a kid anymore, so going out in the evenings isn’t always a priority for me. When I’m delivering with another instructor, that’s a different situation, and I think a little decompression after class is often a good thing.

I’ll have a little time yet before I have to worry about getting my kit in order, rearranging my bags for optimal travel, making sure my travel pillow is in my backpack, and that some of my peripheral devices are tucked away safely into my hard side bag. Hopefully I’ll have enough time to grab a snack at the airport before my flight – considering I thought my flight was two hours earlier than it actually is, I don’t think that will be much of an issue.

We’ll have to just walk down that road… I’m not going to try and over-analyze anything. Right now I’m just looking forward to going with the flow and seeing where the next step takes me.

I wish you all the best, and I hope you have a safe weekend.

Peace y’all.

It’s Thursday night in Cambridge, Massachusetts, and this old man is looking forward to one more good day in the company of the fine folks here attending my class.

(OK, so I found out some of the folks in class have actually read my blog… and that’s kind of cool.)

Had some things get a little “off” today in class, and I reached out to my teammates for some resolution. Found out there might be an issue with one of the templates we’re using to setup a lab, so we’re looking at the options available before us, an then we’ll get a fix applied. One of the labs has a virtual machine that’s a bit undersized for the task at hand, so I’ll talk with my folks tomorrow about implementing a remedy, swapping out the undersized VM with something with a few more horses under the hood.

Flying home tomorrow, looking forward to sleeping in my own bed tomorrow night after I get home. A week at home with family is just what this old man needs. That, and some dedicated puppy time with Lucy and Freya. Bonnie gets home from Ohio State on Saturday, and I’m just fine with that.

Still have some work stuff to get done tonight, and it’s already after ten. Better get to it, and then shuffle my old droopy butt off to bed.

Peace y’all.