Evie Day 620

Good morning, and a happy Monday to you all. This is a short work week as most of the US prepares for Thanksgiving on Thursday. Today is 25 November 2024.

This week marks the beginning of the fall holiday season for me. Thanksgiving is this coming Thursday, Christmas is in another month, and Bonnie’s birthday—which most people call New Year’s Eve—is followed closely by that.

This also marks the time of year when a lot of folks who might have been hiding their loneliness and depression take a turn. This time of year brings out the best in many people, but it also serves as a reminder to many among us that some people who were in their lives are no longer in their lives, and that can drag a spirit down. Let’s collectively practice a little kindness. You might save a life.

I had a pretty good weekend. Kansas hosted Colorado on Saturday and found a way to win their third game in a row versus a ranked opponent. Next up – Baylor on Saturday, and if Kansas can pull that win out, they will be bowl-eligible. That’s a huge comeback for the season after they started 1-5.

Kansas City pulled out a win at the last moment yesterday, again. A substitute kicker hit the field goal with 2 seconds left on the clock to check the “Win” box on the road versus the Panthers.

I spent a little time with a couple of the guys yesterday. It was not a great day for a big gaming session, but we took care of a little housekeeping, leveling up a couple of characters.

Did I tell you I’m on vacation until next Monday? I’m on vacation until next Monday.

And that’s about all I have for now.

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

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 617

Happy Friday, folks! It is the end of the Western work week, and Thanksgiving is next week! Today is 22 November 2024.

I’m looking forward to a few days off. I blocked off Monday-Wednesday for next week, so this will be my first full week off this year. I’ve blocked off a few days over the Christmas/New Year’s break as well.

Yesterday was a good day. I had a one-day class on Mountain Time, so we started a little later than what I’m used to. Generally speaking, my classes are typically Eastern Time or Central. Yesterday was no real problem – it was a one-day prompt writing course for folks in the industry. I’ve doe a few of these workshops, and the attendees have always been great.

Last night I attended a banquet with Lisa. It was primarily a dinner for the advisory board for her school up at the university. I saw some familiar faces and enjoyed some conversation, but I made an effort not to be too gregarious. After that, Lisa and I went home, and I flipped on the Steelers @ Browns football game and watched the snow come down. They were playing in a blizzard, and the 2-8 Browns had the upset win over the 8-2 Steelers. Good on ya, Cleveland!

I’ve got some stuff to get done today for work. I love teaching and delivering new content to folks, and I get to work with folks from all around the world, but like any other line of work, there’s reports and paperwork, and today is that day dedicated to finishing up some reports that are due.

This weekend will be a chance to relax as I start my vacation. Tomorrow Lisa and I get to spend some time with our granddaughter, and Kansas will play Colorado in college football as they continue to pursue history.

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

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 616

Good morning, and a happy Thursday to you. Today is 21 November 2024.

Thanksgiving is one week away. Wow.

Just a moment ago I had an odd random thought pop into my head – how many movies have I come across with a character referred to as “Swan”? For some reason, I was thinking about the 1979 movie “Warriors”, and the lead character played by Michael Beck, and then dominoes tumble, I thought of other characters named after waterfowl – Goose from Top Gun, Duckie from Pretty in Pink.

My mind goes to interesting places sometimes.

I got together with some of the guys last night for a little virtual tabletop, and with a new member to the group, we took a little time to set him up with a new character. After that, we did some slaying. Lisa went over to Gracie’s for a little while to watch our granddaughter. After she returned home, she was pretty tired and called it an early night, but not before passing along that we’ll get to spend some time with Evelyn on Saturday.

I am back in my virtual classroom in a couple of hours, and an hour later than I initially expected. I have a Mountain Time delivery of a one-day remote course. That’s the first time since I’ve joined the company. Sure, I’ve taught in-person classes in Denver – funny thing – one of my Denver students also sings in church, but her church does a broadcast from Basilica in Denver, and we have watched that broadcast occasionally. Every time I have seen her sing, I remember working with those folks and getting them certified before the pandemic.

Tonight, we have a dinner to go to up on campus.

In the meantime, I hope the world is treating you better than you deserve.

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 615 

Good morning, and a happy Wednesday to you all. Today is 20 November 2024.

Today, I get to sit in class for a while. I had a one-day delivery yesterday, and as fate would have it, I have a one-day delivery tomorrow. I have a certification exam pending, and I’m happy that I get to sit at least two days of a four-day class on the subject I’ll get tested on.

Yesterday was a good day. My delivery went pretty well, and folks were excited and engaged. I was able to engage my brain into second gear and come up with a couple of new prompts that were worth sharing. The one that I found particularly interesting was the prompt for assessing participants’ engagement level and sentiment in an online meeting. I was rather pleased with the prompt and the generated results.

Last night, I made my taco run. Gracie came over for dinner, and that made for some nice conversation. I don’t always talk during meals, but I’m making an effort to participate in small talk. It’s not a skill I’m known for… I’m more of the listener for a while then inject a humorous quip at an awkward moment, and then go back to my tacos.

The KU/UNCW game was a nice break for a Tuesday night. Kansas secured the win over the Seahawks, 84-66. It wasn’t the most exciting game, to be frank. One of the freshman big men turned an ankle awkwardly, and I hope he’s ok.

Alright! I guess it’s time for me to focus on the day ahead. I’m sitting in a class, but I need to multitask today.

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

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 614

Good morning, and a happy Taco Tuesday to you all. Today is 19 November 2024.

Yesterday was a day of meetings and prep work, including reviewing the content I’ll be covering in my one-day AI workshop. It’s a little sad for me, as the internal guy who set up and scheduled the class is a friend, and he was recently let go from the mothership. I’ll send some positive thoughts his way while I’m delivering.

I’m not sure if I mentioned it yesterday day or not. I am back in my virtual classroom today, walking folks through some tools for improving productivity thanks to artificial intelligence. It’s a neat little workshop, and this is the fourth (?) one of these I have had this year. It’s an enjoyable course, introducing folks to some new ideas on how they can use AI to improve their work and, sometimes, their personal lives.

I tried something last night for fun. Lisa and I were watching “Chopped” reruns, and I decided to open up my AI tool at the beginning of the round. I took note of the four basket ingredients and then asked the AI to generate a recipe that had to include them, and the AI could add any other ingredient to the recipe.

I don’t think the AI will be competing on “Chopped” anytime soon.

My task list today – breakfast and coffee, AI workshop, taking care of the necessary tacos for dinner, working on my report for my manager, and watching some Kansas basketball – The University of North Carolina-Wilmington Seahawks are coming to town. Sometimes these smaller, lesser-known schools give me a little anxiety during the early part of the season. There is always one or two teams that really give the Jayhawks a test on an off night.

Time for me to fill the water tank and grind some beans for the Ninja coffee maker.

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

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 613 

Good morning, and a happy Monday to you all. Today is 18 November 2024.

I woke up at 5:30 and hopped into the shower to start the day. I got myself dressed, threw on a polo and a cardigan, and bent my ear to listen to the sound of the rain coming down. I went to the kitchen, strolling by Lisa, already up, already working, drank my two big 24 oz glasses of water (a good way to start the day), then sat down on the couch by the floofs.

Somebody ought to write a song about November rain.

Sports guy Bob had a good weekend, for the most part. Friday night was a bummer, as the KU Women’s Soccer team fell in the first round of the NCAA tournament to #8 Saint Lewis. The Kansas City Chiefs lost on the road at Buffalo, which I’m not too worried about (the last two times the Chiefs had regular-season losses to the Bills, the Chiefs ended up winning the Superbowl). The Kansas City Current also lost to the Orlando Pride in the second round of the NWSL playoffs. The wins made up for some of the setbacks, as the KU basketball team took a W against Oakland, the KU volleyball team swept Baylor 3-0, and the Kansas Jayhawks went on the road Saturday night to earn the win against the undefeated BYU Cougars. There is still a chance that KU could make a bowl game if they win their next two… one game against Colorado, and another against Baylor.

I have an interesting week at work. I will still be delivering one one-day class this week, but I will also be attending a Security Analyst class to prepare for a certification exam that I’ll tackle before the end of the month. I’ll revisit that sort of schedule in December, as I’ll sit another class on Identity and Access Administration. My schedule doesn’t allow me to sit for four consecutive days, so I’ll need to ensure I fill in the gaps independently.

It’s crazy to think that we’re in the second half of November already, and Thanksgiving is next week, and Christmas is only 5 or 6 weeks out.

Lisa made a couple of great breakfasts this weekend, and I am grateful for the leftovers. One was a savory breakfast loaf filled with bacon, ham, cheese, and some other breakfast favorites. The other was good old cinnamon rolls. Last night she got creative with some spicy sausage, cream cheese, and Rotel to make some rather interesting meat pucks… not exactly a meatball, a little flatter, but very tasty. Even though they were made for dinner, I think they would also go very well with eggs for breakfast.

The coffee pot if calling my name. Time to throw some beans in the Ninja.

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

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 610

Good morning and a happy Friday to you all. Today is 15 November 2024.

I’m relieved today. My family member came home from the hospital yesterday, and things are considerably less anxious around here. The dogs seem to be happier, too.

Yesterday was a weird day. I spent a good portion of the day working on work stuff, as is expected, but I am thankful for the support I have received this last week from my manager and coworkers. It has been very calming. The week had quite a bit of anxiety, and it is good to have folks around you that know how to turn the heat down on the burner before it boils over.

So, the general theme around here has been “relief”.

I still ned to get the garbage out to the corner for pickup.

This weekend will have a sports focus. Kansas men’s basketball plays tomorrow at 5 against Oakland. KU football has the late road game versus BYU on Saturday night. The Chiefs play at Buffalo (look out!) on Sunday afternoon. The KU women’s basketball team hosts Omaha on Sunday afternoon as well. Sunday the Kansas City Current plays the Orlando Pride in the NWSL postseason. One more check of kuathletics.com, and I see that the KU Volleyball team plays Baylor tomorrow at noon, and KU Women’s soccer plays tonight at 7 in the NCAA Tournament versus Saint Louis tonight at 7.

That’s about all I have. It’s time for me to take a look at the day ahead and get dialed in.

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

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 609

Good morning! I’m tired…

Odin decided he needed his water bowl filled up at about 4:00 in the morning, and he was rather vocal in his expression. You’re right, I should’ve checked the bowl before I went to bed.

We’re still waiting to hear about my beloved family member in the hospital. I reached out this morning, and there appears to be some positive news. We’re hoping to have ’em home today or tomorrow at the latest.

I’m having a little writer’s block. I have some writing I need to do, and I need to get my thoughts organized.

Last night was normally a gaming night with the guys, but we had folks going in fourteen different directions with family, travel, stage productions, etc. We agreed early yesterday that we wouldn’t have numbers, so we’ll plan on getting together for our regular Sunday afternoon session.

That’s all I have, to be frank. My mind is all over the place this morning, but I have a reason to be a little bit hopeful on the homefront.

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

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 608

Good morning, and a happy Wednesday to you. Today is 13 November 2024.

My family member is still in the hospital. Waiting on some news this morning.

Just checked my phone… no news.

Did my Tuesday night thing after I left the hospital. I ran by Cascada la Golondrina to pick up some tacos and tamales for Dane and I. After that, I flipped on the DVR to get caught up on the early game, Kansas versus Michigan State. KU was victorious, but there were a couple of moments that spurred my anxiety up a notch.

I’ve got the news on… having two people at the top of a new Department of Government Efficiency seems inefficient. Also, picking a cable news host who maxed out at the rank of Major to head the Department of Defense?

And there’s a bit on the news about this guy that is standard misogynistic crap that we can all expect.

Today I’ve got some catching up to do. Monday was busy with personal stuff, yesterday I I delivered a course then addressed personal stuff, and now it’s Wednesday. I need to reach out to a couple of teammates prior to a Monday meeting to coordinate the portions of a meeting. I just need to keep my focus on what’s ahead.

Time to get the coffee going and set my sites on today’s goals.

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

Peace y’all.

Evie Day 607

Good morning! Today is Tuesday. There will be tacos. Today is 12 November 2024.

Yesterday was a day to focus on the health and needs of another family member. That family member is still in the hospital, and I will be going over to visit later today.

I have a class today, albeit a little abbreviated. This is a private delivery with an engaged partner, so we’re skipping a bunch of the introductory content and diving right into the content. This sort of customized delivery will shave an hour off the normal delivery, and I’ll rinse, lather, and repeat the entire process later this week.

I’m watching the news for the first time in a few days. It’s depressing. I might be better off just flipping to SportsCenter and focusing on the ESPN content.

Not much else going on around here. Time to make a pot of coffee and get breakfast sorted.

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

Peace y’all.