Job reminders

Just a friendly reminder that I've still got three job openings on my team. I'm probably closing the first one next week, but the other two will stay open a bit. Get me those resumes before it's too late!

Tech Writer (filled 18 Oct)
Web Applications Developer
Sr. Web Applications Developer

Victory at last

Darby had two games tonight. After seven straight losses, it was good to have a night with no losses. And having had a great practice on Tuesday night, it was nice for the kids to not have lost their intensity. They played very well this evening.

The first game was pretty much a blowout. We batted first and drove in a number of runs (we actually run-ruled the other team, what a welcome change!), and for the first time this season we were then able to hold the other team off defensively the entire game. I think it was 11-2 when all was said and done, though we may have had more runs than that. I stopped worrying about the score when we got close enough to game time, knowing the umps would call the game.

The second game was a bit of a different story. Again we were up by a bunch (actually 11-4). But this time we couldn't hold them back. Fortunately for us, the game was tied when the umps called game time. I think we were supposed to play a tie breaker inning, but it was almost 9:30, so I'm sure they wanted to go home and left it a tie (which was actually nice of them... we weren't the home team, and they could have let the home team score one more run before calling the game). The umps told the girls, "both teams win", so they took that as though they won two straight games, which is fine by me if it will keep them motivated.

If we can keep this up at practice on Tuesday, we may just have good season afterall.

Finally some respect

You would think that the home town of my adolescence had long ago earned its due recognition for being the cradle of modern freedom and liberty. But apparently that just hadn't been the case (perhaps with good reason, I'll grant you). So I was quite pleased to learn that the National Geographic Traveler had dubbed Philadelphia the Next Great City.

I already knew Philly was great, and would personally call it the FIRST Great (American) City. But it's good to see it finally get a little respect.

Bravo big P. Brav-O.



Of course, I don't mean to detract attention from my current home town, which may be on its own path to eventual greatness in a sense.

Lost tooth, gained stripe

I forgot to mention yesterday that Darby lost a tooth. She's down to one last baby tooth. My little girl is growing up. :(

Today Shelby passed a fencing test to earn her second blue stripe.

The damage

The car accident situation is getting more frustrating by the minute. I just got off the phone with the body shop and, would you believe it, there was about $4,000 in damage. They say all of the needed parts are on order, but that there isn't a lot they can do without the parts. Their estimated completion date?  11 October.

So let's do the math, shall we? I got the rental car 23 September. Keeping the rental until 11 October means that I'll have it 19 days. At $27.99 per day, that comes to a grand total of $531.81, probably not including applicable taxes, and I don't even want to think about the fuel costs of that gas guzzler I'm driving. Have I mentioned that I don't have rental car coverage?  Man, that has to be one of my all-time stupidest decisions.  (well maybe... add up extra premium cost over the course of my sixteen years of driving... which is more, the premiums or the rental?)

The body shop also said there was some slight frame damage, and that they would at least try to get the vehicle onto their frame machine while they were waiting for parts. This is all sounding increasingly unpleasant to my ears.

How's this for bad timing... my father had an extra car until the week before my accident. He's fixing up an old El Camino and giving his pick-up truck to my little brother that is about to turn sixteen. My little brother won't have his license probably until November, so I could have used the pick-up while my dad drove the El Camino. However, my dad just put the El Camino into the shop last week for a new paint job. It will be there a couple weeks. Figures, huh?

Too late for the bug hunt

Darby has another science project, similar to the recent Bug Hunt, only this time involving leaves. We've got to collect, identify, and display twenty-five leaves by this time next week. So, in addition to having her pick up leaves here and there over the weekend, I took Darby to the same nature trail we had gone to previously. That trip didn't yield as many bugs as I would have expected, but I knew there would be leaves galore at that trail. I was correct as it turns out, and as such, I'm pretty sure we got all the leaves we need in that one effort.

While leaf-gathering, we observed an amazing thing. I'll call it, the butterfly tree. First, I just saw a couple butterflies on a branch that I pointed out to the girls. Then we noticed more, and still yet more. Turns out they were everywhere, covering nearly the entire tree. I wish I were able to take a photograph that could properly express the magnitude of the find. But because it was dusk, any picture I took from farther than a couple feet and without the flash turned out quite poor.

The irony of the discovery is that we walked by that same tree two weeks prior, when we were specifically seeking out bugs. A butterfly would have been a nice addition to our bug collection, but there were none to be found anywhere at the time.

That crazy kid

Shelby got a single day reprieve from her week-long grounding to attend a birthday party Saturday morning. You can tell she made the most of it. After the skate party she got to swim while the summer-like weather was holding out.

Today she got another slight reprieve as she sat patiently all day long without complaining (unusual for her), so I let her watch a movie (Benji) this evening.

The question is, can she maintain her composure for the start of a new week?

New day, new ride

I started the morning out with my insurance agency. I gave them the run down and provided them with the photos I took. They confirmed that I did NOT sign up for rental car coverage, so that meant I'd have to foot that bill myself (plus my $250 deductible of course).

I then proceeded to a collision shop that came highly recommended by the insurance agency to get an estimate. The weren't able to give me an estimate at the time, but offered to give me a ride to the nearest rental car facility so they could get a closer look at my car.

Because the collision shop spoke with the rental car folks, I was given a reduced rate ($27.99/day). Also, because they were completely out of cars, I was given a truck at the car rate. So, for the next several days or more I'll be driving around in a much bigger vehicle than I'm used to. I've already had a heck of a time just getting it parked. I think the timing was perfect, though, because while I was in line at the rental place, one of the agents helping someone else said, "we have a few vehicles left, but everything we have is spoken for." Needless to say I was quite relieved to be getting a vehicle.

After getting a temporary base pass for my rental, I actually got to go to work for about 45 minutes. I then had to leave to meet a notary public. At long last, and MUCH later than I initially anticipated , I got to sign the mortgage papers for my mother's house. So, I am finally the one true owner of it, and the aforementioned eviction of my former (the divorce finally completed in August) step-father may still come to pass.

I did finally get back to work to get a good half-day in before picking up the girls, who were VERY surprised to see we had a new ride. With my butt in the seat of that thing, I can't turn my legs to the left and touch the ground, so imagine the climbing the girls had to do to get in that thing. Of course, they find that climbing to be fun, and they want me to buy the truck instead of rent it. Sorry, girls, but I will never own a vehicle THAT darn big.


This morning, as I dropped the girls off at school, we found out about a birthday party we were invited to tomorrow morning. Apparently the invitation never made to Shelby because her mom took her out of school early that day for a funeral. So, we've got to get up in the morning to fetch a gift before heading to yet another skate party.

Broken Vue

Well, there's a first time for everything. And prior to this afternoon, I had never been in a car accident. But I can say that no longer. I boil it all down to poor judgement on my part. I had a couple of driving routes to choose from, and I regreted my initial choice as soon as I made it. Had I gone the other way, I'd be blogging about something else right now.

Anyway, at 5:25pm this afternoon, while on the way with the girls from school to Darby's softball game, my 2-year old car aged quite a bit in a matter of seconds. I was going 50 mph (the speed limit), the light I was approaching had just turned green, and someone going the other direction, misjudging my speed I presumed at the time, tried to turn across traffic. I slammed my brakes and swerved, hoping he would see me, slam his brakes, and I'd go around him. But he apparently never saw me coming, and I T-ed him.

Fortunately everyone is okay. Also fortunately, I slammed my brakes so hard that I didn't hit the other guy with much force, so I just have "minor" (but probably $2K worth) front-end damage, and my air bag did not deploy. Each of the girls got strawberries on their necks from the seatbelts. Here are the tragic photos of my poor Vue.

UNFORTUNATELY, the other guy fled the scene. He only spoke Spanish, had no ID, no insurance, and couldn't write his information down on paper for me. Can you believe that? I'm pretty frustrated about it. All I got from him was "Jesus B----".

As soon as it happened and I verified that the girls were okay, I was out of the car with my camera in one hand and my cell phone in the other. I was on the line with 911 and taking a bunch of photos. I was only trying to take pictures of the scene, but I did happen to get the runner on "film". So, if you see this man, please call the authorities.



In the confusion, while I was taking photos, trying to keep the girls calm, and talking to the insurance company on the phone, the guy flagged down a couple cars, put his wife and kids in one, himself in another, and drove off into the unknown. I'm pretty upset with myself for not having gotten usable photos of the getaway vehicle. During all of that I had also called the girls' mom, who I knew was also on her way to the game, to pick up the girls so Darby wouldn't be late for her game. Ironically, we had to forfeit because not enough of our players showed up, but I'm blocking that out for the moment.

After two more calls to the police, one by me, and one by someone who witnessed the other guy leave, a squad car finally showed up. He filled out his report, informed me that the hit-and-run detectives would be working the case, and a wrecker came for the other guy's car.

So, while certainly a terrible experience, it could have been far worse. Everyone is okay, and my car is drivable (though a headlight is out, and the range on the other isn't good, so night driving sucks). I do reserve the right to re-evaluate my opinion on the matter, as I've still yet to deal fully with the insurance issues, so the worse part of the deal may be yet to come. I'm pretty sure I DO NOT have rental car benefits on my insurance, so that will be an issue to be sure. We'll see how it goes.

Welcome Oklahoma City Hornets

The deal detailed yesterday has passed, giving the New Orleans Hornets (now the New Orleans/Oklahoma City Hornets) a new temporary home in OKC. Our (OKC's) destiny has been laid before us. If we handle this correctly, really good things can happen to this town. While I'm not a b-ball follower the way I am with baseball, I understand that the importance of proving OKC's ability to support a major league franchise is critical to the future growth of the city. If we can't prove our point now or soon, we'll eventually reach a growth plateau.

The exposure we get from this experience will be a gift from above. From the sports writers to the various media that follow the teams around to the players on those teams that come here and their families... I'll bet there are plenty of folks that have thought, "Oklahoma? WTF?" But those folks will be surprised to see that we have much to offer, and the word of mouth they generate will be virtual revenue that I hope we spend wisely.


Oh, and anyone that might have been considering setting up shop in Bricktown over the last month or two but have been dilly-dallying... I hope you were in line downtown today to sign a lease, and I hope you're working people overtime to get your shop open before the season starts in November. It might already be too late, but you could have some serious exposure potential if not.


Related articles:

ESPN.com: Hornets to call Oklahoma City, Baton Rouge 'home'
ESPN.com/AP: Oklahoma City gets its big-league audition
ESPN.com/AP: Hornets to play 2 preseason games in Oklahoma City
ESPN.com/AP: Hornets to practice at Southern Nazarene University
ESPN.com/AP: Hornets' Shinn predicts sellouts in Oklahoma City
Hornets.com screenshot
Daily Oklahoman: Hornets Find OKC to their Liking



Oklahoma/Oklahoma City articles:
(Why more people and businesses should call Oklahoma home)

Wikipedia: Oklahoma City
Site Selection Magazine: Oklahoma, an Editorial Review
Wall Street Journal: Oklahoma City's Revival
San Francisco Chronicle: Cities of Hope - At Home in Oklahoma City

Counter-progressive

It's progress report day for the girls and there is good, bad, and ugly in it. The good is that Darby got all As with one exception (an 89 in math, really not too shabby). Shelby got mostly Bs, with one A, which is typical for her, though she got an S- in writing, and 26 tallies for conduct (in just 9 weeks!), both of which could be perceived as bad.

The ugly of it is Shelby's pre-meditated lying, which is counter-progressive to anything good that could have come of this day (as I was glad she had mostly Bs, having expected to see some Cs).

She got to go out with her mother on Friday, and I took her to a movie on Saturday, all on the premise that all she had for homework was a reading assignment, which could be done with relative ease on Sunday. Both her mother and I looked at her assignment pad and all we saw was the reading assignment, along with her assurances that she had no written work. Even on Sunday, I specifically asked her if she was certain that there was no written work. She promised that all she had was reading.

Imagine my immense frustration when I find in her backpack this afternoon a crumpled page out of her assignment pad that had several writing assignments and a negative note from her teacher about her behavior and failure to complete assignments. The date on the paper was 9/16. Friday...

So that means that she knew she'd get in trouble and not be allowed to have fun this past weekend, so she tore out the page, and wrote a new one with only a reading assignment, and then continuously lied about it to the faces of both her mother and I, probably figuring we'd either never find the other paper, or that she'd get it thrown away at some point.

Needless to say, that girl is in A LOT of trouble for the duration of the week, likely through the next weekend. I'm refraining from expressing the true nature of my frustration, but I imagine it's largely apparent. The girl has become a big-fat-liar, against everything she's been taught, which reflects quite poorly upon her parents. Were it not for the balance Darby brings to the equation, people might think we were unworthy parents altogether.

Now, pardon me while I go scream...

Going out with a bang (or not)

It's the last day of Summer, but you wouldn't know it was about to be fall by the temperature. Today's high was 95 (100+ heat index), and more of the same is expected tomorrow. Not that I'm unappreciative, because the Fall could always slap us around with its own bad attitude instead of letting the Summer go out with a bang.


Of course, the worse part of any Summer's end is the realization of self-promises unfulfilled. I'm out of time to go out with a bang myself, having failed to follow the Summer's example. And I'll regret it the entirety of the gloomy parts of Fall and Winter until the next Spring when I am caught up in the seasonal bloom.

Every Spring I promise myself that THIS Summer, SO much will get done. SO MUCH will get better. Not that we did terribly this year, but there were a few more things I was hoping to get in before the Fall rolled in. I could say there's always next Summer, but there are only so many next Summers. Sooner is definitely much better than later in this regard, and each Summer that I fail to fulfill youth's aspirations is another step closer to the revelation that youth isn't just out of reach, but perhaps gone altogether.

Can you tell that I'm less than a month from being 32? (or, what I'm referring to as "16 all over again")

!#$% the season

Today I saw Halloween costumes at Walmart, as well as a few awfully Christmas-looking lawn decorations. Then I got a JC Penney get-your-holiday-photos-before-it's-too-late flyer in the mail. It's not even the fourth quarter of the year yet people!

Relief

We lost our only game today, though we did catch up to tie it near the end. Like our last game yesterday, however, the home team won it in the end. I'm not sure the girls were too sad about losing because it would have meant having to play another game, which none of them was too excited about. And much to the girls' further enjoyment, the games that we were going to have to play tomorrow night were moved back to mid-October, so we won't have to play the seven games in three days after all. Not that five games in two days isn't a rough deal on its own merits. At least today I didn't have to manage Shelby, as her mom came to watch.

We even cancelled our usual Monday practice, so the girls can all recoup from the draining weekend.

Four games down, and a sneak peek at the greatest game

Well, we lost all four games today, but the girls got progressively better each game. By the last game we were in the lead the entire game, but lost in the last five minutes. We weren't the home team, so as soon as they caught up and surpassed us, the ump called ballgame.

It was a pretty crazy day, and Darby and I both are pretty tire. Our games started at 10am and we didn't get done until almost 5:30pm. The games were spread out so that there was an hour break between each game, so there was just enough between each game to do something quick. So after the first game we got lunch real quick, after the second game I let Shelby play at a nearby playground while Darby and I rested, and after the third game we got some ice cream.

On the day, Darby had several walks and a pop-out from behind the plate, along with a couple runs scored. On the field she made a few good plays (though she also missed a couple easy grounds... grrr), including an awesome line drive catch that was barely in her reach. Everyone thought for sure it was in the outfield the way it was hit, but she pulled it in and got a nice sized cheer from the crowd.

The players and coaches are not allowed to leave the dugout between innings, so during the games I was confined to the field or dugout, which made managing Shelby difficult, as she's not real good with staying put. I asked some of the other parents to make sure she didn't start any fires or anything, but I couldn't asked them to be entirely responsible for her, so I found myself yelling for her several times from the dugout before she poked her head out of her hiding spot.


After the game we got a bite to eat (and took our time about mind you), and we discussed our evening options. After a review of what was playing at the nearest theater, we decided to see The Greatest Game Ever Played (which is sadly NOT about baseball). Turns out what we saw was a sneak preview, as the movie doesn't open nationally until September 30th. It was a pretty good movie, and being Disney movie, the girls got a lot more into it than I would have expected for a golf movie. Shelby was even clapping along with the crowd in the movie. And neither of them complained that it was almost two hours long, which is on the long side for a kid-ish movie. I found that I wasn't bored with the movie, and that it didn't cramp my desire to relax after a long day of ball playing.

Seven games in three days

Darby has a softball tournament this weekend. I learned this afternoon that she has four games tomorrow and at least one game on Sunday, though she could have more. I also learned that Thursday's two postponed games have been rescheduled for Monday. The calendar has been updated accordingly.

One thing's for sure... I'm going to have one tired daughter come Monday evening.

A pleasant turnaround

The morning was pretty unpleasant. Delays everywhere. Pouring rain. Lost umbrella. Bleh bleh bleh. I was even going to have to take a late lunch because I was still working on stuff come lunchtime. Then, as if on cue, Steph text-messages me that she's in the area for work, and let's do lunch. That was an unexpected surprise, and between her, her co-worker, and I, there were plenty of laughs, so it was a good time in the middle of a non-good day.

From there, the day was at least tolerable. The sun came out, the workload lightened (sort of), and Darby's softball double-header was postponed, which meant far less evening stress. I suspect this entry would have been several paragraphs longer were I to have to document a muddy two-game mess-fest.



Oh, and I found out that what I got my little brother for his birthday happens to be at the top of his wish list. I knew he wanted it, but I didn't know it was at the top. His birthday isn't even until next month, yet I had already bought, paid-for, received, and installed his gift, and yet he suspects nothing. Boouah-ha-ha-ha-haaa!

Softball schedule

The calendar has been updated with Darby's softball schedule. All I can say is that it's ugly. Double headers almost every week. Ugh.

Hiring more

As recently alluded, I'm hiring more. I need a couple of really sharp Java web application developers. These positions are contingent positions (meaning some contractual things have to happen first), but they're pretty sure things, so get your resumes in now. Thanks.

Here's the official job posting.


(Don't forget about the tech writer position!)


Update, 18 Oct
The tech writer position has been filled. Thanks to those that applied!

WHAT IS WRONG WITH YOUR LEGS DONOVAN?!!?

Sheesh.


THAT was a bit disappointing.

Bugging out

I thought we had a pretty good project, until this morning when I got a look at what some of the other kids brought in. It was pretty clear that some of those kids (or their parents) put a lot of work into their projects. Leaving school this morning I was a little nervous about it.

However, when I picked up the kids, I got a better look as they were all on display. I feel a little better about our effort, as there were some that were not as good, and others that were better, so I think we're somewhere in the middle. A parent told me that some kids were working on their bug project, knowing it was the big fourth grade thing, over the summer, so considering the jump they had on us, I don't think we did too shabbily after all.

Finishing the bug hunt

After mass this morning, Darby caught her last couple of bugs. We got those glued to the board and I made the labels for her to cut out and glue to the poster board as well. Here's a pic of the finished product. I'd say that I'm glad it's over, but I know we'll have to do this again when Shelby is in 4th grade. Bleh.

Happy Birthday Mom

You sounded a little down on the phone, and I know why. I wish there was something (short of moving back to Philly) that I could do to make your birthday a little more cheery, but I'm afraid were going to have to rely on our buddy time to heal at least some of the wounds. I have a feeling that it's mostly uphill from here.

Bug hunt

After spending the first half of the day playing lawnboy and computer repair man, I expected to get some down time in the evening. I picked up the girls from their mother's and figured I'd take them to a movie after dinner. But... I was informed by their mother that Darby hadn't finished her science project. Ugh.

The project: Catch and kill 20 insects, identify them, glue them to a poster board with labels.

I had asked Darby's mother to work with her on it, because she has pet tarantulas, and she has to feed them crickets and other multi-legged creatures, so I figured this task was up her alley. But as Darby didn't capture enough bugs at her mom's, that meant I would get a lot more involved in this project than I expected.

It also meant we got to spend the evening catching bugs, killing them (neatly), gluing them to a poster board, and identifying them. Not as relaxing as a movie. I took the girls to a nature trail I'm familiar with and had Darby catching whatever we saw moving. While we did catch a few usable specimens, our timing was terrible. As the sun was on its way down, the mosquitoes were out in force, and we had to abort, as we were under heavy attack. Instead, we ended up exploring my father's back yard.

Darby had acquired just over half the bugs she needed at her mothers, so we still had a bit of work to do. Fortunately between the trail and my father's, we got all but two of the bugs we needed. We'll have to get the rest tomorrow, as the project is due Monday. We glued what we had to the board, and let it sit to dry overnight.

More hiring

So I've filled my last open position, but now I have another. If you've got good technical writing and multimedia presentation (i.e. Flash, DreamWeaver, Photoshop, Snap-It, RoboHelp) mojo, give it a look.

Here's the official job posting.


Soon I'll be looking for a couple top-notch Java programmers that are fluent in the ways of SGML, XML, and the various associated stylesheet standards. Intimate knowledge of U.S. military technical manuals (i.e. TOs) is very strongly desired. If you know any (preferably that are in Oklahoma or can get here quick and stay for awhile), send them my way. If you're "just" a top-notch Java programmer and don't have the SGML part, we'll still take a look at you, but you won't generate the same level of excitement.


Update, 18 Oct
The tech writer position has been filled. Thanks to those that applied! As a reminder, the developer positions are still open.

Aw shucks

The Redhawks used to let you in for free after the fifth inning, since the game is considered official at that point. So tonight, after dropping the girls off with their mother in Bricktown, I strolled over to the ballpark to see what inning it was. It was the top of the fifth, so I thought, hey, I'll catch the rest of the game. But when I asked the gate attendant about it, he said they don't do that anymore. How stupid is that? Especially with attendance as low as it has been for the playoffs. You'd think they would put a big flashing sign by all the gates that said "please join us for free after 5", just to drive more home support. The money they'd generate from concessions alone would make that effort worthwhile in my opinion.

Stop being so greedy baseball team owners. Give something back to the little people.

Sink-off, playoff

Knowing tonight's Redhawks playoff game might be the last game of the season we get to catch (and the only playoff action I'd get this year since the Phils are tanking), I inquired about Steph's spare season ticket availability. Fortunately, she had three spare tickets, so we were on board.

After I picked up the kids from school, we stopped at the local Subway for dinner, which was supposed to be a quick meal so we could head off to the game. Unfortunately, we had ourselves a little incident, or more specifically, Shelby had an incident.

We're not talking oops-I-spilled-my-drink, or oh-did-I-just-throw-my-sandwich-across-the-room or anything semi-normal like that. No, no, no. She had a sink fall on her leg. The bathroom sink to be more specific.

Yes, you read right. When she went to the bathroom to wash her hands prior to dinner, the sink FELL OFF THE WALL and onto her leg.

I heard the thunk a and her cry with a puzzled look on my face. It was followed by the sound of a door opening and the sight of her limping out, tears running down her face, with half-cry, half-mumbles to the effect of, "daddy! I was washing my hands and the sink fell on me!"

I was dumbfounded, jaw wide-open. I looked at a Subway employee that also saw/heard the whole thing and asked if the sink was broken, to which she replied, "half-broken". Well, by this point, Darby had run her nosy self to the bathroom and yelled, "yep, the sink is on the floor". And by that point I had picked up Shelby, put her in a chair, and had examined her legged, which was scraped and bruised. Another customer had put ice in a bag and handed it to Shelby.

Shelby cried for several minutes, recovered quicker than I would have expected (except for a limp), and actually did a good job with her dinner, which we got for free. I requested that the Subway employees call their manager to notify him/her, and I also noted, for the record, that the time of the incident was 5:43pm. As mentioned, the Subway folks didn't charge us for any of the food, for our trouble.

As we were leaving the Subway, Shelby was still limping pretty good, which I knew was not compatible with our ballgame plans. So I swung by my dad's house and asked if Shelby cold hang out there while I took Darby to the ballgame. Shelby was disappointed that she didn't get to go.


Wouldn't it just figure that the game, while a losing effort, was one of the best we've been to in awhile? With a little encouragement from Steph's friend (who is VERY tall), Darby had a ball thrown to her by a player, a shirt (with a pretty cool design) thrown to her during one of the mid-inning activities, and she even got some mascot action.

Of course, it didn't help my spirits that during the Redhawks playoff game, I got beeped on my cell phone with the losing Phillies score. Talk about salt on wounds.

After the game I picked up Shelby, had Darby give her the shirt since she had the ball, and we were on our way (it was VERY late and a school night). Shelby is in pretty good spirits, but still has a slight limp. She's a little melodramatic by nature, so it's difficult to tell how bad the limp really is, but I'm sure it's mostly genuine. We'll see how she is in the morning.

In the meantime, Shelby's mother and I have discussed what, if anything, we should do legally. Not for the purposes of acquiring large sums of money, but to create accountability by Subway for neglecting a sink that they clearly knew was already damaged.

Opinions?

Phillies, you're KILLING me

I can keep quiet no longer. I had been keeping my mouth shut because I didn't want to jinx their good fortune. But the Phils have gone from sole possession of the NL wildcard to losing four straight and thereby letting their destiny slip through their fingers. They really needed to keep their win streak alive if for no other reason than the fact that they play the Braves and Marlins (their immediate divisional peers and thus their biggest threats to success) for the next 11 straight games. If they don't stop scratching their collective heads, this could get rather ugly over the next couple weeks. I'm getting nauseous just thinking about it.


UPDATE, 7 SEP
Yo, Phils, a little CPR here?

Oh, how I dread thee, harbinger of pubescence

Darby has her first pimple. It's on her chin and pretty noticable. Seems very puberty-like and I don't like what that means. I figured I'd have one or two more years for that, so I very much hope that this is a false alarm. Otherwise it's all downhill from here.

It's not Monday?

I hate it when I forget that it's a post-holiday start-of-the-week. Last night I put out Monday school clothes for the girls. I didn't remember until after they were dressed that it was, in fact, Tuesday. I had to have them change (Tuesday is chapel day, so they have to wear skirts). That almost made us late. Doh!

Three towns in three days

Saturday it was Tulsa, Sunday it was Jones; Today, it was Luther, OK. We had a holiday cook out to attend with some friends. The girls had a good time, but it's a good thing they got their swimming in yesterday, because our friend's pool today was having issues and so could not be used.

Jonesing for a(nother) party

We had a second birthday party in as many days, though without the road trip. This one was in Jones, OK, so not around the corner, but closer than Tulsa. It was a swim party, so girls got several hours of swimming in to close out the summer.

Party in T-town

We had a birthday party to attend in Tulsa this afternoon. We got out of here close to 11 and made the 90-minute trip with enough time to get lunch before the party. It was a 3-hour skate party, and the girls skated the entire time save cake and present time. I only skated about thirt minutes, and that was enough.

After the party we had lengthy dinner with close friends before heading back. Another 90-minute trip and we were back not too long after bed time. It was a 10+ hour road trip, and the girls were pretty zonked from all the skating, so they should sleep in pretty well in the morning.

Upgrades

Today was all about the upgrades. We had a major software upgrade at work, and I had a few interviews so that I might upgrade my vacant position to non-vacant.

All-Ahead Full

I had to leave work early to take Darby back to the dentist to have her cavities drilled. I expected it to take awhile so I brought some work with me, but as it turns out, she was in and out in just under twenty minutes. And that twenty minutes cost me $126. Geez. Imagine if Shelby and I also had cavities. I'm thinking for that much money, they could have stretched it out a little.

The one good thing about the dental visit being so quick was that it allowed us to get back to the other side of town to make Darby's piano lesson on time. I figured we'd miss it, so I had given the piano teacher a heads-up.

Darby also had softball practice after piano. She's really getting quite good at handling the ball. This season is the first season that she hasn't been at all afraid of the ball when I throw it to her. And we're able to have real-deal uninhibited catches before practice. It's pretty cool.

Shelby resumed fencing lessons this evening. Due to vacations and other conflicts, she'd taken six weeks off. Her return to fencing is contingent, however, upon her improved behavior at school. So far that actually isn't going so well, as she had to write sentences again today for being disruptive during PE.

And with the resumption of piano, softball, school, and now fencing, the August ramp-up to Fall is complete, just in time for August itself to have met the wayside. But I am so NOT ready for September.

The end of an era

My company, until now (for the last 36 years actually) an employee-owned entity, has announced today that it will be having an IPO. While I stand to gain financially from this endeavor, I am NOT happy about it. There are more important things, even for an entrepreneurial company, than pure financial gain, and there is unequivocal value in employee-ownership. It has been an enormous factor in my decision to remain an employee of this company for more than eight years, and I've always felt it was a distinguishing factor for us in a highly competitive marketplace.

While I certainly hope this all goes well, I have great trepidation about the long-term integrity of the company when, even partially, in the hands of the public. Market factors, while beautiful in their own right, have a certain corruptibility when blending public- and employee-ownership and interests. I hope that our CEO and board have honorable (i.e. entirely non-cash-based) intentions in this regard. And I hope that we have not just given away our edge to the competition.