Wednesday

Carrie's mom and step-dad are coming to town this afternoon for a meeting and to spend time with Jackson. He's pretty stoked about it, or at least seemed to be when I reminded him this morning while getting him changed and dressed before leaving the house for daycare/work. Tomorrow night will be just me and Jackie, though, as Carrie is going to the Lebanon for a bridal...something or other for her sister-in-law-to-be, Andrea. Not sure what we'll be doing just yet, but it may involve watching some early skate videos or equally entertaining film. And we'll probably play in the floor, too.

M&M's are good. The lady in the desk 2 from mine has a 45-ounce bag of the peanut that she uses to fill a little candy dish that everyone in the office seems to visit daily. I can go about once a week; any more than that and they don't seem as good. I don't know.

Peas

We gave peas to Jackson for the first time the other day.



Not so much.

Jack, H.S.T., and a mini-ramp

So, yesterday marked 5 months of age for little Jack. His mother and I are moved to tears often as the time we have to spend with him never seems to be enough and now we measure his age in months instead of weeks. Sad to think he's getting older and we won't be able to re-visit yesterday.
No one imparted this wisdom to us when they were giving us tips about what brand diaper disposal bucket to buy. The pain of growing up.


Hunter S. Thompson (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hunter_S._Thompson) would have been 71 years old today, so do whatever it is you do to celebrate the life, the work, the charisma, and the passing of this one-of-a-kind man.
Happy Birthday, Hunter.











The skating at the ramp lately has been excellent. I've learned to pump (no easy task) and can now slash grind and backside pivot on the coping. I'll be working on rock-to-fakies this weekend. And Wes is ripping. Good times had by all who've visited. And for those curious, I have a liability waiver to be signed by anyone invited to skate the ramp.

I'll get some new photos this weekend and have them posted next week, I promise.
Have a good weekend, people.

BREAKING NEWS!!!

This just in--Vans will finally be re-releasing the original Caballero that currently only exists in the "Half Cab," which is bad-ass on its own, but this is the OG real thing! These are the only 2 colorways I've been able to find online, thus far-expecting an August release according to the online sneaker-heads.

Oh Boy, Oh Boy, Oh Boy!!!

Training

Training this week at work. So far I haven't seen anything that I'll ever use. Even my supervisor (the head of the entire UK IT Security division) admits that I won't use most of what I learn/see during the 2 week training on this product.
The instructor did mention a "joint commission" a few minutes ago, but that's not what you think it is (or maybe it is).

Water in the floor

Sunday morning we woke up to a floor covered in water. The washing machine had been run as we went to bed and obviously there was a mal-function of some type. Pictured is the cause of the mal-function.

Jackson's sock was stuck in the pump. It took 4+ hours and a few phone calls to figure that out.

Along with this email from some tech mentioned in numerous DIY forums:

"Mike you are saying you have water on the floor. I have a feeling you have two fold problem. A bad pump, and the water leak inside the motor, and shorted it out. I believe it is time for a new washer. Tom"

Thanks, Tom.

Big Granny Visit

Last week while Carrie was on a little vacation, her "Big Granny" (formerly known as "Granny") came up for a visit. A garden and flowerbed were tilled and planted, beans were broken, and good vibes were shared by all. Jackson enjoyed himself quite a bit, too.

Ramp is awfully nice

Had a good, albeit short, solo ramp session last night. I think I'm going to need another light because the new midnight blue surface is a little too dark. One light was cool for the old light brown stain, but not so much now--the transition is much more difficult to determine in the dark.
Taking a vacation day tomorrow-should be a nice 4 day weekend; getting to skate and enjoying the members of my household will be the majority of my focus.
Good times.
Hey, maybe I'll watch Lebowski--haven't seen that in a minute.
Did you hear that there is a Point Break 2 in the works? Isn't that wonderful?!?!

Go Irish!

With the new season approaching quickly, the Notre Dame Fighting Irish are poised for a break-out year. So is Jack.

Ramp facelift

Finished up putting on the serious protective stuff after work yesterday. Added some cosmetic detail, as well--more to come on that front.