Here Comes the Floor

The bathroom is coming along nicely. The walls were taped, mudded and textured this week. Then, the folks doing the tub surround (the three walls around the tub) were able to get in and do their measurements. They are off fabricating the walls now (along with the matching vanity top).

Next step is the the floor. We're off and running on that today. Here's the prep work; laying the mortar bed for the tiles.















Here's the completed, leveled mortar bed. We'll let this set up tonight.



















The tiles are waiting and ready to be deployed - though. So, this week should see a floor going in!

Persistence

I am not naturally gifted in many areas. Certainly, this week I've learned another area I am not gifted in: drywall. In fact, I would venture to say that I am profoundly not gifted in this area.

However, while slogging through the bathroom (yay! I'm finished!) - I have come to realize that there is one character trait that you can possess that assists in coping with the absence of other gifts. Persistence.

At the end of the day I am relatively willing to just keep going. Keep moving forward. Keep waiting and keep hoping that things work out. Keep trying.

There is no question that having unlimited skills would be ideal. But that is not within my control. What is - is whether I am going to quit when things are hard. Or boring. Or .. just a test of my will.

As I was using twice as much dry wall (thankfully it's cheap!) and 3 times the amount of time a skilled person would probably require to get the job done - I was tempted to get frustrated. Instead, I decided to simply keep moving. Eventually it would be done. It couldn't take forever. So, just keep going. I wanted to do it myself. I wanted to finish.

The final result wasn't great; but it is acceptable - maybe even good. More importantly, it's done. And now I know that if I just keep going when doing my next dry wall job... I will succeed. That, I think, is the very best payoff of being persistent. It infuses you with a sense of hope for the future. What is better than hope?

PROGRESS:

I called in an expert - Brian, who led the charge on the plumbing and electrical changes. He is a true 'sicko' who 'loves plumbing!'. I was just the shopper/helper-bee!















As a result of his expert help the tub is in! and the bathroom has been re-plumbed with copper and some electrical changes are complete (adding a ceiling fan/light as well as moving some of the existing fixtures).

With those tasks completed.. it's time to put things back together. Step 1: drywall. CHECK!

I am not insane. This guy is!

After my little walk to San Francisco a couple people told me that I was 'insane' or 'crazy'. I can understand that comment to a certain extent. However, I just thought of it as a bit of a challenge.

One of my colleagues at work is an avid runner and thought the walk was hilarious. The day after hearing about it she brought me the book 50 50 by Dean Karnazes to read. I don't know if she was thinking it might inspire me - or what. So, I read it during my lunch walks this week.

Well, I immediately discovered something wonderful. I am not insane. Dean Karnazes is insane.

In the very first chapter Dean is in the process of embarking on a family vacation and is reflecting on past such trips. He says 'Sometimes I would leave home on foot before the family and they'd pick me up along the roadside a few hours later. .. Once in awhile I would run all night and meet them in the morning'.

That, my friends in an insane person.

The book itself is about Dean's efforts in Fall 2006 to run 50 marathons on 50 consecutive days in all 50 states. It definitely was an impressive fitness display if ever there was one. On the face of it you might think that was the insane part of the book.

As it turns out - as I finished reading the book during my lunchtime walk on Thursday I found the truly insane part in the last few pages. Immediately upon getting back to the building I went to Dora's (my colleague's) office and asked 'did you read the last 6 pages of the book?'.

'No.' she said. 'It was getting kind of repetitive after the first 20 or 30 marathons - so I just kind of abandoned it.' she admitted.

I just started laughing.

'Holy cow, Dora! You biffed in a huge way if you didn't read the end. Take the book back and check them out' I said.

She then asked me to simply tell her what the last few pages said and so I did. I'll share them with you as well.

You see, the last marathon Dean ran was the New York City Marathon. Having completed the marathon he did a number of media interviews (The Today Show, David Letterman, Conan, etc.) the next day. As the day was coming to an end he was alone - for the first time in the last 50 days. His wife and children had returned to the San Francisco area; the kids were still young and in school. His support team for the last 50 days had departed and returned to their families as well. He was alone and didn't know exactly what he would do next. So, the day after running 50 marathons he went for a run to clear his head. He ran through Central Park in NY City to the starting location of the NY City Marathon.. and then proceeded to retrace his steps.

Yep, he ran another marathon the day after finishing 50 in 50 days.

That's not the insane part.

You see, he still couldn't sleep after doing so (Monday night). He had a sense of uneasiness. What would he do next? He was confused.

So - as he had mentioned earlier in the book - he took his own advice. Sometimes he thinks better when he's out running. He checked out of his hotel on Tuesday morning pushing a little three-wheeled baby stroller with a couple extra clothes items, some food and some essentials (cell phone, etc).

And he went running.

.... a page or two further in the book ... it states: '30 days later he crossed the Mississippi River and ran into Missouri'!

Dean Karnazes - after finishing 50 marathons in 50 days - ran another marathon on Monday - then ran another 1300+ miles (roughly 50 more marathons) in 30 days - averaging approximately 45 miles a day!

Yes, in the last few pages of the book - Dean ran another 51 marathons before coming to an emotional point where he had 'closure' and decided to fly home to his family.

People - I submit Dean Karnazes as the insane one. As it turns out - one walk of 44 miles is completely normal by comparison.

I rest my case.

Social Networking Situation

These days everyone is signing up for email, blogs, myspace, facebook, skype, twitter and a host of additional social networking 'services' intended on us all staying connected - electronically. But they also create some interesting situations at one time or another we all are going to need to address.

This morning I was faced with just such a situation. Some woman, that presumably I should have remembered from my days in Schoolcraft (my home town), had 'found me' on facebook and was interested in how my life was going. Unfortunately, I couldn't cough up a memory of her after trying for a few moments.

I found myself in that awkward situation where you know, they know, that you've received this email and friend request. So, what do you do?

Interestingly, this social networking and instant community is supposed to make us all more connected; more close. However, my experience is that all this technology (caller id, email, etc..) actually creates a buffer between two people that inserts a critical step into the basic communication protocol. That step is 'decide if I want to interact with this person or not'. If not, I can just ignore them; let the phone go to voicemail, delete the email, ignore the facebook request. So, something that was designed to foster improved communications amonst groups of people also allows us a certain freedom to be cold to people we'd rather not deal with.

As with most situations in life - it calls upon us to decide how we are going to treat other people. So, oddly enough - whereas yesterday this person knew nothing of me (presumably).. today she was going to learn something - one way or the other.

The best I could think of was to return her email with a short message. I simply acknowledged her message and shared with her that it was unfortunate - but I did not have any recollection of her from the old days. Thanks for writing.

Nothing more. Far from graceful, I readily admit. I guess she learned something. I didn't want to rudely ignore her. But, at the same time - I didn't feel any connection or desire to create one at this juncture.

And then I ignored her facebook friend request.

Right? Wrong? What do these words even mean anymore as it relates to electronic relationships?

Do you have any such stories to share? Suggestions?

Thursday Tweets

Okay people... you know what to do.

Please feel free to tweet away - and tell us a little about your day today!

Tod: Will The Office tonight be about how Michael and Dwight embarrass themselves during the honeymoon?

Tod: Technically, you could take a bath in the front bath at this point. Perhaps by next week there might even be walls in there :D

Balderdash

Ever play Balderdash? It's a game where you make up the definition of a word or expand an abbreviation.

Example: UAW --> University of Awesome Women

Get it?

Okay.. now let's play. Your prompt for today is the abbreviation: T.A.T.E.R.

Go!

Further Reflections on the Walk

not to be too philosophical - but joel made an insightful comment about my previous post (worth the walk) and the picture with the joking sign 'down and out', you can find his exact point by reading the comments for that post. his comment was on my mind as i did my normal lunchtime walk this afternoon.

what is the value of the 'stuff' we all just 'carry around' each day? here's everything that i took on this walk. admittedly, the camera is unusual - but the rest is not:

a) clothes $173 total:
sweatshirt ($20), shirt ($15), shorts ($15), two pair of socks ($8), running shoes ($70), sweatpants ($20), hat ($20), and underwear ($5 - no comments please)

b) consumer electronics $1,200 total:
ipod nano ($150), cool earphones ($90), digital camera ($600), 2 GB Memory card in camera ($30), cell phone ($~300 actual value although I got it as part of my cell phone plan at a greatly reduced price) omron pedometer ($30)

c) misc $350 total:
cash for food and drinks along the way ($20), sunscreen ($10), glasses - with graduated lenses for old folks ($300), backpack ($20)

that means that for a little walk to SF i carried on my person $1,723 worth of 'stuff'.

i don't reveal that financial data in any prideful or boastful way. please understand that. instead, i mention it because it challenges me in a profound way that sometimes in my life i consider myself just scraping by - or just making it in this difficult economy and world. perhaps that's a lifetime of financial insecurity brought about by my upbringing creeping through.

but, moving the focus off me and this one event and making a more broad point - joel makes a very interesting case that most people in america - many far less blessed that we might be still have many or most of the items i took along with me last friday. and yet we routinely are able to think of ourselves as 'poor'.

i meant my little sign as a joke - but maybe the joke is on me upon reflection.

your thoughts?

Seriously

I kid you not.. here is a memo that just arrived to all ITT employees this morning:

To help promote wellness here at RSS we will be giving all employees pedometers. Along with this we will be instituting a friendly competition. Beginning the week of Oct. 19th we will have a white board posted in the cafeteria where employees can post the distance they walked in the previous week (Monday through Sunday). The intent is to encourage aerobic activity by employees thereby improving overall wellness. Obviously we will be conducting this friendly competition under the honor system. That is to say it would not be considered fair play to clip the pedometer on your 5 year old child or grandchild as they run around the backyard. This competition is entirely voluntary but even if employees choose not to take part in posting their numbers please use this opportunity to challenge ourselves to get in some regular exercise and thereby improve the wellness of our population. Our health and welfare are precious and every little step helps.

Does this mean another trip to SF? :)

Gorgeous Gals and $5 Challenge

Just thought you might enjoy a picture of my gorgeous girls from a recent trip we make to Berkeley!





























Now that you have a good visual image of her... here's your challenge: find Hannah among a few thousand of her fellow students during the Cal v USC game. $5 to the first one that can find her. Best of luck!

Worth the Walk

I've been bugging Rachel to make me one of her inspired thin crust pizzas for awhile now. She offered to make me one if we came up to eat at her place. That was an offer I didn't want to refuse! So, last Friday I made the trip to get my pizza. The one interesting twist was that I decided to get to her place on foot. I live in Santa Clara. Jon and Rachel live in San Francisco. As it turns out - that's quite a walk.

How far? Well, here's my pedometer readings at the end of the trip. Including potty breaks and a couple minor navigation goof ups it turns out it's right about 44 miles while burning almost 6000 calories.











In steps.. its almost 93,000!












As it turns out, however, it's actually a very straightforward walk. You can get from Santa Clara all the way to San Francisco by walking down historic El Camino Real (the King's Highway). Then you have to do a bit of jogging through the streets of San Francisco... and you're there.















Here are a few of the sights along the way. I didn't know that See's Candy are made in California - right on the El Camino. Sweet.












One town just short of San Francisco is called Colma. Colma is basically the graveyard for the bay area - as far as I could tell. There are many, many cemeteries you walk by as you traverse the city. It definitely puts things in perspective to pass by so many people that have walked the earth; had their time; and now are gone. It was a good time of reflection.















I also had the good fortune to walk right by Harding Park where they were playing the President's Cup this weekend (America won!). Here's the closest I got to the course.. the visitor entrance!















A few minutes after passing Harding Park - Rachel called and we figured out she was about a block behind me on her way home. So, I was able to quickly grab the camera from my backpack and snap this horrible picture of her waving to me from her car. But, it was inspirational to know that I was in her neck of the woods. Just a couple more miles and I would make it.















Finally, here's my favorite spot along the route: Rachel's home! I made it. It took me 12 hours and 45 minutes - give or take. A good pace. But I was soooo glad to stop ;D My feet were extremely sore - but other than that I held up pretty well.



















When Rachel saw me out front with my sign.. she let me in and started cooking!















Oh.. and so the big question.. was the pizza worth the walk? Ohhhhh you betcha! Rachel Rocks! Check this beauty out she made just for me. Yummmyyyyy!! However you have to get there.. driving, riding, walking or crawling.. definitely take her up on it if she invites you for dinner. It's that good!

Ode to the Engineer

As I was reflecting last night on Carissa's ultrasound pictures I was reminded how incredible a world God has designed and put into motion. How great is God to figure out how to make a baby. What an engineer!

Now, I know the word 'engineer' conjures up all sorts of mental images. Pocket protectors. Greasy hair. Glasses with tape in the middle. Social misfits. The list of stereotypes goes on and on. But, for this one brief moment - when you look at that ultrasound image.. I hope you see a bit of the awe that is the engineer.

Engineering is as simple as 1-2-3: 'Identify (a problem/issue) - Imagine - Do'.


Pregnant wife - rubbing her hands slowly, lovingly over her belly: "wow, I wonder what our little Tater Tot looks like. wouldn't it be so fantastic if there was a way to see the baby inside me!"

Engineer husband (wheels turning): "we can do that!"

New car owner in northern Michigan - waiting for a ferry to the lower peninsula: "wouldn't it be great if we could make some humongous bridge and just drive our car to the other side".

Engineer friend: "we can do that!"

New President of the United States.. wanting to show off to the world: "wouldn't the whole world be amazed by us if we could have a man walk on the moon?"

Scientific Advisor to the President (an engineer): "we can do that!"

Normal teenager: "this drive is sooooo boring! i wish I had a way to play my own records in the car so I could just tune you two out!"

Steve Jobs, her father: "we can do that!"

Men sitting in a basement watching an important football game - when a controversial play occurs: "jeez. don't you wish we could make the TV like 3 times bigger, higher resolution, and then be able to do slow motion ourselves at the touch of a button.. so we could see exactly what happened?"

Dudes from Panasonic, NBC and Tivo that are watching: "oh dudes.. we can do that!"


The ultimate ode to engineers: "They can do it!"

Thursday Tweets

Okay people... you know what to do.

Please feel free to tweet away - and tell us a little about your day today!

Tod: Very excited about the Office wedding tonight!

Tod: Can't wait to join Jon and Rachel for dinner tomorrow night at their place. We're making thin crust pizza!

Ultrasonic Joy

I was sitting in our One Another Group - obviously paying serious attention when I saw the following email from Joel. What joy it brought to my heart! Check it out:

As promised, here are the images from our ultrasound appointment today. Let me know if you need help interpreting what you're looking at.





























In all the pictures, the head is the largest mass. In one of the pictures, you can even see it's arms and what look like hands with amorphous fingers! The best part, which you can't see in the pictures, was watching its heart beat (167 beats per minute was the official reading). The display on the screen of the heart rhythm looked like a billet of Damascus steel, and I thought to myself, and later shared with Carissa, how cool it would be if I could get someone to make a knife using steel folded to match the pattern of my first-born child's fetal heartbeat! It would cost 1000s of dollars and be utterly ridiculous, but at the same time utterly awesome!

Epic Fail Day!

Do you ever have a day that holds so much promise? That could just be soooo good if things just work out right? That you just roll out of bed to get started?

Well - today could have been that day. Instead, it turned into Epic Fail Day '09. We should have had a BBQ in it's honor. Sheesh.

First, Michigan breaks my heart by tieing - then losing to MSU. I am pleased for Julie - genuinely. And, begrudgingly I'm happy for those oddballs in my family that actually like MSU and root for them. But, come on! Julie spent the afternoon trying to find someone in Michigan that could buy her a 'three peat' shirt.. for next year. Epic Fail.

Then, our beloved Washington goes into South Bend to play the Neutered Dames. They, too, end up tied after regulation and go down hard in OT. Epic Fail.

Finally, Cal gets Epically spanked by USC.

But, as I sit here typing this... I have to admit the day wasn't really all so bad. After all, I got to spend the day with Julie and I just love being able to do that. And, I got to text and phone all sorts of family and friends. I'm grateful to have such a great son, sister, nephew, father-in-law and friends that I can experience defeat in community. Defeat suffered alone can be debilitating. Defeat surrounded by love. Well, it's just not as bad, now is it? And I'm thankful we got to see Hannah and Maggie. They are so fun to be around and we had a great chance to laugh and enjoy a meal together. That was great! And I love that God provides so lovingly for us. We really do get to enjoy some fun times - things some people don't get an opportunity to. And after all - these games aren't meant to define us; but to entertain us.

So, this Epic Fail Day - it ain't so bad. But - let's not make a habit of it! Okay?

Final Justice

After some thought - I finally decided what I was going to do about my ticket this week.

My choices:
a) Pay the fine online $389 online and take traffic school (keep the infraction off my DMV record)
b) Show up for my arraignment - plead not-guilty - and fight the man.
c) Show up for my arraignment - plead no-contest - and pay the man.

And the winner was.... C!

Yep, I wasn't going to give the court the satisfaction of a guilty plea.. but I've got too much good stuff going on in my life to fight this forever. It WAS educational and interesting to investigate the process. But, in the end the risk vs. reward is too great to fight the system. And, there is the small matter that I was speeding at the time I was ticketed.

I was very pleased to find out that because of my stellar driving record (or should I say - EX-stellar driving record) my fine was reduced from $389.. to.. $161. Sha-boo-ya!! So, I did learn that going to the arraignment is worthwhile. I encourage you to do so if you ever find yourself on the wrong side of the law.

Next step.. online traffic school - then back to a more normal, drama-free life!

Thursday Tweets

Okay people... you know what to do.

Please feel free to tweet away - and tell us a little about your day today!

Tod: Officially boycotting the Buckner's Buzz after repeated violations of the 'no-body-parts' treaty of 2009.

Tod: Michigan vs. Michigan State this weekend. Sorry Julie... we actually look like we are going to try this year. Either way - Jules is the most amazing woman and I am thankful for her.

Tod: Cal vs. USC this weekend. A chance to sit in their skanky stadium and see Hannah. Should be fun. Hope they're hungry after a humiliating loss last week.