Birthday recap

Oh yeah. Scott reminded me that today is my birthday.

I woke up to a birthday breakfast cooked by my lovely wife and son. Then I opened my cards and presents and shared my lap with my beautiful daughter.

After that, it was off to see the real estate attorney to go over the offer we made on the house today. This was followed by a work conference call, after which the family took me out to lunch at “Backpack Yogurt,” as our kids dubbed it long ago. My cheeseburger left a lot to be desired but the company couldn’t be beat!

Around 3PM I hit the road for Annapolis, happy that the traffic was light due to the federal holiday. I arrived at my hotel around 9 and was promptly upgraded to a luxurious, 600sf junior suite on account of my birthday.

Now I’m gonna sneak out to the neighboring Irish pub for a pint before chatting with Kelly one more time and retiring for the evening. Maybe next year I’ll take my birthday off and stick with just the fun stuff!

Househunting

Kelly and I made an offer today on a house in Raleigh’s Historic Oakwood. We’re hoping to buy a hundred-year-old house within a stone’s throw of the guv’nor’s mansion. Getting Hallie and Travis closer to their school, Conn, was one big reason we looked in Oakwood. We’ve also always wanted to live in that area and circumstances have now made that possible.

We’ve got a lot to do between now and then to actually complete the move. An offer is a long way from a closing, though. Hopefully things will go smoothly for the transition.

If you know anyone who would like a great home with a phenomenal yard in a vibrant North Raleigh community and within walking distance of Durant Nature Park, let me know (Geez, do I sound like a real estate agent or what?)

Once more to Annapolis

I’m mid-trip on my way to Annapolis to conduct two days of training. I’m hoping the weather makes it a pleasant stay, but freezing rain and snow/sleet is predicted for tomorrow. Since I won’t be driving for the next two days, all I hope is that everything’s melted by the time I head home Wednesday evening.

Freezy stuff tomorrow. This time they mean it

Looks like the “weather event” that didn’t take place earlier this week may take place tomorrow. The question is exactly where it will take place, but then again, that’s always the real question about forecasts, isn’t it?

For the record, too, MT.Net recorded .51 inches of rain yesterday. That was good for adding 130 gallons to my rainwater tank before it was full. I probably could’ve collected another 150 gallons if I’d had the storage capacity. I’m a water-collecting fool.

Heroin Diaries

On a tip from my buddy Chris, I checked out Nikki Sixx’s book The Heroin Diaries. Its a walk through one of the darkest periods in the life of the Motley Crue bassist. In the mid-80’s when Motley Crue was topping the charts, Sixx was secretly wrestling with the demons of heroin addiction. Though its not a pretty picture, it is compelling reading. I’m amazed Sixx had the presence of mind to keep a diary when he was so strung out.
Continue reading →

Water, water everywhere

It was a wet, bone-chilling day today but not a snowy one, fortunately. Though it rained practically all day, I was disappointed I could only capture 130 new gallons of rain into my tank before I had no more capacity left. Maybe Kelly’s right: maybe I do have a “problem.”

Today’s rain got me thinking again of this N&O story about a potential new water source for Raleigh. A Raleigh company called Eagle Water has rights to up to 58 million gallons of water per day (mgpd) being pumped from the PCS Phosphate mine near Aurora, NC. The problem is the company has no way to get it here to Raleigh where its needed. Not only that, the company needs to sell at least 25 mgpd just to make a profit. Pump anything less and they lose money.
Continue reading →

I’m a five dollar deadbeat

I owe UNC Healthcare five bucks. Or at least I did at one point. Only my credit report seems to care anymore, it seems.

Last April, when Bellsouth began threatening to sock me with someone else’s phone bill, I ordered up a copy of my credit report just in case. Aside from the usual house loans, car loans, and credit card accounts belonging to my brother, Jeff, I noticed something else that didn’t belong: an unpaid bill for $5 for “medical services” that went to collection. Yes, UNC actually sent my $5 unpaid bill to collections.
Continue reading →

The streets tell me when school’s out

We’ve lived within a mile of Capital Boulevard for a few years now. I’ve developed the ability to tell if a day is a holiday based on the lack of traffic noise coming from the roads. The same applies to school delays. The morning traffic is not nearly as heavy when the schools aren’t open.

That makes me wonder just how much resources are wasted in getting kids to and from school every day. Its got to be enormous. School has a big impact on morning traffic, and to some extent afternoon traffic, too. When kids are bused to schools across town that makes the problem even worse.
Continue reading →

Freezy stuff on the way

Word has it that we’re doomed to get some freezy stuff tomorrow morning. As long as it winds up in my rain barrel when its done melting, I’m fine with that.

A snow day is one of the few times working from home becomes a pain. Problem is, when it really get stormy around here, working from home is next to impossible because everyone who’s normally at the office is tying up neighborhood phone lines that are normally available for my use.

We’ll see what happens, though.