Annual Update

Yes he still wants to be a circus clown when he grows up. Other boy is almost three months old, JP is in his second year of preschool. Mumma's new business is gaining traction and I have switched jobs to a more community focused bank and my job is also much closer to home.

Vacation

The only disheartening thing about vacation is that I sometimes end up spending half of it worried that it's almost over. It isn't even that I don't like my job, I have worked very hard to get to the seat I have, unfortunately, all things being equal work is still work and I kind of enjoy not working. I guess that's why they call it vacation.

Hooray for Vacation!

So I had to work today, but as of noon-ish I am on vacation for the next week. I am DVR'ing most of the World Cup matches (congrats USA on the tough draw with England) and I plan on getting up early just about everyday to go fishing.

I really want to go the next few days to at least practice a bit before open season on bass Wednesday. Up until then it is catch and release only. Wednesday we are trying to go to the beach so the first "keeper fish" may have to wait until Thursday. I do want to try a couple of recipes this week and see if for one thing bass tastes any good. If it taste terrible I guess I will just have to be a catch and release guy. There are about a thousand ways you can fish; different species, different lures, fly or reel, you get the idea. Basically in the interest of sanity I have been studying bass lures and techniques only and if anyone else jumps on the hook we'll worry about it then.

Tonight we have a Muskrats game. After a nice start the home team has slipped to 4-3 after yesterday's loss and is in fourth place. Tonight the Musky's take on the Gulls a team they trail in the standings. Fourth place in the division would still make the playoffs but with a short season of 42 games one wants to avoid digging to deep a hole.

Family Time

So as a salaried manager I am expected to be at work whenever needed which is not necessarily open to close every day but in a small office that is in transition it's pretty close. I enjoy my new job immensely but like anyone I enjoy the opportunity to get out a couple of hours early and catch up with the family. Yesterday was my early day, leaving at around 3:30, I am open to close the rest of the week including Saturday and I have an after hours meeting tonight in a community near work. As I move into the professional ranks, it becomes increasingly important to balance work / life activities and remember to make a little time for what matters.

So yesterday afternoon we packed up a picnic and went down to Opeechee Park. Opeechee is nice because they have picnic facilities, playground facilities, and you can fish a little as well. Here's where the trouble started, on just the third day using my fishing pole the nob on top of my reel simply fell off mid cast and for the life of me I couldn't find it. The real then essentially was a big useless spool of thread. Say what you want about Wal-Mart but with no receipt or evidence that I even purchased the pole there I walked out with a new fishing pole in 15 minutes without a hassle. Which is good, because I go on vacation next week and it would be tough to fish with the Spidey pole everyday for a week.

Aside from my fishing debacles we had a great time, picnic, playground, and a quick stop at Dairy Queen after our detour to Wal-Mart (and yes I am familiar with the parking at Dairy Queen).

Cell Phones

Apparently I was the last American not to have a cell phone. Congress sent me a letter saying that I was really holding the nation back technologically and economically and that I should get with the program. So yesterday I finally broke down and bought a Wal-Mart Trac phone with their unlimited plan. Seriously though, with my promotion I am going to be on the road a bit more and it will be good if my staff and family can get a hold of me as needed.

The nice thing about the Trac Phone is that Wal-Mart has some very respectable phones (I went with a Samsung model pictured at right,think of it as a mini faux-Blackberry) and no service contract is required. Additionally the unlimited plan is only $45 per month which is significantly cheaper than anything I could find in my area for an unlimited phone and web plan. With the speed at which technology changes the last time I had a cell phone was the technology equivalent of the Hoover administration, so considering that phone looked like this, it was probably time for an upgrade.

Quarter of Six

So for the record, this is "the boy." One of the nice things about getting up at quarter of six is that the boy generally does not get up at quarter of six. Don't get me wrong, my wife and I love the boy dearly but as anyone with small children can attest, you should get a little peace and quiet when you can.

Quarter of six is a time when I can catch up on a little homework, check my sports scores, or even do this. Today I have about fifteen minutes or so before I have to start getting ready for work. I have accepted a position within my bank about a half hour north of where I live. Now I cover really the central third of the state so having both a promotion and a clearly defined home will be nice. The only minor downside is I will cut in to my "quarter of six" time as I will have to typically leave the house by 7:15 or so. I really am looking forward to being a manager of my own location so with that goes some minor inconveniences. My philosophy is, if I have to work for 30 more years I may as well make an effort to climb the corporate ladder.