Dear God, Its Full Of Work
posted @ 4:06 PM
I started a new job.
No, I didn't quit my old one or get hired at a new company. My new job sort of just happened.
It went like this: my old manager got sick and tired of being abused by both levels above and below him and retired to teach hockey to students. So last summer I got a new manager.
As far as I know, my new manager likes to do software development using "Agile" methodology which means that teams are organized as multi-functional developers able to work on a large swath of the project instead of being organized into silos of specific domain knowledge. The result is that I got put on a new team.
Finally, this new team is working on new products and the amount of database work is not significant to keep a database developer busy for a lot of time, so I'm encouraged to dive in and learn new programming languages and development environments to get up to speed in the work that is available.
To summarize, I have a new boss, I'm working with new people, and I'm working in new technology to help build new software. Except for my desk, everything has changed.
The upshot of this is that all the "cool points" I accumulated for the past seven years of good work is effectively null and void. So I'm working doubly hard to not only do good work but to impress the new bosses and teammates. I don't mind because it is interesting work and there is lots of it to do, but it is a little nerve wracking.
Labels: Work
Heave Ho
posted @ 1:41 PM
On Sunday my father and I tried to move the wood stove out of the basement.
You see, with the boys we haven't been running any fires due to burning danger and Lukas' asthma. With Peanut on the way we are running out of room and need the space for other things. Which resulted in a point on Sunday where I thought "if I slip my father is a dead man."
I rented an appliance dolly from Home Depot and we had the stove strapped to it. We got it to the bottom of the steps and then began, one step at a time, to heave it up the stairs. This thing must have weighed about 300 pounds.
The last step was the worst as I could not get enough leverage to lift it up and he was stretched out pushing up from the bottom. That was when I had my fear of it slipping and dropping down the steps like a 300 pound anvil. There would not be time nor room to jump out of the way... anyone underneath would end up underneath (emphasis on the "end").
Fortunately, after one failed attempt to lift it up we got the idea to lay the dolly down and slide it over the last lip of the last step. From there on out it was easy... well ok, not easy but at least not life threatening.
Labels: Housework
Trick Or Treat!
posted @ 11:14 AM
We took the boys to the 'Bush on Saturday and the rain finally petered out to allow us to go trick or treating around the village, albeit with toques and gloves for the boys.
The boys were not sure what to think of the whole exercise, seeing strange people at their houses and taking their candy, but about half way through they seemed to enjoy the exploring and visiting a bit. No tears anyways.
At least not until the middle of the night when Lukas woke up from a bad dream and got everyone up with his crying. Let's just say there was a lot of tired eyes the next day.
Labels: Twins
Just Eat It!
posted @ 1:58 PM
Lukas is a bit of a pain when it comes to eating.
Not only is he a lot pickier on what he eats compared to Sean, he has this tendency to change his mind about what he will eat on a daily basis.
For example, one of our staples has been spaghetti, Kim and I eating regular spaghetti noodles and the boys getting alphabet noodles. For many times they both love the meal and it was one of our "sure things" to make sure they eat a good amount.
The other night Lukas took one look at his bowl and shook his head.
"Uh oh," I thought. "This is not a good sign." Despite gentle cajoling and reasoned arguments, he was not to be convinced. It was not appetizing.
So I ate my spaghetti in the hopes he would come around himself like he sometimes does. But I noticed him staring intently at my plate and my fork as it lifted noodles to my mouth. I took one and offered it to him. He smiled and tried to grab it, fumbling to get the slimy noodle in his hand and then to get it to his mouth.
"Mo, mo, mo," came the request.
Kim prepared a small bowl of spaghetti and damn if the boy did not eat it all up regardless how hard it was for him to manage.
"Its the same thing!" I uttered in disbelief but my protest fell on deaf ears.
Labels: Twins
Nap Time!
posted @ 9:07 AM
The boys are in the process of transistioning from two naps (one in morning, one in late afternoon) to a single nap (one right after lunch) and its the biggest milestone since they started walking.
We weren't sure if they could handle it as they sleep really well in the morning nap prior to the change over, but the afternoon nap was getting precarious with some of them ending up with the boys playing in their cribs for an hour and getting very little (if any) sleep, making the evenings a little rough.
But they seemed to handle the lack of the morning nap ok after a couple days and the afternoon nap has resumed its two or more hour peacefulness. Since Kim started last week only once have the boys been too tired to skip the morning nap.
The advantage of the one-nap-per-day is that we have a larger block of time in the mornings to do things with the boys, and they seem to sleep better in the afternoon nap.
Labels: Twins
Curses, Foiled Again
posted @ 1:45 PM
I did my brown belt test on Friday night and it went well, if not as I expected. There was only me and two others testing and the other two were going for yellow and orange belts. So in essence I did the majority of my test alone.
I was expecting a 2 hour marathon and instead got a 1 hour sprint. It was a lot of material to cover and I had to do it bang-bang-bang without much pause. I managed the hold escapes very well, and the come-alongs and takedowns with relative ease, but sort of whiffed on the ground defense as I forgot half of them (4/8) on the first try.
I was supposed to get get my brown belt yesterday at class but I had to no go as work got very busy. There was some team shuffles and I had meetings in the afternoon that forced me to stay and get ready for. Curses, foiled again. I should have no problem going to class tomorrow though.
Labels: Jiu Jitsu
Dear Canoe.ca
posted @ 10:17 AM
Dear Canoe.ca,
I checked out one of your little photo features titled "
Famous Buildings Never Completed" and was shocked to see this:
That photo does not depict Boldt Castle, you colossal losers. That's the power generator outbuilding on the end of the island.
THIS is Boldt Castle:
As a side note, an AWESOME place to visit.
Labels: AWESOMENESS, Media
