My Christmas memo
Ed. note: This is the Christmas memo going out in my Christmas cards this year. If you're not on my IRL friends list -- or even if you are -- please accept my Merriest Christmakwanzukkah holiday greetings, and enjoy my year in review.
I hope that 2011 found you well and leaves you in the same condition.
Nothing major happened this year: I did see a banjo-playing Steve Martin in concert, I had a larger-than-usual complement of trips both work and personal (see below), and my car will be paid off at the end of the year. And then there was the genocide I committed. Curious? Then read on.
For some reason, work this year was heavily focused in the state of Ohio. In January, it was Columbus -- a perfect time to catch multiple Buckeye basketball games and Blue Jacket hockey matches. Then we spent several weeks in late March and early April outside of Akron. And finally, it took September and half of October to finish work outside of Wheeling. Enough Ohio already!
During the Akron exam, a co-worker and I were dispatched to Michigan State University for a week’s worth of continuing education. The hotel where we stayed and were educated was literally a block from campus, but for some reason the green and white Spartan Spirit didn’t grow on me.
In other non-Ohio work news, we worked half of November in Martinsburg, which allowed for a weekend in DC. Fortunately, no politician sightings, but I did involve myself in the women’s basketball edition of the Beltway battle between Maryland and Georgetown. (“Fear The Turtle”? I never did understand how a terrapin could be a successfully viable athlete. Well, perhaps against a hare….)
As for personal trips, in May Chad and I did a little extended spring training in Florida. Traversing the state near Lake Okeechobee, our rental car unwittingly became the final resting place for seemingly thousands of insects. As a result, we needed several stops at gas stations to squeegee off the remains. And while I sincerely felt the gravity of killing millions of tiny swamp creatures while at the wheel, it was muted somewhat by the Yankees losing to Tampa and me winning a free orange-flavored ice cream cone at the ballgame in Bradenton. ( May 15 | May 16 | May 17 | May 18 | editorial)
I was more embarrassed in returning to Lakeland after the Tampa game. Despite the flashings of many oncoming cars on I-4, I never turned on my headlights. (In my defense, my car’s lights are always on, so I guess I incorrectly assumed the rental car would do likewise.) Fortunately, only our egos were bruised upon pulling into the hotel lot.
For Chad’s annual birthday trip, we flew to the Interior Northwest. When we got to the airport by dawn’s early light on 7/4, we discovered the airline had cancelled our first flight, wrecking our connections. But we were pleasantly surprised when told by the Charleston desk agent that we would fly the rebooked Chicago-Seattle leg of the trip first-class.
That night in Spokane, we were disappointed by the ballclub’s Fourth of July fireworks. Not that they weren’t rousingly patriotic; it’s just that the Indians finished their game well before 9 -- having started at 6:30 -- and even after 20 minutes of filling by the on-field host, the fireworks started in twilight. ( July 4)
My baseball-park winning streak continued in both Idaho Falls (where I won a T-shirt from a local Mexican restaurant) and Helena (a Wendy’s water bottle). It was also Government Employee Night in Helena, where state and federal employees could get up to four tickets for just $3. The team hadn’t specified which state’s employees, so my WV employee ID was deemed acceptable for the discount. ( July 5 | July 7)
While I was awestruck by the Great Falls of the Missouri River and the beautiful emptiness along I-84 in northeastern Oregon, I was perhaps most impressed (but not surprised) by the Boise Fry Company. There, burgers were merely the appetizers; the main menu options consisted of various potatoes combined with various flavors into French fries. ( July 6 | July 8)
Chad’s birthday weekend was uniquely memorable. Saturday, we witnessed an indoor football game played outside and, Chad being Chad, he somehow knew one of the Spokane cheerleaders. On Sunday, we checked in with Dad whilst suspended in a gondola car over the falls of the Spokane River, and that evening at the ballpark, I got his name on the between-innings birthday list -- much to his consternation. ( July 9 | July 10 | July 11)
But let’s not discuss going up to see WVU play at Syracuse. But you saw the Baseball Hall of Fame! ( October 20 | October 21-22)
And now, the cliffhanger -- Dad wants to move out, and I'll get first option on the house.
Will I become a homeowner? Tune in next year.
I hope that 2011 found you well and leaves you in the same condition.
Nothing major happened this year: I did see a banjo-playing Steve Martin in concert, I had a larger-than-usual complement of trips both work and personal (see below), and my car will be paid off at the end of the year. And then there was the genocide I committed. Curious? Then read on.
For some reason, work this year was heavily focused in the state of Ohio. In January, it was Columbus -- a perfect time to catch multiple Buckeye basketball games and Blue Jacket hockey matches. Then we spent several weeks in late March and early April outside of Akron. And finally, it took September and half of October to finish work outside of Wheeling. Enough Ohio already!
During the Akron exam, a co-worker and I were dispatched to Michigan State University for a week’s worth of continuing education. The hotel where we stayed and were educated was literally a block from campus, but for some reason the green and white Spartan Spirit didn’t grow on me.
In other non-Ohio work news, we worked half of November in Martinsburg, which allowed for a weekend in DC. Fortunately, no politician sightings, but I did involve myself in the women’s basketball edition of the Beltway battle between Maryland and Georgetown. (“Fear The Turtle”? I never did understand how a terrapin could be a successfully viable athlete. Well, perhaps against a hare….)
As for personal trips, in May Chad and I did a little extended spring training in Florida. Traversing the state near Lake Okeechobee, our rental car unwittingly became the final resting place for seemingly thousands of insects. As a result, we needed several stops at gas stations to squeegee off the remains. And while I sincerely felt the gravity of killing millions of tiny swamp creatures while at the wheel, it was muted somewhat by the Yankees losing to Tampa and me winning a free orange-flavored ice cream cone at the ballgame in Bradenton. ( May 15 | May 16 | May 17 | May 18 | editorial)
I was more embarrassed in returning to Lakeland after the Tampa game. Despite the flashings of many oncoming cars on I-4, I never turned on my headlights. (In my defense, my car’s lights are always on, so I guess I incorrectly assumed the rental car would do likewise.) Fortunately, only our egos were bruised upon pulling into the hotel lot.
For Chad’s annual birthday trip, we flew to the Interior Northwest. When we got to the airport by dawn’s early light on 7/4, we discovered the airline had cancelled our first flight, wrecking our connections. But we were pleasantly surprised when told by the Charleston desk agent that we would fly the rebooked Chicago-Seattle leg of the trip first-class.
That night in Spokane, we were disappointed by the ballclub’s Fourth of July fireworks. Not that they weren’t rousingly patriotic; it’s just that the Indians finished their game well before 9 -- having started at 6:30 -- and even after 20 minutes of filling by the on-field host, the fireworks started in twilight. ( July 4)
My baseball-park winning streak continued in both Idaho Falls (where I won a T-shirt from a local Mexican restaurant) and Helena (a Wendy’s water bottle). It was also Government Employee Night in Helena, where state and federal employees could get up to four tickets for just $3. The team hadn’t specified which state’s employees, so my WV employee ID was deemed acceptable for the discount. ( July 5 | July 7)
While I was awestruck by the Great Falls of the Missouri River and the beautiful emptiness along I-84 in northeastern Oregon, I was perhaps most impressed (but not surprised) by the Boise Fry Company. There, burgers were merely the appetizers; the main menu options consisted of various potatoes combined with various flavors into French fries. ( July 6 | July 8)
Chad’s birthday weekend was uniquely memorable. Saturday, we witnessed an indoor football game played outside and, Chad being Chad, he somehow knew one of the Spokane cheerleaders. On Sunday, we checked in with Dad whilst suspended in a gondola car over the falls of the Spokane River, and that evening at the ballpark, I got his name on the between-innings birthday list -- much to his consternation. ( July 9 | July 10 | July 11)
But let’s not discuss going up to see WVU play at Syracuse. But you saw the Baseball Hall of Fame! ( October 20 | October 21-22)
And now, the cliffhanger -- Dad wants to move out, and I'll get first option on the house.
Will I become a homeowner? Tune in next year.