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Got outside climbing for the first time in a long time. My friend Scott and I met at the gunks for a couple of days of trad.
It was pretty good, but I’m really out of shape for that kind of climbing. I came home swearing I’d spend more time in the gym going forward.
Hasn’t happened yet.
Oh well.
Still fun and good to get out.
There’s always next week.
– b
After a successful cricket experiment, we moved onto Mixed Bugs.
They were ok. Tasted the same as the crickets.
One thing is for sure, if I’m out in the wilderness trying to survive on bugs, I now know I’ll need to eat a lot to remotely satisfy my caloric needs.
– b
As part of the relocation, we had promised the girls that at some point we’d get kittens.
Now we have kittens.
Jen found them on Craig’s List. They’re brother and sister. We’ve named them Bonnie and Clyde.
They are as you’d expect kittens to be. Cute as hell and full of energy.
Hopefully by the fall they’ll be big enough and adventurous enough to keep the mice away.
– b
Remember the shinguard thing for the girls?
Click the link below to see what happens when you don’t wear shinguards.
It looks way worse than it was, but it wasn’t comfortable for a few hours.
– b
Sort of around this time last year the company “let go” my boss’s boss. He was kind of instrumental in getting my promotion and getting me relocated to Boston.
In the Julyish timeframe they hired someone new. She had a track record of 2 year stints at various technical companies in the Boston area. Now she was going to make her mark at ours.
It started out bad, then it got worse. Then it got really bad.
A bunch of people left.
Finally it started to look better. Then it got a little better.
Things were maintaining a level of so-so, but now she’s gone.
I don’t have the details, but it obviously didn’t work out for whatever reason.
This time the company promoted from within. It’s a good thing so far. Hopefully it stays that way.
Obviously I’m only saying so much, but that’s all that’s public. Hit me up offline if you’re interested in more conversation around the situation. There’s certainly more to be had.
– b
We had a rule that when the girls turned 6 they’d get to redecorate their rooms, then again when they’re 12 (I think).
Having to move in the middle of Lauren turning 6, then “moving” through 7 (it’s a longer process than I ever expected) made that kind difficult.
Last summer, after arriving in Boston, we actually ordered new bedroom stuff for her. It was supposed to be delivered in the fall, but didn’t show up until around Christmas.
Finally around Easter I put it together.
The base of the setup is a double bed that looks like a tent, or fort or house.
She just loved it when she picked it.
Of course you need lots of color to finish things out. Curtains, an area rug, some kind of wall treatment and maybe decorations for the white sides are still to come.
In the meantime we had also gotten this.
It’s super cute and between the bed and this, her room has become a bit of a play land.
You’d almost expect them to be spending 100% of their time playing in there, but other things have changed too.
You’ll see more of that in a subsequent post…
– b
We opted for toothy pedals on the girls bikes, so they’d have more grip and stability while riding. Problem is in the event that they do slip, their calves take a beating.
I got them shinguards for the front, so that wasn’t the problem. The problem was what to do about the back?
Problem solved. Shinguards for the back. Seems simple enough, but finding the right thing to fit with the front ones and doing it all online was a shot in the dark.
Now we need to try them.
– b
It’s obvious when I think about it. It’s obvious when I say it, but holy hell there are a lot of pot holes in Massachusetts.
Yeah – yeah – freeze thaw, salt, etc, but you’ve really got to be careful driving up here.
The alignment and tire shops definitely aren’t hurting for work.
– b
Have you tried bugs?
They’re not terrible. Could be bigger, and more filling, but they weren’t a complete turnoff.
I’m going to see if I can find some grasshoppers. Maybe they will be more fulfilling.
– b
Lauren got her ears pierced.
We had originally tried the mall around Christmas time, but the lack of hygiene there kind of freaked us out.
Instead we went to a tattoo shop in Cambridge.
It was all very clean and uneventful. I’d even go as far as to say top notch.
So far so good. No issues with Jiu Jitsu or general infection.
We’re keeping our fingers crossed.
– b