The musings, experiences, ramblings and nostalgia of a mildly geeky writer/editor, Cubs fan, advocate of cheesy '80s music, and overall thoughtful guy.
2011
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For my last post of the year, and the 100th of the year, just five pictures that described 2011:
As expected, the last three days of vacation were much less eventful than the first 12. This happens every year -- we get back from Wisconsin for at least one day before leaving for Utah, and it's just wind-down time. And that's OK -- going nonstop for two weeks isn't easy, especially with kids. And vacation is supposed to be a time to relax, and for the past three days, that's what we did. The past few days weren't that relaxing, however. Monday, we met my mom, who is in Chicago this week, for lunch and then to Old Orchard Mall. That night, we met some friends at the new Superdawg (my favorite Chicago hot dog restaurant) in Wheeling. Tuesday, after pondering going downtown, we ended up just seeing the Smurfs movie with my dad. Last night, we went to dinner at a nice little Italian restaurant here in Edgebrook. Wednesday was mostly devoted to getting ready for our return trip Thursday morning. The heat and thunderstorms finally subsided -- this might have been the m...
Two days, two weddings. The boys stayed with Lori's parents at the hotel in Franklin, and we stayed again with Sara in Milwaukee. Sara, who rarely gets to cook for people, was ecstatic to make us breakfast. I walked to the nearby Pick 'n' Save -- the one that opened in 1994 when Lori and I were living on the east side -- to buy ingredients for homemade egg muffins. They were delicious and a good way to start the day that was bound to get busier. Mike's wedding was in Lake Villa, Ill., about 45 minutes from Milwaukee. The weather couldn't be better today after the chilly wedding Friday. The location was nice, and the sun was shining for the ceremony. I got to see all my high school friends for the first time since Tom's funeral last year, and we toasted to his memory before the pre-wedding responsibilities began. Mike kept entrusting me to mix him Jim Beam and lemonades, and I was concerned I wasn't making them strong enough. We took pictures and helped w...
I'm lucky to work for a company that offers a one-month paid sabbatical for every five years of service. I hit my 10th anniversary in January, so I was eligible for another sabbatical ... and I didn't waste time in taking it. I went off the clock nearly five weeks ago (I got a few extra days thanks to a weekend and a couple vacation days I tacked on) and have tried hard to not think about work and, instead, concentrate on relaxing, recharging, and refocusing. I wasn't totally successful in not thinking about work, but I still would say, mission accomplished. The month didn't go as quickly as I feared it would. I'm not in a rush to resume work again in the morning, but it wasn't a blink-and-miss-it sabbatical. I'm not at the end here thinking, "What did I do the last month?" With the first Joe-batical, I got to a point in which I seemed just a little meandering . I got some stuff done around the house and some writing, but there were too many days t...
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