Tonight Melissa and I finally celebrated our second anniversary by going to see the musical Beauty and the Beast at the Fox Theater. We first went back to Angelo Brother’s for dinner and enjoyed some delicious Italian food. Afterwards we drove down to the Fox and luckily found a pretty good parking spot. I say luckily because there was also a Tigers game going on at the same time, so the city was even more busy than usual. It was a short walk to the theater from where we parked but it was a beautiful evening so the walk was rather enjoyable. Even though we arrived early the lobby of the Fox was already very busy. We had plenty of time to wait in line to pick up some souvenirs, Melissa was very happy that they had a full color souvenir program as she has begun collecting them from the events we go to, and then make our way to our seats. The show itself was very good. The way the stage and props were constructed so that buildings and set pieces were easily moved and served multiple purposes was great. The colors in the outfits were very vibrant, and the characters were all amazing. I can’t imagine portraying a candle stick or feather duster is an easy task, but they were incredible. I was amazed, however, at how many people appeared to show up late. I’ve attended many plays and musicals and never have I seen so many empty seats at the start of the show and so many people trickle in after the show had begun. There were a few seats in front of us that were empty until after the intermission, and then there was only another 30 minutes left of the show! Regardless, it was a great night for Melissa and I and we are very happy we had the opportunity to see this musical. Happy Anniversary Melissa, I love you!
Category Archives: Ed
Bring Your Daughter to Work Day 2016
Today was the day that Kylie had been waiting for just about a year. It’s take your daughter to work day! Last year was Kylie’s first time participating in this event and she had so much fun that she has been asking about it ever since. So last night after work I went over and picked her up so she could spend the night at my house to make the morning a bit easier. Seeing as the events started with breakfast at 9am I decided it would be best to not go into work at 6am like I normally do, so we both got to sleep in a little later than normal, which is always a good start to the day. Traffic on the way to work was a little heavier than I am accustomed to, and even Kylie commented on it, which I thought was funny. Regardless, we made it to the office with plenty of time and Kylie was amazed that since last year I have moved my desk and now have a standing desk instead of a sitting desk. She seemed shocked to find out that I literally stand around all day. Even more exciting for her though, was that I actually do have a chair, one that adjusts to a higher height to allow me to sit at my standing desk if I so choose. She had a lot of fun sitting in such a high chair. After about 15 minutes we went over to the main gathering area where breakfast was being provided and found ourselves a seat. After breakfast there was some dancing (though Daddy doesn’t dance) and general goofing around, and shortly after it was time for the kids to go off with their groups for a day full of activities. Due to a customer issue I was, unfortunately, not able to actually sit and have lunch with Kylie. This upset me greatly, in fact, I think, a lot more than it did Kylie. Thankfully she was able to sit with Nicole and Kira so she was not alone. I was able to at least quickly go over and let her know I wasn’t going to be able to eat with her and let her know how sorry I was so she wasn’t just sitting there wondering if I forgot or something. After eating Nicole brought her over to my desk so I could see her for a few minutes before she went off to her next activity. At the end of the day we met back up and she told me about all of the cool things she did. She said she really enjoyed the programming class and that the day in general was a lot of fun. I am very fortunate to work for a company that participates in these events and grateful to have a job where I can actually bring her in for the day. We are both already looking forward to next year’s bring your daughter to work day!
My Love Gets Older
Happy Birthday to my beautiful wife, Melissa!
To celebrate we had dinner at Angelo Brothers, a small Italian restaurant up the road. Seeing as Italian is Melissa’s favorite and there is no Olive Garden around (which I am kind of thankful for) we decided to give this place a try. I thought the food was excellent, and in my opinion, better than the previously mentioned chain. Not only was the main course excellent, but the homemade cannoli we had for dessert was also exceptional. After dinner we took a trip over to Best Buy where I purchased Melissa a new Dell Inspiron 11 3000 in Bali Blue to replace the ASUS Tablet that I had originally purchased but was defective. Afterwards we came home to configure her new laptop, watch some TV, and relax together. I look forward to many more years with you, my love. Happy Birthday.
Riverdance
Today we went out to the Wharton Center to see Riverdance, and it was amazing! It’s hard to believe that this show has already been performing for 20 years! Kylie loved seeing the dancing, and when she realized that they were doing Ballet, Pointe, and Tap all at the same time, she loved it even more.
We purchased a program on the way in, and because Kylie was with us the guy at the souvenir stand gave us the heads up that the woman 
(Natia) we had purchased the program from was one of the dancers, and that if we asked she would sign it for us! So off we went to have it signed, and in doing so she pointed us to another dancer (Mariia) who also signed it! Then Mariia gave us the heads up that if we went around to the stage door after the show that we could have the program signed by the cast of the show!
So after an amazing show we asked the Wharton Center staff and they directed us around to the stage door out back and we waited, in the snow, for the performers to come out, and we are super glad we did! There were only two other families who were waiting so we got to interact with many of the dancers and crew, get autographs, and even a couple of pictures. They 
were all so kind, happy, and thankful that we waited out in the cold and snow just for the opportunity to meet them. The highlight is this picture of Kylie with Jason O’Neill (Twitter), the principal dancer for the show! We even tweeted him after, and he replied! I can’t overstate how incredible it was to see this show live. If it ever comes through the area again, and we have the opportunity, I am certain we will go! We weren’t allowed to take any pictures inside of the Wharton center theater, but we were able to take a few outside in the main area, and those pictures, along with the one above of Kylie and Jason, can be seen in the gallery here.
An Evening with the Stars
I’ve been a fan of astrophysicist Neil DeGrasse Tyson for a long time now. I frequently listen to his StarTalk Radio podcast and I absolutely loved his Cosmos: A Spacetime Odyssey series. I think very highly of Mr. Tyson and am inclined to stop and listen whenever I hear his voice, as I am certain what ever he is going to say is going to be both educational and entertaining to me. So it should come as no surprise that I was very happy that Melissa got me some tickets to see him live for Christmas, and even less of a surprise that I am very happy that tonight was the night that we finally got to see him at the Fox! It was an incredible night listening to him talk on many subjects as they relate to astrophysics and us as people. I have already decided that I would love to see him again if he ever comes back through town. Thank you Melissa for such an awesome gift and an incredible evening.
That Was Relaxing
Prior to today I’ve only had one professional massage in my life, and honestly it was pretty painful. Now there is a very real possibility that it was bad because of the amount of knots that are in my back, as that is where I carry all of my stress. I once had a friend who went to school for massage therapy tell me it would take her at least a month of multiple sessions per week to straighten out my back, so I also have never followed through on it. I like the idea of a massage, and think it could be very relaxing, so today Melissa and I went and had a couples massage. It was actually very enjoyable and is something I wouldn’t mind doing again. The masseuse did a great job of pressing just hard enough to help relieve some of the tension in my back without causing me pain to make it actually be relaxing. This makes me wonder about my previous experience as well, as this seemed to be more in line to what people tell me it should be like. Additionally, though we didn’t speak and couldn’t really see each other, it was really nice knowing Melissa was there, relaxing as well. This will be added to my list of “things to do again,” though it won’t be an often occurrence as it is a little on the pricey side.
A Holiday Rock Opera
Tonight I finally took Melissa to see the Holiday Rock Opera spectacular that is Trans-Siberian Orchestra! I have seen them in the past, but Melissa has never had the opportunity, so I finally fixed that and got us some tickets. I don’t tend to go to many music concerts, as I find the ability to hear the lyrics clearly and them being well-balanced with the music is typically lacking. That factor usually makes live concerts un-enjoyable for me as I don’t get wrapped up in the hype of everyone around me either. That’s not the case with TSO though, everything seems to balance out nicely and the energy they put into the performance is incredible. I am not a big fan of most holiday music as well, but once again TSO is the exception for me. I think it has a lot to do with the fact that this is not typical holiday music, but rather rock music for the holidays. Melissa really enjoyed the show and I think she has a better appreciation for why I like this group so much and insist on listening to them every year. Hopefully we can go when they come to town next year as well, as I really want to bring Kylie to the next show.
Fourth Annual Holiday Party
Last night was the annual S24 holiday party, and once again it was a great time. Unfortunately Nicole and Alex were not able to make it due to Nicole not feeling well. That was the only low point of the night. This year the party was at the Tam-O-Shanter Country Club, which is different from previous years, but was decided via a company wide vote. I guess the majority of the company was ready for a change of scenery. There was no live band this year, instead there was a DJ playing music. There were also four bars around the perimeter of the of the venue along with side rooms for quite conversations. They also brought back the caricature artists this year, so Melissa and I made sure to get another one of those done, as they are usually pretty good. I have to admit, I drank a bit more last night then I normally would or I intended too, but there was no driving as we relied on the provided shuttle to bring us back to the hotel. Melissa is definitely more comfortable with the atmosphere and people in the company now as well, as we spent a good portion of the night walking around and mingling separately. I think the way the venue was set up, that of a multi-room hall layout, lent to more of a wandering and mingling atmosphere opposed to just sitting at a table. I do feel that fewer people came this year though, I think the change of venue made some people feel like it was out-of-the-way, or perhaps that there wouldn’t be anything to do in the area after the party. I know a lot of people will leave the party at the end of the night and then go to the casino or a Coney Island. We didn’t have this problem though, as we typically just go back to the hotel and sleep by that time. Despite all this I think this may have been the best year yet, because of how comfortable we both were with knowing more people and such. I hope they change the venue back next year, just so more people will come, but if they don’t I think this venue worked out very well. Here’s looking forward to next year already!
Camping with Friends
We just returned from our first, hopefully of many, camping trips with our friends Alex and Nicole. We went to a semi-local state park, Metamora-Hadley, where Nicole camped a lot when she was younger. It’s what most people would refer to as “rustic camping.” There were bathrooms and showers that we could use, and our site had access to electricity, so while this camping was “rustic” it wasn’t as if we were out in the middle of the woods with no amenities. There are some nature trails we could hike along, and a beautiful lake with a sectioned off beach for swimming. You can also rent canoes and go out on the lake to fish or just row around. We didn’t do that this time, but perhaps next time we will. This was the first time that I have gone camping since I was a kid, and even then it was more of a resort type camping (less rustic, same amenities with the addition of a pool, game room, lounge, etc) and I only went once or twice. Kylie, Melissa, and I all had a fun time, though if we are going to go again we will need to get some of our own stuff as we had to borrow a tent, and luckily Alex and Nicole have basically everything else you would need to camp. We were only able to go out for the weekend, so hopefully next time we can go for a longer trip.
Our First Anniversary
One year ago today something amazing happened. A very beautiful, caring, and loving woman chose to spend the rest of her life with me as my wife. Surrounded by a very small group of our closest family, Melissa and I were married. It’s hard to believe that a year has gone by already, but considering how busy we have been with becoming first time home owners it’s easy to see where the time went. If the fast pace of this past year is an indication to how quickly the years are going to go and the adventure that we are in for, than I cannot wait to see what the years together will bring. We have many things to work on, together, but that is the key. We will continue to work on them, together; to aid, support, and love one another, and through our combined efforts I know we will continue to be happy and capable of handling whatever comes our way. Happy first anniversary to my beautiful wife Melissa, thank you for loving me and allowing me to love you in return. I look forward to what the next years of our lives will bring us.