We took a trip out to the University of Michigan’s Museum of Natural History today, and spent a few hours walking around and looking through everything they had to offer. I have been in a number of Natural History museums, as they are my favorite kind of museum, and I have to admit I was impressed with the amount of exhibits that the University has. Kylie was most interested in the dinosaur exhibits and being able to sit in a dugout canoe. I was interested to see the display of all the natural wildlife that exists in our area, as was Melissa. While it was nice to visit a local Natural History museum, because it is associated with and operated by the University, their exhibits do not change very often, so I think it may be a while before we return to this particular destination, but it is very nice to know that it is here. We took a few pictures while we were here as well.
Category Archives: Ed
Donuts with Dad
Tonight was my second Watch DOGS meeting, and it was titled Donuts with Dad. All the fathers (and father figures) who had already been Watch DOGS or who have signed up to be, were invited to come in with their student(s) and have some donuts. This was also another recruitment meeting where interested fathers could learn more about the program and hear from others of us who had already participated to learn more about the program. It was a nice time, and of course, Kylie loved having the donuts. I’m still not sure if I am going to be able to be a Watch DOG another day this year, but I would like to do it again at some point. I know Kylie really enjoyed having me there last time as well.
Can You Hear Me Now?
For a long time now I have been telling Melissa that I honestly thought something might be wrong with her hearing. I have noticed that we seem to be turning the volume up on the TV more and more and she seems to not hear me frequently. So today when we walked into Sam’s Club and the sign said free hearing tests, I said let’s go. She thought I was joking at first but I insisted and so she reluctantly agreed. Well low and behold, Melissa does in fact have some hearing issues with her left ear, to the point that she needs a hearing aide. She is not very happy about the turn of events, but we got her one right on the spot and she tested it out in the store. She admitted that she does hear considerably better with it and though she doesn’t really want to need one, she realized that she really does need it. So we bought the one right then, and she has been wearing it all day. It’s going to take some getting used to, obviously, but I am having a fun time showing her how loud she used to set the TV, or watching as she “hears something for the first time.” Her right ear is borderline as well, so there is a possibility that she may need one for that ear in the future as well, but we will deal with that when it happens. Until then, she needs to adjust to this one, and become less self conscious about it. I also had my hearing tested, and with the exception of some tinnitus in my right ear, my hearing is pretty good. Though I was able to view the scar tissue from my tube surgery when I was a kid, and honestly it looked pretty neat.
Almost a New Home
Tonight we got to our furthest point so far in our hunt to purchase a house, we had a house inspection performed on a property that we placed a bid on. I accompanied the inspector through the interior and exterior inspections and learned a lot about what to look for in a house. The outside inspection was not as long as the inside inspection and that was mostly due to all the snow we got last night rendering many items in-viewable. However, what we lacked looking at on the outside we more than made up for on the inside! The inspection lasted about three hours and after everything was said and done Melissa and I have decided to walk away from this property. There were enough little things wrong, and a few major ones, that made us decide that even though the house was cosmetically very nice, this just wasn’t the house for us. It by no means was a waste though, not only did the inspection reveal these things to us in time to walk away, but I also learned a great deal that I hope to remember for future viewings.
Merry Christmas
Another Christmas has come upon us, and I hope it finds you happy, healthy, and among those you love. Kylie, Melissa, and I all got to spend the morning and early afternoon together, as is the custom. Kylie seemed to be happy with everything Santa left for her and the items that Melissa and I got her as well. When I asked Kylie what her favorite gift was, she named off everything, so I take that as a good sign. After Kylie left Melissa and I just spent the rest of the day relaxing, and wishing Kylie could still be with us. Hopefully everyone else had a great day too.
Second Annual Secure-24 Holiday Party
Tonight was my second S24 Holiday Party, and once again it was a blast! Once again it was at The Fillmore and we had 
a room at The Westin Book Cadillac, which means the venue was awesome and our room was amazing! The party, like last year’s, was incredible. The Killer Flamingos performed all night, and they rocked! Like last year there was an excellent open bar, delicious food, and some pretty sweet raffles. However, due to the economy and some budgeting issues, there were some differences as well. This year there were no professional photographers roaming the party, no caricatures, and no delectable donuts at the end of the party to take home. That being said, the party was still a blast! In fact, this year might have been better than last year on a personal level because this year I knew more people in the company, so we felt more included. We are already looking forward to next year, and there is even talk about Ren, Alex, and I all rocking out bow ties! While I am not certain if that will actually happen, I am certain it will be another blast!
WatchDOGS Day
Today I got to surprise Kylie by showing up at her house bright and early to pick her up for school, because today was my day to be a Watch DOG! Kylie had no idea that I was going to be a Watch DOG today, so when she came out from brushing her teeth to see me standing in the living room with my Watch DOG shirt on, she was very surprised, and that made for a great start to an awesome day! 
When we got to her school we went to the office in order for me to sign in and get my schedule and an introduction to the program. Then, once that was complete, I got to join Kylie in the library to participate in the morning announcements. The announcements are televised throughout the school and Kylie got to introduce me as the Days Watch DOG, and she was very excited to be able to participate in the announcements. After the announcements we had our picture taken together to place on the schools Watch DOG hall of fame board, then the day began.
After that my day consisted of moving from one assigned class to another, starting and ending with Kylie’s class. While I was in these classrooms I helped out in whatever way the teacher needed. This ranged from helping students with their work, to taking a few students at a time out into the hall to work on individual lessons. I also helped out during all of the lunch sessions; helping kids open their containers or getting them additional milks, and coordinating the different shifts of students coming in to eat.
During the day I got a lot of high-fives and hugs from the kids, who all seemed to be really excited to have a Watch DOG in their class or even just passing them by in the hall. At the end of the day I had the opportunity to provide some feedback on the program along with any ideas or suggestions I had on making improvements. This was a very exciting and fun filled day. I am not sure if I will be able to take another day to participate in the program again this year, but if the opportunity presents itself I will be sure to jump at the opportunity as it was a great experience!
Another Riding Season Ends
Well my riding season, what little riding I got to do anyway, has officially come to an end. I dropped the bike off at Chuck’s for the winter, and I honestly hope this is the last year I need to store it at his house. While I really appreciate his generosity each year and the rent free space in his pole barn, I would just really like to have my own garage to store it in. Not just so I am not burdening my friend, but also so I can have the bike close so I can take advantage of random nice days late or early in the season. Once again though I didn’t get to ride as much as I would have liked too. I have yet to find a route to work that is motorcycle friendly, which is a huge bummer considering how long the commute is. Perhaps if we can find a house that’s closer and offers a better route…
One Year at Secure-24
Today marks my 1 year anniversary at Secure-24. I can honestly say it seems like it has been a lot longer. When I first started working here everyone referred to time in S24 years, and I found out that it was a running joke amongst the engineers. It is in reference to how the years at S24 seem to be much longer than at other places. This is due to the constantly changing environments due to the nature of business that a Managed Service Provider runs. I laughed it off for the first few months until I slowly began to feel it too. Now, here I am, one year later and I find it hard to believe that it has only been one year. During this time I even managed to meet a personal goal, and change teams. I’m not even sure I could manage to list all of the new things I have learned between the two positions, or the things I have had access to here that I would never had had access to at my old company. The people I have met here are all incredibly talented and great to be around. The company culture is amazing and the events that encourage us all to come together outside the office are terrific. What I am most thankful for though, is the fact that it has been a year and I still enjoy coming to work everyday; with the exception of the commute anyway! I’m working on that…
EMC Tailgate
Today was the annual EMC tailgate and customer appreciation event, and honestly, I wasn’t very impressed this year. There were a lot of changes this year, some from EMC and their sponsor partners and some from the general atmosphere. You can tell this year that they didn’t go as “all out” as they have in past years. For starters they didn’t hand out as many tickets to the game, in fact this is the first year that I didn’t have tickets. That’s not a big deal though as I am not a super fan or anything. Besides they have TV’s there with good sound so we can watch the game too. Well, at least that is half right. They had the TV but no one bothered to bring the sound cables to connect them into the speakers, so we had no commentary. Also, the food this year wasn’t up to par and the caterers were downright rude, and they seemed to be understaffed. So it took forever to get anything to eat, at least the drinks were flowing good though! In addition my old co-workers, Chuck and Dan, whom I was really looking forward to seeing, didn’t show up because they didn’t get tickets this year either, and that is the main reason they go. While it was still a decent time, it just didn’t live up to what I have come to expect from an EMC event, in fact, Melissa and I left right after half-time. Hopefully next year will be back up to standard….