ESB and Rogue One

     I was so sad when I heard that Carrie Fisher had died.  I wrote this post before her passing.

Written on 12-22-16.

     It’s Belinda and Amanda’s birthday today.  They are 49 now.  Belinda and I have just over one full month where we will be the same age, but I will ruin that by turning 50 on January 29th.  We are up at the cabin home again, and Becca’s boyfriend Matt is here, too.  The twins are stirring after taking a nap together here in the living room.  A was on the floor (her typical spot) while B and Danielle shared the couch.  

     Danielle now has the couch all to herself.  Eric and Kyle might come up later, but it will probably be Kyle all by himself.  Eric is busy getting his newest Big-O store going in Farmington, and he hopes to have it open by the end of this month.  We got to tour it yesterday, and it’s on track to be open by the date he has in mind.  We are going to help him on Tuesday by moving a bunch of tires into place onto the new wooden storage racks he is building.

     In other news, we celebrated Christmas in Lakewood early by combining the opening weekend of the new Star Wars movie, Rogue One, with our extended family Christmas.  It was great!  The movie was...

Two Atypical Work Day Events and Two Bonus Birdies

Written on 12-14-16.

     I am writing this from the Chili’s Restaurant in Espanola.  I am here on business, but this is the first chance I’ve gotten today to just…stop.  I had to charge my phone with the Escape at El Rito Elementary today, and that killed the battery, although now I think it was close to dead anyway.  When the kid (two years out of high school) at the Auto Zone tested it, he said it was bad, so I bought a new one and they installed it.  A manager helped, and they also spliced a new cable for the negative post (lots of corrosion).  Fixed.

     I had to deal with a massive bloody nose at the school today, too.  A 3rd grader got bopped with a basketball, so I offered to take him inside to the nurse, but this school is so small they don’t even have a nurse.  In a real emergency, thankfully, they are able to send kids to the clinic that is next door.  It has been an atypical day, for sure.  

     Danielle drove home today, so I won’t get to see her until tomorrow night after I’m done with this four-day trip to my faraway schools, Ojo Caliente and El Rito.  This weekend, we are going to Denver to watch the new Star Wars movie, Rogue One.  I am so looking forward to that, especially after all of this work that I’ve done lately.  I did it.  I managed to get in all six visits for the schools I’m helping in my second month.

     I also managed to play some golf last weekend.  Bruce and C.J. played on Saturday, and I was able to join them after my monthly meeting for my new CORE job.  Bruce stuck around to play holes #1 through #4, so I could say I played a full nine holes.  I joined them on #14, and they were playing against the Bogey Man.  The goal was +6 they said, and they were at +6, so they were hoping I could help.  I didn’t know how much I could help on this first hole, especially because...

60 Birdies in One Year!

Written on 11-16-16.

     Our regular threesome played again today, but everything felt so different from just two days ago.  The fairways were tan and crispy.  The skies were overcast and gloomy.  A biting breeze kept the day from ever feeling like the predicted 60+ degrees.  The golf felt different, too.  Tee shots went farther than expected and lies were tighter due to the harder ground.  It’s amazing what two days can do, but it is just past mid-November.  We’ve been spoiled with this warm stretch of weather lately.  Bruce said it’s only beginning to feel like what mid-October typically feels like, and that was an astute observation.  It’s like the months are off this fall.

     My golf game was back to being “off” again, too, and I was decimated in the “Reverse Handicap” game today.  Bruce beat C.J. and me so badly on the front nine by earning 70 points, so we started over on the back.  Then he trounced us again.  

     C.J. and I battled it out for second place, but his birdie on #16 helped him to earn two holes worth of points and knock me into third and last place.  I didn’t even earn one birdie today to help my mood.  

     On Monday, though, I played...

Early November Writings in an Early December Post

Written on 11-3-16.

     We head to Lakewood tomorrow for a visit with family, and the reason for this trip is Guy found some really reasonably priced tickets.  I have one meeting for Time to Teach at Foothills Elementary on Monday morning.  Danielle has even decided to make the trip from Las Cruces, but we encouraged her to stop in Albuquerque, and she will probably spend the night at Rich’s, James’s good friend and former college roommate.  He just got an engineering job there.

     I’ve started my new job.  I was given the green light to begin, so I contacted all five of my schools yesterday to get my first visits set up.  I have not set one date yet, though.  I just e-mailed all of them to introduce myself.  

     My biggest news, besides the new job starting, is that I have...