Stardate 59040.4
April went to LA Thursday and Friday for an equipment demo. Patrick was nervous about it, because dad gets mad a lot lately. Kids are great at noticing and pointing out things like that. I suppose he is right. I am feeling frustrated and adrift in my career, and I don’t care for it. Not that I am in danger of losing the job. I am still able to step in on crisis situations and solve them. I also have a lot of domain knowledge that I know is very hard to find. But I don’t think the company makes use of it as they could. I’m continuing to do CBT on my own.
I have also been working from home far more than before. A lot of this is problems with the commute. Weather has caused some of it. Yesterday the freeway shut down due to a truck dumping a porti-potty on I-15 in North Salt Lake. I spent an hour on the freeway going 10 miles, and decided to turn around at Farmington and go home. I read in Justin’s blog that he saw the accident and called 911. This is the fourth freeway closure or near closure in the last month. It generates the same comments on KSL every time; “if we had the Legacy highway”, and “better mass transit”. Valid, but not the whole problem. Commuter rail would get me to downtown, but then I need to go to South Salt Lake to get back north to West Valley. Not a really good answer and I still need to get the kids to school. Another problem is Davis cities apparently planned for urban housing, but not for industrial development. So the jobs are in Salt Lake City, and there is a rush hour each morning and afternoon. It’s strange that fifteen years ago leaders were saying we need to learn from and avoid the problems of Southern California, but they missed.
Wednesday I participated in the company blood drive. I tried at the kids school back in December with a company called MountainStar. They stuck a needle in both arms, but failed to find a vein. Red Cross phlebotomists gave one quick stab and got a vein no problem. They are sending me a donor card to make future donations much easier. I’m type O, which means I am a universal donor (what is given in an emergency if they don’t know your type), so they are after me to donate as often as I can.
Report cards came home Friday. The kids are doing well. Thomas has the most trouble. There are still a few things he has not mastered (tying his shoes, his home address, etc.). Patrick has some behavior problems. He likes to goof and joke around. It’s hard to correct since his friends find it funny, and that’s what he’s looking for. Rachel has been having emotional issues. Unfortunately she takes after me and won’t talk about it. We set up a session with the school councilor. If nothing else, it gives her someone to unburden on. The councilor told me she is having the typical pre-teen problems, and she feels over scheduled, and that she does not have any free time. Part of that is a result that she complains she has nothing to do when she does have free time.
The first AYSO soccer games were on Saturday. This was also April Fool’s Day, which seems appropriate. When I got there for Thomas’s game, the other coach told me the times had been changed. He only just found out about it. So we set up our own field and played. I only had two players, so Patrick filled in. It has been raining frequently, so the fields were soaked. My shoes quickly became the same way.
The Girl Scouts had a kidnap breakfast that morning, but Rachel and her friend Audra (coincidentally the name of the Red Cross phlebotomist) thought April was playing a joke and refused to go. She got upset when April came back with the rest of the troop to get her. Both girls had a soccer game at 10. Rachel was so distressed she would not play. The team played in a field that was half lake. A ball kicked down the field would stop cold when it hit the water. Audra’s mother was surprised that I stayed with her daughter. I was waiting to pick up another player for Patrick’s game, so I didn’t think it was a big deal. The team still won the game through rain and hail. Patrick’s game was cancelled. No reason was given, but I think it was because they could not get the fields redone in time. They are trying to not play in the Pit, which on that day would have been a disaster. But the games for the U-8 teams have been moved to the U-6 fields, so they have to reset to a different size. That evening we went to Layton Fun Center with the school.
Monday evening was the first fishing class. Rachel told us she does not want to fish ever again. Thomas and Patrick went with me to Clinton Pond. I bought some new poles for them to use. The class was basic safety, and then the boys cast the lines into the water for an hour. Nobody caught anything, but the boys had a good time. Next week is knot tying, so it should be fun. I might break down and get a license for the year. They handed out a book listing the ponds and lakes all along the Wasatch Front. There are plenty of places nearby to go. If someone catches a fish, then I should have an easy time convincing the kids to go.
Weight : 190 lbs
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