Monday, October 27, 2008
Andrew is 21!
Last week, Andrew turned 21 years old. To put that into perspective, Celeste was 21 years old when we got married. I was 24 years old. Life is taking a much different direction for Drew, but it is a path that he seems happy with.
Another difference - it took me a while to take advantage of my 21 year old new rights. Lee called me a couple of months later and said, "Hey, you're 21 now right?" With my positive reply, we agreed to go to a bar since we could. Of course, neither of us were drinkers so we each had a Coke. But it was in a bar where we were carded to get in! I got the gambling in fairly quickly. I think it was a few weeks after turning 21 that my parents took me to Las Vegas for a weekend.
For Andrew, his friends got him to a bar and got him his first drink at the stroke of midnight on his birthday. Beyond that, we had the grandmothers conspire with us regarding the gambling. We needed to know that he did not have other plans and the grandmothers wanted to give him a chance to try out some legal gambling. It worked out great.
The surprise party was a success. After an afternoon at one of the Indian Casinos, the grandmothers were bringing Andrew home. My mom told him that she needed to drop something off at our house (and she actually had a bag to give to us). Andrew was completely surprised. We had a small, but vocal group of people over to celebrate his birthday. Andrew was definitely caught off guard!
Another difference - it took me a while to take advantage of my 21 year old new rights. Lee called me a couple of months later and said, "Hey, you're 21 now right?" With my positive reply, we agreed to go to a bar since we could. Of course, neither of us were drinkers so we each had a Coke. But it was in a bar where we were carded to get in! I got the gambling in fairly quickly. I think it was a few weeks after turning 21 that my parents took me to Las Vegas for a weekend.
For Andrew, his friends got him to a bar and got him his first drink at the stroke of midnight on his birthday. Beyond that, we had the grandmothers conspire with us regarding the gambling. We needed to know that he did not have other plans and the grandmothers wanted to give him a chance to try out some legal gambling. It worked out great.
The surprise party was a success. After an afternoon at one of the Indian Casinos, the grandmothers were bringing Andrew home. My mom told him that she needed to drop something off at our house (and she actually had a bag to give to us). Andrew was completely surprised. We had a small, but vocal group of people over to celebrate his birthday. Andrew was definitely caught off guard!
Monday, October 20, 2008
Volleyball, Week 4
I'm beginning to sense a pattern.
Week 4: 3 wins, 1 tie
The funny thing is that it is a different group of girls each week. The team officially has 6 players. We play 4 on the court at a time. However, one has had to drop for the season and each week we usually have one or two missing. Last Saturday two of the girls were taking the PSAT test at school (including Bethany). That left us with 3 players. As we have done in the past, we rotated in a player from another team that had extras. They sent us a different player each game. Despite having a "cold" player on the team, the girls were still able to perform well.
The first game started slow, but when they were down by 8 points they seemed to get motivated. We ran out of time and ended the game at 26 to 26 (games are to 25, but you have to win by 2 points). The other games were all clear wins.
Week 4: 3 wins, 1 tie
The funny thing is that it is a different group of girls each week. The team officially has 6 players. We play 4 on the court at a time. However, one has had to drop for the season and each week we usually have one or two missing. Last Saturday two of the girls were taking the PSAT test at school (including Bethany). That left us with 3 players. As we have done in the past, we rotated in a player from another team that had extras. They sent us a different player each game. Despite having a "cold" player on the team, the girls were still able to perform well.
The first game started slow, but when they were down by 8 points they seemed to get motivated. We ran out of time and ended the game at 26 to 26 (games are to 25, but you have to win by 2 points). The other games were all clear wins.
Labels: Volleyball
Saturday, October 18, 2008
Home & Sleeping
I'm home now. I have more to post about Finland, but I don't have the pictures handy.
Yesterday I flew home. In Pacific Time Zone terms, I woke up at 6:45pm on Thursday night. I quickly got ready and took a cab to the Helsinki airport. From there, flew to London. From London, flew to LAX. From LAX, took an airport shuttle home. Arrived home at around 5:30pm on Friday night.
Since the airplane was in daylight the entire time and I started after a night's sleep, I did not sleep at all on either flight. I managed to stay awake until around 8:30pm or so when I got home. I woke up at 4:00am this morning, tried to sleep until 5:00am and then got up.
I guess my "Travel Savant" record is not going so well today. I did fine on the trip out there adjusting, but it doesn't seem like today will go as well. Hopefully I can stay awake later tonight (10pm?) and get back on track with my home time zone.
On the plus side, it's great to be home again! This is only my second trip that was 2 weeks long in four years, so I guess that is not bad. However, I really prefer to not be gone long enough to need to do laundry!
Yesterday I flew home. In Pacific Time Zone terms, I woke up at 6:45pm on Thursday night. I quickly got ready and took a cab to the Helsinki airport. From there, flew to London. From London, flew to LAX. From LAX, took an airport shuttle home. Arrived home at around 5:30pm on Friday night.
Since the airplane was in daylight the entire time and I started after a night's sleep, I did not sleep at all on either flight. I managed to stay awake until around 8:30pm or so when I got home. I woke up at 4:00am this morning, tried to sleep until 5:00am and then got up.
I guess my "Travel Savant" record is not going so well today. I did fine on the trip out there adjusting, but it doesn't seem like today will go as well. Hopefully I can stay awake later tonight (10pm?) and get back on track with my home time zone.
On the plus side, it's great to be home again! This is only my second trip that was 2 weeks long in four years, so I guess that is not bad. However, I really prefer to not be gone long enough to need to do laundry!
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Geocaching in Finland
I visited a local island fortress as part of my sightseeing last weekend: Soumenlinna. It has a very interesting history and was once considered second only to Gibralter as a powerful sea-side fortress. It has an important enough history that it is considered one of the United Nation's World Heritage Sites.
As part of my visit to the island, I made a list of geocaches that are planted over there. A number of them sounded interesting and not too hard. Boy, was I wrong. I think that the root of my problems was that poking around in a suspicious way in a foreign capital city's World Heritage Site made me pretty nervous. It seemed like it would be hard to explain opening things and moving items of historical interest around to look for hidden treasures.
As the day was ending, I was afraid that I would go 0 for 5 on my searching. I was feeling desperate to find at least one since it is likely I won't have another chance before leaving.
On the way out, I returned to the scene of the first one that I tried for. I carefully re-read the notes and took a seat on the library steps (see the photo below) to think things through. Since it was Sunday, the library was closed. That meant not many people on the street. That was my only hope.
If you check out the right side of the photo, you will see some metal coverings sticking out of the brick wall at an angle. While sitting on the steps, I saw a piece of wire connected to a nail in a brick. That wire was holding down one side of the farthest metal covering. Duh! How did I miss that before? Again, I suggest nervousness at the situation. Anyway, once I loosened that I found the film canister cache.
Back on the steps, I filled out the log sheet and left a few US coins for a future cacher (a penny, a nickel, a dime, and, in honor of our friends to the North, a US State Quarter featuring Oregon). I got a few funny looks from passers by as I sat there, but no one stopped to say anything. Somewhat ironically, it turns out that two other cachers signed the log earlier in the day!
It still felt a bit like vandalizing a historical site when I was lifting and returning that metal cover. However, I managed to get it taken care of without causing an international incident.
Beyond the geocaching issue, the island visit was great. I'll write more about that later.
As part of my visit to the island, I made a list of geocaches that are planted over there. A number of them sounded interesting and not too hard. Boy, was I wrong. I think that the root of my problems was that poking around in a suspicious way in a foreign capital city's World Heritage Site made me pretty nervous. It seemed like it would be hard to explain opening things and moving items of historical interest around to look for hidden treasures.
As the day was ending, I was afraid that I would go 0 for 5 on my searching. I was feeling desperate to find at least one since it is likely I won't have another chance before leaving.
On the way out, I returned to the scene of the first one that I tried for. I carefully re-read the notes and took a seat on the library steps (see the photo below) to think things through. Since it was Sunday, the library was closed. That meant not many people on the street. That was my only hope.
If you check out the right side of the photo, you will see some metal coverings sticking out of the brick wall at an angle. While sitting on the steps, I saw a piece of wire connected to a nail in a brick. That wire was holding down one side of the farthest metal covering. Duh! How did I miss that before? Again, I suggest nervousness at the situation. Anyway, once I loosened that I found the film canister cache.
Back on the steps, I filled out the log sheet and left a few US coins for a future cacher (a penny, a nickel, a dime, and, in honor of our friends to the North, a US State Quarter featuring Oregon). I got a few funny looks from passers by as I sat there, but no one stopped to say anything. Somewhat ironically, it turns out that two other cachers signed the log earlier in the day!
It still felt a bit like vandalizing a historical site when I was lifting and returning that metal cover. However, I managed to get it taken care of without causing an international incident.
Beyond the geocaching issue, the island visit was great. I'll write more about that later.
Labels: Geocaching, Rob, Travel
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Volleyball Season Update
We are in the middle of the Fall Volleyball seaason. Between Girl Scouts and business travel, I am missing a lot of the season. We only play for 8 weeks which goes by very fast. Each week, we practice once (Tuesdays) and play once (Saturdays). I have missed 2 Saturdays and (including the upcoming week) 2 Thursdays. Hopefully I will make the rest, but that is a 25% absentee rate.
As with last season, I am coaching the team with Bethany and Hayley. You would think that the team would be demoralized and play poorly with the coach gone. The first Saturday was just practice - no games. That one doesn't count. However, let's review yesterday. The team had 3 wins and 1 tie for the day. Last season when I missed a game they had 4 wins and no losses. I guess I should not let the power of being the coach go to my head!
This season, there is a lot of help which makes a difference too. Another dad is helping when he can (like yesterday) and he has some good volleyball experience. Also, one of the big sisters is an assistant coach when she is available. Finally, Celeste and family know the game well after so many seasons and provide good support from the crowd.
In this league, we don't have playoffs so we don't track standings. It's all played for fun - and it is fun. However, unofficially the kids do keep track. Here are our standings so far this season:
Week 1, 2 wins
Week 2, 3 wins, 1 tie
Week 3, 3 wins, 1 tie
There are 3 game days remaining. We'll see how it goes. Hopefully my return next Saturday (the day after returning from Finland) will not upset the record!
As with last season, I am coaching the team with Bethany and Hayley. You would think that the team would be demoralized and play poorly with the coach gone. The first Saturday was just practice - no games. That one doesn't count. However, let's review yesterday. The team had 3 wins and 1 tie for the day. Last season when I missed a game they had 4 wins and no losses. I guess I should not let the power of being the coach go to my head!
This season, there is a lot of help which makes a difference too. Another dad is helping when he can (like yesterday) and he has some good volleyball experience. Also, one of the big sisters is an assistant coach when she is available. Finally, Celeste and family know the game well after so many seasons and provide good support from the crowd.
In this league, we don't have playoffs so we don't track standings. It's all played for fun - and it is fun. However, unofficially the kids do keep track. Here are our standings so far this season:
Week 1, 2 wins
Week 2, 3 wins, 1 tie
Week 3, 3 wins, 1 tie
There are 3 game days remaining. We'll see how it goes. Hopefully my return next Saturday (the day after returning from Finland) will not upset the record!
Labels: Bethany, Hayley, Volleyball
Finland's Weather has cooperated
Finland is in transition from Summer to Winter now. Generally, this involves a lot of rain, days getting shorter by about 10 minutes per day, and weather that is getting progressively colder.
I have experienced some of that will I am here. The days are shorter now by about 1 hour then when I arrived a week ago. The high temps are around 50F / 10C, but the nights have not been much colder than that.
The rain has not been present very much. The night I arrived (Sunday, 5 Oct) was rainy. I heard some thunder overnight. However, Monday - Thursday were fantastic as you can see below (look at the dates on the photos). Friday started cloudy and misty, but cleared up nicely (again, as you can see below).
Of course, Saturday was rainy. OK, more like drizzly. I wore my rain coat, but did not need my umbrella. Sunday (today) started cloudy, but then turned into a very nice day.
I have no weather complaints!
Monday (afternoon, about to take a cab to my hotel)
Tuesday (mid-morning from the 9th floor)
Wednesday (sunrise from the 9th floor)
Thursday
No photos. Sorry, you have to take my word for it.
Friday (afternoon, at the start of the walk referenced yesterday)
Saturday (Misty & Gray all day)
Sunday Morning (cloudy, but breaking up)
Sunday Afternoon (near sunset)
I have experienced some of that will I am here. The days are shorter now by about 1 hour then when I arrived a week ago. The high temps are around 50F / 10C, but the nights have not been much colder than that.
The rain has not been present very much. The night I arrived (Sunday, 5 Oct) was rainy. I heard some thunder overnight. However, Monday - Thursday were fantastic as you can see below (look at the dates on the photos). Friday started cloudy and misty, but cleared up nicely (again, as you can see below).
Of course, Saturday was rainy. OK, more like drizzly. I wore my rain coat, but did not need my umbrella. Sunday (today) started cloudy, but then turned into a very nice day.
I have no weather complaints!
Monday (afternoon, about to take a cab to my hotel)
Tuesday (mid-morning from the 9th floor)
Wednesday (sunrise from the 9th floor)
Thursday
No photos. Sorry, you have to take my word for it.
Friday (afternoon, at the start of the walk referenced yesterday)
Saturday (Misty & Gray all day)
Sunday Morning (cloudy, but breaking up)
Sunday Afternoon (near sunset)
Saturday, October 11, 2008
Finland, bit by bit
This is the first of what will be a series of blog entries about my trip to Finland. After this I plan to do a series of small entries as time permits to get the rest of the trip info and pictures out there.
The client wanted me here for 2 weeks. I rarely travel for that long, but since it is such a long flight and there is a lot to do, I agreed. The nice part of the 2 week trip is that I get the weekend to myself to see some sites. It is a rare treat to get this much free time on a business trip!
The sightseeing started yesterday since we stopped working early and I was at my hotel a little before 4:00pm. I took a nice walk around a nearby lake and took a few photos along the way. My hotel is in downtown Helsinki, so I am near a lot of interesting things.
A couple of points about my pictures. They are taken with my camera phone -- fine for the internet, but not something that will become printable pieces. Too bad, since there are some nice things to see. However, I didn't want to be responsible for carrying a camera along with all of the other stuff that I have.
Another point - I learned that I have a panorama feature on my camera/phone. I used that for the first time yesterday and some of the results are below. It basically has me take 3 pictures side-by-side and it stitches them together. It depends on me lining up each photo correctly though. I get part of the picture to line up, but it is still a bit iffy. The more I use that feature the better I seem to get at it.
Anyway, here are some photos. You'll see that the weather was nice and sunny. It was only about 9C / 48F out, but that kept me cool with the brisk pace of the walk.
Me in front of the Finnish Parliament building.
Me in front of the Finnish National Museum.
My first attempt at a panoramic shot. It didn't turn out well, but I included it for historical perspective. This is taken from a small hill overlooking a lake that I walked around. This is the end of the lake nearest to my hotel.
The parks are well thought out. For example, this picture shows the path with a clear differentiation for walkers and bicyclists. That coexisting walk/bicycle theme actually carries throughout the city.
I was pretty happy with this shot which is basically 180 degrees from the walk/bicycle path picture. The places across the lake are exclusive bed and breakfast type places and small venue performing locations. I found that out when I walked by them on the far side of the lake as I was returning to the hotel.
This picture is the panoramic shot that I am most happy with. This is at the end of the lake farthest from my hotel. The tall buildings at the back, right part of this picture are close to my hotel. HINT: Click on the picture to see a bigger version of it.
I guess I have to save SOMETHING for later posts. This last picture is nearing the end of the walk. The tower in the center of the shot is the same tower from my earlier picture in front of the Finnish National Museum.
That's it for this entry. More to come later!
The client wanted me here for 2 weeks. I rarely travel for that long, but since it is such a long flight and there is a lot to do, I agreed. The nice part of the 2 week trip is that I get the weekend to myself to see some sites. It is a rare treat to get this much free time on a business trip!
The sightseeing started yesterday since we stopped working early and I was at my hotel a little before 4:00pm. I took a nice walk around a nearby lake and took a few photos along the way. My hotel is in downtown Helsinki, so I am near a lot of interesting things.
A couple of points about my pictures. They are taken with my camera phone -- fine for the internet, but not something that will become printable pieces. Too bad, since there are some nice things to see. However, I didn't want to be responsible for carrying a camera along with all of the other stuff that I have.
Another point - I learned that I have a panorama feature on my camera/phone. I used that for the first time yesterday and some of the results are below. It basically has me take 3 pictures side-by-side and it stitches them together. It depends on me lining up each photo correctly though. I get part of the picture to line up, but it is still a bit iffy. The more I use that feature the better I seem to get at it.
Anyway, here are some photos. You'll see that the weather was nice and sunny. It was only about 9C / 48F out, but that kept me cool with the brisk pace of the walk.
Me in front of the Finnish Parliament building.
Me in front of the Finnish National Museum.
My first attempt at a panoramic shot. It didn't turn out well, but I included it for historical perspective. This is taken from a small hill overlooking a lake that I walked around. This is the end of the lake nearest to my hotel.
The parks are well thought out. For example, this picture shows the path with a clear differentiation for walkers and bicyclists. That coexisting walk/bicycle theme actually carries throughout the city.
I was pretty happy with this shot which is basically 180 degrees from the walk/bicycle path picture. The places across the lake are exclusive bed and breakfast type places and small venue performing locations. I found that out when I walked by them on the far side of the lake as I was returning to the hotel.
This picture is the panoramic shot that I am most happy with. This is at the end of the lake farthest from my hotel. The tall buildings at the back, right part of this picture are close to my hotel. HINT: Click on the picture to see a bigger version of it.
I guess I have to save SOMETHING for later posts. This last picture is nearing the end of the walk. The tower in the center of the shot is the same tower from my earlier picture in front of the Finnish National Museum.
That's it for this entry. More to come later!
Labels: Rob, Travel, Vacation, Work
Tuesday, October 07, 2008
Luggage Hide and Seek
I am currently in Finland. From last December to now, I have taken 5 international trips.
Dec 2007 = New Zealand
Dec 2007 = Sweden
Feb 2008 = UK
June 2008 = Sweden
Oct 2008 = Finland
Not as much as many people, but a lot by my standards! I also went to Texas a couple of times last April which some people count as a foreign country. However, it is still in North America so I will not count that.
On most of my trips, my checked luggage has followed me just fine. However, I just broke my string of luck.
Between my New Zealand and Sweden trips last December, I had one night at home. My bag was delayed coming home from NZ and I had to pack a different bag for my Sweden trip. A bit annoying, but overall not too bad.
My trip to Finland was different. I arrived in Finland after 22 hours of travel and my checked luggage did not. All I had with me was my computer bag and the clothes on my back. The hotel gave me a toothbrush, comb, and razor. The next morning I had to go to work at the customer's office in the same jeans and shirt that I wore for 22 hours of travel the previous day. I didn't even have deodorant to wear (lucky I am in Europe). My bag DID arrive at the end of my first workday so I got to wear clean clothes today.
I suppose I could take some steps to have a small "just in case" kit that I carry on the airplane. However, I really like to keep my carry on load as light as possible. I think I will just continue to take my chances!
P.S. It looks like I will be back in Finland 2 more times before the year ends. I have only been outside of the Americas one other time before 2007. I guess I am making up for lost time?
Dec 2007 = New Zealand
Dec 2007 = Sweden
Feb 2008 = UK
June 2008 = Sweden
Oct 2008 = Finland
Not as much as many people, but a lot by my standards! I also went to Texas a couple of times last April which some people count as a foreign country. However, it is still in North America so I will not count that.
On most of my trips, my checked luggage has followed me just fine. However, I just broke my string of luck.
Between my New Zealand and Sweden trips last December, I had one night at home. My bag was delayed coming home from NZ and I had to pack a different bag for my Sweden trip. A bit annoying, but overall not too bad.
My trip to Finland was different. I arrived in Finland after 22 hours of travel and my checked luggage did not. All I had with me was my computer bag and the clothes on my back. The hotel gave me a toothbrush, comb, and razor. The next morning I had to go to work at the customer's office in the same jeans and shirt that I wore for 22 hours of travel the previous day. I didn't even have deodorant to wear (lucky I am in Europe). My bag DID arrive at the end of my first workday so I got to wear clean clothes today.
I suppose I could take some steps to have a small "just in case" kit that I carry on the airplane. However, I really like to keep my carry on load as light as possible. I think I will just continue to take my chances!
P.S. It looks like I will be back in Finland 2 more times before the year ends. I have only been outside of the Americas one other time before 2007. I guess I am making up for lost time?
