A Slower Pace

I’ve been through a lot during the move and this transition. I’ve made it this far, but the hardest thing so far has been something I am missing right now.

That thing that I am missing is…..the 2005 Consumer Electronics Show.

I know, I know. A tear is welling up in your eye as you imagine a tech geek like me having to go through the of seeing all the new gadget releases on the evening news or worse yet, special CES reviews on TechTV. All without being there. I have attended most of the shows since 1992. I WAS THERE WHEN MICROSOFT PRE-RELEASED MICROSOFT BOB in 1994!!! I still get misty eyed when I caress my MS Bob pin…..his yellow smiley face looking so much like his Wal-Mart cousin. Add to the pain that the show is hosted by the wholesome crowd in Las Vegas. There is a nickel video poker machine somewhere that is screaming my name.

Alas, but in 2005 it is not to be. Too far. Too close to our move date. Too much time away from work. Too new of a situation for me to leave the family. I think I will passify myself with some retro Mattel LED football circa 1981. Bleep, bleep.

…..Dan at aslowerpace

PS – the above pain is still not as great as having to go through cable broadband withdrawals and use dial up.

There are a few things out here in the country that you don’t expect to hear…..like the doorbell. We are too far from the service areas for door to door pizza, too spread out for soliciters and Jehovah’s Witnesses and usually people just plain can’t find you. So when the doorbell rang after dinner Thursday night, it surprised me.

Usually when the doorbell rings, it is the kids ringing it because A) they want into the garage so they can take off their muddy shoes or B) they are just playing with it. Since we were all still in the dining room, it was neither. Turns out, it was the pastor from the church we attended on Sunday. He stopped by to deliver a welcome bag from the congregation. It was a nice outreach symbol and shows that they have some good programs to make a positive impact on the community.

We chatted with him for a few minutes and then let him get back to his family and dinner. It was nice that he could take the time to come all the way out here and make us feel welcome. We’re gonna try the late service tomorrow which has a friendship pizza lunch afterwards. Hopefully, we’ll meet some more people and keep building our new network.

…..Dan at aslowerpace

All three kids had good days at school today. So we are 3 for 3…..at least for today. I guess it will be one day at a time for a while. I expect Monday for at least one of ’em to take a step backwards. Every day can’t be good while you are adjusting. But for right now at this moment, Friday afternoon is a time to sit back and take a breath. We’ll see how things are Sunday evening. That’ll be the truth teller. Until then I will enjoy the weekend.

…..Dan at aslowerpace

The few times I have been silent on the blogging of our journey have been during times of hardship, stress or challenges. Blogging, while a healthy outlet, definitely takes a back seat to dealing with current issues and concerns. We are in one of those times. It seems that my posting of Monday “School’s cool” is premature. One of the kids is having an abnormally hard time adjusting. Granted it is still early after only a few days but right now things are tough. Luckily, my job has been the easiest part of all that is new so that allows me time to focus on the family. It is my hope that this time is just one more hurdle or challenge and in a week or month (or longer), we will look back on this time as a time of perseverence, testing and molding of what we are to become.

What’s that saying? “What does not kill us only makes us stronger.”

We’ll see.

…..Dan at aslowerpace

For those of you reading this that think that I am too optimistic, too positive, too Pollyannaish, I’ll reveal a little of the melancholy side of me.

While setting up my eliptical machine in the basement (it’s been over a month since I’ve routinely exercised), I needed a few technical hardware pieces so I can set up the TV. I cannot just exercise like a hamster on a treadmill without something to distract me. When I was young, it was the competitiveness of a good game (playing basketball, football, tennis, softball, whatever). But now that I am older and have less time, I still need to exercise but don’t have the luxury of those distractions. Enter TV. I record content onto my ReplayTV digital video recorder (like T*vo only better — notice how T*vo is a four letter word), and watch it while I work out. Suddenly, the show ends and I notice that I am a little tired and sweaty. Perfect work out for me.

Anyway, in this quest for setting it up, I was going to head to Radio Shack for something for the TV setup. I called them to inquire when they close. NOTE: it is 6:07pm. The guy answering informs me that they close at 6pm. Alas, my quest will be postponed til tomorrow. It made me yearn for the quick trip down to my local Radio Shack that was open semi-late in a nicely apportioned Thousand Oaks yuppie strip mall. Manicured trees with an anchor grocery store and store, the required coffee shop, small time donut shop, banksomethingorother and a handful of mom and pop establishments. And it was only 4 minutes from my driveway. Convenience but also a very nice familiar feel…..like your hometown. And then I realised that I purposely left that. That thought then migrated towards my regular weekday routine — all hometown based. Getting up early at 5:30a for a cardio workout, feeding the dogs, picking up after them, breakfast with the wireless laptop being fed by the latest broadband news, a quick shower, my coveted 3 minute commute, regular parking space, fairly normal work, the usual default lunch at home (unless I had previous plans), more work, dinner on the table when I got home, help the kids with homework, horse around afterwards, tuck them into bed, unwind by watching ah hour of stupid TV, a little reading, a quick check of my PalmPilot for the next days events and early to bed. While that might be boring to some people, it was great for me. And I am not only missing the routine, I am missing the environment that routine took place in. It was familiar, comfortable, safe. All that with family and friends nearby.

Logically, I still know we made the right decision. However, there are a few times where emotions surface and a longing for the familiar hometown is strong. I realised that rituals are important for most of us. It’s bad enough when our ritual is disrupted, but throwing us into a different environment at the same time really impacts us…..at least it is me. It will calm down the sooner I get into a routine. But the hometown familiarity will take a bit longer.

For those that are still in that familiar hometown environment that we left – family, friends, neighbors, co-workers – I greet you with a “Hi!”. We think of you often and miss you.

…..Dan at aslowerpace

Well, today was the first day back to school. We have schools for all three of the kids. Of course, they aren’t all the same school or, for that matter, next to each other. My wife will truly be the school taxi for a month or two. Met some more really nice people at the schools. The kids should settle in just fine. As with everything else around here, it will just take a little while to develop a schedule. Friends, homework, extracurricular activities, etc. But all in all, things continue to go well. This was probably our last really big hurdle (and even bigger worry for my wife). We’re not out of the woods yet — but I can see the cabin and a fire in the fireplace waiting for us (if you are into visualization).

…..Dan at aslowerpace

We made it to church. We’re 1 for 1 in 2005. It was the early 8:15a service but that now leaves the rest of the day for our family.

The people were friendly and during the sharing of the peace (where they take a few minutes in the service to allow members to turn to one another, greet each other and shake hands), the pastor came over to personally introduce himself. Afterwards, the kids enjoyed a few cookies while my wife had coffee and we chatted with a few of the regulars. It was a warm and friendly atmosphere — not too big and not too small.

A quick trip to the Kroger and we were back home. There is some very nice drizzle outside – not enough to make you rush to do things or wear rain gear. Reminds me of my early college years in Seattle.

Off to see what football games are on.

…..Dan at aslowerpace

The first day of 2005 was nice. However, it was very weird to not get out of bed and start watching the Rose Parade. Waiting for several hours when you have already gotten up, eaten breakfast and have things to do makes it lose it’s luster. It was still on TV but since the day was already half over, we didn’t just laze around in our PJs enjoying it. Instead, I caught some of the flowery creations between finding the power supply for the answering machine, going out to the road to collect the garbage cans and swapping out the satellite TV receiver. Again, it wasn’t the same.

Completely off topic — the high priced cable people at MonsterCable are trying to bully a smaller, non-industry related snowboard company to relenquish the rights to “monster”. They must have graduated from the Microsoft school of cutthroat business. Check out this website – www.stopthemonster.com .

I guess when Disney re-releases Monsters, Inc. they will have to rename it or face MonsterCable’s wrath.

Back on topic.

We didn’t leave the house, just enjoyed a misty day with the early morning fog hanging just above the back creek — very peaceful. And later today, I actually sat out in the mist on the back patio with shorts and a sweat shirt while my son chipped away at the last remaining snow pile. Quiet and relaxing.

Looking forward to our first church outing tomorrow morning. I gotta go get some sleep.

…..Dan at aslowerpace

Happy New Year…..

Only a few more minutes until I say goodbye to 2004 and hail in 2005 (hopefully asleep). So much has happened, so much has changed, and we have been so blessed. I wish to share
with you the hope of a new year and the resolve to make positive changes.

Best wishes for a wonderful 2005!

…..Dan at aslowerpace

I woke up this morning to find the landscape of white replaced by green. Overnight the snow melted, swelling the creeks and revealing the normal landscape I had not even had the chance to get used to. I can now celebrate by getting all my vehicles out the driveway and onto a flat, hard surface.

For the last several months, we have had a family tradition of family game night. Tonight we did a twist on it and had family movie night. Time for me to break out the recently released Star Wars Trilogy. Star Wars was on the menu tonight — oops, sorry, that revealed my old schoolness. It should be “Star Wars – A New Hope”.

After viewing the DVD I am sure glad #1 – that I saw it in the movie theater in 1977 and #2 – I still have the original movie on old school techie laser disc before Lucas politically corrected it. I am hesitant to view the other two DVDs for such Monday morning quarterback directing and think I will stick with the laser discs. Better hook up the old Pioneer. Anyway, for the record, I think this is just wrong. Lucas, get over yourself. Don’t get me started on the Han Solo “defends” himself in the bar instead of shooting first and being a coldblooded killer scene remake.

OK, I’m off my soapbox.

…..Dan at aslowerpace