Parents of the HS Class of 2009 (Part 1)

Parents of HS Class of 20xx
29701

<p>^because dinner is a way more civilized notion than hosting a sweat lodge in sub zero weather whereby you will have folks trudging back and forth between the lodge, bathroom, and pool house where the potluck is ;)</p>

<p>Yes indeed, we’ll be having a late afternoon/evening sweat tomorrow, but I’m actually looking forward to it, because it will be beautiful with the snow and the stars!</p>

<p>If it didn’t involve ripping up all the concrete around the pool, plus all the decking, though, I’d be seriously scheming to put a bathroom in the pool house for just this kind of event. I’m really quite surprised the previous owners didn’t do that back in 2000 when they constructed the pool, actually. Their son was living in the pool house at the time, which has obviously been here far longer then the pool itself, despite my name for it. So there was good incentive to put in a bath, which means to do so must have been truly cost or logic prohibitive given the location of the septic tanks on the opposite side of the yard.</p>

<p>I say that because around the same time they added a 60k, 1400 sf second attached garage with heat and running water, plus an additional 8" thick concrete slab that runs all the way to the back hill for boat and rv storage :wink: (yes, my house is more garage than house…which drives a mechanic friend of ours green with envy…because he is now looking for a house where he has room to store all his toys and can’t find one. He owns his own shop and has lots of room there, but somehow that isn’t the same, apparently.)</p>

<p>So, given that those owners seemed to have no qualms about parting with gobs of cash for Pool and garage (and I think they also had to rebuild the terrace to do it all because the wife of the pair had mentioned a major overrun on the pool budget along those lines) the poolhouse bathroom had to be a deliberate oversight and just too wildly impractical! Either that, or the just didn’t want to give up the living space on the ph main floor. The guest bath in the house is just across the deck, so perhaps that played into it too. Who knows. I should probably invite them over some time and ask. It might save me even thinking about doing it ;)</p>

<p>In other news, mcson can’t seem to catch a break technically speaking. After just replacing his hard drive on his super loaded MacBook Pro at Xmas, his motherboard has now fried. He needs it, of course, for everything he does, and it does get an unusually high workload. He decided to repair rather than replace, but it means he’s doing a show tonight at an event without it while its getting fixed. Fortunately, this summer he had picked up a mc808, which is an electronic music sequencing device after a fashion, so will be performing his entire electronica set using it.</p>

<p>I’ve been an apple user since the mid-80s and I do not expect their pro line to behave like this after 3.5 years and mere months outta warranty, so I’m a little ticked. His grad gift was/is a pro stationary setup and it had better behave/last longer than this pro book has. We had debated replacing it instead with the quad i7 but mcson felt that would be a waste and for video rendering he really wants the stationary, expandable setup. So here’s hoping the motherboard replacement squeezes enough life out of it to get the senior thesis work handled. </p>

<p>I probably could build that bathroom with all the money that has gone into feeding this kid’s gear habits ;)</p>

29702

<p>In honor of my 60th birthday, I spread some greenies here this morning!!! </p>

<p>Everyone have a great weekend!! :)</p>

29703

<p>Happy birthday, SLUMOM! Hope it’s a great day.</p>

29704

<p>Happy birthday, SLUMOM!!!</p>

<p>Moda, I missed the roommate change. Quick recap? Glad it’s working out, whatever the motivation.</p>

<p>Good tip about the college email address.</p>

<p>The tackling the house will come, if at all, this weekend. Although last night I did muster the energy to make younger D some nice veggies and a fritatta. I also posted some family pictures to Facebook. I still feel like I’m not 100%, from having the flu. I guess I still need to get back to the gym and walk slowly on the treadmill.</p>

<p>Younger D’s letter jacket arrived yesterday. She really had no great desire to have one, but I wanted her to…she has all these cheer patches, some from choir. Maybe she’ll wear it a couple of times to make me happy.</p>

29705

<p>arabrab, I like the idea of looking at pictures of homes for sale a lot and will try that. I always liked Candice’s designs that she did with her original team. </p>

<p>Happy birthday, SLUMOM. I hope you have a great day. kmc, sorry to hear about the computer problems. I have never migrated to a laptop because the desktop seems so much more enduring. I assume the better ventilation in the large case disperses the heat better, but I have still had my share of problems. Thanks goodness for Carbonite.</p>

<p>S1 attended a training seminar yesterday about Australian culture in the workplace. They asked each participant what they were most proud of, among other things, which is the kind of introspective question both S1 and I enjoy pondering. We each came up with a list for everybody in the family. The degree of diversity for each of our strengths is striking. </p>

<p>It’s a holiday week-end over there, so S1 is headed to Melbourne with some friends to see the Australian Open, which sounds fun. I haven’t heard from S2 lately.</p>

29706

<p>TA… a friend of mine just posted that she had an interview yesterday. She was the only female in the top three being interviewed by a panel of men. She was asked what her greatest accomplishment in life was. Here is her explanation of what happened: "They had asked for me to explain my biggest accomplishment in my life… I had replied that I had 3 amazing kids that can do no wrong and that they are the very BEST that they can be… and a beautiful grandson… Dead silence…Bet they never heard that one before… " :)</p>

<p>Happy Birthday SLUMOM! Wishing you a year filled with happiness!</p>

29707

<p>Happy Birthday SLUMOM, and many more! </p>

<p>kmc, I feel for your son and his computer woes. We ended up buying a new one for S1 at the end of Christmas break, when his case collapsed before the important interview. He also had had problems with it powering down at unpredictable intervals because it was overheating. The kicker was not being able to take it far enough apart to even clean the thing out. Definitely a problem for a CS/physics/math kid. </p>

<p>NM, what a great story about the friend’s interview reply. I hope she gets the job. </p>

<p>Happy day here. My DH has been away to the other side of the world for a longish work trip. I can see his plane on a flight tracker, making its way over the rocky mountains right now. Cannot wait to have him back, safe and sound. I logged on to Skype yesterday AM at 5:30 while up with S2 before school, to see if I could catch H before dinner in Hong Kong. No luck, but my sleepyhead D sent a message asking what I was doing awake. Well, who was more surprised at this early AM conversation. She had been up since 5AM, practicing for a presentation at work. I’m so glad to know she’s still so conscientious. Even gladder that she has reformed her all nighter habits of college to the slightly saner early arising cram method. </p>

<p>A wonderful weekend wish for you all!</p>

29708

<p>Happy Birthday, SLUMOM!</p>

<p>kmc- I too, find it interesting that the prior owners spent all of that money and didn’t put a bathroom in. I guess when the son lived in the pool house he spent a lot of time walking across the deck :).</p>

<p>I have today off and got another project done, cleaning out the closet in the spare room upstairs. This is a small walk in that I had H put a lock on the door several years ago because it was /is my birthday/Christmas present hiding place. No gifts are in there currently but I got it organized and threw away a few things and pulled out some stuff for the rummage sale.</p>

<p>Good luck to your friend, nm.</p>

<p>I’m another one with hardwood floors all over the first floor except the family room. We badly need to have them refinished and would like to tear out the family room carpet and have it replaced with wood at the same time. For a variety of reasons, this project did not happen last year. </p>

<p>I’m also getting packed up as S and I are leaving for NYC tomorrow AM. He has Mon & Tues off, so we will be coming back on Mon. night. We did this last year and got lucky with unseasonably warm weather, but I think that our luck ran out on that one. We are doing another food tour on Sunday, hoping that we get some hot coffee/tea/chocolate, we’ll need it!</p>

29709

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<p>A woman I know at church has triplet boys, who are now HS freshmen. I’ve always said that when her nest is empty and she is ready to apply for a job, she should just be able to put “raised triplet boys” on her resume and be qualified for any job that’s out there.</p>

29710

<p>Happy Birthday, SLUMOM!</p>

<p>I’m struggling with decluttering. I’ve got the stuff from two large “junk” drawers spread all over the island. Easy to get rid of random junk that I clearly don’t need. Much harder to figure out where the rest of this should go, like the charger for the camera, cables, old x-rays, and a whole bunch of papers that I don’t know where to file, but don’t think I should dump. Yuck.</p>

29711

<p>Happy Birthday,SLUMON!</p>

<p>Have a great trip to NYC with your son,FallGirl! Sounds like alot of fun.</p>

<p>TA, That’s cool that S1 will be going to the Australian Open. What great opportunities he’s having. My S1 called this morning. He’s going to his company’s annual formal event tonight and will get to wear his new tux. He says he thinks his girlfriend will wear her pearl earrings he got for her from Tiffany’s. He said he’d try to get a good picture of them looking all spiffy. S2 is back to classes and went to the basketball game last night so he is busy.</p>

<p>Hope everybody has a great weekend!</p>

29712

<p>arabrab…dump the xrays. They always want new ones. Make an electronics box or drawer for chargers/cables. I have a drawer with camera/phone/Ipod cords. Use bread tags/clip to hold cords together and you can mark on them to tell you what it is for or use empty toilet paper roll to wrap them around/thru. Papers that are warranties or directions/instructions I file together and put with the rest of my files.</p>

29713

<p>Just bought myself a Valentine’s Day present. There was a Groupon deal at a local spa for a facial and 60 minute massage for $59. Yay for me! ;)</p>

29714

<p>People keep sending me things. I can’t believe how incredibly nice everyone is. Flowers, plants, now a bonsai. I did just have to call a place that shipped a plant, because it froze somewhere in shipping…I’m sure the sender would want me to have a live replacement. I’m going to be writing thank you notes all weekend, which isn’t a bad way to spend a winter weekend.</p>

<p>I do feel bad that I haven’t always been great about sending condolences when the parents of friends have passed on. I have attended memorial services for the local ones, but am not consistent at sending cards to acquaintances, etc. I will make it a point to do better in the future.</p>

29715

<p>NM - Thanks for the x-ray hint, and given the way things-that-require-chargers seem to multiply around here, a drawer for them is a good idea. Onward.</p>

<p>Missy – I found the cards after each of my parents died were very comforting. We also have a tree in memory of another family member who died, and it too comforts.</p>

29716

<p>Happy Friday, everyone! And Happy Birthday to SLUMOM, and Happy Valentine’s Day to NM!</p>

<p>Thanks for the public service announcement, arabrab. I actually thought of that with D and asked her a few weeks ago, since one of my jobs at work involves inactivating email addresses after a period of time when students either graduate or stop attending. I was surprised but happy to learn my daughter’s school allows them to keep their email accounts for life!</p>

<p>D heads back to school tomorrow. It’s been lovely having her home for such an extended time, since she’s barely been home for the past few years.</p>

<p>Hope everyone has a wonderful/productive/warm/fill-in-your-own-blank weekend!</p>

29717

<p>I think S1’s college deactivated after one year, but I’m not sure S2’s ever deactivates. His college posts jobs on career services for eperienced alumni along with students. Both boys have other email accounts as well, but a good heads up.</p>

<p>sevmom, owning a tux is a great investment, at least in some career fields. H got to go to as many formal events as he wanted because he owned a tux. Both his company and my company each had a table it needed to fill at some event practically every month. The older guys with families and a long commute didn’t want to go and guys who didn’t own a tux often didn’t want to rent one for these routine events. S1 can fit in H’s tux so never bought one and surprisingly hasn’t needed one yet for work. S2 owns a tux, but I have a feeling formal events for rig workers probably don’t happen all that often.</p>

29718

<p>Hi,TA, I tested S1’s (graduated 09’) edu email from his school yesterday and it went through to him. He says it converts somehow to gmail and he thinks he has it for life. You could test your S1’s old address and see if it gets through to him.</p>

<p>I am glad S1 went ahead and invested in a tux. He got it for a friend’s wedding so this will be only the second time wearing it. He is very tall and not the easiest to fit so now he has it. Hope he has fun. Sounds like a pretty swanky affair. Always like to hear about the food!</p>

29719

<p>Sevmom, I forget, is your son at UMich? I think that’s how theirs now work (gmail for life).</p>

<p>Happy Birthday, Slumom! Cheers to a wonderful year.</p>

<p>TA, due to frequent music performances, etc., I figured out a long while ago that a tux would be a good investment for mcson. Except I can’t stop him from casually wearing the jacket periodically for STUPID reasons unrelated to formal occasions, so it’s seen more wear than it should ;)</p>

<p>Mcson is a little disappointed today. He’d applied for a decent part-time job that was fairly technical at his U. in the hopes he might a) get it and b) parlay it into closer to full time next year. (He didn’t actually WANT that many hours now, but was willing to take them to have the in.)</p>

<p>At any rate, the hiring manager did give him a call to tell him that they’d been impressed and would be keeping in touch with him because his skill set could be put to good use with them for upcoming positions, but this time they were going a different direction for the hire.</p>

<p>Whatever that does or doesn’t mean ;)</p>

<p>I told him that these days it was pretty rare to hear anything back, so it’s entirely possible that they WERE impressed by him and DO have something in mind. Who knows. </p>

<p>Unfortunately, there’s a FT position in the U’s creative department open RIGHT NOW that he would be perfect for…but the deadline is today, his computer is dead, and the availability-to-start requirement is too early.</p>

<p>My late lunch is over so I better get back at it or be here when I could be doing something fun tonight :wink: Happy Friday!</p>

29720

<p>D2 has to quit her job in the accounting department at the architecture/engineering company when she starts her grad classes in July. She decided she would like some time off before she starts classes and then thought maybe she would resign before finals and graduation. If she wants to be done mid-May when should she give notice? She was thinking the end of March or first of April so the company could advertise for students for the summer who would then continue through the school year like she did. Is that a good plan?</p>