Campfyre Stories

Spawn bought himself a bass.  He worked out a deal with my stepfather to give him the money he saved and will work the rest of it off.  Not only am I happy to see him actually have the instrument he wanted, but the motivation he’s expressed to actually work off the rest of the money is real growth for him.

Next up, hitting up the music teacher at the school to find out if he can get lessons that way.  Otherwise, he’ll be exploring other options and we’ll hook him up with good lessons.  I’ve asked him to make an effort to take lessons for 6 more months, making music lessons in general a full year project.  He seems willing.

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When I started my current job, I spent a lot of time lamenting the lack of a comprehensive training document.  As such, when I found some downtime during the holidays, I decided to write the document that I wish was handed to me.

When it was complete, I passed it on to management where it has been very well received.  I have been praised for having taken the initiative and for having done an excellent job.  I am pleased with that reception as well as the feeling of accomplishment that I got for having completed something that I wished had been available for me, especially something that is not only useful but simple and comprehensive.

This is something I’ve done in every (applicable) job that I’ve ever worked.  Obviously, some of the jobs it just didn’t apply to, like when I migrated people from an outdated technology to a new one, but those exceptions aside, it’s a pretty consistent project for me.

Someone needs to do it…  and that someone is me!

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My mom and stepdad are going to be out of town for almost a week next week and will be loaning me one of their cars while they’re gone.  This means that, including the MLK holiday on Monday I will be bus-free for 3/5 days next week and 2/5 the following week.  It’s a nice break from the chaos of the bus and I’m sure that the stress of traffic will make me remember one of the reasons I take the bus in the first place (so I don’t have to deal with traffic!)

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This should be a good weekend.  Spawn and I have lots of plans to keep us busy and we’ll take care of some much-needed shopping and errands.  Hopefully we can make it through and keep busy enough to avoid the "OMG, Why are you still here???" feelings that we both sometimes fall into.

Although, I will say, I’ve been enjoying his company more and more.  You’d think that the teenage years would be the opposite, but he claims to have gotten all the snottiness and know-it-all out of his system back when he was 9/10/11 years old.  I suppose only time will tell…