It has been an amazingly hectic week. And today has epitomized the chaos that I’ve felt. This week has seen a lot:
- We got back from vacation (which was really just a long weekend). But we have been struggling to re-integrate into our normal routines.
- The man who enticed me to leave my previous job has left our company. I am quite disappointed. But God has already quieted my heart. And He is teaching me how I can transform a disappointment into a blessing – and a ministry.
- I’ve decided to step back into the management pool. So I’ve submitted my name for consideration by the company’s leadership team. I have been heart warmed to learn that my application was not summarily dismissed! 😉
- Our dishwasher decided to develop a weak bladder: when we turned it on, it leaked everywhere. At eight years, it was time to buy a new unit. So we went and bought an updated dishwasher (Bosch) with a stainless steel finish. Our black appliances are starting to look a little dated.
- After getting a new dishwasher, we also realized that it was time to update the refrigerator. While we liked the looks of a matching Bosch unit, we decided upon a Samsung stainless steel unit because it had better reviews on Consumer Reports. It also had some features that my wife really wanted. So Samsung got the nod.
- We cleaned out the garage to get things ready for appliance delivery. Actually, we’ve re-arranged some stuff while sorting some other stuff into the trash. We now have room for the old refrigerator in the garage. I am voting for a beer and wine fridge; Cindy is considering my suggestion!
With these things as a back drop, today has been chaotic and wonderful.
- We’ve worked to get the old fridge ready for replacement. We still have to move the final stuff into coolers. But we will be ready for the arrival of the new refrigerator.
- I’ve updated my resume so that I can get it submitted to the leadership team. I’m really hoping that they have the same opinion of my capabilities that I have.
- We’ve gotten all the dishes done. Normally, this is simple. But it’s been years since I washed a lot of dishes by hand. We did mostof them earlier in the week. But we now have to keep up with them throughout the day.
- My son left a boatload of laundry for us to do for him. Apparently, he’s been stacking the clothes in his room waiting for someone to do them. Gosh, are all nineteen-year old men this naive? And are all middle-aged parents this accommodating?
- After many hours of sorting and shuffling leftover laundry, we’ve finally gotten around to doing the week’s laundry. Phew. I never thought I’d make it to this point today!
With a lot of tasks finally moving through the pipeline, I’ve finally gotten a chance to address a couple of tech challenges.
- I’ve copied all of the photos from Meredith’s wedding onto our media server.
- I’ve updated Cindy’s phone so that she can access the media server from where she travels. The latest firmware build for the storage server is quite good. Western Digital provides a redirect service so that I can get to my photos (and music and movies) from the public Internet. This is very cool. But it reminds me that security is an everyday consideration these days.
- I’ve updated my router firmware to enable uPNP sharing. This will certainly help our mobile experience. But I am a little leery about this change. I’ll have to research a little more to see if I’ve opened myself up to exploitation.
- I’ve flashed my phone with the latest CyanogenMod firmware.
I think I’m finally able to breathe a little sigh of relief – but not for long. Once the refrigerator is delivered, Cindy and I will have a lot of work to do. But now that most of the prep work is done, this part should be fun. But I do think that pizza will be in order!
-Roo