Merry Christmas!
If last year was the year of the project, this was the year we finished them up. In fact, we declared a moratorium on starting anything new until January 2006. We really needed a few months off the get rejuvenated for the next round.
We’ve finally finished the upstairs reflooring and fireplace replacement, after starting it last October. Painting, flooring, building and tiling the fireplace was a much bigger job than either of us expected it would be. Half of the work went into moving stuff out of the rooms we were working on. But that was also the best motivator – living among piled boxes gets really old very quickly. There are only a few finishing touches left on the fireplace and it will be complete.
We also finished up the workbench this year. It’s such a beautiful piece of furniture that it’s almost a shame to leave it in the garage. But its sturdy enough that working on anything else makes me a little nervous. After moving it down from Don’s house (it took a chain winch to get it on the trailer), removing the old workbench was so easy it was scary. It’s a great relief to be working on a solid surface that doesn’t threaten to collapse.
It’s also been a busy year for our careers. AirBiscuit was promoted in July and is now performing as a manager. He has 7 direct reports, this is the first time he’s had to build employee reviews and guide career development. Savannah quit her job at Telco X to work as a contractor. Her first contract is up soon, so she’s in the process of looking for the next one.
There was plenty of travel this year. First off, we spent a week Las Vegas in February to celebrate a whole bunch of people turning 30. It was the first time we’d been to Vegas, so we were really excited to see some of the shows. We were able to attend the Cirque du Soliel Ka and Penn and Teller while we were there. Penn and Teller were hilarious; not only do they perform magic well, but the jokes and exposition of tricks was fun to watch. AirBiscuit spent some time gambling and even walked out ahead after playing Black Jack. While we were there we hit the car museum and the aquarium at Mandalay Bay. Getting up close to piranhas was definitely an experience – it’s certainly good that they’re not jumping fish. We also went through the Star Trek Experience at the Hilton, where AirBiscuit ended up with a very silly picture.
There was also lots of travel that was work-related. In May, Savannah spent a week in Atlanta and was able to spend time with cousins from her side of the family. AirBiscuit traveled to Northern Italy in March to participate in a workshop and went to San Francisco in September and December for a training seminar and the AGU conference.