good things for April
1 - Got TV mounted, got my hair cut (despite misgivings about doing so on April Fools Day), and walked around the nicer parts of Belmont
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3 - Saw four hot-air balloons on the way to work, plus had two interesting meetings.
4 - Free lunch featuring a cranberry chocolate chip cookie.
5 - Checked out cars at a bizarre car sale thing.
6 - Checked out cars at a regular dealer.
7 - Spent the morning downtown cheering for the marathon runner brother-in-law.
8 - Perfect weather for some outdoor Bartley-Ohlms fun with the inflatable cube: just enough wind to make it interesting.
9 - Maybe made a decision?10 - Jonah asked Amanda, "Why not Daddy stay home, Mommy go work?"
11 - At church dinner, Jonah loved both the spaghetti and the giant letters on the wall behind us (Me: "What does OIAM spell?" J: "Jonah!")
12 - Worked from home.
13 - Jonah bought us a surprise while he was playing on the iPad (at least it wasn't the $1,200 vacation to London).
14 - We kind of bought a new car - not on the iPad - and coincidentally, Phillip came over and spearheaded the scratch-removal and washing of our old car.
15 - Jonah managed to nap for me while Amanda went to a bridal shower.
16 - Five-cent cone day at Kohr Bros. gave Jonah a chance to eat a whole ice cream cone. (He didn't actually eat the cone itself, though.)
17 - Free breakfast at work. And we brought our new car home!
18 - Got to drive the new car a bit.
19 - Had both Hot Buffalo Wing Pretzel Pieces and Spree to help make the afternoon bright.
20 - Beautiful morning driving a beautiful ancient bus.
21 - Our second time getting in the Guinness Book of World Records (both were for the Great Cloth Diaper Change)
22 - Drove into the country, got some eggs, and poked around inside a 1984 Greyhound bus.
23 - Pastor Search meeting clarified some things before we went too far down the wrong path.
24 - Rediscovered toys that we had been storing in the basement. They had working batteries!
25 - Spoke to a candidate for pastor for the first time.
26 - Made the right choice to go to a meeting in person rather than call in - got to meet some key players.
27 - Sent out my first project proposal.
28 - Jonah and I had a lot of quality time while Amanda hosted a baby shower for Ashley.
29 - I played handbells for the first time in years and wasn't a whole lot worse than everyone else.
30 - Really interesting pastor search committee meeting.
Labels: good things
good things for March
1 - A beautiful day to have the window open at the office.2 - Cloudy days are nice too, because I don't have to shut the blinds.
3 - Jonah did a good job playing well with others (or at least near others) at a birthday party.
4 - I had a salad for lunch after having pizza three times in two days.
5 - Drove a car (because of the snow), a bus and a van (both after the snow melted).
6 - Pastor Search Committee meeting affirmed some things I was afraid it wouldn't affirm.
7 - Really nice day afforded an opportunity for a walk at lunch.
8 - Another nice day gave me a chance to bike to a nice neighborhood.
9 - And a third cooler but still nice day allowed for a hike in the woods.
10 - Jonah said "Grandma" and "Grandpa" to their faces.
11 - Possibly (fingers crossed) fixed the dryer without taking it apart.
12 - Squeezed in a tiny bit of bus driving during the workday.
13 - Ate some bacon
14 - Got caught up on some podcast listening on the drive to Norfolk for a freight conference
15 - Harbor/port tour on a boat
16 - Romantic getaway to Staunton, featuring a live play at a bargain price and other deals.
17 - Test-drove a Mazda5. Also, bacon for breakfast for the third day in a row.
18 - Found an entree at the Mexican restaurant that was both tasty and vegetarian (which made it seem almost healthy, making up for the bacon).
19 - Good news. My bike tire lasted all day after being a little low in the morning.
20 - I did not have to go anywhere on my bike.
21 - Amanda went above and beyond to help resolve the bike thing.
22 - Ashley joined us for dinner, even though we were just having leftovers.
23 - Another weekend begins.
24 - I was inside a hip coffeehouse like a hipster. (We were there for The Very Hungry Caterpillar storytime.)
25 - I was productive while Amanda went shopping for deals.
26 - Amanda and Jonah joined me for a pizza dinner followed by a big old meeting.
27 - Got to be my most lazy by driving a bus and getting off where I could ride downhill to work.
28 - The MPO director I'd been trying to reach for three and a half weeks called me back!
29 - Hung out with big shots and had free lunch at a pat-ourselves-on-the-back "research summit."
30 - Friday night on the downtown mall with hamburgers and frozen yogurt.
31 - I fought valiantly for eternal bus glory (and did not back into a tree) in the morning, and Jonah cleaned up at the egg hunt (with over three dozen eggs) in the afternoon.
Labels: good things
good things for February
1 - Nobody was injured during Amanda's rough morning.2 - I moved into my new office, and at least one co-worker was envious of my desk.
3 - Succeeded in completing a full week of biking to and from work.
4 - After much gnashing of teeth, the washing machine became functional again.
5 - Spent the morning honoring Girls in Action and spent the evening honoring commercials and men crashing into each other.
6 - Organized the office in the afternoon
7 - I was not selected as a juror for the George Huguely murder trial
8 - First team meeting at work
9 - Jonah was really excited to have CAKE for his birthday.
10 - Crystal came over to help with birthday party preparations.
11 - Jonah's birthday party went smoothly.
12 - Finished watching the last episode of Chuck (bittersweet)
13 - Put finishing touches on Valentine's scavenger hunt for Amanda
14 - She seemed to enjoy it.
15 - Lunch with the current BSU minister.
16 - They Might Be Giants rocked C'ville.
17 - Start of my second long weekend - holidays are so nice. We got a bookshelf.
18 - "Guy Time" with Jonah while Amanda went to a party, including some productive reading during Jonah's nap.
19 - Finally, some actual snow, and on a convenient evening when I don't need to bike to work the next day.
20 - Successful shopping and IHOP.
21 - I wasn't the only one at work feeling crappy. Misery loves company.
22 - Meetings were worth the trip to Richmond, and Jonah learned to say "cross" after noticing the crosses on our foreheads.
23 - Jonah made me feel loved by wanting to play with me every time I came upstairs from the home office.
24 - First work meeting related to transit.
25 - Afternoon nap was just what the doctor ordered, and Amanda got to spend some time with Ashley.
26 - Shared information.
27 - First free lunch of the new job.
28 - The replacement top for our new bookcase arrived, and Amanda had a great idea for reusing the damaged top as a shelf.
29 - Leap Day! And I had three breakfasts.
Labels: good things
good things for January
1 - Saw lots of folks at church in Greensboro, toured Doug and Cindy's new house, rode a Gator and operated an excavator with Jonah, and met baby Aidan.
2 through 9 - [there were many good things, I'm sure, but this week is one of those holes in my record-keeping]
10 - Started new job. Orientation was painless, and I had a choice of offices.
11 - JAUNT Board made a dumb decision that made it even easier to leave for the new job.
12 - First whole day at new job. Either office provides views of trees.
13 - First holiday at new job.
14 - Crystal played with Jonah while Amanda and I did some much-needed organizing.
15 - It took all of Jonah's naptime, but I fixed the coat rack, at least for a while.
16 - Pancakes and local sausage for dinner.
17 - Reserved a hotel for first trip of new job (Transportation Research Board).
18 - Apple sent me a tiny, fancy new Nano to replace the vintage one that was recalled.
19 - Spudnuts and Bodo's at work. Eatin' round things with holes.
20 - Pizza lunch with the new boss and listened to a colleague give a talk in one of the old engineering classrooms.
21 - We tried an appetizer at Belmont Pizza.
22 - Snow, without all the problems that usually come with snow.
23 - Safe trip to DC during morning rush hour when it was supposed to be icy.
24 - Saw some old friends and colleagues I wasn't expecting to see.
25 - Was glad to get home and see Jonah and Amanda again (well, I only saw Jonah at church).
26 - Attended a planning meeting and saw many of the usual suspects.
27 - Back at JAUNT for one last day to give a decently well-received presentation.
28 - The weather was nice enough that we walked to the open house of the International School, where Jonah will not be attending preschool.
29 - One of Jonah's friends appeared at Red Robin as we were lunching and sat by us.
30 - Amanda and Jonah met me for dinner.
31 - Anniversary of 11 years since Amanda and I started dating.Labels: good things
good things for December
1 - Free lunch. I am a big fan of free lunch.
2 - Todd rode my bus. It was not necessarily good that he was in town, because he was here to visit his father-in-law in the hospital, but it was good that he took a break to ride Green Route.
3 - I biked, Jonah rode in the bike trailer, and we got to see the Christmas parade downtown while Amanda had some time to clean.
4 - Amanda's first Cloth Diaper Party had a good group of interested parties.
5 - Stayed busy at work.
6 - Interesting small-world conversations at dinner in Roanoke with other mobility managers.
7 - "They want you to take the rolls!" (This episode of Boy Meets World, at this moment in the episode, happened to be on when I turned on the cable TV in my hotel room at breakfast.)
8 - Jonah went to bed without much fuss and I got some things accomplished (including adding Dec. 5-9 to this list).
9 - Finally created a Mii.
10 - Visit from the 'rents.
11 - Choir Christmas music performance. In the words of another choir member, "I'm glad to do it, and I'm glad when it's done."
12 - News on potential new job continues to be good.
13 - The Blue Ridge Eco Shop now carries Plan Toys and has one of Jonah's favorite things: a train table.
14 - Santa shopping was a better deal than I planned on. And Alba liked his singing Peanuts characters.
15 - Explored the warring winter wonderlands on Mountain View Street.
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21 - Formal job offer should be in the mail just in time for Christmas. And free lunch at work.
22 - Amanda received a mop for Christmas (she actually wanted one).
23 - Christmas Part I was great, except for naptime. Jonah really got into it.
24 - Christmas Part II and church in Earlysville.
25 - Christmas Parts III and IV, and I checked the mail just in time to put the letter confirming my new job under the tree.
26 - Christmas Part V, recovery, and an adventure to Whole Foods.
27 - Received lots of congratulatory messages after spamming everyone I've worked with for the last three years.
28 - My boss replied to the same e-mail with a picture of a crying baby.
29 - Two burgers in one day. And our last trip to Ben & Jerry's for free ice cream.
30 - Jonah slept great last night and went to bed tonight with minimal fuss.
31 - Came to Greensboro and met Atticus before he turned 1.
Labels: good things
good things for November
1 - We have six fish! In our fish tank!
2 - We still have five fish! On the bright side! Also, a short bit of evening bus driving.
3 - We still have three fish! And the rest were under warranty, so we have six again by the end of the day! Also, my dad is 70.
4 - Impressed Amanda, and a pedestrian, and myself with my parallel parking abilities (key: use the bumpers - that's what they're there for - but be gentle).
5 - Visited my parents to help celebrate my dad's birthday.
6 - Jonah slept most of the drive home.
7 - Jonah had a friend over.
8 - Voting and dinner out afterwards, which is becoming a tradition.
9 - More interesting news on potential jobs.
10 - Three fish have made it at least a week.
11 - Jonah is becoming a pro at pooping in the potty, even at other people's houses.
12 - Drove a 23-year-old bus for the football game.
13 - Jonah went to bed without a fuss for the first time in over a week.
14 - A longstanding misconception about lunch breaks was corrected.
15 - The Regional Mobility Map may not be perfect, but it is finally done.
16 - Told a funny story in choir.
17 - Learned about what we'll be doing on the Pastor Search Committee.
18 - Busy and productive day: got car inspected, biked, drove bus, had lunch with co-workers, had an outdoor meeting, played with Jonah.
19 - Watched as Jonah put gravel and leaves into a bucket, very purposefully.
20 - There was not total agreement at the church Transition Luncheon, but there were some ideas I agreed with.
21 - Unexpected, exciting, and terrifying news about a job.
22 - Continued and confirmed good news.
23 - Authentic and tasty chimichanga for lunch.
24 - Thankful.
25 - Jonah and I had some Guy Time while Amanda got deals, and we saw Charlottesville's Grand Illumination that evening.
26 - Spending the day in Nokesville without spending the night meant less time wasted in preparing and screaming. Win-win.
27 - Jonah took a long nap and we still got outside to enjoy the nice weather afterwards.
28 - I got fingerprinted and didn't get ink on my hands. And I didn't have to commit a crime.
29 - Although it was a little silly for them to serve only cookies and peanuts at a meeting scheduled for 6 to 8 p.m., the chocolate chip cookies were good.
30 - Finally started to get some of the melodies, words and rhythms for the Christmas cantata.Labels: good things
Good things for October
September: Didn't keep track of all the good things that happened...
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6 - Such nice weather this week... we walked to Belmont BBQ and ran into one of Jonah's friends on the way home.
7 - Fighting back against The Man Tryin' to Keep Me Down, who in this case is Google Transit's gatekeeper.
8 - Cows 'N' Corn with both sets of grandparents.
9 - Good deal on brunch downtown.
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12 - Saw that TMBG will indeed be playing a show in Charlottesville on 2/16/12.
13 - Fun train trip to Philadelphia and subway ride to the hotel. Jonah made lots of use of the Baby Sign for "train."
14 - Jonah had infinite fun at the Please Touch Museum.
15 - Another day of Jonah fun at the Smith Play Place and Philadelphia Magic Garden. Sightseeing at the Italian Market and a cheesesteak at Pat's King of Steaks.
16 - Cobblestone streets.
17 - Despite Jonah having a cold, this day worked out pretty well, and we made it back home on the train before bedtime. Well, not before Jonah's bedtime, but he stayed awake.
18 - Two bus stop sign approvals, approval to join Google Transit, and driving up the bumpy road on Carter Mountain - a good day at work.
19 - I could tell I was getting sick, but I went to choir anyway and enjoyed it.
20 - Got out of the office for a pleasant drive to Scottsville and back.
21 - Rented an antique convertible and drove it on the Skyline Drive to see the leaves. It was a little cold and I was sick, but it was still awesome.
22 - Spent some time swimming at an aquatic center in Christiansburg.
23 - Relaxed and avoided speaking.
24 - Quiet Monday at work.
25 - Slept in.
26 - Stayed home to rest.
27 - Bicycle planning goddess Mia Birk visited Charlottesville.
28 - A co-worker had a vat of hot cider going across the hall all day.
29 - Jonah did a lot of good dinosaur roars.
30 - Hayride on a tiny wagon attached to a lawn tractor.
31 - Trick-or-treating on the Lawn was slightly less crowded than last year. More roaring.
Labels: good things
