The week, so far, has been wonderful. The getting here proved an exercise in auto frustration management, cell phone coordination, rental car research and a great deal of patience for Izzy and Liam.
Bottom line, after twenty or so minutes of driving, the supposedly 'fixed' car began overheating. Karen was driving and was determined to get over the Chesapeake Bay Bridge. Well, after one stall out at the ticket booth, we made it over the bridge and pulled over at the first gas station we came too. Our friends, who we kept in contact via cell phone, were several miles ahead (about twenty) but we told them to keep going until we figured out what to do. The man at the station said there was a mechanic about a block away but when I got there, turns out they were closed on the weekends. After about fifteen minutes of calls—it certainly seemed longer—we ascertained that Enterprise was our only option, and fortunately, just a mile down the road. Even better, our friends — whom at this point had come back to rescue us — noticed a Shell station with a service bay, right next door to Enterprise. (Cozy relationship they must have). So, we arranged to rent a Santa Fe from Enterprise and left our five-year old, 100K mile workhorse at the hands of these mechanics in Stevensville, Maryland. The called later that day, Saturday, after we had reached the beach with news that the problem seemed to be a leaky water pump. FIxable and only around $300 for the repair, at the time seemed quite reasonable and reassuring. The car would be done on Monday or Tuesday.
And then came Monday...
Well, the first call, saying all was fine and the car was ready was merely an unintended tease. The second call telling me that the car, despite the new water heater was still overheating, So, while we had been enjoying our time, and the weather, at the beach. Our car had other plans for our week. At this point, now Wednesday, I'm still waiting to hear our options on replacing the head gasket. The price tag seems around $2k and the decision now, is put the money into a car that has run beautifully it's first 100k miles or don't fix it, buy something used and take on a car payment? And the said vacation was relaxing. Oh well, decisions will be made. Money will be found and now, I just hope one of the job leads I have comes through. With Karen working less, beginning in September, extra $$ will be needed and it'll have to come from me.
But for now, I'm just going to enjoy the rest of my vacation and save the car discussion for after the kids go to bed. Now, off to dinner and then, Funland. (Where they still have the rides I rode with my late Dad, especially our favorite, the helicopters. )
I don't know what is, but family history always seems to point to car problems centered around or before vacation. Take this week for example. Since Monday night, our car has been picked over not once but at least three times by our neighborhood mechanic to fix a problem with the A/C and the car overheating. At first, they say, the couldn't get it to overheat—that was yesterday, when Karen brought it home, overheating—but today they managed to and figured out that the thermostat wasn't functioning. Only problem was that they didn't totally fix the problem . When K went to pick the car up today, the AC was still making some strange noise. So, now, one day before we leave for the beach, the car still isn't fixed, even though we've spent over a grand on four new tires, new back brakes and other general maintenance.
Now, this situation always reminds me of one summer when at the shore with my family, not only did our car 'die' but it did so in the middle of a hurricane. I have the strange memory of my father and grandfather towing our old car to a Toyota dealership where we bought a new, gray Toyota wagon.
So, since I've already got the vacation time car situation, let's hope that no hurricanes pop-up along the coast next week. Now, it's back to work.
It's early on Thursday (I think, it's been one of those weeks where I've actually been too busy to notice the days of the week) and only two more days until our long-awaited vacation. So, if I don't post anything for a week, I'm sure you will all understand.
No word yet about interview from last week and yes, it's going to bother me until I either here they want me back for a second interview or I get thanks but no thanks letter. The waiting and not knowing is the worst. (A note to Tommy Stinson, as seen on the "Craig Kilborn Show", of Guns'n'Roses, formerly of the Replacements...not every musician should or can be a singer. Stick to the guitar playing, please. And the song you did play, sounded to me like a complete rip-off of the Pixies, who do what you were attempting to do so, so much better.)
Okay, as it's very late and I've got car problems—after they were supposedly fixed—to deal with in a few hours, I should get some sleep. But I look forward to the sound of the ocean, some awesome beach thunderstorms, playing in the sand with the kids, and some quite, adult time with friends while all the kids are asleep.
She did it!!!! Isabella is now a true, by myself bike rider. She's so confident now, Karen could barely get her into the house for dinner last night. All it took was one Chinese fortune (swear that we did not plant this one) that said "Practice makes perfect." Then one forced journey to the pool on her bike, crying halfway there, and then another insisted upon ride home from the pool and finally, some pedalling in the back and she was official. It was really cool and I'm very proud of her. My secret hope is that this success will rub off on her in other areas where she has difficulty or is reluctant because she's scared or it's "too hard." Dad's least favorite excuse. Oh, that and "I can't." Everytime they say that, I just tell them that the word 'can't' doesn't exist in our vocabulary.
Speaking of can's and can't. Things on the job front are interesting. Already spoke about last week's interview and now I j ust got a call from a major mutual fund company about a position as an account executive (since I told them I could write as well as design) in their marketing department. I'm not sure about this one. In some ways it is the perfect platform for doing more strategic work and moving in the direction of being a branding director for some firm. But I also know how much I love doing design and I don't want to give that up. I keep telling myself I could do freelance but I'm not sure that's enough. But can't hurt to talk and maybe I can become the first AE that does some of his own design work. Who knows?
As for freelance, that is going well. I'm finishing up a pro-bono job (will show the finished invite on my design site) and am working on one paying job. I'm in the running for a Capital Campaign Identity project (that's what schools call their fundraisers where there are miilions of dollars involved, for the school and not the designer) that would require about two months of work—outside my real job, of course.
Well, that's the news here. We go on vacation on Saturday, so I'm not sure how much I'll blog from the beach. But you never know. Have a good week.
It seems like interviewing is very much like golf. Practice goes well and then when it really counts, the words and thoughts get lost somewhere in between the creative and business synapses. Oh, sure, I'd love an instant replay and maybe it was just I'm really not a good morning person and I should only interview in the afternoon. (How silly does that sound?) And maybe, just maybe, I really didn't come across as spacy as I think.
Whatever it was, I do know that I lost my train of thought at least once and couldn't complete it. Repeated the same thing at least twice, and said something about headhunter calls (this was either a tactical error or a strategic move with still to be seen results). The funny thing is that I had gotten enough sleep, hadn't had any beer at the game so I can't even say that I was hungover or anything. (Not that I would have been, but at least then I'd have a better excuse for what I think was a sub-par interview on my part).
Well, I think I just need to let this go and move on. See what happens. I have at least one more in the wings for and I may very well get a second interview in which I can make up for any slight errors in the first. Everyone have a good weekend, and if you're on the East Coast, stay dry.
Both figuratively and literally. Tonight Karen and I will be huddled in the rain watching the Ravens start their preseason against the Atlanta Falcons. Knowing that both my sisters live in Atlanta, you know I'll be cheering extra hard for the...
the Ravens. On top of that, I just put a proposal in for a freelance job that's actually due a week from tomorrow. Plus I have two other live projects. So, let's see, that's football and no matter how much I want to attack the computer when I get home, a good night's sleep for me. And tomorrow will bring many rewards.
Dear Tooth Fairy,
Tonight, Isabella lost her first tooth. It just fell out when she was taking her bath and she's very excited. Please bring her something very special, since it is her first. I know that she really likes dolls, and at this point, money doesn't hold much meaning to her. She's also enjoying Click Its and of course, just about anything to do with art. Or if you'd like, some new books for her (and Liam's someday) Leap Pad.
Well, I must now go back to work.
Best regards,
Izzy's Dad
Izzy would like me to write how much fun I have with my kids. Especially this weekend. We all went to the Orioles game with our friends and their kids. (Friends, who moved about twenty-minutes away and that we hadn't seen in almost two years) All the kids got to run around the bases after the game, which was a blast, even though it wasn't Yankee Stadium. .
Izzy would also like to share that she road her bike without help and without training wheels. She's still a little scared but I think her confidence will build just like it has on her scooter. Also, Izzy's improving on her reading. She and Liam spent Saturday at the park with Mom while Dad was in an all-day board meeting.
That's all we have to say for now. One, because I need coffee and two, because Izzy needs breakfast.
It's 1:45 am, Monday morning and I am totally awake. The weekend was pretty good, at least the kid's enjoyed it, it was busy and the weather was definitely strange. To save you the minor details, I'll just skip to the highlights: taking Izzy and Liam to Saturday night's performance of Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors. The best part was that the Izzy and her friends really seemed to enjoy both the 'Children's play' before the main show and the actual performance of Shakespeare's comedic classic. I saw most of the first act, with Liam under watchful eye and the second act was spent on total Liam duty. Still fun and all and all a nice night. Sunday's off and on rain led us to finally go see Shrek 2 which was a great movie and both kids enjoyed it immensely and quietly. Oh, and I cleaned the upstairs bathroom. Still have to tackle the bathroom on the main floor of the house (the second) but it's no where near as time consuming as the upstairs one. One thing you can say about city living, it's very dusty. All the time and every corner, and that's not including the cat's own issues of dust creation.
Back to work on Monday, in NYC on Thursday, and some important meeting here and there this week. Most of Thursday will be spent on my pet project, an AIGA Mentoring Program in partnership with the Baltimore City Schools. The program is based on the one that AIGA-NYC has been doing for the past ten years. They have taught me a lot over the past year that I've spent researching models and comparing what each solution brings to the table, and there's is the model I think that will work best here. The NYC trip is mainly to secure funding for our first year. So, if I am successful, I'll share the names of our sponsors. Okay, I'm off to read my next book. Just finished Steinbeck's East of Eden in my Summer of the Classics mode and next is Jane Austen's comedy, "Pride and Prejudice." Plus I've got a few dozen other things, between short articles and professional insights on design to read, so at least my time is filled with interesting things to do. Time to go feed the cats.