Jeff Blogs

It is hard to believe that 2009 is nearly over. As I stopped to ponder how quickly the year has gone I realized it has been ten years since we were preparing to usher in a new decade and a new century.

As 1999 was coming to an end I like most others in the Information Technology industry was preparing for the impending Y2K doom that was being predicted in the media. Of course nothing happened and that was a non-event.

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I’m developing a rather healthy love/hate relationship with my Nintendo Wii Fit. Ever since we got the thing I have tried to give it a fair trial. I know I am not getting any younger and my life seems to be in complete turmoil making it nearly impossible for me to find time to go to an actual gym. So anything that I can find that will get me a little more active I am all for. I initially attempted to use Wii Fit and was completely miserable. According to the documentation that came with this torture device, it is built to help you with strength and balance. Really all it did was confirm my worst fears. I am old, out of shape, and have all the balance of a yak with an inner ear problem.

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We completed our packing and we were finally ready for our vacation. On Diary of a Diehard I discussed a little of what goes into summer vacation at our house. The planning is more representative of a large scale battle plan for a world war than it is for a family to go on vacation. I think a lot of that is as a result of having a house full of women. With just Dakota and me to represent the male population we are quickly outnumbered by the estrogen gang. Discounting the computer equipment for a moment, there is a substantial difference between how women pack for a vacation and how men pack for the same amount of time and same location. Take for example my son Dakota versus my daughter Whitney.

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I had previously written about my shopping adventures trying to get a Wii Fit for my kids. Since that traumatic episode I have shied away from anything having to do with this device. Well that and the fact that the Arizona Diamondbacks have been in town for a 6 game home stand has left me with very little free time. The Wii Fit box had been set down next to the television and literally forgotten about until Dakota uncovered its existence. Since that time all I have heard was his pleas to set up this device so he could play. I swear, I really need to stash things in better places until I have enough time to deal with things after baseball season is over. Finally I could not take it anymore and I allowed the kids to set up the Wii Fit. I was hoping that telling the kids to go for it would dissuade them. I further assumed that setting up a Wii Fit would be too complicated for mere children to understand and therefore give me a little extra time. I was wrong on so many levels.

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“Would you mind stopping at the store on your way to work and picking something up for me?” Never has one sentence contained such a veiled attempt. It seemed like a fairly innocent request. After all, Trina does so much for me how could I possibly decline when she asks me to do something? I have no answer to that last question but after today I can tell you that I do plan to do some research to find an appropriate way to say no if she ever asks me to stop at a store again. Before getting this request it was a pretty run-of-the-mill Wednesday. The week would soon be half over and with everything we have going on today appeared to be the calm before the storm. I just didn’t realize how close the storm was.

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