30 more minutes until quitting time. The last two days at work have been completely pointless. I think today we received less than ten calls (split between six people). I spent the majority of the day dreaming about new possible paint jobs for my Geo Tracker.

This year was my first “real” Christmas as a parent (Mason was only two weeks old last year). Someone earlier asked me what I got for Christmas, and I really had to stop and think about it. Times have really changed. I could tell you just about everything Mason got (and trust me, it’s a pretty long list). When you’re a kid, it’s all about “”what you got.”” Then, as an adult, Christmas became a time to “buy cool gifts for loved ones.” And while of course Christmas is still about both of those things, this year it was really all about Mason for me — what he got, what he liked, what other people got for him …

All the Christmas get togethers went really smooth this year. Everyone seemed to like their gifts; I know I did. I got a lot of awesome clothes, some tools, some toys, some DVDs, and a refrigerator for my upstairs den… all the essentials! Susan got the drill, tent, and chair she wanted, plus some other cool “toys” (the combo binocular/digital camera looks interesting), and as previously mentioned, Mason got everything he could’ve possibly wanted and more. There’s pictures of our neices and nephew, my dad, and lots of Christmas aftermath in there.

Merry Christmas, everyone!

Who says procrastination doesn’t pay off? Got some great deals on Christmas gifts last night! Of course, I paid the price with my nerves. No matter how good prices get, starting Christmas shopping on the 23rd is a bad idea. But (luckily), things seem to have worked out this year — and I have a whole 24 hours left for wrapping! (14 hours, actually). Our families are coming over tonight for snacks and gifts, should be a relaxing evening for all.

Seems to be a pretty regular cycle going on around here these days. Mason gets sick at daycare, he comes home and gets us sick, about the time we get well he gets sick again from daycare, etc. I think we’ve been sick for two months straight now. Usually we go through Cokes and snacks pretty regularly around the house … this week, it’s been Kleenex and nose spray. While Susan did some Christmas shopping today, I finally moved the PS2 upstairs and messed with getting online play to work. I wished I hadn’t a few minutes later, when I got my ass kicked 113-22 in NBA Live 2003. It’s 8:55pm on a Saturday night — Susan and Mason are asleep, and I won’t be too far behind them I’m sure.

For those interested, I got my cell phone turned back on — same number, but I’m paying for it now instead of work. Free nights and weekends. Who knew “”evenings”” started at 9pm?

OhBoyOhBoyOhBoyOhBoyIt’sFridayIt’sFridayIt’sFridayIt’sFriday! It’s the weekend before Christmas, and you know what that means kids? TIME TO START CHRISTMAS SHOPPING! Woo woo! Can’t wait! I like to give people as much time as possible to get their Christmas lists to me. Heh, that’s one way to look at it anyway. Right around the corner from Christmas is New Year’s. I’m working on making a list of resolutions and then whittling away the ones that will take any real effort.

Man oh man, do I love this new “”updating”” script. I can just log onto the website at anytime and add a note. It’s great. “It’s like a miracle to me, even though I was in on it’s creation.” – Mark Hamil, commenting on Star Wars. On less happy news, my sister Linda’s boyfriend passed away earlier this week due to complications with leukemia. So, I’m tying my tie right now, getting ready to head out to another one of “those” meetings. Seems like I go to more and more funerals these days. This kid was 26. Wish I had some deep quote or something to add here but not much you can say — you show up, show respect, and then go to lunch afterwards.

Had a typical Monday night last night. Monday nights are Susan’s school nights, which means it’s just me and the Mase-Man. Unfortunately, lately he’s begun crying uncontrollably every time either one of us leaves the house. So, Susan left for school at 5:30pm, and Mason cried until 7pm. Not even the power of the Teletubbies video could stop him. Finally he cried himself out and passed out, goldfish crackers in one hand, empty sippy cup in the other. He did eventually wake up and we had fun after that, playing on his Spider-Man “”scootah”” (as the Teletubbies say) and on his Rock, Ride and Roll tricycle. When mommy finally came home, Mason and I both took a well-deserved nap.

Last Thursday, 12/12, was Mason’s first birthday. The event was honored at daycare with cookies, party hats, and cheap sunglasses which were promptly eaten, worn, and broken. Mase seemed to have a good time so that’s really all that matters. Thursday after work, and according to tradition (that no one seems to know about any more), Mason got his first haircut at Headhunter’s in Yukon. Saturday was Mason’s official birthday party. My family and Susan’s family came out and everyone had a great time. We took everything into consideration except one minor detail — Mason, apparently, doesn’t like cake. Other than that, everything went fine.

Welcome to our website! I am in the process of updating my little news engine here, so hang loose for a day or two until I get everything working and all the archives added.

April showers finally brought May. Or, something like that.

Garage sale day is this weekend in the sunny valley of Sun Valley (it’s so nice, I felt like saying it twice). Of course as most of you know, “Garage Sale Day” (a yearly tradition for almost as long as I can remember) is that special day where all the citizens of Sun Valley host garage sales and trade junk. We’re having one at dad’s house this year and hoping to unload “all the stuff that’s too big to ship on Ebay.”

Susan and Mason are in Kansas City this week. Susan’s there for work, Mason’s there for play. It’s seriously bachelor-time in the O’Hara household this week. The biggest problem is, I’ve forgotten how to be one. I decided bachelor activities this week would include watching a lot of basketball, and walking around in my boxers. Unfortunately, these are things I do when Susan and Mason are around too, so it’s not very exciting.

Works sucks, nothing new there. I’m jockeying for a new position in the “virus/security” arena (in the same department) which should happen shortly. I’ve also applied with a couple of different companies (most notably, the FBI, wouldn’t that be a cool job?), so we’ll see what happens. I’ve been spending my time at work programming in ASP/VB Script which is pretty fun.