The middle of the summer is a busy time for us. Father’s Day falls the weekend before both Susan and Morgan’s birthdays, which rolls right into the Fourth of July. Instead of going in depth, I thought instead I’d summarize the past two weeks. Our “two weeks of busy” kicked off with Father’s Day. Among other things, Susan, the kids and I went out for lunch and then visited Factory Obscura or the first time. Factory Obscura is… hard to explain. Essentially it’s a series of rooms filled with multimedia art all loosely tied together with a common theme (mixtapes).… (read more)

When work began on the pool back in January, the contractor we hired told us we would be swimming by the end of March. By the beginning of June, all we had was a concrete hole in our backyard and a bunch of disconnected pool equipment. The contractor that built my workshop gave me an estimate of four months; it took eight to complete. The pool guys gave us an estimate of three months; it took six. The next time a contractor gives me an estimate I will immediately double it before taking blood pressure pills. The pool’s delay was… (read more)

On the way home from Florida we stopped in New Orleans. Our last visit to New Orleans was really nice, fun, and family friendly. We must have gone to a different side of New Orleans last time. Today we parked a block away from Bourbon Street. The entire area smells like piss. I got hit up for money three times in the block and a half we walked. Our destination was the Museum of Death, which is a block or two away from Bourbon Street. The original Museum of Death is located in California, but recently they opened a second… (read more)

We arrived in Watersound, Florida (in the panhandle) around midnight on Friday and began exploring our surroundings on Saturday. Our vacation rental is a two-story, 2,800 square foot town house that came with, among other things, a street legal golf kart. There are hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of rental properties here and every one of them includes a golf kart. Our golf cart has a license plate, headlights, and blinkers. The golf kart is legal on any road with a 35mph speed limit or less. We’ve had ours up to 30mph and it’s pretty terrifying. Across the street from… (read more)

When the hotel’s valet pulled my car around Friday morning, he said “I think your tire might be flat.” The word “might” was a pretty big understatement. The rear passenger tire was as flat as a tire could be. The kids, who are traveling in their own car, continued on without us… nothing they could do, after all. We told them we would get the tire patched and meet back up with them in Florida. The valet, along with the hotel’s maintenance man, arrived with a portable air compressor. As quickly as they pumped air into the tire, it began… (read more)

Vacation! Thursday morning, Susan and I hopped in the car and headed east. We’re headed to Florida, but decided to split one long of day of driving into… well, two long days of driving. We’ve been waiting on the liner for our swimming pool to be delivered since March. The liner’s arrival kicks off a week’s worth of activity that culminates in the completion of the pool. Like clockwork, the liner arrived the day before our vacation began. We will have a steady stream of workers finishing up the pool while we are away. Between that, the electrician running the… (read more)

Last month, an article in the New York Times introduced a new word to the world: cheugy. Before I talk about it, I want to ask you a question. Do you know the reason why people don’t wear white after labor day? Don’t look it up. I’ll tell you why here in a minute. For now, back to “cheugy.” According to the article, the word (pronounced “CHEW-gee”, with a hard “G”) is actually ten years old. It was made up by a (then) thirteen-year-old girl, who used it at school where it spread among her friends. Over the past few… (read more)