Saturday, December 10, 2005

The new, new thing

My new, new thing: Figuring out a new commute because I moved. My choices?
-- Take I-85 (39 miles)
-- Take GA 400 (39 miles)
-- Go down 141 to 285 to I-85 (only 35 miles)
-- Ride with some work friends in a carpool down I-85
-- Indian Springs, Doraville or Chamblee Marta
-- Take the Gwinnett County Transit bus from Mall of Georgia (or Discovery Mills)
-- Take the GA Express bus from the Cumming fairgrounds.
I wonder which I will choose.
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX
This is what we think of moving----->>>
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

We did move, we did!

We’ve moved. We’re in our new home in the Three Chimneys subdivision of Cumming, Ga.
That’s about 35 miles north of city. Exit 12 of 400, or the Sugarloaf exit off I-85, for those of you keeping score at home.
There’s so much to say about it, it’s overwhelming. It’s incredible how fast the whole thing happened. And both Jennifer and I weren’t able to take that much time off from work (me at my job, her managing the house and children). I can’t believe how much was accomplished in such a short time.
Some quick thoughts:
-- Customer service, and getting a job done completely and thoroughly have been utterly lost somehow. Whether it is our rising expectations, the more compacted pace of business and life, or the negative result of more interconnected technology, the compartmentalizing and making components of tasks - something is simply causing things to not get done completely satisfactorily the first time. Everything that is done must be inspected, and it will likely be found wanting. The closing occurred on the correct day, but was delayed and wasn’t funded until the following day. The movers didn’t have a big enough truck, the Direct TV guy stole the Adelphia Internet guy’s cable and it was my problem, the Best Buy delivery guy couldn’t coordinate with us on the time he was coming to the house, and on, and on, and on.
-- So many things about the new house are great. Over time, I’m sure I’ll develop irritations, but I’m in love right now. One example – I car park my truck right by the front door of the house. And my bedroom door is right by the front door. So, if I heard those rascal Duke boys ride by and yell “Yi-Haw!” in the middle of the night, I could race to my truck in two seconds flat to start the chase. In the other house, I’d have to make my way to the front of house from the back, go down the entryway stairs, and walk out to the driveway. I’d never catch them that way. And Daisy would never respect that.
-- I really feel that we’ll be in this house a while, fortune, fate and God willing. I just don’t see why we’d move anytime soon. I see the kids going to college (again, God willing) while we are in this dwelling.
-- The drums are going upstairs! The playroom is upstairs! The whole house will quake when I decide to lay down a monstrosity of Grohl-like grooves.
-- The house in Lawrenceville will always be our house. Jackson was born there. We planted a Magnolia tree in the side of the yard.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX
The Tree. Our Tree-------------------->
XXXXXXXXXXXXX

And Jennifer, Savannah and Parker’s initials are in the concrete below the deck in the back. It’ll be fun over time to watch the tree grow and sneak a peek to see if our initials are still there. Whoever owns that house and the land, it will always still be ours. We’ll see over the years how Jackson’s growth compares to that of the tree.


Wednesday, November 23, 2005

Moving

We're moving!

Jennifer, me, Parker, Savannah & Jackson are moving from the Grayson/Lawrenceville area to Cumming. Set for Sat, Dec. 3rd.

Here's the move--------------------->

Here's two reasons that I'm excited: First, below, here's a photo of the house, then, below that, a look at the golf courses nearby. There's like, 7 within a five mile radius. Pretty cool. Well, I suppose it is cool. I don't actually play golf that much anymore since the third child was born, and these courses are a little too expensive. Ah, maybe I'll get to the range more often at least. The new home is at: http://maps.google.com/maps?q=Hearth+Way+Lane,+Cumming,+GA&ll=34.118271,-84.147635&spn=0.116108,0.326157&hl=en

Wednesday, November 02, 2005

Running Man

I saw this guy out running on my way home.

He had a gut, tatoos, little tighty colorful shorts and a bandana on his head.

Had it all, in other words.

I snapped the shot, thinking my wife would get a kick out of it, this odd bird jogging in a suburban shopping square.

How did Halloween go?

The kids dressed up (here's Savannah)...












And we got candy...



Monday, October 31, 2005

I can't snap it as good as you ('Cause I got choclate on my fingers)

This is what it is to be five...

Parker (P-Nut) and Jackson (Jay-Bird) are riding with me to Tribble Mill Park Sunday afternoon. Going to take a jog. Push Jay-Bird in the stroller. P-Nut will scooter alongside.

Got Kamakiriad (Donald Fagan) in the player on the way. Track four - Snowbound. I'm snaping my fingers along to the slow beat. Nice, crisp snaps. Paker's grooving, he likes it. He's snapping, too. Not all that great. He uses his thumb and forefinger, not middle finger. It's more of a rub -- a russle of fingerprint on fingerprint -- than a snap. Jackson's just looking -- at me, at Parker, at his fingers.

"You snap good, Dad," P-Nut says (he's five), in that mild and sweet approving voice he often has.

"You like this song?" I ask. It's kind of slow for a five year old to dig.

"Yeah," he says.

"I can't snap it," Jackson (he is two and a half) pipes up. He's decided, and is rendering his verdict, after some frowning. "I can not do it," he says in his somber and precise way that cracks me up.

"I can't snap as good as you," Parker says, " 'Cause I have choclate on my fingers."

I look back in the miror, and it's true. The chocolate from the Fall Festival we attended earlier was still there on his hands and face.

That was the reason...