Bringing my lunch to work a majority of the time (3-4 times a week) has three benefits for me personally.  One is to watch what I eat.  The second is to save money.  Third, and I consider this a key component in my “decompression time”, is to be able to read the newspaper or peruse stuff online during my break (followed by a short walk).  I’m fortunate where I have a job that allows an hour lunch break which allows me to eat and relax at a leisurely pace.

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It’s just now getting to be cool down here and finally feeling like fall.  One of our maple trees out front is just turning and I took a picture of this partially-changed leaf.

Sometimes shyness rears its head in the oddest ways for me.  Sure, I was voted Shyest Guy for the 8^th grade yearbook and I didn’t really come out of my shell until college and the liberating effects of alcohol brought me out into the open to be able to eventually converse with people while sober.

That opening missive was a roundabout way to segueing my inability to ...

Either I’m gonna have to give up my policy of trying not to go to sleep with pills (drowsy cold meds or knock-you-out-cold prescription stuff like ambien) or I’m gonna have to find a new way to fall asleep.  As a kid it would sometimes take several hours for me to fall asleep.  Part of the issue at that point in my life was my mind was always racing.  The other aspect was I had to also keep an eye out on the Bogeyman and whatever creepy crawly creatures resided under my bed, plotting my imminent demise. 

Far be it from me to bemoan when others say they’re tired, as it can be hard to start the week firing on all cylinders.  Let me see how many of you parents can relate to our Sunday.  While this might have been a busier-than-normal afternoon, most of you will say “Man, I’m glad it’s not just me who has days like this.”  Most of this stuff were fun tasks but by day’s end you realize “Wow, I need a weekend to let me rest from this weekend.”  The funny thing is we're not one of those "every minute together with the kids has to be structured and planned" kind of parents.  Normally the weekend just happens organically depending on the weather and the kid ...

While I abhor most chain mails, I actually enjoy the questionnaire style emails where people fill in answers to short questions about themselves.  I got tagged from Amy in NH’s excellent blog and decided to play along.  Even if you’ve known me from high school, there’s definitely a few items here that will be new to you.