Thursday, February 1
Early phone call with Europe, about Nestle. Great stuff.
Drove Melinda's a$$.
Ronette meeting, needed to summarize my "team's" work.
Nitya starts on Monday. I will have lunch with her.
Brainstorming on M365 Analytics, just with Lori and the designers. Went well.
Hellish commute home. Rainy, construction. Circa 90 minutes all told, including going thru capital hill.
Texting with Stuart today about shipping the dining room table, and the big blue chair.
Classic Owen dinner: mashed potatoes, peas, salad. All good.
Sutton registered his car. $500.
1 Longmire.
Friday, February 2
Low meeting content at work.
Brewing issue with Sherri. She didn't come talk to me but Joe her vendor guy called me. Talking next week.
Wrapped up prepping for Nitya on Monday. Got a list of things, plus Jay queued up to get her going.
Left to draw blood at LabCorp, then decided to head home. Stopped at Taco Del Mar for fish tacos.
Did some work, ended up taking a much needed nap too.
Melinda took a Lyft home. I had driven her a$$ to work.
Karaoke with Sutton, then leftovers.
1 Longmire.
Saturday, February 3
Morning Ladro run followed by Saturday workdays. Drove Melinda's a$$, then went to Redmond. Back to get Melinda circa 2:30, then the normal Saturday errands: Safeway, cleaners, and Trader Joe's.
Quality time with cat, who wanted someone in the basement.
Yoga. Trying to extend slowly to do more of it over time. Now do the first 30 minutes (from the recording on my phone), plus one extra.
Went to Fountain Head art gallery with Sandra and Greg, then had dinner at their place. Interesting evening. Sutton joined us, they have an "exchange student" Maya from Spain. Sandra says crazy, random things. Nice meal (Lasagna). Good times.
Closed out the evening doing Karaoke with Sutton.
No Longmire.
Sunday, February 4
Eagles win the Super Bowl! 41-33 over Patriots. The country is happy. Tom Brady fumbles in 4th quarter to help seal it. Funny meme of the missed pass, showing him not catching the Lombardi Trophy. Fun times at Tom and Amy's, with Sam, Max, Gores, Mike Haddok (sp?), Rezettos. Gauc, shrimp, tenderloin, lotsa beer.
Morning was a little Sunday shopping at Met Market after Ladro.
Stationary bike, HR target 101, 40 minutes. Weight 199
1 Longmire.
Monday, February 5
Early meeting, so 7 a.m. Connector. But then the call (with Siemens) didn't happen.
Lunch with Nitya. She should be good. Cold al fresco at the Commons, great Caesar salad.
Weirdness with Sherri; she's not talking to me, talking to her agency person Joe on Wednesday.
Ronette 1:1. Big news is budget issues, may have to let a contractor (or 2) go.
Sutton made soup. We kinda kicked his ass about his easy life.
1 Longmire.
Tuesday, February 6
Melinda wanted to be driven for her birthday week.
Becca for coffee @ 9
Good day with Nitya. Introduced her to design team and PM, got her into the data thing, both of us had lunch with Naomi, talked to Bill Ashcraft, walked her in our hallway plus brought people by to meet her.
left @ 6 to go get Melinda.
Good news from Owen. He started at Homegrown learning to make sandwiches. Has an accounting internship lined up. also has interviews for summer internships
Owen made a good dinner: roasted cabbage with bacon, roasted broccoli, roasted potatoes.
1 Longmire.
Wednesday, February 7
Drove Melinda's a$$
Fair number of meetings.
Introduced Nitya @ Work Tank.
Progress on M365 Analytics value prop research planning
Owen made tacos for dinner
1 Longmire
Thursday, February 8
Drove Melinda's a$$
Cooking up a plan with Chris Hopkins to do Lighthouse v2, present to John Skovron.
Phone call with FastTrack about Cisco. Haven't started deploying ProPlus.
Also had Nitya meet with Prash about Excel perf work and have lunch with Alexis the designer.
Saw Dr. Ahmadian. She says i'm somewhat hyperthyroidism, which is good. Switching to do half a pill every other Sunday, and on alternate Sundays to do no pill. Also wants to ensure i'm not using name brand, so should be using Levoxyl.
Sutton did salmon, rice, and salad.
1 Longmire.
Friday, February 9
Drove Melinda's a$$
Phone call with field folks about Philips. Good one.
Introduced Nitya to Lori, did a phone call with Forrester together.
My back pain, which has been an ongoing issue for going on 2 years, was a bit less today. New theory that I should not sit on the ball, so i'll try that.
Came to get Melinda for 3:45 pick up, cuz meeting Gores and Razettos at Betty.
30 minutes, HR target of 106 on the bike.
Betty was fun. Served by Noelle. No Jim cuz he has flu. We talked about having a "compound" together upon retiring. Nancy gave a nice little speech on the greatness of Melinda, esp lifetime learner and genuine person.
1 Longmire.
Saturday, February 10
Ladro with Sutton, then Safeway, cleaners, Met Market
Yoga. First set of 35 minutes, then one exercise on the second recording.
Some work, not as much as I hoped.
Got flowers for Melinda, from Jane at Ballard Blossom.
Talked about going to Asadero, Mexican steak place in Ballard, but opted for El Ranchon. Sutton drove there in his Lexus. Saw Elba and Saul.
2 Longmires.
Sunday, February 11
Melinda's 60th. Yow!
Normal Sunday. Ladro coffee. Cat lap time. Smoothie. Work. Bike: 103 target heart rate, 40 minutes. Baath. Work and reading.
Watched the David Letterman interview with Barack Obama. Quite good. Obama funny and uber articulate. Also feature interview with John Lewis and footage of the walk across the Pettis bridge in Selma. Obama says Lewis and the civil rights work carried him across and made is possible for him to be president.
Steak dinner with salad, and Cougar Crest cab wine which is quite good. Sutton doing CPR training that he has put off until the last minute. New joke from that is "You've already cleared the airway."
White cake, with lemon and raspberries that Melinda made for her birthday.
1 Longmire.
Monday, February 12
Early day, drove Melinda's a$$, 7:30 call to Finland.
Meetings all day, introducing Nitya to more people. Ramesh and Kelly, Dan Penney. 2 phone calls together.
Set Nitya's to-do list for the week, putting together a Spark on State Farm.
Lunch with Anahita. She wanted to go to Azteca. We went there and...it was gone. Looks like condos. Went to the Commons and ate at the Boardwalk (which used to be Spitfire). Ginger chicken sandwich, was quite good.
Have a detailed write up on ProPlus blockers, shared it with Ronette, interesting to hear what feedback I get.
Owen made chili, which was really good. Both boys here, had a nice dinner together.
Owen is busy. Accounting internship, Homegrown job, tax volunteering, and one class. Promising, if he can stick to it.
1 Longmire.
Tuesday, February 13
Early Connector to work (7:10).
More meet/greet meetings for Nitya. Chris Hopkins, Krista Johnson, Paul Bowden.
Moved to a new office, down the hall, onto the north side of the building. Did it all myself, tho got help from Ken Milne to move my big ass desk.
Much back pain, and right hand. Ugh.
Met with User Testing folks.
Dealt with drama of Sherri the contractor who is unhappy about working with Penny. Directed her to focus on making Gwen happy.
Got the pitch ready with Chris that we'll give to John Skovron about doing Lighthouse v2, getting MCS people to focus on a few big customers.
Ended the day talking to Nico, who is a field guy working with Philips.
Motorcycled home. Light enough traffic to go via I-90, relatively fast.
Had forgotten my phone at work. Strange.
Sutton made Mexican stuffed pepper and salad for dinner. Good.
1 Longmire.
Wednesday, February 14
Drove Melinda's a$$, tho commuted home alone cuz she was meeting Owen at Nordstrom to get him some decent clothes.
Fine day at work. Another call about a customer - Weatherford, oil services. Good conversation with JohnSko about the idea Chris and I had about re-doing the Lighthouse thing. That's not what we decided to do, but may still work toward that.
Nitya and I learned more about Macs in enterprises from Paul Bowden.
I was exhausted so got home and took a nap. Funny timing that I woke up right about 6 p.m., came down and asked Sutton if they were home, and just then Owen and Melinda came in the front door.
Burgers and salad for dinner. Owen did Worcester sauce prep, and meat from B&E, so they were still good even tho overcooked.
Took the night off from alcohol, as I did on Monday night as well. Generally trying to cut down.
1 Longmire.
Thursday, February 15
First ever dermatologist visit, skin check from head to toe. Two spots burned off on my head. Come back in a year.
Saw Becky and Rowen for lunch. He's a character. Got a good selfie with his surprise face.
Home early to go to the movies: The Shape of Water at the Uptown. First Sutton grilled chicken, with disaster of the grill flaming up; needs to be cleaned.
Movie was really good.
I walked home while Melinda and Sutton called for a ride from Owen.
Friday, February 16
Early call to UK (Barclay's) so drove a$.
Then Dublin call to Tom, then 2 hour massage with Nikki. Have been a wreck, both back and neck, massage really helped. Nikki told me to check out the lump on my back, left side, which had been hurting. ugh.
Lunch with Derik, 1:1s with Ben and Samira, phone call about Weatherton.
Picked up Melinda just after 4.
Exhausted, took a nap, sound asleep, woke up thinking it was morning.
Melinda took broccoli onion tart out, made salad for dinner.
1 Longmire.
Saturday, February 17
Ladro with Sutton, who also joined us at Safeway and Trader Joe's. We took broccoli onion tarts for breakfast with coffee.
After the Thursday grill fiasco, I cleaned the grill. Put all the greasy parts in to soak in a tall bucket, washed them in the sink downstairs.
Looked at setting up the new computer in the kitchen, but don't have the right cables for the two monitors. Ordered an adaptor on Amazon.
40 minutes on bike, HR target @ 99. Weighed 200.2.
Read the rest - well, with lots of skimming - of Einstein's 1916 book on the special and general theories of relativity.
Salmon (on the newly cleaned grill), asparagus, and a potato and cheese concoction Melinda made for dinner.
Had two cans of Guinness. Then chips and ice cream during video time.
2 Longmires. Nearing the end, only 4 more episodes to go.
Sunday, February 18
Coffee at Ladro with both boys. Then Owen had to go to accounting intern job. Sutton off to meditation. Melinda to long walk.
Worked, doing slides for FastTrack "airlift" meeting.
40 minutes on bike, heart rate target 98. 620 calories. Weighed later 202 lb.
Saw Black Panther at IMAX, Sutton with us. Left home 1 hour before showtime, ended up kinda far back in line, but still scored great seat, aisle back row. Movie was very fun, good.
Melinda made Indian rice chicken in Instant Pot. Quite good.
2 Longmires. (only 2 left)
Monday, February 19
President's Day holiday.
Sutton off early to do a shift at House of Healing.
Cleaners supposed to come, but ended up putting them off until Wednesday, but only after we'd prepped the house.
Due to house prep, a bit late to Ladro, and only table available was in the window.
Safeway stop for a few things, including oven cleaner so I could clean the grill. Got it pretty clean.
40 minutes on bike, HR goal of 99, 630 cals.
Did some work, but not nearly enough.
Talked to Tushar, the Dartmouth person who contacted me via LinkedIn. He's in a Thayer+Tuck program, Master or Engineering Management. Told him to follow up with resume and portfolio.
Put in for reservation with Dartmouth alum tours of Swiss alps and Italian lakes. Melinda needs to check that she can take that time off in Sept.
Fish tacos for dinner, delicious.
1 Longmire. (only 1 left)
Tuesday, February 20
First working day of the week. Drove Melinda's a$.
At Ladro, learned that Kate will be stepping down as manager, to be replaced by the returning-from-Minnesota Jen. Who will also be Kate's roommate.
8 a.m. call about deploying ProPlus with SCCM. tons of nerdy detail.
9 a.m. call about FedEx. Good stuff, lots of follow up.
11 a.m. call with M365 Analytics preview customers. Good discussion about expectations for that, plus for M365 all up.
noon call about JC Penney, which I then left early to be on a follow up call about FedEx, worries about licensing Visio and Project when deploying with ProPlus.
Good weekly kickoff 1:1 with Nitya.
Swapped Sherri out from working with Penny and team, put her with Dearbhla, and put Samira onto the Penney project with Isabella. Lots of background drama that led up to this, we'll see how it goes from here.
Melinda called for early pickup, so left circa 4.
Sutton cooked steaks on the grill.
News from Jean was they still only have 5 residents but calls for help go unanswered. Ugh.
Longmire finale, Owen watched it with us (even after we gave him grief about personal hygiene). It was a great wrap up. Classic line repeated from the first episode. "I'm thinking. It's something I do sometimes before I talk."
Wednesday, February 21
Caught first Connector (6:36) so that I could be on time for meeting Nitya for the all day FastTrack airlift.
Gave my talk on deployment blockers; went well.
Spent the day there in building 34.
Feeling slightly under the weather: scratchy throat, slight chills. But got convinced to go to dinner. Had a fun time. Romanians, French, Egyptian, Aussie all at my table.
Learned that Bill Ashcraft has money to hire 3 (!) MCSers for ProPlus work. And that FastTrack KPIs don't include ProPlus active usage goals.
Lyft ride home from Redmond Town Centre with Julio.
Friday, February 23
Cold, in the 20s. some ice
Drove Melinda's a$.
2 hour massage with Nikki. Supposed to stretch my right hip, lean left, sleep on left side.
Short work day. Meetings with Prash about Excel perf, Montly telemetry review with JohnSko and team. Nitya and I met with Mark Johnson from Dublin about Office Readiness toolkit.
Melinda and Sutton went to see Ladybird, with Angie. I dropped them at Key Arena, and picked them up.
Watched an episode of Victoria. Very good.
Saturday, February 24
Work day. After coffee with both boys (had to tell Owen to shower), drove Melinda's a$ and went to work.
Spent time writing up summary for Ronette. Enjoyed the steak and salami sandwich courtesy of Melinda
Bike, HR target 101, 30 minutes, 460 cals.
Watched some speed skating, men's and women's mass start.
Betty with our 'elite 8' friends for the finale of Melinda's birthday jubilee celebration. Julia waited on us. Nancy did another awesome toast. Very fun.
1 Victoria.
Sunday, February 25
Coffee with Owen, then he's off to internship. Drove home, as pulling in, phone call from Sutton.
Coffee with Sutton.
Worked a bit on e-mail.
45 minuites on bike, HR 99, 716 cals. Weight 200.8
Watching some Golden State bball, vs OKC
Laundry, did sheets, not a cleaners week.
Melinda got linguini from co-op, took meatballs out of the freezer, made extra sauce. Plus coleslaw. Karaoke before we ate.
Watched some Anna Devere Smith with Sutton; he had done a workshop with her. Her show was about Freddie Gray, Baltimore.
1 Victoria.
Monday, February 26
Sutton off to Indpls. Joined us for coffee, then we drove him to the light rail on capital hill.
Crusty snow on the ground and car. Windows frozen until after Ladro.
Good day at work. Phone call to Claudia in Romania with Nitya (who was working at home due to school closure. The 1:1 via Skype with Nitya. 1:1 with Ronette went super well; turns out all the time I spent writing up the summary paid off. Following up with bunch of meetings and such. Extension Staff meeting fine.
Then off to the doctor to check out the lump on my back. Gamrath thinks it's a synovial cyst, nothing to worry about, just watch. Also adjusted my back (got a good crack) and knee. All good.
Home early, Melinda couldn't leave early so got a ride from Owen.
Jean in a down mood. Sutton didn't go out there yet, she has no hot water.
Burritos for dinner.
Watched an altered carbon with Owen. I liked it.
zero drinking, so one day sober.
Tuesday, February 27
Drove Melinda's a$.
Magen was Ladro barista. Gave us a free latte, just cuz
Nitya 1:1, prioritizing her work. Phone call with Bill Ashcraft and Martin Nothnagel to talk about Bill hiring experts on ProPlus. Nitya and I went to a talk about enterprise networks connecting to the cloud. Summary: hard. Bill again to talk to Sales people about calling on more customers and getting them unstuck. 1:1 with Kelly Forsman.
Leftover spaghetti and meatballs, salad.
Watch 3 billboards outside ebbings, montana.
Sutton called, staying in Stuart's basement. Worried about seeming sneaky drinking beer. Had a good day with abuela. She was impressed by his conversational skills.
Wednesday, February 28
Drove Melinda's a$
Mentoring meeting with Prash in the morning, also got asked to mentor Naomi Harrington
JohnSko 1:1, filled him in on what Nitya is up to, which fits with 2 things he wanted.
Very promising meeting with Sales people who'll be calling customers, using my list of questions.
Nitya did "what I've learned so far" at Work Tank. Good
Hellish commute in the rain
Exhausted, watched a Victoria and took a nap, Owen got home late, hadn't started dinner, he and Melinda made an orange chicken dish.
2nd Victoria.