Friday, November 29, 2013

Past and future gifts

Black Friday is just about gone and I don't think the Geohouse occupants did any real damage. 

I couldn't help but notice Geogal was sound asleep in our warm bed come 5:00 this morning.  So much for her big talking about going to our local retailer to pick up a doorbusters special for the child. 

Speaking of gifts I had my birthday last month and thankfully Geogal didn't just give me a card with the inscription:

Dear Geoguy, our getaway to California was your birthday gift!!     XXOO  


Nope.  Instead she picked up on some obvious hints and I wound up with a Mr. Coffee K-Cup brewer (been wanting one for my office since the coffee to be had in our breakroom amounts to little more than hot water with a few brown crayons dipped in it).  I'm enjoying such a device on these chilly days.  Just this morning I had a wonderful cup of Joe (this stuff).

Also in my haul of b-day presents was a Kindle Paperwhite.  Nice to have a reader that is easy on my aging eyes.     Right now I'm reading Walter Isaacson's biography of Steve Jobs. 

So what might come from ol' Santa?  Watch for the next entry. 

Thursday, November 28, 2013

Back to it

No doubt some family members are wondering about the lack of postings here this year. 

And the other day Geo-mom-in-law asked specifically for me to be more consistent with my postings. 

There is no one explanation for 2013 having a lesser-than-average amount of entries.  However there are many small reasons. 

For more than half the year I was functioning as a single parent as Geogal was in school pursuing her physical therapist assistant credential.  Add to that the fact that I now have a job that is more demanding of my time (and is a job I cannot just leave at work at the end of the day) and you have a person who was often too mentally taxed and tired to be creative at the computer keyboard.  Then for good measure during the second half of the summer much of my free time was spent preparing for a board examination. 

An interesting (he writes after the fact) story there.  With my new position came the expectation that I obtain a credential from the state of Kansas.  Having been under licensure in my old home state of Arizona I figured reciprocity would not be a huge problem. 

I was wrong. 

States don't always play nice with each other. 

When the dust settled I was almost to the point of being licensed.  The final hurdle was to pass the national-level board examination.  A paraphrase might sound like this:  "OK, Geoguy, so you've shown us by your education and work experience that you qualify for this credential.  However in order to make sure you know what you say you know, take and pass this exam." 

Yeech.  I don't care much for standardized tests, and actually don't know anyone who really does. 

But, since I had a clear goal I put aside some of my personal life for a while and hit the study guide. 

I did have a partner in this process.  Geogal had (by then) graduated from her program and knew she needed to study for her licensure exam as well.  So our August getaway saw us laying beside a swimming pool, getting tanned, and us with our noses in the respective study guides.  (Not all the time, of course.) 

End of story.  We both passed our exams and now have those all-important pieces of paper that grant us the ability to practice our professions in the state of Kansas. 

Then comes a new school year and a child who is VERY active in sports and other extracurricular activities. 

Plus a new BB gun team season where I am again the head coach. 

And now you know why I haven't been posting much to this blog.  But that will certainly change. 

Sunday, November 24, 2013

This is why we like college football

First, it was great to see a Big 12 matchup being featured on ESPN's College GameDay yesterday morning. 

The Big 12 is a conference definitely in need of such a spotlight game.  Given the defections of the past few years and the increased attention on the SEC and Pac 12 last night's contest between Baylor and Oklahoma State was positive for all involved. 

Second, look at the teams!  How many years did Baylor and Oklahoma State play in the shadow of OU, UT, Nebraska, and Texas A&M?  Nice to see former punching bags playing football at Top 25-level. 

_____________________________

This piece from ESPN makes a convincing statement about the Rose Bowl gods forcing Oregon to pay for those comments made by a couple of players last week. 

But what about this?  Oregon loses to a Pac 12 team that has NEVER made it to The Grandaddy of Them All. 

Irony??