Summer 2015

It has felt like a longer summer than most.  That's actually a good thing.

In late-June, we hosted everyone in the family to celebrate Abbie's graduation.  It was great to have the clan here.

I was in an interview process during June and July, so Kim and I stayed home from South Carolina.  Fortunately, we were able to fly Abbie down to be with everyone.  She had a good week and got to celebrate her eighteenth birthday with her cousins.  One of the milestone events was going to "Senor Frogs."  Apparently she looks mature for her age because they didn't ask.  This meant that she didn't have to wear the "wrist-band-of-shame."  This seemed to please her very much.

Since coming home from SC, she's been to camp twice, once as a volunteer counselor, and once as a camper, her final time.  She's also had a good amount of time with her friends her at home.  It seems that she is anxious about college, but perhaps more so about leaving her friends.  Fortunately, she's had lots of time with Allie and Alex.  

Ultimately, I did not get the job, although I did get an offer.  I learned some things through the process, but mostly I ended up feeling a bit more discouraged about my career status.  It seems that it's unlikely I'll be able to switch jobs at this point without giving up a significant amount of money.  For now, I'll invest where I am.

Nate came home from camp in early July.  It was discouraging that things didn't work out for him this year, but he seems to have landed on his feet.  He usually does.  He found a lifeguarding position at an apartment complex a couple of days after he returned.  Three and a half days a week and better pay.  He's spent a good portion of his off time, visiting with friends and seeing his girlfriend, Sara.

Kim and I have managed to keep busy and do summery things.  We've eaten out, gone to concerts, walked around Saratoga, vacationed in Maine, attended parties and spent time with friends.  It feels as though we've packed in a bit more than usual, and it's been great.  I'm never in any great hurry to return to work, but at least this year, I don't find myself wondering, "Where has the summer gone?"

Nate will drive back to Ithaca tomorrow.  His classes start on Wednesday.  He's moved some of his stuff to his campus apartment already.  It seems significant that he'll go back without our involvement, but it also feels appropriate.  It's hard to believe that he'll be done with school in 9 months.  He'll be living with Robert again this fall.  They get along well and enjoy working with each other.  In December and January, Nate plans to be involved in the filming of Robert's thesis project.  After that, he'll head to L.A. for his final semester.

We'll take Abbie to Michigan on Wednesday.  Dave Barnes has volunteered to travel with us to help with the driving.  He'll fly back home on Thursday.  We have amazing friends.  Abbie will move into the dorm on Thursday, one day sooner than the other incoming freshman.  She'll start cheer practice that afternoon.  The orientation program is extensive and includes activities for parents, so we'll be with her on campus on Friday, Saturday, and Sunday.  At 3:30 on Sunday afternoon the schedule calls for family pictures and goodbyes.  Our plan is to follow the schedule.  We'll start for home that afternoon.  We figure it will be better for her and for us to be out of reach.

I report for work on September 1, the day after we get back from Michigan.  The new normal?  Time will tell, but I'm honestly eager to find out.  Maybe this is why the summer has felt long; it's been months of preparing - practically and emotionally - for the next phase.

Bring it on.

Snow Day 
(... must be time to blog again)

I realize that I have a pattern of blogging during February snow days.  It's one of the few times when I feel I have enough unscheduled time to indulge in writing about things.  Okay, maybe that's an overstatement, but I clearly have a pattern of doing this.  In fact, many of the posts over the past few years are weather related.

This storm is no record breaker for us.  It's a typical "nor'easter."  But this storm system really punched the south before heading up to us.  Atlanta and Spartanburg saw snow, ice or both.  What a mess.

This was to be the last day of school before the Presidents' Day week of vacation.  Timing is everything.  It means that I can skip over the Valentine's Day activities.  It rarely impacts my schedule, but the kids can become unglued by the whole thing, because of the parties and the card exchanging.  I'm a Scrooge.  True to form, I'm glad to skip all of that.

Abbie's getting over a concussion this week.  She got elbowed in the head last Saturday at cheer practice, coming out of a stunt.  We didn't take her to the emergency room until Monday evening, and although her only symptom had been a headache, the doctor told us to have her sit out of all physical activities for about a week.  At this point, the headache seems to be gone, so we expect that our doctor will clear her for PE and cheer when she sees him on Monday.

We have little chance to be in touch with Nate at this stage.  He called the house on Tuesday night to wish Kim happy birthday.  He said that he wouldn't be able to call on Wednesday since the group would be heading into the wilderness for a week of winter camping.  He told her not to worry; they changed the route for this outing to avoid the areas where there are currently avalanche warnings.  If he had been here when he told her that, I might have dope slapped him.  She doesn't seem to be too anxious about what he's doing, but she may be choosing not to think about it.  I'm trying not to bring it up.


The group has a Facebook page and they have posted some photos from the first event, ice climbing.  I'm hoping that whoever started this documenting will continue it through the whole experience.  I find it exciting to see updates about what he's doing.  The Facebook page also has a link to another site/application that seems to be tracking the location of the professor leading the group.  It's cool to be able to look at a map or satellite picture and see where they are...  if that is, in fact, what the app does.

Link to the Facebook page.
Link to the tracking tool.
Link to the Colorado Outward Bound Facebook page
Link to the Colorado Outward Bound Site.

We don't have a whole lot planned for the week off.  We have made a few appointments for doctor visits and tax preparation.  On Wednesday and Thursday, we'll be in NYC, just because we want to go and spend some time away.  Sounds like the weather will be milder on those days, so it should be easy to get around.  Abbie will take her driving test next Friday, so we'll also try to spend some time practicing each day.  She's driving very well, and I expect that she'll pass the test easily.  We just need to spend a little time practicing parking, but that's been very hard to do during the last few months, since it hard to find a quiet street where you can actually see the curb.

Cousins Camp 2013

July 6, 2013 at Camp Fowler

And now for something completely different...

Abbie had her wisdom teeth removed yesterday.

It was hard not to think about Nate.  I remember that he was so giddy in recovery that nurse started giggling too.  I had to tell him to stop trying to talk with gauze in his mouth, so he tried to write his questions and comments on post it notes.

By contrast, I think that the nurse was a little anxious when she came to get me after Abbie's surgery.  She told me that Abbie was a little weepy, but that she would probably stop crying pretty soon.  I'll take giddy any day.  Poor thing.  She just sobbed and sobbed.  At one point the nurse started using gauze to wipe away her tears.  By the time she reached the car she was crying less, but she barely moved and never spoke during the ride home.

I'm happy to report that she's doing much better.  She spent yesterday on the sofa with ice packs watching countless episodes of Say Yes to the Dress; Atlanta.

I'm glad to have this in the rear view mirror.

Snow, sort of.

Yesterday was a snow day.  I don't remember one quite like it.  There was no snow in the air or on the ground when I got up.  I got in the shower at 5:30, as usual, only to have Kim pop her head in minutes later to say that I had gotten the call.  Turns out that all three of us would be home for the day.  The reason was not the road conditions, but rather the forecast.

I decided to seize the moment and head to my classroom.  My biggest annual concert took place on Thursday evening.  I had dumped all of the instruments and equipment in the middle of my classroom when it was over.  The school cancellation meant that I'd get time in my room with no one else around.  Priceless.  As it turned out, I stayed for about four hours, and I got a lot of work done.  When I left school to head home, still no snow.

It finally started to flurry here at about noon.  By 3:00 PM, dismissal time, there wasn't even a coating of snow on the road.

This morning when I got up the snow had stopped.  I've already shoveled the driveway.  I think we have about 6 to 8 inches.  I realize, of course, that this storm was much worse to the east of us, and may still be bearing down on parts of the coast.  It just seems to me that we were so eager to include ourselves in the event.  The forecast was for snow, but not a huge amount, and not until late in the day on Friday.

Nevertheless, this was a great time to have a three day weekend.

The only real hassle that we're facing is related to Abbie's cheer leading team.  They are supposed to be at a competition today, but it was rescheduled for tomorrow.  Really?  Why can't the schools leave Sunday alone?

Nate turned 18 this week.  It seems that he's had a good week and that he got plenty of attention from his floor mates.  One post on facebook made me laugh.  Someone from his floor posted something like, "You may be getting older, but you're still a baby."  Several people call him Baby Nate.  The "Baby" part is really just a way of distinguishing him from the other Nate, but it seems that it's going to stick for awhile.  I'm interested to see how long it lasts.

He says that he was wakened on his birthday by someone pounding on his door.  He yelled two or three times to tell  the person to come in.  Finally he got up and threw the door open and discovered it was the "public safety" folks.  They had decided to do a fire inspection that morning, and said that Nate's room was going to be written up.  The reason was that during the night Nate's floor mates had decorated the hallway around his door.  It seems that his friends had violated some of the fire regulations.  The public safety folks decided to give him just a warning and told Nate that he needed to have the area cleaned up by the end of the day.  How decent.  Nate seemed to think it was funny and a good story.

  

A Room With a View

We took Nate to Ithaca today.  It was a good day.

One of his roommates arrived less than an hour before we did.  His other roommate isn't expected until Monday or Tuesday.

We helped him unpack, went to lunch, and walked around the campus a bit.

His dorm is part of the "terraces," up on the hill at the top of the campus.  His primary academic building, the Park School of Communications, is at the bottom of the hill on the other side of the campus.  It's a college.  It's a fitness program.  The room is a decent size for a triple.  And it has a great view of the lake.

During the next couple of days he'll participate in one of the "Jump Start" programs that they offer for incoming students.  He selected the hiking activity.  They'll be heading into the woods sometime tomorrow and coming back on Saturday.  I think he's looking forward to going out on the trail.  He didn't get any trail time this summer.

We were back home in Schenectady by 5:30 this afternoon.  It's too far to go often, but close enough that we can go for the day if we want to.  We brought home a list of things to find or buy for the room.  We're going to head back on Sunday for move in day.  Even though he's already moved in, he seems to agree that on a day when everyone else will have their families around, it would be nice for us to be there.

Goodbyes might be harder that day, but I'm expecting we'll all do pretty well.

Abbie and Anthony
"Yellow" by Coldplay
April 24, 2012 -- Schalmont High School Talent Show





Look at the stars

Look how they shine for you
And everything you do
Yeah they were all yellow

I came along
I wrote a song for you
And all the things you do
And it was called yellow

So then I took my turn
Oh what a thing to have done
And it was all yellow

Your skin
Oh yeah your skin and bones
Turn into something beautiful
You know you know I love you so
You know I love you so

I swam across
I jumped across for you
Oh what a thing to do

Cause you were all yellow
I drew a line
I drew a line for you
Oh what a thing to do
And it was all yellow

Your skin
Oh yeah your skin and bones
Turn into something beautiful
And you know
For you I'd bleed myself dry
For you I'd bleed myself dry

It's true
Look how they shine for you
Look how they shine for you
Look how they shine for
Look how they shine for you
Look how they shine for you
Look how they shine

Look at the stars
Look how they shine for you
And all the things that you do

Christmas Time is Near...

And then on Saturday

All in all, this week went well.  The first full week of school and activities usually feels tiring, but this year, it somehow seemed less stressful.  I guess we're getting used to finding a new routine each year.  It's hard not to think of this as "the last year" though, since next fall might seem very different if Nate goes off to college.

Abbie seems to like high school.  I'm sure she's showing signs of maturity, but I also feel that she's less anxious.  Middle school was hard for her, I think.  She seems to like her classes, complains about a few of the teachers, but doesn't mind the work.  I think she's also gaining confidence as a student.  She's always done well  in school, and she's beginning to see herself in that light.

She's now taking 6 hours of dance classes each week.  It's a big bump from last year when she was at the studio for three and a half hours.  We let her add another ballet class since she has been working so hard.  Her teachers chose to place her in a less advanced group for the second class, and have encouraged her to approach it as a chance to focus on her technique more than learning new material.  In addition, her other ballet class will extend to two hours later this fall when they add pointe work.  I sense that she's eager for that.  Her jazz class was supposed to take place on Monday evening, but after the first class her teacher, Debbie, asked her to switch to a more advanced group that meets on Wednesdays.  Since this is a ninety minute class the switch has added another half hour to her load each week.  But I'm sure she's up for it.  I got to watch a couple of these first classes this week.  She is showing more and more confidence, and I actually saw her smile several times.

Nate seems to be enjoying the senior role.  He also is working hard at academics.  I sense that he understands that college will require so much more and he's going to need to increase his level of investment.  So far, that's what he seems to be doing.  He's done a lot of homework in the evenings this week.  He's also been happily reporting to me that he has his work done for this class or that class, sometimes a couple of days in advance.  He remains unimpressed by the instructor of his writing class at the community college.  For the second class the teacher arrived late and unprepared.  Most of the class time was wasted on technology glitches because the man hadn't bothered to investigate the available hardware and software before he arrived.  Hopefully this experience will help Nate to appreciate the value of preparation, and the responsibilities of leadership.  In the mean time he told me, I'll just have to work through it.

He sent me email twice this week.  The first time was to thank me.  Something had come up in his Tech Valley math class that only he understood.  It was part of a joke that the teacher was telling, but Nate was the only one who got it.  He remembered that I had taught him was a gross was, and he just wanted to thank me for teaching him that.  Of course, I like this kind of email.  He also sent me a piece that he has written for his college class.  The assignment was "Write about something have read recently."  This is his response.

One of the most interesting things I’ve ever read was the label on the bottle of Dr. Pepper I had today. It’s a great read. It’s non-fiction, but at the same time it holds its place in the mystery/thriller genre. It even comes with a delicious beverage in the bottle, and a five cent refund! It’s a lovely product.
                It’s so, “real-world”, and informative. One section includes all of the nutrition facts, and tech-specs (“20 FL OZ”, and, “(1.25 PT) 591 mL”). The bottle allows the reader to examine key nutritional information like, “*Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.” and even holds key life information like, “Must be 13 or older/ME 18 or older. Code under cap. Enter Codes/get Rules/Free Code Info ondrpepper.com. Sub. To full Off. Rules. Void where prohibited. Ends 12/31/11. Request Free Codes by 12/31/11. Redeem by 1/31/12.” Simply fascinating.
                The bottle is obviously a wonderful informational reference, but it’s still a modern day horror classic. There aren’t enough signs that say, “This product may lead to early onset adult diabetes”, and too many falsehoods like, “There’s nothing like a Dr. Pepper”, when of course you could slowly fatten yourself and destroy your vital organs just as well with Mt. Dew. The drinker truly fulfills the role of the tragic hero, and befalls an unspeakable horror when he misses the obvious warning signs, “HIGH FRUCTOSE CORN SYRUP”, “PHOSPHORIC ACID”, and “SODUIM BENZOATE (PRESERVATIVE).” It’s truly a real world, modern day thriller.
                It’s an educational, thrilling, addictive, unique, deceptive, and well rounded product. The bottle has even earned it’s doctorate in an unknown field (which begs the question, ‘Just when to the mysteries end?’). I’d love to stay and talk, but you’ll have to excuse me. I’m about to go have a Dr. Pepper. 

I don't have any idea what the instructor will think of his writing, but Kim and I love it.  It's got his voice in it.  Although he needs to proof it a little before he hands it in, we think it's pretty great.  More than anything, whether he pursues writing or not, I want him to be able to respond to a task in his own style.  Kim and I both found this piece to be pretty hopeful in that regard.

So today's the first real Saturday of our new year.  I'm going to a workshop.  Nate has CDYC this morning.  Abbie will sleep in and hopes to spend sometime with her boyfriend this afternoon.  Later she's going to a sleep-over event with many of the girls from the youth group.  I guess that's enough for one Saturday.

Final First Day

This Friday might just have been the last time that we'll all be together on the first day of school.  We took pictures, and everyone was surprisingly cooperative.

Schalmont Central School
Schenectady County Community College
Schoharie Central School
Scotia-Glenville Central School

... all closed.

Today was supposed to be the first day we would all be back at school.  Instead, all of our classes are canceled.

Down in the Valley
Friday, September 2

I spent most of my day in Schoharie and Middleburgh.  The Schoharie Reformed Church has been greatly effected by the flood.  I don't just mean the church building, although the damage there is substantial, but also the church that is the people and families.  Yesterday one of the members sent out an email message asking people to go and help members of the congregation work on the church building, and in the homes of 16 of their families which have been most significantly damaged.

SRC has a paved lot, although
it appears to be dirt since it was
covered by inches of mud.

About 20 or 30 people arrived at the church by 9:00 this morning.  Teams of 2 or 3 were dispatched to the homes of the 16 families.  I was sent with Ed and Bill.  We were directed to Jim and Jodi's house in Middleburgh.  Their house sits right behind the Middleburgh Reformed Church.  That building is erie looking.  The windows are knocked out and it's easy to see that through the building to the other side.  And no one is there.

Jim and Jodi were working in the kitchen when we arrived.  The water reached  about 4 feet up the first floor walls, so everything in the cabinets below the counter was filled with water and mud.  The mud is everywhere.  The foundation on one side of the house has caved in.

Much of the contents of the house had already been taken out when we arrived.  In the garage were the items that they hope can be saved.  In the driveway was a pile of trash.  On the back patio was a pile of things that need to be rinsed with the hose, before they can go in the garage.

Jodi asked me to take a picture
of this drawer.  When they
opened it to empty it, it was
full of water.

We all crowded in the kitchen for a bit, but eventually worked on separate tasks.  Within an hour or so, the first floor was completely empty, and the carpet in the dining room was torn out.  So then it was time to start hosing it all down.  I worked with the hose.  Ed used the squeegee.  I can't explain how odd it is to stand in the middle of some one's house (practically a stranger) with a garden hose, spraying everything.  To make things even stranger, Ed chased all of the water to the basement, since that was easier than trying to get it out the doors.

Actually, the basement is another interesting part of their problems.  Although they're fortunate to have water, so they can hose everything down, they also have a leak in their plumbing so the basement is full of water.  The same sort of problem exists in Schoharie as well.  Water in the village has been turned off again, since so many homes there have leaks and several basements were starting to fill up again.  It's good that the basements there aren't flooding again, but the downside is that this mean that those homeowners can't hose down the interior of their houses.

The mud is vial, and all sorts of warnings are being issued to volunteers and emergency workers because it's full of chemicals and sewage.  Removing it is also a key to avoiding the onset of mold.

By day two, SRC's volunteer center was
quickly getting established with a tent
for the  coordinators and a tent for
the donated supplies.

Saturday, September 3

Nate went with me today.  We were at the church in time to be briefed with the first group of volunteers.  Within a few minutes the organizer was reading off the descriptions of the locations where the teams were being sent for the day.  When I realized that Jim and Jodi's house was on the list again, I volunteered to back, this time with Nate, and another new volunteer, Lisa.

When we arrived, there were a few other friends and family members already there and working.  The day's project was clear, all of the wooden furniture that had been removed from the house and placed in the garage, needed to be washed and disinfected before it could be moved to a better storage building.  We worked for about four and a half hours, washing, rinsing, bleaching, rinsing, and then drying each piece.  Chairs, dressers, tables, drawers, chests, etc.  Although we managed to empty one side of the garage by the time we headed out, it still didn't feel as though we had accomplished all that much.

The watermelon amid the wreckage.

Before we left, I headed next door to the Middleburgh Reformed Church to take some pictures.  The building and its contents were very badly damaged, the water flowing straight through the building and ripping pews out as it went.  A member of the congregation was there when I went into take pictures.  He told me that they will have a professional company come into do the cleaning stage.  The congregation will try to restore the building once it's been cleaned, but they feel that professionals should handle the mud removal.  The pastor of the church had been at Jim and Jodi's earlier in the day.  He told me that I would find a watermelon in the middle of the Sanctuary, a detail that he seemed to find quite humorous.  He said that the best thing though, is the zucchini that ended up resting on top of one of the urinals.

We headed back to Schoharie on Route 30.  The village was full of people and the traffic was very heavy.  On the one hand, it seems very positive to see that so many people are arriving to help.  But it almost seems as though it hasn't even scratched the surface.  The streets are lined with mounds and mounds of stinking, wet furniture and debris.  The amount of it is astounding.

I noticed that a few of the houses don't have anyone working at them.  I also noticed that those same houses are spray painted with a circled "X".  I suppose that they have been deemed unsound for workers; they're probably condemned.

In the midst of that devastation I saw some unexpected humor.  As we traveled out of town, along the trash lined road, someone had propped up a mattress and spray painted the words, "Free Stuff."   It made me laugh out loud, and it helped me feel a little better.


September 5

I didn't return to Schoharie today.  School starts tomorrow and I have a number of things to deal with here at home.  Kim got a call this evening.  School in Schoharie will not start on time.  As of today, students have been told they will start on Monday, September 12.  The school has become an center for emergency-responders and contractors, and there's no practical way that it can be used for teaching at this point.  Kim was told that many teachers are reporting to school each day and then going down to the village to work.  Tomorrow she may join them.

Then and Now


Pictures at Lock 8 taken during the flood on August 29 and then again today, August 31.

Lock 8, 8/29/2011 at 1:30 PM

After Irene


Good Morning everyone,

As you can tell, we have power, phone, internet.  We lost power for about 12 hours yesterday, starting a little after 10:00 AM.  

It was a tense day, but we have fared pretty well.  From our house it doesn't seem all that bad, especially considering the tree damage that we have already seen earlier this summer.  But when I walked the dogs this morning, I was surprised at how bad the damage is right here in our neighborhood.  It's not possible to count all of the trees that are down.  I'm concerned that more may fall today, even though the weather is clear, calm and sunny.  The ground is so wet and many of the trees are now leaning, because the wind was relentless.

Downed trees and flooding have closed a lot of roads in the area.  Ironically, our street is one of the few that is open and useful for getting anywhere.  So we have an unusually large number of people passing the house this morning.  Apparently most of them are late for work or heading to a fire or a great sale, because they are flying down the road.  I, being one of great patience and compassion, am cursing most of them and wishing they'd go speeding down someone else's road.

Yesterday was "Who's gotta a pick-up truck day."  The rain was falling at the rate of 1 or 2 inches per hour.  The wind was gusting at 30+ miles per hour.  Trees and power lines were everywhere.  And every guy with a pick up truck put his kid in the passenger seat and took at least one pass (flying) down our road.  It was unbelievable.  It got to the point where Kim and I would watch the another one pass by and just laugh.

The flooding will be a major issue today, record level they say.  On my walk, I went to a spot that overlooks the Mohawk, and it was actually a little scary.  I didn't imagine that the water could be so high at that spot.  They are saying the water will crest here at about 2:30 this afternoon.  It may be the worst flooding that the Stockade and Scotia have on record.  They're not sure, but say it's possible.  The flooding in the Stockade might reach Erie Blvd. or even Broadway.  I think that would impact the GE plant.

Schoharie County has closed every road today.  The flooding on the creek and in the Middleburg area is extreme.

Our local news outlets are WTEN, WNYT, WRGB and WXXA.  I'm sure you'll be able to see footage of the flooding later today.

The water in our basement wasn't as bad as we've seen in the past.  I think that's because I went outside and put sheets of plastic on the ground where the water was pouring off of the house.  I managed to get most all of that water to run off into the driveway.  In the basement we were able to soak up the water with towels and wring it into buckets.  I probably collected about five or ten gallons every hour or so.  We were ready for it; we cleared the floor on Saturday, so it was easy to gather it up.  Most of our stuff stayed dry, except for the rug in the area where the TV is set up for the kids.  We don't see water there often, but it's not surprising in this situation.  Today I'll spend some time down there getting the last puddle cleaned up.  It will be nice to work in the light.  Working in the dark was my least favorite part, I think.

So we're fine.  We can't really do much today, so we'll be here.  We love you all.

Rob  

A Couple of Birds

It's a perfect day.  What I mean is that the sun is shining and the temperature is warm.  And even though there's a stiff breeze, it's comfortable, not chilling.

This morning as Kim and I sat on the porch reading and watching the boat traffic.  We were suddenly aware of a buzzing creature approaching us on the porch.  I couldn't imagine what it might be, but initially I assumed it was some sort of bug, which frankly was a little scary, considering how loud it was.  But suddenly this thing stopped right in front of me and hovered.  It was a hummingbird.  Then, as if he wasn't already close enough, he flew onto the porch and hovered over the picnic table, just about 5 feet away from my head.  Then he flew away.

I can't ever remember being close enough to a hummingbird to hear the sound of it's wings.  It was louder, harsher really, than I would have expected, but now it's easy to understand how they got their name.

It's afternoon now, and Nate and I just got back from a walk.  We decided to go to the lighthouse.  It's one of those days when you know that there will be lots of boats in the water and long, clear views.  As we were heading that way, traveling along the edge of South Shore Drive, I looked up just in time to see a bald eagle fly across the road, just above the trees directly in front of us.  We have known that their population is on the rise in this area, but we haven't ever seen one, except from a great distance.  And so, on the same day as my up-close experience with the hummingbird, I got the best view I may ever have of bald eagle in the wild.