Merry Christmas, everyone
The family's all home for Christmas again, having survived the ravages of our two day snow storm last weekend. Nowhere near as bad as the forecast, of course, but it still dumped 6 inches on us meaning we were snowed in for a day and Sam decided to spend an extra night in High Point rather than run the gauntlet of people on I-40 who think the best way to drive in snow is to go as fast as possible.
It's been a year of major and minor changes - I managed to retire rather more completely than I had intended (ie nobody wants my computer experience any more which is sobering. Buggy whips,anyone?) I've kept busy-ish tutoring math students at Carolina Day and Asheville High and hope to do the same next year but I really need a student or two who realises they need help earlier than 3 weeks before the final exam. The election was a great experience, too. The pay isn't great - about $12 an hour - but that's better than working in retail or fast food in many ways. It was educational and enjoyable seeing how the system works from the inside. I'm signed up for 2020 as well - doing my small part to aid in the re-election of our beloved president. Or something.
I've made a few bucks on ebay mostly buying and selling stamp collections (and just occasionally coming unstuck though I've wound up well ahead of the game). And, despite not having registered as a
THERE WAS A PAUSE IN THIS POST AS THE 9' CHRISTMAS TREE JUST FELL ON ME. My laptop sustainedd minor damage and 4 ornaments were pensioned off and, as I sit here looking at the resurrected tree, it strikes me as being way off vertical. Now, to quote Bernard Levin, where was I before I was so rudely interrupted?
And, despite not having registered as a ref this past year, the governing body did allow us to ref under 8 & under 10 year old games. Presumably they felt that the liability insurance was less likely to kick in for those. So I got paid to keep a bit fit.
I have a couple of other money-making schemes under my belt - soccer is played only about 5 months of the year, stamp collecttions worth buying and selling are in dwindling supply as people shove grandad's stamps into box in a damp garage and parents hate to admit that their kids need a tutor. And, while the election pay is pretty good, there only a few states where elections take place more than every couple of years (an unsubtle dig at the North Carolina republican party).
Susan, meanwhile, has finally had enough of being called a shitty fucker by 6 year olds and is now in her element working for an accountant in Black Mountain. Her boss is very understanding and fleexible guy so there's no problem with her taking the odd day off for family travel, carting me to Wake Forest and so on. It's a real pleasure being able to greet her in the evening without fearing for a snarling response and a demand for intravenous white wine.
Sam's second year at High Point University seems to be going as enjoyably as his first. Besides his academic program he is heavily involved in the Uni's improv club / team (Charcoal Pony by name) and the rocketry team which has him spending half the college vacations going sub-orbital in the New Mexico desert. He could be heading for an observatory in Chile next semester / year. (I will refrain from mentioning that my college travels involved weekly train trips to Headstone Lane for rugby games - I'm not jealous).
Travel plans for 2019 are up in the air (literally in some cases) but will definitely include New Zealand and, if we can find a convenient slot, a summer trip to England to meet up with family and college buddies. A college reunion would be fun but finding a time and place is tricky.
Well - that's is for now. Looking at the tree, it still has a decided list to sxtarboard so I'll wait til Sam gets back from the dentist and then do something about it.
It's been a year of major and minor changes - I managed to retire rather more completely than I had intended (ie nobody wants my computer experience any more which is sobering. Buggy whips,anyone?) I've kept busy-ish tutoring math students at Carolina Day and Asheville High and hope to do the same next year but I really need a student or two who realises they need help earlier than 3 weeks before the final exam. The election was a great experience, too. The pay isn't great - about $12 an hour - but that's better than working in retail or fast food in many ways. It was educational and enjoyable seeing how the system works from the inside. I'm signed up for 2020 as well - doing my small part to aid in the re-election of our beloved president. Or something.
I've made a few bucks on ebay mostly buying and selling stamp collections (and just occasionally coming unstuck though I've wound up well ahead of the game). And, despite not having registered as a
THERE WAS A PAUSE IN THIS POST AS THE 9' CHRISTMAS TREE JUST FELL ON ME. My laptop sustainedd minor damage and 4 ornaments were pensioned off and, as I sit here looking at the resurrected tree, it strikes me as being way off vertical. Now, to quote Bernard Levin, where was I before I was so rudely interrupted?
And, despite not having registered as a ref this past year, the governing body did allow us to ref under 8 & under 10 year old games. Presumably they felt that the liability insurance was less likely to kick in for those. So I got paid to keep a bit fit.
I have a couple of other money-making schemes under my belt - soccer is played only about 5 months of the year, stamp collecttions worth buying and selling are in dwindling supply as people shove grandad's stamps into box in a damp garage and parents hate to admit that their kids need a tutor. And, while the election pay is pretty good, there only a few states where elections take place more than every couple of years (an unsubtle dig at the North Carolina republican party).
Susan, meanwhile, has finally had enough of being called a shitty fucker by 6 year olds and is now in her element working for an accountant in Black Mountain. Her boss is very understanding and fleexible guy so there's no problem with her taking the odd day off for family travel, carting me to Wake Forest and so on. It's a real pleasure being able to greet her in the evening without fearing for a snarling response and a demand for intravenous white wine.
Sam's second year at High Point University seems to be going as enjoyably as his first. Besides his academic program he is heavily involved in the Uni's improv club / team (Charcoal Pony by name) and the rocketry team which has him spending half the college vacations going sub-orbital in the New Mexico desert. He could be heading for an observatory in Chile next semester / year. (I will refrain from mentioning that my college travels involved weekly train trips to Headstone Lane for rugby games - I'm not jealous).
Travel plans for 2019 are up in the air (literally in some cases) but will definitely include New Zealand and, if we can find a convenient slot, a summer trip to England to meet up with family and college buddies. A college reunion would be fun but finding a time and place is tricky.
Well - that's is for now. Looking at the tree, it still has a decided list to sxtarboard so I'll wait til Sam gets back from the dentist and then do something about it.
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