endperform.org

I never really posted anything around Thanksgiving about what I was thankful for, so I figured I would post what I am thankful for this year:

Bethany

This is my rock, my partner and my wife.  She’s stood beside me during tough times, and 2009 has seen some ups and downs, as with any relationship.  The strength of our bond cannot be broken, and she is definitely someone I’m thankful to have in my life.  I don’t know where I’d be without her.

Emmalynn and Heather

My daughter and stepdaughter, respectively.  Both bring joy and happiness into my life.  It’s amazing to watch Emma every day and just see how she’s learning, and wondering how she will develop, or what her next big discovery will be.  Although we don’t see Heather as much as we’d like, she’s still a big part of our family and it’s always wonderful when she’s with us.  Even better is watching her and Emma interact.

John (aka the big hippie bastard ;) )

A family friend who’s been around for us both and is always happy to lend an ear when I need to bitch about something geeky, which saves Beth from hearing me babble about geek-speak.

2010 is shaping up to be a great year.  It’s possible this may be the final post on endperform.org as we know it.  I’ve got some ideas cooking in my brain for the site, so don’t be surprised if things change around here. :)

This past Sunday I saw first-hand what the floods have done to portions of the Atlanta suburban areas as I answered a call for assistance from some friends of mine whom had family affected by the flooding. I ventured into Austell, about 6 miles from my home and right into the flood zone. The waters had since receeded, however, you could tell where the water level was just by the brown coating on the trees. I arrived to the house to find a pair of dumpsters and a whole lot of volunteers working their collective butts off to get this place gutted and cleaned up. When I arrived I was put to work cleaning up some insulation and other related things, dumping them into the dumpster. The day rolled on, and throughout the day other people stopped by with food for the workers, and Red Cross vehicles would pass by once in a while. Thankfully the weather was sunny, if a little hot, but it’s better than the downpour of rain the day before.

You never really know how a natural disaster can affect someone until you see first-hand what happens. I’ve seen some devistation in my time due to my involvement with the local fire department back in Pennsylvania, but nothing to this level. I’m just happy I could help out. If you get the chance to help someone out, I say take it. You might get sore from the work, but it will make you feel better knowing you’re helping out someone in need.

First of all, happy birthday goes out to my lovely wife who’s turning 21 again for the forth time. 25’s not so bad, it’s once you hit the 30s, like me :P

This weekend has been pretty ok, nothing earth shattering, just a usual weekend. We had a decent lunch for her birthday and spent the afternoon together. This evening she’s heading out and I’ll be hanging out here. I think tonight I’m finally going to get to work on a project to make work life easier. My coworkers should be thankful I’m such a computer geek.

Emma turned a year old on September 13th, and it’s been quite the year. I have to admit I kinda miss her being so small when she was younger. She would fall asleep on my chest, and for a while, that’s the only way we could get her to go to bed. She’s outgrown that stage, and now she’s on the verge of walking. Our lives will never be the same again. Being the proud daddy that I am, I present to you my baby girl, at 11 months:

The next year should be interesting. I can’t wait.

I was going to go into a long, detailed retelling of the trip, but opted to go the short and sweet route. The drive to PA was uneventful, save for the heavy-duty rain we hit while leaving Georgia. We got into town around 1:30 or so, and decided to go see my family. The week was filled with a couple of events, notably lunch and subsequently dinner with old co-workers, and Sunday was Emma’s first birthday. She made out with a lot of stuff, and of course ended up wearing a lot of icing (although I think wore almost as much). Emma seemed to be OK with everything as long as mommy and daddy were within reach. She still has some ’stranger’ problems, but I think with more exposure and some time, she’ll outgrow them. The family absolutely loves our daughter, and it’s great. She’s officially a year old now, and I still can’t believe it. Time flies, as they say.

We also took in the PA Ren Faire, and unfortunately it was a hot and humid day. That made things pretty miserable, and the price of admission didn’t help either. All told, we dropped around 80 to 100 bucks between the gate fee and food. I think they’re going to price themselves out of business, as I didn’t really feel that it was worth the 28.95 per adult we paid to get in. *sighs* I was pretty let-down, as I was excited for it and had told Beth good things about it. It’s not to say that the day was a total waste, though.

The family was also happy to see us as well. I’m glad my family has taken so well to Bethany. She really does make me happy and they see that. There was some family-related drama while we were up which took away a bit of our enjoyment, but all in all it was a decent visit. I did realize that Georgia has been solidified in my mind as home. PA has changed a lot since I was last up, and some of the changes make me sad. The trip back was uneventful as well. Emma had a new car seat to adjust to, so she was a little cranky about that, but once we got home, things reverted back to normal.