Ballgames, Birthdays, and...Work

This week has just been all kinds of crazy. On Monday I was at work from 7:30 am to 6:30 pm, which is about 2 1/2 hours too long. However, the inspectors for the joint review were coming on Tuesday morning, so all the i's had to be dotted and the t's had to be crossed. Despite being at work for eleven hours, I still had to finish up a couple things on Tuesday morning, and subsequently woke up in a panic at 2:40 am.

I was back at work at 6:45 am, and the inspectors got there around 8:30. I managed to get everything I needed to finished, and the morning went swimmingly. It was in the afternoon that things started to get rocky. Things were looking grim for a while (none of which was entirely my fault, since it stemmed from stuff that happened before I worked at the company, but I still felt responsible), but in the end everything worked out. It was weird--after things started to get scary, I actually got more calm. It was kind of like, okay, the bad stuff is actually happening, and it's not really as bad as what I imagined in my head. This is a phenomenon that my parents should recognize from every single night-before-the-first-day-of-school I had growing up. Despite being pretty much a straight-A student through elementary and high school, I always managed to convince myself that I was going to flunk out on the very first day. Before we had any homework, or quizzes, or exams. Have I mentioned I have issues?

I finally left work at 4:20 on Tuesday afternoon, and headed down to Chicago for the Cubs game. Naturally, since it's been in the upper sixties or higher for the last two weeks, the night I had tickets it was 39 degrees at gametime. Delightful. Fortunately, Karen and I brought blankets, so we didn't suffer too much. It was actually a really good game, with the Cubs winning 3-1, and it lasted less than 2 1/2 hours, which was nice, given the cold. I was able to find a parking spot less than a block from the ballpark (hooray for going to the game with a Chicago resident who can provide me with a guest parking permit), and I made it home before 11 pm.

Things have definitely been looking up since the end of the joint review. For one thing, my eyelid stopped twitching. My boss called me into his office on Wednesday afternoon. Incidentally, no matter how well things are going at my job, there's something ominous about the words "I need to talk to you." Anyway, it turned out that due to all the hard work I've been putting in, my boss (and his boss, who is the director of operations) decided to get me an "appreciation gift." I almost fell off my chair. This never would have happened at my old job. So, it looks like I'm going to be getting a pair of Cubs tickets. Because, you know, eleven games this summer just wasn't going to be enough. It's totally unnecessary for them to do this, but I have to admit, it feels really, really good.

Last night we celebrated yet another birthday at People Night, this time for Tommy, who just turned three.



All of the kids were in full-on cute mode. This picture of Tommy's older sister Taylor just cracks me up. She's almost five, and quite precocious.



And, miracle of miracles, we got four children under the age of five to look at the camera at the same time.

The Force will be with me...always

Being at work for ten hours is really not my cup of tea. I have no idea how some people do it on a regular basis. I, apparently, am a big lazy wimp.

On the other hand, I got a lot accomplished today, and I feel a lot better about the upcoming Joint Review. It worries me a bit that the lower lid on my right eye keeps spontaneously twitching, but maybe it will go away once I am less stressed.

Funny side note: While my life-long obsession with all things Star Wars has never exactly served as a magical key to a social life, it does allow me to hold my own in conversations with all my fellow dorky engineers. We like to go off on tangents about why it is a travesty to even suggest that Han didn't shoot first, the abomination that is Jar Jar Binks, and why George Lucas should never, ever be allowed to write dialogue. Sometimes this makes it hard to get actual work done. Sure is fun, though.

Only 100 days until the 10th Annual MC Mini Masters! Yay mini-golf!

In which acronyms are bandied about with reckless abandon

The last few weeks at work have been pretty stressful for me. I will be incredibly glad when Tuesday night rolls around and the reason for all the stress is behind me. I'm also going to the Cubs game that night, which will help. :) Anyway, we're up for recertification to construct ASME-stamped pressure vessels. Somewhere along the line, I apparently acquired the title of Quality Control Manager, which means that it's my responsibility to have everything ready for our Joint Review on Monday/Tuesday of next week. My boss (who used to be the QCM) is really being great about guiding me and helping me out with some of the stuff on my checklist of Things That Must Be Done, but still... It's a little nervewracking. On the plus side, I've really been working hard on getting everything ready, and I know that my boss is pleased.

I have to say, though, that as the QCM, I feel I should at least rate a non-generic business card. (The ones I have don't include my name, simply saying "Engineering/Technical." Boring.)

I babysat for Xavy and Eli last night, which was fun but tiring, mostly because I didn't get home until after midnight. Eli fell asleep on me, which is seriously one of the Best. Things. Ever. I know it's not something he'll be willing to do much longer, so I'd better enjoy it while it lasts. We watched the Cubs-Dodgers game together, and hearing them say "Go Cubs" was beyond adorable. I'm so easily amused by those two.

I need a nap.

Pandora's Jukebox

For anyone looking to expand their musical horizons, I must highly recommend Pandora. I was introduced to the site by my friend Mick, who has pretty much been my music guru for the past 10+ years. (Although he gets no credit/blame for my obsession with U2. I developed that fixation all on my own.) Anyway, it's simple and free to create an account, and once you do, you can enter in a favorite song or artist. Pandora then uses data compiled by the Music Genome Project to create a customized streaming "radio station" for you. As each song plays, you have the opportunity to tell Pandora if you like or dislike it, and it then adds the data and characteristics of the songs you like (and dislike) into choosing more music for your "station." You can earmark favorites, as well. The system isn't infallible, of course, and sometimes you end up hearing a random Britney Spears song. With a few simple mouse clicks, though, you can tell Pandora you don't like the song, and they will never, ever play it again for you.

Along with the bad, you occasionally get the just plain weird. Tonight, for instance, I heard a song by current Cincinnati Reds (and former Boston Red Sox) pitcher Bronson Arroyo. While it was by no means great, it actually wasn't anywhere near as horrific as one might expect from a singing Major League Baseball player. And I never would have heard it without Pandora--which would actually have been just fine, really.

And now I'm going to get off the computer before the thunderstorm rolling through fries it...

Littlest Loves

There are few things in this world that make me happier than spending time with my godson Xavier and his brother Elijah. Wednesday nights are People Nights, which started years ago as Girls' Night, but the boys wouldn't leave. Or at least that's the story I like to tell. :) And on People Nights, I get to see Xavy and Eli, which means hugs and kisses and tickling and laughing and playing. Oh, and American Idol.

Xavy is three and Eli is two, and although I admit to being somewhat biased, they truly are the cutest little boys in the entire world. Xavy talks so fast that his mouth can't keep up with his brain and all the words come tumbling out in a jumbled mess, while Eli is more careful and enunciates, sometimes overly so, which occasionally makes him sound rather like E.T. Which, naturally, just makes him even more adorable. Their lives pretty much revolve around trucks in various incarnations, but every once in a while they pause long enough to notice that there are larger people in the vicinity, and make us feel welcome. Honestly, I'm just glad they're past the stage of using my shirt for projectile vomit target practice...

It's so much fun watching them interact with each other. They're only a year and three weeks apart in age, but it's amazing seeing their truly different little personalities develop. Xavy is what Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle might refer to as a Heedless Breaker, running and crashing and destroying and just generally being a little boy. Eli is more cautious, more measured, which is not to say that he doesn't get himself into a fair number of scrapes. They play off each other pretty well, and there usually isn't too much hitting, and now that Eli is walking instead of crawling, I don't think Xavy tries to use him as a step-stool.

Last Wednesday I picked up the two of them, along with their mom, Elisa, to drive them to People Night. They were both strapped into their car seats in back, and Eli started to talk about stars. Elisa and I weren't sure what he was referring to until we noticed the American flag decal I have on my back driver's side window, left over from 9/11. Xavy, ever so pragmatic, pointed out helpfully that it wasn't dark yet, his tone clearly implying that his little brother didn't know what he was talking about. Elisa and I were highly amused when Eli just kept repeating that there were stars.

Xavy is on the right, Eli on the left.

5, 4, 3, 2, 1...liftoff!

Well, I suppose I should get the ball rolling. The creation of this blog was inspired by my dear cousin Sarah, who ever so thoughtfully created a weblog for our extended family called Emma's Tree (named in honor of our great-grandmother, Emma O'Brien). Since signing up for Blogger was a requirement to contribute to Emma's Tree, here I am.

Everyone in the family should have received their invitations to the newly-revived O'Brien, Inc. Family Reunion by now. If you haven't, please feel free to e-mail me at cmcgowan@gmail.com. The reunion will be taking place this August, at my parents' (relatively) new home in Fond du Lac, WI. While it's no Clear Lake, they do have a ridiculously large backyard that should work well for volleyball, badminton, lawn bowling, croquet--quite possibly all at the same time! I'm really hoping that we will get a large turnout for the reunion, since it's been five years since the last one. Of course, much of the family was together in Michigan late last fall to celebrate Sarah and Erik's marriage, but I was unable to attend due to a long-previously-planned vacation. I was lucky enough to see pictures of the joyous occasion while visiting Brian & Nancy last month, and it looks like I missed out on a lot of fun. I'm hoping we can make lots of memories this summer to make up for it!

As for me...my life has been fairly busy lately, with three consecutive weekends being out of town and getting less than adequate amounts of sleep. Things are calming down now, thank goodness. I'm going up to my parents' for Easter this weekend, but as it will just be the three of us, it should be nice and relaxing.

I've been in my townhome for almost three years now, which is a bit hard to believe. Making the mortgage payment every month still isn't on my list of fun things to do, but I really enjoy having my own place, and it's so much better than an apartment. Once the weather gets consistently warmer, I think I'd like to finally paint my upstairs bathroom. I'm also rapidly running out of bookcase room, which is an issue I'll have to address. (And no, Dad, I'm not going to start getting all my books at the library. I know it would make sense, but it's just not me.)

As of May 3rd, I will have been at my job 18 months. While some of the work can be a little tedious at times, and one of my fellow engineers is one of the most obnoxious people I've ever encountered, overall I'm happy there. I have an excellent relationship with my boss, which is such a huge change from my previous job. Not only does he give me positive reinforcement for the work that I do, I really feel that he trusts me and believes in me. Which, in turn, motivates me to do an even better job. It's a much healthier cycle to be in than the horrible depression spiral I so often dealt with at The Company Which Shall Not Be Named. Plus, my boss is a big Star Wars fan, so we've bonded over that.

I still have a wonderful circle of friends, and I love spending time with them. We played our third season of broomball together this winter, making it to the league championship game for the second year in a row. Sadly, we weren't able to win a second championship, but given the marked lack of athletic prowess of some of our players (including yours truly), what we have accomplished is pretty impressive. We also attended the USA Broomball National Championships a week and a half ago, travelling to Cleveland for a long weekend. We had so much fun in Minnesota last year, we decided to make it an annual event. Unfortunately, we didn't manage to win a game, but at least we only lost by slaughter rule once.

Baseball season is happily underway once again, and so far the Cubs have managed to not crush my dreams. That should last until about June. :) A group of friends and I went in on a partial season ticket package (which includes all night, weekend, and holiday games) for the third year running, so I'll be attending roughly a dozen games this summer. The first one was this past Saturday, and my goodness, was it cold! Fortunately, beating the hated St. Louis Cardinals had a warming effect.

I feel like I've just written my annual Christmas letter, so I suppose that's enough for now. Have to save something for the next entry!