Tacoma: So, about the last six weeks...

Hal writes:

Hi, remember us? I'm not going to give you the "I've been too busy" nonsense about not posting. We all have control over how we spend our time and I am not going to lead you to believe that I have not had the opportunity over the past six weeks to post. Simply, I wasn't motivated nor did I make it a priority. I guess the "I'm so busy" is a pet peeve of mine, but since I work with college students it is a redundant go-to excuse. Especially since there is someone always busier than you.

Is your job taking up your time? Well, that's what you get paid for. And guess what, some people have to work two jobs to make what you make.

You have a five page paper due tomorrow? Well, that's why you are a student. Plus, it's safe to say that this assignment was indicated to you four months ago and it compares nothing to the Masters or PhD level of writing that is expected of others.

Kids keeping you busy? John and Kate have eight (six arrived at the same time) and the Duggars are setting records, so if you just a couple children, you're probably in a better situation than they are. (I'll allow teachers some breadth to complain since they deal with 10 - 40 kids on any given day.)

Don't have time for friends and family? I have my students write down minute-to-minute what they do each week. TV/Internet/Video Games and the ever popular texttagametvbrowsing (multi-tasking all the above at the same time) takes up time.

So, back to my point. I haven't been overly busy. I just haven't taken the time. But, in case you were wondering about the highlights of the last six weeks for us, here are some pictures.

Unfortunately, our camera decided to stop working prior to Thanksgiving, so we don't have any pictures from our trip to Indiana except for a couple grainy images of our niece and nephew taken on my cell phone.

Hal went with two colleagues to UMD (no, not that one silly Midwesterners, the university located in College Park, MD) for a conference on leadership in early December. Here is Sarah, Amber, Kermit the Frog, Hal, and Jim Henson outside the student union. When Jim was a student at the University of Maryland, his professors told him to explore other inspirations because one could not make a career out of children's puppet shows. I guess this statue is here to remind you not to listen to your professors. ;) Actually, more along the lines of going after your dreams regardless of what others think.

After the conference we had an opportunity to spend some time in Washington, DC. My Godfather Bob has worked for the Senate (specifically in CSPAN 2) for over 30 years. After a tour of the recently opened U.S. Capitol Visitors Center (10 year, $700 million project at the tax payers expense) we got the behind the scenes tour that typical visitors don't see. Hm, sounds kind of shady to have a Godfather doing special favors, but I enjoy the story line. Here we are pictured below (note my security clearance sticker that allowed me to access the basement of the Senate) at the brand new control board for CSPAN 2.

Everything in the Senate is branded with the Senate Seal. Including this elevator pad in a Senate-only elevator.

With the new visitor's center came a new TV studio for CSPAN 2. Here we are on the set of the recording studio where Senator's can tape recorded messages. (Senator Chris Dodd had been in right before us. ) This picture is from Amber's camera pointed at the TV monitors we were looking at.

Our Christmas present to each other was a nice camera. We are now the owners of a Nikon D40. So hopefully the quality of pictures below will translate well to the blog. The first one is an action shot of Riley playing fetch. This photo Anna actually zoomed and cropped on the camera before we put it on the computer.

For Anna's office holiday party, the employees and spouses of the three clinics owned by Joel and Nancy (Anna's bosses) were asked to meet in a high-end Seattle mall on a Friday evening. Pictured below are Joel and Nancy explaining the events for the evening.

Each employee was given two envelopes labeled "#1" and "#2". We had two hours to complete both tasks (in order) and then meet at a location described in the second clue. Anna and I opened the envelope to find a Visa gift card and an Angel Tree wish list for 3-year old Oscar. Anna and I used the gift card to buy gifts for Oscar (shoes, clothes, books, and a cute puppy toy). The second envelope had another gift card and Anna was to use it to buy a gift for her co-worker Kim. After that was completed we were to meet up with everyone on the 41st floor of a swanky Seattle hotel for a late dinner and gift exchange. Here is a picture of the women that work in Anna's clinic.

I tired to get tricky with the new camera. This is supposed to show the view of Seattle from the 41st floor and the reflection of the party in the background.

Anna took this photo on campus of PLU's Christmas Tree. The building in the background is the old Eastvold Chapel that is now used as the schools theater. (Hal and Riley are on the left side of the photo.)

A close-up view of our Christmas tree. (You can see Anna in the reflection on the ornament.)

Anna's co-workers in their office.

We had some snow during finals week (this last week). Not a great deal to Anna and I, but a pretty big deal to those who leave in the Puget Sound area. There are (to us) embellishments of the weather. When it was projected to snow two inches one night, the local news spent the first 11 minutes on weather and had four reporters "on location" around Seattle showing the snow on the ground. The problems have come with people not being able to drive in the snow (not their fault, they just don't have the practice) and little snow removal equipment (why spend money on machines you will only use about once every five years). We're hoping that the weather doesn't affect our departure on Monday for our flight to the Twin Cities.

Anna and I took Riley out for a snow walk. Here are two photos with the new camera. Yes, that is me with new glass (my first new pair in about six years) and my first haircut since mid-August, so the shagginess in the DC photos is gone.