Pseudo-Random Ramblings

Hi!

I just updated my Twitter/Facebook status with "was up at 5am, walked the dog, bought 10 more rolls of grass, put them down, watered them, and cleaned the pool." The rest of the family is still asleep and probably will remain so for at least another hour. I'll probably nudge Brandi awake in a bit and ask whether she'd like a bagel and coffee for breakfast. Before I go, though, I need to turn the water off so the yard doesn't flood.

Later, I need to clean our grill and remove the spider webs from the pool area furniture. The deck I built last year is structurally sound, but the outdoor carpet I put on it has been destroyed by dog feet. They don't do it on purpose. When they run across it, that's what happens. I'll need to clean it up and find something to put there that can handle the traffic.

I submitted a presentation to Ignite Phoenix, but it wasn't accepted. I'm disappointed, but a bit relieved. I have a lot to do. Not having to prepare for that eases my workload a bit. I still have to prepare basically the same speech for next Thursday, though. I'm speaking at my Toastmasters club's 20th anniversary. I have written the script and need to prepare the slides today. I'm sure I'll post a video or something next weekend.

Tomorrow, I'm taking my brother and sister-in-law to the airport. They're leaving for Romania. He'll be there for a few weeks. She'll be there a couple of weeks longer. Their son, my nephew, has been there for a few weeks (with his grandmother) already. Brandi has taken the kids to visit friends and relatives for a week or more. For the first day, it's nice. Starting day two, though, it's depressing. Brandi and I certainly couldn't send our kids away for that long.

These seem to be just random ramblings, but I'd like to think they're not. This is part of my planning time. I listen to my iPod almost constantly when I'm doing housework, driving, etc. Any time I'm by myself. I don't often listen to music. Most often, I listen to podcasts (NPR, CNN, BusinessWeek, etc.) which is more engaging. When I don't have my headphones on, I start thinking too much and this is what you get. I think about what I've done, what I'm doing, and what I plan to do.

Here I go again: I'm going to get a drink, turn off the water, then go get some breakfast. Later, I'll probably take a nap. It's not even 7:30, but it already feels like it's been a long day...

Thanks,
Matt