New Year Introspective
by ::G @ 2010-01-07 21:34
It's a new year ("I'm glad to be here," sayeth Yeasayer), and a new decade. Adios to The Aughties, Hola to The Teens?
I thought I didn't have time to fritter away on writing an online journal (er, blog) before, but with a crazy toddler, well, squander-able time is just a fond memory. On the bright side, I'm in general spending said time in a more useful endeavor.
2009 had its ups and downs to say the least. The specter of the question of job security lingered for the first months of the year, until it became evident that the company outlook was actually in the black. When upper management promoted our senior manager in Rochester to executive-level director, that was another collective sigh of relief—in as much as it was a vote of confidence in the viability of the site. There's a big difference between "will I have a job next year?" and "how big will the bonus be?" Receiving a couple inquiries of whether I'd be interested in changing jobs was bolstering as well. (They weren't offers, but the point is prospective employers who were looking didn't discard me out of hand!)
We found out early in 2009 as well that Giada has vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) and bilateral renal duplication. The former means that urine from the kidneys backflows from the bladder and causes urinary tract infections (UTI). The latter means that rather than one ureter per kidney, there are two, on both sides, which isn't much of an issue. Unfortunately, the VUR needs surgery to correct, but the Mayo Clinic has a preeminent pediatric urologist, so Giada will be in the best hands possible. Surgery was scheduled for Jan. 9th, but because Giada had to be hospitalized after Christmas for a UTI that broke through the preventive antibiotic, that's been deferred to mid-February.
We spent a couple days in the hospital with Giada at Children's Medical Center. It'd been about 25 years since I'd been there for when my brother was being treated for leukemia. Being there gave me a better appreciation for living in Rochester, as both OMC and Mayo have superior facilities, at least on the side visible to the patients, and better protocol, specifically with respect to communicating information between sections. Of course anything's better than medieval-level care, but when it comes to one's child, one wants the best care possible.
Giada's been to Japan twice this year: in April and September. I only went once this year, in September, and the last time I went was September 2008, so an entire year went by without me being in Japan. I used to go about once a quarter! While I was able to get some things done around the house, I missed traveling. Hmm, if things don't pick up, I may have to look for another gig to provide me with my fix. On the other hand, there are new logistics concerns, namely little-girl-with-an-attitude. Not buying an extra seat makes the journey pretty rough, yet buying the extra seat strains the finances. I don't think Giada will be traveling quite so much in 2010, especially since she's starting to assert herself more. On the return flight she stood up in Sachie's lap and yelled at the top of her lungs because she wanted to get down and walk around. After all those years of being annoyed by people's screaming babies, I'm finally that guy who brought one on board. Ah, the karma.
The first time Sachie and Giada went to Japan, I got to live the life of a bachelor again. It wasn't as nice as I remembered it. On the flip side, Sachie didn't really enjoy not having her own space for an extended period of time, although it was a relief to have her mother watch Giada so she could recuperate. While lacking company for a month, I did find myself wasting time on online, particularly on Twitter and Facebook—old habits die hard, I guess.
Toward the end of the year, Sachie and I became enamored with Ikea. Initially, I eschewed the engineered wood (e.g. veneer, laminate, fiberboard, etc.) nature of the products. However, given our furniture needs and the constraints of my salary—shall I put it: Room and Board tastes, Ikea budget?—we were compelled to take a more pragmatic stance. Now Ikea isn't as cheap as can be obtained, but it has the advantage of coordinated products and reasonably good appearance due to the design. That said, I spent way too much in November and December, so it's going to be a lean start of the year. Maybe.
I'm sure I'm forgetting notable things, but I'd have to sift through my "2009 file" to jog my otherwise poor memory. So there you have it, my notable events of 2009 that were fit to remember.
I thought I didn't have time to fritter away on writing an online journal (er, blog) before, but with a crazy toddler, well, squander-able time is just a fond memory. On the bright side, I'm in general spending said time in a more useful endeavor.
2009 had its ups and downs to say the least. The specter of the question of job security lingered for the first months of the year, until it became evident that the company outlook was actually in the black. When upper management promoted our senior manager in Rochester to executive-level director, that was another collective sigh of relief—in as much as it was a vote of confidence in the viability of the site. There's a big difference between "will I have a job next year?" and "how big will the bonus be?" Receiving a couple inquiries of whether I'd be interested in changing jobs was bolstering as well. (They weren't offers, but the point is prospective employers who were looking didn't discard me out of hand!)
We found out early in 2009 as well that Giada has vesicoureteral reflux (VUR) and bilateral renal duplication. The former means that urine from the kidneys backflows from the bladder and causes urinary tract infections (UTI). The latter means that rather than one ureter per kidney, there are two, on both sides, which isn't much of an issue. Unfortunately, the VUR needs surgery to correct, but the Mayo Clinic has a preeminent pediatric urologist, so Giada will be in the best hands possible. Surgery was scheduled for Jan. 9th, but because Giada had to be hospitalized after Christmas for a UTI that broke through the preventive antibiotic, that's been deferred to mid-February.
We spent a couple days in the hospital with Giada at Children's Medical Center. It'd been about 25 years since I'd been there for when my brother was being treated for leukemia. Being there gave me a better appreciation for living in Rochester, as both OMC and Mayo have superior facilities, at least on the side visible to the patients, and better protocol, specifically with respect to communicating information between sections. Of course anything's better than medieval-level care, but when it comes to one's child, one wants the best care possible.
Giada's been to Japan twice this year: in April and September. I only went once this year, in September, and the last time I went was September 2008, so an entire year went by without me being in Japan. I used to go about once a quarter! While I was able to get some things done around the house, I missed traveling. Hmm, if things don't pick up, I may have to look for another gig to provide me with my fix. On the other hand, there are new logistics concerns, namely little-girl-with-an-attitude. Not buying an extra seat makes the journey pretty rough, yet buying the extra seat strains the finances. I don't think Giada will be traveling quite so much in 2010, especially since she's starting to assert herself more. On the return flight she stood up in Sachie's lap and yelled at the top of her lungs because she wanted to get down and walk around. After all those years of being annoyed by people's screaming babies, I'm finally that guy who brought one on board. Ah, the karma.
The first time Sachie and Giada went to Japan, I got to live the life of a bachelor again. It wasn't as nice as I remembered it. On the flip side, Sachie didn't really enjoy not having her own space for an extended period of time, although it was a relief to have her mother watch Giada so she could recuperate. While lacking company for a month, I did find myself wasting time on online, particularly on Twitter and Facebook—old habits die hard, I guess.
Toward the end of the year, Sachie and I became enamored with Ikea. Initially, I eschewed the engineered wood (e.g. veneer, laminate, fiberboard, etc.) nature of the products. However, given our furniture needs and the constraints of my salary—shall I put it: Room and Board tastes, Ikea budget?—we were compelled to take a more pragmatic stance. Now Ikea isn't as cheap as can be obtained, but it has the advantage of coordinated products and reasonably good appearance due to the design. That said, I spent way too much in November and December, so it's going to be a lean start of the year. Maybe.
I'm sure I'm forgetting notable things, but I'd have to sift through my "2009 file" to jog my otherwise poor memory. So there you have it, my notable events of 2009 that were fit to remember.
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