Personal - page 3
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Research
After moving back to Nashville, Ashley and I decided to buy adult furnishings for our new home. We hired an interior designer to help us fill our space. As part of that design, the designer picked out floor coverings for our living and dining rooms. One lesson I have learned, now too late: research the materials used in rugs and carpets before purchasing them. Specifically, it’s a good idea to know how to clean and treat them before adopting a new dog or before your first spill. If you procrastinate, you might be learning to live with spotted or splotchy floor coverings.
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Perspective
We’re on our second big vacation of the year. In February, we took our second trip to Disney World. Ashley wanted to take another vacation during the summer months. This time, she wanted her family to accompany us. We hadn’t had a family vacation with her family, outside of her parents joining us on our first Disney World trip last year. She wanted her brother to join us this time. Max had asked to go to the beach. Since we no longer lived next to a beach, this seemed like a natural destination.
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Ode to the Cadillac ATS
After buying a house in Aptos, Ashley and I realized we needed to get a second vehicle. There are shuttle options from Santa Cruz, but getting to those bus stops would be a nightmare with only one vehicle. Unfortunately, there were no good public transit options to get to the coach stops and it would have been quite a trek on a bicycle. Additionally, I was in charge of dropping Max off at daycare in the mornings. We didn’t want to buy a vehicle. We also weren’t sure what would be the best option purchase-wise (after just buying a house). We opted to lease instead.
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One Year Later
It was Memorial Day weekend 2018 when our house shopping in Nashville began in earnest. Ashley and I adored the real estate agent we had used to buy (and sell) our first home in Nashville and had reached out to her months before. She was familiar with our style and we knew which neighborhoods we wanted to focus on. She had put together an automated email of listings that Ashley and I used to help point out what we did and did not like. (Side note: one of my weird hang ups is that I love sidewalks and I almost always consider it a non-starter if there are no sidewalks in the neighborhood.) We planned a trip back to Nashville for Memorial Day weekend so that we could physically see houses. Our families would come visit that weekend and take Max to different places so that Ashley and I could focus on the task at hand: finding a new home.
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Getting out of Your Comfort Zone
One of the most difficult transitions for me is to know when it is time to get out of your comfort zone. There are many of these transitions throughout life. There are many of these:
- Is it time to get married?
- Is it time to have children?
- Is it time to change careers?
- Is it time to try a new project?
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Forget Self-Driving Cars. Bring Back the Stick Shift.
Read MoreA car with a stick shift and clutch pedal requires the use of all four limbs, making it difficult to use a cellphone or eat while driving.
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Cross Country
After three years in California, we moved back to Nashville, Tennessee. This was not a choice taken lightly. We never fully acclimated to California. We never felt “at home” there. We missed our friends. We missed our families. Surprisingly, I missed Nashville. When we made the choice to relocate, I did not appreciate how much Nashville had grown on us. I did not appreciate how much Nashville felt like “home”.
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Laminate Flooring
Note: this post originally appeared on one of my previous incarnations of my blog. I have been thinking about this post lately and I wanted to preserve it. It was originally written in 2014. I still miss you Renee.
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Surly Long Haul Trucker
I have not owned a bicycle since my first year in middle school. Sure, I have ridden on bicycles during that time. Yes, Ashley has a bicycle that I have occasionally taken for a spin in the past. However, I have not had a personal bicycle since then. To be honest, I am not even sure what happened to the bicycle. I remember having one and, suddenly, do not remember having one. I believe my last bicycle was green. Until now, that is. Now I own a touring bicycle, the color I will affectionately call “Dad’s thermos”. Say “Hello” to my new bicycle: the Surly Long Haul Trucker.
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¡Vamos México!
Landon Donovan is seemingly catching shit for “rooting” for Mexico. I feel Donovan has the freedom to root for whichever team he wants to root for. This outcry against him for seemingly rooting for a rival is kind of bogus. The more insulting aspect of it is that its just part of an advertising campaign.
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