shawnwright.blog

Didn't we just do this? My view is looking wintry again. And so is my Vue.



Though they closed the base around lunch time, I was in the middle of some things and so stayed around a bit longer. I probably should have tried harder to get out of there, because just a few hours later, my car was looking a little under the weather. Took me twenty minutes to dig out, and thirty to drive home, which is about twice as long as usual. Fortunately by leaving later there were very few drivers on the road.

Labels: snow

Shelby put a little outfit together today that looked hauntingly familiar... like from when I was in middle school. Perhaps there's an 80s girl trapped inside trying to break out.

Labels: Shelby

Seems like not all that long ago Darby was entering her double digits. And like only yesterday she became a teenager. Looks like there's no going back, as she turned fourteen this week. Next year comes high school. Then driving. Then... life.

Here is Darby and I at dinner on her 14th birthday.



This is an awesome picture of Darby having fun opening her gifts at a dinner with her friends tonight. She had a blast!



Darby went to dinner and a movie with friends for her birthday.





Here's a short clip of Darby's friends singing happy birthday to her outside the movie theater.

Labels: birthday, Darby, video

After losing my last contract and officing out of the corporate location since then, I started a new position with my company today, on another contract, that took me back to Tinker AFB as an on-base employee for the first time in four months. I can't really get into what I'm doing, but it is all very new to me, and likely to keep me very busy. And it was great to be back. I think I'm going to like it.

Labels: Tinker AFB, work

By looking at this picture, you wouldn't know it was in the 60s here in OKC a couple days ago. But here we are on Christmas Eve, in the middle of Oklahoma City's first blizzard warning in who knows how long.




Update

Here's an updated picture. People are getting stuck all over town. Including in front of my building...




Update

Well, it's Christmas morning, and it's still white outside, so, we got a White Christmas after all. Typically in Oklahoma we get snow that doesn't stick, doesn't last beyond a day, or is just plain ice (which lasts a week).

Labels: holiday, OKC, snow

It was a nice, crisp final Autumn evening, spent partially admiring the Christmas lights at the Botanical Gardens in downtown OKC. I just wanted to take a moment to thank Autumn for being mostly kind to us this year. I wish you didn't have to go. I'm not a big fan of your frigid sister.

Labels: OKC

Darby has been feverishly practicing for a piano recital at school this evening. Unfortunately she started feeling bad yesterday and woke up with a fever this morning. She missed school today, in fact, but the recital is a grade in her major and we were told there were few make-up opportunities left in the semester. So, she showed, and she played.



I was supposed to leave work a bit early in order to swing by home and pick-up the camcorder. But I couldn't leave as early as needed and so had to head straight for school. And as my point-and-shoot camera was flashing low-battery, in addition to being low on memory card space (again, didn't have time to go home), that left my phone as the remaining video capture source. That might have worked out great, but I forgot to change the default format from MMS quality so the frame-rate is low AND the predefined length is one minute. Really frustrates me that I didn't think to change that setting. So anyway, here we have the first minute of Darby's ninety-second song.

Labels: Darby, piano, school, video

The girls had their first orchestra performance tonight at school. Even though Darby is in her third year at this school, it's her first year in the orchestra, and of course this is Shelby's first year for both this school and orchestra. As Shelby is a strings major, there will be a lot more of these for her. Darby is not a strings major, but has really been enjoying it, and so may keep doing it as well. Darby, being a piano major, has a piano recital on Friday (what, you're not watching the calendar?), so keep your eyes out for pics from that soon.

Here's a picture of Darby's orchestra (Beginning Orchestra).



Here's a picture of Shelby's orchestra (Intermediate Orchestra).



I took some video with my actual video camera, but not sure any of that footage is going to make it here. The girls neglected to let us know where to optimally sit for the best view, so in both cases the conductor obstructs our view of them.

Labels: Darby, orchestra, school, Shelby

Names are being omitted to protect the innocent. Or, as it were, the blatantly guilty that simply prefer to remain nameless. But those that know me know that I am... aloof, to be kind. So if I showed them a picture such as this, of a soy sauce-stained shirt, they would simply shrug and say, "meh, it's Shawn".


(note there is splatter on the chest AND arm area)

However, on this day I was the victim, not of my own condiment mishandling, but rather of a co-worker's well-unaimed projectile saucing. Even so, I added my own oblivious flavor to the moment, as can generally be expected. So, imagine, if you will, a soy sauced-filled egg roll being casually and non-maliciously bitten into, but in such a way as for said soy sauce to squirt-out rather violently, only to land. ALL. OVER. MY. SHIRT. And, incidentally, my face.

Are you imagining? Well, I was not. I was looking at my plate, eating, minding my own business. In fact, myself having heretofore no involvement of any kind with the aforementioned soy sauce. And it was about then that I noticed something out of the corner of my eye.

What's this? I asked as my eyes focused upon a spot on my shirt. Did I do this? As I questioned it, I increasingly widened my focus and gained awareness of the magnitude of the "incident". I looked up at my co-worker and... that look... the culprit became clear. There was a moment of shared anticipation... and then... minutes of solid laughter. Several minutes. Laughter. Tears. Embarrassment. And thorough distraction to the rest of the establishment.

Those several minutes later, we wiped the tears from our faces. I dabbed my shirt with a napkin. We attempted to restore the meal to some semblance of order. But we could not enjoy the remainder of the meal without the occasional regression to laughter. Even upon return to the office, we couldn't pass in the halls without a smirk. Or a lewd comment in the spirit of "nice shirt". And we may forever refer to the moment as "the great soy sauce incident", or perhaps simply, "the squirting" for short.

I am a creature of habit. And I am stubborn. With minor exception, when I find a solution to a problem that I like, I'm sold, and I'm loyal. I'm probably an advertising agency's dream. So, the fact that I've been a Saturn driver for the last ten plus years should be no surprise. And with a car-buying decision likely in my future in the next few years, I had intended stay the course. However, the tragically poor operation of what I call a foundational American company has led to the collapse and inevitable vanishing of a brand and its fiercely loyal customer base. And make no mistake brand saboteurs (you know who you are), we are quite pissed-off about it. (kids, pardon my language)

This is old news I realize. The elimination of the Saturn brand of cars is a done deal. But today it hit me hardest because I saw it first hand. I visited the dealership for what may be the last time. And death was in the air. The lot was half-empty of new cars (presumably no new vehicles are being built or delivered). There were new faces everywhere (as though the folks I seen around for years knew it was over and wasted no time getting out of there). And most importantly, NO ONE WAS THERE TO BUY CARS and NO ONE SEEMED TO BE SELLING CARS. Everyone at the dealership was there for service. No wonder they tried to up sell me on a service that's only needed every 100,000 miles, which I got probably 50,000 miles ago.

Well, farewell Saturn. You will be missed. Deeply. And as to not reward those that most failed you and us, I pledge to do my very best to never buy another GM product again. They did not try hard enough to keep you. And I will not try hard enough to keep them. So, in the paraphrased words of Dr. Rick Marshall, GENERAL MOTORS CAN SUCK IT!

Labels: opinion

The girls and I visited the Christmas lights in Yukon, OK tonight. I highly recommend them. Much to see. Biggest I've seen that's for sure. Plus two animated light shows. However, expect it to take awhile, the secret is out and the lines are L-O-N-G...

Labels: Darby, holiday, Shelby

Even though I've lived in Oklahoma for 18 years now, I'm still more of an NFL guy, when it comes to football, than a college guy. But it has come to grow on me. I watch quite a bit college ball these days. Yet I remain largely unmotivated to attend college games live. And it's not like I'm averse to sports venues. I've been to 24 pro baseball venues and multiple pro football, hockey, and basketball venues, so I'm veteran as far as that goes.

Today, however, my hand was forced by the last minute illness of my brother, who then could not use his season ticket. It's difficult to convey the magnitude of this moment. My brother has been attending University of Oklahoma home games for almost his entire life. He doesn't miss them in general. And a bedlam game against Oklahoma State? No way he misses those. Yet there I was at 6:30 in the morning learning that I had been "called up" to fill his spot with just a few hours to head to the stadium.

While I was generally displeased by many of those same things that have kept me away from these events in the past (ridiculous traffic and parking, shoulder-to-shoulder crowds, impossible concession lines, etc), the actual game experience was quite excellent. Of course, it helps that OU won. By a 27-0 shutout nonetheless. And that it wasn't cold considering it was a late November day. I believe it was 71 degrees when I left the game. So I must say, if it had to happen, the conditions were probably the best possible, for which I am thankful.

Here's a halftime picture from the game.

Labels: sports

I took Darby to the All American Rejects concert tonight as an early Christmas present. She's a big fan, like many her age. Compared to her first concert experience last month at U2, this was quite different, according to her.

Unlike the U2 show, where she says she had plenty of room to move around even though she was close to the stage, tonight we were squished like sardines. Think this looks bad? It got worse. This is not, by the way, a knock on the venue (OKC's Bricktown Events Center).



Add to that the fact that there were three bands and a small stage (meaning no room for multiple setups... each band had to take 30 mins plus to setup between shows), and we had a long, long night. From doors opening (which we were in line for) until the end of the show, it was four hours and ten minutes. That's right 4:10. Half a work day. Except standing the entire time. No sitting whatsoever (no room). Also? No beveraging. And no restroom breaks (for fear of losing our pretty decent spots). By the end of the evening, my legs were very, very sore. But then, I'm old.

So, the three bands were Anberlin, Taking Back Sunday, and, of course, AAR. I hadn't heard of Anberlin, but I liked them quite a bit. I may have to explore them further. Loyal readers know that I'm a big fan of TBS, who I was personally there to see, as I caught them the last time they were in town.

TBS was actually more entertaining to me this time around, perhaps because we were so much closer to the stage. However, since they were not the headliner this time, their set was considerably shorter. But even with the shorter set, they managed to sneak in a few tunes from the new record as well as most of the favorites from the previous three. Though I will admit that I could have done without the newer tracks in favor of more of the favorites. The new album just hasn't grown on me as quickly as the previous releases.



AAR put on a very entertaining show. However, I have to say that I was disturbed with a couple things. First, I could have done without the lead singer being shirtless the entire time, and second, knowing that their music draws a large under-15 crowd, I think we all could have done without the over-the-top profanity and innuendo (I'm being nice in my wording here). That said, they really do know how to put on a show. As expected, they played all their big hits. I was a little disappointed there weren't more first album tracks. But their Last Song/Encore combo really put the show away quite nicely.



So, to sum up, it was a good show overall. A bit long. Maybe a little pricey considering the seating arrangements. But I'm glad we went, and most importantly, Darby says she had a GREAT time.

Labels: concert, music, opinion, review

We took family pictures today. The girls look beautiful as ever. I'm not super happy with how I represented the family this year. But what's done is done.

Here's a couple pictures of the girls from just before and then during pictures. I'll upload the finished product when they're ready.







UPDATE

Okay, here they are, the finished products. Just ignore the part that includes me.










As always, you can find these and many other pictures in the family album.

Labels: Darby, family, holiday, pictures, Shawn, Shelby

Of all the places you'd expect to run into an "international music sensation", a craft fair in small town Oklahoma (Owasso to be exact... population <20000 is still small, right?) is not one I'd expect to find on the list. Or at least not high on the list. But wouldn't you know it, Darby happened to bump into one while working a booth at the fair in support of her mom's business. Nice.

Here is a picture of Darby with Garth Brooks. Who knew he was a Mets fan. Gah!

Labels: Darby

This morning, Shelby got to take part in a special school event commemorating today's historic anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall. She bought a couple raffle tickets on Friday, and she won the opportunity to "kick down the wall". The event was covered by KWTV channel 9, our local CBS affiliate, and is supposed to air during the 5:00pm broadcast.

Normally I try to only post 2-3 pictures per blog entry and then link to the photo album for the rest. But in this case, it seemed best to convey the entire event, though they will later appear in the album. If you come back later, I may also have a video posted, and maybe a link to the TV story if I can find it.


Here's Shelby on her big day.



Here's what the "wall" looked like. It is cereal boxes decorated with graffiti by the students of Shelby's school.



Shelby in front of the wall.



Shelby at the wall.



Shelby being interviewed by channel 9.



Shelby (partially obscured by the crowd) at a presentation by one of the teachers, who showed the crowed her piece of the actual Berlin Wall acquired during a school trip to Germany back in 1990.



Shelby kicking down the wall.



As the domino effect didn't go quite as planned, Shelby had to walk along the wall, kicking it down. Here she is near the end. You can see that the rest of the middle school kids have practically joined in the rally.



Here she is being interviewed at the end.



And one more interview, with the school's media department.



And there you have it, the Berlin Wall (or a semi-replica thereof) has been kicked down. By my daughter.




Update
Here's the video from tonight's newscast courtesy News 9:



And here's a link to the same video on the News 9 site, in case there's an issue with the one I embedded. Also, there's an associated story at News 9, though both in the story and the video they got Shelby's first name wrong.

Labels: pictures, school, Shelby

For the first time in the 40-year history of my company, the CEO came to visit the OKC office. He gave a GREAT talk. But then, that's what they pay him for.

Labels: work

Halloween came and went pretty quickly. Here are some pics from the weekend.


Friday night I went to a friend's Halloween party. I'm supposed to be a Jabbawockeez, though I think my results varied.



Here's Darby and Shelby before heading out on Saturday night, followed by a pic of each of them out trick-or-treating. Notice Darby's live pet rat in her hands, which she took with her, saying "witches always have their pet rats with them".

Labels: Darby, holiday, Shawn, Shelby

Darby and Shelby had a choir concert at school tonight. Here's a video of one of Darby's numbers.

Labels: choir, Darby, school, Shelby, video

Being not anywhere near the target market, I am the only hardcore Phillies fan at my office. I know, shocking. But around these parts you tend to find Braves, Cardinals, and Ranger fans for various reasons mostly involving television markets. We actually do have another former Pennsylvanian in the office that likes the Phillies, but doesn't really follow them until, well, about now. There are also a couple Yankee fans, as well as a Red Sox fan, in addition to several "anybody but the Yankees" fans. Given this breakdown, in the preceeding days before the World Series, the battle lines have been drawn. And the Phillies fans -- okay so they're mostly anti-Yankees fans -- struck first. Just before a meeting today, we changed the desktop background on the conference room computer. The Yankee fans were displeased to say the least...

Labels: baseball, Phillies, sports, work

Oklahoma City's increasingly popular Ghouls Gone Wild parade was tonight and I was glad we were able to make it. Well, part of it anyway. The parade started at 7pm and we had something else to do at 8pm, but I think we got a pretty good sampling of the event this year. We learned a lot and will be much better prepared to see more of the show from the right location next year.

Being dark out, most of my pictures did not come out well. But here are a few that did or mostly did, along with a decent video clip.













After we left "GGW", we went to the Oklahoma City Museum of Art, which has a VERY nice single-screen theater for independent film showings, to see "It Might Get Loud", which was a GREAT film. The timing was particularly nice because less than a week ago I had gone to a U2 concert, and this film featured the band's "The Edge". If you love rock and roll like I do, particularly guitar rock, you should not miss this film. If you're in the OKC area, you can still catch this show tomorrow at the OKC MOA.

Labels: holiday, movies, OKC, opinion, review

A number of OKC area bloggers have been posting pics of area foliage, so I figure I should take a turn. Only I won't do the close-up neighborhood views most are doing as we probably have enough of that. It helps that I have a slightly elevated perspective, but these aren't actually that great. I may post more later as it gets more apparent at this scale.

Labels: OKC, scenic

Darby had a piano recital at an area nursing home this afternoon. Due to short notice from the piano teacher, many of her students couldn't make it, so it was a shorter than usual performance (about 35 minutes). But that was good because we had much else to do today.

Labels: Darby, piano