Greg Went to a Friend's Album Release Party - I Was Too Tired

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I know October is always nuts, but I'm always surprised by how much we have going on. I mean, we bring this on ourselves, but just this weekend, we took our Christmas photos, went to Victoria's dad's funeral, Jane's going-away party, Zoo Boo, church, and Tessa's birthday party. We also took Penny out to dinner on Friday night because her moving van arrived on Monday and she officially lives here now! Plus, my Uncle Greg and Aunt Marcia stopped by for an afternoon visit earlier this week, I did a set at the Havenhaus mic about my kidney stone, and I had my flu/Covid shots, my doctor's appointment, and my pelvic exam this week. Plus I voted! AAAHHH!

He's 4 Millimeters Wide and I Named Him Reginald

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Well, this week was substantially less fun. On Monday night, less than 24 hours after getting back from Seattle, I started having really intense back pain that turned out to be a kidney stone, and I was in the hospital from Monday night until Thursday afternoon. I'm feeling okay now, although I need to focus more on hydration and salt intake, apparently. Ugh. In better news, Penny has officially moved here and all of her stuff is arriving tomorrow. We also got out a bit this week; we saw Jacob's Beatles cover band at GPAC, and went to Falcon Ridge with Mark and Kate, so that was fun, but I really need to take it easy. That little sucker really knocked me on my butt.

I Made It Back...My Suitcase Did Not

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We had a quick but busy week here in Memphis, and then I went to Seattle for a long weekend to visit Mike and Sarah, which was lovely. It was rainy and foggy, but I got to hang out with them a lot, take the ferry to Bainbridge Island, see Mike's new office, and eat at Mason's Lobster Rolls, Twilight, Din Tai Fung, The Black Duck, Formula Brewing, and Fuji Sushi. It was a lovely break; I slept a ton and read two whole books! No notes.

Seattle, Where They Have Actual Fall Weather

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It's fall! We went out to Vollintine-Evergreen fest yesterday, went and got pumpkins at Second Baptist, and then today after church, we painted them at Jacob and Sarah's house. I gave an Ecuador/Spain informational meeting and a talk on AI and language teaching this week, plus I had the Posse students over for dinner on Tuesday. I even got out to see Mo Alexander on Thursday night, and then out with Greg on Friday night to see Twin Fiction, Mary Hatley, and Steve Selvidge. It's been busy, and I leave for Seattle on Wednesday! Yay!

It's Only in the Low 80s!

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It's finally cool in Memphis, or at least not 95 degrees. I had a lot of new experiences this week: I went to a school-wide Posse meeting on campus, I participated in the Kappa Delta All-Sing, and I did a show at a cigar bar. (It was...fine. I had to stand outside for some of it.) Plus, we went to CajunFest (except the food tickets had sold out, boo), an Irish dance event at St. Ann's, and Evan's birthday party, and then we did a big toy organizing/purge session to move some toys over to Grandma's house (and donate some others). Either way, it's a little less cluttered, which is good. Turns out all we needed was a second house.

And Then She Will Not Be Able to Escape Us! Bwahaha!

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Penny has been here all week, which has been very helpful, and Greg and I actually got to go out to see a Dolly Parton tribute show at B-Side and Twin Fiction at the Cove, plus I escaped to Kyle's backyard comedy show last night after an Irish dance event. But she accepted an offer on her house, so even though she's leaving tomorrow, when she comes back, it will be for good!

Every Time He Gets a Haircut, He Looks a Full Year Older

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It's September but very much still summer; it's been SO HOT. And yet, we're still out doing stuff: a physics pizza party at Dave's, a Redbirds game with my Posse students, and I went to the debut show of The Pit comedy club inside Flyway, then out with Greg to see some live music at Java Cabana. Otherwise, just teaching, shuttling kids to and from things (including Tommy's haircut), and hanging out with Penny, who arrived on Thursday night and may have already sold her house! Exciting things are coming!

It Combined Trains and French Fries - Tommy Was a Fan

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We had a busy week; Alice had THREE dance practices to prepare for her danceout at the Redbirds baseball game, and then since we had a three-day weekend, we went to Little Rock for a couple of days. We took the kids to a restaurant where trains deliver the food to your table, the Discovery Museum, the Riverfront Park, US Pizza Co, and the downtown trolley. Greg even got a bike ride in! We enjoy Little Rock; I'm glad we finally got to take the kids there.

Or, As My Kids Call It, the "Robot Cat Restaurant"

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It's been a long week; Alice has double Irish dance classes, I'm fully into Posse meetings and Language Center stuff in addition to my normal classes, and yesterday, we had a Rhodes parents meetup, Phoebe's birthday party, and Paru's birthday party, so that was a lot. It's hot, it's sticky, August is almost over, and we are going to see Coyote vs. Acme today and then go to El Porton!

It's...Very Similar to 40!

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I'm 41! It was a busy week: I started classes, had our first Posse meeting, and trained our new Language Center employees. On my birthday yesterday, I went to the gym, ran a few errands, drove Alice to a tea party, had Pad Thai, got some lovely presents from Greg and the kids, and then my friends came over for a party. However, a giant storm came through right at the beginning of the party, and it was crazy. Everyone was fine, if a bit wet, and the power went out in huge parts of the city, but we were amazingly spared. So, it was a lovely party, and Herb brought over pulled pork! Here's to another year. <3