Truer Words - A Journal

A Good Weekend

seth@macrobyte.net — Sun, 02 Dec 2007 05:40:43 GMT

It's only Saturday night, and it's already been an excellent weekend.

Art and Sarah (brother-in-law and Sister) had their third child (Lydia Sarah Peña) on Thursday. Technically not the weekend, but I didn't see her until Saturday so I'm claiming it.
I got a new (to me) lens for my camera. Love. It.
After almost three weeks, my Toyota pickup is back on the road.
We got a phone bill for $890, and that doesn't include my (relatively inexpensive) cell phone.

Whoo! What more could one ask for in a single weekend?

OK, well, three out of four isn't bad.

I was going to write about each of those things in more detail tonight, but I've totally run out of steam so I'm putting it all off until Sunday.

Eighty Laps

seth@macrobyte.net — Sun, 02 Sep 2007 19:55:18 GMT

My father's father (Arthur Dilingham, Sr.) has a beautiful birth date: 7 • 27 • 27. It's symmetrical and palindromic, and also happens to mean that this summer marked the end of his eightieth lap 'round the sun.

Saturday his wife, his children, his children's children, his children's children's children, and a very (very, very) small percentage of his friends and extended family from around the world gathered in his honor to tell him just two things: "Happy Birthday," and "We Love You."

The party was held at Goddard Park in Warwick, RI, at the old Carousel Building.

There was a very cool tribute video assembled by my cousin Tiffany and her husband Josh (with, I think, the aid of the rest of the NH contingent of Dillinghams and their kin). It included pictures and/or video of most of the family, and a stirring, deeply emotional, recorded message from Barry Van Heerden in South Africa. (I've heard Grampa sing Barry's praise many times over the years, but I had no idea that he looked at Grampa as a father and mentor.)

Corinne shed a few tears when she saw Shane's picture in the video. Tif had written to me in advance to make sure it was ok. (Of course it was! Including and remembering him is always better than the alternative.)

They even included at least one picture of Lauren in there. That was cool, especially as Gramma and Grampa have both treated Lauren as their latest great granddaughter.

There was also an open mic on the stage, where we were all supposed to tell stories. Unfortunately, though some of us inherited some of Grampa's storytelling talents, none of us will eve be The Master Storyteller that he is. So, most of the stories were told by him! Three times he (literally) lept onto the stage to tell another story, and then hopped back off it again to retake his seat. (Eighty years old, hoppping onto and off of a two-foot-high stage! He's spry.)

He told the Bert and I classic, "I am Gagnon, Champion Moose Caller" story, but (more importantly) he also told some of the TRUE funny stories from his life, including the one about the skunk in the ventilation system at his school in Dighton, MA. I think his school principal probably went to his grave wondering who did that.

I have tons of stories I could have told, but couldn't think of the best ones until after we left so I never took the stage. Had I remembered, I certainly would have recounted the trip to Florida with him, Jed, Dad and myself (I wasn't ten, yet), to move Aunt Marrion. The highlights of that drive to FL included:

Arthur Fiedler's Greatest Hits (Boogie Woogie Bugle Boy of Company B!)
the brain teaser about the man with three sons
the brain teaser about the egg-laying chickens
Dad and Grampa acting like it was hot the moment we crossed the state line
Aunt Marrion freaking out when Jed and I happened to be in the vicinity of Grampa's wallet
feeding the seagulls on the beach

Everybody picks on Dillinghams for being... well, Dillinghams. Smart, knowing it (all of it), easily brought to tears, always having an opinion, and "talking until we think of something to say." Though Gramma had as much of a hand in forming us as did Grampa, there's no doubting the source of those particular characteristics. :-)

But, as much as we tease him and each other for those things — endlessly — we love him for them, too. We're a big family (wink, wink), and he’s been the patriarch for as long as most (any!) of us have been alive. (So it's not that we think he's perfect, or pretend that he is. It's that hearing him speak yesterday, and hearing everyone else speak about him, it's clear that he inspires us to aspire to perfection, and we're all better for it.)

Happy Birthday, Grampa. I love you, we all love you.

Happy New Year, One and All

seth@macrobyte.net — Mon, 01 Jan 2007 16:22:11 GMT

2006 was a good year for me and mine, in many ways.

To all of my family near and far, to my ecclesia here and worldwide, to all of my friends new and old, close or distant:

Happy
New Year!

Hoping 2007 will be even better, for all of us...

Thanksgiving Day at the WARM Shelter

seth@macrobyte.net — Tue, 29 Nov 2005 15:21:09 GMT

(OK, I'm a little late with this...)

Thanksgiving day was fantastic. I've always loved this day, but this year it was completely different and better than ever.

Corinne organized a huge donation of prepared dishes from her coworkers at the bank, and brought it all to the Westerly WARM Shelter (a homeless shelter and halfway house) on Wednesday afternoon. Thursday morning, Jed barbecued two turkeys, and Corinne drove to the shelter to start setting up. Dad met me there at 10 so we could set up the slushy machine (we were expecting about 80 people between lunch and supper), and he took two more turkeys home to cook on their grills for the supper.

At noon, I delivered the turkeys that Jed had grilled and carved to the shelter, helped set the tables and then left. Two girls from the bank helped her serve lunch for a little less than twenty people (I would have been in the way, it's a small kitchen).

I went to Mom's and Dad's to hang out (and wait for the turkeys) instead of going home. They were going to have dinner with Art and Sarah, and invited me to join them, so I got to spend a couple hours with all of them and my nieces Allison and Talia. Art and Sarah made most of the dinner, and it was quite good (especially the mashed garlic with a hint of potato!).

While I was there I tried to use my Dad's Compaq laptop. It's a 1.7 Ghz P4... it should be fairly responsive but instead is insanely, painfully slow. Appaerently 256 MB isn't enough RAM for the dozen or so virus, trojan, worm, and adware blockers he's running! We ordered another 256 (from datamem.com, of course).

The turkeys went on the grill a little late, and it took Mom and Dad a little while to figure out how to tie up the bird so that the legs wouldn't fall off in the grill... because Jed had injected a honey/mustard/orange mixture and broken the skin, they were worried it would fall apart. This whole situation was hilarious, with Dad trying to get Mom to say it was ok to use wire to tie it up, Mom finally giving in, Dad saying he didn't have any (!), Mom wanting to use a big rubber band (on the grill!!), and me panicking at the thought of rubberized turkey.

Forty-five minutes before I had to be at the shelter with the turkeys, we took them off the grill to start carving... but they weren't done. The joints (knees?) at the fat end of the legs were still somewhat raw. The carved meat would have to go in the oven at the shelter for a little while before anybody could eat it (not a problem, there were leftovers from lunch that could get the meal started, if necessary).

Next problem: we didn't have any pans in which to put the meat. We chose a couple of stew pots for transport, and I called Jed to ask him to meet me at the shelter with some foil pans from home.

Jed showed up, we transferred the meat into the fail serving pans and into the oven, with time to spare. He stuck around to help serve so Corinne could take a break (she'd been at it all day).

The shelter is very nice, it's a very friendly and, uh, "warm" atmosphere. Most of the people there are full-time residents (rather than transients), on their way to full recovery from alcoholism and returning to normal lives (that's not to say that they're all fully recovered and functional, but they're all improving).

Supper was served from 5:30 to 6:30. We started packing up, Dad showed up at 7 to get the slushy machine, and we were out the door by 7:30.

That's a fairly dry recounting of what happened, but let me tell you what I learned this year. As odd as it may sound, Thanksgiving is a pretty selfish holiday. Most of us spend the day stuffing ourselves, trying to be perfect hosts, watching football games and parades, and trying to be thankful for whatever good things we have in our lives.

My thankfulness, my thanksgiving, was always legitimate. I've always had something for which I felt thankful.

Last year Thanksgiving Day was hard for me. A thirty-plus year tradition of celebrating the day with a big family gathering died with Shane (March '04), and it wasn't easy for me to let it go. 2004 was a transitional year.

This year I learned how much better it feels to put aside the 'feeling good' about the blessings in your own life, and instead put yourself out there to *do* some good in someone else's life; giving someone else a little something to be thankful for.

At the end of the day, after being on her feet in that kitchen almost non-stop, Corinne said, "my body aches but my heart feels good."

Amen, baby.

(One last note: the day went so well that Laura, the volunteer coordinator, has asked Corinne to handle the Christmas meal.)

Displacement

seth@macrobyte.net — Mon, 25 Jul 2005 15:11:16 GMT

You can't pour a gallon of life into a pint-sized glass without losing something. That's an awkward way of saying that the last week has been really busy, but I finally have a few minutes to explain how and why.

Things I haven't written about as I should have, simply for lack of time (or priority):

Wednesday night, Corinne and I had dinner with the Rudds, on the Atlantia. Good time, beautiful boat, lovely family.
Thursday I sailed with the Rudds from Mystic Seaport to Old Lyme. Driving by car takes 30 minutes, max. Sailing takes more than five hours, as it's straight into the wind. I have a partially written story and lots of pictures...
Saturday, Mom and Dad moved. This took almost the entire day, even with lots of help from the ecclesia.
In October, ~~2004~~ 1994, I rented an apartment in Ashaway, RI for Mark Drake, Dave Bilello, and myself. $550 / month!!! I even paid to have some structural work done to the place, because it was otherwise such a bargain.

I lived there for about a year and a half before moving down to Niantic, CT. Jed (my brother) moved in. Dave died of cancer. Andrew Ellison moved in. Mark married Michelle Shaw. Ben Isbell moved in. Now the remaining three (Jed, Andrew, Ben) have been evicted because the landlords have decided that they want to spread out a little (some of their family is moving out of the first floor into the second floor apt.).

Rentals around here are pretty expensive for such a rural area. That place was a fluke, they couldn't find anything similar for less than $1200. So, Andrew is moving into his parents' basement, Ben into Ellyn's & Gary's, and Jed into mine. This is all temporary, until everyone is sure they have solid employment and can find a place they can afford (together or not). All that to say that Jed's been moving in here, and his entrance is right through my office.

There's more. Lots more. A significant PMC update, an important ride story, etc., but I'll save those for separate updates.

Unfortunately, with so many things happening, I had to choose between writing about life and actually living it. That's no exaggeration: if I'd taken time out to write about all this stuff in the last week, something would have been skipped, or I'd have slept even less than I did. This bulk update is a compromise, but it's better than nothing.

Proof that Talia is a Cutie

seth@macrobyte.net — Mon, 25 Oct 2004 12:11:20 GMT

Here is a couple of shots of my new, baby niece, Talia Kayleigh Pena.

I thought five weeks early would mean "not yet fully formed," but that's not at all true. Her voice is a little weak (high pitched and quieter than some of the other babies in the maternity ward), but she's perfectly healthy and complete. And cute.

Sunday evening at the hospital, she slept on my chest like that (in the picture) for ninety minutes, and barely made a peep the whole time.

Welcome to Our World, Talia Kayleigh Pena!

seth@macrobyte.net — Sat, 23 Oct 2004 16:52:55 GMT

At long last, my little neice Allison has finally gotten around to having a little sister! Took her long enough.

Talia Kayleigh Pena was delivered to Art and Sarah Pena (my sister), and Allison!, this afternoon, five weeks earlier than originally planned. She must have caught a strong tailwind on her way in (how else could she have arrived so early?).

Six pounds, two ouces. Eighteen inches long.

I haven't met her yet, that won't happen until tomorrow afternoon, but in my Mom's totally unbiased opinion, "Talia is beautfiul."

Seaport Coffee Roasters, and Art Refers to "the Big Guy"

seth@macrobyte.net — Fri, 14 May 2004 14:27:31 GMT

Two quick blurbs about Seaport Coffee Roasters, who I've mentioned before, before I take off for my ride.

First, Art called me on his way home from work on Monday (I think that's what he was doing), but the cellular connection was so bad I couldn't understand anything he said. Later we chatted online... hew as just trying to tell me that he'd been into Seaport Coffee Roasters, and really liked it.

Tuesday morning they mentioned he had been in , and had said something about being the brother-in-law of the "big guy." They were almost speechless. They simply could not imagine who Art could possibly think of as "the big guy." They did finally figure out it was me, and were still chuckling about it the next morning. I may be five or six inches taller than Art, but Art gives new meaning to the term "mountain man." (I'm more like a tree.)

(Note that they also said Art makes up for his intimidating size with his very friendly, disarming personality. What a great thing to say about someone!)

Second point: I'm doing my first online storefront, finally, with secure ordering and a shopping cart system... the whole nine yards. (Can you believe I've been programming for the web for all these years, and I've never done a store!?) I'm even doing it for free!

C.F.R. isn't just a coffee shop... they actually roast the raw beans right there in the shop. (Thus the name!) They wan to sell the beans both through the store and, preferably, online. The coffee is really good, so I hope it does well.

I'm not really doing it for free, as I get free coffee as long as they're still in business... which brings us to my real reason: I like them, and I want them to stay in business. We've agreed that if the online business does well, we'll work out something more than free coffee, but I really don't care about that. Plus, I get some experience setting up a simple online store, and I have full control over how the whole thing works.

The only downside to the deal is that lack of payment means lack of priority. Business has been pretty good this year, which means I'm busier than normal, and it's going to take a couple of months to put the site together in my spare time.

General Update

seth@macrobyte.net — Thu, 22 Apr 2004 17:21:30 GMT

This morning, my sister announced that she and Art are going to have another baby in November. That's great news, of course, and I mean that, but was a little hard to take, especially for Corinne.

To understand, you have to consider our reference point: every bit of news is compared to or contrasted with our loss, in our minds.

Something bad happened to you, so bad that you feel it's worth whining to one of us about? Sorry to hear that, but go hug your kids. It'll make you feel better.

Something great happened? Congratulations. Please don't be too happy around us right now, it's like fingernails on a chalkboard.

These responses are totally involuntary, and maybe a little selfish, but that's just the way it is. (We don't actually say these things, except here and to each other, but they're still there.)

To my mind, it's like Corinne was struck by lightning, and I was standing a little too close. She took the brunt of it, but it knocked us both flat. Her emotional wiring has taken a tremendous jolt, and now it (she) is bouncing all over the place. The strangest things make her cry, sometimes violently. Other, equally strange things can make her smile brightly, unexpectedly.

I prefer the smiles, when they come.

My bike's almost ready. I test rode it this afternoon -- less than an hour ago -- and it's beautiful, light, agile, and feels very fast. Unfortunately, Mystic Cycle had to build it with the wrong stem because they didn't have one in stock to meet Seven's specs (which is annoying, they had the specs way ahead of time). The new stem will be in Friday's UPS delivery, and it will only take them a few minutes to swap it out.

I'm really excited about the new bike, but, to be honest, the outbreak of emotions today have overshadowed it.

Bounty

seth@macrobyte.net — Thu, 27 Nov 2003 11:52:26 GMT

This is my favorite really, my only holiday of the year. It's not sponsored by a greeting card company, it's almost completely non-commercial. There are no stupid songs to sing. There's no false hopes attached to it, either: people don't dream of that "perfect Thanksgiving" like they do a perfect Christmas. There's no false religious basis for it: it's not a pagan fertility celebration gussied up to look like something Christian, it's not worship of the sun god.

Thanksgiving is, to me, clean, simple, and honest. It requires a little work, too. Anybody can have a Turkey Day, but to celebrate Thanksgiving you have to force yourself to think about those things you'd miss most if they were gone, and...

Thank God.

For my wife, and a relationship that makes everybody around us smile (or even blush). For my ecclesia, for my family. For my knowledge of scripture, and the faith it inspired. For my brains. For the strength to endure years of serious financial hardship, and not having to endure it alone. For family and friends who have always lent their helping hands when they were most needed. For finally having some steady, very challenging work.

Even for all those things I've under appreciated but know I'd miss. For my niece, who's growing up so fast, and the parents that are raising her. For Mark, who's finally found true love. For Jed, who's following a spiritual path in a way that so few of us are able (or choose to).

For all these things, and for everything else in my life, big and small, this holiday is this simple.

Thank God.

Gators Baseball

seth@macrobyte.net — Thu, 19 Jun 2003 18:58:39 GMT

Corinne procured four free tickets to a Norwich Navigators baseball game for Monday at Dodd Stadium (vs. the New Britain Rock Cats). The "Gators" are the SF Giants AA farm team. Corinne works at Chelsea Groton Savings Bank, and they maintain a Sky Box at the stadium, and allow employees to use it for almost every game.

The original plan was to bring Art, Jed, and Dad. Jed backed out at the last minute, so Andrew (one of Jed's roommates, and another member of our ecclesia) came along instead. We're glad he went, as we needed a heavy to scare off the hoodlums. (Andrew's the one in the middle in that shot.)

The sky box was really nice. Perfect view of the game, air conditioning (not needed with the weather we've been 'enjoying'), and a waitress to bring us wings and beverages!

At some point "Tater the Gator," the team mascot, stopped dancing like a fool on top of the dugouts and made his sky box rounds. Apparently he was very, very hungry. He tried swallowing Art, and didn't give up until I'd taken this picture (at which point shame and reality must have set in...). His eyes must have been bigger than his stomach.

The "game" was actually a double header, to make up for a rain-out in May... but they lost both. In fact, their own web site says they were crushed, losing the second game 12-1. Ouch.

We had a good time, but can you believe this was my first professional-ish baseball game? Pitiful. I'd like to do it again, hopefully Jed will make it next time.

We Don't Have to Amputate

seth@macrobyte.net — Sun, 23 Mar 2003 18:52:29 GMT

This morning, just before memorial service, Corinne and I were standing on the front steps at the ecclesial hall, watching Ellyn back into a parking space. She looked like she was going to back right over the reflector at the end of the space, which was put there to keep people from going too far. (She did, in fact she totally flattened it.)

Corinne sort of panicked and tried to rush down the stairs to stop her. Er, her top half did. Her feet didn't move (at least that's how it looked). Her left knee came down on the corner of the top landing, then her shin was dragged along the corner until her ankle was stopped by the weight of the rest of her body landing on it (she basically sat down quite hard on her foot, which was resting on the corner of a step).

She had a huge lump on her foot, and we were afraid that it might be broken... but it's sprained and/or badly bruised. The lump went down a bit with ice and a couple of Advil (I think they were Advil), but she's still calling it a "goiter."

Poor baby. I had to exhort this morning, so I couldn't even sit with her to keep her comfortable or take her home (which was my first inclination). To make matters worse, my exhortation was a discombobulated mess because I frequently lost my train of thought when I'd get a flash of the lump on her foot, or remember her crying out in pain (as it happened).

She is somewhat ambulatory, but moving pretty slow. Work should be fun for her tomorrow.

(Art suggested amputation on the phone, thus the title of this entry.)

My Bizarro Family

seth@macrobyte.net — Mon, 10 Mar 2003 19:36:27 GMT

I'm cleaning up and resizing dozens of digital photos for my mother. She's going to use them in a photo quilt for Sandi Smith (from the Hudson, NH ecclesia).

Unfortunately for me, she needs the images "flipped" horizontally (left to right). For some reason, all of them men among my friends and family look wrong, just plain wrong, when you flip them around. Mark's face looks swollen, my dad looks about 15 years older, and I look even weirder than normal (believe it or not).

Sometimes I wish my brain wouldn't play tricks on me. ;-)

Ooh, Dat's Pretty...

seth@macrobyte.net — Tue, 03 Dec 2002 12:50:07 GMT

Ooh, that's one of the prettiest mac mods I've ever seen.

(Thanks to my brother-in-law Art for showing it to me.)

Happy Thanksgiving

seth@macrobyte.net — Thu, 28 Nov 2002 09:49:46 GMT

Happy Thanksgiving, Everybody

Corinne and I will be at Mom and Dad's today with Jed, Art, Sarah, and Allison. This evening we're having dessert with Ellyn, Gary, Mandy, and Katie. Shane drove to his Dad's place late last night (he arrived safely at about 3 AM).

To all of my friends, family, and extended family: thank you. It's been a rocky road this year, but you've all helped us in many different ways, and we'll never forget it.

Great Weekend

seth@macrobyte.net — Mon, 28 Oct 2002 11:40:49 GMT

This weekend was incredible. My parents treated us (Art, Sarah, and Allison, Corinne and I, and themselves) to suites at a hotel in New Hampshire, Friday and Saturday nights (they have a discount, but it was still quite generous). We all attended Dev Ramcharan's classes Saturday, and then the New England Fraternal Gathering on Sunday. The classes were some of the best I can remember.

Saturday afternoon, while Corinne napped, I went for a swim in Apple's Cocoa pool with both Java and ObjC. I wrote the same goofy little app in both languages, just to see what was involved. I needed a break from the weblog plugin.

We arrived home Sunday evening at about 6 PM, totally exhausted. It gets dark too early now. :-(

Thanks, Mom and Dad, for a great weekend. Much appreciated.

It'll Be Quiet 'Round Here this Weekend

seth@macrobyte.net — Fri, 25 Oct 2002 15:37:38 GMT

Corinne and I are going to NH with Mom, Dad, Art, Sarah, and Allison this weekend. Jed's going too, but he's not staying at the hotel where the rest of us will be (he always stays with Josh and Tif McInturff).

There's a (Bible) study day being hosted by the Hudson ecclesia on Saturday, and Sunday is our big New England Christadelphian Fraternal Gathering (big meaning three to four hundred attendees).

Shane's watching the house for us and taking care of the petting zoo, er, the pets.

Ride #63: One Hundred Miles!

seth@macrobyte.net — Tue, 10 Sep 2002 08:13:34 GMT

I did it! I've wanted to ride a full century for a couple of years now, and I finally managed it.

Art (my Brother-in-Law) and Dad both agreed to play SAG for the day, which turned into a little adventure of its own. Dad was supposed to meet me at the 40-mile mark (intersection of 91 and 112) about two hours after I left the house, with food, beverages, and the route maps. He remembered the food and beverages (the most important part) but left the maps at home.

I couldn't remember the exact route I'd chosen, so he said to take 112 to 138 to 165, but he'd drive back to his house to get the maps and find me on 138 to show me the maps. (This route clipped off about twenty miles from my planned route, but that's ok because I just made them up later when I was closer to home.) I finished 112, then 138, and I'd been on 165 for awhile before I finally started worrying that I was never going to see him again. Pulled over to the side and used the cell phone (borrowed from my mother, stored in my saddle bag) to call him. He was still driving around on 138 trying to find me.

Unfortunately, he then drove right past our next designated meeting point (intersection of 164 and 165) because he'd agreed to meet Art in Norwich at 165 & 2, to switch all the gear into Art's car. I ran out of gatorade right at the intersection where we were supposed to meet (that was intentional, I wasn't conserving), but I tried to go a little further before calling. He came flying back to me again with a replacement CamelBak, and then went back to Norwich to meet Art.

Interjection: I was not and am not upset with Dad about any of this. I'm quite grateful for him taking so much time out of his day to help me out. Things were a little "chaotic," as Art put it, but I only went about 10 minutes (out of a 333 minute ride) without support. What he lacked in organization he more than made up for with enthusiasm. ;-)

So, I zipped through Norwich in record time and never saw Dad and Art (supposedly) sitting there at the intersection waiting for me. I made the switch onto Rt. 12 and started looking for "Happyville," a little borough in Gales Ferry where I was supposed to meet Art for my next SAG. I never saw any Happyville signs, nor did I see Art. They hadn't seen me go past them, so Dad went back in the other direction looking for me, and Art headed in my direction up 12. Unfortunately, he didn't go far enough, and I finally made it all the way to Groton and called him on his cell.

By the time they caught me (Sarah and Allison were with him) I was only two miles from my house, at the intersection of 184 and 117. So far the route was only 83 miles (it would have been at least 100 by this point if not for the earlier confusion), but I was quite wipped and happy to stand there chatting. Instead of heading home, I followed 117 to 1 to 215 into Groton Long Point, and then into Mystic. From there onto River Road and all the way to the intersection of 184 and 201, where I turned left on 184 to head home. I still needed a couple little side streets to make it a full 100 miles, during which I lost Art again (heh).

Corinne pulled in while Art was carrying the cooler into the house, and seemed very proud of me for finishing the ride (big kiss). :-) She realized one thing immediately, though: I'd forgotten sunblock, and the day had been totally cloudless. My shoulders and the back of my neck are very crispy this morning.

During the ride I consumed over three hundred ounces of Gatorade and ice, three packets of energy gel, a half of a package of fig newtons, and a banana. I only lost three pounds (all sweat). That's impressive: during the half-centuries on Tuesday nights I usually lose at least five pounds of water.

A big "thank you!" to Dad and Art for the SAG work, to Sarah and Allison for keeping Art company, to Mom for the use of her cell phone and for playing "communications officer" when nobody knew where anyone else was, to Rick Ely at Mystic Cycle for helping me plan my food and Gatorade consumption, and to Corinne ("the boss") for not complaining about me taking the day off work to ride my bike!

This was a wonderful way to cap the season. I'm sure that I'll ride more this year, but the season is basically over and anything else I do is just gravy.

Stats: 100.18 miles (161.2 km) in 5h 33' 40" for an average speed of 18.01 mph (29.00 kph).

It'll Probably Feel Like a Real Century

seth@macrobyte.net — Sun, 08 Sep 2002 20:09:48 GMT

Tomorrow morning I'll be leaving for my first-ever one hundred mile bike ride (a century). I believe I'm ready... I've mapped out my route, purchased my gatorage and energy foods, and I have two people acting as SAG (my brother-in-law Art, and my Dad).

Phew. Now I need a good night's sleep.

Surprise Party!

seth@macrobyte.net — Sun, 01 Sep 2002 17:05:26 GMT

After meeting, Corinne and I came home to change our clothes then went to Gary and Ellyn's for a cookout. Gramma and Grampa are going back to Florida now that Summer is over (mostly), and they were leaving right after the cookout.

We walked into the yard, and Corinne yelled "Surprise!" then everybody else yelled it. I thought she was yelling "surprise" because we weren't extremely late (a bad habit we definitely have). Took me half a minute to realize that they were yelling it at *me*, and that the yard was decorated with "Happy 30th Birthday" decorations. Heh.

(My birthday is on the 9th.)

To make it even funnier, I'd just told her (on the way over to the cookout) that I'd like to have a family cookout next week for my birthday, but probably on Sunday so that I could still do a long ride on Monday as I've planned. We even joked that I'm the only person who could literally plan his own surprise party, because I'm so forgetful. (Get it?)

Wow, I can be so clueless sometimes. Corinne gets upset with me for figuring out secrets way ahead of time, but I had absolutely no idea this party was for me.

They had a cake for me, and on it was a photograph (inkjet printed with food coloring, a technology that is very cool) of a two-years-old Seth riding his first tricycle. My Mom said, "those were your first wheels." Very appropriate.

Presents included: a very nice Cuisinart coffee maker (the same one that everyone else in the family has), a bunch of coffee, a bean jar, a large mug, interesting hot sauces, a gift certificate to Bombay Spice & Grill, money, and lots of funny and/or sappy cards. Oh, and my parents gave me a silly little bell for my Bicycle, just as a gag. (They also gave me a new suit a couple weeks ago!)

The best present of all, though, was just having (almost) everybody together, happy, and relaxed. With all the travelling over the last couple weeks, I haven't seen most of them in awhile, and I'd missed them. I really appreciated this. A few people coudln't be there for various reasons: Mark was visiting his girlfriend in NH, Heather's in Canada, etc., but it was still a lot of fun and a great surprise.

(Most of the credit for the party apparently goes to Corinne, Ellyn, Mom, and Art. Thank you!)

Ride #28: The Long Way 'Round

seth@macrobyte.net — Fri, 05 Jul 2002 21:49:56 GMT

I decided that it was time to make my training rides a bit more difficult, so I'm including insanity hill at least once per week (not counting Tues. nights). Tonight was the first.

The other thing that made this ride 'different' was that it wasn't a loop. Usually I start and end at home, but Corinne and I were having dinner and Mom and Dad's place tonight, so I rode there by a very circuitous route, had dinner, and then brought the bike home in the truck.

What a difference the weather made! "That hill" wasn't nearly as intimidating, and I managed about half of it "in attack," out of the saddle. Hopefully, by the end of the season, I'll be strong enough to really push it all the way to the top. (If things go really, really well, then I'll be riding up -- and down -- Temple Mt. in NH sometime early this Fall.)

I arrived at Mom and Dad's about 45 minutes later than they thought I'd be there, and I'm sorry to say Corinne was worrying about me. I certainly didn't mean to scare her (or anyone)! I was late because I'd misjudged the distance, and I left the house later than I'd intended.

Dinner was excellent, and Art, Sarah, and Alli were there too (Jed had to work). Whole lobsters, stuffed mushrooms, grilled steak, Kielbasa pasta salad, grilled chicken kabob thingies whose name I can't remember, corn bread, and for dessert a coconut cream pie. MMmmm!!

Good thing I worked off all those calories on the way over...

Stats: 31.97 miles (51.47 km) in 105' 7" for an average speed of 18.24 mph (29.37 kph).

Happy Birthday Mom and Sarah!

seth@macrobyte.net — Thu, 18 Apr 2002 21:59:50 GMT

Corinne cooked dinner for the whole family tonight... except Jed, who couldn't be there. The occasion was a (late) Birthday dinner for Mom (April 12th) and Sarah (April 16th). She made about 100 gallons of Chicken Asiago, a new corn casserole, broccoli casserole (Art's favorite!), and of course the cake.

Even my grandparents were here!

We all had a great time. The food was great, everybody laughed (and ate) a whole lot, and told lots of stories.

Happy Birthday Mom and Sarah :-)

Almost an Uncle

seth@macrobyte.net — Tue, 05 Feb 2002 17:29:28 GMT

Art and Sarah are now at the hospital, she's in labor.

My Dad called and asked me to say a prayer for them... "and Art and Sarah too". I'm excited about having a new neice/nephew, but I don't think anybody is (or could be) as excited as my parents are. My Mom was up at 2 AM this morning, just hoping that Sarah was "ready to go".

Allison Ella Pena

seth@macrobyte.net — Tue, 05 Feb 2002 23:33:07 GMT

Allison Ella Pena was born tonight. I don't have all the details like time and weight, but I know she's nineteen inches long and weighs somewhere between seven and eight pounds. Not a big baby.

I'm an uncle!

I talked to Art and Sarah on the phone. Art sounded... um... a little dazed. Sarah just sounded very happy. The happiest I remember her sounding, in fact.

This has been a Tough Week

seth@macrobyte.net — Fri, 19 Oct 2001 15:57:47 GMT

This has been a tough week. Dave's been on my mind almost constantly.

I think what bothers me the most is thinking about all the things he's not going to experience. That's not all of it, though... frankly, I'm going to miss him.

We'd been a lot less involved since I married Corinne, and of my closest friends he'd always been the "least close" (if that makes any sense).

I realized that fact last night. Then I completely freaked myself out by wondering how badly I'd be affected if someone even closer to me were to die, like one of my parents, or Jed or Sarah, or Darren, or Mark... or worst of all, Corinne.

Shudder...

Whoa, I think I'll avoid that one from now on. It's a pointless worry, anyway.

I know I'm not the only one feeling this way. Poor Karen, Dave's sister, is hurting a lot worse than I am. So is their dad. Jed and Mark lived with Dave for the last few years, while I've been making a life with Corinne... they're surely hurting a lot more than I am, too. Eric and Bonny were sort of a cross between Dave's best friends and a two-headed surrogate mother... I know Eric's miserable (but not constantly), because he wears his heart on his sleeve even more than I do. Darren is probably feeling an awful lot like I am (though he expresses it differently), which is more than I'd wish on anybody.

There's always hope, and I don't think any of us have forgotten or doubted that for a second. The pain comes from the loss we feel now. Hope doesn't make pain go away, it just helps you bear it and cope with it.

Tonight's the funeral, and tomorrow Dave will be buried on Long Island, presumably near his mother's grave. (I won't be at the burial.)

Corinne will be at the big cat show in New Jersey on Saturday and Sunday. I'm really, really hoping to spend time with a few people this weekend... hopefully they're all thinking the same way.

Go spend some time with the people you love, especially those you see the least. You just never know what tomorrow will bring.

My Sister's Wedding

seth@cshore.com — Mon, 08 May 2000 20:16:50 GMT

Art and Sarah Peña

My sister (Sarah) married my friend and brother (in Christ!) this weekend (May 6, 2000), and is now Mrs. Arturo Peña. The wedding was Saturday, and it was a big graceful shindig that took all of my Mother's organizational skills (and all of my Dad's money!) to pull off.

I was the "assistant photographer", as always, and used about five-and-a-half rolls of film. The "paid" photographer was quite good, but he was also a jerk!

Anyway, I also took a bunch of pictures with my digital camera, which you can see in the rest of these messages.

(Two years later...)

Art and Sarah now have a baby girl, Allison Ella Pena. My first niece! There's a link to her pictures, below.