Weeknotes 25:12

Posted 6 days ago

Week of March 16–22

Achievement unlocked

After a challenging year of pursuing new opportunities in a very difficult job market, I am excited to announce that I accepted a job with Revive Our Hearts ministry as a UX Developer. I accepted the job on day 366 of my unemployment.

I knew when I entered the job market a year ago that it was going to be tough. But I never imagined that it would take a year. I am grateful to everyone who supported me along this journey. The well-wishes, thoughtful recommendations, and connections to opportunities meant so much to me. I truly appreciate every gesture, big or small.

I start my new job on April 9. I will be traveling up to their office in Michigan for a few days of onboarding. I am so glad to find a remote position and to be able to continue to practice my craft on the front-end.

I am taking some time of reflection over the next two weeks. I look forward to sharing my insights soon.

Read Day 366, my post from last week

Goodbye Camry

We said goodbye to our 2001 Camry on Saturday. We traded it in to help our son buy a 2020 Honda Civic. The Camry was the first car I/we bought. God provided an anonymous donor who allowed us to buy the Camry right after our oldest was born. I loved the car and it was sad to say goodbye.

Read Goodbye Camry

Spring Break

U.S.S. Constellation in Baltimore’s Inner Harbor close to where my daughter stayed

Last week, we had our son home for Spring Break. And our youngest was away most of the week in Baltimore for SETC (The Southeastern Theatre Conference). She was one of ten students chosen for this paid trip through her community college. This was her first “adult” trip and first one apart from the family. She had a blast. She enjoyed the workshops and the many opportunities that the conference provided.

As I thought about it, I think this was the first time we have had our son to ourselves. We had our oldest to ourselves for 3 and 1/2 years before he came along. And we have had about 3 years of just our youngest as our son is off at school in Kentucky and our oldest no longer lives at home. So it was nice to just be able to focus on him for several days.

We enjoyed our time with our son. The two of us played tennis on Tuesday. I had hoped to play again before he left but we ended up investing time in other things, like searching for used cars and then finding one. We also enjoyed watching NCAA tournament games, a movie, and casual conversations in his room or in a vehicle when we went out to run an errand. I am looking forward to more time with him this summer in about six weeks time.

Playing tennis

As I already mentioned, my son and I played tennis on Tuesday. It was a beautiful day in the low 70s and not any wind that I could remember. We had played tennis regularly in the past on the same courts. But the last time we played, the courts were not in good shape with cracks in the surface and saggy nets. I was looking forward to playing on the reconditioned courts. They have been resurfaced, a new fence was installed with more gates (helpful if you need to retrieve an errant shot), benches between the courts, and a very taunt net.

As I searched my social feed and checked my logs that I keep, I realized that we have not played there since 2017. I knew it was pre-pandemic but didn’t realize it had been so long.

My family use to play tennis together when I was growing up. We spent a lot of Sunday mornings at the courts in the summer. Part of the ritual was stopping to get Big Gulps at 7-11 on the way home. I also played tennis on the junior varsity team at my high school for a year. I have always enjoyed playing and had enjoyed the times that my son and I had played in the past.

It is always amazing to me how it comes back, even after years of inactivity. The muscle memory. The knowledge and skill. The right “feel” to a return the ball or to serve. It is almost like a time machine. Of course that can be a bit dangerous if you are not careful. Sometimes your brain forgets that your body is not quite the same as when you were younger. I didn’t have that problem last week. I have embraced my limits and there were some balls I didn’t bother to chase because I knew that it was not worth it.

We had a lot of fun. We played three sets, splitting the first two. And then we played a tighter third set which my son outlasted me.

Articles I read

  • Refresh. (Ethan Marcotte) – Ethan has published a new version of his book, You Deserve a Tech Union. The refreshed version has a new cover design.
  • Style legend (Jeremy Keith)

Books I am reading

What I watched

  • NCIS (Netflix)
  • Mad About You (Samsung TV Plus)
  • KU-Arkansas First Round game (CBS)
  • Assorted first and second round games of NCAA tournament (CBS)

Walking

  • Sunday – 4.38 miles in 1 hour and 16 minutes (walk with my son)
  • Monday – 4.04 miles in 1 hour and 13 minutes
  • Wednesday – 1.77 miles in 32 minutes (short walk to pray before a meeting)

What I played

  • MLB The Show 20 (Twins) – I played three games this week and went 2-1.
  • NBA 2K25 (Nuggets) – I didn’t play this week.

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