Time passes, life changes

Seventeen years ago today my life was a lot different than it is now, and what I thought my life would end up looking like bears no resemblance to current circumstances.  I was living in the house I grew up in down in Woodburn, OR back then.  I worked as a Tier 2 support representative for Dell computers and had just broken up with a long distance girl friend who lived in New Jersey.  The breakup had been rough enough on me that I was thinking leaving my job and becoming a monk at the Mt. Angel Abbey might be a good way for me to put my years of religious study to use. 

One year to the day later would find me waking up in a hotel room with my little brother the day before my wedding.  It was the kind of change only God could bring into reality.  I had met an amazing woman, my career had taken off and I was now managing technical support team I was part of the year before.  Carrie and I would be moving into the first home I would ever own instead of rent.  And still, on that day I had the audacity to think I knew what my future might hold.  Kids, career growth, I was thinking this was a sign it was all going to get better from here.  

Our Wedding party, March 4th 2000

Fast forward four years and life hasn't been what that 24 year old dreamed and planned for the day before his wedding.  We bought a new house to be closer to my job and I was later off a month later.  My dad went in for an angiogram and never made it out of the hospital after bypass surgery led to a fatal secondary infection.  The kids we had hoped would come right away doctors are telling us will never come.  The difference is now I'm not alone, I have an amazing wife, and we are resolved to follow the path God puts us on instead of worrying about what we don't have that we had anticipated and dreamed of. 

So 12 years ago today Carrie and I were in the hotel room she had booked for a romantic weekend to celebrate our 4th Anniversary.  Instead of celebrating we were pouring through hundreds of pages of case files, praying about whether a young brother and sister were supposed to be our kids.  One year to the day later, a process the State DFS worker told us takes 18-24 months was finished and a family court judge signed the papers changing their names and making them ours forever. 

Our family is official, with the Judge and DFS case worker

Fast forward 11 years and our lives have certainly changed and been stretched by these two amazing additions to our family.  That cute little boy, who came to us with reports from school that he had a hard time learning is about to graduate from High School with a better than 3.0 GPA.  His little sister, who we were warned had more severe learning issues and may always need occupational therapy starts her first job in 2 hours and will graduate next year.  Carrie is in LA today, but is flying all night to make it home so that we can celebrate our 16th wedding anniversary tomorrow.

Tonight, I get to take my son and daughter to dinner to celebrate another Adoption Day.

A weird sleepless night....

Here in the Pacific northwest it's another wet and windy night in a time of year known for wet and wind.  The weather isn't what is keeping me up tonight though.  I'm not worried about the wife and kids any more than usual.  They are all asleep, the wife 3000 some miles away until tomorrow night. 

What's keeping me awake tonight are thoughts of a good friend from high school that somehow I let time and distance sweep out of my life.  We lost him last week, and family and friends are poised to gather tomorrow morning to say goodbye.  Not past 40 years old and gone.  The medical cause of death is complicated,  but the bottom line is addiction and his personal demons lost their fight with his better angels. 

I know he had better angels.  We grew up close to each other in a town that wasn't very big anyway.  His dad taught our journalism class in high school. His mom was one of our youth leaders at church.  Something happened though.  Where I was able to wander in and out of party life in high school, and drink whisky all night tonight and not need a drink in the morning he couldn't.

I know it's insensitive and politically incorrect for me to be sitting here drinking a bottle of Irish whisky while I talk about losing a friend to alcohol, but it's my website.  I didn't know this was the direction my words would take me when I poured the drink and started writing. 

What I did know is that losing Patrick drove home that even the best of us can be lost in the blink of an eye.  He was a gentle soul who loved art and photography for all that he tried to talk rough sometimes in school.  It also made me wonder what is it that has made some relationships hold on over time and some fade into the background. 

 Twenty-one years ago when we graduated I never would have bet that Packy and I would go almost twenty years without talking to or even seeing each other.  Of course three years before I graduated I would have bet against making it to 25 myself.  Time can change your life and your priorities.

So tonight I think about the unfortunate twists and turns that separated friends, and lift a few glasses of my favorite Irish whisky while I wish an old friend was here to share it with me. 

Monthly boxes of random coolness (and sometimes crap)

I realized as I was sitting in the dentists office waiting for my son and daughter to finish that it had been a while since I had posted anything about the random unsolicited boxes of products I have received.

Some of these boxes I expect every month from subscription services hoping for publicity like the great folks at GeekBox and Wet Shave Club.  Others show up out of the blue, like the tshirt and sweatshirt that arrived with the "Last Star Fighter" logo shortly after I reposted an article about a sequel to that amazing movie being in the works.  Sometimes the contents are worth keeping, sometimes they are worth passing on to Jimmie and other friends, or handing to the wife and kids. Once in a while they are barely worth the room they take up in the trash can. 

Here come the pictures and descriptions, I'll come back through when I get time and add links where I can tomorrow.  Enjoy! 

This liquor infusion kit from TongueSpank Spice Co. was a welcome arrival

This hoodie and matching tee came from the production folks behind the new Last Starfighter movie

These are just some of the tees to arrive from the guys at pop-up-tees this month

Zac Brown Band sent us a few copies of their newest album.  If you haven't yet, buy it now. 

May's monthly box from the guys at Birchbox included no-show liners from the folks at Taft in addition to the normal variety of grooming samples

This month finally brought the release of the Nüüd for iPhone 6 Plus from the folks at Lifeproof.  I've been amazed at how long it has taken some companies to get precision manufactured cases on the market for the 6 Plus, but this is by far the most durable case you will find, especially when combined with a ballistic glass screen protector. 

GeekFUEL's theme this month was Teams, and featured items surrounding comic and movie teams like the Avengers and TMNT

As I've written about before, one of the most important items in my gear bag is a large battery pack to keep my devices charged.  This aluminum number from EliteBuy was on sale for just $30 on Amazon and is rated at 10000mAh, or around four full charges for your iPhone.  The color didn't win me over but construction was solid

This pack from Aukey, who are quickly becoming one of my favorite accessory companies was on sale for $20 when they sent it for review.  It features auto sensing technology that adjusted the output on the USB ports to charge devices as quickly as they would take power, and more importantly reduce output when your device gets closer to fully charged or is a lower powered device.  Very important to prevent overheating, especially when they are carried together in a gear bag. 

This cool tabletop BX Bluetooth speaker from GoGroove is part of their BlueSYNC line.  While it's dual drivers and multiple input sources are pretty standard, and it's wood grain finish helps it fit in nicely on my night stand, GoGroove is hopeful that what will set this product line apart from the masses is the addition of a removable and rechargeable battery that is interchangeable with the other speakers in the lineup. 

The newest kid on the "lets throw together a box of stuff geeks and fanboys will like every month and see if they will pay to get surprised" block is NerdBlock, and they didn't do too bad with their first box.  I'll reserve final judgment on the company as a service until we get six months in, but I'm not upset by what I've seen yet. 

The Foldio 2 from the folks at Orange Monkie is the perfect mobile photo studio

Well, that was most of the assorted stuff that came in May.  I have some other reviews to get caught up on, and some great recipes to post for you guys.  Stay tuned. 

Life in Fat Boy Heaven

Sorry posts have been so slow in the last couple of weeks.  My father in law came through surgery fine, and is now in short term rehab for a few days while he gets his strength back.   Until Tuesday that meant a lot of driving across town to the hospital to fit around normal life.

Now that life is back closer to normal I can get things caught up.  I'll have some amazing dinners from the last couple of weeks including a Bacon wrapped Blackberry Pork Loin Roast I'm particularly proud of from last night coming your way, as well as reviews of everything from cigars and humidors, to Whisky from the folks at Caskers.com, new journaling systems from BulletJournal.com via their Kickstarter project, and  clothes from Ript Apparel and Dickies.  It's going to be a busy weekend.

Remember last month when I said it was a big year?

I'm lying awake tonight, and as tired as I am after a full day working at The Pantry unloading trucks, stocking shelves, and then doing the other hundred things my father-in-law Alden and Mother-in-law Linda do there while they spent the bulk of their day at the hospital I'm not sure as we near two if sleep is possible tonight.

In about five hours my Father-in-law will enter a surgical OR for a valve and aortic replacement.  The surgeon will literally be replacing nearly a quarter of his heart!  This is major surgery, especially for a 75yo with long history of heart problems.   Ever since the aneurysm that necessitates this procedure was found six weeks ago as both a church body and a family we have been praying that God's will be done to heal him. All along we have felt reminded by the Spirit that sometimes God uses the hands of skilled surgeons in that healing. 

So here we are: In three hours the rest of the family will get Alden checked in while I am home praying and getting ready to go back into the Pantry to make sure that things continue to run smoothly there while waiting for news from that hospital 12 miles away. 

I spoke to Dad tonight for the last time before surgery and he fealt at peace with the surgery moving forward.  The entire family is concerned, obviously at different levels.

My feelings are hard to describe as I lay here writing this.   You see, a little over 13 years ago my father went in for open heart surgery.  30 days later we had lost him.  Part of me really wants to be at that hospital to support my wife and her family, but a big part of me feels guilty that I'm glad I don't have to face that tortuous wait again, because I know I'll spend most of it thinking of my Dad.

I know this is all in Gods hands.  I know the only practical solution is for me to rest and be ready to fill Alden's shoes at the pantry for the next few weeks while he recovers, especially tomorrow while everyone is adjusting to his absence.  Now if I could get my body to cooperate. 

If it comes to mind between 7:00am and 12:00pm PDT your prayers and positive thoughts would be greatly appreciated. 

Five years ago the world almost ended - Big Drew's View

Five years ago today Carrie came home from a doctor's appointment and said she needed to talk to me.  Those who have known me all of my life know I've been in some scary places, but I didn't know what fear felt like until my wife told me she had cancer that afternoon.  I didn't know what to do, but a song from my youth popped into my head, and it's lyrics never felt more appropriate.  Petra had a song in the late 1980s called "Get on your knees and fight like a man", and never did those lyrics make more sense than that night.

Somehow we made it through Christmas without telling the kids ( I can't remember how we managed that), through our individual breakdowns with family and friends.  We made it through the doctors appointments and surgery the same way we have made it through everything else life has thrown at us: together by the Grace of God.

When you are facing the ultimate test of faith and grace you learn a lot about yourself and those around you.  I learned two things.  First, I married Wonder Woman.  She beat cancer and came out the other side deciding to run marathons and finish college while still working full-time and not missing a beat.  The second thing I learned is that I don't know who I would be without her in my life, but I know it would be far less than I am.

Carrie completing a half marathon the summer after her cancer surgery.

In a few weeks she will be "Officially" Cancer Free, and we will celebrate with joy.  But this Christmas I wanted to make sure to that the world knew how thankful I was for the only gift I'll ever need:  my beautiful wife.

Carrie, the kids, and I this Thanksgiving 

Gizmodo has all the best CyberMonday deals in one place

As always, Gizmodo and Kinja have teamed up to put together a comprehensive list of CyberMonday deals for all things tech and geek, I'll post deals as I find them but their list is a good place to start today.

CES 2012 - The Lamest Show on Earth

Ok, we are at the last day of CES, and I am glad I didn't spend the money to go.  The consensus from every report and podcast I've seen is there is nothing to see.

Yes, TV's are getting bigger and cheaper - no news there

Yes, everyone is trying to make a tablet to catch up with the iPad 2 or beat the Kindle Fire's price point- no news there

Yes, Nikkon announced a new camera to try and shift things back their direction after Cannon's last announcement - no real news or suprise here

When the biggest news is that Apple has called a press anouncement in NYC next week when millions of dollars have been spent setting up this wonderland of consumer electronics, we have a problem.