It’s been two weeks since I did one of these due to travel. I could cheat and only do ten things from my trip, but I think that would kind of defeat the purpose of these posts. So, I will condense the trip part and also find good in my week after we returned.

1. My son made it home from work(he was housesitting while we were gone) before we left for the airport, so we had a chance to see him before we left.
2. All of the travel parts of the trip went smoothly, Flights were on time. We made it to all of our gates with ease. No running through the airport this time. I slept more on the trip over than usual.
3. I enjoyed every day in Baku. It was a nice change from the last two trips where I was bored a lot.
4. Istanbul was fun and our trip to and from the airport worked out great. A 24-hour layover to see the city was a good idea.
5. I came back to a week of three days at work, one day off, and then an event out of the branch on Saturday.
6. Friday was a frustrating day, but at least at the end of the day we got my daughter’s car to the repair place and it will be in working order soon.
7. Ryan Hamilton and the Harlequin Ghosts’ new album we released Friday.
8. I had book club Friday night, so I got to spend time with friends.
9. Saturday I spent the day outside at a local festival at the library table. I also got to eat tacos and dessert from the strawberry festival at the church next door.
10. My son made it to Portland safely last night.

It was a good couple of weeks. Let’s hope this keeps up now that I’m back to regular life.

Another relatively uneventful week. A week of preparing for bigger events next week. My travel anxiety is at a very high level today as we prepare to leave for Baku tomorrow. I miss the days when I could travel without getting stressed out about it. I think the terrible India trip has made me expect the worse when it comes to these trips now. I feel a little better now that I know they are actually taking us on planned outings while my wife is at work. The less I have to plan and deal with on my own the better. I would also feel a lot better if both kids were coming with us. I always get stressed and sad when we leave my son behind. Anyway, that’s next week. Let’s look at the past week.

1. Both kids came home for lunch for Mother’s Day and stayed for most of the day.
2. We had our Professional Development Day at work on Monday so instead of going to the branch I went to an all day training at an off-site location.
3. This meant I got to see friends I no longer see on a daily basis and other friends I rarely see.
4. We went out after the training so I got more time with friends in a non-work setting.
5. A stressful work situation was finally dealt with this week.
6. Our anniversary was on Thursday. We didn’t do anything exciting, but it means that so far my wife has not gotten tired of me yet.
7. It was a nice weather week so I got to eat outside for lunch a lot, walk the dog and read on my deck.
8. It also meant the grass was nice and dry for mowing on Friday.
9. My daughter came home for the summer yesterday.
10. Only two more days of work and I’m on vacation.

I don’t know how much I will post after tomorrow as we will be flying out tomorrow night and out of country until next Monday night. Here’s hoping I have a lot of good to share when I return.

It has been a week. It will be a challenge to come up with much for a “what’s good” post. It alternated from bad and stressful to sitting on my couch because I didn’t feel like doing anything else. Maybe the coming week will be better. Only one more week until we head overseas again. I can make it. So, was there any good?

1. I’m alive and healthy.
2. I have a job and a place to live.
3. I was able to get my yard work done around the seemingly constant rain.
4. There were donuts at work Wednesday.
5. It was nice enough weather on Friday that I was able to sit on my deck and read for a while.

This week will at least start better. The kids are coming over today and Monday will give me a chance to be out of the branch and see people I don’t normally see. No guarantees after that.

I obviously opted against doing my normal weekly review of my reading and viewing. I thought I might do it yesterday, but I only had one movie and one book for the week. The movie will be included in this list. I hope the break from writing will not mean I get in the habit of not writing regularly. On to what’s good.

1. My daughter was inducted into an honor society at college on Sunday. We went to the induction ceremony and then all four of us went out to eat after.
2. The timing worked out perfectly so I was able to go see Endgame at 10am Wednesday morning before leaving for a conference. I was able to see it without any spoilers. It was a satisfying ending to the story of the original Avengers.
3. I left the movie and drove directly to the state library conference. I’ve been involved with the state library association and the conference for over 20 years. It’s nice that my employers continue to allow me to go every year.
4. There were others from work at the conference who at least pretended they didn’t mind hanging out with me in between sessions.
5. My pub quiz team won three individual rounds and the overall prize. I did not really contribute at all. I just had smart teammates.
6. The keynote speaker Friday morning was really good and the last session I went to was also very good. I ended the conference on a high note.
7. I made it home Friday early enough to be able to finish my book club book before I left that evening for book club. I was able to keep my streak of finishing every book alive.
8. Book club night means spending time with friends I used to see every day before I transferred. That’s always a fun time.
9. 65 people came to our May the 4th Spring Fest at work yesterday. The coworker I left behind and abandoned for the conference did a great job putting it all together.
10. My son was part of the fest with as our nature expert as part of his job. It was nice t hear people talk about what a good job he was doing before they even knew it was my son.

After a rocky start, it was a very good week. Let’s hope my week back in the real world isn’t terrible.

I’ve mentioned before that the hardest part of these posts is remembering what happened earlier in the week. It’s not just that I’m old(I am) but also that my days are so bland that they all run together I get up, drink coffee, read the paper, go to work, go home, watch TV, go to bed, rinse, repeat, etc. I’ve become a very boring person. Who am I kidding? I’ve always been a very boring person. So, some weeks it is hard to remember because every day seems like the other. This was, for the most part, one of those weeks. Next week I break from the norm and go to a conference so, when I don’t write for three days next week, that is why.  Now let’s see what good things I can remember from the week.

1. My daughter was home for the weekend last week and my son came home for lunch on Easter. We had lunch and then watched a movie together. It’s always good to be together again.
2.  It was nice enough weather that I was able to take the dog for a walk every day after work.
3. It was nice enough weather that I ate lunch outside every day this week.
4. I had a meeting out of the branch on Thursday with friends I never get to see in person.
5. After working two Saturdays in a row, I finally had the entire weekend off this week.
6. I hit 1000 views for the month yesterday. It’s the first time I’ve had 1000 views in a month.

I guess that’s it. Nothing terrible happened. Nothing really happened at all. I guess that’s not necessarily a bad thing.

As I mentioned above, I leave Wednesday for a conference. If I do write it will be from a phone or a tablet so there will be a lot of typos. I will likely push my week in reading and viewing post to Saturday when I’m home again.

Happy Easter everyone! It’s time to look back and find the good things in my week. It was just an ordinary week. Nothing particularly good or bad. That’s not a bad thing.

1. Game of Thrones is back!
2. The weather was nice enough again to take the dog for a walk every night after work.
3. Red Robin had a week of deals for reward members so we had dinner out on Tuesday.
4. Another meeting out of the branch on Wednesday and another nice day for driving.
5. I switched nights with someone this week so I was home to watch Survivor and Amazing Race live.
6. I got paid to watch Won’t You Be my Neighbor and Solo at work this week.
7. The storms Friday were not too bad at our house and we were able to drive to campus without dealing with more than light rain.
8. My daughter came home for the weekend and my son is coming home for lunch today.

I think that does it for the week.

It was a pretty good week that ended on a day at work when I normally wouldn’t be at work. Whenever I switch weekends or nights it always seems to go bad. This was no exception. Good thing there were good things before yesterday.

1. Both of my kids were home for dinner Sunday night.
2. I had another meeting out of the branch Tuesday. It was a nice day to be out for a drive and I used my 30 minutes of lunch to visit with friends at my old branch.
3. We laughed a lot at work Wednesday night, probably because I’m hilarious.
4. Another out of branch meeting and another nice day for a drive on Thursday.
5. I visited my old branch again because they said they had food.
6. I mowed for the first time of the season Friday and for the first time in a while, the grass wasn’t even a little damp. It’s nice not to have constant rain.
7. This is probably why I was able to do the entire lawn without the battery dying on the mower.
8. I got good work news on Friday afternoon.
9. My son spent the night Friday night since we were on the way to where he needed to be early Saturday morning.
10. He requested Grilled Cheese & Company for dinner. That’s always a good thing.

Let’s hope the weeks of an easy 10 good things continue.

A better week this week. I’m coming to terms with the events of last week and moving on with life. No sense looking in the rear view mirror. It wasn’t the most exciting of weeks. I think the list will be small, but the list of bad is smaller, so I’ve got that going for me.

1. The week started badly with Kentucky losing to Auburn, but it was followed by the good of Duke losing and that made the loss easier to take.
2. It was warm enough to eat lunch outside multiple times this week and warm enough to be out in shorts yesterday.
3. Calipari signed a new contract that will keep him at Kentucky as long as he wants to be there.
4. Due to some schedule changes, I was working on Friday and my boss wasn’t so I got to attend a planning meeting about a new branch.
5. The meeting included a free breakfast and lunch.
6. I was able to go next door and see friends at my old branch while at the meeting.
7. I took leave when the meeting was over and got home 90 minutes earlier than normal.
8. After cleaning the shower yesterday I was able to relax on the couch with my book and a baseball game on TV which led to a surprise hour-long nap.
9. My daughter decided to come home last night and my son is coming over for dinner tonight so we will all be together again for a few hours.
10. Michigan State lost last night. It would have been a better night of basketball had Auburn also won, but I have a team I can cheer for tomorrow night.

Wow. I made it to ten without any trouble. Let’s hope this continues.

It might be a short list this week. I spent a good portion of the week alternating between angry, bitter and depressed. Sometimes all three at once. That’s not a good way to live. Let’s find the good.

1. My wife surprised me Monday by not only coming home early from work but also suggesting we get food out instead of me cooking dinner.
2. I finally talked to someone at a place that owed me a refund and got my refund. It was a pittance, but it was the principle of the thing.
3. I have clarity now about my work life. I can stop wasting my time looking for something that will never happen and focus any advancement thoughts on moving out in order to move up.
4. Kentucky won Friday night and is moving on to the Elite Eight. Hopefully, I will have more Kentucky wins on the list next week.
5. It was warm enough yesterday that I spent a couple of hours outside in shorts and a t-shirt.

That’s it for this week. Hoping for a longer list next week.

This was not a great week. Two stressful days to start the week. My days off to watch basketball made stressful by a sick dog and an anxiety-producing phone call. A bad customer service encounter at a local business. It’s a good week for me to try to find the good to prove that there is good on even the worst of weeks.

1. March Madness started this week, so no matter how bad the days were I knew I had basketball to look forward to when I got home.
2. I took Thursday afternoon off to be home to watch the games so I saw more of the first round than usual. I’ve been meaning to do that for years.
3. Kentucky won their first game easily. It’s nice to have one game that doesn’t stress me out.
4. Friday was my normal day off, so I had a second day to watch the games.
5. Emergency vet visit did not find anything serious wrong with the dog and she is getting back to normal.
6. My daughter made it to and from South Carolina safely.
7. Kentucky won a tough game yesterday without their best player so I have real rooting interest in the tournament for another week.

I think that does it for the week. Not a bad list for a bad week. I would probably have more if I thought to make note of things as they happened. Tune in next week to see if the results of the phone call from above mean a really bad or a really good week.