Proud Parental Unit Crowing Thread

[sancarlos]

Do I get to crow about my nephew in-law?

He went from being an introverted kid with massive insecurity issues as a younger teenager to playing in multiple bands as one of the better guitarists I've ever seen play. The guitar guided him out of his shell and he went from being a wallflower to a wonderful young man full of assuredness and confidence. He's enrolled at the Conservatory of Music in SF (he's a junior).

I'm not sure I've ever seen a musical instrument turn a kid's life 'on' like it has for him.

To say I'm bursting with pride for him would be an understatement.

Always nice to hear news like that!

[garyclark]

Do I get to crow about my nephew in-law?

He went from being an introverted kid with massive insecurity issues as a younger teenager to playing in multiple bands as one of the better guitarists I've ever seen play. The guitar guided him out of his shell and he went from being a wallflower to a wonderful young man full of assuredness and confidence. He's enrolled at the Conservatory of Music in SF (he's a junior).

I'm not sure I've ever seen a musical instrument turn a kid's life 'on' like it has for him.

To say I'm bursting with pride for him would be an understatement.

Love to hear this. Pretty amazing. This reminds me of how my nephew has turned his ADHD into becoming a pretty decent cross country runner.

I really love watching kids figure it out. Especially because for some of these kids, it can be so hard. So when they do crack the code, like your nephew has, it feels even sweeter.

Thanks to all for the kind words for my son as well.

[EnochRoot]

Thanks guys.

The youngest has wanted a weekend job for awhile. Never had one before. We were in a Japanese grocery store a few weeks ago and he saw a sign that said "Walk-In Interviews." Can't remember how much I've shared here, but he is also part Japanese, is studying Japanese, and wants to live in Japan.

So he went home, picked out a professional outfit, walked in, and was told they don't do that. So then he emailed them. They replied, he interviewed, got the job, and today was his first day. And it was amazing.

It's just a part-time job. But I love these small triumphs.

That's awesome! It looks like they appreciated his stick-to-itiveness.

[govmentchedda]

Do I get to crow about my nephew in-law?

He went from being an introverted kid with massive insecurity issues as a younger teenager to playing in multiple bands as one of the better guitarists I've ever seen play. The guitar guided him out of his shell and he went from being a wallflower to a wonderful young man full of assuredness and confidence. He's enrolled at the Conservatory of Music in SF (he's a junior).

I'm not sure I've ever seen a musical instrument turn a kid's life 'on' like it has for him.

To say I'm bursting with pride for him would be an understatement.

That's awesome.

[DaveInSeattle]

Robin and her fiance Tyler did this "travel journey" video for Vuori, about the scene in Tofino, a small town on the coast on Vancouver Island in BC.



Tyler did most of the video work, and Robin was the Producer.

[sancarlos]

That was awesome. Kudos to Robin and Tyler! Some questions:
How does this benefit Vuori's marketing? You don't even see their name until the end, and they aren't actively promoting their clothing. Great video in any case. Does the photographer have a side business providing these tours? Is that also what is being promoted, here?

I would really love to do all that stuff they did on a vacation, although it may be beyond the capabilities of an aging, one-eyed, somewhat sedentary old guy.

My wife and I went to Vancouver Island on our honeymoon thirty years ago. Besides the cities of Victoria, and Vancouver, we also drove much of the circumference of the island. Great time. Bonnie thinks we might have visited Tofino, but I don't remember. So many quaint little villages on the ocean up there.

[DaveInSeattle]

That was awesome. Kudos to Robin and Tyler! Some questions:
How does this benefit Vuori's marketing? You don't even see their name until the end, and they aren't actively promoting their clothing. Great video in any case. Does the photographer have a side business providing these tours? Is that also what is being promoted, here?

That's a good question. I have no idea. I know that they've been posting it all over their social media, but yeah, its not really obvious what exactly they are advertising here.

But...they worked the system, and got an awesome trip to Tofino out of it. That's become like "their spot" (it's where they got engaged), and they've made a bunch of trips there over the last year or so.

[degenerasian]

Got the best Christmas picture!

[sancarlos]

Ahh, that’s adorable!

[Keg]

Thats a great picture! How far apart in age are your girls? My girls are 17 months apart, they are 7 and 6 years old.

[degenerasian]

Thats a great picture! How far apart in age are your girls? My girls are 17 months apart, they are 7 and 6 years old.

They are twins. 2 and a half now.

[Keg]

Congrats! My sister has twins the same age as yours. No idea how ya’ll do it.

[mister d]

That’s an awesome picture.

[rass]

d'aaaawww....

[DaveInSeattle]

That's soooo damn cute!

[DaveInSeattle]

Robin has made it to Antartica...and the photos/videos are spectacular.

She's running the social media for the trip...follow at https://www.instagram.com/stories/space2sea.io/.

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Yesterday, they had a presentation by astronaut Scott Kelly about Shackleton, and then visited the site where he was trapped by ice for 4 months.

[Giff]

Wow! That’s awesome.

[rass]

Wow

[A_B]

Love it.

[degenerasian]

Pics are amazing! I know nothing about Antarctica.

[Rush2112]

My SiL and family have lived in Europe, the Middle East and Central America. They travel anytime they have an opportunity. Last year to celebrate her 50th they went to Antarctica. Well everyone but their son who didn't want to quit his spending money bullshit waiting job and have to spend a couple of weeks away from his girlfriend (who he's since broken up with.)

[DaveInSeattle]

Saw on Robin's posting from last night that they watched Interstellar last night on the ship with Neil DeGrasse Tyson and William Shatner.

Now that's pretty cool. I bet Tyson was doing a lot of the "well....actually...." stuff.

[sancarlos]

My SiL and family have lived in Europe, the Middle East and Central America. They travel anytime they have an opportunity. Last year to celebrate her 50th they went to Antarctica. Well everyone but their son who didn't want to quit his spending money bullshit waiting job and have to spend a couple of weeks away from his girlfriend (who he's since broken up with.)

As somebody once said, sometimes youth is wasted on the young.

[sancarlos]

Saw on Robin's posting from last night that they watched Interstellar last night on the ship with Neil DeGrasse Tyson and William Shatner.

Now that's pretty cool. I bet Tyson was doing a lot of the "well....actually...." stuff.

That’s funny. But what an amazing experience!

[sancarlos]

When our daughter got to school age, we became part of an informal group of parents who socialized together on a semi-regular basis. And the group is still going to some degree, 20 years later.

Last night we all got together at a couple pubs downtown for drinks. And many of the now mid-20s aged “kids” joined us. Haven’t seen most of them for years, and it was quite weird to see them all in adult bodies, now.

[govmentchedda]

What the fuck? Robin just posted a video of a three mast wooden ship seemingly wandering around Antarctica!

[DaveInSeattle]

What the fuck? Robin just posted a video of a three mast wooden ship seemingly wandering around Antarctica!

I know! I have no idea what that's all about. I'll have to text her and ask.

We face timed with her last night...she said that its been an incredible experience, but they've been working their butts off.

And they did a true "polar plunge" yesterday...water temp was 32°. She said 90 people on the ship did it.

[govmentchedda]

What the fuck? Robin just posted a video of a three mast wooden ship seemingly wandering around Antarctica!

I know! I have no idea what that's all about. I'll have to text her and ask.

We face timed with her last night...she said that its been an incredible experience, but they've been working their butts off.

And they did a true "polar plunge" yesterday...water temp was 32°. She said 90 people on the ship did it.

Love that they had them strapped to a leash for the polar plunge.

[DaveInSeattle]

What the fuck? Robin just posted a video of a three mast wooden ship seemingly wandering around Antarctica!

I know! I have no idea what that's all about. I'll have to text her and ask.

We face timed with her last night...she said that its been an incredible experience, but they've been working their butts off.

And they did a true "polar plunge" yesterday...water temp was 32°. She said 90 people on the ship did it.

Love that they had them strapped to a leash for the polar plunge.

I'm sure that's in case of someone going into "thermal shock" so the crew can pull them back on the Zodiac.

She told us last night that all of the "Invited Guests" have been nice, but she's enjoyed spending time with Celiine Cousteau the most. And not surprisingly, Shatner is incredibly charming and funny and really good at doing the panel discussions.

[govmentchedda]

What the fuck? Robin just posted a video of a three mast wooden ship seemingly wandering around Antarctica!

I know! I have no idea what that's all about. I'll have to text her and ask.

We face timed with her last night...she said that its been an incredible experience, but they've been working their butts off.

And they did a true "polar plunge" yesterday...water temp was 32°. She said 90 people on the ship did it.

Love that they had them strapped to a leash for the polar plunge.

I'm sure that's in case of someone going into "thermal shock" so the crew can pull them back on the Zodiac.

She told us last night that all of the "Invited Guests" have been nice, but she's enjoyed spending time with Celiine Cousteau the most. And not surprisingly, Shatner is incredibly charming and funny and really good at doing the panel discussions.

Oh, I don't blame the ship at all for the leash. I've done polar plunges in water considerably warmer than that and it sucks the breath out of you.

[DaveInSeattle]

What the fuck? Robin just posted a video of a three mast wooden ship seemingly wandering around Antarctica!

Might have been this: https://www.barkeuropa.com/

Turns out there's a couple of sailing cruises on tall ships like that that do similar trips.

They had to skip a planned visit to a Ukrainian scientific outpost today. The weather kicked up and they had to move to a safer anchorage.

[govmentchedda]

There is no fucking way in hell you ever catch me on that.

[DaveInSeattle]

There is no fucking way in hell you ever catch me on that.

No kidding. Do you get to have scurvy and wear nothing but wool and leather to get the full experience?

[A_B]

There is no fucking way in hell you ever catch me on that.

No kidding. Do you get to have scurvy and wear nothing but wool and leather to get the full experience?

Dang dave, you're the sailor!

[A_B]

I don't know where to put these things anymore but we moved the oldest last Thurs-Fri. I'll just make some general observations:

- I think the kid downgraded in some ways but upgraded in others. Overall, the new house is probably a bit bigger, but is not as updated as the previous. However, their room is much bigger and they have their own bathroom.
- Location - Columbia heights on 10th street. I still get a little weirded out about how MANY houses are packed into these streets. Parking was surprisingly easy but time of year likely affected that. Driving a Uhaul truck down some of those streets is a tight squeeze.
- They are a lot closer to friends which was a big draw for them.
- They hired two taskrabbit dudes to help us move. One cancelled 30 minutes before they were supposed to be there. So guess who got to pack up their old place and carry all that shit down with the one who did show up?
- So I didn't have to carry all that stuff in (don't worry I did more than my share of boxes and small stuff!) BUT the chest of drawers form previous place AND the box spring we brought from Lexington would not go upstairs at the new place. Staircase too shallow and with a 90 degree turn. So quick thinking, bought a collapsible from on amazon to be delivered Friday. So that was the last thing we did friday after finishing some small stuff.
- We ate dinner Thursday with kid and friends and when we got back to the AirBNB (10th st, between P&Q, very nice place I'd recommend for a quick jaunt into DC for a couple. Had easy to find parking in an almost dedicated little pass through street. Was pretty inexpenseive but could be timing. It was same as 1.5 nights in a hotel, and that's not including the cost of parking at most hotels in the city) and I sat down on the couch. The next time I got up, I ended up on the floor with my back absolutely destroyed with spasms. As bad as I ever had. Took three advil and tried not to move.
- This little fucker. Look at him.

Screenshot 2025-01-06 at 9.49.48 AM.jpg (39.41 KiB) Viewed 1645 times

This is the cat that came home with our cat a few years back in Lexington. The kid took them to Boston and DC, but wanted them to stay in the AirBNB with us because door being open a lot, etc. Now, what you don't see in that picture is some plutonium for scale. Because that fucker, when he jumps from the top of the headboard to your chest has the density of a black hole, and he doesn't discriminate on if you are asleep or not. AND he knows he's gorgeous. What a prick.

- Anyhoo, Friday was pretty easy and we went for Pizza with a freind of the kid from Boston who is on their way to Grad School at NC State. We were down by the nationals at the Atlas Brew Works and Andy's Pizza. That pizza is some of the best I have ever had. So so good. Waht I also liked is it was entriely app driven ordering. You put your info in when you first scanned, it had your payment method then you only saw servers when they brought food/drinks or took away empties. It reminded you every so often to order or whatnot because after a set period of time why closed your tab (and if they closed it it's an automatic 20% tip - but you can customize it if you close it yourself). Just seemed like a very easy way to run your POS system through crowdsourcing.

I got another thought for a different thread but just reliving the weekend.

[Steve of phpBB]

BUT the chest of drawers form previous place AND the box spring we brought from Lexington would not go upstairs at the new place. Staircase too shallow and with a 90 degree turn.

Did you forget to pivot?

[A_B]

BUT the chest of drawers form previous place AND the box spring we brought from Lexington would not go upstairs at the new place. Staircase too shallow and with a 90 degree turn.

Did you forget to pivot?

The joke was made but the pivot was on a break.

[mister d]

"You know, from the hit sitcom Friends. Specifically the episode "The One with the Cop" which was released 26 years ago this February 25th."

[elflaco2]

drove down to Philly on saturday .. saw the boy run in his first official d1 meet..
he had a good xc season (his first since 8th grade)...
ran the mile (not the 1600) -- hit a PR -- 4:28 and change, started out as 12th got as high as 7th i think finished 8th or 9th -- and the meet was on ESPN+ so family got to see him on their big screen.
spoke w him afterwards.. mentally switched off in the 5th lap dropped a few places, picked up w a little under a lap to go and showed his usual kick.
fun and dusty - the kid actually achieved his dream (said as a freshman he would run d1 track)
ther'e a weekly meet in the winter, either at UPenn or at Ocean Breeze, so he has a chance to really get ready for outdoor.
lets' hope he figures out the academics part of it sooner rather than later (not so proud/crowing in that area)

[DaveInSeattle]

Texts you DON'T want to get from your 24 year old daughter:

"I accidently went viral on TikTok"

(it was dumb...her and 2 of her friends trying the new Trader Joes' Boozy Bottles)