Monday

🚶🏻‍♂️Took a family walk today, which we thought was a good idea. Turns out that it wasn’t, but there was no way for us to know until we started. That’s just how things go in life sometimes. With things that are “big” and things that are “small” - most times you just have to start to see how it will turn out.

Tuesday

✅ Solid day of working through all items on my todo list. A rare day of actually completing every item!

Wednesday

🌈 Rainbow in the sky today after a good rain.

Thursday

📚 Had our final cigar event tonight. Glad to be closing this chapter.

Friday

📮 Drafted an email today that I will send on Monday. It is a breakup email of sorts. A business that I thought was going to last for at least a few years is not going to work out, and instead of prolonging the inevitable I am cutting loose immediately. Following my gut on this one, which I should have done at the start when things started to seem off. Lessons learned!

Saturday

🦖 Took a trip down to Washington D.C. to take Mozzie to the National Museum of Natural History. We thought he’d love to see the dinosaurs…turns out he was more interested in the LEGO sets in the gift shop…made for an interesting time trying to make the best of it. We’ll go back in a few years to try it with him again. Other than the museum the trip was a success. No travel issues or delays, and it is always good to get out of town.

After returning home I went back out in the evening to see friends I haven’t seen in a while. It was good to catch up.

Sunday

💭 Spent some time this evening reflecting on the week. It was good, overall, despite a few interesting events thrown in for fun. As always, plenty of lessons learned, some big and some small. I am beginning to think about 2019 in general, looking at the themes of the year in retrospect. It did not turn out the way I thought it was going to, but I think that is for the best.

Monday

🍁 Picked up a very appropriate leaf on our morning walk today. Autumn is definitely in full swing at this point. The next week or so should bring very colorful mountainsides.

Tuesday

🧘‍♂️ My new schedule is very nice. Not having my evenings tied up has freed up my mornings. Could just be a mental thing for me, but I’m not fighting it. Getting back into my morning routine of stretching, meditating, and journaling. Today it clicked for me that my time is mine again (although it never wasn’t mine, I just gave it away for a while). Rejuvenated by this thought!

Wednesday

📺 Dusted off my personal YouTube channel. In addition to writing again I want to get back into recording screencasts showing how I do certain things. I enjoy doing them, and maybe they’ll help someone along the way. Enjoyed a cigar and bourbon outside before the evening got too cold to do so.

Thursday

👫 Dangerously close to the weekend. Actually had a date tonight with Lindsay, been a while, too long to be honest. Enjoyed our time together, and especially enjoyed being able to talk [mostly] uninterrupted.

Friday

👰 Wedding rehearsal and dinner afterwards for a cousin’s wedding. Lindsay and Mozzie are both part of the wedding party, so I’m involved be default (mostly with making sure Mozzie is where he needs to be so Lindsay can actually be a part of the wedding). The cathedral is absolutely beautiful and I enjoyed taking photos while it was mostly empty. The dinner afterwards was a nice time with everyone. Wish we could have stuck around longer, but a 6 year old requires a bedtime before 10pm as often as possible.

Saturday

👰🤵 Day of the wedding! Lindsay had to be out of the house at 6:30am, so it was Mozzie and me all morning. We did our normal routine before getting ready to leave the house for the day. Our first stop was the house where the bridal party was getting ready.

📸 Photos there, then off to the ceremony. Went off without any issues. Mozzie did great and got his LEGO set as a reward.

⛪️ The ceremony was beautiful! Photos afterwards went well and without any issues. While the party went off to get more photos, Mozzie and I went up to the

🏛 Capital building so he could run around before heading home to let the dog out. Once she was good to go we were off again, this time to the reception venue. We were early, so we spent our time relaxing with the wedding party. Another good time to unwind with a fun group of people. All around our age too, which is rare for us and very enjoyable when it is enjoyable!

🎉🥂🕺👯‍♀️💃 The reception itself was awesome. Family parties are a good time when everyone is getting along. The wine was flowing all night and the DJ was good. Made for a very active and fun dance floor.

I never want this type of evening or event to end, so I tried to get to the afterparty, but again…6 year old problems :-) Despite missing a bit more time with the wedding party, it was an awesome time with everyone!

Sunday

☕️ A much needed day of rest.

Monday

😕 Unmotivated start to the week, unfortunately. I am constantly at a adjusting and making decisions, do I go left or right? My decision, as with all decisions, will have an impact now and in the future. Need to make a decision this week.

Tuesday

Cannot recall this day. Photos and calendar tell me nothing either.

Wednesday

🎥 Lindsay and I revived our YouTube channel. Not sure why, but we did. Finished the night with cigars and wine 🍷. Felt good to create content together and then unwind.

Thursday

💭 Made up my mind about continuing to work at the lounge or not. Will stop effective 11/1, probably sooner. Felt good to reach the decision. Focusing on finding remote part-time freelance work in IT. Found 6 realistic options to apply to. Goal is extra income each month towards this goal. Watched Mozzie ice skate ⛸ today and took him to Get Air in the evening. His face beams when he is on the ice!

Friday

🕰 Fast work day, cold morning. Even colder evening later as it went as low as 38 degrees Fahrenheit. Work went well, additional processes are being thrown my way which is good for me. Went into the office for two meetings. Parked myself at the coffee shop all morning and early afternoon. Found out that my ITIL instructor passed away on Tuesday. He was also the owner and founder of the coffee shop. He was only 43. Definitely gave me a bit of a jolt, found it hard to focus. Cigar event in the evening. Ready for that work to be done. The owner only partially paid me for work done in September. Not to mention the pay is not what we originally agreed to to begin with. Will do one more event for him that I previously committed to and then I am done. Unfortunate, but necessary. I will not allow my time to be taken for granted.

Saturday

🥾 Ran errands and otherwise lost sight of the day. Went hiking later in the afternoon with my brother and sister in-law. Watched Toy Story that evening, which Mozzie enjoyed! Stayed up late with a second Manhattan and watched General Magic. Phenomenal documentary. They were just way ahead of their time. Everything they wanted to do with technology eventually came to be, just years after they first attempted.

Sunday

🌧 Cloudy with rain all day today but that didn’t stop Mozzie and I from going on our morning and afternoon walks. Got hooked on Mini Motorways from Apple Arcade. Hooked. I live a good strategy game. Another family movie 🍿 night. This time Despicable Me 2.

Monday

⛅️ The mornings this week were all typical for this time of year, but once the afternoon hit Summer temps came back into the forecast. I didn’t complain, but everyone else in this area seemed to. They all prefer Spring and Fall, tolerating Winter only because it isn’t Summer. I tend to complain during every season except Summer, but am setting a goal now to not complain about the weather ever. I want to do a better job of enjoying every single day regardless of where the sun is and how hot or cold it may be. Rain or shine I want to appreciate it all!

🎂 16th birthday party for my niece tonight. I remember holding her when she was just a few months old. Incredible how quickly time goes by!

Tuesday

💨 Cigar event in the lounge tonight. I thought it went well, but I determined that this part of the cigar industry is not for me. I have tried writing about it, talking about it, and now am in the retail end with online and brick and mortar sales. None of it is for me. But this is ok. I am learning. I’ll try to remain where I am through the end of the year so I can at least make a clean break (as far as the calendar is concerned).

Wednesday

😡 Snapped. Left the humidor early and may not last much longer. Plan to give it until the end of the year and hopefully transition to plan c beginning in January of 2020. Some things just aren’t meant to be, and I never want to be someone who forces that which need not be forced.

Thursday

☔️ Rained today and I was ok with that.

Friday

😌 Took the day off today. From everything. No cigar work. No day job work (well maybe just a little). After taking Mozzie to a playground he was picked up by my mom, so then Lindsay and I could start out “staycation”. We decided to leave though, making our way out to Lancaster to do some shopping and then dinner before ending the night with cigars at a local cigar shop. It was a great evening full of uninterrupted conversation.

Saturday

🧳 Up early today, for a Saturday, as we want to be on the road to Washington DC as soon as we can. We stop once for a coffee refill but otherwise make great time and catch the 10:30 metro 🚇 into the city. We get off just south of the National Mall so we can grab a quick bite to eat at L’Enfant Plaza. Once fueled we make our way to all of the sights, doing a great job, if I may say so, at seeing most of the big ones before catching the 3:30 train back to our car. We had a great day exploring and look forward to heading back to DC soon. It is too close to stay away for very long.

Sunday

💭 We walked a total of seven miles while in DC so rest was needed today. I was in my head a lot, trying to figure out a few things. One big thing is that my plan b isn’t going to work as I had expected or hoped. So I am currently trying to figure out what will replace it. I need it to produce an income rather quickly and prove to work long term. Not an easy thing to do. But my idea is something I have come back to again and again over the past twelve years. Now may be the time to actually give it a go. Otherwise, concluded the day by running a few reports for my day job and then watching Cars 2 with my family. First time for Mozzie and I to see it and I think we both enjoyed it very much!

Dear Diary for week ending Sunday, September 22, 2019

Monday

In the forties (Faranheit) when I woke up, Autumn is eager to be official. Worked from home and saved a toad from what would have been a very dry death. Phenomenal salad for lunch with ingredients from our garden, which is late to provide this year. Worked late into the evening in the humidor.

Tuesday

Cold morning again but managed to get out for a walk with Mozzie before the day started its typical pace of insanely fast. Unintentionally wore an Adidas outfit head to toe. Very comfortable. Took work outside for pet of the afternoon and enjoyed a new to market cigar while continuing to chip away at my todo list (which I am beginning to migrate more of into the Apple Reminders app).

Wednesday

Walked again this morning. Fast work day. Conference calls in the afternoon. Humidor work in the evening. Prepped for Friday’s event, a routine that needs to stick (preparing early). Got to bed earlier than usual as I had to rise early the next day for a meeting in the city.

Thursday

No walk. Drove to the office for the first time in a while. Had two meetings, both of which could have been emails. Back home in time for lunch. Mozzie has his second ice skating lesson and seems to be catching on quickly, and enjoys it! Early family dinner out and a target run for Mozzie to pick out a lego set to buy with his allowance money. Spent the evening watching him build and play. Early to bed again, early meeting the next day.

Friday

No walk again. Meeting at the coffee shop across the street from my office building. A meeting that could most definitely be an email, but I guess the face to face time is good in this instance. Home again for lunch, then did some prep work for the event later. Then the iPhone 11 Pro Max delivery happened and all productive work was tossed aside. But then I had to run out the door to set up for our Friday night event at the lounge. The weather was nice that evening, so not too many folks stopped by to smoke cigars inside. Everyone is taking as many evenings outside as possible. Winter Is Coming.

Saturday

Lindsay is out of town today and tomorrow so it is just me and Mozzie. A guy weekend! So we did nothing all morning. He watched tv and I sipped through many cups of coffee while tinkering with my new iPhone. Then we got our act together and spent the afternoon at the Railroad Museum of Pennsylvania. We had an incredible time there. I’m still amazed at the size of the trains, and what they accomplished early on! This will be a repeat trip in the future. Quick stop for groceries on the way home, then popcorn and pizza for dinner :-)

Sunday

Breakfast of doughnuts 🍩 and eggs 🍳. Another surprise trip to Target for Mozzie to get another LEGO set. He is now on a mandatory spending freeze until at least the end of November! Spent lunch and early afternoon putting it together before Lindsay returned from her trip. Then we all packed into the car to head out to Little Buffalo State Park for a late afternoon hike. Squeezed in 2 miles before calling it quits. Beautiful day to be out, and I guess the last day of Summer. Cannot believe that. Subs and pizza for dinner and Newport. Talked about RVing on our way home. A dream we have had for at least fifteen years. Evening of more legos before the bedtime routine. Not quite ready for another week to begin, but the work and time spent working will pay off in the near term.