Miss Personality

I surely don't recall the  steady steps in development of my own children.  Nathanael arrived during the final push to complete my dissertation. But it's more than fun to note the changes in Charis and Jonathan. 

Charis is more focused in her play.  She plays with dolls and "b-Bear."

She is very aware that I am taking her picture.  Sometimes I catch her naturally joyful smiles, and sometimes I get an intentional smile that looks fun but forced.

As Annie continues to help prepare the second floor to become their new residence, I get extended time with Charis.

Funny cat videos on YouTube no longer put her to sleep.  Instead, she now insists on holding the tablet!  

Boys Night Out

I enjoyed being included in boys night out at the Northlake Tavern for Pizza and Beer.  This month it was not just Coach Ed Sloan and me, but instead, I joined the gang from Bellevue Christian that has often joined Ed.

The oldest runner and former coach Cody Bean was the last to arrive.  Yoshie (I still can't recall his real name) was there when I arrived. He was a senior on the XC team when Nathanael led BCS to 4th in State as a sophomore.  Mark Reed and Tyler Smith, who graduated with Annie, led Nathanael's Cross Country team when he was a 9th grader.  Steve Koster, and his friend Andrew Van Ness who followed Nathanael from BCS to SPU, rounded out the lively group.

They joked about the great pizza, insisting on no olives. 

Tyler has three kids and works for Facebook.  Mark is an MIT graduate and is now a nuclear scientist.  Steve plans to run the Seattle Marathon on December 1.  Andrew works at the Accounting firm Peterson Sullivan, a leading public accounting and business advisory firm based in Seattle.

Sloan shared the definition of a "square grouper."  That's a package of jetisoned illegal drugs that his company has fished up from time to time out of the Gulf of Mexico.  He now lives in Fall City on a lot twice the size of ours.  It backs on a stream.

And again, fifteen years later . . .

On Friday the 13th, at our annual School retreat, I was again presented with the "Dean's Award."  It is the school's service award.  It's gratifying that it was awarded by a different dean.

The list of folks who have been in the business school as long as I have now includes just two others, Gary Karns (Associate Dean) and Ross Stewart (Dean).  In the lead up to the announcement, Ross said he sought the opinions of Drs. Karns and Sawers, his associate deans.  But when he said he also asked for input from his executive assistant, Kathleen Cochran, I thought I might have a chance. 

Along with taking a 20% cut in my hours, without a 20% cut in my duties, this summer was especially busy as I took the lead, as usual, in reconfiguring eight offices.  I also made important contributions to our AACSB accreditation report which we must produce every five years.

I knew how much I've been working, when I realized my only "vacation event" this summer was an evening at the AquaSox game in Everett in August.  

My Collection of Hohner Harmonicas 

Super Chomonica Hohner harmonicas are selling new, for around $200 each.  I own four made before 1937, three of which play exceptionally well.  Another in excellent condition is a pre-1937 Echo model.  The six pointed star, mistaken by the Nazis as a Star of David, was part of the M. Hohner company logo until 1937.

One of my Super Chomonica models was inherited from my father, the other three were bought or won in bids from eBay.  The age of dad's shows it is the one he played as a teenager.  I bought my first two Hohner harmonicas when I was still an undergraduate at the UW.  These are a nice two-sided Echo Harp model in C and G, and an inexpensive Bluesband model I can carry about.

Until recent years, I had not played my harmonica much, althought I recall playing it at Camp Parsons while on the staff.  When Bob Disher passed on a nice Echo model to Charis that he had inherited but did not play, I decided I would take on the task of interesting my grandchildren in this simple pleasure, and pass on my German made treasures to them one day.

A Day with Cynthia and Jonathan

On my last Monday off,
I had a chance to spend the day with Cynthia and Jonathan.  We took a trip to Flaming Geyser  State Park.  Jonathan needed a change of clothes after he decided to take a walk in the Green River!

Like Charis, he likes to see his pictures on the little screen of my camera. 

It's amazing to see this littlest Sleight's (so far) budding sweet, happy personality.

Construction Continues

Baseboards went into the remodelled bedroom as well as closet hardware.  I ordered the ceiling light that Annie wanted online from Lamps Plus.  When it arrived, it was missing a small piece.  Instead of sending the part, they sent a complete second light fixture. 

And more construction means more grandpa time with Charis.  I took her up to the nearby Catholic church and she proved very adventurous, climbing up on her own and repeatedly sliding down the big slide. 

Bits and Pieces

My weight on September 1st was 188.8.  I made it down to 184.1 but popped back up to 186.8 by the end of the month.  Weekends are the hardest.  Round 2 starts October 1st.

In October 2016, construction began on the LUX apartments at the intersection of 100th Ave. NE and NE 10th St.  We live three blocks north and a half block west of that intersection. This month, the notice board went up promising another apartment building one story taller and a block closer. 

It's one thing to have new families move in on the east and west of us, but quite another to have 104 families move in two blocks away. (More on this story when construction begins.)

Autumn quarter started on the last day of September.  On the 25th, I could finally say I was ready for week 1.  With the upgrade from Excel 2016 to Excel 2019, I had six weeks to rewrite my twelve BUS 1700 lessons and prepare new practice exams.  The lessons are done.  The exams are "getting there."  I still missed one mystery question on the new MO-200 (Excel 2019) exam, scoring a 978/1000.

We have finally settled on October 28th, for Ever-Green Tree Care to come and remove a few large trees on our west side and to trim a few others.  Our neighbors who had requested the work, finally agreed to pay for the removal of the main tree that was overshadowing their backyard.

Don invited his brothers down to Renton on the 14th to watch the Huskies trounce previously unbeaten Hawaii 52-20.  Who needs cable TV when you have a brother fan?  Plus, it gives me a chance to love on Don's dog Amber.

After the wonderful Ken Burns PBS documentary on Country Music, I switched my YouTube music playlist at work from contemporary pop music to classic country.  I like Willie Nelson, George Strait, and so many more.

When two "gun" stocks were hammered earlier in the month, I bought 2000 shares of both AOBC (American Outdoor Brands ) and VSTO (Vista Outdoor Inc.) on September 4th.  I sold the VSTO on the 26th and the AOBC on the 27th, earning $2,300.  I also bought and sold 100 shares of IBM, earning $750.  So with 10 minutes of reading, and another 10 minutes on my Charles Schwab account, I made over $3,000 in less than a month of otherwise ignoring my trades. 
I expect a volitile Stock Market in October, and the call for impeachment will make it more so.

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