Avalanche Accident – Lawyers

Short post. After taking Lailah back home to her parents this afternoon (had her from 8am until 5pm), I checked my mailbox. Had some mail that at the onset had me scratching my head based on the envelopes, but then I opened the first one (of seven). Six different lawyers asking me to contact them regarding my accident, along with the last envelope being a mailing from a chiropractor - same thing - … [Read more...]

Misc Lailah Thoughts

I really try to limit Lailah's time with the iPad and with TV, but I admit, we're watching Big Hero Six right now, and I just saw the young protagonist poke Baymax in the tummy (somehow missing it the first seventeen other times), saying something about "fixing this", and I immediately realized that that is my tummy - I'M BAYMAX - it's me in that white costume!! Who would have thought? I wonder … [Read more...]

Internet Bullying strikes again

Cyber bullying strikes again. Why is there so much anger in this world with people (mostly young kids / young adults?) these days?? It's just a movie, why would you threaten the director of a movie (just because you dint like the storyline?). Who is teaching these kids that it's alright to say these things? The following are words from Janes Gunn - the URL of the article is posted … [Read more...]

Avalanche accident report

Went to the collision shop this morning to pick up "personal items" from the truck, such as: Lailah's car seat - check. Lailah's red wagon - check. Camera tripod & monopod - check. Misc CDs - check. Misc papers - check. Snow scraper - check. Battery charging cables - check. Towing hitch - check. Spare bottle of windshield washer fluid - check (lol). ...Sad day in Clarksville. … [Read more...]

Avalanche Accident Repair Costs

Received the actual detailed repair estimate this afternoon via email. In round numbers: ~$6000 parts, ~$3000 labor, ~$500 tax, total of ~$9500. There were about a total of ~50 hours of labor, ranging from ~$30 to ~$80 an hour depending on the type of labor (paint/body/mechanical), with a total "days to repair" being 20. Specific areas included: Rear Wheels - replace Rear Suspension - … [Read more...]

Comic-Con and Lailah

So. I was having brunch at Lucky 13's yesterday, with Lailah, her GMR, her GG, her dad Jordan, her uncle Reece (and his GF, Katie2), Lailah's mom (Katie McCormick aka Katie1) was working but she flitted in & out during our meal, and I remembered hearing that Comic-Con being in town. So, after having brunch, I made an executive decision, and headed up to the convention center to see my very … [Read more...]

Lailah and silverware

Very, very short Lailah story: To set it up, I have two different sets of eating utensils, one set with blue handles, the other set with brown. I'm feeding her breakfast this morning, and apparently, I was using a blue fork for myself, and had given her a brown fork to use. She starts to pout, and says: "I wanted the blue fork!" I love her!! … [Read more...]

“Stomp the American Flag challenge” – F*CK

I love the Internet, I hate the Internet. I love social media, I hate social media. I love Facebook, I hate Facebook. The world has shrunk so much these past twenty or so years with the Internet, these past five to ten yrs with FB, etc. Yes, I knew there were people not as as me. Learned this a little bit in HS, then more and more throughout my thirty-five plus yr work life/career. I am … [Read more...]

Lailah’s turned three!

Today was the celebration of little Lailah's third birthday (which actually occurred earlier this week). Problem was, the party was at 1pm but my Saturday class doesn't end until 3:30pm. So, after class, I flew home, changed into a pair of shorts, and drove to the park between her parent's house and mine. Parked my (new rental) car, and started walking toward the pavilion - I hear my name being … [Read more...]

My Aunt Laveda’s passing

I want to take a minute to mention my Aunt Laveda (in SCS, Michigan) passed away this past Tuesday. She was my mom's older sister and had been in good health until just recently. Due to having class today, I wasn't able to attend her funeral yesterday, but she was always my favorite aunt since my family lived only about three miles from her and my uncle and my two cousins. I've not seen my cousin … [Read more...]

Lailah – thoughts on her turning three

Exactly three years ago, my entire life changed overnight. I met and fell in love with a beautiful baby by the name of Lailah. She turns three yrs old today and has become a beautiful little girl. She is smart, sassy, beautiful, gorgeous, witty, funny, and have I mentioned how smart she is yet? She cracks me (and everyone else) up with everything she says or does. There is nothing I wouldn't do … [Read more...]

Lailah – making introductions

True story: I get a text from "Lailah" at around noon today, asking if she can babysit me at 3pm. Of course I say yes. Picked her up and drove home to my place, got the wagon, and we walked to the park down the street, dragging the wagon behind us. She takes my hand and holds it most of the way there. We get to the park, and usually we're the only ones there, but today, there was a 5-6 yr old … [Read more...]

Lailah – Playdate together

As I mentioned earlier today, I had Lailah this afternoon. When I pick her up in the mornings, we usually go to my place, and play inside, then (when it's a warm day), we walk over to the park (sometimes she pulls the wagon, sometime [ok, most of the time], I end up carrying her). Today, we drove straight from Lailah's house to the park, and we parked on the street, and unbuckled her from her car … [Read more...]

Recent thoughts about Lailah

Had the little girl today, and will have her again tomorrow as well. I think this is either the second or third week of having her twice a week (of consecutive days), and I really like it. Jordan and Katie always are so concerned over whether they are asking too much of me, and I always try to reassure them, that I love having Lailah babysit me, and would love to do it more than once or twice a … [Read more...]

True (Lame Brain) story [My Life is average!]

My kitchen table has had a set of "items" for me to mail out for more than a few weeks now. I finally broke down and bought some padded envelopes to stuff the things in. While stuffing them, I used my iPad's whitepages.com app to look up the various addresses needed. I noticed that one of them felt a bit heavier than the rest, but didn't give it another thought at the time. Took them to the … [Read more...]

Bullying

This is in response to a newcast/article about some kids bullying an older man they had seen dancing on the subway.  http://7online.com/society/internet-celebrities-rally-behind-dancing-man/549327/ How do bullies become bullies? Who the f is teaching them this crap to these kids - their friends, their parents, their teachers? I wonder what the parents do when they see their (young) kids bullying … [Read more...]

MRR – Flea Market Event

As some of you know, one of my hobbies is Model Railroading. Over the yrs, I've accumulated some stuff (magazines, "locomotive equipment", etc.), that are either duplicates or no longer wanted - there was a time where I would put this unwanted stuff on eBay, but haven't done that in the recent few years. About a month or two ago, I became aware of a local MRR flea market that was being held … [Read more...]

Cameras – new camera in my bag

This is the guy (professional photog) who has helped convince me to start moving away from my Canon DSLR to the Sony A6000 "mirrorless" (which I bought & have used as my main camera since last June, BEFORE seeing his you-tube posting). The autofocus is much, much faster than the ("more expensive") Canon, the camera is physically smaller and lighter on weight, and I really enjoy using it - I'll … [Read more...]

More on Lailah

Some silliness: Based on the recent huge success of two short videos of Lailah (with one of them being a "music" video), the decision has been made in the Williams' household to glue a movie camera to a football helmet and wear it around the house while she's over at my place (babysitting me). I was wondering the other day if I could invent something to record her from my point of view and came up … [Read more...]

Friendship – Linda Dowell – part two

My friend and former colleague, Linda Dowell passed away today. I hope she knew she was loved by everyone in her life. I will miss her. … [Read more...]