Mind dump: The last few months

Juan Orozco
Juan Orozco

It's interesting how life just happens. It cliché but it's true. One moment your having a margarita, the next minute you find out your little family is about to be a lot less little.

I mostly just want to mind dump some thoughts and maybe I'll elaborate on them later and maybe I won't.

Travel {#travel}

Southwest Terminal - RDU

I've traveled sooo much this year for work. On the border of too much but overall it's been great. I have A-List status with Southwest which is amazing if only for the shorter security line.

Points are great, too. Using airline and hotel points allows us to do more fun things. We reserved a hotel in downtown Charlotte in December using nothing but points! I was looking into the point hacking which is really interesting but is also seems like a full time gig.

We recently got back from a month long trip visiting family back in California. It was a great time overall but it was sooo good to be home!

Photography {#photography}

Blue Angels

I love photography. Ciri has a Sony A7 which is great but is also a bit much for me. For all my love of technology, I still prefer shooting with my Canon AE-1 Program. Unfortunately, 35mm is getting harder and harder to develop these days. Learning to do it myself is just not feasible right now, although I would love to learn.

I've been thinking of getting a Sony a6000. I like the A7 full frame sensor but it's too crazy having two of them. As long as we can share the lenses, I'm good. Although they're not fully compatible, they'll still work-ish.

For now, I've been trying to hone my GoPro photography. It's really interesting working with the wide angle lens. It gets pretty good color and I am a huge fan of the small form factor! I'm not one of their extreme user base but I've taken it on a few outdoors-y adventures.

Kids++ {#kids}

We found out in July that there is a baby in the oven. A total surprise but a total joyous one as well. We got to see him/her for the first time this week. This one seems to follow in big sisters footsteps, fidgety baby!

We know the gender and Ciri has sent out some awesome announcements to family. It's going to be epic.

House {#house}

Rusting water heater

We got back from our trip and found out our water heater broke down. It seems to love making really hot water. Not the usual problem with water heaters but I am betting this was a precursor to a busted water heater. There is areas of rust and, after some research, it seems that our anode (piece of metal that helps keep the container from rusting) was consumed. Still have to take it apart and examine it some more but I'm betting we're going to need a new one. Homeownership, for the win!

Work {#work}

I've been super busy with work the past couple of months but I'm hoping it will slow down a bit in the next couple weeks. I'm really excited to put some more time back on my personal projects. Not that I'm not excited about the stuff we're building at work but sustaining a sprint for this long gets a little tired. 🙂