The Joy Inventory: August 2016

Saturday, August 20, 2016

8.20.16 - Work trip pleasantries

It was nice actually having an office to work in. Dad's office is on the 6th floor and has a pretty great view of the rest of downtown and the mountains beyond it. Most days while I was in town he'd work there in the morning and then leave to get work done at the ranch, so I'd have this whole big office to myself. Sometimes there would be warm winds as thunderstorms rolled in, which was awesome. Rather than close the windows, I'd just put heavy objects on all the stacks of paper so I could keep feeling that breeze.

Every morning there was already coffee made (by Sarah) and we usually got breakfast, usually some kind of croissant sandwiches. We also got lunch most days, including two different sushi days, which was delicious. So another perk.

And I just liked being able to spread out and focus in silence without having to have headphones in the whole time. My stamina was much better. If I got sleepy I could get up and walk around and I even planked at one point--not something I would do at Starbucks.

Most evenings I snagged a ride home with someone or other (Ellen, Jack, Jill, even Sarah at one point) but one time Ellen and Jack weren't available, Sarah had gone home already, and I didn't want to bother Jill, so I just walked home while chatting with Neil on the phone. It was really pleasant. It's about the same distance as my apartment in Berkeley was from my classes, only less hills.

Also, I just love that front porch with the porch swing and the big trees all around. One evening Jill and Jennifer and I sat on the porch sipping wine and chatting, and it was really fun. Another time I got home from work and no one was there so I just sat on the porch swing in silence (still sipping wine) and worked on my Joy Inventory (Jared's joys). In fact it was kind of a stressful day so that was a great way to unwind.

The backyard is pretty great too, especially for the kids. Clara is getting more comfortable with the trampoline and ran up to it more than once to be let in. Then she bounces around on her knees for awhile in her own little world. She also likes to climb up the slide, which I think is pretty impressive given her size. She does a victory dance every time she gets to the top. She's not quite prepared to slide back down, however, at least not on her bottom. Maybe on her tummy, with assistance.

The last night I was in town (last night) was actually one of the most fun parts of the trip. It was only Dad, Jill, Rocket, and me, which right away is unusual. And not too chaotic. Dad made steaks and sliced potato packets and corn on the cob. For awhile we were sitting outside as he did that, listening to a country playlist that was pretty good. But it started raining, so we moved everything inside.

As we ate dinner I asked Rocket a bunch of either/or questions (caramel or chocolate, Christmas or Halloween, Wii or a million dollars--he picked the latter in every case). After dinner Rocket played the Wii while Dad half watched him and half skimmed through some of my funny FB photos. After awhile Jill joined us. I so enjoy skimming those photos with her because we always end up laughing pretty hard. They even let Rocket play longer than he was supposed to so they could keep looking.

Once Rocket was in bed, Jill, Dad, and I watched the pilot episode of Stranger Things, and Dad clearly didn't hate it so that's a victory itself. For the first 15 minutes or so Jill was still looking at funny pics because she'd already seen that much of the episode anyway. That put us in a laughing mood to where we were kind of making fun of the show even though it's mostly a serious show. But they still liked it enough that they watched the 2nd episode later, although I went to bed.