March came and wtf did it go? I know it’s only the 21st but it seems like the month is over - we are out of town until APRIL!
We are on the plane to Africa! The kids have ‘Semana Santa’ or ‘holy week’ or Easter / Spring Break as we know it in US…they have a TON of time off but we are taking them out of school for an additional 1.5 days to get more time on the ground, its a long way for just a week. 2 hours to Frankfurt then 12 hours to Cape Town…the kids longest flight yet! (I’ve done the Chicago to Hong Kong direct a few times - it’s about 18 hours NONSTOP)…..but still I hope they have some good wine and my muscle relaxers are able to knock me the f out for at least half the trip! I assume this will consume the entire next blog … so here is a quick one here as we had a casual first few weeks in March - and a BIRTHDAY. I’ll have plenty of time to write the next blog …. since we land back in Barcelona on 2 April and I leave for Atlanta (a rare work trip) on the 3rd….only 5 days though to US as I’m not getting to Kansas City this time….
Quick Hits
Ski season is over - I was hoping to get the kids up one more time but ….. we ran out of time. We had a great year - both Ellory and Hayes progressed a ton (so did I!) and we had zero big injuries … lots of time with friends … too much wine/meat and some new ski partners along the way (Hayes and Maxie are amazing ski-partners!) success!!
I am digging into burrata cheese - and trying to master “The Art of Burrata.” Crispy chili oil burrata - pesto burrata - truffled burrata - traditional burrata - I’m diggin in!
As the saying goes ‘you are the average of the 5 people you spend the most time with’ and this is so very true. I encourage all to pause and think through how you invest time in relationships.
Non-political statement here - but the pres election in the USA has major implications in Europe (in US and Asia and everywhere else no doubt). The POTUS sets policy for funding wars, troops, etc - and the Russia/Ukraine war is of course close to home now. What happens in Ukraine impacts all of Europe in many ways. If funding is pulled, if Russia ‘wins’, if if if ….. I don’t know the best way out of the mess and if/how the US should police the world….but the election has big implications all here in Europe. Can we just have Matt McConaughey or Duane Johnson or Arnold Schwarzenegger please?
We getting from the front of our house to the airport and through security (we don’t have fast pass and our global entry doesn’t work here) in 29-40 minutes (usually close to 30!). The airport here is very efficient! A MUST on anywhere I would wish to live….
Shout out to Joanne Christensen of Harlan Iowa. Never met her but she must have been one amazing lady to raise a daughter as wonderful and thoughtful as Jan (my coworker and friend). Joanne passed away this week. Our company didn’t send flowers (she wasn’t a flower person) but instead sent Werther’s Originals, her favorite candy for all in attendance to enjoy. A unique tribute for a unique lady. I encourage you all to enjoy some Werthers this week and hug your loved ones …. in memory of Joanne.
WINS
Ellory was seen playing Volleyball at practice by the coach for the 10-12 year olds (she just turned 9) and asked her to dedicate another day to Volleyball so she could play in the matches on the weekends (up a league). So we had to move her Flag Football practice to the league up (same league as Hayes). All are happy athletes - Ells and the Coaches!
Ashley threw a great birthday party for Ellory - escape rooms. It was much different than the party last year, and in a very good way - no blowout party, no sleepovers. Cheers to Ellory being 9!
Hayes is able to hang solo in town with buddies. He and Milo (a friend from San Fransisco) are now getting off the bus, wandering to a cafe, having a snack, wandering to a plaza, hitting movies, grabbing burgers out, finding a pinball machine, and even grabbing some of the local Spanish kids along the way - all WITHOUT parents. They get home ‘before 9 on a school night’ and it’s very very cool. Very very cool.
Hayes's Spanish is really coming together. I’m unfamiliar with brain science and learning ability, but he can’t spell or write for shit (these are my genes, of course, his mother is great at both), but the kid can learn Spanish… I just grin ear to ear every time I hear him speak it. He continues to learn manual labor (see last blog) and is now the ‘car washer’ - OLD school style, as with the bike racks, we can’t bring it through an automatic wash ….
I did a Work-A-Thon in Mallorca for 2.5 days. Deep work, few distractions, and out of our apartment are the metrics. I had a strategic partner for work in Mallorca so I flew down there to meet him and have lunch, then conduct the Work-A-Thon from there. 50$ for a flight and 30 minutes of fly time and I’m in the Balearic Islands. It’s really nice being so close to “island life” … of course, I was there for work, not play, so I didn’t get to do all the fun stuff. I had a few good meals, a productive work meeting, but def need to get back to just enjoy the island(s).
I bought a moto - more to come on this stupid-ass idea later …
Challenges
WiFi - our wifi hasn’t been amazing since we moved. I’ve spent maybe 15+ hours with 3 different friends (all working for decades in the tech field) trying to ‘figure it out’ and we just can’t. All the walls here are solid concrete and direct line of sight is what we have found to work - the problem is we have a big hallway and the apartment wraps around an exterior vent, and the terrace (all I want to do is have great wifi on the terrace!) is sooooooo far from the router/modem thingy. Don’t get me wrong, the wifi works and we have Netflix and emails and all - its just not as fast or as reaching to the back of the house….(where we are - the kids ’s area has FAST internet!).
Credit cards. Using some US-based credit cards here online (movie purchases, grocery delivery, ski passes, etc.) almost always requires a passcode - which they have to send to a US number - which I don’t always have access to. It’s a HUGE pain in the ass shopping online here … we can use our bank here but I do like points!
Finding ‘the moments’ - things are ‘busy’ as they say…which we all signed up for. Kids afterschool sports, weekend games/events - it’s ‘busy’ and I really hate that word. I feel we need more slack built into the schedule. I have a ton of it during the week, but they get home from school often 630ish and need to be in bed around 9p - homework, writing assignments, dinner and a shower and I feel I don’t get much time with them doing what I want to do - dinners, exploring the city, day and evening dates with their friends and parents, etc.
I also miss my dad. No trips on the books to have him back in Spain.
Next blog - AFRICA!!
Quotes I’m revisiting:
Comparison is the Theif of Joy - ?
Lets go on a livin spree….shit, they say the best things in life are free. - Kanye West