Two more weeks!
Baby Nya arrives in just two more weeks. Or at least, that’s what they tell us. At this point in the pregnancy, Tamika could have her any day. Tomorrow her and I will be putting together bags for ourselves that we can take with us once the day comes.
I’m not entirely sure what I need in them, but I’m going to look it up.
So, I’m getting a new job! To day was my last day at the National Fatherhood Initiative. More on that in the next post.
But since I’m leaving, there’s been an outpouring of support from a lot of different people who I’ve become friends with at work.
Yesterday afternoon, my buddy Christophe Beard took Tamika and I out to eat at a local Ethiopian restaurant called the Addis Cafe. Delicious food, as always. I had Beef Tibs (one of my favourite dishes), and just got the chance to talk. Chris Beard is a really good guy. I really hope I get to hang out with him and his family a lot more.
Last night, Janet Brow, the Contributions Coordinator (and the lady whom I share the office with) invited us over to her house and out for Chinese food after work. She is really a sweet lady. She’s had a rough life, but has been remarkably resilient through it all. Something I didn’t know until just recently is that she is an avid art collector too! Her sister is a remarkable artist, and so while we were at her house she showed us her collection of her sister’s (and other artists) work. Her sister is extremely handy with paper and has a incredible eye for intricate beauty (3-dimensional Celtic knots, Japanese floral patterns, etc) and reminds me a lot of my sister. I had sent Janet a link to my own artwork, and she surprised me by going through it and writing down all her favourites! Firestars in the Rain happened to be one of her favourites.
Janet’s Parrot Nikky cracked me up; he knows about 50 phrases, and is one smart bird. He squacked “Come in!!” when we knocked on the door, and carried on a pretty decent conversation!
The she took us out to her favourite Chinese restaurant, the Happy Uncle. Despite the odd name and somewhat average appearance, the food was excellent. A true diamond in the rough. I had one of my favourites, Seafood Pan-Fried Noodles, and Tamika had Orange Chicken, both of which were incredible.
Today, Ken Gosnell took us out for lunch at the Dogfish Head Alehouse. Ken has been a true friend at work; he’s a really good listener and always has very good advice. He invited us to a couples group he and his wife have started hosting. His family lives north of Gaithersburg in a big house in a development, and last weekend he had us come out for the first session (which was cleverly disguised as a barbecue and game night). They actually were going to have another session tonight, but I got out of work really really late and so we wouldn’t have had enough time to go over there.
I was pretty disappointed that we didn’t get to go (and Ken sounded like was too when I called him) but I think it was better for us in the long run. Tamika is very pregnant, and it’s best to take stuff slow.
Today being my last day, I had a lot of things to finish up.
I taught myself the basics of ASP MySQL databasing to build a registration page for the new National Fatherhood Initiative When Duct Tape Won’t Work program. I also built the web page, did all of the advertisements, designed the cover art, and designed the logo. I’ll go into more depth about that later.
I also put up new Webinars page as well. They’re turning many of their famous trainings into online courses, and to start with, they’re making them available for free! Definitely check them out if you have the chance.
Tonight, Tamika’s mom, Aunt Ruth, and the Richardson’s daughters came down from Philly to spend the weekend with us. I’ll let you know how it goes.
Alright, I’m tired. Time for bed.
Goodnight!