As mentioned in a previous post, much to my chagrin, the writer of the Mrs.'s last exam chose to exclude all the questions about dirt and, instead, to include a bunch of other questions from areas outside the test's intended scope. Since just about all of my architectural knowledge seems to involve dirt, I certainly would have failed the exam. But not the Mrs....she passed!
How one passes an exam on material not covered in a study guide is a mystery to me. But if you need somebody to take an exam for you, and it doesn't happen to have any dirt questions, the Mrs. is your woman!
living, laughing, loving on S street
Tuesday, September 25, 2007
Friday, September 14, 2007
Wednesday, September 12, 2007
Saturday, August 25, 2007
No Dirt?!?
The Mrs. has been taking her licensing exams for a while now...I can't believe how many of them there are! Up until the last one, I figured it was the better part of valor to let her study on her own. After all, I would only get in the way (and confused) when it came to drawing and construction documents.
But this last test seemed like it would be pretty interesting. It was supposed to be about excavation, soil types, drainage, zoning, and other pre-design stuff that I kinda like (I still like to play in the dirt). So I got her to let me go through some flash cards with her. In the process, I got pretty invested. I was quite proud of myself for learning some technical architect stuff like angles of repose, soil particle sizes, terms for shoring material, letters of zoning codes, and even a little bit about project budgeting (including inflation estimation!).
When the Mrs. finished her exam, I was, of course, very interesting in how she felt about it. But I also wanted to know how "I" did on the exam..."tell me all the dirt questions!"
Shockingly, there were no dirt questions. In fact most of the stuff the three study guides said would be on the test wasn't on the test at all...and a bunch of stuff that wasn't supposed to be on the test was. I feel vicariously cheated and mislead! How am I going to get credit for knowing that clay has a particle size of .002 mm or less? And that wet clay has an angle of repose of 30%? The Mrs. would have nailed all those questions, and way more, but they couldn't be bothered to even ask. The nerve!
But this last test seemed like it would be pretty interesting. It was supposed to be about excavation, soil types, drainage, zoning, and other pre-design stuff that I kinda like (I still like to play in the dirt). So I got her to let me go through some flash cards with her. In the process, I got pretty invested. I was quite proud of myself for learning some technical architect stuff like angles of repose, soil particle sizes, terms for shoring material, letters of zoning codes, and even a little bit about project budgeting (including inflation estimation!).
When the Mrs. finished her exam, I was, of course, very interesting in how she felt about it. But I also wanted to know how "I" did on the exam..."tell me all the dirt questions!"
Shockingly, there were no dirt questions. In fact most of the stuff the three study guides said would be on the test wasn't on the test at all...and a bunch of stuff that wasn't supposed to be on the test was. I feel vicariously cheated and mislead! How am I going to get credit for knowing that clay has a particle size of .002 mm or less? And that wet clay has an angle of repose of 30%? The Mrs. would have nailed all those questions, and way more, but they couldn't be bothered to even ask. The nerve!
Wednesday, August 22, 2007
The Mrs. Can Drive!
The Mrs. picked me up on her way home today. We took our usual route...most of the way. When traffic got a little backed up, the Mrs. took a favorite short cut down T Street, right near North Capitol.
Now I like T Street. I was at the northwest corner of T and North Capitol for church most Sunday nights for a couple of years. And Mr. D and Termite used to live right there, so I 'd get there during the week pretty often too. I was nearly arrested there for suspicion of drug purchasing and possession one time (turns out possession of a Veggie Tales video tape with intent to distribute isn't a crime so I was let go), but otherwise, that block has good memories for me.
But this afternoon it wasn't a good place to be. When we had driven about 3/4 of the way down the street (to a spot right across from the boys' old house), we heard "crack, crack, crack, crack, crack, crack." Time kind of stopped then. How long ago was Fourth of July? Who's around? Where's the noise coming from?
The Mrs. noticed more than I did. I saw a guy on the northwest corner of T and North Capitol. I somehow figured he was the shooter. She saw him too...and noticed a car ahead of us and another guy in red walking toward the guy on the corner. I didn't actually see the gun...the Mrs. saw a long rifle with a black strap hanging down.
Then time started again and we were barreling down the alley between T and Seaton. I've driven down that alley before, and I always go pretty slow since it is so narrow. The Mrs. took it at about 30 miles an hour!...and still managed not to run down a group of kids running at about 25 miles an hour in the same direction. It felt like a cop show or something...but Cagney's got nothing on the Mrs.!
Somewhere between T and Seaton I reached the nice folks at 911 and yelled "shots fired!" After describing what we saw, we took a slightly longer route home. We stopped at one point to talk through the window with a policeman in a car...he mentioned he'd heard something happened. But there were no sirens...not then or five minutes later or ten minutes later. We saw an ambulance go by later, but it didn't stop and appeared to be on the way to somewhere else. We're guessing nobody was injured.
The curious (and stupid) part of me wanted to go look for shell casings and find out what kind of gun it was. The guy was probably long gone, right? The Mrs., in addition to being a great driver, has more common sense than I do...we went home.
(Please note, the Mrs. used my account for the previous post...honest!)
Now I like T Street. I was at the northwest corner of T and North Capitol for church most Sunday nights for a couple of years. And Mr. D and Termite used to live right there, so I 'd get there during the week pretty often too. I was nearly arrested there for suspicion of drug purchasing and possession one time (turns out possession of a Veggie Tales video tape with intent to distribute isn't a crime so I was let go), but otherwise, that block has good memories for me.
But this afternoon it wasn't a good place to be. When we had driven about 3/4 of the way down the street (to a spot right across from the boys' old house), we heard "crack, crack, crack, crack, crack, crack." Time kind of stopped then. How long ago was Fourth of July? Who's around? Where's the noise coming from?
The Mrs. noticed more than I did. I saw a guy on the northwest corner of T and North Capitol. I somehow figured he was the shooter. She saw him too...and noticed a car ahead of us and another guy in red walking toward the guy on the corner. I didn't actually see the gun...the Mrs. saw a long rifle with a black strap hanging down.
Then time started again and we were barreling down the alley between T and Seaton. I've driven down that alley before, and I always go pretty slow since it is so narrow. The Mrs. took it at about 30 miles an hour!...and still managed not to run down a group of kids running at about 25 miles an hour in the same direction. It felt like a cop show or something...but Cagney's got nothing on the Mrs.!
Somewhere between T and Seaton I reached the nice folks at 911 and yelled "shots fired!" After describing what we saw, we took a slightly longer route home. We stopped at one point to talk through the window with a policeman in a car...he mentioned he'd heard something happened. But there were no sirens...not then or five minutes later or ten minutes later. We saw an ambulance go by later, but it didn't stop and appeared to be on the way to somewhere else. We're guessing nobody was injured.
The curious (and stupid) part of me wanted to go look for shell casings and find out what kind of gun it was. The guy was probably long gone, right? The Mrs., in addition to being a great driver, has more common sense than I do...we went home.
(Please note, the Mrs. used my account for the previous post...honest!)
Tuesday, August 21, 2007
accessories
The Mr. has been very busy the last few weeks...something about the economy...so he found a way to save time...less shaving!
He looks pretty cute- but I am a little biased!
He looks pretty cute- but I am a little biased!
Monday, August 20, 2007
Mr. D Turns 13!
For the past five years or so, Mr. D was very aware that he was not yet 13. Actually, he was very aware that he was 12 or under.The typical conversation would go as follows:
Me: "Hey, D. Good to see you...hop in!"
Mr. D: "Can I sit in the front seat."
Me: "No. And why not?"
Mr. D: "Because the airbag will pop my head off..."
Well, according to visor in the car, Mr. D is now safe since he is no longer 12 or under. He's finally 13!
And from here on out, thing speed up. It took five years to sit in the front seat. In less than 3 years, he'll be able to sit in the driver's seat...yikes!
While Mr. D and I were driving to see the Simpson Movie, the Mrs. took a little break from her exam prep and whipped up a fantastic chocolate oreo cake. And the Mrs. is a way better cook than Marge!
Saturday, August 11, 2007
Passing
Passing is a such a great thing to do. Think about it...you're stuck behind a slow-moving car. What do you do? You pass. Or somebody offers you a venison casserole made from meat their step-brother shot last season...you pass. Or you eat the casserole and feel terrible...well, you get the point. Passing is good. And my wife, The Mrs, can pass with the best of them. Exams, I mean. She blew through her most recent licensing exam like a bad casserole. Go Mrs.! She is so smart!
Now just 7 more to go.
Now just 7 more to go.
Thursday, August 09, 2007
Kaizen
This last weekend was a nice 207 weekend. We managed to make progress on a number of fronts. Not the least of which where two long-simmering projects.
The basket dresser that was started two (or more) months ago got its final coat of poly Saturday and went into service:
And the back bedroom, which was painted dark blue by former housemate Whitey while I was out of town, got a new coat of paint chosen by my favorite interior designer:
The basket dresser that was started two (or more) months ago got its final coat of poly Saturday and went into service:
And the back bedroom, which was painted dark blue by former housemate Whitey while I was out of town, got a new coat of paint chosen by my favorite interior designer:
Risk
We humans are an odd lot when it comes to taking risks. Economists love to study this. For instance, what do people do if they are offered a chioice between A) flipping a coin and either winning nothing or $10,000, or B) getting $5,000 with certainty. Statistically they are equivalent and thus you should be indifferent. What would you do? Some people opt immediately for the coin flipping, others for the certain payoff. People seem to have very different levels of risk aversion, as economists call it (for the math geeks, people who love risk have negative risk aversion).
What is harder to understand is how some people seem to have different levels of risk aversion for different areas of their own life. Take, for example, the following two pictures:
What is harder to understand is how some people seem to have different levels of risk aversion for different areas of their own life. Take, for example, the following two pictures:
In the first case, we were willing to pay $50 (Dad actually paid...thanks Dad!) to take a 1 in 125,000 chance of dying while white water rafting. How risky was this? It was 182 times as risky as taking a plane flight.
In the second picture (an external hard drive in a fire-proof, water-proof box), we spent about $150 to mitigate the risk that we would lose our digital pictures. The pictures of our previous risky behavior are now safe just in case our Mac hard drive dies, our house burns down, and water from the fire department floods the charred remains.
Hm. So in one case we paid to take a risk with our lives. In another we paid even more to protect pictures of our lives. What does this say?
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Godly Family
This week we are on the Luecke Family Vacation.
One of fun things to watch is how faith is passed on down the generations. "Omah," (that would be my mom, but now also the grandma of four kids) is particularly interested in the faith of her most recent offspring. They routinely get things from her like bibles and videos about bible characters.
We've recently heard some things that go right to Omah's heart. "Flash" apparently woke up one night when he wasn't feeling well and just kept saying "bible, bible, bible." That's enough to make any Omah tear up.
Then there is KK (a nickname from his sister when she couldn't say his real name...which doesn't actually start with a K.) While taking a bath with Flash, the bible lover, KK hatched the following plan: "When you say God, I'll touch my bottom." That's enough to make most Omahs tear up too.
One of fun things to watch is how faith is passed on down the generations. "Omah," (that would be my mom, but now also the grandma of four kids) is particularly interested in the faith of her most recent offspring. They routinely get things from her like bibles and videos about bible characters.
We've recently heard some things that go right to Omah's heart. "Flash" apparently woke up one night when he wasn't feeling well and just kept saying "bible, bible, bible." That's enough to make any Omah tear up.
Then there is KK (a nickname from his sister when she couldn't say his real name...which doesn't actually start with a K.) While taking a bath with Flash, the bible lover, KK hatched the following plan: "When you say God, I'll touch my bottom." That's enough to make most Omahs tear up too.
Monday, July 23, 2007
morning poem
My mister sent me a great poem this morning; subtle words describing pieces of life that one might appreciate more on the other side.
It turns out my mister is also a great friend, and fittingly shared the poem with at least one other person.
Who,coincidentally, beat me to the post. ;)
It turns out my mister is also a great friend, and fittingly shared the poem with at least one other person.
Who,coincidentally, beat me to the post. ;)
Monday, July 16, 2007
the color of studying
Most of Saturday I spent with this coffee mug- full then empty full then empty- and memorizing the orange flash cards, in serious prep for the next exam. The mister spent most of his day working with wood, while I read and re-read contract documents. But don't fret, we treated ourselves to a viewing of Harry Potter at the end of the day- and oh what a treat it was! (at least for me!!)
Next exam...07.21.07 @ 10:00am
Wednesday, July 11, 2007
Ahoy there matey!
Sunday we decided that it would be fun to hang out with some of our favorite younger friends. We conspired with the Gazelle, and decided to take them on an outdoor adventure. Since none of our guys have a great affinity for water, we kept out ultimate objective a secret until the last minute. By the time K Street turned into Water Street, though, they were getting the idea...we're going canoeing!
There was much trepidation at the start. In fact, there was some jockeying for position...to sit in the middle of a canoe where one can be down low inside the boat, not perched perilously on a seat. As we slowly left the dock, with one person barely paddling...upstream...Mr. D demanded that we slow down.
But after being underway for a bit, they seemed to relax. At a break on a little rock island, Mr. M even allowed, to the Gazelle, that he wasn't afraid any more. Of course, he wound up being so relaxed that he didn't bother to do much paddling...so the Mrs. picked up his slack.
The Termite was quite relaxed after a bit as well. He began hailing every craft within earshot with "Ahoy there matey." Most of the mates actually responded! I subsequently discovered that if I had a water-proof blackberry, we could have done the same thing electronically. Hm.
Amazingly, there were no human casualties. I did, though, heroicly save a sock that Termite dropped overboard...only to fall in myself and submerge the camera that took the pictures below. It was on its last legs anyway, and the pictures (and the sock) survived unscathed, so all is well. Good thing I left the blackberry at home for once.
There was much trepidation at the start. In fact, there was some jockeying for position...to sit in the middle of a canoe where one can be down low inside the boat, not perched perilously on a seat. As we slowly left the dock, with one person barely paddling...upstream...Mr. D demanded that we slow down.
But after being underway for a bit, they seemed to relax. At a break on a little rock island, Mr. M even allowed, to the Gazelle, that he wasn't afraid any more. Of course, he wound up being so relaxed that he didn't bother to do much paddling...so the Mrs. picked up his slack.
The Termite was quite relaxed after a bit as well. He began hailing every craft within earshot with "Ahoy there matey." Most of the mates actually responded! I subsequently discovered that if I had a water-proof blackberry, we could have done the same thing electronically. Hm.
Amazingly, there were no human casualties. I did, though, heroicly save a sock that Termite dropped overboard...only to fall in myself and submerge the camera that took the pictures below. It was on its last legs anyway, and the pictures (and the sock) survived unscathed, so all is well. Good thing I left the blackberry at home for once.
Friday, July 06, 2007
cold in the summer
Oh, Silas, you really are so cute! ...your uncle and I had a great time with you this weekend, but this cold you so generously gave us doesn't seem to be going anywhere- in fact it seems to be settling in. How much longer will the runny nose last?
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
Third of July
Here at 207 we often find that partying the day before suits us better. Instead of Cinco de Mayo, we had Quatro de Mayo, instead of a 4th of July Party we had a 3rd of July Party.
The day before worked for most of our friends too. We were delighted to open our home to a few new friends, and some old friends and to watch them interact as if they have known one another for years. In the time that Mr. and I have been married we have been praying for friends - friends that would be 'ours' rather than just his and hers, friends that are at the same stage in life and friends to step in the gap that other dear friends have left. Last night it felt a little as if the Lord was bringing people to our home and saying here is an answer, here is an answer, here is an answer.... Part of that answer was a reminder of the friends He had already given us, and part of the answer was new.
So this morning, still in my pajamas at 11:47- oh how I love days off!! - it feels a bit like New Years Day rather than Independence Day. It feels like a day to dream about the possibilities of the next year- with friends, new and old.
The day before worked for most of our friends too. We were delighted to open our home to a few new friends, and some old friends and to watch them interact as if they have known one another for years. In the time that Mr. and I have been married we have been praying for friends - friends that would be 'ours' rather than just his and hers, friends that are at the same stage in life and friends to step in the gap that other dear friends have left. Last night it felt a little as if the Lord was bringing people to our home and saying here is an answer, here is an answer, here is an answer.... Part of that answer was a reminder of the friends He had already given us, and part of the answer was new.
So this morning, still in my pajamas at 11:47- oh how I love days off!! - it feels a bit like New Years Day rather than Independence Day. It feels like a day to dream about the possibilities of the next year- with friends, new and old.
Saturday, June 30, 2007
so cute
Last weekend I got to meet these lovely ladies! Supermom and I played tag-team all day long....and I decided I don't want twins...but I think I can handle one.
Supermom, thanks for hosting me! You are doing an awesome job!
lots of love
Sunday, June 24, 2007
i passed
I passed, I passed, I passed, I passed!!
Exam Number 2....Building Technology....BIG FAT Pass
Exam Number 2....Building Technology....BIG FAT Pass
Friday, June 22, 2007
Leaving on a Jet Plane
...to Atlanta - Hotlanta! To meet these two beautiful girls.
Charlotte and Mary Lane Jerdal.
Charlotte and Mary Lane Jerdal.
Sunday, June 17, 2007
Happy Father's Day
Thanks for being such great dads! We had a great time today sharing stories about you with one another. There are a lot of great memories!
We love you guys!
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