It has been 60 days since I left Sonos for iRobot and the last day on which I can exercise my vested stock options. Despite my reasons for leaving, I am still a huge fan of the company and of the people there. This investment in Sonos stock will either cost us the equivalent of a summer vacation home or produce enough proceeds to send the next three generations of Calabria children to college.
Despite the power outage, Jeanine was able to prepare a nice meal which we enjoyed by candlelight. The absence of TV, video games, and on-line computers throughout the evening, represented a nice departure from our usual routine. The next time I feel like the family is getting too disconnected by all our electronic distractions (I am as guilty as anyone in this regard), I must remember that our circuit breaker box has a single switch that offers a solution and the ability to reproduce the conditions we enjoyed this evening.
The final leg of my evening commute was delayed while crews removed a fallen tree from the road leading to our neighborhood. In addition to blocking the road, the tree took down electricity, telephone, and cable/internet services to our home for the entire evening. High winds accompanying a brief but intense thunderstorm no doubt caused the incident.
While parked at a soccer field where I was watching Maya play over the weekend, my car was side swiped by another car. Both doors and the rear quarter panel are going to need metal and paint work. Fortunately, the guilty party left a note, was very apologetic and intends to make things right. Still the hassle of getting this work done could not come at a more inconvenient time. I choose, however, to look at the bright side; far better to sustain car damage in this fashion rather than in a collision with precious cargo on board.
Nicolai returned from his Coming of Age vision quest which took place in New Hampshire over the weekend. Youth in our church our encouraged to develop their own understanding of spirituality and to create a personal credo reflecting their personal religious beliefs. Nicolai chose to spend a portion of his 6 hour solo adventure perched in a tree looking out across a beautiful lake. When he decided to climb even higher the branch he was standing on gave way and he fell 20 feet to the ground. Miraculously he walked away from what could have been a life ending fall with nothing more than minor abrasions. He informs me that his credo will start with the sentence; There is nothing like a brush with death to help you appreciate life. I believe that things happen for a reason and I hope Nicolai will learn a powerful lesson from this experience that will inform wiser choices in the future.
On a less dramatic note my soccer team produced a 2-1 win over the first place team in our division. I put several shots on net but each seemed to find the goalie and one powerful blast that rattled the cross bar but did not go in. It was a very physical game and I was fortunate to get the better end of several hard collisions and finished the game with no injuries.
Each week for almost two years Jeanine has met with this group of writers to hone her skills and share feedback and encouragement. This evening husbands were invited to join their wives at a delightful dinner party (which may, hint, hint, become an annual event). Concord has a long tradition of producing influential writers and this group may well contain the next famous author from our area. I have never thought of myself as a writer, but it occurs to me on the five year anniversary of this blog, that I have made some 3,832 posts which would roughly translate to a 300,000 word book. Hmmm.
Maya overcame her reluctance to head the ball and did so several times in her soccer match this morning. This in addition to scoring a goal which contributed to her team’s 4-3 victory. In the second photo she charges past an opponent and clears the ball with a powerful kick.
It has been some time since I have posted a photo of Kyle. Although he is running, lifting and most recently swimming, he has not fully recovered from his snow boarding injury and is not quite ready to play soccer full bore. His recent tour of colleges is a painful reminder that he will be leaving us next year and I must admit that I am already starting to dread that day. Meanwhile, Nicolai is off to the woods somewhere in Hew Hampshire with his church youth group on a vision quest. He is reaching the end of a year long Coming of Age program during which he explores his spirituality and develops a personal credo which he will share in front of the entire congregation in two weeks time.
The women of Mattison Dr. gathered at our home before leaving for Ladies Night Out. I have become good at being a little pushy when in pursuit of a photographic opportunity that will not soon present itself again.
On Wednesday mornings at iRobot we have a brief stand up meeting for the whole division called a huddle. It is a time we use to give brief presentations and introduce new employees. Today we honored Oscar, our VP of Operations, who last week became a US citizen. Born is Colombia, he is one of the nicest guys you will ever meet and has been instrumental in the recent success of the company.
As I left work today, I caught the tail end of a lovely sunset. I am averaging about 12 hours a day still and making good progress. The first 100 days are always the most insane in any new job, and I feel like I have really good traction now and am making good progress toward my goals.
Maya will graduate from the Willard School this year and each student is encouraged to submit a personal page that they create for inclusion in the yearbook. Maya spent hours going through 1000s of photos selecting those which she wanted to include in a photo collage. She chose images representing her family, friends, pets, and favorite activities including dance, soccer and music. Our little girl is growing up so fast and projects like this only serve to remind me how precious these years are.
Playing with only one sub, Nico’s team gave up an early 1-0 lead as Dorchester’s 6 man bench made the difference later in the game scoring three unanswered goals. My game this morning resulted in a 2-2 tie against Wayland. I made a nice run in the final minutes beating four defenders but my shot was just high and wide. I did deliver a nice cross in the first half which set up our opening goal.
I may have to add bronco riding to the list of Nicolai’s activities I published yesterday for I don’t believe jumping onto your opponent’s shoulder is a sanctioned part of playing soccer. I wish I could have nailed the focus but am glad to have the shot. Nicolai is now playing with the Concord Carlisle Division 1 Travel team and he remains very competitive on the field.
Although he progressed very quickly, his experience included all the normal consequences of learning to ride a bike. By practicing on the grass we minimized the potential for injuries and his cat like reflexes saved him from the rest. I was very proud of Kyle who encouraged Nicolai all the way and repaired the bike as was often necessary after a crash.
Ice skating, mountain climbing, wrestling, dancing, kayaking, gymnastics, rollerblading, skiing, rock climbing, playing soccer, volleyball, basketball and tennis are among the activities Nicolai has mastered. Today he added riding a bike to the list. He will probably graduate directly to driving a car but I am glad he had the courage to conquer the one skill that remained on the list of challenges he has not overcome. It took him all of about ten minutes to get the hang of it. In order to become fully proficient he will need either a clip in shoe or a toe clip.
Jeanine and Kyle have been on a college visit road tour all week and returned late last night. Their five state journey took them to Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, New York and Massachusetts.
This evening we were treated to dinner by SideStix founder, Sarah Doherty (center). Her company makes a new generation of sport crutches which Beverly (left) and Nicolai helped to field test. It is not everyday that you see three people with a missing right leg. More rare is that two of them are the only people to ever climb Mount Kilimanjaro on crutches.
Nicolai using a heads up display navigates a PackBot equipped with a vision head. He also submitted a robot design (one of the activities during the day) which has serious potential as a product. The idea is so good I am not at liberty to disclose it.
Today was Bring Your Daughter or Son to Work Day at iRobot. Nico and Maya joined me for what was a very enjoyable morning. Maya operates a PackBot on a simulated ordinance disposal mission. Both got to meet the company’s founder and CEO who gave them a personal tour of our robot museum.
Maya and Nicolai collaborated on making additions to the tree house today. Their tree perch now features a split level hinged door with handles and curtains in the windows. I have yet to verify claims that my shop has not been restored to pre-project condition and that all tools have been returned undamaged. If true, I will be as pleased with their responsible behavior as with their construction efforts. The fact that all their digits appear in tact suggests they observed my ban on their use of the table saw but leaves me wondering how they cut the plywood to such close tolerances. I am looking forward to a closer inspection of their project in the morning.
Meet my colleagues at iRobot. We met offsite for a Quarterly Business Review which started at 7:30 in the morning and wrapped up with a very nice team dinner at l’Andana’s Grill in Burlington at about 9:30 making for a very long day. The President and General Manager of the Home Robots Division and my new boss is Jeff Beck, front row-third from the left.
Jeanine and Kyle departed this morning on an extended college visit road trip which will take them through Connecticut, New York, and Pennsylvania. They elected to take my car because of the built in navigation system leaving me with the Smart Car, the smart child and her older brother. This not-so-smart parent allowed the pictured child to drive the pictured car around the neighborhood (twice) before usurping control and heading out to the ice cream store for a little treat. Only lack of sufficient height prevents Maya from driving without me.
We enjoy living across the street from a small horse farm. The stable is surrounded by several beautiful trees which are in peak bloom this weekend. My day started with a very disappointing soccer match played in a gentle rain. We lost 0-1 to an opponent which we dominated for 80% of the game. I had a couple of strong shots from distance but they just missed the frame and a diving header that was on the mark but not powerful enough to beat the keeper. This evening Jeanine and I enjoyed a lovely dinner at Nourish in Lexington while on a double date with friends she knows through her book group. Afterwards we saw the Swedish movie The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo (highly recommended mystery, but not for the faint hearted).
Later in the game, while playing as a midfielder, Maya splits two considerably larger defenders and makes a full field run up the touch line beating an additional two defenders during her attack. What she lacks in size she makes up for with grit and intensity. Her team won with a late score by a margin of 3-2.
In this sequence Maya dispossesses an attacking opponent during her soccer match this morning.
Maya and her Girl Scout troop prepared a fund raising concession stand at the Emerson Umbrella this evening. Proceeds will be donated to charities which care for abandoned or abused animals. I was the first customer and added $4 worth of fat to my waistline. Kyle will be spending the weekend with Hannah and her family on the Cape while Nico and Jeanine are out with their respective friends this evening. I am enjoying a brief moment of solitude after another exhausting but extremely productive week on the new job.
Our gardens are bursting with color, the beneficiaries of all the recent rain and unusually warm weather we have experienced lately. Hard to imagine that snow is in the forecast for the coming weekend.
Although my new job continues to consume most of my time, I did complete my initial assessment work several days ahead of my own schedule and feel very optimistic about how quickly I will be able to work with the team to deliver improved results. With little time for photography, I opted today for a still life featuring a birthday present Jeanine received from her great friend Aliza.
The Concord Fire Department was on the scene to rescue our town flag when attempts to lower it were thwarted by a tangle. I paused during my evening commute to look on as the CFD made quick work of the task.
My birthday girl turned 47 today and just seems to grow more beautiful, vibrant and wise with each passing year. She received several dozen phone calls and e-mails from family and friends, was treated to lunch by her local chic clique, and celebrated with our family over dinner at the Asiana restaurant in Bedford. Maya created a very special hand made birthday card and the boys chipped in for a raspberry plant which they have committed to plant for her as well. Inspired by who knows what, the boys got into a playful wrestling match tickling each other and tumbling around much as they did when they were toddlers. It brought back fond memories and capped the evening on a very happy note.