Tech Problems And Some Beer

This Monday was quite a long day. I worked from home because I needed to take care of some home stuff. The day started with my usual drop off of Jake at Nick's for the carpool to Bell. Whether I was off, working from home, or whatever, I still had to take him there by 7am, so sleeping in was never an option.

Work-wise, I had a 2-hour Webex meeting from 9-11am. I was all set to call in to the meeting when suddenly I had difficulty logging in to the Webex link. After numerous tries, no luck. I've had success in the past, from home, but not this time. Then, I realized that I had a tech refresh a couple of days prior, which included the replacement of my laptop. As in all tech refreshes, not everything (file, applications, software, settings, etc) is transferred over despite the promises made by IT. I guess that included my Webex link.

One of the attendees to this meeting had already called me and was asking if I would be calling in. I explained my situation and hoped to catch up. After numerous conversations and attempted fixes with IT, I managed to figure things out on my own. I was able to regain my Webex access and call in to the meeting. Unfortunately, I was almost an hour late. Better late than never.

Bell had an early dismissal today, so I left to pick up the boys. Once everyone was dropped off, Jake and I had lunch before we went back home.

Later in the evening, Bell's Dad's Club hosted "Suds for Duds". It was their way of kicking off the school's winter clothing drive. For this event, all we needed was to register and pay $20, plus a donation(s) of gently used winter clothing. If you have already given away all your unwanted warm clothing, you can still attend the event, but you'd have to pony up a few more dollars in lieu of a material donation.

For $20, I thought that it was a pretty darn good deal. For this amount, you could literally drink all the beer you could. No one was counting. There was also an endless supply of chips/salsa, trail mix, and other appetizers. Dinner was bratwurst and roll, with all the fixings. And again, you can stuff yourself with all the brats you want. In addition, you also received a "Suds for Duds" beer glass as souvenir.

This was the first time to attend and I thought it was quite successful. What added to the fun event was the broadcast of 49ers-Redskins football game on 2 large screens. Somehow, it made the ice-cold beer taste even better.

About a week prior, Chris J, one of the St, Joe dads who has 2 boys at Bell, emailed the rest of the SJ dads about coming to this event because of the experience he had last year. Unfortunately, I guess most had prior commitments and didn't come. I contacted Chris J later in the afternoon, and he and I carpooled to Bell.

It was a fun night. I don't mind doing it again next year. I hope the rest can come along as well.