Camping Weekend Rained Out

I took an hour off work to leave early for camping. Momoko and the kids packed our second car. We were off on time. I rode with Kit Kat. She started talking about the campfires. We realized we forgot the kindling. So we turned around. I filled two 30 gallon black trash bags with dry kindling to start out fires.

We got to the camp site fast enough. Had to wait in line to check into the front gate. The camp rep came and said we needed to park both cars in the driveway. We pitched a new canopy over the picnic bench. Dinner that night was hot dogs. Had trouble lighting the fire with their wood. Little Kat used charcoal to get the fire started.

That night, the rain was leaking into our seven man tent. My feet were damp. Momoko got dripped on her face. My only pair of pants got soaked in the tent as water ran down to my sleeping bag. By the early AM, the top of my sleeping bag was wet. Momoko cooked us some breakfast. Again had to resort to charcoal to get the fire started. I had some dry toast, hot ham, and scrambled eggs.

Kit Kat was sick. The kids had water in their sleeping bags too. We decided to pack everything up a day early and returned home. Kit Kat and I stopped by Sonic to get a snack for the family. Then we went home and unpacked everything. Momoko and I had Chinese food for lunch. Dinner was Chipotle. Another camping trip cut short.

Camping Prep

Our upcoming camping trip is upon us. Time to plan everything out. I got Kit Kat a new tent (the old 4-person tent had holes in it). Kit Kat got a new sleeping bag and air mattress. She also bought some more folding chair. I checked that my 2 folding chairs were still good.

We are going to try to pack one car early. Our cars now are smaller than before. Momoko used to have a larger SUV. And I used to have a truck. Now we have two small SUVs. Kit Kat said she needed to test pitching her tent before we go.

Initially Little Kat proposed we eat hot dogs all the time. However Kit Kat volunteered to cook some other foods in the pan, such as eggs for breakfast. Last time we camped, we had to evacuate due to very cold weather. This time around, it might rain on us.

Little Kat Passes Bitcoin/Blockchain

I had told Little Kat that I wanted him to take a Udemy course. This was to test out the theory that he could be successful with online classes. I was doubtful. I let him choose the topic. He chose Bitcoin and Blockchains. I gave him about a month to go through the course. Then I would test his knowledge.

If Little Kat was unable to learn online, then I figured it was time to teach him how to study and get all As in class. I took the same course as Little Kat to know what was being taught. Took copious notes and studied them. By the time I was done, I had 13 topics that I wanted to ask Little Kat about. If there was any doubt, I had deeper questions for each of those topics.

Surprisingly, Little Kat was able to answer 11 of the 13 questions well. He had an educated guess for 1 other one. There was only 1 question he did not know. The good thing is that even though Little Kat may have forgotten a term or two, he actually understood the material. So he could talk through it. If this were a class, he would have got a solid B on the test.

I thought we would need to try one more Udemy online course to make sure the first one was not a fluke. However Little Kat performed so well that I don't think there is any need for that. Only thing left for him to do is sign up for some courses next semester at college and put in the same due diligence he did with this Bitcoin course.

Little Kat Returns to Biking

Little Kat is going on a health kick. Part of that involves more exercising. He does not want to go to the gym. We no longer have exercise equipment in the house. And we had disposed of our bicycles. Little Kat asked me if I would fund the purchase of a new bike. I told him if the cost were low, I would be down.

He found a bike on Amazon for a bit over $100. Not a bad price as shipping was free. Tough part was assembly. Little Kat said he was game to assemble it. Amazon estimated that it might take up to 2 weeks to ship. Arrived in a few days.

We also tossed the bike helmets when we got rid of the bikes. Little Kat asked me to buy him a new one. Momoko was worried an Amazon purchase would not fit. So Little Kat and I drove to Target today to pick one up. The adult sized one is adjustable and fits. Therefore I bought one.

It was raining this afternoon. Little Kat will have to wait for it to dry off before taking the bike out for an extended spin. He used to ride around a lot with the old bike, going to the pool a few miles away often. He explored a lot of the local area on bike as well.

Possible New Job

I decided recently to make another effort to locate a new job. Got a time deadline until my a certain credential of mine expires. Previously I had applied at a lot of companies. Usually I think my salary requirements was an issue. This time around, I am targeting some niche jobs that I think pay a lot more.

I started by using one recruiter who has a lot of clients who need my specific credential. Started out having phone interviews with human resources. I then was getting to the next level speaking with people higher up on the chain.

Just went to a face to face interview. Human resources set it up. They said they would invite a tech guy to come talk with me. He grilled me a bit. I wrote a bunch of computer code for him. He was satisfied with it. When he asked me verbal technical questions, I knocked them out with ease.

That company ended up making a generous job offer to me. The thing is that the offer is loaded with a bunch of contingencies. They direct customer has to like me. The end customer needs to like me. My pay rate has to match the customer budget. My credentials need to transfer over. And so on. If all of these requirements are met, I can join the company.

We will see what happens. I continue to interview. Don't think I will find a better paying job. Might find something more interesting. Who knows? I just want to get this credential transferred and active before it runs out. And I want to get off my current dysfunctional project. It might be happening in a few months.