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Ellie and I met a very sweet little boy at the park today, who I’ll call “James.” He climbed on the merry-go-round with us and promptly informed us that he was 4, but “I be 5 on my next birf-day.” My daughter is 2 and 1/2, and he seemed very kind to her.

Later, I saw him playing with a group of mostly older boys, probably aged 5 – 8. (It’s Spring Break here.) They were dividing into teams for some game when I heard James explain to an older boy: “No! You only get 1 shot wif a sniper [rifle]. I had RPG [rocket-propelled grenade launcher] so I got you.” (more…)

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Time flies. Here it is 2019, and I haven’t posted anything. I’m sure you’re aghast, clearly unable to continue life and productive endeavours until I update my blog. Well, rest easy, Somewhat-Infrequent Reader. I got you covered.

And to First-Time Readers, this is how it usually works around here. The blog is fairly low on the priority list and thus is only updated when (A) There’s big news; (B) I get a twinge of nerdy excitement about esoteric topics; or (C) I’m overcome by the urge to overshare online. In this case, it’s option C.  (more…)

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Most of the regular readers here know I quit my job in December to be a full-time dad to our new baby girl. (If you didn’t know, consider yourself caught up.) It’s now July. I’ve been *not* working for at least six months, am not seeking a job, and have no plans to seek a job in the immediate future. (More on that later.) In short, my professional marketing career is voluntarily over.

That’s retirement, right? When you voluntarily stop working to pursue other interests (even if those interests are raising children)? I think so. Maybe. I’m not sure.

The more interesting question: What’s it like to be retired by your early thirties?

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Of all the places we visited in Italy, I miss Florence the most. I would move there, should Alicia and I ever become wealthy and decide the fashionable ex-pat lifestyle is for us. I found the city less touristy than either Rome or Venice (though certainly still packed full of tourists), and with far more to see and do than smaller places like Assisi or Siena. Plus, we had the best food and wine on the entire trip in “Firenze.” (more…)

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Spring is in the air: the trees are budding, weeds have executed their annual hostile takeover of my yard, and my daughter just turned four months old. It’s a wonderful time.

Now that I’ve been a full-time father flying solo for about six weeks, I thought it would be interesting to give you a glimpse at my average weekday.*

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