Category
life
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geek, life
Legos
Wow, this really brought back a lot of memories…A video of Gizmodo visiting the Lego Secret Vault.
Just amazing to see all those boxes and boxes of legos. Watching that video, I recall vividly sitting on the living room floor, building all kinds of cool stuff with my legos. I remember one invention, it was an underwater breathing apparatus that let in water and converted it into oxygen…and then I built it.
Or the times when I created spaceships, and amusement park rides…all kinds of stuff. Those are happy memories!
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life
Ancestors
I’ve been playing on ancestry.com recently, looking up my ancestors, and I found a couple of interesting things to note:
- I’m about 12% Seminole Indian. However, my grandfather is listed as “mulatto,” and his mother is listed as “black.” You see, back in the day, especially in the South, if you weren’t white, you were, well, black. And yet, another thing to consider is during the Civil War, the Seminole Indians took in and protected many black families, so I imagine there’s quite a bit of a mix going on there
- I was able to trace my grandma’s family back to the 1600’s…all the way to Connecticut. After that the trail gets cold. I imagine that was when they immigrated from England.
- I’m related to Jane Austen, Bill Clinton, and Isaac Newton!
- I’m stuck on my great-grandfather “Frank Schwenk” born in 1861 on my dad’s side. He’s supposed to have been born in Pennsylvania and moved to Portland, Maine, but unfortunately I can’t find anything. Another piece of info to note: one one census record it lists both his parents as being born in Germany…so that might be why the trail went cold there. But another lists them both having been from Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania, incidentally has the largets population of Schwenks in the US by far.
All of this research got me to decide to reconnect with my mother again, if for nothing else but to get more info on our relatives so that maybe I can expand the search. Unfortunately, when I called she wasn’t there. I spoke with my Aunt Faye, a woman I hadn’t talked to in over 25 years, for quite a while. She told me my mother is working two jobs to make ends meet. My sister is still married to Glen, who’s been abusing her pretty badly.
I know this sounds awful, but there’s just a part of me that doesn’t want to get involved with any of that. My family pretty much all the way back has been rather poor and, well, fucked up, is the best way to put it. I’m trying to break myself from that pattern, which is probably why I obsess so much on my career and my “success.” I just don’t want to end up like my mother, living with her sister in the middle of some tiny town in Georgia, working two jobs to make ends meet…all alone, with no savings or retirement to speak of. It scares the shit out of me and makes me realize I need to adjust my priorities so I don’t end up like that. -
life
It’s time
Well folks, I think it’s time for me to get a dog. I’ve wanted one for a long while, but I think now’s the time to get my own four-legged friend. I’m looking to get an American Bulldog. Anyone know of any quality breeders I might be able to chat with about this? I’d prefer a dog that comes from a show-quality breeder but may not necessarily be show-quality, as I intend on having the dog fixed. I’m really looking for a smart looking, strong, friendly companion. Please feel free to send suggestions, contacts, etc… my email. Thanks!
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biking, life, outdoors
FUN!
I started riding my bike into work today…what a day to pick too. It’s raining cats and dogs out there this evening and I have to say it was so much FUN! Also, I like that nice relaxed feeling when I finally get home after biking for a while. I’m gonna sleep like a baby tonight!
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life
Dad in June?
So my dad might be coming out in June to visit me. I’m so excited! I live about two blocks away from Wrigley Field and can’t wait to take him to a game and have hot dogs and beer. :-) I’m also contemplating taking him over to showtunes on the Sunday if he’s up for it…clearly I’ll need others to bring their families along for showtunes as well so he doesn’t feel so uncomfortable LOL! I think he’ll enjoy it, especially once we let his hair down with some tasty slushies
I’d also like to take him downtown and check out some of the old buildings and maybe do a trip on the waterboats. Any other ideas of things that my dad and I can do together, since I’m still pretty new to the city and don’t know all the cool sights to see and things to do?
I’M SO EXCITED!!!
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life
Truly Inspirational
Towleroad showed a video of neuroanatomist Jill Bolte Taylor, describing her experience of having a stroke, and how it changed her perspective on life.
This was incredibly inspirational for me, and really brought a tear to my eye. It’s about 20 mins long, but I strongly recommend you all watch it: Check it out here
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life
I have a houseguest!
His daddies are in Florida for the week so they needed someone to take care of him. He’s an absolute sweetheart and we’re having a great time. He’s certainly making me feel better while this work stuff gets resolved.
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life, music
This is fun
Album meme
1. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:Random
The first article title on the page is the name of your band.2. http://www.quotationspage.com/random.php3
The last four words of the very last quote is the title of your album.3. http://www.flickr.com/explore/interesting/7days/
The third picture, no matter what it is, will be your album cover. (Although I find that sometimes the designated random picture isn’t able to be downloaded. In that case, I reload and take the first third picture that is downloadable.)You then take the pic and add your band name and the album title to it, then post your pic.
1) Walk Right Back
2) Big Challenges Come, We’re Ready
3)
adam schwenk
my personal site for all things geek, and, therefore, cool.
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