Catching Up

After messing with my new netbook as well as trying to get some things updated from my laptop, I raced over to my brother's house to catch my sister-in-law and nephews before they left. I managed to arrive in time to have about 20 minutes talking to them, and helping my nephews pack for their week down in the Outer Banks. They left tonight, heading down for the holiday weekend with her parents.

It was good for me, giving me the chance to learn a bit more about them, and I had the chance to talk to each nephew, getting some ideas of what things they like. My plan is to send them a little care package when we get back to Colorado. I wasn't sure what I could bring them since I didn't know what they had, or what they liked, so we came empty handed. Now I knew what to send back and I'll start compiling things next week.

I got a bonus, seeing my sister-in-law's father for a few minutes as well. I hadn't seen them since my brother's wedding, and so it was good to have 5-10 minutes to chat with him a bit. He's a former CIA guy that moved on to LoudCloud (With Marc Andreesen) before now moving to some other company. My brother arrived shortly thereafter, and everyone left, leaving my brother and I alone.

It was interesting to see him ready for work. He's always been a haphazard worker when I've seen him, choosing jobs that were out of the ordinary, and this was the first chance to see him as a professional. He arrived in slacks and an Oxford with his lab coat as well. Today was the first day of his internship as a Physician's Assistant (PA), a program that lasts 14 months. I'm proud of him, seeing him looking nice and professional.

We sat and talked for awhile. I was thinking to go out to dinner with him, but he had work to do. He still has an acupuncture practice and had two patients to see tonight, so we only had about an hour. We talked a bunch about family, and it was good to hear his perspective. I didn't always agree with him, but it was good to hear it and to get me to think about my own view.

It was an unexpected surprise as we've probably had only an hour in the last ten years to sit in talk in person. We've had some time on the phone, but it's not the same. That made the trip good for me.