Two for '22

  It was 28 years ago, on 8/31/94, that Sarah and I were in the same room at the same time for the first time and we never realized it.  Sarah arrived early on campus for Ware Outdoors and was getting her PennCard in Suite 323 of 3401 and I was on the other side of the 3/4 cubicle wall that "separated" the Meal Contracts Office from the PennCard Center, selling meal plans.  And we met a few weeks later, starting dating a month or so after that and now, on the 243rd day of 2022, we are celebrating another birthday for her.  8/31/2022 was a really nice day, I really appreciated Sylvia inviting us over and cooking a birthday dinner for Sarah and us all.  But what I also appreciate is my two for 2022: Life Partner and Love.  Could not think of anyone else I'd rather go through life with.  And, even if the night did end with the dog getting sprayed by some animal (skunk??) and us having to bathe and deal with a wet dog (and a stinky house), we did it togeth...

The 242nd day of 2022 was the first day of school for three of the Sherrs!  Anna began her first year at the University of Delaware.  Alexa began her Junior year at Penn Nursing (but she went to work, since she has no Tuesday classes!), and I began my 37th Fall semester at Penn.  What I appreciated the most about 8/30/2022 is that Alexa and Anna humored us with the two for 2022 for tonight, First Day of School and Pics.  We've had a tradition of first day of school pics on our porch and, for the first Fall since 2006 when Alexa went to Pre-School.  WOW.  But we got their dorm room shots and, frankly, that was good enough for me and made me smile.

  I thought my reflection on the 241st day of 2022 would have been about Penn's Convocation and Convocation only.  BUT, my two for 2022 for 8/29/2022 is Convocation and Controversy.  Because, for the first time in MY memory, the ceremony tonight was cut short (but President Magill did finish her speech!) by a group of protesters protesting for Housing Rights for members of the West Philadelphia Community.  And, while housing rights IS a very important issue and one that I support, I am unsure how effective the protest tonight was and I am sad for the Class of 2026 (and incoming Transfers) that their Convocation was cut short and I am sad for President Magill that her first major address was cut short.  And I wish that the protesters had followed the tenets of Open Expression that allow for protest, but state that events should not be disrupted.  I understand disruption is a strategy, but it's not one that gains my buy-in, especially not when it disrupts one...

On the 240th of 2022, after she returned from the family wedding last night (we drove home after the wedding to be extra cautious with Covid but are BOTH NEGATIVE AGAIN this AM so YAY!), we moved Alexa back into her dorm at Penn (2nd half, 1st half was Friday).  So, on the evening of 8/28/2022, Sarah and I started our life as Empty Nesters.  That's why my Two for 2022 for tonight is Just the Two of Us.  Yep - just us now.  Well, and Skylar and Talia, but pets are not the same.  For a while, it's just the two of us, and I think we can make it if we try, just the two of us, Sarah and I!  https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PJ0u5c9EF1E&ab_channel=ClaudinhoVianaII

I have to admit that I love weddings.  Working catering for as much as I have, I have witnessed a LOT of ceremonies.  And, emotional guy that I am, I often tear up.  Well I was so blessed on the 239th day of 2022 to have been able to attend the wedding of my niece, Ashley, to her new husband Johnny Cappelli. And boy did I tear up! So glad I tested negative on 8/27/2022 so I could be there, in person, to witness the two for 2022 for tonight, two become one.  As my brother in law said, this pairing just feels so right.  And I wish only the best for them in their life together.  Although they are now officially one, I feel they have been a unit of love, life, and happiness for a while now.  And I cannot wait to be with them through the journey forward.

 

As my two kids head to and return to college campuses, this Fall, I have been thinking, on the 237th day of 2022, about my own college experience, at Penn, and thinking about student activities and the comfort they bring to student struggling to find where they belong.  My words of advice to Anna before she left were to get involved in something, does not have to be something she did in HS, but to be engaged (but not TOO engaged).  Speaking of TOO engaged, there I was as Penn Undergrad, who did not drink and did not party, but was in the Band and also ended up, somehow, doing tech for the Penn Glee Club.  Never having done tech in HS (was on stage), I often felt like an imposter.  On 8/25/2022, I learned of the passing of an amazing man.  Peter Whinnery passed away today.  Peter and his small, safe space office in Irvine were my place of respite.  Peter was a teacher, mentor, friend, confidant, everything a nervous pseudo-techie needed to get through t...

We've had the 236th day of 2022 circled on the calendar for a long time in the Sherr Household.  Yes, Miss Anna Victoria Sherr moved in to her dorm on the University of Delaware Campus on 8/24/2022.  Yes, I am sad that I could not be there in person, but they used Social Media to keep me informed.  And so my 2 for 2022 is #2 goes to college.  And I am hoping that Anna is as excited for herself and her future experiences as I am for her.  I am proud of all she has accomplished and anticipating even more in the future.  So happy she is planning to have a career in education and so hoping, over the next years on the UD Campus that she meets great people, learns great things, and has a lot of new and fun experiences (within reason and safety of course).  Cannot wait to visit and cannot wait to hear from her about all the newness that is to come.  Could NOT be prouder today and filled with hope and anticipation for her and the UD Class of 2026. 

  Whelp, I dodged it long enough and on the 235th day of 2022, I tested Positive for Covid.  Sigh.  I did not change much on 8/23/2022 because, honestly, it feels to me just like an annoying chest cold and congestions.  And, for that, I credit my two for 2022, Second Booster Safety.  So, I am not happy that my Diabetes puts me at risk for Covid complications, but I AM happy that it made it OK for me to get my second booster a few months ago and, thus, I am better protected from this inevitable occurrence.  So it's off to bed for me, I am on PTO tomorrow, but cannot make the trek to UDel for Anna's Move In (they promised to FaceTime me!) so I will relax and likely read emails, but a day without meetings will be the respite I need to heal up to face the start of the School Year next week!  Stay safe everyone!  I thought I could dodge this, but it really is contagious!

 

  I knew it was going to be a rough week for the Phillies.  They have had a hard time with the Mets this year.  And, although I tried not to get too upset, the game on the 233rd day of 2022 got to me.  So my two for 2022 for 8/21/2022 has to be the Phillies and the Mets.  The Phillies and the Mets, the Mets and the Phillies - ugh that was hard to watch!

  So, I have to admit, the 232nd day of 2022 was pretty uneventful.  Not that this is bad, but I noticed I have really been missing a lot of daily posts with how busy I have been at work. Today, I did work a lot, but not enough to miss a post.  So what to post about?  Well, I went to the web and found out that it is National Bacon Lover's Day and National Chocolate Pecan Pie Day on 8/20/2022.  So my Two for 2022 will be bacon and chocolate pecan pie.  Although I had neither today, I will post and honor them and fill the void that might have occurred without any inspiration.

  The core of the Academic History Team in my project at work has always been small, but mighty. And, on the 231st day of 2022, I spent most of my day in core AHT meetings as we prepared, on 8/19/2022, for the beginning of End of Term Processing on Monday, at 8AM!!  I do not want to name them by name on my FB profile, because they did not give me permission to talk about them on the Internet and I need to be on their good sides because they save my bacon on a daily basis.  But my two for 2022 for tonight are my Work Thelma and Louise.  I hope this does not make me the Brad Pitt character and I hope our end is not driving a car into a chasm (spoiler alert!), but I DO appreciate the hard work we have done, together, over the last 4-5 years and how they have suck with me and by me and, in the process, we have grown not only into trusted colleagues but, dare I say, also friends.  So to my Work Thelma and Louise I say thank you.  OVER AND OVER, and that I look f...

  I know we just dined out two nights in a row, but Sarah was not feeling well today after work and I had a swim lane so, on the way back from the pool, I grabbed our Two for 2022 for 8/18/2022, Egg Rolls and Won Ton Soup.  There is something about comfort food and, in our family, Won Ton Soup brings us comfort.  And we all needed a little comfort on the 230th day of 2022.  Hope you all found comfort in your own ways today!

  The 229th day of 2022 found us out to dinner for the second night in a row.  No, that is not my two for 2022 for 8/17/2022, but it is related as my 2 fer are the company with whom we were dining (just as it was last night), Chris and Jackie.  When we moved to Oaklyn in 2005, it was so we could be closer to Sarah's brother and his family.  Throughout the ensuing years, we have been so blessed to have the support, advice, and company of these two wonderful humans.  Godparents to our children, and in every sense of the word.  Companions to sporting events, community events, volunteer events.  Carpooling, and emergency rides, watching our pets and watching our children.  SO many family meals filled with no just amazing food, but also laughter, joy, and love.  I am not sure how I would have made it as a parent, no, as a human, in the last two decades without the love and support of Jackie and Chris.  And, tonight, as we celebrated Jackie's ...

Everyone knows I don't do closure well.  I mean I have worked at the same institution for 36+ years (including student time) and I am still friends with so many of my childhood friends.  And I have enjoyed my kids' childhood friends as well, really happy with the friend networks that Alexa and Anna have developed.  So the evening of the 228th day of 2022 was both happy and difficult for me as we took 8/16's two for 2022, Corbin and Noelle, out for a celebratory dinner.  Anna, Corbin, and Noelle have been like the Three Amigos since Kindergarten.  We had a really nice evening celebrating Corbin's 18th Birthday and having a great meal with Noelle before she heads off to Montana for College.  Closure may be difficult, but I am very proud of these three and excited to see what the future brings for them.  In the meantime, I will hope for some pictures from Noelle's trip cross-country and miss them a lot in the next few months.

 

  Work has been really overwhelming lately and I have been getting a LOT of email.  One email I get, weekly, is a reminder of ALL of the Learning Modules I have not yet completed and some are many, many years overdue.  SO, on the 226th day of 2022, I decided to do something about it.  Yes, after completing some emails, some tickets, and while I was processing some of the Church donations, on 8/14/2022 I completed all of the many modules.  And, of course, before the quiz that you have to pass (I think I took 10 quizzes and passed them all!), you get the cheesy video with the "voice talent" which sounds like something out of Seinfeld, telling you about the 15 steps to pass a vehicle or, for the 5th time, tells you to employ the 4-second rule for safe following distance.  And then, at the end of the video, he uttered the words that are my Two for 2022 for tonight, "Be Alert and Be Safe."  Over and over and, by the 7th, 8th, 9th video I was uttering it alo...

  I know the 225th day of 2022 was a Saturday, but I was very productive today.  I got a LOT of work done (although I still have WAY too many emails to sort through) and I had a good swim (and aqua jog) session at the pool.  Even had time to get some NCIS watched with Sarah (although I did fall asleep in the second episode).  And, while we're talking about sleep on 8/13/2022, let me say that I got good sleep in both Thursday into Friday and Friday into Saturday.  And so my two for 2022 is Sleep and Productivity.  A lot of my issues are "self-inflicted" and I think my desire to go to bed with 0 emails unread (or lately, under 400) has been keeping me up FAR too late at night and, thus, making me less productive which keeps me up late which makes me.... I did admit self-inflicted, right??  SO, I am publicly pledging to try (I am not going to lie here people) to get to bed at a decent hour NO MATTER how many messages are left.  And, maybe, I will con...

 

 

It definitely costs me more than two bit, but on the 222nd day of 2022 (222 of 22!!!!) my focus on a wonderful two for 2022: a Shave and a Haircut.  Yes, after work on 8/10/2022, I walked (yes walked, my ankle brace doesn't make me much faster, but it does allow me to make it) across campus to see Chuck at Campus Barber.  With each appointment, there are fewer hairs for him to work with and my resulting head of "hair" looks more like Michael Jordan than Michael Keaton, but it's more than just a shave and a haircut I get.  I get a good conversation about our families, about Penn, and about issues of the day.  Chuck always stays a little later to allow me to meander across campus and make it to my seating.  I appreciate him and am glad to be neatened up for the impending start of the Academic Year.

 

Another of my childhood icons passed away on the 220th day of 2022.  So, on 8/8/2022, I am thinking about a two for 2022 of childhood and icons.  I loved the movie, Grease, I still watch it occasionally when I find it flipping through channels.  I love the music of the 50s and I love the music of the 80s and Olivia Newton-John was an 80s music icon.  Tonight I pray for her family and friends, and the grief they must be facing, but I also pray for those of us whose childhood icons are diminishing, one-by-one.  It's inevitable, and a fact of life... but it doesn't make it less real or less sad.  Thank you, Olivia!  Hope you are running the aerobics class up in Heaven with your music as the soundtrack!

  On the 219th day of 2022, for the last time, I got a Green Open Pass from the Penn Open Pass Application.  Starting tomorrow, Penn Employees do not have to (nor do we have access to) submit an Open Pass request each morning.  Every morning, like clockwork, my phone gets an 8:15PM text with that day's link to submit my answers to public health questions that gets me my Green Open Pass.  SO, on 8/7/2022, I am reflecting on my two for 2022, two years of Penn Open Pass.  OK, it has not been a whole two years, but it has felt longer.  And there is something soothing about getting a green "You're OK!" every morning.  I am going to miss it.  It's ending is an indication that things are inching ever so much closer to "normal."  But I am not ready to claim normalcy and I AM going to miss the routine.  Bye Open Pass, thanks for the daily affirmation (yes, even on vacation!)

  I woke up after 10AM on the 218th day of 2022.  Since I went to bed before Midnight last night, that meant I got 10+ hours on my CPAP last night.  Maybe not that much sleep, but I was in bed for 10+ hours and that is a way that I can recover from tonight's two for 2022: Two Weeks of Overworked.  I mean I have always taken on a lot of work, but the past two weeks have been oppressive.  But, given my focus on health in my last few posts, I need to make sure I am taking care of myself.  SO, although I worked a lot on 8/6/2022, I also made sure I watched the Phillies (WIN!), I went swimming, and I watched a little TV (but probably not enough) with Sarah.  The work will continue to be there, I need to make sure I am still there too!

 

Keeping with my health updates, the update for Day #216 of 2022 is not as rosy and happy as the one from yesterday.  On 8/4/2022, Sarah and I met with Dr. Andrews, the Foot and Ankle specialist.  As I feared, my ankle needs surgery, and major surgery at that.  Not surprised actually, but a bit nervous and scared.  It will not be for a while, have to find a good time where I can be out of commission for 2-4 weeks and then recovering for 8-10 more weeks (or longer).  So my Two for 2022 for tonight are feet and ankles.  I have punished mine for far too long and now it looks like we need to so something about at least the left one.  Long journey ahead on this one too.

  If you recall, on March 1, 2022, I had blood work done and it came back with an A1C sugar level of 12.1.  I was emergently diabetic.  Now, on 8/1/2022 I returned to Lab Corps for another round of blood work.  And, on the 215th day of 2022, the results are in!  As you saw below, on 8/3/2022 I found that after 5 months of working at it, my A1C is down to 5.3!  And it's mainly due to my Two or 2022 for tonight: Medications and Motivation.  So I am treating my diabetes with a diet enhanced with multiple medications and the diet has not been totally easy (man I crave carbs and no chocolate has been rough) but Sarah has given me inspiration every day.  I am so appreciated of all who have helped me get this far, and I appreciate, in advance, all who will continue to travel with me.  It's a life-long fight and I am up for it!