A day in my life


It seems that some people may think I have the cushy best job in the world, well a few days a month that may be partially true, but typically it is not the case. Here is a brief run down of my day/night starting yesterday morning.

6:00 AM – Wake up check on the status of all critical servers around 25 of them and check for any critical email requests or issues.

6:45 AM – After biking on my trainer (not everyday but on good days), I check the status of the remaining ~250 servers, make sure they are all happy.

7:45 AM – After getting ready for the day and breakfast, head to the office and help users with misc problems from how to find an email they deleted to build new laptops for new hires.

12:00 PM – Diane comes and lets me know it is lunch time (so I don’t get low at work) she is like my mom away from home great lady.

1:00 PM – Help with problems with employees around the world, email, viruses, install new programs. Work on Network design for new VLAN’s and a separate VPN Network for field users.

5:30 PM – Take a break for dinner and FHE.

7:30 PM – Check on server again to make sure they are all happy, check for any critical email or IM issues.

10:00 PM – Check one last time for any issues on any servers, install new updates on server since I can’t do it during the day.

11:00 PM – Turn out the lights, 5 minutes later get email and IM letting me know that the power is out in town. We have a UPS that will last for 30 Minutes, so I watch hoping that the power is restored before the UPS batteries die.

11:25 PM – Start shutting down critical servers that can’t lose power without causing issues, Qwest lost power so I couldn’t finish (they provide us with our Internet connection no inet, no work from home).

11:45 PM – Get dressed and drive into work to finish shutting down servers, drive around town looking for signs of why the power is out.

12:30 AM – Call Rocky Mountain Power for the 3rd time to see if they have an ETA on the issue, they say by 1AM.

1:00 AM – Call Rocky Mountain Power again – they give me now ETA as they still don’t know why the power is out.

1:45 AM – Drive back to work to wait for power to come back on, have to wait here because the doors will not lock without power.

2:02 AM – Power comes back on, but flickers so it causes some issues with two critical servers normally not an issue but since the UPS batteries are dead they can’t smooth the flickers out.

3:45 AM – Finished getting the remaining critical servers up again, head for home to get some shut eye.

4:20 – Finally go to bed for the night.

6:00 AM – Wake up and get almost all the remaining servers happy again.

8:30 AM – Head back into the office to start it all over again. Send out several emails to warn of Conficker worm that is scheduled to go wild on 4/1/2009.

12:30 PM – Head home for lunch…getting low need sugar.

All in all I still love my job because I love the every changing challenges that I get to face. Tonight I get to face a huge internet worm out break and hope we survive it. It could always be worse.

Comments:

Jodi said…

sounds about right…you forgot to mention breakfast and lunch with the clicking of the keyboard keys. I am glad you found a job that works for you and makes you happy, but sometimes I get jealous of that computer and all the time she gets to spend with you. 🙂
Tuesday, March 31, 2009 1:47:01 PM

Dad said…

You forgot to mention that dad calls regularly to solve problems on his computer in Portugal. Keep up the good work.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009 3:41:45 PM

John said…

6:50 am John calls on skype to talk about his new application he found. No time to talk. YOu do a great job helping all of us. You are a great little “server” yourself.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009 9:59:17 PM

Love one Another


We had FHE tonight on loving one another, Lily is always full of love and surprises us all. She made little notes after wards and secretly handed them to each of us. She is a very thoughtful little girl. I was touched even more when she gave one extra note to Mom and asked her to read it to JT when he wakes up. Thanks Lily for being in our family! We love you too.

Comments:

Grandma Parker said…

I always kept little notes like those to read when I felt discouraged or less loved by my kids, so I could get them out and read them and remember the love.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009 2:40:53 AM

Patricia said…

Lily, you are such a sweet girl. I’m so pleased you are so thoughtful. I love the notes you have given me and I have felt your love. Thanks! XOXO Grandma Baldwin
Monday, April 06, 2009 12:13:03 AM

Finding Joy in the Journey


JT’s mark on the dishwasherToday I looked around at the fingerprints and piles and decided to take President Monson’s words from his last conference address to heart: “Find Joy in the Journey.” His words are like a bright clear window to look through.

Here are some of my favorite excerpts:

“Let us relish life as we live it, find joy in the journey, and share our love with friends and family.

“Nothing is as constant as change.”
Day by day, minute by minute, second by second we went from where we were to where we are now. The lives of all of us, of course, go through similar alterations and changes. The difference between the changes in my life and the changes in yours is only in the details. Time never stands still; it must steadily march on, and with the marching come the changes.

I believe that among the greatest lessons we are to learn in this short sojourn upon the earth are lessons that help us distinguish between what is important and what is not. I plead with you not to let those most important things pass you by as you plan for that illusive and non-existent future when you will have time to do all that you want to do. Instead, find joy in the journey-now.

If you have children who are grown and gone, in all likelihood you have occasionally felt pangs of loss and the recognition that you didn’t appreciate that time of life as much as you should have.

If you are still in the process of raising children, be aware that the tiny fingerprints that show up on almost every newly cleaned surface, the toys scattered about the house, the piles and piles of laundry to be tackled will disappear all too soon and that you will to your surprise miss them profoundly.

Our realization of what is most important in life goes hand in hand with gratitude for our blessings.

Brothers and sisters, my sincere prayer is that we may adapt to the changes in our lives, that we may realize what is most important, that we may express our gratitude always and thus find joy in the journey.”


Cubbies – the never ending tidy
I dodn’t htink you can have too many books.
JT’s mark on the door

Olivia took bites out of these fake apples a couple of years ago…I just colored them in with red marker.
JT’s mark on the chair
Mason’s desk of treasures

Wow – look at that dust! Not sure I’m going to miss that someday.
I just had to document this pillow – Mason cross-stitiched it at John and Michelle’s house one conference weekend when he was 8. All of the girls were doing it so Michelle included him. I made it into a pillow.
Alexis’ desk of treasures

Alexis’ closet – she is always looking for easier ways to make sure her clothes are put away.
Lily’s night stand – she really does wear that mask.
Olivia sleeps here and is getting pretty good at making her own bed

Lily holds the pink and white polka dot bear Aunt Stacie made er every night
This crib has been through 5 kids now!
This piano gets used!

Comments:

Mom and Dad Parker said…

That’s some pretty good evidence that you really lived. There is a lot of joy in the journey if we don’t overlook it in life’s telestial traffic jams.
Monday, March 30, 2009 1:39:38 PM

John said…

Let your life speak. I love how you see things as they are and can be. We are amazed at your perspective.
Tuesday, March 31, 2009 10:03:54 PM

Patricia said…

Jodi,
“Enjoy The Journey” and “Treasure the Memories”!!! It’s all about NOW! You’re doing a great job at being a mom and wife. Writing things down helps gain perspective. Isn’t it fun to look back on things? The best part is if we can have no regrets! Enjoy your family now. Each day is a piece of heaven on earth. Love you bunches, Mom
Monday, April 06, 2009 12:25:25 AM

Knot Pack Night


Mason loves being a Cub Scout – he recently advanced to Webelos. At pack night their den demonstrated how to tie knots…they have had a lot of fun carrying their ropes to and from den meetings this past month. On the top of Mason’s knot list is the bowline.

Comments:

Grandpa Parker said…

The bowline is a great knot. Learn it, practice it, and never forget it. We use it all the time in rock climbing and rescue operations. Go get them, Mason.

Saturday, March 28, 2009 4:42:49 PM

Jana said…

Carson is so excited to be in scouts, take those knots to heart you never know when you might need to use one to save yourself!!
Saturday, March 28, 2009 8:10:16 PM

Zany Z Day


Olivia is always excited when it is Wednesday – this means it is playgroup! This past Wednesday was Zany Z day. We got a call from the host mom and she told Olivia to be “zany” and wear her clothes backwards and/or inside out. Olivia was so excited and thought it was a funny idea. We even did her hair backwards! She is such a cute little thing.

Later that day was her first trip to the Dentist. She wore her clothes backwards still! It made for some great conversation at the dentist office and she seemed happy and “cool” to get to have her teeth tickled as they were cleaned. Happy to report NO cavities.

Comments:

Grandma and grandpa Parker said…

Sometime it’s great to be a little crazy. Olivia, you are a cutie
Saturday, March 28, 2009 4:41:01 PM

Jana said…

I love that little girl..she just makes me smile!
Saturday, March 28, 2009 8:09:34 PM

Guilty Pleasure


BFFs for Thursday and FridayIt all began on Thursday morning when I hopped on my bike to exercise. I decided to begin listening to an MP3 book I had gotten from the library, “The Good Earth” by Pearl S. Buck. I have been wanting to read this book for some time now and was excited to begin this 12 hour 25 minute “modern classic” as it has been called. It is set in the pre-revolutionary, pre-industrial China. It is a story of one farmer’s desperate fight to survive destiny. “Buck traces the whole cycle of life, its terrors, its passions, its ambitions, and rewards.”

I was able to listen to the intro while riding, then decided to keep listening to it as the day progressed. Before I new it, it was time for kids to come home and dinner to be made. I begrudgingly stopped listening and tried to act attentive to household needs. Then is was time for pack night – I sneaked it in the car to listen to while on the way there and home. While I listened I knitted (Michelle would be so proud). I felt the idle listening was justifiable if I was doing something productive with my hands. 🙂

I woke up on Friday with eagerness knowing I had a great story waiting. Even though my body was saying “don’t go run on that treadmill!” I thought of my book and again thought it justifiable to listen to if I was exercising. This is a great motivation for me when my social exercising isn’t available – good thing to find out about myself. Anyway, I listened, and ran, then listened and got ready for the day, and then listened and ate lunch, and then listened and folded clothes, and listened and knitted, etc… As the story progressed, I found myself largely detesting the man in this book, and unhappy with the way his life was being led – but hoped he would come around. It is hard for my 20th century mind that has grown up on American soil, and having been taught values and standards, as well as being treated as an equal among men – to understand the mind of a man from China before the Chinese Revolution who could not read nor write and treated women as “slaves” as they were called, and have such an unquenchable desire and lust for fortune and money and concubines. My heart grieved for his first wife!

I will admit I enjoyed the writing style of Pearl Buck and realize that this was how it was – shameless as it seems now. Pearl was able to get me emotionally involved and it was a very compelling read. The first half of this book was so endearing and simply sweet as they struggled to tend the earth and merely survive and then as prosperity and fortune came things took a turn for the worse as far as I’m concerned. When all is said and done this is one of the major themes I took from the book: It seems like trying to acquire the means of a better life is good as long as it can be kept within good balance, once it has crossed the line and changes people in the aspect of pride, vanity, and obsession it will destroy. So the cycle has been since the dawn of time and so it will continue to be. It makes me feel like it is good to have enough for needs and if there is any left over SHARE before the destruction!

I am grateful I live now where I am treated as an equal to my husband and in society, and don’t have to deliver my own children (this is one of the most amazing parts of this story – those that have read it will know what I’m talking about!), and haven’t felt the destitution of starvation.

This is what I have to show for the past 2 days: My life is good.


Almost done!
loads and loads of fun!

Comments:

Dad Parker said…

I also enjoy Pearl S. Buck. You will never have time to do anything you want. You sometimes just have to do it. Nobody was hurt and you read a fine book that will bless your life,

Saturday, March 28, 2009 4:36:38 PM

Jana said…

It’s never bad to take a “time out” for good things! Seems like you walked away a better person and my friend once said ” you never can be done with laundry unless your standing naked in front of your washing machine “
Saturday, March 28, 2009 8:12:26 PM

Diana said…

You gotta teach me now. Those are some pretty fancy stitches!
Sunday, March 29, 2009 7:26:46 PM

Susan said…

The Good Earth was required reading when I was in school. I will never forget it. By the way you got more done “reading” your book thn I do on a regular day 🙂 In all thy getting, get learning”
Monday, March 30, 2009 11:39:30 AM

Slickrock, Rocks!


I love this place, wish my wrist wasn’t broken, but maybe that was a blessing to keep me safe from getting crazy. I want to make a track in my back yard now just like Slickrock. Mason and Lex did great.

Comments:

Anne said…

So FUN! It is a great ride! I just have to take it a little slower than you Parker men. It was great to see you guys. Can’t wait to plan another trip there. Lance and I want to get a permit and ride the white rim trail again, maybe next summer, maybe you can join us?!?! I think it would be a fun couples trip. Anyways glad you had a fun time!
Monday, March 23, 2009 12:52:01 PM

Dad said…

Maybe I could have kept up with you with your broken wrist. The White Rim Trail sounds fun. so you need a pick-up to go along?
Monday, March 23, 2009 2:23:52 PM

Magan said…

You should hook up with Eric he is going down for a week in May for a guys trip
Wednesday, April 01, 2009 6:56:14 PM

Canyonlands Half


Before – ready to load the busAfter months of cold, ice-picking, hard training, the day I had been waiting for finally arrived. And “yes” it was worth it all! The weather couldn’t have been more perfect, warm with a gentle breeze. The company was great, thanks Diana! And the exhilaration from being surrounded by 5000 runners couldn’t have felt any more energizing.

We loaded the buses and began the drive up the canyon to the starting line…so many people were there and the lines to the prairie dawg porta potties were long. We joined the masses to take care of business. This is definitely my least favorite part of the run, but very necessary. After that we made our way to the start. We waited there for about 20-30 minutes in the freezing shade of the canyon.

It was so great to finally start to get some heat flowing through my cold body and slow the uncontrolled cold spasms down. It was less than two miles when I shed my jacket for good. I opted to tie it around my waist but many runners just threw their sweats and jackets off the side of the road to be gathered and donated to good will. I am too practical for that so I just settled on having a belt of heat for 11 miles.

We were in a good groove until Diana started having trouble with her IT band at mile 7 (on our 13 mile practice run at home 3 weeks ago she completely tore it up and was praying for a recovery before this run). This was not good for her, I felt so bad. She was so tough and finished the race only slowing down a bit. We loved the aid stations equipped with gatorade and water and always stopped in to hydrate ourselves.

It was great when we got to mile 10 and heard the awesome drums – I knew this meant we were almost out of the canyon and would be able to see our family cheerleaders. About this time I look up and saw Mason riding his bike toward us – I was shocked! It was so awesome to see him, but I immediately went into responsible mode and hastened him back to his dad because there weren’t supposed to be bikers on the road. We saw the bunch shortly after that and I got a great energy boost. We only had 2 1/2 miles to go.

I really had a blast on this run and felt great afterward – all of that preparation paid off for me! I only wish Diana could have experienced the same without her IT band problems. I am totally proud of her for finishing! What a great person she is with lots of determination. I appreciate her friendship so much and was so happy to get to share this experience with her. Hopefully she won’t be scarred so much that she’ll want to give up running every day with me.

Running partners are hard to find – trust me I know! There aren’t many people who are willing to wake up at 5:30 am everyday and offer therapy and advice and encouragement. I genuinely bless the day she moved to Sugar City. (Excuse me for my sappiness, but it is all the truth!)

I am hoping to some day be one of those awesome 60-70 year old ladies that I saw running Saturday. So impressive and totally inspiring! It is not so much that I love running, but that I love to feel strong and energetic. I guess your only as old as you make up your mind to be, right?

Comments:

Anne said…

GREAT JOB! Way to go, glad you had a good run! Hope your friends leg gets better quick. It was fun to see you for a little bit, we sure miss you guys. You are such a cute, fun family! Hugs!
Monday, March 23, 2009 12:50:39 PM

Mom and Dad Parker said…

Nice job Jodi! You looked really good there. We agree that it is a good thing to be able to have energy and stamina when you are in your 60s. You can do hard things, even every day.
Monday, March 23, 2009 2:17:52 PM

Michelle said…

Good Job Jodi! You are a very motivating person. Looks like a great payday for a lot of work.
Monday, March 23, 2009 3:45:23 PM

Magan said…

Looks like a success
Monday, March 23, 2009 4:07:08 PM

Diana said…

Jodi, it was all you babe! You were amazing! Looking back I didn’t really mind all the miserable training in the cold & snow, until it started snowing this afternoon. Then, I started thinking of 5:30 a.m., my winter coat & ear warmers. It really isn’t too fun to think about!
Sunday, March 29, 2009 7:23:35 PM

Jeana said…

Good job! I’m so jealous. I love that run!
Thursday, April 02, 2009 8:51:22 PM

Back to Life – Back to Reality


We are the dots under the archOur getaway to Utah was so much fun – none of us wanted to come home! We were able to do and see amazing things:

First stop, SLC – temple square, we enjoyed feeling the warm air as we walked through temple square and enjoyed the beautiful flowers. It felt like we had stepped into heaven being surrounded by the beauty and inviting temperatures. Short sleeves and shorts and sandals made us all sooo happy! The boys then went to Cabellas the girls to IKEA and then we met up at Grandpa and Grandma Baldwin’s house for some good eats and a mini recital. Ashley and her friend McKay came over and performed for us and our kids played their songs too.

Next day we headed to our final destination – MOAB, UT. The red rocks were a welcome site! We drove to the expo center to pick up packets for the half marathon and got to see the cute baby Josie for the first time. What a sweet baby girl. The kids played at a cool park by slick rock and then we hiked delicate arch. Lily was wondering if it would all be worth it, but of course it was! She was glad she plowed forward. It was more difficult than we remembered. It is a different hike when you have 9 children to encourage along. The lizards were definitely a huge inspiration and bonus.

Saturday was the day of reckoning as I got finished what took us to this wonderful place. (more details on my blog) The husbands and kids played at slick rock and then met us at the finish line to take photos. They couldn’t stop talking about how fun slick rock was, so we found ourselves going back to see what all the hype was about. Those kids are tough! I took a ride and found out what a scaredy pants I am! We went to find some souvenirs with the money that our kids had been saving up. They were successful. We then went and found some cool petroglyphs. Swimming wrapped up a long day of fun.

Sunday found us driving..then driving…then driving some more. We finally arrived home at 9:00 pm after stopping by to see the Manti Temple, a quick stop by G&G Baldwins again, and then on to the Babcocks for a fabulous dinner. We were entertained by the musical bunch once again and Michelle taught me how to “cast off” on my newly knitted dishcloth! She is so amazing with her knitting abilities. Lex also met Edward Cullen from Twilight (he lives in Emily’s room).

There was a lot of melancholy when we arrived home and the reality of life came crashing down on us. I suppose we wouldn’t love a trip like that so much if we came home to exactly the same circumstances. It is Cold, Snow, School, etc. for us now. We are so glad we got that we got to have a great family vacation but now it is back to life – back to reality!

Comments:

John said…

What a fun trip! It is hard to beat the red rock, family, lizards and warm weather. Glad you had a fun time and were not sick this year.
Monday, March 23, 2009 11:53:54 AM

Anne said…

Back to reality is right! We woke up to snow and decided to tuck the flipflops in the closet again. It was beautiful! So glad you had a good time!
Monday, March 23, 2009 12:54:40 PM

Mom and Dad Parker said…

We couldn’t help but be a bit envious of the red-rock country. We were looking for Stephen’s brace or cast or something. He must heal fast in that climate.
Monday, March 23, 2009 2:09:58 PM