Every now and then you just need to take a day off and have a mental health break.  That's pretty much the same line I used back in high school when I was *cough* *cough* sick.  Well today is a mental health day too.  Not for me, but probably for most of my co-workers.  As most of you have heard, Apple is releasing a new iPhone today – the iPhone 3GS.  I opted to pre-order for delivery at home, instead of rushing all the way up to the Mall of America to stand in line with fellow Apple geeks.  I thought this would take a little bit of the edge off because I would be guarenteed a new iPhone and would be delivered right to my door.

Well I was wrong… very wrong.  You see Apple hasn't been as forthcoming with updates on tracking the purchase of my little miracle maker.  It wasn't until last night that I actually got a confirmation that my precious little package was even set for delivery.  As of 8:17am, it's still at the sorting facility in Minneapolis.  And that's exactly what my problem has been all week – I've been a little OCD on where my new iPhone is at.  Now if you ask Holly, she may say I was a bit more obsessive than I'm letting on here, but we're all entitled to our – even if they are way off base.  (note: 8:23am and it's still at the sorting facility).

So this is how I'm going to spend my summer vacation day: hitting refresh on the Fed-Ex tracking website, scanning a number of Apple fanboy sites on new reviews of the new iPhone, and wondering when Fed-Ex will include GPS tracking of the truck your package is being carried on.  (note: that would make a great iPhone app).

At the end of the day, this will be a happy one for everybody.  I'll get my new iPhone, Holly will get a husband that can converse on a topic other than the iPhone (or Twitter), and Apple's website will stop being taxed from some southern MN fanboy wondering where his package is at by hitting refresh 98 times an hour.  (note: I was never that bad, worst hour was only 47 refreshes)

Yep, today will be a good day… assuming my iPhone shows up, which is still at the sorting facility as of 8:29am. 

Most of my tech musings have moved over to my other blog at family techguy.net.  That site is still a bit of a work in progress, but it’s slowly coming along.  One of the things that influence what/how I’m going to write about is trends I see in Twitter.  Twitter is a social media site that connects people based on what they like and is relevant to them. 

Well I found a relative on Twitter today, or more precisely he found me.  A guy from the Verly clan living in Brazil found me via another guy I converse with on a regular basis about Apple and iPhones.  We’ve chatted a bit, his family moved from Germany several generations ago.  But I think this is one of the coolest things I’ve had happen via technology in a while. 

We spent the afternoon at a graduation party for Trent.  It was a nice time to see a lot of family we hadn’t seen in a while.  Sam played with some 2nd cousins (or 3rd, we’re not quite sure but they were related in some form or fashion).  Part of the playtime was taking a closer look at Craig and Ida’s cat.  At some point the cat decided it needed a little more space than the 3-4 kids that were chasing it were willing to give him.  The cat swatted out to the closest child to give them a little reminder to back off.  The closest child happened to be Sam, who now has a nice 2-1/2” reminder across the side of forehead.  Ida bribed Sam with a bag of cookies and M&M’s to hold off a potential lawsuit. 

Pics from the afternoon.

Sam on the swingset.

Evan on a swing with Holly.

Holly and Evan on a swing.

Jen and Evan on a swing.

Evan is starting to eat breakfast, not just finger foods, by himself.  The other morning was Rice Krispies, one of Sam's favorites, if you couldn't tell by the mess on Evan's chin.  Monday through Friday is almost down to a regular routine.  Evan wakes everyone up around 6am.  Sam stumbles out of his room anywhere between 6:05am and 6:25am.  Sam and Evan have breakfast while I take a shower.  I eat breakfast and then we're out the door by 7:15am. 

At least that's how the plan goes.