This is the 2nd book in the Jane Smith series. You definitely would need to read 12 Months to Live first, as a lot of the characters return for this book. For me, and at times, I was a bit confused with some of them, and found myself going back in the book to refresh…
Author: Mark
The Tired Dad
Yesterday and today, Niko has woken up at 4:30 am. And, when that happens, I am awake with him. I have always allowed Nina a few extra bits of sleep as she isn’t the best sleeper. I don’t like the super early wake ups, but I am really hoping it’s a growth spurt or something…
GameCrafters – Rodney Wilson
Coach Wilson was my history teacher at Clark High School, and the freshman basketball coach. When I was a high school football statistician for the Texas Sports Radio Network and Thursday Night Lights, I would often see him on the Clark and Churchill sidelines as a coach. Later on, he moved up as an Assistant Athletic…
Coming Home – by Britney Griner
This book provided a lot of great insight on her Russian imprisonment and how she got through it. I am not going to go into detail, but she had lawyers who were constantly in touch and working on stuff behind the scenes and fellow inmates who helped translate Russian to English. She got to read…
The Dad’s Business Trip
When I started at Health Equity on October 9, 2023, I had meeting invite emails for a Finance Conference for the following July. I accepted it and it blocked out those days for me on my outlook calendar. I didn’t think anything of it and didn’t even know if it was for me. In May,…
GameCrafters – Ed Suarez
I first saw Ed on TV doing sports for KABB Fox 29 San Antonio, alongside Ernie Zuniga and Chuck Miketinac. I never even thought that I would end up working with all three of them as a high school football statistician. Ed was with the Texas Sports Radio Network, and Ernie and Chuck were with…
Panda-monium – by Stuart Gibbs
This is the 4th book in the FunJungle series, and I just finished reading it to my 8-year-old son. He really likes the characters, the animals, and the surprising plot twists. A few weeks ago, we went to IKEA and he saw a Koala stuffed animal, so, of course, he had to have it! He…
GameCrafters – Jason Minnix
I have met Jason Minnix several times as a high school football statistician, as he was broadcasting those particular games for another company. Where are you from? Army brat. I was born in Frankfurt, Germany but basically grew up in Copperas Cove TX. What brought you to San Antonio? I moved here in 1993 after I…
IKEA
Yesterday, we ventured to IKEA mainly to get Niko a new art desk. His current one was found abandoned near my parent’s house about a year ago, and they rescued it and made it nice for him. When we got that old one, there was a date written and even though I don’t remember it,…
GameCrafters – Rick Hill
I have yet to meet Rick Hill, but his name is very familiar to me as he has had jobs with the San Antonio Riders, the San Antonio Missions, the San Antonio Spurs, and is currently the Vice President of Marketing and Communications for the Valero Alamo Bowl. We connected through LinkedIn. Where are you…
Catch As Catch Can: Building a Legacy by Finding Opportunity in Every Obstacle – by George Tinsley Sr
I got this book from Netgalley, so I can read and review it before it’s published. The only reason I selected this book was due to the cover image (he was dressed half in a basketball jersey and the other half was a business suit) and the description (he played college basketball where his Kentucky…
Watford Forever: How Graham Taylor and Elton John Saved a Football Club, a Town and Each Other – by John Preston
I got this book from Netgalley so I can read and review it before it’s published. For somebody, like me, who isn’t a fan of soccer clubs in England and in general, this book was easy to read, and I never found myself confused with the verbiage. It’s really cool to see the progression of…
Big Game – by Stuart Gibbs
This is 3rd book in the Funjungle series and I have really enjoyed reading them to my 8-year-old son. He listens and asks a lot of great questions. Sometimes, when something suspenseful happens, he gets excited and has to immediately tell Nina! He also loves the funny hijinks that happen throughout the book. Did you…
Seven Stops Saturday
Yesterday, and not planned, Niko and I went to 7 places. We had a wonderful time, and he is always great company. That morning, I had offered to take him to him to Rivercenter Mall or North Star Mall or to the movie theater for Inside Out 2 or the new Minions movie, but, he…
GameCrafters – Tod Caflisch
I worked for the San Antonio Spurs from October of 1999 through May of 2002, and one of my tasks was updating an email database. The only person who had access was Tod, so I would have to kick him out of his office for a few minutes while I replied to emails, updated email…
Entrances and Exits – by Michael Richards
This book has been in my Goodreads Want To Read bookshelf since February. For a Seinfeld fan like me, I really enjoyed learning more about how he got the role of Kessler/Kramer, all the extra insights from a lot of the episodes, his comedic opportunities and miss-opportunities, and his family. I didn’t care for his…
Urban Air (again)
Niko has been asking for the past several weeks to visit Urban Air, and finally, yesterday, we were able to go. It’s not my favorite place in the world, but for Niko, seeing his happy smile and seeing jumping around makes it much better for me. This time, I brought a ticket for me and…
Dream: The Life and Legacy of Hakeem Olajuwon – by Mirin Fader
I got this book from Netgalley so I can read and review it before it’s published. I enjoyed the parts of his basketball days (in Lagos, Nigeria and Houston; both for college and the NBA), but I skipped some parts about his religious beliefs as I just wasn’t interested in that aspect. Overall, I am…
Painting and Babysitting
On Tuesday, Wednesday, and Thursday, we had our bathrooms and kitchen painted. The person we hired had already done some other work for us in the past, and I trusted him and knew he could paint as he is “a jack of all trades.” I was not expecting him to bring his 10-year-old daughter with…
GameCrafters – Richard Oliver
I am not sure if I met Richard Oliver while I was working at the San Antonio Express News from 2003 to 2007 or at a high school football game. I worked in Customer Service and he was a writer at the newspaper. I was the statistician for the Texas Sports Radio Network, and Richard was…