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…
Tag: The Dad Speaks
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
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…
Father’s Day
Being a dad is the best thing I could’ve ever asked for, and I just love him so much. For the longest time, Nina would hang out with him in his bedroom until he fell asleep. But, for the past few weeks, I have been doing it every other day. It’s a drastic routine change…
Goodbye 2nd Grade and Hello Summer Break
On Thursday, Niko finished his last day of 2nd grade. That morning and before we got him to school, one of his baby teeth finally fell out! It was loose for a few weeks. It was funny because he woke up and I heard him say my tooth fell out, can you find it in…
GameCrafters – Danny Murphy
I have known Danny Murphy since 1991, when I was a Freshman at Clark High School. He was the Head Basketball Coach, and I was the student manager from 1991 through 1995. I still keep in touch with him, and am still not sure on how to address him: Coach Murphy or Danny! When I…
Claw Crane
Yesterday, we didn’t sit around our house enjoying the cool a/c, we weren’t at my parents house, and we weren’t at a hotel. We were actually at the movies where the theater has an arcade, bowling lanes, and a cafe. Niko won three stuffed animals at the Claw Crane Machine! Yeah, I was impressed with…
Oh, What A Week (May 17 to May 24)
As I started writing this, it was looking like a TV series, so I decided to scratch everything I had written and try my best to keep it to a 30-second commercial! Our A/C was out, and eventually, we ended up with a whole new system! They replaced it on Thursday, May 23rd, and by…
GameCrafters – Jeff Brody
Name: Jeff BrodyJob: Internal Communications Manager for Hilton Even though we both worked for the San Antonio Spurs at the same time frame (me, 1999 to 2002 and Jeff, 2000 to 2007), I never got the chance to officially meet him. A few years later and through mutual friends, we connected on social media (LinkedIn…
Mothers Day Surprise
Originally, this was going to be titled, Ode To My Wife – Part 9 (Happy Mother’s Day), but that would’ve required me to actually think and write something super amazing about Nina, which is easy as she does so much for me, Niko, and Riley. But my thinking and writing part of my brain hasn’t…
Niko’s Birthday
Niko had a few requests for his birthday last Thursday, and we happily obliged. First, he wanted cupcakes and cookies to bring to school for his class. Thanks to HEB, the local grocery store as Nina picked up a few items along with cupcakes and cookies on Wednesday. Of course, when Niko came home from…