What's Wright in the World - Archives

May 2004:

• Is there a Doctor in the house? YES! Congratulations, Wayne! Mom and Dad, Jimmy and Marie, and Mark and Traci were on hand with Phal, Michael and Catherine to see Wayne receive his Ph.D at ASU on May 13.

 
• On the way to the restaurant (RAWHIDE) for Wayne's graduation dinner, Mark and Traci got hit from behind. Mark, no stranger to getting rear-ended - he worked for Mike for six years - saw it coming and handled it well. The truck is still working, with only minor bumper damage, and Mark and Traci are continuing on to St. George to see Peter Breinholt in concert this weekend.

 
• Rawhide, Phoenix's answer to Knott's Berry Farm, has a nice restaurant, live country music and lackluster pistol-twirlin' notwithstanding. The menu was eclectic enough - the men were playing Trouble for Rocky Mountain Oysters while the women rolled their eyes. Jim forewent the rattlesnake, opting instead for the ostrich and buffalo appetizers. Dad, who picked up the check, announced that he'd be moving his retirement date again, so be sure to be extra kind on Father's Day. Catherine and Michael got some very, very cool balloon animals - Michael a balloon Green Goblin, Catherine a balloon Pretty Pink Princess. Jimmy's request for a balloon Michaelangelo's David went unheeded, but Marie got a fair rendition of inflatable Jackson Pollack.

 
• Jimmy and Marie have separated. Not willingly, and only until Saturday - Jimmy had to get back to work so he left right after RAWHIDE (reaching home at 5am), while Marie stayed in Phoenix for a paid graduation photography gig. It's the first time they've been apart for more than a typical workday since their wedding, and they're missing each other terribly. How Dad made it through a whole summer while Mom was digging up Tel Dan, I'll never know.

 
• Marie has been steadily getting photography jobs; this week she got hired for a Polynesian wedding. Jimmy is also invited, which means he'll be wearing a kilt earlier than expected. (Marie hastens to remind her beloved but dense husband that "if it's not Scottish, it's NOT a kilt." Jimmy stubbornly persists in calling them kilts anyway, in the hopes of earning an all-expenses-paid trip to Scotland so Groundskeeper Willie can give him a proper thrashing first-hand.)

 
• Laurie's NEW new email address is lauriedukes@wmconnect.com. Please update your address books accordingly.

 

• Dad corrected me on my earlier retirement calculation; that's less than 200,000 MINUTES, not seconds (in seconds, it's fewer than 1,200,000) before he retires on his 67th birthday, September 24th.

 
• Mark will be getting his Masters next month. Traci is nearing the completion of hers for this year too. Marie finally got the Jaws of Life to extract her thesis from her advisor, and is putting the finishing touches on it for final submission. Jon graduates from Lakewood next month. Add in Wayne's Ph.D and professorship, and Tim's work in Texas, and Phal's studies and translations for the Church, and 2004 is shaping up to be a banner year for Wright Clan academic achievement. Hearty congratulations to all.

 
• In family computer news (Geek alert!):
  
   
  • Having finally reached full depreciation, Mom's and Dad's computers got replaced for Mother's Day. Mom got an economical but slick 2.7GHz Celeron system to go with her flat screen monitor, and Dad got a 2.8GHz hyperthreading Pentium 4, video-editing VAIO. To my knowledge, Mom and Dad now have the two coolest, fastest systems in the family, while the two computer professionals in the family limp through with generations-old Pentium III hand-me-downs.
  
   
  • Mom's computer got cannibalized in a hurry by the Chateau Larwin and Casa de Via Mercada households, but Jimmy welded his dot to Dad's 2001-issue VAIO and stole it intact. Marie now has a revived, refreshed, and Jimmyfied photo editing machine to replace her Pentium-based Aptiva --not state of the art, but faster and newer than his homebrew workhorse. The DVD burner and floppy are still a bit finicky, but the system's speed and reliability problems appear to be resolved.
  
   
  • Speaking of the old VAIO's speed problems, Jimmy hereby declares Dad's NEW VAIO a crudware-free zone. Bodily harm will follow any attempts to install AOL Instant Messenger, Morpheus, Napster, BearShare, VPN, shared folders, remote desktop, or other peer file sharing software. (You know who you are.) Jimmy spent three days purging the old VAIO's hard drive of 100,000 -- no exaggeration --worms, viruses, and Trojan horses, and he knows how they got there.
  
   
  • Jimmy is bumming that he hasn't been able to build a new PC for almost 4 years, though he has spent plenty of time rummaging through the innards of almost every PC the Wright Clan owns and has owned since 2001. He knows WHAT he wants; he just doesn't know when he'll get the chance. He's holding out for 64 bits, and the former Intel employee is sorely tempted to make the jump to AMD.

BASEBALL: Nate's Challengr League for special needs kids in Cypress continues. It's pretty humbling to watch these kids play, hopefully the Long Beach Wrights can come watch at least once this season and cheer him on." Check with Connie for details of upcoming games.

EMAIL: If you don't know each other's email, I'm compiling a Contact list that should be up soon. You can also send an email to [first name]@wrightclan.net and it should get there. That includes spouses; phal@wrightclan.net should forward to her hotmail. I also have [firstnamelastname]@ accounts, so lauriedukes@wrightclan.net also forwards to your regular yahoo. If you want it to go somewhere else, just let me know.

2004 News: WRIGHT CLAN expands! The December 2003 engagements of Mark (to Traci Turner) and Jim (to Marie Case) means that all the adult children of James and Janet Wright are now spoken for.

• Wayne and Phal are currently in Mesa, Arizona, as Wayne completes his Ph.D. (Keep him in your prayers.) Wayne has accepted a job at University of Texas at San Antonio. They told him "We aren't sure what your salary will be yet, but we will beat any Arizona State offer." ASU offered him a million a year and an on-staff masseusse, so he should be in good shape. He has two campuses at UTex fighting over which will get his services. Phal is taking classes at Mesa CC and is making great progress on the Khmer triple combination, which should be complete in June. Jeffrey is in 2nd grade, Michael just started preschool, and Catherine is the world's cutest Sunbeam.
• Tim and Laurie Dukes are settling in at Goodfellow AFB in San Angelo, TX, which is about as far from San Antonio as Beaverton is to Bothell - long but doable for a day or weekend visit (hint, hint). Laurie has been busy setting up their new household, happy to finally be out of the base hotels. Tim's instructor school studies end late next month. Laurie and Timmie will be here for Jimmy and Marie's wedding.
• Darrell and Connie Wilson are living in Cypress, CA. Susanna was blessed in January. Darrell is still keeping the systems at 3-Day Blinds afloat.
• Mark is living with his future in-laws in Moreno Valley, pursuing his Ph.D at UC Riverside, attending Traci's Fullerton ward, and spending Sunday dinners with the folks in Long Beach. And he thought Mike packed on the mileage. Here's a picture of Mark and Traci at Coronado. In April, Traci will be presenting papers in both Texas and Utah; the Texas proceedings will be published.
• Jimmy's car finally reached retirement -- or is it disability? -- and he swapped it for a new Hyundai. He's been moved to the Norton Internet Security test team at Symantec. Jimmy is still squatting at Club Montair, but his March will end with Marie on Market Street. (Please pardon the alliteration abuse.)
• Jon still lives at home, is in his last semester at Lakewood, surfs as often as occasion permits, and slaves away at In and Out burger, where his health benefits put Jimmy's to shame.
• Dad is counting the days to retirement. Mom and Dad continue to keep the mystery novel publishing business alive. Wright Manor is slowly taking shape as Year Two of "Operation Monticello" dawns. If you haven't been there recently, you'll hardly recognize the place. The new front door is in, and it's a beaut. But there's still only one bathroom. When Jimmy moves out, Mom and Dad will most likely take over the entire back end of the house, and tap their fingers impatiently for Jon's mission call to arrive.