For years I have been preparing in general for being a father in small ways. When we would buy big ticket items (like Lindey's crossover or our new house) I would imagine how it would help manage having a kid, and even with my small projects like home automation back in 2016 I would imagine Lindsey having lights turn on with a baby in her arms in my big picture plan for it even way back then.
But when Lindsey let me know she was actually pregnant I went from a generalized plan on the margins to an intense plan for the pregnancy to be as ready as I could be. Having my close friends like Ben/Stefanie, Adam and Jeremy have kids before me gave me a good idea of what to expect and the level of sacrifices I needed to be prepared to make. The plan had three parts:
Stage 1: Clear the Deck
In the first stage of the plan I would finish off the big projects I have been working on for years, and preemptively do any big technical projects I saw coming for the next couple of years. Also as part of this I would endeavor to clear out my head of the stories rattling around in there of my life the last few years which is why I started this blog. Also I wanted to finish organizing my life and finish moving in from our move this year. Here are some of the projects I tackled during this time:
1. Smart-home concept completed, including automated lights in every room that made sense and dimming capability across the house. Ideas I had in 2016 that I never previously acted on like motion lights in the garage or giving Lindsey a button to turn off the bedroom light were completed as well.
2. Ten year server upgrade. The servers were built in 2010 with what were old parts then, so by 2018 all of those parts were ancient and on the edge of failure. In 2016 I redid the tv server for the most part, but now I am finishing the job by installing hot swap cages in it so that way I can easily replace drives in the future and a better CPU for running all the programs I now run on there. The main work has been on the movie server where I have completely replaced pretty much everything but the drives- the case, the mobo, the raid controller, the USB drive, the PSU. I took some parts left over from my 2015 PC gaming craze and my 2016 mining project and I consolidated it all into a new movie server that should be easier to deal with going forward.
3. Project Retrocade. I got a Bluetooth replication arcade stick that works with both the PC and the Switch, and I replaced the joystick and buttons with the actual joystick and buttons from a real arcade machine. This not only allows me to play the many arcade Switch ports with ease, but it also sets me up for a long off future of when I want to get back into PC emulation. Right now I think arcade games will be the perfect way to blow off steam when the baby is here, as they are impulse plays by design that are fairly cheap per title (around $8). I basically consider this device my last "toy" as all future toys in my house will belong to my son.
4. Project Magic Tv. I noticed recently that the cheap Fire HD tablets support HEVC x265, so I have been working to encode at least 100 of Lindey's favorite movies into that codec so that way I can fit them all on a microsd card. That way she will always have something to watch, even if the internet is gone and or even if I am dead.
5. Decorate the house. I have collected many geodes and paintings of geodes to actually put something on our walls. I figure this sort of thing won't be a huge priority in the future and what I get done today might be hanging five plus years from now. I don't want bare walls for five years.
Stage 2: Prepare Myself
This stage I haven't gotten to yet because I am still completing projects, but the next stage once most projects are done is to begin to work on myself to prepare for a baby. I want to work to change my habits, my sleep and waking schedule, get my diet locked down, and get in better shape and overall try to finish "growing up." I know certain things I do and blocks of time I waste today won't be viable in the next part of my life, and when we decided to have a kid I made the decision willingly knowing that is the case. With that said I don't want it to be a huge culture shock so I am trying to wean myself off of these things or schedules somewhat prior to 2019 if I can.
I would already be on this stage but the setback month has prevented me from getting there. Now that I have a bachelor party to attend at the end of October (which is looking to be the last big party of my life) I plan to get everything done before this month ends so I have a month or two for stage 2.
Stage 3: Enjoy the Moment
This stage I am doing in bursts until right before the end when I will set aside some time to more intensely focus on the last month or so of my life with a lower level of personal responsibility. Some of this stage is enjoying the dogs especially Luna more, like when I took her for a walk at the big park recently or when we plan to have a birthday party for her. Some of this will be to put a end-cap on the Switch era of my life, and beat some games I didn't finish this year or in 2017 so that way I can have those memories to look back on. Some of this will be spending quality time with Lindsey, and maybe getting her to play Dynasty Warriors with me or watch a few TV shows with me. Some of this will be being a bum because I can be a bum, and spend a few days being not that productive just because I can. Some of it right before the end will be a lot of sleep, days when I take sleeping medication and pile the Zs up. More than anything this stage is about appreciating how amazing my life has been up until this very obvious demarcation line comes, and to look back and appreciate how fortunate I have been to get to live for me (and Lindsey) for so long rather than having to live for my kids in my mid 20s like my parents did.
I know no matter how much I prepare I won't be ready for everything coming at me in the next stage of my life, and frankly some plans will require changes from me that might be hard to enforce until another human being is depending on me doing it. But the point of the plan is to be as ready as I can be and be ready to commit myself 100% to being a dad of a young child when the time comes. I want to be a big part of his life and take on a big part of the parental duties and this is my best attempt to be ready.
But when Lindsey let me know she was actually pregnant I went from a generalized plan on the margins to an intense plan for the pregnancy to be as ready as I could be. Having my close friends like Ben/Stefanie, Adam and Jeremy have kids before me gave me a good idea of what to expect and the level of sacrifices I needed to be prepared to make. The plan had three parts:
Stage 1: Clear the Deck
In the first stage of the plan I would finish off the big projects I have been working on for years, and preemptively do any big technical projects I saw coming for the next couple of years. Also as part of this I would endeavor to clear out my head of the stories rattling around in there of my life the last few years which is why I started this blog. Also I wanted to finish organizing my life and finish moving in from our move this year. Here are some of the projects I tackled during this time:
1. Smart-home concept completed, including automated lights in every room that made sense and dimming capability across the house. Ideas I had in 2016 that I never previously acted on like motion lights in the garage or giving Lindsey a button to turn off the bedroom light were completed as well.
2. Ten year server upgrade. The servers were built in 2010 with what were old parts then, so by 2018 all of those parts were ancient and on the edge of failure. In 2016 I redid the tv server for the most part, but now I am finishing the job by installing hot swap cages in it so that way I can easily replace drives in the future and a better CPU for running all the programs I now run on there. The main work has been on the movie server where I have completely replaced pretty much everything but the drives- the case, the mobo, the raid controller, the USB drive, the PSU. I took some parts left over from my 2015 PC gaming craze and my 2016 mining project and I consolidated it all into a new movie server that should be easier to deal with going forward.
3. Project Retrocade. I got a Bluetooth replication arcade stick that works with both the PC and the Switch, and I replaced the joystick and buttons with the actual joystick and buttons from a real arcade machine. This not only allows me to play the many arcade Switch ports with ease, but it also sets me up for a long off future of when I want to get back into PC emulation. Right now I think arcade games will be the perfect way to blow off steam when the baby is here, as they are impulse plays by design that are fairly cheap per title (around $8). I basically consider this device my last "toy" as all future toys in my house will belong to my son.
4. Project Magic Tv. I noticed recently that the cheap Fire HD tablets support HEVC x265, so I have been working to encode at least 100 of Lindey's favorite movies into that codec so that way I can fit them all on a microsd card. That way she will always have something to watch, even if the internet is gone and or even if I am dead.
5. Decorate the house. I have collected many geodes and paintings of geodes to actually put something on our walls. I figure this sort of thing won't be a huge priority in the future and what I get done today might be hanging five plus years from now. I don't want bare walls for five years.
Stage 2: Prepare Myself
This stage I haven't gotten to yet because I am still completing projects, but the next stage once most projects are done is to begin to work on myself to prepare for a baby. I want to work to change my habits, my sleep and waking schedule, get my diet locked down, and get in better shape and overall try to finish "growing up." I know certain things I do and blocks of time I waste today won't be viable in the next part of my life, and when we decided to have a kid I made the decision willingly knowing that is the case. With that said I don't want it to be a huge culture shock so I am trying to wean myself off of these things or schedules somewhat prior to 2019 if I can.
I would already be on this stage but the setback month has prevented me from getting there. Now that I have a bachelor party to attend at the end of October (which is looking to be the last big party of my life) I plan to get everything done before this month ends so I have a month or two for stage 2.
Stage 3: Enjoy the Moment
This stage I am doing in bursts until right before the end when I will set aside some time to more intensely focus on the last month or so of my life with a lower level of personal responsibility. Some of this stage is enjoying the dogs especially Luna more, like when I took her for a walk at the big park recently or when we plan to have a birthday party for her. Some of this will be to put a end-cap on the Switch era of my life, and beat some games I didn't finish this year or in 2017 so that way I can have those memories to look back on. Some of this will be spending quality time with Lindsey, and maybe getting her to play Dynasty Warriors with me or watch a few TV shows with me. Some of this will be being a bum because I can be a bum, and spend a few days being not that productive just because I can. Some of it right before the end will be a lot of sleep, days when I take sleeping medication and pile the Zs up. More than anything this stage is about appreciating how amazing my life has been up until this very obvious demarcation line comes, and to look back and appreciate how fortunate I have been to get to live for me (and Lindsey) for so long rather than having to live for my kids in my mid 20s like my parents did.
I know no matter how much I prepare I won't be ready for everything coming at me in the next stage of my life, and frankly some plans will require changes from me that might be hard to enforce until another human being is depending on me doing it. But the point of the plan is to be as ready as I can be and be ready to commit myself 100% to being a dad of a young child when the time comes. I want to be a big part of his life and take on a big part of the parental duties and this is my best attempt to be ready.
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