Summerlin - The Rowland Family Blog

And Then Came the Guppies

Dana loves the fish aquarium and wants to be involved with it. She always brings a new perspective and has an eye for things that I might overlook. So, we went fish shopping on Sunday together. We went to PetSmart and Petco. Maybe someday I’ll talk about buying fish here in Las Vegas. Just not today. I was hoping for some Zebra Danios or some Neon Tetras. Dana settled on some Elephant Ear Guppies.

Should’ve Done My Research

If I had done some more reading on guppies in the beginning, I would have started with guppies. They’re the coolest little fish! I did consider guppies before and was always open to them. I knew I wouldn’t like a fluttering fish. I don’t think would have liked how they swam in my aquarium. I like more fluid swimmers. I like shoals as well. Seeing 6-10 fishing darting around in unison is mesmerizing to me.

Guppies aren’t like that. They flutter around and don’t really stick together much. They certainly do little to nothing in unison with one and another. But, it only took a quick couple of hours of them being in my tank for me to come completely enthralled with them.

More Summerlin Sunsets…

Feiya turned 13 years old this past week. We celebrated by letting her open some presents the morning of her b-day. That afternoon I took her to the optometrist and we paired her up to her first pair of glasses. I think every kid wears glasses these days. On the way home I bought her dinner at one her favorite restaurants, Cafe Zupas. They serve some damn good soup!

On Sunday we ordered out from one of our favorite sushi restaurants, Sushi Mon. I was skeptical, but the food was phenomenal. All they’re rolls are half off right now as well. It was a good few days.

New Year New World

Well, maybe not an entirely new world, but it just seams this pandemic won’t loosen it’s grip. About four weeks ago Dana tested positive after being exposed at work. We had to go into lockdown mode. Dana had a cold for a few days and that was about it. Feiya and myself didn’t show symptoms. I was able to continue to work. I only did unoccupied houses during that time. Fortunately, it was the slowest time of the year.

This virus is no joke. Dana’s small office consists of herself and 4 other co-workers working in close quarters. Dana started showing symptoms a day after her coworker announced he had tested positive. We tested negative 10 days later after showing no symptoms for 3 or so consecutive days. Dana was one of the first of her coworkers back to work and one week later she had found out the mother of one of her coworkers had died from the virus. Her mother was retired and lived her. It came from the same outbreak Dana and the rest of us were exposed to. This is why we have to be very respectful of this virus.

Feiya's Ibis drawing created on her phone.

Feiya’s Phone Renderings

Feiya has become interested in anime these past months and it’s been influencing her drawings. I’ve seen her watching drawing lessons on YouTube and practicing in her sketch pad. I wish she had that passion for her homework. But I get it, anime and drawing are so much more fun than math. I’m finding that teaching is a tough nut to crack. Teachers earn their pay and I’m not sure if that’s a job for me.

So, here’s a proud dad moment for me. I’m very glad she’s found something that she can express herself with. This was done with the Ibix app on her iPhone. She wants a new iPad for Christmas so she could have a bigger screen. Of course, Ibix isn’t available on Android or PC. We’ll see how her grades go.

August Update

Made it through August! Even though it was hot as hell here in Vegas, it wasn’t a bad month. I was steady at work for most of the month. Which is good, I like it when I’m not thinking about anything other than work. I like the focus. Home life is pretty well on auto-pilot during the week. We don’t go out much on the weekends, so we cook all weekend long. We fill up the fridge for the week!

It works out pretty well. Feiya started school last week. She hit a couple bumps during the first week. The 2nd day she fell asleep and missed 3 classes. She’s had perfect attendance since. Her workload isn’t too bad yet. It’s nice to see her have some structure. The first few days she complained a lot. Today and yesterday I haven’t heard any complaining or moaning.