Yesterday was Jessica’s birthday and we were able to make a fun weekend out of it. On Saturday morning she ran a 5k with Elise and Enzo as part of the school running club that Elise has been involved in this year. Unfortunately, Ava and I weren’t able to be there to cheer them on because her softball team had a double-header in Pahrump that morning, which is about an hour away, but they had a great time. Here’s a photo from their race.
On Saturday, Jessica wanted to check out a hibachi restaurant near our house. We thought it would be a fun experience and that the kids would enjoy the show. It turned out to be a great time and is something we plan on doing again soon. Elise had been to a hibachi restaurant one time with her friend’s family, but Ava and Enzo had never experienced anything like this before. There was a guy seated across from us who was very friendly and offered Enzo $5 if he could catch a shrimp from the chef in his mouth. He was given three tries and this is how it turned out.
Afterward, the chef gave everyone a chance to catch a piece of shrimp in their mouth. Jessica and I both caught ours on the first try but let’s just say that wasn’t the case for everyone else. Overall it was a fun and new experience with delicious food, and the whole table sang “Happy Birthday” to Jessica.
We slept in on Sunday morning, then later I got to work on a crab cake benedict for her birthday brunch. I had offered to skip my baseball game but she told me not to, so it was important to me that I make her a nice meal. The kids had never eaten eggs benedict before but they all liked it, especially the homemade hollandaise sauce.
After brunch we went to the park to play frisbee for a bit and enjoy the beautiful weather, then I had to get ready for my game. While I was away, Jessica and the kids went out for ice cream, and by the time I got home, everyone was relaxing for the evening. Another exciting thing to come out of Jessica’s birthday was that we finalized our dates for the Colorado trip in June. As it turns out, we’re going to be gone for 11 days, which is more than originally expected but it made the most sense based on everything we want to do with Grandma and Grandpa Martin. I’ll be working for several of those days, but will still be taking a few days off as well. The plan is to leave Nevada on Saturday, June 1st, and return on Tuesday, June 11th. I look forward to writing a big update about it in June!
I hope Jessica had a great birthday, and most importantly, how much we all love and appreciate her!
In addition to Jessica’s birthday, we also recently attended a school awards ceremony at the South Point Hotel and Casino. She was nominated for support staff of the year, and although she didn’t win, it was still a great honor and clear validation that she is doing the right thing. She received an engraved plaque and we enjoyed the ceremony with friends, so it was a fun and memorable night all around.
Softball and Baseball Update
While my baseball season is just getting going, Ava’s softball season is cruising right along toward the playoffs. Her team is 7-1 and we just beat the 1st-place team in both games of a double-header on Saturday. Her improvement this season has been so fun to watch and I’m proud of how committed she is. She never turns down an opportunity to practice and never misses a team event. Sometimes it gets tricky due to other family commitments, and we have had to ask other families for help getting her to or from practice more than once, but it always works out.
It’s been a pleasure for me to help the team this season as an assistant coach and I know Ava loves having me out there. We only have two more weeks until the playoffs begin, so her season will be over before we know it, but we’re doing our best to repeat as league champions, and no matter what, we will definitely be back for the next season this Fall.
On the baseball side, I’m having a blast getting out there with the guys every Sunday. I can handle all the bumps and bruises, as well as waking up sore on Monday mornings because I love the whole experience. I’m making friends, playing better than expected, and best of all, getting to share this experience with Enzo, who is our team’s batboy.
So far, our team has played 4 games and we have a record of 1-3, which isn’t great, but it’s a brand new team and we’re still finding our way. You never know who is going to make it each weekend due to other schedules and conflicts, but it’s always a good time. I currently have a batting average of .500, which is much better than I expected to start off at. I haven’t struck out more than once in a game and yesterday’s game was the first one where I didn’t strike out at all. I’ve had a few really nice hits, including a blast over the center fielder’s head in game 3 that resulted in a standup double. The best part was reaching second base and hearing Enzo yell “Father of the Year!!!”
I have already had a scary moment as well, which was in my first at-bat of the second game. The first pitch I saw was a fastball coming right at my head. I later learned that I should have ducked away but I have never practiced this type of situation before and the ball was coming in very fast, so my natural instinct was to pull back. The ball clipped my left wrist and then hit me right in the face! I could tell no serious damage was done but it was scary for everyone, not just me. I hated the fact that Enzo had to see this happen to me in my first at-bat since he had joined the team, but it was memorable.
As expected, the guys on the team love having Enzo around and it seems clear that Enzo loves it just as much, if not more. Our team’s manager insisted on paying for Enzo’s jersey due to all the help he provides, and as I told him recently, we’re creating memories for a lifetime. Even if he never plays ball himself, he will always remember being the batboy for his dad’s team. I would have loved to do this sort of thing with my own dad but I’m glad to be doing my part to make it happen now. I’m not getting any younger, and am already one of the oldest guys out there, but I love it and want to continue playing as long as possible.
My New Job in the Sports Betting Industry
To close things off, I’m excited to announce that I have accepted a new job as a Senior Software Engineer with Unabated Sports; an industry leader in sports betting analytics! I wasn’t even looking for a new job because my plan was to continue working at my current day job until my own company, Cappers.ai, was successful enough for me to work there full-time, but this opportunity with Unabated popped up and was too good for me not to pursue.
I stumbled upon Unabated on Twitter a few weeks ago and was immediately impressed with their business model. I even sent their link to my partner Devin saying that this is exactly how I would like to see our company evolve. Later on, I noticed on their Twitter feed that they were hiring software engineers and were looking for someone with experience in C# and relational databases. As it just so happens, this is exactly what I used to build the Cappers application, so I figured I had nothing to lose by applying.
I sent them an email with my resume and talked about my experience with Cappers, then about 90 minutes later I had an email from their CEO asking if we could chat. We had a few meetings over the next two weeks and ultimately they made me an offer that I couldn’t refuse. I made sure to verify with them that Cappers wasn’t going to be a conflict of interest and they were fine with it.
I’m so excited to get started two weeks from today. I know I’m going to learn a ton and can’t wait to dive head-first into their platform. I’m particularly proud of this new role because it’s a product of the initiative and hard work that went into building the Cappers site. I built that thing from scratch, have learned a ton along the way, and continue to put countless hours into it. While I haven’t been unhappy working at my current day job, which is in the healthcare industry, having the opportunity to work in the world of sports betting, which is something that I love and am good at, is very exciting. I can’t help but think that my dad would be proud. He always told me when I was a kid not to follow in his footsteps, but to me this feels like the best of both worlds.
Regardless of how things turn out with Cappers, this is a great opportunity with Unabated. Several of their founders were founders of the Action Network, which is the biggest platform out there for sports bettors, and I’m getting in as one of the first 30 employees. They are consistently beating their revenue targets and growing fast. My family has been so supportive throughout this process and I know Jessica is very happy for me to be able to take this on. I look forward to providing more updates about it in the near future.
That’s about it for now. It’s crazy that the school year is about to come to an end, and we’re excited for Elise because she will be giving a speech at her elementary school graduation ceremony, just like Ava did a year ago. We don’t have a whole lot planned in May, but June should be a lot of fun due to our Colorado trip, then Grandpa Rudd will be visiting for the 4th of July. Shortly after that will be our weekend in Phoenix, and then as soon as we get back from that our good friends the Palmers will be coming down for their annual visit.
Here are a few more recent photos. See you next month!
