jiu-jitsu – Pellegrini Page

The next work chapter

A quick update about my new team at Microsoft, as well as my recent trip to Las Vegas.

After spending the past 6 years at Microsoft working on the azure.com website, today is my last day on the Acom team. I’m certainly not leaving Microsoft, but Monday I’ll be joining the Treasury Engineering team, working on systems related to employee payroll, business-to-business payments, and currency conversion. As the tech industry goes, 6 years is a pretty long time to be on the same team, so I’m excited to get a chance to switch things up by working on new projects with new people.

The funny thing about this new role is that I wasn’t even looking for it; it completely fell in my lap. The manager of the team is someone I collaborated with about 3 years ago when I was assigned to work on startups.microsoft.com, and we have remained friendly ever since. He wasn’t managing a team at that time, but somewhat recently he started managing the Treasury Engineering team and ended up reaching out to me about an opening on his team that he thought I would be a good fit for. Obviously I was flattered about the opportunity, and after hearing more about it I decided that there was a lot of potential for me in this new role. I interviewed a couple weeks later and ended up receiving the offer shortly thereafter.

Anytime you’re making a change like this it’s going to be bittersweet because you become close with the people you’re working with, and there’s a bit of a comfort zone there, but I have no doubts that this change will be good for me. I also think there’s a great life lesson here for my kids to learn from, which is that you should always treat everyone with respect because you never know when the good impression you made will come back around in the form of a new opportunity. I will certainly have more updates about the new role in the coming months once I’ve gotten ramped up, but for now I’m just feeling energized and excited to dig in!

The other exciting thing in my world is that I just got home Wednesday evening from spending 5 days at my Mom’s house in Las Vegas. I hadn’t gotten any one-on-one time with her in years and Jessica was very encouraging of me to get down there for a visit. As expected, it was a great time. We got a lot of quality time together, watched almost all of Schitt’s Creek Season 3, and had some delicious vegan meals. In addition to getting time with her, I got to see my Uncle Bob, plus my friends Devin, Tiko, and Tina. I also got to attend classes at Zenith Jiu-Jitsu, which is a famous school in Las Vegas owned by Robert Drysdale, who is a world champion. I ended up getting a day pass so I could attend a morning class and an evening class on Monday.

On Saturday night Devin had a few of us over to his house to watch UFC and have dinner, then on Tuesday morning he picked me up in his Tesla Model S and we took a drive out to Red Rocks Canyon. I got to drive his 550hp beast on the highway out there, which was obviously a blast. I also bought a beautiful Shoyoroll Jiu Jitsu gi from him that he bought last year and never wore. It’s a limited edition gi called the White Mamba, which was a tribute made in limited numbers after Kobe Bryant’s untimely death. It’s white with purple and gold patches, and just such high quality that I instantly fell in love with it. I wore to class last night and broke it in properly. I even got a blood stain on it, although I’m still not sure whose blood it was and have since washed it out.

While I was away Jessica went out of her way to do a lot of special stuff with the kids. They went roller skating, swimming, got takeout, and rented movies. Overall they had a blast and probably missed me less than I was missing them. Obviously we were all happy to be reunited on Wednesday, and went straight from the airport to Avocados, our new favorite Mexican restaurant, to enjoy a nice dinner together. In addition to making all the classic Mexican dishes we all know and love, they have a nice selection of vegetarian and vegan dishes, so it works well for our family.

Now that the Vegas trip is behind us, our focus moves onto Disney World, which is only 6 weeks away! At this point we’ve been planning the trip for 2 years so we’re super excited to go. The weather in Florida should be beautiful and everyone is ready for some sun and hot weather. Right before that, however, we’ve got Kristy, Beto, and Madi coming over to spend Easter Sunday with us. Madi’s 15th birthday is just around the corner, and based on her new love of cooking vegan food, Jessica and I got her a really nice little chef’s knife from Cutco. It’s a 7” Santoku with a red handle, and I actually have the exact same knife (except mine has a black handle) which Jessica got for me years ago. It’s an awesome little knife so hopefully she loves it.

That’s all for now. I’m intentionally keeping it short because I know we’ll have a lot to write about in the coming months. Here’s a few photos from my trip to Vegas.

Visiting with Uncle Bob and checking out his awesome Seahawks mobile

Taking in the views with Devin in Red Rocks Canyon

Had to get a pic with Marcelo Nunes after class at Zenith

My new Shoyoroll White Mamba Jiu-Jitsu gi

The kids having fun roller skating with our neighbor Avery

Love my mom so much! It was a great trip

Happy 6th Birthday Enzo!

Celebrating our little man’s 6th birthday in style. Supercars and all!

We’ve been counting down the days for the past couple weeks but today it’s official, Enzo is now 6 years old! I think one of the things that makes kids’ birthdays tricky during the pandemic is figuring out how to make them special when you’re so limited on what you can do. We can’t do a traditional party, or any type of outdoor gathering due to the time of year, so it’s a bit of a challenge, but I’m happy with how today turned out for him.

Enzo got to open a bunch of presents this morning, and he was very excited and thankful for everything he received. After his daily video call with his Kindergarten class I took him out for a special occasion. He already knew that we were going to get a Pro Scooter at the sporting goods store, but on the way there I surprised him with a visit to Cats Exotics, which is an exotic car dealership in Lynnwood that specializes in Lamborghini’s.

You can’t even walk in right now so I buzzed the front door and a lady came to greet us. I said hello and explained that it was Enzo’s birthday and that he was hoping to see some fancy cars. She told me she would ask the sales manager, and next thing you know this nice guy came out to us and said “Enzo, it’s your birthday? Well you need to see my Ferrari!”

He ended up showing us around for about 15 minutes and it was simply awesome. We saw the owner’s McClaren Senna, many Lamborghini’s from different eras, a Ferrari California, a Porsche 911 GT4, a couple cool motorcycles, and several others. I thanked him many times for making this such a special and memorable day for us, and I feel confident that Enzo will now always remember his 6th birthday.

Afterwards we got him a really cool Pro Scooter, then by his request, we picked up Mod Pizza for everyone at home to have for lunch. Since it’s Thursday, we went to our Jiu-Jitsu class in the evening and followed through with our school’s birthday tradition of doing a dog pile on him at the end of class. Later on in the evening we finished things off with some birthday cake and cupcakes.

Although today is Enzo’s actual birthday, some of our celebrations will extend into this weekend. We’re taking the kids up to Snoqualmie Pass for a day of sledding and snow play, then on Sunday afternoon we’re heading down to Kristy’s to hang out and do a birthday celebration for Enzo, Beto, and Uncle Jim, whose birthday is tomorrow. We haven’t seen them in several months so we’re really looking forward to it.

In addition to all the birthday stuff, life has recently gotten a lot busier for us. Back in mid November we went back into a phase 1 lockdown due to the pandemic, meaning hockey was cancelled, but a couple weeks ago we were allowed to start playing again, so suddenly we’re back to being busy getting the kids to their practices. It’s nice though, and they’re really enjoying it.

Home school continues to go well, and although our school district is about to start bringing kids back in person, we elected not to go that route. It would have only applied to Enzo anyway since he’s the only one currently enrolled, but we’re doing just fine here at home and don’t feel like switching things up mid-year.

The kids recently got their eyes tested, and although there’s nothing wrong per say, we still decided to get each of them a pair of glasses due to the amount of time they spend on screens. The girls just received theirs and love them, but we’re still waiting for Enzo’s to arrive.

Another recent exciting thing for us was that the kids each got their first stripe on their belt at Jiu-Jitsu! It was definitely a proud papa moment for me, mostly because I can relate so well to being a little kid coming up the ranks at a martial arts school. They were so proud of themselves and they continue to say things like “I can’t believe I got a stripe on my belt!”. I told them that it’s just the first of many if they stick with it.

Overall things are good and we had no problems getting back into our routine after the holiday break was over. Our rescheduled Disney World trip is supposed to take place in a little over 3 months, but we’re not really sure if it’s going to happen then or not. Nothing will surprise me at this point, but we’re fine taking things day by day. It would be nice to have a little more to look forward to on the horizon, but we’re not taking anything for granted. We’re all healthy and doing things we love, so it’s all good. I’m just glad we were able to make today really special for Enzo. Happy birthday buddy, we love you so much!

Getting started with his gifts this morning

Ava and Elise each made special pictures for him

This kid never met a monster truck he didn’t like

This McClaren Senna isn’t for sale, but was probably our favorite car of the day.

Enzo was excited to see this Ferrari California

This Lamborghini set a record lap time on the Nürburgring in Germany

Here he is with his own new set of wheels from today

The girls are looking lovely with their new glasses

These beautiful tulips from Nana made a perfect photo backdrop

Getting their first stripes at Jiu-Jitsu!

Seeing the first woman elected as Vice President of the United States was a proud day for our family

Having a little family fun with Dad’s new look

Singing “Happy Birthday” to Enzo. #Candlegate

Back on the mat

Last Tuesday we took the kids to their first Jiu-Jitsu class at a relatively new school in downtown Snohomish called Bulwark Brazilian Jiu-Jitsu. Although Enzo didn’t really enjoy it and decided it wasn’t for him (at least for now), Elise and Ava very much did enjoy it and were excited to go back. We ended up attending another class on Thursday and once again the girls loved it, so based on that we decided to sign them up for regular classes. Additionally, based on how much they were enjoying it, and the fact that the school could use some help in the kids class, I decided to sign up as well. It’s been 5 years since I last did a Jiu-Jitsu class, and in some ways it bums me out that I quit after making so much progress, but I’m really excited to be back into it now, especially since this is an activity that I can enjoy not only on my own, but with my kids as well. Regarding the 5 year break that I took, it was during that time that hockey made a grand entrance into our lives and I honestly couldn’t imagine what our lives would be like without it at this point, so I’m perfectly happy with how everything has turned out.

I was a little bit surprised that Enzo didn’t take to it, but I think he may still be a little too young. He was paired up with an older boy who was pretty experienced, and although the boy did his best to teach Enzo, he just didn’t like being taken down to the mat, sat on, held down, etc. He told me he would rather stick with hockey and bike racing for now, and I thought that was totally fine. His next hockey class starts in about two weeks and he’s excited for that. Then when the class ends, bike racing season will begin, so I think he’s in good shape as far as activities go. Since we still have nice Jiu-Jitsu mats at home, I’m planning on working with the girls and teaching them many of the things I learned when I first started, and Enzo definitely wants to join us for that. I’m sure after a while he will become more interested and may end up wanting to join the class at some point in the future.

In all honesty, the one I was most concerned about in terms of enjoying it was Elise. We have been wanting to find a good physical activity for her to get into and so far she’s loving it. I knew Ava would love it because it’s right in her wheelhouse – this type of physical activity comes naturally to her, but the fact that Elise also loved it made me so happy. We ended up getting both of them a gi (Ava chose a white one while Elise wanted a pink one), then went back for our third and fourth classes this week. I’ve been helping out with the kids classes and sticking around for the adult classes afterwards.

I was feeling quite sore after the first class, but it was great training and rolling with people again. Overall I feel like I’m coming back at it with a new mindset. When I first started Jiu-Jitsu back in San Diego, I was in a bit of a hurry to move up. I went to every class possible so that I could test for my blue belt as soon as possible. While I did receive the highest score (at that time) on my blue belt test in our school’s history, I wasn’t doing myself many favors when I ended up at other schools in Seattle. The program I went through in San Diego was based entirely on self defense (it was called Gracie Combatives), but when I got to the schools in Seattle I was training with people who compete in tournaments, and as a blue belt I was a target for them. Consequently people worked me over a lot, and I nearly got my arm broken, so it put a sour taste in my mouth which eventually caused me to quit. This time around I’m in no hurry and am happy to be starting over as a white belt. Even though I have some experience and legitimately earned my blue belt, at this point I’d rather be a good white belt than a weak blue belt.

Overall I’m just glad to have this activity that we can share and enjoy together. Jiu-Jitsu is very much like playing human chess, so it’s just as good for the mind as it is for the body. Each of us will benefit from it in our own way, and I’m excited to share what I do know with the kids at home. Related to that, I’m thankful to have such a supporting wife who was so encouraging not only to the kids, but to me as well, in terms of taking on yet another activity. For now the girls and I will continue going to classes on Tuesday and Thursday nights, and when scheduling conflicts arise (most likely next hockey season) we’ll just figure out a way to make it work.

Speaking of hockey, we were just up in Canada earlier this month for another tournament. This one was called Wickfest and it’s run by Hayley Wickenheiser, a Canadian Olympian and recent Hockey Hall Of Fame inductee. It’s a huge tournament featuring girls hockey only, and this was their tenth consecutive year holding it. They normally run it in Alberta, but for the past few years they have also held it in Vancouver, and our Washington Wild 8U team was the only team from our whole organization to make it in!

As always the tournaments are so much fun for everyone, players and families alike. It’s a great bonding experience for everyone, and so much fun to watch the kids take on new competition. Our team won the first 3 games convincingly, then went up against a very tough team in game 4 and we lost pretty badly. Every team we faced was Canadian, so it’s great for the girls to face international competition like that. Ava has proved herself to be the main defensive specialist on the team and plays a very physical brand of hockey. As I like to put it, she’s the closest thing to an enforcer you’re going to see in 8U girls hockey, and I mean that as a complement. She’s big, fast, and intimidating out there. While she generally prefers staying back and stopping the other team in their tracks, she still managed to get her first tournament goal in the third game. It was a beautiful shot and I was so excited that I turned to a mom next to me (whose daughter played for the other team) and said “That’s my daughter!”. She was like, “woohoo”.

I had made a deal with Ava before that game that if she scored a goal she could push me into the swimming pool afterwards. We had already been swimming once that day and I wasn’t exactly hoping to go again, but I had to follow through with my promise. Obviously she got a big kick out of it, and I’m all about giving fun motivation like that. I know you have to be careful with how you incentivize kids, but something like pushing me in the pool or dumping a glass of ice water over my head is funny and memorable, so I’m fine with it.

Not only was I proud of Ava, but Jessica and I were both so proud of Elise and Enzo for how they conducted themselves throughout the weekend. It’s not easy to go and support their sister the whole time, but they’re so good and always find a way to have fun with the other kids. Their good attitudes and maturity when the spotlight wasn’t on them was really impressive, and honestly Ava could benefit from learning a bit of that. She’s going to have to as they get further into activities of their own. Overall it was a great weekend, and I even found time to take Enzo to The Hockey Shop in Surrey, where we fitted him for his very own red hockey helmet. He’s been wearing Ava’s old helmet so far (which I covered with black and red tape because he didn’t want to wear a pink helmet), but since he wants to stick with hockey I promised him we’d get something he liked. The selection in Canada is so much better than what we have around us, so he got to pick out a bright red helmet and white facemask that fit him perfectly. I love how he’s only 5 years old and already wears an adult size small helmet!

There’s only about a month left in Ava’s hockey season, and we’ll be capping it off with one more trip to Canada near the end of March. Grandpa Rick will be coming out from Iowa to join us, so that should be a great time. Also our friends the Palmer’s will be coming up for a day trip to cheer Ava on. It’s been a great year, and I’ve really enjoyed helping out as an assistant coach, but we’re ready for a little break after this. In addition to Jiu-Jitsu, Ava is looking forward to the bike racing season this Spring/Summer. A lot of people have their kids specialize in one sport these days, but it’s not good for their bodies and leads to injuries that wouldn’t happen if they were more well rounded athletically. Between hockey, martial arts, and bike racing, we feel good about the mixture of activities for our kids, and love seeing them enjoying themselves year around.

In addition to all this activity, the girls have been making so much progress with mom at home on reading tutoring. It’s been nearly two months now and the improvement is really impressive. I know I’m beginning to sound like a broken record on this topic, but I’m so impressed with how Jessica has taken this on. Her dedication is the sole reason why it’s working out so well. Ava and Elise are both moving up through levels at a nice pace, and more importantly, they’re enjoying it. We still have a way to go to get caught up to where we want to be, but based on this new trajectory I have no concerns.

Jessica has not only been busy with tutoring, but has also been working a lot more over the past couple weeks due to Valentine’s Day. It’s always busy this time of year after a very slow January, so she has been taking advantage of that as much as possible. Lately it seems like one of us is always working, but that allows for a lot of good solo time with the kids, and before long we’ll be on our first big family vacation.

Before I go I want to take a moment to pay my respects to a close family friend who is no longer with us. Paul Harper has been a good friend of my mom, Uncle Jim, Aunt Brenda, and other family members for longer than I’ve been alive. I’ve known him my entire life and although I didn’t know him like they did, I always loved and respected him. When I was a little kid I thought he was the coolest guy simply because he drove such a cool Porsche. I remember going to his 40th birthday party when I was a bit older, but it was when I started really getting into music in my teenage years that my appreciation for him reached a new level. Not only was Paul an accomplished jazz pianist, but he ran his own recording studio and worked with many of my heroes from the Seattle music scene. I had the chance to visit with him recently while holding a birthday party at the house. Jim invited him to join us because he lived close to me, and I’m so glad he ended up coming. It ended up being the last time I would see him, but he was the exact same guy I had looked up to as a kid. Full of life and laughter. Hearing that he had passed away from liver cancer was very sad and shocking, but I’m thankful to have known him, and will certainly never forget him. He touched the lives of multiple family members in a very positive way and for that we will always be thankful.

Here’s a few recent photos to ensure you go out with a smile.