Another week of waiting for the State of California to give me a test date. I deal with the waiting in different ways. I spend a fair amount of time on the phone networking with agents and preparing them for when I finally get off the ground and I'm ready to start writing business for them. I've also been playing a fair amount of golf and I've been doing some odd jobs around the house, trimming plants and working on the pond, etc.

Darla and I went out yesterday and bought some aquatic plants for the pond. The intense heat in Northern California makes the battle against algea almost unwinnable and the heat forces the fish to find shelter at the bottom of the pond. I decided to battle both problems with the use of some floating and some aquatic plants. We bought two $20 hardy lilies that sit in pots at the bottom of the pond. The leaves will grow up and sit on the surface of the water and provide shade for the fish and keep the sun off of the water. These lilies are bright pink and yellow. We also bought 5 floating hyacinth that are a flowering plant with long roots that the fish love to push around the surface of the pond. We also bought six celery and aeration plants that provide needed aerification to the water. We then bought a large Canna plant that looks like a bottlebrush plant with large purple blossoms. All of these plants sit just below the surface of the water and grow out to provide shade and shelter to the fish. The surface of our pond is 6' x 9' in dimension and these plants should grow out to cover about 75% of the surface of the water. The nursery where we bought the plants is out in the country and only open Friday thru Sunday. They specialize in aquatic plants and have acres of ponds with plants and massive koi in the ponds. I'll keep them handy for the future, but the difference in the pond is already pretty dramatic and the fish seems to be thrilled with the new additions.

I played golf last week and over the weekend and also have a game tomorrow with Jerry, my best friend and best man in my wedding. Jerry and I don't get to see each other as much as I'd like. We are both married and busy with family and careers, but it was golf that developed our friendship and it is golf that sustains it. I shot an 85 last week at Woodcreek, the championship course here in Roseville, I made a nice comeback on the back side after shooting 46 on the front. I then played Diamond Oaks and shot 43-40=83 to take all bets on Saturday.

I heard a good golf story from the speaker at church on Sunday. Our pastor is on vacation and we had our former youth pastor who is planting a new church in Sacramento speak. Back when Ulysses S. Grant was in the White House, the Scots were attempting to introduce the game of golf to America and a Scottsman enticed U.S. Grant out to the opening of a golf course in the U.S. The press followed the twosome to the first teeing ground. The Scottsman poured out a pile of sand from a small bag that he carried in his golf bag and set the ball on it. He took his driver and lined up and took a mighty swing, hitting the ground, but missing the ball. Grant watched with great interest as the Scottsman took aim again and swung mightily whiffing above the ball. He tried six more times, missing the ball each time. Grant put his hand on the Scottsman's shoulder and said, "This new game appears to employ a great deal of exercise, but I fail to see the point of the ball."

I went out to a meeting with my new employer on Friday. They meet once a month for breakfast at seven a.m. in Manteca and then retire to the office for meetings on production and any developments with the companies. I was up at five a.m. and on the road by five-thirty for the ninety minute drive to Manteca. Fridays are casual days in the office and I wore a brand new golf shirt. I sat thru breakfast and then joined them back in the office to go over the production reports. About forty five minutes into the meeting, my boss, Nancy, said, "Ken, that's a very nice shirt, but what is that on the front of it?" I looked down to see the 2 1/2" x 6" tag that says X-Large down the side about five times. Smooth, eh? I blamed the faux paus on Darla, who I claimed sets my clothes out for me each night before I go to bed. They all had a good laugh, one of them even telling me to tell Darla that the X-Large sticker was on the front of my pants.

Richter Robb is growing so fast that they've had to arrange for new quarters to accomodate their growth. Nancy had arranged for everyone to go over to the new office at eleven thirty that day. I had a phone interview with the California Employment Development Department at 1 p.m. and had to leave. Nancy was busy and I told her office manager that I had to go. Nancy called me on Saturday to make sure that everything was alright. She was concerned that I hadn't stayed behind to see the offices wth the gang. Her overriding concern was that I was not a team player. I assured her that I was and that the conflict was unavoidable. She was fine after our discussion, but it says something about her commitment to a team atmosphere in the office. Darla thought it was a bit much, but I see it as a good sign and I'm glad that she aired her concerns rather than let them fester.

Darla and I are off to Lake Almanor with the boys on the weekend. I'm not thrilled about sleeping in a tent for three days with the tenous condition of my back, but I'll survive. Darla and the boys really enjoy boating and water sports. I'll work on a few books and relax in the sun for three days. The weather has finally peaked after reaching triple digits for three straight days, yesterday was 95 and today is supposed to be 88. It will return to warmer days next weekend, just in time for us to head to Lake Almanor in the mountains.

Monday, Monday. I have completed my insurance classes, I've signed my contract with Nancy at Richter-Robb and now I sit in a waiting game for my test date for the property and casualty license. Just what I want to do, wait for the state to decide my immediate future. The schooling was Insurance 1A and pretty repetitious at best and boring at worst. The hardest part of the class was sitting and listening to the instructor give inaccurate or flat incorrect information. Being an academic and not an insurance person, the instructor can only teach based on the curriculum that is provided to him by the state of California. I was taking it way too serious early on, but after a discussion with the instructor (who I have had in the past when I got a Life license while working at Dean Witter), I realized that his intention is simply to teach us how to pass the test and not teach us either insurance theory or insurance procedure. I sat with two people who have been in insurance for twenty-plus years as I have and we got to the point of simply shaking our heads at each other when he brought up something patently incorrect. It was a test, especially in the afternoons when the temperatures were up and we had just finished the buffet at the local pizza parlor. Overall, it was a positive experience and I'm one step closer to the test and ultimately to starting my new job.

I will technically be the new Branch Manager of the Roseville branch of Richter Robb Insurance. Of course, I'll have no employees and will be working for Nancy, but really working for myself as a commissioned broker of surplus lines business. Nancy has set me up with a computer (a Dell Dimension 4550, a DSL line, a Fax/Printer/Scanner) and phone lines. I will be contacting the 150 agents that I worked with at Republic Western and signing them up to write surplus lines insurance. I will specialize in hard to place habitational business, but write all lines of surplus lines business. The manager at Burns and Wilcox, who offered me the salaried position in Sacramento, but who also made the mistake of being a little too forthcoming about some of the problems in his office, took it hard that I chose to work with Richter Robb. He was professional about it, but let me know that he felt like I strung him along when I knew I'd take the Richter Robb position all along. The truth is that I had to think long and hard about my options and decided to take a flying leap and see if I can fly. If you hear a loud THUD in the coming months, that would be me putting my wings away and being fitted with a body cast.

I had an interesting weekend. Darla and the boys went up to Lake Almanor in Northeastern California where Darla's folks have their motor home parked for the Summer. Earl has his boat up there and they are commuting back and forth, usually staying up there for two or three weeks at a stretch and then coming back home for a few days and then repeating the process. Oh to be retired. Earl and Frances have become good friends with the operators of the trailer park/resort and Earl has helped him refloat the marina, break in a brand new ski boat and with repairs and odd jobs around the facility. In fact, the owners have to go into town this week to register their new ski boat so that they can rent it out and Earl and Frances will work the office while they are gone. This is the resort where we stayed last Summer and will be back to in August. I will likely only get to enjoy the weekend there as I'll be up to my elbows in getting my new business off the ground, but it is a very nice resort up at the Lake. Darla and the boys had a great time water-skiiing, wake-boarding. knee-boarding and just relaxing up at the Lake. Daniel drove up with his grandparents after his graduation on Wednesday night and Darla, David and Alicia followed on early Saturday morning. I stayed behind because of ....GOLF. I played in a Net Amateur qualifier on Sunday and scraped my way around the course for a 43-43=86. Pretty bland golf in a tournament, but my back was acting up and stiffened on me during the round. I was glad to walk off the eighteenth green with a final tap-in par after a missed birdie putt.

I spent Saturday setting up my new computer, transferring Word and Excel files and pictures from my old computer, as well as setting up all of my favorite websites and configuring the new computer to my desires. I still have to set up a screensaver and change my e-mail address with many of my online service providers. Right now, I'm getting next to no e-mail on my new addresses as the spammers are not yet aware of the address. I don't know what I'll do to remove that unwanted hair or how I'll ever find a provider of inkjet ink without the spammers. I guess I'll survive.

I drove over to the new Indian Casino that just opened in Lincoln, the next town down the road from Roseville. The Auburn Indians that own the land contracted with the Station Casino group out of Las Vegas to build and manage the casino for them and this is a first-cabin operation. Dad is familiar with the Station Casino group and this facility is HUGE. It has nine restaurants and a giant gaming facility with slots, table games and a showroom. I could swear I was in Vegas when I drove up to the facility. The Nevada casinos in Reno and Tahoe are concerned about the competition from this facility and based on the swelling crowds at the casino, they have a right to be worried. I had dinner at the Fatburger inside the casino, but couldn't get within several bodies of a slot machine. I drove up to see the facility (it's about twelve miles from our house) and that's what I did. It was wall-to-wall people on Saturday night and it took me almost twenty minutes in line just to order a Fatburger. I look forward to them finishing the showroom and beginning some entertainment on the weekends. They have a huge All-You-Can-Eat buffet that Darla and I will take advantage of for Sunday brunch occassionally. This is by far the nicest Indian Casino that I've ever seen. Leave it to a Vegas casino operator to bring some class to the genre.

I talked to Jennifer on the weekend and she will be coming home for a week over her 23rd birthday in August. Her Mom offered to bring her home for the three day July 4th holiday, but Jennifer decided that travelling two of the three days didn't sound like much fun and decided to come home over her birthday and take a week off. She gets a month off every year from the Army. She told me she is thinking about driving over to Myrtle Beach for the 4th of July holiday. Darla and I will drive up to Lake Almanor and spend the weekend with her folks on the 4th.

Well, that is all the news that's fit to print, so until next time, keep God alive in your life.

I don't know what it is about me..perpetual youth or perhaps perpetual immaturity, but I find certain things funny that others would find tremendously unpleasant. I suppose those people would be called grownups.

Anyhow, I had to go out at the lunch break from insurance school today and buy Daniel a graduation present. He is graduating from the eighth grade and I suppose in some strange way we celebrate that, the matriculation from middle-school to high-school. I will sit in 100 degree heat on pavement and suffer through the class president trying to sound grownup as he or she discusses the role of the eighth grader in making the world a better place (as long as they are home in time for Mom to make dinner). I digress. I went over to Fry's Electronics, a local electronics superstore and picked out a new 13" color television for Dan. As I was browsing through the huge display of Japanese technology at its best and brightest, a wave of need passed through my very soul and I made my way to the Men's room. I busied myself in inner contemplation while reading the back door of the stall. Finally having cleansed my soul (so to speak) and being past ready to leave the area, I stood to leave. As I leaned over to flush the john, my sunglasses slipped from their perch on the front of my shirt and tumbled down into the soup! I stood suddenly transfixed at the site of my shades floating in the mix. I was torn between my two idiosyncracies, cleanliness and cheapness. Should I wade into the mess to get the shades or move on and buy a new pair of glasses?Being the miser that I am I finally dove in fished them out, walked them about three feet from my body over to the sink and washed them under some scalding hot water. I bought the tv and quickly went on to the rest of my day. I don't know why, perhaps because this sort of thing only happens to me, but I found it blog worthy.

Back to the Blog after a week of alternating between vacation and training for my insurance license. I started the training on Thursday of last week and then Darla and I drove back up to Lake Tahoe on Friday night and stayed until Sunday afternoon. The condo was great and we mostly ate and played at the Lakeside Casino. Tahoe has gotten really snooty in the last couple of years with Harrahs and Harvey's now under common ownership and the addition of several brand new and expensive condos now sitting next to Harrah's on the strip, the big casinos have forced the small gambler out. $10 minimum tables and 25 cent slots as the lowest denomination are now common. The $1 and $5 slot machines are the fastest growing machines in Tahoe. The Lakeside has excellent food with $2.99 breakfast specials, $4.99 lunch specials and the best prime rib in Tahoe at $7.99. We ate most of our meals there, although we ate one breakfast in the restaurant at the condo. I had a barbecued pork sandwich on Sunday lunch that was some of the best barbecue I'd had in a while. We ate and gambled (we both like nickle video poker) and spent some time in the sun and just generally enjoyed ourselves. It was a great getaway and in spite of technically being still unemployed, I enjoyed the weekend. I hit another royal flush on Saturday night (spades), but I only had five nickles in. A 25 cent bet to win $200 is still pretty nice.

Commuting to this class, which is a whopping 19 miles from my home, has made me realize how incredibly spoiled I am. I've been working out of my house for the better part of eight years and I've really grown to appreciate the serenity and the lack of pressure that I had in my life. Now commuting the half-hour in rush hour traffic, I know what I've been missing. The time that I'm negotiating traffic at 7:30 used to be spent with a cup of coffee in the back yard feeding the fish. I find myself tiring early in the afternoon as the instructor drones on about insuring clauses and conditions, etc. Several times I've had to resort to the technique of using my hand to shield my eyes as I sit back in class and close my eyes. I feel like I'm back in high school. We get a ten-minute break once an hour and I need it. Just this small amount of commuting has convinced me to forego the safe salary at Burns and Wilcox and give Richter Robb 100% of my commitment and work on growing my business here in my home. The 100% commission aspect has still got me a little spooked, but it will be a giant motivator going forward.

I talked to Dad over the weekend and wished him a Happy Father's Day. I also talked to Jennifer and she in turn wished me good tidings. I heard that My Uncle Ed passed away on Saturday night. He has been ill with prostate cancer and was given only a few months to live last year. He died with his family around him and I simply ask you to send a prayer to his family, his wife Martha and his two children, Steve and Jane, my cousins. I trust that the Lord will hold them in his arms during this time of sadness and mourning. Ed was a man's man with a barrel chest and a heart of gold. He was very much like his father, Jack (Pop) who passed away so many years ago. Both of them had a solid exterior and a soft inner core. I can't think of a better combination for a man. My cousin Wayne is very similar in makeup to Ed and Pop and to some extent, so is my brother Randy. All of them would give you pause if there was trouble to be had just looking at them, but any of them would give you the shirt off their backs and a strong shoulder to lean on when times are tough. Solid men who I'm proud to be related to.

The temperatures in Roseville have returned to the upper nineties and near 100 as I slog about moving sprinklers and working on a couple of brown spots that have popped up in the lawn in the last week. Why is it that when you take a vacation, things like that happen? I'd replaced some of the sod in the back yard and I'm having to pour water on the replaced sod in order to keep it alive and to help it nit to the grass that is already there.

I've developed a horrendous bachache that was exacerbated by my golfing last weekend. I've had some tweaking in my back before and
it has always corrected itself over time. This has been with me for two weeks now and I can barely bend over to put on my socks. I agonized through my golf game last week and I've got a game Thursday night as well as the Net Amateur championship for the city of Roseville this weekend. I will try to get into a chiropractor one day next week and see if they can make an adjustment, but it won't help me much in my next two games.

Well, that is the news for now. Darla is at Daniel's ballgame right now. It's about 100 degrees and I couldn't get up the moxey to join her in the heat to watch kids play baseball. It's just too hot. Be good all and I'll add to this again soon.

A good way to lose anyone who might stop by and read my musings on a semi-regular basis would be to fail to update this diatribe and I have managed to do that (or not do it, depending in what context you are reading this). Whatever. I am stepping up to update the life and times of an unemployed insurance manager. Being unemployed is a test of one's inner strength and faith. Thankfully I have a Life Application Bible which allows me to look up Bible verses based on topic (hopelessness, faith, weaknesses, need, anger, etc.) It has literally been a Godsend as I traverse my way through the journey of life.

Darla and I have been on an extended vacation, returning from our condo in Tahoe yesterday afternoon so that I could go on a second interview with Burns and Wilcox. Burns and Wilcox is a large national MGA (Managing General Agency) which handles surplus lines products. I had interviewed with them at the very beginning of my job search, but the timing was bad and the branch manager, Bill Souza, said that he'd keep me in mind for the future. Well, one of his underwriters gave her notice and left him last week and the timing had improved. Bill has offered me a job making about a $1000 a month less than I was making with an opportunity for an annual bonus in the $15,000 range. It is a tempting offer, but I would have to commute in to Sacramento and his office is in a bit of disarray. Bill was hired to clean up the problems in that office and I would be one of his first attempts to bring in some fresh talent. I've asked him for some concessions and he is mulling those over and will get back to me next week.

In the meantime, I have reached agreement with Nancy Dean at Richter Robb to open a Roseville office of Richter Robb (out of my house). I will be on 100% commission with Nancy, but she has agreed to a three-month guaranteed income after which I would convert to 100% commission. It will take me a couple of months to get my agents signed up and a flow of business established. I have agents ready to go as soon as my licensing is in place. Nancy is buying me a computer system and paying for my phones, DSL, business cards and marketing expenses. My commission with her is 35%, where Burns and Wilcox pays their underwriters who elect to go on full commission only 25%. I think the agreement with Nancy is in my best interest, but it is a little unnerving to go on 100% commission.

I have had contact with three other potential employers since I agreed to take a position with Nancy. I still consider myself unemployed because I won't actually begin my job until the licensing process is complete and I've taken the one-week pre-certification class and passed the property and casualty licensing exam AND I have the license in hand. Once I've taken the class and signed up for the test, I can begin contacting my agents and getting them signed up, but I can't solicit business or quote any business until I have the license in my hot little hand. I start the class tomorrow. I suppose that you can see that my loyalty is not 100% to Nancy as I'm willing to entertain discussions and negotiation with other prospective employers, but frankly if I were to fail the exam (which I won't), Nancy's commitment to me would be non-existent. Until I am actually on her payroll, I consider myself a free agent and will go to the highest bidder.

I had a great time in Carmel. We decided to arrive on Saturday and save ourselves the cost of a motel room on Friday night (it was because of that unemployment thing). Well, it saved us some $$, but it cost me a golf tournament. I drove three and a half hours and arrived at the Rancho Canada course in Carmel tired and uptight. It took me six holes to settle down and begin to get into a rythym. I was ten over in those six holes and ended up shooting a 94 and THAT was the easier of the two courses. I settled down on Sunday and shot an 84 at Poppy Hills. I won't do the drive three hours and play golf thing again. Live and learn.

Darla and I had a wonderful time in Carmel and stayed at the Carmel Bay View Inn on Junipero Street, a block up from Ocean Avenue and the Carmel Plaza. We went out to dinner with Bjorn and Tove Andersen, friends from the Roseville Golf Club. Bjorn and Tove are both in their early sixties and are immigrants from Norway. We had a blast visiting with them and hearing stories from their lives. Bjorn is retired from United Airlines. He got out and sold his stock before the airline went into bankruptcy. They lived in the Marin County area of San Francisco and moved to Rocklin last year. They bought a gorgeous home in the foothills above the Whitney Oaks golf course and we spent this past Super Bowl at a party at their home. We ate and drank Saturday evening away and then walked off our meal on the streets of Carmel. Darla and I were up early on Sunday and took a long walk down to the ocean and back.

Sunday night we drove five hours from Carmel to Lake Tahoe. The condo that we have is one bedroom with a living room and a HUGE jacuzzi tub in the center of the suite. Darla and I took a well deserved soak on early Monday morning when we arrived in Tahoe. Monday we ate a late breakfast at the Lakeside Inn and ended up spending a good portion of the afternoon at the casino. We had a large prime rib dinner Monday night ($7.99) and then played slots until about ten thirty. We stopped on an 800 coin win on 4 fours and went out for a late dessert of a chocolate brownie with ice cream and fudge. We drove back on Tuesday afternoon after again stopping for a late breakfast, this time at the Biltmore Casino in Crystal Bay, Nevada (3 eggs, meat, toast and hashbrowns for $1.99).

Darla and I will head back up to Tahoe this weekend to finish out our stay at the condo and spend some time relaxing. I will finish this later as the DSL installer is here now. Later.

The DSL is now installed, I've taken the Explorer in for a much needed oil change (5-20 oil for those who care), and picked up a roll of sod for the backyard. I used to stress about that little patch of lawn that the dog kills on a regular basis. I've since found out that Home Depot sells rolls of sod for $2.88 each and I can keep it alive by replacing the sections that he kills through urination.

Our weather has settled into the low eighties and upper seventies, cool for this time of year, but ideal for living in. I will step outside and replace some of that burned sod now. Be good to each other. Ciao.