I didn't get to my normal Monday posting of the random ravings of a modern lunatic (or my blog entry as it is more commonly known). I had a meeting at the unGodly hour of 7 a.m. yesterday in Manteca, CA, a 70 minute drive if you push the speed limit and at that hour you can. The Mustang cruised at 70 miles an hour and I showed up right at 7 a.m. after leaving the house at 5:50 a.m. As this job continues to confound me, the meetings and the drive to arrive at them have become more of a hassle. I displayed my unhappiness in the meeting and was supported by the other underwriters. The problem that I'm having is that my agency plant is made up of habitational agents and our companies do NOT have competitive rates in this class of business. I've been floundering as I attempt to keep my agents happy and interested, but I'm losing the battle. I've been branching out to other agents and picking up some contractor's agents and I'm just staying alive, but I'm not thriving. It's frustrating.
I'm continuing to build my business while looking over my shoulder and talking to other potential employers. Darla and I leave for Hawaii in four weeks and I'd like to get this settled so that I can relax on the beach and not carry the burden of my employment woes with me. I have interviewed with Keenan and Associates, a broker who handles insurance for school districts in California. They are the 4th largest broker in the country and are hiring a new Account Executive to replace the current AE, who is being promoted to Vice President in the Northern California office. I had a very good interview with the Assistant VP last week and hope to meet with the Vice President in the next week or two. I have a lunch meeting with Burns and Wilcox this Thursday. The Vice President for the west coast region is in town and I will meet with him and the local branch manager to discuss joining their firm. They are also a Surplus Lines broker, but have a national footprint and a corporate structure, which is unlike the family-owned firm that I'm working for now. I underestimated the power of a franchise when I joined Richter-Robb. Burns and Wilcox is owned by The Kauffman Group and is the second largest surplus lines broker in the United States. THAT is a BIG footprint. It will all work out and I'm leaving it in the hands of the Lord, who has never failed to provide for me, even in my bleakest moments.
The boy's football program took on Folsom High School last week. Daniel's game was on Thursday night and his team took a 22-0 lead, only to lose the game 36-34 in the last minute of the game on a furious comeback by Folsom. It was a tough game to watch, certainly because our boys let one slip away, but even more so because they had the visitor's bleachers closed and we had to sit on the Folsom side of the stadium and listen to the screams and yellls as they made their way back to win the game. The fans were stomping on the metal stands and causing a virtual headache to become a literal one. Daniel played well on both sides of the ball, but was pretty down after the game.
The Varsity played on Friday night and we expected this to be a tough game. Folsom has one of the top rated quarterbacks in the area and is a Division I school. Woodcreek has three junior quarterbacks (including David) that are still learning the ropes and the game plan is to hope that they can hand off the ball and not make mistakes that will cost us the game. Our guys played a whale of a game and David was one of the standouts. Unfortunately, he plays free safety and when your free safety leads the team in tackles, it's NOT a good night for your team. David also had an interception that he ran back 25 yards to the Folsom 8-yard line. Unfortunately the strong safety grabbed one of Folsom's players by the jersey and threw him to the ground, earning a flag. The penalty was after the interception, but it cost us field position. I was afraid that David was going to make it into the end zone as I saw the penalty on the return. We lost the game 21-6, but had plenty of opportunities. Our quarterback only completed one pass for minus three yards and was intercepted twice. Worse than that, our starting tailback fumbled the ball away four times. The defense played great. We intercepted their all league quarterback three times and sacked him four times. He had three touchdown passes, but one of them came with thirty-four seconds left in the game, when he should have taken a knee. I think we embarassed him in the game. Our quarterback earned a spot on the bench and our backup will start in the next game. David earned the "hammer" award, a tee shirt that the coaches present to the player who best lays the wood to the opposition. David had a play in the third quarter where their qb threw an out pattern to the tight end and David read the play beautifully and arrived with a full head of steam just as the pass arrived and blew up the tight end, knocking him one way and the ball the other. The tight end got up, grabbed the ball and threw it at David, drawing a penalty. The Folsom bench exploded after the penalty and drew another fifteen-yard unsportsmanlike penalty. So the result of the play was no gain followed by thirty yards in penalties. David was down after the game, but he is living up to the coaches' opinion that he will be an all-league safety in his junior year. It was by far the best game I've ever seen him play on defense. He has a real nose for the ball and plays with an intensity that is contagious.
Enough crowing about my sons, eh? David did pass his driver's test and is now enjoying the freedom that having wheels gives a young man. I talked to Dad over the weekend and he said that David is living one of the favorite times of his life right now, whether he knows it or not. He is a football player, he has a new car and the freedom that that represents and he is living the American dream.
We did get moved into our new church building this weekend and it was incredible. The church is absolutely beautiful. The church body has gifted the pastor with a two-week, paid vacation to wherever he want to go. He'll probably take his family to Orlando. He deserves this gift as he has worked so hard to build this church, from 100 members meeting at the elementary school to a church of 5000 attenders now meeting in a 3000 seat facility. We are so blessed with what the Lord has provided to us. David and Daniel are again involved in the high school program, attending their own church service during the eleven o'clock hour. We are so thankful for the Godly influence in the boy's lives. The high school group is now meeting in our old worship center, now that we've moved into the new building. God is faithful and we are blessed.
Stay focused on the ways of the Lord and NOT the ways of this world and you will feel real contentment in your own life. Ciao.
Tuesday, September 30, 2003
Monday, September 22, 2003
Monday and thoughts turn back to work and responsibility and paying the bills, etc. I much prefer living in the realm of my inner child...playing golf and puttering in the yard and washing cars and walking the dog. I'll make a good retired person.
The weekend has come and gone. I tripped on my sword in the Club Championship and got speared by a competitor who played mistake-free golf. I shot an 84, which is right at my handicap, but he shot a 77 which is three shots better than his handicap and he beat me 4+3. I started out well, but should have seen the handwriting on the wall. I rolled in a thirty-five foot putt for birdie on number 1 and he rolled in a twenty-foot putt right on top of me to tie the hole. It was a close match until the back nine when he went par-birdie-par to take a 4-up lead and it was a matter of time after that. The killer blow was a sixty-yard chip that he rolled in for birdie on number 11. I enjoyed myself and walked away with my head held high. When someone beats you with a great round, all you can do is tip your cap and then let all the air out of his tires in the parking lot, while he drinks beer and gloats in the bar after the round. J/K. Up next is the Rose Cup in October.
Darla and I went out to see the Trailer Park Troubadors last night with four other couples from her work. We met at the Hard Rock Cafe at the Downtown Plaza where we ate dinner and then walked over to the Crest Theater. The Crest is one of those turn of the century movie theaters with loge seating and gilded accents on the walls and ceilings. It was a great venue for a concert and our ticket price was going to the Sacramento Housing Authority, a group promoting affordable housing for low income families. We had a ball and the band played from 7:30 until 10:30. We're both a little tired today, but we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves last night.
As the time ticked away for me to hand the keys to the Mustang over to David, I was getting more and more melancholy. In fact, I think I started to slip into a midlife crisis. I've really enjoyed tooling around in the Mustang. The lines are great and the 3.8 litre V6 is a peppy little motor that scoots. I finally took a look in the mirror last week and saw an adult looking back at me and decided that I'd go out and get myself a newer Mustang as a replacement for the 1994 which David is stealing from me. Darla and I found a 2002 Tropic Green (it is a dark green metallic, like a Hunter Green) Mustang Coupe. It has a rear spoiler and a tan interior and we got a good buy on it. I bought an extended warranty which will cover us from the 24,000 miles that it has n it now until 6 years or 100,000 miles with no deductible. I consider an extended warranty to be lemon insurance as most modern cars should easily hit 100,000 miles without serious problems. We are both thrilled with the new car and Darla said that If I had to have a midlife crisis, she would much prefer it to be a green Mustang rather than a blonde.
The boys football games have come and gone and they couldn't have been more different in their outcomes. Daniel's team dominated the game over Bear River and David's team got a can of whoopass opened on them. They lost the game 29-6, but it wasn't that close. Their starting quarterback fumbled three times, was intercepted twice and we dropped a pass in the endzone when the score was 6-0 that would have tied the game and given us some momentum. The next play after the dropped pass, the qb was sacked and fumbled the ball away. It was a brutal game against a Division I team who was playing their first home game. We travel to Folsom this week and play in their new $4.5 million stadium. This is Jennifer's alma mater and they got shut out last week in their home opener. They are also a Division I school (Woodcreek is Division II) and they are spoiling to open that same can on us this Friday. It will be interesting to see how the team responds. Daniel's team gave up an opening drive to the hosts that resulted in a touchdown. The extra point was missed, we ran the ensuing kickoff back for a touchdown and didn't look back in a 35-6 victory. Daniel played particularly well, blocking on the offensive line and had one play on defense where he stormed through and smeared the quarterback for a huge loss of yardage. Daniel has really matured as a football player and can be dominant in a game due to his physical size. The coaches say Daniel's only problem is motivation and they are working hard to keep him fired up during games.
Well, that's it for this week. We move into our new worship center at church this weekend and I am once again ushering. The new facility seats 3000 and we are going from 11 services a weekend to three. The wear and tear on the pastor and his staff have been overwhelming the last few months and we all look forward to the new facility. We are going from a need of twenty ushers for each service to 96 and we are being stretched. Darla will be filling in where needed as we are short help at the moment. It is an exciting time, but also a stressful one. Pray for us as we reach out to a community in need of the saving grace of Jesus Christ. God bless all of you.
The weekend has come and gone. I tripped on my sword in the Club Championship and got speared by a competitor who played mistake-free golf. I shot an 84, which is right at my handicap, but he shot a 77 which is three shots better than his handicap and he beat me 4+3. I started out well, but should have seen the handwriting on the wall. I rolled in a thirty-five foot putt for birdie on number 1 and he rolled in a twenty-foot putt right on top of me to tie the hole. It was a close match until the back nine when he went par-birdie-par to take a 4-up lead and it was a matter of time after that. The killer blow was a sixty-yard chip that he rolled in for birdie on number 11. I enjoyed myself and walked away with my head held high. When someone beats you with a great round, all you can do is tip your cap and then let all the air out of his tires in the parking lot, while he drinks beer and gloats in the bar after the round. J/K. Up next is the Rose Cup in October.
Darla and I went out to see the Trailer Park Troubadors last night with four other couples from her work. We met at the Hard Rock Cafe at the Downtown Plaza where we ate dinner and then walked over to the Crest Theater. The Crest is one of those turn of the century movie theaters with loge seating and gilded accents on the walls and ceilings. It was a great venue for a concert and our ticket price was going to the Sacramento Housing Authority, a group promoting affordable housing for low income families. We had a ball and the band played from 7:30 until 10:30. We're both a little tired today, but we thoroughly enjoyed ourselves last night.
As the time ticked away for me to hand the keys to the Mustang over to David, I was getting more and more melancholy. In fact, I think I started to slip into a midlife crisis. I've really enjoyed tooling around in the Mustang. The lines are great and the 3.8 litre V6 is a peppy little motor that scoots. I finally took a look in the mirror last week and saw an adult looking back at me and decided that I'd go out and get myself a newer Mustang as a replacement for the 1994 which David is stealing from me. Darla and I found a 2002 Tropic Green (it is a dark green metallic, like a Hunter Green) Mustang Coupe. It has a rear spoiler and a tan interior and we got a good buy on it. I bought an extended warranty which will cover us from the 24,000 miles that it has n it now until 6 years or 100,000 miles with no deductible. I consider an extended warranty to be lemon insurance as most modern cars should easily hit 100,000 miles without serious problems. We are both thrilled with the new car and Darla said that If I had to have a midlife crisis, she would much prefer it to be a green Mustang rather than a blonde.
The boys football games have come and gone and they couldn't have been more different in their outcomes. Daniel's team dominated the game over Bear River and David's team got a can of whoopass opened on them. They lost the game 29-6, but it wasn't that close. Their starting quarterback fumbled three times, was intercepted twice and we dropped a pass in the endzone when the score was 6-0 that would have tied the game and given us some momentum. The next play after the dropped pass, the qb was sacked and fumbled the ball away. It was a brutal game against a Division I team who was playing their first home game. We travel to Folsom this week and play in their new $4.5 million stadium. This is Jennifer's alma mater and they got shut out last week in their home opener. They are also a Division I school (Woodcreek is Division II) and they are spoiling to open that same can on us this Friday. It will be interesting to see how the team responds. Daniel's team gave up an opening drive to the hosts that resulted in a touchdown. The extra point was missed, we ran the ensuing kickoff back for a touchdown and didn't look back in a 35-6 victory. Daniel played particularly well, blocking on the offensive line and had one play on defense where he stormed through and smeared the quarterback for a huge loss of yardage. Daniel has really matured as a football player and can be dominant in a game due to his physical size. The coaches say Daniel's only problem is motivation and they are working hard to keep him fired up during games.
Well, that's it for this week. We move into our new worship center at church this weekend and I am once again ushering. The new facility seats 3000 and we are going from 11 services a weekend to three. The wear and tear on the pastor and his staff have been overwhelming the last few months and we all look forward to the new facility. We are going from a need of twenty ushers for each service to 96 and we are being stretched. Darla will be filling in where needed as we are short help at the moment. It is an exciting time, but also a stressful one. Pray for us as we reach out to a community in need of the saving grace of Jesus Christ. God bless all of you.
Monday, September 15, 2003
Monday and the cool weather returns. It is again supposed to be about 85 degrees today and although the Canadian readers may think that is a heatwave, I'm stating this in fahrenheit and 80 degrees is not a heatwave folks. I remember my grandparents used to put a bowl of ice in front of a fan in the living room when Vancouver would hit 88 degrees. We'd laugh coming from Texas and the muggy, hot and humid conditions. Heat and temperature are all relative to the climate that you are used to. Dad has lived in Texas and Arizona in real heat and I have to laugh when I talk to him now and he tells me about the drought conditions in Canada and how hot its been. I look in the paper every day and see Vancouver topping out at a whopping 77 degrees and wonder if he is being taken in by the locals who haven't seen rain in three weeks and think that they are in heavy drought conditions. He told me that his grass is stressed because the city is experiencing water rationing due to the drought conditions. In fact, I just went and took a look at the weather section of the paper and see that Vancouver is due for 62 degrees today and showers and 53 degrees tomorrow and rain. I'd say that 5-day drought they were experiencing is over. Just an observation.
The weekend has come and gone. The boy's football teams dominated their opposition. Daniel's team won 27-0 in a real one-sided affair. David's team then went out (after the Junior Varsity won their game 32-0) and the Varsity backed up the junior squads with a 36-12 victory. Woodcreek's football program is the only undefeated program in their league and they all look good. We have speed at the skill positions and each of the defenses is obviously stellar. It could be a real fun year. They play one of the league's powerhouses this week on the road and we will get a sense of where this program is after that game. Stay tuned.
Darla and I went to a fundraiser for the football program on Saturday night. They had the affair at the Placer County fairgrounds in the shadow of the Saturday night races at the racetrack. Darla and I both had to grin at some of the mothers of the football players dressing up in slinky outfits and watching them strut their stuff. Nothing like a 40 year-old woman attempting to be 18 again. It makes me appreciate the adult woman that I married that much more. It was amusing up to the point that they started the music and the dancing and then it just got sad. The dinner was good: barbecued tri tip and chicken and we enjoyed the company of the folks that we sat with, but I could do without a repeat of this on a regular basis.
The Club Championship started on Sunday. I got dropped down into the first flight due to a couple of cancellations, so I had to play a 9-handicapper in the first round. I get twelve strokes based on my 11.1 index. It was a close match, but I was able to beat my opponent 2-up on the 18th hole. I had taken a 3-up lead with four holes to play, but lost the 15th and 16th holes before shooting a par to tie 17, putting me dormie for the match and then winning on number 18 with another par. We both shot 82 for the round. I have been fortunate in all of the club championships to win my opening round, but have always stumbled and lost in the second round. I will play a 7-handicapper next Saturday and take 5 strokes from him in the match. This guy can really bomb the ball off the tee, routinely outdriving me by 50-75 yards, but he can also be erratic, spraying his drives left and right. I'll let you know next week how I fare. If I win on Saturday, I'll play for the flight championship on Sunday.
David took his final driving school road lesson yesterday and takes his driving test on Saturday. Darla and I will see our insurance bill increase from $1,440 annually to $3,421 annually. The increase is accentuated by the fact that we will add another car to the policy, but more impacted by the fact that we are adding a 16 year-old male to the policy. Pray for us. Daniel is two years away from his license and I may not survive that event.
Well, that is news from the home front. The job continues to confound me, but that's another story for another time. Ciao.
The weekend has come and gone. The boy's football teams dominated their opposition. Daniel's team won 27-0 in a real one-sided affair. David's team then went out (after the Junior Varsity won their game 32-0) and the Varsity backed up the junior squads with a 36-12 victory. Woodcreek's football program is the only undefeated program in their league and they all look good. We have speed at the skill positions and each of the defenses is obviously stellar. It could be a real fun year. They play one of the league's powerhouses this week on the road and we will get a sense of where this program is after that game. Stay tuned.
Darla and I went to a fundraiser for the football program on Saturday night. They had the affair at the Placer County fairgrounds in the shadow of the Saturday night races at the racetrack. Darla and I both had to grin at some of the mothers of the football players dressing up in slinky outfits and watching them strut their stuff. Nothing like a 40 year-old woman attempting to be 18 again. It makes me appreciate the adult woman that I married that much more. It was amusing up to the point that they started the music and the dancing and then it just got sad. The dinner was good: barbecued tri tip and chicken and we enjoyed the company of the folks that we sat with, but I could do without a repeat of this on a regular basis.
The Club Championship started on Sunday. I got dropped down into the first flight due to a couple of cancellations, so I had to play a 9-handicapper in the first round. I get twelve strokes based on my 11.1 index. It was a close match, but I was able to beat my opponent 2-up on the 18th hole. I had taken a 3-up lead with four holes to play, but lost the 15th and 16th holes before shooting a par to tie 17, putting me dormie for the match and then winning on number 18 with another par. We both shot 82 for the round. I have been fortunate in all of the club championships to win my opening round, but have always stumbled and lost in the second round. I will play a 7-handicapper next Saturday and take 5 strokes from him in the match. This guy can really bomb the ball off the tee, routinely outdriving me by 50-75 yards, but he can also be erratic, spraying his drives left and right. I'll let you know next week how I fare. If I win on Saturday, I'll play for the flight championship on Sunday.
David took his final driving school road lesson yesterday and takes his driving test on Saturday. Darla and I will see our insurance bill increase from $1,440 annually to $3,421 annually. The increase is accentuated by the fact that we will add another car to the policy, but more impacted by the fact that we are adding a 16 year-old male to the policy. Pray for us. Daniel is two years away from his license and I may not survive that event.
Well, that is news from the home front. The job continues to confound me, but that's another story for another time. Ciao.
Friday, September 12, 2003
Tuesday, September 09, 2003
Back to the blog. I won't complain about weather as it is partly cloudy today with a nice cool breeze and the temperature is expected to top out at a mind numbing 82 degrees today. The weather could stay like this for about three months and I'd be thrilled. Did someone say "Golfing Weather"?
I did not play any golf this last week and actually enjoyed the respite. I will be back at it full bore this weekend as our club's Championship starts on Sunday. I'll hit the range today and probably every day until Sunday. Our club plays our club championship in a match play format and our club champion will be the winner of the scratch flight. I'm not even attempting to qualify for that flight because you have to shoot even par to even have a chance. My biggest concern about entering the qualifying tournament is that I'd make it into the scratch flight and then shoot a 90 in the match. I'd rather play in the 11-13 flight and try to win my flight. It will be fun and I really enjoy match play. It allows you to have a blowup hole without destroying your chance to win. A bad hole is just one lost hole, not a disaster.
Jennifer has returned to the land of Army and we thoroughly enjoyed her stay. Darla and I both have seen a tremendous change in her maturity, her demeanor and especially in her care and concern for her family. She truly misses home and lets each of us know individually how much she cares about us. She spent alot of time with her friends, but went out of her way to spend special time with her family, including the trip to Lake Almanor and a barbecue with her Mom and Bill and our family. I probably had lunch wth her five times during her visit and she even got up early and went to church with me while Darla and the boys were up at Lake Almanor. One big change that I've noticed both this trip and the last is how responsible Jennifer is. She calls and lets us know where she is and what she's doing and she is early to everything. She showed up to church at 7:30 for the 8:00 service. She was chagrined to find that our coffee service has been suspended until we move into the new building due to construction. On the day that she flew home she was to meet Darla and I at the restaurant at eight-thirty for breakfast. The phone rang at eight-fifteen and I laughed as I ran for the phone and said to Darla, "Well, Jennifer is running late". It was Jennifer on the line and she was waiting for us at the restaurant. The military has done amazing things for Jennifer in terms of responsibility. It is a pleasure to see these changes in her. And she is happy. That may be the ultimate reward.
I took David's Mustang in yesterday morning to have the paint shop buff out the finish. They did a great job. We have also had the problem of not having a horn in the car. The alarm had gone off in the middle of the night when the prior owners had it and they had disconnected the horn. After we bought it, the owner mentioned that as a "by-the-way". David is anxious to get his license in two weeks and he couldn't take the Mustang to the Drive Test because the horn didn't work. I finally took it to an auto electrician yesterday and he said, "just hook it back up". I said, "but the alarm has a short in it". He said, "No, the key fob didn't turn the alarm off because the batteries were low". I said, "how do you know that?" He said, "trust me, it happens all the time." He showed me where to reattach the horn and sure enough the horn works fine and the alarm is operating as it was designed. He didn't even charge me. Funny. Now David can take the drive test in his own car.
Darla and I will have to go out next week and get a replacement car for me. I was looking at the Ford Escape SUV, but I may end up with a Mustang. I have really enjoyed driving the Mustang and I may just have my mid-life experience now and get a newer Mustang GT. We'll see.
Work continues in fits and starts. I've been in contact with the manager at Burns and Wilcox and he would still like me to move over there and go to work for him (on salary plus bonus). He said he'd contact me in a few weeks and see if we can work something out. I still think this job could work out in the long run, but perhaps not before I go broke or have an aneurism sweating out the commission income every month. One of the problems is that our markets are just not competitive for apartment business and that is 80% of what I do. I'll keep you informed on what develops here.
Well. kiddies, that's it for this week. Remember as we are all dying to get ahead in life, that Jesus died so that we can live in peace, with the knowledge that heaven awaits us when our life on earth comes to a close.
I did not play any golf this last week and actually enjoyed the respite. I will be back at it full bore this weekend as our club's Championship starts on Sunday. I'll hit the range today and probably every day until Sunday. Our club plays our club championship in a match play format and our club champion will be the winner of the scratch flight. I'm not even attempting to qualify for that flight because you have to shoot even par to even have a chance. My biggest concern about entering the qualifying tournament is that I'd make it into the scratch flight and then shoot a 90 in the match. I'd rather play in the 11-13 flight and try to win my flight. It will be fun and I really enjoy match play. It allows you to have a blowup hole without destroying your chance to win. A bad hole is just one lost hole, not a disaster.
Jennifer has returned to the land of Army and we thoroughly enjoyed her stay. Darla and I both have seen a tremendous change in her maturity, her demeanor and especially in her care and concern for her family. She truly misses home and lets each of us know individually how much she cares about us. She spent alot of time with her friends, but went out of her way to spend special time with her family, including the trip to Lake Almanor and a barbecue with her Mom and Bill and our family. I probably had lunch wth her five times during her visit and she even got up early and went to church with me while Darla and the boys were up at Lake Almanor. One big change that I've noticed both this trip and the last is how responsible Jennifer is. She calls and lets us know where she is and what she's doing and she is early to everything. She showed up to church at 7:30 for the 8:00 service. She was chagrined to find that our coffee service has been suspended until we move into the new building due to construction. On the day that she flew home she was to meet Darla and I at the restaurant at eight-thirty for breakfast. The phone rang at eight-fifteen and I laughed as I ran for the phone and said to Darla, "Well, Jennifer is running late". It was Jennifer on the line and she was waiting for us at the restaurant. The military has done amazing things for Jennifer in terms of responsibility. It is a pleasure to see these changes in her. And she is happy. That may be the ultimate reward.
I took David's Mustang in yesterday morning to have the paint shop buff out the finish. They did a great job. We have also had the problem of not having a horn in the car. The alarm had gone off in the middle of the night when the prior owners had it and they had disconnected the horn. After we bought it, the owner mentioned that as a "by-the-way". David is anxious to get his license in two weeks and he couldn't take the Mustang to the Drive Test because the horn didn't work. I finally took it to an auto electrician yesterday and he said, "just hook it back up". I said, "but the alarm has a short in it". He said, "No, the key fob didn't turn the alarm off because the batteries were low". I said, "how do you know that?" He said, "trust me, it happens all the time." He showed me where to reattach the horn and sure enough the horn works fine and the alarm is operating as it was designed. He didn't even charge me. Funny. Now David can take the drive test in his own car.
Darla and I will have to go out next week and get a replacement car for me. I was looking at the Ford Escape SUV, but I may end up with a Mustang. I have really enjoyed driving the Mustang and I may just have my mid-life experience now and get a newer Mustang GT. We'll see.
Work continues in fits and starts. I've been in contact with the manager at Burns and Wilcox and he would still like me to move over there and go to work for him (on salary plus bonus). He said he'd contact me in a few weeks and see if we can work something out. I still think this job could work out in the long run, but perhaps not before I go broke or have an aneurism sweating out the commission income every month. One of the problems is that our markets are just not competitive for apartment business and that is 80% of what I do. I'll keep you informed on what develops here.
Well. kiddies, that's it for this week. Remember as we are all dying to get ahead in life, that Jesus died so that we can live in peace, with the knowledge that heaven awaits us when our life on earth comes to a close.
Tuesday, September 02, 2003
Sometimes a week is just a week. Last week at this time I was talking about a slight heat wave and the temperature was supposed to hover at 100 degrees. Well it did, and today is supposed to top out at 103 degrees. What a difference a week makes.
The Labor Day holiday has come and gone and we had a great time. We went up to Lake Almanor on Saturday and had a nice time enjoying the relatively cooler 89 degrees up at the lake. Jennifer and the boys went wake-boarding and knee boarding. Jennifer invited her ex-boyfriend, Jason, and he even wakeboarded in spite of a cast on his right arm from an ATV accident four weeks ago in which he broke his wrist in three places and had to have screws inserted into the bones to let them heal. He wrapped a garbage bag over the cast and had a go on the wake board. I'm not much of a boater and simply watched the proceedings from the comfort of a lounge chair and within arms length of a beverage and my book. Jennifer seemed to particularly enjoy herself and had a good time with David, who has become quite the wake board expert over the course of the summer. He is really getting some air on his jumps and has enjoyed himself immensely this summer. His Dad bought him a $200 wake board for his birthday in May and he's got good use out of it so far this Summer.
Jennifer celebrated her 23rd birthday on Thursday and the family joined Diane and Bill at their home in Folsom on Wednesday night to fete our daughter. Darla finally shared her surprise to Jennifer on her birthday. Darla has been keeping a scrapbook of Jennifer's Army experiences and included in the book are pictures and diplomas from basic training, AIT, and her tower school training. There are pictures from a visit we had with her in San Antonio and included in that was a trip we took to Darryl's home in Houston. Also included is a trip that Jennifer took from her base in Arizona to Dad and Shirley's home in Sun City West. Jennifer was really surprised. Darla was able to find a scrapbook that has the Army seal on it, is green and has the word ARMY on the front of it. Darla has made an Army theme of the book decorating the pages with US Flags and tanks, camouflage, etc. It is really nice and now that Jennifer knows about it, she can send Darla pictures and copies of her orders, etc to continue to add to the book. Jennifer will leave the book with Darla.
Well, I have used this blog to document my golf experiences and it seems that I've had nothing but tremendous success. Well, often reality hits hard. We had our Labor Day tournament on Sunday and I should have known something was out of whack when I lost my ball on the first hole on a drive that was right down the middle. We couldn't find the ball and after five minutes I had to skulk back to the first tee and hit another shot. I double-bogeyed the hole. I then shot two straight birdies and hung on during the front nine for a stellar 38, two over par. I should have headed to the parking lot and gone home then. I started the back nine by drilling a drive dead left into a tree and having the ball ricochet back behind me and by the number eighteen green. I flailed around the perimeter of the tenth hole and finally knocked the ball on in four and then rolled in a thirty foot putt for bogey. I had the shanks on the back side and flailed around the course, going 6 over on the two par threes and finishing with a 49 for a total of 87. This is by far the worst round of the year for me. I've scored worst but I have never gone from great golf to horrible golf from the front nine to the back nine before. The only saving grace on the day was that I won $39 in skin money because of the good front side and I picked up three strokes on my Eclectic score. Our Eclectic tournament runs the entire year and consists of our best scores on every hole on the course in selected tournaments. We have ten "eclectic eligible"events and we take the score for the entire year and subtract from that our index for November of 2003. So far, I have a gross score of 67, which would equate to a net score of 55 with my current index of 11.1. If you're confused, we have guys in the club that play in this year long tournment and they can't figure it out either.
Jennifer has really enjoyed her leave at home. She has been busy juggling her time with three ex-boyfriends, Kevin, Jason and David. I have to hand it to each of them for maintaining their friendships after the romance died. It was never something that I was very good at. Perhaps, as Seinfeld said, it was because I wasn't a good "breaker-upper". I think part of the secret with Jennifer is that two of the guys are still carrying a torch for her and she plays that for all it's worth. All three of the guys are quality people and would give their shirt off their back to help Jennifer. She is lucky to have them in her life.
Jenn is supposedly off on a road trip to San Francisco today. She was supposed to be up early and heading into the city to do some shopping and sight seeing. Darla offered to take the day off and go with her, but Jennifer wanted to go alone. That is one significant difference in Jennifer. She has more self-confidence and has developed something of a loner streak in her. In that, she has become more like her father. I still crave my time of solitude and it's one reason that I enjoy doing the lawn and shrubs. It's my time to decompress and think through things in my life.
Jennifer will get on that big bird and be winging back to Atlanta and her base in Augusta Georgia on Thursday. It's been a good visit. We've enjoyed our time with Jennifer, the boys enjoyer her time and I know that Jennifer really enjoyed getting away from the mundane Army life for 12 days.
Work continues to improve in dribs and brabs. I still worry like the basic control freak that I am, but basically I am slowly growing a base of business and learning the ropes as I go. I almost hit my draw last month and would have except that I closed a big deal right after the cutoff. The upside is that I'm sitting on over a grand in commssions and it's only the second of the month.
The boys start football for real this week as full pad scrimmages against opponents begin on Thursday and Daniel will play in a scrimmage on Saturday. The games begin in two weeks and every Thursday and Friday are reserved for football from then on. David is starting at Safety on defense and is their third quarterback and Daniel will start on both the offensive and defensive lines.
That's it. Be well and keep your feet on the ground and your eyes on the Lord and he will direct your path. Ciao.
The Labor Day holiday has come and gone and we had a great time. We went up to Lake Almanor on Saturday and had a nice time enjoying the relatively cooler 89 degrees up at the lake. Jennifer and the boys went wake-boarding and knee boarding. Jennifer invited her ex-boyfriend, Jason, and he even wakeboarded in spite of a cast on his right arm from an ATV accident four weeks ago in which he broke his wrist in three places and had to have screws inserted into the bones to let them heal. He wrapped a garbage bag over the cast and had a go on the wake board. I'm not much of a boater and simply watched the proceedings from the comfort of a lounge chair and within arms length of a beverage and my book. Jennifer seemed to particularly enjoy herself and had a good time with David, who has become quite the wake board expert over the course of the summer. He is really getting some air on his jumps and has enjoyed himself immensely this summer. His Dad bought him a $200 wake board for his birthday in May and he's got good use out of it so far this Summer.
Jennifer celebrated her 23rd birthday on Thursday and the family joined Diane and Bill at their home in Folsom on Wednesday night to fete our daughter. Darla finally shared her surprise to Jennifer on her birthday. Darla has been keeping a scrapbook of Jennifer's Army experiences and included in the book are pictures and diplomas from basic training, AIT, and her tower school training. There are pictures from a visit we had with her in San Antonio and included in that was a trip we took to Darryl's home in Houston. Also included is a trip that Jennifer took from her base in Arizona to Dad and Shirley's home in Sun City West. Jennifer was really surprised. Darla was able to find a scrapbook that has the Army seal on it, is green and has the word ARMY on the front of it. Darla has made an Army theme of the book decorating the pages with US Flags and tanks, camouflage, etc. It is really nice and now that Jennifer knows about it, she can send Darla pictures and copies of her orders, etc to continue to add to the book. Jennifer will leave the book with Darla.
Well, I have used this blog to document my golf experiences and it seems that I've had nothing but tremendous success. Well, often reality hits hard. We had our Labor Day tournament on Sunday and I should have known something was out of whack when I lost my ball on the first hole on a drive that was right down the middle. We couldn't find the ball and after five minutes I had to skulk back to the first tee and hit another shot. I double-bogeyed the hole. I then shot two straight birdies and hung on during the front nine for a stellar 38, two over par. I should have headed to the parking lot and gone home then. I started the back nine by drilling a drive dead left into a tree and having the ball ricochet back behind me and by the number eighteen green. I flailed around the perimeter of the tenth hole and finally knocked the ball on in four and then rolled in a thirty foot putt for bogey. I had the shanks on the back side and flailed around the course, going 6 over on the two par threes and finishing with a 49 for a total of 87. This is by far the worst round of the year for me. I've scored worst but I have never gone from great golf to horrible golf from the front nine to the back nine before. The only saving grace on the day was that I won $39 in skin money because of the good front side and I picked up three strokes on my Eclectic score. Our Eclectic tournament runs the entire year and consists of our best scores on every hole on the course in selected tournaments. We have ten "eclectic eligible"events and we take the score for the entire year and subtract from that our index for November of 2003. So far, I have a gross score of 67, which would equate to a net score of 55 with my current index of 11.1. If you're confused, we have guys in the club that play in this year long tournment and they can't figure it out either.
Jennifer has really enjoyed her leave at home. She has been busy juggling her time with three ex-boyfriends, Kevin, Jason and David. I have to hand it to each of them for maintaining their friendships after the romance died. It was never something that I was very good at. Perhaps, as Seinfeld said, it was because I wasn't a good "breaker-upper". I think part of the secret with Jennifer is that two of the guys are still carrying a torch for her and she plays that for all it's worth. All three of the guys are quality people and would give their shirt off their back to help Jennifer. She is lucky to have them in her life.
Jenn is supposedly off on a road trip to San Francisco today. She was supposed to be up early and heading into the city to do some shopping and sight seeing. Darla offered to take the day off and go with her, but Jennifer wanted to go alone. That is one significant difference in Jennifer. She has more self-confidence and has developed something of a loner streak in her. In that, she has become more like her father. I still crave my time of solitude and it's one reason that I enjoy doing the lawn and shrubs. It's my time to decompress and think through things in my life.
Jennifer will get on that big bird and be winging back to Atlanta and her base in Augusta Georgia on Thursday. It's been a good visit. We've enjoyed our time with Jennifer, the boys enjoyer her time and I know that Jennifer really enjoyed getting away from the mundane Army life for 12 days.
Work continues to improve in dribs and brabs. I still worry like the basic control freak that I am, but basically I am slowly growing a base of business and learning the ropes as I go. I almost hit my draw last month and would have except that I closed a big deal right after the cutoff. The upside is that I'm sitting on over a grand in commssions and it's only the second of the month.
The boys start football for real this week as full pad scrimmages against opponents begin on Thursday and Daniel will play in a scrimmage on Saturday. The games begin in two weeks and every Thursday and Friday are reserved for football from then on. David is starting at Safety on defense and is their third quarterback and Daniel will start on both the offensive and defensive lines.
That's it. Be well and keep your feet on the ground and your eyes on the Lord and he will direct your path. Ciao.
