Just another Bachelor Weekend

These seem to come up too often. I'm not a good bachelor as I forget to eat, I stay up too late, and all I want to do is play golf. It is 8:45 on Sunday night and Darla's flight gets in from Phoenix in about two hours.

I got out for a marketing round of golf on Friday with one of my agents in Folsom. he took me up to his country club in El Dorado Hills that looks out over Folsom Lake. We were supposed to tee off at 9:30, but he called me Thursday night and told me that he had a 1:00 PM appointment that he couldn't get out of and to meet him at the course at 6:30 AM. What he didn't tell me was that he was going to spring it on the starter that he had a threesome and wanted him to fit us in when they start at 7:00 AM. It's a country club and he greased someones palm and we got off as the second group. I shot 41+43 = 84 on the areas fastest greens. I had a ten foot birdie putt on number one that I shot past the hole ten feet and made the comebacker for par. My agent, Gary, also placed a $13,000 account with me this week, so it was a good week. And he paid for the golf.

Friday night I was in the pool until about 8 o'clock and then got some dinner and picked up a video to watch. Saturday I was back out to the golf course for a practice round for today's tournament. The tournament was a blind draw team event and what I needed to practice was getting lucky on the draw. I shot 43+41=84 and seem to be stuck on the 84 number. Last Summer it was 83. Boyd, who turned 70 this year, had a great round with seven birdies and shot a 33+36=69 to shoot lower than his age for the third time. He is an amazing golfer and when he gets it going is really fun to watch.

Today was the tournament and I played better, shooting 40+41=81, but got a lousy partner, a fifteen handicap that shot a 95. My net was 69 and our combined net was 67. No money there. Boyd shot 33+39=72 and his partner shot an 87 with a 22 index for 65. Boyd had a net 66 and their combined net was 58. They were in the lead when I left to come home and get in the pool.

I was out of the office Friday on marketing calls and got a call in the late morning that our IT crew was in the office to set up our VOIP soft phones. Our company is moving to Voice over Internet Protocol for our phone system. The technology has advanced so much in the last year and the call quality is almost as good as digital fiber optic cable. They were in the office over the weekend installing the soft phones and we will test the system tomorrow and Tuesday. I had the IT guys coming in this upcoming Friday on my calendar. They leave for SF on Tuesday.

Randy's birthday celebration in Vancouver is coming up in three weeks. I checked the flights and couldn't find anything less than $550. I told Dad that we might have to forego the trip as I am not taking on any new debt. At 53, my focus is paying off debt. He told me to check on Allegiant Airlines. It turns out they fly out of Oakland into Bellingham at a R/T price of $198. I was ready to bite on that, but Darla's flight on Thursday to KC was overbooked and they offered anyone willing to fly later a $300 voucher plus the cost of the leg from Sac to Kansas City. She took the bump with a girlfriend and ended with $490 in credit with Southwest. I went online Thursday and booked us R/T tickets to Seattle for $486. The only thing I had to pay was $73 in taxes and airport fees. Darla and I both see that as a "GOD" thing and will be happy to be part of the celebration. Now, Dad has to set up golf for us on Sunday at his country club (Shirley's country club). Darla still got into KC by 6:30 and her conference didn't start until Friday morning. She enjoyed the conference, although it is alot of people at the national conference. She was a little wary of Avon's purchase of Silpada, but the CEO of Avon wowed the ladies in his speech. He reminded them that Avon started 113 years ago before women even had the right to vote and was a company founded on an all women sales team. He assured them that the purchase was due to the company's desire to have Silpada as a flagship of Avon and to leave the operation exactly as it is with no changes to the structure or values of the company. He characterized their interest as an investment in upgrading the Avon name. I think he was preaching to the choir as the Silpada gals ate it up.

David is two weeks away from his departure for Rome, Italy and a semester abroad. He will take about ten days traveling in Germany, France, Switzerland and other spots in Europe before the school semester begins with a friend (female). Darla and I offered him a trip to Vegas to see Jennifer and Samantha, but he has limited time left and a lot to do. So he hasn't bitten yet.

Speaking of Jennifer, she found herself a "for now" job in Vegas. She is working at one of the upscale restaurants in The Venetian as a barrista. The restaurant is upstairs and she is working in the coffee house located in the casino. She worked for Starbucks while she was living with us and going to school and used her experience to get a job after her unemployment benefits ran out. She will be eligible for benefits in 90 days and that will help she and Samantha immeasurably. I'm looking forward to planning our next trip to Las Vegas and hope to sit down with Dad and Shirley and get something on the calendar while we are in Canada. Samantha is two and a half and Dad has never met her. We will fix that.

Well, short and succinct, but my mind is just that lately. I'm looking forward to having my wife back this week. I have a marketing golf outing planned on Thursday and then will go with the guys to Darkhorse Golf Club in Lake of the Pines on Saturday morning. I hope you are all well. Be nice to each other. Ciao.