Halloween night

Fun and games and all things strange lurking about the neighborhood. We turned the lights off about 8:30 and immediately, some dope was at the door beating on it. We had a fairly normal low turnout of trick-or-treaters. Darla says it is because we live across from a park and the kids can't run from one side of the street to the other. Whatever the reason, it's nice not to be bothered every five minutes with the doorbell ringing. Darla had one little girl about Sam's age come and her mother was dressed up as well and had her own bag for candy. It was pretty early, she probably went back home, poured it in a bowl and gave it out to the kids coming to her house.
We talked to Jennifer and Samantha as Tinkerbell had a great night. Jennifer took her over to John's neighborhood and Samantha was able to walk with the other kids and get her candy. Samantha considers all of the other kids out trick-or-treating with her to be her friends. Very cute.
We had a mixed weekend weather wise with the wind down of a storm Friday and Saturday and 70 degrees and snshine today. I played golf both days and started on one in a drizzle on Saturday and finished in 3 hours and 20 minutes with no one on the course. Woodcreek had their Monster Day with a reverse shotgun at 8:00 o'clock. I set up to play with Bob and Matt before the tournament. Bob met us out there, but said he wasn't playing. I said, "why not?" He said, "because it's raining!". We put our umbrellas away after the first hole and it was dry until we finished. In fact, it rained again about 3:00 PM when I was mowing the lawn, just a drizzle. I called Bob after golf and left him a message that we was a "Wuss". He had a good laugh over that today. I shot 83 and Matt had 82 yesterday. Today was our Invitational and Matt couldn't play as he was in a fun today and Boyd took his spot. We started on the 441 yard par four number 18 in a scramble and promptly birdied the next ten holes before suffering a bogey, we parred the next five holes and then birdied number 17 for a 72. Not a great day for us, but we had fun and enjoyed the tri tip barbecue afterward.
I enjoyed watching the SF Giants win the their third game of the World Series and now own a commanding 3-1 lead over the Texas Rangers. Game 5 is tomorrow night and if they lose, will return home Wednesday and Thursday with the need to win only one game to win the title. Of course they can wrap it up tomorrow night and have their ace on the mound. it has been fun watching the games and texting back and forth with Randy. We put a dozen Pro V1s on the outcome. There have been some pretty hilarious texts zipping back and forth. He was in Rochester sitting in a hotel room and ruing losses for his Tech team, the Cowboys and now the Rangers.
I leave Tuesday for the Managers meeting in Detroit and was pushing my guys all month for a good solid month as Alan will be looking at the figures YTD and for October when we meet. We were up about 15% on the top line and up about 8% on the bottom line this month, with another $1,300,000 month. I have my budget completed and sent in and we estimate about $16,000,000 in revenue next year with $900,000 in profits. We are on pace for $14,000,000 this year with about $800,000 in profit. The branch was losing $480,000 a year when I took over as Manager. I hope to get rewarded this year and hold out hope of once again getting the Gold branch award, but also the Branch Manager of the Year award. It will be an intense week as it always is, so pray for me. I fly home Saturday night.
Jennifer promised to send us some pictures of Samantha as well as a video and I will get those uploaded to the blog. This is short, but baseball put me behind tonight and I have to spend some couch time with my wife. I hope you are all well and living "La Vida en Cristo." Ciao.

A Rainy Sunday..Perfect for Football!

It is the first REAL rain of the season with over 2 inches coming down. The weather man will say less than an inch, but I'm out draining my pool and know how much extra water is now in the pool. It has rained pretty solidly since last night and we postponed our Golf Invitational tournament from today until next Sunday because of the weather.

I have added a few pictures, some of the rainstorm to let you see what I have to deal with every Fall what with a grove of oak trees in the park across from us and the prevailing winds blowing onto my property. On windy, wet days like today, the leaves fall and blow up onto my roof and over into the side yard and back yard and, yes, even into the pool. The deluge of leaves lasts from the first storm of the season until about the middle of November and clogs up the street gutters, drains, gardens, bushes, front walks, entryways and every definable space near our home. For a neatnick like me, it's a difficult time, but with Prozac and ten years of experience, I'm learning to let it go. I have the hose attached to the faucet on the pool pump and I'm draining the pool now.

I also added a few more pictures of our Vegas trip and a few that Darla has gleaned from other blogs of Cal Poly students in Rome that feature David in them. She talked to David on Skype this morning and will be in Italy herself in a about a month with a girlfriend from work. She asked me to go, but with two kids in school at Cal Poly and one on an international jaunt through Italy and France, the pocketbook is a little bare at times.

Darla and I slept in this morning, letting the lilting sounds of rain pounding the roof above our heads lull us to sleep and on into the morning. I watched several football games, mostly leaving the channel on the NFL Red Zone channel that switches to any game where a team is in the red zone and shows all scoring plays. It's an interesting way to watch football, but actually fairly entertaining if you are in Fantasy Football and aren't really set on watching any particular game that's on at the moment.

I did make it out between raindrops yesterday and got in a game of golf. The forecast showed the heavier rain today and boy were they right. We had a shower right before we teed off at 9AM and the rain stayed away until we finished. Strangely, the rain started up again as we were loading our clubs back in the car. We all had our rain gear on and had our clubs covered with the rain hoods, but it turned out we didn't need it. I continued my spate of good play and shot a one over par 37 on the front side before settling down to a more normal 42 on the back for a 79. I beat both Boyd (80) and Bob (82), but Pamas shot 71, with a matching 37 on the front and a 34 on the back. That little runt can play golf. I was recently lamenting that my 20 recent scores didn't include any scores in the 70's and now I've shot 79 three straight games.

The picture of Samantha with the little shit zu (Well that is phonetically correct) was taken at the Korean restaurant and when our name got called, we told Samantha to give the puppy a hug goodbye. She was apparently confused and surprised the lady with the dog with a big hug. It was cute.

I talked to Dad and to Jennifer and they were able to get together on Friday at 3 PM for a visit with Samantha and then John picked her up for his weekend. Dad and Shirley and Jennifer and Michael then went out to dinner together at the Cheesecake Factory. I talked to Dad on Friday when Jennifer was there having cocktails with them, but haven't talked to either of them since.

I texted Randy in response to a text from him after the Texas Rangers made the World Series. He was hoping that the San Francisco Giants could make it so he could raz me during the Series. Well, SF defeated Philly last night and Randy and I have a box of pro V1s bet on the outcome of the Series. It starts Wednesday night in San Francisco and should be worth a few jabs back and forth.

The Manager's meeting is coming up the week of November 1st. I fly out to Detroit on Tuesday (Election Day) and return home Saturday night the 6th. My office has done really well this year, continuing on from a stellar 2009 and I look forward to getting back to Detroit and sitting down with my boss to discuss the future. We have Anthony in the office as one of the top ten underwriters in the company and Peter now as an Underwriting Manager and one of the top 20 in new business in the company. We are doing well and I have my eye on getting our premiums up over $20,000,000 in the next three years and into a Division 2 office level. We are the Gold Branch for Division 3, but that kind of feels like winning the AAA championship in baseball, I'm ready for the big leagues.

I also have a picture of young Lucas, my nephew courtesy of Alicia and Don. He is growing up fast and can now turn over by himself, lift his head and all of that baby stuff they do. He is also still at that stage where he'll be sitting staring at nothing and just spit up all over himself and anyone near him. I let Darla and Earl and Frances sit with him and I watch from a safe distance.

Well, another NFL game awaits and there is the unmistakable smell of pork tenderloin wafting through the air and this after Darla made corn chowder for lunch. I may have to work out a bit harder at the gym tomorrow, but I love rainy days. I hope you are all well sated and happy. Ciao.

Something Keeps Bringing us Back to Las Vegas

..and it's not the $10.99 Prime Rib or the Gambling. It is a little blonde girl named Samantha. This was a great trip because we were able to share it with Daniel and Becky as well as Dad and Shirley. The only real drawback was the condo, which was an apartment in a rundown apartment complex off the strip and behind a closed Outback Steakhouse. You could see the Rio and the Palms casinos as well as the Gold Coast Casino, but the grounds were rundown and the tenants were section VIII housing at least. I hadn't seen so many Obama supporters in one place since my last trip to the Capitol in Sacramento. The room itself was fine with new granite counters, clean rooms, decent beds and a washer and dryer. The kitchen was large and we had plenty of room to make several meals (mostly breakfasts) in the room.

Samantha loved the apartment and Daniel made it special for her by building a fort out of our bed in the master bedroom. Daniel and Becky and Samantha must have played in there for over an hour. Sam was loving the attention and I think Daniel was enjoying his time with Samantha as well. She has the cutest laugh and she was in there jumping on the bed and making a ruckus with Daniel along for the game. Samantha also learned how to pull out the middle drawer of our chest of drawers and climb up into the entertainment section of the furniture, close the door and play hide and seek. You can see Sam peeking out of her fort and also a shot of her pounding Daniel with the pillow while Becky laughs at them.

We got into Vegas late, as our flight was delayed. We picked up our rental car at 11:30 and then went out to the local Food 4 Less to do grocery shopping. We realized that the car stunk like cigarette smoke and later realized it had New Jersey plates, A coincidence? I think not. When we got into the store, none other than George Wallace, the New Mr. Vegas (after Danny Gans passed away) was in there after his 10 PM show at the Flamingo shopping. We loaded up and got to the "condo" at about 12:55 PM. We couldn't find the right building as there are 13 buildings on site and the guard at the gate directed us to the wrong place. I walked all over the place and left Darla standing outside a locked car as I finally found building E on the other side of the complex from where the clearly over taxed guard thought it was. Those guards stand in the guard shack and wave everyone into the facility, waving at you as if you are his long lost relative or something. Crazy. Darla said there was a suspicious looking guy on the phone within ear shot of her and she was uncomfortable until I got back and we drove to the correct building. He was a little crackhead and I think she could have taken him.

Jennifer drove over the next morning and brought Samantha for swimming. The complexes' pool is probably the nicest accoutrement to the grounds, although as Darla pointed out, it was probably built in the 80's. The pool was not heated, so Samantha hung out in the hot tub, which also was not heated, but was warm as it was heating in the 92 degree heat. Michael came out and joined us and we took Daniel and Becky and Jen, Sam and Mike to dinner. It was Daniel's birthday dinner and he was set on dim sum. We went over to one of the nicer Chinese places in Vegas and the parking lot was empty. It turns out that they had a kitchen fire in the afternoon and were closed. Jennifer suggested Chinatown, a small village of Asian shops close to the Rio. We ended up having a very nice dinner at a Korean Barbecue, where they cooked the food right at the table on a propane grill. The food was good and Samantha was a trooper trying all of the different dishes and really enjoying herself. Darla asked Jennifer if it was possible that Samantha was conceived when John and Jennifer went to Thailand. Friday night we took Becky and Daniel out to the Orleans casino and Daniel got his first taste of gambling. He did ridiculously well, even winning a $140 jackpot on a penny machine (of all things). He walked out of the casino up about $180. Darla and I had given him $200 for the trip to pay for gas and some of his gambling. He did so well on Friday night that he bought half price tickets on Saturday to the Circus Soleil at the Tropicana. Darla and I ended up down about $90.

Saturday we slept in and met Jennifer at her house about 12:30. They had friends flying in from California and one driving in. It was Mike's birthday and he had a gig that night from 10 PM to 5 AM. Mike fixed us a pot roast for lunch and then shish-ke-bob for dinner. The food was excellent and we enjoyed playing with Sam. Darla and I took her out to a park and let Mike and Jen have some alone time to get ready for guests. Daniel and Becky hooked up with us for dinner at Jennifer's and then they took off for their show and we brought Samantha home to stay at our ghetto apartment. When we left, all of the company was there and they were all getting ready for their night out and getting their costumes on. In the hustle, we forgot Sam's bag and Jen called when we got back to the apartment. I decided not to run back to her place, but went to Wal-Mart and picked up some clothes for Sam on Sunday and some overnight diapers for her. She is potty training and doing a great job, but has problems still overnight, although her diaper was dry Sunday morning.

Daniel and Becky met Dad and Shirley after their show (Dad flew in Saturday night) and did some gambling with them at Bill's on the strip.

Sunday we were up and met Dad and Shirley at the Black Bear Diner on Tropicana. It is a "kid friendly" restaurant with great food and even better prices. This is the first time that Dad and Shirley have had a chance to meet Samantha and she definitely bowled them over. We had a great breakfast and then met up with Jennifer at noon. John wanted to see Samantha and we agreed to drop her off at Jen's and then return at 5 PM for dinner. Darla and I had bought rib-eyes for everyone and we were barbecuing at her place. Daniel went with us to Jen's on Sunday morning and then was supposed to leave to go back to LA and Cal Poly in San Luis Obispo after dropping Becky in Pasadena. They decided to go get a late lunch (dim sum) at Ping Pang Pong at the Gold Coast and then were going to come back and get packed up to go. They left at 2 PM and we never saw them after that. The gambling bug must have taken hold as we called several times and finally left for Dad's. He had invited us over at 4:30 for drinks and we finally got there at 5 PM. We ended up at Jennifer's about 6 PM. Daniel and Becky got on the road about 5:30 and he got to Cal Poly after 2 AM. Jennifer talked Dad into designing a pumpkin for Sam and you can see the picture of him drawing it. The finished product was nice and it will remind Sam of our trip. We went out with Dad and Shirley afterward to the Palace Station casino and then the Rio. Shirley did well and was winning at a penny machine. Darla and I left down about $160 in total for the trip.

Monday we went to Jennifer's and took the kids to a park where we barbecued hot dogs and relaxed. I offered to take them to dinner at Maggiano's on the strip, an Italian chain restaurant owned by the same restaurant company that owns Chili's and the Macaroni Grill. I had won a $50 gift card at one of the tournaments for a second closest to the pin. We stopped for drinks at Dad and Shirley's beforehand and got to see them one last time. We thought we might see Jesse, who was rumored to be in Vegas, but he was off with his company people and didn't show up. Dad decided to wait for Jesse and maybe have a late dinner with him and didn't join us. It was their loss as the food was spectacular, the venue outstanding (the view on the strip is of the Wynn and Encore casinos). The food was incredibly priced with pasta dishes priced $10-$15. Samantha had a ball coloring and playing at the table and we enjoyed our last night with them. As we said goodbye I got emotional (shades of Pop crying as we left Vancouver each trip). I had enjoyed our time with the kids so much. Samantha is learning to string words together ("C'mon, Papa, let's go swimming!") and Jennifer is truly at a good point in her life. She is interviewing for a tech position with the Cosmopolitan Casino, the newest on the strip and located right in front of the Jockey Club and next door to Belagio. I am praying that she gets the job as she needs to get back to work. Being unemployed is grating on her, but it has been a blessing for Samantha, who is such a Mommy's girl now.

We met up with Dad and Shirley back at the Gold Coast casino and played for an hour. It turns out that Jesse was busy all night and they never did hook up with him Monday night. They couldn't catch a cold and left after burning through $60. Darla and I were over $200 down and the night was drawing to a close, when I hit 4 Aces dealt to me with a Jack. The payout was 800 coins. I discarded the Jack and was dealt a two for a 4000 coin payout (4 Aces with a 2-3-4). I cashed the winning ticket and left with two crisp hundred dollar bills in my pocket. Sometimes its good to win late.

Well, Darla is waiting for me and I have to watch a bit of TV before bed. Darla and I had a great time. Thank you to Daniel, Becky, Dad, Shirley, Jennifer, Michael and, especially, Miss Samantha for such a great vacation. I hope you are all well. Ciao.

Great Fall Weather in Northern California

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It was another tremendous weekend in Northern California. High, very thin clouds and temperatures in the mid eighties with a hint of a breeze in the air. The guys snuck off on Saturday to Fairfield and Rancho Solano Golf course. It is a beautiful course perched in the foothills of Solano County. There are some very nice homes built throughout the course and there were joggers and people walking dogs and babies through the public streets that intersect the course. Pamas, Boyd, Neil and I met at the Park-n-Ride n Roseville and all piled in my Chrysler 300 for the ride to Fairfield (about 45 minutes west on Interstate 80). Pamas is a member of the Roseville Golf Club as we are all and he took second place in the Club Championship losing 1-down to the winner this year after 18 holes. Pamas is the type of guy that drives me nuts. He took up golf about 7 years ago and became hooked, playing upwards of six times a week and often 36-54 holes a day. He is a 3 handicap, weighs about a buck fifty and hits his drives about 285 yards. He is also a heck of a nice guy. He moved to the states from India about 25 years ago and was a translator for the court system. He speaks six languages, including Hindi, Arabic, several Muslim country tongues as well as English and French. He was discovered as a translator by the FBI in a court case and recruited to join them and he has worked for the FBI for 25 years. He works in intelligence translating interrupted transmissions from the Taliban and others and also works with those sympathetic to the US mission in the Muslim world. Great guy and if we were going to take a road trip, it's always nice have a G man along for the ride. The course was in great shape and Pamas brought his camera along and got the pictures shown above. Neil was very impressed with the layout and is looking into having an away tournament at Rancho Solano next year. I shot one of my better recent rounds and really had my driver working on Saturday. I shot 40+39=79, Pamas shot 78, Neil had 92 and Boyd was aching and not feeling well all day. He shot 85. Boyd had been to the doctor during the week and had a flu shot. He not only had a really sore arm where they gave him the shot, but had flu symptoms as well. Boyd is doing incredibly well for his age, but we all forget sometimes that he is 70 years old.

Darla and I went to church again on Saturday night and slept in this morning. We went out to dinner in Lincoln at Buonarroti's restaurant after church and enjoyed Gnocchi and chicken dishes as well as a beer battered zucchini for an appetizer. It was nice to get away and get caught up on each other's lives.

We leave Thursday night for Vegas and our fourth trip to see Samantha this year. We are staying in a two bedroom condo just off the strip and across the street from the Rio and the Palms casinos. Darla and I will babysit Samantha on Saturday night as Jennifer and Michael hit the town to celebrate his birthday. He has a deejay gig and then they are going to a costume party with friends. They have some out of town guests staying with them on Saturday night. Darla talked to Daniel tonight and he will not be arriving in Vegas until about midnight on Thursday as he has a test tat won't be finished until about 5 PM at Cal poly, He then has to drive to Los Angeles and rendezvous with Becky and then drive the four hours to Vegas. Daniel turns 21 on Tuesday.

Dad and Shirley get into Vegas on Saturday night about 9 PM and we are hoping to have Daniel and Becky hook up with them. Daniel wants to spend some time with them and visit a little before they have to leave Sunday. We will definitely do a breakfast on Sunday. I don't know how fast Jennifer and Mike will be moving after a night on the town Saturday, so we may make it late morning. Darla and I plan to bring plenty of videos and things to keep Samantha entertained on Saturday night. We really look forward to the trip and to our time with her Saturday night.

Work continues to go great. We just finished another month where we cleared over $70,000 in profit for the branch. I have promoted Pete in my office to an Underwriting Manager position and he will be helping me out, especially when I'm not in the office. He will also sit in on selected reviews and help with budgeting and forecasting. He will take on the role of liaison with a number of our companies and help monitor sales and new products with those carriers. It's great to see the branch grow and need some additional management. Pete has worked hard, been undyingly loyal to me (he used to work with me at Republic Western and took my position as Field Underwriter in the Sacramento territory when I was promoted to Manager).

I have the Insurance Day on the day that I get back to Sacramento from Las Vegas. I'll have time to get back from the airport, get changed and run down to the Sacramento Convention Center for the luncheon and then will work the booth in the afternoon. Pete and the rest of the staff will have to set up our booth, stock it and work it Tuesday morning. I then have a dinner with a premium Finance Manager from our home office that evening at McCormick and Schmick's steakhouse. At least now I can turn things over to Pete and know that I can hold him fully accountable for getting things done.

Well, that's it for another week. The blog will be late next week as we will be gone, but will return with pictures of Jennifer, Sam, Dad and Shirley, Daniel and Becky, Mike, Darla and I. I'll write more then. Ciao.

Yep..it's Autumn

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Today was perhaps the first real indication of Fall. The temperatures yesterday were still in the mid nineties and it was HOT when we went to church at 5 o'clock. Today started out overcast and it was raining up in the mountains of Lake Tahoe. The clouds burned off mid-morning and it was 75 degrees with a light wind. We spent part of the day at Darla's sister's house watching football along with Don and their son, Lucas. Don had cooked some pork butt overnight and served it on rolls with a sauce made from Sweet Baby Ray's barbecue sauce. It was tasty.

I went yesterday with five others to Eagle Vines in Napa, California for our second go at that course. I bought a golf discount card from one of the ladies in the office whose daughter was selling them as a fundraiser for their sports programs. When we got to Napa, the guys went in the shop and were told the rate was $85, they said that I had a discount card. The counter guy said, "I'll wait for him, but we don't offer weekend discounts." I gave him the card and he took it to some unseen guy in the office and they gave us a 25% discount on the golf ($63.75). The card cost me $39 and has discounts at a dozen local and bay area courses. I've used it four times so far and with all of the guys I've brought, our savings so far is a little over $354. Not a bad deal. The course was in great shape and I shot 84. Boyd struggled and shot 86, Bob had his normal 78 and the other guys quote, unquote "Had Fun." Next week, I have a tee time at Rancho Solano Golf Course in Fairfield and we will rack up another $65 in savings. The rack rate is $65 and I get 25% off. The weather Saturday in Napa was similar to today's in Roseville, although colder in the morning as their overcast is fog and is the primary reason that it is such a good wine grape growing area. The course is in and among the vines of merlot, chardonnay, zinfandel and other wine grapes. This is the season of harvest and crush and the smell of the grapes is intoxicating.

I played poker Friday night and the elusive John Uno showed up at his house and actually hosted the gathering. He fixed chili, which affected some of the guys in the way that you might expect, hence the picture of John Parola above. The picture of Samantha was sent by Jen. Sam has sensitive eyes and is the only two year old I know that consistently wears sunglasses when she is outside. These are polarized swim goggles she is wearing and mugging for the camera. The top picture was taken of Earl and Frances, Darla's parents to show that we perhaps need to start shopping for a group home for them. Actually, they have been away to Utah and ran across this attraction in their travels and had their picture taken. I think it may have been more convincing without the "Cowboy Bear" on the bike next to them.

We have made plans to meet Daniel and Becky in Vegas while we are there (we leave a week from Thursday). Dan and Becky will arrive on Thursday night and stay until Sunday. Daniel will drive from Cal Poly to Los Angeles and they will drive Becky's car to Vegas. We have a two bedroom condo rented across the street from the Rio and the Palms casinos. The only bummer is that Dad and Shirley don't get in until Saturday night, so will not get to see much of Daniel. His 21st birthday is October 12th and this will be his first trip to Vegas where he can actually walk into the casinos and look around. He's been in the casinos and walked to a restaurant with us or stayed at the arcade while we gambled. This time he'll find out what it's like to lose money. Perhaps he'll be like Jennifer who hit a $75 jackpot on her first legal trip to Tahoe on her 21st birthday. Daniel and Becky will have to leave by about noon on Sunday to get back to their respective colleges for Monday classes. I think we'll plan to go out to a Sunday brunch with everyone or meet over at the Black Bear Diner in Vegas. We will be in Vegas until Tuesday morning. I have to fly back and head right over to an Insurance convention in Sacramento. We'll take a couple of agents out to dinner that night and will host that dinner along with the head of our Home Office Premium Finance Company, who is coming out to Sacramento for the convention.

I played in an insurance golf tournament on Thursday and mentioned to my assistant Cora, that I'd be out Thursday doing some "Sports Marketing" She asked me if she could get together with a couple of the ladies in our agencies and do a "Spa Marketing" day. I told her to get back to work. It was a scramble tournament with thirty teams competing. We took third place with a 60 and both Matt and I won closest to the pin prizes. I ended up with gift cards to Home Depot and Chili's Restaurant. I used the Home Depot card to buy some solar garden lights for the front of the house. The house is so dark at night now that we painted it the chocolate brown color. The lights brighten up the planter and walkway at the front of the house and they are solar operated.

Darla is hard at work finishing the scrapbook for her parents. The front room is an assembly line of pictures and pages and multi colored construction paper. She is having a Silpada team party here tomorrow night and wants to be able to clean everything up and not have to pull it out again and start over.

Well, this is short, but we got back late from the Hochanadel's house and I want to join my wife in the family room for the last of the evening. I hope you are all well. Tell someone you love them this week. If it's a stranger in a men's room, you'll really surprise them. Ciao.