Still soaking up the great feelings from Pacific Grove and look toward (not forward) to the Manager's Meeting in Detroit this week. Last week's trip is still alive in my heart and the time that I was able to spend with Rick Rusk in my golf cart at Pacific Grove was special. He is such a great guy and such a fighter. He has lived well past when he was supposed to be gone with his cancer and he played two straight days of golf with us last weekend. He was pretty dead tired after the round and had several times throughout the round when he was standing with his hands on his knees, bent over just trying to catch his breath. I'm sure it took a lot out of him, but he wasn't without a smile on his face for the entire trip and I cherish that time with him.
I'll be up at 4 AM on Tuesday morning to prepare for my trip to Detroit. The flight leaves at 6:30 and I don't really have to be up that early, but I like to get up at 7 AM Detroit time on the day that I leave and I try not to sleep on the plane. That way, when 11 PM rolls around and I'm trying to sleep, I can fall asleep. I have to be up about 6:30 for the meetings and often don't get back to my room until 10:30 at night. it is a brutal schedule, but happens just once a year and the interactions that I have with other managers is invaluable to me and my branch. I had to send in my premium estimate for 2015 and Matt and I determined that $29,000,000 will be the number. Alan will more than likely increase that to $30,000,000 which is one reason that I came up with $29MM. I fly through Minneapolis(??) and then on to Detroit arriving about 3:30. Our VP from Scottsdale gets in at 4 PM and we will share a limo over to the Henry in Dearborn, MI.
I'm still living the dream with the Dallas Cowboys this year and they are now 6-1. I keep holding my breath thinking that the Cowboys will stop running the ball and/or that Demarco Murray will get hurt. The offense is much better this year because of the emphasis on the run game and the defense is much improved, but partly because they have been on the field a lot less. It's funny to me see how many offenses are trying to run the no huddle and speed up the game. Tony Romo uses the entire clock and snaps the ball on average with three seconds left on the 30 second clock. Dallas is averaging about 39 minutes on offense per game this year which means the defense is only on the field for 21 minutes. The Dallas coaches know that they are undermanned on defense and they so far are doing all the right things.
I played poker on Friday night with the guys and made about $35 on the night. It was nice to see the guys and get caught up on the trip to Solvang that we missed last week. Unfortunately, John and Camille had their car broken into and lost all of the clothes and bags they had bought in Monterey (there was a sale at the Coach store). John said that he thought that their suitcase had been rummaged through. John had gone out to the car about 7:30 and had loaded his golf clubs up with Neil and Steve and headed to the course. Camille took a shower and was out to the car by 8:30 and the back window had been smashed out and she also discovered that the thief had taken her work computer owned by PG&E. For some reason, John and Camille both feel that the maintenance guy at the hotel was involved. John didn't even finish the round. Camille called him and he walked off the course, met her and they both met the police at the hotel. It turns out that the maintenance guy and the room maid are married and both have felony records. Later that afternoon they got a call from a guy who had bought the computer for cash and found Camille's cell phone number. He wanted to meet and return the computer, so they set up to meet him and had a police detective go in her place. I haven't heard what came of that, but they are pretty sure that they will find the thieves. I told John that he should hold the hotel accountable no matter what given that they had felons on staff and the theft occurred on premises. I think the hotel's insurance company will pay based on incompetence on the part of hotel management. I feel for them. Camille was supposed to be back in her office on Thursday, but they ended up staying on in Solvang and having the window in the car replaced. Camille bought a brand new 2014 Chrysler 300 a few months ago and I think they spent around $40,000 on the car. It has an unusual warranty that will pay for any exterior damage to the body and any glass replacement in the first year. At least they had that going for them, eh?
Darla and I also had some friends over last night for cocktails before going out to dinner at Sammy's Rockin' Island Bar and Grill and then watching the band Strange Brew until about 10:30 PM. We actually sat out by the pool and visited. We had wine and Canadian Mist and Ginger Ale along with an artichoke dip and some chips and cheese dip. I had put together our fire pit for the back yard, but we didn't light it as we need to add some sand to the bottom of the pit and it really wasn't cold enough for it yet. I did not play golf partly for budget reasons, but also because I played three times last weekend. I'll get back from Detroit late Saturday night and have the Past President's golf tournament on Sunday.
Tomorrow night the new cubicles and furniture are being delivered for the expansion in the offense. They have completed the flooring, the kitchen cabinets and the new doors and locks have been installed. Tomorrow the new appliances and televisions will be installed as well. I will have the IT crew in next Monday as well as our Real Estate manager to guide us on the move in and make sure that everything is perfect in the new suite.
Darla has started a new job with a social services agency. She had her orientation on Tuesday and then worked both Thursday and Friday meeting her new clients in Stockton and Elk Grove. It is a 1099 job where she will work for the agency as an independent contractor. She said that it is good to be back in her field and able to work at her pace. I'm proud of her.
Our Financial Peace class at church is winding down and we have learned so much about our personal finances and budgeting. A couple of things that I'm looking at is changing my medical plan to a n HSA at work, instead of a PPO. Also, I added an identity theft policy through GEICO. It will help us if we have our credit cards stolen or our identity stolen. There is a lot of work to be done if you get hacked and it is expensive. We are signed up for credit monitoring and have a resource if and when we have a problem. The cost is only $89, but the average cost of repairing your credit runs into the $1000's. I'd recommend each of you doing the same.
Darla is off to a Silpada meeting right now, but is due home soon so I will wrap this up for now. I wish you all a great week. Pray for me as I attend our annual meeting this year. I'll be back at the keyboard next week. Ciao.
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