Cold and Sunny in Roseville

Yeah, it's not always 70 degrees in California. We had some snow make it's way down to the valley floor on Friday and I endured an Arctic blast on the golf course yesterday. It is the kind of weather with a bright blue sky that looks very beautiful from inside the comfort of a heated home, but the bone chilling frost and any breeze or wind will freeze you out. We had heavy rain and wind again last week and I had to empty my pool Friday night of water that had raised above the tile line and was creeping up the coping. I should have emptied it Friday morning before venturing off to work, but it was raining and windy and I didn't want to face the barrage of weather. I did have to shut the lids on both trash cans that were parked at the curb and waiting for the garbage service to empty them. The temperature is in the low fifties, but there is a cold in the air and the ground that is chilling. We have had overnight temperatures in the 20's every night for about five days with white frost on the rooftops and trees. We have several varieties of trees that are already budding for Spring after the 70's we had earlier in the month. Our fruitless cherry tree in the front yard is in full pink bloom.

Today is the last day of nourishment before my colonoscopy on Tuesday. Darla is fixing a pork roast for dinner. Tomorrow I will be on clear liquids only as I prep for the procedure. I'll have a delicious lunch of chicken broth and jello followed in the evening by a beef broth and 4 litres of lemon flavored Gavilyte that will see me cleaned out like a gutted fish. My understanding from other men over 50 is that the solution tastes vaguely like lemon flavored salt water and you have to drink 8 ounces of the stuff every fifteen minutes for 4 hours in between runs to the bathroom. I've had plenty of advice, from make sure you drink lots of 7 up to bite on a lemon or lime. I might lean toward the lemon as 4 litres of liquid is enough in a 4 hour sitting. That is equivalent to drinking down two large 2 litre soda bottles in a 4 hour time frame. I will get through it, though because one of my friends not only has issues with pre-cancerous polyps, but also chose not to drink the entire container because he felt ill and was sent back because his colon wasn't clear enough. I sure as heck don't want that. I am leaving the office early tomorrow to come home and prepare for the explosions to come in the bathroom. Oh, Happy Day!

Peter and I leave for Scottsdale on Sunday. We fly in at 8:15 after leaving here at 6 AM. We will get our rental car and then head over to the Legacy resort in Phoenix for a round of golf with Scottsdale Insurance. From there we will go in to Scottsdale and check into the corporate apartment that is being provided to us by Colony Insurance. We will have dinner at a steakhouse in Scottsdale with several executives from Scottsdale Insurance. Monday, we have breakfast with our underwriting team from Markel Insurance and then will spend the rest of the day with our hosts, Colony Insurance. My office is the largest producer on the west coast for Colony Insurance and we finished 2010 at just short of $4,000,000 in premiums written with a loss ratio of 21%. We will have lunch with the director of underwriting and then an early dinner with the VP and our underwriter before heading over to Scottsdale Stadium for the Texas Rangers vs. San Francisco Giants night cactus league baseball game. I haven't been to Spring Training since 2004 and look forward to it.

Tuesday, we have breakfast with Seneca Insurance followed by a meeting with Burlington Insurance and then golf at the Orange Tree Resort in Scottsdale with our Burlington Underwriter and with the Vice President at Burns' Scottsdale office. Our flight home is 6:30. It is a jam packed schedule with no room for any thing else. it should be fun and it will be good to see all of our companies in one visit.

Our office may be moving in July. We have an "opt out" clause in our lease and the space is larger than we need. Because of the configuration of the space it looks near impossible to downsize. Alan is interested in buying a building and we will be looking in both Folsom and Roseville for office space both to buy and to rent. If we buy a building, it will have to be three stories and at least 25,000 square feet. We would be located on the top floor and Burns would have signage on three sides of the building. We could end up staying in our space, but the landlords would have to charge us for space based only on the square footage we need (7500) instead of what we now occupy (10,000). My staff, especially the underwriters, will have some big changes in store for them as the company has moved to an open floor space plan, meaning the only offices will be reserved for Managers. My space would be configured with three offices and the rest of the underwriters would move into "partner" cubicles along with their main assistants. As it is now, we have 8 offices in addition to my corner office and each underwriter has a window office with four walls and a door.

We did end up hiring one Management trainee for my office when I was in San Francisco on Tuesday. We also offered the position to one of my assistant underwriters and she shocked all of us by turning it down. Her reasoning is because she was getting married in July and wanted to be able to commit time and effort to her marriage in the first year and because she loves working for the Sacramento office and doesn't want to be held accountable to the Home Office. I think it is a mistake on her part, but it is quite a compliment to the atmosphere and team attitude we have in my office.

Darla and I received a letter from a claims administrator for the city of Folsom on Friday telling us that they intend to subrogate against us for the costs of the cleanup from the transmission fluid spill earlier in the month. As California cities become more and more financially strapped by the weight of undocumented aliens and uninsured transients, they are looking for citizens of means to pay for services that our taxes have always paid for. It is classic double dipping and I will have a word with the claims examiner on Monday and tell her to either 1. contact the transmission shop for payment of the cost of the spill or 2. Stuff It! Unbelievable. This is the type of garbage that Obama has wrought in this country with his plans to embrace the undocumented "citizens" as he likes to call them. Arizona has it right when they will deport any undocumented persons found inside their borders. And now Obama has joined with the country of Mexico in deciding to sue the state of Arizona. Arizona is only upholding laws that are federal laws on the books since 1954 and of which Obama has "decided" that such laws are unconstitutional. I'll tell you what is unconstitutional is a President that decides to interpret laws and not enforce laws that he is duly sworn to uphold. There is a reason that we have branches of government and Obama can't just decide to make or interpret law, it is not in the constitution for him to do so. This President is a joke and this country is in the worst shape it has ever been in in my lifetime. And Friday, Obama decided the Federal Defense of Marriage Act is now unconstitutional. When did we elect this guy King? I think I missed that election. God help us.

I played Cherry Island yesterday following the rain and frost of the past week. I shot 42+43=85 and felt like I survived the round as much as played it. It was cold and I took a cart to at least have a windshield in front of me. The carts were relegated to the cart paths which hurt me a few times when I arrived at my ball after a walk from the cart with the wrong club in my hand. I'm sure mis-clubbing cost me at least three strokes during the round. I will miss the next tournament at Diamond due to the Scottsdale trip, but the weather forecast for Scottsdale is 77 degrees and Sunny, so I'll take that.

Dad and Shirley were in San Francisco on Friday and perhaps even got to see the first snow flurries in SF in 35 years as the weather was COLD. Darla and I did not make plans to see them as it was a pretty tight schedule with them leaving Saturday morning early for the airport. We will call tonight.

Well, that is the news for now. I'll update the blog next Saturday with tales from my colonoscopy. Again, I leave for Scottsdale Sunday morning. I hope you are all well. Ciao.

Gotta Love California

As the rest of the country continues to struggle with crushing snowfall and cold temperatures, I have to endure another mild sunburn because I never think to put sunscreen on in February. We had a wet and Wintry week and the weather turned to sunshine and happiness just in time for the weekend. I was able to get out and play golf both days with Darla away in New Orleans. I was going to try and play nine holes late Saturday with Matt, but he was studying (He is taking his MBA at CSUS), so I went over to Woodcreek to hit balls. It was dead at the course and the pro, Rob, talked me into playing 18 by giving me a cart, golf and a cheeseburger lunch all for $20. I ended up playing with a guy named Carlos who was about a 10. He doesn't keep a handicap and I talked him into joining RGC. He will call me and I'll put him in my foursome and introduce him to the guys. I shot 41 + 41 =82 and wasted my better round on a practice round. Matt and I played in the qualifier today and I shot 44+40=84. I made a nice comeback on the final nine, but neither Matt nor I had any game and we shot a 37+33=70 as a best ball team (horrible, by the way). We did play side by side with the guys who won the tournament by shooting 29+33=62. We tied them on the back, but that doesn't mean much. The weather was ideal today as you can tell by the pictures. Not warm, it only hit 55 degrees, but a high sun in a bright blue sky.

Darla is in the air as I write this winging back to Sacramento after her conference in New Orleans wrapped up. She said she has some stories to tell me. These women get away without their husbands and lose all sense of decorum. Not a good thing in a town like New Orleans. I am very secure in my relationship with Darla. She is a great Christian women and knows boundaries like no one I've ever met. She taught me some boundaries as a single Dad when we were dating and continues to mold me into the man she wants. If she could just get me to give up golf, life would be good. i say that, but it's funny if I have a Saturday without golf she gets irritated because I'm "hanging around" the house getting in her way.

Tomorrow is President's day and it will be DEAD at work. All of Sacramento (a government city) is shut down and most of our agents are off tomorrow. I've got the staff wearing casual Friday clothes and we will probably shut down a little bit early. I stay until the workday is over, but let the staff take off if it is abnormally slow and it will be.

It looks like I will be heading an intervention with the two dueling cousins from poker. I got john to agree that he needs to put this behind him and he asked if I'd act as a mediator and set up a lunch with Steve and John. I told him I'd be happy to and will talk to Steve at poker on Friday night.

Next Tuesday (March 1st)is my colonoscopy. I'll take a half day off on Monday to prep for the procedure and have Dulcolax tablets to take and four liters of Gavilyte to drink. It will clean me out and prepare for the colonoscopy. The television program "Men of a Certain Age" had a hilarious episode on the guys taking a golf weekend to Palm Springs combined with a resort treatment and colonoscopies.

On March 6th, Pete and I will fly to Scottsdale on business. We are playing golf with the Western Regional Director of Underwriting from Scottsdale Insurance and then going out to dinner that night. Monday morning we have breakfast with another company, Markel, followed by a day of meetings at Colony Insurance and then an early dinner and the Texas Rangers vs. San Francisco Giants Spring Training game at Scottsdale Stadium that evening. Tuesday morning we will be in the Scottsdale office of Burns and then over to the Burlington Insurance office mid morning followed by golf that afternoon. We will sneak in an early dinner with Seneca Insurance and then a 6:30 flight home. We will be moving the whole time we are there. We will play golf at the Legacy Resort on Sunday which is near the airport. Of course as I am wont to say to my assistant, it is all Sports Marketing.

We are having another strong month at work and have almost surpassed a strong 2010 with still over a week to go, so the results continue to be strong. I'm proud of the staff and we will likely earn a lunch for beating our budget this month. Things are definitely good at work.

Well Darla has landed and will be home soon. I still haven't showered since getting home from golf. I mowed the lawn after raking up all of the infernal spiny balls from the liquid amber trees on the North side of the house. I have to spray the pre-emergent this year to see if I can ward off those little devil balls this Spring and Fall. I hope all is well in your neck of the woods. Ciao.

An Ill Wind Blows In

I was very concerned about the high winds that blew into our area on Tuesday, but my CEO was in town and I couldn't do anything about it. We didn't take down the gazebo this Winter, instead anchoring it down with cinder blocks. It turns out that we should have taken the canvas off as the winds lifted up the gazebo and tossed it around. I called Darla as the winds grew stronger during the day and asked her to check on the gazebo. She had a full day and couldn't get home either. I picked my boss up at the Net Jets runway over at the old Mather AFB at 6:30 and we were at the Hyatt by 7 Pm and to dinner by 7:45. I didn't get out of the restaurant until 10:30 and took Anthony back to his house and finally got home about 11:20. I asked Darla how the gazebo fared and she said, "fine." I went out back and took a look and called her out there. What about our gazebo upside down in the pool is "fine"? She said that it was dark when she looked out and everything looked okay. Uh, right. I dismantled the twisted metal and torn fabric from the structure on Saturday and have the metal on the side yard ready for a trip to the recyclers.

The visit with our CEO went rather well. He brought me a nice San Giovesse from Italy as a gift and had very positive reinforcement for the office and the staff. We had agency visits Tuesday night and again Wednesday morning. I saw the talk show host, Montel Williams at the Hyatt Tuesday night as I waited for Alan and Harvey to check in. Wednesday morning saw the Dallas Mavericks and their team bus at the hotel as they were gathering to head over to the practice facility at Arco Arena (nee Power Balance Pavilion). Alan had some solid suggestions with regard to increasing our penetration into the middle tier and top tier agents in Sacramento, but again, the theme was very positive and he thanked me and the staff profusely for our results in 2010. It was a nice visit.

The staff was jittery all day on Wednesday with Alan in the office and I think most were surprised at the very positive tone of our meetings. Alan likes to grill the staff on company history and our statistics, but I had them prepared for the visit and we had grilled on statistics and history for three weeks before the visit. Alan did take a shine to my two newest hires, Connie and Dana, and have both of them coming into San Francisco next week for an assesment for the company management training program. I lose some measure of control if they join the program, so I'm a little ambivalent on their involvement, but see the need for the company to increase our bench strength. Of course, my bench strength will suffer if they are both picked for the program. I already have Matt in my office as a graduate of the training program. I will be sitting in on the assesments next Tuesday in San Francisco and we will do some role playing, having the candidates attempt to sell us some insurance products and grading them on their sales presentation and creativity. It should be interesting. I will be sitting in with Harvey (my boss), the VP of Human Resources and the head of college recruiting for the company.

Darla did get her car back on Monday after the shop repaired the damage. As I surmised, one of the hoses came loose from the transmission and sprayed the hot transmission fluid all over the engine and road. According to the shop owner, it was a pressure clamp that should have failed immediately, but lasted four hours and 69 miles before it gave up the ghost. As far as the accident, we have been cleared of any wrongdoing and the motorcycle's insurance (which so happens to be our insurance as well) will subrogate against the shop for the damage to the motorcycle. The shop power washed the engine before repairing the damage, but it still has a bit of a burnt transmission fluid smell to it.

I set up another out of town golf trip this weekend and we headed up to Darkhorse outside of Auburn, near Lake of the Pines on Saturday. The course is a championship layout and I've struggled each time I've played there. The greens are sloped and lightning fast and there are hazards, tight fairways and trees galore. I shot 44+46=90. Bob shot 81, Matt had 83 and Boyd shot a solid 36+38=74, a round that included 5 birdies. Boyd, at 71, is a golfer that takes his game on the road and plays well at almost any venue. It must be nice. I play in an NCGA 4 ball qualifier with Matt on Sunday.

Darla leaves for leadership conference with Silpada on Wednesday. She'll be gone until Sunday and the convention is in New Orleans this year. Mardis Gras is close and it should be a fun trip for her. I fly out to Scottsdale on March 6th for three days of carrier meetings. I will play golf on Sunday and then see the San Francisco Giants reprise their World Series matchup on Monday night at Scottsdale Stadium against the Texas Rangers. Spring training starts this weekend.

We have had Springlike temperatures this week, topping out at 74 degrees on Saturday, but Winter will return this week with rain for the valley and snow in the Sierra. The AT&T Pebble Beach golf tournament had excellent weather this week and I'm sure left most of the country longing for the blue skies and warm temperatures of California.

So, I will be batching it next weekend and hopefully the rain will end by Saturday and I can get in two days of golf next weekend. It was sure fantastic on Saturday. I hit two drives of close to 300 yards on Saturday and felt like Darryl. On one hole I was 80 yards past my playing partners. It's not really my game, the long ball off the tee, but fun when you nut one. My drives have been excellent the last month, but I haven't scored because of my poor chipping and putting. I know what I'm doing on my chips and pitches,(rolling over my right foot when I bring the club back). I'm working on keeping my right foot on the ground and planted, but it is a work in progress right now. Frankly, I'd rather be working on that than struggling with the driver.

I'm doing the blog early this afternoon as Darla and I have a Valentine's date at McCormick and Schmick's steakhouse at 5:30 tonight. I hope you are all well. Our worship pastor quoted Psalm 18 today: "...He reached down from on high and took hold of me; he drew me out of deep waters. He rescued me from my powerful enemy, from my foes, who were too strong for me. They confronted me in my day of disaster, but the LORD was my support, he brought me out into a spacious place; he rescued me because he delighted in me." Call upon our Saviour in your times of struggle and he will protect you. Happy Valentines day. Ciao.

Really, is it that hard to fix a transmission?

It was a fantastic weekend in Northern California with a high of 76 degrees yesterday and 75 degrees today. Great weather for golf and for a little yard work which I got done today. I was able to mow the lawn, edge, weed, put down some crabgrass preventer and fertilizer as well as clean the pool and for all of my trouble, I even got a little sunburn. To be honest, I also walked dead into one of the limbs of a tree on the side yard and almost knocked myself down to the ground. For that I got a nice smile shaped cut in my forehead and a bit of a ringing in my ears. What a dope!

As to the title of this epistle, we had Darla's truck in the shop all week and rented a car for Darla to use. She returned the rental truck on Friday and after juggling some money in our accounts to pay the $2600 tab, she picked it up and was on her way. We were meeting Darla's folks at 6 PM at Visconti's in Folsom to celebrate Frances' birthday. I was on my way to the restaurant Friday afternoon when Darla called and said she had a problem over at her sister's house with the truck and to detour over there. I turned into their side street and was confronted with both the Folsom Police and Fire vehicles directing me around a large spill in the roadway. Apparently one of the hoses on the transmission worked loose and sprayed hot transmission fluid all over the roadway. A Folsom police officer saw Darla's truck smoking and followed her to Alicia's. As they were discussing her truck, one of the neighbor's on a motorcycle hit the slick transmission fluid in the roadway and his bike slid out from under him. He landed hard on the roadway and one of the handlebars on the bike was broken and the tank and side of the vehicle scratched up. The firemen stayed on site cleaning up the haz mat spill and waited for the tow truck to come and take the truck away so they could get the rest of the spill beneath the truck. We ordered dinner delivered to Alicia and Don's house and the tow truck showed up just as the food arrived. The driver said that he needed to have one of us at the delivery site, so I gulped down my food and headed over to the transmission shop in Rocklin. Lucky for us, we needed to be there as the BOZO tow driver dropped the truck right in front of the dumpsters on the side of the business. He planned to leave it there, but I made him help me push it into a parking spot. He wasn't happy, but I don't care. The truck would have been towed this weekend if we left it there. The shop doesn't open until the morning and the owner will find out he not only has to redo our rebuilt transmission, but also has to turn in a claim to his general liability carrier for the motorcycle accident caused by his tech not tightening an O ring on to one end of a hose on the transmission.

We decided to have them do the work as AAMCO screwed up last Fall by changing the solenoid rather than checking the belt, which is what caused the "check engine" light to come on. Gene at the shop said it is one of two things when the light comes on, the solenoid or the belt. AAMCO chose wrong. Alicia had work on her Dodge there a few years ago and recommended them, but when I was talking to her after the wreck, she said, "The guys great, after my truck was fixed the light came on when I was leaving and he got me right back in, got me a rental and fixed the problem." Alicia was commenting on the good customer service, what I heard was that this shop has screwed up before by not getting a vehicle fixed right the first time. We will deal with him in the morning, but right now I need three things, a rental for Darla, the transmission fixed properly and a claim presented to his GL carrier for the motorcycle wreck of which the proximate cause was their shoddy workmanship.

The Super Bowl is over. Some will say what a great game, but I saw a sloppy performance by the Steelers and a lack of killer instinct by Green Bay. They should have rolled the Steelers after going up 21-3, but their own ineptitude and their players falling by the minute made the game closer. Miss Samantha won the first quarter of our neighborhood pool and won $25. We always put the kids names in and give them the money of they win. I think we've played for seven years and this is our first win. Good for Sammy.

I also wonder how Forty-Niner fans feel after watching a local product, Aaron Rodgers win the Super Bowl and also take home the MVP trophy. They chose first the year he came out and could have traded down to get him, but instead chose a Utah player to be their franchise quarterback, Alex Smith, who has been a colossal failure in the NFL. Aaron Rodgers was the quarterback for the Cal Bears and a local hero. David and Daniel say that the divergence of Rodgers and Smith is a byproduct of coaching, but I see a star quality in Aaron that is sorely lacking in Alex Smith. Smith was a good college QB who won the Heisman Trophy and is a serviceable backup quarterback in the NFL. Where would the Niners be if they had traded down and drafted both Aaron Rodgers and a wide receiver in the first round that year? We'll never know. Someone should have been fired in the Niners front office for that blunder.

I did play golf on Saturday in a shotgun at 8AM. It was a little cold when we teed off. My drives are straight and long, but I couldn't chip or putt all day on my way to an 88. Next week, we are on another road trip, this time up to Auburn and Darkhorse Golf Club. looking forward to it. Matt and I will play together in the next qualifier on February 19th, a two man best ball regional qualifier for the NCGA.

This will be a crazy week for me at work. Last week was companies in and dinners out. in fact, we saw Tyreke Evans and Donte Green of the Sacramento Kings at Benihanas on Wednesday night. They bopth had dates that were about 5 foot tall. Funny sight. This week will be a little more intense with our CEO visiting Tuesday night and Wednesday. I spent two days on the phone with both of his executive assistants last week setting up his itinerary. He flies in on Net Jets on Tuesday night and I will pick him up and drive him to the Hyatt in downtown where he will check in and then we are off to dinner at the Firehouse in Old Sacramento where we have dinner with one of my top retailers. I received his itinerary on Friday and it shows his arrival at 6:15 PM, a 25 minute drive to the hotel, a fifteen minute check-in at the hotel followed by a three (3?) minute drive to the restaurant. The next morning we have a breakfast meeting with one of our retailers, a thirty minute drive to the office, meetings scheduled with times during the day, an office lunch at 12:30 and departure at 4 PM. he and Harvey go on to SF, where they will meet a retailer for dinner. both of my retailers are excited and nervous about meeting a CEO of the largest wholesaler in the country.

I had the carpets cleaned Friday night, have been grilling the office on company trivia and will be doing walk throughs of the cubicles and offices on Tuesday morning. I will pick Anthony up Tuesday morning and he will go with me to the airport and dinner and, of course, Harvey will be in tow. It should be an interesting visit as it always is.

Well, this is a bit late due to the Super Bowl telecast, so this will be a bit short. I will have news on the transmission shop's response to all that has happened since Friday in the next visit. I hope you are all well. Darla and I made it back to church on Saturday night and it felt like coming home. Honestly, if you find a good local church, it makes your life so much better. Be well. Ciao.

Spur of the Moment Things can be Fun...

At least that's what the Cialis commercials say. Darla and I didn't end up in two separate bathtubs in the wilds of Montana, but we did end up making a last minute trip up to Lake Tahoe to see Kim Wilson and the Fabulous Thunderbirds at Harrah's South Shore Showroom on Saturday night. The timing was really tight because I had arranged a golf road trip up to La Contenta in Valley Springs an hour east of Sacramento in the foothills above Lodi.

What happened is that Darla wanted me to pick her up Friday morning at AAmco in Roseville and drive her to work. her transmission has been giving her fits and she wanted to get it diagnosed. More on that later. I slept in until 7:00 AM and was listening to the radio in the morning while Darla was getting ready and I heard the radio deejay announce "the things to do" that weekend. He mentioned that the Fabulous Thunderbirds, a blues inspired rock band, was playing up at Harrah's Saturday night. Kim Wilson has always been one of my favorite performers and I asked Darla if she'd like to go. She was "in" immediately.

I had slept wrong that night and woke up with a terrible neck ache. When I was making the bed I tripped on one of the infernal stuffed animals that go onto our bed along with pillows and other riff raff. I fell backward onto the pile of pillows piled up by the wall. That was a good thing, but I also crashed into the wall, banging my head and also skinning my elbow as I slid down the textured surface of the wallboard. I landed in a heap. I lay there shaking my head for a few minutes to get my head cleared. Darla heard the crash, but didn't investigate. I recall a similar accident in Canada at Al and Sherry's a few years ago when Darla fell and I was soundly chastised. I didn't bring it up, but I did think of it.
I got to work and got online to check for tickets and they had third row seats available for $38. I jumped on the buy and started looking for lodging. I ended up booking us at Rodeway Inn, an inexpensive motel, but clean and close to the casinos. The forecast was for some light snow flurries Saturday night, with an accumulation of one inch of wet snow.

I played golf Saturday with the guys. Darla had a party to attend and would be home about 4:30. My tee time was 10:15 and I would hopefully be home close to the same time. We packed Friday night to be ready to go Saturday. The course up at La Contenta is beautiful and very hilly with holes going uphill, downhill and sidehill. I shot 43+45=88, Boyd struggled to 86, Matt had 85 and Bob shot a splendid 78 with a chip in on the final 454 yard par four for birdie. After golf I gathered the troops together quickly, got in the car and we headed back home, leaving the gas station in Valley Springs at 3:00 PM on the dot. I had to drop Matt off in downtown Sacramento and then take the boys back to their cars at the Park-n-Ride in Roseville. I got home about 4:15, showered, had a quick Angus Burger compliments of Miss Darla and we were on the road.

We arrived at Harrah's at about 7:05 after leaving the house at 5:00 PM. We had to cross town to the 50 freeway and up to Tahoe. The show was incredible and the seats were even better. Kim Wilson is a performer from Goleta near Santa Barbara and a protege of Muddy Waters on the harmonica. At one point during the show, his band all got up and left the stage as Kim started a harmonica solo that lasted 15 minutes. It was incredible, he never seemed to stop for air. I'll look for a You-Tube video of Kim on the harmonica and post it here. Darla and I made it to Will Call and in our seats by 7:15 and I was able to get us drinks and settle in for the 90 minute show. The showroom at Harrah's is an intimate 750 seat showroom with three sections of seats surrounding the stage and two bars. The back section of theater has booths and couches set up to relax and watch the show. I was able to get the latest CD of the Fabulous Thunderbirds. They have been in show business for over 25 years and the band was founded by Kim Wilson and Jimmy Vaughn (Stevie ray's brother). Vaughn left the group in the early nineties.

Darla and I went and checked into the hotel and then headed over to our favorite hangout in Tahoe, the Lakeside Inn. We sat down to play some nickle poker and I told her we'd break for a late snack as soon as one of us hit a four-of-a-kind. Luck was with me as I hit four threes for a 600 coin payout in the first twenty minutes. We headed into the lounge and split a salad and a french dip. After dinner we headed back out to the casino and played until after 1:00 AM. During that span, I hit the Royal shown above with a 25 cent bet. I was dealt the jack-queen-king and ace of diamonds along with the 5 of diamonds for a flush. It was an easy decision to dump the 5 and go for the Royal and as Darla watched next to me, the ten of diamonds came up for the 4000 coin payout ($200). All told, we played video slots, bought a CD, ate a late dinner and gambled for three hours on $100 and came away with almost $300. Our gambling paid off for us and paid for the trip.

It was starting to lightly snow when we got to the casino after ten o'clock. When we finished up and headed back to the motel, it was coming down in fat flakes and it was a swirling gust that carried the snow almost sideways. The motels in Tahoe all have restricted parking this time of year due to the snow. They clear the lots, but often push the snow into the corner of the lot and take up four or five spots. When we got back, there was no parking available. I parked down the street at a space that was horizontal to the street and near an apartment complex within a comfortable walk of the motel. We watched the Weather Channel before going to sleep, because the snow looked a lot heavier than an inch and certainly not of the wet variety. The forecast still showed light snow flurries with no more than an inch forecast.

We woke up this morning to a Winter Wonderland with six inches of snow blanketing the streets, cars and parking lot. I dressed and checked the Cal Trans Road Information. Sure enough all the mountain passes had chain controls in effect. It wasn't snowing in the morning, but it was brisk. I headed to the car, found a brush that I clean my spikes with in the trunk and began digging my car out. One thing I noticed immediately was that my sun roof was open in the pop up stage (not slid open) and the snow was packed around the opening. I must have opened it earlier in the week and hadn't noticed it. Somehow, the snow didn't seep into the car or on the roof padding. My car was a chunk of snow and I had to brush off all of the windows, the roof, hood and trunk of the car. It took me almost fifteen minutes and I nearly froze my bare hands in the process.

Darla and I headed back over to the Lakeside Inn for breakfast. We didn't even look at a slot machines as we were happy with our haul from the night before and wanted to get it home. All of the passes around the lake were still requiring chains at 11:00 AM when we finished breakfast, but 50 and 80 were back open. I would have preferred to take 80 back, but couldn't get around the lake and don't have chains for my 22 inch wheels on the 300. We left Lakeside at 11:30 and got home this afternoon at 3:30. It took four hours, but that included a stop in Placerville for lunch at Mel's Diner. It took us 90 minutes to get from Lake Tahoe to Myers, a drive that normally takes 30 minutes. People were flooding out of Tahoe now that the pass was open. There was a huge line of traffic from the Y in Tahoe up to the ag inspection station in Myers. I was afraid that controls would go back up as the snow started as we pulled into Myers and it was thick and covering the roadway. I wouldn't be surprised if controls went back up shortly after we passed as it was slow going and treacherous. I was lucky enough to be four cars behind the snow plow during part of the trip up the hill (before he pulled off) and it helped. By the time I got up to Sierra Ski Ranch in Twin Bridges the traffic had thinned out and it was smooth sailing, Darla was so worried about the conditions and my driving that she fell asleep before we started up the pass and missed all of the tension.

It was so pretty after the snowfall that I wanted to get a picture of the Truckee River which is on the opposite side of the road from west bound 50. I saw a pullout and with a guy on my tail and one coming in the opposite direction, I swerved across the road to the turnout. Darla was awake by then and thought I'd gone crazy and was pulling into oncoming traffic. I think pictures 4 and 5 above were worth it, don't you? We had a great weekend, a lot of fun and some laughs along the way. ALMOST as fun as a Cialis commercial.

As to Darla's Explorer. Those that think I'm lucky because I don't have a car payment, forget that I have a 2002 Explorer with 160,000 miles on it. In the last four months, we have spent over $1800 in repairs on the car with a transmission solenoid that went out, new brakes, new tires, fuel system service, and an air conditioning repair this past Summer. Now the transmission needs to be rebuilt. A Belt has come loose and caused damage to the transmission. AAmco wants $2,500 for the repair. We are taking the car into a shop recommended to us tomorrow that will hopefully do the job for closer to $1500. I'll let you know the final tally next week.

Well, this has been a mad and crazy weekend and I've enjoyed every minute of it. I hope you are all well and living a life of health, happiness and devotion to The Lord. Ciao.

Here is the Harmonica Solo for the Fabulous Thunderbirds:

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72 Degrees and Sunny on January 22nd in NorCal

Just a few leftover shots from our vacation with Jennifer and Samantha. Sam was really funny when we got home from the airport on Monday night. Their flight was delayed and they didn't get in until 11 PM and back to our house until almost 11:45. She ran into the living room and saw the Christmas presents sitting at the hearth. She said to us, "What are those presents?" We told her they were her and Mom's Christmas gifts and that we would open them in the morning. "But , what's in those presents?" She must have asked us five times before we finally got her off to bed. We wanted to visit with Jennifer, but realized that Sam wouldn't go down unless her Mom went to bed too, so we said goodnight. We had a long trip up to Tahoe the next day, so figured we could catch up on the drive, which we did.

The weather here in Roseville has been nothing short of magnificent this weekend. I had a two day golf tournament and the temperatures were 72 and sunny yesterday and high thin clouds today and 65 degrees. Heaven on Earth. The East Coast is digging out of snow and severe cold. I have a friend in Glen Falls, New York that told me it was expected to get down to minus 28 degrees tonight. Wow. I live in California because I choose to and really from the luck of having Dad move with CF to the Bay Area and my finishing high school here and choosing to stay. My first wife, Diane, was from the Bay Area and I decided to stay here when the family moved to Texas. Now my ex-wife lives in Texas. She hated the liberal politics here, but will soon find out that people of color are not considered equals by a large segment of the Texas population. It is one of the "good old boy" parts of Texas that I can't stand. Sure there are a lot of NASCAR fans there, too, and that's kind of creepy, but it is the lack of respect for your fellow man that I can't live with. Like anything else, it is changing as the old farts die off, but many have infected their children's brains too and the racism lives on. I can stand here in California and fight liberalism (comfortably housed in Pro-Republican Placer County), and visit Texas every now and then.

My team ended up shooting 66 and 63 and missed the playoff for the second qualifying team by four strokes. We hurt our selves on Saturday with net bogeys and poor putting. We were only 2 under par after 14 holes (also 2 under after five holes) and then birdied the last four holes for the 66. I shot 83 and 84 and we ended up tied for third place in the money. Disappointing, but we played well today and finished well yesterday. There is another qualifier next month and we will sign up for that as well.

I played poker on Friday night and the pendulum swung to me as loser. I lost about $80 in quarters over the course of the evening. The two battling cousins, Steve and John, have not made nice with each other yet, so John stayed home and Steve played. Steve was my partner in the qualifier this weekend. I sent John a text on Friday night and told him I'd miss him at the game and to work on the forgiveness aspect of Christianity. He texted back that he is "working on it". I guess that means he is working it out in his head first and then will put it in play.

I started working on my Facebook page this week. I somehow got signed up for Facebook and would periodically get "Friend" requests. I'd always say yes, but I didn't have a page or anything. I finally got in there and put a wall together. I work it 100% from my i-phone, so I don't have all the bells and whistles of a traditional Facebook page, but this blog is about as "techy" as I get, so deal with it. I have re-connected with a few old friends, and that is what Darla likes about it, so it does have some value to me.

I have a whirlwind week at work this week. I have three visitors coming in to town and they all want to do dinner. This seems to be the new "thing" in business. If you have dinner with someone it shows that your relationship transcends business and you are a valuable partner. I will have to work out extra hard at lunch. I also have an eye appointment Tuesday afternoon and dental appointment on Thursday. The dinners planned are at Chicago Fire Pizza, Benihana's and Morton's Steakhouse. I may literally roll into work on Friday morning. On top of all the appointments and dinners, I have salary reviews due the end of this month and have to get to the nuts and bolts of the reviews this week as well.

I have a Golf Road Trip planned for next weekend with a trip up to Valley Springs to play La Contenta golf course. We will leave here at 8:30 and tee off at 10:15. I have a $25 coupon for golf and cart for everyone in my foursome. I will play with Matt, Bob and Boyd and look forward to it. it is also Darla's Mom's birthday next week and we will drive up to Paradise on Saturday night, spend the night and go to church with them on Sunday. We will have an early dinner at the Italian Cottage restaurant in Chico on Sunday afternoon. I think as busy as this week is, the weekend may even be busier.

I talked to Darryl on the anniversary of his birth January 20th. He had Josh and some friends flying in for the weekend to do some snow boarding and was planning to try and keep up with him. After the butt cramp episode at his house when we were playing Wii Bowling, I'm worried for his health. Hopefully he survived and had a great time with his son. He is now double nickels (55) and not getting any younger.

Well, that is it for this week. The blog may be late next week depending on when we get home from Paradise. I hope you are all doing well and living a life your parents would be proud of. Ciao.

More pictures from the snow trip

Jennifer came through with some pictures from the trip. You can see by the icicles just how much snow and weather Tahoe has had. There are huge icicles that reach from the roof of two story homes all the way to the ground. Amazing.

I've also included a shot of Earl and Frances and their only great grandchild (Samantha) and Alicia's son, (their grandson) Lucas.

Today was MLK day here in the US of A and it was absolutely DEAD at work. I turned the staff loose at 3:00 PM and stayed until closing myself, but no phones were ringing and no e-mails were coming in. I think the few insurance offices that were open today closed at noon. I got my Facebook page updated and cleared out all of my new business quotes. It was a yawner of a workday.

I will play in an NCGA qualifier with Steve next weekend. it is two days and we proceed to Monterey in June if we qualify. There are 20 eligible teams and two will make it to Monterey. We played a practice round on Saturday and I shot a bloated 90, but we shot 66 as a team. Steve played well, so here's hoping I'm saving my best golf for Saturday and Sunday.

That's it for this week as I just wanted to get Jennifer's pictures posted. Hope you all have a great week and I'll update my success or failure in the qualifier next Sunday night. Ciao for now.

A Great Snow Trip with Jennifer and Miss Samantha!!

A really awesome time was had with Jennifer and Samantha on our short vacation up to Lake Tahoe this week. The amount of snow in the Sierra is at record levels for this early in the season and we really enjoyed the "Winter Wonderland" that is the Lake Tahoe area right now. Darla likes to take pictures of people and not of landscapes. Jennifer got a bunch of great shots of the icicles up at the Lake which have many extending all the way from the roof to the ground. I pulled off the road a couple of times to let her get pictures as the icicles are almost unbelievable, the sheer size and length of them. Jennifer has promised to forward me some of her shots and I will add them to the blog when we get them. You can get a good feeling for the extent of the snowfall in the last picture of Jennifer at the top of a snow run up at Boreal Ridge where we stopped on the way up to do some sledding.

Unfortunately, Samantha was not in the mood to put on her snow bib, mittens, boots and Winter coat when we stopped and I stayed in the car while Darla and Jennifer climbed up to the snow hill. We bought a day pass for the snow parks of California which are plowed and parking provided with restrooms and areas to eat. They played for awhile while Sam fussed. I suggested that we drive over the summit and down to Truckee and we could have lunch at Jax at the Tracks, a diner with great comfort food. We brought Samantha's snow pants into the restaurant and got her ready for our next stop. Lunch was awesome and Sam had a white cheddar macaroni that each of us tried and wished that we had ordered. Next time for sure. Dad and Shirley, you need to make a drive into Truckee on your trip and visit the small town and definitely eat at Jax. An Amtrak train came by as we were seated eating and Sam was mesmerized by the size and sound of the train as it passed by.

From there we drove Highway 89 into Tahoe City and stopped at the fish hatchery and got some pictures. Sam was a little fussy, but finally came out to see the wintery scenes of the Truckee river and a large group of geese and ducks that were along the river bed.

We drove up to the snow park on Highway 89 near Emerald Bay and finally coaxed Sam out of the car and onto the mountain. Darla and Jennifer took her sledding, while Jennifer and I helped her build a snowman. She really enjoyed herself and the snow bib and pants kept her warm and dry. Jennifer seemed to enjoy the sledding as much or more than Samantha as she took run after run, once banging into our snowman, but not knocking it over. We had hot chocolate and made a few more runs down the hill before packing up and heading to the hotel.

We stayed at the 3 Peaks Resort, a find for $79 on hotels.com. Our cost was $117 for 4 people and the room was great for Darla and I. We got a movie and all sat on the King sized bed in our room and watched "Despicable Me", an animated movie that we only made it about half way through. Sam was bushed after a full day and went to bed with Mom in the living room of the small suite on a fold out sofa bed. Jennifer later said the bed was the most uncomfortable she's ever slept on.

That night we had dinner at Tep's Villa Roma Italian restaurant. I didn't know how we have missed this restaurant over the years of us staying up at Tahoe. It is 100% authentic Italian cuisine with an anti pasta and salad bar that is second to none. It even included pasta and Italian peppers of various types, a huge salad bar with everything from bacon to grated Parmesan cheese and a soup station. The highlight of the restaurant for Samantha was the big fish tank near the entrance that had a Dori fish (from Finding Nemo), Samantha noticed and said something about Dori as we walked in and the maitre'd thought she said "How are you doing?" He was quite impressed with her great manners. Darla and I walked ahead of the kids from the car to make sure the restaurant was kid appropriate and left poor Jennifer stuck in the back with the kid locks on. She had to climb over the seat to get out of the car. The fish tank is two-sided as you can tell from the picture of "Dori" above. We had great meals with Darla's pesto ravioli a big hit. Jennifer had Penni pasta with sliced slivers of garlic in the sauce. It was fantastic (I had her leftovers for lunch on Thursday).

Wednesday morning Samantha and I took a walk down to the office and turned in the keys. We walked out and looked at the two level hot tub that has a waterfall cascading down from the top level into the bottom. Very nice. We brought Jennifer a cup of coffee and Darla a cup of hot cocoa. We packed up the car and headed over to our favorite breakfast restaurant, "Heidi's". That is the picture of Samantha with the wood from the booth behind her. From there we drove back through Highway 89 and stopped at the lookout over Vikingholm, the castle on shore near the island in Emerald Bay. Jennifer was able to take her camera and get a picture of the building on the island through the binoculars that are at the overlook. Again, Dad and Shirley, this is a MUST STOP for you while you are in Tahoe. The views are incredible and made even more beautiful this time of year by the snow. We had to hike in and hike out as the lot is not serviced in the Winter.

We bought Samantha a Leap Frog learning computer. It is a game station with learning games that you can insert and they teach her numbers, colors, sounds, etc. Really ingenious and she played the games non stop on our trip.

We got home about 2:30 and I decided to wash Darla's Explorer because it was filthy from the snow and road salts. Sam did not sleep on the way home (playing her Leap Frog) and was cranky. I wanted to take her over to the park across the street from our house and let her use the slides and swings. Darla and Jennifer wanted her to get a nap. I promised her if she behaved and wasn't crabby with Mommy that I'd take her to the park when I finished with the car. Darla looked at me sideways. We packed up some Teddy Grahams and some water and headed over to the park. It was a nice sunny afternoon and there were a lot of kids out playing and Sam fell right in with all of them. One family brought two dogs, one of them a puppy and Samantha asked to pet the dog. The guy gave her the leash and the little puppy dragged Samantha all over the park and she was laughing and running with him. We had company coming at 4 PM (Baby Lucas) and I tried to get Sam ready to go. She said, "No, I'm playing". I said, "Sam, Baby Lucas is coming, we have to leave." She stopped, crossed her arms and said, "No!" That didn't go over big with Papa and I scooped her up and we headed back to the house. Sam had a full on fit, kicking and yelling. I looked like a dirty old man abducting a three year old from the park. It turns out Jennifer and Darla were right, she needed a nap and got a "Time out" in her room when we got home.

We had a great time with Darla's folks, Lucas and Alicia , but they all packed up and were gone by 6 PM. Jennifer's friend Jason came by and Sara was supposed to join us, but got into an accident on her way over. Her boot got stuck under the brake and she rear ended a Volvo. Her Nissan Murrano was totaled and the Volvo barely looked like it got hit. Jason and Jennifer joined her over at the accident site and picked her up while we watched Samantha. Jennifer and I ordered pizza and gave Sam a bath and got her down at 8 PM. Jennifer, Jason and Sara went out and Jennifer came home with a new nose post. Sara talked Jennifer into it and all that I can say is it was Jennifer being Jennifer. They went to Wild Bill's Tattoo in Roseville and met Bill and he enjoyed the girls so much he gave them each an extra stud for their new nose holes. They met Sara's boyfriend later and Sara got a ride home.

Darla and I took them to the airport the next morning and we had a short, but GREAT trip with the kids. Jennifer's job is going really good and they both think they will get offered a position with the company they are temping for. Here is a picture of the huge circuit board they are working on daily:

Well, I will have a mid week update when I get the icicle pictures from Jennifer. I hope you are all doing great and enjoying the New Year. I've lost two pounds so far this year on my way to 50 pounds. eh? Ciao.

Samantha and Jennifer will be here tomorrow!!

We are taking a few days off this week and taking Jennifer and Samantha up to beautiful Lake Tahoe. The kids arrive tomorrow night at 10 PM from Vegas (Jennifer works tomorrow). We have reserved a King Junior Suite at the 3 Peaks Resort and Beach Club in Lake Tahoe for Tuesday night. We will leave mid morning Tuesday and will spend some time at a Snow Park near Truckee before driving up to Lake Tahoe. We stopped and picked up a snow disc this week and had completely outfitted Samantha with a snow bib, boots, hat, gloves, goggles and sunglasses for her birthday in December. We also got Jennifer some snow pants, gloves and snow boots. Darla and I will get soaked, but the kids will be fine.

This will be a short update as it is a little later than usual on Sunday night. I sat and watched the golf from Hawaii and it went into a two hole playoff. I will return next weekend with pictures and stories from our trip with Samantha and Jennifer.

I played golf on Friday with an agent that I have known for over thirty years. He was gone for a year on a mission trip to Muldovia and returned in the Fall of last year. Bob invited Pete and I out to his country club in Rancho Murietta. We wanted to tee off mid morning, but he was only able to get an 8:15 tee time. The cost out at RM is $60 for guests, but one of the Assistant Pro's out there used to work at Diamond Oaks and comped my round of golf. It was bitterly cold. The fog was thick and wet and the sun never did show it's face the whole day. The course was wet and marshy in a lot of spots as many of the local courses are because of the inordinate amount of rain that we've had. I managed to muck around the course for a 44+44=88. I also played golf today in the Captain and Crew scramble tournament and we struggled a bit, but put up five birdies and no bogeys for a round of 67. I was lucky enough to get in a group with Neil. I don't think we did too well as I left shortly after the round and we were in second place (only two groups were in at the time).

I met with our webmaster to discuss the job and he flipped again and now wants to stay on as the webmaster. He does an okay job, but is often late with updates and his communication is terrible. It is okay by me as I was actually looking forward to a break from the board this year. The President asked if I'd be willing to intern with the webmaster and be there as a backup if he flips again. I think I will pass and just let them figure it out.

I worked out everyday this past week and only lost one pound. Many people would be discouraged, but I'm good. I figure I'm on track to lose over 50 pounds this year and will be at the weight I carried in ninth grade when I'm done. Darla is dieting as well and fixed soups this past week. We had French Onion soup, taco soup and tonight Won Ton soup. It is nice when it is wet and cold to enjoy hot soups. Today was about 45 degrees, but the sun did break out this afternoon and Darla mentioned that I was sporting a bit of a sunburn this afternoon.

I got home from golf today and was watching the football game and fell asleep for about an hour on the couch. It was nice, but I woke up with a headache that is just now starting to subside. I think maybe I was hungry, having skipped breakfast and grabbing a hot dog at the turn today. Darla and I took down the Christmas decorations this weekend and I took down the Christmas lights on the house this afternoon after my nap and we got all of that packed up and back into the attic this evening. We were going to leave it up for Sam, but figure we will be gone and she won't really get a chance to enjoy it. Also, Darla has a meeting here at the house Thursday night and wanted everything cleaned up. We did leave Sam's stocking up and their gifts around the fireplace hearth. We also left up the jazzy Santa that plays the saxophone and Samantha runs to turn it off when I start him up. It is a little joke that she and I have and I wanted it there when she comes.

The weather looks "iffy"for our trip with snow showers due in Tuesday night and into Wednesday. We will get up and have breakfast at Heidi's in Tahoe on Wednesday morning and then head back down the hill. Hopefully chains are not required on the trip back down. We will meet Earl and Frances back at the house and have dinner with them Wednesday night. Lucas will join us as well.

Well, as warned, this is just an update. I will be back at the computer next weekend with stories and pictures of our trip to the snow with Miss Samantha. Have a great week! Ciao.

Happy New Year 2011

It is a new year and I do not have any New Year Resolutions. Instead, I have a personal plan, much like I have a Business plan at work. My personal goals for 2011 are to lose weight (I'm up about 4 pounds over the holidays and will be hitting the gym to work that off), continue to pay down debt as retirement looms in ten years, get back down to single digits in golf (I am at 10.0 as of 1/1 so don't have far to go), win my flight in the Club Championship, make the Rose Cup team, spend quality time with Darla and plenty of visits with Jennifer and Samantha in 2011, help to continue to transition the boys into true independence as their college years begin to come to a close, increase my participation and tithing at Church, and enjoy everyday and every friend as the gift that they are. Simple things and things that can easily be met.

We had our annual New Years Day party and had a great time.We had twelve total and we all squeezed around the dining room table. It was tight quarters, but we had 14 last year and had to split into two tables, which wasn't as much fun. Neil and Lilly made it and it was her first foray into extended time away from the house since her surgery. We were very happy to have them. They showed up late and left early, but seemed to really enjoy themselves.Bob and Vicki made it for what may be their last time as they are putting their home up for sale and moving back to San Jose. Bob has his business in San Jose and Vicki never warmed to the Roseville area. It was bittersweet for me as Bob is a good Christian friend and I will miss him greatly. At least I have a close friend in San Jose that I can go and visit. Rick and Jan made it and Bob and Debbie who had just returned from Southern California. Steve came and his wife Brenda joined us late as she was working. John and Camille chose not to come as the feud between the cousins has not been resolved unfortunately. They need to sit down and work it out soon, because (frankly) it is ridiculous. We had a great time and went through four appetizers, two bottles of champagne, five bottles of wine and two bottles of Martinelli's Sparkling Cider. All of that on top of soda and ice water. We had prime rib, salads, rice pilaf, mashed potatoes, green bean casserole, au jus, ice cream covered with hot cherries and cake for dessert. You can see from the pictures above that Darla wouldn't let me carve the Prime Rib without a bib over my white shirt. We played "Catch Phrase" after dinner and had a lot of laughs.

I took Thursday off from work and played the Morgan Creek Country Club course in Roseville for the first time. Boyd was supposed to join me along with one of my agents. Boyd fell ill and my agent managed to cut down a tree on his property that landed on top of him. I ended up with Rick, Neil and Pamas instead. It was 28 degrees when we got to the course and they had a slight frost delay. We got out about ten minutes later than our tee time, so not bad. I tore up the course ion the front side and shot a 38, but as water finds its' level, I stumbled on the back nine with a 45 for 83. It's getting frustrating and I'm pleased to say that I finally broke out of the 82-83 rut on Friday with Bob, Matt and Darren by shooting 40+39=79 at Diamond oaks. I birdied three of the first five holes and hung on for the 79. We had a half hour frost delay Friday and finally teed off on number 12 in a modified shotgun just before 10 o'clock. I should have shot lower, but after my recent meltdowns, I was happy to break 80. I will play in the Captain and Crew tournament on Sunday, which is a scramble tournament and they match up the players with handicaps in Flights A-D and have one player from each flight make up a team. I have generally avoided the Captain and Crew because I'm not a big fan of scrambles, but realize that this is a good opportunity to get to know some of the other players in the club.

Neil asked me if I would consider stepping up for the club and taking on the role as our webmaster. I know nothing about being a webmaster, but agreed to meet with our current webmaster and discuss the job. I know that the NCGA offers member clubs a chance to have a website tied to the NCGA and it is professionally handled by their web design team. This may be an opportunity to significantly upgrade our web presence and perhaps even have some new potential members driven to the club through the reach and size of the NCGA, the largest golf association in the United States.

The boys both left for Cal Poly this morning. David is heading back and doesn't even have an apartment lined up as he moved out of his apartment before he left for Italy. He will bunk in with Daniel for a week if he didn't find something today. David will only be back at Cal Poly for a quarter and then will take an unpaid intern position with an architecture firm in San Francisco. He will live in the city with about 18 of his fellow students. Four months in Italy followed shortly after by two months in San Francisco. Not a bad gig for a 23 year old. I think he'll really enjoy the pulse of the city in San Francisco and get to know the museums and hot spots in SF. I will live vicariously through him once again. All of this is set up by Cal Poly for their architecture students in their Junior year, again one of the reasons that thousands apply and only a few hundred get into the program each year.

Jennifer and Samantha will be here next Monday - Thursday and we look forward to their visit. I will write one more blog before they get here. We are hoping to make it up to Lake Tahoe while they are here. We are getting a break in the weather this week after a rainy weekend, so hopefully we don't have a storm during the time that they are here. We have had a tremendous amount of rain and snow already and some areas of the Sierra are at 287% of normal snowfall already. We are well ahead on our rain totals and I look forward to the break this week. It will likely come with some morning frost and fog, but I'm kind of done with the rain for awhile. The local golf courses are wet and soggy with all of the rain we've had.

Well, that is it for this epistle. I will add more next week. Happy New Year. I hope all of your personal goals come to fruition in 2011.