Hey. I'm back from paradise and wondering how Dad and Shirley ever sold their place in Sun City. The temperatures were 79, 83 and 85 on the three days that I was in Scottsdale. Not too shabby and probably a little warmer than what Dad and Shirley are experiencing in Vancouver. I stayed at the Resort Suites in Scottsdale off Princess Avenue. It is the resort situated right next to the Fairmont Resort and the Fairmont makes anyplace else look like a dive. The Resort Suites was very nice and the rooms were about 900 square foot suites. The Miss Teen Arizona pageant was gearing up and the girls and their parents were checking in and fashion photo shoots were taking place outside my room. These girls are all adorable and it was a pedophile's delight as the 16-18 year olds lounged by the pool and walked around wearing tiaras and sashes all day long.
We started Wednesday night with a 30 minute bus ride out to Cave Creek, Arizona north of Scottsdale and went to a country restaurant and bar where they set us up in the rear yard with horseshoes, volleyball and six large fire pits surrounded by picnic tables. The grub was pulled pork, chicken, cowboy beans, corn on the cob and biscuits. The food was excellent and the music was very good with a rockabilly band with a lead singer who crooned in the Elvis Presley style. It was a fun night.
The underwriter in Modesto, Margaret, contracted tonsilitus from her kids and had to stay home. I caught the six am flight to Phoenix on Wednesday morning and rented an SUV when I arrived. I had a ten am meeting with Scottsdale Insurance and my Colony underwriter was trying to track me down and had three messages on my cell phone by the time I landed. She wanted to invite Anthony from our office to attend the seminar in Margaret's place. I talked to Anthony, he was caught up on his desk and could catch a Wednesday night flight to Phoenix in time to be at the seminar Thursday morning. I cleared it with our VP in San Francisco and Anthony was on a flight by the time we got to the dinner house in Cave Creek.
The trip was fun. They had a casino night on Thursday night and I opened and closed one of the Texas Hold'em tables. It was a lot of fun. We played golf Thursday afternoon and they put me with three complete non-golfers. We managed four over par which was amazing given that we used 17 of my drives and 90% of my other shots. I was playing really well and likely would have won if they'd given me even one golfer to play with. We had a good time and I got to know a couple of my Colony Underwriters better over the five hour course of the golf tournament.
The underwriters from my old firm, Richter Robb were there. That firm did about $36,000,000 in premium when I was with them. We hired away their top two underwriters last year and they finished 2005 with a little over $18,000,000 in writings. I expected to be treated as a pariah, but two of the three underwriters approached me about employment. I'm not looking to hire any more of their underwriters away, but it was funny to see the marketing that they each tried to do with me to sell themselves.
I returned from the sun and fun to a rainy Friday afternoon in Sacramento. I got in about 3:05 PM and was back in the office by 4:30 to clean up my e-mails and voice mails so I could get a fresh start this morning. I worked until about 7:30 PM. Darla had a site meeting with the kids from Adventure Christian Church in preparation for their Mexico trip. I figured that I could get more done at work, even though I was tired and needed to get caught up on sleep.
The Titleist golf tournament scheduled for Saturday was postponed due to inclement weather and rescheduled for April 8th. Darla will be out of town that weekend in Mexico and I plan to play golf both days. I did not play this past weekend, partly because of the weather, but mostly because I pulled a muscle in my back mowing the lawn Saturday afternoon. I reached down to pick up one of the spiny balls that fall from my trees and felt something snap. I have a call in to Harry for a Bowen Therapy appointment. I hope to get in this afternoon. If I stand in front of a mirror, I am listing to the left right now as my spine is out of alignment due to the muscle strain in my back. I was in agony last night and had trouble sleeping. The last time I did this, I had one Bowen session and was good to go after that. I'm done with chiropractors. They did little but lighten my wallet over the years.
I got an e-mail from Randy showing Chris' new truck, a beast of a Ram Quad cab. It is Cowboy blue and would require a step ladder for me to get into it. I was going to show Daniel the pictures, but Darla said not to. His father is still making him wait to get a car. We did our part and got David the Mustang when he turned sixteen. Daniel is so under his father's thumb that he cannot get a job and can't buy a car until they sell Steve's junker of a Jeep Cherokee. It has 270,000 miles on it and Steve wants $1,000 for it. I told Daniel to buy it and then sell it for $300 and buy a truck. He has $4,000 to put toward a truck, but has to put up with his Svengali father. In the meantime, I've added Daniel to our insurance at $1500 a year. I look forward to both kids hitting 18 and having a say in their own lives. Daniel is not allowed to get a part time job, because it would interfere with Steve's time with him. Frankly, I want the kid to get a job. He watches way too much television and lies around the house doing nothing. When he finally gets up some plans, he looks to us for money. I tell him to go see his Dad or get a job. It is immensely frustrating to me and I don't know how Daniel handles it. He will end up hating his Dad for being so controlling.
We had a guest speaker at church yesterday and he was a dynamic speaker who advocates getting out of our comfort zone and being an evangelist for Christ. He talked about how the vast majority of people live without any purpose...like a feather on the wind. He said that we need to take control of our lives by giving our lives to the Lord and letting him set our path. He called it making ripples and impacting others for Christ. It was convicting stuff. I hope that each of you can make a ripple and impact others. Ciao.
Monday, March 27, 2006
Monday, March 20, 2006
SPRING?
I see that the calendar claims that Spring begins today. Once again, after a relatively dry weekend, the rains are coming back tonight and tomorrow. I'm worried that the Spring might rust if this rain doesn't subside at some point.
This will be a busy week and I'll only spend two days of it here in the office. I have a conference in Scottsdale, Arizona that begins on Wednesday afternoon. It is the kind of conference that I like in that we will have a brief opening session (5:00PM-5:30PM) on Wednesday afternoon, followed by buses that will take us all out to dinner at Buffalo Chip Saloon and Steakhouse. The next day has breakfast at 8:00 AM followed by a trade show with the various underwriting departments and then golf from noon to 5:00PM followed by a catered dinner at the resort and then Casino night with slot machines, blackjack, roulette, craps and Texas Hold'em. The next day breakfast at 8:00AM followed by speakers from 8:30-10:00 AM and meetings with individual underwriters. They offered tickets to the Giants Spring training game in the afternoon, but I wanted to get back home, so I fly out 2:07 PM and arrive back in Sac at 3:05PM. There is a one hour time difference in Phoenix.
I'm traveling with one of the underwriters out of Modesto and we will visit with Emery Jensen, my old boss at Republic Western, who is now the Pacific Region Manager for Scottsdale Insurance. We will meet with Emery and his luietenant, Greg Buckley, who is the Underwriting Manager for our territory. Scott Epstein from our San Francisco office will piggyback that meeting with us. It should be a good trip. The conference is being hosted by Colony Insurance, our third largest carrier. I have yet to visit them and hope to make it over to the office on Friday morning. It will be a busy week, but it should be fun as well.
I did play golf over the weekend and in fact played both Saturday and Sunday. I played Saturday with Boyd and Mel in my regular foursome and then had an old friend from the golf club in town on Saturday. Mark Forbes was our webmaster and works for Sharp Electronics in their computer disk division in Portland. He moved to Washington State in 2004 and we keep in touch mostly through fantasy sports. Randy actually has been in touch with Mark through our football fantasy league. Mark sent me a note and said that he'd like to play golf on Sunday, but that he couldn't get out until 1;30 PM. I got a 1:35 tee time and arranged for two of his other friends (Gary Krohn and Neil Thomas) to play. We about finished in the dark last night, getting off the course at 6:30 in heavy shadows. The last two holes were played in the darkening skies of late twilight. I managed to string together two good rounds of golf over the weekend and shot 42+39 on Saturday followed by 39+42 on Sunday, for a pair of 81s. Sunday was more of a challenge as we had winds of 20-25 MPH blowing and I played with golfers with indexes of 24, 19 and 18. We met up with Greg Wanee and his wife as well as Liz, Lily and Darla afterward and all went to dinner. We had margaritas and toasted Mark's new bride, who was waiting for him in Washington. Mark was in town working on his business, Ventana, an antenna business for CB enthusiasts. She knew that he'd be busy building antennas and then playing golf. We hope to meet her next trip. It was fun and a nice end to the weekend.
Saturday night we hosted one of our friends from church, Marilyn, and her husband, Dennis for dinner. Marilyn has been going to church for thirty years and Dennis has not. We have been praying for him for years and decided to invite them both to dinner. We had never met Dennis as he is a non-church goer. He is a golfer and we are both about 12 handicappers. We had a great time. Dennis is the president of his golf club, Peach Tree Country Club in Linda, California. I will play with him some weekday up at his club. It is one of the jewels of the area, a 6400 yard track in Linda that was formed in 1965 by a group of peach farmers in Marysville. It has grown to 455 members, but the initiation is only $1000 and the dues $265 a month. We saw Marilyn at church on Sunday and she said that Dennis had a great time and wants to invite us over. He was surprised that we didn't give him the "bum's rush" about going to church. It was his biggest fear when Marilyn told him that they were going to some friends from church. I will encourage him to come to church eventually, but want to get to know him, play some golf and become friends first.
Jackson Sonyanga, the African minister from a church in Kampala, Uganda was back speaking at our church yesterday. Jackson brought some video and news about the 21 orphanage homes that have been built thanks to the support of Adventure Chrisitian church. AIDS is still an epidemic in Uganda and there are tens of thousands of orphans due to the epidemic. The homes are all clustered together in a park area and called Adventure Village. There are about twelve children in each home and they are separated boys and girls. It was amazing to see the work that is being done a world away because of our friendship with Jackson. He gave another very convicting sermon on evangelism. He talked about the new converts to Christianity in Uganda and how they go door-to-door preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ and how here in America we isolate the new Christians and don't let them get involved until they have been properly indoctrinated into the body. He always brings a "slap you upside the head" message with him from Uganda when he visits and it was great to see him. Rick will be back from his sabattical on Easter Sunday and we are all anxious to see his return. He wanted to come back sooner, but the Elders made him take his full four months off and wouldn't let him return.
Darla and I went to see a movie Friday night. We've been so busy the past few weeks that we needed a date night and went to see the new movie "Failure to Launch" It was hilarious and Terry Bradshaw steals the show. Darla has four jewelry shows over the next week and our time together is limited, especially with me leaving town.
Well, that is the news that is fit to share with you all. I hope you are all well. You will never stand so tall as when you kneel to PRAY. Take care. Ciao.
This will be a busy week and I'll only spend two days of it here in the office. I have a conference in Scottsdale, Arizona that begins on Wednesday afternoon. It is the kind of conference that I like in that we will have a brief opening session (5:00PM-5:30PM) on Wednesday afternoon, followed by buses that will take us all out to dinner at Buffalo Chip Saloon and Steakhouse. The next day has breakfast at 8:00 AM followed by a trade show with the various underwriting departments and then golf from noon to 5:00PM followed by a catered dinner at the resort and then Casino night with slot machines, blackjack, roulette, craps and Texas Hold'em. The next day breakfast at 8:00AM followed by speakers from 8:30-10:00 AM and meetings with individual underwriters. They offered tickets to the Giants Spring training game in the afternoon, but I wanted to get back home, so I fly out 2:07 PM and arrive back in Sac at 3:05PM. There is a one hour time difference in Phoenix.
I'm traveling with one of the underwriters out of Modesto and we will visit with Emery Jensen, my old boss at Republic Western, who is now the Pacific Region Manager for Scottsdale Insurance. We will meet with Emery and his luietenant, Greg Buckley, who is the Underwriting Manager for our territory. Scott Epstein from our San Francisco office will piggyback that meeting with us. It should be a good trip. The conference is being hosted by Colony Insurance, our third largest carrier. I have yet to visit them and hope to make it over to the office on Friday morning. It will be a busy week, but it should be fun as well.
I did play golf over the weekend and in fact played both Saturday and Sunday. I played Saturday with Boyd and Mel in my regular foursome and then had an old friend from the golf club in town on Saturday. Mark Forbes was our webmaster and works for Sharp Electronics in their computer disk division in Portland. He moved to Washington State in 2004 and we keep in touch mostly through fantasy sports. Randy actually has been in touch with Mark through our football fantasy league. Mark sent me a note and said that he'd like to play golf on Sunday, but that he couldn't get out until 1;30 PM. I got a 1:35 tee time and arranged for two of his other friends (Gary Krohn and Neil Thomas) to play. We about finished in the dark last night, getting off the course at 6:30 in heavy shadows. The last two holes were played in the darkening skies of late twilight. I managed to string together two good rounds of golf over the weekend and shot 42+39 on Saturday followed by 39+42 on Sunday, for a pair of 81s. Sunday was more of a challenge as we had winds of 20-25 MPH blowing and I played with golfers with indexes of 24, 19 and 18. We met up with Greg Wanee and his wife as well as Liz, Lily and Darla afterward and all went to dinner. We had margaritas and toasted Mark's new bride, who was waiting for him in Washington. Mark was in town working on his business, Ventana, an antenna business for CB enthusiasts. She knew that he'd be busy building antennas and then playing golf. We hope to meet her next trip. It was fun and a nice end to the weekend.
Saturday night we hosted one of our friends from church, Marilyn, and her husband, Dennis for dinner. Marilyn has been going to church for thirty years and Dennis has not. We have been praying for him for years and decided to invite them both to dinner. We had never met Dennis as he is a non-church goer. He is a golfer and we are both about 12 handicappers. We had a great time. Dennis is the president of his golf club, Peach Tree Country Club in Linda, California. I will play with him some weekday up at his club. It is one of the jewels of the area, a 6400 yard track in Linda that was formed in 1965 by a group of peach farmers in Marysville. It has grown to 455 members, but the initiation is only $1000 and the dues $265 a month. We saw Marilyn at church on Sunday and she said that Dennis had a great time and wants to invite us over. He was surprised that we didn't give him the "bum's rush" about going to church. It was his biggest fear when Marilyn told him that they were going to some friends from church. I will encourage him to come to church eventually, but want to get to know him, play some golf and become friends first.
Jackson Sonyanga, the African minister from a church in Kampala, Uganda was back speaking at our church yesterday. Jackson brought some video and news about the 21 orphanage homes that have been built thanks to the support of Adventure Chrisitian church. AIDS is still an epidemic in Uganda and there are tens of thousands of orphans due to the epidemic. The homes are all clustered together in a park area and called Adventure Village. There are about twelve children in each home and they are separated boys and girls. It was amazing to see the work that is being done a world away because of our friendship with Jackson. He gave another very convicting sermon on evangelism. He talked about the new converts to Christianity in Uganda and how they go door-to-door preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ and how here in America we isolate the new Christians and don't let them get involved until they have been properly indoctrinated into the body. He always brings a "slap you upside the head" message with him from Uganda when he visits and it was great to see him. Rick will be back from his sabattical on Easter Sunday and we are all anxious to see his return. He wanted to come back sooner, but the Elders made him take his full four months off and wouldn't let him return.
Darla and I went to see a movie Friday night. We've been so busy the past few weeks that we needed a date night and went to see the new movie "Failure to Launch" It was hilarious and Terry Bradshaw steals the show. Darla has four jewelry shows over the next week and our time together is limited, especially with me leaving town.
Well, that is the news that is fit to share with you all. I hope you are all well. You will never stand so tall as when you kneel to PRAY. Take care. Ciao.
Monday, March 13, 2006
Monterey was a Beach
I decided to update the blog this afternoon, as I had today off and I know what my desk and e-mails will look like tomorrow. I'll save myself some self-induced stress and update this now.
We took a chance and loaded up the SUV, the boys, some food (I said we brought the boys), and Darla and I drove through a steady drenching of rain the 3 hours from Roseville to Monterey. We had periods of sun, some light drizzle and some heavy squalls that put the Explorers' windshield wipers to the test. Darla really needs new blades and I need to get out and find some replacement blades for her car. Daniel decided to join us as he couldn't get a ride from the poker game back home on Friday night and I think he didn't want to miss the food and fun.
It actually snowed in Monterey on Friday night and it seemed that our trip would be one of ducking the rain and trying to stay dry. We had a two-bedroom hotel room and it was certainly servicable if not a luxury suite. The name of the hotel is Quality..it used to be the Quality Inn, but now is known simply as Quality. I suppose quality is subjective, but we had three queen-sized beds in a resort town and only paid $108 a night, so Quality it was. Darla and I awoke Saturday morning and there was a partly cloudy sky and sun streaming through the blinds. We got up and readied for our day and kicked the kids out of bed. We were at the Black Bear Diner in Carmel by nine o'clock and enjoying a hot breakfast. The hotel offered a continental breakfast that left much to be desired. There was coffee, some sort of watered down Tang and muffins cut into razor thin slices and some generic white and brown bread for toasting. I managed to drink some of the coffee while waiting for Daniel and David to shower and get on to our day. I knew I'd be buying breakfast, because if I'd brought those two six-footers in to the breakfast room for a "continental breakfast", there would have been some yelling and gnashing of teeth.
The weather ended up being nice enough that we were able to take a whale watching cruise out of the wharf in Monterey. I had looked into it before we left and it was to be $25 per ticket with a discount. The weather was so iffy, that the tour operator had lowered the price of the cruise to $19.95 and we jumped on it. It was certainly colder on the water, but the boys absolutely loved the trip. We saw a humpback whale and several gray whales as well as several schools of dolphin, including a school of white dolphin. The waves were at their peak about 18 feet and the little boat was thrashed about in the sea. There were about four or five passengers that got sick and Darla and I both had our moments on the trip where we thought we'd lose it. We both hung on and endured the trip.
We ran into an old friend from Stockton, Tai Famusili, a guy I played softball with and formerly a boyfriend of Darla's best friend, Joni Minear. Tai was there with his fiance, and his daughter as well as a group of singles from Quail Lakes Baptist Church. They were there for the day and had brought the church bus which we saw in the parking lot when we left. Their group also took a whale watching tour, but it was a different company.
We went out to dinner in Carmel and tried to eat at our favorite restaurant, The Pasta House on Fifth Street, but alas, it had closed and was looking for a new tenant. We just ate there in October when I played Poppy Hills. We switched gears and headed over to the Forge in the Forest Restaurant, which is also one of our favorites. We had a large meal of French Onion soup and steak sandwiches and steak fajitas. It was a fun evening. We ended up back in the hotel room watching one of David's buddies from high school, Ike Okoye, who is a forward on Wyoming's basketball team. He started for a while during the season, but was relegated to the bench during the conference tournament. He got in the game late in the first half, had three rebounds and made two shots for four points to give Wyoming a one point halftime lead. They ended up losing in overtime and Ike never saw the floor again (perhaps a correlation?)
We went in to the Cannery Row area on Sunday and a heavy squall came through and dropped rain and hail on the area while we ate breakfast. It had passed on and the sun was out by the time we finished up and headed to the shops. The boys both wanted to get an Aqua massage and it was 2 for 1 before noon, so they pooled their money and got a 15 minute aqua massage each. The massage takes place in a chamber where a heavy black curtain lays over your back and the water beats against you. I took pictures of the boys in the massage chambers.
We drove home, stopping for a picnic lunch at the Casa De Fruta Complex outside of Hollister. It was a great weekend and the weather really held on for us. It was raining by the time we got back to Sacramento. This week calls for rain from Tuesday to Friday.
I took the day off today and played golf with Boyd, Dave and a friend of Boyd's. It was cold and the course was wet and I managed a 44+41=85. I told Dave that he jinxes me on the front side. Luckily, he's busy next Saturday when we play. Perhaps I'll break 80.
I set up our trip to Puerto Vallarta today and we'll be in PV from Saturday, August 26th to Saturday September 2nd. We'll celebrate Jennifer's birthday with or without her in Puerto Vallarta. We bought our timeshare in PV back in 2001 and haven't been back since. I'm ready to start taking a vacation to Mexico one year and Hawaii the next. It was the idea when we bought them and I'm ready to get on that train.
Well, that's it for this week. Hope you are ALL well and living in the footsteps of our Saviour. Ciao.
We took a chance and loaded up the SUV, the boys, some food (I said we brought the boys), and Darla and I drove through a steady drenching of rain the 3 hours from Roseville to Monterey. We had periods of sun, some light drizzle and some heavy squalls that put the Explorers' windshield wipers to the test. Darla really needs new blades and I need to get out and find some replacement blades for her car. Daniel decided to join us as he couldn't get a ride from the poker game back home on Friday night and I think he didn't want to miss the food and fun.
It actually snowed in Monterey on Friday night and it seemed that our trip would be one of ducking the rain and trying to stay dry. We had a two-bedroom hotel room and it was certainly servicable if not a luxury suite. The name of the hotel is Quality..it used to be the Quality Inn, but now is known simply as Quality. I suppose quality is subjective, but we had three queen-sized beds in a resort town and only paid $108 a night, so Quality it was. Darla and I awoke Saturday morning and there was a partly cloudy sky and sun streaming through the blinds. We got up and readied for our day and kicked the kids out of bed. We were at the Black Bear Diner in Carmel by nine o'clock and enjoying a hot breakfast. The hotel offered a continental breakfast that left much to be desired. There was coffee, some sort of watered down Tang and muffins cut into razor thin slices and some generic white and brown bread for toasting. I managed to drink some of the coffee while waiting for Daniel and David to shower and get on to our day. I knew I'd be buying breakfast, because if I'd brought those two six-footers in to the breakfast room for a "continental breakfast", there would have been some yelling and gnashing of teeth.
The weather ended up being nice enough that we were able to take a whale watching cruise out of the wharf in Monterey. I had looked into it before we left and it was to be $25 per ticket with a discount. The weather was so iffy, that the tour operator had lowered the price of the cruise to $19.95 and we jumped on it. It was certainly colder on the water, but the boys absolutely loved the trip. We saw a humpback whale and several gray whales as well as several schools of dolphin, including a school of white dolphin. The waves were at their peak about 18 feet and the little boat was thrashed about in the sea. There were about four or five passengers that got sick and Darla and I both had our moments on the trip where we thought we'd lose it. We both hung on and endured the trip.
We ran into an old friend from Stockton, Tai Famusili, a guy I played softball with and formerly a boyfriend of Darla's best friend, Joni Minear. Tai was there with his fiance, and his daughter as well as a group of singles from Quail Lakes Baptist Church. They were there for the day and had brought the church bus which we saw in the parking lot when we left. Their group also took a whale watching tour, but it was a different company.
We went out to dinner in Carmel and tried to eat at our favorite restaurant, The Pasta House on Fifth Street, but alas, it had closed and was looking for a new tenant. We just ate there in October when I played Poppy Hills. We switched gears and headed over to the Forge in the Forest Restaurant, which is also one of our favorites. We had a large meal of French Onion soup and steak sandwiches and steak fajitas. It was a fun evening. We ended up back in the hotel room watching one of David's buddies from high school, Ike Okoye, who is a forward on Wyoming's basketball team. He started for a while during the season, but was relegated to the bench during the conference tournament. He got in the game late in the first half, had three rebounds and made two shots for four points to give Wyoming a one point halftime lead. They ended up losing in overtime and Ike never saw the floor again (perhaps a correlation?)
We went in to the Cannery Row area on Sunday and a heavy squall came through and dropped rain and hail on the area while we ate breakfast. It had passed on and the sun was out by the time we finished up and headed to the shops. The boys both wanted to get an Aqua massage and it was 2 for 1 before noon, so they pooled their money and got a 15 minute aqua massage each. The massage takes place in a chamber where a heavy black curtain lays over your back and the water beats against you. I took pictures of the boys in the massage chambers.
We drove home, stopping for a picnic lunch at the Casa De Fruta Complex outside of Hollister. It was a great weekend and the weather really held on for us. It was raining by the time we got back to Sacramento. This week calls for rain from Tuesday to Friday.
I took the day off today and played golf with Boyd, Dave and a friend of Boyd's. It was cold and the course was wet and I managed a 44+41=85. I told Dave that he jinxes me on the front side. Luckily, he's busy next Saturday when we play. Perhaps I'll break 80.
I set up our trip to Puerto Vallarta today and we'll be in PV from Saturday, August 26th to Saturday September 2nd. We'll celebrate Jennifer's birthday with or without her in Puerto Vallarta. We bought our timeshare in PV back in 2001 and haven't been back since. I'm ready to start taking a vacation to Mexico one year and Hawaii the next. It was the idea when we bought them and I'm ready to get on that train.
Well, that's it for this week. Hope you are ALL well and living in the footsteps of our Saviour. Ciao.
Monday, March 06, 2006
Deja Vu all over again
Strange how sometimes a week goes by and nothing really changes. Last week I wrote about having good weather on Saturday and then the rains coming in to wipe it all away. Well, hello rerun as we just had the same weekend again this past one. Jennifer didn't call, but weatherwise it was a redo. Saturday was not as warm as last weekend, but it was clear and some sun came out and made us all smile and think of Spring.
I played golf again on Saturday and actually had a pretty good round. I played golf with Dave Armijo, my old partner who left the club two years ago because of continuing back pain and his new status as a grandparent. He and his wife were traveling to the Bay Area every weekend to see the grandchild and golf became no more than an afterthought in that scenario. Dave and I caught up on old times and I forgot to concentrate on my game and shot 44 on the front side. I woke up on the back and went even par through seven holes before finishing bogey-bogey for a 44+38=82 score. Dave struggled and shot 90, but it was his first game of 2006. I will take next Monday off and will play with Boyd and Dave at Diamond Oaks. Dave and I teed off a half hour before the RGC tournament which runs last weekend and next. I'm going to Monterey next weekend with the family to celebrate my last year of youth as I turn 49 on Sunday.
Darla went to Marin on Friday to visit her friend, Joni, and I had poker Friday night and golf on Saturday. Mix in church on Sunday and it was a perfect weekend. Darla was home midday on Saturday and we relaxed and watched movies on Saturday and Sunday night (Pride and Predjudice and Walk the Line). I would have liked both Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix to have won Oscars for Walk the Line, but at least Reese won. She was excellent as June Carter and I highly recommend the movie.
The rain squall has slowed and it is one of those strange weather patterns, where the storm sits over the city, but the edges of the storm are visible with blue sky and sun showing through. It is but an optical illusion as the forecast is for rain all week long. I have to drive to Modesto tomorrow to interview a candidate for an assistant underwriter position and do a 90-day review on the assistant in the office now. The new position will be in Sacramento and that person will technically work for Modesto, but be housed locally. The ladies in the office there have a candidate who lives in Stockton, but is willing to move to Rancho Cordova for the job.
Work continues to flourish. I'll be in Scottsdale, Arizona in two weeks for an underwriting conference with one of our carriers. We will also have a Burns and Wilcox conference in Dallas, Texas in June. The conference is just for underwriters and not Managers and I'm still somewhere in between. Our Branch Manager conference will be in Detroit in October and I've let it be known that I will NOT return to that conference as anything but a Branch Manager. I will likely send three representative from our office to the conference in Dallas.
The pastor had a good story this weekend on how three preachers each handled their take of the weekly offering. The first preacher said that he takes the offering into the field behind his church and draws a three-foot diameter circle in the grass. He then throws the money in the air and whatever lands in the circle he keeps and whatever land outside the circle goes to God. The second preacher said that he does it similarly, but whatever lands in the circle is for God and he keeps whatever lands outside the circle. The third preacher said that he does it differently. He throws the money in the air and whatever God wants, he grabs and whatever lands back on earth the preacher keeps.
We will be off to Monterey next week and the blog will be late. I'll either do it on Tuesday or late Monday afternoon. I look forward to a weekend away with the family. We found a great deal on hotel rooms and will stay in a two-bedroom hotel for $109 a night in Monterey. Hopefully the weather will rain itself out and it will be nice by next weekend. Stay well, keep your eyes on heaven and your feet firmly on the ground. Ciao.
I played golf again on Saturday and actually had a pretty good round. I played golf with Dave Armijo, my old partner who left the club two years ago because of continuing back pain and his new status as a grandparent. He and his wife were traveling to the Bay Area every weekend to see the grandchild and golf became no more than an afterthought in that scenario. Dave and I caught up on old times and I forgot to concentrate on my game and shot 44 on the front side. I woke up on the back and went even par through seven holes before finishing bogey-bogey for a 44+38=82 score. Dave struggled and shot 90, but it was his first game of 2006. I will take next Monday off and will play with Boyd and Dave at Diamond Oaks. Dave and I teed off a half hour before the RGC tournament which runs last weekend and next. I'm going to Monterey next weekend with the family to celebrate my last year of youth as I turn 49 on Sunday.
Darla went to Marin on Friday to visit her friend, Joni, and I had poker Friday night and golf on Saturday. Mix in church on Sunday and it was a perfect weekend. Darla was home midday on Saturday and we relaxed and watched movies on Saturday and Sunday night (Pride and Predjudice and Walk the Line). I would have liked both Reese Witherspoon and Joaquin Phoenix to have won Oscars for Walk the Line, but at least Reese won. She was excellent as June Carter and I highly recommend the movie.
The rain squall has slowed and it is one of those strange weather patterns, where the storm sits over the city, but the edges of the storm are visible with blue sky and sun showing through. It is but an optical illusion as the forecast is for rain all week long. I have to drive to Modesto tomorrow to interview a candidate for an assistant underwriter position and do a 90-day review on the assistant in the office now. The new position will be in Sacramento and that person will technically work for Modesto, but be housed locally. The ladies in the office there have a candidate who lives in Stockton, but is willing to move to Rancho Cordova for the job.
Work continues to flourish. I'll be in Scottsdale, Arizona in two weeks for an underwriting conference with one of our carriers. We will also have a Burns and Wilcox conference in Dallas, Texas in June. The conference is just for underwriters and not Managers and I'm still somewhere in between. Our Branch Manager conference will be in Detroit in October and I've let it be known that I will NOT return to that conference as anything but a Branch Manager. I will likely send three representative from our office to the conference in Dallas.
The pastor had a good story this weekend on how three preachers each handled their take of the weekly offering. The first preacher said that he takes the offering into the field behind his church and draws a three-foot diameter circle in the grass. He then throws the money in the air and whatever lands in the circle he keeps and whatever land outside the circle goes to God. The second preacher said that he does it similarly, but whatever lands in the circle is for God and he keeps whatever lands outside the circle. The third preacher said that he does it differently. He throws the money in the air and whatever God wants, he grabs and whatever lands back on earth the preacher keeps.
We will be off to Monterey next week and the blog will be late. I'll either do it on Tuesday or late Monday afternoon. I look forward to a weekend away with the family. We found a great deal on hotel rooms and will stay in a two-bedroom hotel for $109 a night in Monterey. Hopefully the weather will rain itself out and it will be nice by next weekend. Stay well, keep your eyes on heaven and your feet firmly on the ground. Ciao.
Monday, February 27, 2006
Houston, I have a daughter
Yes. The unthinkable occurred yesterday, I received a call and found out that I have a long lost daughter. She left in January for Korea and we'd lost contact with her for a few months, but communications have been re-established and all is well. Jennifer has been very busy in Korea and the initial assessment that she would be back in the USA in March has given way to the realization that the job is bigger than originally thought, several new contracts have been added and it looks like May for her return at this point. There is good news and that is that she had her ninety day review. They've not only decided to retain her services, but agreed to place her in the new San Francisco office. So, she doesn't have to move to Warner Robbins, Georgia. As Jennifer put it: "I can travel the world and still return to Cali between assignments." She is doing really well in her job and is respected for her knowledge and her skill. It is a great thing for her confidence and for her well being to be respected and appreciated. Jennifer had some problems on this trip and one of them was not being able to get her contractor ID. For whatever reason, the wheels of bureaucracy turned way too slow and she had to be signed in and out of the base by her supervisor every day. On top of that, she didn't have her retired military ID and couldn't even shop at the PX. She had to have one of the guys in her company buy her things, including tampons. Poor thing. Her boss acknowledged the difficulties, apologized and offered her the position in SF. Nice. One of the guys in her group lives in Vegas and was jealous that she got SF as he is based out of New York City.
It was a beautiful Saturday this week, followed by the start of a five day storm that promises to bring us up to five inches of rain. I went to bed on Saturday night with a slight sunburn and woke up in Vancouver Sunday morning. What happened? The storm hit hard last night, but let up a little this morning and the commute was cake. There was a slight rain and it amazed me to see how many people were huddled at bus stops along my route without a hat or an umbrella. What gives with people? They'll show up at work looking like a drowned rat. I suppose the fact that they are taking the bus alone might indicate the level of sophistication present. Before I get slammed by the masses. I know that senior citizens use the transit system for transportation after their driving years are over, but they are not in line at the bus stop at six thirty in the morning unless they've completely given in to dementia.
I was in Redding on Thursday and Friday and had 65 voice mail messages waiting for me. My assistant, Connie, handled my desk on Thursday, but was herself out of the office on Friday. I am basically digging out right now, but it was a great marketing trip and well worth my time and effort to see the people in Shasta County.
Saturday was a great day for golf and although I only shot 42+42=84, I was on the green on number seven, a par five, in two and left my eagle putt on the right lip for a tap in birdie. Some things transcend score and that was a moment in time. The hole is 485 yards. I will not play in the next tournament as Darla and I will travel over my birthday. We had thought about going up to Reno, but we have the boys that weekend and I am considering a trip to Monterey/Carmel. Dad and Shirley, why don't you drive up and join us? The next tournament is a three-day, two man scramble, shamble and best ball. Fun, but not real golf and I won't miss it. My next tournament will be the Master's tournament in April followed by the two- man, four ball qualifier in late April. Boyd and I will again try our hand at winning there. They will take the two lowest two-ball teams and they will combine to play four-ball in the regional qualifier in June. We're getting closer and I hope to break through in one of these tournaments soon.
Boyd is a great guy. He is Mormon and went to school at BYU. We've had several religious discussions and I think he is open to hearing about Jesus. The Mormon church is so cult-like in it's beliefs. They believe that Jesus was a prophet, but that Joseph Smith was the messiah. It is a backward religion and has a foundation of "earning your way to heaven". Of course as a Christian, there is no earning heaven, Jesus died for our sins and he is the only way to heaven.
Boyd told me a story this week of his son's mission to Guatemala. Boyd and his wife flew down to Guatemala to pick up their son following his year-long mission. As they were driving their rented car back to the airport, they were ambushed by a group of banditos. The bandits had the crossed gunbelts with bullets. Boyd said that they were actually waiting to rob a bus that crossed the path every day and had workers from the local winery as well as the owner of the winery on it. The bandits were stupid and stopped Boyd and his family so they could block the road with their rental car. They searched Boyd three times and missed his wallet in his back pocket each time. They did take money from his wife's purse. She had about $200 in American money and Boyd's son convinced the bandits that US money was worthless in Guatemala. They gave the money back to them. In truth US funds are worth much more than Guatemalan money. They also locked the car when they got out and the bandits couldn't figure out how to work the keys to get in to the car. Boyd says that it is funny now, but it was life or death at the time. They did rob the bus and left on foot, leaving them with the car keys. Boyd was able to get his family back in the car and drive to the police station. The police told them that they were lucky, that many of the local bandits killed their hostages to eliminate witnesses.
Well, work awaits. I have my door shut and my team keeps poking their head in the door to say good morning. I had best get on to my day. I hope you all have a good week. God bless and be well. Ciao.
It was a beautiful Saturday this week, followed by the start of a five day storm that promises to bring us up to five inches of rain. I went to bed on Saturday night with a slight sunburn and woke up in Vancouver Sunday morning. What happened? The storm hit hard last night, but let up a little this morning and the commute was cake. There was a slight rain and it amazed me to see how many people were huddled at bus stops along my route without a hat or an umbrella. What gives with people? They'll show up at work looking like a drowned rat. I suppose the fact that they are taking the bus alone might indicate the level of sophistication present. Before I get slammed by the masses. I know that senior citizens use the transit system for transportation after their driving years are over, but they are not in line at the bus stop at six thirty in the morning unless they've completely given in to dementia.
I was in Redding on Thursday and Friday and had 65 voice mail messages waiting for me. My assistant, Connie, handled my desk on Thursday, but was herself out of the office on Friday. I am basically digging out right now, but it was a great marketing trip and well worth my time and effort to see the people in Shasta County.
Saturday was a great day for golf and although I only shot 42+42=84, I was on the green on number seven, a par five, in two and left my eagle putt on the right lip for a tap in birdie. Some things transcend score and that was a moment in time. The hole is 485 yards. I will not play in the next tournament as Darla and I will travel over my birthday. We had thought about going up to Reno, but we have the boys that weekend and I am considering a trip to Monterey/Carmel. Dad and Shirley, why don't you drive up and join us? The next tournament is a three-day, two man scramble, shamble and best ball. Fun, but not real golf and I won't miss it. My next tournament will be the Master's tournament in April followed by the two- man, four ball qualifier in late April. Boyd and I will again try our hand at winning there. They will take the two lowest two-ball teams and they will combine to play four-ball in the regional qualifier in June. We're getting closer and I hope to break through in one of these tournaments soon.
Boyd is a great guy. He is Mormon and went to school at BYU. We've had several religious discussions and I think he is open to hearing about Jesus. The Mormon church is so cult-like in it's beliefs. They believe that Jesus was a prophet, but that Joseph Smith was the messiah. It is a backward religion and has a foundation of "earning your way to heaven". Of course as a Christian, there is no earning heaven, Jesus died for our sins and he is the only way to heaven.
Boyd told me a story this week of his son's mission to Guatemala. Boyd and his wife flew down to Guatemala to pick up their son following his year-long mission. As they were driving their rented car back to the airport, they were ambushed by a group of banditos. The bandits had the crossed gunbelts with bullets. Boyd said that they were actually waiting to rob a bus that crossed the path every day and had workers from the local winery as well as the owner of the winery on it. The bandits were stupid and stopped Boyd and his family so they could block the road with their rental car. They searched Boyd three times and missed his wallet in his back pocket each time. They did take money from his wife's purse. She had about $200 in American money and Boyd's son convinced the bandits that US money was worthless in Guatemala. They gave the money back to them. In truth US funds are worth much more than Guatemalan money. They also locked the car when they got out and the bandits couldn't figure out how to work the keys to get in to the car. Boyd says that it is funny now, but it was life or death at the time. They did rob the bus and left on foot, leaving them with the car keys. Boyd was able to get his family back in the car and drive to the police station. The police told them that they were lucky, that many of the local bandits killed their hostages to eliminate witnesses.
Well, work awaits. I have my door shut and my team keeps poking their head in the door to say good morning. I had best get on to my day. I hope you all have a good week. God bless and be well. Ciao.
Monday, February 20, 2006
Presidents Day 2006
It is another holiday in 2006 that finds me at work and being productive while the balance of Sacramento sleeps in and enjoys their day off from work. Today dawned with a bright blue sky and not a cloud in evidence, but it is COLD. A front from Canada rolled in last Thursday and continues to hold sway on our weather. We awoke to frost on the lawn and rooftops and steam is now rising from what is left of the frost now that the sun has come out to burn off the silvery pest. It will be a tremendous day, though a high of only 59 degrees after an overnight low of 33.
The weather that pushed in over the weekend threatened my golf game, but despite a few drops of rain on Saturday I was able to play the two day tournament with little distress. I did wear a golf shirt over a long sleeved t-shirt and a pair of Reebok sweat pants both days. It was the two-day zone qualifier for a chance to advance to Spyglass Hill in Carmel/Pebble Beach. Boyd and I played well, but a tournament like this requires luck as well as skill and we had several putts that lipped out and stopped on the edge of the cup, that if they had dropped would have propelled us to the win. As it is, we finished 4th out of 18 teams with a 64+63=127. The winners had 59+61=120 and 59+65=124. I shot very consistent golf with 37+44=81 and 39+42=81. If I had played better on the back nine we might have had a chance. Boyd shot 78 on Saturday and 73 yesterday, so we both brought our A games. It just wasn't to be. We had one team that shot 57 on Saturday and they are both mediocre golfers. They have been known to have some problems with basic math and the Board decided to place them with one of our tougher "rules" teams on Sunday and they struggled to a 77, perhaps the biggest two day swing in scoring in memory. We also lost one of our members on Saturday night. He played in the tournament on Saturday and died at home of a massive heart attack after dinner. Skip Orr was 62 and his wife called to tell us how much the golf group meant to her husband. The golf group will dedicate a plaque and tree in his honor somewhere on the course. Skip was a former President of the Roseville Golf Club.
Darla and I will have our new bedroom furniture delivered this week on Wednesday. I put our old furniture on Craig's List, a local E-Bay of sorts, although you specify a price and the buyers can look at the goods online and contact you. I had no clue that this process existed, much less that it was so popular. I had about ten calls and twenty e-mails within minutes of posting the ad. We are selling our old dresser and armoire, as well as a futon that was in the study. Our old bed is being moved into the study, which will become a guest bedroom and we had to move out the futon which was frankly too big for that room with the desk in it anyway. One couple called Darla and insisted that they come to see the futon on Thursday night. I work late and dragged home at six-thirty to find out that we had these people coming. We had the futon listed at $150 on Craig's List. The couple showed up in a Ford Taurus and had a sob story about their mother who was coming home to live with them after being in a rest home for six months following a stroke. They came and looked at the futon and laid it flat and measured how far it sat from the wall. They hemmed and hawed and finally offered us $100. Darla said no, but that we'd take $125. The guy said that they'd spent so much getting the mom home that he could only afford $100. Darla finally gave in and decided to show some Christian charity. I helped them take the futon apart and literally cram it into their Taurus. He laid the back seats flat and we placed the slats into the trunk and then had to fold up the mattress like a taco and push and pull and slam the door shut. They thanked us and drove off with their treasure like the Beverly Hillbillies. The next morning I went back onto Craig's List to check our ads and saw a new ad for our futon being sold by the couple who bought it and they were asking $150. Those sons of ... Who knows if there was a sick Mom or it was just a scam, but shame on them and shame on us. I'm now jaded. If your Mom is sick and you need some cheap furniture, go see the Salvation Army and tell them your sob story, I'm not buying it. We have someone coming tonight to buy the dresser and armoire for $150. I probably priced them too low, but who knew?
I haven't given an update on Jason Ramos for awhile. Jason is Jenn's friend who is in the hospital with throat cancer. Jason turns 26 this week and will celebrate his birthday in the hospital. His cancer is under control, but the size of the tumor damaged his vocal cords and he has a hole in his throat that needs to be closed with surgery. They are now expecting that he will be in the hospital for another four to six months.. Please continue to pray for this courageous young man and for his parents, who lost his twin to a suicide last year and have watched Jason suffer so much over the last few months.
I will be up in Redding late this week for a marketing visit to my Redding agents. Work continues to thrive. We made a nice profit in January and February is going along nicely as well. I'm having a very good month in spite of having lost a couple of large renewals this month. I'm leading the office in both premium and net income this month, which is what the powers that be want. I am in conflict with home office right now on a new contract that they wanted us to sign. We sign a bonus contract that pays us based on our production. The contract has read in the past that we could not take any of the business that we put on the books for a period of one year after we left. I had no problem with that wording. Unfortunately, they changed the wording this year to include not contacting any of our agents for one year after we leave. I disagree with that wording and feel that it is "restraint of trade". I have agreed to sign the old contract or simply line out the wording that I disagree with. I have put the ball in their court and have yet to hear where it will finally settle.
Well, that is the news that's fit to share with all of you. Work awaits. I am sending the troops home early today as most of our agent and almost all of our companies are closed today. Put the LORD at the front of your day and the living will be easy. Ciao.
The weather that pushed in over the weekend threatened my golf game, but despite a few drops of rain on Saturday I was able to play the two day tournament with little distress. I did wear a golf shirt over a long sleeved t-shirt and a pair of Reebok sweat pants both days. It was the two-day zone qualifier for a chance to advance to Spyglass Hill in Carmel/Pebble Beach. Boyd and I played well, but a tournament like this requires luck as well as skill and we had several putts that lipped out and stopped on the edge of the cup, that if they had dropped would have propelled us to the win. As it is, we finished 4th out of 18 teams with a 64+63=127. The winners had 59+61=120 and 59+65=124. I shot very consistent golf with 37+44=81 and 39+42=81. If I had played better on the back nine we might have had a chance. Boyd shot 78 on Saturday and 73 yesterday, so we both brought our A games. It just wasn't to be. We had one team that shot 57 on Saturday and they are both mediocre golfers. They have been known to have some problems with basic math and the Board decided to place them with one of our tougher "rules" teams on Sunday and they struggled to a 77, perhaps the biggest two day swing in scoring in memory. We also lost one of our members on Saturday night. He played in the tournament on Saturday and died at home of a massive heart attack after dinner. Skip Orr was 62 and his wife called to tell us how much the golf group meant to her husband. The golf group will dedicate a plaque and tree in his honor somewhere on the course. Skip was a former President of the Roseville Golf Club.
Darla and I will have our new bedroom furniture delivered this week on Wednesday. I put our old furniture on Craig's List, a local E-Bay of sorts, although you specify a price and the buyers can look at the goods online and contact you. I had no clue that this process existed, much less that it was so popular. I had about ten calls and twenty e-mails within minutes of posting the ad. We are selling our old dresser and armoire, as well as a futon that was in the study. Our old bed is being moved into the study, which will become a guest bedroom and we had to move out the futon which was frankly too big for that room with the desk in it anyway. One couple called Darla and insisted that they come to see the futon on Thursday night. I work late and dragged home at six-thirty to find out that we had these people coming. We had the futon listed at $150 on Craig's List. The couple showed up in a Ford Taurus and had a sob story about their mother who was coming home to live with them after being in a rest home for six months following a stroke. They came and looked at the futon and laid it flat and measured how far it sat from the wall. They hemmed and hawed and finally offered us $100. Darla said no, but that we'd take $125. The guy said that they'd spent so much getting the mom home that he could only afford $100. Darla finally gave in and decided to show some Christian charity. I helped them take the futon apart and literally cram it into their Taurus. He laid the back seats flat and we placed the slats into the trunk and then had to fold up the mattress like a taco and push and pull and slam the door shut. They thanked us and drove off with their treasure like the Beverly Hillbillies. The next morning I went back onto Craig's List to check our ads and saw a new ad for our futon being sold by the couple who bought it and they were asking $150. Those sons of ... Who knows if there was a sick Mom or it was just a scam, but shame on them and shame on us. I'm now jaded. If your Mom is sick and you need some cheap furniture, go see the Salvation Army and tell them your sob story, I'm not buying it. We have someone coming tonight to buy the dresser and armoire for $150. I probably priced them too low, but who knew?
I haven't given an update on Jason Ramos for awhile. Jason is Jenn's friend who is in the hospital with throat cancer. Jason turns 26 this week and will celebrate his birthday in the hospital. His cancer is under control, but the size of the tumor damaged his vocal cords and he has a hole in his throat that needs to be closed with surgery. They are now expecting that he will be in the hospital for another four to six months.. Please continue to pray for this courageous young man and for his parents, who lost his twin to a suicide last year and have watched Jason suffer so much over the last few months.
I will be up in Redding late this week for a marketing visit to my Redding agents. Work continues to thrive. We made a nice profit in January and February is going along nicely as well. I'm having a very good month in spite of having lost a couple of large renewals this month. I'm leading the office in both premium and net income this month, which is what the powers that be want. I am in conflict with home office right now on a new contract that they wanted us to sign. We sign a bonus contract that pays us based on our production. The contract has read in the past that we could not take any of the business that we put on the books for a period of one year after we left. I had no problem with that wording. Unfortunately, they changed the wording this year to include not contacting any of our agents for one year after we leave. I disagree with that wording and feel that it is "restraint of trade". I have agreed to sign the old contract or simply line out the wording that I disagree with. I have put the ball in their court and have yet to hear where it will finally settle.
Well, that is the news that's fit to share with all of you. Work awaits. I am sending the troops home early today as most of our agent and almost all of our companies are closed today. Put the LORD at the front of your day and the living will be easy. Ciao.
Monday, February 13, 2006
75 degrees and Sunny
Life is good in Northern California and I feel little empathy for my co-workers who are slogging to work today in a fierce blizzard in Detroit, Michigan. Frankly, they choose to live in the rust belt and I choose to live in California. The weekend was spectacular and I got my first sunburn of the year. I played golf on Saturday in shorts and although I applied sunscreen liberally, I'm a white boy and my winter white skin attracted the sun like honey attracts bears. I spent yesterday outside trimming bushes and plants and applying fertilizer and crabgrass preventer to the lawn. It truly was a spectacular weekend without even a hint of clouds or a puff of wind and it was the type of weekend that makes one very happy to be a Californian. The weather should hold for the first part of this week and then turn to clouds and rain by Thursday. Hopefully, the weekend will be dry as I have a two day qualifier tournament for Spyglass Hill in Carmel/ Pebble Beach.
Boyd and I played Saturday as a tune-up for our partnership next weekend. We will play two days of two-man best ball for a chance to represent our club in the NCGA 2-man best ball championships played at Spyglass Hill in April. Our practice round was played in ideal conditions and we can both say that we got the bad round out of our systems. I shot 45+42=87 and had a sole birdie to go with the rest of the mess of my round. Boyd shot an 80 and we shot a combined 69. We played in the tournament last year and shot 66+66=132 and the winners had 123. We need to be sharp and play good golf to win. Next week is a new week, so we'll see how we do. I will get out and practice this week a couple of times.
We had a small experimental plane crash yesterday in Roseville. The pilot was out doing barrel rolls and stunts way too close to his neighborhood. In fact, his wife was filming the stunts from their front yard when his plane lost control and he crashed into a two story home about three blocks from his house. The plane burst into flames destroying the house and badly damaging an adjacent home. The pilot and his passenger were killed on impact. The family that owned the home was out of town, but their 18 year old son, who graduated with David from Woodcreek High School, was in town and is unaccounted for. The upper story of the home was destroyed on impact and the plane came to rest in one of the upstairs bedrooms. The FAA was to get a crane out to the crash site today to remove the plane and make the house safe for searchers to get into the home and look for the teenager. Hopefully, he was out of the house as the crash occurred at about 11:30 in the morning, when I was driving home from church.
We had a video taped message from Pastor Rick at church yesterday. He is in the middle of a three month sabbatical and the tape showed Rick and his family on the beach and enjoying their time together. He has grown our church in 12 years from a small neighborhood church of 120 people to a 3,300 member mega church and he is tired. We look forward to seeing him back preaching next month.
David finally got his stereo installed this weekend and he's thrilled. Several of our Christian CDs were missing on the weekend and they were in his car. It is Lincoln's birthday today, which is not a federal holiday, and David is off to his job. Darla is off because she gets EVERY holiday off. Daniel is off from school today because teachers are lazy and Darla and Dan will likely go and visit her grandfather who is in his 80's and lives in a retirement center in Ripon, California. He sold his house last year and finally decided to move into the retirement village where he spent a great deal of his time visiting friends and helping out with the church service and special meals, etc. He and his wife, Liz, live in an apartment on the grounds and still have their car. Liz suffers from dementia and Andy is getting older and it is hard for them to care for each other now. We are all happy that they have moved into the home as it gives them a social outlet, but also gives them access to health care and assisted living.
My assistant called to tell me that she has a nail in her tire. Her husband is in Fresno on a job this week and she didn't know what to do. I put her in touch with Pete Morrison, one of my underwriters who lives in her area. Hopefully, Pete will be able to get her over to a Big O tires and get her tire fixed. It was an interesting call and she was looking for guidance more than just calling to tell me she'd be late.
Daniel has finished his driver's education and will be taking his license exam this week. His grandmother is buying him a car worth up to $4,000 and Dan is busy hunting for a new car. We helped David and Jennifer with their first cars and put it on Steve to help Daniel. Lucky for Daniel his grandmother stepped to the plate or Dan would have been stuck with one of the junkers that Steve has at his house. He has a 65 Ford pickup, a broken down 1980's Jeep Cherokee, a 1970's Ford El Camino, as well as his 2004 Chevy Tahoe. None of the other vehicles are road ready and Daniel would have been stuck if not for Grandma. I wanted Steve to buy the car as I want our insurance to be secondary. We already pay close to $4,700 for insurance on three cars. Darla and I used to pay $1,100 for our two cars and then we added David. I couldn't afford to add Daniel, much less buy him a car. Geico, our insurer, will let us add Daniel to our policy for only $100 a month if he has primary insurance with his father.
I haven't heard from Dad and Shirley. I know they were going to be in Texas for a month, but don't know if they have flown home yet or not. I may try to call over to Darryl's tonight. I thought about it too late last night.
I did hear from Jennifer and got her address in Korea. She can actually pick her mail up a the Army Post Office. Her address for now is:
Jennifer Lyon
Das Net Corp
Box 12074
APO, AP 96278
She expects to be in Korea through March and into April as her contract has been extended on the current job. She is enjoying herself and has been into the cities of Korea a few times. I wonder if she has had the experience of eating live octopus. It is a deadly delicacy in Korea and one that I could do without.
Well, that is it for this week. Remember to explore your world around you. God made this world for us to enjoy and to proclaim His love. Ciao.
Boyd and I played Saturday as a tune-up for our partnership next weekend. We will play two days of two-man best ball for a chance to represent our club in the NCGA 2-man best ball championships played at Spyglass Hill in April. Our practice round was played in ideal conditions and we can both say that we got the bad round out of our systems. I shot 45+42=87 and had a sole birdie to go with the rest of the mess of my round. Boyd shot an 80 and we shot a combined 69. We played in the tournament last year and shot 66+66=132 and the winners had 123. We need to be sharp and play good golf to win. Next week is a new week, so we'll see how we do. I will get out and practice this week a couple of times.
We had a small experimental plane crash yesterday in Roseville. The pilot was out doing barrel rolls and stunts way too close to his neighborhood. In fact, his wife was filming the stunts from their front yard when his plane lost control and he crashed into a two story home about three blocks from his house. The plane burst into flames destroying the house and badly damaging an adjacent home. The pilot and his passenger were killed on impact. The family that owned the home was out of town, but their 18 year old son, who graduated with David from Woodcreek High School, was in town and is unaccounted for. The upper story of the home was destroyed on impact and the plane came to rest in one of the upstairs bedrooms. The FAA was to get a crane out to the crash site today to remove the plane and make the house safe for searchers to get into the home and look for the teenager. Hopefully, he was out of the house as the crash occurred at about 11:30 in the morning, when I was driving home from church.
We had a video taped message from Pastor Rick at church yesterday. He is in the middle of a three month sabbatical and the tape showed Rick and his family on the beach and enjoying their time together. He has grown our church in 12 years from a small neighborhood church of 120 people to a 3,300 member mega church and he is tired. We look forward to seeing him back preaching next month.
David finally got his stereo installed this weekend and he's thrilled. Several of our Christian CDs were missing on the weekend and they were in his car. It is Lincoln's birthday today, which is not a federal holiday, and David is off to his job. Darla is off because she gets EVERY holiday off. Daniel is off from school today because teachers are lazy and Darla and Dan will likely go and visit her grandfather who is in his 80's and lives in a retirement center in Ripon, California. He sold his house last year and finally decided to move into the retirement village where he spent a great deal of his time visiting friends and helping out with the church service and special meals, etc. He and his wife, Liz, live in an apartment on the grounds and still have their car. Liz suffers from dementia and Andy is getting older and it is hard for them to care for each other now. We are all happy that they have moved into the home as it gives them a social outlet, but also gives them access to health care and assisted living.
My assistant called to tell me that she has a nail in her tire. Her husband is in Fresno on a job this week and she didn't know what to do. I put her in touch with Pete Morrison, one of my underwriters who lives in her area. Hopefully, Pete will be able to get her over to a Big O tires and get her tire fixed. It was an interesting call and she was looking for guidance more than just calling to tell me she'd be late.
Daniel has finished his driver's education and will be taking his license exam this week. His grandmother is buying him a car worth up to $4,000 and Dan is busy hunting for a new car. We helped David and Jennifer with their first cars and put it on Steve to help Daniel. Lucky for Daniel his grandmother stepped to the plate or Dan would have been stuck with one of the junkers that Steve has at his house. He has a 65 Ford pickup, a broken down 1980's Jeep Cherokee, a 1970's Ford El Camino, as well as his 2004 Chevy Tahoe. None of the other vehicles are road ready and Daniel would have been stuck if not for Grandma. I wanted Steve to buy the car as I want our insurance to be secondary. We already pay close to $4,700 for insurance on three cars. Darla and I used to pay $1,100 for our two cars and then we added David. I couldn't afford to add Daniel, much less buy him a car. Geico, our insurer, will let us add Daniel to our policy for only $100 a month if he has primary insurance with his father.
I haven't heard from Dad and Shirley. I know they were going to be in Texas for a month, but don't know if they have flown home yet or not. I may try to call over to Darryl's tonight. I thought about it too late last night.
I did hear from Jennifer and got her address in Korea. She can actually pick her mail up a the Army Post Office. Her address for now is:
Jennifer Lyon
Das Net Corp
Box 12074
APO, AP 96278
She expects to be in Korea through March and into April as her contract has been extended on the current job. She is enjoying herself and has been into the cities of Korea a few times. I wonder if she has had the experience of eating live octopus. It is a deadly delicacy in Korea and one that I could do without.
Well, that is it for this week. Remember to explore your world around you. God made this world for us to enjoy and to proclaim His love. Ciao.
Monday, February 06, 2006
Great weekend and a good week ahead
Well, I thought I'd write it and see if it comes true. It was a great weekend, one that included poker, golf and football. Sprinkle that in with some quality family time and it is an ingredient for a great weekend.
Darla's brother, Steve, has gone into full middle life crisis mode and moved he and his wife to Hawaii. He retired from the bread route that he worked for ten years or so and will try to scratch out a living in Hawaii. He's not sure what he'll do, but his wife has a job in the psych profession and he will turn over some rocks and see what he can find. His oldest daughter, Shae, moved with Steve's wife, Kirsten, to the islands and spent three months trying to acclimate herself to the locals, but it just didn't take and she came home over Christmas and will not return. One of the problems is that she is 18 and in her senior year of school. She had to leave all of her friends in Sonora and tried hard to make a go of it in Hawaii, but the schools are pretty laid back and all of the kids have their long term friends and she just couldn't fit in. She came back to the mainland and refused to return. There is a drug culture in Hawaii that is pervasive in the schools and she never felt comfortable. So, Steve has packed up his wife, his dog and cat, a couple of cars and his furniture and is on a flight to Hawaii this morning. He leaves behind his old job, his old friends and his two daughters. I don't get it, but it sure smells of a major midlife crisis. I hope he doesn't wake up in a few months or years with a deep regret that he left his kids behind. Shae is 18 and his other daughter, Taylor, is 15. They live in Willits with their mother and step-father, who runs a mortuary.
The girls, Taylor and Shae, stayed with us this weekend and saw their Dad on Saturday for a final goodbye before his retreat from sanity (is my bias showing?). We had a great time with the girls and they joined us for church on Sunday. David was able to pry his way away from his father and join us for dinner Saturday night and for church and breakfast out on Sunday.
Yesterday was an absolutely gorgeous day and I was able to do some chores around the house and clean my golf equipment from the mud and sludge of a sloppy Saturday outing. The sky was clear and the sun was almost hot as it pushed the upper sixties yesterday. I pulled out a beach chair and sat on my front driveway idly enjoying a sunny Winter day and drifted off to sleep. I must have slept 45 minutes and woke up with a slight sunburn and mildly refreshed. It was great.
Friday night was poker at my house, the first game of 2006 and the first in about four months. I had ten players and we had to break off into two tables. It was great catching up with the guys and I had my entire foursome for Saturday's tournament at the game. Rain was forecast overnight and sure enough it blew in about 3 A.M. although it was gone by the time I awoke at 7:30 in preparation for my 9:44 tee time. Conditions at the course were wet and wetter and it was a sloppy, muddy round of golf. The balls were plugging in the fairway and roll was simply a theory on this day. I shot 46+42=88 and don't know where I ended up in the tournament as I left early to catch up with Darla, the girls and Darla's parents at our house. I had two birdies in the round and won some skin money, but I'm sure finished out of the money in the tournament. I'm an 11 now and a net of 77 is nothing to get excited about.
Sunday was church and football and nap time in the front yard. This week looks to be sunny and in the low seventies all week. Spring fever will be in full bloom as we slog through the week. I have a new receptionist starting today. The last one was a temp and she never seemed to pick up the nuances of the job. She was such a nice lady and cried when we let her go, but I have 13 people in the office and I need a file clerk/receptionist/claims person/loss run specialist, etc. with some get up and go. I'm hiring temp-to-permanent through an employment agency and it is amazing how few qualified people are available. Unemployment is at less than 5% and some of those don't want to work and the others really ought to be unemployed. The replacement will be here this morning and we will be back to training. I've asked Gail in the office to take over the supervision of the new employee.
Jennifer's friend, Jason, continues to struggle with his cancer and treatment in the hospital. He has been in UC Davis Medical Center for 2 1/2 months and is now expected to remain in the hospital for six more months. He has a hole in his windpipe caused by the cancer and the growth of the tumor. The doctors did a temporary repair, but have to wait for the tumor to shrink to do the permanent repair. Jason has regained some strength, but the biggest concern now is his mental health as he is so ready to get out of the hospital. The cancer has subsided, but he had to stop chemo therapy when the latest crisis occured, so he will have to start up chemo treatments again, shrink the tumor and then get the throat surgery. 25 years old and going through all of this. Pray hard for Jason.
Darla bough herself a new bedroom set this weekend. She has never liked the bedroom set that I brought into the marriage. According to her, it is too large and bulky. We will finally be able to move our old bed into the study and set up a real guest bedroom, so that Dad and Shirley will feel comfortable in coming to visit us in California and not always have to run off to Texas when the rain in Vancouver gets to be too mind numbing for them. We will move the bed and the bookcase into the study and move the desk and computer back into our room. We'll also now have a soft landing for Jennifer when she finds herself in Sacramento/Folsom/Roseville and wants to stay with us.
David did buy the stereo, a Pioneer deck that will allow him to manipulate his MP3 player. Nice, but he hasn't been able to get in to have the deck installed. He still needs to get speakers and a subwoofer for the truck.
That is the news for this week. I hope all are well and looking to the LORD for help with decisions in your lives. Stay well. Ciao.
Darla's brother, Steve, has gone into full middle life crisis mode and moved he and his wife to Hawaii. He retired from the bread route that he worked for ten years or so and will try to scratch out a living in Hawaii. He's not sure what he'll do, but his wife has a job in the psych profession and he will turn over some rocks and see what he can find. His oldest daughter, Shae, moved with Steve's wife, Kirsten, to the islands and spent three months trying to acclimate herself to the locals, but it just didn't take and she came home over Christmas and will not return. One of the problems is that she is 18 and in her senior year of school. She had to leave all of her friends in Sonora and tried hard to make a go of it in Hawaii, but the schools are pretty laid back and all of the kids have their long term friends and she just couldn't fit in. She came back to the mainland and refused to return. There is a drug culture in Hawaii that is pervasive in the schools and she never felt comfortable. So, Steve has packed up his wife, his dog and cat, a couple of cars and his furniture and is on a flight to Hawaii this morning. He leaves behind his old job, his old friends and his two daughters. I don't get it, but it sure smells of a major midlife crisis. I hope he doesn't wake up in a few months or years with a deep regret that he left his kids behind. Shae is 18 and his other daughter, Taylor, is 15. They live in Willits with their mother and step-father, who runs a mortuary.
The girls, Taylor and Shae, stayed with us this weekend and saw their Dad on Saturday for a final goodbye before his retreat from sanity (is my bias showing?). We had a great time with the girls and they joined us for church on Sunday. David was able to pry his way away from his father and join us for dinner Saturday night and for church and breakfast out on Sunday.
Yesterday was an absolutely gorgeous day and I was able to do some chores around the house and clean my golf equipment from the mud and sludge of a sloppy Saturday outing. The sky was clear and the sun was almost hot as it pushed the upper sixties yesterday. I pulled out a beach chair and sat on my front driveway idly enjoying a sunny Winter day and drifted off to sleep. I must have slept 45 minutes and woke up with a slight sunburn and mildly refreshed. It was great.
Friday night was poker at my house, the first game of 2006 and the first in about four months. I had ten players and we had to break off into two tables. It was great catching up with the guys and I had my entire foursome for Saturday's tournament at the game. Rain was forecast overnight and sure enough it blew in about 3 A.M. although it was gone by the time I awoke at 7:30 in preparation for my 9:44 tee time. Conditions at the course were wet and wetter and it was a sloppy, muddy round of golf. The balls were plugging in the fairway and roll was simply a theory on this day. I shot 46+42=88 and don't know where I ended up in the tournament as I left early to catch up with Darla, the girls and Darla's parents at our house. I had two birdies in the round and won some skin money, but I'm sure finished out of the money in the tournament. I'm an 11 now and a net of 77 is nothing to get excited about.
Sunday was church and football and nap time in the front yard. This week looks to be sunny and in the low seventies all week. Spring fever will be in full bloom as we slog through the week. I have a new receptionist starting today. The last one was a temp and she never seemed to pick up the nuances of the job. She was such a nice lady and cried when we let her go, but I have 13 people in the office and I need a file clerk/receptionist/claims person/loss run specialist, etc. with some get up and go. I'm hiring temp-to-permanent through an employment agency and it is amazing how few qualified people are available. Unemployment is at less than 5% and some of those don't want to work and the others really ought to be unemployed. The replacement will be here this morning and we will be back to training. I've asked Gail in the office to take over the supervision of the new employee.
Jennifer's friend, Jason, continues to struggle with his cancer and treatment in the hospital. He has been in UC Davis Medical Center for 2 1/2 months and is now expected to remain in the hospital for six more months. He has a hole in his windpipe caused by the cancer and the growth of the tumor. The doctors did a temporary repair, but have to wait for the tumor to shrink to do the permanent repair. Jason has regained some strength, but the biggest concern now is his mental health as he is so ready to get out of the hospital. The cancer has subsided, but he had to stop chemo therapy when the latest crisis occured, so he will have to start up chemo treatments again, shrink the tumor and then get the throat surgery. 25 years old and going through all of this. Pray hard for Jason.
Darla bough herself a new bedroom set this weekend. She has never liked the bedroom set that I brought into the marriage. According to her, it is too large and bulky. We will finally be able to move our old bed into the study and set up a real guest bedroom, so that Dad and Shirley will feel comfortable in coming to visit us in California and not always have to run off to Texas when the rain in Vancouver gets to be too mind numbing for them. We will move the bed and the bookcase into the study and move the desk and computer back into our room. We'll also now have a soft landing for Jennifer when she finds herself in Sacramento/Folsom/Roseville and wants to stay with us.
David did buy the stereo, a Pioneer deck that will allow him to manipulate his MP3 player. Nice, but he hasn't been able to get in to have the deck installed. He still needs to get speakers and a subwoofer for the truck.
That is the news for this week. I hope all are well and looking to the LORD for help with decisions in your lives. Stay well. Ciao.
Monday, January 30, 2006
Just a Quickie Today
I don't have a lot of time today as I was out last Thursday and Friday and I have to pick up a branch visitor at the airport at nine o'clock. Most of my home office visitors rent a car and drive over to the office, but this visitor is a 23 year-old woman named Katrina, who is the home office marketing advisor for the company. She is the daughter of our Phoenix Branch Manager and cut her teeth setting up the marketing department in Phoenix. She has devised marketing folders and advertising calendars for Phoenix and done a great job. She is taking that experience on the road now as part of the Home Office marketing team and will be coaching each office in the proper protocols of marketing and what to discuss when in front of an agency.
The world did manage to cave in with my absence last week. My Personal lines underwriter had given notice and I allowed her to stay on and get her desk cleaned up prior to leaving. She is moving over to the retail side of the business and will not be a competitor to us, so I saw no harm in that. Her former assistant had been promoted to an underwriter position late last year and Mary had a difficult time with the transition. She was very unhappy and finally found a job with Nationwide. Well, Darla and I went off on our marketing foray in Mendocino county last week and Mary decided to tell some of her agents about her reservations regarding her replacement and Renee found out about it and confronted her. The shit hit the fan as they say and there was a full fledged cat fight in the office. What a mess. Mary ended up walking out and not returning. It was chaos and I obviously can't leave without all hell breaking loose. Perhaps I learned a lesson that when an employee gives a two week notice, that they are essentially terminated at that very moment?
Darla and I had a great time and it was a nice drive around Clearlake and over to the Mendocino county area. One of my agent's has an assistant whose mother is the groundskeeper at Fetzer vineyards in Hopland, California. Fetzer is a commercial vineyard that makes decent wines, although in a production setting. The vineyard has world class gardens and the gardener, Faye, won a gardening award in London last year that had never been won by an American before. We had an appointment to tour the gardens at Fetzer with Kaye on Friday morning at eleven, but it rained. We will take the tour in May when I drive back over for an annual golf tournament in Eureka. I will make a point to schedule and keep the appointment. Darla and I stayed at the Fairfield Inn in Ukiah and it was a brand new hotel located near the airport in Ukiah. The airport is basically a paved stretch of land for small commuter planes to land on.
I did not manage to golf this weekend, although I had a tee time on Saturday. I awoke at 7:30 and was showering when Boyd called. Although it had stopped raining, Boyd looked at the weather channel and there was a huge storm heading our way. We decided to skip the golf lest we get caught out on the course in a severe rainstorm. Well, the rain managed to skirt to the north of us and it was dry all day and I moped around the house, cleaning the pond and repairing a light fixture and buying a new floor lamp with Darla. I was mad that I decided to skip the golf, especially given that Boyd is retired and golfs everyday. For him, it was a day without golf, for me, it was a week without golf. I do have a tournament (the Super Bowl tournament) on Saturday.
It is a full week for me with visitors in at work and poker Friday night at my house. It's Super Bowl weekend and we will just make it a party with poker, golf and football.
David just bought the car stereo for his car yesterday. It is a Pioneer system that allows him to control his MP3 player through the stereo. He still needs to buy a subwoofer and a set of front speakers for the truck. David is unbelievably methodical in buying anything, so getting this was a big deal.
Well, I have to run to the airport. I hope all are well. Stay close to the Lord and he will keep you from harm.
The world did manage to cave in with my absence last week. My Personal lines underwriter had given notice and I allowed her to stay on and get her desk cleaned up prior to leaving. She is moving over to the retail side of the business and will not be a competitor to us, so I saw no harm in that. Her former assistant had been promoted to an underwriter position late last year and Mary had a difficult time with the transition. She was very unhappy and finally found a job with Nationwide. Well, Darla and I went off on our marketing foray in Mendocino county last week and Mary decided to tell some of her agents about her reservations regarding her replacement and Renee found out about it and confronted her. The shit hit the fan as they say and there was a full fledged cat fight in the office. What a mess. Mary ended up walking out and not returning. It was chaos and I obviously can't leave without all hell breaking loose. Perhaps I learned a lesson that when an employee gives a two week notice, that they are essentially terminated at that very moment?
Darla and I had a great time and it was a nice drive around Clearlake and over to the Mendocino county area. One of my agent's has an assistant whose mother is the groundskeeper at Fetzer vineyards in Hopland, California. Fetzer is a commercial vineyard that makes decent wines, although in a production setting. The vineyard has world class gardens and the gardener, Faye, won a gardening award in London last year that had never been won by an American before. We had an appointment to tour the gardens at Fetzer with Kaye on Friday morning at eleven, but it rained. We will take the tour in May when I drive back over for an annual golf tournament in Eureka. I will make a point to schedule and keep the appointment. Darla and I stayed at the Fairfield Inn in Ukiah and it was a brand new hotel located near the airport in Ukiah. The airport is basically a paved stretch of land for small commuter planes to land on.
I did not manage to golf this weekend, although I had a tee time on Saturday. I awoke at 7:30 and was showering when Boyd called. Although it had stopped raining, Boyd looked at the weather channel and there was a huge storm heading our way. We decided to skip the golf lest we get caught out on the course in a severe rainstorm. Well, the rain managed to skirt to the north of us and it was dry all day and I moped around the house, cleaning the pond and repairing a light fixture and buying a new floor lamp with Darla. I was mad that I decided to skip the golf, especially given that Boyd is retired and golfs everyday. For him, it was a day without golf, for me, it was a week without golf. I do have a tournament (the Super Bowl tournament) on Saturday.
It is a full week for me with visitors in at work and poker Friday night at my house. It's Super Bowl weekend and we will just make it a party with poker, golf and football.
David just bought the car stereo for his car yesterday. It is a Pioneer system that allows him to control his MP3 player through the stereo. He still needs to buy a subwoofer and a set of front speakers for the truck. David is unbelievably methodical in buying anything, so getting this was a big deal.
Well, I have to run to the airport. I hope all are well. Stay close to the Lord and he will keep you from harm.
Monday, January 23, 2006
Monday and the Living is Easy
Back to the grind on a Monday morning. It is another cold, clear and crisp morning that makes you glad to live in Northern California. I know it's 80 degrees in Tampa and LA and Austin, but I like the seasons and although all of the deciduous trees are still barren and only the winter flowers are in evidence, it is still a beautiful time of year. The grass is green and all of the evergreens are so healthy after the rains that we've had. The oak trees are all in their element and stand stately against the blue of an early morning sky in January. Luckily I can observe all of this from the warmth of a heated office building as I look down on the world from my second story lair. It is about 40 degrees outside and the breath of the worker bees is evident as they hustle from their cars to the cocoon of their offices.
I played golf on Saturday in Nicolaus and even had a brief rainstorm on the drive through the delta to the course. It was overcast and cold and the golf carts didn't have windshields and therefore we weren't shielded from the wind. There was a slight breeze, but it was overcast and COLD as we made our way around the course carved out of farmland along the banks of the Feather River in Sutter County. The land is actually lower than the level of the river and protected by levees. When it rains hard as it did last weekend, the lakes and ponds on the course "boil" and overflow their banks onto the golf course. The back nine of the golf course had been under water and closed since the New Year and was just opened for play on Saturday for our tournament. To say that the conditions were a bit sloppy would be an understatement. Most of the field of 60 golfers really struggled with the conditions. Our struggles were further compromised by the placement of the pins on the holes which were at the highest points to allow drainage away from the hole and so that the golfers wouldn't overly trample the low lying areas of the greens. There was not a straight putt on the course. By the way, what do you call a putt that looks straight, but isn't? A "Rock Hudson".
I managed to keep my game on the track (so to speak) and although I had two double-bogeys across the course of my round, I was able to sprinkle in a birdie and alot of pars for an 83. I won my flight with the low gross and also won 4 skins for $28.
As Dad put it, I prattled on last week about losing my wallet. I think it may be an age thing. Darryl turned 50 over the weekend and he lost his cell phone at a customers on Friday. I tried to call him to wish him a Happy Birthday, but couldn't reach him. Darla had her friend, Joni, visit this weekend and they shopped while I golfed on Saturday. I returned home and took the girls to dinner out at Shanghai Fats, the Chinese restaurant out at Thunder Valley casino outside of Roseville. Thunder Valley is an Indian Casino, but managed by the Station Casino group out of Las Vegas. It is a beautifully designed casino and you would think that it was a smaller casino in Vegas, if not for the venue in Lincoln, California not far from the waste recycling facility for Placer County. I managed to lose my car keys as I was playing video poker. They slipped out of my pocket unnoticed by me and I didn't realize it until we were ready to leave about 9:00PM. Darla went to the security booth as I took her keys to get the car. As she was putting in a lost items claim, someone walked up with the keys and had found them on the floor in the Non-Smoking video lounge.
Cheryl had a huge party for Darryl for his 50th birthday. She arranged a golf tournament as well as a surprise party for him Saturday night. I talked to him before my golf match on Saturday and he had found out about the golf tournament because Cheryl had sent invitations from their home computer and one had bounced back. She didn't know he knew and I couldn't very well ask him if he also knew about the party on Saturday night. I'll talk to him this week and find out. Dad and Shirley flew in for the party and to get out of Vancouver. It had rained for 33 straight days by the time they left and Dad was waterlogged and cranky and ready for the sun. I told him he sold his digs in Phoenix too soon. He said that they kick themselves now as it is 80 degrees and beautiful in Arizona in January and he could be working on his tan and golf game instead of bailing water out of the trunk of his Cadillac.
Darla and I are going up to Ukiah on Thursday and Friday. I have to make the trip for work and she decided to join me. It is a bit of a hick town along Highway 101 in Mendocino County. That area is "Big Trees" country and it will be nice to be up among the giant redwoods for a few days. She will have to cool her heels on Thursday afternoon and Friday morning as I do my marketing schtick, but she should be able to relax at the hotel. We are staying at the Fairfield Inn and Suites hotel and she should be able to relax. I will enjoy having her along for the company. I haven't traveled alot since joining Burns and Wilcox, but plan to make more marketing trips this year to develop relationships with some of the outlying agents.
Funny how little things can make a big difference. I installed a halogen light at the inside door of the garage on the wall by the switch to the garage door opener. The builder had installed a light bulb base, about the cheapest light fixture known to man. I had installed a couple of shelves above the new roller cabinet and tool chest and it was blocking some of the light from the 40 watt bulb. I installed a new 150 watt halogen light and directed the light at the ceiling to increase the light in the garage and what a difference. Amazing what $9.99 and a little time will do. I've been slowly upgrading the fixtures in the house and outside and now have all new lights throughout the house. The only thing left is a motion sensor light that I'd like to install by the garage so if we walk at night, a light would come on. It will also help David and Daniel when they get home at night.
David did find and buy a new car. He was able to find a 1995 Chevy Tahoe. It has a stepside, Vortec V8 engine, Flowmaster exhaust and new tires. He bought it for $7,000 out the door..tax, license, etc. They had it listed for $7,999 so he got a good deal. He was supposed to go out this weekend and get a new sound system for the car and a sub woofer. We'll see tonight. He brought it over on Thursday night to show me and said that he'd put $20 of gas in the tank and it only filled it up about 1/4. Yeah, I like my Mustang. $25 fills it.
Well, work awaits, the phone calls have already started with several employees out sick on this Monday morning. Oh, the joys of being the boss. Take care, be well and stay forever at the foot of the cross. Ciao.
I played golf on Saturday in Nicolaus and even had a brief rainstorm on the drive through the delta to the course. It was overcast and cold and the golf carts didn't have windshields and therefore we weren't shielded from the wind. There was a slight breeze, but it was overcast and COLD as we made our way around the course carved out of farmland along the banks of the Feather River in Sutter County. The land is actually lower than the level of the river and protected by levees. When it rains hard as it did last weekend, the lakes and ponds on the course "boil" and overflow their banks onto the golf course. The back nine of the golf course had been under water and closed since the New Year and was just opened for play on Saturday for our tournament. To say that the conditions were a bit sloppy would be an understatement. Most of the field of 60 golfers really struggled with the conditions. Our struggles were further compromised by the placement of the pins on the holes which were at the highest points to allow drainage away from the hole and so that the golfers wouldn't overly trample the low lying areas of the greens. There was not a straight putt on the course. By the way, what do you call a putt that looks straight, but isn't? A "Rock Hudson".
I managed to keep my game on the track (so to speak) and although I had two double-bogeys across the course of my round, I was able to sprinkle in a birdie and alot of pars for an 83. I won my flight with the low gross and also won 4 skins for $28.
As Dad put it, I prattled on last week about losing my wallet. I think it may be an age thing. Darryl turned 50 over the weekend and he lost his cell phone at a customers on Friday. I tried to call him to wish him a Happy Birthday, but couldn't reach him. Darla had her friend, Joni, visit this weekend and they shopped while I golfed on Saturday. I returned home and took the girls to dinner out at Shanghai Fats, the Chinese restaurant out at Thunder Valley casino outside of Roseville. Thunder Valley is an Indian Casino, but managed by the Station Casino group out of Las Vegas. It is a beautifully designed casino and you would think that it was a smaller casino in Vegas, if not for the venue in Lincoln, California not far from the waste recycling facility for Placer County. I managed to lose my car keys as I was playing video poker. They slipped out of my pocket unnoticed by me and I didn't realize it until we were ready to leave about 9:00PM. Darla went to the security booth as I took her keys to get the car. As she was putting in a lost items claim, someone walked up with the keys and had found them on the floor in the Non-Smoking video lounge.
Cheryl had a huge party for Darryl for his 50th birthday. She arranged a golf tournament as well as a surprise party for him Saturday night. I talked to him before my golf match on Saturday and he had found out about the golf tournament because Cheryl had sent invitations from their home computer and one had bounced back. She didn't know he knew and I couldn't very well ask him if he also knew about the party on Saturday night. I'll talk to him this week and find out. Dad and Shirley flew in for the party and to get out of Vancouver. It had rained for 33 straight days by the time they left and Dad was waterlogged and cranky and ready for the sun. I told him he sold his digs in Phoenix too soon. He said that they kick themselves now as it is 80 degrees and beautiful in Arizona in January and he could be working on his tan and golf game instead of bailing water out of the trunk of his Cadillac.
Darla and I are going up to Ukiah on Thursday and Friday. I have to make the trip for work and she decided to join me. It is a bit of a hick town along Highway 101 in Mendocino County. That area is "Big Trees" country and it will be nice to be up among the giant redwoods for a few days. She will have to cool her heels on Thursday afternoon and Friday morning as I do my marketing schtick, but she should be able to relax at the hotel. We are staying at the Fairfield Inn and Suites hotel and she should be able to relax. I will enjoy having her along for the company. I haven't traveled alot since joining Burns and Wilcox, but plan to make more marketing trips this year to develop relationships with some of the outlying agents.
Funny how little things can make a big difference. I installed a halogen light at the inside door of the garage on the wall by the switch to the garage door opener. The builder had installed a light bulb base, about the cheapest light fixture known to man. I had installed a couple of shelves above the new roller cabinet and tool chest and it was blocking some of the light from the 40 watt bulb. I installed a new 150 watt halogen light and directed the light at the ceiling to increase the light in the garage and what a difference. Amazing what $9.99 and a little time will do. I've been slowly upgrading the fixtures in the house and outside and now have all new lights throughout the house. The only thing left is a motion sensor light that I'd like to install by the garage so if we walk at night, a light would come on. It will also help David and Daniel when they get home at night.
David did find and buy a new car. He was able to find a 1995 Chevy Tahoe. It has a stepside, Vortec V8 engine, Flowmaster exhaust and new tires. He bought it for $7,000 out the door..tax, license, etc. They had it listed for $7,999 so he got a good deal. He was supposed to go out this weekend and get a new sound system for the car and a sub woofer. We'll see tonight. He brought it over on Thursday night to show me and said that he'd put $20 of gas in the tank and it only filled it up about 1/4. Yeah, I like my Mustang. $25 fills it.
Well, work awaits, the phone calls have already started with several employees out sick on this Monday morning. Oh, the joys of being the boss. Take care, be well and stay forever at the foot of the cross. Ciao.
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
Please pray for Jay
I find Jason's ordeal in the hospital to be almost unbelievable. He has been in UC Davis Medical Center since November 14th and can't seem to get out of the place. This is his third stint in ICU and his original hospital stay was to be three to four days. He is 25 and a fighter, but sometimes prayer can overcome what free will cannot. Jason is a good friend of Jennifer's and a former boyfriend. We visited him in the hospital over Christmas when Jennifer was home. Here is the update from Jay's best friend, Arthur:
Hey Jenny,
Hey, I hope your trip is going good and you made it over there safely. I just wanted to give you an update on Jay & his condition. Unfortunately he is STILL in the Hospital and his condition has taken a turn for the worst since you went and saw him. On 01-02-06 the doctors told him he had a hole in his air way and that is the reason he hasn't been able to swallow. Apparently when the kemo was killing the tumor in his throat, it also put a hole in his “wind pipe” (for lack of a better word). So on 01-03-06 they went in a put a stint in his throat in order to help him swallow and start to get rid of the infection in his lungs. Well over the weekend of the 01-07-06/01-08-06, the stint slipped out of place. So on 01-09-06 they went in and did a MAJOR surgery in order to hopefully solve the problem. So he is back in ICU and well I’m not going to lie to you, this is the worst I have seen him since he has been in the hospital. So that is the story in a nut shell. Please do me a favor and forward this e-mail to your dad and advise him and his church group to keep praying for Jay, he could use ALL of prayers he can get right now. Of course if you have any questions or I can better explain anything, just drop me a line and I will do so. Please realize, I have been working & going to the hospital pretty much everyday & don’t always get a chance to check my e-mail, (Which is the major reason I haven’t written you sooner to tell you about Jay) so bear with me if I don’t get back to you right away. Also, I know its impossible, but try not to worry Jay is a fighter I have no fear he will get through this, just keep praying for him as we all are. So that is the latest, I will keep you updated as his condition gets better. Be safe & I will talk to ya soon.
A. Williams
Hey Jenny,
Hey, I hope your trip is going good and you made it over there safely. I just wanted to give you an update on Jay & his condition. Unfortunately he is STILL in the Hospital and his condition has taken a turn for the worst since you went and saw him. On 01-02-06 the doctors told him he had a hole in his air way and that is the reason he hasn't been able to swallow. Apparently when the kemo was killing the tumor in his throat, it also put a hole in his “wind pipe” (for lack of a better word). So on 01-03-06 they went in a put a stint in his throat in order to help him swallow and start to get rid of the infection in his lungs. Well over the weekend of the 01-07-06/01-08-06, the stint slipped out of place. So on 01-09-06 they went in and did a MAJOR surgery in order to hopefully solve the problem. So he is back in ICU and well I’m not going to lie to you, this is the worst I have seen him since he has been in the hospital. So that is the story in a nut shell. Please do me a favor and forward this e-mail to your dad and advise him and his church group to keep praying for Jay, he could use ALL of prayers he can get right now. Of course if you have any questions or I can better explain anything, just drop me a line and I will do so. Please realize, I have been working & going to the hospital pretty much everyday & don’t always get a chance to check my e-mail, (Which is the major reason I haven’t written you sooner to tell you about Jay) so bear with me if I don’t get back to you right away. Also, I know its impossible, but try not to worry Jay is a fighter I have no fear he will get through this, just keep praying for him as we all are. So that is the latest, I will keep you updated as his condition gets better. Be safe & I will talk to ya soon.
A. Williams
Monday, January 16, 2006
It's Really 2006
Doesn't it feel like it's been 2006 forever? Some years I have trouble writing the new year on checks and correspondence. This year has been easy for some reason. It is an odd "left brain" thing, but it works for me.
I lost my wallet last week. I'd had it on Monday because I remember I had to run out to my car and get it when I was dealing with someone on the phone on a credit for an online retailer that I'd returned some product to. I also had it on Tuesday, when I grabbed my wallet to bring with me when I went to the gym. We searched the house and my car and couldn't find it. It was Wednesday night and I was looking for it to put with my things for Thursday morning. I admit that I hate to carry a wallet. I have a money clip and have carried one for years. The wallet is superfluous unless I need a credit card. I try to leave it in my car, which is a problem if I find myself in Darla's car or a store and I decide to buy something and I don't have enough cash. It is a source of amusement with Darla as I've left my wallet in my desk a number of times and had to make the trip all the way back to the office. Wednesday night I made that trip again, this time to no avail as I searched my office at nine o'clock at night and came up empty. I was leaving for Chico on Thursday morning to see agents and needed my wallet to buy lunch and to drive. I got home and took about ten minutes off by myself to think about my movements and where I might have left the wallet. I asked God to clear my head and help me. I walked outside and looked on the planter at the front of the house. I often sit there to put my shoes on before I leave the house. My wallet was sitting in the bushes where it fell the night before when I set it and my car keys down when I put my shoes on before leaving for the gym. It had rained Wednesday, but the wallet had fallen under some bushes and hadn't hit the ground. It was dry and I was again thanking God for answered prayer. And, yes, I am a bonehead.
It is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day here in the US. Another excuse for the federal government to take a day off and another holiday loudly ignored by US businesses. There is no postal service today, the banks are closed and the stock market is dark today. The roadways here in Sacramento were barren of cars on my early morning commute as the University is closed today and this is a government town. The public troughers are all sleeping in and enjoying another paid holiday as those of us who actually keep the economic engine oiled and running are at work. I have about 3 or 4 staff off today as the kids are out of school.
It was a nice weekend, although it rained on Saturday and ruined my planned golf outing. I snuck out yesterday and played a quick 18 holes at Diamond Oaks in the afternoon. It was clear and cold with a bright blue sky and sunshine which always looks so much cleaner after a rainstorm. I joined up with a couple of guys and played 18 in 3 1/2 hours. I shot 42+41=83, but played from the white tees as the guys I was golfing with were certified hackers. I am signed up to play in my first tournament of the year this coming weekend.
Darla and I will venture up to Ukiah next week for two days. I have to go up on business and will stay over night and Darla said she'd go with me. She has so much vacation time and likes to tag along on my business trips. I will be traveling more this year as I concentrate on writing new business and want to get out and meet my agents in some of the outlying areas. I will be up to Redding next month for another overnighter and she may join me there as well.
I will be leading our life group tonight and I brought my Bible to prepare for the lesson tonight. I have made a commitment this year that I will leave work early on Mondays to relax and prepare for life group. I was far too rushed on Monday nights, often getting home at 6:15 and leaving for life group a half hour later after gulping down a quick meal. I am in the office at 7 everyday and will leave work by 4:00 PM on Mondays. Our leaders, Kim and Connie, are both busy with extra work. Kim has taken on a college class which he will be teaching nights at Sierra College. Kim is a high school teacher, so this is extra curricular so to speak and I offered to take some of the leadership of the life group to help him out. Connie is teaching and going to school at William Jessup University. The life group is a blessing to us and we have used much of the time we have together to pray for each other and for our friends and family. It is powerful to be part of a group that prays fervently. We have prayed for most everyone who reads this Blog, so if you have felt the power, it may have been coming from us.
David continues to look for a new car. He is bound and determined to find a late '90's 2 door Tahoe. The cars are rare and expensive (about $10,000), but it is what he wants. Like college, Cal Poly was and is his only goal, David knows what he wants and won't be dissuaded. He is lucky in that he has his Grandma's Cadillac to drive while he looks for a car. He's found three, but two are too expensive and one has three people interested. The price is $8900 and he hopes to look at it today.
Darla did not get the promotion at her work, but she scored well on the interview and her superiors say it is just a matter of time before she moves into management. They want her to continue to apply for openings as they come up. There was scuttlebutt that the management team wanted a man for the job, and lo and behold, a man got the position. Amazing that, eh?
We had our Heating/Air/Plumber back out for the third time. We continue to get an odd humming noise after we run the water. We thought we'd corrected the problem with a new expansion tank installed off the water heater a couple of weeks before, but we continue to get the howling in the pipes. It rattles at least three times and is as loud as a foghorn. Mike Votaw himself came out and now thinks we have a problem with the pressure regulator at the front of the house. The valve regulates the amount of water pressure in the house and he thinks it has developed a leak. More money..what the hey.
Well, work awaits. The troops are slowly trickling in and I have to do payroll this morning, so I'd best get at it. Have a great week and God Bless. Ciao.
I lost my wallet last week. I'd had it on Monday because I remember I had to run out to my car and get it when I was dealing with someone on the phone on a credit for an online retailer that I'd returned some product to. I also had it on Tuesday, when I grabbed my wallet to bring with me when I went to the gym. We searched the house and my car and couldn't find it. It was Wednesday night and I was looking for it to put with my things for Thursday morning. I admit that I hate to carry a wallet. I have a money clip and have carried one for years. The wallet is superfluous unless I need a credit card. I try to leave it in my car, which is a problem if I find myself in Darla's car or a store and I decide to buy something and I don't have enough cash. It is a source of amusement with Darla as I've left my wallet in my desk a number of times and had to make the trip all the way back to the office. Wednesday night I made that trip again, this time to no avail as I searched my office at nine o'clock at night and came up empty. I was leaving for Chico on Thursday morning to see agents and needed my wallet to buy lunch and to drive. I got home and took about ten minutes off by myself to think about my movements and where I might have left the wallet. I asked God to clear my head and help me. I walked outside and looked on the planter at the front of the house. I often sit there to put my shoes on before I leave the house. My wallet was sitting in the bushes where it fell the night before when I set it and my car keys down when I put my shoes on before leaving for the gym. It had rained Wednesday, but the wallet had fallen under some bushes and hadn't hit the ground. It was dry and I was again thanking God for answered prayer. And, yes, I am a bonehead.
It is Martin Luther King, Jr. Day here in the US. Another excuse for the federal government to take a day off and another holiday loudly ignored by US businesses. There is no postal service today, the banks are closed and the stock market is dark today. The roadways here in Sacramento were barren of cars on my early morning commute as the University is closed today and this is a government town. The public troughers are all sleeping in and enjoying another paid holiday as those of us who actually keep the economic engine oiled and running are at work. I have about 3 or 4 staff off today as the kids are out of school.
It was a nice weekend, although it rained on Saturday and ruined my planned golf outing. I snuck out yesterday and played a quick 18 holes at Diamond Oaks in the afternoon. It was clear and cold with a bright blue sky and sunshine which always looks so much cleaner after a rainstorm. I joined up with a couple of guys and played 18 in 3 1/2 hours. I shot 42+41=83, but played from the white tees as the guys I was golfing with were certified hackers. I am signed up to play in my first tournament of the year this coming weekend.
Darla and I will venture up to Ukiah next week for two days. I have to go up on business and will stay over night and Darla said she'd go with me. She has so much vacation time and likes to tag along on my business trips. I will be traveling more this year as I concentrate on writing new business and want to get out and meet my agents in some of the outlying areas. I will be up to Redding next month for another overnighter and she may join me there as well.
I will be leading our life group tonight and I brought my Bible to prepare for the lesson tonight. I have made a commitment this year that I will leave work early on Mondays to relax and prepare for life group. I was far too rushed on Monday nights, often getting home at 6:15 and leaving for life group a half hour later after gulping down a quick meal. I am in the office at 7 everyday and will leave work by 4:00 PM on Mondays. Our leaders, Kim and Connie, are both busy with extra work. Kim has taken on a college class which he will be teaching nights at Sierra College. Kim is a high school teacher, so this is extra curricular so to speak and I offered to take some of the leadership of the life group to help him out. Connie is teaching and going to school at William Jessup University. The life group is a blessing to us and we have used much of the time we have together to pray for each other and for our friends and family. It is powerful to be part of a group that prays fervently. We have prayed for most everyone who reads this Blog, so if you have felt the power, it may have been coming from us.
David continues to look for a new car. He is bound and determined to find a late '90's 2 door Tahoe. The cars are rare and expensive (about $10,000), but it is what he wants. Like college, Cal Poly was and is his only goal, David knows what he wants and won't be dissuaded. He is lucky in that he has his Grandma's Cadillac to drive while he looks for a car. He's found three, but two are too expensive and one has three people interested. The price is $8900 and he hopes to look at it today.
Darla did not get the promotion at her work, but she scored well on the interview and her superiors say it is just a matter of time before she moves into management. They want her to continue to apply for openings as they come up. There was scuttlebutt that the management team wanted a man for the job, and lo and behold, a man got the position. Amazing that, eh?
We had our Heating/Air/Plumber back out for the third time. We continue to get an odd humming noise after we run the water. We thought we'd corrected the problem with a new expansion tank installed off the water heater a couple of weeks before, but we continue to get the howling in the pipes. It rattles at least three times and is as loud as a foghorn. Mike Votaw himself came out and now thinks we have a problem with the pressure regulator at the front of the house. The valve regulates the amount of water pressure in the house and he thinks it has developed a leak. More money..what the hey.
Well, work awaits. The troops are slowly trickling in and I have to do payroll this morning, so I'd best get at it. Have a great week and God Bless. Ciao.
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Why I admire Warren Buffett
Quote from Warren Buffett on how to become a millionaire: "Start with a Billion dollars and buy an airline."
Monday, January 09, 2006
Bumming on the first full work week of 2006
It is indeed the first full work week of the year. Things have started a little slow for me, but Pete in the office is following up a strong December with a great January. Anthony continues to write a lot of new business and the sky is blue here in the Sacramento office of Burns and Wilcox.
The weather is actually also blue skies and should be a nice Winter Day in Sacramento with highs in the low 60's and plenty of sunshine. We have a brief rainstorm coming in tomorrow and Wednesday and will be back to nice weather after that.
I did not play golf this weekend. Our club had the annual Captain and Crew scramble tournament and I just don't like to spend four and a half hours on a golf course and not post my own score. When I was on the golf club board I tried to get them to change the tournament to a 2 best ball format, still having A, B, C & D players in a team, but playing our own ball and posting the two best net scores. The group was sold on the scramble format. It is one of the most popular tournaments of the year and the higher handicap guys love it. Not me. I have golf set up for this weekend and will play in my first tournament of the year the following weekend when we play Rio La Paz, a course outside of Sacrmaneto in a little town called Nicolaus, near Yuba City.
I don't know if I mentioned before that David had a car accident in December. He rear ended another car on a rain slicked roadway. Apparently, he was moving pretty fast as his airbags deployed, and with a 1994 Mustang, the airbags deploying is tantamount to totaling the car. The cost to replace the airbags is $3,000 and the car's retail value is about $3500. The guy that he hit was not at all concerned with the damage to his older Honda, which was slight and we haven't heard from him. I was going to have David eat the loss, but Darla checked with Geico and because David has been driving for two years without an accident or moving violation, he can turn in the accident, they'll pay for it and our premium will actually go down because he is now 18 and Darla and I no longer have any liability when he is driving.
Darla finally had Geico come out to the house and pick up the car last week. A tow truck driver picked up the car and was to take it to Golden State Collision Center, about five minutes from our house. That was Tuesday. When Darla hadn't heard anything by Friday morning, she called Geico. They hadn't heard from the Collision Center and when they called, said the car wasn't there. Darla was a little panicked when she talked to me and I told her to change the claim to a theft..that our car was stolen by the Insurance Company!! They made a call to the tow company and found out that the doofus who picked up the car, dropped it in the parking lot at the collision center and didn't tell anyone. Genius. We should find out today what amount we will get for totaling the car. David is looking for new cars now as he is driving his Grandmother's Cadillac.
Jennifer is back in Korea, although they lost her luggage. I haven't talked to her since last week when she arrived, but I assume the luggage showed up the nbext day. She said it is freezing in Korea. Jen, we found your sunglasses at our house. Let us know where to send them or we'll hold them until you get back in March. She said her MP3 player was a nice companion on the 12-hour flight back to Korea.
Darla and I are planning a trip to Las Vegas for my birthday. We actually have some friends in Las Vegas that weekend for Nascar weekend in Las Vegas. I agreed to go with the provision that I don't have to go anywhere near the rednecks or the track. I'll play golf, blackjack, slots, etc, but I don't do NASCAR. We'll also be in Vegas in 2007 for my 50th and Dad's 70th birthdays.
Darla and I were able to get another dump run in this weekend. We were putting the Christmas gear away and decided to clear out the attic. I threw away old draperies and pictures, boxes, junk that had piled up over the years. I got back from the dump run (and the truck was jammed by the way) and noticed that I had neglected to haul the old garage door opener, which still sits on the side of the house. Oh well.
Darla is home today (she works out of the house two days a week) and we are having DirecTV out today to install the HDTV antenna and install a new HDTV receiver and TIVO. I am moving from the 80's to '06 in one fell swoop. We are really enjoying the new big screen DLP TV and will enjoy it even more with HDTV hooked up.
Well, I am off to a new week and all of the work that that entails. I hope all are hale and hearty and walking in the shadow of the LORD. Ciao.
The weather is actually also blue skies and should be a nice Winter Day in Sacramento with highs in the low 60's and plenty of sunshine. We have a brief rainstorm coming in tomorrow and Wednesday and will be back to nice weather after that.
I did not play golf this weekend. Our club had the annual Captain and Crew scramble tournament and I just don't like to spend four and a half hours on a golf course and not post my own score. When I was on the golf club board I tried to get them to change the tournament to a 2 best ball format, still having A, B, C & D players in a team, but playing our own ball and posting the two best net scores. The group was sold on the scramble format. It is one of the most popular tournaments of the year and the higher handicap guys love it. Not me. I have golf set up for this weekend and will play in my first tournament of the year the following weekend when we play Rio La Paz, a course outside of Sacrmaneto in a little town called Nicolaus, near Yuba City.
I don't know if I mentioned before that David had a car accident in December. He rear ended another car on a rain slicked roadway. Apparently, he was moving pretty fast as his airbags deployed, and with a 1994 Mustang, the airbags deploying is tantamount to totaling the car. The cost to replace the airbags is $3,000 and the car's retail value is about $3500. The guy that he hit was not at all concerned with the damage to his older Honda, which was slight and we haven't heard from him. I was going to have David eat the loss, but Darla checked with Geico and because David has been driving for two years without an accident or moving violation, he can turn in the accident, they'll pay for it and our premium will actually go down because he is now 18 and Darla and I no longer have any liability when he is driving.
Darla finally had Geico come out to the house and pick up the car last week. A tow truck driver picked up the car and was to take it to Golden State Collision Center, about five minutes from our house. That was Tuesday. When Darla hadn't heard anything by Friday morning, she called Geico. They hadn't heard from the Collision Center and when they called, said the car wasn't there. Darla was a little panicked when she talked to me and I told her to change the claim to a theft..that our car was stolen by the Insurance Company!! They made a call to the tow company and found out that the doofus who picked up the car, dropped it in the parking lot at the collision center and didn't tell anyone. Genius. We should find out today what amount we will get for totaling the car. David is looking for new cars now as he is driving his Grandmother's Cadillac.
Jennifer is back in Korea, although they lost her luggage. I haven't talked to her since last week when she arrived, but I assume the luggage showed up the nbext day. She said it is freezing in Korea. Jen, we found your sunglasses at our house. Let us know where to send them or we'll hold them until you get back in March. She said her MP3 player was a nice companion on the 12-hour flight back to Korea.
Darla and I are planning a trip to Las Vegas for my birthday. We actually have some friends in Las Vegas that weekend for Nascar weekend in Las Vegas. I agreed to go with the provision that I don't have to go anywhere near the rednecks or the track. I'll play golf, blackjack, slots, etc, but I don't do NASCAR. We'll also be in Vegas in 2007 for my 50th and Dad's 70th birthdays.
Darla and I were able to get another dump run in this weekend. We were putting the Christmas gear away and decided to clear out the attic. I threw away old draperies and pictures, boxes, junk that had piled up over the years. I got back from the dump run (and the truck was jammed by the way) and noticed that I had neglected to haul the old garage door opener, which still sits on the side of the house. Oh well.
Darla is home today (she works out of the house two days a week) and we are having DirecTV out today to install the HDTV antenna and install a new HDTV receiver and TIVO. I am moving from the 80's to '06 in one fell swoop. We are really enjoying the new big screen DLP TV and will enjoy it even more with HDTV hooked up.
Well, I am off to a new week and all of the work that that entails. I hope all are hale and hearty and walking in the shadow of the LORD. Ciao.
Monday, January 02, 2006
New Year, Same Old Life
I just had a contractor out to the house to replace a damaged potable water expansion tank. The tank is only there because it is required by the City of Roseville. We have water meters in Roseville and the tank is added to the hot water heater and allows water to flow out of the hot water heater into a 5 gallon expansion tank. The tank has a bladder and expels air as water is let into the tank. Ours was installed in January of 2004 when the hot water heater was installed. We immediately heard a hammering noise which was intermittent when it was installed. Recently the hammering has increased to a deafening "fog horn" sound and it was apparent that the tank had been compromised, likely a ruptured bladder. I finally got the plumber to come out and replace the tank at a cost of $406. At least they offer a two year parts and labor warranty, which Home Depot did not. In fact, they put me in contact with the manufacturer of the tank, a Canadian company called Watts Regulator. Watts told me that their product only has a one year warranty and I could get a plumber to replace it. Thanks for nothing.
This follows on the heels of the hot water heater rusting out in the rental house in Galt. I had that repaced last week by Lowes for a cost of $744. As the title indicates, it is a New Year, but the same old problems and headaches abound.
Jennifer is on an Asiatic flight to Korea as I write this. She spent the New Year holiday in Las Vegas. She was met by John, her friend from Korea and Atlanta. John lives in Vegas and invited Jennifer to come and spend the holiday with him. John had told Jenn to wear comfortable clothes on the plane, that he had a surprise for her when she landed. Jennifer guessed that he was taking her "quadding" out in the desert. She was wrotng. He drove her about 20 miles out of Vegas to a small airport where they went skydiving. It was a tandem dive, meaning both John and Jennifer dove out of the plane strapped to the stomach of a trained diver. I think John was a little presumptious that Jennifer would go along with the game, but when you have climbed 350 foot towers together without anything more than a small harness attached to the structure, I guess you can read the other person pretty well. Jennifer said that the experience was AWESOME and that she can cross one more thing off her list of things to do before she dies.
Jenn had trouble getting to Vegas. She had a package deal that flew her on United from Sacramento to Los Angeles and then to Vegas. Why? I have no idea as there are 50 flights a day from Sac to Vegas direct. Anyhow her flght was 6:00 AM out of Sac and I dropped her at 4:45 AM Friday. She got stuck in a large line outside and was told to go inside to show her credit card (It was an Orbitz deal). She got stuck in an even longer line inside and missed her flight. She was P.O.'ed to say the least. She ended up paying an extra $100 and took a direct flight to Vegas on Southwest, arriving at about the same time that she would have from Los Angeles. It all worked out and she stayed at the Mandalay Bay Casino and partied at a street party on the Las Vegas Strip, ringing in the New Year with fireworks, bands and confetti. She loved it.
Again, this morning, she had trouble with United, who told her that she could not fly to Korea without a Visa. Korea only allows visitors to stay for 30 days without a Visa and her Visa is being issued by the US Military at Los Osos Air Base in Korea. Her Visa should be there when she arrives. The problem is that her return flight to the states is scheduled for March 10th, which is over 30 days. She didn't have that problem in December as she was there for only 21 days and got an automatic 30 day Visa. It turns out that she got to the Asiatic desk and they told her that she'd have 30 days to get an extension Visa in Korea. The United employee was being a little overly diligent, especially given that she wasn't flying on United Airlines to Korea. Jennifer is loving her new job and got her fitrst paycheck before she left and said "I want to stay overseas all the time." Her per diem makes a big difference.
Jennifer likely will not move to Georgia. Because she will only be in Georgia three of four weeks at a stretch, she's decided to stay at an extended stay resort while in Georgia. She can stay for about $50 a day. That would be $1400 for a 28 day stay as opposed to paying $800 a month for an apartment that would be empty most of the time. She also would not have to pay for utilities, garbage, phones, cable, etc. It makes sense to me as she'll be overseas 9 months out of the year and on Vacation for one month of the remaining three. In other words, she will pay about $3,000 for an extended stay hotel versus $9,600 for an apartment she wouldn't use. Smart girl.
Jennifer and I spent Thursday, December 29th together. I took the day off. She needed a ride to the airport Friday morning and I volunteered, so I picked her up Thursday morning and we spent the day together and she stayed over at our house. We went together to UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento to visit her friend, Jason. Jason has a tumor in his throat that is cancerous and is being treated with chemotherapy. He went into the hospital on November 14th for a three day stay and was still there as of January 1st. He had a shocked reaction to the first round of chemo and ended up in intensive care for three weeks. They started him on a high dosage of chemo and his body went into shock and he coded. When he finally got out of IC and back into a regular room, a nurse gave him codeine in pill form which he was not supposed to have. The tumor has lodged in his throat and pushed the larynx, and vocal cords out of place. He can't even drink water. The pill went down his throat and lodged in his lungs, which promptly collapsed and he was back to Intensive Care for another ten days. When he finally got out, he contracted shingles and was in isolation for 10 days. He is finally ready to get out. They implanted a "J" tube into his stomach for feeding on the day we went to see him and we waited several hours for him to get out of surgery. Jay looks good in spite of having lost 50 pounds (from 188 to 138) and also having lost his hair to the chemo. He has a good attitude and he and Jenn are still the best of friends.
We had a quiet and relaxed New Years with games and another Prime Rib on Sunday. The boys are currently at their Dad's playing a board game with their cousins. Darla is in watching "Million Dollar Baby" on our new big screen tv. We ended up buying a 50" Samsung DLP HDTV projection television. I did my due diligence research and found the Samsung to have the best picture as well as the best warranty. I then bought an extended 4 year warranty through Best Buy. I don't usually buy the warranty, but the DLP bulb burns out about every three years and the new technology could have some problems. I'd rather be safe than sorry for $395. The television is great and replaces our 20 year old Panasonic 27 inch console tv, which now resides in our bedroom. I watched the NFL games yesterday and was in my element with the nbew television. Very nice. I hear Darryl also bought a new Samsung for his house. Nice choice.
Randy and Chris were at the Cotton Bowl today, where Randy suffered through his teams' 13-10 loss to Alabama on a waffle field goal of 46 yards as time ran out. The ball looked like a dying quail as it just sailed over the crossbar for the win. We visited by phone with Randy on Christmas day as well as Darryl. I couldn't get ahold of Dad, but they called and talked to us on New Year's Eve as they were into their second course of hors de 'oevres and cocktails. They had finished the martinis and were in the white whine portion of the evening. It was great to hear from them.
This is it for me at work. I will NOT return to home office as other than a Branch Manager. We finished the year strong and have some solid goals for 2006. I earned a nice bonus and will push for a Manager bonus as well. The Sacramento office finished the year about $150,000 in profit after having lost money the last five years. Pete Morrison is beginning to hit his stride and Anthony is doing better than anyone imagined. His year end bonus will be in the five figure range, which is huge for him.
Well, Darla is calling me to join her. I'll try to get some holiday pictures on the blog later today. I hope all are well and firmly in the footsteps of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
This follows on the heels of the hot water heater rusting out in the rental house in Galt. I had that repaced last week by Lowes for a cost of $744. As the title indicates, it is a New Year, but the same old problems and headaches abound.
Jennifer is on an Asiatic flight to Korea as I write this. She spent the New Year holiday in Las Vegas. She was met by John, her friend from Korea and Atlanta. John lives in Vegas and invited Jennifer to come and spend the holiday with him. John had told Jenn to wear comfortable clothes on the plane, that he had a surprise for her when she landed. Jennifer guessed that he was taking her "quadding" out in the desert. She was wrotng. He drove her about 20 miles out of Vegas to a small airport where they went skydiving. It was a tandem dive, meaning both John and Jennifer dove out of the plane strapped to the stomach of a trained diver. I think John was a little presumptious that Jennifer would go along with the game, but when you have climbed 350 foot towers together without anything more than a small harness attached to the structure, I guess you can read the other person pretty well. Jennifer said that the experience was AWESOME and that she can cross one more thing off her list of things to do before she dies.
Jenn had trouble getting to Vegas. She had a package deal that flew her on United from Sacramento to Los Angeles and then to Vegas. Why? I have no idea as there are 50 flights a day from Sac to Vegas direct. Anyhow her flght was 6:00 AM out of Sac and I dropped her at 4:45 AM Friday. She got stuck in a large line outside and was told to go inside to show her credit card (It was an Orbitz deal). She got stuck in an even longer line inside and missed her flight. She was P.O.'ed to say the least. She ended up paying an extra $100 and took a direct flight to Vegas on Southwest, arriving at about the same time that she would have from Los Angeles. It all worked out and she stayed at the Mandalay Bay Casino and partied at a street party on the Las Vegas Strip, ringing in the New Year with fireworks, bands and confetti. She loved it.
Again, this morning, she had trouble with United, who told her that she could not fly to Korea without a Visa. Korea only allows visitors to stay for 30 days without a Visa and her Visa is being issued by the US Military at Los Osos Air Base in Korea. Her Visa should be there when she arrives. The problem is that her return flight to the states is scheduled for March 10th, which is over 30 days. She didn't have that problem in December as she was there for only 21 days and got an automatic 30 day Visa. It turns out that she got to the Asiatic desk and they told her that she'd have 30 days to get an extension Visa in Korea. The United employee was being a little overly diligent, especially given that she wasn't flying on United Airlines to Korea. Jennifer is loving her new job and got her fitrst paycheck before she left and said "I want to stay overseas all the time." Her per diem makes a big difference.
Jennifer likely will not move to Georgia. Because she will only be in Georgia three of four weeks at a stretch, she's decided to stay at an extended stay resort while in Georgia. She can stay for about $50 a day. That would be $1400 for a 28 day stay as opposed to paying $800 a month for an apartment that would be empty most of the time. She also would not have to pay for utilities, garbage, phones, cable, etc. It makes sense to me as she'll be overseas 9 months out of the year and on Vacation for one month of the remaining three. In other words, she will pay about $3,000 for an extended stay hotel versus $9,600 for an apartment she wouldn't use. Smart girl.
Jennifer and I spent Thursday, December 29th together. I took the day off. She needed a ride to the airport Friday morning and I volunteered, so I picked her up Thursday morning and we spent the day together and she stayed over at our house. We went together to UC Davis Medical Center in Sacramento to visit her friend, Jason. Jason has a tumor in his throat that is cancerous and is being treated with chemotherapy. He went into the hospital on November 14th for a three day stay and was still there as of January 1st. He had a shocked reaction to the first round of chemo and ended up in intensive care for three weeks. They started him on a high dosage of chemo and his body went into shock and he coded. When he finally got out of IC and back into a regular room, a nurse gave him codeine in pill form which he was not supposed to have. The tumor has lodged in his throat and pushed the larynx, and vocal cords out of place. He can't even drink water. The pill went down his throat and lodged in his lungs, which promptly collapsed and he was back to Intensive Care for another ten days. When he finally got out, he contracted shingles and was in isolation for 10 days. He is finally ready to get out. They implanted a "J" tube into his stomach for feeding on the day we went to see him and we waited several hours for him to get out of surgery. Jay looks good in spite of having lost 50 pounds (from 188 to 138) and also having lost his hair to the chemo. He has a good attitude and he and Jenn are still the best of friends.
We had a quiet and relaxed New Years with games and another Prime Rib on Sunday. The boys are currently at their Dad's playing a board game with their cousins. Darla is in watching "Million Dollar Baby" on our new big screen tv. We ended up buying a 50" Samsung DLP HDTV projection television. I did my due diligence research and found the Samsung to have the best picture as well as the best warranty. I then bought an extended 4 year warranty through Best Buy. I don't usually buy the warranty, but the DLP bulb burns out about every three years and the new technology could have some problems. I'd rather be safe than sorry for $395. The television is great and replaces our 20 year old Panasonic 27 inch console tv, which now resides in our bedroom. I watched the NFL games yesterday and was in my element with the nbew television. Very nice. I hear Darryl also bought a new Samsung for his house. Nice choice.
Randy and Chris were at the Cotton Bowl today, where Randy suffered through his teams' 13-10 loss to Alabama on a waffle field goal of 46 yards as time ran out. The ball looked like a dying quail as it just sailed over the crossbar for the win. We visited by phone with Randy on Christmas day as well as Darryl. I couldn't get ahold of Dad, but they called and talked to us on New Year's Eve as they were into their second course of hors de 'oevres and cocktails. They had finished the martinis and were in the white whine portion of the evening. It was great to hear from them.
This is it for me at work. I will NOT return to home office as other than a Branch Manager. We finished the year strong and have some solid goals for 2006. I earned a nice bonus and will push for a Manager bonus as well. The Sacramento office finished the year about $150,000 in profit after having lost money the last five years. Pete Morrison is beginning to hit his stride and Anthony is doing better than anyone imagined. His year end bonus will be in the five figure range, which is huge for him.
Well, Darla is calling me to join her. I'll try to get some holiday pictures on the blog later today. I hope all are well and firmly in the footsteps of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.
Tuesday, December 27, 2005
The Ghosts of a Christmas Just passed
It is Tuesday and it feels like Monday. Christmas has come and gone and some of the memories still ring loudly on the first day back to work. The highlight of this Christmas, for me, was going to Christmas Eve service with Jennifer, Alicia and Darla's parents joining our family. I told Jennifer after the service that the best present she could give me was going to church with me. The service was very well done with Christmas carols and drama interspersed. There was no sermon, per se, and there never is on Christmas, so I didn't even bring my Bible. The message was about the gift of everlasting life and it was told powerfully through the eyes of a mother who is spending her first Christmas without her married daughter, and a soldier in Iraq who is away from his family at Christmas.
We then returned home for a repast of Prime Rib and all of the other foods (salads, potatoes, rolls, etc.) Steve, Darla's brother, and his daughter, Taylor, joined us for dinner and then spent the night. Jennifer also stayed over and was there in the morning to open gifts and share in the family togetherness. It was a great Christmas. Darla decided that my Barbie tools are passe' and bought me a new roller cabinet and tool chest combo for the garage. My old one was worn out and the rollers were shot. The new one has drawers with ball bearings and I bought liners for each of the drawers. The boys bought me a new cordless drill that doubles as a screwdriver. I put in a couple of shelves in the garage above the roller cabinet to hold the WD40, and cleaners and waxes and tire treatments and car wash, etc. The things that gather in a garage and were stored on top of the old roller cabinet and were always a mess. Jennifer bought me some golf gear (hat, Nike jacket and golf towel) from The Lakes golf course in Osan, Korea. It is definitely unique and the jacket is first cabin. She did a great job in choosing gifts, which she always does and gave the boys some nice clothes and Darla a new padfolio and Cross pen for her work. I bought Darla a set of pearl earrings and a necklace. She had bought herself a slew of gifts (mostly sweats and jackets) and had told me not to buy her anything, but I don't listen. We bought David a new wakeboard case and a new neoprene vest that matches the jet ski. Daniel got the laptop as a combo birthday and Christmas gift. He also got some clothes. We bought Jennifer a new MP3 player that will hold up to 12,000 songs. She spent a big part of Christmas Eve downloading songs onto the computer and uploaded them after she opened the gift on Christmas day. I had her research the players before we bought one. She ended up with a 30 GB Creative Nomad Jukebox player and is having fun loading it for her trip back to Korea.
I'm planning to take Thursday off to spend with Jennifer. Darla and I are looking to buy a new tv. Our console in the living room is about 22 years old and we want a new widescreen DLP HDTV receiver. We are looking to go about 42" in diameter. Friends have told us to go larger, but our current tv is 27", so 42" will seem huge to us. I may play golf in the morning and have lunch with Jennifer and then go tv shopping.
We are in the rainy season. It rained so much over the weekend that I had to drain the pond in the back yard and again fix a clog in the downspout of the gutters, this time in the front yard. I waited for a lull in the weather and then bundled up and got on the ladder. Sure enough, the downspout was clogged with leaves and twigs and when I pulled them out the water all rushed to the downspout and caused a geyser that drenched me. I couldn't jump free of the water as I was up on a ladder. The joys of home ownership.
Well, that is it until next week. Jennifer will be off to Las Vegas for the New Year's Eve festivities. She is staying at Mandalay Bay and will ring in the New Year in style. Hey, to be 25 and have the world as your oyster. Not bad...I'd take that gig. Hope all are well. God Bless each of you and keep you safe into the New Year. Happy New Year all. Ciao.
We then returned home for a repast of Prime Rib and all of the other foods (salads, potatoes, rolls, etc.) Steve, Darla's brother, and his daughter, Taylor, joined us for dinner and then spent the night. Jennifer also stayed over and was there in the morning to open gifts and share in the family togetherness. It was a great Christmas. Darla decided that my Barbie tools are passe' and bought me a new roller cabinet and tool chest combo for the garage. My old one was worn out and the rollers were shot. The new one has drawers with ball bearings and I bought liners for each of the drawers. The boys bought me a new cordless drill that doubles as a screwdriver. I put in a couple of shelves in the garage above the roller cabinet to hold the WD40, and cleaners and waxes and tire treatments and car wash, etc. The things that gather in a garage and were stored on top of the old roller cabinet and were always a mess. Jennifer bought me some golf gear (hat, Nike jacket and golf towel) from The Lakes golf course in Osan, Korea. It is definitely unique and the jacket is first cabin. She did a great job in choosing gifts, which she always does and gave the boys some nice clothes and Darla a new padfolio and Cross pen for her work. I bought Darla a set of pearl earrings and a necklace. She had bought herself a slew of gifts (mostly sweats and jackets) and had told me not to buy her anything, but I don't listen. We bought David a new wakeboard case and a new neoprene vest that matches the jet ski. Daniel got the laptop as a combo birthday and Christmas gift. He also got some clothes. We bought Jennifer a new MP3 player that will hold up to 12,000 songs. She spent a big part of Christmas Eve downloading songs onto the computer and uploaded them after she opened the gift on Christmas day. I had her research the players before we bought one. She ended up with a 30 GB Creative Nomad Jukebox player and is having fun loading it for her trip back to Korea.
I'm planning to take Thursday off to spend with Jennifer. Darla and I are looking to buy a new tv. Our console in the living room is about 22 years old and we want a new widescreen DLP HDTV receiver. We are looking to go about 42" in diameter. Friends have told us to go larger, but our current tv is 27", so 42" will seem huge to us. I may play golf in the morning and have lunch with Jennifer and then go tv shopping.
We are in the rainy season. It rained so much over the weekend that I had to drain the pond in the back yard and again fix a clog in the downspout of the gutters, this time in the front yard. I waited for a lull in the weather and then bundled up and got on the ladder. Sure enough, the downspout was clogged with leaves and twigs and when I pulled them out the water all rushed to the downspout and caused a geyser that drenched me. I couldn't jump free of the water as I was up on a ladder. The joys of home ownership.
Well, that is it until next week. Jennifer will be off to Las Vegas for the New Year's Eve festivities. She is staying at Mandalay Bay and will ring in the New Year in style. Hey, to be 25 and have the world as your oyster. Not bad...I'd take that gig. Hope all are well. God Bless each of you and keep you safe into the New Year. Happy New Year all. Ciao.
Tuesday, December 20, 2005
Darla
Darla has decided that waiting for me to be promoted is like bad oral surgery: painful and unneccesary. She went on an interview yesterday with her company for a Supervisor position. It is a new unit in Roseville and is a very sought after position. She is up against five other service coordinators and two supervisors who are interested in a lateral move. She went out this weekend and bought a new suit for her interview and handled herself brilliantly during the interview yesterday. She will find out later this week if she is accepted for the position. She has mixed feelings about her chances, especially given the interest of the two supervisors. Often, these things are political, but I think the time is right for Darla to move into Supervision. Whether it is this job or another like it, she will soon be commanding a unit at her job place and we can commiserate on the inevitable calls from our employees feigning illness on a sunny day. I wish her well and good luck in the process. In many ways, she would be ideal for the position, given her training in Early Autism and her well rounded experience. I'll let you all know how it goes. Put Darla on your prayer list as she waits to hear the outcome. Ciao.
