So much for daily blogging...
Watching American Idol. I'm disappointed with all the niceness between Nicki and Mariah! I wanted fireworks. They got into it a little bit, but they played nice for the most part. I had seen a video on TMZ of behind the scenes secret footage of a nuclear blowout between Nicki and Mariah...Maybe next episode? The "scenes from the next" show fighting tomorrow night. I'll have to tune in.
Last Friday was Amy's birthday party get together. It was a success! I got off work early and rushed home to prepare food and stuff. I got home and checked the new glue traps we set out for Ralph. We got him! He was in one of the small ones. His hind legs and tail were stuck in the glue. He was trying really hard to scratch his way out of the trap, but that glue doesn't let go. It was sad, but I'm glad I got him. Mice just spread disease and pestilence... We have left the traps out in case Ralph has friends.
Work lately has been very busy, but manageable. I had an "interesting" half hour phone conversation today with a fire engineer about a project. She was very nice and answered all my questions, and posed some of her own. Pete (my boss) is giving me more responsibility and letting me call more of the plan checkers, clients, consultants. It's experience I need in order to be able to help alleviate some of the pressure he is feeling with our projects. Tomorrow, Pete is in the office and we are having our team meeting. One of the managers at work leaves for vacation tomorrow morning, so it promises to be a busy day, as projects are temporarily reassigned.
I listen to Spotify at work. Know it? It's a music player that you can download and use to listen to music for free. There are commercials (about one minutes worth) that play every six or seven songs, but it doesn't bother me. You basically pick a play list of any songs imaginable and hit play. I think the company makes a deal with different artists and record companies to include an album or single on the service. Every once in a great while I search for a song and it isn't available. You can add and delete songs when you feel like. I usually have it playing in the background, especially since Pandora got banned in our office. Anyway, I usually fixate on a song and keep hitting repeat to keep listening to it. Last week it was that "Scream and Shout" song by will.i.am w/b. spears. Yesterday and today, it was "Pop" by n*sync. Way old school.
Do you ever wonder why this music gets you high?? It takes you on a ride...
Does anyone remember when I went all Timberlake and bleached my hair?? Wow...I was hella dumb.
Man, I'm tired of singin'...
Good night all!
The Stories
The stories of the days of my life.
1.16.2013
1.10.2013
Three Hundred Fifty-Second Entry
Today was a long day. Is there ever a short day??
I got up at 5:30, got to work by 6:30. It pisses me off when there is so much traffic that early in the morning. Boooo!!!! I got to work and loaded up on coffee. I had another short night of sleep so I needed all the help I could get.
I was supposed to have a meeting with the plan check engineers at the City of Menlo Park and the owner of a project I am working on. The owner let me know that he would not be able to make the meeting. I took the meeting along and it went well. Just a straight-forward review of the project and the cities comments on the plans. It's good for me to get this experience in dealing with the different agencies and clients and the like.
After work, I came home and had chicken soup for dinner. I was so tired that I fell asleep on the couch for a little while. When I woke up, I put together the remaining chairs we bought at Ikea, and broke down all the cardboard boxes from all the furniture. We have planned out the snacks and beverages pretty well for Amy's happy birthday party on Friday! We are going to have chips and salsa, guacamole, and other snacks. For drinking, we will have the fixings for daiquiris and caipirinhas, wine and beer. Get your drink on! Cake and ice cream of course...
Ralph eludes us yet again. We are upping the assault. Tonight we have placed glue traps all over and I'm going to go buy more tomorrow. I'm thinking about getting some mouse/rat poison to put in the basement. Thanks for the cat suggestions, but Amy and I are both very allergic to cats. We'll get him eventually...
I got up at 5:30, got to work by 6:30. It pisses me off when there is so much traffic that early in the morning. Boooo!!!! I got to work and loaded up on coffee. I had another short night of sleep so I needed all the help I could get.
I was supposed to have a meeting with the plan check engineers at the City of Menlo Park and the owner of a project I am working on. The owner let me know that he would not be able to make the meeting. I took the meeting along and it went well. Just a straight-forward review of the project and the cities comments on the plans. It's good for me to get this experience in dealing with the different agencies and clients and the like.
After work, I came home and had chicken soup for dinner. I was so tired that I fell asleep on the couch for a little while. When I woke up, I put together the remaining chairs we bought at Ikea, and broke down all the cardboard boxes from all the furniture. We have planned out the snacks and beverages pretty well for Amy's happy birthday party on Friday! We are going to have chips and salsa, guacamole, and other snacks. For drinking, we will have the fixings for daiquiris and caipirinhas, wine and beer. Get your drink on! Cake and ice cream of course...
Ralph eludes us yet again. We are upping the assault. Tonight we have placed glue traps all over and I'm going to go buy more tomorrow. I'm thinking about getting some mouse/rat poison to put in the basement. Thanks for the cat suggestions, but Amy and I are both very allergic to cats. We'll get him eventually...
1.08.2013
Three Hundred Fifty-First Entry
Good evening!
It's late and I'm tired. I'm a little stressed out because I have a meeting at Menlo Park City Hall tomorrow afternoon and I hate meetings, especially ones where I am going to be the center of attention and have to do most of the talking. But, I guess this is part of "the deal" and as I progress in my career, these types of meetings and interactions are going to be more commonplace. In general, these first two days of the work week have been frustrating and tiring. Lots of back and forth, and very little resolution to project issues. I'd hate to say it's an anomaly, but I'm finding this crap happens all the time.
Ralph is still on the loose. Amy bought glue traps and we are now just waiting. Little Ralphy...we're gonna get you!
Our buffet is in it's final resting place, the old dining table has been moved up to the office, the new dining table has been assembled, and two of the six chairs we got are assembled. The Ikea furniture is fairly easy to put together, but there are a lot of steps. It probably doesn't help that I'm not using a power screwdriver. Just elbow grease. I won't say it's more satisfying to assemble all the furniture this way, I'm just too lazy to go downstairs and get the power drill. LOL Tomorrow I finish the last four chairs, yay!
I finally got my classes! Unfortunately, the only accounting class I could get meets on campus once a week, and has an online component. I was number 18 or something on the waiting list for the online section, so I gave up and signed up for the campus section. I was getting desperate there for a minute and registered for a PE class...LOL. I've actually kept it! It's called Nutrition for Fitness/Weight Loss. Sounds like it will be a very helpful class as I am trying to be serious about getting healthy.
How about a New Years Resolution check in?:
-I haven't written any handwritten letters just yet, but I may take a minute or two to write out a couple notes during my lunch break tomorrow. Thanks to those of you who want to correspond the old fashioned way!
-I have been eating healthy, but not working out at all. My back is bothering me, and has been since Xmas. I'm thinking that I'll give myself another week of workout rest, and if my back is still bothering me, I'll see the doctor. Amy made pita pizzas tonight, and they were good!
-I haven't been leaving work any earlier than I used to. It's sad and I fear has become an unbreakable habit. I have too many things to do at home to be at work for 12-14 hours.
-I haven't finished any books, and haven't done any puzzles, but it's early in the year yet...
How are everyone else's resolutions going?
It's late and I'm tired. I'm a little stressed out because I have a meeting at Menlo Park City Hall tomorrow afternoon and I hate meetings, especially ones where I am going to be the center of attention and have to do most of the talking. But, I guess this is part of "the deal" and as I progress in my career, these types of meetings and interactions are going to be more commonplace. In general, these first two days of the work week have been frustrating and tiring. Lots of back and forth, and very little resolution to project issues. I'd hate to say it's an anomaly, but I'm finding this crap happens all the time.
Ralph is still on the loose. Amy bought glue traps and we are now just waiting. Little Ralphy...we're gonna get you!
Our buffet is in it's final resting place, the old dining table has been moved up to the office, the new dining table has been assembled, and two of the six chairs we got are assembled. The Ikea furniture is fairly easy to put together, but there are a lot of steps. It probably doesn't help that I'm not using a power screwdriver. Just elbow grease. I won't say it's more satisfying to assemble all the furniture this way, I'm just too lazy to go downstairs and get the power drill. LOL Tomorrow I finish the last four chairs, yay!
I finally got my classes! Unfortunately, the only accounting class I could get meets on campus once a week, and has an online component. I was number 18 or something on the waiting list for the online section, so I gave up and signed up for the campus section. I was getting desperate there for a minute and registered for a PE class...LOL. I've actually kept it! It's called Nutrition for Fitness/Weight Loss. Sounds like it will be a very helpful class as I am trying to be serious about getting healthy.
How about a New Years Resolution check in?:
-I haven't written any handwritten letters just yet, but I may take a minute or two to write out a couple notes during my lunch break tomorrow. Thanks to those of you who want to correspond the old fashioned way!
-I have been eating healthy, but not working out at all. My back is bothering me, and has been since Xmas. I'm thinking that I'll give myself another week of workout rest, and if my back is still bothering me, I'll see the doctor. Amy made pita pizzas tonight, and they were good!
-I haven't been leaving work any earlier than I used to. It's sad and I fear has become an unbreakable habit. I have too many things to do at home to be at work for 12-14 hours.
-I haven't finished any books, and haven't done any puzzles, but it's early in the year yet...
How are everyone else's resolutions going?
1.07.2013
Three Hundred Fiftieth Entry
I didn't blog yesterday! ADM!! Sunday can be day of rest, journaling included?
Maybe Sunday is a day of journaling rest, but not for any other kind of rest! Amy and I had a very busy day. Whilst Amy was cleaning and cooking, I took on the task of taking down all of the Christmas decorations. We must have had 846 ornaments on the tree because it took HELLA long to take down the tree. Once the ornaments were off, I removed the lights and packed everything away. I made the mistake of trying to put the ornaments into their original boxes. It was quite an ordeal. I should have just shoved everything into random boxes. it would have saved me half an hour. We decided we needed more decoration storage, so the decision was made to go to Target and get some! We also decided that we would go to Target in Emeryville, and in the same trip go to Bevmo and Ikea.
We first went to Bevmo. There was no parking! We had to park in the back by all the dumpsters and stuff. After walking an hour and a half to the store, we strolled every aisle in the store. They have so many different beers, wines and liquors. I got a bottle of Flor de Cana rum. One of my old co-workers brought me back some when he visited Nicaragua, and I've had a taste for it ever since. We also got five six-packs of beer, a bottle of cachaca for caipirinhas and a couple other things I can't remember.
Then we went to Target. They didn't have hardly any parking either! I couldn't believe all the traffic there. I was shocked at how little parking there was. We parked over by the Panera and made the hike to the store. They didn't have any more ornament storage boxes! Boo... We still got a few boxes to put the other decoration boxes and wrapping paper into.
Finally we made it to Ikea! It was 6-ish, and we were staving. So we headed to the restaurant first. The meatballs and potatoes were delicious! I had some Lingonberry juice and almost immediately regretted it. I had a headache all afternoon, and since I hadn't had any coffee all day, it was almost certainly a caffeine headache. I should have had a Pepsi or a Dr. Pepper. I probably would have had trouble sleeping if I did have the soda. We got a very nice looking buffet to match the table and chairs we got the night before.
Once we got home, I started to put the buffet together. That was at about 8pm. I didn't finish putting the furniture together until 12:30! It took me like four hours to put together the stupid thing. Meanwhile, Amy was shredding chicken and chopping up the pieces of the soup she had started making earlier in the day.
About halfway through putting together the furniture, I hear a shriek and "come here!" Amy had seen a mouse run into the kitchen! It was hiding under the oven. Our oven has the main space, where you bake stuff, a broiler drawer underneath, about two inches of hollow steel underneath that, and then about a one inch gap between the metal and the floor. I got down and looked under, and it wasn't there. I opened the oven and broiler and it wasn't there either. It's in the hollow metal space. I tried to scare the mouse out, but it wasn't coming.
I went back to work on the furniture. But it would be interrupted work. Every two or three steps I would get summoned urgently to the kitchen because the mouse would be sticking his head out and walk around a little bit. Every time I went into the kitchen, I would take some sort of weapon with me. The first few times was with a hammer, and when I couldn't locate it, I'd take a flip flop.
When I finally did see the mouse, he was a cute little thing! Big ol' ears, long tail...he looked like Jack from Cinderella. We (mainly me) call him Ralph. Remember Ralph and the Motorcycle? That was a fun book.
One time I just stood there behind the barrier of boxes we placed around the oven and Ralph came out. He was sniffing around, and cautiously scoping out his "pen". I had a flip flop, but I knew that by the time I got down low enough and was able to hit him with the flip flop, he would be under the oven. I did a slow wind up and flung the flip-flop at him. I just missed him as he ran under the oven. Ralph lives to fight another day...
It's late and I'd like to write about today, but I'm tired. I didn't sleep much last night and have to get up early tomorrow. Let me know if you have any sure fire mouse elimination systems. I was thinking about the hammer and there is no way that would have worked. Maybe if he was on one of those sticky pads and couldn't run away, the hammer may be a humane and painless way to kill Ralph.
Good night!
Maybe Sunday is a day of journaling rest, but not for any other kind of rest! Amy and I had a very busy day. Whilst Amy was cleaning and cooking, I took on the task of taking down all of the Christmas decorations. We must have had 846 ornaments on the tree because it took HELLA long to take down the tree. Once the ornaments were off, I removed the lights and packed everything away. I made the mistake of trying to put the ornaments into their original boxes. It was quite an ordeal. I should have just shoved everything into random boxes. it would have saved me half an hour. We decided we needed more decoration storage, so the decision was made to go to Target and get some! We also decided that we would go to Target in Emeryville, and in the same trip go to Bevmo and Ikea.
We first went to Bevmo. There was no parking! We had to park in the back by all the dumpsters and stuff. After walking an hour and a half to the store, we strolled every aisle in the store. They have so many different beers, wines and liquors. I got a bottle of Flor de Cana rum. One of my old co-workers brought me back some when he visited Nicaragua, and I've had a taste for it ever since. We also got five six-packs of beer, a bottle of cachaca for caipirinhas and a couple other things I can't remember.
Then we went to Target. They didn't have hardly any parking either! I couldn't believe all the traffic there. I was shocked at how little parking there was. We parked over by the Panera and made the hike to the store. They didn't have any more ornament storage boxes! Boo... We still got a few boxes to put the other decoration boxes and wrapping paper into.
Finally we made it to Ikea! It was 6-ish, and we were staving. So we headed to the restaurant first. The meatballs and potatoes were delicious! I had some Lingonberry juice and almost immediately regretted it. I had a headache all afternoon, and since I hadn't had any coffee all day, it was almost certainly a caffeine headache. I should have had a Pepsi or a Dr. Pepper. I probably would have had trouble sleeping if I did have the soda. We got a very nice looking buffet to match the table and chairs we got the night before.
Once we got home, I started to put the buffet together. That was at about 8pm. I didn't finish putting the furniture together until 12:30! It took me like four hours to put together the stupid thing. Meanwhile, Amy was shredding chicken and chopping up the pieces of the soup she had started making earlier in the day.
About halfway through putting together the furniture, I hear a shriek and "come here!" Amy had seen a mouse run into the kitchen! It was hiding under the oven. Our oven has the main space, where you bake stuff, a broiler drawer underneath, about two inches of hollow steel underneath that, and then about a one inch gap between the metal and the floor. I got down and looked under, and it wasn't there. I opened the oven and broiler and it wasn't there either. It's in the hollow metal space. I tried to scare the mouse out, but it wasn't coming.
I went back to work on the furniture. But it would be interrupted work. Every two or three steps I would get summoned urgently to the kitchen because the mouse would be sticking his head out and walk around a little bit. Every time I went into the kitchen, I would take some sort of weapon with me. The first few times was with a hammer, and when I couldn't locate it, I'd take a flip flop.
When I finally did see the mouse, he was a cute little thing! Big ol' ears, long tail...he looked like Jack from Cinderella. We (mainly me) call him Ralph. Remember Ralph and the Motorcycle? That was a fun book.
One time I just stood there behind the barrier of boxes we placed around the oven and Ralph came out. He was sniffing around, and cautiously scoping out his "pen". I had a flip flop, but I knew that by the time I got down low enough and was able to hit him with the flip flop, he would be under the oven. I did a slow wind up and flung the flip-flop at him. I just missed him as he ran under the oven. Ralph lives to fight another day...
It's late and I'd like to write about today, but I'm tired. I didn't sleep much last night and have to get up early tomorrow. Let me know if you have any sure fire mouse elimination systems. I was thinking about the hammer and there is no way that would have worked. Maybe if he was on one of those sticky pads and couldn't run away, the hammer may be a humane and painless way to kill Ralph.
Good night!
1.05.2013
Three Hundred Forty-Ninth Entry
Today was an eventful day!
I knew that at the very very least today, I needed to mow the lawns and mow down all the weeds that have taken over my garden planting area. But first, Amy and I went grocery shopping at Trader Joe's in Castro Valley. I always get into trouble in that store. We bought TONS of groceries and forgot to bring reusable bags. We ended up buying two really nice new ones there. They were huge, but not huge enough! We still had a bunch of loose items in the cart. Hella ghetto. I guess we could have just had them use a paper bag, but we just made do. After that we went to Peet's over by Safeway. It was hella busy, but delicious!
Once we got home, I got out the lawnmower and the trimmer. The trimmer was out of string, so I had to refill it. It took me forever to figure out how to do it. I felt quite accomplished when I figured it out with the help of the pdf owner's manual on my phone, but none of the yardwork was done. LOL I trimmed the lawns and mowed them. Then I tackled the garden area. the weeds were really high. I took the bag off the mower and just let the cuttings go around all over the place. I was going to try to rototill the garden, but with the weeds being so high, the ground is as wet as if it had been raining all week. It looks like after today and tomorrows rain, it will be dry weather until next weekend at the least. Hopefully the soil will dry out enough so that I can till it next weekend.
After spending over an hour taming the yard, I tried again to register for some classes. I am now waitlisted for six different classes ranging from Astronomy to Psychology to Humanities. There are NO available online classes. Amy suggested that I take a night class to which I responded, "If I'm going to leave work early enough to catch a 6 pm class, I'd rather come home to be with you." Awwww!! Not sure she is buying it though. ;)
We went to Costco this afternoon for eggs and paper towels. Well, we left with another cart full! Of our purchases, the best was a new 40" TV for the living room. It is huge, according to Amy. I think we could have gone with a 60" television myself, but I got overruled. After Costco, we went to Ikea in Emeryville. We got a new dining table and chairs! I will assemble them tomorrow. It's been a while since I've assembled an Ikea piece. Hopefully it's as easy as I remember. I can't even think what the last thing I assembled from Ikea was. We of course also bought meatballs and some of the gravy packets. Yummmm!
1.04.2013
Three Hundred Forty-Eighth Entry
It's Friday! It was a decent Friday...
Work was work, blah. I'm glad the bosses are all back full time next week. Less stress! I brought work home with me to get a leg up on work next week.
I'm really hungry right now. I had dinner already, but I want some sort of snack. Must resist...
I stopped at Starbucks this morning on my way to the office. Got a 3 tall NF latte and a cranberry-orange scone. If anyone goes to Starbucks for some food, try the Cranberry Orange scone. It is delicious. While at Starbucks, I picked up a chipotle chicken wrap bistro box and a peach raspberry yogurt parfait to eat at lunchtime. They were very good also. Starbucks has a lot of choices for breakfast and lunch. Dinner was pita pizzas that Amy whipped up. They were very good.! Turkey burger, spinach, cheddar cheese, can't beat it!
I tried to register for an accounting class next semester at Chabot, but I got waitlisted! It's an online class so being #14 on the list doesn't look too good. I doubt that too many people drop online classes. Amy suggested that I take a look at alternative classes just to maintain a current registration. I don't want to go to campus and would prefer an online class. I looked at Astronomy, other Business, English, Math, etc. Any suggestions? Amy says I'm obsessing because I keep reloading the Class-Web website to see if my waitlist number changes...is that obsessive?
The plan tomorrow is to mow the lawns before it starts raining. It supposed to rain in the afternoon. I was going to try to till the garden area before the rain comes. We've had a good week with no rain to dry out the soil as much as possible. I don't want to till mud...it doesn't work too well. Gonna try to get my fava beans in the ground this weekend. I'm about a month to a month and a half late! I would also like to plan out my garden a little better this year. Any requests?
Tomorrow will be a letter writing day as well. Let me know if you want me to write you an actual early 20th century handwritten letter. Email me your mailing address. Awwww!! Anti-technology!
Work was work, blah. I'm glad the bosses are all back full time next week. Less stress! I brought work home with me to get a leg up on work next week.
I'm really hungry right now. I had dinner already, but I want some sort of snack. Must resist...
I stopped at Starbucks this morning on my way to the office. Got a 3 tall NF latte and a cranberry-orange scone. If anyone goes to Starbucks for some food, try the Cranberry Orange scone. It is delicious. While at Starbucks, I picked up a chipotle chicken wrap bistro box and a peach raspberry yogurt parfait to eat at lunchtime. They were very good also. Starbucks has a lot of choices for breakfast and lunch. Dinner was pita pizzas that Amy whipped up. They were very good.! Turkey burger, spinach, cheddar cheese, can't beat it!
I tried to register for an accounting class next semester at Chabot, but I got waitlisted! It's an online class so being #14 on the list doesn't look too good. I doubt that too many people drop online classes. Amy suggested that I take a look at alternative classes just to maintain a current registration. I don't want to go to campus and would prefer an online class. I looked at Astronomy, other Business, English, Math, etc. Any suggestions? Amy says I'm obsessing because I keep reloading the Class-Web website to see if my waitlist number changes...is that obsessive?
The plan tomorrow is to mow the lawns before it starts raining. It supposed to rain in the afternoon. I was going to try to till the garden area before the rain comes. We've had a good week with no rain to dry out the soil as much as possible. I don't want to till mud...it doesn't work too well. Gonna try to get my fava beans in the ground this weekend. I'm about a month to a month and a half late! I would also like to plan out my garden a little better this year. Any requests?
Tomorrow will be a letter writing day as well. Let me know if you want me to write you an actual early 20th century handwritten letter. Email me your mailing address. Awwww!! Anti-technology!
1.03.2013
Three Hundred Forty-Seventh Entry
Today was another long work day. I'm trying to be at work less, but I keep working on projects other than my own, and I was on the phone for a record amount of time today with architects, clients and other consultants. I worked on my project for about two hours, but the rest of the time was on other peoples projects, particularly those of the managers on vacation this week. I guess it's a give and take thing. Others take over my stuff when I go on vacation...
Lunch today was a whole wheat pita, very thick sliced turkey breast, garlic hummus, spinach and a carrot. It was really good! Amy surprised me and bought a bunch of a snacks for me to take to work. TJ's has these vacuum fried pineapple chips that are so unusual and are so good. They taste like pineapple flavored potato chips. I also have little snack size containers with raisins and pecans. Healthy and delicious!
Dinner was leftover pasta from yesterday and freshly steamed artichokes with a delicious sauce that we improvised from mayo, sour cream, garlic, onion and pepper. It was delicious! Watched Big Bang Theory. Channel surfed for a minute then found Nashville on ABC. It's pretty good. May become regular TV watching. Now Scandal is on, and I've heard of this show, but never watched it. It's GOOOOOD! Hella drama! Everyone is scheming on someone. It's cool. Lot's of sex too. That makes it more real.
Looking forward to tomorrow being Friday! One of the vacationing bosses will be back in the office and has promised to pick up bagels on the way in. Tonight I made a list of all the tasks I need to address when I get to work tomorrow. It's as long as my arm, but it's a Friday list! Gonna try to go for a run tomorrow at lunch time. It's been a long while since my last run, I hope I don't pass out or break my shins or something.
Lunch today was a whole wheat pita, very thick sliced turkey breast, garlic hummus, spinach and a carrot. It was really good! Amy surprised me and bought a bunch of a snacks for me to take to work. TJ's has these vacuum fried pineapple chips that are so unusual and are so good. They taste like pineapple flavored potato chips. I also have little snack size containers with raisins and pecans. Healthy and delicious!
Dinner was leftover pasta from yesterday and freshly steamed artichokes with a delicious sauce that we improvised from mayo, sour cream, garlic, onion and pepper. It was delicious! Watched Big Bang Theory. Channel surfed for a minute then found Nashville on ABC. It's pretty good. May become regular TV watching. Now Scandal is on, and I've heard of this show, but never watched it. It's GOOOOOD! Hella drama! Everyone is scheming on someone. It's cool. Lot's of sex too. That makes it more real.
Looking forward to tomorrow being Friday! One of the vacationing bosses will be back in the office and has promised to pick up bagels on the way in. Tonight I made a list of all the tasks I need to address when I get to work tomorrow. It's as long as my arm, but it's a Friday list! Gonna try to go for a run tomorrow at lunch time. It's been a long while since my last run, I hope I don't pass out or break my shins or something.
1.02.2013
Three Hundred Forty-Sixth Entry
Today was the first day back at work after the holidays. BOOOOOOO!!!!! I got to work at 6-ish and started to prepare for a meeting I had to take at Santa Clara County at 10 am for a project I don't even know anything about! I got a call from my boss (who is on vacation this week, but "accessible" via phone) at 8-ish saying that I didn't have to go to the meeting after all, since we never received confirmation from the client that our presence was required. Then I get an email from County staff implying that I should attend the meeting. So, I replied that I would leave right then (9:25am) and would probably be late. I get all the way to Milpitas where I get a call from the office saying that the County called and I didn't need to attend the meeting after all. Pissed off, I called my boss and asked what the hell was going on! Are you serious right now?? I got off at the very next exit to quickly turn around and go back to the office. Well, the next exit was 237 West, and by the time I noticed all the traffic it was too late to get out of the exit. It was bumper to bumper all the way to Zanker. Gaaaaahhhh!!!!
The whole day was pretty much all push and pull like that. I felt like I was on the phone all day, helping people with their projects, or covering for the TWO vacationing owners by working on their projects. Work shouldn't be this stressful, right?
The whole day was pretty much all push and pull like that. I felt like I was on the phone all day, helping people with their projects, or covering for the TWO vacationing owners by working on their projects. Work shouldn't be this stressful, right?
1.01.2013
Three Hundred Forty-Fifth Entry
Day One of 2013 was a good one!
Woke up around 9am...I felt so lazy! I wanted to get out and mow the lawn, but opted against it because the couch and the Rose Parade on television were slightly more appealing (and warmer).
I just love a good parade. It was awesome to see the Rose Parade live in 2010, but you really can't see the size of some of these marching bands from the sidewalk along the parade route. It's amazing to see some of these huge bands marching in perfect unison from above. The parade had an actual wedding as a part of the Farmers Insurance float and another float surprised a young mother and her little son by bringing the dad home from Afghanistan ahead of schedule. Both were very poignant moments. The KTLA announcers were even choked up and on the verge of tears when the mom, dad and son were hugging in the middle of the street.
Had lunch with my family at my mom's house. She made a chicken stew, which was a common and delicious meal during our childhood. It was a nice surprise for New Years Day. Fred brought his two dogs, Frazzles (which my mom pronounces Fragiles) and Prince. Freddie was there, of course, with all his hair. When the three of them get together, they are always running around, jumping on people, licking your face, sniffing everything and making me allergic! After lunch, we were sitting around watching the repeat of the Rose Parade and I just couldn't handle the allergies anymore. It was my own fault for playing with the cute widdle puppies. My eyes were watering, I was sneezing ten times in a row, and I started to scratch my throat. We had to go. :(
The next stop was Amy's folks house. We were there for a few hours just hanging out and talking about stuff. Amy's mom was outside smoking and playing with her Kindle when we got there, but she came in and joined us after a bit. She uses her Kindle for everything but reading books. Have you guys seen her posts and comments on Facebook? She seemingly randomly comments on pictures Amy or I have posted years ago as if they are current posts. She also has trouble navigating Facebook and has recently befriended a couple of folks that post mostly in Tagalog. I helped her unfriend these folks, and a few others that she doesn't really know that well. Amy's parents did share a video on youtube where there are random animal clips with dialogue dubbed over them with hilarious results! There is a whole series of them, this is the one we watched: Funny animals
Now I'm home and it is off to bed. Tomorrow is a work day, and I'm not looking forward to it!
Woke up around 9am...I felt so lazy! I wanted to get out and mow the lawn, but opted against it because the couch and the Rose Parade on television were slightly more appealing (and warmer).
I just love a good parade. It was awesome to see the Rose Parade live in 2010, but you really can't see the size of some of these marching bands from the sidewalk along the parade route. It's amazing to see some of these huge bands marching in perfect unison from above. The parade had an actual wedding as a part of the Farmers Insurance float and another float surprised a young mother and her little son by bringing the dad home from Afghanistan ahead of schedule. Both were very poignant moments. The KTLA announcers were even choked up and on the verge of tears when the mom, dad and son were hugging in the middle of the street.
Had lunch with my family at my mom's house. She made a chicken stew, which was a common and delicious meal during our childhood. It was a nice surprise for New Years Day. Fred brought his two dogs, Frazzles (which my mom pronounces Fragiles) and Prince. Freddie was there, of course, with all his hair. When the three of them get together, they are always running around, jumping on people, licking your face, sniffing everything and making me allergic! After lunch, we were sitting around watching the repeat of the Rose Parade and I just couldn't handle the allergies anymore. It was my own fault for playing with the cute widdle puppies. My eyes were watering, I was sneezing ten times in a row, and I started to scratch my throat. We had to go. :(
The next stop was Amy's folks house. We were there for a few hours just hanging out and talking about stuff. Amy's mom was outside smoking and playing with her Kindle when we got there, but she came in and joined us after a bit. She uses her Kindle for everything but reading books. Have you guys seen her posts and comments on Facebook? She seemingly randomly comments on pictures Amy or I have posted years ago as if they are current posts. She also has trouble navigating Facebook and has recently befriended a couple of folks that post mostly in Tagalog. I helped her unfriend these folks, and a few others that she doesn't really know that well. Amy's parents did share a video on youtube where there are random animal clips with dialogue dubbed over them with hilarious results! There is a whole series of them, this is the one we watched: Funny animals
Now I'm home and it is off to bed. Tomorrow is a work day, and I'm not looking forward to it!
12.31.2012
Three Hundred Forty-Fourth Entry
Has it really been more than two years since I last blogged? And it was about fro-yo?? It was very good...
Well, the world didn't end this year. I suppose I should once again set a few goals to try to reach during 2013.
New Years Resolutions 2013:
- Be better at keeping in touch with people. I am awful at promptly responding to emails and phone messages. I do a decent job of it at work, so why not do it for personal communications? I am going to try to return/respond to messages within one day of receiving them. I think one day is a good time limit. I don't have my email on at work constantly, so some emails may go longer than a day, but I'll try to check email at least four or five times throughout the day.
- Be better at being healthy. I am really going to make a good effort at eating healthy again, and returning to a regular exercise schedule. I've let it slide pretty bad the last few months, and that is no good! I was really good last year in preparation for the wedding. While I have no such motivator this year, being healthy and feeling better physically and mentally should be motivation enough! How exactly do you get addicted to endorphins??? I am also going to cut out all the fast food. No Chick-Fil-A this year...
- Correspond via handwritten letters. I would especially like to do this with folks who would likely write back! I was going to start by writing letters to my cousins in Missouri, as they are of high school age, and isn't that what everyone does in high school? Write letters? If you get a letter from me, please write back! Or just let me know that you are not going to respond. I am also planning to resurrect my letter writing campaign to various companies or important people(congresspeople, celebrities, etc.) Kind of along the lines of that book "Letters from a Nut"...just kidding! Have you read those? hella funny! These will be serious letters with questions, comments and suggestions, etc. I think one day a week would be good to sit down and write some letters.
- Read 10 books in 2013. I did OK with reading in 2012. I finished reading "The Gospel According to Jesus Christ", read all the "Hunger Games" books and read all the "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" books. I don't really like reading historical books, but my neighbor loaned me a book about the California gold rush that I've started. I want to finish it before moving on. I have a collection of about three dozen unread books I've collected over the years. I need to make a dent! Who wants to start a book club??
- Puzzles! I have a lot of puzzles that, like all my books, I've collected over the years, but haven't even opened. I would like to do at least one puzzle a month. I think the largest puzzle I have is 1000 piece. I also invested in a puzzle roller so that incomplete puzzles can be put away and brought back at a later date.
- Spend less time at work. I've been getting to work around 6am, I shouldn't be staying much past 5pm, right? This will require a reevaluation of the way I do things and reorganize my office. I need to be more efficient which will result in being quicker with my tasks. Amy likes to go to the movies, and we got a bunch of movie gift cards to use, so I should be leaving early. I've got lots of work to do on the house and I can't do it if I'm at work. I've got lots of nieces and nephews that I want to get to know better too! And I still want to visit all of the county fairs in the state over the next several years. Think of all the spare time I could have if I just leave work at a decent hour!
- Journal Daily. Getting back into the habit of blogging daily will be tough. Daily may be pushing it, but if I can keep up with it, I expect it will be very therapeutic and help me de-stress after a tough work day. Also, I get involved in lots of adventures that are worth writing about! When I go on vacation, I will attempt to post a blog using my phone, but if that doesn't work, I'll handwrite an entry, then transcribe it into blogger the first chance I get.
As I was thinking these up, it all seemed too much and would be too daunting to keep up with. But having them all written out, it doesn't seem so bad.
What are your New Years Resolutions?
Well, the world didn't end this year. I suppose I should once again set a few goals to try to reach during 2013.
New Years Resolutions 2013:
- Be better at keeping in touch with people. I am awful at promptly responding to emails and phone messages. I do a decent job of it at work, so why not do it for personal communications? I am going to try to return/respond to messages within one day of receiving them. I think one day is a good time limit. I don't have my email on at work constantly, so some emails may go longer than a day, but I'll try to check email at least four or five times throughout the day.
- Be better at being healthy. I am really going to make a good effort at eating healthy again, and returning to a regular exercise schedule. I've let it slide pretty bad the last few months, and that is no good! I was really good last year in preparation for the wedding. While I have no such motivator this year, being healthy and feeling better physically and mentally should be motivation enough! How exactly do you get addicted to endorphins??? I am also going to cut out all the fast food. No Chick-Fil-A this year...
- Correspond via handwritten letters. I would especially like to do this with folks who would likely write back! I was going to start by writing letters to my cousins in Missouri, as they are of high school age, and isn't that what everyone does in high school? Write letters? If you get a letter from me, please write back! Or just let me know that you are not going to respond. I am also planning to resurrect my letter writing campaign to various companies or important people(congresspeople, celebrities, etc.) Kind of along the lines of that book "Letters from a Nut"...just kidding! Have you read those? hella funny! These will be serious letters with questions, comments and suggestions, etc. I think one day a week would be good to sit down and write some letters.
- Read 10 books in 2013. I did OK with reading in 2012. I finished reading "The Gospel According to Jesus Christ", read all the "Hunger Games" books and read all the "Girl with the Dragon Tattoo" books. I don't really like reading historical books, but my neighbor loaned me a book about the California gold rush that I've started. I want to finish it before moving on. I have a collection of about three dozen unread books I've collected over the years. I need to make a dent! Who wants to start a book club??
- Puzzles! I have a lot of puzzles that, like all my books, I've collected over the years, but haven't even opened. I would like to do at least one puzzle a month. I think the largest puzzle I have is 1000 piece. I also invested in a puzzle roller so that incomplete puzzles can be put away and brought back at a later date.
- Spend less time at work. I've been getting to work around 6am, I shouldn't be staying much past 5pm, right? This will require a reevaluation of the way I do things and reorganize my office. I need to be more efficient which will result in being quicker with my tasks. Amy likes to go to the movies, and we got a bunch of movie gift cards to use, so I should be leaving early. I've got lots of work to do on the house and I can't do it if I'm at work. I've got lots of nieces and nephews that I want to get to know better too! And I still want to visit all of the county fairs in the state over the next several years. Think of all the spare time I could have if I just leave work at a decent hour!
- Journal Daily. Getting back into the habit of blogging daily will be tough. Daily may be pushing it, but if I can keep up with it, I expect it will be very therapeutic and help me de-stress after a tough work day. Also, I get involved in lots of adventures that are worth writing about! When I go on vacation, I will attempt to post a blog using my phone, but if that doesn't work, I'll handwrite an entry, then transcribe it into blogger the first chance I get.
As I was thinking these up, it all seemed too much and would be too daunting to keep up with. But having them all written out, it doesn't seem so bad.
What are your New Years Resolutions?
8.28.2010
Three Hundred Forty-Third Entry
Amy and I and six of our closest bestest friends went out for froyo at Yogofina and it was hella good. How good...HELLA GOOD!!
They have a huge wall of toppings and about twelve different yogurt flavors to choose from. I had strawberry and blueberry yogurt with fresh blueberries, sliced almonds and mini fudge stripe cookies as toppings. It was delicious.
I made a little boat out of a yogurt cup, spoon and napkin. I should have taken a photo, but didn't. Food art is something I enjoy and do often. I should document my pieces more often.
Tomorrow Amy and I are trying a new church out. It's the one across the street from Fenton's on Piedmont Ave in Oakland. St. Mark's or Leo's or something...we'll find out when we get there.
Amy and I and six of our closest bestest friends went out for froyo at Yogofina and it was hella good. How good...HELLA GOOD!!
They have a huge wall of toppings and about twelve different yogurt flavors to choose from. I had strawberry and blueberry yogurt with fresh blueberries, sliced almonds and mini fudge stripe cookies as toppings. It was delicious.
I made a little boat out of a yogurt cup, spoon and napkin. I should have taken a photo, but didn't. Food art is something I enjoy and do often. I should document my pieces more often.
Tomorrow Amy and I are trying a new church out. It's the one across the street from Fenton's on Piedmont Ave in Oakland. St. Mark's or Leo's or something...we'll find out when we get there.
12.17.2009
Three Hundred Forty-Second Entry
Well, it's finally happened. I got a damn job.
And not just any job. I will be the newest member of the Lea & Braze Engineering staff. Sound familiar? It should. That's because that is the place I left to go work in the solar industry. They have had a huge back log of work building up in the last few months. And since there are only 24 hours in a day, they decided to ask me to rejoin the team and give them a hand. I am taking a huge paycut from when I worked there previously, but a large raise from my unemployment check. However, everyone at the company is working at 10-25% less than their highest wage due to the economy. The company is just scraping by, and appears to be on the upswing. Hopefully I can help.
While I am grateful to have a job, I was a little disappointed in the paycut. But everyone at L&B has taken a paycut. It's interesting because while there is a loyalty to the company and the management, everyone seems pretty pissed that the paycut has lasted this long and are working hard to get company profits turned around. It will be interesting to see what happens when other jobs start opening up...
Everyone seemed happy that I was going to start work there on Monday. I was happy to see that everyone is happy. I'll need to readjust to it, and learn the quirks and idiosyncrasies of the managers again. I am concerned about a possible backlash from people saying that L&B should have reinstated peoples wages and not hire another person. But so far people have poo-poo'ed that and told me that they really need the help. I just hope I won't disappoint anyone!
So, at worst this is a temporary job, and after three or four months, if things don't pick up, I'm outta there. At best, after three or four months the numbers keep improving and everyones wages get reinstated, and I am permanently back on the team.
Oh yeah, and this time around, I get my own office! With a door and windows and everything! I'm sure that's so they can keep an eye on me...
In other news...
Amy and I went to Chez Avery for a delightful meal prepared by the cookers three (Amy, Care and I). We made Aloo Gobi...and I helped! It was really good...and VEGAN! Who knew that vegan food could taste sooo good? I certainly did...not. Just kidding Care. After dinner we watched Accidental Husband. I think it was a straight to video release. It was pretty bad. I think the lead guy in it was Izzy's dead husband or something from Grey's Anatomy. Uma Thurman was in it and was awful. And the casting folks obviously tried to class up this disaster with Colin Firth and Isabella Rossellini. Even Carolyn agreed that the Blockbuster guy that recommended this should be fired. LOL :)
Carina and I are headed down to the Tias tomorrow for a fun-filled "Clay Day". I'm taking the wheel and clay and my tools and stuff and we are going to throw and pinch and coil to our hearts content! It's kind of serendipitous that I scheduled this for Friday. I did so before I even knew they were thinking of asking me to come back to work. LOL. Works out for everyone!
Amy has signed us up for some classes through the Chabot Community Education. I'll be learning guitar and more about my car. Looking forward to it!
A couple of weeks ago, I took my car in to the shop. Turns out that I needed an oil change, a new alternator and a new master cylinder. Arrrggh... Well, they did it all and it cost me a bundle. I was driving it home and it starts squeaking at me! It was Friday night, and I didn't want to go back right then, so I thought I'd drive it during the weekend and see if the noise went away. Alas, it didn't. In fact, it worsened. :( Poop. So I took it back and said hey mothers, this is making noise! They took a look at it and decided to try to charge me $85 to replace the fan belt. Arrrggh... I didn't let them do it. So they put the belt back and as I drove off, the noise stopped! It was quiet for three days. Now its just as loud as before. So, yeah, I'm the one making all that damn noise driving down the street.
My French class is over. Voulez-vous parler francais? No thanks...class is over. It was a very fun class though. I am taking it again next semester. Anyone interested? Unfortunately it is on LOST night. I think I would be getting home just in time to catch the first set of commercials.
I looked up my student loan balance and I'll have that damn thing paid off in the next few months. It's about time too. Stupid loans...
That is all.
Well, it's finally happened. I got a damn job.
And not just any job. I will be the newest member of the Lea & Braze Engineering staff. Sound familiar? It should. That's because that is the place I left to go work in the solar industry. They have had a huge back log of work building up in the last few months. And since there are only 24 hours in a day, they decided to ask me to rejoin the team and give them a hand. I am taking a huge paycut from when I worked there previously, but a large raise from my unemployment check. However, everyone at the company is working at 10-25% less than their highest wage due to the economy. The company is just scraping by, and appears to be on the upswing. Hopefully I can help.
While I am grateful to have a job, I was a little disappointed in the paycut. But everyone at L&B has taken a paycut. It's interesting because while there is a loyalty to the company and the management, everyone seems pretty pissed that the paycut has lasted this long and are working hard to get company profits turned around. It will be interesting to see what happens when other jobs start opening up...
Everyone seemed happy that I was going to start work there on Monday. I was happy to see that everyone is happy. I'll need to readjust to it, and learn the quirks and idiosyncrasies of the managers again. I am concerned about a possible backlash from people saying that L&B should have reinstated peoples wages and not hire another person. But so far people have poo-poo'ed that and told me that they really need the help. I just hope I won't disappoint anyone!
So, at worst this is a temporary job, and after three or four months, if things don't pick up, I'm outta there. At best, after three or four months the numbers keep improving and everyones wages get reinstated, and I am permanently back on the team.
Oh yeah, and this time around, I get my own office! With a door and windows and everything! I'm sure that's so they can keep an eye on me...
In other news...
Amy and I went to Chez Avery for a delightful meal prepared by the cookers three (Amy, Care and I). We made Aloo Gobi...and I helped! It was really good...and VEGAN! Who knew that vegan food could taste sooo good? I certainly did...not. Just kidding Care. After dinner we watched Accidental Husband. I think it was a straight to video release. It was pretty bad. I think the lead guy in it was Izzy's dead husband or something from Grey's Anatomy. Uma Thurman was in it and was awful. And the casting folks obviously tried to class up this disaster with Colin Firth and Isabella Rossellini. Even Carolyn agreed that the Blockbuster guy that recommended this should be fired. LOL :)
Carina and I are headed down to the Tias tomorrow for a fun-filled "Clay Day". I'm taking the wheel and clay and my tools and stuff and we are going to throw and pinch and coil to our hearts content! It's kind of serendipitous that I scheduled this for Friday. I did so before I even knew they were thinking of asking me to come back to work. LOL. Works out for everyone!
Amy has signed us up for some classes through the Chabot Community Education. I'll be learning guitar and more about my car. Looking forward to it!
A couple of weeks ago, I took my car in to the shop. Turns out that I needed an oil change, a new alternator and a new master cylinder. Arrrggh... Well, they did it all and it cost me a bundle. I was driving it home and it starts squeaking at me! It was Friday night, and I didn't want to go back right then, so I thought I'd drive it during the weekend and see if the noise went away. Alas, it didn't. In fact, it worsened. :( Poop. So I took it back and said hey mothers, this is making noise! They took a look at it and decided to try to charge me $85 to replace the fan belt. Arrrggh... I didn't let them do it. So they put the belt back and as I drove off, the noise stopped! It was quiet for three days. Now its just as loud as before. So, yeah, I'm the one making all that damn noise driving down the street.
My French class is over. Voulez-vous parler francais? No thanks...class is over. It was a very fun class though. I am taking it again next semester. Anyone interested? Unfortunately it is on LOST night. I think I would be getting home just in time to catch the first set of commercials.
I looked up my student loan balance and I'll have that damn thing paid off in the next few months. It's about time too. Stupid loans...
That is all.
12.02.2009
Three Hundred Forty-First Entry
Well, the best laid plans...
I went to St. Leanders yesterday to go to mass at 7am. I walked into the church, and they do the weekday masses at the very back of the church! There are like 30 seats and about 10 people at the mass. I immediately got self-conscious and left the church. With just 10 people in the mass, everyone would be able to hear me NOT praying, NOT singing, and see me NOT taking communion. I don't have too much of an issue with everyone seeing me not taking communion, but I was on a roll. I've decided that instead of attending mass everyday this month, I would devote at least half an hour each day to study and memorize all the prayers(namely the doxology, apostles creed and nicene creed) said in mass, memorize all of the responses, and try to memorize the order and structure of the mass. Sounds like a better plan...
I'm excited for this weekend!!
Well, the best laid plans...
I went to St. Leanders yesterday to go to mass at 7am. I walked into the church, and they do the weekday masses at the very back of the church! There are like 30 seats and about 10 people at the mass. I immediately got self-conscious and left the church. With just 10 people in the mass, everyone would be able to hear me NOT praying, NOT singing, and see me NOT taking communion. I don't have too much of an issue with everyone seeing me not taking communion, but I was on a roll. I've decided that instead of attending mass everyday this month, I would devote at least half an hour each day to study and memorize all the prayers(namely the doxology, apostles creed and nicene creed) said in mass, memorize all of the responses, and try to memorize the order and structure of the mass. Sounds like a better plan...
I'm excited for this weekend!!
11.30.2009
Three Hundred Fortieth Entry
It's been a while since I've updated.
No new news on the job front. I had a couple of interviews, but they were a no-go. There are so few jobs available. In fact, there are fewer now than there were when I was first laid off. But there are still a few, and I'll keep applying.
I had a presentation in my French class two weeks ago. I was so nervous and was working on it up to the last minute. There was a snafu with the powerpoint file type, but we got it to work in class. The presentation was to plan a trip to a french speaking country, and visit five cities. We had to research places to stay, eat and visit as well as a little bit about the culture. I picked France (as did half the class) and my cities were Paris, Strasbourg, Lyon, Avignon and Bordeaux. I did a decent job. The best comment I got was about my great pronunciation. They had to say something nice...
My confirmation class is interesting. I like learning about the bible and the catholic religion. I'm finding that I am a bigger believer in God than I thought I was. Now that I am older, I can appreciate the structure and order involved in a catholic mass. What we do in class is read through the readings for the following Sundays mass and discuss the message. It is basically a bible study disguised as a confirmation class. I don't mind. I've attended lots of bible studies and know what it's all about. The folks in the class are all younger than me save for a 60-something guy who looks like he's napping half the class. The priest in charge of the class is about 70 or 75, but is very laid back. He's a good person to be leading the class. He does pick on people to answer questions like "how does this passage make you feel" or something, but an honest answer is never followed by more questions. Plus, there are goodies half way through the class....mmmmm, cookies...
I am enjoying my class so much, that I am going to challenge myself to attend church everyday in December. Starting tomorrow, of course. St. Leanders has a mass at 7am and 12:15pm weekdays. Two chances to go. Yay Jesus!
Congrats to Dayni and Danny!!! Can't wait for Sunday!!!!
I recently took a cake class with Amy. I enjoyed it a lot. It was super fun and delicious! I took photos of all my cakes, and will post them at some point. I was the only guy in the class, so the teacher always made it a point to comment favorably on my work as if she were saying "cake decorating is so easy, even a guy can do it!" She may have even said that at one point in the class. I'm going to make a nice little Christmas cake, complete with basket weaving and roses! I've got to start planning.
Thanksgiving was uneventful and less emotional than last year. I was a baking machine. I made three pecan pies, one pumpkin pie and dozens of Alsacienne cookies that are traditional Christmas cookies in the Alsace region of France, which is where Strasbourg the "capital of Europe" is. I even made Stove Top stuffing and scalloped potatoes from several boxes. I still have some cookie dough left over in the fridge. Maybe I'll make some for Festivist. They were super delicious.
This past Saturday, I spent the day in San Jose with Amy, her sister Katie and her nieces. We had a lot of fun. First (8am), we had blueberry pancakes with sausage and hashbrowns. Then we went swimming in auntie Katie's swimming pool for two hours. The kids could have stayed in the pool all day, but we had big plans for the rest of the day. Then we had a lunch of chicken strips and pasta. After lunch, we lounged around. Some of us napped, some of us took the kids to the park and some of us did some laundry. Can you guess which one I did? I napped! After napping, we all headed over to Christmas in the Park in downtown San Jose. They had one of those carnivals going and the girls went on almost every ride! It was fun watching them on the rides all excited and stuff. The girls were really tired by the end of the day(8pm).
I guess that's it. I'm off to bed. Good night.
It's been a while since I've updated.
No new news on the job front. I had a couple of interviews, but they were a no-go. There are so few jobs available. In fact, there are fewer now than there were when I was first laid off. But there are still a few, and I'll keep applying.
I had a presentation in my French class two weeks ago. I was so nervous and was working on it up to the last minute. There was a snafu with the powerpoint file type, but we got it to work in class. The presentation was to plan a trip to a french speaking country, and visit five cities. We had to research places to stay, eat and visit as well as a little bit about the culture. I picked France (as did half the class) and my cities were Paris, Strasbourg, Lyon, Avignon and Bordeaux. I did a decent job. The best comment I got was about my great pronunciation. They had to say something nice...
My confirmation class is interesting. I like learning about the bible and the catholic religion. I'm finding that I am a bigger believer in God than I thought I was. Now that I am older, I can appreciate the structure and order involved in a catholic mass. What we do in class is read through the readings for the following Sundays mass and discuss the message. It is basically a bible study disguised as a confirmation class. I don't mind. I've attended lots of bible studies and know what it's all about. The folks in the class are all younger than me save for a 60-something guy who looks like he's napping half the class. The priest in charge of the class is about 70 or 75, but is very laid back. He's a good person to be leading the class. He does pick on people to answer questions like "how does this passage make you feel" or something, but an honest answer is never followed by more questions. Plus, there are goodies half way through the class....mmmmm, cookies...
I am enjoying my class so much, that I am going to challenge myself to attend church everyday in December. Starting tomorrow, of course. St. Leanders has a mass at 7am and 12:15pm weekdays. Two chances to go. Yay Jesus!
Congrats to Dayni and Danny!!! Can't wait for Sunday!!!!
I recently took a cake class with Amy. I enjoyed it a lot. It was super fun and delicious! I took photos of all my cakes, and will post them at some point. I was the only guy in the class, so the teacher always made it a point to comment favorably on my work as if she were saying "cake decorating is so easy, even a guy can do it!" She may have even said that at one point in the class. I'm going to make a nice little Christmas cake, complete with basket weaving and roses! I've got to start planning.
Thanksgiving was uneventful and less emotional than last year. I was a baking machine. I made three pecan pies, one pumpkin pie and dozens of Alsacienne cookies that are traditional Christmas cookies in the Alsace region of France, which is where Strasbourg the "capital of Europe" is. I even made Stove Top stuffing and scalloped potatoes from several boxes. I still have some cookie dough left over in the fridge. Maybe I'll make some for Festivist. They were super delicious.
This past Saturday, I spent the day in San Jose with Amy, her sister Katie and her nieces. We had a lot of fun. First (8am), we had blueberry pancakes with sausage and hashbrowns. Then we went swimming in auntie Katie's swimming pool for two hours. The kids could have stayed in the pool all day, but we had big plans for the rest of the day. Then we had a lunch of chicken strips and pasta. After lunch, we lounged around. Some of us napped, some of us took the kids to the park and some of us did some laundry. Can you guess which one I did? I napped! After napping, we all headed over to Christmas in the Park in downtown San Jose. They had one of those carnivals going and the girls went on almost every ride! It was fun watching them on the rides all excited and stuff. The girls were really tired by the end of the day(8pm).
I guess that's it. I'm off to bed. Good night.
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