Brain Dump

2012-01-20T09:14:00.000-08:00

For all the snow, ice and flooding that has hit area, the last few days have been have been pleasant. There have been no power or internet outages at our home and the roads have been clean enough that we can come and go as we please. I consider myself fortunate. I have friends and co-workers who have been trapped at home for days with no power.

In the forest behind the house, every few minutes you can hear a large branch cracking and falling.

2012-01-17T14:58:00.000-08:00

Seattle is bracing for a snow storm. Up to 8 inches in the next 24 hours. Most people have left work for home.

2012-01-01T18:52:00.001-08:00

The last leg of my flight back home was cancelled. I'm stuck in Chicago for the night.

I am jet lagged. I slept off and on though the first half of the flight. So I can't fall asleep now. I still feel groggy. I didn't get much sleep last night. Maybe I can find some sleeping pills and knock myself out till the flight home.

2011-12-29T13:01:00.001-08:00

Tonight was the extended family Xmas dinner. About 45 people showed up. Its difficult to remember them all. I know all of the cousins, a quarter of their spouses and none of there kids.

It was good to catch up with everybody. Even though I share nothing in common with them, I enjoyed it very much.

2011-12-28T12:04:00.001-08:00

At my parents, it's snowy and frozen. 10F if you'd like to know. Back home it's 55F.

Mom is in the hospital. Her heart was racing this morning. It does that from time to time. She will be OK.

She is supposed to rest more, but she's not good at that. Yesterday was the Family XMAS dinner. Rather than making Dad and I do most of the work. She pitched in and worked hard. Now she's paying for it today.

Dad said, that when her heart races, all she is supposed to do is to lay down and rest. However she is so high strung, that she can't rest. She has to go to the hospital, or the thought of it makes it worse.

2011-12-27T11:38:00.000-08:00

Am visiting my parents now. I took a red eye into Toronto, spent the day with a few friends, and there kids, then drove up to my parents. The weather is very plesant here, though plesant for the Ottawa Valley means snow and just a little below freezing.

2011-12-19T07:09:00.001-08:00

It's almost Christmas. The weather is very warm here. I've been taking the motorcycle out every weekend.

The fall leaves have washed away. Now the forests are green again with sword ferns and fir trees.

I've been feeling something new lately-- moments of peace or calm. Sometimes it happens on the motorcycle. Other times it happens when I'm walking along a stream, or just sitting and listening to good music. I haven't felt that for a long time.

2011-12-06T12:54:00.000-08:00

The Uninvited...A few weeks back Sandy threw a pre-Thanksgiving party. We were invited and accepted. But then I got a call from Sandy. He Uninvited us! He was very apologetic but told me he needed the party to be very calm and RO was not a calm man.

I blew him off.

Then, weeks later, BIB and I were talking. BIB mentioned that Sandy invited him over for the pre-Thanksgiving party, but then called him up and uninvited him. An ex of BIB's would be there and Sandy needed the party to be calm, so rather than risk the drama, he un-invited BIB.

It was very weird.

2011-11-22T15:53:00.001-08:00

We are having ä big winter rain. I had to do some last minute gutter cleaning and repairs, but that is finished now. My wet feet are being warmed up by the fire.

RO and I spent the last few days at a resort on the pacific ocean. It was windy and cloudy the whole time we were there. None this less, I had a great time. The resort had great food and a nice spa. And I discovered I can spend hours watching the waves roll in. Very peaceful.

2011-11-20T08:24:00.001-08:00

It's RO's birthday today. We are heading to the ocean for a few days. It'll be the first time he's been away from work in a very long time.

The ocean in Washington State is not the pleasant paradise you'd hope it is. It's always cold windy rainy and cloudy. Take a look at this ad which spoofs our ocean beaches http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1XBOorGPE-Q

So, this will be a quiet vacation. Lots of hiking. I've also booked us in at a spa.

2011-11-13T17:02:00.001-08:00

I've decided that I want to hike all the trails on Cougar, Squak and Tiger mountains. These are small mountains. If I stick to it, I should finish in less than a year. Cougar mountain is already mostly done.

2011-11-06T16:17:00.001-08:00

Saturday, RO and I went to a wine and oyster tasting. It was a good experience. The manager said they shucked and served two dozen oysters per person.

We won the door prize-- gift cards and a good bottle of wine.

2011-11-06T16:15:00.001-08:00

Andie and Erik are expecting a kid. They are having a baby boy, due in March.

When Andie and Erik got married RO and I wondered if it was a shotgun wedding. They were married last April. I guess March is out of the shotgun zone.

2011-11-06T16:09:00.000-08:00

No rain this weekend. Instead it's sunny and cold. I hike up Squak Mountain on Saturday. Then on Sunday to Coal Creek falls. Afterwards I took the bike out for a ride. I got very chilled as I drove. My hands got stiff. Still, it was great.

2011-10-31T11:22:00.000-07:00

This blog is eleven years old. I forgot all about it's anniversary. Facebook appears to be taking over from blogs. I haven't abandoned the blog for Facebook just yet, as the blog lets me write a little more.

Oh yeah, SJP, I know you read this. Say 'Hi' to me sometime!

2011-10-29T22:08:00.001-07:00

I took the motorcycled for a ride today. Perhaps one if the last rides before winter sets in.

Its very relaxing to ride. Motorcycles are the opposite of automatic. You have to focus on its operation every second-- the manual transmission, the two breaks, the throttle. The speed of an automatic is self regulating. Hold the gas pedal steady and the velocity stays steady. Not so with a manual motorcycle. Constant adjustments are necessary for corners and hills.

Then there is the fact that a motorcycle's small profile means more drivers don't see you. So I also must focus on driving defensively and constantly plan the next ten seconds of my route to avoid the places a careless driver could stray into.

The result is that while I ride, all my day to day worries are pushed out of my brain.

At the end, when i get off the motorcycle, when I no longer need to focus or sit properly, I feel very relaxed and at peace.

Old Mail

2011-10-02T16:02:00.000-07:00

RO and I have been cleaning out the house. We found a stash of four year old mail that we never dealt with. It was sent to this address but intended for the prevous owners. There was a Christmas card and an anniversary card.

We tracked down the old owners, Bing makes that easy, and we had an interesting conversation.

The anniversary card-- the previous owners are now divorced. The sender of the anniversary card is dead.

The Chrismas card-- send from a couple that's now divorced.

2011-09-29T14:09:00.001-07:00

Yo and his girlfiednd the Angel were laying in bed at the Angel's apartment in Bellevue. Outside they heard a drunk lady with an blackcent shouting at the top of her lungs.

Yo said to the Angel "What's a black woman doing in Bellevue?"

The Angel answered "Are you racist?" She was a bit offended that Yo would make such a comment.

As if prompted the black lady shouted "Am I the only black women in Bellevue Washington? Where are the other niggers! Certainly not here."

Yo kept his mouth shut.

2011-09-17T19:13:00.001-07:00

Fall came so quickly.

A week ago, it was mid eighties and sunny. Today it is mid sixties and rainy. Typical Seattle fall weather.

RO and I have bought two rocking chairs for our front porch. Something to sit in with a nice wool blanked over your lap and enjoy a glass of wine wine while we watch the drizzle.

I am aware how old this makes me sound. I would say that I am growing happy with simplicity.

BIB and I went hiking today for the first time since early August. He was worried that he couldn't make it up the mountain; that he lost his conditioning. He did just fine. He is dating a man. They like each other. Both of them are healthy and HIV+. I wish them the best.

2011-09-15T13:37:00.000-07:00

My neighbor's car's windshield was getting cloudy. Not foggy on the inside. The glass was turning opaque.

He knew his insurance company paid to replace broken windshields but wasn't sure if it would do so for cloudy windshields.

So he smashed it with a baseball bat.

2011-09-12T09:32:00.000-07:00

The weather has been wonderful here. I very much appreciate it. Last year, right after Labor Day, the rains returned. This year, it's sunny with highs in the 80s and overnight lows in the 50s. Perfect weather to be outside. Perfect weather to sleep.

Sunday, Clem and I went swimming at the local beach. There have been no life guards since Labar Day. None the less, the beach is packed with everyone having fun.

2011-09-10T22:14:00.001-07:00

I got a nice new BBQ. An infrared one, on Tommy's advice. It makes wonderful rotisserie chicken.

2011-09-04T11:09:00.000-07:00

Last night, RO and I went out for pizza and beer. We stopped in at the new bear bar. I many of the guys there where old acquaintances-- Behr, C4, J, L,S, people I haven't seen in a very long time.

About six months ago C6 had a heart transplant. He said he feels wonderful now. C6 carries a picture of the man whose death gave him his heart.

2011-09-03T15:34:00.001-07:00

The problem with meditating is that half way through, I forget that I'm meditating. My mind wanders and by the end I'm thinking about dinner.

2011-08-27T13:34:00.001-07:00

My barbershop now has a legal marijuana dispensery in the back. I know its legal-- when I asked the owner how business was doing, he told me how legal it was that his legal business could legally provide legal pot to legal customers after the customer legally presented a legal prescription that was legally checked by a legally licensed legal marijuana dispenser to treat legally approved conditions that only legal marijuana could treat.

The customers certainly looked like they needed legal marijuana. They all appear to be afflicted with that condition that causes bulging muscles in otherwise healthy young men. Until legal marijuana came along i think this condition could only be treated by regular trips to the gym.

I'm not anti-pot. I am concerned that the current laws don't do a better job of fostering personal integrity than the old.

I've read a bit more about medical marijuana in Seattle and now I understand his 'legal' response. Technically they are not allowed to sell marijuana. They can provide other medical services and they can accept donations. But, no pot for cash. Now his odd legal position makes sense.

2011-08-26T12:34:00.000-07:00

Am home again. My parents place was wonderful-- fresh air, great weather. It just felt nice.

2011-08-15T09:00:00.001-07:00

I'm at my parents now. It's been years since I've been here in the summer. My brothers and I are together for the first time in a very long time.

It's unbelievably pastoral here. Our dinners are made with vegetables and chicken all grown within half a mile of the kitchen. Dessert is berry pie, also grown on the farm. I can see why my parents love it here.

My parents are growing old. They act like they have accepted the fact that there bodies are breaking down, and that one day they will die. That's unsettling for me. I haven't accept that yet. I still believe they have years of healthy life ahead of them.

But maybe not. Mom has had heart trouble. Dad can't walk far without breathing heavily.

2011-08-07T10:35:00.001-07:00

I've lost 15lbs and two pant sizes. I think it took four months to loose the weight. I never agressivly stuck with the diet. I was happy as long as my weight stayed the same or went down week over week.

This is the first time I've ever dieted to loose weight. I hope it doesn't come back.

2011-07-27T15:46:00.001-07:00

We've kissed and made up.

2011-07-26T23:57:00.001-07:00

RO and I have decided to end our relationship. Not much to add. We still have many details to work out.

2011-07-18T21:13:00.001-07:00

Yo cooked dinner tonight, which I really appreciate. But, dinner was a half baked garlic & cheese potatoe with hummus and chips. He admitted that he forgot to think through the rest of the meal.

Good wine.

2011-07-09T18:15:00.000-07:00

2011-07-09T14:43:00.000-07:00

The weather has been great this week. I am taking my first week off in along time. Two years? I've been puttering around the house, reading in the hammock and going on hikes. A great vacation.

2011-07-05T18:55:00.001-07:00

The weather has been perfect in Seattle. Sunny. Highs in the mid seventies. Overnight lows in the sixties. I've taken this week off work. We've spent a couple days on the peninsula on the water. I'm now home, in a hammock reading and composing my blog.

2011-06-25T12:17:00.000-07:00

Summer is slowly eking its way to Seattle. While the rest of the country struggles with the heat, Seattle has been cloudy and cool. Most days we don't cross 70F.

2011-06-12T17:12:00.001-07:00

I've been working on reviving a motorcycle. Its been sitting in the garage since 2006.

I've never ridden a motorcycle before. When Steven gave me his 93 cruiser, I decided to learn.

I have Yo as my guide. He worked in an engine repair shop, so he generally knows what he's talking about.

We are texting a lot. My motorcycle knowledge is small .

Me, "it has power, but it won't start."

Yo, "hold in the clutch. Its a safety interlock."

me, "duh..."

A few minutes later I managed to start the bike. But fuel was dripping out of it. I texted this to Yo.

He wrote back "hit the carburetor with a hammer."

"huh? why?"

"trust me"

it took me thirty minutes to find and get at the carberator, but after i did, and tapped it with a hammer, the dripping stopped.

yo was very impressed with himself when i told him it worked. Then he told me that carbs have a float that probably got stuck while the bike sat in the garage. Tapping the carb freed the float and closed the overflow hole.

I'm very impressed.

The yard

2011-06-12T12:29:00.001-07:00

This summer I am putting extra special attention on the yard. Its becomming a great place to hang out. We had a campfire last night and made smores.

I've also bought a chainsaw and a leaf blower to help with the yard. We've cleared away alot of shrub trees with the chain saw and now have about a third more space.

Work is going well. I have two guys who work remote. One from Denver and one from Atlanta. They were both in town this past week. So we did months of team building in one week.

The motorcycle.

2011-05-14T19:13:00.001-07:00

Years ago Steven left his motorcycle in my garage. This spring, I've decided to revive the cycle, and start riding.

The years of neglect have taken there toll. The battery was bulging with corrosion and it took me over an hour to figure out how to remove it. This will be a fun challenge.

Hiking with bib

2011-05-14T19:09:00.001-07:00

Bib and I hiked to coal creek falls today. I've been hiking there once a week by myself or with the dog. But bib wants to get into shape, so I invited him along.

He is clearly out of shape; he had to rest several times on the way up. I think I was like that once. Now I can almost jog up cougar mountain to get to the falls. I recall that my first time needed plenty of rest breaks

I enjoyed my time with bib. I'll invite him again next week..

2011-05-11T11:09:00.000-07:00

"I refuse to buy more than seven bottles of cheap wine in a week." I said that. It makes me sound like a heavy drinker. In my defense, six people help drink that wine. But still...

2011-04-11T11:36:00.001-07:00

The Simple Pleasures of a Bonfire....

The twenty year old me would be horrified with the forty year old me.

Horrified? Maybe I mean profoundly bored. When I was twenty I dreamt of travel and never settling down. I didn't have great career aspirations. Yet hear I am at forty. I own a house in the suburbs. On weekends I take care of the yard. I like it that way.

Until last year, the yard was unruly and taken over by black berries-- viscous ugly vines. Over the winter I've got rid of the vines. Now it's wonderful space again. Kind of like park or camp ground.

This past weekend we made a fire pit and have been burning the fallen branches and other debris. I'm amazed at how much there is to burn and how pleasant it is to sit by the fire and with a beer and watch the debris go up in smoke.

2011-04-11T11:24:00.000-07:00

Andie & Erik were married on Saturday. It was a fast wedding-- they met about six months ago. Two weeks ago we received the wedding invitation via email. Now they are married. I have to admire the minimalist efficiency they applied to their wedding.

The reception was wonderful. They rented a penthouse suite at a good hotel and held the reception in the suite's common area.

2011-03-26T18:39:00.000-07:00

Is facebook taking over my blog? Maybe. There are still many things I'd discuss on this blog that I wouldn't discuss with my friends.

Spring is hitting Seattle. It's still raining a lot, but the grass is growing and the daffodils are blooming.

RO is having a bad time with insomnia. He has no problem falling asleep, but he wakes up at around 2am and stays awake till 5. Herbs, melatonin and sleeping pills don't seem to make a difference.

2011-03-14T16:31:00.000-07:00

Mom is out of the hospital and doing well. Her heart still acts up from time to time, but mostly she's OK. She's seeing a good specialist this week.

RO and I have started regularly having drinks with the neighbors, Clem & Bates. It's a low key affair. Much easier than dinner. With dinner RO wants to clean, polish and put on a fancy dinner. But drinks-- just come over and we'll pour.

Last night, RO and I had dinner with Bib. It was good to see him. He brought over a Kahlua pie for dessert. We hate the whole thing and got so stuffed that our stomaches ached.

2011-02-26T17:23:00.001-08:00

Mom has been to the hospital. Last Wednesday she found that her pulse would race to 150 beats per minute if she did any thing but lay down. She stayed in the local hospital for a few days. She is out and ok now. In a few days she is going to a heart specialist. They are considering a pacemaker for her.

2011-01-20T20:05:00.001-08:00

We were burgled.

I want to say we were robbed, but the police officer corrected me twice. Robbing happens inperson. Burgling happens when you are away from home.

Tuesday evening I came home from work. RO was relaxing. I started cooking. After maybe an hour, I went to our bedroom. Drawers were emptied out all over the bed and floor.

It really confused me. I went back to RO and asked him if he was looking for something in the bedroom.

He said "No."

I said. "This is important. Please come to the bedroom."

At that point it started to dawn on me that someone broke into our house. When RO saw the bedroom he realized the same thing. We called 911 and took a look around the house. Yo's room was also turned over. But the living room and office were untouched.

As near as we can tell, the theif took an Xbox 360, a watch and some cash. The weird part is that the thief left many valuables behind-- alcohol, art, jewelry, clothes, tools, a camera, laptops.

When the police officer came, he carefully took pictures and tried to get fingerprints. He mentioned that there were 3 other breakins in our neighborhood that day. They all had the same MO-- electronics and cash were taken, nothing else. The officer suspects it's a local school kid.

I'm not sure how I feel. It could have been much worse, it took an hour to clean up and I will miss the Xbox, but that's it. RO didn't take it well. He got very drunk and hasn't slept well since then.

I am going to get an alarm.

2011-01-15T14:31:00.000-08:00

Yo. How he lives is interesting.

Sometimes he rents booths at trade shows and street fairs to sell dips, jerky and pet combs. He also sells them on eBay.

Sometimes he does head hunting for hospitals and clinics. Suppose a hospital needs a temporary RN for a few days or weeks. Yo will find one.

Sometimes he does teeth whitening. Spas will hire him to come in for a day to do on-site teeth whitening. Apparently it only takes a hundred bucks of equipment and no training to do UV teeth whitening. Any one can do it. But if you put the equipment on a nice cart, and dress up in a white lab coat, then spa customers will pay big bucks for it.

2011-01-11T10:35:00.000-08:00

Two more things about the roomie.

He and his girl friend like to drink. Now, I've started drinking much more. For the past few nights, the four of us have polished off two bottles of wine a night.

He also sleeps around a lot. He has a friend who is a woman who also sleeps around. I hesitate to call her a girl friend. But they are friends, they also have sex together, but they aren't in a relationship. They both date other people on the side and then tell each other about it.

If Yo knows the girl is on a date he likes to text her nasty messages and send her pics of his dick.

2011-01-10T14:46:00.000-08:00

The new roomie-- Yo.

What do I have to say about Yo? He's a friend of RO. He once owned a store near ours, which is how we met him. Yo's store closed. Now he works part time for our store.

After that, I really don't know much about Yo. He appears to be struggling... getting back on his feat after closing his store. That worries me. We've had a succession of roomates who have been struggling to get back on their feet. It always ends bad.

2011-01-06T12:41:00.000-08:00

We have a new roommate. He has a very friendly dog, though the dog has spooked our cat. After the dog moved in, the cat stayed on our bed for two days before she finally resumed eating, drinking and using the litter box.

Bib was over for dinner last night. He's doing well, though he still runs himself down too much. He is staying home far too much because he's constantly worried about what people think.

2010-12-30T10:02:00.000-08:00

It's been quiet here.

Back at home, my parents neighbor died. She baby sat me when I was growing up. When I was a teen, I baby sat her kids. I'll probably fly there for the funeral.

2010-12-25T21:50:00.000-08:00

Merry Xmas everyone.

It's been a good holiday. RO got to see his son again-- first time in 13 years. He is very happy. I'm sure it's much for him to process as well.

We spent much of the day at RO's sister. Ate too much. Drank too much. Played party games. Argued about party game rules. But, we had much fun in the process.

LS & DR spent the day with us. They had no holiday plans.

The old people in my life are getting old. DR is 82. My neighbor M, is also in her mid eighties. Both of them are starting to forget things. Is unfortunate to see women who two years ago were so bright and active slowly slip into dementia.

2010-12-23T09:39:00.000-08:00

I'm trying to figure out what my real job is at my day job. My offical title is 'lead' I have half a dozen people working for me.

Todate I've got by by being a good role-model and coaching them around that.

Now, some of my employees are *very* smart, and *very* hard working. I can't be a good role model for them. With a little more experience they will easily surpase my skills. Then where do I fit in?

2010-12-16T19:49:00.000-08:00

Clem and Bates held there holiday party in a train car, a restored dome care from the '40s. Good food, good people. And, since Clem and Bates were hosting, there was too much alcohol.

2010-11-30T13:55:00.001-08:00

Last night we had dinner with our neighbors, Clem & Bates. As usual, the food was wonderful and we drank too much.

Predinner martini's I always refuse to have more than one, yet Bates makes it happen.

"Oh no thank you. I don't want another martini."

"But I have have half a martini left in the shaker. Please take it!"

"Oh... all right."

Yeah, I'm weak that way.

Dinner is served with several bottles of wine. Then after dinner...

"No more wine for me thanks."

"OK! Let's switch to port."

Even if I am full, bloated, past of the point of nausea, if you put a jigger of port in front of me, I will drink it.

2010-11-26T15:56:00.001-08:00

Earin is talking to us again. Earin was our roommate a few years ago. She got behind on her rent and then moved out before paying up.

Earin works near the store and stopped in. When she saw me she sat down next to me and said she wanted to make amends and pay me back-- in the new year.

2010-11-26T12:12:00.000-08:00

I am writing this post from my cell phone. My day job bought me a fancy new phone and I am getting addicted to it. But, I am not using it productively. I am checking Facebook every 10 minutes and work email non stop.

Thanksgiving was nice. We had dinner with family.

Today is black Friday . Sales at the store are stong. I won't get my hopes up though.

2010-11-20T08:34:00.000-08:00

Happy birthday babe!

2010-11-14T17:52:00.001-08:00

This week has been busy. RO and Boone are working late every thing trying to reopen the store in the temp location.

At my day job we rolled out a new project tracking system. The result, of course, was much complaining.

Sometimes I wonder what kind of manager I am. I don't know what my style is. I work on what I believe is important, and I try to ensure that my team has good stuff to work on. But after that...who knows.

2010-11-06T13:07:00.001-07:00

Even though I've only been lifting weights a few times a week for a little under a month, I'm starting to see a difference. I can bench press 20lbs more than when I started. I can complete more full bicep curls in a set without struggling.

Regular exercise also helps me focus at work. I'm less twitchy and more capable of sitting still. It also helps with sleep at night, again because I'm less twitchy.

It also helps me worry less about my health.

Tommy, have you got back to the gym yet?

2010-10-24T14:02:00.000-07:00

RO and I spend Saturday afternoon in Everett, a navy and port city just north of Seattle. We went to see the Everett Fall Home & Gift show. The show was very small. We were in and out in under half an hour.

So we had lunch at a great pizza parlor and then walked along the water front. The winter rain is setting into Seattle, so I like to go for a short walk everytime there is a break.

2010-10-17T07:37:00.001-07:00

Mark has had a chest cold for the past week. It's not getting better. At the same time, he's not so sick that he stays in bed.

I've started lifting weights, stretching and exercising. I find that if I regularly do so, then I sleep well.

For RO, sleep is a constant battle. If he takes sleeping pills he still wakes up for a few hours in the middle of the night. If he doesn't take sleeping pills then he tosses and turns all night. He'll finally fall asleep from exhaustion at around six in the morning.

For a long time I've tried to help RO sleep better. But, to little or no success.

10th Anniversary

2010-10-12T16:35:00.001-07:00

The blog is ten years old. Happy birthday blog.

Let's see. What was I doing ten years ago? Hmmm. whining about my love life. Life has changed so much since then.

For me it is kind of fun to spot check entries from years past. I'm sure it's dreadfully boring for everyone else.

October 2005, RO and I were just opening up the store. Man-o-man. We thought we'd be hugely successful way back then.

2010-10-09T17:44:00.000-07:00

I had a weak performance review at work. I'm not happy with it. But it's pointless to fight it-- that would be proof I'm looking towards the past and not planning for the future.

A weak performance review may not be the right way to describe it. I'm used to having strong reviews. Yet every time I was promoted, the competition around me grew stronger.

There is some truth to the Peter Principal. Sooner or later you reach the point where your peers are as smart and as hard working as you. Sooner or later you realise that not every one will make it to Vice President.

They've made it clear to me that my performance review is not a "Job in Jeopardy" review, but their assessment of my ability relative to my peers. Somehow, that is not that comforting.

2010-10-09T17:30:00.000-07:00

Why do we procrastinate?

Sometimes I think it's self fulfilling. We hear from others how they put off work, or exercise and we subtly adopt those attitudes. Then we talk the same way, and that re-enforces those attitudes in others.

That may be an oversimplification.

I lifted weights today-- for the first time in a very long time. It felt good. And it's not like I put off anything fun to find the time to work out. I know there is lots of time in my life for me to exercise more. I end up watching TV instead. Bad TV. I don't enjoy most of the TV that I watch.

See how little sense my exercise procrastination makes?

2010-10-08T09:40:00.000-07:00

It's the fall here in Seattle. Many big spiders are building webs close to warm buildings, trying to eat as much as they can before they lay there eggs and die.

In the back yard two squirrels are building a nest together. I didn't realize that squirrels could be social; in the summer they only fight. But there they were, both pulling leaves and twigs off an alder, and carrying it back to the nest.

One squirrel was very efficient, making a large leap from the nest to the alder, ripping off a large twig of leaves, and then leaping back to the nest. The other squirrel took a longer, more circuitous route to the alder, and brought back fewer leaves.

2010-10-03T09:55:00.000-07:00

It's been a busy week. My day job is very full. RO is working hard on re-opening the store.

Last night Clem & Bates had us over for dinner. As always, we drank too much. After decades of work, Bates finally has a schedule where he has weekends off. Good for him.

We discussed yard work. We both have large back yards on steep hills. Keeping such a yard under control is hard work. The hills are too steep to mow. RO and I try to use a brush cutter once a month to keep the bushes under control. Clem and Bates have a more shaded back yard so blackberries and other bushes don't grow as aggressively. They only need to de-bush once or twice a year.

2010-09-26T11:58:00.000-07:00

My parents are going though hard times. They are OK, but friends and relatives are not.

They old neighbor commited suicide. He's been fighting cancer for a long time and had a morphene pack to help with the pain. He was using so much morphene that it was no longer effective.

Rather than go in for hospice care, he decided to shoot himself in the head.

My cousin's daugther, who was in a car accident six weeks ago, is still in a coma. Her father is now paralyzed from the waste down.

2010-09-25T17:38:00.000-07:00

RO and I have the whole weekend off. This is the first time we've had two days in a row off in a very long time-- not even Christmas since the day after Christmas the store is open.

The weather is wonderful today. It's been bright and sunny. You can tell it's the fall though. Even at lunch the sun was low in the sky. We took a long walk along Lake Washington. I thin I got more sun than I did all summer.

2010-09-19T11:41:00.000-07:00

The store is closed. Today is the last day we have to move out. The inventory and most of the valuables are out. There is still a lot of stuff, racking, shelving, boxes, that needs to move.

2010-08-30T13:01:00.000-07:00

Yesterday Andria threw a going-away party for Cann. Cann is leaving for England for a year for graduate school.

Cann leads an interesting life. I think he earned enough money during the .com boom that he doesn't have to have a job. So he dabbles in a variety of things. He directed a documentary two years ago. He photographs a lot. Occasional he'll help out with small Internet startups. Now he's off to England to study typography.

Winston Churchill once said “Take away that pudding – it has no theme.” I wonder about that as a life philosophy. I think I'll be more happy if I stick with a plan, with a theme, than chasing whims. Or, am I jealous of Cann and the freedom he has?

2010-08-23T10:51:00.000-07:00

So the current store closes in mid September. After that the mall has offered us the space next door until January. After January, who knows.

We are trying to liquidate as much as possible right now so that we don' t have to move much. We still have many X-mass supplies which are difficult to liquidate now, but should go over the holidays.

2010-08-14T11:47:00.000-07:00

Over sharing.

I have hairs that grow freekishly long from otherwise smooth parts of my body.

You know that area of skin below your eyebrow, but above your eyelid? I have a hair that grows there. It grows inches long. It bumps into my eyeglasses if I don't trim it regularly.

2010-08-13T16:48:00.000-07:00

We are making some progress on the store. We've been offered a place near the existing store, it's a nice space though it doesn't have as much foot traffic as we have now.

This is a hard descision to make. It will be expensive to move and re-open. The returns are uncertain. Yet, closing down scares RO.

At my day job, the re-org is in effect and I have a new team. I like them.

This team is very different than my last team. On my last team, everyone was in their early 30's, eager to work hard and experienced enough that I didn't have to manage them.

My new team has two 'old' guys-- vetrans who have been doing this for so long that nothing phases them. They are in a bit of a rough spot. By the numbers they are less productive than most other people in my division. But, when you look at what they do you see that they do exactly that which is important, no more, no less.

There is a bitter gay guy on my team. He knows I'm gay as well.

Finally, then there are two young and inexperienced guys. They will do anything to be helpful. That's a blessing and a curse-- it's very easy to randomize them because they would rather be helpful than question me on our prioritizes. I asked one of them an offhand question and he wasn't sure of the answer. A day later he produced a huge report on the subject. He worked over time to do research and ensure I could be fully informed on the issue.

2010-08-02T20:10:00.000-07:00

You made me look Tommy, but yes, the estimate for the house is still higher than it's purchase price.

The dead bolt on the front door gave out, the door is permanently locked. Thankfully I can still get in the back door.

2010-08-01T19:40:00.000-07:00

The neighbors have put their house up for sale. The recession has been hard on them and they can't make the payments. They are selling it for $70,000.00 less than they bought it for. Ouch. I don't want to know what my house is worth.

2010-08-01T11:59:00.000-07:00

RO and I are trying to figure out how we figure out what to do with the store. We have both put a lot into the store. Moving again is a lot of time, money, sweat and tears.

2010-07-29T09:51:00.000-07:00

We are loosing our lease for the store. I don't know the details but it sounds like a large company wants our space and signed a big multi-year lease.

The mall says they want to keep our store and will offer us a good terms on the replacement space. RO learns the details on Friday.

2010-07-25T16:50:00.001-07:00

My parents, RO and I went on a wine tour around Yakima. There are dozens in wineries in that area. We tasted at four before we had enough. Some of the wineries had beautiful views of the valley. It was nice to sit down, drink some wine and watch the view.

Dad, unfortunately, doesn't really like wine. He did enjoy a tour a vineyard though.

2010-07-25T16:46:00.000-07:00

A raccoon died in the front yard. Not sure why. This morning we saw it hiding the garden. Occasionally it would move around-- walk a few feet and then curl up in a ball.

After an hour of this, it stopped moving. RO poked it with a stick and it didn't react.

I picked it up with a garden fork, carried it the bush at the rear of the property and flug it into the bushes.

2010-07-19T09:05:00.000-07:00

May parents are in town for the week. It's nice to see them. They are doing well. We are puttering around and spending time together, chatting, odd jobs around the house, the Kirkland Classic Car show and such.

Lately when we see each other, the conversation eventually comes around to their will and specifically, what to do with their home. My parents own a maple sugar bush and make maple syrup there every year. They have a lovely small house by the bush. It would be a shame to sell it.

It will be a struggle to keep it in the family. My parents live in the middle of nowhere. All their kids, my brothers and I, have long since moved away. The type of jobs we have are not to be found near my parents home.

If my parents live another twenty years then perhaps it could be a retirement property for my brothers and I. I could live there part of the year. I think my brothers could too.

2010-07-05T11:20:00.001-07:00

Tommy! We'd fix you up with quality if you ever traveled this way.

Sunday, RO and I visited his family. His sister owns a house on a lake. The whole extended family gathers there on warm holidays-- uncles, aunts, sisters, brothers, cousins, inlaws, ex's and friends.

At any given moment through out the day at least four people are preparing, cooking or cleaning up after smoked roasts, burgers, chickens, corn, cakes, cookies, salads, hots, sausages. This goes on non-stop from dawn to dusk. These family events are non-stop all you can eat buffets.

2010-07-03T14:37:00.000-07:00

A creepy closeted married guy has been hanging out at the store.

Aside from RO, the store has two employees who are both are gay. The married guy has been regularly dropping by the store, flattering and cruising them and then bluntly asking for sex. Both employees are put off by him and are close to telling the married guy to bugger off.

2010-07-02T17:16:00.000-07:00

The big reorg at my day job is close to happening. We've been planning this for months-- February. It will still be three weeks before everyone will reports to their new bosses working on their new teams.

The reality of this is starting to hit home. Some teams are punting on hard work because soon someone new will take over. Others working hard to make sure the hand off is clean. Some people haven't even thought about that yet.

July will be interesting.

2010-06-30T20:55:00.000-07:00

Good weather has finally hit Seattle. RO and I regularly enjoy wine on the deck while the sun sets.

2010-06-24T10:25:00.001-07:00

Politics and Management II.

At work, one of the guys at my level knows he hasn't had a great year. I like this guy and don't want bad things happen to him, so I was hoping to put a good word from him into my boss.

When I started doing so, my boss quickly asked, "Who is more valuable to us, him or you?" I hate that question. It hints that unless I answer carefully, I'll be the one at the bottom of the list.

2010-06-23T22:16:00.000-07:00

An earth quake happened near my home town in Ontario, Canada. It was a 5.0, small by west coast standards, but big for an area that rarely has them, nor is prepared for them.

No one I know is hurt. I've seen some photos of damaged buildings. Mostly it seems to be an opportunity to call friends and ask "Did you feel the earthquake!"

2010-06-21T09:20:00.000-07:00

Two of our friends celebrated their birthday's last week, so that had a large birthday dinner on Saturday. It was a great experience. Expensive, but worth it.

Afterwards RO & I went to the local bars. RO ran into a man, visiting from Arkansas whose last name was Mathews. It just so happend that RO was wearing a sweat shirt with "Mathews Inc." on it. So, RO swapped his sweat shirt for the guys shirt.

2010-06-15T09:44:00.000-07:00

Work has been very stressfull lately. It seams that everything important is due at once.

Yesterday and today, we are 'calibrating' our employees-- evaluating all the employees for bonus, raises & promotion. It's very contentious-- one of the managers stormed out of the meeting when the debate around a particular employee didn't go the way he wanted.

I suspect today will be just as combative. Rumor has it that one of the managers has been trying to hide a failure. I work closely with the manager involved so I have to investigate, have an opinion and ultimatly take sides. If I'm not carefull, the manager in question could make it difficult for my employees to get bonus or promotions, so I have to enter this debate with backup.

2010-06-10T21:52:00.000-07:00

Rain, rain...

The weather in Seattle has been unseasonably wet. I know Seattle has a reputation for rain, but May received almost double the average May rain. June is on the same path. June usually gets 1.5 inches of rain. So far June 2010 has had 1.57 inches.

Tuesday evening, Clem & Bates were over for dinner. As usual we had a wonderful time even though we drank too much.

We all agreed that at somepoint we have to live where it's Sunny.

Tommy, how sunny is LA?

2010-06-06T14:28:00.000-07:00

All is busy here. I know nothing about the arraignments for RO's sister's funeral. I don't think RO knows either. RO said that when other family members have died, they were just buried with no proper funeral. Maybe that's just the way his family operates.

It's the opposite of how my family operates. Everyone who died had a wake, a funeral and a post funeral reception. Death is very social. There is some grieving, but mostly it's a somber get-together.

2010-06-01T16:01:00.001-07:00

RO's sister died about half an hour ago. RO said she was in a lot of pain and that it's for the best that she's gone. When RO said that I could tell he was on the verge of crying.

2010-05-31T22:25:00.000-07:00

RO's sister has stage 4 cancer. She is refusing treatment and may be in the last days of her life.

RO is spending much time with her and trying to help in his own way. She can't chew food so he has been making her ever more elaborite smoothies with tofu and vitamin pills.

I think something has gone wrong tonight. Usually he spends a couple hours with her before he heads home. Tonight, it's getting late, and he's not returning his text's.

Be strong RO.

2010-05-28T17:52:00.000-07:00

aex said...

That you are a solid rock in a swift stream. ... one needs solid rocks to cling
on, was the water of life rushes by.

Thank you aex, whoever you may be.

Yo won't be moving in with us. He's kept putting off his move on account of finances. RO asked for the key back. I finally found him online-- I didn't spell his last name properly. When you do that, you learn all the details.

The local newspapers used him as an example in an article about improper state oversight of sex offenders. Yo had a license for a job that allowed him to work alone with children. The state didn't revoke the license after Yo was found guilty.

2010-05-26T20:36:00.001-07:00

I just realized that I've known Tommy Boy, ItsAllGrandLike & John for longer than all but a few of my friends. I can look this kind of stuff up with the blog.

I've known Tommy since 2001. ItsAllGrandLike & John since 2002. I've met most of my local friends since then. I think the one exception is Steven who I've known since 1999.

I still have all my old friends from Canada. But my Seattle friends come and go. Hmmm. I wonder what that says about me.

2010-05-25T15:38:00.000-07:00

RO threw a surprise birthday party for me. It was very sweet of him.

I had worked all day and was heading home when RO called me "Come to the store" he said "my sister wants to have a drink with you." We argued for a while. I was tired and didn't want to go out for a drink, but he twisted my arm enough, so I headed back to the store.

When I got to the store, lots of people where there. It was a great evening. Too much alcohol was drunk. Other than that, everyone had a great time.

Thanks RO. Love ya babe!

2010-05-21T10:45:00.000-07:00

Am fourth now. 40.

I wrote a long blog on the philsophy of being 40, but blogger ate it up when I clicked publish.

2010-05-15T11:53:00.001-07:00

"ya'll sure take in some odd fellows.. ya'll have big hearts"-- Tommy

Thank you Tommy. I don't know about the big hearted part. I agree that some of our roommates are odd.

I've been thinking about that. As a philosophy, I believe you should choose your acquaintances carefully-- you become like the people you hang around. In practice my friends and acquaintances are chosen more because I like them than for their virtues. A charming fool is easier to befriend than a quiet wise man.

2010-05-14T18:13:00.000-07:00

Yo may move in with us as our new room mate. We agreeded on this a while back and he has the key. But, he's been putting off the move.

Today we learnt why. Yo is a registered sex offender. When he moves in our address will be published on the state sex offenders web site. He's been hesitent to tell us this.

I've heard Yo's side of the story. I'm trying to double check it online but I can't find him in the registered sex offender databases.

The sex offender database is fascinating. You can pull up maps that show you where the offender lives and where the nearby schools are. It includes pictures, a brief description of the charges and the risk of re-offending.

I didn't realize there were soo many sex offences. Aside from the obvious ones, rape, molestation and child porn, there mysterious ones like "Indecent liberties" and "Sexual Motivation"

I searched for my friends in the database. No dirt came back.

I'm surprised how many sex offenders offended with children. Rape of a child is uncomfortably common and not the 21yo-who-slept-with-a-17yo variety either. The majority of the offenders are white men thirty and older who did something with someone under 16. It's very creapy and depressing.

So what then to do about Yo. I would feel a little more comfortable if I could find him online, but I can't. I searched by first name and last and variations of his first name and nick names and the cities he's lived in. But no Yo. Where are you hiding Yo? What did you really do?

2010-05-08T10:37:00.000-07:00

Tommy says "wow... one big family...interesting"

It is interesting. They like living in an extended family-- everyone from the grand parents through to the nephews and nieces under one roof. Great grandma used to live with them, but passed away last year.

They are also the first to admit there are drawbacks. You have to be good at defending your personal space and time.

If you have kids, there is always some one around to baby sit.

On the other hand, The adults have to do much co-ordination and communication. Otherwise the most lenient among them usurps their intent.

It doesn't work if one kid can only play X-Box from 7:00pm to 8:00pm while another is allowed to play after he finishes his homework.

If you buy an expensive birthday present for a niece, then you have to buy expensive birthday presents for all the nephews and nieces for the next year.

The kids also learn to work the system. If mommy or daddy won't let me have a cookie, then maybe the aunties or the uncles or grandma or grandpa will.