Thanksgiving… Had dinner with a few of Steven's AA buddies. It was a pleasant evening. SB roasted a wonderful turkey that needed an hour longer in the oven than planned. No worries as the company was nice, in the usual AA way.

 

The AA crowd has it's own special way. Half of them are borderline crazy. The other half can talk them back from the ledge. Perhaps they all switch rolls from time to time. It's interesting to watch.

 

The first snow has hit the mountains. Thanks to the summer heat and last winters drought, most mountains have been bare all summer. But now their peaks are turning white.

 

My ex. The end of my old relationship is not yet complete as my ex still lives in my house. I am in the process of evicting him. This is a far more complicated process than I had imagined. Everything in the legal system seems to be that way.

 

I can look on a web site and see the status of the case. Very hi-tech. It says that he has ben served. But, his quiet. I wonder what he is up to.

"writing has a warming quality for the Soul" Well said Tommy…

 

Years ago I read "Colin Powell with Tony Koltz. It worked for me. In Life and Leadership" I wrote down some quotes to remember. They apply today. Some of them make me smile.

 

It ain't as bad as you think, it will look better in the morning.

Get mad, then get over it.

Avoid having your ego so close to your position that when your position falls, your ego goes with it.

It can be done. Presume things can be done until the facts and analysis pile up against it.

Be careful what you choose, you may get it.

Don't let adverse facts stand in the way of a good decision.,

You can't make someone else's choices. Don't let someone else make yours.

Check small things.

Share credit.

Remain calm. Be kind.

Have a vision. Be demanding.

Don't take counsel of your fears or naysayers,.

Perpetual optimism is  force multiplier

 

 

I'm still processing the election. So much turmoil. In the process I've cut my self off most social media. I'm playing games on my phone instead of polling twitter and facebook.

 

The upside of this is that perhaps I will write more.

 

 

 

FW:

 

Happy Birthday Blog. This blog is now 16 years old.

 

 

 

The dog learnt the sound of the pill bottle. She runs when you pop the lid of the bottle. She is not too sick, just a little giardia. But still, she learnt the sound of the pill bottle. We compensated by leaving the top off the pill bottle.

 

Then the dog learnt the sound of the drawer where we kept the pills. She runs when you open that drawer.

 

She is too smart.

 

 

Trump 2…

So it's to be scorched earth then. This will be interesting.

I wonder about the people who aggressively defend Trump to the end. They are fun to watch on the news. I know a few people-in-person who are the same way, so I can't write them off as paid shills. Every bit of bad news is further evidence of collusion with Hillary. How do they process the revolt from within the GOP?

Of course it's easy for me to point fault here. What are my biases? I certainly acknowledge that Hillary has a past. She has been responsible for more than her fair share of slim and gunk. Am I enraged enough?

So many things to rant about…

 

Trump!

 

Trump makes me angry. There is a need for a conservative-thoughtful, conservative–careful, conservative-respectful voice in this country.  Trump is not that man. Even worse he has hijacked the "Conservative" conversation to the point where its now poison. Far right Christian organizations are now distastefully, painfully, endorsing Trump. That's going to damage their credibility for years.

 

Basically the whole political process in the US is going to shift to the left this election for very unhealthy, unbalanced reasons.

 

Don't get me wrong, as a gay Canadian, descendant of  Dutch parents I am about as left as it gets in America. I am also very pragmatic and try to be balanced. I would like people to vote left-of-center because they believe that is their best option. Not because the alternative is to vote for a train wreck. When Hillary wins, she is going to end up leading a population where one third (or more) of the population were ripped off by Trumps failure to be an effective leader. Their voice has not been herd. Center-Right policies are not being discussed. Much of the center right will be as angry as a hive of wasps.

 

 

I think I have an ulcer. Who knows really. I should it checked out. I just have daily heart burn.

 

Stevens mother is in town. She's not a bad woman, but a day with her is enough.

There is no being wistful about it-- fall is here.

Over Labor day, we had a couple of friends in from out of town. We had a great time with them. It seems that the only time we go out and see the local tourist attractions is when visitor arrive from out of town.

This summer weather has been wonderful. Not too many hot days. Evenings have a warm breeze scented with cedar and fir.

But now there are signs. The bed sheets are now too cool over night. This morning when I took the dog for a walk, I put a jacket on. I don't want to think about it, but the end of summer is creeping up.

At work, we are moving offices. I have Thursday and Friday off as a result. I'm not going to do much. Steven is away for work. Now, don't get me wrong, I do love Steven, but sometimes I love complete quiet. No people around. Just the sound of the wind through the trees and the trickle of water from the 'water feature' in the back yard.

Got back last week from our road trip. The entire loop was Astoria, Tillamook, Eureka, Calistoga, Guerneville, Ashland and then home.  

 

We spent a few days in Guerneville at Lazy Bear. It was fun, but a little bit odd for me. The guys we rented the house with (C&J) go to Lazy Bear every year. They know everyone. They introduced us to many people. After a while it gets a little overwhelming.

 

Everyone in our house was 'sober' This put an interesting spin on Lazy Bear as many guys are there to party.  Until now I didn't realize how many guys do drugs. I knew it happened, but this was the first time I noticed that there were times where almost everyone around me was stoned. Mind you. Marijuana is no legalish.

 

Our friend C is involved with Alcoholics Anonymous. He organizes meetings and is a sponsor for a few other guys. One evening we were talking about AA & Al-Anon (The peer meeting for friends and family of AA members) He asked why I didn't go to Al-Anon. I told him that I didn't really think I needed it. Even though Steven is also in A.A., he isn't relapsing. He lives a normal and healthy life. C said "As far as I know, everyone you've dated is an addict." He has a point. Maybe I will go to Al-Anon.

 

We left Guerneville on Saturday and drove up to Ashland.  Ashland is a wonderful little town in southern Oregon. Kelly said he's considered retiring there. I could see why. The weather is beautiful It's nestled in the mountains with great views.

 

We met the hotel owner the next day and told him our experience. He was very gracious and made things right. He gave us a tour of the rest of the hotel—it's going through a remodel. Our wing hadn't been touched yet. The rest of the hotel was very nice. Clean. Fun.

 

It seems that when you use one of those book-cheap-last-minute sites, owners push you into the least desirable rooms. They know you won't be back. You are only there for the price.

 

We are in Florence OR today. Beautiful here.

The Tillamook dairy factory is a huge tourist attractions. There are hundreds of people here eating cheese and ice cream.

We didn't see this sign until checking out.

There are dozens of flies in the front lobby. The air smells of fish. There is a fish processing plant next to us. Not good.

Steven and I are on a road trip. His first vacation in a long time. We made it to Astoria Oregon on our first night. 

We found the hotel on the internet using a last minute booking site. It was expensive. Its on the waterfront. What was there not to like?

Steven says the place looks cracky. The room next to us has barking dogs. The room smells musty. The bed looks clean though. I don't think it's been painted since the 70s. 

Do I sound entitled? Through this election process I've become very aware of how well off  I am. How good globalization had been for me. And how many people are not in the same boat. I could see how someone would think I'm spoiled.

Still, I will be more selective of the hotel tonight.

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The weather here has been pleasant. Not too hot this summer. Low 70's in the day. Cool overnight.

Had a wonderful weekend catching up to old friends. We've had a few old drama's that have been bugging us for months. They were resolved at one of the BBQ's.

C2 and QJ used to be close friends of Steven. They've been more distant since he moved back to Seattle. Invitations were never followed through on. At the BBQ, QJ realized he had the wrong number in his phone. Simple problem. Simple solution.

 

 

Of course things would get more complicated. As the time gets closer for RO to get out of the house, he finds many reasons he can't. move. His credit isn't good. The market is too hot. No one will take a man without… blah blah blah.

 

The latter half of June has been quiet. I've sent my first payment off to my ex and his lawyer. The next step is that he moves out of the house. I get to change the locks on August 1.

Things are on the up with C2. He's stuck at a job he hates. He is staying there because it will get him a Top Secret clearance in a few months. The jobs he really wants need Top Secret clearances.

Now that we are settling in, Steven and I have joined a local gym. We have yet to go but the that's in the works.

More generally, I think Steven and I have to plan ahead a little more. Our jobs can be very long and stressful, so it easy to get into a rut where we do nothing but work, eat and sleep. It wouldn't take that much more to say "Let's go to the gym Tuesday evening." Lets meet up with a friend on Thursday." The time will fly by wither we plan for it or not.  

 

 

Steven has a dog. He loves that dog. She is very cute. I regularly take her out for runs and hikes..

 

Sometimes I let her off leash when I hike on the trails behind our house. I know I shouldn't, but she likes it and she gets so much extra exercise. As I'm walking along the trail, she'll run a little a head of me, then run back, then run ahead, then run back.

 

Last weekend while I was hiking with her, something spooked her—a group of trail runners behind us talking, making noise.  She sprinted ahead of me and vanished. That shouldn't have been a problem. She usually waits when she gets too far ahead of me.

 

Not this time. She wasn't there when I got to the fork in the trail.

 

I hung around the fork for a few minutes, calling her name.

 

Then I started running up and down the branches of the fork. Calling her name.

 

I ran back to the fork, then ran farther down each of the forks.

 

Every time I ran into someone on the trail. I asked them if they had seen a dog. I asked them to keep there eyes open and gave them my cell #.

 

After 45 minutes of this, I finally worked up the courage to call Steven and tell him what happened.

 

He was shocked and angry with me. We came up with a plan that he would start walking the trail close to our house going east. I would cover it from the west.

 

When he opened the front door, there she was sitting on the front porch. Her paws were dirty and she was covered with burrs. But she was fine.

 

For my punishment, I had to taker her to a groomer. The groomer did a good job. The dog is all pretty again.

 

Later on I saw on the local Internet Message board…

Saw a white lab with a blue/green collar running around off leash on Shangri La way. The dog came running down Shangri La and took a right on Talus drive. She was too fast for me to catch her. I waited for a few minutes to see if the owner was around but no one turned up. Hope the puppy finds the way back home

 

I am so happy, and a little surprised, that the dog knows her way back home.