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Our Canada Day morning was spent taking down a damaged tree in our front yard. The Tree Guy said that it was going to cost $600 to take it down (plus GST). We took it down for free (with the help of a guy who’s taken down a bunch of trees – my brother).
We wrapped that up by about lunch and then headed to his place to help him with a little gardening too.
But, after that, Sherry and I took a mini-tropical vacation in our own back yard. It was a nice sunny day yesterday and we made frozen Margaritas so thick that they piled up in the middle (they melted pretty quickly in the sun, but they started out really frozen). We then stripped down to our skimpiest swimware and took turns on the massage table – out in the sun.
It was fabulous. Until my Mom arrived. We were barely clothed on our back deck and she came waltzing in our private party and she didn’t leave. Talk about a wet blanket raining on our sunshine. Yikes.
So, the Festival stress has started. We don’t have enough hardware, the hardware is antiquated and flaky and won’t talk to the server anymore (it did on Monday). Aaaaarrrrrrggggghhhhhh. I don’t get paid nearly enough for that much stress.
To top it all off one of our bigger clients has an emergency rush job that needs to be done sometime today or tomorrow (and it’ll take about six to eight hours to do) and I don’t have nearly that kind of free time with the Festival being Friday afternoon. Ha.
I’m tired.
I’m thankful that we were able to save $600
I’m thankful that Mike was so good at cutting down trees
I’m thankful that Sherry and I were able to share a quiet margarita together
I know that God wants Sherry and me to be a happy couple
We cram so much into our weeks that it’s a little crazy.
Now that Michelle has moved out, Sherry and I are saving for our second honeymoon, so every chance that we have to make a little money on the side we’re taking.
This weekend was a job for an old customer from Sherry’s work. He doesn’t want to hire the company, but he’s really impressed with Sherry’s work so he hired her on the side (with permission from her immediate boss).
We made just over $500 for the weekend and when you add that to the $550 that I made on 8mm transfers that puts us about half way to our goal. Whohoo. We’re hoping to go in September or October so we still have the rest of the summer to make the rest.
Michelle came over to complain about her phone bill. She thinks that we should pay the $100/month bill for her cell phone. I’m not exactly sure why that is (other than she didn’t have a credit card when she signed up for the phone and Sherry used hers… we’ll have to fix that as soon as there’s no penalty for switching). She’s making my life more complicated that it needs to be.
Speaking of complicated – today is the day that John needs the next version of our flagship product ready to ship and I don’t have my internet up yet. That means that I can’t get the install finished. That’s going to push the whole thing right on top of our Festival – which has a hard launch date of July 6th. Yuck.
I’ll need to get Bryon trained shortly since we have Canada Day tomorrow and no one is working. I need a better internet connection!
I’ve decided to just give away my code and not tell Bernie that I’m teaching Colours. Let the chips land where they may. I’ll keep Dad posted on what’s up with the payment for the code – he’s really pissed that I haven’t been paid for it yet too. I’ll just let Bernie know that I feel like his millionaire friend has screwed me over by not paying for the code that he relies on to keep the Festival gates running smoothly. Whatever happens after that is fine. I’ve already emotionally checked out of this whole Festival thing now. Poor Bryon.
I’m thankful that we get to have a second Honeymoon – I can’t wait!
I’m thankful that Sherry’s client was so easy to work for and so generous
I’m thankful that Sherry is on board with this trip in September.
I know that God wants our marriage to be strong.
Vegas was a lot of fun. It was exhausting being on the West Coast – we’re from the EST time zone and when it was 9pm there it felt like midnight. Yikes. The shows didn’t usually start until after 9. I think we got to bed every night after 3am (our time).
The trip home put us in our beds around 3am (our time and local time). It was rough getting up for work Wednesday morning, and I’m still not quite 100%, but after this weekend I should be ok.
We had a chance to see Penn and Teller live. They were really entertaining and there were two or three tricks that I have no idea how they did. One with a gun where they fired the bullets across the stage and caught them in the teeth. Very cool.
We also saw Cirque de Solei (Mystere) while we were there. That was really impressive. We were hoping to see Zumanity as well, but had to settle for Fantasy instead (which isn’t a Cirque performance and you could tell).
Mom won a bunch of money at the slots and treated us to a supper at Planet Hollywood – it was one of the most amazing steak dinners I’ve had in a very long time. Really nice food.
We did a ton of walking while we were there. We shot some very cool photos and had a really nice time sleeping in and just exploring the casinos.
I decided not to gamble at all while we were there (not even a nickel). Most of us didn’t gamble at all, which is kinda nice.
Back to the real world…
We had our staff meeting this morning and we were talking about advertising our next Colours offering since we have two new people who haven’t taken the training yet.
I said that I’m planning on teaching a class at church this fall and the two new gals could take it then.
Well, doesn’t Bernie light up and ask why he’s not getting his share of the profit for me teaching at the church. It told him there was no profit, I do it for free and then he accuses me of breaching Conflict of Interest Rules. Holy Poop. We talked about this. Explicitly. Before I was trained. That’s why I was so excited.
He really pisses me off when he gets all sarcastic at me. It’s a non-profit organization. They won’t pay for training. None of the people that go would ever pay for it. I have to teach the class about every three months or else I forget the details. Would he rather me find a group of students or would he like to? It’s been four months since the last time he’s put together a class and the next one doesn’t look like it’ll be for another two or three.
Oh, he really pisses me off sometimes.
I’m thankful that I’m not married to him (I don’t know how Robyn does it)
I’m thankful that weekend is finally here so I can get some nap time in.
I’m thankful that our family enjoyed Vegas and didn’t have any major blowouts.
I know that God isn’t finished with me yet (whew).
Vegas was a lot of fun. It was exhausting being on the West Coast – we’re from the EST time zone and when it was 9pm there it felt like midnight. Yikes. The shows didn’t usually start until after 9. I think we got to bed every night after 3am (our time).
The trip home put us in our beds around 3am (our time and local time). It was rough getting up for work Wednesday morning, and I’m still not quite 100%, but after this weekend I should be ok.
We had a chance to see Penn and Teller live. They were really entertaining and there were two or three tricks that I have no idea how they did. One with a gun where they fired the bullets across the stage and caught them in the teeth. Very cool.
We also saw Cirque de Solei (Mystere) while we were there. That was really impressive. We were hoping to see Zumanity as well, but had to settle for Fantasy instead (which isn’t a Cirque performance and you could tell).
Mom won a bunch of money at the slots and treated us to a supper at Planet Hollywood – it was one of the most amazing steak dinners I’ve had in a very long time. Really nice food.
We did a ton of walking while we were there. We shot some very cool photos and had a really nice time sleeping in and just exploring the casinos.
I decided not to gamble at all while we were there (not even a nickel). Most of us didn’t gamble at all, which is kinda nice.
Back to the real world…
We had our staff meeting this morning and we were talking about advertising our next Colours offering since we have two new people who haven’t taken the training yet.
I said that I’m planning on teaching a class at church this fall and the two new gals could take it then.
Well, doesn’t Bernie light up and ask why he’s not getting his share of the profit for me teaching at the church. It told him there was no profit, I do it for free and then he accuses me of breaching Conflict of Interest Rules. Holy Poop. We talked about this. Explicitly. Before I was trained. That’s why I was so excited.
He really pisses me off when he gets all sarcastic at me. It’s a non-profit organization. They won’t pay for training. None of the people that go would ever pay for it. I have to teach the class about every three months or else I forget the details. Would he rather me find a group of students or would he like to? It’s been four months since the last time he’s put together a class and the next one doesn’t look like it’ll be for another two or three.
Oh, he really pisses me off sometimes.
I’m thankful that I’m not married to him (I don’t know how Robyn does it)
I’m thankful that weekend is finally here so I can get some nap time in.
I’m thankful that our family enjoyed Vegas and didn’t have any major blowouts.
I know that God isn’t finished with me yet (whew).
I hate it when I have two conflicting projects that are both really tight on time and due at the same time as well.
I have to finish up the install and documentation for my flagship product and get ready for Bayfest at the same time. Yuck.
Two more sleeps (well, really one and a half – we leave at 3am Saturday morning). I’m getting excited now! We’re working on a house sitter for the weekend. Do you know of anyone that wants to house sit a rather High Tech house for the weekend? We have a 12 foot screen in our basement hooked up to a Media Center PC with hundreds of movies on the hard drive. It has 5.1 Surround that will make your ears bleed (if that’s what you like). Anyone?
Sherry had a rough day yesterday. Her clients were so picky that they measured the plan and the install and it was off by one inch and they made them redo it.
When she finished installing it the yard matched the plan exactly and it looked like crap. The installer is supposed to have a little wiggle room to make the yard look right – the designer can’t spend enough time with the drawing to anticipate every little detail.
Anyway, she left it looking like crap because it matched the plan exactly. Stupid picky clients – they’ll never be allowed back.
Michelle is headed up to Sherry’s Mom’s place today for her long weekend. She should have a good time up there. She’s also promised to put some money down on her insurance bill. We’ll have to see how much before we decide if she gets to keep her car insurance for July.
I’m thankful that I did things the normal way and got a normal education and a normal job
I’m thankful that my normal education was at one of the top three schools in the country
I’m thankful that my normal job proved to me that I’m a World Class Programmer.
I know that God wants me to be World Class at what I do.
I went for a 6k run with a friend of mine who runs competitively and I managed to keep up with her for the whole run and I guess that means that my treadmill work has actually prepared me for real road racing.
Very cool. I had been a little concerned that my treadmill wasn’t the same as running on the road, but I guess it’s close enough.
Three sleeps.
I’ve been invited to a Men’s Conference in September as George’s mentee. That’s really cool. I’m hoping to have a chance to teach Colours while I’m there, but there’s really only one slot that it’ll fit into and I’ll be competing against a bunch of really cool relaxational type stuff. That could be a hard sell.
I had coffee with Don the other day, that was really nice. He was really challenged by what George had to say on the weekend. It looks like it may actually change Don’s behavior. Cool.
Rick borrowed the van to go to London yesterday – it was mixed news. He’s recovered enough from last year’s surgery that the Dr. doesn’t need to see him anymore (unless there’s pain) which is good news, the bad news is that some of the nerve damage is now permanent. Bummer.
Rick did get a good deal on the scrap metal that he brought into the metal dealer there. He came away with a wallet full of cash – that was cool. Not quite as much as he was hoping for since he had some mixed metal – bummer.
In other news – we’ve started on the interlock patio area again. The hole has been dug for quite some time now and it’s being filled in with gravel. We have almost enough in now to do the tamping, so when Sherry brings home the next load of gravel she’ll bring the tamper too. Oh it looks like a lot of work.
Not a lot else up. I’ll be headed out shortly to pick up an iPod accessory for the trip and then to a meeting at the church for a couple of minutes and then out for coffee and back here to make supper.
Yikes, I cram a lot into my days!
I’m thankful that my road run went so well
I’m thankful that I’m in such good shape
I’m thankful that I lead a rich, full life
I know that God wants me to wring every last drop of pleasure out of my time here.
Apparently I’m getting a little excited about our trip to Vegas! We leave in the middle of the night this Friday. The limo gets us around 3am and the flight out is at 6am (or some such). I’m going to try indoor sky diving (apparently it’s a really tall hollow building, or a really strong fan – one or the other)
I’m still torn on what to do about gambling while we’re there. I have a rather addictive personality and haven’t gambled (other than church raffles) in 17 years. The last time was kinda nasty. I have a feeling that I’ll take the high ground on this one and not risk it.
The weekend was really nice (packed, but nice). Friday was actually an easy night – Sherry was exhausted so we did pizza and a movie at home.
Saturday was jammed. After our regular 6am meeting I trimmed the ivy that covers our house, fixed the satellite problem, revamped our Tivo, cleaned the house, folded laundry, fixed Mom’s digital frame and did some overdue banking. Then Sherry got home from work and the real fun started.
At least date night that night was a good time. We were pretty tired by the end of date night and fell into bed relatively early and pretty tired. There was a storm that night that woke us around 4am – grrr.
Sunday was church and then 6 people over for a Father’s Day lunch. That was nice and went until about 3:00. Then we did some yard work, cleaned out the laundry room and some other random chores around the house. We tried to get to bed early again last night and doesn’t the neighbor set off his car alarm at 4:05am (exactly)! Arrrgghh. If you can’t run the car alarm properly – especially at 4am – then don’t use it.
So, I’m pretty tired today and I’ve been tasked with a nasty project to get our product ready to ship. Trying to position the playback point in a variable bitrate wma file. Yuck.
I’m thankful that I really enjoy the challenges of my job.
I’m thankful that I’m not responsible for Bayfest this year – I’m just a teacher.
I’m thankful that we have a nice break scheduled just before the Bayfest insanity starts.
I know that God wants me to be insanely good at what I’m called to do.
Independent Thinkers are analytical and witty persons. They are normally self-confident and do not let themselves get worked up by conflicts and criticism. They are very much aware of their own strengths and have no doubts about their abilities. People of this personality type are often very successful in their career as they have both competence and purposefulness. Independent Thinkers are excellent strategists; logic, systematics and theoretical considerations are their world. They are eager for knowledge and always endeavour to expand and perfect their knowledge in any area which is interesting for them. Abstract thinking comes naturally to them; scientists and computer specialists are often of this type.
Independent Thinkers are specialists in their area. The development of their ideas and visions is important to them; they love being as flexible as possible and, ideally, of being able to work alone because they often find it a strain having to make their complex trains of thought understandable to other people. Independent Thinkers cannot stand routine. Once they consider an idea to be good it is difficult to make them give it up; they pursue the implementation of that idea obstinately and persistently, also in the face of external opposition.
Independent Thinkers are not the type who easily comes out of his shell. Speaking about their emotional life is also not one of their strong points. Anyway, social relationships are not particularly important to them; they are happy with just a few, close friends who find it easy to share their intellectual world. They find it difficult to establish new ties. In love, they need a lot of space and independence but this does not mean that their partner is not important to them. Independent Thinkers often make a cool and reserved impression on others; but this impression is deceptive: they can hardly bear it if people close to them should reject them. They prefer a harmonious, balanced relationship with a partner who shares their interests and with whom they can realise their visions.
Wow, I think that was as close as I’ve ever been to being ‘depressed’. It was like I was thinking in a cloud – you know how you get when you’re sick and you can’t concentrate on anything (like your thoughts are moving through molasses?) that was the same sort of feeling, but with Fog instead of Molasses.
Weird.
But, I think I’m back. I’ve decided to let the Bayfest thing go – I’m going to turn the code over to EBTech and just trust that they’ll figure something out that’s fair. I’ll spend this festival teaching the tech guys at work to use the system and then I won’t have to do anything else with it.
The only lingering question is why anyone else would want to go through the stress that I went through for the last five years without any payment (other than a dinner that even the ticket rippers get)? I guess that’s not my problem.
This weekend is Father’s Day – it looks like we’ll be hosting that event too. We’re hoping to have steak and baked potatoes for lunch – that should be a good time. I have to be at church this weekend and I have breakfast with Rick. Looks like it’ll be a busy day…
We’re announcing Deep Coffee at church this weekend. I have to decide how I want to introduce it and how the signup will work. Perhaps I should take care of that tonight… hmmmm… Of course I have that Office 2007 class that I’m teaching tonight – that doesn’t leave a lot of extra time… hmmmm…
Sherry is planning on starting in on the interlock patio tonight. She’ll bring home some gravel to level the surface and then we’ll be almost ready to start the install. She has a little bit of work to do on Saturday at work and then we need to get ready for Father’s Day. She’s also planning on doing a little work for a former client (and he’s offered enough to get us most of the way to Mexico –with a little money from my Vinyl to CD business we should be able to get away for a week this fall – yaaaa!)
I’m thankful that the Fog has lifted.
I’m thankful that the Fog is such a foreign experience – I know guys who live their lives like that (yikes).
I’m thankful that I enjoy teaching – it makes it a lot easier
I know that God is my Heavenly Father – and that makes me a Prince in His kingdom.
Blah.
