Dive N' Wine

Jellyfish Bad Day

2009-05-01T10:50:00.000-07:00

I got this over at scubadiver girls. Enjoy!!!

Hi Sue,

Just another note from your bottom-dwelling brother. Last week I had a bad day at the office. I know you’ve been feeling down lately at work, so I thought I would share my dilemma with you to make you realize it’s not so bad after all.

Before I can tell you what happened to me, I first must bore you with a few technicalities of my job. As you know, my office lies at the bottom of the sea. I wear a suit to the office. It’s a wet suit. This time of year the water is quite cool.

So what we do to keep warm is this: We have a diesel powered industrial water heater. This $20,000 piece of equipment sucks the water out of the sea. It heats it to a delightful temperature. It then pumps it down to the diver through a garden hose, which is taped to the air hose. Now this sounds like a darn good plan, and I’ve used it several times with no complaints. What I do, when I get to the bottom and start working, is take the hose and stuff it down the back of my wet suit. This floods my whole suit with warm water. It’s like working in a Jacuzzi.

Everything was going well until all of a sudden, my butt started to itch. So, of course, I scratched it. This only made things worse.

Within a few seconds my butt started to burn. I pulled the hose out from my back, but the damage was done. In agony I realized what had happened. The hot water machine had sucked up a jellyfish and pumped it into my suit. Now, since I don’t have any hair on my back, the jellyfish couldn’t stick to it, however, the crack of my butt was not as fortunate. When I scratched what I thought was an itch, I was actually grinding the jellyfish into the crack of my butt.

I informed the dive supervisor of my dilemma over the communicator.

His instructions were unclear due to the fact that he, along with five other divers, were all laughing hysterically. Needless to say I aborted the dive. I was instructed to make three agonizing in-water decompression stops totaling thirty-five minutes before I could reach the surface to begin my chamber dry decompression. When I arrived at the surface, I was wearing nothing but my brass helmet.

As I climbed out of the water, the medic, with tears of laughter running down his face, handed me a tube of cream and told me to rub it on my butt as soon as I got in the chamber. The cream put the fire out, but I couldn’t poop for two days because my butt was swollen shut.

So, next time you’re having a bad day at work, think about how much worse it would be if you had a jellyfish shoved up your butt.

Now repeat to yourself, “I love my job, I love my job, I love my job.”

Whenever you have a bad day, ask yourself, is this a jellyfish bad day?

May you NEVER have a jellyfish bad day

Office Quote #9

2009-03-19T01:37:00.001-07:00

"I have been involved in a number of cults-both as a leader and a follower. You have more fun as a follower. But you make more money as a leader."
-Creed

Sometimes, you have to look deeper...

2009-03-17T11:09:00.000-07:00

Liege took this shot of Makenna the other day. It was hilarious. At first I said, how cute. Then I realized she had a big fat lugie (honestly, I don't know the correct spelling of lugie) dripping from her chin. It was taken with a phone, which is why the image sucks. With our camera the blowup would have even been a good image. On a different tangent, that is why I hate the multi function phones. Nobody has the camera primed and ready anymore! A lot of great and spontaneous shots are camera phones. And they suck!!! I can't complain though. I have about 12 pictures of our daughter and 100% of them were taken with my phone. My wife has taked 5399204 pictures of our daughter and less than 20% were with her phone. So I must end my complaint now because there is no personal validity to it. But I can hate camera phones in principal!!!

Makenna and Miles

2009-03-15T00:46:00.000-07:00

Liege let me post this before her... However, since I didn't for two weeks, she went ahead and did. Any time she (Makenna, not Liege) is frustrated, unhappy, or bored, we just call Miles over (the dog if you don't know). She cheers up, and as you see, will crack up laughing at him. Even if he is just sitting there. What I have discovered, is she doesn't just love him, he loves her back. Due to my office being adjacent to the family room, I hear her noises all day. When I am with her, I focus on her noises, needs, and wants. However, the other day she was sleeping in the family room. Mom went upstairs to shower. Makenna started to cry. Because I hear this daily but continue working through it, I did the norm. I know I am a bad dad. But, then, Miles came running in my office. He came and did a couple jumps, then ran out. "What a stupid, random dog" was my first thought. Then he did it again. I got up figuring he had to go out and go potty and found him sitting at the feet of Makenna crying. He is amazing. We talked about what training we were going to have to do to get him used to her. We didn't have to do any. He loves her. Will sit at her feet and lay like he is watching over her. He will sniff her feet but only approach her other parts of the body if we are holding her and call him over. I can't believe it. I guess I am glad he was babysitting when daddy wasn't paying attention.

Office Quote #8

2009-03-12T15:27:00.001-07:00

"When I came home, Sprinkle's body was in the freezer, where Dwight said he left her. But all my bags of frozen French fries had been clawed to shreds... Something's not right. The vet's doing an autopsy."

- Angela

Best Blog Post Ever!!!

2009-03-11T12:26:00.000-07:00

Unfortunately was not mine.

I met a great guy and got to spend several days (and amazing nights) with him at Re:create. His name is Jvo (ok so that is not his name). What I love about JVo is that he is just one cool dude. He spends his talents and energies for God and when you get to meet him, he is just one cool dude. Very few people get to be as real and transparent with their communities and congreation as they are with their other friends and peers (I know I can't think of any that I have been close to or worked with, but I have always believed they exist). But outside of his amazing creativity, that was the thing I found in JVO that I admired most. Wait... This wasn't supposed to be a JVO praising session, this is supposed to be a blog post. PS JVO loves a fine wine and scotch, so those that know me know I liked him imediately.

Well I have been adiment that I do not talk about work on my blog. I hate my work. It is not fun. It is not interesting. Anything I post about my work would help put myself out of a job. The more people learn about tax law, the more they think they can do them themselves. So I never post about work. However, I LOVE Turbo Tax, H&R, and all the rest. When clients tell me they are going to save some money to do it differently it is music to my ears!!! Why? Because every (and I mean every single) time they try one of these, they come back pleading for help. This allows me to fix their first attempt, and then in their eyes validates me as a service for life. So I love the Box!!!

So I guess I rambled...but here is the best blog post ever... It comes straight from JVO. That's right, a 100% copy and paste from JVO's blog.

L O S T is Like Doing my Taxes

Tonight I am doing tax prep for an appointment this week. I wish I was watching LOST. However, it isn't on tonight. Rerun. Uhhh. Here are some similarities (if you aren't a fan, you may not get it--that's okay):

1. Mystery
2. Unexplained losses
3. Feel like I've been here before
4. The numbers don't make sense
5. There's no way out of here
6. Tension.
7. I've come up with a lot of Sawyer nicknames for Uncle Sam.
8. We're screwed.
9. The "others" took Walt. Some others are taking my Wallet.
10. They have the guns!
11. Faith may have something to do with it, but there sure seems to be a lot of chance.
12. Some documents are missing
13. We have to claim our cruise as extra income from Tahni’s company. I want to go back to the island. It is my destiny.
14. I lost a child this year. Well, kinda. She got married. No more deduction.
15. It feels like one big con.
16. I’m getting a bloody nose.
17. This is like being tortured on some level.
18. I may have to lie to save us all.
19. I am thinking about claiming a child that is not my own.
20. The pain is so great, I have taken to drinking.
21. One minute it was all here. The next it was gone.
22. I’ve thought about hopping on a plane to nowhere.
23. I’ve thought of changing my name.
24. If I don’t enter these numbers, will the world “really” end?
25. I really didn’t anticipate this much math.
26. I’m hoping for a second chance. Or retribution.
27. I’ve never seen Uncle Sam. Jacob?
28. Not a lot of answers.
29. I’m tired of repeats.
30. More questions. More questions.
31. I have to keep referring to the forums.
32. Is that hieroglyphics?
33. John Locke gave up a kidney. I may sell mine.
34. I’m kinda losing my tail section.
35. I keep saying, “What?”
36. I’m pretty sure there’s one rich guy pulling the strings.
37. Some have suggested this is purgatory but it isn’t.
38. I’m going crazy and hearing voices in my head.
39. “You all everybody” have to do yours as well.
40. I wish I still had my VW bus. I did a 1040ez back then.

Office Quote #7

2009-03-05T14:02:00.000-08:00

"I've always wanted to be in the witness protection program. Fresh start-no debts, no baggage. I've already got my name picked out. Lord Rupert Everton. I'm a shipping merchant who raises fancy dogs. That's the life."

-Michael

If You Watch Lost...

2009-02-27T14:03:00.001-08:00

You will love this video of Sayid's standup. If you don't watch Lost, don't waste your time watching this. You won't get it.

HT JVo's blog Vertizontal

Office Quote #6

2009-02-26T13:59:00.000-08:00

"As a farmer, I know that when an animal is sick, sometimes the right thing to do is put it out of its misery. With teh electricity we're using to keep Meredith alive, we could power a small fan for two days. You tell me what's unethical."

-Dwight

Why I don't blog.

2009-02-25T23:41:00.000-08:00

The reason's why I don't blog regularly:

The reason's why I don't blog regularly are simple. The most things I, in my heart, want to blog about, most people don't want to read (or the people who actually come here). I let my blog lay dormant most of the time. I most often want to blog about an amazing wine experience or a great diving experience. This is the reason I originally titled my blog "dive n wine". Why do I want to blog about these things??? I don't have any good friends that enjoy wine. I don't have any friends that enjoy diving. So this could be my outlet in sharing about these things that I don't have anyone in my life with to really converse with and share like I would like to be able to.

The problem is, no one out there cares either. The only time I really get love or comments is when I post pics of my daughter. I don't do this very often. My wife does though.

It was a rude awakening that most people that come here could care less about the things I created this to be about, in which I don't have someone in my life to share about. The reason I don't share the pics of my daughter more often, or other trivial things, is I have people to share those things with (the ones in our daily lives). I believe that I have the social and networking skills to turn my blog into a social empire. I don't want that either. I don't want this to be a thing that's purpose is to serve my ego. This blog was never meant to change the world. It was designed as an outlet.

I don't want my blog to be about self promotion. You never hear tax talk cauz I don't want to try and gain business on it. You don't hear endless paragraphs of self revelation, because they are often jumbled in my head and there are countless blogs devoted to such things.

So what will this blog become? I don't know?

So I guess I am asking the few readers that routinely come here. What do you enjoy? What do you want to read? Cauz if it is just an online journal for myself, I can do that in my own book on my nightstand without having to post pictures. What would you want to hear, see, or read about from me?

Seriously? What?

Amazing Wine Night...Break from Taxes

2009-02-25T15:42:00.000-08:00

Last Wednesday, I decided to take the afternoon off from work. I have been in my hole doing tax returns constantly lately. I know my wife was longing for some time together, and so was I. We went down to Old Town Clovis to watch the Amgen Tour of California go flying by to the finish. It was kinda cool. I had to go to church, but we made plans to go to Trelio for a nice dinner afterwards.

Everyone knows how much I like Trelio. It is hands down the best food and wine of any restaurant in Fresno or Clovis. But this post will not be about that (because I have posted about it so much before).
When we arrived, there were no open tables. Chris told us to come anytime after 8 because one of the team's and the organizers of the Clovis leg of the amgen were having a party from 4-7. Well I guess they were having quite the time and all stayed for dinner. Chris convinced us not to leave and made settings for us at the wine bar. So we stayed.
After all the quite drunken people left (remember they had been there since 4) around 9:30, we were able to finish our meal in peace. Great meal, paired with a Freeman Pinot Noir.
A man sat down at the bar and pulled a bottle of Sauvignon Blanc. He poured Chris (the owner at Trelio) a taste. He turned to us asking if we would like a taste. How polite. So we partook with them. It was great.
A little while later his bag was empty and there were 8 of his wines on the wine bar in which we were able to taste all of them. We got to know this strange man (or an angel sent to Trelio to us). His name is Russell Bevan. Russell is now the winemaker for Showket Vineyards (one of my napa Fav's) and has his own wines as well (Bevan Cellars). Russell poured me some of the best Cabernet Sauvignon's and Syrahs I have ever tasted (and that is saying something since those are the two main varietals I drink). Not only were his wines great, he is just a cool guy. He had his label, some Showket, and some wines he had made for some other projects. Hopefully Trelio has an "in" for his wines now. They are only in a few high end boutiques in NY and a few restaurants in NY. Trelio will be the first one to carry them in CA (yes I know they are from CA). Then came the sucky part. I wanted to know what I could purchase (well what Trelio could get and I could buy from them). Nothing. What we tasted were some of his own personal library wines that he had less than 1 case of each of. The Shoket's hadn't been released yet!!! What a tease. But we tasted several different vintages, and I know anything he does will be quality. I look forward to the futures we will get!!!!
A cool thing Russell is doing with his label: All of his wines have a unique bottle code on the back label. You can text that code to a number, and you will receive all info about the wine. It's making, tasting notes, everything!!! How sweet is that. You know how many times I am struggling in a restaurant on my phone trying to find info and tasting notes of a wine. That is SWEET!!!!

Anyway, it was one of the best wine experiences of my life. We didn't leave Trelio until 2am. Liege, Makenna, myself, and Russell were the only ones there from 10-2. How often do you get to spend that type of quality time with such an amazing winemaker??? What a night. I think part of what makes it so special, is that it was so unexpected!!! I hadn't signed up for a winemaker dinner event, I hadn't planned a tasting. We were just going to dinner, and this amazing event happened out of nowhere. SWEEET!!! DOUBLE SWEEET!!!

Office Quote #5

2009-02-19T13:54:00.000-08:00

"Yes, money has been a little bit tight lately. But, at the end of my life, when I'm sitting on my yacht, am I going to be thinking about how much money I have? No. I;m going to be thinking about how many friends that I have. And my children. And my comedy albums. I mean, I have a yacht so I obviously did pretty well money wise."

-Michael

V-Day Wine Tasting

2009-02-17T13:21:00.000-08:00

On Valentines day, my lovely wife and I went with some people wine tasting. There was an event from Fresno Wines called "Fresno Wine and Chocolate Weekend," or something like that. The problem is, I have had some amazing local wines. So I thought I would give these Fresno guys a try. We got a limo (a cool Hummer Limo) and hit the tour. There is only one time I have had so much crappy wine in my life. We did a Texas wine tasting event. Ever have any good wine from Texas? I didn't think so. This wasn't any better. I couldn't identify any varietals, and most were just flat out undrinkable. The chocolate part of the event is some tasting rooms had m&m's or hershey kisses out. Yeah!
Well after all of this, I stumbled on one table that wasn't part of the winery we were at. All three of his wines seemed amazing to me. He had a Grenache, Tempranillo, and a Cab Sav. However, I was not sure that it just seemed good because I had so much garbage before. Like finding a piece of coal in a pile of cow dung (I have no idea why that is the illustration that came to my mind while trying to think of an example of something that isn't that great, but can seem great when compared next to something absolutely awful). But, I was right. There wines are great. The winemaker is Stewart Epstein of Sunfire Estate. Great wines. The problem, not Fresno fruit. He just makes and cellars the wine in Fresno. So it isn't exactly Fresno wines.

So I have learned my lesson. There are some great wines grown somewhat locally, but none on the valley floor. Guys, if the only acreage you can afford is on the valley floor, MAKE RAISINS!!! If I decide to go tasting some "local wines" I will stick to the few gems in Madera and Mariposa Counties. Or take the drive to the other excellent wine regions in CA.
Nothing Great is grown on the valley floor, but I am glad I have found things that are made on the Valley Floor. Sunfire is a great find!!! The pic is of me talking with Stewart, the winemaker of Sunfire.

Office Quote #4

2009-02-12T13:51:00.000-08:00

"I think it's great that the company is making a commercial. Because not very many people have heard of us. I mean, when I tell people that I work at Dunder Mifflin, they think that we sell mufflers, or muffins, or mittens, or.... And frankly, all of those sound better than paper, so I let is slide."

-Jim

WOW!!! Phoenix on Letterman

2009-02-12T13:10:00.001-08:00

Well I knew it wouldn't actually last long. I wonder how many people CBS is paying right now to go and take down their you tube videos. If I was CBS, I would love this attention. Remember when Hugh Grant went on Leno and forever took over the ratings from Letterman? Well this could get it back. If this gets circulated everywhere Letterman could probably get some love from the Leno types. But no, CBS doesn't think that way. I don't know why. So this video no longer works...

Office Quote #3

2009-02-05T13:40:00.000-08:00

"So Ryan got promoted to corporate, where he's a little fish in a big pond. Whereas back here in Scranton I'm still top dog in a fairly large pond. So who is the real boss, the dog, or a fish?"

-Michael

Recreate Conference PreGame

2009-02-02T22:33:00.000-08:00

This week I am at the recreate conference in Franklin, TN just outside of Nashville. I have wanted to come here for several years. There will be more to come for sure. Here is a little video of the pre conference action. I traveled with Pat, and Randy drove up from GA to hang out with us Sat night and Super Bowl Sunday. If you think you are too busy to watch 9 minutes of video, I guess I will understand. However, EVERYONE should at least pick it up at the 5:25 mark. I promise you Randy will not disappoint. (PS, some of my music decided to not upload with the video, but I am not going to redo it. Just know that the original is cooler with cool tunes)

Church Visit

2009-02-02T00:49:00.000-08:00

Today in Nashville, I went to service at Cross Point Church. I met this guy, who is now on staff at Cross Point. The service was amazing! No pinching of tits though.

Office Quote #2

2009-01-29T13:47:00.000-08:00

"My girlfriend and I broke up recently and I must say I am relieved. Gives me a chance to sow my wild oats. In the Schrute family, we have a tradition where when the male has sex with another woman he is rewarded with a bag of wild oats, left on his doorstep by his parents. You can use those oats to make oatmeal, bread, whatever you want. I don't care, they're your oats."

-Dwight

This is a Post

2009-01-29T12:43:00.001-08:00

Only for the reason of checking my RSS settings. Hopefully it isn't your favorite post on my blog.

Tax Season

2009-01-28T15:54:00.001-08:00

I saw this on my Buddy Scott's blog. As many know I am a tax man. Not the bad kind taking your taxes, the good kind trying to have you pay as little as legally possible. As we begin tax season this is a good video to lift our spirits!!!

Embedded Video

Customer Service Problems

2009-01-27T22:45:00.000-08:00

If you are like me it seems like I always have to talk to "customer service" with a problem. It seems businesses now aday never come through with what they promise. This leads to customer service reps who haven't a clue trying to make excuses or convince you that everything is ok.

Well I was lied to, yet again, by a popular company:

Dear Apple,

I have been so happy with your products and services when buying my iMac and my wife's MacBook Pro that I decided to buy a MacBook. I placed an order on your website. I placed this order on Sunday January 25. I know you do not process orders on Sunday because you warned me before I confirmed the purchase. You told me you would process my order within 3-5 business days and then ship it. You told me I could expect my product to come between Feb. 2 and 4. However, I then received an email on Monday Jan. 26 at 5:12PM that my order was processed and would move to shipping. On Tuesday Jan. 27 the doorbell rang at 11:29 AM with my product. This is more than a week in earlier then what you had told me. Now I am going to have to stay up late and play with my new toy because I wasn't prepared to receive it until next week.

CHAD

Office Thursday

2009-01-22T20:27:00.000-08:00

I love "The Office." It is my third favorite show in television history (behind Seinfeld and The West Wing, those of you who are wondering, 24 is 4th). I don't work in an office. I work by myself in my house. So I don't get to share the office at the office. So I will blog it. Let's see how well I do. I will attempt to every Thursday put up a favorite quote from "The Office."

Office Quote #1:

"Ever since I was a kid, people have been telling me that I can't do things. You can't be on the team, you can't move on to second grade. Well, now they're telling me that I can't win back clients using old-fashioned business methods. We'll see about that. And FYI, I eventually aced second grade, and I was the biggest kid in class."

-Michael

Horrible and Disappointing Future

2009-01-22T10:27:00.000-08:00

I think often how disappointed I am in my future...which is actually my present. Thinking about the present, which is the future I imagined in the past. Anyone still with me?

I remember watching Back the the Future Part II in the movie theater in 1989. Those of you that don't remember, the future that Marty visited was 2015. Conversations broke out among my class mates at school after we all saw the movie. We were hoping those flying cars would be around by the time we got our drivers licenses! But most of all, we kept checking stores for Hover Boards. It has been 20 years now, and no hover board, or flying car. I am very disappointed. We are only 6 years away from the the 2015 as envisioned by Robery Zemeckis in the movie. Needless to say, I am very disappointed. I think too much research and development has gone in to how to make our portable music players more efficient and not enough engineering getting to what we reallly need... Hover Boards and Flying Cars!!!

Well, there might be hope. I read this article this morning. I guess it might be a good next step. Now can someone get on the little pills that your put in the microwave that turn into gourmet meals as seen on the Jetsons???

Obama Video

2009-01-21T10:51:00.000-08:00

I don't usually post funny videos. I usually don't repost things I find on other blogs. I figure my few readers are all connected. But this is for the few that may not go to my buddy pat's blog. He posted it and this is hilarious. Now I wonder if anyone might be able to edit a clip together of him doing "Baby Got Back???"

Save The Date...Feb. 28th

2009-01-20T18:41:00.000-08:00

Before I began diving I could care less about Corral Reefs or aquatic life. However, after numerous trips to encounter various species in their environment, my feelings on the subject have changed. There are millions (yeah millions) of spectacular different species of God's Creation that leave you in a state of amazement at his truly creative and artistic qualities.

Those of you in the Fresno area, may not know there is an aquarium in the works here. The Aquarius Aquarium Institute is going to bring awareness, and education of the aquatic world. It will also focus on our local auatic environments. Many say: What local aquatic environments? That is exactly why they are needed and will make a huge impact!

Project AWARE is an organization PADI started (which is who I am certified as an instructor through) that does all sorts of things with conservation and awareness of the world's aquatic environments. They sponsor many local events as well.

THIS LEADS ME TO THE POINT OF THIS POST:

Aquarius Aquarium Institute and Aquasports are assisting in putting on a Project Aware event. It is going to take place Feb. 28th from 9am to noon. We will be doing a cleanup of the San Juaquin River next to the future aquarium site near 99 and Herndon. We need people of all ages to come out and take part. There will be a few divers cleaning up the river and pools, but the majority of volunteers will be picking up trash that is all around the river and surrounding areas. Please help out! Save the date, and more info to come.

No Blogging

2009-01-20T17:26:00.000-08:00

So it has been over 3 weeks since I have blogged. There are several reasons. 1 of those weeks I was sick and did nothing. The main reason is, I update my life 140 characters at a time on twitter. I could go into detail on my blog, but I usually don't. I don't post funny youtube videos I find, I only blog when I think I have something worth blogging about that people would want to read. I could post endless pics and updates about my daughter, but my wife takes care of that, and my daughter even has her own blog. So I guess there have been plenty of "blogworthy" things in the past month, but I have learned if I don't blog them right away, I won't. So I will see if I am more disciplined.

It's how I know...

2008-12-30T23:10:00.000-08:00

I think I have written about, or if you know me talked about the worries of becoming a dad. It wasn't the diapers, or providing...it was the emotional side of things. I knew how I wanted to be, but wasn't sure if those emotions would reveal themselves when faced with this infant that would enter this world with my genes. Well, today was another day of reassurance like many that have preceded it. Makeena is sick for the first time. It isn't ridiculously sick, just what we would call a common cold. With every little breath that seems to hint at a little more fatiguing than normal, with every sneeze, and with every cough, it makes me ache all over. I can't stand the fact that she is feeling miserable and I can do nothing about it. I have thought in my mind privately the detailed torturous things I would endure to take it from her, but I can't. Tonight it will be another night of staying up all night, because I cant sleep, I must check every minute to make sure she is breathing. So it begins, this saga of fatherhood.
It makes me think; many things are going to happen to my little girl. Some of her own choosing, and some not, that I can do nothing about. All I can do is stand my and love her. She will make choices in her life that are going to make me ache like her weezing tonight. I pray I will hold her to let her know I lover her and check on her every minute to make sure she is ok...just as I will tonight. Maybe it is too much introspective analysis on my part with me and my little girl having a cold....but this is what I think about. Her sneeze at 3 months old triggers wonders and hopes for the future.

So yes... I don't know where...and I don't know when.... but somewhere this little girl has taught me what exactly unconditional love is.

Christmas Present

2008-12-25T23:13:00.000-08:00

So today was Christmas. And Makenna decided to give us a wonderful present. She laughed for the first time (well, technically she has laughed before while dreaming, but never awake). It was great because it was just after present time, and the video camera was out and handy. Glad we got it on film.

Kid's Musical

2008-12-13T17:24:00.000-08:00

A lot of time during my fall goes into the New Cov Children's Christmas Musical. This year is all done and behind us. It was a big success as far as Kid's musicals go. The only complaint I had is that it was too good. All of the kid's did everything they were supposed to do . They knew their lines. No kid picked his nose the entire time, ran off stage to mom, or any of the moments that people love about Kid's shows. But I was proud of all the kids. I doubt any of my readers are going to spend 35 minutes and watch it, but just in case, here it is. This is unedited video that the Weavemaster shot. Props to him and his team for making me look good.

Untitled from Chad Davis on Vimeo.

Back in the Water

2008-12-03T11:25:00.000-08:00

Well a lot has happened in life this year. I haven't been in the water since late August during my wreck class in San Diego. Since that time, I have moved, had a kid, and taken on too many responsibilities at church. The Kids Musical is Dec. 7th and I have planned my first Open Water course starting the next day. I have been feeling withdrawls. I think I am going to try and get away for a quick week in January to do some diving. Bonaire to do some tech diving? Bermuda because I have never been? Key Largo because it is familiar and easy? I don't know. We will see how it transpires.

If you know anyone that wants to learn how to SCUBA dive now is the time. Catalina prices are cheap to stay this time of year and the water temp at 60 ft is about the same as in the summer. Give me a shout!!! There are still a few spots available for this class. The Pool session is Sat Dec. 13 and the Ocean Dives in Catalina are Dec. 20 and 21.

Gonna get back into a regular teaching schedule. And add Sean to your list if you want to hear about some diving. Sean is the other instructor at Aquasports and just started a blog.

And if you are curious about that pic, which I also use as my profile pic, it was taken in Bonaire a few years ago. (Yes I know it wasn't white balanced, I wasn't taken the pic, don't blame me). That is SCUBA MAN. He is a top secret location located somewhere in Bonaire in about 120 ft of water. You can't see it, but he also has fins sticking up from the sand. If you hang out and dive with me in Bonaire, I might just take you there.

Perfect Day

2008-11-28T23:12:00.000-08:00

Today was the perfect day for me. Most people enjoy Thanksgiving, me not so much. I can't stand any of the traditional food (turkey, stuffing, pumpkin pie), and our traditions aren't so much. My Aunt does a great job of trying to get the family all together. However, each year it feels like everyone is just fulfilling their duties before getting to their plans. We are usually home around 1pm. We watched movies and had burgers, and it was nice. But definitely not something to look forward to.

Then came today. My wife and sister decided they were going to be with the other crazies and left the house before 4am. So I was going to watch Makenna for the day. She woke up at about 6:30 am. We got to hang out all day the two of us until mommy took over about 7pm. It was a perfect day. I put everything else out of my mind and just focused on her all day. I do have a new respect for mom's that get anything done during the day with a baby. It is HARD to clean the kitchen while holding a fussy baby. We laughed, cried, watched some football, ate, pooped, napped, and played with Miles. It was perfect. This last week has been amazing. I have put things that have been occupying my time on the back burner and just focused on my family (the three of us, 4 if you count Miles). Today holding my little girl, I realized I have been gone for much of her first two months. All the little moments we shared today, I didn't really have any of those before. Mommy was taking care of her while Daddy was out committing to too much. So we had a talk today (it was a bit one sided because she only ooohhhs right now). I promised her I am going to look at what is on my plate and start trimming. Especially with the busy work season coming, I need to start prioritizing my time, and my girls need to be the top of the list.
I don't know what exactly this means for me, but it will mean more days like today!!!

Duh Time

2008-11-23T17:31:00.001-08:00

What is Duh time? Duh time is something I need in my life. Don't be deceived by its title though, it is not a time of stupidity or stolidity. It is a time where I like to sit and do nothing productive. However, I don't like to zone out. I like to be entertained and stimulated during this special time. This time is usually right before my "zone out" time of the day, and right after the time I am productive for the day. It is often around midnight and consists of History Channel shows on DVR. I would much rather read a good book (usually American History or deep theological books), but lately I have settled for the TV. Duh time for me has to be non-fiction, until now. I always liked the show "The West Wing," but never made it through every season and every episode like shows I currently am devoted to. So recently I bought the complete series on DVD (it came from China through Ebay). This show stimulates my mind like crazy. I have to often pause the show because I am having my own moral or political debate in my dome. It has already lead to some conversations with my wife about things we usually don't talk about. Most shows of its kind are just left wing agendas. This show, make no doubt about it created and produced by left wing Hollywood doesn't take that route. It presents many sides to many arguments and let's the viewer reach conclusions, the whole while including amazing writing, acting, and character development. I watched the whole first season and 4 episodes of season 2 in two days. My duh time went from an hour at night, to a 2 day fest. It was great though. It was the first time since Makenna has been born where I didn't have to be somewhere or do something. We got to enjoy each other as a family, and then entertained ourselves and minds watching the West Wing.
Aaron Sorkin put out another masterpiece in "Studio 60" on NBC, but it was cancelled. Why, because American's are stupid. Things that actually make you think don't get ratings. Great writing doesn't get ratings. We want spoon fed plots and punch lines and would like to end the hour feeling good about ourselves. We want entertainment to be an hour of escape and not a reflection of reality. We want to imagine every Doctor at the hospital hangs out in the on call room and sleeps with every other doctor within the period of a year. We like to watch a detective always pursue 2 suspects when finding out it was the Butler all along. And...
Wow, I had to stop that. This post has taken a totally different turn and I am going to end it now before it is 52 pages long.
Point: I like Duh time. I like west wing. I don't like stupid Americans.
The End

Text message

2008-11-12T22:58:00.000-08:00

Receiving text messages from my wife when we are both home is nothing new to our marriage. However, most of the time, over the past 7 years they offer a good reason to leave my office (if you know what I mean, wink wink). This is the one I just received. Oh how times have changed.

I can't move

2008-11-10T14:41:00.000-08:00

So the Men's retreat went very well. The speaker was good, hopefully the music didn't suck, and I think a bunch of guys took steps to growing as men. However, today when I woke up, I couldn't move. I get sore. You know when you go skiing for the first time of the season and those leg muscles you hardly use ache the next day. Well my whole body is that way today. I don't think I have a muscle in my body that is not screaming in pain. The reason...the annual summit football game. See, these guys spend the weekend growing and sharing with each other, and it is amazing. However, on Sat. from the hours of about 1pm to 4pm, it just gets nasty. It is like an old testament battle against the other side. I got laid out several times by a guy about 6' 5" 250. Yet, everyone that I have talked to that can't move, will be right out there next year.

Summit weekend

2008-11-06T23:47:00.000-08:00

Well today I took my girls to the airport. They are going to Atlanta to go to a blog party. I hope they have fun. I will not get to sit at home and miss them, as I am leaving in the morning to go to the Santa Cruz mountains to the New Cov Men's retreat...errr... Summit. There are about 160 guys going, and I will be leading worship for the weekend. I am looking forward to it. I never get to lead worship for adults anymore. So there will be no hand motions, no back and forth noise competitions, and should be a great time.

Election Woes...woe

2008-11-05T11:35:00.000-08:00

Well the much anticipated election has come and gone. My vote will be counted in approx. 10 days. I had to fill out a provisional ballot. So evidently, when you change your address with the DMV and you also choose for them to update your address with the Secretary of State, that process takes several weeks.
The reason I am sick to my stomach is for one reason. Before yesterday, it was obvious Obama was going to win. No big news. People wanted something different because they are not happy for whatever their reasons are.
There are liberals and conservatives. Everyone has their reason for having their views. I accept this. My views mostly come from my belief in the Bible. I think that neither side is neceissarily Biblical, and I am sure Jesus wouldn't vote for any. However, I have come to my convictions based on Biblical principles that influences my vote. So Obama won. Not my choice, but I do not think that people that voted for him should be locked away in alcatraz.
Then there was Prop 8 in CA. A constitutional amendment to ban Gay marriage. Again my moral convictions influenced my vote on this. However, I realize that many do not share my same morals and values and viewed a no vote on this a step for equality. I disagree, but I can accept there different viewpoint. I do not hate them, and do not think they should be locked up in Alcatraz. I do think that our local churches were way off base in promoting this the way they did. I think their message was "Homosexuals, even if we have not persecuted you enough and you were thinking about joining us for a service, well now by our non-stop promotion of this proposition we are going to make sure you never step through our doors." I think Jesus would be very disappointed in how this was handled.
Then there is Prop 4. This is the reason I am sick. A yes vote means that a MINOR, yes I said MINOR, has to wait to get an abortion until her parents or guardians are notified. This proposition was defeated in our state. If the church wanted to get on board with a proposition, this is the one they should have been waving their signs about. Does the church not care more of God's mandate of parenting then the sin of homosexuality? Prop 8 not passing doesn't take away your right to have a marriage under God's design. However, Prop 4 not passing does take away your right to be a parent under God's design. Hmmmmm.
Then the voters??? Who in their mind thinks parents should not be informed if their daughter was raped or is getting an abortion. You think that we should leave parenting up to health care professionals and the government? I respect different views in every little mark you made on your ballot yesterday...except this one!!! I think everyone who voted no on this proposition should be locked up in Alcatraz.

Thats all for politics for me. Back to Diving, and Wining, and pics of my little angel to come.

Sunday Rap

2008-11-03T23:48:00.000-08:00

I spent a lot of time lately researching, purchasing, installing, and trying to program lights in the Chapel at New Cov. This is where we do "kids church" every Sunday morning. I was very happy with how they turned out, although I need to make several minor adjustments to improve them. Here is a low quality video from this past Sunday. Brent and I did a rap to tell the story of Jesus healing the Lepers. I think the lighting and fog machiene really contributed to the whole thing. Second service was wayyyy better, but the camera died so you can see our first attempt. The kids loved it. Just helping Randy and asking him a bunch of questions when he was still here helped give me some direction (not to mention calling him and asking him a bunch of questions along the way). I wished he was still here to help me, but I had to make do without him.

Trick or Treat

2008-10-27T10:15:00.001-07:00

The First Two Weeks

2008-10-22T13:11:00.000-07:00

I have been too busy. That is not excuse. But it is time to catch up. My baby is already over a month old. I am learning how to best operate my Video Camera and use the editing software, so things my get a little out of hand soon.
But here are a few moments from her first 2 weeks of life. I don't know how I picked these, out of the thousands it seems, but here is a look at Makenna's first two weeks.This is probably one of my favorites.

No, we did not adopt an asian girl.
Yes I change diapers. However, not too many. Usually only about 2 per day. I am glad they don't stink yet!!!

It looks like she is from the hood.

This is how be both feel after a long hard morning at church on Sundays.

I will post some next time of how she looks now. It is amazing how much her looks have already changed. She is looking more like a person every day!!!

Mother In Law

2008-10-10T08:07:00.000-07:00

If I wasn't so against video or music that automatically played when you go to a blog, I would have had Ernie K Doe's 1961 hit Mother in Law playing right now on this post. When was the last time you had an Ernie K Doe reference?
Well my wife and I have been married for over 6 1/2 years. And I have never had an in-law visit...until now. I was going to make all the kinds of generic jokes that go along with the mother in law, Everybody Loves Raymond style. But after seeing my mother in Law break down in tears after finally getting to come visit us, realizing that she missed her daughter's wedding, anything that happened in the last 7 years, and the birth of her first grandchild, I can't do that. Not even in good fun. I would post a picture of her holding Makenna, but I am not aloud as the only ones taken so far were after 24 hours of flights and airports and were not up to standard according to the Mother in Law.
So, as soon as she leaves, I am devoted to editing video and downloading pics of Makenna. Because I now realize, the very few that read my blog...that is all you want to see anyway.

Long Time

2008-09-28T21:23:00.000-07:00

I am writing on my computer, in my mostly assembled office. We have our new house, new baby (well most babies are new) and are trying to figure out life. I have a lot to say, and not sure exactly where I should start. I think I will just share a little bit at a time over the next few weeks.

ADVICE TO EVERYONE ON EARTH: Never try and move the same day you have your first child. It is quite exhausting.

Here is a funny pic. Liege is signing closing documents on our new house. I wonder how many closings take place in the postpartum rooms in hospitals?

I have had my new camcorder out quite a bit and am learning how to use it and ready to start going crazy. It is pretty sweet. It is 160GB and can record forever in standard definition and almost 10 hours in HD. I have video of Makenna right after she entered into the world, but due to numerous boobie shots of my wife, you won't be seeing it on Youtube anytime soon. One project that I have started is a video for Makenna. I shot a little private confessional for her after we got home. I plan on adding to it at every "significant" part in her life and giving it to her on her wedding day (hopefully that day never comes). You will not see any footage, it is going to be just for her. I don't think I will even mention it anymore.

That is it for now, because I hate long posts. I am sure Liege will be writing the details of her birth soon. She is busy being the best mommy ever!

Last Blog Post

2008-09-02T22:26:00.000-07:00

This will be my last blog post for awhile. As you can see here, there are two pretty big things going on. They just might colide and create the "perfect storm." Combine the moving with having a kid, add in a little church work and coaching football and we come to my craziest month ever!!! Yes I know, I did it to myself (except that...that I did to her). So the next blog post you will probably see (because I am taking apart my computer and network for moving tomorrow) will be me holding my little girl. Sleep tight blog world. I shall return shortly.

Wreck Class

2008-08-30T10:39:00.000-07:00

I write this from San Diego (a whale's vagina), or San Di-Ahh-Go. I am teaching a PADI Wreck Specialty class. If you have talked to me about diving you know I am in it for the wreck diving. The class is going good. Good divers, and good people. 3 of our 4 dives are on the HMCS Yukon. It is a Canadian destroyer sunk as part of San Diego's "wreck ally" artificial reef project. Sometimes artificial reefs do not have all of the mystique as a "real" wreck. But they are still pickin cool and are great for training as many of the hazards have been removed prior to sinking. The pic is of the Yukon before finding its resting place 100 ft below the surface.

Christmas Musical

2008-08-23T09:47:00.000-07:00

Kid's Christmas Musicals are a big deal around New Cov. 100 kids or so working hard over 12 weeks to put on a great show with a great message. The reason they are so big is because a kid being involved in something like this will invite every person they come into contact with (neighbors, family, teachers, friends). Many people will cross the doors of a church to watch a kid they know in such a production that otherwise would have never entered a church. The thing is, the kids will bring home the message of Christ strong, backed up by the Pastor and his short message. So all of the hard work is always worth it. The bad news is last year I decided to have a live band, and now there is no going back. That makes it 3 times as much work. Well this year after listening to over 40 musicals (most of them poorly written), we will be doing "The Christmas County Spelling Bee" by Cyleste Clydesdale. Mark you calendars for Dec. 7. Now it is time to go and get to work.

FUN

2008-08-21T21:39:00.001-07:00

Sunday I am going diving. It will be my first dive in a VERY long time that has no mission. I am not teaching a class, I am not taking a class. It will be diving for the reason I love diving. Have fun, look at some amazing creations. I know I will probably end up teaching a class, but as of this moment my only mission is to have fun. We are diving with the sundiver (pictured above) that leaves out of Long Beach and dives sites accessible only by boat around Catalina. This summer has been so busy. It almost gone and it flew by. I have done so many "little" things and have been constantly busy. I need to try and slow down, but it's not going to happen. Between moving, having a baby, doing something new a church, real work, teaching SCUBA, and whatever else I have coming up, I am going have to be very intentional with my time. I need to have a throw away day soon and be completely lazy so I can get ready for all of the things to come.

Blog Drought

2008-08-15T12:07:00.000-07:00

So I have been some what of a blog drought. It isn't that I haven't had anything blogworthy, I just haven't been motivated to blog it. Last week I took an amazing Open Water SCBUA class to Catalina. The class was fun, a big class (13), but a very fun class. August in Catalina is great, water temp 74, and was a great trip. I have had some amazing meals and amazing wines but didn't blog those either.
So I will take you to my week this week. I have been busy everyday, try and have a decent dinner, then around 10pm I crank up the TIVO and watch olympics until about 3am. Olympic time gets me all juiced up. And this is why I am a bad person. I don't want our athletes to win, I want them to embarrass the competition. I draw dirty looks from my wife when I yell "FALL ON YOUR FACE" when a little 12 year old Chinese girl (yeah, I said 12) is doing her uneven bars routine. I get a little "homosexual" as my wife likes to remind me with my passion for the girly sports (gymnastics, diving), but I am right there to root for the manly ones as well!!!
My wife called me man pregnant because of my higher than usual emotions during these Olympic games. I proved her point as a tear fell from my eye during the medal ceremony of the Women's Gymnastics all around medal ceremony. Our girls went 1-2 and I was with them every step of the way (minus the past 4 years they spent every waking moment training).
USA!!!

Miles

2008-08-05T13:34:00.001-07:00

Well if you read my wife's blog, you will know that Miles got neutered 2 weeks ago. I know he has felt much different the last few weeks, just a little less of a man. Well he has a new bone, I don't know if he is trying to compensate for anything now that he has lost his manhood...??? I will let you be the judge!

Everywhere I look

2008-08-05T10:13:00.000-07:00

So evidently my wife is not just gaining weight. She is growing a human life in that belly of hers. We talk about how it still doesn't feel real to me. It feels more real to her because it is happening in her body. It's ok, because my daddy to be books say the universe will correct itself the minute she will be born and all will be glorious in the world. I really can't wait for that moment. I will need a bucket for my tears if P.S I Love You was any indication of where my emotions are at right now. See the birth is not what I am concerned about. We have 835 pregnancy and birthing books laying around the house. We have hired a doula to help us out, not to mention nurses, doctors, and other medical professionals ready to tend to every need. No, I am not worried about that. It is the hours after that, where they make sure you have a car seat installed correctly and say "See Ya." I saw this today in the bathroom. Have seen them thousands of times, but today it freaked me out.
They are going to let us take home this baby. All of the things in the that the government regulates, applications, and licensing and tests, but a human life, no problem. Just go ahead and take that home! Good luck. Yes I am afraid. Will we be good parents? I believe so! Will be screw up a bunch? Of course! Now everywhere I look I see things like this little cute Koala bear that sends my head in a tailspin of the uncertainty of what is to come. But I guess that is part of the fun (or I am hoping it is)!

Waiting

2008-08-04T11:36:00.001-07:00

So there is nothing more I hate than sitting around doing nothing. I
am one of those people that always have to be doing something.
Nothing is worse than the doctor. As the Seinfeld episode tells us,
u wait on the waiting room, then they call u to another room to wait
some more. Now the riddles and jokes on the highlights magazine
don't exactly seem to pass the time anymore. Then I got the new
iphone. Now I am sitting here hoping the doc doesn't come in so I
can play with everything I want to. I don't think I will ever be
frustrated waiting anywhere again now that I am connected to my
whole world anywhere I go. This is also my first post from my
phone. Just wondering what my marriage counseling bill is gonna be
in the future since we r both always on these things.
Sent from my iPhone

Blogger Relations

2008-07-30T20:40:00.000-07:00

So I had a funny dream. My wife and I were eating in a Taqueria in Southern California. We never go to Taquerias. I don't even know if I am spelling taqueria correctly. I am standing in line getting my food and I look up and see whittakerwoman in line next to me. I say, "Hey you are whittakerwoman, ragamuffinsoul's wife." She responded "No, he is ragamuffinsoul, whittakerwoman's husband." We continued to have a conversation and I introduced myself and my wife and Carlos was saving a table and we dined together. It was pretty weird, since we never really go to Southern California, and they now live in Atlanta.
It got me thinking. Bloggers that post their lives on their blog can have tons of strangers reading their lives and in a way get to know them. It is almost celebrity status. These are two people that I have never met that I was able to create their personalities and dialogue for them subconsciously. That sounds kind of stalkerish doesn't it. Well I have friends that know the two of them from the dream. They laughed when they heard the story and said "That is exactly something Heather would say." I guess just from my daily blog scrolling my brain had enough input (a la Johnny 5) to think I know these people. That is weird. I read ragamuffinsoul as one of my daily blog reads, and it leads me to other great blogs. Being less than two months away from having a daughter I now cruise whittakerwoman to get all kinds of cool parenting ideas (and if you are reading Heather, I had In N' Out yesterday, so HA!).
I think it all came when I noticed whittakerwoman had posted a comment on my wife's blog. I was jealous because she had a comment from a blogebrity and I didn't. I don't have 8 trillion hits a day as ragamuffinsoul does, but I am proud of my 10 per day!!! Who knows, maybe someday I will become a blogebirty and have stalkers of my own!!! Hey, I just coined a phrase!!! Blogebrity.
(Oh, and this is the closest post to having a topic where I can use this picture of the sleeping monkey. Hopefully the resemblance is not too close!)

Great Dinner

2008-07-25T21:02:00.000-07:00

Had a great dinner with Two Blonde Boys, his wife (he never blogs her name, so I won't), Stacey, and my wife. It was a "thank you" for the girls throwing Liege a baby shower. Patamo and I just tagged along because we wanted good food and good wine.
We went to Pangea (because Trelio was booked). It was my first time there and was pleased. The service was decent, but the food was amazing. I have had a vertical of Quintessa premier release through 2003 (1994-2003). I took along the 1996, as well as a Westbrook Wine Farm Viognier/Valdiguie, and we had a Kosta Browne Pinot Noir we ordered there.
Pat and I split a Macaroni and Cheese as well as a Ceviche dish to start. They were amazing. For dinner, Pat, his wife, and I all had:
Seared sea scallops with baby shiitake mushrooms,
tomato pan sauce & crème fraiche mash potatoes
Liege had:
Grilled double cut pork chop with crispy shiitake mushroom-vegetable chow mein & ginger plum sauce
Stacey had:
Grilled rosemary crusted rack of lamb with blue cheese potato cake,
sauteed tot soi, baby carrots & dried cherry port reduction

Everyone loved their food, and the wine was excellent as well. I decided to go with the Sea Scallops even though the Quintessa was too powerful for it. I didn't care, I enjoyed both.
The 1996 Quintessa is definitely the best I have had. My vertical only now runs 97-02, but it was the perfect occasion for it. Nice cedar and spice, floral notes, with heavy currant flavors. It was amazing. I think the later vintages haven' t been the quality they had in their first earlier years.

Oops, I said it again...

2008-07-24T18:25:00.001-07:00

Do you ever have those moments??? Where it comes out of your mouth. You think that might be the most wrong thing you have ever heard. Then you realize you were the one who said it. And you wonder if you are going straight to hell for saying that???!!! Well if you know me, that happens a lot. Usually it only happens around the comfort of my wife and close friends where I know I am safe. But today, just in the presence of my wife thank goodness, I said a comment that if I end up in hell is sure to be the one that put me there.
No I am not going to tell you.

The Look!!!

2008-07-24T10:41:00.000-07:00

Now I am less than two months away from father hood. I am worried about a lot obviously. My daddy to be books tell that is good because if I wasn't I would be a terrible father. Worried first and foremost about her health. Worried about getting into the new house in enough time for my wife to nest and be happy bringing baby home into a baby ready environment (which doesn't necessarily mean necessities, it means cute decorations). Worried about my adjustment from being able to do whatever I want whenever I want to not. Worried about being gentle enough. Worried about having a teenage daughter in 13 years that is going to want pants with writing on the butt.
Well I had one revelation in the middle of the night. Everyone's parents had a look. They did not have to say anything, do anything, all they had to do is give that look and the kid would straighten right up (maybe not a lot of current parents with children because most don't even discipline any more and let them behave however they want). My parents had a look. And in the middle of the night...I realized I had a look. Miles (our dog) was walking around. His nails on the hardwood floor woke me up. I sat up and glared something more serious than magnum or blue steele from zoolander and he went running into his kennel.
Am I prepared for fatherhood? No way!!! But I do have "the look."

Look what my wife did

2008-07-19T11:09:00.000-07:00

I was trying to be good since I realize I pretty much dominate the blockbuster selection in our house. So I let my wife pick this last trip. She picked "The List." Although I watch movies ALL THE TIME I usually don't blog about them. The reason being is I can't even watch previews. I like to know nothing whatsoever about a movie when going to watch it. So I don't read reviews and I don't post them. However I felt the need to blog about "The List." It might just be the worst movie I have ever seen. The acting was terrible, the production was terrible, the directing was terrible, and it was overall terrible. The premise could have been good, but what they did with it was awful. I would like everyone out there to go watch it so you can agree with me how terrible it was.

Oregon Trail

2008-07-18T22:38:00.000-07:00

So if you ever had an Apple II in your classroom at school you have played The Oregon Trail. I tought about it the other day and it led me to google it. I found THIS website. It has a binary program of Oregon Trail you can download and also an Apple II simulator for windows you can download to play it (and other old school apple II programs). What is your high score? No one hunts for food like I do!!! However my Apple II didn't have a color screen. The oregon trail was all in green...now in color. WOW!!! Oh the technology.

What Just Happened?

2008-07-15T23:12:00.000-07:00

So today we went down to the Fresno Convention Center to an auction of nearly 100 foreclosed properties in the area. There is only one property we had in mind. We sat as it was 19th on the auction block. When the auction began on the house we were interested in and was over. It felt like .002 seconds. I am told it took more like 45 seconds. At the end, I was holding my sign in the air and the auctioneer congratulated me. I was speechless for minutes. We had a signed contract, opened escrow within 15 minutes. So we will be moving in about 3 weeks to a beautiful home for 40% less than what it sold for just 9 months ago. Wow....what just happened. Here is a pic of the house.

No Posts...Simple Reason.

2008-07-12T11:59:00.000-07:00

VBS. That is all I have to say. It was a great week. Check everything out over at the New Cov Kids Blog.

Special Thanks to Weave, Patamo, and Josh for all their production work on the week.

Positive and Uplifting...

2008-07-03T09:52:00.000-07:00

So the post well has been dry for the past week. I am here to tell you it will continue for another week. I am preparing (as many are this time of year) for Vacation Bible School. We are doing an Indiana Jones theme if you are one of my two readers who don't go to my church. So I have to put in my 10 hours a week (you know, that is all the guy who just plays the guitar and sings with the kids does). I had a moment today when I was on the phone with the IRS for a client getting audited, sitting in the baby dr waiting room, receiving text messages about SCUBA classes, and trying to send an email regarding VBS. So that is why I am absent.

So I never post about my real work. So today I will. A lot of accountants are looked at in a positive light because they usually tell their clients how big their refund is going to be!!! Well most of my clients are Self-employed so I usually bring the news of how much they owe. However, the reason they are with me is we get that number down as low as possible. So today I had a client that told me this:

"I had to delete your # from my phonebook because every time I see is scrolling through and I see your name is gives me panic attacks."

I am glad I can spread joy to the world like that where just the sight of my name sends someone into a panic and fills them with fear!!!

We Did It!!!

2008-06-25T23:37:00.000-07:00

Wow, I can't believe it. I was in the airport leaving to Key Largo when the Bulldogs were flying in after winning the WAC tournament. Everyone thought that was a great accomplishment. HA. Those few weeks ago seem like an eternity cause now our Dogs are NATIONAL CHAMPS BABY!!! What a ride of emotions during the CWS. I was fortunate enough to watch every game. WAY TO GO DOGS!!!

Video Camera

2008-06-19T23:11:00.001-07:00

So after shooting some footage with my phone today on my bday (thanks for all of those who sent bday wishes, for those who didn't you are dead to me), I realized I need a new video camera. The last one we had was like a Sony TRV19 or something. I don't even know what happened to it. Especially with the baby coming, I am going to be in need of a decent camera to capture the memories forever. I want two things:

1) HD

2) Be able to get a housing for it for SCUBA (Sony is the best as backscatter can custom make me one).

I am open to about anything that has these two requirements. Most people know me as a technology guy. That is actually not very accurate. I like to have the latest and greatest, but only on some things. I was the first I knew for HD TV and 7.1 Dolby Surround. But that is where my techie stuff ends. I like technology and the latest for TV and movie watching. I don't know when it comes to video cameras for sure. So I need some help. I know the weavester will come up with some good stuff. Any other underground techies with advice???

PS 45 minutes left of my Bday.

Kids Choir Michael Jackson Parody

2008-06-17T23:19:00.000-07:00

That's right. You didn't read it wrong. There isn't a lot of fun fathers day songs out there for kids to their fathers. Sure I could pull out "Daddy's hands" or "Father's Eyes" and try and go for tears, but I thought we could do something a little different. For fathers day at New Cov, I had the kids sing a parody I wrote and arranged of Michael Jackson's "Bad." We called it "Dad." We used it to close the service, and all of the dads (and moms) seemed to love it. This is a terrible recording taken with a phone. Besides the ushers getting in the way collecting the offering, the sound doesn't do it justice as the band is completely lost besides the drums (but I have yet to find a phone that will record audio decently without several additional pieces of equipment). The band and tech team did a great job as it looked and sounded great live. Hope you enjoy.

Lyrics:
V1. You taught me how to through a ball
To ride my bike and not to fall
You work so hard for all I need
Still you mow the lawn and pull the weeds

Pre. We take this time to tell ya
We're glad for all u do
But what means the most to us
Is that we see God in you

Ch. Because you're dad, you're dad, we love you
Because you're dad, you're dad, you know it
Because you're dad, you're dad, we love you
Out of all the men in the whole wide world, I gotta say I'm glad that you're
My Dad.

V2. The big games on but you're not there
You're at a dance recital in the front row chair
You always play no matter how you feel
And you're always ready with your fishing reel

V3. I watch you more than you ever could know
I'm growing day by day cause of the seeds you sow
You're love is clear in all I see
And you'll never know how much you mean to me

This post is part of Water Cooler Wed. hosted by Ethos.
This post is part of Creative Chaos hosted by ragamuffinsoul.

What I have learned from Hollywood...

2008-06-12T14:52:00.001-07:00

The only time you can tell anyone about issues of national security, or reveal CIA secrets is either on a park bench around one of the big D.C. monuments, or walking along the reflection pool. Think about it... how many times have u seen that? How many movies can you name?

Goodbye Good Friend...Or just See ya Later

2008-06-10T22:03:00.000-07:00

So Randy has made it official to the Public. I am going to miss you buddy. You have become one of my best friends, and definitely my best buddy!!! If anyone feels the way about me moving away as I do about you, it definitely makes me hesitant to do so again. I love your bro and am going to miss you. However as sad as I am for my loss, I am grateful for the opportunity you are going to have, and the great scale on which it is going to be. It is going to be crazy the amount of life change you will have a hand in on a weekly basis. It seems like every trek of your life, even when it made no sense at the time, has been leading to such opportunities to do such great work. Good luck and bon voyage my friend.

Cool Church

2008-06-10T13:23:00.000-07:00

Pursuit Intro HD from Port City Community Church on Vimeo.

My wife has spent countless hours researching churches in the Wilmington, N.C. area to check out when we go to scope it out. This is the one she is dying to check out. It is portcitychurch.org Check out these videos. One is a message bumper that they made themselves for a series called "Pursuit."

Now you have to go HERE and check out there opener for the series. I am excited to check it out. The top is what they had on the screens and the bottom is video of the band (obviously).

2008-06-05T09:11:00.000-07:00

I know a lot of people that are like me and all of their good ideas come in the shower. But the problem is sometimes I have been in the shower and have elaborated on an idea and have a good plan of attack and then shut off the shower and ask myself "Did I wash? Did I even pick up the soap or shampoo. I have been in here 15 min I am sure I had to have." Ever happen to anyone else? Make sure after your brainstorming session that you accomplish mission numero uno.

Northern Light (wasn't shining)

2008-06-03T14:12:00.000-07:00

Well the first thing you learn in the technical diving class is that the number 1 mission is to return from the dive alive and unharmed, everything else is secondary. Our second mission was to descend below 185ft, and do a blue water deco (this is when you blow a lift bag with a reel and then slowly ascend up the line so the boat can spot you). It is a little eerie because all you see is blue, beneath you, above you, and to all sides, nothing but blue water. You could be sinking or floating to the top, and you might not know it (hence all the training). The third objective of this dive was to dive the Northern Light. The first two were accomplished, but the latter was not. We went to the GPS coordinates where the wreck is and found it on the bottom finder. We threw a line down with a grapple (big hook) to mark it. When we were about to jump in the grapple came loose and started floating away. So the captain drove us upcurrent and dropped us, by the time we got to the bottom the current had taken us well off the wreck. It was no where in sight. We sway around for about 10 min (in pretty good current). Then I blew my lift bag with the reel and started to ascend. I switched to 50% oxygen at 70ft and then to 100% at 20 ft. Out total dive time was 55 minutes. It was great practice and training, but the Northern Light will have to be another time and another day.

Northern Light

2008-06-03T06:55:00.001-07:00

Well today is going to conclude my technical training (just formally because with diving and gaining experience the learning never stops). I have completed the course on several dives on the Spiegel Grove and Duane, and now taking a step up. The plan today is to dive the Northern Light. I love diving the artificial reefs (purposefully sunk old ships) but there is something to the mystique about diving a real ship wreck. This wreck is in 190 feet of water and is not marked at the surface (like most dive sites are marked with mooring balls at the surface). It is not dove very often so I am really looking forward to it. I spent the better part of yesterday blending my gas and developing a dive plan (yes all that for 25 minutes actually on the wreck) and now am just praying for decent weather. I will let you all know how it goes, I will probably be either very pumped, or I will be disappointed that the weather didn't let us get there.

MORE DIVE TRAINING...

2008-05-26T11:33:00.000-07:00

Now that I have completed all my training for teaching recreational SCUBA diving, it is time to continue my education with the fun stuff that I enjoy. I am continuing my technical training and will wrap up the following courses this week:
DSAT Tec DEEP
TDI Advanced Nitrox
TDI Decompression Procedures

If you were wondering what technical diving is, let me give you a brief description. Recreational diving (what most people do when they get certified) allows you to dive up to 130ft (with proper training) and not stay at depths long enough that would require decompression stops. It is all "no stop diving." You can always ascend from where you are to the surface.
Technical diving you may get certified to dive to depths of up to 335ft (with proper training) on open circuit scuba using different gases other than air or Enriched Air and involves decompression training (yes you may have to hang at 20ft for 3 hours some times if you went deep or long enough).
Why do I want to tec dive? Simple. Wrecks. That is what I love. Many of them are in deeper water than 130 ft, and the ones that are not you can spend more time and do some deep penetration on them (that's what she said).
Tec diving includes a lot of time, training, and expensive equipment. As you see from the picture, some times you may have to wear an entire dive shop.

SCUBA CLASS

2008-05-24T11:34:00.001-07:00

10% OFF SCUBA CLASS for father's day gifts.
Classroom Jun 16-18 6-9pm
Pool Sessions June 21 9am-12pm, June 22 1:30-4pm
Ocean Dives June 28-29 in Monterey

Get more information HERE

Aging Wine...

2008-05-22T22:06:00.000-07:00

You may have noticed you haven't seen any wine reviews in awhile. Well with the wife being pregnant, I really haven't opened anything at home. I just can't open a really good wine by myself, it just doesn't seem right. I have no one else really to enjoy wine with (if you are my friend and enjoy wine, come over, I have been dying to try some things). Well the good news is my cellar is well stocked. Here are a few things I have obtained over the past couple months I am anxiously awaiting exploding in my palate:

2 bottles of 2004 Scarecrow, 312 cases made, current trading price $899 per bottle (I paid no where near this price, thanks to Trelio for tracking it down for me at retail!!!)

1 case Keever, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2005 (850 cases made), Trading Price $135/btl

1 bottle Barbour, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2005 (182 cases made), trading price $150/btl

2 bottles Core, Elevation Sensation, 2005 (300 cases made) trading price $50/btl

2 bottles Corra, Cabernet Sauvignon, 2004 (290 cases made) trading price $345/btl

Now I have put about 60 bottles in my cellar since I last took one out, but these are the prized possessions I am anxiously awaiting to consume. I would have had to sell my kidney to be able to afford these wines at current trading prices. I am glad I have connections that can hook them up even less than their retail prices.

Any takers?

Aqua Sports

2008-05-19T23:37:00.000-07:00

I have signed a contract with Aqua Sports in Fresno (the only PADI dive center in Fresno) to be their main instructor. I will start in full force the first of June and will have several classes over the summer with trips to Catalina, Monterey, and San Diego (Wreck Alley) all on the schedule. During Jun-Aug I currently have the following classes scheduled with flexible hours (tell all your friends):
Open Water Diver (Beginning Scuba): 5 classes
Advanced Diver: 4 classes
Rescue Diver: 2 classes
Specialties: 4 classes

Check out the class schedules and calendar here.

Help, my puppy became a dog!!!

2008-05-17T17:06:00.000-07:00

My little puppy turns 7 months old on Tuesday. Miles has grown up a lot and reminded me that I haven't posted any pictures of him in a long time. Here are a few shots of this growing boy.

Two Months Old

Three Months Old

Five Months Old

Six Months Old

Where do you Worship?

2008-05-13T21:09:00.000-07:00

So this Sunday I had all of the kids (and I mean all of them, not just the ones who signed up for the choir) sing in "big church" for mothers day. I was still feeling exhausted from my trip so I did what I promise myself never to do. I loaded up on coffee on an empty stomach to create the energy to get through the morning.

The kids did a great job and everyone, especially the moms, loved them. That is the great part about my job, everyone loves cute kids singing on stage, so I am always a hero.

After the kids were done singing in first service, I took a trip to the men's room. I always go in the handicaped stall (I like a spacious room to do my business ok). There I listened to an amazing sermon by Pat. It was actually quite nice. I was comfortable (and relaxed if that isn't TMI). It is church so there is no grafiti on the stalls, and I was able to sit and listen to the message free of distractions. It was amazing. I know many people stay home and watch church on TV, many people have their specific seats in the sanctuary they always sit in. If you haven't tried the pot for your worship experience, give it a try.

DISCLAIMER: This is not a pic of our actual toilets at New Cov. Ours are much cleaner.

Who's your instructor daddy?

2008-05-04T18:50:00.000-07:00

All done!!! Out of 11 candidates in my IE, 9 passed and will become instructors (as soon as PADI completes the paperwork this week). I will be egotistical and tell you all that I had the highest score out of every candidate on every single portion of the IE (who's your instructor daddy)? My Instructor, Tom Witmer at Horizon is amazing and had me more prepared than any of the other instructors (we call them Course Directors).

Anybody want to learn to Scuba Dive?

I am now qualified to teach the following:

Discover Scuba Diving
Bubble Maker (8-10 years old)
Skin diver
Discover Snorkeling
Scuba Diver
Open Water Diver
Adventure Diver
Advanced Open Water diver
Rescue Diver
Divemaster
Emergency First Response (CPR, First Aid, Care for Children, AED)
Oxygen Administration

As well as the other 13 advanced specialties I mentioned a couple posts ago.

IE Day 1

2008-05-03T17:55:00.000-07:00

75% done with the IE. Went well today. I aced the morning confined water sessions (perfect scores on all my skills, only one out of the 11 instructor candidates who did so). Then I had the written exams. There were 6 exams (1 Standards and Procedures, and 5 Dive Theory). My scores were 98% (standards and procdures), and the 5 theory exams were (2 100%, 2 92%, and 1 83%). I was dissappointed with the 83%, but 75% is passing. And after 2 of the 11 failed out by not passing the exams, I didn't feel so bad.
The Knowledge Development Section I was so close to a perfect score. I scored 4.8 on a 5.0 scale. I think it was a 5.0, but the examiner was being picky. It was once again the highest score of everybody so I was happy.
I was reassured to see where I stood against other Instructor candidates and overall was pleased with my performances. Tomorrow morning I have the Opne Water Skills, and the Rescue Assessment then I am DONE!!!

Spiegel Grove

2008-05-02T10:04:00.000-07:00

This, the Spiegel Grove, is the dive site that catapulted my interest in diving. I got to go into come cool compartments in the hull today. It was my 6th dive on it. Today the seas were rough (6 ft), but the current was very mild.

Here is a pic (in not great visibility) of me at the flag last year:

Today I learned how to instruct the PADI Wreck diver and Deep Diver specialties on the Spiegel. Then we had some fun on the wreck.

MSDT UPDATE

2008-05-01T09:22:00.000-07:00

Now that I have finished the IDC (Instructor Development Course) I have moved on to the MSDT program (Master Scuba Diver Trainer). This involves getting certified to teach at least 5 specialties. I am actually going to complete 13 specialty instructor programs that will include:

Deep Diver
Underwater Navigation
Enriched Air (Nitrox)
Night Diver
Wreck Diver
U/W Digital Photography
Dry Suit Diver
Diver Propulsion Vehicle (DPV)
Fish Identification
U/W Videographer
U/W Naturalist
Search and Recovery Diver
Boat Diver

Today I am excited. I am going to do the DPV class (Underwater Scooter). That is going to be fun.

IDC IS HISTORY!!!

2008-04-29T15:39:00.000-07:00

I completed the 8-10 day course in just 4 days. I am sitting, with a beer looking at the water relaxing for the first time in the 12 days I have been here. I am not taking any books to my room, or reading or studying anything tonight!!! It will be my first full nights sleep in awhile. The IE (Instructor Examination) with the PADI Rep isn' until the weekend, so I am going to start the MSDT (Master Scuba Diver Trainer) program tomorrow. The good news, although it is a lot of learning, it is a lot more relaxed and fun and includes a lot of diving. For the Deep and Wreck Specialty Trainer certification I am going to dive the DUANE tomorrow.This is a pic of the Duane before she ended up on the sea floor. Many people say it is their favorite site in the keys so I am looking forward to it.

Shout out to myself:
My Instructor is a Platinum Course Director with PADI (highest it gets). He was taken over 300 instructors through this program. Today he told me:
"You are one of the better candidates I have ever seen, if not the best I have ever had."

That made me feel good. Adult beverage and relaxation time!!! (at least until 8am when the next course starts).

IDC Update

2008-04-28T04:29:00.000-07:00

Well I finished my divemaster on Friday. Completed all the skills, staminia, practical exercises, real course audits, projects, and took the exams. The exams were 8 tests totalling 160 questions (I scored 97%) that are difficult.
So Saturday I started the IDC (Instructor Development Course). Tom Witmer is my instructor, and I can not imagine a better one. We have flown through the course since I am the only student. We complted 4 days worth of the course in the past 2 days. My brain is full and I am still exhausted. We start 7:30am and finish about 6:30pm. I have some dinner, then do homework til about 12:30 or 1am. It is tiring, but very fun and rewarding at the same time. The PADI rep flies out on Friday-Sunday May 4-6) for the Examiniation (3 days worth) so wish me luck.

Long day

2008-04-25T08:02:00.000-07:00

Yesterday was an exhauting day!!! I don't remember the last time I was that exhausted at the end of the day. We stayed the night at Sea on a mooring ball of the Benwood (see post below). I woke up at 7am and started my stamina skills. There is a 400 meter swim (bathing suit only), 800m (mask, fins, snorkel), 15 min tread (hands out of water), and a 100m tow (towing a diver, both in full gear). While most Divemaster students go to the pool to do these, I was at sea in 3-4 foot waves. I was swimming in between 2 mooring balls 100m apart, but dive boats kept coming and made me swim around them. So I bet my 400m was over 500m. You need 12 out of 20 points to pass (based on time), and I received 13. Just squeaked by. I am sure I could have gotten a 17 or 18 in the pool or canal.
After those skills, I ate a sandwich, then did 2 more dives on the Benwood to finish the mapping project. Then a dry suit dive. At the end of the dry suit dive I was told that we were to do the rescue assessment before we got out of the water (dry suit has very little mobility, and I was carrying 8 pounds of extra weight). Wore me out!!! I got my victim (dad) to the boat, and fireman carriend him up the ladder.
Then we did our 20 demonstration skills, followed by my favorie exercise the course. We had to go down, and completely switch all gear (SCUBA unit, Maks, fins, weights). The catch is we had to do it while sharing one air source (buddy breathing). So we are exchaning all of our gear while passing back and forth the regulator. Needless to say, I didn't breathe much. It was a great high stress exercise (the whole not breathing thing takes a toll too).

So I am all done with the course. I am studying today, and will take my exams. Tomorrow I start the Instructor Development Course.

Divemaster Update 2

2008-04-23T20:15:00.000-07:00

Well as I type right now, I am about 7 miles off shore on the Atlantic Ocean. We are tied up to the dive site in which I am doing my mapping project for my Divemaster class. I did two dives on it this afternoon, and will get started on it again first thing in the morning. The mapping project will take at least 6 hours (underwater). I have to take every measurement of the wreck and do a complete report. I will post it here when I am done (next week some time). The wreck is the Benwood. It was running lights out back in 1942 to avoid Uboats and colided with another ship. Over the past 66 years it has become an amazing artificial reef and has more fish life on it than any other site in the Keys. Unfortunately all the time spent on it I am ignoring the life to complete my map.
With the rocking of the boat, I am going to sleep like a baby tonight!!!

Quote of the day

2008-04-22T21:52:00.000-07:00

Although I am staying on a yacht that costs more than most make in a lifetime, it is still a boat and the shower probably puts out about .0000003 gallons per minute. So I go use the marina shower (which is located at the Ramada Inn Pool).

Today after we got back, I was on my way. I hear a little girl, no more than 6 or 7 ask her mom:

"Mom, when is happy hour?"

HAHAHAHA

Divemaster Class Update

2008-04-22T16:48:00.000-07:00

Well this update is why I am not updating. I have been soo busy everyday and have been exhausted at the end of every day. The last two days I was working on the dive boat from 8am-6pm. Had some students from hell I was working with Monday, and had some dream students I was working with today. So it all balanced out. In addition to working with the students I was loading tanks and equipment for the boat (anywhere from 12-25 divers (that is 24-50 tanks each trip, two trips a day) and my back and some muscles I didn't even know I had are sore.
Haven't even got my camera out and have been studying every night. So no real time for updates, and I don't see that chaning anytime soon. Maybe, but not likely.
Enjoying every minute of it

Confused!!!

2008-04-19T04:52:00.000-07:00

I have got jet lagged pretty bad before. Crossing the atlantic, things like that. Never before just traveling in the US. However, the weeks preceeding my departure my averge bed time was approx 4am (PST). Now here in Key Largo, my wake up time is 7am (EST). Yes for all you math geniuses tha is the same time. So I have been waking up when I am used to going to bed. First couple nights have been rough and have been sluggish the first few days. Hopefully I will adjust soon and be reenergized (like a frickin bunny with a drum).
Today is off to the pool to simulate demonstrating skills for students. All of the skills you master and become second nature have to be slowed down and exaggerated so the student knows what the heck they are supposed to be doing. And most of the time you are underwater, so no talking....communication through hand motions (Jessica would be good at it). Guesstures or charades anyone???

I'm off

2008-04-17T12:01:00.001-07:00

I am headed off to Key Largo for 23 days. I will keep you posted. Looking forward to the IDC.

Gonna miss baptisms this Sunday of two very special people. Check out their video's this POST at patamo.

Claire sings on my kids worship team at church and I love her to death. Gianni has become a good friend over the past few months since we moved back. Way to go guys!!! I am proud of you and sorry I will miss it.

So....

2008-04-15T14:50:00.001-07:00

Motto of the Week

2008-04-14T11:33:00.000-07:00

"Your procrastination and laziness does not equal my emergency!"

I do not know how many times I have thought this in the past few days, and really wanted to say it to clients. But I always go for "Oh no problem, I will take care of you."

Nocturnal By Necessity

2008-04-12T04:45:00.001-07:00

Well it is about 5am on Friday night (I guess that would be Sat morning wouldn't it) and am I am finishing working for the night. People ask all the time "how can you work those crazy hours?" Well I do it out of necessity. I count on 10pm-4am as my money time. The wife goes to bed, and I have 6 solid hours of no breaks, no phone ringing constantly, no errands, no appointments, no meetings, NO INTERRUPTIONS!!! In one of my normal 10-4's, in one night, I can get more done than an entire Monday-Friday 9 to 5 normal person work week. I have been pulling the 10-4's the last two or three weeks (minus a few nights I wasn't feeling well) and that ensure's I can complete all of my client's returns in a timely manner and not have to hire an office assistant or helper. Anytime I get busy I will go into nocturnal mode. I get energized at night too so that helps. I get all my work done while everyone is asleep, and then sleep while they are trying to bug me. Well, I better get to bed before the sun comes up, I don't want to melt or anything.

New Wine Cellar

2008-04-08T16:40:00.000-07:00

I have been wanting a new wine storage solution for a long time. This is the vinotemp 500EC (will store approx. 450 bottles). I bought it from Costco online. It was about the same price as other retailers (however freight shipping was looking at about $600 where Costco's price included delivery, more on that later).
When we lived in Texas (and had 6 bedrooms for the 2 of us) I had a bedroom that I kept my wine cases in. It was not an ideal long term storage, as the room was kept at 70 degrees, but it worked. I kept my long term storage wines in my two wine fridges. Since we moved back to CA, the wine cases have been in the garage for the winter, but I had to do something before the warm weather comes. I am excited.
As you can see my collection is growing. When I first started, the only good wine I had (usually a bottle or two at a time) I wanted to save for a special occasion. Now I can go to the cellar and get an AWESOME wine on any given night. However, I have not opened a bottle at home in some time. With wifey pregnant, I have no one to enjoy it with. Come stop by if you read this and know where I live and want to try a great wine.

Delivery ISSUES!!!
So Costco had the free delivery, but it had a few issues (Costco uses independent moving companies for delivery). The company called and scheduled delivery. Great!!! They give me a 4 hour window and I make sure I am home. About 2 hours AFTER the window had gone by they call me. This is what the lady said "After everything that had to go out today was loaded on the truck, their wasn't enough room for your unit." Wait a minute. Why am the last priority??? Why is my delivery less important than everyone else's? And why are you calling me 2 hours after it was supposed to be delivered? Wouldn't you have known it hours before if it wasn't on the truck? Now since I work at home, it isn't a big deal. But they don't know that. I could be a normal person who had to take time off work to be home to accept delivery. P'd me off. So they schedule for the next day. Get a call the next day (at least this time it is before the window) that said the driver quit and walked off the dock. OK??? So they schedule for the next WEEK and it finally came. At least it is finally here (and yes I wrote to Costco telling them how this delivery company represented them).

CHEERS!!!

First Outfit

2008-04-06T02:28:00.000-07:00

I don't know if you remember your first outfit (well I am sure mine is in one of the many boxes my mom has recently brought me with everything I encountered from birth to age 10), but this is our child's. Yes our kid is still -5 months old, but this is his (opps did I say HIS) first outfit. Thought it is fitting as I burn the midnight oil doing tax returns (In case you can not see, it read's "tax deduction").

Old Man

2008-04-05T21:23:00.001-07:00

So this is the solution to one of our marital problems. If you know me, you know you can call Chad at 3am, but you should never call him at 7am. Many times I work til 3am (or later), and when I am not busy, will read, or do whatever until the same time. My wife is in bed at normal people hours. I need at least an hour of TV (history channel, Seinfeld, The Office, or Sportscenter) to unwind before I can sleep. This is our solution so I do not wake my wife up. I can have it as loud as I want, and she can't hear a thing. I have seen these advertised for more than a decade, but the target audience is always at least drawing Social Security. Well I guess I am an old man now!!!

A cool pic

2008-04-03T22:29:00.000-07:00

My wife took this pic at an A's and Giant's game back in 2005. I just came across it in one of her scrapbooks and thought it was really cool. Thought I would post it, because I never post anything that cool. (ignore my unibrow please)

This is a Blog Post

2008-04-02T10:50:00.000-07:00

Nothing to say this week. It Last week of March to First week of April is always my busiest week of the year. So I have been consumed by tax strategies and all kinds of boring stuff I won't post here as I do not want my readers (or reader) to fall asleep. Have had a few good eating breaks, but that is about it. See you next week.

Get Away

2008-03-27T14:24:00.000-07:00

To celebrate our 6th anniversary, we have gotten away for the day to Monterey. We are staying at the spindrift inn. It is quite nice. An old hotel right on the water. Our room has hard wood floors, a wood burning fire place, and nice feather bedding. I like it. This morning we went to the aquarium, and it was nice.

Lunch was at Fish Hopper. It was amazing. I had (pictured) the cajun swordfist with sea scallops over artichoke and portabella ravioli in a tomato cream sauce. MMMMM. May be one of the best on the water seafood places I have been to. And the price wasn't bad etiher. Tonight we will dine at The Chart House. I will let you know how it is.

Sniper

2008-03-26T10:53:00.001-07:00

I am not usually violent. But watching American Idol last night (and other nights) makes me want to take a sniper rifle and start picking off all of those people in the pit that sway their arms back and forth on EVERY song. Yes, and you that don't even do it in time to the song, you are the first on the hit list!!!

Wow, I feel better having just said it, I guess I will not need to take action.

Post

2008-03-19T03:11:00.000-07:00

This is a post just for the sake of a post. I don't want to go a full week without posting. Still crazy busy. Was out of town working yesterday, got home late. Been working all day today. Took a short break to go help...errrr...watch Randy build the set for Easter. Then been back in my hole doing tax returns. It is 3:15am and my brain is no longer functioning. I am going to go do the patented watch Mike and Mike in the morning and try and put myself to bed. I don't see any slow down in sight this week, but things are looking good for the following. The rest of the week I have the following:

My busiest "work" week of the year as far as tax returns are concerned
A kids Easter event at church (practice Wed, Setup Friday, Event Sat Am)
Easter Sunday (practices on Thursday and Saturday Nights)

I don't know how to get everything done, but I will. Man, I just read that. I sound like a big fat whiner. I will quit now. Remind me when it is October and I am bored out of my mind and wish I was busy about this post. There has to be a life in the middle. I need to find that. Not sitting around looking for things to do, not too busy to breathe. Need to find that middle lifestyle. I am good at the two extremes.

Rock Band

2008-03-12T00:46:00.000-07:00

My wife and I love to play Rock Band. Go check this out over at Ragamuffin Soul. I don't know Los, but sometimes I feel like I do. This is an awesome creative idea to start a service. Sometimes I wonder, and am jealous at places where they are young and hip enough to do something like this and have it come off well. Pat and Randy do an amazing job at our church and I consider them creative geniuses. They have what I think may be a more difficult task than a younger church like Los has. They always come up with creative ideas and sets that are cool for the younger attender and yet still won't totally freak our the old timers.

Click here and view his Rock Band opener.

His & Hers

2008-03-10T20:27:00.000-07:00

I know that the saying mostly applies to towels, but this is just as good as towels isn't it? Well it all started that we had to get rid of our 2 seat convertible. Baby on the way. So we agreed on the X5 for our family car for the next several years to come. I have always been happy to drive less than stellar cars (my last few were a Saturn sedan, Ford Focus, you get the picture). Then I drove the 330i with the sport suspension. It was all over. I get the 4 door with the baby on the way, and a fun performance car when I am flying solo. I guess I am a Beamer guy now. Liege loves the X5 and I love the 330.

Big Fat Liar

2008-03-06T03:42:00.000-08:00

You see that post??? Yeah, follow the arrow. I was going to go to bed? Didn't happen. It is 3 something and I am winding down and gonna go lay in bed and watch Mike and Mike in the morning and hopefully fall asleep. I am going to have to get some good sleep soon or I am going to crah hard (or just be grumpy all the time)