Melissa Vaughn

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Sunday 7/24/2005 1PM
I am so completely fed up with my color ink jet printer. This is about my fifth ink jet printer and every time they break it's right after I buy ink. These things are crap. I'm going to buy a laser jet one next time. I saw one at Costco yesterday for about $250. With the cost of ink for these things I would be saving money to buy one of those.

It's already afternoon and I haven't done much today. Made coffee, watered my garden, drew plans for a shed and greenhouse in the back. I found a nice shady spot between the back planters that will make the perfect spot for little chairs and a table.

This is the first weekend in a long time that we've been able to relax. The carpet is finally in and the furniture is back in place. We've been able to sleep and take showers upstairs again. It feels great to not be working on the house for once. I sectioned off a semi-circle with bricks in one of the planters out back and planted flower seeds yesterday. Paul and I went down to Costco then came home and I worked in the garden a bit more. Leda came over and we played Uno until 9 or so. Then Paul and I watched TV and a movie called National Treasure until after midnight.

Next week Paul's going to help me move my filing cabinet and furniture out of the office in Camarillo. Danielle, is coming up to visit and help me with some filing and other work while she's on summer vacation. She's 21 this month. It's hard to believe I've known her since she was 9.

I hope I get my car back soon. It's down at the dealer now. After the clutch was fixed the o2 sensor went out. I put new tires on it last week then dropped it off at the dealer. Now they say that the light is still on after putting a new o2 sensor on and that they have to check the wiring. I've borrowed Paul's car a couple of times to go down to the store. It's not really comfortable to drive for me but I love the convertible!

Wednesday 7/13/2005 1:10PM
Getting over the Hump

My car's still in the shop. We're putting the factory clutch in it because the high performance ones weren't available. I took Paul's BMW down to Bakersfield yesterday to pickup a couple of decorative tiles that we'll, or actually Jason will be adding to the upstairs bathroom. He's coming back this afternoon to grout it. Last night Paul and I were up until almost midnight putting the new subfloor in the upstairs closet.

I feel more like doing nothing than working. It's too hot to go for a walk and I'm not motivated enough to go out in that heat to garden. So I guess I'll just have to start working on something on my endless to do list. Starting is always the hardest part. Maybe I'd better go have a snack and make some iced tea first and get up some motivation....

My Garden

Monday 7/11/2005 8:46PM
I must be getting sick. I'm actually happy to be back on the computer this Monday. Paul and I accomplished a lot this weekend. He started laying felt to go under the new subfloor upstairs and I laid the new tiles into position to see how they'll look. We may actually hire the guy a couple of houses down to finish it out since the room is not quite square it's going to be a bit of a challenge to make it look right.

My PT is down at Sam's shop near the freeway. Sam is a friend of Paul's who owns FAS Radiator. My clutch blew out on Friday on my way down to a meeting so he's replacing it with a higher performance one. Paul says that I'm really good on the clutch so it's probably that when the dealer had the transmission out a couple of times to fix 3rd gear they got some oil on it. I'm sure that run at LACR didn't help though.

I cleaned my office on Saturday and it feels good to be dust and grit free. That's not a common thing during all of this construction. I'll be so glad when the carpeting is in (in the upstairs bedroom, guest room and far living room). I'm getting a little too used to chaos around here.

Sunday 7/10/2005 12:25PM
It's already after noon and we haven't started on our house projects yet. I'm getting motivated though. Still in my pjs and drinking coffee.

Yesterday we pulled up the rest of the subfloor upstairs and took out the toilet. I may start tiling today if we get the backer board down.

I haven't written to or heard from my Mom in a while. Hope she's doing ok. I should write to her.

I need to take a shower and get dressed.

It would be a nice day to sit out in the yard and read a book.

It seems earlier than it is.

I didn't sleep very good last night. Had weird dreams.

I shall now, by the sheer power of my will, get up and take a shower.

Wednesday 7/6/2005 10:30AM
I'd rather write but I must get back to work. Just a quick note to say that Paul and I had a great 4th at my Grandpa's with everybody. The bar-b-q was great and I went in the pool, although I couldn't get all the way in because Paul helped me take my stitches out that morning. We watched fireworks from the bed in Paul's truck then drove home and saw more fireworks all along the way.

Yesterday was crazy with work and catching up, but I got a lot done. Today I'm still catching up, paying bills, ordering blinds, etc.

On the 3rd Paul and I got most of the sound board up from the second floor along with the old carpet. We've still got more to go but we did find out that the beetles haven't bored into anything up there and sawdust that we saw coming down wasn't from the beetles but was from the previous owners not vacuuming it out when the built the place. We're going to spray a layer of something over the beams in the bedroom to help protect it. We're still finding the beetles in the living room occasionally. Bela our neighbor says that they are just migrating and he sees them all the time. I found one in his house. It is comforting in that at least they didn't come in on the wood flooring like we'd suspected. We also had the local pest guy come up and he said to just spray a little Seven on the beams. He didn't seem overly concerned. We don't want to take any chances of them moving in so we're going to treat those beams before putting a new layer of sound board down.

Saturday 7/2/2005 1:49PM
I'm really tired today. Feel like doing nothing. Got up early and made a big omelette for Lisi and me then went back to bed after she left for work.

Last night we talked, drank rum and coke, made tacos, took photos of Lisi's jewelry with the help of Margo and Leda as models. We went for a midnight walk and watched shooting stars our on the back deck until after 1.

I haven't seen a whole lot of Lisi in the years since Jr. High School. It's nice that we can still be friends after all of this time. She's still very much the same person, but wiser for her years.

I'm watering the rose bed out front. I need to cut out the tree roots, lay the drip line back in and then cover with plastic and wood chips. That's my goal for the weekend. I'm also going to help Paul take up the carpet upstairs and pull up some of the sound board up there to check for beetles before the new carpet will be installed.

Friday 7/1/2005 5:15PM
I'm feeling anxious for no apparent reason. Maybe it's the coffee or the hemp seed granola cereal from Trader Joes. Or maybe because it's Friday and I'm thinking about all of the things I need to work on this weekend. The girls next door have been helping me weed the yard. I need to lay plastic down in the rose bed out front and put new wood chips down. Mostly boring stuff, but stuff that needs to get done.

Paul and I have noticed a type of wood boring beetle (very similar to a Powder Post Beetle but larger, could be a False Powder Post Beetle) in the living room which we suspect may have come in on the bamboo flooring, although that stuff is "woven/carbonized" meaning that it's tougher than plastic beef jerky. At any rate it's a very disturbing discovery. We'll likely need to get the house tented, and I'll be calling someone about it today. I spoke to an entomologist from UC Davis who has an office down in Bakersfield. I'm going to go down there on the 11th to have the things identified if we don't have someone come up here first.

On a lighter note, my friend Elisa, who I've known since about 3rd grade is coming up to visit. We were best friends for years up until Jr. High when I went to SMASH. Then we kind of went separate ways. We hung out a little in when I joined up with her again at John Adams. I remember ditching with her and Elle and the blond girl from that HBO TV show, can't remember her name right now. We went down to Venice, planed on stealing a truck that had a window open but didn't get past hoisting the blond girl through the window. We took a bus that we weren't sure where it weren't and ended going up way out of town towards Westwood. We were at that age.

My neighbor's daughter is at that age now too. I worry about her but can't blame her. I know it's a part of growing up and finding your independence. I just hope that she stays safe and doesn't get into any hard drugs. If she's lucky and smart, she'll get through just fine. I've been giving her and her sister jobs around the house to help them keep busy. As they say, idle hands are the devils playground. We all need things to keep our hands busy and our minds occupied.

I'm now reading "I love Everybody (and Other Atrocious Lies)", a so so, somewhat funny, paperback I bought a Costco. I'm desperately in search of a better book to read. Maybe I should read Dr. Laura's book, "The Proper Care and Feeding of Husbands". I just heard about that one yesterday. Gotta love the title. I was listening to her show yesterday on my way to work. A 16 year old girl called in wanting to know what to do because she found out that her father had cheated on her mother, years before apparently. She got the mother on the phone and asked why she told her daughters about this when she wasn't willing to do anything about it (she never left him). She said that her daughters are not her confidant, and she should not put her burden on them when she herself is doing nothing about the situation. Of course young people want to fix things, but there's nothing her daughters can do. Therefore it is her job to keep the burden to herself. -- This was like a lightbulb moment for me, dealing with the situation of my Mom. This is why I got so sick of her calling me up in tears or stressed out because of something Glen did (or Jim, before that), but she would never do anything about it. That is exactly the reason I finally told her that I didn't want to hear it anymore. I don't want to hear her badmouth the one that she's going to bring to dinner next week. It's not fair to me, because I can't do anything about it, and she's not willing to make any changes.

Anyway, we're in a new chapter of that story now. I've been writing to her and sent her a book "The Way Of The Peaceful Warrior". Last I heard she could as long as 10 to 20 years. It's hard to comprehend. I'm not thinking too much about it because you never know how these things will turn out. Her next court date is August 1st.

Tuesday 6/28/2005 5:15PM
Work is back to normal. Hectic but I'm keeping my head above water. I got the biopsy results of my three little moles I had removed, all benign. I have to have the stitches removed next week. Having moles removed is almost as fun as getting a cavity filled.

Contracts are signed and we're finally getting our new carpet in! Horray! I can't wait. Paul's Dad is coming to visit us the first week of August, which has given me the motivation I needed to get this finished. We're also ordering new blinds, which we've also needed to do. Thank God for 0% balance transfers for one year, and let us pray for lots of money to pay them off before that time comes!

Monday 6/27/2005 11AM
It's Monday again, ugggg.

I'm still going through email, filtering out spam, filing old emails. I'll get to my to do list sometime this afternoon and have to move 75% of my to do's to tomorrow. Typical Monday.

I had a great weekend. Spent Saturday on the beach, with my new Costco backpack chair and umbrella. I'm trying to stay out of the sun because I got way too much when I was growing up 4 blocks from the beach, before we knew what sunscreen was and used to use "suntan oil" to make us burn faster. I just had 3 moles removed from my upper torso that looked "suspicious". So that's it for me. I love the sun but am wearing sunscreen from now on and I don't care if I look like toothpaste.

I met up with Bonnie at the Messenger office then waited out in the back lot with some musicians while she finished up the paper. One insisted that I play his steel string guitar so under great protest, I finally showed him the few cords I still remembered. It was nice to see the locals still enjoying a bit of that Topanga spirit that seems to be drying up since most everyone has moved or gotten too old or died, sadly. I stayed with Bonnie in her house on the creek in Topanga and we watch movies (The Impostors and 4400) and had pizza from Roccos. I fell asleep to the sound of the frogs in the creek below. Bonnie made us breakfast from fresh eggs her chickens laid, and fresh squeezed orange juice! Yum! Then she went to work for an hour or so and I went up to Canyon View Dog Ranch to take photos for a Disneyland-like map rendering that they want on their website. The place is heaven. Even with all of the dogs out running in the dog, there were about 30 together with 2 trainers watching over them, it was quiet and peaceful. I've never seen such well behaved dogs. They have fish ponds and gardens and a puppy yard with another trainer and the cutest puppies you ever saw.

Afterwards Bonnie and I met up again for lunch at the Waterlilly Cafe. We ordered Greek salads, which is becoming "the usual" because they are so good. We window shopped at Home Grown, a new music/book store, and the new Seed & Feed in Pine Tree Circle. I found a cotton robe that I absolutely loved! It was about $68 bucks though and right now I'm trying to save money to pay off all of the house improvements. So I didn't get it. It's probably good for me not to have everything I want. Builds character, right? Sigh... microfiber cotton....knitted.

On the way home I picked up my cellphone, which I lost at the beach on my trek down the cliff at County Line (oops) and someone picked up (thankfully), and left in their mailbox for me Thousand Oaks. I had a strange urge to listen to EMENIM so I stopped at Wallmart in Valencia and bought Encore. They only had the edited version, so I bought that, and some birdseed and batteries for my Palm Visor.

I came to the realization that everything has become so cheap that people are just buying crap for the sake of buying it because they can afford it. I almost caught myself wanting to buy some crap because it was so cheap, but then I remembered that I don't need more crap and woke up from the hypnotic shelves of $5.99 dvds and on sale everythings. It's liberating to go into a store and only buy what you came in for.

Thursday 6/23/2005 NOON
I finally finished uploading the photos from our road trip. I can't believe how many I took. I put up the ones that I thought were best including a great video of a lightning bolt.

I've been carpet and blind shopping this week. Not like I have the money to spend but it's got to get done. If there's a will there's a way, right?

I've been working and taking care of house stuff. Getting organized, trying to work less. I've been taking yoga classes here in frazier park. It feels good to be getting more exercise. I have more energy for it, although this evening I feel beat. I drove down to Bakersfield for a second estimate on carpeting then went to Costco to stock up on frozen stuff. I also picked up a couple of books and some software I need for work.

This weekend I'm going to Gabe Boucher's (One of the kids I used to babysit) birthday party at County Line. He's become quite a surfer and has been winning lots of local competitions. I'll stay down there for the night then on Sunday I have to take pictures at Canyon View for a map rendering for their website.

In my spare time, I've been watching BBC News (Thanks to Tivo) and Seinfeld DVD's I borrowed from the neighbor. I'm also very into the 4400 and watching the second season episodes every Sunday. The show is so addicting! I bought the first season on DVD. I finished reading a book that Bettina bought me called the Traveling Pants. It's one she's reading for a new book club she's in. It's sort of a young adult book but a fun read anyway. Apparently the movie is coming out at some point. I'm also reading a book about the Amish.

Thursday 5/12/2005 NOON
Well I just turned down a 10K job and it feels pretty good. There were two reasons for this 1.The guy was being difficult, wanting to make changes to every detail of the contract and having my patience wear out after 4-5 hours of rewriting details and him coming up with new things and changes every step of the way, and 2. I just got a couple of other contracts settled last week which along with my existing clients are going to be a full time job anyway. I'm really working on trying not to bite off more than I can chew with work. I don't want to sacrifice quality for quantity. Perhaps later if I can find the perfect programmer to pass some of the work off to I'll start taking on more work, but for now I've really learned that taking on too much isn't fair to my clients and it doesn't do me any good anyway.

Now I'm working to finish taking care of my "to do list" before I leave. Its a mountain of work, but like always somehow it will all get done and then I can take a deep breath and enjoy a two week vacation.

Saturday 5/4/2005 NOON
I just finished a little lunch break. Had left over Spinach Lasagna, which I made for the first time last Sunday (not too bad but the cheese was a little burnt) and watched Northern Exposure on Tivo (Thank God for Tivo).

I'll be working long hours for the next week trying to get all of the loose ends tied up with the ongoing projects and work I have. Finally with the help of Margo and Lena I was able to finish the new Topanga 455 directory. I also launched a new php message board for the Topanga Messenger. Now I'm working on several million other little odds and ends and hoping I can get it all done before the vacation. I'm sure it will all get done, somehow things always seem to get done even though on a daily basis it seems there is no end to it.

Saturday 4/23/2005 AM
It seems like the busier I get, the more motivated I feel to do things that I don't have time for. Being busy is good I think. It creates a good balance and an appreciation for time off. I accomplish a lot outside of work that without work I probably wouldn't be motivated to do.

I've been feeling kind of blah, not quite depressed but just like I don't quite get it and there's too much crap (idiotic policies, dishonesty, poverty, etc.) in the world. I'm trying to break that thinking because it's not doing me or anyone else any good.

Whether a positive view of the world and people is more realistic or not, I believe it's more beneficial to both the thinker and the world. So regardless of what suffering there is, and how crappy things might be, a belief that there is an abundance of good in the world motivates positive action in the thinker, which perhaps in turn affects the world in a positive way. To ignore life's gifts does nothing for the suffering of others and only starves energy we might use for some improvement.

Talking to my friends, it seems that there is a common underlying feeling that keeps us from believing we deserve abundance and also, consciously or unconsciously, holds us back from greater success. This is that the willingness to let ourselves have while others have not, seems unfair or selfish. It's a dilemma. Why do we deserve to be happy, healthy and successful when others are suffering, weak or struggling?

But does it really make sense to suffer ourselves, or tone down our success? I think not. The idea seems to be pervasive our society though. For example, the attitude of parents who think that awards should be passed out to every child so that even those who do not excel don't "feel bad". Or this news story from several years ago.; "A Santa Monica elementary school has banned the game of tag, once synonymous with youth and innocence, because they say it creates self-esteem issues among weaker and slower children." - [Read Article]
Is it just me or is this complete madness? We are teaching children that if you are very good at something it's bad, because you're making other feel bad. By excelling, you are causing their weakness.

If the best fruit is on a high branch out of the reach of the majority do we make the tallest ones crawl so that the fruit can not be reached by any? Where does this attitude put us in the world? Do we expect other countries and cultures to abide by this or will they gladly take what we deny ourselves?

Now back on to a more personal level, because the world starts behind these eyes, may our own well deserved success and abundance inspire others to also succeed and find abundance in their own lives.

"Never attempt to build up the weak by tearing down the strong."
-Calvin Coolidge

"If each person sweeps in front of his own door, the whole street is clean."
Yiddish Proverb

Thursday 4/21/2005 AM
I rollout of bed, get dressed and make a bowl of cereal and a cup of coffee. Still half asleep and not quite ready for work I study a bit from my German book and think about my mom. I received a letter from her yesterday. I still feel like I need some time apart and away from the whole situation. Away from her calling me asking me to get ahold of Glen or Jim or just away from hearing her talk. Maybe I'm being selfish, the fact that I just don't want to deal with it. But I am dealing with it. Everyday it's on my mind as I'm trying to figure out how to deal with it. I've wrote letters in my journal which seems to help. I'm just not sure how to deal with her directly. I feel like I'm walking on eggshells. I don't want to make her feel bad, but I'm feeling really angry at her. I hate pretending like everything's ok when it's not.

Yesterday I had a meeting down in Camarillo, went to the doctor for my anual checkup and got my hair cut. Busy as ever with work and hoping to get paid by a few more people soon because it's my turn to pay the mortgage this month.

Friday 4/15/2005 AM
Today I'm trying to let go of my preconceptions and trying to create a more positive, healthy reality for myself. I've actually been working on this all week. Having my ups and downs. I've cut back on sugar, which for me seems to keep my energy more stable. I've tried to cut down on smoking, although that evening cigarette or two is still very much a part of my day. I've been rather grumpy and irritable for the past couple of days and I'm really not sure why this is. It could be from cutting back on sugar and nicotine but I'm not convinced. One or two cigarettes a day is normal for me. I just don't seem to have a lot of patience.

So this morning I sat and tried to let go of all of those little thoughts that pound at the door of my mind. "I should sand the walls in the living room, I need to wash the sheets today, My back hurts, I've got a ton of work to do, I'm not sure if the bar stools I bought are the right color, What should I have for breakfast, etc. etc."

It was good for me to sit and meditate on letting go for a little while, it's been so long since I have. I did yoga for years and then just stopped. I hit a wall that I wasn't willing to climb over. I wanted to stop trying so hard. I think there is a happy medium somewhere in between. I was trying too hard, my expectations were too much a part of the whole thing, I had to let go for a while and get grounded.

Now I find myself working so much and there's so much going on, I don't have much time to reflect. When I do, I see good things. All of the years of learning I did when I was younger make concepts easier now. Now is the time to put those concepts into action. My goals are to have an open mind, let go of fear (that something's going to go wrong, that I'm not good enough, etc.), and to visualize the best for myself, my family and my friends. I would also like to be able to handle stress in a positive way. I know things don't always work out the way we want them to. I want to be able to accept the way things are and see things that I can't change with new understanding. Especially Mom. It's been hard to wrap my head around the whole thing. There is so much emotion there it's easier to just let go and ignore it. But I know that isn't the right way to deal with it, just like talking about it constantly isn't either. I know being angry isn't healthy for either one of us. Compassion seems to come with expectations (that I fear can never be met, as has been the pattern in the past) although I think it's a better path. I'm still not really comfortable with either of those emotions in dealing with this. It's like I can't let go, and I can't hold on.

Feels like Wednesday but it's only Tuesday 4/5/2005 AM
I left the mashed potatoes out last night and there were ants all over them and the counter top. I think I saw one in my coffee as I was stirring it... oh well, if you're going to drink an ant, it might as well be caffeinated.

Saturday 4/1/2005 AM
I truly feel exhausted. I don't want to turn this into a forum of what I'm going through with my mom so I've opted to not write all of the details down here. I went out to dinner with Una and we talked about it a bit. At this point I really feel all talked out about it. There's no sense to be made out of it and her attitude about the does not encourage compassion.

The brief update is this. I sent her $20 for her toothbrush, toothpaste, and shampoo (apparently they only provide a bar of soap and a towel). I sent her a self-help book from Amazon. She has a court date on the 5th. I spoke to Glen last night and he said he was going to take her her glasses today during visiting hours.

I'm learning German now. Linda bought me a book and CD last weekend which I listen to in the car, then I ordered an interactive program to work with on the computer, which arrived on Wednesday. I really love the challenge of learning a new language. Bettina's parents are coming in a couple of weeks and only speak German. I'm hoping to learn enough by then to be able to say hello and maybe communicate a little. Bettina has been helping with my pronunciation. Paul also speaks some German and taught me to count to ten yesterday.

Tuesday 3/29/2005 NOON
I visited my Grandmother Linda last weekend and went out to dinner with Grandpa Mike and Michael. We had thai food. It was really good. Linda and I went to the book store and then visited Robert in his new place out in Victorville. It was a very nice to see them all. While I was gone Brian and Paul finished the floor in the living room and is working on the kitchen floor next.

Sunday 3/20/2005 AM
I am very grateful to my all of my friends and family who have been supportive during this.

Saturday 3/19/2005 AM
Today it's raining and I'm able to relax a bit and think about things more. I've been tired and aching from the stress of this situation with my mom. I found out yesterday that she is being charged with felony arson after having been found competent by doctors. She claims that she blacked out and doesn't remember what she did. I cannot begin to comprehend the insanity of this.

I said I wouldn't but I'm starting to blame myself for not helping her somehow when she called me that morning, upset and drunk. I was angry at her for having called me like this yet again after doing the same thing for years. The next day she always acts as though everything is wonderful and fine but the reality is that she hasn't delt with the issues that made her so upset in the first place. I can't let go of the things she tells me so easily and It's been harder and harder for me to support her. You can't talk to her about it when she's feeling better, it's like she's not really there. She'll seem to agree but she doesn't really get it.

Paul and I will be going on Monday to her arraignment.

Friday 3/18/2005 AM
It's snowing, nothing sticking to the ground yet. I'm trying to get into work mode. I've got my Sirius Radio setup in my office now and I'm really enjoying it but it's distracting me from work.

We hired some guys to come clean out the broken trees and branches, which Paul sawed up with the chain saw last weekend. They also cleaned out the back planters that were a tangled mess of weeds and roots. I can't wait to replant them in the spring. We're taking two of the planters apart and using the railroad ties to rebuild the planter in front, which was brick and was cracking and starting to bow out. In the space left by those two planters we're going to put a green house... at some point. We're still finishing up the flooring now. The wood burning stove is temporarily out and on Monday Brian will start laying the new tile in front of the door and across the room, under where the stove goes. Then he can finish the wood floor in the living room on into the kitchen. After that we have the kitchen island to deal with which we are planning on replacing with an island with a bar around it. Brian's already started building it.

It's pretty much a full house make over. Our last major thing to do will be the carpets in upstairs, in the guest room and den. Then maybe, if we're up to it, we'll finally get that jacuzzi put in.

Wednesday 3/16/2005
It's 11am and I'm still cleaning out my Inboxes.

The events of yesterday have had time to sink in. My mom is in the hospital on suicide watch with smoke inhalation. It's not the first time something like this has happend (or the second or the third) so this isn't shocking to those who know her. She has a manic personality and really needs help. I've done everything I could over the years to help her and support her and she always goes back to the same behaviors. It's a merry-go-round with her. It's sad, but I no longer have patience to deal with it. I'm hurting but I'm too tired to care anymore. I know I can't do anything to change her. I just hope that she will get the help she needs. I know it's not me who's going to change her.

I am letting go and moving on. It's all I can do now.

Sunday 3/6/2005
Saturday: Worked on a clients web site for a while, the beautiful weather made me stop. I pulled dead weeds from last year out in the garden for most of the afternoon. The last bit of snow has melted now and it really feels like spring is here. I can't wait to start planting flowers.

Paul and I went for a drive to Bakersfield and stopped at Lowes to pick up some stuff. We had dinner at IHOP. Brian, Bettina and I went out to Madd Bailey's and played pool and hung out with the locals.

Friday 3/4/2005
Again today, Brian had to do some more work on Paul's office with the stinky laminant glue. The smell is so strong last night I didn't get much sleep, so when he started up again today I had to escape. I went down to my office in Camarillo and worked for a little while. There's a new girl at the office named Christina working the front desk. I worked until about 5 then took myself out to dinner at the Thai place around the corner. I ordered their Tom Yum Groong. The waitress asked me how spicy I wanted it so I ordered medium. It was pretty hot. I don't think I would have been able to eat it if I had ordered it any spicier.

I stopped by Home Depot to pick up some brush attachments for the shop vac. We need to vacuum our walls now from all of the wood dust. We've got these tongue in groove walls that catch the dust. Home depot was pretty much empty. I was going to ask someone where to find the vacuum attachments but the employees were scarce. Luckily they were in pretty much the first place I looked, the tool section. I checked myself out at the self checkout thingy, which is kind of amusing.

Paul's in Valencia buying a new truck. He's trading in his 350z and old truck for a new 4-wheel drive diesel, which will be better for towing his Mustang to the track. His Mustang is about finished and wants to go to the track this weekend to dyno it and make sure everything is working right. I promised a client I'd work on his site this weekend so I'm probably not going to go. I'd rather wait until he's done with the testing anyway and go out when he can really race the thing.

Thursday 3/3/2005
Made it through another day. Brian's been building a desk for Paul and covered it with laminate today so it was starting to smell pretty toxic by this afternoon. I finally had to take off with Paul to get away from the smell. We drove down to Castiac, went to the bank and then got ice cream at 31 flavors. It's very hard to decide with all of the flavors they have. I finally settled on Tiramisu. On the way back up we took a turn off of the 5 onto Templin Highway and drove up the old, practically abandoned Golden State Highway. It was really beautiful. There are camp grounds and some good hiking spots that I'd like to check out later. I really wish I had a dog to hike with, but with Paul's allergies and intolerance to dogs in the house it really isn't possible. Why don't they have rent-a-dogs? That's exactly what I need!

We're ordering Pizza for dinner tonight. Tomorrow I'll probably have to start moving my office into Paul's in preparation for re-flooring my office. We've been shuffling things around the house to get this bamboo flooring in. The house is kind of chaotic right now but we're managing fine. It will be so nice to have it all done.

So why did I finally give in and start writing a daily "blog". I've always loved writing and now with so many blogs out there I don't want to seem like I'm doing it just to be part of a trend, rather I think this might personally help me examine my life, be a better person, and remember things and events that are sometimes lost with time. If nothing else, it makes me feel like I have a handle on my day when I can take a moment to look back and reflect on it here.

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