Everyone Breathe....

Talk about a roller coaster of a week. Things seem to be on the upswing again.
I do feel guilty that I haven't called Gram this week. I really need to. I need to see if/when the week of my birthday would be good for me to come down and spend a little time with her. I know, it's a month off yet, but with my brain, I've got to start thinking about it now.

As far as Gak's dad goes, they think they finally figured out what the problem was. It wasn't a stroke, the EEG and CAT came back ok. They did a spinal Wednesday evening and that came back clear. They, somehow, finally figured out that he probably had a very mild heart attack, which coupled with the blood thinners, caused the brain to go a little flaky. He's been getting better and stronger and less restless and more with it the last two days. This is good. This makes us happy. If everything continues to go well, he will be released Wednesday. Here's hoping.
Gak and I aren't heading down to OK next week. There isn't much we can do at this point and it's not a huge emergency any more. Going down or not going down is a no-win situation as far as I'm concerned. If we go down there, we'll get yelled at for "wasting our money... it wasn't that big of an emergency... every thing's OK now"; but if we don't go now, in a couple of months the guilt trip of us being so far away and not coming home etc will start. Like I said, we can't win. It'll become something 'tragic' no matter what. I've resigned myself to this. We are, however, planning on heading down after the new year. Gak knows he and his brother have a lot of things to sort out between themselves and with their parents about situations. Neither of the parents are getting any younger, and this just proves that their dad's health isn't getting any better.

Well, the week is hopefully ending on a good note, so that's a start. This weekend should be interesting. I have no idea what, exactly, is planned. We may be going to the high school foot ball game tonight (if it stops raining long enough) because Al is working ticket sales. We may end up just crashing at our place or Kat's. We have no idea what's on tap for tomorrow either. Joanie and the kids may be showing up tonight or tomorrow, who knows. With her, I don't hold my breath. It'll be a crowded weekend, but we'll make the best of it. I half want a quiet weekend at home alone, but I know that would drive me insane almost as much as too busy. Looks like I still can't win, huh?
I've got a few odds and ends to tie up before I head out to pick up Gak. Peace to all and may your weekends be fun and your week easy.

Don't Taunt the Universe, in Any Way

One of Gak's and my favorite cartoons is Avatar. One of the characters is named Sokka. He doesn't always have the best of luck. One of my favorite scenes is when all the kids are on a stolen Fire Nation boat and the Fire Nation just figured out they weren't real. There was something that was coming after them and Sokka railed against the universe. Well, it turned out this sea creature swallowed up the Fire Nation boat about 5 second later. My favorite line is Sokka going "thank you The Universe!" It always makes me smile
Unfortunately, The Universe isn't being so friendly. (Yes, there is a connection here, just wait for it.) I've said many times, and several of them recently, that this year has been a rough one. I said that Gak's dad is in the hospital for a blood clot in his lung. Well, yesterday morning we get a call that they think he might have had a stroke. He's very disoriented and they actually had to restrain him. He's also been calling Brian Michael (Gak's middle name and what he went by growing up) for the past few days. Obviously, this hurts Brian to no end. It turns out that they're pretty sure (man do I love these 3rd hand answers....) that it wasn't a stroke, but it is a bad reaction to the blood thinner medications he's on. As of last night there was no change. Gak's mom told us that she didn't need us to come out right this minute, so we're holding off on making plans. Brian, however, is very pissy that we're 'not doing anything'. We would if we could. If we lived even as close as Missouri we'd have been in the car as soon as we were called and driven down. Unfortunately, we're not that close. We don't have the extra money floating around to buy plane tickets every time dad sneezes funny. As is, we won't be able to actually buy tickets if we're going down, until Friday when we both get paid again.
My boss already told me to just keep him in the loop. I told him if we do go, I'll be taking my computer and work on the manuals and stuff from wherever I am. He's fine with that. There's no need for me to be in here every day. Gak's district manager is also in the loop and just wants to know what's going on.
This scare has really brought home that Gak and Brian really need to make sure that mom will be taken care of if/when dad goes. Her response was that she was 'leaving it in God's hands'. to her, this means she doesn't have to worry, because God will take care of it all without her help. Well, you know my thoughts. My God isn't a micro-manager, so I'd better be doing something if I want help/guidance along the way. This means Gak and Brian are going to have to sit down with her and make sure they know where all the paperwork for the house, the taxes, the insurance and the like is. Also any wills and funeral arrangement requests. It's not an easy thing to talk about or do. But with dad's health so precarious lately, it has to be done. The only thing I can do is be there to hold Gak and be strong for him. I can't make these decisions. I can't get the information out of his mother. I can hold him and tell him that it will be OK in the long run. Most days that doesn't seem like enough, but it will have to be.

So, unless you want the Universe laughing in your face, don't get too comfortable and don't ask what's next. At least not until the calendar reads 2008, then it might be safe again.

As always, I'll keep you posted. Peace to all and may you have an easy week.

More Monday Musings

I know I've used the title before, so therefore these are more musings.
Just a few little things today.
Work has been a Monday, mostly in the unproductive sense. I did get a few important things done, like getting a project approved by my boss. I've had several requests for slightly modified or customized training this year. Well, with the current setup, it's almost impossible. What I've decided to do is to change how my manuals are set up and to make it completely modular. This will make it so much easier to substitute a section or drop or add one. It will be a lot of work, but not too hard, as I'm very happy with where the training material itself stands. Mostly it'll be breaking it down and moving it into the new format and updating a few things. Mostly stuff I need to be doing anyhow. I've got a few weeks here in the office yet this month and December is looking almost light too. I really want to get this done by the end of the year, but will be satisfied if it gets done by March. My aggressive timeline surprised my boss, he originally said he'd be thrilled if I could do it by the end of March. I need a shorter timeline, if I'm going to keep my interest up and actually accomplish it. March is too far away and it'll just get pushed aside.

I called my Gram last night. She seems to be doing about as well as expected. She was glad to hear that my brother, and hopefully Becca, will be up for the holidays. Right now where most of her pain is, is in her hip and neck and not related to the cancer. Her hip is arthritis and her neck is muscular in nature. The treatments she's been having for her neck have been hurting her worse in the long run, so she wasn't going to go today. Today she decided she was going to have fun. She was planning on going to play reading and a few other things. She is trying to put her best, happiest face forward and hide her pain inside. All I have to say is do what you've got to do! She's decided that she's just not strong enough in body for the chemo. She's already anemic. She decided she didn't want to go through the process of convincing herself this was what needed to be done, only to be turned down after a round of testing. Like I said, she's going to try and enjoy things now and swallow the pain. I hope she can. I just want her to be happy and as pain free as possible. I still hate the thought that there's a loud ticking clock hanging over every conversation, but I, too, am trying to make the best of it. She's a fighter and will hold on as long as she can be without insurmountable pain. I'm not saying she'll give up when the pain is too much, but that she'll accept it and move on with as much grace and dignity as she can. She's always been dignified in my book, even when she's been in some tough situations. She's tough as nails and will fight for what's right, but never in a mean, dirty way.

Well, that's about it for me today. I've got to wrap up a few things and head out the door to pick up Gak and actually have dinner with him! I know, what a shocker, three nights in a row! (Don't worry, he's got Warhammer tomorrow, so I'll be on my own with the laundry...)
Peace to all and may you find the inner peace to deal with whatever life hurls your way. (Either that or learn to duck! Quack!)

Windown Weekend

Well, this has been a calm weekend, for the most part.
Gak worked a few hours yesterday. His manager wasn't happy when he got there and Gak pretty much just said "See ya, I've got my 40 hours in." We also found out Friday that his new store manager gave his two-weeks notice. He's the whole reason that this personnel shuffling was taking place. Apparently, many people just couldn't stand working with the guy. Oh well. Hopefully it'll get better from here.
I was a total lazy butt for the most part. I got a little crocheting done. I recently joined over at Ravelry. I'm not sure how much I like it. It's an interesting place to put my projects and stuff, but I'm just not into the forums and such. I have Crochetville for that and they're some pretty great people. Also, even though Ravelry is open to crochet and knit, about 90% of the projects etc that are up are knit. I don't mind. I admire a lot of the projects, but that's as far as it goes, it's not that much of a resource for me to find things for me to do. Unless I attempt to learn to knit. I'm not sure I really want to. I've got one addiction as it is. Also, crochet seems to travel more easily. I just wish I could afford the beautiful yarns that are being used mostly by knitters. My acrylic is good enough, but there are times that I really would like a nice cotton, or some spiffy sock-weight yarn that you just can't get at one of the 'big box stores'.
Ok, enough yarn ranting.
I must remember to call my grandmother when I'm done here. I just need to say hi. Other family news... my brother, and hopefully Becca, will be home for the winter holidays. I'm looking forward to that. Any chance to catch up with Jon is a good one. It'll be great to see Becca again if she comes. She's a lot of fun, I can see why my brother likes having her around.
As far as Gak's family goes, his dad is back in the hospital again. We got a call yesterday afternoon from his mom. Friday night she took him into the ER because he wasn't breathing right. It turns out he has a blood clot in his lung. We haven't heard back from anyone today, but I'm going to continue with the no news is good news assumption. If we don't hear anything in a day or so, we'll try calling his mom or his brother. This has been a rough year for everyone. I can't wait for it to be over.
That's about it from this end of things. Peace to all and I hope you've had a relaxing weekend.

Rant Ahead

First off, happy belated birthday to Gak's mom! Her birthday was yesterday and I forgot to mention it.

Ok. Now onto some serious rantage. I'm frustrated and cranky and don't care who knows it. If you don't want to hear me bitch, whine and moan, come back later.

I ranted some about Gak's job situation last night. The one good thing is that he talked with one of the other guys who got moved (at least part of the time) to this store and between the two of them, they're going to start fixing things. They're both fed up with stuff. I say good for them and hopefully they'll be rewarded at some point for this, even if that reward is just being able not to have to work that store...

Yesterday was actually one of the days that Gak didn't work late, but I still ate at home alone. I was actually OK with this, because I told him to go out. He was playing Warhammer with a couple of the guys. I know he needs this time to go hang out. He enjoys it. It, usually, keeps him out of trouble. I do wish, however, and just because I'm in a cranky mood, I'd gotten to spend 10 minutes with him while I was awake last night. Oh well. I told him to go and knew he wouldn't be home until late.
I didn't have the most fun of evenings. For some reason, dinner didn't stay put. Luckily, I didn't make too big of a mess. It was totally random and I was fine 5 minutes later. Who knows?
Let me just complain about my body here for a few. Before I got pregnant, I could tell when it was about that time because I'd break out a bit at the temples and my chin. Then while I was pregnant, I didn't break out at all. Now, I'm breaking out all over. In the middle of my face, my ears even! Everywhere. I haven't broken out this bad since I was about 15! It won't stop and I know it's due to hormones being messed up, but still. I'm almost 32 for cryin' out loud! Also, I think my kidneys or bladder are in rebellion. Either that or the fact that I've started trying to actually drink as much water as you're supposed to is catching up to me. I'm fine most of the day, but then starting in the afternoon, I can't seem to go more than 3 hours or so without having to pee! Those who know me, know that I have a bladder like a camel and usually go most of the day without having to take a potty break. It's one thing when I'm home and just doing whatever, but when I'm actually asleep for a change... grrrrrrr. I mean, I'd understand if I was still pregnant and had a baby dancing on my bladder, but I'm not and I don't. I'm chronically exhausted these days and just generally crappy feeling. This just isn't fair. If there was an aparent reason for it or if I was still pregnant, I'd be able to deal with it better. Don't get me started on my weight and exercise programs, or lack there of these days. That's almost all my fault and I fluctuate between not giving a damn and being so pissed off at myself I can't stand it.

Ok, more than enough body issues...

Work's been a real peach the last few months as well. I didn't think the morale could get much lower here. Every day I come into the office, I'm surprised, and not in a pleasant way. Things just keep getting worse. I wasn't here last week when they announced some organizational changes. From what I've heard from people, it won't be good. If anything, it'll make things worse. I didn't think that was possible. The people running this business have no idea what they're doing or how to sell to this kind of market. We don't make big pieces of equipment or sell shrink-wrapped software you can just pull off the shelf and install. Every project is different, in some way, shape or form. I appreciate the thought of standardization, most people around here do. There is a lot we can standardize, but there will always be things that will be unique about each project. I just don't think the management gets it. Also, there isn't an actual business leader right now. Our old one took a new position back in August and we were told they were actively looking and were trying to find the right person. They wanted to hire someone soon, but not the wrong person. (In other words, it may be until next August before we have a new, actual, business leader....) This just adds to the fact that we haven't had a product leader in over 1.5 years now. There's been talk of finding one of those, but I'm not holding my breath. Despite what management type people say, it truly feels as if they're trying to run this place into the ground. It really is time for me to stop complaining and just get the heck out of here. The problem is still in figuring out what I want to do and find something that will pay, hopefully, as well as this is. I just can't win here.

Finally, this is less of a rant and more of just general frustration on this part. I did talk to mom last night. All I can say is somebody stop the emotional roller coaster, I want to get off. The latest news is that there is cancer throughout my Gram's body, mostly in her bones. Very wide spread. So widespread they can't do radiation therapy. There's no one spot to hit. What's bothering her most is her hip, and right now the doctor thinks it is arthritis, not cancer, so radiation wouldn't help that anyhow. The doctor's first response was that he wasn't going to do chemo either because of her age. Well, needless to say, this totally pissed my grandmother off. She's as feisty as her aunt and father, and they were a feisty pair. Her response was "you're not going to just throw me away like that!" She is bound and determined to make it to February. She's hoping and praying she will. Both of her parents didn't make it to 85, her father by only a very short time if I remember right. She really wants to outlive them. I don't blame her. The doctor did consent to possibly doing a smaller dose weekly instead of a higher dose every three weeks, but won't until she's read everything he gave her and had a week to sleep on it. I'm pretty sure if she thinks this will get her to February, she'll go through the pain, agony and illness of it.
I really, really, really, really hate the thought of loosing her. Part of me is resigned to the thought, but most of me is really pissed off at the thought. I know I shouldn't be, because I am almost 32 and how many people have grandparents at this age? My mom did, but her mom and her grandparents both married and had kids 'early' for this day and age. In a way this just makes me more pissed off about loosing the baby. The one thing my grandmother has wanted for the last several years is to be a great-grandmother. I was so happy that not only was I making my dream of being a mom come true (and Gak's dream of being a dad), but also making her wish to be a great-grandmother come true too. Now I probably won't get that pleasure before she goes. I think that's what makes me the most angry and sad. I can't do anything to make her happy right now. Not in the "you can't do anything right" sense, but in the soul-fulfilling joy that I want her to have, the joy that starts at the heart and shines in the eyes and every fiber of her being. She never has and never will judge me badly or think ill of me. She's been my champion and friend for as long as I can remember. I hope I have many, many more months with her around, even if they are numbered and shadowed by pain.

Well, I've been ranting long enough and got just about everything off my chest. I really need to attempt to get some work done.

Peace to all and hopefully my next post won't be so angry.

What a Week... and It's Only Wednesday!

First off, Gram had her doctor's appointment yesterday. No, I have no information, or I'd share it. I'm going to be optimistic and say no news is good news.
Ok. Now that that's out of the way....
This has been a long week and it's only Wednesday.
I really, truly think Gak has gotten the raw end of the stick with this move of stores. His old manager was just a disorganized kid. This guy seems to be an idiot jerk. Yes, Gak has 40 hours this week, over 6 days, and 4 of those days he is closing.... oh, wait, make that 3, his Friday schedule got changed. This means, that even though I'm home this week, I won't see him for more than an hour until Friday evening. There are also several other little things, and not so little things, that are driving Gak batty. It's bad enough that they leave $300 in EACH register. (Last I checked, $150 could give you a good assortment of change...) They also leave those registers UNLOCKED overnight! So, there's $600.00 almost unsecured on the floor and only $200.00 in the safe.
Say what?!?!
Yes, you heard me.
Heaven forbid something happen when Gak closes one night. I'm afraid of what would happen.
There are also some little things, housekeeping of stock and the like that aren't what they should be. I hope like crazy this is something temporary and that Gak can either manage to fix/get fixed the problems (real and potential) or he goes to another store that's better run.
These late nights and long days have been making him cranky. (He did a favor and worked a few hours for his old boss and opened that store on Monday, and then didn't get done until 9:30 at his new job.)

My week's been a ton of fun too. And that's only a semi-sarcastic statement.
I've had several of the sales team in this week. Most of them are quite entertaining people. I like a good number of them, some are OK and there are a few I wish I could drop kick.
My part of the training went well. Mostly. They all seemed to enjoy my presentation and were interested in most of what I had to say. Where the trouble is, is with their organization and bosses. It was hard to keep them on track at times, but it was enjoyable none the less.
There was a dinner last night, which was entertaining. I was really happy because it was right near my house. The only problem being that Gak was working late so not only couldn't he join us, but I had to go pick him up. Actually, this was a convenient excuse for me to leave. I did enjoy myself, but It was getting late, I wanted to go home and I was tired.
We wrapped that up today, so I actually get tomorrow and Friday to do my other work. I've got a few frustrating things to deal with there. Joy. Oh well, the week is halfway over now. Yay!

I will update about Gram whenever I know something. I'll probably call mom tomorrow if she doesn't call me this evening.

Peace to all and may your weeks be better than ours.

Wii

This has been a good weekend. Yesterday there was a "fall festival" here in town. There were a few community things and some bands playing. I could hear a bit of it from our apartment. The coolest part, however, was the classic cars. Most of them were pretty cool, but not overly outstanding. There was one real antique with a kick butt paint job.

Gak had to work yesterday. He called me on his way home to see if I was showered and dressed. I was. He said he wanted to take me out to dinner. We went to Texas Road House down near the mall. Of course, this means we stop at Best Buy and look around. Gak picked up the Superman Doomsday DVD. We watched it. It was pretty good. I really enjoyed the "behind the scenes" of the whole creation of the comic arc. It had lots of neat info.
We then stopped in the Game Stop right beside the Best Buy. They had just gotten a used Wii in. Gak had set aside enough from this pay check to get one. So we did. We got the used Wii (it still had it's box and all the paperwork and everything!) and picked up Paper Mario as well. We also picked up a second controller and today Gak picked up a used copy of Wii sports. Man is it fun!
Today Ed, Buffie, Katie and Nik came over for dinner. It was good. Katie's birthday is tomorrow, so I made cupcakes and a lasagna casserole. After dinner we played on the Wii a bit. Katie really needs to learn patience. Hopefully it will come in time, but Ed is her dad... Actually, he has a lot of patience, when he needs to. It was an enjoyable evening. Hopefully in the next week or two we'll get together again to play Killer Bunnies. Buffie wants to play this time, which is really cool. I really do enjoy being able to have my friends over and relax. And man, Nik is getting HUGE! I mean, he is almost a year old now, but geeze.
I'm not looking forward to this week 100%, but that's because I've got the sales team coming in for training. At least I am not responsible for all of it. Also, Gak's got to work most evenings this week, so I'm on my own pretty much all week for dinners. Nothing new there, except for the fact that I'm at home. I'm not sure I mentioned it earlier this week, but a few days ago, he was informed he was changing stores. Luckily this one is still close to the house, but far enough away, that walking is out of the question. I guess we'll have to break down and get a second car soon.
Well, peace to all and I hope you all have had good weekends.

Update

Well... it looks like after almost a week of nothing from me, you get updates three days in a row!
Training went well as did my drive back to Bakersfield. My flight leaves in the morning and I'm glad.
Just wanted to post a few quick updates. Gak's dad had shoulder surgery today. After finally tracking down his brother, all is well. (The scary part is, we're getting more and better info from Brian than from Gak's mom these days... We had to get the info of what was being operated on and when from him, his mom was just being tragic and didn't tell us diddly...)
I told you last night that Gram had her PET scan yesterday. Well, today she had an appointment with her regular doctor. According to what she told my mom and mom told me, it wasn't good. I have no idea what that means. I know that they moved her oncologist appointment up to Tuesday instead of the 15th or whenever it was going to be. I know that the doctor made some mention to Gram about thinking about moving out of her apartment. I have no idea what's going on. All I know is I'm on an emotional roller coaster with this one. I've been either extremely optimistic or fatally in denial for the past year since all her problems started shortly before Thanksgiving. I still don't want to face the possibility of loosing her. Not now, not ever. She's my only grandparent and the thought of loosing her is about as painful as the thought of loosing Mom, Dad, Jon or Gak. Loosing Kat would only be a hair less painful. Maybe it would be different if her mind was going, but she's as sharp as ever... just in a boatload of pain. It really hurts to see her being betrayed by her body so badly. It almost would seem like a blessing to have her mind and body fail at the same time... but probably not. I'd have to ask Michelle... her last grandparent is slowly disappearing due to Alzheimer's. That really can't be a whole lot better...
Ok. All I'm doing is wallowing in self pity and that won't help anyone. It sure as hell can't do anything for Gram and all it will do is make me toss and turn all night and be really cranky tomorrow. She's lived a good long life and when it's done, it'll be done. I'll just have a huge void that'll have to be filled somehow. Like I said, she's my only grandparent. Ever. Well, almost. Dad's parents died before I could remember them. Gram's father died when I was about 9, but I barely remember him and her mom died when I was 12 or 13, but we were never close.

I hope everyone can have a good weekend. Gak works tomorrow but has off Sunday. He got moved stores. Apparently some chick at the store he's moving too had issues working with some of the people there so a lot of people got royally shuffled around. Oh, other news on the job front; Kat starts her new job Monday, literally about a mile (less as the crow flies) from my work. It's been a long time coming, but I really hope this one pans out as well as it is sounding.
Peace to all and don't take your family for granted. We're only granted their presence for a limited time.

Continuing California

Today was a pretty good day. I had another 6 people, and the training went well and smoothly. Well, except for the places where for some reason our system decided to bomb out. I've only seen some of the errors they're getting at one other plant, and that was yesterday's!
Since it was only operator training again, this meant I had most of the afternoon free. I really wish I'd had my dad with me today. I spent the afternoon driving around, enjoying the scenery, listening to Jazz on the satellite radio and stopping at a winery. I think Dad would have enjoyed it very much. I always think about Dad when I'm out for a drive, especially if I have Jazz on the radio. Jazz is traveling music to me. It's what Dad always put on while we were in the car. That or it is a Saturday afternoon and he's in the basement reading. (The funny thing is, the image that I have in my head is from the house in Kansas, not PA... we haven't lived there in over 20 years and have spent way more time in the PA house....) I enjoy it very much and it's very comforting music, even the more pointed sounding stuff. It reminds me of family road trips and comfortable weekends. Mom would have enjoyed the trip, but I really wish Dad had been there. I like going on drives with him.
The one winery I made it to was pretty nice. I can't remember the name off the top of my head. I didn't buy any wine though. While it was all very nice, none of it seemed better than, or even very different from, any of the others there. There was one nicely 'chewy' red and a nice crisp white, but nothing that really stood out and said 'take me home'. (That and I looked at the prices... oops.)
No, I don't have any pictures. Where I'd stopped the area wasn't the best photographically and the light wasn't very good either. It was still too early in the afternoon to get any good shadow definition or slanted lighting. Although, the lighting this morning on my way up to the site was great. Of course, you can't drive down the freeway and take pictures at the same time. It's dangerous to everyone involved. I also didn't stop anywhere else, even though I drove for about another hour or so. I was going to stop at a park, but just couldn't bring myself to pay the parking for 20 minutes. And the light still wasn't right. Yes, I'm a light snob. But I take photographs, not snapshots. (Even if I do use a point-and-shoot digital.)
Just thought I'd let you know what a nice afternoon I had.
Oh, yeah, I also talked to my Gram tonight. Last night I said she had a PET scan scheduled for next week. I was mistaken, it was today. She said the test went very smoothly. We should have some much more definitive answers in a week or so when we get the test results back. My friend in the office who has successfully fought off lung cancer told me that she should get a PET scan and that would more definitively tell us if it's cancer or something else. When I told Gram this tonight, she was very happy to hear it. She's been in tons of pain recently. Also, the not knowing and the waiting is horrible. I mean, once you know what a problem is, you can fix it or learn how to manage it to make it not so bad. Not knowing means you're loaded up on pain pills and anxiety. Not a good thing at all.
I'll let you know what and when I know.

Peace to all and may you find a pleasant way to spend a pretty afternoon.

California Catchup

This is a pre-recorded message… soon we will return you to your regularly scheduled programming.

(I’m writing this Tuesday morning when I don’t have an Internet connection…)

First let me apologize to my handful of regular readers for the lack of posting. For most of the past week or so I’ve come down with a big case of “IDontCare”. Last week really was a very uneventful week. I spent a large chunk of it putting together the materials for next week. It was a bit painful. Partially because I needed info from other people and then when I got it, it wasn’t really what I needed. The other reason it was painful was because I had a hard time convincing myself it wasn’t just busy work. I don’t do things like that very well. Ask any of my professors how many of the ‘research’ reports I ever turned in. Ask any of my high school teachers what percentage of homework I actually turned in. If it doesn’t seem useful, I have a very hard time getting myself to do it.
I still have a handful of things on my list of tasks from September that just haven’t been finished. I’ll get there, I hope.

This week I’m here in California. This is going to be a bit a painful trip. I have no idea about the students, but hopefully that’ll be ok. I’m looking at this purely from a travel perspective. I had about a 16 to 18 hour travel day yesterday. It was a three-plane trip day and then about another 2 hour drive on top of that. Getting to California can be painful enough, but getting to the middle of the state is really painful.
Where I stayed last night is nothing more than a glorified truck stop it seems. It also stinks of cow manure. (Not inside, but as soon as you set foot outside… UGH!) After I train today, I’ve got about a 1.5 or 2-hour drive to my next stop. Luckily, where I’m staying is a bit larger and supposedly nicer. The biggest drawback is that it’s about a half hour from where I’m training Wednesday and Thursday. Thursday evening I drive back to Bakersfield, which at this point is about two hours away because I fly out early Friday morning. It shouldn’t be quite such a long travel day Friday, but the layovers are a little shorter than I like. We’ll see.

Ok. I’ll hopefully have an Internet connection tonight. I should, I’ll be at a Hampton Inn. I’ll upload this and maybe add some more about today.

I hope everyone’s had a good week.

*************************************

OK Back to your regularly scheduled programming.

Today was actually a good day. It was a short training day, since it was only operator training. I had a fun group of people, which always makes the day much better.
The drive out to where I am now was about as long as yesterday's drive, but not quite so boring and long feeling for some reason. It was really bright and everything was still that monochromatic desert brown broken up by random splotches of green groves.
I'm staying in a wine country region. Of course, that's a little hard not to do in California. As I'm typing this in the lobby of my hotel (the wireless signal wasn't strong enough in my room) I'm enjoying a complimentary glass of local wine. Don't ask me what it is. It's a fruity, sweet white and I'm enjoying it. This is a very nice way to relax for the evening. Too bad I have to check the work email after I post this.
I think this will be a good week overall, even with all the driving. That is, if the people at the other two plants are as cool as these guys were. We had fun and a handful of laughs. The site is a little messed up and I talked to the engineer about it. Most of it will have to be turned over to the software people. They are getting some of the strangest errors I've ever seen, and I've seen a lot in the last 7 years.

Let me sum up the health news for the family: We're not sure if Gram has bone cancer, Paget's disease or both. We know she has Paget's, but there are some other things going on that might be bone cancer. We hope to find out more when she has a PET scan next week. Mom is in PT for her arm. It turns out that is probably isn't the tendons in her arm, but in the wrist. Zoe is out of her cast, but Ed is in one. (He broke his arm playing football with some guys from work... silly boy!) Dad's still grumpy, cranky and worries too much about Mom, Gram and me. Jon seems to be enjoying Becca's company and Abi is trying to figure out a new relationship. Chelsea and Michael seem to be doing well too. I think that about covers all the news...

Peace to all and may you have fun days, relaxing evenings and lots of time with friends, family and loved ones in general.