Month: October 2018

Tuesday and there’s a red flag warning. Good news, I don’t live out in the middle of nowhere so who cares about wind. Go ahead and blow, tear the roof off wind. Which has happened in the past. But not now. Because I live in civilization and the houses that surround me tightly break the wind (like my old dog) and make the weather better. Last years red flag weather created the fire storms you may have heard about. We hope for better this year.

I have a haircut and etc in an hour. That’s a big morning. And it’s taco Tuesday too. Big day. Also, I have had about 20 texts from a client since last night into this morning. He received 19 IRS notices in the mail yesterday. That qualifies as a lot. So I need to see him this afternoon, with his notices, and talk him off the ledge. He is a little fragile. Another personal counseling session.

Right now off to prepare for my day.

After the shower etc I am off to my first meeting. With the esthetician, Rachel. Always a nice visit and she doesn’t charge enough. Bonus. Rachel was born same day as my son. I met her when she was in kindergarten, which is strange. She is feisty so we get along well. I know full well she would haul off and whack me if I go to far. The fun is being on that edge.

Next up Becky. She cuts my hair and has been for so many years I forget. At least twenty. I appreciate longevity in barbers. We never talk about what I want (a haircut) she just does it. And we spend the time passing gossip about the people in our town. It’s fun. When I get home tonite I know Emily will ask what I heard. She likes gossip too.

Finally driving to work. Violated the vehicle code again by talking on my phone while driving. I am such the scofflaw. My associate Hal has requested time to discuss clients. Especially the one whose partners lawyer had called me yesterday. Twenty minute call regarding what we need to do with his plan. The opposing counsel has suggested her clients buy out my client and I agreed that would be on the table. I am to touch base with my client and call her back. But not soon. I don’t want to appear anxious.

I have managed to finish a couple things. I went through all emails and cleared them. I finished a tax return and just received efile forms so it’s done. Now we can do his 2017 return. It never ends.

Onward. Time for correspondence which is my absolute favorite thing to not do. I had a couple of client notices from the IRS. Both the same type, late filing penalties. These are no small thing. The penalties can be obnoxious. I responded to one last week and the penalty was $8400. Yikes. And they are complete crap. I do have to respond to each notice with a letter to the IRS the explaining why the return was late and begging forgiveness in colorful and interesting language. Almost all of my abatement requests are granted so I presume I am good at it.

I finished the last two letters and drove away from the office at a good clip. The best way to go. Traffic was kinda heavy for the first four miles or so and a cruise after that. I drove to the grocers in Safeway and purchased some suede cleaner for my shoes. A friend had suggested K2r, a spot remover but they had none. This crap is expensive. Four oz can is $9. Ouch

Across the street to Lupitas for tacos de Tuesday. I ordered no tacos. Combonacione de adobada y de Chile verde com tortillas. I love Tuesdays.

Next stop home. And I finally get to eat. Open some mail. Read a magazine. Usual. Pet the dog. Cutting edge stuff going on here. I am going to clean my shoes, unlock my cell phone and make up a comparison chart in our 4 hopefuls in the home search. Busy evening.

Ok. It’s end of evening. Strangely, I had not enough time to do everything I had planned. I did all save the comparison chart. It’s tough to get anything done. Or so it seems. Or maybe I should plan to do less, then I have matched the plan to what I did which would be a success. Right?

Btw, the shoes look fantastic.

It’s just another Monday. But, special in one great way. Baseball season is over, the World Series just ended yesterday. Good news, the Dodgers are still the losers. Two in a row. That leaves a mark. Even for an LA fan. I have no sympathy for LA, they suck and I hate them. Seeing them lose is fantastic and I like Boston so it’s a double. I hope LA is still the big loser tomorrow morning. My week could go really well.

Hey, did I mention, the LA Dodgers lost the 2018 World Series. Never gets old.

This morning was a regular Monday. And not really exciting. Sorry. All the usual things went down in the regular order. It was fun. Wait, no it wasn’t, it was more like work. And not fun.

I went to work. About 1030. The drive was a Monday drive, kinda boring but not slow. Or fast. Sounds like the porridge, just right. Only it wasn’t. I do enjoy the driving at least so I did get that much out of it.

You know, I don’t get a Monday paper. I think today would have been fantastic if I could have read the sports page and read all the opinions on why LA lost. Makes me feel really good. LA sucks. If I failed to mention.

Ok. Let’s talk about work. I would tell you all activity today was washed from my brain. I say that because I can’t or don’t want to remember what I did. Normal work, which can be boring and obtuse, nothing exciting at all. Too bad. So I have nothing to share with you. I may need to press reset.

I had a short and unpleasant call from an attorney. Glad that does not happen often.

I remember one thing, I got a call late. It lasted over an hour. My brother in law called to get help with his online application for his son’s private school application for private high school. The application was immense and annoying. And, he is absolutely unable to get it done on his own. Because he is lame. And ugly, guy has no chin. He does not read this. Anyway, I did the whole app over the phone. It’s done. That kid better thank his Uncle Bill.

But it gets better. I needed to write a letter to another online financial aid company for his other sons college applications. Seems the financial aid folks need to understand more about his personal finances. They can’t get to where they need to be. Which is why I write a letter that explains all in concise wording so idiots can understand and it makes their jobs easier. Easy peasy.

Now I’m driving home. An hour plus on the phone puts me in my unhappy place. I have to leave. That’s why I’m driving. Not much traffic. Kinda quick. Emily called and said pick up chicken cuz I forgot to defrost it. Oops. I told her there was a lot in the fridge. She said, chicken. Got it. Ten minutes later a text. From Emily. Forget the chicken, lots of food in fridge. Wow, she has a really great idea.

Got home. Dogs fed. Emily reheated steak and chicken which we put in a large salad. Yum. Dinner was excellent.

Time now for bad TV. Some competition sing show. Lousy. On for two hours straight. I went to the store. I need syrup. And I hate TV.

Back from store, blog a little and now time for bed.

FORGOT TO POST THIS COUPLE WEEKS AGO

I am watching GMA. Why? Emily left TV on and I did not turn it off. I’m an idiot. So far 20 minutes of hurricane news. I don’t really care for hurricane news. Must be a slow news day.

Ten minutes. Still on hurricane news. Storm is now a tropical storm but that does not sound exciting so they keep pushing hurricane. Fortunately, the next story is up. It’s about Montel Williams!! Shoot me now. I am going to turn the crap off and go clean up leaves. And poop. Both of which are better than morning TV. Especially the poo. It’s about the same.

I took a call during the show. Lasted twenty minutes and I missed the Montel story. But, good news, they are back on hurricane coverage. Never enough of that. I am turning it off. Time to hit the yard.

I worked in the yard till I realized I have an appointment with clients this morning. So I did not finish all the leaves. Maybe tomorrow.

I raced through getting ready and dashed off to work. In the convertible. It’s here so I drive it.

I made it within one minute of my appointment which is fine. My client expected me to be about 15 minutes late. You know what I say to that? He knows me well.

Spent the day pretending I was a tax accountant and preparing tax returns. I play the role well. 7 hours worth of it. 5 curtain calls. Ok, not that.

Got home about 7, which is kinda late. Emily had to go buy some such thing she could not live without. For her class. Since it was seven we went out to dinner to. Nothing special really, we got Asian salads with chicken. We live large.

The balance of the evening was bad TV. Again. It’s semi entertaining because it entertains Emily but not me.

So end of evening and off to bed. Tomorrow is Friday so I have something to look forward too.

Today we have a 930am appointment to go on home tours in Auburn. It’s very important to us. So we slept to late and got out so late we will be lucky if we are only twenty minutes late. Lucky.

So we got all set here. I did not brew coffee to save time. Bad idea. I needed coffee and we couldn’t stop for it since we were so late. I gotta remember this next time. We zoomed up the hill to Auburn. Texted our agent. She texted back – she was thrilled because she was at least 15 minutes late. We did something right.

We drove straight to the real estate office. Agent Kary already there. And they had coffee. Love this place. We sat with Kary and did an online preview of all the places we wanted to look at. Took quite awhile but we did drop a couple homes off the day so the review had value. At about 1030 we were out the door, in her car, for our tour.

The weather today is beautiful. Though a little cold. A nice day for a long drive. We went house to house as you might expect. So many stops we forgot what we had seen. Kary said this was a first date. You don’t get anything on a first date. We will need a second or even third date. Those are the money dates.

So our day was over five hours of home viewing. Our agent even brought food so we could keep going with full energy. Good stuff too – jalapeño meat sticks, fancy crackers, packets of nuts with dried fruits. Good stuff.

So we ended our day at the office, again. A few quick discussions about what we saw and it was time to go. We are having dinner with Roma tonight. Out, somewhere, so we gotta get moving.

Em and I discussed the houses on our way home. We narrowed the choice down to two places. Both very unlike while having many of the same features as well. Different in price. Location different. I like one and Emily likes the other. Both are a difficult choice for various reasons. Every home has its challenges. Every home has its good points. We also have a third home on the list. When we get down to a comparison, it could win.

There was a lot traffic on the road. Took a long time to get back. We forgot we were out of dog food so had a quick detour to the pet store for Jaxons over priced prescription dog food. Then to home to feed the animals then off to Roma’s place.

At Roma’s I got to watch a little of the World Series. Boston up 2-1 over the suck ass dodgers. Love to see them lose. We decided to eat at the bowling alley. Don’t be afraid, the bowling alley has great food and bev, it’s a great place to eat. And they have lots of TVs so we could watch the World Series. So we went there for dinner. And I got to watch the Sox pad the lead up to 5-1. That’s four off Kerahaw and a homer off Jansen (3rd one. Lol). It’s looking like the dodgers are gonna lose!

We left dinner for Roma’s toward the end of the game. Roma still likes to go out once in awhile even though she is 85. Hell, we just took my dad out twice and he is 88. At Roma’s we watch Ed little more baseball but Emily wanted to head home at bottom of the 8th.

So we zipped home. I got to watch the final three outs. I love seeing LA lose!!! It was fun looking at the players on the verge of tears. And fans in the stands in tears. LA sucks!!! LA stands for Losers Always.

Not much else for the evening, change the bedsheets, do some laundry, blog. Nice stuff. Emily is already in bed. I am going to read the Sunday paper. Then go to bed.

I slept well. Unfortunately, while sleeping, the pus crusted asshole LA Dodgers won the series game. I hate them. Though I am watching game four right now. And not enjoying it.

I finally got out of bed this morning at eight. I had been awake for an hour. Might as well see what’s going on. I timed it well. Only Dad was up and he had already made coffee. That’s nice. He even had milk. He never has milk.

We sat and drank coffee and read the paper. No one else was moving at all. Michael showed himself about 20 minutes later. Carly still asleep. Everything this morning moved really slow. Dad had thought we were gonna go out to breakfast. Think again. Michael and I decided to go get our cars cleaned since no one was moving.

We headed out to a well rated hand wash place close by. And, I must say, they did a fantastic job. The gal working the line apologized for the cost, 46$ for in and out and tires and wheels. I told her that’s 160$ in Sacramento. And I appreciate the low price. We took a comfortable seat in their patio and waited. He cars were washed out of our line of sight so I can’t comment on that. But the drying area was right in front of us. The best thing was how they dried. Each person drying had a rag in one hand and a compressed air hose in the other. They blasted all the water out of the cracks as they went around the car. They got them DRY. Nice to see. No water spots. They used the air hose on the mats to dry them. When I got my car back it was clean. Really clean. Michaels same way. And all dog hair gone too. Which is a real test.

Michael drove home. I drove around a bit. Just to entertain myself. And look around. I went home after.

Since Dad did not get his brunch or breakfast out, we decided to go out to lunch. Michael identified some deli or other for lunch. Dad was familiar with the place and agreed it was good.

Head em out. Move em on. To deli. Place was kinda small and the tables were way to close to each other. Did not appear anyone was complaining. Well, I had a Caesar salad with chicken. Ok. Everyone else had a sandwich of some sort. All good but not great. We still enjoyed our lunch together. We always have fun together.

We went to the meat shop on the way home. Quality Meats is an awesome meat market and I frequent the place when I am here. Today, we each got meat for dinner to drive home. That way I can have a nice steak for dinner. I chose an overlarge top sirloin and Michael picked three beautiful bone in ribeyes. Kinda rich for me.

Back home. The kids were anxious to head back south. I can’t say I was anxious to go home but I have a 930 appointment in Auburn tomorrow. Would like to be rested for that. At home. So, we all took off at the same time. Them to the badlands and me to home. All glad to be out of Visalia.

My drive was uneventful. Traffic was off and on and it took a long time to get home. Only one pee pee stop. Gas was good, needed none. I got home by just after six. Emily has locked the house down so I was locked out. Nice. I had to wait for her to get home in order to get in. Lovely. She did finally show up, ten minutes later.

I unloaded the car. Emily was on the phone. Fed the dogs. Fed the cats. Got the BBQ burning. Spiced the steak which after a long ride was at room temp. Perfect. Emily stillnon phone. I got some asparagus in the steamer to go along. And a bourbon cocktail to make the old lady happy. Et voila, dinner is served.

We watched game 4 of the series while we ate. That was six innings of pain followed by the Red Sox kicking LAs ass for 3. I hate LA and this was a wonderful game for us Giants fans. If I can’t watch the Giants win, I want to watch LA lose. Cuz they suck. And I hate them. Death to LA. 9-6 Red Sox. Lead series 3-1.

We are going to bed now. Only 930. Emily is tired. I could go a couple more innings. But I gotta go with he woman. She leads. Bedtime.

Today is a big day. I get my car back. Of course, I have to drive to Visalia to do it. Michael and I picked Visalia since it’s semi half way and we can visit the old man. My dad. I would like to drive my car. The Crosstour is nice but I’m ready to have mine.

I am leaving for Visalia at 1 to 130. So I tried to hurry through my morning which, as I expected, did not work. After all was done, I got to work at 11. Not early. I was not expecting much at work, which shows I should probably curb my expectations. By that I mean have none. I had an associate, Hal Brown, show up for an unscheduled meeting. Now I am glad he shows up and we can discuss our ongoing cases. Today is not the day. I had to multi task while we talked. I only have two hours to work. I had to have him repeat himself a few times. I don’t really multitask. Our meeting lasted over an hour, till I left actually. Hal is also getting me cheap phones through a friend. Half price Apple XRs. Works for me. As a matter of fact later today he did call and the phones have shipped. Hallelujah.

Time has come to say sayonara. To Sacramento. I popped into hwy 99, 1/4 mile from the office. Now my mobile home for the next 210 miles. 99 is ugly and boring. Over the last couple years it’s been widened. That means more traffic. This trip was no exception. It’s a 3 1/2 hour drive most Fats. Today, 4 3/4 hours. The traffic was horrendous. Awful. Egregious. Several times grinding to a halt. Where the hell does anyone have to go in the Central Valley of CA. The Valley is referred to as the New Appalachia. For good reasons – poverty, substance abuse, teen pregnancy. I can get you a brochure if you wish to visit. So why traffic? I am thinking these folks have nothing to do except annoy the hell out of us carpetbaggers. So they make traffic. I hate them. The valley is past the edge of civilization. Way past. It is in actuality a cesspool. With emphasis on the cess. People that live get excited cuz that means they got a swimming hole. At least, having the valley, gives California a place for poor white trash to live. If you call this living. I don’t.

Pulled in at Dads house at about 615. The traffic had cleared just south of Fresno so the last 35 miles were nice. That stretch of road does smell like the inside of a cow but at least the drive was fast.

My car, with the kids in it, showed up about 630. They had zero traffic. Pricks. They got the nice drive.

We have a dinner reservation at 730 in a fancy Italian place. We are taking Dad of course. He always pays. I have on my finest plaid shorts and a t shirt. With my slippers cuz I forgot shoes when I left. Well, if you guessed I am over dressed for a fancy place in Tulare on a Friday night, you would be correct. If you don’t understand, read prior description of valley. I mean, I have all my original teeth. I just don’t fit in.

Dinner was very good. Even though location says no. Who knew Tulare could support this. No one. I had a red snapper in marinara with capers. Excellent. Yes, I know seafood this far from the coast means it was frozen. But, it was excellent. The kids split an 18oz rib eye. Dad wanted the rack of lamb but it was 49.95. He said, too pricey. So he got a $42 ribeye. That makes sense. Even the waitress joked. Dad was oblivious.

We zipped home from there. Dad missed his turn but he has only lived here 48 years. Michael helped him naivigate a new route.

We watched the World Series game when we returned. I went to bed at inning 14. I am tired.

I truly have nothing much on the agenda today. A scheduled marketing call at 3. That’s the day. Which is why I am still sitting on my butt at 915 blogging. While you work. Sucks for you.

I do need to go to the Verizon store. I am not a customer but I am now looking. After 20 years with ATT I realize I need to change. I submitted a grievance on my Europe trip charges and their response was something akin to “go pound sand.” ATT has always been cheap with mediocre service. And I expect a break once in awhile for this. They seem to have taken on airs. I am price checking today.

But, given there is no schedule for today, all I have is go get ready and leave. Probably earlier than usual.
Which is crazy.

I finally did try to leave, quite early compared to the usual. But, could not find the house keys. Called office, no keys. Thought for a while, called Enterprise Rent a Car. Yep, left in the rental I was in yesterday. I am an idiot.

OK. Now that I know where keys are, I left. First stop, no not Verizon, I stopped at Linda’s office. She is our realtor. For about the last 25 years. She has worked pure magic twice for us. Sorcery, not Vegas magic. Anyhow, we go back along ways. I have known her brother even longer. Not to mention her mother too.

Well, at an open house in Auburn last Saturday Emily and I met a realtor, her name is Kary. Emily really liked her and she did have a lot of local info. We talked with her for 45 minutes and she is smart. We told her our situation and she offered to act as our Auburn realtor for a referral fee from Linda. Later Emily said we should use her instead of Linda because she knows more about the Auburn area. Now I am not one to abandon a friend and business associate. But I told Em I would ask Linda what to do. Well, this morning I did. And Linda was very helpful and suggested she take a referral fee and Kary get the large piece. And, she said Kary should take on the Hammond parcel we are developing. In other words, she agreed with my wife. Whatever. I have a new realtor. Linda and I continued to pass the time of day after business was done. Stopping to chat is the best part of any day. I also learned she had recently dumped ATT after 30 years. And went to Verizon and is thrilled. And it’s cheaper. I am so going to change.

So I am now headed to Sacramento. Do it all the time. 5 days a week. I got so distracted driving I forgot to stop at Enterprise and get my keys. Idiot.

I went to the Verizon store across from my office. No one in the store. Empty except for employee Chris. Stepped up to the counter, gave him my billa, told him my tale of woe with ATT. He solved all issues, made it all cheaper, said he would pay me $750 if I brought my own phones and showed how much better their international plan was as well. I got a list of what to do next and I am on my way. Soon. I gotta get a lot of numbers together.

Ok. It’s 1230 and I am going to the office. I hate work. Nothing special at work going. Usual work and not much else. I only had a 4 hour work day. I have to leave by 430 to go get my keys. Remember, I left them in the rental. For the four hours I was here i did plenty paperwork. And I was on a call with a marketing consultant for an hour and a half. And another 45 minutes in the car. What a talker. She is a business consultant too. Her goal is to bring value to my biz so I can sell it for more than I ever thought I could. Sounds like a plan. Anyhow, this call was my first with her. More work to follow.

So I drove to Enterprise and got my keys. And sat 15 minutes in the car to finish my call. It was lengthy. Quick drive to home from from there.

We decided to go out to dinner tonight. I chose her fave Thai place. She could not make up her mind. The Thai was fantastic as always. We got home before 8, not very late.

We ate out tonight instead of tomorrow. Tomorrow I am driving to Visalia to give Michael his car back and get mine from him. Bout time. I am going to take Dad out to dinner tomorrow night too. I assume Michael and Carly will be going too. We are all spending the night and keeping Grandpa entertained for awhile. That’s tough. But I expect to have a good time.

Tonight we are doing the usual. Watching TV. We are good at it, that’s why. Soon good TV comes on. Love it.

$1.6 billion!!! My share, $4. Still a winner. If anyone needs a buck, call me, I have the name of a lender for you.

Weigh in today. Used two scales. Last week I bought a second scale because my regular digital scale has been bullshit. So what happened? The old scale weighed same weight twice at 153.4. New scale was at 155. A self created conundrum. I will go with the lower.

In honor of weigh in I went off diet for an hour. Ate all the disallowed carbs. Whatever. One hour is not going to ruin a diet plan. That’s my plan and I’m sticking to it.

Got to be ready early since I have to take the kids car in for service today. Should be on time. Easily. I say with confidence of someone who is habitually late. No, I’m off to get ready and go. Things to do.

Got a text from my bank. They declined a charge due to daily limits. $8k for software renewal. Had to call the bank and get a one day increase in limit. Good till 5pm. I called software company and they tried again. Worked. Why I have to help is beyond me.

I made it to the Honda place on time. We started with the usual. I told the service manager what I needed. She asked a few questions and, of course, suggested a quick inspection , etc, since it’s a used car blah blah. She is looking for work. But, it makes sense so I said ok. I got a ride to Enterprise and got a POS Ford Focus for the day. And zipped off to the office.

The day was the usual. No tax returns finished, though. I did a bunch of paperwork and who knows what. I can’t remember. I spent a reasonable amount of time looking at houses and speaking to a real estate agent. I did have to act as a goalie of sorts for a clients real estate loan transaction she screwed up. I had to email a few people and take a few calls on a transaction for which I never got paid. I did do her taxes but was never told about the loan or asked to provide a copy of the taxes to anyone. Now I am put in this position to defend my clients virtue. Lovely.

Hey, really great news. Today I received a five figure piece of my accounts receivable. And it’s old AR so it’s like finding money. I was able to pay the software renewal take a couple grand for me and I’ve money left over for expenses. Things are looking up. This glow should last till Friday.

I called the car repair. They found nothing seriously wrong with the car. Plenty of undone maintenance, some of which was pricey. I said no to that, the pricey part. The kid can handle the expensive stuff. I had fluids flushed and changed. They told me be here by 6 to get ur car.

It was 4 so I figured leave by 5 and I get there on time. Good plan.

So I drove to the bank to make the deposit and get cash. Came back to office and did a little cleanup. Left at 5. Smooth.

Problem. Traffic was horrendous from the moment I reached the freeway. It was slow, thick as molasses, and ugly. I could not get to the repair shop by six. So I called and the service manager said she would wait for me. That helps. Good thing they know me. Really.

I got there a little after six. All happy. I tried to credit card my invoice. But it’s after five and old limit restored. But, good news!!! I had the cash. Problem solved. All say goodbye, and we head out. Of course, I have a rental car. Office is closed. I had to drive it back to their office and drop the car and keys. And then walk back to the car dealer to get my ride. Fun never ends.

On the way back, I stopped and looked at one of the new cars on the lot at the Honda dealer. Very nice looking. A fully loaded 2018 Accord. Very nice. I would not buy this one, it’s an automatic, but still very pretty. A salesman showed up and I decided to test drive one of the other models I have been reading about. An Accord turbo. Nice car, wish it had more power. But I really enjoyed it. She noted they had a Civic R on the showroom floor. Which is crazy because they sell so fast. So I just had to check it out. It has a twin turbo set up. Lots of power and low weight. But no test drives allowed. And it’s expensive and they only get 3 or 4 a year. So it is muy precioso. No discounts given. And I got this from the dealerships new general manager. He is a tax client of mine. So if he can’t get me a smoking deal on a Civic R I guess I’m screwed. He cut the mark up by 50% but that ain’t making me buy it. He can’t get me a test drive. Hell, he can’t get his own test drive. Though we did have a nice chat for a half hour. I have not seen him in a few months.

I finally got on the road to home after seven. Emily seemed ok with it. She had not made dinner as of yet. We grazed in the fridge and came up with two different meals that we ate together. Eating together is more important than the meal.

I had been trying all day to get ahold of my realtor Linda. We have traded messages all day. And not the fun way like it was in school when I was a kid passing notes. I am going to her office tomorrow. Last call to her at 9 pm and no answer.

Emily and I watched TV for the balance of the evening. No surprise there. TV sets your brain on off or pause which puts you in a mood to go to sleep. Hence it’s popularity. Nothing else doin today.

I slept very well last night, thank you very much. Woke up to let the stupid dog in. Woke up to let the stupid dog out. Waited for the little PITA, and let him back in. But, went back to sleep each time. Probably driven by sleep deprivation the previous nights. Don’t care. One good night makes all better again.

It’s Tuesday. Everyone knows what that means. Right? I make no secret of it. I pick up Mexican food from our favorite local carniceria. I was thinking. Why not go retro and pick up “Mexican” from my first favorite Mexican restaurant ever. That’s right folks, Glen Bell’s baby, formed fifty years ago, wait for it, Taco Bell. It’s true, Bell comes from his name. An old boss of mine in the early 90’s had worked for him and he gave me the inside scoop. The soap opera. Me, all I could remember was going there for the first time, I wasn’t even 10 years old, and Dad and I loved it so much we went back and bought seconds. No gut ache either. Of course, back then, they thought they were serving Mexican and were close. Nowadays is what most people know and it’s complete garbage. They pretend to Mexican. Glen is probably rolling in his grave. So, no, I am not striking the Bell for Tuesday. It seems sad that nother childhood icon has been caught in the back row of the theater with his pants down. C’est la vie.

The morning has progressed through all the standard checkpoints. You know them by heart as do I. With all done I can sit here and ruminate like a bovine. A thin one. No one wants a thin cow. Which does remind me of a story which I will save for another time. I have mundane chores in front of me – wash dishes, put away laundry and all the usual ones as well. I’m going to schedule some house tours for the week, I have three to look at. I will call Linda. That’s outside the norm so I may do that first. I’m old enough to eat my dessert first. Then do the real chores. Or, I could go visit her at her office and make it a special treat. Maybe check up on her since she recently kicked her boyfriend out of the house. Maybe she needs some support. Though she is a very strong woman. I don’t know. I have one other stop, I need to find one if those gift card machines that pay you for gift cards. I received a thank you, a very nice one, $200 gift card to my almost least favorite restaurant. I said thank you, genuinely. But I knew I would never go in the place. I think Safeway has a machine. Or I could eBay them. I will let you know what I do.

So I did finally go to work. No stopsnon the way mostly because my brain is mush. Or gruel. I got to work and had a cup of coffee. We, us in the office, have noted a dramatic drop in office temp as winter happens upon us. I know what you are thinking – turn up the thermostat. Except, we don’t have one. Old building, space all cut up over the years. Number of package units is based on 1975 spaces. You know, that old saw. In a nutshell, we have no thermostat.

I worked all day. Shocking. Managed to get four returns done. Did a bunch of other papercrap. No visitors. Just a nice slow work day and somewhat productive. May get lucky tomorrow. I don’t know.

Drive home. Never did call Linda. I did call an Auburn realtor on my wife’s suggestion about the three houses we want to see up there. Emily thinks she may have a locals insight. The realtors name is Kary and we met her at an open house. Emily really likes her quite a bit. Kary was not available. Will probably reserve the house viewing trip through Linda. Either way I would like to find a house soon.

On my way home I am supposed to pick up Mexican in honor of the weekly Mexican holiday, Tuesday. I was daydreaming and passed by the carniceria exit. Oops. I was going to turn around at the next exit but realized I was 5 miles past the exit I wanted. Not so good. So, what to do? Plan B From Outer Space. I went to Baldos which was, thankfully, still in front of me. I got my TT food there. Of course, instead of $15 for two combos, I paid $26 for two plates. Ouch. I guess it’s my penalty for daydreaming while I drive.

We had our carnitas and chile rellenos and sides almost immediately once I got home. This is what happens when we are really hungry due to diets. Btw, I only eat the meat so my diet is safe. Stop worrying about me.

After dinner we switched to the usual things. Words, blogs, TV in the background. Everyone needs a hobby. Then more TV. Soon bedtime. Sounds better all the time.

Ahh, first day of the week is full of awe. Awful? Has some awe. Awesome? I go with the latter.

I had a lousy night sleep woke at 130 and did not fall back asleep. I had some on again off again sleep, better than nothing, but no long sleep. Slept strongly from 6 to 630 when the alarm hit. And another 15 mins after till Emily decided to elbow me and ask how I was. Thanks.

At this point I got out of bed. Might as well. Gotta work my magic. I put the dogs out first thing. Although I had put the Cocker out in the middle of the night. He needs a keeper, me, to make sure his business is done appropriately. Outside. Personally, he knows no boundaries. The poodle can hold it but often chooses not to.

I got everything done this morning in good time. I had to pack a weird lunch for Emily. She is back on a diet of some sort. She seems to have created it herself so it’s difficult to pack for her. I don’t know how strong her will is for this diet but we will see very soon. Based on yesterday, I would say it may not work very well. I do wish her the best.

I finished my breakfast right after Emily left. And my coffee.

Got a text at 748am from a friend in Texas. That conversation went on till 850. Yikes. Obviously needed to talk to someone. Serious issues which started with a Charger RT and went onward to personal issues I won’t talk about specifically since anyone can read this. I turned into a psychologist quickly. I have lots of semi professional practice from years of bartending. Anyway, I was a sounding board and the voice of reason, yes really, for these issues. Sometimes it just helps to add perspective to a conversation. Most times there is no right or wrong, it just depends on point of view. Though this time, in my humble opinion, I could see a path that led to less damage to others. I wish I could dish but it would violate professional ethics. You know?

It’s already nine am and I need to get moving. No shower yet. It’s time. So I went to the computer and cruised Zillow with the 61 listing MLS our reqtornLinda sent us. I am good at using up time in he morning. But, after looking at 31 listings and noting the ones I want to see I decided it’s tome to get out of the house. So I did the SSS and headed out.

I drive the Crosstour today, Michael’s car. I first went to the gas station since the little gas light was on. I filled up and decided to get a wash too. Turns out the car wash is really nice. Brushless and very generous with the blow dry. Car got dry. I like it. And only $6.

I drive off. Can’t stay there all day. I drive to Davis and the Honda dealer. I wanted to get the kid a bumper cover for his rear bumper. They were strangely unhelpful in parts. Weird. We could not figure out the color of the part. I did later with pics from the internet. I even got Armando from service in on it and he was unable to help. I ordered a part anyway and made an install appointment for Wednesday. It’s gonna look sharp.

Ok. Now I drive to work. Gotta go in sooner or later. Right? I arrived at 1230. Kinda late but at least they get to see me. What a treat. For them.

I spent the day doing the usual paperwork. Thrills a minute, so many you can’t count. Ok, you can. What do you want from me? We did decide when Xmas office lunch will be. That’s big. No decision where, yet. Anyhow, the day was dull for the most part. Sorry.

I headed home about six. Nice drive in the kids car. Exact same model as Emily used to drive. Like going home. Hey, that’s where I’m going.

Dinnerbnot made when o got home at 7. Wife is fired. We did manage to get it made together. I guess she just needed a steadying hand. Lol.

I have spent the evening looking at Zillow listings as has Emily. We have found a few we like enough to go look at. I am going to call realtor Linda and make a couple appointments. Then I can buy one and stop looking. I would like that.

Time for a little bit of America’s dessert. That’s right, Jell-o. I think I have red. My fave. Then bedtime.