Happy Halloween

I guess because of Daylight Savings Time I did not sleep very well. I was up at my normal time, but the clock now said 3:45. I climbed out of bed at 4:40 and was at the gym at 5:45. Today was back and bi's.

It got light alot earlier than usual... imagine that.

Today Fay and I both stayed steadily busy. Only four or five new orders, but lots of requests for quotes and service issues. I have a big pile of unresolved issues on my desk now.

It got dark alot earlier than usual. I don't like driving home in the dark.

I read today in the news that the Hubble Space Telescope found two more moons around Pluto... so now it has atleast three. Light work for HST.

Fay is not giving candy out for Halloween. Craig had a suggestion for her to keep the children away from her house: "Put a sign in your front yard that says 'Registered Sexual Predator - Beware children!'" That would keep them away for sure!

Hopefully my paycheck will be deposited tonite. As I got off the Turnpike, the yellow "Low Balance" light flashed. That means they are about to take another $20 from checking. I could sure use a paycheck about now!

Daylight Savings

Well, Becky and Bill moved into their new house. They are still getting furniture and decorations for it, but they are relieved that the closing and move are behind them.

From the looks of this graph, Dubya is headed the way of Nixon in popularity. Boy, the Repugs would hate to have another Nixon! That is what the Dems need to do -- ruthlessly label the Republican Party as the party of thugs and criminals. These indictments from special prosecutor don't help them!

Did not go out at all this weekend - broke. Stayed in and did laundry, packed my closet into boxes, and wasted time on the Internet. I have a list of stuff I need to buy when I do finally get paid. I have a big pile of clothes and shoes here on the floor for Fay to take to the prison for the men's work release program.

Yesterday I read this cute story about a boy named Rusty. Then I enjoyed some of these rejected advertisements.

Was trimming my goatee in the shower lastnight and made a big nick in the left side. With that mistake I went ahead and shaved the rest of it off. I like the goatee, but I am not so good at maintaining it.

I hope things settle down some this week. Fay and I are a little frazzled from the heavy phone traffic and issues last week.

I downloaded and installed the Weather Bug, and it is cool, it gives real-time weather updates, but I think it is full of spyware too. I have pop-up windows with ads now. Even the Firefox browser does not suppress them. I upgraded Firefox, but it does not make a difference. This computer is going to be wiped clean, reformatted, and have everything reinstalled when I move my stuff from New York.

"Conservatives are not necessarily stupid, but most stupid people are conservative." -- John Stuart Mill

TGIF ! Whatta week!

Today was another hectic day for us. Martha was mostly unsuccessful transferring their phones back to Hollywood... imagine that! Fay was buried with quote requests, and I seem to be swimming in service calls and service issues.

Went to lunch today with Ana Velazquez, Betsy Hummel, Peggy Patterson, and Phyllis Ginn at an Italian restaurant on Doctor Phillips next to Albertsons. Those women were so busy gossipping you could not shoehorn a word in! It was nice to see them again. They all said to thank Craig for the lunch. Peggy and Betsy said they would like to do this every other week. Was gone 2.5 hours for lunch.

Not a bad week for the Orlando office - $206k. I am sure Hollywood did not do so well. Craig is hopeful that sales will pick up now.

Craig is worried about me being overdrawn. He was going to give me more money, but I stopped him right there and just told him that I had to learn to live within my means. After all, the over draft is my fault. I just have to get through these next few weeks.

Was thinking about going to New York to fetch my furniture. If I put the U-Haul rental on my credit card, and then use the saved storage rent to pay off the rental, I think I could pay down the charge in 7 months. Maybe less than that if I put my bonus and tax refund into it too.

I got a few more boxes here that I need to pack this weekend. I got two gigantic boxes Wednesday, but I can't load those with dishes and heavy shit -- I would never get them out of this apartment or upstairs into the new one. Boxes like that should hold bedding, towels, pillows, or clothes. I need some small boxes for dishes, canned goods, and liquor. This move will be a piece of cake.

Kissimmee, FL

Back and bi's this morning. Took it easy on my back since it has been hurting since I did the reverse sit-ups on Tuesday.

Today was a very busy day for us in the office. South Florida had their phones and fax transferred to our office. All day long I was handling phone calls like, "Do you carry Sterno? Where I can I buy Sterno?" You had to let them know they had reached the Orlando office. Martha even had me writing up purchase orders.

Lots of trouble calls to phone in and follow up on. Darden issues. And a complex quotation for Disney/ESPN. Steadily busy all day long. Was getting a little overwhelmed at one point and Fay told me to just take it one thing at a time. "Easy for you to say, you don't have to answer these damned phones!" Each new phonecall brought new issues.

At last the day ended. Hollywood has electric power and phones again and they will be back up tomorrow!

I was still working on my Disney quote when Craig got back to the office. With him back, he starts to reply to his e-mail and he delegates more issues to me. I mention to him that the office will be unmanned for a short time tomorrow while Fay is at the doctor and I am at lunch with Ana. I told him that Peggy, Betsy, Phyllis, and George are coming to. He goes, "Well why don't you charge it to FER? Put it on the expense report?" I am like, "Craig, no, just let us do what we are going to do, besides, I can't afford to buy their lunch, I am overdrawn already!" Well, he goes out to his car and returns with $70, drops it on my desk and says, "Here treat them to lunch and bring me back the receipt."

Have not heard from Becky and Bill all week. They closed on their new house on Monday. Their phone number has been changed to 910-270-4897, but when I call it I get the answering service.

Kissimmee, FL

The headlines this morning announced the passing of Rosa Parks. She was 92 years old. Here is a precious picture of her right after her history-making bus incident.

Another headline that was interesting was that a recent report indicates that Vice-President Cheney passed on CIA agent Plame's id to Scooter Libby. Really, IMHO, this is treason.

It was chilly and dry this morning. Very refreshing. Infact, I had to put the heater on in the truck to take the chill off. I like it dry like this... after my workout, I seem to remain much drier.

Back and bi's today at the gym. My buddy Dave was in there very early, like 6:35 - the earliest I have seen him in there.

Work today was steadily busy all day long. We processed $150k in orders today! We have heard from everyone in our Hollywood office except Martha. I guess the damage is much more severe down there than the media are letting on. The FedEx building two blocks from our Hollywood office was demolished. Power and phones are out... even running water is down for some people!

Forecast is for Wilma to pound the northeast tonight and tomorrow.

I ate a Lean Cuisine™ meal at lunch. Fay had to go out to get something to eat. I did not get my walk in because we put off our lunches until late. Hey hey! Time flies when you are having fun!

A couple of interesting links:

• I found a fun Halloween-themed hangman game.
• Interesting page devoted to the dangling male anatomy.
  

It is cool outside, but I turned the AC off in my apartment and it feels warm enough inside. Because of the cold front and Wilma going up the coast, eastern Pennsylvania was getting snow this afternoon!

"Force always attracts those of low morality." -- Albert Einstein

Kissimmee, FL

Up at 4:45, showered, out the door and into wind-driven rains. Loaded the truck up and started for the gym. There was alot of wet highway and the winds were pretty strong. I don't think I got over 70 MPH coming up the Turnpike. Nice thing about the Turnpike - tolls have been suspended since Saturday to facilitate evacuation.

Got to the gym around 6 am. It was all lit up, computers were turned on inside. But there was nobody there. You had to get out of your car and walk up to the door to read the teensy little sign they taped to the glass: "Club closed until 12:00". Great.

Went over to the otherside of Kirkman Road and got a tank of gas at the Mobil station and then went to the office.

I changed into my work clothes in the bathroom and just worked through the orders and my e-mail at an easy pace. Craig was in shortly after 6. He said he tried to call me lastnight to tell me not to bother coming in today because of the weather. Well, I was there now and the weather was too shitty to go home yet.

Debbie and Nick were in today getting stuff out to the Sysco show over at the Convention Center. After everyone else took off it was spooky quiet in the office.

Craig told me that I should just take off, or go on ahead to the gym. So, after I ate my lunch, I took him up on it. I went over to the gym.

There were like 8 people in the gym when I got there. It was very quiet. Did cardio, shoulders, chest, tri's and abs. When I went to do my abs, one of the trainers was working with a girl and he was being friendly asked me how I was doing. "Doing great, Jason!" This challenged him that I knew his name and he did not know mine... but he struggled and said, "Vin, Victor, something like that..." That is pretty good considering that he only met me once, three months ago, the day I started my membership. Course, he made enough of an impression on me that I remembered his name!

He told me to see him when I am ready for some personal training. Hahahaaa... right! Made that mistake on my very first day there.

After the gym I came home... road was dry enough but the wind was still gusting. I guess 2.5 million are without electricity in South Florida tonight.

As I came down Dyer I saw that barricades were put up 50 yards before the driveway to our apartment - the street flooded. This happens when the lake in our complex floods. I turned around, but after considering it, I came back, got the truck in the center of the road, kept it in second gear, and drove through to the other side.

Now that the storm is gone the cold front is doing its work. It was brisk and dry this afternoon. Tonight it is supposed to drop to 48° F. Cool week, but warming back to the eighties by Saturday.

This storm ought to make the rest of the week seem short now.

Kissimmee, FL

Wilma is done trashing Cancun and she is coming across the Gulf of Mexico toward Florida. Landfall will be at 8 am. The weather is already deteriorating with heavy rains and tornado warnings.

I cleaned out the ashtray in the truck and collected the piles of coins from my living room floor and got $17. I went to Publix with my gift card and got a few groceries. At Publix I picked up a box of "Just For Men" hair color to get rid of the white and gray whiskers in my goatee and sideburns. The first attempt did not color them, so I did it again and carefully watched the time that it was brushed in... this time I ended up with the white ones atleast colored light brown. I am satisfied with that.

"You're so vain.... you probably think this song is about you.... you're so vain!" LOL!

This afternoon I went to Full Moon Saloon to catch the tail end of Bear Bust 2005. As I walked up the ramp to the front porch, I was amused to see all kinds of new lumber screwed down! Last year some of those boys were so big they broke some of the boards on the back porch. I guess the Moon is protecting itself from a lawsuit!

I hardly knew anyone there - aside from the bartenders... they are all from out of town. I stayed at FMS for about an hour and half, then went to Studz where I watched The Weather Channel loop about 8 times.

It was just starting to rain when I began my trip back to Kissimmee. By the time I got to I-4 it was raining steadily. The trip down the Turnpike was long because some of the people were timid and going 45 MPH in the left lane. Just gotta remember ICKY - "Impatience Can Kill You". Thankfully I arrived safe and sound. Now I have to get my clothes ready to go in the morning and sleep.

Hurricane Wilma

This past month real estate prices stopped climbing in Orlando, infact, the median price fell slightly and houses are staying on the market a little longer. Is the insanity finally over?

Yesterday was my sister's birthday. I called her in the morning and talked while she drove to her bank at Fort Eustis (Fort Useless). Talking to her gave me the idea to make a joke with Fay.

I told Fay when she came in that Craig had called and asked for this and that. Then I told her that we are going to start offering drive-up service and that since her office window is next to the street she will have to work the drive-thru! LOL!

It was a busy day... our total sales for the week was $335k. The best week in a month, and I think the best week since I started.

Hurricane Wilma is tearing up Cancun and Cozumel, Mexico. Next stop: Florida! It should be here Monday. It will probably weaken by then. Also, Tropical Depression 25 is going to strengthen and be named "Tropical Depression Alpha" tomorrow night. Dang, we done did it! We ran out of names!

I have my laundry done and I started packing some of my kitchen stuff up today. I will need to bring home 4 or 5 large boxes for the dishes in the cupboards, my clothes, and the towels in the closet. I need a good sized box for the computer too I guess. I will be out of here over a weekend, but it will take 5 or 6 trips to move it all.

Tomorrow I have to iron a shirt, run the vacuum, and get as many groceries as my $25 gift card will buy at Publix. This week will be kinda lean, but we get paid next Tuesday night. It won't be long.

"Whatsoever you do to the least of my people, that you do unto me" -- Jesus

Orlando, FL

Up at 4:45 am.

Out the door at 5:15 am.

Arrive at the gym 5:49 am.

Shoulders, chest, and tri's today. My little friend was not there this morning. On the chest exercises I loaded on more weight and just did one-set. Varying your routine can help you if you are hitting a plateau.

Out of the gym at 7:05 am. Arrive at FER at 7:20am. Read my e-mail, found a couple of orders on the fax. Orders continued to trickle in through the day. I think we are going to have a good week for sales. Best week in a month.

10 am snack - red pear.

At lunch I went to Chik-Fil-A to cash in one of the coupons Craig gave us. I had the fruit cup, chicken fingers, Chik-Fil-A sandwich, and lemonade. Fay stayed here in the office and made a small salad for her lunch.

There are so many issues I have to track and follow up on. So many phone calls have to be taken and called back. Everyday.

3 pm snack - apple sauce and hard boiled egg.

This weekend will be busy. Biketoberfest is going on at the Harley-Davidson dealer and the Full Moon Saloon is hosting Bear Bust 2005. I visited the Bear Bust last year and it was so packed I only stayed 15 minutes. I will be better of buying groceries and staying at home this weekend. I need to back up the my drive anyway.

Take On Me

On this day in 1985, a song by a Norwegian band went Number 1 for the first time in the U.S. That song was "Take On Me" by the group Aha!

This chart shows the changes in manufacturer's prices for the previous year. See how it has upticked recently, just like the CPI I posted yesterday? Either manufacturer's margins are being squeezed or they are passing cost increases along to consumers. What do you think is going on?

I stayed here at the office with Craig until 8 pm lastnight. He asked me if Fay and I are eating the frozen dinners he put into the freezer. I said, "Yeah, at the end of the month, before payday, when we are really hungry." Then I went on about having to make the deposit on the new apartment and how I hadn't expected to have to buy a new battery for the truck. He reached into his desk drawer and hands a $25 Publix gift card to me. "Here, you made me feel guilty!" A leftover from last year's Christmas gifts, but it is still good!

The waning moon was blood-red as it rose in the east lastnight. Does that mean anything?

Today was back and bi's at the gym.

Everyone is focused on Category 5 Hurricane Wilma. She has been one big record-setter these past 24 hours! Fastest strengthening on record, most powerful storm ever recorded in the Atlantic basin, and first year that we have had 3 Cat 5 storms. Forecast to strike Florida sometime this weekend, they have ordered tourists out of the keys already. If it looks like it will hit here, Fay and I will have to disconnect all of the computers and move them to the file room on Friday.

I suspect this is going to be a good week for orders. Half way through the week I have orders processed for about $100k, and I have a big $148k order waiting to go into Cleveland tomorrow. We need some orders.

Craig gave Fay our monthly Chik-Fil-A coupons. We get three each. This month it is for a free box of 4 chicken fingers when you buy waffle fries and lemonade. I went today and had a fruit cup substituted for the fries.

Fay asked me if I was going home for Thanksgiving. I told her that I could not afford to and that I was still paying for the gasoline I used to go to Panama City. I related this to Craig and he asked me if I put any of it on the company gas card. I told him "No", because I did not have the card yet. Craig said, "I would have." LOL!

There must have been a car accident on I-4. Looking out my office window I see traffic backing up in the westbound lanes. We are only 1 mile from the Turnpike and traffic always backs up at the Turnpike on ramp.

Orlando, FL

BLS looks like it is trying to tell us inflation is starting. With the high price of oil we shouldn't be surprised that the price of everything else is rising. Fastest rise in prices since 1973 oil embargo. Yep, I'd bet that we see even more of this during the winter.

I went to bed early lastnight, but I did not sleep very well, and slept until the alarm went off at 5 am. My back hurt all night. I hurried and ate some breakfast and vitamins, showered, gathered my stuff up and got out the door. I arrived at the gym at 6:05 and realized that I left my Navy boot camp issued sweat towel at home on the floor! I just didn't seem to be having a very good morning. I briefly thought about throwing in the towel and just skipping my workout, but I decided to try and do as much as I could. I warmed up with a 4 minute run, and then did shoulders, chest, and tri's. At the end of my workout I went back downstairs to run. My little friend was already on one of the elliptical runners - the one in the middle. I took the one farthest to the right, but it was making funny thump thump noises, so I took the next one - right next to him!

"Agghhh, this isn't so bad... this is the hardest thing I have to do today!" He smiled at me and agreed. Hehehe. I am a goof.

My day in the office was pretty steady. Fay did not make it in until 9:30 as she was with Fairway Restaurant Equipment getting a Dealer Application signed. My web training with Garland started at 9, so I just stopped answering the phones. Well, the ringing could still be heard on the conference call, so I shut the doors. Craig came in shortly before Fay and he noticed that my office turned into a little Easy Bake Oven with those doors shut!

Winslow wrote again today. He is living in Pennsylvania and works in a job renting JLG Cherry Pickers to the armed forces. He wants to know everything that I have been up to. I have decided that I am going to ignore him since he wasn't any kind of a friend while we were all together on GW.

At lunch I had Lean Cuisine Orange Peel Chicken. Then I read the front part of the Orlando Sentinel, and made my 15-minute walk around the outside of the office park. At the end of my walk I stopped at the truck and popped the hood to top off the anti-freeze. Fay took her lunch here in the office. She did not have much of an appetite because she is worried about the biopsy she has to leave work early for.

Last 45 minutes were strangely quiet in the office. Craig returned right around 5 pm.

I wasn't having a very good morning, but over all the day was pretty good.

Tomorrow - back and bi's at the gym, and Evelyn, our computer consultant, will be in to install some software for Fay and do some work on Craig's computer.

"Failure is a part of success. There is no such thing as a bed of roses all your life. But failure will never stand in the way of success if you learn from it." -- Hank Aaron

Kissimmee, FL

Back and bi's this morning. Breezed right through my workout routine. Then straight to the office where I found the Test Kitchen stacked up with stuff from Craig's weekend run to BJ's Wholesale Club. He brought us 5 cases of bottled water, a case of Diet Coke, boxes of peanuts and cashews, granola bars, Wylers Fruit Snacks, bottled hand soap, and a case of tissues. I spent the first 10 minutes of my day putting all of that stuff away.

There were a lot of orders today, but unfortunately none of them were very large.

I stayed in today and ate a Lean Cuisine meal while Fay went out to the UPS Store and Publix. After lunch I went on my daily walk around the office park. It was warm - around 87° F and hardly any wind. Not as humid.

The rest of the day was eerily quiet. There were phone calls and small problems to fix, but it was pretty sedate.

Fay was right out the door at 5 today. I stayed behind to turn out the lights, turn the AC up, shut down the copier, etc. I checked my Yahoo! e-mail before I left and found something very interesting in there. A message from jewinslow@jlg.com. I have not heard from Jimbo Winslow in over 8 years. Do any of you remember Winslow?

A compasionate conservative is like a Volvo with a gun rack. They don't exist!

Kissimmee, FL

Did not go out at all this weekend... no money - what's the point? Stayed inside almost all weekend too. Got the laundry done. Ran the dishwasher a couple of times. Had to work on the Florida Hospital drawings for Craig.

Today I pressed three shirts this morning, then I polished my shoes, finished the Florida Hospital drawings, and went to the grocery store.

Wanted to go to the Full Moon Saloon... it is appropriate too - it is a full moon tonite, but Mom called, and it started to get late, so I stayed in and blogged.

Spent a little time reading Malcolm Gladwell's New Yorker archive. He has the most insightful and well researched articles.

These weekends just aren't long enough.

"Wonderful things can happen ... when you plant the seeds of distrust in a garden of Assholes" -- Elmore Leonard

Almost Halfway

Talked to my friend from Disney, Ana Velazquez, yesterday morning. "I miss our walks." She replies, "Omigod! Thigpen! Why haven't you called me?" "I've called your ass everyday for the past two weeks!" "Oh, I was in Las Vegas and just got back two days ago." Ana is enjoying her new job at Fairfield Resorts, but she is a little dismayed at the amount of travel she has to do. We are going to have lunch on the 28th.

Today I took chicken breasts and brussels sprouts to work. At lunch time I put the frozen chicken breasts into the Merrychef oven (Merrychef is a combination convection-microwave oven that cooks fast). I took my hotplate in too and cleaned the brussels sprouts and sauteed them in butter and garlic. We had a tasty lunch. But the Merrychef took 12 minutes to do what the manual said it would do in 4.

Not a very hard day today. I read some articles on the Internet, and I read some of Malcolm Gladwell's archived columns too. He wrote Blink and Tipping Point.

I have started reading a book about bees. It is not as riveting as the book about the silver mine fire. The style is very different. The next book I have on my pile to read is about Wells Fargo and the stagecoach.

Looks like a quiet weekend for me here. I gotta revise the Florida Hospital drawing for Craig. I have to do some laundry. Add anti-freeze to my radiator. Hang out and read. Very quiet time for me.

Reality is that which, when you stop believing in it, doesn't go away. -- Philip K. Dick

Kissimmee, FL

Got up at 4:30 this morning. Was out the door at 5:05. Got to the gym at 5:35. As I drove up I saw a big line of people standing outside the door and all of the windows were darkened. The front desk person must have overslept. I waiting in the truck and he finally showed up at 5:55. I guess my getting up early was in vain.

Left the gym at my usual time. At the office I was at my desk enjoying a pomegranite when Fay arrived. The pomegranite squirted alot and made alot of juice. They sure are tedious to eat - all those seeds! Well, some of the pink juice squirted onto my yellow shirt leaving reddish stains. Fay suggested I try to wash it out with Surf detergent in the bathroom sink. I did. The detergent turned the stains blue !!

Put the shirt over the fan to dry out and I worked in my undershirt for a couple of hours this morning. I told Fay that if Spray n Wash and bleach don't remove the stains, I will use Rit dye to make that yellow shirt into a blue one.

Only a couple of new orders. Spent most of my day chasing down parts and repairs. At lunch Fay went early so she could beat the crowd at the bank. When she returned she had a boxed "Mojo Chicken" from Publix. We split the chicken. It was very tasty. After we ate, I took my usual walk.

The afternoon kept me steadily busy. Craig returned from Tallahassee and got back to the office around 4:30pm. I hung around until 5:45, then took off. By then it was raining.

Over the past couple of days I have been "collecting" some links to post here:

• Jobs for GW Bush Cronies. Funny!
• Fred and Ethyl Mertz rise from the dead to shill for a medicare prescription plan.
• Azureus, a new and better Bittorrent client.
• Essay by Vernon Vinge about The Singularity.
• This one is funny and hard to lay aside !
• A few short Pixar movies.
• How to determine who sent you an e-mail message and where it was sent from.
• The most useless peripheral - USB-powered pencil sharpener!

That's about it. Just don't have as much time as I used to.

Update: I just got the yellow shirt out of the washing machine. The stains washed out so well you can hardly see them. I am satisfied. "Into the dryer, yellow shirt!"

"As long as I count the votes, what are you going to do about it?" -- William Marcy Tweed

Kissimmee, FL

Shoulders, chest, and tri's this morning. They keep moving equipment around at the gym... the shoulder press machine and the bicep curl and tricep extension machines have been moved to the side.

Another quiet day at work. Craig was in for awhile at lunchtime, then he left and headed toward Tallahassee. I guess we won't see him tomorrow. He is going to propose that the company buy a copy of AutoCAD LT for me. I was surprised to learn that it sells for $800 to $900. The full-fledged version of AutoCAD is STILL $3750 -- the price has not changed in these past 12 years.

The Summit faxed an employment and earnings verification form to the office today and Fay filled it out. Faxed it back. I was approved. Faxed my written notice to Heron Lake this evening. I have alot of moving stuff ahead of me -- change of address at Post Office, have KUA turn off electric on 12/15, have OUC turn on electric on 12/9, change address for cable, get new checks printed, etc etc.

Bought a few groceries at SuperTarget after work. I needed some vitamins too, and that is what did me in. I think the fish oil, Q-1o, and SAMe came to $35 ! Now I am down to like $85, and I am only halfway through the month. I just didn't plan on having to buy a car battery this month.

Mom called this evening. She closed on her house and made the biggest bank deposit of her life. They are moving out. They close on their new house Oct. 24. She is very excited about her move and who can blame them?

"I never give them hell. I just tell the truth and they think it's hell." -- Harry Truman

Incredible

Up at 5 am, scarfed down a hard-boiled egg and a piece of cheese, then into the shower to wash up and shave. Out of the shower, down my vitamins, pull on shorts, shirt, socks, and shoes, put the trash out on the sidewalk, gather my fan, gym bag, and work bag, and I am out the door. Was on the road at 5:35.

Got to Bally's at 6:05 am. Did back and bi's this morning and did a good run. Saw something strange while I was running - this book I am reading, The Deep Dark, about the Sunshine silver mine disaster, takes place near the Coeur d'Alene River in Idaho. As I looked over at the girl infront of me, she was reading a magazine article about clothes and fashion, and the name Coeur d'Alene was visible in a big font and in color. No idea how the two are related. Hmmmm....

Out of the gym by 7:10 am and went directly to the office.

Five Darden purchase orders on the fax when I got in. It was a steady day all day. Mostly handling trouble calls for various Darden Restaurants - an Olive Garden in Tyler, TX needs parts for it's Garland oven, a Red Lobster in Wayne, NJ wants assistance with their steamer despite the fact that it is out-of-warranty, another Red Lobster in Vestal, NY with steamer problems.

Got the Cannolli Kitchen drawings faxed to Ft. Lauderdale and e-mailed to Barbara Hacker. I am sure everyone is pleased with them, but I know there will be revisions too. Craig told me that the Florida Hospital drawings are going to have revisions tomorrow.

Craig returned to the office shortly before 5 pm. Both Fay and I were relating the day's events to him, and he even had some "scoop" for us too. I stayed and yacked with Craig until about 7 pm.

When I got home this evening I found a note on my door:

Dear Vincent:

We received a Notice to Vacate on your apartment home. We value your business and would like to continue your residency with us. Please allow us to take this opportunity to ask if there is a particular reason why you are moving, or if there is anything we can do to persuade you to stay. We understand the recent increase in your apartment home could be the reason for your notice. At this time we would like to extend you an offer to stay with us at an increased rate of ONLY $25.00 additional per month. If you accept this offer please contact the office immediately so that we can prepare your new lease . . .

They really should have told me that a month ago. Looks like The Summit called for my references. Looks like I am calling their bluff too. It's a shame too because I have already left the deposit on my new apartment. Anyway, I will be better off up in Orlando and closer to the gym, work, and shopping.

Let the great world spin for ever down the ringing grooves of change. - Tennyson

Kissimmee, FL

I know I haven't posted since Wednesday, but honestly, there really hasn't been alot to say. I stayed in all weekend too... got alot of housework done yesterday - kitchen cleaned up, floors cleaned, vacuum run, laundry done, and shower scrubbed. Also, got the drawings for work completed too.

Today I pressed two shirts for work. While doing the cuffs on the second shirt, the buttons held the foot of the iron up just a little and my thumb was burned from the steam escaping ! Atleast the shirts will look good.

Meet Hurricane Vince. He is headed for Spain. Kinda strange.

This afternoon I went downtown and walked a couple of laps around Lake Eola. It is terribly humid outside. I was soaked with sweat and had sweat beaded up on my scalp when I left. I am glad I have AC.

Now I have clothes layed out for tomorrow morning, have my vitamins ready for the morning, and my drawing project ready to take to work and e-mail to the architect.

Tropical Storm Tammy

Tammy has made it rain like crazy here. Not much wind, but lots and lots of rain. She is coming ashore today and will probably rain herself out over Georgia. Next up: Vince.

When I started for the gym this morning I turned the key in the ignition and the lights came up dimly and there was alot of clicking... and then the engine began to turn over slowwwlllyyy. Finally it lit off. "Great, the battery is dying!" Can't complain, that battery lasted 6 years. Went out to Sears today at lunch to get a new battery. The electrical system test and the new battery came to $100.63. The new battery comes with a three-year warranty.

Another quiet day in the office. Craig brought Dave Geiger from Delfield around between trips to dealers. The Cannolli Kitchen project was revised again. So, I will have to spend some time removing equipment, dropping new items in, and printing it out this weekend.

My last month's rent at Heron Lake will be pro-rated. I will have to pay $242. She said the refundable portion of my deposit will be sent to my forwarding address two weeks after I turn the keys in. I can move into my new apartment on Dec.9, and I am promising Heron Lake I will be out of the old apartment on Dec. 12. That gives me four days over a weekend to move. Gotta start packing infrequently used things up. Gotta get a USPS moving kit. We will worry about transferring utilities right before I make my move.

I have not shaved in a week -- getting kinda fuzzy. I got some ingrown hairs in my neck last Thursday and stopped shaving. When I get to the barber I am going to have him trim it up into a goatee. I will probably need some of that "Just For Men" dye to cover up the white ones!

Kissimmee, FL

Mom called at 4:30 pm yesterday while I was still at work with the depressing news that Uncle Ray hung himself and his body was discovered yesterday. I wish he'd kept taking his anti-depressants.

Went to The Summit after work and left my $40 application fee, $325 deposit, and completed application with last three pay stubs. My new address will be 6410 Metrowest Boulevard, Apartment 1014, Orlando, FL 32835. Update your address book now.

My new apartment is a second floor unit that faces the neighboring complex next to us on the golf course. I move in on December 9.

Today, as promised, I hit the gym bright and early. Shoulders, chest, and tri's. I think I sprained a muscle in my neck doing crunches... I have to be more careful of my neck.

Work today was abnormally quiet. It rained off and on all day long. Hurricane Stan hit Mexico today... just two more storms until we see Hurricane "Vince". Will it happen this year?

Patriotism means to stand by the country. It does not mean to stand by the president or any other public official... -- Theodore Roosevelt

Orlando, FL

Here is what the new $10 bill looks like. Lots of multi-color ink, watermarks, and other features to thwart counterfeiters.

Toured a one-bedroom apartment at The Summit after work on Friday. I think it will suit my needs. I will have to pare down my belongings to fit in there comfortably. The rental agent said that she did not have any units available for December, but to keep checking back next week.

I stayed home Friday night. On Saturday I went to the office to work on the Cannolli Kitchen drawings for Tom Dickie. Craig popped in briefly while I was there. I was in for about three hours. After that I went to SuperTarget and bought some groceries. Took my groceries home and put them away, folded up towels and dark clothes. Took a short nap. Went out Saturday night.

Slept in late on Sunday... I don't think I got up until 7 am! Hey, it was my birthday after all. Did almost nothing all day. Took a long, 4-hour, nap in the afternoon. In the evening I went to Barnes & Noble and got a couple of books to read. I bought The Deep Dark - about the 1972 Sunshine silver mine fire, and Bees In America - about honeybees and their influence on American history and the economy. I think that was my first trip to Barnes & Noble in a couple of months. After the bookstore I went out to Full Moon Saloon again for a couple of hours.

I never ironed the shirt that needed to be pressed, and I did not run the vacuum cleaner. I did step on the scale for my monthly weigh-in, and it showed no change! That Liar!!

Skipped the gym because I got in late - around midnight. Don't worry, I will hit it hard again in the morning. I will go to bed early tonight just to be sure I can.

Today was a steady day here at the office... I called The Summit at 2 pm to see if they had a one-bedroom available for December. Yes! They have one available for the first week of December and it is a second-floor unit. I am going over after work to leave the application, the deposit, and the application fee. That will hold the apartment for me. Then I can write my notice for Harbor Lake and start packing up.