Yesterday on my way to work, I got into a life changing accident. I was riding my 2000 Suzuki GXS1300R Hayabusa as it was a very nice day. I was going west on Brokaw Road. As I crossed the intersection at Old Oakland Road, a car decided to run the light and make a left turn in front of me. I hit the brakes and swerved to the left, but I couldn't avoid the collision! I was going an estimated 30 - 35 mph. I hit the back of the car and the 'busa and I went flying. I hit the road after doing a little spin in the air and I flew off the 'busa. I landed on my lower back and left hip, then my head hit the road. I got up and looked at the pile of plastic and metal that use to be my pride and joy. It was down on its left side facing west.
The first thing I thought of was to turn the key to the off position, so that the battery wouldn't die. Okay, I was a little disorientated and not thinking right. The second thing I thought to do was to look for the car. It was no where in sight! Felony Hit & Run, that is what arrested the driver for. I was told that by the arresting police officer while I was in the hospital emergency room. Apparently the collision took the bumper off the car, yet the driver kept on going... no license or insurance!!!
After a few seconds of standing there, after taking off my helmet, which saved my brain, a sharp and incredibly excruciating pain shot though my lower back. A couple of people finally stopped and started asking me if I was okay. I replied with a definite "NO!". At first I just went to a knee. That's when the police officer arrived. The pain was so bad that I thought I was going to faint. The officer didn't want me to move at all, but I had to lay down... TOO MUCH PAIN!!! Soon after the ambulance showed up and all I remember was being strapped down and then seeing nothing but sky, the ambulance ceiling and the hospital ceiling. Everything else became a blur. I remember calling my wife and work.
I was very lucky. No major injuries... no broken bones... no head injuries (I now support the helmet law). The only injuries I suffered and am still suffering through is major bruising. I need the assistance of a cane to walk. Sitting and getting back up are a task. I should be back to 100% in a couple of weeks, but the pain from the bruises have slowed me down.
The 'busa is now junked. The forks were bent, the right side fairings, headlight, and front fender were destroyed. Some of the internal parts were destroyed. The frame looked to have a hairline fracture. I know it sounds weird, but I already miss it, but I don't believe I'll own another motorycle. I've got too much to live for... Arlen & Ivy Jane.
Last night I fell asleep in my chair in the family room while watching TV. I initially tried to wake up and go to the room around 1:30 AM, but I couldn't fully wake up. I kept trying to wake myself up for several hours. I finally got up and went to the room at 4:30 AM! That sucked, since I had to wake up at 6 AM!!! Needless to say, I didn't have a very good nights sleep, but then again, I never get a good nights sleep. If you have read the archives of this blog, I suffer from a form of insomnia. I usually can't get to sleep until 2 - 3 AM. I survive on an average of 4 hours of sleep nightly. I've been living this way for years. I think that's why I really sleep in at least one day on the weekend. I mean SLEEP IN!!! I try to get at least 3 days a month when I sleep for at least 12 hours... either Friday or Saturday night.
We brought in the new year sick and in bed, except for Ivy Jane!!! Arlen and I both are still suffering from the affects of the flu. Ivy Jane got a flu shot this season, so hopefully she'll remain healthy while we get through this. This is the first time Arlen has had the flu in her life, so it hit her bad. She was out of it since last Wednesday evening. She started feeling better on Friday, but that's when I started feeling ill. I spent the whole weekend in bed!
I thought I was doing better, so I went to work today, but after 5 hours I was starting to feel really bad. I was congested, felt a fever coming on and had a headache. I picked up a sandwich on the way home, ate it, took a couple of Tylenol, a couple of Dayquil and took a nap. I was feeling much better when I woke up. I just got to remember to take some Dayquil before I go to work in the morning.
New Year's resolutions:
Christmas was spent at my parents house, which is our normal tradition. There was enough food to feed an army. I think it took at least 3 days to eat all the leftovers!
Arlen is now sick with the flu. I believe that she got sick due to the last couple of days she spent learning to ride her bicycle. It only took her 2 days to learn how to ride a bike, but she's now paying for it with her illness.
I'm working during our companies shutdown :(
I can't believe how fast the year has gone by. I haven't kept up with this blog as much as I thought I would have.
I've been keeping busy with work... documenting the processes I own, upgrading SPC charts, upgrading logbooks, keeping up with all the sustaining and everything else that gets thrown my way.
I turned down a better paying job because the job wasn't what I wanted to do. I keep hoping things will work out at my current job. I hate looking for jobs!
Last week we went on a little vacation to Southern California. My parents, Arlen, Ivy Jane and I did the LA thing. We flew to Burbank, of course we were too early to the airport and spent a couple of hours waiting for our plane to board. Dad loves to go to the airport really early for some reason. We rented a mini-van and I drove to the hotel. I didn't get lost once! I got lost twice!!! That's what I get for not asking for directions or using a map.
Arlen got scared on twice on the Universal Studios tour. The first time when King Kong caused the tram to drop and then when JAWS jumped up at the tram. It was funny!!! I tricked her to ride the Jurassic Park ride. I told her it was just a floating tour of the dinosaurs! She let out her usual scream when it got to the drop. Ivy Jane wasn't so impressed with Universal studios, but she did love the drop on the Jurassic Park ride!
We also stopped by the infamous Chinese Theater in Hollywood. Ivy Jane was not impressed.
Things got better at the California Experience. Ivy Jane really liked the Electric Light Parade. Arlen liked the shopping. I liked when Ivy Jane proclaimed, "This is the happiest day in my life".
Disneyland was the highlight... the 50th anniversary! Ivy Jane enjoyed the rides she went on, the shows and the fireworks!
Overall, it was it was a great time. I'm glad I got to share the experience with my parents. Next time is in 3 years or so.
Things are in motion that may give me the opportunity to make a lot more money and have a less stressful job. I hope to hear good news in a month or two. I am very unhappy with my current employment situation.
My grandmother in the Philippines died. She recently had a heart attack and was hospitalized. She made a recovery, so we thought and was released. A few days after, she died at home. My mom left Sunday night to attend the funeral.
I first met my grandmother (lola) as an adult. My travels to the Philippines for business allowed me to visit with her several times. I found her to be sweet, kind and loving. I will miss having her there to visit. My only regret is that I was not able to visit her more often. My last trip to the Philippines did not allow me the time to stop by and visit.
I really don't have anything new to write about. Work is work. It is a little less hectic and less stressful. I am letting more issues just roll off my shoulder. I'm tired of taking it too seriously. I just go with the flow.
Ivy Jane seems to be doing better with her math. I've been giving her extra math work for two weeks now and for the last two days, she's only had one equations wrong!
My latest project has been getting the pool ready for the summer. I just can't get it to clear up. I think I might need to buy new filters for the main system. I tried cleaning them, but the pool has been "cloudy" for the last two weeks. I'll give it until the end of next week, then if it doesn't improve, I'll give in and buy the filters.
Okay, let's' start with some good news... a replacement caribou has been obtained. Apparently, it's harder than one might think to find a caribou that can work the farm in the Philippines.
Changes are a brewing at work! More on that to come...
Planning a trip to the happiest place on earth, more on that also to come...
Back from our emergency trip to the Philippines for Arlen's grandmother's funeral. The funeral took place a few hours after we arrived. We had time to check into the hotel, pay our respects at the showing (which was in her house) and then it was off to the church for the mass. Arlen fainted during the mass... I believe it was a combination of the emotions, heat, humidity and the lack of nutrition that brought on the fainting spell.
I was not prepared mentally or physically for the heat and humidity of the Philippines. I guess because it was such a rushed trip, that I did not have the time to think about the weather. Let me tell you... it was HOT & HUMID!!! It was between 95 & 100 F everyday we were there and it must have been 100% humidity! It was uncomfortable at it's best and down right miserable most of the time, but I took it in stride. I don't feel so bad, because Arlen and Ivy Jane were also uncomfortable with the weather and they were born there!!!
I have Ivy Jane trained on my dry joke about the Philippines... There are too many Filipino's there!
We got separated from Arlen in a mall one day and as we were looking for her, Ivy Jane commented, "Papa, how are we going to find Mama? There are too many Filipino's here!". I got a kick out of it.
We got another bit of bad news from the Philippines last night. The caribou died yesterday. They said that it died because it was just too overheated. They said that it let out one last "moo" and just died.
All the arrangements have been made. All the important people have been notified. We will be leaving for the Philippines this Thursday evening. We will arrive the day of Arlen's grandmother's funeral. This will be a quick one week trip. I'm pretty amazed that I got everything arranged in such a short period of time.
So, the last couple of days at work have pushed me to the edge! I was on the verge of quitting on the spot yesterday and today started off bad. So, I hid in the fab and spent time with the technicians. Got a couple of comments that made me remember how good things could be. One technician mentioned that now that laser has been moved that she wouldn't know when I was in there. She said that when she needed help she would check for the laser warning light and know if I was there to help her. Then two technicians were excited about a DOE that one of them is helping me with. Then another technician just needed me there to vent. That made me feel needed and appreciated. Then there's Elaine... whom I vent to! Thanks Elaine. I may make it through another week
Well, the job is the same, sort of. I feel very unappreciated, but I know now that what I do is recognized by upper management. I now feel that my superiors value my opinion. There are others at work that are in my situation and feel the same way, but just don't express it publicly. If you know me at all, then you know I'm not the type to keep things bottled in. You'll know exactly how I feel. If you can't tell by my actions/posture/attitude, I'll tell you directly.
I never understood why most people are scared and/or intimidated by people who are higher in their companies hierarchy. They're just people!
I keep hearing that the economy is turning around and that the job market is picking up in the valley, so I'm going to polish up my resume this weekend. I think I need to go through the exercise of seeing what opportunities are out there for me. There actually might be a job out there that will offer the monitory compensation that I believe I deserve. I do feel that I contribute more than my fair share to my current company.
I've been having a very hard time sleeping. I've gotten an average of 2 hours of sleep a night. I hope this doesn't last very long. If I go to sleep right now, I can get 3 hours of sleep, but I doubt that will happen! :(
I've done a lot of revising of my website recently. I'm going to start on a new page. The page will be even more information on me with pictures, basically about my childhood and my young adulthood - from my first recollections to the present day. It should take me while to complete the page. I'll need to do a lot of scanning.
I've been working on my dad's web pages for about a week. He's been sending me pictures from before I was born. I'm also scanning some picture from those early days from a photo album I borrowed from Mom.
Work is getting to be very frustrating. I'm just not happy there. I need to find a new job. I don't know if anything can be done to make me happy there anymore, but for now, I'll just grin and bear it!
My dad has been sending me a lot of pictures from past events via email. I've added these pictures to various digital photo pages. My website was getting pretty bloated, so I removed the oldest digital photo page... Our day at Marine World.
Work is pretty frustrating. I don't feel that I actually get the recognition for what I'm doing. Most of the time I feel out of the loop. I know that I'm not getting compensated enough for what I do. However, with my educational background and the unfriendly job market for those without a degree here in the valley, I just grin and bare it. One day though... things will change... hopefully. Right now I get by with the pride that I take in accomplishments that I have achieved at work, although I don't know if anyone else there besides my direct manager acknowledges them.
Sometimes I think I would have been better off by staying with my previous job. Although, it would have meant a 2 hour commute (one way). I think I was more appreciated there. And I know I was compensated well for what I did. I also miss seeing my friends in Southeast Asia.
I hope that the Tsunami didn't affect any of them. I wonder how the guys in Penang are doing. I also know one guy who was from Indonesia. I hope his family is fine.
I had my dad email me the pictures he had from Christmas. Now all I need are the pictures from my brothers took.
My tailbone has re-fractured!!! It was very painful two days ago, but the pain is subsiding. It is bearable, but I'd rather not have to deal with it. I thought this would not be an issue any more, since I had the surgery a few years ago, but low and behold... the pain is back!!! And to make things worse, I woke up and my left knee didn't want to work! Needless to say, I'm in the best of moods!
I'm still waiting for my Dad to copy the pictures from Christmas onto a CD so that I can publish them in my digital photo album.
Monday is my birthday, so we (my family) are going out to dinner tonight to celebrate! We're going to my favorite restaurant... House of Ginsa.
Last night I had the chills. It kept me up most of the night, so I only got about 3 hours of sleep. I hope I'm not coming down with something, I'd hate to be sick during Christmas... again!
Work is brutal! I've got too many things I'm trying to do all at the same time. I assume that all the other engineers are feeling the same pressures, but I really don't see it for some of them. In fact, some of them look like they're not doing much of anything. I'm feeling burned out, hopefully I can get past this. I'm hoping by the end of next month, most of my projects will be completed and things will get a little easier.
Still have a few gifts to buy for Christmas... including the big one for Ivy Jane. We're going to try to buy her the play kitchen again. I'll check if it is available again. If not, I'm not sure what we're going to get her. When I ask her what she wants, her reply is "I don't know." She's such a good girl... a big difference from when she first arrived in the states and was so spoiled and demanding.
I had a bout of the flu last week. It actually started Monday evening before Thanksgiving. I got better for Thanksgiving and then had a relapse the following Monday. It consisted of a stuffy head and a high fever. It made me disorientated and tired. I'm glad that's over with!
Don't know if I mentioned this, but I now report directly to Elaine! Just like old times. I think we make a good team. Things are going fine at work and I think that I'm accomplishing a lot. However, I am a little overwhelmed with the amount of projects that I'm involved in... too many sectors!!!
Dad was released from the hospital yesterday. So, now he says that he's going to walk and get his lungs & heart stronger... we'll see how long that lasts.
My knee is still giving me problems... I've given in and am using the cane at all times now. It helps a little. Hopefully the pain will go away in a couple of days.
Okay, this is a terrible Friday! My knee is giving me problems... now using a cane to get around, but that's not the worst news. Dad had another heart attack last night. They're admitting him into the hospital this morning after spending the night in the emergency room. I'm going to freshen up and go spend some time with him... I already called in to work this morning.
I have to start getting back into shape, but with this bad knee, it's going to be a tricky situation.
It's Election Day! I hope everyone qualified gets out there and votes! If you don't vote... don't bitch! I'll be going to vote as soon as I get Ivy Jane off to school. Did the Redskins win? I think they lost... so, if the prediction is right, Kerry will win.
VOTE! Make your voice heard!
Here's the latest news... Arlen's car doesn't start! I will have it towed to the shop this coming Monday. So, In the meantime, she's driving the Benz around. She gets a lot of ribbing from her co-workers about having a Benz to replace a broken Honda.
Ivy Jane started CCD lessons a couple of weeks ago. I was going to volunteer to teach Confirmation Classes, but I couldn't fit it into our schedule. I'll try again next year.
Dad celebrated his 70th birthday last week! Arlen & I had our anniversary yesterday!
Well, I spent a lot of time at work this Labor Day weekend. Got called in on Saturday (twice) and then again on Sunday. Monday was a scorcher of a day. It must have hit somewhere in the 90's, as was today. Not much else to say, except that I'm keeping my options open!
Today was Ivy Jane's first day of school - 1st grade! Several of her classmates from kindergarten are in her class as well as our next door neighbor! I believe everything went fine for her. She told Arlen & I, "I like the 1st grade.". I took the day off from work, so I would be able to bring her to school and pick her up and go out to eat afterwards as a little celebration.
Yesterday, we had a few friends over for BBQ burgers & hotdogs. Ivy Jane spent most of the day swimming, part of it with Jonathon (my friend Elaine's son). So, after we ate this afternoon, Ivy Jane was burned-out. She fell asleep on the way home and had a nice two hour nap when we got home.
All-in-all, I feel that she had a good start this year! I hope to make every start of the school year a special occasion for her, so she will always look forward to going to school. For some unknown reason, I never liked going to school and the first day of the school year was specially painful for me. I plan on breaking that cycle!
Today was the second day of a temporary three week schedule. I've been assigned to be engineering support for the day shift technicians. So, I get to the office around 5:45 AM to check my email, I'm in the fab by 6:00, get everything settled and then get some coffee by 7:45, then the 8:00 update meeting, spend the day supporting the technicians, 3:00 PM the afternoon pass down meeting, then go home and get some rest. So far, I've been too busy to get a lunch in, but I'm going to try to get a lunch in every day. I need the time to unwind. I barely "wake-up" around 9:00 AM, so I'm usually in automatic mode until then. And everyone who knows me, knows that my brain starts to fade around 2:00 PM. Needles to say, it's going to be a rough 3 weeks.
Good news! Arlen and Ivy Jane have had their permanent residence status conditions removed and their permanent residence status renewed. Now we have to go to the INS office this Thursday and get their new permanent residence cards.
Tomorrow I'm going to attend Semicon West and hopefully meet up with people I haven't seen in awhile. I miss the perks of my old job. I'm still hanging in there with my new job, but it doesn't have the perks anywhere close to my old job.
I wanted to have a get together for the 5th of July, but Arlen is working. Actually, it's better that I don't have the get together then. My parents are coming back from their Philippines/Australia trip. I hope they are having a good time. It's getting harder from them to travel as they age.
I had to cancel my families trip to the Philippines this year due to Arlen & Ivy Jane's immigration status. They have an extension on their permanent residence, but it is only a letter. I was told their may be problem leaving the Philippines to come back to the USA with only the letter and an expired card. So, instead of risking it, we decided to postpone the trip for a year.
I'm having a bout of insomnia. I haven't been able to sleep well during the night for the past couple of days. I fall asleep very quickly during the daytime when sitting on my chair watching TV, but not at night in bed.
I've been really thinking of starting the modifications on my motorcycle. The thing is that I want to do the work, but I don't have the tools. The cost of the tools would be almost the cost of the parts I want to modify. Got to think it over more...
It was a sad day at my place of employment today. We went from a hiring frenzy to having a RIF! Lost a couple of good technicians. I hope things turn around soon. I would hate to be back in the job market again so soon.
Well, my place of employment is in a little of a hiring frenzy. They're hiring engineers, technicians, a manufacturing supervisor... plus much more. It's a good sign, I hope.
I got some news yesterday that really stopped me in my tracks. It is now official... I'm old! I had an eye check-up yesterday and was prescribed with bi-focals!!! BI-FOCALS!!! Ouch, that hurt. So not only are my eyes deficient in seeing far, but I can't see near either. That's it, I want to talk to the person who started this whole "growing old" thing. I want out of it. If not, I can't promise to grow old gracefully.
Work is getting to be very involved. With the resignation of the Quality Manager, effective this Friday, my work load has increased to include one of his duties. I'm so busy at work, that sometimes I forget to take a lunch break.
I just saved over $400 on my automobile insurance. I usually just pay my premiums every six months, but this time I finally read my policy. Man, there were several mistakes on it. I called my insurance company and had them make the changes and viola.... cha-ching... money in my pocket.
I'm taking my girls out for lunch tomorrow for Valentine's Day. My girls being... my wife, my daughter and my mom. My dad is coming along also.
So now, we're planning a trip to Cebu, Philippines. I'm thinking of going right after Ivy Jane gets out of school. It's only going to be a 10 day trip for me at least. I still don't know if Arlen and Ivy Jane will be staying longer.
Since the last time I made an entry into this log, Arlen passed her actual driving test! I no longer have to drive her to work, which allows me to get a little bit more sleep. Today, Ivy Jane has a dental appointment. She's got a lot of dental needs. Basically she didn't take care of her teeth in the Philippines and now we are literally paying the consequences. She's also going to need braces. Her permanent teeth are coming in and they are too big for her mouth.
Happy New Year!!!
It's been a while since I've done anything to this site. A lot has happened. Rich & Dorrie have moved. Bought Arlen a car (1996 Honda Civic Ex). Auntie Estella passed away. Those are the main events that have happened.
I'm still burning the candle at both ends. I just can't get enough sleep these days. I'm so tired all the time.
I'll try to make entries into this log more often, but can't guarantee anything.
Today is my dad's birthday!
I taught myself how to use SolidWorks. I needed to make a drawing for a custom part for work and instead of just doing a freehand drawing, I decided to use SolidWorks so that I could email the drawing to the potential maker of the part. I am far from an expert on SolidWorks, but at least I now know the basics, like all the other software I use, once I start using it on a regular basis, I'll get to know how to use it really well!!!
I am burning out quickly! My typical day starts at 05:00, wake up to bring Arlen to work, then come back home to get Ivy Jane ready for school; bring Ivy Jane to school and go to work; at lunch I pick-up Arlen and Ivy Jane, then go back to work. Sometimes, I have to bring Arlen to work after I get off work then wait for her to get off work at 10 - 11 pm. then start the whole thing over again. The weekend didn't seem to help me rest up, 'cause there's so much else to do around the house or yard. Then there's all the errands that I have to do. It is so hard not having Arlen driving. I am burning out. I need to have Arlen get her drivers license and buy her a car she can drive, but times are hard and I don't know if I can afford to buy a car right now.
I'm just learning my job right now and the added stress is making it very difficult. I need to be able to concentrate more about what I'm doing at work instead of always worrying about picking someone up. I need to be able to stay later at work if I need to.
Life sucks.... sometimes!
Okay, I've finished my second day at my new job. I have to admit, I feel a little overwhelmed. I'm drowning in information. I'm trying to learn not only about the wet etch processes, but all the devices made, a process to dispose of chemical waste and just trying to get back into the swing of working in a Fab. I am not comfortable wearing the bunny suit yet. It's been a long time since I had to wear a bunny suit on a daily basis. I don't recall being so uncomfortable and claustrophobic in a bunny suit. The hood feels worse than wearing a motorcycle helmet!!! However, I do have to admit I am enjoying the challenge and having tasks to accomplish! It's good to be back in the work force!
It has been a while since I've written in this pseudo journal. Well, yesterday I signed an offer letter to work for a new company! It has been almost 11 months that I've been unemployed! I start work on Monday. I'm really excited to get to work. I'll be working with a lot of people that I worked with at a previous job 8 years ago.
A big thanks to Elaine for keeping me in mine and basically creating a job that I fit into! I can't wait to see all my friends there!
There are a lot of crazy drivers out there!!! Yesterday I was tailgated by someone while I was on my motorcycle!!! What an asshole! If I had a lug nut handy, I would have thrown it at him!
I've been talking with Mark and there seems to be an opportunity for me to do some integration work with him for a couple of months. It will pay very good and will get my mind back to work. So, hopefully things work out there for me!
I really haven't gotten back into the working out. It's very hard for me to back into the mental state of mind to work out once I stop. Arlen is getting very interested in using free weights, so that might get me motivated into working out with her.
We're still waiting for a letter from the school regarding Ivy Jane's first day of school. Hopefully it will arrive early next week.
My right shoulder is 100%, my left shoulder is 75%. I think it is safe to return to my workouts now. I'll take it easy for now, just do some cardio and stay away from the weights until my shoulder is a lot better. I don't want to risk a major injury right now.
I got the Hayabusa out of the shop on Saturday and took it for a nice ride. It was actually a pretty long ride home from the shop. I decided to go to a new shop, thinking it was closer to my house than the usual shop I go to, well, I was wrong! It's actually quite a distance away, but that was fine because I got to ride for a while on the way back home. I need to make sure I ride at least twice a week.
I've been suffering from a reoccurring shoulder injury. Actually both of my shoulders have been injured in the past and occasionally they can flair up and cause excruciating pain. It usually takes 2 -4 weeks for the pain to subside. I've tried physical therapy, but it was of no use. I just have to live through the pain until it goes away. So, for the last 3 weeks I've been suffering. It was both shoulders at first, but now it is really just the left shoulder now. The right shoulder is about 90% better, while the left shoulder is about 60%.
The Hayabusa is still in the shop! That's okay, because it's been too hot to ride it around. It should be out before next weekend. Then I'm going on a major cruise.
We're having a heat wave, a tropical heat wave! It's hot!!! Ivy Jane and I went swimming today. It really cools me off.
If it isn't one thing it's another. The Hayabusa is leaking gasoline! I checked it out and it's leaking in several places. I think it's just overdue for a tune up. Maybe it needs new gaskets and lines. I'll call tomorrow to have it serviced as soon as possible.
Well, got bad news about the MR2 L. The distributor has gone bad after 8 years, so it will cost twice as much as I expected. The distributor, plugs & wires will be changed out in addition to the tune-up and smog.
Those of you who know me, know that I easily get into a lazy state of mind. Well, I'm out of it, only took me 6 months. I'm up and about doing home improvements that I've put on hold. Today I've already fixed two gates that weren't working well and put up a bug zapper on a timer that I've wanted to do. I'm going to install a few roof vents either today or tomorrow and put in a gate latch on the side yard gate (need to buy one first).
Right now I need to clean garbage cans, it's been a while since I've done that and they tend to start smelling and attracting flies! Need to put up a zapper by the garbage cans! First I've got to run and electrical line there!
In the past, I did not keep an archive of My Rambling Thoughts. Well, now I will keep a running archive of this page. More for my use than anything else.
I just got done mowing the lawn and pruning and weeding. It was exhausting! I think it took me at least 3 hours to cut the grass, edge, prune the banana plants, pull dead plant stuff and kill weeds. There are a lot less weeds than last year, but that's because I keep an eye out for them on a weekly basis and spray them as soon as possible. I try to pull them out by the roots, but when that doesn't work, I spray!!! I need to buy some fertilizer for the lawn. There are some brown spots on the lawn that look terrible!
Today is Mom's birthday! She's on a trip to Disneyworld in Florida with Dad. I gave her a call to wish her happy birthday. I'm going to buy her gift this weekend. We don't expect them back until Sunday night.
Okay, so I didn't start my workout program yesterday. I will start today though. I need to buy a scale this morning and take some measurements for comparison. Statistical Process Control (SPC), yes we use it in everyday life!
I spent the morning unclogging the kitchen sink. Arlen put too much down the garbage disposal and the drain got clogged. I tried the easy way out by using a chemical treatment, but that didn't work. So, I had to get down and dirty and "snake" the clog myself. It's a good thing that my dad taught me all this home maintenance stuff. I saved so much money by not having to call a plumber.
I took some nice pictures of Ivy Jane yesterday. I'll work on getting them posted on her digital photo album by tonight.