It is a chilly morning here in NorCal, about 52F. For here, at this time of year, pretty cool. We had a bit of rain yesterday and again last night. The rains have started early this year. Good news for us after one of the driest years on record.
I had a pleasant surprise at work yesterday. It was Boss' Day. I had not heard a thing about this, although in past years, I have both received attention on Boss' Day as well as having celebrated my own bosses on that day. It was a complete surprise yesterday when my staff announced that they were taking me to lunch. We went to a Mexican taqueria in South Sacramento, a few miles south of downtown where we work. It was a very nice gesture indeed!
I didn't worry about eating too much, since last night was gym night. I did a solid two-hour workout, complete with my 3.25 mile run to start things off. I feel pretty darn good this morning.
It is going to be a fairly routine day at the office today. I have one meeting scheduled to talk over a pending issue with one of our staff attorneys. Should be no big deal.
I get an evening at home tonight- no rehearsals, no chores, no gym tonight. I will probably will stop for a haircut on the way home. I wear my hair very short and it has been about five weeks since the last. I find that with my hair getting more gray by the day, wearing it short helps hide that fact. I was blonde in my younger years and most people mistake the gray hair for highlights when it is cut really short. Joke's on them. I have never colored my hair at all.
Well, off to the showers to get ready for the day.
Take care.
-Tim
Wednesday, October 17, 2007
Tuesday, October 16, 2007
Tuesday Morning
It turned out to be a great weekend. I got my two gym visits in, did some cooking, a few chores, and I baked a really good apple pie. One of our friends came over for dinner Saturday night, and as is usual around here in early October, we were able to have dinner on the patio. What a beautiful evening! Sunday was more of the same. Sweetie and I ate leftovers, but again, after a high of about 77 degrees, we had dinner outside. It was spectacular weather!
4:20am ame way too early on Monday morning. I would have loved to have slept in, at least for an extra hour or so, but duty called. Not a bad day at work. I had choir rehearsal last night. Since I get home around 10:00pm on rehearsal nights, I get only about 5 and a half hours of sleep. I got up with no problem this morning at 4:20am, but I always feel a little sluggish just before time to get to the light rail train. This is also my regular gym night. I always have to wait to see how tired I am to see if I end up going. I probably will go.
I had better start to get ready for work. I hope everyone has a great day!
-Tim
4:20am ame way too early on Monday morning. I would have loved to have slept in, at least for an extra hour or so, but duty called. Not a bad day at work. I had choir rehearsal last night. Since I get home around 10:00pm on rehearsal nights, I get only about 5 and a half hours of sleep. I got up with no problem this morning at 4:20am, but I always feel a little sluggish just before time to get to the light rail train. This is also my regular gym night. I always have to wait to see how tired I am to see if I end up going. I probably will go.
I had better start to get ready for work. I hope everyone has a great day!
-Tim
Saturday, October 13, 2007
Saturday Morning Update
Got my two hours in at the gym this morning. What a great workout! It is becoming very quiet at the gym now that schools are back in session and the weather is turning cooler. This is great for me- no crowds or chatty people to deal with. I really like to just get there, get my workout in, and get out. I will probably go back again tomorrow for another two hours.
It is turning out to be a beautiful day. After I got to the gym, the fog formed, and it was very damp, cool, and thick. This is not unusual for here in the central valley. Later in the winter, we have what is called tule fog. This forms from the cool temperatures and high moisture in the air from all of the marshlands that surround the city. Sacramento is a major migration stop for migrating birds traveling on the great Pacific flyway between Central Americal and Canada. It is really interesting, but the wetlands that are prime bird sanctuaries, help to allow fog to form here all winter long.
With the fog having burnt off, it is warming up fast. It is about 11:15am, and the temperature is 62F and rising. It will be in the mid 70s by afternoon.
I will be taking a break from yard work today. I will do a little work on the pool, and I bought some apples this morning to make an apple pie. Dinner is already in the crock pot, so I am all set for tonight. Sweetie should be a happy camper!
Here is a little view of our backyard. This photo was taken earlier in the summer. It is not looking quite so good now. Many of the plants are starting to wane for this year. Soon, I will be doing some major pruning. The work never stops, and I swear, the yard is getting bigger every year!!
Have a great day!
-Tim
Disappointment
Good Morning! On what will be a beautiful Saturday here in northern California, it is with great disappointment that I read that the Governator vetoed the gay marriage bill that was pending from the legislature. I thought that with some of the recent gains on the subject nationally, that perhaps he would sign the bill, or let it become law without signature.
We have a domestic partnership bill in this state, but I can see that it falls far short of the full protection that same-sex couples deserve and need. Sweetie are not registered. It is something that perhaps we should do, or should have done years ago, but one of the very annoying elements is with tax filing. We would be required to file jointly for state tax returns, but separately for federal returns. What I would prefer is that we could be married, and be able to file both returns separately, as hetero couple can. Sweetie has a fairly complicated return. He is a professor, and does many side activities that really complicate his returns. He has been audited several times in the past few years- something I want no part of. My returns are very simple, and I would prefer to keep it that way.
If registered, we would be able to protect our assets. A recent court ruling here upheld the provision that property can pass on death without tax reassessment. That is particularly important since our home has more than doubled in value since we bought it nine years ago. We have since bought property up near Mt. Shasta. It has increased in value as well.
We will have to do something soon to protect ourselves. It is becoming more clear to us as we age.
Enough about that. I must get going and get ready to go to the gym. I try to arrive there at 7:00am on Saturdays- right at opening time. I'll be doing some cooking today, but I may take a break from yard work. Not much growth this week. Let's hear it for fall!!
Have a great day, all!!
-Tim
We have a domestic partnership bill in this state, but I can see that it falls far short of the full protection that same-sex couples deserve and need. Sweetie are not registered. It is something that perhaps we should do, or should have done years ago, but one of the very annoying elements is with tax filing. We would be required to file jointly for state tax returns, but separately for federal returns. What I would prefer is that we could be married, and be able to file both returns separately, as hetero couple can. Sweetie has a fairly complicated return. He is a professor, and does many side activities that really complicate his returns. He has been audited several times in the past few years- something I want no part of. My returns are very simple, and I would prefer to keep it that way.
If registered, we would be able to protect our assets. A recent court ruling here upheld the provision that property can pass on death without tax reassessment. That is particularly important since our home has more than doubled in value since we bought it nine years ago. We have since bought property up near Mt. Shasta. It has increased in value as well.
We will have to do something soon to protect ourselves. It is becoming more clear to us as we age.
Enough about that. I must get going and get ready to go to the gym. I try to arrive there at 7:00am on Saturdays- right at opening time. I'll be doing some cooking today, but I may take a break from yard work. Not much growth this week. Let's hear it for fall!!
Have a great day, all!!
-Tim
Thursday, October 11, 2007
Early Morning
It is 5:00am, and I am up, reading a bit, then getting ready to get to work. It should be a nice day here in the west. We had some rain here yesterday. A bit odd for this time of year. We really needed it though. Last year was a very dry year. I think we had about half of ou normal rainfall. There is a chance of a few more drops tomorrow. What happened to our Indian summer?????
Sweetie made a reservation for us to take our trailer over to the coast in Mendocino County over Thanksgiving. We will be gone for the first time since we moved into this house nine years ago. We have always hosted a "homeless" Thanksgiving dinner for people in our choir and friends who had no place to go on the holiday. Sweetie and I did the whole nine yards- turkey stuffing, and all the fixins! It has been fun, although a lot of work. This year, most of our regulars have found places to go, so we decided to leave on Thanksgiving morning and spend three days over on the coast. I know we will have a great time.
We will also be going to Petaluma in Marin County on October 26th. We belong to Rainbow RV club, and there is a Halloween camping event there. We went over to Point Reyes last year. We had a nice time and met some friends from here in Sacramento. I hope we have a great time this year, too.
I have a meeting with upper management in the Department today to push a regulation development project forward. I have been working on this for quite some time now, and things have not been moving very much. Perhaps today's meeting will help move things forward.
The gym was great last night. I am a bit tired this morning, but I am going to try to get back to the gym tonight. I didn't get to go on Tuesday night, my regular night, because Sweetie got home late. I just can't go too late in the evening. I like to be there for two hours to do my regular routine, and I have to get to bed early since I get up before 4:30am each work morning. Makes for a long day, but I feel better and look pretty damn good for an old fart!!
Have a great day!
-Tim
Sweetie made a reservation for us to take our trailer over to the coast in Mendocino County over Thanksgiving. We will be gone for the first time since we moved into this house nine years ago. We have always hosted a "homeless" Thanksgiving dinner for people in our choir and friends who had no place to go on the holiday. Sweetie and I did the whole nine yards- turkey stuffing, and all the fixins! It has been fun, although a lot of work. This year, most of our regulars have found places to go, so we decided to leave on Thanksgiving morning and spend three days over on the coast. I know we will have a great time.
We will also be going to Petaluma in Marin County on October 26th. We belong to Rainbow RV club, and there is a Halloween camping event there. We went over to Point Reyes last year. We had a nice time and met some friends from here in Sacramento. I hope we have a great time this year, too.
I have a meeting with upper management in the Department today to push a regulation development project forward. I have been working on this for quite some time now, and things have not been moving very much. Perhaps today's meeting will help move things forward.
The gym was great last night. I am a bit tired this morning, but I am going to try to get back to the gym tonight. I didn't get to go on Tuesday night, my regular night, because Sweetie got home late. I just can't go too late in the evening. I like to be there for two hours to do my regular routine, and I have to get to bed early since I get up before 4:30am each work morning. Makes for a long day, but I feel better and look pretty damn good for an old fart!!
Have a great day!
-Tim
Wednesday, October 10, 2007
Off to the gym
Not a bad day at the office, and it is all made better since this is only a four day work week for State employees. Monday we celebrated Columbus Day. It was great to have an extra day to just catch up on chores.
Sweetie had to teach, so he was not a real happy camper with me. I gave him some lip, since he is off for about five weeks at Christmas and all summer!
I don't think I mentioned it yet, but since Sweetie is turning 50 in December, I decided to take him on a trip to celebrate. After trying to come to some agreement, we settled on a week in Dublin, Ireland. We leave on December 26th.
I had wanted to do something special for him, but that time of year makes it hard. His parents are not in great health, so trying to get them out here would have been a real task. Sweetie seems pleased with Ireland, so this should be a very special trip. Now I have set the bar pretty high. He will have a similar task next year, asI will turn 50 in December 2008. Now, where would I like to go...????????????
Well, I had better get to the gym. Getting to be this age requires more and more maintenance!
Special note:
Scotty, thanks for returning my e-mail. I appreciate your time, but as I said, I will not bother you with a call. Just know that I have been a real fan, and will miss reading your blog. Best of luck!
DCT
Sweetie had to teach, so he was not a real happy camper with me. I gave him some lip, since he is off for about five weeks at Christmas and all summer!
I don't think I mentioned it yet, but since Sweetie is turning 50 in December, I decided to take him on a trip to celebrate. After trying to come to some agreement, we settled on a week in Dublin, Ireland. We leave on December 26th.
I had wanted to do something special for him, but that time of year makes it hard. His parents are not in great health, so trying to get them out here would have been a real task. Sweetie seems pleased with Ireland, so this should be a very special trip. Now I have set the bar pretty high. He will have a similar task next year, asI will turn 50 in December 2008. Now, where would I like to go...????????????
Well, I had better get to the gym. Getting to be this age requires more and more maintenance!
Special note:
Scotty, thanks for returning my e-mail. I appreciate your time, but as I said, I will not bother you with a call. Just know that I have been a real fan, and will miss reading your blog. Best of luck!
DCT
Wednesday, September 26, 2007
Shall I Try This Again?
It has been a long time since I posted anything to this blog. I am really not sure that I will be able to keep up, but I thought I would put a few things down here and see how it goes.
Since I last checked in, so much has happened. We had just returned from Hawaii, and Sweetie and I were just starting the summer, and our 19th anniversary was on the horizon. We celebrate our big day on the 4th of July weekend. I think the actual day is really July 2nd. That was my mom's birthday and I remember having been home for a birthday dinner, driving back to Sacramento, and meeting Sweetie at one of the gay bars in town.
Anyway, as we started the summer, Sweetie became quite ill. We spent the evening of July 3rd at the emergency room. That was Sweetie's second trip to the ER, and there had also been numerous doctor's visits. Several medications and few answers later, it was discovered that he had hives related to other medications he was taking. We dealt with this situation for nearly six weeks. He finally got better, but within several weeks, he developed a case of shingles. I would have to say that about two-thirds of the summer was spent dealing with his illness. He is NEVER sick. And after all of these years together, I can say that I was honestly scared that I might lose him. There were many evenings where when asleep, he would have very shallow breathing. I wondered if I would wake up in the night to find he had passed on. Also, he would sleep for hours. One day he slept for about 20 out of 24 hours.
Thankfully, he got better and we were able to enjoy a couple of trips in the trailer and we even painted the dining room of our house. We have lived here nine years and we would like to paint the whole house eventually. With the dining room done, we only have about 2500 square feet to go. Ugh!!
In May, my boss left the department where I work and went back to his old department. I acted as the manager of our unit all summer, while dealing with Sweetie's problems, and in August, I was officially promoted into the position. I have been very busy with the new job. I also am attending a series of trainng classes being offered through Cal State Sacramento. Many things on my plate at the moment!
I hope this post explains my long silence. There are so many blogs that I read and admire. They all have problems and challenges like I have had, and they have still been able to post. I am clearly not in the same league as these fine bloggers, but I will try to make a return and post more regularly.
Until then, you all have my warmest regards!
Since I last checked in, so much has happened. We had just returned from Hawaii, and Sweetie and I were just starting the summer, and our 19th anniversary was on the horizon. We celebrate our big day on the 4th of July weekend. I think the actual day is really July 2nd. That was my mom's birthday and I remember having been home for a birthday dinner, driving back to Sacramento, and meeting Sweetie at one of the gay bars in town.
Anyway, as we started the summer, Sweetie became quite ill. We spent the evening of July 3rd at the emergency room. That was Sweetie's second trip to the ER, and there had also been numerous doctor's visits. Several medications and few answers later, it was discovered that he had hives related to other medications he was taking. We dealt with this situation for nearly six weeks. He finally got better, but within several weeks, he developed a case of shingles. I would have to say that about two-thirds of the summer was spent dealing with his illness. He is NEVER sick. And after all of these years together, I can say that I was honestly scared that I might lose him. There were many evenings where when asleep, he would have very shallow breathing. I wondered if I would wake up in the night to find he had passed on. Also, he would sleep for hours. One day he slept for about 20 out of 24 hours.
Thankfully, he got better and we were able to enjoy a couple of trips in the trailer and we even painted the dining room of our house. We have lived here nine years and we would like to paint the whole house eventually. With the dining room done, we only have about 2500 square feet to go. Ugh!!
In May, my boss left the department where I work and went back to his old department. I acted as the manager of our unit all summer, while dealing with Sweetie's problems, and in August, I was officially promoted into the position. I have been very busy with the new job. I also am attending a series of trainng classes being offered through Cal State Sacramento. Many things on my plate at the moment!
I hope this post explains my long silence. There are so many blogs that I read and admire. They all have problems and challenges like I have had, and they have still been able to post. I am clearly not in the same league as these fine bloggers, but I will try to make a return and post more regularly.
Until then, you all have my warmest regards!
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