Day 1840

Friday, January 26, 2018

I spent all my time after work practicing for Sunday's concert.  I'm almost ready!

Day 1839

Thursday, January 25, 2018


Day 1838

Wednesday, January 24, 2018

Racquetball, work, practice, dinner, rehearsal.  It's our final rehearsal before Sunday's concert and I have so much left to learn on Mahler's 4th.  My part is coming to me, but it's taking forever to learn some of the harder passages.  Rehearsal was good tonight.

Day 1837

Tuesday, September 23, 2017

Very busy at work but managed to catch up on everything by the end of the day.  Came home and practiced for 2 hours before eating dinner.  Our final rehearsal is tomorrow.

Day 1836

Monday, January 22, 2018

The drive to the airport was dark and rainy and thankfully uneventful.  I left Nicole and Mike's at 3:30 a.m. and reached the rental car facility at 4:45.  I was at my gate by 5 and boarded a few minutes later.  I had a row to myself, so I slept most of the flight back to Oakland.  I took a Lyft back home and hit thick traffic on 580.  I took another day off to practice and catch up on a few things.  I didn't finish all the chores I wanted to complete, but did manage to make a chicken stew that was really good, and also made a load of bread.  I went to bed around 10.  Back at work tomorrow. 

Day 1835

Sunday, January 21, 2018

We went to Sultan for breakfast and orders a lot of donuts and breakfast.  It was yummy! 



We then came back home and watched the two NFL playoff games.  Both teams I wanted to win lost.  We hung out again, playing with Hailey, watching movies...


...playing more 7 Wonders, and recovering from such a colossal breakfast. 

What happens when you party hard with Uncle Michael!
This was such a great visit!  I went to bed around 10...up at 3:15 am!

Day 1834

Saturday, January 20, 2018

We played 7 Wonders, talked, ate lots of food and he a great day today.  Nicole is such a lovely, caring, happy person.  She's amazing to me.  We talked about about Gwen and her epic mental decline.  It's been tough on everyone.  We also talked about Christmas in Snohomish next year and having the kind of Christmases we used to have.  I'm up for that!




Hailey reminds me so much of Nicole when Nicole was one.  She's so cute and easy going, a very happy baby.  

Day 1833

Friday, January 19, 2018

I stayed home today and devoted about 8 hours to getting evites prepared, practicing, and getting ready for my visit to see Nicole this weekend.  My flight was at 7 pm.  I arrived at Nicole's around 10:45 pm.  She and Mike were up.  We had a little snack and stayed up for another hour catching up.  We're just hanging out at their house in Snohomish and maybe go out to breakfast on Sunday.

Day 1832

Thursday, January 18, 2018

I'm finally caught up with everything at work except for one PowerPoint slide which won't take too long.  Instead of racquetball, I played a few hours of poker with the regulars at Mark's house tonight and won $100.  Finally, I hit a flush and straight and had some hands that held up.

Day 1831

Wednesday, January 17, 2018

Work revved up again and was very busy.  I came home, practiced for 60 minutes, then went to my second-to-last rehearsal before our concert on January 28.  I still don't have the bowings and some fingers in me.  I'll have to devote a lot of time to practicing next week.

Day 1830

Tuesday, January 16, 2018

A full day of stuff.  Came home from Alice's at 5, and instead of starting the day, I slept until 7:30.  Once I was up, I headed for work, hitting thick traffic on the bridge.  Luckily, it was slow so I could work on a few wedding website details and continue helping Alice with her Airbnb.  Work picked up in the afternoon.  At home, I practiced for two hours.  Our concert's less than two weeks ago and I still have a much of the music to incorporate into my fingers.  Made bread and set the timer for 6 hours, so it should be ready by the time I come home from racquetball tomorrow. 

Day 1829

Monday, January 15, 2018

Happy MLK Day.  50th.  It was regular hours at the gym, so Dorian, I, Steve, Kirk, Cliff and Ron showed up at 5.  We played until 7:15.  We then went out to breakfast for Cliff, who's getting thinner and weaker by the day.  He's had cancer now for almost five years and he was only expected to live six months about four years ago.  He's a true warrior.  After breakfast, I headed over to Alice's and helped her get ready for her Airbnb.  After posting her inlaw unit Saturday night, she already has six guests signed up and ready to go.  I think her place will be very successful.  It's really nice and comfortable.  I practice for a good two hours, mainly on Hansel and Gretel.  The concert's in 13 days.  Gulp!

Day 1828

Sunday, January 14, 2018

We spent the day doing tasks and I worked on our Joy wedding website.  That took all day.

Day 1827

Saturday, January 13, 2018

Played racquetball with Alice's neighbor Pete in the a.m. until 10, then drove over to Alice's and helped her get things done on her Airbnb.  She really wanted to get it posted today, so much of the day went toward signing her up, taking pictures, and getting her space ready.  

Day 1826

Friday, January 12, 2018

Another busy day, but by the end of it I was all caught up.  I came home and cleaned up a bit, then called it a night.  

Day 1825

Thursday, January 11, 2018

I'm working on three large projects at work that are really time intensive.  I haven't done much else these past two days.

After work, I went to the gym for our hit and switch doubles league.  It's fun, but afterward I was fatigued and sore. 


Day 1824

Wednesday, January 10, 2018

Very busy at work today.  I have a couple of big projects to finish by Friday.  After work, I practiced another hour, then went to orchestra rehearsal.  We only have 2.5 weeks left until our concert. 


Day 1823

Tuesday, January 9, 2018

I spoke with mom today on her birthday and sent her flowers.  I'll visit her in mid-February.  I practiced this evening for our concert, which is coming up in a few weeks.  

Day 1822

Monday, January 8, 2018

This week's going to be busy.  Spent a little time putting together video snippets of Ari & Connor's wedding.  I'm still thinking about that wonderful day!



Day 1821

Sunday, January 7, 2018


Day 1820

Saturday, January 6, 2018


Day 1819

Friday, January 5, 2018

Everyone's talking about the new tell-all political book Fire and Fury, about the Trump circus inside the White House.  No surprise there.  I read an excerpt yesterday and downloaded the book on my Nook this afternoon.  It's my must-read book of the weekend!


I'm waiting for the tipping point event that takes this insane monster out of play once and for all.  This guy disgusts me, but still not as much as his pathetic enablers.  Just thinking about this mess makes me angry, but still, at the end of the day, this disaster is on the voters who voted for this lunatic.  It's on them and the states who allowed this to happen. 

Day 1818

Thursday, January 4, 2018

A little busier at work, but still managed to spend an hour or so on Alice's appeal.  Tonight was doubles league at the gym.  I played much better than I did two weeks ago, though still left a lot of shots up.  I guess that's typical when everyone's hitting the ball hard.  So much to do and little free time to do it.

Day 1817

Wednesday, January 3, 2018

First day back at the gym in a while and the remodel looks pretty good, though the lounge setup in front of the racquetball courts is a little under done.  Where's the big screen TV?  They should have one.  Anyway, it's different and needed.

Work was slow again, so I spent another few hours on this appeal.  It's taken a while to write but it's coming together.  Hopefully, the work will pay off and Alice will get the disability benefits she's entitled to.

Rehearsal went well tonight.  It's so much fun playing Mahler's 4th Symphony.  I so love this piece.

Day 1816

Tuesday, January 2, 2018

Back to work.  This is going to be a crazy busy year for me.  I hope I can sustain the energy I need to complete all I want to accomplish.  After work, the first order of business was practicing.  I played an hour or so before dinner.  It's best that I practice the moment I walk in the door.  If I wait until after dinner, I'm usually too tired to open up my case.  Our first rehearsal of the year is tomorrow.

Work was totally dead, which was nice.  I spent all day on Alice's appeal.

Day 1815

Monday, January 1, 2018

Up at 5, breakfast at 6, off to pick up Miles's girlfriend Maddy at 6:55, and at our gate at LAX at 8:10.  We flew into Oakland at 10:30, but were held up at the gate for 40 minutes due to some kind of mechanical issue with another plane.  Finally, we reached our gate and made our way to Oakland, then to SF.  It was nice being home.  We had a simple lunch and dinner.  I made a few calls, looked over a few pictures from Ari's wedding, then practiced for two hours.  I took care of a few Air bnb things for Alice, practiced another hour, then entered a few entries before bed.  

Day 1814

Sunday, December 31, 2017

We slept in until 8:30, then went to Santa Monica for the day.  We shopped, ate lunch, and were going to ride electric bikes but it was too cold. 

Outside at The Crepe Cafe.  The heaters kept us warm.

Our crepes were so good!

Alice's new winter coat, on sale at The Gap!


At 6:30 we joined Richard, Lisa and the rest of the family at the Air BnB they had for the weekend and celebrated the new year with games, food, and lots of memories about yesterday.  We left at 11 and made it home before midnight.  We watched Anderson Cooper and Andy Cohen on CNN, and after our new year's kiss and good wishes for 2018, it was time for bed.

Day 1813

Saturday, December 30, 2017

It was an amazing, beautiful wedding, the fourth and final wedding I attended this year.  All my Oakland friends were there and it was particularly special since it involved the Young, my extended Oakland family.  Alice and I had a blast.  The wedding began at 1, the reception began at 4, and it was an entire day of celebration, happiness, beauty, great food and loads of love on this joyous occasion.  Ari was so beautiful, Connor was so dashing, and everyone was in the most exceptional mood.  It was thrilling and in some ways a prelude to September 2018 when its my and Alice's turn.  The same cast of characters from the neighborhood will be in attendance.  I love this day!

Ari & Connor with Sophie, Trey, Miles

Ari's family

Ari & Connor at West Malibu Club

Jared, Miles, Trey

Sophie and Alice

with Alice

Sweet Alice!

Neil and Margaret

Rodney and Alice

Rodney, Miles, Alice, Richard, Carmel

Rick and Kara

On the beach in Malibu

Ari & Connor
Rodney and Neil

Johann and Renee

Day 1812

Friday, December 29, 2017

I worked until 1:30, then met Alice at Market & Front St. and took BART to the Oakland Airport.  We flew to LAX, picked up our rental car, drove to the Hampton Inn at Agoura Road, then went for Korean BBQ in Simi Valley.  It was yummy!