Day 614

Friday, September 19, 2014

I was in court all day, waiting for the jury while they deliberated the case.  At 6, the jury went home, so my colleague Jennifer and I grabbed a bite to eat and had a wonderful conversation at Colonie in Brooklyn.  I went to bed around 10:30 completely wiped out.  

Day 613

Thursday, September 18, 2014

I flew into JFK at 6:50 a.m. and took a Dial 7 sedan to the Marriott in Brooklyn to hear closing arguments of Linde vs. Arab Bank, a big case with historic significance that may alter how banks interact with clients who may actually be terrorists.  The case holds Arab Bank responsible for aiding and facilitating Hamas terrorists in paying off martyrs and funding 24 terrorist acts in Israel that injured or killed around 300 US citizens.  It's the first time a case pins some responsibility on a bank for terrorist acts.  Both sides presented their arguments, but the plaintiffs were particularly powerful (there's only so much emotion a bank can generate).

After that was over, I had dinner with Sharon, my literary agent with the Belcastro Agency.  We had dinner at the Heights Cafe on a beautiful Brooklyn night.  We ate outside right along the sidewalk.  It was great!  I really like her and hope this next book does the trick.

I came home around 10 and went right to sleep.

Day 612

Wednesday, September 17, 2014

Busy busy day.  Woke up at 5, played racquetball for 90 minutes, then came home and banged out the last two hours of revisions before sending the manuscript off to my agents (so nice to have that behind me!).  Worked at Varinsky for three hours, then came home and packed for NY tonight.  

Day 611

Tuesday, September 17, 2014

The day started out quietly, but grew into something I wasn't expecting.  I woke up at 5, practiced a few racquetball shots for an hour, then wrote/revised in the morning before coming to work at Varinsky for a few hours.  By 3:30, I was booked on a flight to Brooklyn, NY for five days, watching closing arguments in an important federal case that's wrapping up now.  I return home Monday morning.

With the work trip scheduled, I decided to bang out all the revisions I had in True Colors and get it to Sharon and Ella Marie by the morning.  I met with Chris at 7:30 and we talked for an hour.  I then made changes/revisions to the manuscript and stayed up until 1:45, no easy feat for this early birth these days.  I was so wiped out I just crashed face down on the pillow.

Can't wait to see this:

And will pay my respects here:

Day 610

Monday, September 15, 2014

Up at 4, home at 4:35, racquetball from 5-7, home until 10, Varinsky from 10:30-2:30, then a couple hours of Bill Maher's Two Hour Real Time/Stand up routine on HBO (fantastic as always), following by Singles League Night at Mariner Square.  Today I played with my new E-Force Apocalypse racquet and went undefeated tonight.  My new racquet smokes!  I love it!  The colors are great and the control is even better. I have two titles to defend, one at Club One and one at Mariner Square.  If I can drop 10 lbs and get back into my Insanity routine (and stay healthy), I'm going to be tough to take down, especially with this sweet new E-Force weapon in my hand.

Day 609

Sunday, September 14, 2014

Left Windsor and went to Walnut Creek for a few hours before hanging out with Austin and his roommate Dylan at Zachery's Pizza.

Day 608

Saturday, September 13, 2014

Spent the day in Windsor, CA and had a very enjoyable walk in the morning.

Alice's bicycle gang is lots of fun.  We ate so much food.  What a blast!

Day 607

Friday, September 12, 2014

Left for Windsor with Alice this afternoon.  We'll be meeting about seven other people for an enjoyable weekend of food, song and ukuleles!

Glad the revision is over.  So glad!

Day 606

Thursday, September 11, 2014

Wrote from 7-7.  Read through everything and have a few more details to include before sending the manuscript off to Chris and a few other readers.  I'll send it to Sharon next week.  This was a challenging revision, but I think it works.  We'll see what happens with it in the coming weeks.

I've already begun a new novel, tentatively titled Confessions of a Hollywood Hound, Volume 1:  Dogs in the Fog.  If every writer has a dog story, this one's mine.  This one will be quick, a month or two at most.  After True Colors, I feel the need to write really fast with little in the way of a structured plot.  

Day 605

Wednesday, September 10, 2014

I wrote from 7-6 and finished up the last five chapters.  It's all in and revised.  I'll read over the entire manuscript tomorrow.  My brain is toast.

In the evening I finally watched 12 Years a Slave.  I read the memoir on my iPad back in April.  There are a couple scenes in the film that weren't in the memoir, but the film is masterful and very powerful with strong performances.  I remember Chiwetel Ejiofor from Kinky Boots in 2005.  12 Years a Slave is so beautifully shot.  It's nice to see an important film like that win best picture.

Went to bed at 11:30.  

Day 604

Tuesday, September 9, 2014

A solid writing day from 6-5, working on chapters 20-24, all very weak and in need of lots of work. Started slow but gathered momentum in the afternoon.  The day went too quickly, as they always do.  Read for 45 minutes just to keep motivated and mindful of what it's all about.  Onto the final five chapters tomorrow.

Day 603

Monday, September 8, 2014

Up at 4, racquetball from 5-6:30, writing from 8-12, Wendel from 2-6.  It was tough to stay focused today.  I was tired and in a fog all day.  I went to bed at 9, which was the right thing to do on days like today.  I revised chapter 20 and 21, but didn't finish either of them.  I'll be more productive tomorrow.

Day 602

Sunday, September 7, 2014

Up at 7, wrote for an hour, then went to Irving & 9th with Alice for an hour and Irving & 22nd for vegetables.  Wrote from 9:30-5 with a 90-minute break to watch Markie Rojas and Jose Diaz battle it out in the finals in the WRT Bay Port Finals in Stockton.  Jose should have won that match and had a match point at 10-2, but somehow lost 9 points in-a-row to Markie,  Unbelievable.

I only finished two chapters today and one of them will certainly need another pass or two.  Chapter 19 took four or five hours today and still isn't there.  There's a lot of work left on chapters 17-22.

Alice and I practiced our ukuleles  after dinner.  Fun.  I'm continuing writing until 10 tonight, then getting up early and heading home for another full week of writing.

Day 601

Saturday, September 6, 2014

I woke up at 5:30 this morning and wrote for two hours, then went to sleep again for 45 minutes and had the craziest dream.  I dreamed Alice and I were attending a wedding at a relative's house on the weekend about 50 minutes outside of San Francisco.  I was surrounded by lots of relatives I never knew I had.  When I went to change for the wedding, I realized I hadn't packed my suit, shoes or the invitation that had the address for the wedding.  When I told Alice, she was so mad.  She said we couldn't go to the wedding because it was disrespectful to show up without wearing a suit.  I considered going to Nordstrom to buy a new suit, but we didn't have time.  Alice had taken the day off for the wedding, so she chewed me out.  Then I woke up.  I immediately realized it must have been a dream Alice doesn't chew me out for anything, even though she probably should.  I told her about the dream and she just laughed.

I wrote the rest of the morning and afternoon until around 5 or so.  We watched two movies in the living room.

 
The film had its moments, but was surprisingly unsurprising and flat, but it was definitely Wu friendly.  Alice laughed a lot and some of the better scenes and so did I.

Then we watched a Michael friendly film:

This was great!  

Day 600

Friday, September 5, 2014

I seriously cannot believe I've been writing on my own for 600 days.  That's just crazy.  The one thing I hadn't anticipated about 1,000 days of writing was how quickly time passes by.  Before I know it, 1,000 days will be behind me.  I feel a mad rush to finish.  Everything.  The problem is the ideas keep coming and there's no end to the madness.  It's all about time.  That's always been what life has been about, because there's so little of it in one lifetime.  Truly, 100 years is nothing and 1,000 days is a small blip.  Never more so than now.

I worked a little more than I wanted to today.  Up at 4:30, racquetball until 6:15, then writing until 11.  Varinsky from 12-3 and Wendel from 3:30-6.  Left for Alice's at 6:15 and reached Sunset at 7.  Austin was with us and we had sushi.  To bed at 10.  

Day 599

Thursday, September 4, 2014

A long, solid day of writing, from 5:30 until 8 p.m.  Now this is how days are supposed to be.  Lots of chapters revised.  I'm up to chapter 12 or somewhere around there.  The rewrite's taking shape. 

Day 598

Wednesday, September 3, 2014

I nice solid writing day.  Racquetball in the morning and nothing but writing for the rest of the day, which breaks here and there and time for this:

The scary thing about dangerous men like Rummy is they really believe they're a force for good in the world and nothing will change their thinking on this issue, even blunders so large they'll define who they are forever.  Here's someone who manufactures words the way cold air and moisture manufacture snowflakes, yet his words don't define him so much as his inability to see the irony of what he says about himself and his experiences while at the table of American power and decision making.  Errol Morris ran up the right rabbit hole with this great film.  

Day 597

Tuesday, September 2, 2014

A perfect writing day.  I wrote from 8-5:15, spending all day rewriting, revising, adding new scenes.  The time went so quickly.  This is what every writing day should look like.  At 6 I went to the club and played three hours of racquetball.  Jeff Auen was there with some new E-Force racquets.  The new racquets look and feel great.  I love the new colors.  It should be a good year for E-Force sales.

Tomorrow, I'm wrapping up the chapters I haven't edited yet, then going through the whole manuscript a couple of times before sending it out.  I can't wait to start my next book, a quick one called Confessions of a Hollywood Hound, Volume 1:  Dogs in the Fog, based on ideas I kicked around after spending a few days on the Dog with a Blog set.  

Day 596

Monday, September 1, 2014

Started writing at 7 a.m. this morning and I'm still going at 8 p.m.  This new version is 30 chapters long.  14 chapters are Lauren & Lani's, and 8 chapters each are Lauren's by herself and Lani by herself.  All the plot points are appropriately positioned.  This morning I worked on chapters 26-30.  I like the ending and actually think it works better than the first version.  Chapters 17-22 are a bit rough but after a few days they should be all right.  I like my new character Chester.  He turned out nice.

Day 595

Sunday, August 31, 2014

Up at 5:30, wrote until 8, then got ready and went with Alice and Austin to St. Mary's for the morning.  It's such a beautiful campus.  Every time I'm on a college campus, I'm reminded of my wonderful memories as a student both at WSU and MSU.  Alice and I had lunch in the main dining hall, which looks like a small version of Hogwarts dining hall.  I came back to my place at noon, wrote for another two hours, then prepared for my fantasy football draft, which started at 6 and ended at 8:30.  Went to bed early, around 9:30.

Day 594

Saturday, August 30, 2014

Up at 7:30.  Wrote most of the day, tackling these issues:

05 - Ch 18 - Read Ch 18
15 - Ch 18 - Lauren asks Lani what's wrong.
15 - Ch 18 - Edit L & L Conversation
05 - Rest
60 - Read Notes on Everything I have
15 - Write Ch 18
15 - Read Ch 19
25 - Plotting End of Novel
60 - Lunch
60 - Write Ch 24
10 - Read Ch 25
15 - Rest
60 - Write Draft of Ch 25
15 - Read Ch 26

I stopped around 5:30.  I'm in that writing space where every minute is spent writing, thinking, revising, or resting.  Not much time or energy for anything else.  Off to San Bruno this evening for a dinner that Alice's Uncle Bill holds every year for his family.  Should be good.  Looking forward to it.

11:15 p.m.  The dinner was very good, 12 courses at Mayflower Restaurant.  30+ people were there.

Day 593

Friday, August 29, 2014

Up at 4:45, racquetball until 6:30, then getting ready for a long day of work.  Varinsky from 9-2, Wendel from 2:30-6, then dinner with Alice at Michel Bistro, our second time, which was good.  We drove back to SF at 8:30 and fell asleep before 10.  Looking forward to several days of writing!

Day 592

Thursday, August 28, 2014

Wrote in the morning, then worked at Wendel from 2-6.  I then went with Alice to a reception for parents at St. Mary's College, where Austin's starting school.  We mingled for an hour or so, then went back to Oakland and had sushi Mijori.  Alice drove back around 9:30.  It was a busy day with very little writing.  

Day 591

Wednesday, August 27, 2014

Up at 4:45, racquetball until 6:30, then another full day of work, 9-2 at Varinsky and 2-6 at Wendel.  Not much else today, though I did get some writing done in the afternoon and evening.  

Day 590

Tuesday, August 26, 2014

Another busy work day, 9-2 at Varinsky and 2:30-6 at Wendel.  Woke up at 6:30 and wrote from 6:45-8, then another hour or so in between jobs in the afternoon.  Talked to Chris from 8-9 and Alice from 9-9:30.  Austin leaves for St. Mary's on Thursday.  Working on chapters 11 and 12 now.  

Day 589

Monday, August 25, 2014

Didn't go into the gym this morning.  Instead, I wrote from 5-11, tackling four or five chapters in the morning, then revising another two chapters at Wendel.  The rewrite is slowly coming along.  Ended up watching more of the Emmys than I wanted to.  Seems so many repeat winners won tonight.  Jimmy Kimmel's intro was my favorite moment.  He kills it all the time.  He's so funny.  Bill  Crystal's tribute to Robin Williams was first class.  Bryan Cranston is great!

Day 588

Sunday, August 24, 2014

I drove over to Alice's in the a.m. after a good night's sleep.  We went shopping for groceries, then stayed at her place the rest of the day.  I wrote for three hours, then closed up the computer and relaxed with Alice the rest of the day.  We watched American Hustle, which already seen last January but wanted her to experience.  Great film!  Very well shot.  Fell fast asleep by ten.

Day 587

Saturday, August 23, 2014

Played in our summer doubles tournament this morning and didn't even make the playoffs.  Not our day today.  Had a great lunch with all he racuqetball players, then came home and slept for two hours.  Watched Nebraska after dinner.  Great film!

Day 586

Friday, August 22, 2014

Up too early to mention, wrote for two hours before racquetball, then checked the courts and practiced serves.  Steve showed up at 5:30 and we played a few games.  The floors feel fine, but the side walls are still super slippery.  I hope whatever's on them is gone by tomorrow.

Worked at Varinsky from 9-2 and Wendel from 2-6.  I'm home in Oakland tonight writing, then playing in the doubles tournament tomorrow.  Should be fun.  I love playing with Brian.  He's so good and inspires me to play my best!

Day 585

Thursday, August 21, 2014

Wrote from 6:30-11:30 a.m., then did chores, got gas and went to Wendel for four hours of work.  In the evening, I met Alice at Richard & Lisa's where we had a little pizza party and get together.  Lisa wasn't feeling well, so she didn't participate, but Richard, Trey, Sophia, Rossana, Alice and I had Zach's za, B&J ice cream and a small glass of beer.  Good times and great company!  I drove Alice home and stayed in SF for the night.  I was out at 9:45 and woke up early the next morning.  Nonstop writing until the rewrite's done.

Day 584

Wednesday, August 20, 2014

Up at 4:35, racquetball this morning until 6:15, cut short by poor, slick floors.  The cleaning crew put some kind of chemical on the racquetball walls, causing everything to spin and slip, creating for a dangerous playing surface.  Rather than risk injury, we stopped playing early and lodged our complaints to the club.  Hopefully, they'll get everything fixed by game time Saturday.

Wrote in the morning until 8:30, then Varinsky from 9-2 and Wendel from 2:30-6.  In the evening I plotted the entire rewrite of TC, all 26 chapters or around 27k words.  Now I'll devote roughly two hours to each chapter.  Looks like Sunday, Monday and Tuesday are my best days to get things going.  Wednesday-Friday of next week will be busy like this week. 

Day 583

Tuesday, August 19, 2014


Up at 6, writing until 8, work from 9-2 and 2-6, then home for more writing before talking to Chris tonight.  In bed at 10.  I've pieced together all the chapters for TC version 2, around 24-26 or so.  I need another month to complete, maybe less. 

Day 582

Monday, August 18, 2014

I woke up at 4, drove home, went to the gym for 2 hours, came home at 7, slept another hour, wrote from 8-1, had lunch, went to work from 2-6 at Wendel, came home, had dinner, cleaned up, took down some notes for the day, and now it's a little before 9.  I'm tired so it's time for bed.

Day 581

Sunday, August 17, 2014

Wrote for a few hours, also had lunch with Alice after her massage at a ramon restaurant on Geary Street.  Very good!  I wrote a few hours more in the afternoon, then we have Rosanna and Trey Young over for dinner, which was a lot of fun.  Rosanna just landed the perfect job for her.  I couldn't be happier for her.  After our guests left, I watched a Frontline documentary on Iraq which was depressing but necessary to view.

Went to bed at 10:30.

Day 580

Saturday, August 16, 2014

Wrote from 6:30-3 today.  From 3-4 I did chores, including this, then headed over to Alice's for the night.  I'm working on the middle of the revision now.  There are some brand new scenes that I actually like a lot.  I'm glad they're in the book.  I hope the ending is still a page turner.  The faster I finish the revision, the sooner I can get going on Julia and a new project I've been eager to write after spending a few days on the set of Dog with a Blog.  

Day 579

Friday, August 15, 2014

I love days like these where I stay home all day and write.  I did have a short 60-minute visit with Michael and Patty Bell for breakfast this morning at Lynn & Lou's.  They are in the Bay Area traveling for a few days.  It was great seeing both of them together.  Other than their visit, I stayed home all day and wrote.  Racquetball was tough this morning because I was still sore from Wednesday's match against Ivan.  Now that I know all the scenes of the rewrite, things should move quickly.  Once I get going on something, I see it through.  The problem for me is getting going.  

Day 578

Thursday, August 14, 2014

Worked from 9-2, then came home and wrote for three hours.  Also took a 90 minute nap.  Started a movie before bed.

Day 577

Wednesday, August 13, 2014

Busy day.  Woke up at 4:30, at the gym at 5.  Steve, Glenn and Brian showed up, so we played doubles, splitting a game each.  Brian and I are playing in the doubles tournament next week.  He's an incredible player, but sometimes puts too many shots in the floor.  He also has stamina issues; however, he should be ready by the 23rd.  We'll play a few more times next week.  Worked from 9-2 at Varinsky and 2:15-6 at Wendel, then played my finals match at Mariner Square against Ivan.  I arrived at 6:30, practiced for 30 minutes, then began our five-game match at 7:15.  We played until 8:30, going all five games.  I ending up on the winning side of the match, taking it 11-6, 9-11, 11-3, 10-12, 11-3.  Ivan's a great player, so it was a real accomplishment beating him in a match at his club.  I'm now the current champion at both Club One and Mariner Square.  That's sweet!  Came home at 10 and talked to Alice for 15 minutes before bed.  I'm going to be sore tomorrow. 

Day 576

Tuesday, August 12, 2014

Up at 5:30, wrote, worked from 9-6, wrote another hour or so, then talked to Chris from 8-9:30.  Lots of revising and rewriting now, adding new scenes and connecting the dots.  Creating a new book, actually.  Different, simpler, tighter.  We'll see how it turns out.

Day 575

Monday, August 11, 2014

I wrote the entire day, which was nice.  I have the new version of True Colors blocked out, with most of the new scenes in place.  We'll see how it all comes together.  I feel I'm redoing so much of the story, but that's how it goes.  That's the process.

In the evening I watched episodes of Louis CK.  Some scenes were so hilarious, like the large kid Louis looks after one afternoon who's never told "no" by his mother and asks to take a bath, which he does, to disastrous consequences.

In one episode, Robin Williams starred. He and Louis attend a guy's funeral.  The irony of stumbling upon this episode less than 12 hours after the sad announcement that Robin Williams took his own life.  Depression is such a tough thing.  On any given day, thoughts go there, and then the next day you're reminded how short life is to begin with and how much there is to do and experience before we go.

Day 574

Sunday, August 10, 2014

Breakfast at Alice's, waffles with berries, sausage, tea, then drove Sophie home by noon and spent the rest of the day writing.  Wrote from 3-8, then watched a film on Netflix:

Very good.  Lots of nice moments.  He may be strange, but Joaquin Phoenix sure is a terrific actor.  

Day 573

Saturday, August 9, 2014

Alice had an MRI this morning due to her increased back pain, part of her piriformis syndrome she's been living with these past few years.  Poor Alice.  It's been a real problem for her this summer.  Afterward, we went to Costco, then to Oakland for a few hours.  We picked up Sophie and headed to Walnut Creek for a party at Chester and Rose's house, part of Alice's bicycle gang.  We ate great food, sang songs, played the ukulele and shared lots of stories.  A really great group of people!

Day 572

Friday, August 8, 2014

Up at 4:45, racquetball until 7:00, then a few hours of writing, 2200 words toward a new ending to TC that will be about 3-4k words long.  Worked only an hour from 1-2, then took care of some chores and picked Alice up at 4:50 in SF.  We're having dinner at Alice's sister's house tonight.  Their cousin Fiona is in town with her daughter.  Tomorrow, Alice's bike gang is getting together for dinner.

Returning some library books I didn't get a chance to read.  Next time.  Alice's back has been bothering her a lot lately.  She has Piriformis Syndrome, which can be quite painful and last for a long time.  We're doing exercises, heat pads, ice packs, massaging, and inversion table exercises.

Dinner at Karen's was wonderful as always!

Alice's Family at Karen & Kenny's House

Day 571

Thursday, August 7, 2014

Up at 6, writing from 7:30-8:30, then work from 9-2.  It was slow today, so I worked on two chapters of the revision to True Colors.  Came home at 2:30 and spent an hour with Sophie on a new novel we're working on together, based on a great idea she came up with about a girl  who knows everyone's deep dark secrets and collects fees from them much like the neighborhood paper carrier.  It's a neat little premise that has lots of potential.  We're calling it Socio-7eventh Grader and it's loosely based on Sophie's experiences in 6th grade.  Between, that, TC revision, Julia Milan and Confessions of a Hollywood House, Vol. 1:  Dogs in the Fog, life is busy.

After an hour with Sophie, I made dinner, wrote, read, planned, then hit the hay by 11.  

Day 570

Wednesday, August 6, 2014

Up at 4:30, racquetball at 5, breakfast at 7:30, work from 9-2, then I slept for 2 hours.  I organized my thoughts for True Colors, then went to Mariner Square for my quarter-final and semi-final matches.  Played Dennis first and beat him 15-5, 15-9, then played Alex and beat him 15-2, 10-15, 11-5.  Ivan beat Carlos, so Ivan and I play in the finals next Wednesday at 7:00.  Ivan's a tough player and the #1 player at Mariner Square.  It should be a good match.

Came home at 10:00 and had some dinner, then went to bed.  

Day 569

Tuesday, August 5, 2014

Back home after a full weekend of travel.  Went to work from 12-2.  Spent the rest of the day unpacking, organizing and getting back into writing mode.  Watched Captain Phillips in the evening.  I didn't realize Paul Greengrass directed it, though it had his style all through the film.  Very good and Hanks, as always, was a standout.

Day 568

Monday, August 4, 2014

We flew back home today.  Our flight was delayed two hours, so we spent more time in the Calgary airport than we cared to.  Once our plane left the ground at 1:30, we were airborne approximately 2.3 hours, reaching San Fran by 3:30.  We picked up the car and made it home before rush hour traffic.  We both crashed early.  We were dead tired.  A great weekend trip!

Day 567

Sunday, August 3, 2014

At Calgary Chinatown with Heather, Jackie, Connie

Calgary Chinatown

Stopping for lunch at the Regency Palace

In front of Calgary's Jaume Plensa's sculpture Wonderland

Where we had lunch

We started Sunday morning at 8 a.m., had a light breakfast, got ready, then headed to Calgary's Chinatown, the 4th largest in Canada.  We walked around for a few blocks, taking in the area, which had been affected by last year's horrible floods.  Lunch was excellent, especially the deep fried squid dish.  Very good!

After lunch, we headed back to Heather's for an afternoon of games which it rained outside.  We played Therapy, Apples to Apples and a Volcano game Jackie got in Hawaii.  Lots of fun.  We ended the day with a video of The Proposal, which was cute.  A great day!

Day 566

Saturday, August 2, 2014

Today, we drove to Markerville, Alberta to visit with family members at Karen and Janet's house.  We were there from 3-9.  It was a treat visiting relatives I see perhaps once every three or four years, which is no where near often enough.  Many had seven children, the last being little Julia, who is only a few months old.  Mandy's husband last March and from what I've heard she has breast cancer which she isn't treating.  Oh dear.  Not happy situation for her or her children, yet she always smiles and looks on the brighter side of life. I hope she takes care of herself and does more than consult with her prayer group about her cancer.  When it rains it pours.

It was fun talking with Kathy and Jack about the past.  They have many stories to tell and remember the past with great detail.  I also enjoying seeing all three of my aunts in one place.  I haven't seen them together since Kimberley in 2009.

Little Julia

Cousin Mandy and her daughter Angelica

Auntie Kathy with Juila photo bombing us!

Aunties Karen and Heather

The Rock:  Jack Evens

Inside Karen and Janet's house

Kari, Ross and Karen

Kari's Daughter Kita

Day 565

Friday, August 1, 2014

Alice and I drove to SFO at 5 a.m. and flew out to Calgary, Alberta to spend the weekend with my Auntie Heather, Rick, Jackie and Connie.  Our flight was delayed an hour, so we arrived around noon, walked through customs, and met our welcoming party (Heather and Connie) around 12:15.  We spent the afternoon at Heather's, eating, catching up, telling stories and watching a superb Wes Anderson film:

To bed by 11.