Way Late

Yeah, I kinda suck at this...

I really thought that I would get better at blogging. Since I really love to write, really! It just never hits me to do this when I really have the time in the evenings to do it. Maybe it's time to set an alarm and start with three times a week, Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays, the alarm on my Moto X goes off telling me to BLOG AWAY! Habits will form, and life will be good, great even! I can rant, get things off my chest, and maybe even share some fun antics with a few people.

I've lost followers [insert sad face here]. Maybe if actually would start writing more? I'll try! Promise.

So I said one year ago in January that I would start doing a regular vlog on one of my YouTube channels. Yeah, that didn't happen either. We will so totally blame all of this on my not having my Chromebook that I want so badly. So, here's what's going to happen... I will end this little rant to myself about sucking badly at blogging, and make a change (really this year) to do it! Here there will be quite a few to catch up, and they will be titled appropriately with their subject so you don't read stuff you really don't care to read.

I'll warn you now though, the first I work on, "2013 - How It Was," may be a bit long, as I'm going to try to cover an entire year in one blog.

Thanks for reading everyone! Follow me!

Time

Time just flies, especially when work is very hectic! Things at work are are keeping me occupied for probably too many hours to be healthy. I am taking time to veg out with some Sims 3 though, so it's all good - I think.
Having a bigger role this year in operations of our call center is allowing me to use a lot more of my skills, but the flood of issues we are dealing with internally absolutely find their way to the external; meaning ill effects to our Stores and Customers. None of us are cool with this, of course, but it doesn't change that we have problems with systems and they are causing significant unplanned call volume and emails to our center. We are in the process of ramping up for boating season to handle our expected increase in volumes, but ramp-up takes time and is planned well in advance of anticipated needs. We are pretty much on track there, although a new ramp-up plan is in place this year. No seasonal staff "off the street" this year. Instead, we utilize the excellent talent we have in our Stores. So many Store Associates, even in season, don't get the hours they would like. We can give them some hours in the Call Center. Last year was pilot time for this and it worked well.

I started this post almost a month ago! Time to write a new one...
Oh, by the by, still training Store Associates! The first group hits the phones this week - say a prayer!

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

It's been a very lazy day today. Staying in bed late watching a cartoon. Have you seen The Dating Guy? It's an adult cartoon that's actually a little cute. Check it out, it's on hulu.

We had breakfast at 2 in the afternoon, then after a quick stop at the grocery, I came home watched some Airwolf and played Sims.

Now we are just arriving at Rob and Bern's for a big home-cooked meal!

Sounds like a good day to me!

I'm Terrible!

This whole posting thing... how do I do it? I've even grabbed the app from the Marketplace so I would be able to jot thoughts, blog-on-the-go, whatever... but do you think I can do it? Someone help me here understand why something that I really love doing I don't get around to!

Now that my rant directed to me is out of the way, here goes some catch-up, and I'm not talking what goes on a burger or hot dog!

Last, I mentioned it being 79 (-and-a-half) weeks out here in wonderful -- beautiful Cali, now make it 84-and-a-half weeks out here. That's only five weeks since my last post -- not as bad as others. I guess if I thought I had an audience, or someone wanted to hear from me, I may write more. That's it! If you want me to write and you are reading and actually interested in what I have to say, add a comment!

I tell friends and family that I talk to regularly (and even those that are not so regularly) that AJ and I basically di three things on the weekends. Dive (as in Scuba), have a fun touristy day in "The City" (as in San Francisco), or clean the house and entertain. More of the first than the last, and a few of the other in between! We have taken to diving, as... as... oh, do I dare say it??? We've taken to diving as a fish takes to water! Oh yeah, I went there - you can bop me one when you see me. Our hours of dive time are getting up there! Not having my dive log with me at the time of this writing, I'm trying to remember, but it's about 32 dives recorded in my log and over 22 hours. I'll double-check that tonight and make it accurate! We have our Advanced Scuba Diver certifications and just finished our Rescue Diver course. We will be TA's (Training Assistants) for David and Cheryl Babineau, the Instructor/Dive Master team that has lead us from "refreshing" as a NAUI Basic all the way through our rescue certification. David is a fantastic instructor and I feel so lucky to have started this wondrous voyage with him at the helm! He stands for nothing less that being the safest and most responsible diver. In even his Basic classes we cover things most wouldn't in an Advanced or even Rescue class. He is patient with students coming from different backgrounds and stages of life. He relates skills and diving attitudes to things that most can understand. He will not let someone who is uncomfortable or not capable of safe diving continue. I've seen him bring comfort and calmness to the panicked too, and by the end of a first night in the pool, actually built of confidence to where the student can continue. I'm lucky!

We have found some really great friends diving, have bonded with quite a few people, and regularly dive with them and do other things too. This is a great time in my life. I'm also taking off some of these unwanted inches too! I've put on quite a bit of weight (fat, not muscle) over the past three years - and I just don't like it any more. It keeps me from performing like I could underwater too, and I know it! Not really doing anything special at all, I've dropped a little from the waist (noticeably slimmer in the mirror), and about 12 pounds since the first part of February. Now, it's time to kick in the exercise! Time to get that bicycle I paid a grand for last year out of the garage and RIDE! We have a couple of really good exercise and workout "games" for the Kinect too, they are actually killers - or were when we got them months ago. Time to get back at that too!

Work is good - challenging, busy, and tiring too - but good. I enjoy what I do and who I do it with. West Marine is a good company to work for. Working on a project at a time right now, and that feels great! Much better than previous years where I've had several things at the same time spinning in the air. Taking this approach of getting one thing done and then moving on to the next is exactly how it should be!

While I'm on about work, Bernadette (and Rob) is (are) finally here - in Cali - for good! I picked them up from SJC last night! Bernadette is like my sister here at work. We became very close, working closely together on everything call center related very early on, when we were still in a building in Largo, Florida! AJ and I were privileged to attend the Barnes-Bennett wedding back in November (11.20.11) in NOLA (that's New Orleans, if you don't know). I'm so happy to have them out here! Rob will be joining us under the water from time-to-time too! Time to start up our weekly bowling outings! Having another couple to share time with is a great thing. I MUST talk about Gabe and Mary soon too, a fun and fantastic couple we have met through diving, dive with often, and spend time out of the water with too.

OK, this is actually longer than I planned - so time to close for now and get some work done!
Until next time - and I'll make that sooner than later!

Away It Went

Where did 2011 go? Someone please tell me!


Wow! 79-and-a-half weeks living in California! I'm not sure where it went. I am loving it out here (besides, see previous rants--I mean blogs). On a recent business/pleasure trip back to Florida, my partner and I were visiting some friends in Palm Harbor. A very nice home (with pool and spa) was for sale (REDUCED even) and I commented that I'm sure we could steal it and with our salaries, have no problems affording it either. The Florida born boy said no way! He wants to stay in California. So, I guess we are happy here.


2011 has absolutely had it's "downs" too. Mainly to do with work. With so much going on, it is simply just too much to handle, and stress levels of most in the building show in an infinity number of ways. Still a wonderful place to work and I truly love what I do, where I do it, and who I have to do it with!


Now to welcome 2012. Time for some spring cleaning of our house too, and get the boxes still packed in the garage sorted through. I want a garage this year. Not only to get the vehicles inside, but also to have my place to work on things and tinker around. I will have a garage - yes!


Dive on! If I can make an excuse for not blogging more (yeah, I know, no excuses!), I will blame it on the diving. It simply took up most of our free time at the end of 2011. In the last quarter of the year we only missed weekends of diving we were traveling (or sick). Now I'm going on several weekends of not being under the water. I need to get my SCUBA on! No worries there, as we have seven dives coming up in the next two weekends, all as part of an advanced dive class. Can't wait to get wet again! If you are a friend on Facebook, you've seen pictures and heard stories. If you aren't, by all means, comment and make me share more here.


I'll end this entry wishing everyone a very happy New Year and hopes for all to find something good in each of the next 360 days!

Life "Without" Television

My household has always had hundreds, if not thousands, of channels to choose from, routed to our ump-teen televisions throughout the house via coaxial cabling, delivered to the house either from a "cable company" or from a "satellite television provider."  After moving to California, we decided to go the "techie route" and watch all of "our shows" from hulu, Boxee, or other Internet sites.  With good old coax, we had thousands of channels and nothing to watch.  I thanked the stars when DVR came to the boxes!  Now I could watch the programs I wanted when I was able, not when the networks play them.  However, it was costing a hundred or better a month for this luxury.  Could we really get by (or away) with "free TV?"

Boxee was awesome for a minute.  There is an app in the Android Market to control the Boxee desktop software from your phone, so that was neat.  Shows played just fine there, and there was plenty of content.  Then, something happened.  Shows started not playing.  Horrid lagging if one did play.  Next, shows started disappearing.  Let's try hulu. Hulu is pretty good.  The desktop app is adequate (wish I had an Android app to control it), and there are a lot of shows on there.  I subscribed to huluPLUS so we could get to all of the extra content there.  Now we have access to tons of movies, previous episodes of shows, whole seasons even, right there with huluPLUS.  Since Blockbuster charges extra for streaming, let's try out NetFlix!  We love it.

Now, for less than 23 bucks a month, we can watch tons of nothing again (and take it all with us on the road)!

Time Gone Bye (-Bye)

So, it's been some time since my last blog.  Just as I figured, it would be difficult for me to be consistent and timely posting. I even had a great plan, and started it right, write what I could, when I could, and have entries ready to post and post one each day.

Maybe daily is too often.  And who wants to read my rantings daily anyway?  I don't even have any real followers yet, so who and/or what am I even doing this for?  I want to write.  I miss writing.  There are things that get in my head and I feel the need to get it out "on paper."  If others read it too, all the better.  In my mind, for some reason, my blog needed to have "reason," a subject, a theme.  Now I'm thinking that I'm wrong.  I mean, really, how much can I write about living out here in Cali, and how much different it is than living on the east coast or in the Mid West.  Okay, I can write a ton if I were sitting to write a book - and maybe I should one day, but that really isn't the purpose here.  Now I'm thinking that I titled it perfectly anyway - who says that's it's about living out here?  Well, I did, but it's my blog!  It shouldn't be about life here in Cali, or more specifically, this farm-town or the eclectic Santa Cruz county area.  Let me blog about whatever, right?  It's MY LIFE out here, and that can mean anything.  I'm living "out left." So it's just a blog about whatever - and me...

Good!  Now that we have that settled, I can move on and write about most anything I want and maybe even keep it flowing better.