Journal 11/18/08

I didn't sleep good last night.  Gizmo was a hyper-hypo and made lots of noise and bite marks.  The boys were acting up again today.  They always do when it gets close to the holidays, but this year seems to be worse than others I can remember.  We prepared for it as best we could, so we'll see how it goes.  Hopefully things will settle down a bit.  I had to stay late for a staff meeting, which meant leaving during bad traffic.  When I got home, Cyndi made some seasame chicken for dinner.  After that, we went to Biola to work out for a couple hours.  We came home and watched a little tv.  I chatted a bit with mom and siblings online.  Cyndi went to bed at her normal time.  My mind is awake, but my body is sore all over so I'll probably go to bed fairly soon.  Tomorrow is a late shift and a drive out to Loma Linda for a kid's doctor appointment.

Today and Tomorrow

Today I was busy again at work. Early on we caught 2 kids with dirty drug tests. One of them was packing his stuff to run away, but I talked him into staying. He's real impulsive so who knows if he'll stay or for how long. Another kid decided to create his own family session and invite his whole family to sneak onto campus. He figured he'd just slip out to the parking lot and hang out in the car with them.

Tomorrow is our annual "Safety Fair". I'm looking forward to hours of trainings on how not to fall down around campus, the meanings of road signs I may encounter while in the company vans, and the proper way to put on and take off latex gloves. Ooh, and how could I forget: Holding a fire extinguisher (though not actually using it) to learn how to "sweep the hose" and "put out" a piece of plywood with a campfire painted on it. The only mildly entertaining bit of any of these trainings is at the end of the driver's safety class when the instructor plays Frank Sinatra's "I'm Gonna Live Til I Die" while showing a collection of car crash videos he's downloaded.

And now a word from our sponsor....

We were a bit off today, so we'll have to continue the Alaska pictures another day. I had to stay late last night to finish some write ups and then was back too early this morning. I didn't sleep much so while I was fine at work, the drive home was a bit more....challenging. The cat was lonely and in attack mode when I got home so that kept me awake. I watched the first half of the 49ers Monday Night Football game until Cyndi and her mom came back and we went to Black Angus for dinner. They were a bit short staffed it seemed, so even though it wasn't too busy, everything took forever and dinner lasted over an hour and a half. Now I'm home, tired, and going to bed. Tomorrow is another early morning...up at 5:15.

Journal 11-2-08

Since we've neglected the blog a bit lately, we figured we'd enter the yearly "blog every day" contest which started yesterday. Three blogs in three days....so far so good.

Last night we went out to BJ's with the family to celebrate my grandfather's birthday as well as my own. December is too busy for everyone to get together and we all have to share a birthday dinner. This just happens to be the closest one. I got a lot of gift cards and a new biography of John Lennon that came out last week and my mom heard was really good. My mom's cousin Monica was down from San Jose to attend a memorial service this weekend, so she joined us too.

Before I had to run off to work today, we made a side trip to Best Buy to spend some of my gift cards. I got the new Guitar Hero game with a mic. I also picked up Batman Begins and The Goonies cause they were both $4.99 on dvd. I still have cards left over for another time.

Work was busy: smoking, fighting, lots of confrontations, and a kid trying to expose himself to a staff working her first day. I ended up staying 45 minutes late writing reports. I have to be back there in 8 hours so it's off to bed for now.

Journal 7/2/08

I went to work in the morning, and since I got off during the worst traffic, I went to my parents house for a bit. I hung out with Brad until he had softball then I went home. Cyndi and I tried to book our vacation. There was a problem with one of the websites though, so the company is going to call us later. If all goes well, we'll be taking a cruise to Alaska leaving from Seattle on Cyndi's birthday. We've both wanted to go there for a long time, so it should be fun.

We're also hoping to make it up to Santa Cruz tomorrow night for 4th of July (it's my dad's birthday too). I haven't been there during family camp since the summer before I started at Biola. We went up there when we were first married and for our first anniversary, but not since.

Work has been more work the past couple of weeks. About half of my boys were caught smoking pot on several different occasions so we had to shut things down. They all lost their jobs and the many other extras they get in the ILP program. A lot of time has been spent with them stuck in their rooms while we are posted outside like prison guards.

Stuff from this week...

-- Tomorrow (Friday) I'm supposed to have my second wisdom tooth out. It was supposed to be today, but due to my blood thinners, I can't really have last minute surgeries. I've been running around for the past couple of days trying to get everything cleared with the dentist, oral surgeon, coumadin clinic, and my regular doctor. If everything works out perfectly, I'll be knocked out by 11am.

-- Saturday is Cyndi's annual MS Walk down in Sandy Eggo. I couldn't go last year, but depending on how the tooth thing goes, I'm penciled in to walk this year. As of right now, her team is at $955 raised, close to the goal of $1000. Thank you to all who have donated so far.

-- I found out I'm down to my last two projects for my photo class. This next one is working with Photoshop (hence my first attempt to put Torii Hunter on the Dodgers as seen below). The guy in all the intro videos made it look easy, but it's really frustrating for the perfectionist in me. We'll see what I can come up with for my next due date in two weeks.

-- Today was my annual CPR training at work. The video they show is new, but still annoying. By the end of the year, the Red Cross is getting rid of the breathing part of CPR, so it will be even shorter than it was this time around.

-- The NFL draft this weekend should be good. The 49ers made a wise choice and gave their top pick to the Patriots for some magic beans, so I'm sure it will all work out for the best. I'm sure this is our year! ....sigh.

Journal 4/7/08

I stayed home from work today. I've been feeling dizzy since Saturday night. I tried to get a doctor's appointment, but they said they were full until next Tuesday. I just rested at home and drank lots of water. So far so good. It seems like it's going away whatever it was.

My NCAA bracket ended up winning the Brendoman league, and coming in second in the Banker's Bunch, Rhymes With Gin, and Optimist leagues. My work league would have won me a bunch. I had Kansas picked to win, but had Memphis losing a couple rounds ago which cost me.

Not much else going on today. I have to get up real early tomorrow so I should go to bed now.

Journal 3/26/08

Went to work in the morning today. Nothing big going on there. I had to go to a training most of the morning. The speaker had had a botox treatment recently so she could barely move her mouth to talk and I never saw her eyelids move during the two hours. Trust me, I was watching. I got off work a little late and headed to my parent's house. They weren't home and I didn't have my key on me. I took in the fabulous shopping Alhambra has to offer to kill time. I almost bought a new Wii game. While I was deciding which one, I went to Big 5 and ended up getting a new pair of shoes instead. I picked up my mom at my grandparent's house. We got my dad and brother for dinner at Carl's Jr. before I dropped them off at the airport. My cousin Emily is getting married in New York on Saturday and they're going to represent the western Hutchins.

Next up: Three day weekend!

Journal 3/19/08

Today I went to work early. I was really tired when I woke up even though I slept good. I took a kid to the DMV to take the written test. Shockingly, we only had to wait five minutes to get him into the testing room, but then he took over an hour on 36 questions. He passed by one point, so he's happy. The rest of the day was meetings and behavior groups.

After work I had Boston Market for my early dinner. Right after I sat down, a tiny scrawny emo girl tried refilling the ice on the soda machine, slipped, dropped the bucket on her head and knocked herself out. She kicked over another cart full of lemonade tanks on her way down, so it was a huge mess. Luckily she was ok.

Photo class was short and hardly anyone was there. Since I got out early, I went to my grandparent's house to try some portrait pictures there. The lighting wasn't the best, but I think I can fix that later. Their dog hates cameras and barked until she wore herself out. I got home about 9:00pm, so we're going to watch the tape of Survivor and go to bed. Some guy from Craigslist is supposed to stop by and buy our extra computer tomorrow. If it happens, that'll be three large items gone, one to go. We're not pack rats, I swear!

Journal 3/18/08

Not much going on today. We both went to work in the morning. Since my kids are on spring break, I go in an hour later...which means I don't leave until traffic is bad. I stopped by Kaiser to get my blood drawn on the way home. The nurse did a horrible job. I actually yelled when she stuck the needle in and had sharp pains in my arm for about 5 hours afterward. She asked if I was afraid of needles. I told her "no, I've been having this done every couple weeks for the last 9 years and it has never hurt like this". She had nothing more to say. Cyndi got back from the track about the same time I got home. We had dinner, then just hung out here a bit. I'm kind of tired so going to bed earlier than normal for me.

Journal 2/29/08

Today I went in to cover for the people calling out all week at work. Not much exciting happened there, which in my line of work is a good thing. Traffic was bad coming home. By the time I got home, it was way too late to even try getting out to Idyllwild like we wanted. I'm sure we'll find time to go up sooner rather than later, although sadly, we did miss Nancy's retirement party. We ended up going to see Semi-Pro after dinner, then got some Golden Spoon to eat while watching Survivor from last night. Since I'm supposed to have landscape/nature photos for class next week, I'm sure we'll be going out somewhere on Saturday. I'm not sure where we should go yet.

Journal 2/28/08

Went to work today. People were still calling out sick and some have doctor's notes to stay home into next week. That means I have to work tomorrow, though hopefully not a full shift. After work I met up with Brad and Christie for trivia night. It was at Barney's Beanery in Old Town Pasadena. We ended up coming in second place by one point. In our defense, there were only three of us and the winning team had seven people. We had a couple of other answers right, but doubted ourselves a bit and put other answers. They do this every Thursday night so I'll have to find some people to go some time. We won a $15 gift certificate so that'll be good for dessert or a couple of drinks. When I got home there was no place to park and I had to go a few blocks over. Cyndi hates that no matter when I come home I can always find a spot and she never can. She wins this round....

Journal 2/27/08

Today was busy at work. For the second day in a row, three people called out sick. Another one is new and was in training all day so she didn't really count. Since all eight of us are usually there Tuesday-Thursday, we schedule as much as we can during those days. I was able to get some of the big afternoon projects done in the morning, but I have no idea how they were going to manage at night. Only one person scheduled past 6pm was still coming in.

Our lunch today was the annual "Black History Month Celebration Lunch". What's the menu like for a Black History Month celebration you ask? Fried chicken, mac and cheese, cornbread, collard greens, black-eyed peas, and watermelon for dessert. The place was packed though, so maybe I'm the only one who thought it sounded a bit wrong.

Now I'm in my photo class working on some of my pictures of the week. The first one is the one I printed out. The rest just get turned in on a flash drive once we edit them. Next week's theme is landscapes which I think is one of my strong points.

(click to make bigger)

Journal 2/26/08

Went to work early this morning. Some of the kids were being difficult because we caught them smoking yesterday and they are on restrictions. I found out we were having an audit today which complicated things a bit. Half our staff called out sick too. I was real tired coming home...took an hour and a half for no reason. When Cyndi got home we headed to the Block for a free movie screening of "Hamlet 2". It had a lot of funny parts, but at times seemed offensive just to be offensive and see how much language they could throw in. I tried taking pictures at the Block afterward, but was told by security that wasn't allowed. We drove over to Biola and got some night shots of the bell tower and someone's art project on the lawn. I'm hoping some are clear and usable for class tomorrow.

Journal 2/23/08

We got up this morning and cleaned up some. I did dishes and the desk area while Cyndi took the cans/bottles to be recycled. She got $29 for the effort. We tackled the living room when she got back.

Jeric came over at 11:30. We introduced them to the magical world of Guitar Hero which after one song Ric was ready to rush over to Best Buy to get it for himself. We all headed up to LA to go to the King's game. Cyndi felt out of place since she was the only one not wearing Kings gear. We'll have to work on that. The game was pretty good. The Kings were down 5-1 against Chicago with about 7 minutes to play, but managed to get 4 goals, including one with 13 seconds left, to tie the game and send it into overtime. They lost it 2 minutes later, but it was still exciting. I think I got some good pictures for my class. I may post a few later once I get them on the computer.

We came home for a minute, then went to use our Souplantation coupon for dinner. It wasn't crowded, which is odd for a Saturday. As usual we walked over to Barnes and Noble afterward and browsed for a few hours before Cyndi bought a few new books. Sarah called while we were there to make sure we knew about a retirement party up in Idyllwild on Friday night. We may go up, but it's not 100% yet. We came home, a little more Guitar Hero, now SNL is on.

Journal 2/22/08

It was a lazy day for me. I slept in. I've been real tired this week so it was nice to not be getting up early. When I got up I ate and checked my email before heading over to Biola. I sold our second printer to a girl there. She was tiny and the box was huge. I offered to take it to her dorm instead of giving it to her in the middle of campus, but she said she'd be ok and walked off struggling to carry the thing. Hey, I offered. I should have worked out while I was there, but again, I was feeling lazy.

When Cyndi got home we got it together and headed down to the Block. We ate at Quiznos, then walked around a bit. I took my camera to work on my assignment. We spent a lot of time getting action shots at the Van's Skate Park. I got a few I like, but I need to master the shutter speed. I'll work on it before tomorrow's activity. After that we went to see Charlie Bartlett. We had a free ticket, and when we paid for the other one we found we had racked up enough points to earn another free ticket. The movie was ok. Not as good as I expected, but it did hit on a lot of things I talk to my kids about at work.

We came home, watched a little tv, and checked the lottery results. The tickets I had in the pool at work were about as bad as they could get. No $270 million for me today. I chatted with mom some and watched Leno.

Journal 2/17/08

Today seemed to go by really fast. I guess that's because I was busy at work. We had lots of transports to do so I was driving all over the place. We also had a kid test positive for meth, so that caused a bunch of problems. We have a couple of kids right now who have no interest in staying off drugs once they get out. They seem to think we're stupid and can't tell when they've been using. Yet shockingly every time we suspect something and have them tested: positive! Both started using at such an early age (7!), it really messed up their brains, and I'm not sure they could stop even if they wanted to at this point. Tomorrow is a holiday which means vacation for those with normal jobs, but extra work for those in my field.

Journal 2/10/08

Not much going on today. Cyndi is down in San Diego for her mom's birthday today. I went to work. Quiet day as usual for the weekends there. I was working alone for a while so I had all the apartments come up to the house so I could have them help me BBQ and I could keep and eye on everyone. I sold our extra computer on craigslist so now I'm deleting our files off of it. Luckily there wasn't too much. I just hope there's no problems when I meet the guy tomorrow. I've been trying to sell several items on there and the people always seem to flake at the last minute after 42 emails and 11-teen phone calls. I'm offering good deals too since we just want to clear out some space so it doesn't seem so cluttered around here.

Journal 2/8/08

I didn't really have a topic for today, so I'm going to steal from Josh Tate's blog and put up a run down of my day. Enjoy!

I got up at 7:30. Cooked up some oats and had some fruit for breakfast. I headed over to Biola and worked out in the fitness center. Mostly running on the treadmill and doing crunches with weights. I watched SportsCenter on the monitors while running. Was there a little over an hour, then went to chapel at 9:30. There was no speaker today, just music. It was good, but not what I was hoping for. Went home, played some Guitar Hero, checked email then washed a bunch of dishes. Had a light lunch. Cyndi came home so I shaved, showered, and we left at 3:00 to head up to East L.A. College. I was unable to get into the photo class I wanted, but found another I should be able to register for next week on Wednesday nights. On our way back we went to Souplantation for dinner. After went shopping for shoes and a few gifts at Target but didn't find much. Got back home at 9:30ish.