Insanity is a dish best served microwaved

Okay, this is my fourth trip to Las Vegas and it’s official… not a fan.  There are a variety of reasons why I have a disdain for the City of Sin.  First, it’s the City of Sin.  A bunch of middle aged people that don’t really want a sense of culture come here to gorge on the buffets, which aren’t cheap by the way, and see the cultures of the world in a two mile strip.  Then we have the newly minted 21 year olds that are just here to get drunk and stupid while pushing up the STD count.  They don’t usually appear until around 7p because they are just waking up then from the walk of shame the evening before in their “dresses”  or the classy dress shirt, vans, and jeans attire from the night before.  If they have woken up any earlier, they are hanging out by the pool trying to get a mid-day booty call.  It’s almost too classic to watch and sad that I once thought that was the standard.  Third, Vegas is dirty.  I hate walking down the road and being harassed by a bunch of people trying to get me to call some hooker.  Entertaining as it is, just not feeling it.  Fourth, I really just don’t like people on vacation.   They have no idea of traveling or being a good guest of a city.  They throw crap where ever they want and leave a mess because it’s not their city.  This is also a city that attracts “recreational travelers” which I REALLY dislike… see ( Summer of Traveling ).  These people travel once every few years and they are the quintessential Ugly American.  Finally, what the hell are people thinking dragging their TODDLERS to freaking Las Vegas?   Leave them in their cages or with the grandparents.  I don’t want to see freaking strollers at 2a just because you’re a selfish parent and want to drag your poor children around so you can get $100 in free slot play.  Put them to freaking bed.  Yes, the shows are pretty cool at night, but they should do what the rest of the normal people do and wait until they are 21 to enjoy it.  Come on people.  Vegas is not made for Children.  That was soooooooooooo 1990s.

Having said all that, I still had a great time in Vegas.  Jen flew down on Friday after my meetings with HJ.  She hasn’t really been in Vegas so we got something to eat and walked through the hotels catching shows here and there.  This was really the first time we have spent a long period of time together and it was great.  We just clicked.  It wasn’t searching for conversation and it really was just us for two days.  We both wound up with some sore feet from walking up and down the strip.  But we got some PF Changs which was worth it.  I forgot how good those darn lettuce wraps are! We got lost in the Forum shops trying to avoid the heat by walking through the properties.  Eventually we made our way out and stocked up for the night.  After a great nap, we went got some dinner and just had a little party for 2 in our room.  Then we watched the frog at the Wynn and the pirate show at TI.  By then we were too far gone to really do anything else and I passed out.  I woke up this morning to see Jen on her way.  She had an earlier flight than me.  I went back to bed and I didn’t get out of it until almost 11:30.  By then Jen was already home and I had done nothing.  I went downstairs to the exercise room and did my workout.  I will have to say that the Trump hotel is the best hotel on the strip.  The room was huge with a whirlpool tub, great pool area, and an amazing exercise facility.  Plus the hotel was smoke free and didn’t have a casino.. so it attracted a different crowd.  I came back upstairs after I lost my room key for the third time in two days.  I was just reading the paper waiting for the toothpaste that I requested to come up.  After a half an hour, it didn’t show and I decided to walk down to get it myself.  I made sure I had a key and went downstairs.  I achieved my goal and I was looking forward to soaking in whirlpool tub.  When I got to the room I made it through the first door (the room had a sound barrier room… very cool) and the second… nope.  Damn.   I wasn’t going back to ask for a room key yet again.  I just waited for security to let me in.  I got a nice soak going in the tub when I hear a knock on the door.   I thought it was housekeeping trying to get me out, but it was the toothpaste I asked for a hour ago.  Oh well, no one is perfect.   I headed over to the airport and I again got reminded that this town is a tourist dominated city.  All these darn people that are getting in the way because they don’t know how to move efficiently through the security lines and it’s just a giant clusterfuck.  By the time I get to the gate I realize that flight is late to SFO and I have 25 minutes to connected.  Well at least I get some exercise… but now I might be staying the night again because the flight is overbooked.  Joy

Alright, I need to face it… I’m a terrible graphics editor.  I am not a micro person at all.  I am so frustrated that I make so many stupid little editing errors like putting the wrong price in the sheet or forgetting to put a price in at all.  I just wind up kicking myself with all the dumb things that I do and it winds up costing me money.   I’m trying to make an effort to get better at it, but  I am still making the errors.  I have people look at my work, but no one around here does what I do, so they have no clue what they are looking at anyway.

I am preparing to go to Vegas tomorrow for our corporate meeting and I have a price sheet that is wrong.  Well, it’s not wrong completely, it’s just not completely right.  And it pisses me off so badly.  The other problem with my job is that if I make a mistake, I have to live with it for the entire year.  I have 5,000 copies of this price sheet and they are expensive.  So, I can’t just chuck them and start over.   This is also the SECOND publication that I have had a problem with this year.  I already had to reprint my order forms because I forgot to put shipping on the costs.  I would have lost more in the shipping than the cost to reprint.  AGHHH!

When I think about how much money I waste on mistakes, it just kills me.  The order form reprint is going to cost me a timeshare payment.  I would think after enough I would learn to ask someone to help edit it.    But noooooo… so I guess I have burned enough cash that I have learned my lesson.    Now, I’m going to be extra careful with anything I send out.  I can create it without problem, but now I have to make sure the finished product is what I want.

I’m so frustrated I may have to eat some pudding myself.

I’ve been behind on writing lately.  I go in hot and write everyday then I cool off.  It’s crazy.  I love to write about what I’m thinking about during the day.  However, I am also a routine driven person and I usually write before I go to bed.  Well lately, I’ve been with people all the way up until I fall asleep, so I haven’t wrote much.

I’ve been seeing a great woman lately.  It’s all new and fresh, so we’re still getting to know each other.  But I’m having a blast with it.  I get kept on my toes and I love that.  I also love the fact that she doesn’t back down either.  If we have  a verbal spar mostly joking, I have to bring my A game if I’m going to have a chance.  However, as when I usually start a new relationship, I go MIA on my friends.  I didn’t really realize it until this time around that I do it.  I don’t usually try to ignore my friends, but especially when I start a relationship, I am all about her.  When I get comfortable in the relationship, I can branch back out.  It usually takes a month or so, then I come back and I’m good.  But now I am telling my friends that I’m going MIA and I’ll be back.  That is growth my friends.

And I have been growing a lot in the the last year.  It’s amazing how much more I know about myself and I can communicate that to others.  I’m not completely there yet, but in the past, I couldn’t even express the feelings that I were having.  I didn’t know what they were… I was either happy, mad, or sad.  Those were it.  My range of really stepping back and seeing where it is coming from has increased my ability to solve it on my own.  I have always been independent, so it has taken a lot to accept people’s help and admitting that I need help too.

So with the growth tree done..  I  got shot.. twice in the past week.  Once in the butt and once in the arm by my doctor.  Apparently I was past due for my shots and she going to catch me while she had me.  I only go to the doctor if I need it.  Generally, I’m a healthy person, so I don’t find myself there most of the times.  Actually before the sist on my neck (I looked like the Hunchback) I hadn’t been since 2006.  So now I have a bandaid on my neck, one on my arm.. the butt one was last week so that’s fine now.

I’m going to Vegas on Thursday for work.  When I booked my travel, my cousin was supposed to meet me there to hang out over the weekend.  But he’s flaked and now I’m going to be in Vegas by myself for two days by myself with nothing to do.  I’m kind of pissed because I don’t like Vegas that much anyway.  But whatever, what’s done is done.  I will find something to do to keep me occupied.  But it’s the last major trip I have scheduled for the summer.  When I get back from Vegas, I have to realize the fact that my summer is almost over and I’ll have to get back to work.  Opposed to the past decade of summers for me, this has been the most mellow one I have had.  I had a crazy trip to Mexico sure, but for the most part I’ve been playing whatever has been coming my way which has been ever so enjoyable.  But it’s also an attribute of my personality…  I can go with the flow or have a scheduled day… it’s all good.

So you can poke needles in me, but you’re going to break my spirit…

This post brewing in my head was originally going to be about the rats I keep finding dead around my house, but now after talking to my buddy Aaron online, I have bigger rats to talk about.. our state’s leadership.

I am once again disappointed with the “leadership” of our state.  Again they failed to fix the problems of our state.  Again, they resulted to accounting shifts and borrowing instead of making the hard choices that needed to be made.  Our state is broke and we cannot continue to service the projects we created when times were good.  Yes, I understand that many people depend on these projects to survive.  Yet, is it worth sacrifices the function government of over 32 million people for a smaller percentage?  No.  Just as history has proved time and time again, if prosperity isn’t available in the area you live, you relocate to an area where it is.  Look at the people of the Dust Bowl during the Great Depression.  Their crops were devastated by drought and prosperity had run out in the Midwest.  Did these people dig their heals in and demand that the state help them?  Of course not.  The state didn’t have any money nor did the federal government at the time.  So these people packed up their belongings (what they could) and headed West to our great state.  They did whatever job they could do to get by and relocated with the seasons and crops.  They made an honorable living trying to reestablish their lives.  I think our state has forgotten our past and mortgaged our future for today.

We borrowed again from the future that we HOPE will be better.  We need to cut the programs that cost us dearly–which is sadly education and welfare.  Education will survive as it always does.  It opens the door for innovation and maybe break down decades old of plaque that will help unclog the direct lifeline to our students.  Instead of having schools and districts waste money on projects because the money is in the wrong category maybe schools will be able to be more efficient with less money.

Welfare is not meant to be a career.  My family had to go on welfare at one point in the early 90s.  I can remember how embarrassed I was.  It also taught me that it was something I never wanted to be depended on when I was older.  Welfare is designed to be the stopgap while you get back on your feet.  I’m sorry, but if you can’t get on your feet after two years of support, then you have worn out your welcome.  The Democratic leadership picked the wrong people to defend on this budget cycle.  They could have allowed the Republicans to have this one and got so much back in return.  Instead, they dug in and wound up costing the state billions more in undeserved support.

There have been numerous reports online about cities and states that are actually growing at this moment.  I consider myself lucky to have a great job in this beautiful state.  Sadly, not everyone is in that situation.  Therefore, it’s time to pack it up and find another location that will provide your family the independent support it needs.  I’m not shifting our problems on other states. These states are experiencing a labor shortage and could use the extra bodies.

Finally dear Capitol, you need to repeal Prop 13.  It is the root of all our budget evils.  I know it sounds like a good idea in theory and I defiantly enjoy the lower property taxes.  But we need to get off the junk.  We can’t be relying on people’s personal income tax to carry us through the year.  It’s too volatile.  Instead, we can ask our landowners to pay 2 or 3% of the value of their home in yearly taxes. This alone would help solve many of the cash flow problems we currently have.  But we also need to simplify our tax code to make it easy for people to pay their fair share of the bill.

California is taxed heavily I know… I live here.  But deal with it buddy.  We are fortunate enough (Hawaii excluded) to live in the best state in the nation.  During Gov. Pat Brown’s term, we built a University system that was the envy of the nation and the CSU system is still a great bargain even with Chancellor Reed’s proposed 30% increase.  We have the best weather and most diverse population to go with the different terrains.  You can’t be the best for free… it’s time to pay up Californians.

I recently added an American flag outside the front of my house.   Some of my conservative friends found this a bit odd.  I guess considering my political views (which are pretty moderate) that they were surprised I would fly a flag outside of my house.  I don’t know when the American flag became the exclusive privilege of the conservative people of our country.  Regardless of our views, we are all still Americans.  We all share the same laws and common goals.  Although we may differ on how we intend on getting there, what unites us as a country is our differences.  Without people constantly questioning and challenging each other, our country could easily become a government of unilateral minds.

People try to hide their agendas behind the American flag.  Politicians find its okay to blast a group of immigrants for trying to make a better life for themselves or condemn companies that “pollute” as long as they have the tiny little American flag lapel pin attached to their misguided logic.  People wave the American flag when the oppose two people getting married.  I don’t understand where people’s patriotism is called into question when they are trying to pursue happiness.   It’s part of our foundation of a country.

Personally, I’m a huge advocate for state rights.  I believe that the state should be able to have more control to help the people they serve.  Sadly, I live in California that it has made it most difficult to govern.  But I’m not going to drive down to Sacramento and wave the California flag in the face of our legislators.  I am going to use productive ways to garner support.

So all I ask is that we Americans stop using our flag to divide people. Instead, let’s use it to united us under common goals and brother and sisterhood.  This is a great nation because of our freedoms and we should cherish and respect each individual for their contributions to our society.

I’ve been preoccupied with a visitors, summer activities, and a new cell phone to write lately.  So this is going to be a mix of all of the above.  Hopefully, this will get me caught up.

Visitors

I was lucky enough to get a phone call/facebook message from my friends Denna and her, her husband, and their son–Prince Tristan, were going to come up to visit on Thursday.  It was great to have them up because they were the few friends that I had when I lived in Manteca.  They came up on Thursday morning and I met them at the Hamilton City launch point on the Sacramento River.  They just recently purchased a canoe and wanted to float down the river.  It was great because it was just the right amount of time to be on the river.  We came back into town and it was already quite warm.  So Prince Tristan went down for his nap and I introduced Justin and Deanna to V for Vendetta while Denna and I had a facebook conversation about drinking at 1:30 in the afternoon.  Prince Tristan woke up and we went to lunch at Tres and then walked over to the park for Tristan to play in Caper Acres and playing in one mile.  It was so hot, it was nice just to put my feet in the water and cool off.  We came back and watched Meet the Robinsons like five times.  I love that movie, especially the end because I love the fact of people finding the family they really deserve.  Denna and I went to the market to get some strawberries for dinner and headed back.  Jennifer and her roommate came over and had dinner with us.  It was fun conversation and a way to cheer up Jen’s roomie from her gloom.  I busted out Apples to Apples and we had a great night of lobbying and wine.  Then Jen’s roommate Kandi decided it was a good night to go to the bars at like 12:30.  I so just wanted to go to sleep, but I knew she was going to be a handful and it wouldn’t be fair to send Jen down there by herself.  So I went downtown on a Thursday night during the summer.  In Chico, that equals to deader than dead.  But we still were there until 2a.  We took a taxi back and I think I finally made it to bed around 3a.  At about 6a I could hear my houseguests up and moving and decided that I could sleep later.  I got up and made some bacon and waffles and then they headed back to Stockton.  I cleaned and moped the house and went back to bed.  I puttered around, went to the gym, and then had dinner with my friend Jake and his wife.  What I learned is that time does heal things and I actually really like his wife now.  We got a rough start earlier in life, but I’m glad that she married Jake.  She probably had it all along, but I wasn’t paying attention.

Summer Activities

My friend Kim invited me to go see Coldplay with her on Tuesday.  It’s ironic that the band is called Coldplay because it was sooo hot.  I couldn’t wait for the sun to go down finally. Coldplay came on stage and started their set.  Now Coldplay’s music isn’t the type of music you are on you are your feet constantly during the performance.  Instead, they rocked it, but also played in the stands–even up in the cheap seat grass seats.  When the heat settled down the concert was fantastic.  As we were leaving, they even gave us a CD with all of the concert music on it.  It was great to rock out to on the way home.  I always wanted to learn how to play the piano.  Maybe I should start thinking about it soon.

Cell Phone

I have been planning on getting a new cell phone when my contract ended.   I really wanted an iphone because everyone else had one and they loved it.  However, there were just somethings about the iphone that didn’t do it for me–mainly not having a keyboard.  Enter the Palm Pre.  I was researching how much it would cost me to buy from Sprint and use with Verizon.  But I found that Sprint was 50 dollars cheaper a month than what I was paying now… so I decided to make the switch.  Verizon did nothing wrong.  But I got home and got the cool new phone and no way to sync all my information.  I spent four hours trying and playing with it until I finally figured it out at 11:30 tonight and all is well.  But figuring out a new cell phone is just a pain.  It takes so much getting used to figure out what and how everything goes.

But that should catch me up for now…

I just got off the phone with my friend Patrick who lives in Arizona.  We were talking about a variety of things tonight from timeshares to business.  But we got on the topic of women.  I was trying to describe to him that this woman I met was cute, but not hot.  Yet, it wasn’t a dig at her.  It’s a completely different scale of looking at women.  After discussion, this is what we decided:

Hot- Hot has a shelf life.  Yes, they are very attractive.  But as the years pass on, the hottness wears off and then you’re stuck with the Real Housewives of New Jersey.  Very unhappy and bored women that take pleasure in emasculating men.  They are also very good looking, but rarely bring anything else to the table.  T  Hot you bring to a wedding to make your friends jealous.   hey are not someone who would enjoy a homecooked meal and a movie in. Instead they want the finest dinner and going out–all at your expense of course.  It’s not all their fault.  Mostly it’s the men who have met her before you.  They have treated her like it was their lucky day to be with someone so attractive and you must give her the best or she’ll ditch you.  But in the end, they will ditch you if someone else can give them more.

Cute-  Cute has long lasting staying power.  They are women that grow into their looks like a good wine.  Like wine, you can uncork it right now and it will still be pretty good.  However, give it some time, and it will be unbelieveable.  Cute women also have the equal looks of a hot woman, but bring more than looks with her.  Most have ambition, a job, and a brain.  They are someone that fights with you over a topic.  They are also someone you bring to a bbq and have a great time and your friends like.  Cute returns your phone calls or text.

Women get offended when they get called cute because they aren’t puppies.  But like puppies, guys (this one in particular) want someone to that brings something to the relationship.   Hot just shits on your rug and goes off and does something to make you forget it.  Cute hangs out with you when your sad looking for a way to cheer you up.  So by my definition and explanation women won’t get pissed when I call them cute next time.  It means I actually like you.