Wow, I'm doing a terrible job web-logging. I still haven't recorded (even for my own benefit) all of the stuff I did this summer. Weeks and months go by with few updates. I feel guilty when I visit my friends blogs and find out about their latest little misadventures and have failed to reciprocate.
Here I find ten free minutes to post and this rambling incoherent message will have to suffice for a few more weeks.
First of all, the big life changes. I am still dieting. I have lost 30 pounds to date. I look better and feel better. In this effort I have quit drinking. And I mean that in an absolute way. Not a drop of alcohol has touched my lips in over three months. There have been some serious temptations along the way. Like the playoffs and world series games. Parties at neighbors where I just couldn't bring myself to break my alcohol fast. So, while everyone else partied and had fun, I was a stick in the mud; going home to be early. In Toronto at a business dinner our host purchased expensive bottles of French wine, which I declined in a demonstration of will power that was absolute.
I have worked it out in my own mind that alcohol is the key to this whole life change concept. I can backslide on the diet, eat a piece of pie, or some other desert. What I cannot do is compromise on the issue of alcohol. I know for a fact that if I were to break down just once, then all bets would be off. Shortly I would be making excuse after excuse about how drinking in certain social situations was acceptable. In a short time I would be back to six beers a night and 12 a day, or more, on the weekends. My health is too important to me now to take that risk. I like being clear headed all of the time; and I certainly feel much more healthy. So, friends, don't tempt me with your alcohol this holiday season.
Speaking of the Holiday Season, we are going to hold our annual Christmas party again this year; after having skipped last year. We expect a great group of people, with many of our friends from Simutronics. This year we are holding two competitions, a no-limit Texas Hold 'Em tournament and a trivia contest. The order of gift opening will be determined by both contests. For the Texas Hold 'Em tournament, we are going to start early, at 5pm, to give people plenty of time to play. We will give every party guest five dollars in free chips and allow them to buy in, just one time, for up to an additional $20 worth of chip. The optional cash buy in will form an additional prize pool that will be awarded at the end of the evening.
I think this is going to be the most fun party ever and can't wait for it to arrive on Saturday December 18th.
A few other things that have been going on… I believe I made a post talking about how I was going to be taking a business trip to London. Well, that didn’t pan out. They switched the trip to Toronto at the last minute. I left for Canada the day after the election. Man, those Canadians think we are nuts. I really enjoyed Toronto, it is a beautiful city and seems fairly European. While I was in Toronto I got to see the musical “Mama Mia”; which I highly recommend.
Since returning from Toronto my recent project has been to try to buy a second home that my parents can stay in. The farm where my parents are in now is just not going to get them through another winter. I put a contract on a home but the sale fell through just one week ago. Last Saturday Terry and I went down to Jefferson City, looked at some houses, and finally found a lovely small home that is handicapped accessible. We put a contract on it and made an offer to rent it between now and closing. The seller accepted and today I am heading down to help move my parents into their new home! How very exciting, right before Christmas!
I am about to embark on the longest business trip of my life and just about the longest trip I have ever taken. On Monday I am flying to San Francisco to attend the Game-Tech conference; where I will be making a presentation. Monday evening I am going to stay at my friend John Oberschelp’s house and I will be showing a 16mm print of “The Secret of Nimh” for his boys; Hans and Mason. On Saturday I get on an airplane in San Francisco and fly all of the way to Zurich, Switzerland for a week of business meetings on software architecture. I don’t know if I’m going to be able to do anything ‘fun’ while I am there, but it is still a great opportunity.
Well, that’s all I have time to write up this morning. I will take pictures while I am on my trip and try to post some when I return. I look forward to seeing you at our Christmas party on the 18th!
Here I find ten free minutes to post and this rambling incoherent message will have to suffice for a few more weeks.
First of all, the big life changes. I am still dieting. I have lost 30 pounds to date. I look better and feel better. In this effort I have quit drinking. And I mean that in an absolute way. Not a drop of alcohol has touched my lips in over three months. There have been some serious temptations along the way. Like the playoffs and world series games. Parties at neighbors where I just couldn't bring myself to break my alcohol fast. So, while everyone else partied and had fun, I was a stick in the mud; going home to be early. In Toronto at a business dinner our host purchased expensive bottles of French wine, which I declined in a demonstration of will power that was absolute.
I have worked it out in my own mind that alcohol is the key to this whole life change concept. I can backslide on the diet, eat a piece of pie, or some other desert. What I cannot do is compromise on the issue of alcohol. I know for a fact that if I were to break down just once, then all bets would be off. Shortly I would be making excuse after excuse about how drinking in certain social situations was acceptable. In a short time I would be back to six beers a night and 12 a day, or more, on the weekends. My health is too important to me now to take that risk. I like being clear headed all of the time; and I certainly feel much more healthy. So, friends, don't tempt me with your alcohol this holiday season.
Speaking of the Holiday Season, we are going to hold our annual Christmas party again this year; after having skipped last year. We expect a great group of people, with many of our friends from Simutronics. This year we are holding two competitions, a no-limit Texas Hold 'Em tournament and a trivia contest. The order of gift opening will be determined by both contests. For the Texas Hold 'Em tournament, we are going to start early, at 5pm, to give people plenty of time to play. We will give every party guest five dollars in free chips and allow them to buy in, just one time, for up to an additional $20 worth of chip. The optional cash buy in will form an additional prize pool that will be awarded at the end of the evening.
I think this is going to be the most fun party ever and can't wait for it to arrive on Saturday December 18th.
A few other things that have been going on… I believe I made a post talking about how I was going to be taking a business trip to London. Well, that didn’t pan out. They switched the trip to Toronto at the last minute. I left for Canada the day after the election. Man, those Canadians think we are nuts. I really enjoyed Toronto, it is a beautiful city and seems fairly European. While I was in Toronto I got to see the musical “Mama Mia”; which I highly recommend.
Since returning from Toronto my recent project has been to try to buy a second home that my parents can stay in. The farm where my parents are in now is just not going to get them through another winter. I put a contract on a home but the sale fell through just one week ago. Last Saturday Terry and I went down to Jefferson City, looked at some houses, and finally found a lovely small home that is handicapped accessible. We put a contract on it and made an offer to rent it between now and closing. The seller accepted and today I am heading down to help move my parents into their new home! How very exciting, right before Christmas!
I am about to embark on the longest business trip of my life and just about the longest trip I have ever taken. On Monday I am flying to San Francisco to attend the Game-Tech conference; where I will be making a presentation. Monday evening I am going to stay at my friend John Oberschelp’s house and I will be showing a 16mm print of “The Secret of Nimh” for his boys; Hans and Mason. On Saturday I get on an airplane in San Francisco and fly all of the way to Zurich, Switzerland for a week of business meetings on software architecture. I don’t know if I’m going to be able to do anything ‘fun’ while I am there, but it is still a great opportunity.
Well, that’s all I have time to write up this morning. I will take pictures while I am on my trip and try to post some when I return. I look forward to seeing you at our Christmas party on the 18th!
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