Move-in Day

This is a week overdue, but it's been a very hectic and busy week. I hope everyone is enjoying the "calmer" weather - 20s and 30s and sunshine is a nice break from below zero and snowing all the time.

Last Sunday, the snowy, cloudy day of 02/17/2008, was move-in day for Erin. Erin had been living with the Caldwells for almost 3 great years, but after 1 year and 8 months of being together, we decided it was time for him to move in with me. A little exciting (and scary) but the actual day itself was an "interesting" story.

Erin had started packing the prior Friday night. But having to work most of the day Saturday, still had some packing left to do Sunday morning. I decided to sleep in a little longer and let him finish packing, and then head over. I probably should have gotten going sooner as it started snowing around 10:00am, a bit before I left. With Starbucks white chocolate mocha in hand, I headed over to the Caldwells house. They live kind of out of the city a little bit, and their driveway is a big long curvy hill - a neat place with a lot of privacy, but rough in the winter, especially when it snows. In the old days when I had my 4x4 pickups, the hill would have been no problem, but now with my front-wheel Saturn Vue, well I didn't make it. Which has happened before, so I backed down the hill. But I decided I'd try one more time, backing up to get a running start. Didn't make it the second time, so decided it was time to admit defeat and back down and just walk up the hill (it isn't that far, and I should have just done this the first time). I've backed down that hill many times, but for some reason this time I did it wrong, and spun myself off the road and got stuck. Knowing that the Caldwells had a pickup and a winch, I should have just stopped at that and walked up and got help. But (despite my YEARS of living on a farm and knowing better) I decided to try and "rock" my way out. Being on a hill, it actually was working, except for the tree that finally got in the way. NO, I did NOT hit the tree - I did brush it a little bit but no damage done. But it did stop me from trying to "rock" any further.

Decided that since I had GM Roadside Assistance included in my Saturn warranty, I would call them - towing service is covered for things like this. So while eating lunch, I called the number, they hooked me up with a local towing service, and told me the approximate time they'd be there (it only took about 20 minutes for them to get there, fairly impressive). The guy assessed the situation and said this wasn't just a "regular" tow, since they would have to side-winch pull me out (because of the hill and the trees) and that I would have to pay the extra. At that point I couldn't really argue, and so they went ahead. It took them less than 2 minutes to pull me out, and it didn't look all that hard - I guess I'm still glad that they did it knowing I could have damaged something trying to do it myself, but it sure didn't seem like any more work than a "regular" tow.

After all that, Erin was finished packing and ready to load up the trailer. We loaded all his stuff, Erin gave the Caldwells some replacement towels as a going-away present, we took some pictures (and had a few tears) and were ready to head out. Carrying one more box out to his car, Erin banged his knee really hard into the trailer hitch (OUCH!) but after a few minutes was well enough to drive.

The roads were pretty bad by then, even though it had stopped snowing. Being an open-air trailer, by the time we got to my house, most of the stuff had a nice gray slush glaze on it. But we managed to back the trailer in (my farm backing up skills are second-to-none!), clean stuff off, get it all unloaded, and by about 4:00pm Erin was starting the long task of unpacking. But he was moved in - hooray!

We're still getting things organized, but we are successfully sharing a closet (fortunately it's a big closet) and have gotten most of the kitchen in order (Erin has probably more than tripled the number of kitchen items I had). We have yet to organize all our books, and more importantly our video game collections :) Also, if anyone has any advice on where to look for lamps, we are looking for a matching set for our bedroom endtables.

Vacation part 2 - San Diego

I arrived in San Diego on Saturday morning at 10:30am (Pacific time) after about a 45-minute flight. I called my friend John to pick me up, and then stepped outside - WOW! It was about 55 when I left Phoenix, but it was about 85 in San Diego. John found me shortly and we headed back to his condo.

Now, my friend John is not one to sit around - even in college it seemed like we were always doing things - and every visit I've ever made to him since then (he's lived in Chicago and San Diego) is always full of fun things to do. This was no different - about half an hour after unloading my stuff, we headed over to pick up his fiance Lillian, and then downtown to eat lunch (a place called Basic [map website] which was great) and to Petco Park - the new baseball stadium. Only about 2 years old, they did a great job building this place - besides being within view of the ocean, they kept some of the old downtown buildings and incorporated them into the park. The event for that weekend was an International "7"s Rugby tournament - 7-on-7 rugby (apparently normal rugby is usually 14-on-14). I really don't know much about rugby, but it was fun to be outside in the sun and watch. There were probably 20-30 countries there playing, so people from all over the world were in the stadium. I finally decided rugby is a cross between football, ultimate frisbee, and a little basketball (at least rules wise). In reality it's probably the other way around - I think rugby has been around longer than any of those sports. Someday I will look up all the rules.

After a short trip to see "Mount Soledad" and its war memorial, we headed back to John's to clean up and change clothes, and off to the Hillcrest district for dinner, at an Italian restaurant called Arrivederci [map website]. Very small place, and VERY busy, we were lucky to get in after about 45 minutes. Food was great though. Then after that (it's about 9:30pm by then), downtown to meet up with some of John's friends and see the night life of San Diego. We stopped for coffee at Starbucks after parking (a little weird I know, but they validate parking and are the only place in the mall open at that time of night - plus the coffee didn't hurt to stay awake at that point) and then to a bar called The Bitter End [map website] in the Gaslamp District - a more upscale downtown bar with 3 levels. We managed to get into the upstairs VIP lounge (thanks to John's friend Eric) and hung out the rest of the night there. An interesting thing about the San Diego downtown, and San Diego in general - whenever I've gone out at night in the downtown or nighttime districts of other cities (such as Minneapolis) it always feels like everything is on the verge of chaos or rioting. San Diego is NOTHING like that - everyone seems so relaxed and laid back. Even at 1:30am when we left, there were lots of people out on the street leaving, but it just felt very casual. Must be all the sunshine :)

I actually slept until 11:00am the next day (combination of having a cold and a long day the day before) and so we decided to have brunch in the Pacific Beach district, at The Firehouse American Eatery [map website] which has an ocean view. After some ocean-side walking, we headed down to Mission Beach so they could show me where they spend most of their Sunday afternoons - the beach volleyball courts (there were lots of them!). Walked around on the beach some more, and then headed downtown again, this time to visit the Midway Aircraft Carrier museum [map website] which was not there the last time I visited. It was a neat place, and sometime I might want to go back and spend more time - definitely a piece of our military history. Since the sunlight was fading by that time, we did a quick trip to the Torrey Pines glider park, which was another great view of the ocean and the sunset. By then we were all very tired, and settled for just having dinner, at a place called Souplantation [map website], which sounds kinda weird, but is a soup/salad buffet place. Normally I avoid buffets because it's usually mediocre food, and too much of it. This place was great though - the salad bar was full of fresh vegetables and fixings, and the soup choices were really good. And it wouldn't be a buffet without a dessert area, but this was at least frozen yogurt.



Monday morning, Lillian dropped me off at the airport on her way to work, and I sadly took in one more breath of 75-degree sunny San Diego, and went inside to go through security and get on the plane for the 4 1/2 hour flight home. As we approached Minneapolis, the pilot said "and the temperature in Minneapolis is STUPID COLD -2 degrees" (his words) and I knew I was home :( Cousin Cindy was right there to pick me up as soon as I got my luggage. So I ended up home by 4:30, a little earlier than I had expected.

All in all a fun trip - the best trips always seem to be when I am visiting friends and family though. I certainly wouldn't have minded a few more days in San Diego, but spring has to be getting here soon, RIGHT? RIGHT????? :)

Vacation part 1 - Phoenix

Even though I got back Monday, it's taken me this long to "recover" from vacation :) I actually did have a cold most of the time I was there, but I didn't let that stop me - can't waste a vacation!

The vacation started Tuesday (2/5), when, after work, I drove up to Roseville to stay over night at my wonderful cousins' house - they live about 20 minutes from the airport and are always so generous in letting me stay there and giving me rides. Since it was "Super Tuesday", I spent most of the evening watching the incoming results of the elections - which didn't really decide much, but were interesting to see. I was disappointed that I didn't get to participate in the caucus - I have never done that since I've lived here - but the timing just didn't work out.

Wednesday morning at 5AM, Andy drove me to the airport. I always like to have extra time in case security is slow, but there were no worries that day - I was drinking my Caribou at the gate by 6:00. The flight took off promptly at 7:00, and landed at 9:30 (Mountain time) in Phoenix. The pilot announced that it was currently 44 degrees - kind of a surprise since when I left Minneapolis it was 22. But it was still nicer - sunny and warming up. I took the shuttle to the car rental depot - Phoenix has this awesome setup for rental cars, all in one big huge multi-level building, and at least with Hertz, all I had to do was go to their level, get in the car, and drive away (they check your ID at the gate). The car was a Pontiac G6, which I should not be allowed to drive because it makes me want to get one :) (but probably not practical in Minnesota winters).

After that, it was off to Peoria, to visit my friends Dave & Sharon. I worked with Dave for 9 years at IBM, and him and his wife moved to Arizona to retire (their 3 kids all live there now too). They live in a great retirement community in the Northwest part of the Phoenix area, complete with golf course, club house, pool, etc. They took me to lunch at the club house, and then off to do some hiking in the White Tank Mountain Regional Park. It ended up being a really nice day for hiking - high 50s and sunny. Sharon made a wonderful dinner with all my favorites (Dave learned most of my picky food preferences over the years). In all the between times, we caught up on IBM gossip and happenings, as well as what was going on with family and personal lives. As much as I miss them, I'm also very happy for them - they have a great setup and are close to their kids. Thursday morning we went to Thunderbird Park for some more hiking - getting warmer that day and still nice and sunny. We stopped off for lunch at B.J.'s Brewhouse in the Desert Ridge shopping center (one of my FAVORITE places in Phoenix, a huge outdoor mall area that I like to go to when I'm there).



After lunch I hopped in the car and headed down "the" 101 loop freeway to "the" 202 loop freeway toward Mesa to visit grandma (more on the "the" freeway joke later). I think half the fun of going to Phoenix for me is having a car and driving around everywhere - they have one of the most fascinating road systems, at least to me, and I just love exploring and finding stuff. The rental car had a built-in GPS navigator too which made it even more fun - sometimes I'd program in an address and see if the way I chose was the way it chose. Anyway, I got to grandma's around 2:00 after stopping off for some coffee. Grandma spends her winters in a wonderful retirement park in Mesa, and has been doing this for many years (over 20 for sure). I love to visit and love to see how active and fun everything is there - I actually hope some day I will have the opportunity to live somewhere like that when I retire - it is almost like a giant college dorm except everyone has a trailer or RV instead of a room. But there's always things going on - swimming, cards, music concerts, shuffleboard, and whatever other groups people form to do things. Grandma and I spent the afternoon catching up and talking about family news. Her friend Dick joined us for dinner, which we picked up at Marco's Pizza near the park. We ate and chatted some more - Dick being from Nebraska, we chatted about the Huskers, and we all put in our opinions on Shaquille O'Neal who just joined the Phoenix Suns.



Friday morning, while grandma was at a doctors appointment, I drove around Tempe, where Arizona State University is at. I went and found a nice Starbucks next to a park and had coffee and read the paper outside (even though it was only about 55 degrees it was still nice!) Grandma and I went to lunch at the Red Mountain Cafe. We then went down to watch a shuffleboard tournament - Dick plays a lot of shuffleboard, and even though he was out of this one, it was interesting to watch. They take their shuffleboard very seriously! Afterwards, we spent some more time talking until about 5:00, when I got back on "the" 202 and then "the" 101 to head to Scottsdale to meet my friends Jill & Andy (and their new son Ethan) for dinner at their house. I had never seen Ethan so I was excited to see him. It was fun to catch up with Jill and see how they are doing - and Ethan was non-stop entertainment too :) They have a nice house in a great new part of Scottsdale right next to the mountain.

Saturday morning it was time to return the rental car and take the short plane ride to San Diego. Fortunately the flight was at 10:00am, so plenty of time for sleeping and coffee :) This time it was good I got there early though, because even with about 2 hours to spare, I barely made the plane - Phoenix security is not as well organized or fast as Minneapolis. But I made it.

"the" freeway joke - it must be a southwest thing, or maybe a coastal thing, but everyone refers to their freeways as "the" and the number - "the 101", "the 5". I just find it amusing, it's as if their highway 101 is THE highway 101, better than any other one. They also name sections of their freeways, which I actually think is cool - "The Agua Fria Freeway", "The Red Mountain Freeway". I think we should start doing that here - 52 could be "The Mayo Brothers Freeway" or "The Zumbro Freeway" (a lot of times they use landmarks or rivers). Of course then things like I-35 in Northern Iowa would be named "The Bunch of Flat Land Freeway"...maybe not such a good idea :)

San Diego to come in part 2....

I hate the Income Tax system

I still promise a good blog on my trip last week, and I want to post pictures and have time to do that.

But today...I have to vent my frustration concerning the tax system - both the IRS end and the "preparation" end. Particularly this year, I have run into a lot of hurdles. I won't go into too many details, but there are all sorts of limits and strange rules concerning IRA and investments that I ran into head-on this year. In past years, I have used both TurboTax and TaxCut (last year the online version) with great success. After running into a particularly complicated IRA situation, I was advised by my financial advisor to use a tax professional this year. So I scheduled an appointment at H&R block, which I went to today. I was somewhat disappointed - the person more/less was using the same program I was using, and I don't believe was more knowledgeable about anything than I was (but probably had access to other professionals or documentation that I hadn't made an effort to go find). It's going to get done correctly, but I think with another hour or 2 of looking I could have done it myself.

The other frustration though is that a person can get to this point in the first place. The IRS system is overly complicated for one thing. But it also seems to penalize people like me, who have a good job, stay out of debt besides my house and car, and want to save money to pay for things and for retirement. The "rich" people who have or make a lot of money or investments have a lot of loopholes and tax shelters they can take advantage of. The people who make smaller incomes or are married/have kids have lower percentages and more deductions. That leaves the people like me, who percentage-wise, pay the most tax. I am not at all opposed to paying taxes - I personally believe it is beneficial to society for some things to be publicly funded, and that some amount of wealth redistribution is a fair and good thing for a society (although in some cases I'd rather give money to charity than pay taxes) . I just believe the system should be fairer across the board, and should not penalize people for being single and for wanting to save money. And I believe the system does NOT need to be so complicated - so much money is wasted on the sheer complexity of the IRS, not to mention tax "professionals" who have to deal with the complexity.

I could go on for hours but I'll leave it at that :)

The Naked Cowboy

I promise a big blog on my vacation is coming soon, but had to get this one in - glad to know that the patriotic right to sue isn't limited to anyone anymore:

http://www.yahoo.com/s/809106

Baihley Caldwell - In Memory

A sad Friday afternoon for Erin and I, as the family he lives with had to put their dog Baihley to sleep. Baihley had mouth cancer which came on and spread rapidly. I occasionally went and fed Baihley when they were out of town, and was over at their house often. She will be missed.

A Star is Born

OK, so I'm not Doc Severenson yet, but in less than two weeks I'm starting trumpet lessons. I got the trumpet in the mail Thursday night - a Kohlert 410L student model:




I took it out and proceeded to oil the valves, only to realize I didn't really know how to put them back in the right way. Fortunately for me they are pretty dummy-proof and youtube has many instructional videos on the subject. So far I am able to make some noise, nothing I would actually call "notes" but hey you gotta start somewhere.