stuff before move.....

Hope you had a nice Thanksgiving with either friends or family (or both). We had a nice quiet time with a few friends. It was nice. Did not go anywhere on "Black Friday", though I saw from Casey's posts he purchased a new TV.

If you did not see, there was a tragedy at the WalMart in Valley Stream, New York (last town on Long Island before it becomes "the city"). Let's see what legal charges and lawsuits come out of this event. Maybe then some retailer will think twice before doing these "teaser" ads next year.

I have been doing a ton of little things concerning the office, the upcoming tax season, the move, and the new house. There are so many little things in different areas that need to be done, it seems like I can't get any of the "piles" to get any lower. I finally decided to take care of the office / tax season first, and leave the house / move for after the holiday.

At this time of year, I have to get "year-end notes" to the business clients so that, so that they can start getting those last few figures together to tie in their year-end numbers. With our short schedule (25 days from today we leave SD) I just needed to get this done earlier then usual, but at least it is "off my desk".

The other project I finished was getting a letter to all my clients with the new office information. Luckily, I have a good "employee" (who didn't complain too much) who labeled and stuffed about 250 envelopes. Plus, she gets paid in parental love. Once the new business cards come in, we'll throw them in, close the envelopes and mail them out.

On the house front, I have been moving around on getting a mortgage. We are already approved and set-up with the NC State Employees Credit Union, as Morgan had banked with them forever, and we have always used them for our mortgages since we moved to NC in 1993. Well, a client through a "fly into the ointment", and has been able to get me a lower rate (by 3/8%), and lower fees (about $400). It is hard for us to move from SECU, but for a 20 year mortgage, this is a $17,000 savings. Can't pass that up. If SECU lowers the rate in the next week or so, we'll stay with them, otherwise we will have to cancel the application with them.

Then yesterday, my client's site changed their 15 year mortgage to under 5%, so that is now something else for me to think about. Ugh!

Was able to get new phone numbers set up, and internet service installed the afternoon after we close on the house. If I wasn't forced to have a "land line" because of the office, I would look at alternatives, because basic phone service pricing is out of control. Could have sworn in I remember AT&T being broken up years ago for having a monopoly, and now after all these years, they are back again to controlling it all.

The next morning, DirecTV will be installed. I hope I have the sightlines for the dish to get a signal. I would have thought about using Time Warner, but their high definition service and their HD-DVR has just been a nightmare as of late. Between the boxes not recording because they need a "reboot", or they just rebooting on their own at any given time, we have had more problems with Time Warner Cable in the past 16 months, then I ever had with DirecTV in the ten years time I subscribed to them.

We also hope on that evening after we close to get our refrigerator and Cassie's bed delivered to the house. And maybe if we get lucky, also have the blinds installed that afternoon/evening.

OK, my head hurts again just thinking about it, so I'll stop for now. :-)

The Hurricanes beat the Flyers yesterday in overtime, 3-2, which snapped the Canes 3 game losing streak, as well as the Flyers' 6 game winning streak. I know the Canes have injuries, but they better get more consistent if they want to make the playoffs, and not be looking from the outside for the third straight year. Also they need to win soon to keep Coach Laviolette around. He is not on the greatest relationship terms with management (undeservedly so), so any prolonged slump might be the end for him.

- These people really love "A Christmas Story".
- The iPhone killer? Blackberry & Verizon hope so.
- Really, a Shrek Christmas special?

Until the next time.....

giving thanks.....

Yes, this is going to be one of the "this is what I'm thankful for posts". Very original, don't you think? ;-)

My "thanks" on this day before Thanksgiving 2008.

- My loving wife, Morgan, who I love more and more each day.
- My daughter, Cassie, who gives me great joy. Even if sometimes I think she really wants to see my head explode. ;-)
- God, Jesus, and my salvation.
- Mine and my family's health.
- My church, CRB.
- Casey & Heather, Kellie & Steve, Pastor Harry, Pastor Jeanette and Gerry, Tony & Alisa, Tim, Clay & Ronna, Randy & Linda.
- The time I got to spend with my dad (still miss you big time 13 years later), even if it was way too short..
- Living in the greatest country in the world.

For the more frivolous thanks:
- The wonderful new house that is being built for our family. It will be the place we start an even better phase of our life together.
- My motorcycle and any ride, whether it be 2 miles or 150 miles. There is nothing better.
- My XBOX 360 and all my buddies (they aren't frivolous, but the gaming is) over at Geezer Gamers. One of the few places I like being "social".
- Hockey. Greatest game on earth, even if most of the planet doesn't know it.
- ESPN. Hey, I said frivolous. :-)

- Pretty much everyone and everything else in my life. Whether it is a person, or a thing, I think we can all look around and "bump" into thankful pieces of our life at every turn.

Have a great Thanksgiving.

Until the next time.....

discriminate.....

Storytime:

All names, descriptions, adjectives associated with the story have been removed for your protection. :-)

A person is looking for a particular service. This person finds a company who provides a service almost like the one they want, but not exactly. Person gets upset that company will not meet his needs and provide this service. Person sues company for them to change their business plan (which in of itself is not illegal in any way) to meet his needs. The Attorney General where this person lives agrees with them, and also sues company to change their business ways. Not to lose in court, company agrees to change their ways to accommodate person.

Moral of story is that a person can make a company change its business practice, if that person does not want to look for alternative businesses that will accommodate his needs/wants.

End of story:

Outraged? Think I am making this up?

I wish I was, but I am not. As a matter of fact, this same exact scenario happened this week. On Tuesday eHarmony, after a three year court battle, agreed to start an "alternative" website to their own that will match up people looking for a same-sex companion.

Let me start by saying that this has absolutely nothing to do with gay or straight. If you think this rant does, please go back and re-read "the story". There is a reason I made it "vanilla" and did not include the actual events. The reason is because they do not matter.

Substitute "person" with "vegetarian", and "company" with "McDonald's", and it is the same story.

How can this be? How in this country have we come to where a business can be forced to change its business practices to accommodate a service that they did not want to provide?

It is not like eHarmony is a monopoly and the only online dating service available in the world. (In fact, besides the many other heterosexual dating sites, there are a numerous amount of gay/lesbian sites.) If that were the case, and eHarmony was a monopoly, I would agree with the ruling, but there were other options available to this man, and he chose not to pursue them, but to instead shoehorned his way into having a company change by bringing them to court.

The State of New Jersey, who also sued eHarmony, claims this was discrimination. No, discrimination would have been if he applied for a job, and was turned down because he was gay. Discrimination was and still would be defined as myself and a black person going to a restaurant, and me being served a hamburger, while they were told they could not eat there. That is discrimination. This was the fact that the company he went to did not sell the service/product he was looking for.

Again, strip away the "descriptions". Could a "little person" sue a Big & Tall shop for not having clothes in his size? Could an obese person sue a "Petite Boutique" for not carrying XXL clothing? These are people who could be legitimately discriminated against, and quite possibly are because of their physical appearance.

Could I sue a Jewish book store for not carrying a Bible, or vice versa if a Jewish person came into a Christian store looking for a Torah? Would that be religious discrimination?

This ruling, if allowed to stand (which it seems it will because eHarmony settled), and if not challenged, opens the door to many other possible combinations. Over-reacting? Sounds crazy?

I don't prepare foreign tax returns. Could a Arab or Muslim, legal alien, demand that I prepare those type of returns, or call me for discriminating against them?

Discrimination is out in the world, and it is a terrible thing. It has a long and disgusting history as part of this country. True discrimination has no place in this world. This is not discrimination.

My fear is that stories like this one will "water down" true discrimination that happens, and eventually we will turn our back on those truly in help against it.

Again. A person went to a store, did not find what he was looking for, so he sued store to carry the item. Think about it the next time you go to Best Buy looking to purchase that John Deere Lawnmower.

Until the next time.....

deliberate.....

Morgan's trial is finally over. Well, not "her" trial, but the trial she is a juror on. Because she is an alternate, she is "on call" for now if she is needed because a juror has to leave, or when they are finally ready to deliver a verdict. She has really enjoyed her time during this case. I on the other hand, probably would not have made it out of the questionnaire stage.

Have almost all of the different utilities, etc. taken care of to be shut off here in San Diego, and turned on in NC. Biggest hassle is our Earthlink/Mindspring service. Because we don't want to change email addresses (we have had them since 1995), we need to give Earthlink notice that we are moving. That way when we cancel Time Warner here in San Diego it does not also cancel Earthlink (they are tied in together as our ISP is considered Earthlink on Time Warner). That way our Earthlink account stays "open" during the time we are without internet service until TW hooks us up back in NC.

Confusing, but easier this time because I did a live chat with Earthlink to get my "move" set up. Much better than trying to speak with a customer service representative that I can't understand.

Flying into NC on Christmas Eve means not being able to run to any stores for the first day and half, so we are having Kellie catch some UPS packages from us with some basics, and run to PetSmart (when I remember to send her a check) so the cats will have what they need. We really appreciate the helping hand.

Haven't found anything yet, but I am sure we will be employing Casey for something also. ;-)

We had our monthly church motorcycle ride on Sunday. I have to say it was the best one yet. I thought the views a couple of months ago when we came towards the Pacific was great, but this was even better. We went up the mountains towards Julian (where Morgan, Cassie and I go sometimes), and instead of going into town, we went up to the top (over 5000 feet) and descended down the other side towards the valley and desert town of Boreggo Springs.

The views from the top of the mountain coming down in the desert were spectacular. Seeing the desert then over to other mountains and the colors was just amazing. God's work in creating this beauty just never ceases to amaze.

After eating lunch at Carlee's in Boreggo Springs we headed back home. This took us again from the warm desert, up the mountains to cool temperatures at 5000 feet, through the heart of Julian, then back down our normal path to the suburbs of San Diego, where we all live.

It was the best 150 miles I have spent on the bike. Only thing that could have added to the day would have been finishing off the ride at the Pacific, but that's just getting greedy.

These rides with these very nice and special people will be, along with the church itself, the pieces I will miss most about leaving here.

One of the guys, Hugh, brought along his 14 year old daughter. She had only been on the back of a bike a couple of times for trips around the block, and decided she wanted to go for a long ride with daddy. She had a blast, and I can't wait until I get to do the same with Cassie.

Glad to see the bailout really helping the economy and stock market. Yikes! I will say this though, and that is patience. Where the market is today was last seen in 2003. Only 5 years ago. Not 50 years. So, please be patient, and it will turn around. It is going to be bumpy, but it will end eventually.

As I have said before, in a "24 hours news channel / internet" world, all events get so much play (especially bad news), they seem worse then they really are if you had time to sit back and digest them.

- Could oil drop down below $50 a barrel?
- Hurricanes have won two in a row. This time, 2-1 over the Canadiens.
- PC Magazine will be online only. Not too long before a majority will be following suite.

Until the next time.....

eat and shop.....

Is there anything more annoying then trying to do some quick shopping in Costco (or BJs, or Sam's, etc.) and have the aisles clogged with shoppers who have also decided to eat a free 3000 calorie, 200 grams of fat lunch by snacking all the "samples"? All I wanted was my breakfast bards and a couple of cases of water, and it seemed I had to move my cart like I was going through a mine field. If it wasn't the 70 year old shuffling along while eating, it was dodging what was falling out of their mouths, because it seems the "law" that you also have to slow down and try to talk in the middle of the aisle, while you are stuffing your face all before arriving at the next course of the meal at the aisle end-cap. Ugh!

I bow down to Chris for being on top of this before I got completely on board concerning the bailouts. We now have Secretary of the Treasury, Henry Paulson kind of "winging it" and changing the rules as they go concerning where and how much of the bailout money will be distributed. Funny thing is, that all the "doom and gloom" was supposed to happen right away if we did nothing. Well, it's eight weeks since then, and we have really done nothing of substance with the bailout, and the earth did not implode like we were told it would.

On top of that, now we have cities (Detroit & Philadelphia to name tow) asking for a "bailout", and the granddaddy of them all, the three US automakers (Chrysler, Ford and GM) asking for $25 billion to help them out.

First, the cities. NO! Cut services, trim staff, and do what you have to do. Cut trash collection, go to a four day work week. Whatever is necessary.

As for the automakers. Even a bigger NO! Want to know the "Big 3's" biggest expense is these days? Legacy contracts with the United Automakers Workers (UAW). Chapter 11 bankruptcy would allow the automakers to "rework" themselves, renegotiate the contracts, and come out the other end leaner and more streamlined. It worked for the airlines, it can work for the autos.

I know the Democrats and Detroit are screaming about 3 million jobs being lost. Does anyone really believe that if all three closed their doors, that the factories would just sit there empty? Of course not. It would only be a matter of days before someone with money bought up the factories and supplies, hired the engineering brains of each company and then hired workers with reasonable contracts. Next thing you know, there would be efficient, innovative cars being made, and at competitive prices.

The only losers? The unions and union leaders because they can't see the forest through the trees, and are willing to dig their heels in and not help out the situation.

How come nobody is bothering to mention that Mercedes-Benz, Toyota, Honda and Nissan are all able to build cars here in the US, and are not in the same kind of trouble? Because it would mean admitting that they are working with non-union employees, and don't have 15% of their costs going to ridiculously negotiated contracts from long ago.

- How nice of Goldman Sachs to not give out bonuses this year.
- 007 takes in 70 (million dollars).
- Congratulations to Jimmie Johnson for NASCAR title #3.

Until the next time.....

impressions.....

Up to the point Morgan and I walked into CRB, I never thought I would be accepted as a Christian. Not by the people who were in those churches I, or we, visited over the last 35 years, and definitely, not by Jesus. Why? I had way too much baggage, and those people I saw and spoke with had none of that weighing them down. Or so I thought.

Growing up in the Northeast as Roman Catholic meant that even though you went to church each Sunday (or Saturday night), unless you were a clergyman, or named a Cardinal, Saint or the Pope, or one of the little old ladies clutching her Rosary Beads, you were going to hell. It seemed we just went to church to make the journey down easier.

I remember fear, threats, and lots of confessional booths. Not much else. As for the people, they had "issues" (Especially the men it seemed. Catholic women didn't talk about their problems, as their problems seemed to revolve around their husbands.) It probably did not help that my brother and I were dropped off at a church on our own, and then picked up afterwards. I don't blame my parents, but I don't think they realized what a setback (at least to me), that was in understanding religion.

Then after college and leaving the church for 18 years, I decide to get back into trying to find God by going to a Southern Baptist Church. Here all the people in the church were presented as perfect, or at least that was the impression they gave. Everybody seemed to be born the perfect Christian, and lead the perfect Christian life. I was back to thinking, "what am I trying to accomplish here with what I have behind me?".

I was intimidated, and afraid to come forward, because I believed how I had lived before would anchor me, and never let me get to where I wanted to go, and that was to a relationship with Jesus. I was afraid of someone hearing about my past, or present, and saying "No" to me. I needed to know that people like me could come to God, be forgiven, and then allowed to live a normal life that has Jesus at our side. I wasn't seeing or hearing that message.

Then we met people at CRB. Some of them were that "perfect" Christian, who grew up always in the church, and pretty much was on that "straight and narrow" path. But they said hello to us, and talked to us, not down at us, like I had felt before. (And before I go any further, no Kellie, you, or your family, or some others at WCA, never made me feel that way) Then we met others, and in discussions they told about drug, alcohol and other addictions, infidelities, betrayals and other "baggage" from their lives. They were willing to open up to me, to let me know that it was OK to have baggage, and that you can let it go and start a new chapter. I saw all these people together as Christians, and finally realized that "yes" I could be one of them. That was the lock that needed to be opened to finally allow myself to open up to God.

As silly as this may sound, it also helped me to learn that those I met and became friends with also enjoyed many of the same activities that I did. That includes some fellow game players, sport nuts, and of course motorcycle riders. Before CRB, I would have never dreamed of riding with fellow church members, including my Pastor.

My thoughts and impressions about "who" a Christian was, has changed 180 degrees these past 15 months, and even though it took a long time to get myself on the same page, it was well worth the wait.

Again, thanks for reading and letting me "talk" about what has gone on, and what I am thinking about.

Until the next time.....

I don't hate.....

First, a housecleaning item. Nate, if you looked in the comments after yours, I mentioned that I ride a 2007 Harley Sportster, and hope to eventually get a Heritage Softail Classic. I wasn't hiding what I ride from you. :-)

It is nine days since Election Day, and the most noise in the country is still about Proposition 8 passing here in California. Barack Obama winning the Presidential Election? That's so "yesterday". The "No" side of the vote is out in full throat, and it looks like there will be no backing down from them. We even had Melissa Etheridge claim that she would no longer be paying her California State Income Taxes because of the vote's outcome. Let's see how well that goes over in a state with a deep budget deficit.

Of course from reading, you come to find out that Prop 8 only passed because the Extreme Right-Wing Christian Zealots were against it, and we got all our bigoted, homophobic, "all gays should die" friends to join us in voting.

Of course, nothing could be further from the truth. While there may be some on the outer edges who may agree and wish the above, the overwhelming majority of us rebuke that type of thought and language. Christians have gay and lesbian people in our lives. I do, and I care about my friends and family that are homosexuals, and I wish absolutely no ill on them, but I also believe that they should not be joined in marriage. Marriage to me is as defined in the Bible, one man and one woman.

Actually, I have no problem with a legal document between two consenting adults that would give them some basic "rights" that have always been there for heterosexual couples. That includes, but only, being able to visit their partner in a hospital, because I believe that nobody should be denied seeing a loved one (whether you agree or disagree with their relationship) if him or her were in ICU or in their dying days. Again, just not a marriage.

I had this discussion with Pastor Harry last Tuesday during our meeting. I asked him if being a Christian meant I was supposed to shun my friends and family that are gay, and if my thoughts, like stated above, were wrong and against Christian beliefs. He told me "absolutely not", as we are not to turn anyone away, and my thoughts about some kind of civil agreement, were not out of line. We discussed that Jesus sat with tax collectors, prostitutes, and other sinners (and maybe even the occasional tax preparer :-) ).

I felt better after Pastor Harry and I spoke, because I felt I was right in loving my friends and family members, because they are my friends and family members, but at the same time as a Christian not approving of their lifestyle. But, I wanted the reassurance that my feelings were correct and inline with what I was reading in the Bible, and that I can separate the two.

OK, so I opened the door here for some discussion, and hopefully did not make anyone too uncomfortable. Do my friends and readers agree with above? Do my Christian friends and readers agree with what I have written?

The reason I started this was because I wanted to expand this over the next day or so to talk about how my perception has changed of who and what a Christian can be, and how I feel Christians are portrayed. Then that would give you a little better understanding when I bring over the thank you letter I presented to Pastor Harry at CRB.

Thank you for indulging me these next few posts.

Until the next time.....

our two cats.....

Casper - 10 years old


Leo - 17 years old

Really lazy today, but I took these pictures the other day after seeing cat pictures on the blog of Nate's sister, Angela, so I had to post them.

Nate was asking about what kind of motorcycle I have, as he also rides, but he had his ride stolen a few years ago. The strange part is, Casey also rides, but also had his ride stolen before we became friends. Who knows two guys, in two separate cities who don't ride now because their bikes were stolen?

Morgan is back to jury duty after two days off for Veteran's Day. She is enjoying her her time there (well as much as you can enjoy jury duty), but as an alternate, she could go through the whole trial, and not have a hand in the final decision.

We now have a solid closing date and time of Monday, December 29th at 11am. Now, I can start booking the satellite, internet, and telephone hook-ups. What fun!

OK, I'm done.

- The Hurricanes got crushed tonight, losing 5-1 to Washington.
- Hi-Def Flips.
- Hope I enjoy Quantum of Solace better then reviewers.

Until the next time.....

starting on the wrong foot.....

Today is Veteran's Day. To me, every day should be Veteran's and Memorial Day. These are the great, brave men and women who made this country what it was, is, and will be.

My lovely wife Morgan mentioned to me (and left a comment) that my congratulations to Barack Obama seemed more like a backhand compliment. It was not meant to be that way, but in looking at it, I did question more than congratulate. So, let me try again, and give President-Elect Obama my congratulations, and prayers as he leads this country for the next four years. I "hope" that he is able to "change" the ways of this great country.

Well, our dates are starting to fall into place. The movers will be packing up the house and the truck on December 22nd and 23rd. Morgan, Cassie, myself and the Leo & Casper (the cats) will be leaving San Diego on Christmas Eve morning and will arrive in Raleigh around 5pm. As for closing on the house, they are looking at the afternoon of Monday, December 29th, or the next morning, Tuesday, December 30th. Our stuff should arrive in NC sometime the 29th, 30th, or 31st, depending on the weather as they cross the country.

Now, I just need to firm up the cars and their transport. The motorcycle is going with our personal stuff in the moving truck.

The last of the items we wanted to sell, has left the house, as the bedroom set was sold and moved out of here early this afternoon. That is a big relief to not have to worry about moving and selling those items back in NC. It also make the house a much easier "move" for the moving company.

Found out from the ministry leader of the Eternal Riders that our ride this Sunday will be a nice and very long one. We will be going over the mountains and down into the desert for our day of riding. If the weather is right, we should go from needing long sleeves and a jacket to only short sleeves by the time we drop the 5000 feet in elevation. Should be fun, and I am looking forward to it as it will probably be my last ride with this group for a while.

Off to some "catch up" television with Morgan, and maybe some Gears of War afterwards, if I don't fall asleep. ;-)

- Some of my so called "friends" already trying the New XBOX Live. :-)
- Three days until new James Bond, Quantum of Solace.
- My wife and all of San Diego upset with Trevor being let go by Padres.

Until the next time.....

sold on Craigslist.....

OK, I got rid of the gray (I like gray), and changed up the colors. Please let me know what you think.

This Tuesday afternoon, we will have each of the items we were not putting in the new house sold and picked up thanks to Craigslist. The only items we are leaving up for sale are the washer/dryer, but if they don't sell it is not a big deal, as we only have them up there to lighten the moving weight.

The moving expenses will not be as bad as we thought because of quite a few factors, including the slow economy, new trucking laws started in 2008, which seems to have knocked down rates, and fuel prices falling. Plus we are returning with only what we want/need, so the load will be much lighter than previous times.

We began telling the people at church about us moving and the reaction has been overwhelming. This is making leaving a bit harder for us. After talking with quite a few people, many have reasons they visit NC, and will be adding us to their stops when in the state, so that also makes us feel pretty good. Morgan and I joked that we were hoping they said, "Good riddance, don't let the door hit you when you go", as it would make it easier for us to leave, but that has not happened. We have been blessed to meet such good people here at CRB.

Tuesday, I has a long meeting with Pastor Harry, about us moving, and what the church has meant to me, and to us as a family. I also gave him a 3 page "thank you" note which chronicled my journey, and the events that have occured these past 5+ years. He was so happy when I told him how much CRB has changed us and meant to us this past year, that I thought he was going to cry when I finished my story. Now, he is talking about me going up and giving my testimony in front of the church before we move away.

If 18 months ago you would have told me this story, I would have looked at you like you had 3 heads. What a ride it has been. I have a copy of the letter, and might post it here before we leave San Diego.

I picked up a new business client down in Atlanta. I had a business client move there from NC, and he recommended me to his brother and his brother's business partner, who were not happy with their previous accountant. My client has one of the lowest fees for a monthly client among my base, and with me changing my fee set-up for all new clients, this was going to be interesting. Why? I knew he expected his brother to pay the same low fee that he had been paying. Sure enough, I got a phone call from my original client asking why his brother was being charged more. I told him about my new fee schedule and that I had discounted his brother a little, because he was family (which I did). That got an OK from him, so I then pushed my luck and mentioned that I was going to be raising his fees when I return to NC to get all my "old" clients up to my current pricing levels, but that it would be done a little at a time. He said OK, at that was the end of the conversation.

So, I got a new client and was able to raise a fee all at the same time. The old me would have been a "wimp" and lowered the brother's fee down to the existing brother, just to keep the client happy, which would have made me upset when working on those clients.

I don't even want to get into the debacle that occurred last night in Washington with the Hurricanes. How you blow a lead with less than 3 minutes to play and come away with no points against a division rival? It just unthinkable. This one or two points will be forgotten come April, but if they miss the playoffs again by a point or two (like the past two seasons), they can look back at this game.

A quiet weekend of nothing and game playing ahead. Enjoy yours.

- "You got to move it, move it" Madagascar 2.
- I think, Gears of War 2 might mean a late night this weekend.
- One week until James Bond and Quantum of Solace.

Until the next time.....

changes.....

Yes, after a year, I changed up the template and colors of this blog. Not sure if I like it, after an hour of playing with it. Please let me know what you think. Is it easy to read? Go back to the old one? Try another one? Any input is appreciated. Thank you.

Until the next time.....

Congratulations Barack Obama.....

As I stated in my last piece about why I voted for John McCain, my world did not end, just because of an election result that I did not want to see. Yes, I am disappointed, but my "world" will go on the same, no matter who was elected.

As mentioned before, Morgan and I are not tied to any "party" when it comes to our careers, so we plug along, and keep the "ship" going straight. Some might say that is selfish, but as I have said, I believe in taking care of yourself, if you are capable of doing so, so why would I go against that belief when it comes to my family. That is not to say, I don't want the country to do well, as I do, but we are not tied to the economy, like some others might be.

That said, I again congratulate the new President-Elect on a well oiled campaign machine. We will never see a campaign run the "old fashioned" way anymore, but whether that is a good thing is something we will see. Obama spending $250 million (double McCain) has many eyebrows raised about future "purchasing of elections. Think you saw lots of ads this year, just wait if neither candidate takes public financing in 4 years, and both spend over $200 million.

Obama's speech last night was interesting. He spoke about this taking a while (maybe more than a term), hard work and sweat to get this country moving again. I am all for that, and I hope the words that I heard are his true words, and he means them, as these "centrist" ideas from the campaign and last night differ from his prior words (written or spoken) or voting records.

I also hope that his supporters heard these words, and really listened to them. I hope they realize that if he follows this course that this will not be a "snap of the fingers", and things will be great. Though some are obliviously thinking that his election is some magic elixir for their problems. I hope many others are more realistic, and will not be disappointed.

This country was built on hard work and sweat. You did the work, you made it "to the table". If you fell, there was help to get you upright again and headed in the right direction, but it was still up to you to take advantage of that help and make it "to the table". And for the few that just could not do it on your own, there was help to that table.

Some might say that we don't help enough that have fallen to get up and get guided in the right direction, and that may be true, which is "shame on us". But at the same time, there are way too many that try to claim they can't do it all, and take advantage of the system, and want to be picked up and placed with those have worked and sweated. Shame on them.

Also, what has changed dramatically over the years is that once at the table, everyone wants to be at the head of it. They want to "keep up with the Joneses." That attitude is a major factor in this credit mess people are in. How many are in "trouble" financially, but can look around at fancy cars, TVs, iPods, iPhones, and video game systems in their household?

His words last night spoke of personal reflection and responsibility. I hope he is true to them, and people listen.

If, once in office, Obama does decide to "go left", he will have trouble. It might not be with this Congress, but with the rest of America two years, then four years from now. This is still a "center / right" country. If you don't believe that, look at the majority of new house members and Senators, as they are either Moderate Republicans or Conservative Democrats. Go beyond that, and look at the ballot initiatives that voted to keep marriage defined as "one man / one woman". This election was a "shift" and message to the Republicans to get its act together, it was not a "swing" and mandate for the Liberals. To think that way would be foolish.

Though, I am already hearing rumblings about the Fairness Doctrine, and also the law to do away with secret ballots for unions, so maybe they are going to test the waters to see if the nation is still "starry eyed", and not paying attention.

So again, congratulations to Barack Obama. This administration has a tough road ahead of it. I hope and pray they do the right thing, and that his words last night ring true.

If not, you can be sure, I will let you know. :-)

Morgan has been on jury duty this week, and got called to be on the jury. About 150 people were in the pool, and she made it through. They say the case should wrap up by the 21st of this month, so that will mean she will miss about 3 weeks of work. Luckily, the station is OK with it, especially if she can use this "adventure" on the air when she returns.

Time to go through my "political junkie" withdrawals. :-)

- Law and Order is back. Hooray.
- The Beatles on Rock Band. Morgan says I'm old. :-(
- Hurricanes beat Maple Leafs in OT after blowing 3 goal lead.

Until the next time.....