back in North Carolina.....

Merry Christmas to all. Hope you had a great holiday with family and/or friends.

Since my last post almost 2 weeks ago after the cars were put on the truck, quite a bit has occurred. All of our stuff was packed and put on the truck last Monday (12/22) and Tuesday (12/23). We were able to close on the NC house early on Tuesday 12/23, with our real estate agent, Debbie, handling the paperwork for us (except for the mortgage, she wants us to pay that. ;-) ). Morgan, Cassie, myself and the 2 cats flew back Christmas Eve morning in an uneventful fashion. (The "relaxing" pills I had actually made me sleepy this time, so I had a good flight. Even when I was awake, I did not feel the anxiety I normally do, so maybe I won't be as bad as I was before when I do need to get on a plane.)

When we arrived in Raleigh on Christmas Eve night, we got out of the airport quickly enough so that after dropping the cats and our luggage off at the hotel, we were able to have dinner at one of our favorite local Italian places, Cinelli's.

Then Christmas morning, after some gifts for Cassie and breakfast, we went over to the new house. The house is great. Morgan really did an excellent job with it. It is much smaller then we are used to in prior homes, but it feels "right". I think we wandered around it for about 3 hours or so, just looking at all the different detail the builder put into it.

Christmas Day afternoon, we were able to spend some time with Casey and his family. I did not bring a tape measure, so he let me borrow one, and also gave us the chance to visit. Casey and his wife also gave us an air mattress (pretty comfortable, thanks) to borrow so we could sleep in the house. It was good to see him and all his family, including his daughter, Gillian, who was born while we were in San Diego.

Also got to speak with Kellie on Christmas night. We hope to see her family sometime during the week.

Then Friday and Saturday it has been shopping for needed items and internet and DirecTV installations. Also on Saturday, our personal cars arrived. So we are getting there, slowly, but surely.

The moving truck driver said they may show up Monday with the truck, but I am expecting it Tuesday. Monday seems too fast, because he told me he was spending Christmas Day in San Diego before heading straight to us. I won't complain if it is Monday, but we will see.

Ok, done for now. If I don't post prior to Thursday, have a Happy and Safe New Year.

Until the next time.....

Thank You CRB.....

Here is my thank you note that I gave to the pastors over at The Church at Rancho Bernardo. I will keep it up as the second post in line until the end of the year. It might be a little long for one sitting. :-)

Thank you!!!

Dear CRB,

I wanted to give you and all the people at CRB a giant thank you for what you have done this past year for me, Morgan, and our daughter Cassie. Unfortunately, I say this thank you as we also say good bye. We will be moving from San Diego, and returning back to North Carolina, sometime around the Christmas / New Year holidays.

I want to apologize now for the length of this letter, as I know once I start talking about how my (our) life has changed since we walked through this doors last December, and the journey it took to get here, it is hard for me to stop and keep it short.

I grew up Catholic, and was a weekly church attendee, but did not really grasp anything from it. I tried while I attended St. John’s University, but still nothing.

Fast forward to 2003. During the year, I was treated for three stress related ailments, including a trip to the hospital for chest pain. Luckily, not a heart attack, just anxiety and stress. I was a workaholic, not paying enough attention to my loving wife, and always seemed to be upset with my child.

Part to improve her job, and part to save me from myself, Morgan took a job, in March 2004, here in San Diego that forced me to sell my practice, move and be a “kept man”. Sounds like paradise, and it should have been. But less then three months after getting here I was crashing, and in a downwards spiral. Nothing was right. I was unhappy and I was completely miserable. I returned to North Carolina without Morgan, as she was not able to leave her job at the time.

As soon as Cassie and I returned to North Carolina, I got the feeling that I needed to get myself out of this hole, and decided to return to church. We attended a small Southern Baptist church in the neighborhood, and it did help me start to get things back together. Ten months later, in July 2005, Morgan was able to get her employer to agree to let her move back to NC, and still keep her job.

Sounds great, and that should be the end of the story. Well, it wasn’t. Our family life improved, and I was becoming a better person, husband and father, but I was still far away from Jesus. Though I attended church, I was lost there. I did not feel I was worthy of a relationship with Jesus. I did not know how to ask about it, and I was not getting any guidance. Each week the Pastor spoke, I kept on feeling that there was no way I could get there. I was not like the people in the church sitting around me.

Then in only the way God can make it happen, things started to change. When Cassie started second grade in September 2005 at the Christian school she had previously attended before our move, we were introduced to a great teacher, and a now a great friend, Kellie. Kellie and her husband, Steve, are Christians of deep faith, and although we were “not like them” in terms of our faith at the time, Kellie kind of took me under her wing in helping me about starting a relationship with Jesus, and also became very friendly with Morgan, as Morgan helped in the classroom, they spoke about scrapbooking and other things. We got along so well, and felt so close to them, they are now Cassie’s Godparents.

Kellie would give me different lines of scripture for when I had stress or other self induced problems come up. Those were the start of a head shaking journey.

Everything was going very well for us in NC, but at the start of 2007 there was something telling me that we needed to return to San Diego. I mentioned it to Morgan, and remembering the terrible time I had here, and the bumbling, loony idiot that I was the first time, I think she figured I was ready to crack up again.

All this time, I was still attending the little Baptist church, and Kellie was still giving me scripture, but I did not have a relationship with Jesus. I was barely scratching the surface.

Well, after tax season, I brought back up the move to San Diego, and again Morgan dismissed it, but this time we actually discussed it a bit, but came to the conclusion that we did not need to try it again. Well, God has something in mind, he does not give up, and after a late July week of travel (Morgan was commuting back and forth to San Diego 8 times a year) which was not pleasant, I brought up the move to San Diego thing again. This time Morgan said yes, but we would not leave until our house in NC sold. The house was sold within three weeks, and then three weeks later, we were in San Diego.

When we told Kellie about us moving, although she was upset to see us leave, she kept telling me that she could “feel” that we needed to go, and something great was going to happen. She said there was a purpose for it.

We moved, and all was good, or at least I thought so. Then in November, only 2 months after being here, I was back on the downward spiral that occurred back in 2005, and was depressed again. I tried by reading The Bible, and at the same time I was trying different area churches, but something was missing. Even after Morgan and I thought we found what we thought was the “right” church, and started attending together, I was not satisfied. It all came to a head in late November, when I told Morgan I could not stay out here and wanted to get out of here. How she did not beat me there on the spot, and bury me in the backyard is a miracle. Instead we talked, and while talking I mentioned that a mom from Cassie’s swim team told me about another church, close to the house, that we could try. That church was CRB.

I will say from the first day we stepped into this church that first week of December, all three us have had our lives change. It started the first evening we heard the music and Harry speak. Morgan and I left and could not stop talking about how “different” this church seemed. In the coming weeks, we heard from Ken and Jeanette, and each time we talked to each other about the message, and how it seemed to apply to us. Then we showed up for Christmas Eve and were blown away by the talent and “feeling” the church was giving us. The next week was Ken’s “silent message”, and again Morgan and I spoke about what was being done here in the church.

I was reading my Bible more, and Jesus was calling me, but I just was not ready to take the step. That changed after a Saturday night service. That was the service where Jeanette spoke about God’s healing, and after the service asked those of us in pain to come up front for healing. I had terrible neck and shoulder pain for the past year that became more extreme during tax season. At the same time, my step-father was diagnosed with throat cancer, so I told Morgan that I did not deserve healing when others were in worst shape. She basically pushed me out of the seat towards Jeanette (now you know why I cherish Morgan so much). Well, I told Jeanette my story about the pain, and she put her hands on me, and we prayed. Sunday morning I felt better, and on Monday morning I no longer had any pain. That is when I finally said, “Ok, you got me”. At that point I knew what was being told to me and done for me, and I gave myself to Jesus, and let him into my heart.

From there we formally joined the church, and would never look back.

Morgan and I talk about the message of the service almost every week, and can use or see it in our lives each time. That goes for Harry, Jeanette, or any of the wonderful guest speakers that we had during the year. All have left an impression on me.

During this year, we have met many great people, and participated in many different church events. Back in March, we were blessed to meet up with Alisa and Tony DiLorenzo in a parenting class with was lead by Pastor Faye. Now we are part of their small group, and have really enjoyed them and the others in the group. Both Morgan and I have taken Dennis’ New Believer’s Guide to the Bible, and have absolutely enjoyed it. Morgan had joined up with the Motorheads, while I have become part of the Eternal Riders. And let me just say that this is a great group, and is lead by two great people in Randy and Linda Howell.

But, the biggest day during this past year was on Sunday, August 17th. Two weeks prior to our 17th wedding anniversary, Morgan and I were Baptized together, along with many others from CRB, in the Pacific Ocean. That was an amazing day, and being able to be next to Morgan, and have it done together, just made it even more special.

CRB has also taught me that being a Christian does not mean you will be perfect all the time, or that you might not come with some prior baggage. I have been shown and taught here that Jesus will love me, and others will help me in my journey, even with some “bumps in the road” getting here, and further along later on the ride. Not all will be smooth, but as long as you get back on the path when you do hit some bumps, all will be good.

Now it is time to say goodbye and thank you. Kellie was correct. There was a reason for our return to San Diego, and it was a wonderful reason. We are going to miss all of you tremendously, but we also know that the church and all of you will be with us forever. What you have done for me, and my family will never be forgotten.

Thank you.

Sal

bye, bye cars.....

I guess we can say that the moving officially started today. All of our cars were put on trucks/carriers and are on their way cross country to meet up with us in NC.

It started at 8am this morning when the gentleman came to take the Viper. I hate driving that thing, but with Morgan working, I had to take it up around the block to the carrier. It was a pretty large enclosed carrier, and the driver, Rich, was a nice guy. He has so many stops to make, he won't be delivering it back to us until about the 29th of the month.

Then in the early afternoon the other truck came to take the Pathfinder and Sportrac. Once we emptied them out our our important stuff, and put back in stuff we wanted in them (I put all my motorcycle extras in mine, while Morgan snuck in her cooking liquors that movers will not take), that was it. The driver, Al, started loading them up, and our part was done.

He will actually get across early, and wanted to know if he could drop them off on the 23rd. I told him "yes", but nobody would be there to pay him, so he will wait until Friday the 26th instead. Good idea. :-)

Unless some sort of "surprise" happens (which would only be of the bad variety), they are going to close on the house next week on Tuesday, December 23rd. Now I will see if I can move up some of the installations. Hopefully one or two can be moved. I also see a very large BJ's Warehouse trip that first weekend.

Otherwise, things are winding down pretty normally. Need to get a little "January work" done for a few clients now so that it is sitting in my computer, and ready to "spit out", once I start working again on January 5th.

The following Christmas poem was emailed to me by Barney (who's mom, Barbara sent it to him), who along with his wife, Jamie, has been part of Morgan's and my small group at church. Barney also took the New Believers Guide to the Bible class with me. (Both he and I looked for an author or reference, but did not find anyone to give the proper credit to for writing this.)

It started with Mary, so humble and mild, With the heart of a woman and the faith of a child.
She rose above anything she might have feared To answer "Amen" when the angel appeared.
And on that first Christmas, in spite of that cold, A sweet newborn baby was all hers to hold.
Strangers and shepherds, ignoring their sheep, Watched while she rocked little Jesus to sleep.
What joys we can known, what a miracle starts, When we, too, can say yes to God in our hearts!

Until the next time.....

starting to say goodbye.....

The days keep rolling along, and about 3 weeks from now we will be settled and almost unpacked in our new home back in NC. The house is now finished, and our friend / real estate agent, Debbie, will be inspecting it on Monday, along with a house inspector. If there are no major issues, it is possible they may move up the closing to Christmas Eve, with Debbie handling things at the attorney's office, while Morgan and I just sign and FedEx any paperwork prior to then. If possible, that would be great, because we could hit Fred's Beds (for Cassie's new bed), BJs, Best Buy, and other places and start filling house while we have free time until the movers arrive.

Tonight is also our last regular service at CRB. Next week start the Christmas Eve musical services. We will be able to see Sunday morning Christmas Eve performance next week, but that will be it. With the movers in house all day Monday and Tuesday, we will probably not have the time to leave.

I'm quite a bit "bummed" about this being our last "live" service here for a while. It will be nice to get the DVDs and hear Harry speak, but it obliviously will not be the same. I already told him to expect email questions from me. :-)

Pastor Harry has asked Morgan, Cassie and I to meet them after services tonight, as they want to get together for a prayer for us. I thought that was very nice of them, but as I have said many times, these are very nice people. Last week when I went up to just say "hello" to Harry after the service, he had not even come down off the stage to greet me before he was telling me how sad he/they are to see us leave. It really made me feel good to hear that from him. We also talked about not being able to get a last motorcycle ride in together, as schedules have made it difficult to do.

I'll make sure I post more this week about what is going on as we get ready to leave. Cars start being hauled away early in the week, then it will be us packing personal stuff to travel with, packing zip locks to make the unpack easier (will explain later in the week), and then the packers and movers.

I am also going to post my thank you note that I had given to the pastors over at CRB. I am going to keep it below any current post until the end of the year. It was 3 pages long, so you may want to read it in pieces. :-)

Until the next time.....

it's not the lie, but the coverup.....

Yes, I have been lazy in updating this blog. With tax season coming here in another four weeks or so, this will be a sparse space for updates until late April.

Two weeks from tonight we will back in NC. Two Weeks?!?! Pretty much ready, just tying up all those little loose ends that are annoying (well, at least annoying to me). I can think of it this way also, three weeks from today and will be all set up in the new house. Except for some unpacking. OK lots of unpacking.

Glad to see that someone is able to make a buck in this tough economy. Who knew putting a Senate seat up on Ebay wasn't legal? This story has so many layers, it is comical. At the top of the "funny" scale is the arrogance of the Illinois Governor. Blagojevich even called out the Feds the day before his arrest, saying he was "clean".

Then Jesse Jackson, Jr.'s name has shown up. Let's see if dad can get him out of this mess, or if dad ends of having a hand in this story. Jackson spoke about the Senate seat with Blagajevich on Monday, just hours before the Governor was taken by the Feds.

Those two, and the corrupt nature of Chicago and Illinois being told to another generation are the "funny" part. There is already one not funny part to me.

What the press will focus on is President-elect Obama's role in this situation. I am not saying Obama knew about the "pay for play", and I believe he had no knowledge of the "sale". But he quickly said on Tuesday that neither he or his staff had spoken to Blagajevich about the Senate seat. First, I find that virtually impossible to believe. You give up your seat because you are becoming POTUS, there is one man that decides who fills that seat, and you are saying that you or your staff never said "boo", about it?

Seems there are quotes from Obama Campaign Manager, David Axelrod, speaking to reporters a week or so ago stating otherwise. But yesterday, Axelrod says he spoke "out of turn", and he was incorrect in saying Obama staff had spoken with anyone from the Illinois Governor's staff. Every word comes out of "Obama people" mouths like reading from a script, and all of a sudden Axelrod made a comment in error, on a subject which all knew the answer to before the question was asked? It does not pass the "smell test".

What I want is honesty, and we are not getting it. Why tell the press nobody has spoken to Blagevich? (Senator Biden and Senator Clinton have spoken with their governors about who they would "like" to fill their seats. Does not mean it will happen, but you know they gave a recommendation.) Nobody accused you of looking for your "share". As stated above, it would be natural to make a recommendation.

Obama has no track record to fall back on, and all that "political capital" he won on November 4th will dry up faster then water in the Sahara if this administration is caught covering up something that needs no cover up. Those people that voted for him for "change" will turn against him in a heartbeat if "change" means having a scandal come up even before the Inauguration.

Please, just tell us the truth. We, as a country, can't afford to go into this with the "hope" that you are not lying to us.

USA Today article about homeowners missing mortgage payments on purpose so that they "could" become eligible for government assistance if it becomes available to them. Do pride and honor in oneself ever have a chance of making a comeback in our society?

My Hurricanes are stinking up the place. Not going to rant about them, just hope things get better once we get back to NC.

- Love the Prince of Persia series. Cassie loved PoP: Sands of Time. Need to pick up this newest version.
- Just picked up Left 4 Dead. I like shooting zombies.
- Any of these guys could & should win the Heisman.

Until the next time.....

spend or save (part 2).....

Just to follow up on yesterday's post, here is a much more well written article (then my babbling) on spending and the holiday season with relation to the economic times we are facing.

Until the next time.....

spend or save.....

In the simplest terms, this economic "crisis" was caused because people spent more then what they could afford. Be that housing, "stuff" to go into the house, extra cars, and vacations. Credit was "cheap", car loans and credit card applications being approved by just signing your name to a piece of paper. Most never stopped to think that this bill would eventually have to be paid. Well, we all know the bill was finally presented, and what has happened since.

Somewhere I read a statistic that the average American spent 106% of their total income each year for the past 6 years. Now, that is average, so if you include someone like Morgan and myself (and I'm sure many of you reading) who actually save money each year, that number gets skewed much higher.

Since the "crash" of the market in September when people finally started to realize that this was a widespread problem, many Americans have actually cut back their spending and are actually saving a few dollars. Whether it be to actually save, or to pay off debt, people are not spending as much as they did before.

Hooray for savers, you say. Well, you would think so, but if you turn on the news, you keep seeing stories that because people are not spending, but that it is actually bad for the economy. Huh? If we spend, we get the mess we are currently in, and if we save, we make it worse?

For me, this is mostly "media hype" because we are in the Christmas season. People need to save, and should save. For as much as many went overboard in spending, they might go the opposite in their savings. In my mind, that is a good thing. It will all level out over time, and the country will eventually be OK, but I think these "bad times" are a good thing, if it gets people to change their habits, take some time before purchasing, and make adjustments in their lives.

Yes, less spending will keep the economy in a lull for a longer time, but I feel that this is the best way to get out of this mess. A smart, slow recovery to "normal" is more important and better in the long run than a speedy and reckless one. I fear that if we do recover from this too fast, people will forget, and get back into bad habits. Don't believe that, think about how much the talk for alternative fuels and autos has calmed down with gas under $2 a gallon.

I feel it is irresponsible the way the government and the media are handling educating people on this economic situation. So, don't listen to the hype. Saving and spending less is a good thing. The economy will eventually recover (maybe slower than Washington and Wall Street want, but who cares) whether you spend frivolously on that iPod, or not. But, if it is frivolous, will your own economy recover?

Until the next time.....

old is new again.....

Well, I mentioned it in my last post, and I have written about it quite a few times since the end of last season, but The Carolina Hurricanes finally fired Coach Peter Laviolette. What I didn't mention, and did not think would occur, is that the team has decided to replace Laviolette with the man that he replaced, Paul Maurice. The hiring of Maurice is strange, but with only four players still here from the last day he was here, it is almost like he is coaching a new team anyway.

This has Jim Rutherford's (Canes' GM) fingers all over it. Yes, the team has not been consistent, but when your squad constantly looks like a MASH unit, it is not going to be. There were lucky to only miss the last two playoffs by 2 points each. It could have and should been much worse. Rutherford was not happy with Laviolette after they won the Stanley Cup, and Laviolette's contract had expired. Rutherford had to sign him to that nice long (and expensive) five year deal, or risk losing him to another team (probably his hometown Bruins) right after the greatest time in the franchise's history.

Well, let's hope Coach Maurice can light that spark that has been missing, and that the team can stay healthy for the remainder of the season. As for Coach Laviolette, he has 2 1/2 years of salary coming his way, but I expect him to behind some teams bench before the puck drops next season.

Starting tomorrow afternoon, Cassie will be taking voice lessons taught by a member of our church. She will only be able to take three weeks worth of lessons, but that will be just enough time to let us know if she is serious or not, for when we return to NC.

Tomorrow night, Morgan and I continue with our small group at church. It is the same couples as the last group, except we have one new couple, who replaced the couple that is just about ready to have their first child. This is a quick four week group, and we are studying "The Life of Mary".

Three weeks from tonight we will be back east. Where has this time flown to?

Sorry, I have been lazy with the writing and postings. I think after all the writing I did before and after the election, and with so much going on with us and the move, I am a little worn out. But I do "owe" you my thank you note to CRB.

Plus I want to talk about the fact that it is OK to save your money this holiday season, even if the media is telling you to spend or things will get worse. Ugh!

Until the next time.....