This morning at work was a fun surprise. I gave a presentation at the all staff meeting and after I was done, I was crowned king of the e-store! Never have been crowned before, was pretty funny overall. There was a red chair/throne in front I was asked to sit in and the crowning took place. I thought at first perhaps we were playing a college drinking game or something.

On top of the crowning, also receive a nice bottle of Patron. Good times ahead!

Who says work cannot be fun?

King of the SBMA E-Store

Tonight was a sad night. I had to euthanize Mojo. She was sick a little earlier in the week and tonight she started to hemorrhage. I decided not to let the suffering continue and did what was right. She was a fun hamster who always kept to herself and did not like to be handled too much…reminds me of some people I know. She will be missed in the house for sure!

1st Day I Got Mojo

Woo hoo! Our online store project at work I have been working on over the last six months has now gone live! Our online shopping platform is fully integrated with our point of sale system with products and inventory being updated on a set schedule. Order processing is also done in our existing point of sale software, making the trasition to processing online orders pretty smooth! Overall, I am super happy with the way this project came out!

www.sbmastore.net

Tonight, my Dad took me out to see Foreigner, a truely classic rock band at the Chumash Casino. If you tune into KTYD, you are bound to hear at least two of theirs songs at any moment in town. Such hits as Urgent, Hot Blooded, Jukebox Hero….yeah you know the good shit. Big hair was flying around and so was the crowd. We sat in the “rowdy” section at the back and had the cougar crew all around. At times I felt as if I was in a SNL sketch…I would hear quotes from the people around me, such as: “Oh, he so looked at me”, “Wow, his playing is dreamy”, “Mmm, mmmm, that hair is flowing nicely tonight”. Overall it was a fun concert and it is pretty amazing how many Foreigner songs you actuall hear every day!

I took a photo below, but turned out pretty crappy as I just had my cell phone camera.

Today was a sad day. I went to take off my wireless headset at work and the microphone piece literally just snapped between my fingers. I don’t think I am any stronger than normal. It was weird, it just gave up on life. So there it was, the microphone just dangling by its two wires like a noodle. I will miss my headset, it has served me well. Hopefully I can get a partial replacement without having to replace the entire unit. Sigh.

Edison decided to replace a power pole today in the back of my apartment complex.  Power was out for about 8 hours and it was not a small task by any means.  Work required to remove the old power pole and transformer and install new gear.  Project required mutiple large trucks that I am still amazed they got behind the garages.  One truck worked on getting back there for over 20 minutes as it went back and forth over and over again (Austin Powers ring a bell?).  On the street over was a huge crane and rigging gear to install the new pole. 

Dad helped by reviewing progress with his 10 x 50 binoculars, I am pretty sure the Edison crew has never been watched like that before, haha.

Dad Reviewing Progress, Click to View More

This is a map that Josie made when I asked how to get to Ohio from Chicago.

Makes perfect sense!

Today was a fun day of driving and flying. I got up early and dropped Dan off at the Cleveland airport at 6:00 or so in the morning and then head to Chicago. Got to Chicago around 12:30 and had to wait an hour to check in (four hour minimum). I started to people watch, that is always fun.

Once checked in, I tried to go to some restaurants for lunch. Everything had a huge line…they have small restaurants like Chili’s Too, Johny Rockets, etc. I finally got in at a Fox sports bar and was happy. Ordered my food and then I had to use the restroom, so I asked the hostess if I could leave my table for a sec, she said sure and would cover my food. I got back and my food was gone and another group sitting at my table! Needless to say, I did not pay for that lunch. Then I could not find anywhere to get lunch at, so I ended up at Mc Donalds, yay. Don’t have that very often and now I remember why!

Four hours later I am in the air and flying home. Flight was nice and easy. Landed in Long Beach around 8 PM and got home to Santa Barbara at 10 PM or so. Feels good to be home, but had a great time and learned quite a bit from the great lands of IL and OH.

Jetting Above the Clouds, Click to View More

Today was a relaxing day in Ohio…nothing big planned. Got up around 10, had the Dan special for breakfast, he really has a great handle on canadian bacon. Steve called and asked if I wanted to go for a ride, of course I did. Dan took me to a gas station for the witness protection transfer and I was whisked away. First stop was an outlet mall that had a train you could ride. Was a beautiful day, about 82 degrees. I bought some Moosehead popcorn there…can’t pass up a deal buy 2, get 1 free.

After the outlet mall, we headed down the road for a while to do some sightseeing. I had no idea there were so many Amish folks in Ohio. Lots of horse and buggies. The country out there is absolutely beautiful….lots of farms, swamps, and natural gas pumps. I love the country roads…not very populated and everybody seems easy going. Peaceful to say the least.

The ride lasted for about a few hours and then was dropped off back at Dan’s for the fifth phase of witness protection transfer. My last night in Ohio…we ended up watching some football and just relaxing. Dan was quite the chef today and made his special Manhattan clam chowder with shrimp…was tasty! Also got caught up on laundry and packed up for tomorrow.

Tomorrow I am dropping Dan off at the airport in Cleveland around 6 AM and then I drive to Chicago for my flight back to California that leaves at 5:30 PM….be home by 8 PM. Going to definitely be an adjustement back after spending a few days here in Ohio.

I really cannot thank Dan, Steve, Randy, Ken, Mike, Justus and the rest of the Acuity-VCT team enough for all of their hospitality during this trip. Is very nice to know there are still great people out there in the world and I think I have found some of the best out in Ohio.

See you all back in California real soon!

The Outlet Mall, Click to View More

Ok, so with the exciting evening in Youngstown, we ended up checking into a Hampton Inn, so I woke up still being in Youngstown, Ohio. Ken came by and took us out to one of the local spots for breakfast, it was called “The Yankee.” Had a good ole Ohio breakfast…normal 2 eggs, sausage, etc. Crowd was mostly retired and it is important that they all keep the local businesses going. Youngstown use to be a thriving steel production town…but that industry is pretty much gone and now there are quite a few abandoned areas.

After breakfast, Dan took me over to Randy’s house and we went to the Rock n Roll Hall of Fame (RRHF) so I can see their analytics systems. I had no idea of what the RRHF would be like, it was pretty amazing. The building is all glass, really interesting design. It is right on the shore of Lake Erie and gives amazing views from the upper floors. The RRHF has great exhibitions of everything related to music from original lyrics, clothing, guitars, Elvis’ car, etc. They use analytics to protect open areas that are not behind plexi (guitars, wardrobes, cars) and when a motion alarm is triggered a loud announcement comes on and strobe lights are triggered. Very nice installation!

After visiting the RRHF, Randy and I went to get some lunch at Great Lakes Brewery and had their sausage platter (I am so going to die after this trip)…was told I had to have them as they are known for their sausages (that came out wrong). Also had one of their locally brewed beers, it was very tasty too. After lunch, did some Cleveland sight seeing and then went back to my headquarters at Dan’s.

After relaxing for a bit, watched a movie in Dan’s home theater….very nice! Has a projector system and since it is out in the country, you can really crank up the sound. That was a real treat Also toured the outside grounds a bit and really realized how large and fantastic it all really is. Woods, trails, man made ponds, etc….yep it is all here at Dan’s ranch.

Tomorrow is going to be a relaxing day and catching up on some laundry. Monday, I head back to Chicago in the morning and fly back to Long Beach in the late afternoon.

I definitely will say the Midwest is hands down the most friendly and home feeling type of place I have ever visited.

Rock n Roll Hall of Fame, Click to View More