Tank Saturday

So it did occur to me that Johnnie and Lisa do come back next week so this would be my last Saturday that I get to myself. I also note that it is the last day of July and that summer is now starting its last month until Labor Day. I told myself I'd get something done in the 3 weeks that I have a respite from having Johnnie around. I wanted to really get going with all the activity required to be in a position to retire by the end of the year. That means making sure I have an income stream. A VIABLE income stream. No dicking around with stock market investing like I did when I left USC Dentistry the summer of 2006. I didn't really have a viable plan then but then again I didn't really have a sense of urgency either.  I was just meandering lazily falling in love LOL. And I could never regret the best time in my life actually. So now I get to try it again only this time, I get another chance to do it right. And what do I have to do differently? To put something in motion. Back then I focused on learning and learning but I never really did anything. Not really. I feel like that's where I am today but I have FAR MORE RESOURCES now than I did back then. Everything is on YouTube or TikTok. First I have to consolidate my money buckets and then actually go trade. That is where the FEAR stuff kicks in. I also have to make sure I deal with THAT fear. Because I realize now that THAT FEAR is pretty fundamental and dates back way WAY back to much earlier times. And so knowing I have really just a week left... not that I couldn't do this when Johnnie is around but I need to have a systematic process and a plan so I don't get derailed like last time. And so I looked at all my accounts and decided what I would need to consolidate. I need to kickstart checking in to QYLD or other high dividend investment and do it for real, at least on a real account to see how it works. I also need to learn how to actually trade options because I want to learn how. And so I never did leave the house this morning, not even for breakfast. I had no desire to go to Lisa's and really all I left the house for was to go get lunch at Panda Express. I figured it had been almost TWO WHOLE WEEKS that I hadn't been inside a Panda Express and today I felt like having some for myself. Got myself a teriyaki chicken bowl. [And while there I decided to test my manifesting skills. I thought about getting a parking spot right in the area where I usually get to park. Not upstairs, not downstairs. True enough a car backed out just as soon as I got to its parking spot. See? No problem with manifestation!!!]  It was another typical sunny Saturday day out and at least I got to experience that as well. It was not lost on me that typically I'd have Johnnie for today but then again I did get a surprise call from him later on in the afternoon. I hadn't heard from him in a few days and that was ok. I figured he was simply having fun. It's no different than when I have him for the week on any given week. Typically we don't bother to call Lisa until it's hand-off night. I was ok with that. But look at Claire looking at the screen with Johnnie on it LOL. I think maybe SHE misses him. I hope she doesn't pee in my car next week when I pick them up. Anyway it was nice getting to talk to him today. Lisa said he talked about how he missed Claire. I know he missed me too. And so with that bit of interrupt for the afternoon, I went back to learning about options and dividends. I also had a lot of tax learning to do as I realize now that when I decide to stop working, that's when my assets have to work for me now in addition to providing me with income. I think I have enough, but I don't want to barely do that. I want to have PLENTY OF ROOM and not have to worry about money ever. Still the fact that I have amassed almost $900K... almost $1M is already a nice accomplishment. Certainly above the amount the majority of Americans have saved up. I think I installed $1.1M as the point where I can seriously retire although really if I do prove that I can generate 12% returns I should have enough now. Therein lies the rub isn't it? And so the plan is to put my 401K money from both QueensCare and TIAA-CREF together in a self-directed IRA. Right now my IRA money accounts for $804K. Now to work on the options investing for the savings I do have. That too already comes up to $69K. I should CERTAINLY do something with that.  Practice practice practice. Now is the time. Let's see where we are at the end of September. Ideally, I have $135K in the savings account so I can live off that for a year and then I can start withdrawing dividends from $1.1M in the IRA account. I started to look at healthcare too. So much to organize and plan.  I'm serious about this but I'm not telling anyone just yet. I did tell some of my staff yesterday that I'm already there. In a sense I already am. I already have enough saved up for a year's expenses. And now I simply want to activate my own economic engine that I already have. And once I have my expenses covered, I can work on buying my condo... Unless the Universe gives me that one first LOL. I'm all good.

How Did Friday Get Busy?

It's the last workday in July. I only mention that because the work week is practically done and I'm already thinking about a reset. But that doesn't mean I didn't work today. Quite the opposite actually. I scheduled performance evaluations for my entire IS team at 9 AM this morning back-to-back-to-back. Might as well get it over with. I mean I was sure it wasn't going to take all that long anyway since I graded everybody pretty much at or above what they graded themselves. See? Condition them to be familiar with the grading system and there will be no surprises. Of course that won't apply when I do James' eval and I don't want to do that until next week. I guess I hate giving people not-so-good news. He was the only one I graded BELOW what he graded himself. Still, the evals went as expected and I was done with everything by 10 AM actually. Gave Claire a nice, long walk and poop break. That should have been it for the day but it wasn't. Still gotta do the EHR team meeting since they insist on doing it on a Friday <sigh>. AND actually I did have a dental appointment today. Might as well get it done even while Lisa wasn't around. I drew Courtney to do my cleaning today and I posted a pic to boot. It's been 3 years since we separated Lisa and I and by now, it feels like I'm just a patient anymore. And that is perfectly ok. I mean I traded stories with Nikki like always. But when she leaves and has her baby and who knows if she's even coming back, the last vestiges of familiarity will have been gone. I mean yes there is Angie still but I didn't even say hi to her today. What I did notice was that all the voices I heard in the office, whoever was running around were voices I had never heard before. So no the degree of familiarity has pretty much diminished. Overall, the cleaning was about as easy as it got. Eezy-peezy in and out of there. And I walked out thinking how nice an afternoon it was. I was thinking about how big a part of my life this practice used to be and how I didn't have time for anything else. I don't have that excuse anymore don't I? And so I spent a chunk of the afternoon going through a slew of YouTube videos on investing. I told myself that even though I had a plan and that I knew what I wanted to do, I still had to learn and get used to the actual logistics of what buttons to hit and when as if I'm learning a new computer system. Which I am. Ironic isn't it? The tech guy now having to learn something and get good with it. I have no doubt I'm going to do just that actually - get good with it - but I still have to get my ass started. I spent so much time on those videos that I needed a break come 6 PM. I went to Mitsuwa to pick up dinner. Hadn't done that in a really long time actually. Before when it was closed and locked down I had an excuse. But it's pretty much fully open now. And I felt like having some ramen. Too bad the order I placed didn't mesh with the order that was heard. And I ended up having chasu pork over rice. Sigh. I had to augment it with some more katsu over rice. And still both dishes barely got up to $13. A normal dinner price tag anyway.  I still felt like a had a pretty good dinner. Sort of a reward for working today. I did get my Team Meeting done and I felt good that I think my EHR team is at least getting treated like the pros that they are. They've been ignored and left alone pretty much for more than a year. Time to get them to be REALLY productive. That is what I do don't I? Not to pat myself on the back or anything yuk yuk yuk...  I heard myself tell Nelson this morning about how I'm still at QueensCare because I care and I make a difference. It's all we can do don't we? Anyway I ended Friday evening with a pandemic dinner and movie. Dinner from Mitsuwa, movie at home. At least I had popcorn too.  I watched the new movie JUNGLE CRUISE with the Rock and Emily Blunt. And it does remind you of the first Pirates of the Caribbean. Just a Disney ride but with a story. No doubt this one will be just as successful as Pirates. Friday done, work week over! And I got dinner and a movie in too. Very nice.

Cruising Thursday

I thought in my mind to many a Thursday when I was working at the FRB. Usually in the afternoon I would slip out and go take a walk around Grand Hope Park or something and usually find myself getting a cold drink. I remember getting a hazelnut iced blended coffee drink with no whipped cream at Coffee Bean on the corner of Grand and 9th right next to Ralphs. Of course said store closed well before the pandemic but if I had a Thursday afternoon to remember when I worked downtown, that would be it. And so I tried to replicate the moment, at least the Hazelnut iced blended part. I picked up a couple of things at Trader Joe's and on the way back, picked up said drink at the Coffee Bean next door. Thursday afternoon coffee drink work-at-home style LOL. Did I mention it was a very nice day out?  I do have memories of Thursday afternoons getting a coffee drink... at Starbucks when I was working at USC. That was a long walk then. That move alone would kill about a half hour at least LOL. Hey it's summer right? I will admit I spent the morning not really working all that hard. I did the IS Team meeting and then did a meeting with the Salesforce developer group for a possible upcoming project. Hey I even TRIED to do a couple of my staff evaluations. Not due until next week but might as well get it all done and over with. The goofballs didn't ping me back though so I get to wait until tomorrow morning tp finish them off. So yes I can characterize the day with a lot of YouTube videos about dividend investing and learning about tax strategies. I might not be moving too fast on these things but I'm at least trying to learn some nuances. I even let Claire hang with me on the couch for a while. I will admit that in such a lazy mood, I caught myself waiting until almost 4 PM before I started doing steps in earnest. I mean I was barely at 2600 steps then. I reminded myself though that many a time I wouldn't move around the FRB when I would leave work and still be at that many steps when I got home. Did I end up doing most of my steps when Johnnie was home with me during the pandemic? Today I could cruise into 11,000 steps pretty easily reminding myself by 7 PM that usually this is the time I ping Lisa to pick Johnnie up anyway. No such activity today. No cleaning the house either. Not with the dog around. What I did though that was different was that I made myself my own steak and cheese paninis. I got the bread from trader Joe's and then cooked up that strips of steak. The panini was fresh from my own oven too. AND I ate it with tomato and sweet basil soup I picked up from Ralphs. It reminded me of the French dip and tomato soup I used to order from Champagne when it was open. And this was a pretty good dinner and a totally different one from the Asian fare I would usually make myself. Just felt like doing something different is all. I kept on watching dividend stuff the rest of the evening, finally getting myself going in my own edification for my own investing. If I'm going to reposition my assets to live off dividends, I got lots to learn and lots to verify. And I have to do it NOW.

Claire's Bath

In the meantime, it IS a Wednesday and despite a mid-day meeting my calendar was pretty clear. So much so I took it easy pretty much for most of the day. Hey this makes up for last week's supposedly busy week right? Or next week when I have to do the TownHall at the Health Centers every single damn day in the mornings. Anyway the play-of-the-day was Claire's bath. I wanted to do it at Lisa's house because it is simply much easier to do it there than to do it in my bathtub as I found out last week. I texted Courtney and to my surprise she actually said she was going to be around. I guess she is now sticking around Lisa's house when she is not working which made no difference to me. Except that she wanted time to clean up the house I guess. If it looked anything like last Saturday when it was really looked like a mild tornado hit it, well then I'm going to give her that opportunity. I said I'd come over around 3 PM. I was there at 3:15 and then after a little chit-chat I headed on to Lisa's bathroom to do the bath. Look at the pic i took while I was getting her wet. Then look at the pic afterwards when she was wiggling her butt off on a beach towel trying to dry herself LOL. Goofy dog. I stuck around for a little bit because it looked like Claire wanted to play with Courtney. She looked so excited I thought she was going to pee in the living room. Still I admit coming here to do the bath was well worth it. And I was done inside of 15 minutes anyway. And it was still so warm outside that by the time Claire and I got back to the apartment she was already almost completely dry. MUCH better than trying to dry her off before she and Johnnie and I go to bed which is what happens most Wednesdays. This Wednesday Claire and I basically got to chill. I broiled whatever Italian sausage I had left before I left for Lisa's house. And so I came home to spaghetti and Italian sausage meatballs for dinner. Pretty darn good too.  Claire and I went for a walk too in the early evening, with me being extra careful not to get her any dirtier. After all she smells nice and clean now. So much so I can actually let her hang with me on the couch. I even thought about possibly let her sleep on the bed. But nah, I didn't want her getting used to that. We've kind of come into an understanding when it came to bedtime I think. As long as I left the door open that meant I wasn't in bed yet and she's free to come out and park herself at the foot of the couch where I am. Sometimes she even grabs a very late bite. And then when she sees me turn off all the lights in the living room and the kitchen, that is the cue that I am going to my real bed and to to sleep in the bedroom. And she scampers in there and parks herself on the futon or under the bed. Sometimes I hear her leash jangling meaning she's walking about inside the bedroom. But then I fall asleep pretty quickly anyway. At least I haven't had any trouble sleeping when Johnnie isn't here. That is not to say I don't miss him. Just that I'm doing ok with it. Work week halfway done and all is good.

Stuff Bubbling Up

Something happened when I woke up this morning. Some memories bubbled up to my conscious mind, memories about the times I "failed" at trying to create income outside of my job. Trying to create financial independence. Ahhh, it's like my other-than-conscious was serving me up stuff I need to clean and clear in order to be successful at that this time around. I reiterated my mantra: I make at least $90,000 annually in passive income after taxes for the rest of my life. I have more money and higher income than I will ever need to maintain my current lifestyle and more. Back in the day when I had these supposed failures, I didn't focus on any of that, didn't focus on what I wanted... at least not enough, and actually just did the action stuff first. I coulda woulda shoulda gotten another job after General Dynamics cut my hours or asked me to relocate to Arizona. I should have tried that because it was all I was good at at the time.  I was too stubborn and wanted to work for myself and do real estate. Even if it wasn't fully set up yet. That is how I ended up being bankrupt. I didn't have a good plan. I really didn't even have a plan.  Same thing in 2006 when I got let go by USC Dentistry. I wanted to make money doing stock investing but I was far too distracted starting the big romance of my life with Lisa wasn't I.  I was trying to learn but really all I cared about was that I had that lump sum vacation money to sit on while I had the best July of my life. At least I got another job to support myself after I couldn't make money for a month or so. And for sure the pattern continued in 2013 when I had a job even BEFORE my last day at USC Stevens. Even kept getting paid months after. And so how is it going to be DIFFERENT this time around. Because I have a plan and I am going to work my plan AND I already have a backup. A year's worth of savings and over $800K in my 401K. I want to have much more of a cushion of course which is what I am working on now.

Do I really need a job?  I think I did back then because it's all I knew. I did not focus enough on creating passive income like I should have. I mean I did have some success with real estate didn't I. Not enough, but there was some evidence that it could have worked. Same thing with stock market investing. But I was dabbling. Now it is time to transition again to doing something else, working for myself full time. OR increase my assets enough so there is absolutely NO DOUBT I can live off dividend income and pay the least amount of taxes possible. THAT is my definition of FINANCIAL INDEPENDENCE. THAT is the goal.

Lazy Tuesday

I hadn't felt this unmotivated getting up in the morning and getting going in a long time. Perhaps that's what happens when Johnnie is around and I am forced to do the get up and take him to school/ camp/ somewhere routine first thing in the morning. I mention it to underscore the importance of said routine and also the danger of not following one, and the possibility of this happening when I am no longer obligated with job tasks. Already I see the number of showers I take in the morning to less than a daily thing, not that THAT is bad necessarily. At the same time it IS all about balance. Feeling lazy and unmotivated today isn't such a terrible thing either. It means I have to be a little more intentional with finding things that motivate me. I mean today marks the halfway point in the Lisa/Johnnie getaway vacation and I really hadn't done anything different have I? I forced myself to look at the Dividend portfolio this one YouTuber posted which was giving him more than $60K income from a less than $700K portfolio. He's getting more than 10% which is a really good return already. But his portfolio is mostly Canadian stocks (he's from Canada). I will feel much MUCH better doing my lazy thing once I really engage my money to work for me. THAT is the key isn't it? More on that later to be sure. But today I was even too lazy to get going with my steps stuff. I don't think it's a bad thing. I think we just all got used to doing way too much. Even working from home started to mean you're actually working MORE. If you're like me there's a guilt component there too. Yeah yeah it's nice that i can walk Claire a couple of times during the day in the middle of the day. But I think I was working far less when i was going into the office. Isn't THAT a hoot?! And so me just chilling on the couch at mid-day binge-watching on Virgin River is not something I apologize for. Not.at.all.

To be clear I did make it out of the house for lunch. I just ate some leftover penne pasta and Italian sausage and then to force myself out, I walked to McDonald's and grabbed a filet-of-fish sandwich. Turned out to be a beautiful day out, not the Wailuku-style cloudy almost drizzly day all day yesterday. THAT I think was an anomaly. Today it was back to being summer again but without the high heat. Nice and breezy in fact. More like spring. So much so I had to take a picture when I took a walk outside. And just so it can't be said that I didn't do anything today, in fact I did have my IS team meeting this morning which lasted an entire HOUR! Far longer than it usually lasts. But after I wolfed down my 2nd lunch, I did retire to the couch and resumed my lazy day. I even managed to close my eyes and get a quick nap in. A good 25 minutes early in the afternoon. THAT'S what I'm talking about. I ran out of Virgin River episodes to binge on too. I'm now awaiting on the next season I suppose. Or waiting on the next Marvel biggie... but supposedly that's way later on in the year. Still since I had a late start on doing my steps I made up in the afternoon, and did ONE more long walk and one more little one after that with the dog. And then I started binging on investing videos on YouTube. Gotta learn gotta learn gotta learn. Gotta verify pieces of my plan. Tax implications. Expense quotes. Work to do. And then there's all the energy medicine stuff. Gotta learn gotta learn gotta learn. Work to do. So no I didn't really end up watching regular TV tonight though I did try to sneak in peeks at the Dodgers-Giants score and the 2021 Olympics. Still in the middle of the gymnastics and swim events. Still pretty cool. And yeah I did end up going to bed early. That's because I gorged on spaghetti and sweet Italian sausage meatballs. Swapped a couple of quick texts with Lisa. Hard to believe it's already mid-week. Or is it... It's only still mid-week?? LOL.

Not So Busy Week

I woke up in the wee hours of the morning to go to the bathroom and I sensed a very unfamiliar sound. At least unfamiliar for this time of year. It sounded like it was raining outside. True enough when I did wake up to walk the dog first thing, it had indeed rained. The roads were still wet and then later on when I went on my first-thing-in-the-morning walk, there were tree branches on the side of the road typical after an evening of heavy rain. Not that it rained heavy, but it did rain for sure. My first thought was that it's a good thing since we're in the middle of a full-on drought. And then I thought it is always so fresh and clean after a night rain and this morning was no different. Besides you can see it wasn't nearly like in the winter when it would be cold. This, in fact, was reminiscent of the rain in Hawaii, specifically in Waiehu where Johnnie is right now.  They get this daily, even as the other side of the island is hot and windy. Anyway I had a nice 5000 step walk first thing and my head was already clear. I thought about the upcoming week and it is nowhere near as busy as it was at this time last week. In fact, this being the week after Tech Council Meeting and all, it's supposed to be really quiet, particularly since a lot of people are still out on vacation. Except me of course. Still I had a 9:30 AM meeting first thing with Clinical Operations about a training thing and the only thing in my mind was that this meeting kept me from taking a shower this morning when I wanted to. With no more Business Continuity meeting on Mondays, I had a clear schedule in fact although I did have to run the usual spate of reports, particularly one due for Eloisa for a meeting with a bigwig Senator on Thursday. I had forgotten about the request last week so I cranked out numbers so fast, I had 6 out of 7 answers to operational statistics questions even before I got the obligatory question email from Shilpa. The rest of the day I spent walking every couple of hours or so. I mean there is absolutely no reason I couldn't do 15000 steps today especially not when Johnnie is not around.

With that said, he actually called me late in the afternoon. It was 5 pM and I was actually toying with the idea of heading over to Lisa's house to see if the trash bins were put out by Courtney. Not that I wanted to spy on her or anything... I mean it's not like I care really. Or that I should. But I ended up talking to Johnnie for a good 15 minutes as he took me on a tour of the backyard yet again. Everything was like I remembered. Well, almost everything. They built a deck outside the kitchen and they remodeled the dining room and moved a whole lot of stuff out. It's now pretty open and looked pretty good. This time I released on needing to get off the phone and simply focused on enjoying hearing my son talk to me. With all this stuff in the storylines from Virgin River last night including stuff about fatherhood/parenthood all that matters really is that Johnnie did talk to me and all these thoughts of how much I miss him can now go away. I talked to Lisa some too although we talked more about how Courtney was doing watching her house. I told Lisa I was not going to be an enabler for her anymore and that she needs to fulfill her responsibilities, whatever it is THEY agreed on. I had Lisa see Claire too just so she can see the dog is doing just fine. She is actually growing right in front of my eyes. But I'm not going to lie, I will be glad when I don't have to think about how she's doing in the back of my head at all times. So after the phone call I did drive to her house after we got off the phone and the trash bins were out. So they're all good.  I made a pit stop at El Pollo Loco for dinner and had me a tostada salad. It's not like I'm spending the usual $12 a day on Johnnie's food for a couple of weeks, I think I'm ok spending to eat out. Then I had dinner and watched the Tokyo Olympics. A bit strange not watching Wild Kratts or Octonauts or one of Johnnie's shows. Just as odd watching the Olympics with no one in the stands watching. STill the Philippines did win its first ever gold medal today. And I did finish my 15000 steps and 124 work out minutes, the latter being the 4th Monday in a row that I did that. It is a habit now. Wonder how long I keep that up?? Anyway it was a good day. Got my stuff at work done, got to talk to my Little Bug, got my steps done. A good day.

Greg's Golf Goodbye

So here we were, at Roosevelt first thing with the significance of today being our last game with Greg for a while since he moves to Arizona officially next week. He had talked about it for almost a year now and I admit I never really gave it any serious thought. I mean who moves to Paradise, Arizona? Still, with last week's party at Industry Hills, and then today's golf game, you can't say Greg didn't leave without a proper goodbye. I mean I don't remember the last golf game I played with Roe, nor Ellen, or even Lisa and Mandy for that matter. I will remember these July golf games with Greg I think. And I post a picture in tribute. Today Daniel joined us once again and I think he will fill in as a part-time replacement at least. Wasn't that how Greg started back in the day? I recorded our first game with him was way back in 2014! He would just be the 5th guy when neither Roe or Ellen could play simply because he was there at 9:30. Of course he says that the enduring first memory he has of Lisa and I were that we were tearing in at Penmar without our shoes and socks, arriving late for our tee time obviously and being very much flustered for being so. Yep, that would just about sum it up back then wouldn't it? Those memories are not so pleasant for me but no such memories anymore thank God. Today just a nice normal quiet golf game at Roosevelt although to be candid, I did not play well enough for ME to remember the game by. I remember getting a 5 on the first hole and a nice tee shot on 2 followed by the usual thrashing at the rough on the left side. Then the usual yank to the left on Hole 3 but it made it through this time. And I at least got a 4. And then I hit my best shot of the day at Hole 4. I belted it cleanly down the middle 200+ yards just before the sand trap and to the left. A perfect setup. Too bad my second shot did not make it to the green. I still finished with a 5 though. I had a crappy next 2 holes, then missed a par putt all the way to a 5 on Hole 7. That's where I hit the ball in the forest but it bounced back somehow back on the fairway. On Hole 8 I hit it nicely on the tee shot but my 2nd shot got under some trees. I hit a 6 on that one. And then I finally lost the ball on the last hole. Sigh. Greg hit a par on his favorite hole 9 to remember it by. Then we shook hands at that was it. No more Greg for a while. We will see how Sundays shake out from here on in... 

Sunday afternoon was really no  different than most Sunday afternoons. It was hot out so I stayed in. I don't really see Johnnie on most Sundays anyway. But the real difference was that I had the dog with me and today I rushed just to make sure I got home before noon. I didn't make that, simply because I stopped at Sidewalk Cafe to get me my salmon kabobs for lunch. And then I tried to take a nap but really couldn't get myself to sleep. That's because I ran into a show that was the unlikeliest one I was going to binge on. But yet I did. It was a Netflix series called Virgin River, about a nurse practitioner who left LA to start over in a very VERY small town in Northern Cali called Virgin River. So the series was centered around the woman and the little dramas and stories that the other characters had, peeled layers upon layers like an onion. It sort of reminded me of the series Saving Hope. A drama series... and some of the content did bring back memories I'm not going to lie, which was probably why I ended up binge watching it. It was a lot about the authenticity of love and feelings and the rawness of emotions. I will admit it brought me back to some of the negative emotions Lisa and I used to have towards each other. But maybe it was all brought on by those memories Greg talked about today. One particular scene was a salsa dancing class... which brought me back to those Thursday nights when we used to take salsa dancing Lisa and I with Tony and Ines. And then dinner afterwards. Gosh, that seems like 100 years ago now. I know we were still doing movie nights when I started at QueensCare... which goes to show you how long ago that was. We fell out with them when Johnnie came into our lives. And that was ok. Anyway the TV series got me time travelling. So no Person of Interest tonight LOL. No late night either. Just the end of the quiet weekend.  With more of the same coming up next week.

A Typical Saturday... Or Not

So usually Saturday means I'm at Lisa's house early, either picking up Johnnie because she's working, or picking up Johnnie because she has piano lessons. Mom and son being in Hawaii however meant I didn't even have to be at Lisa's at all today. But since I did want to do some of my laundry - Claire's towels really, the ones that had a little dog poop on them since a week ago - you would find me at her house anyway. Of course I had breakfast at my apartment first before heading over.  Claire bounded to the backyard as soon as we got there. She must be missing it big time. When I stepped in I almost didn't recognize the dining area. There was Courtney stuff all over the table and Courtney stuff on the floor. AND Courtney stuff in both washer and dryer. Oh well, I treated the stuff like I was at the laundromat. Moved her stuff out of the washer, did my wash, then moved her stuff out of the dryer and dried my stuff LOL. Unlike last week, I didn't stick around all that long, just before lunchtime. Mission accomplished for the washload. I gave Claire just enough time to run around and play and frolick in the backyard for a bit. And then off we went back to the apartment. I had stuff to do. Ok one BIG thing to do and that was to get a haircut. Just a haircut you might say but for the next couple of more weeks, I feel sensitive to leaving Claire alone for more than an hour. I reminded myself that she did just fine when I took off to play golf last Sunday, which will happen again tomorrow. And so off I went to get me my fresh haircut for the month. And then afterwards I got myself the fish taco and shrimp taco that I wanted to get last night. So this was La Salsa and not Rubio's. It was still pretty darn good. AND I even managed a little nap after the haircut. All in all a pretty nice Saturday already with the big difference of course was not getting Johnnie out to Panda Express for teriyaki chicken. In fact, this would be the first week in a l-o-n-g time that I hadn't gotten to Panda all week long! A record for sure. And to address an obvious question, no I did not actually sit down and do some learning stuff that I intended to do. Yes I've let one week go already and maybe I'm simply getting used to not having Johnnie around all week. I reminded myself that this was entirely for Lisa and that perhaps, these 3 weeks off the grid would finally allow her to work out some stuff physically and emotionally so she could get closer to right in her own mind. And I remind myself that it is a respite for me too, considering I do a lot of work when Johnnie is with me. I do see I have a lot more time to myself when I'm not shuttling Johnnie back and forth to something. The key is what to do with that extra time.  Today I did not do any of the learning stuff I wanted to do. And that's ok. Hey didn't I say last week was going to be such a busy work week? No such urgency for next week. The last thing that I did for today was that I went and did the grocery shopping circuit. First Trader Joe's then Whole Foods then Ralphs. Might as well get it all done today so i don't have to worry about it tomorrow. I got it all done inside of an hour. And I didn't even spend $55. I laughed at that. Used to be that shopping for Lisa and I would cost no more than $35 a week LOL. Of course I used to eat out a lot more. Got my share of nagging for that. Grudgingly I admit that I eat in a lot more now. Even dinner tonight consisted of chicken and mushrooms and green beans from Trader Joe's. Over the leftover rice I had in the fridge from last week. Cost me all of $4.50. I'm turning into Scott. You know what they say about those millionaire next door types. They don't spend a whole lot, almost bare necessities is all. And they don't have money issues. Yep, I have become one of those guys. I am not apologizing for that metamorphosis. Just the latest version of me I suppose LOL. Today felt like a routine Saturday... when I was a bachelor except that I had to walk the dog a few times during the day. I guess I'm trying to learn this new role even if it's just for a couple of more weeks. Lisa sent me a text after I sent her a picture of Claire playing in her backyard... Is Claire ok? How are you doing? Claire is fine. We're both good. That was the response I sent back. And we were. We are just fine.

Working On A Friday?

It may seem to be a shock that I am actually working on a Friday. But remember I started the work week thinking it's going to be extraordinarily busy this week. Yet yesterday was the first time in weeks that I had taken a nap after lunch. I checked my email first thing and came upon a Happy Anniversary ping from Motivosity. Yep, my anniversary at QueensCare. 8 YEARS! It is the single longest time I've been with any team EVER. I mean I do chunks of service... 5+ years at Cedars-Sinai. 5+ years at USC Dental, almost 7 years at USC Stevens. It does add up doesn't it? That's 25+ years combined. I remember my first day at QueensCare back in 2013. I remember spending lunch at the Century City mall the day before thinking I wouldn't be getting to do that anymore. <And here I am TODAY walking to Marie Callender's to pick up a tureky lunch with stuffing and mashed potatoes just as if it were something prepared by the FRB cafeteria>. I have this view of QueensCare as the company that took me in and rescued me especially after USC just dumped me after a combined almost 13 years of service. THAT is actually the most I've been at any ONE place or company. That record will stand since I am mulling retirement very VERY soon. Anyway that is why I do feel a lot of gratitude towards QueensCare. I mean it goes to show it doesn't have to be perfect. But it has/had enough things going for it for me to stick around. And that is what counts the most. There sure have been lots of people that have come and gone. Alex, who hired me originally, and who is now retired himself. He believed in me though and would always say I was one of his TWO best hires he has ever done. Justin, who became my lieutenant <but who I haven't spoken to in years> I remember that first year when I changed EVERYTHING. Felt much like my first couple of years at USC Dentistry. I felt like a FORCE OF NATURE. And so what is the force of nature doing today? Boring, mundane Performance Evals of course LOL. At least Johnnie called from Hawaii this morning. But really not to say hi so much as to ask me to find the ebook of THE BOOK WITH NO PICTURES and to email it to his mom please. OK OK. Hey I got to hear his voice and they're obviously doing fine. 1 week has gone by actually and it was just a week ago I dropped them off at the airport and I was being sentimental about spending time with Johnnie. Today? Not so much LOL. 

Did I mention I don't really like doing Performance Evals, but mostly because I have to point out the negative.  What I didn't want to be is like Z who we felt like HAD to find something negative to accentuate no matter how good a job we were doing in general. And really there was only one review that would slant negative and that would be James. How do you tell the guy that if he weren't the CEOs son he would have gotten let go a long time ago? Of course Justin did manage to befriend him and get the best out of him. I just don't do well coddling people is all, nor do I really want to be his friend. Those guys used to have lunches together. I thought about that and said "Hell Nah!" Anyway after lunchtime I put my head down and finished everything once and for all. Even did my 2 pM meeting with the EHR team. Hey what do you know I got everything done that I was supposed to! And this was supposed to be a busy week? Now I can REaLLY do a breathe-out. It is Friday night and I reminded myself that normally i wouldn't have Johnnie today anyway. Of course I wouldn't have the dog either and of course I have to account for not leaving her alone for too long. Especially now that she is starting to get used to our routine herself. She knows when I'm taking her out for a walk. Didn't do much this Friday night except watch some old shows on Netflix. I remind myself I still have some learning to do with regards to my investment portfolio. I got the whole weekend to do that...

Throwaway Day 2021 version

So I woke up this morning, and with no Johnnie in the house I figured I'd get to focus stuff I wouldn't be able to if her were around, that's how much attention he commands. But then again after breathing out from that easy Tech Council Meeting yesterday I had one more work-related project to finish. That would be the 5 Performance Evaluations I needed to finish by tomorrow. Plenty of time I told myself. No need for urgency at all I said. If I were still working at the FRB, today would usually be HIT Roundtable meeting Thursday which meant I would hang out until noon, walk to CCALAC do the 2 hour meeting and then chill the rest of the day. It's a throwaway day. How many times would I go to Macy's after the CCALAC meeting and browse clothes and then take my time walking back to FRB? Of course, working from home made today very different. I actually did get started with the performance evaluations but I only did the scores. I still needed to write up the narratives. And that is what takes time. Of course I still get stuck watching YouTube videos and these days, I'm consuming whatever I can about retirement and investment. After all I'm already up to nearly $900K in investable assets. The goal now is to prepare for retirement AND to line up and lock in my investment strategies. With a year's worth of savings and potentially enough to live off of dividends the rest of my life. The fact that I've gotten here already is HUGE CAUSE to BE TREMENDOUSLY GRATEFUL. Considering that is already less than 10% of all Americans. AND my car is now mine and fully paid for. I posted the title to it since it came in the mail today. ANOTHER HUGE THING TO BE THANKFUL FOR. That would be the 2nd time in my life I have owned my own vehicle outright. Damn I miss that Acura. It would still be running today if that darn Sandra didn't wreck it. But what about the picture above it? That would be me walking home after getting my lunch at Ralphs. I got myself one of those sweet tomato basil soups reminiscent of the soup from Champagne back in the day. I wonder why I miss that place so much? Lots of lunches there after golf at Penmar on many a summer Sunday to be sure. And that was pre-Johnnie LOL. Now of course it is closed as it has been for a while. I also got myself some fried chicken... since I didn't want to cook anything. Hey for $3, it is a DEAL. So instead of the CCALAC meeting, it's eating fried chicken and watching whatever nonsensical thing is going on in the world. Such as people still not getting vaccinated. Unbelievable that the numbers are pretty black and white... Everyone that is still catching COVID is unvaccinated. Sure there are cases among those that are, but they are either symptomatic or at worst showing mild symptoms. Anyway you can only shake your head at the idiocy of some people. Same idiocy I'm trying to build some patience for. Maybe it's about being ok that some people do STUPID STUPID things. And that you find some compassion for them anyway. Anyway lunch was followed with a nap for almost an hour. It registered only 22 minutes on Fitbit but hey a mid-day nap is ALWAYS good. The rest of the day just sort of went quietly. I did get half my performance evals done. And with no Johnnie hand-off tonight, it was pretty uneventful. Boring even. Hey what do you want for a throwaway day??

Surprisingly Chill

So it's Tech Council Meeting Day and I'm usually doing last minute stuff, gearing up for the presentation, and then doing the meeting itself. When Lupe checked in first thing though I realized there were going to be so many people out today that wouldn't be at the meeting.  Marina is out, so is Maryam, Emma, and this morning I found out Eloisa is out this week too. Why am I even having a meeting LOL? Immediately the pressure just went away like air coming out of a balloon. I still was going to record the meeting anyway, just that now it shouldn't last even the whole hour. The unexpected reduction in urgency made for a pretty chill morning, not that I was rushed anyway considering I had already finished everything I needed to by last night. I was so chill I spent a little time playing fetch with Claire... took a video of that to boot. Still I took a shower, shaved and got ready as if I had a big time meeting going on. And then another surprise came through... I get a call. From Hawaii. It was Johnnie calling to check in. It was still early morning there while it was almost close to lunch here. Awww. And just as I was thinking yesterday, he's having so much fun I probably won't hear from them until the weekend. Johnnie stayed on the phone with me for a full 10 minutes taking me all over the house, the room he sleeps in, getting Makahinu and Kavena to say hello, the outside, even showing me the chickens and the rooster. Everything still looked pretty familiar though they had apparently done some changes with the kitchen layout. And then when Johnnie didn't feel like talking anymore Lisa and I chatted for a bit, talking mostly about the creatures in the house and what Courtney was or wasn't doing LOL. I was very glad to hear from them obviously though I did notice that even when I was on with Johnnie I didn't particularly like lingering on the phone. I am the complete opposite of Lisa in that regard in that she would be capable of talking for hours. The 10 minutes with Johnnie was already my max limit even though I had been dying to hear from him. I guess I'm just not a phone person huh though I will note we were on Facetime, not on the phone. And so I was able to capture images of Johnnie talking to me on the iPad. At least that video call became the play-of-the-day. As far as the Tech Council meeting, as predicted it barely lasted for a half hour and that's while I ran back a couple of slides because Dr. Liao came late. And then Barbara left a half hour into it.  Interest is sure high isn't it LOL. And I could have cared less actually. All i knew was that the second I concluded the meeting, that was it for my work day! Hey I had lots of other stuff to do after all. It IS Claire's bath night today and I took advantage of Courtney still not at Lisa's house simply by giving her a bath THERE. Right at Lisa's shower. Same shower I designed myself. I did it because it was much easier to get it done there than my shower. And we were done and in and out of there in 15 minutes. And then when we got back to the house, my chair had arrived from Amazon... the replacement one for the one I broke a couple of days ago. This one was WAY more comfortable too. And so I got the bath done before dinner and it was still warm enough for Claire to dry off before it even got dark. Of course I think the bath relaxed her much more than I anticipated. She was just laying around the rest of the evening and even took a nap while I ate my dinner <a shrimp salad I cooked up>. And so it was that the stressful meeting day I had anticipated, turned into the most chill day of all so far this week. It turned out to be a pretty good day.

Work work Work

So today Tuesday before Tech Council meeting day, I'm usually busy working on my presentation. And indeed I was. Except for a little side trip to Lisa's house first thing in the morning around 8-ish which would usually be the time I would be dropping Johnnie off at Penmar camp anyway. I made sure the turtles were fed and brought in the trash bins from yesterday. Courtney texted me letting me know she wouldn't be around Lisa's house at all today and tomorrow morning so I had to pinch hit. If it was just about feeding the creatures in her house, well I already have the primary creature (Claire) and I was relieved to see from her poop this morning that she has already recovered from whatever gave her diarrhea this past weekend. She seemed a bit down yesterday too, maybe because of the stomach stuff and maybe also a bit about Johnnie not being around like usual. But today she was back to her bouncy self. And she followed me around the house all day actually, even when I took breaks from the computer to do some aerobics and move my body around. THAT became necessary when I blew out my office chair leaning back so far I guess that the back rest completely broke off. Great. Now I really have to buy a new chair which I had been thinking about doing anyway. I wonder what the Universe was trying to tell me? Get a new chair that's what. Get a comfortable one while you're at it. LOL. The rest of Tuesday was like usual... I mean it's not like Johnnie is around for the bulk of the day anyway. I did spend some time making me a new image cycling video but with an audio track of me talking about those things I want AND an alpha frequency track in the background to boot. We'll see if that has any effect at all. The good thing was that I actually got done with my presentation before 5 PM. Likely a by-product of not having to stop what I was doing and pick up Johnnie from camp. And then feed him and make sure he was doing ok. Still I do miss his interruptions. I didn't mind those at all. In fact, those helped keep me from driving myself nuts. And with no backrest on my chair, for sure it would have kept me from sitting around for too long. I did take a break anyway because I needed to go to Lisa's late in the afternoon, early evening to feed the creatures again. This time, that included Blue the gecko. I had already done this before one time when they were gone for the weekend. At least there were enough crickets. I coated those things in calcium so they were all white. And then I fed the turtles. Then the fish. And then I spent 15 minutes doing steps in the backyard. Look at me sitting around relaxing. I posted a pic of all the stuff in Johnnie's bedroom too, if only to remind me that the dreamcatcher actually was in my apartment first. Anyway I took pics in case later on I would need to furnish proof that I fed the creatures LOL. And by the time I went back to the apartment, I had already done 9000 steps. I wonder why I didn't do this when I lived here? <Because Lisa was usually a pain in the ass that's why... oops did I say that??>. It had turned into a nice afternoon after what turned out to be a normal hot July day. I thought about past July time periods and what I'd be doing right about now? When I was working at USC, I'd be running around the campus. More running, less power walking then. At USC Stevens Transamerica building, I would be shooting hoops at the indoor gym. I do miss going out to eat with my sets of co-workers around this time of year. It IS different cooking and eating my yakisoba noodles for lunch with only Claire to keep me company. Anyway I went home and made a pit stop at El Pollo Loco to pick up my dinner. I did not feel like cooking tonight. And then I had to watch the Milwaukee Bucks win the NBA title over the Phoenix Sun. It was barely 9 months ago I was watching the Lakers do the same. I dare say they might have and probably would have won over Milwaukee if they were injury-free. But woulda coulda doesn't count. I spent the rest of the evening finishing up my Agenda and Minutes for tomorrow. So no staying up late tonight. I even did all the backlog of expense reports my predecessor didn't approve for the EHR team. I'm all good.

Gonna Be A busy Week

So right off the bat I thought about the upcoming work week and realized it's going to be a busy one. It's Tech Council Meeting week after all and I haven't even started anything yet. And then the performance evals are due for my entire team(s) by Friday. And then of course it's HRSA report day today and I'm pinch-hitting for Emma. Maybe it's a good thing it's busy though. The less I have to think about Johnnie not being around all week. Still it's sobering to wake up to the dog pooping all over my kitchen. AGAIN. It's still my fault for feeding her different food last Saturday. She's just about recovering. At least her poop is a little harder. Still soft, but I think by the end of the day she'll be back to normal. Hopefully. I also thought about all the investment stuff and retirement stuff that has now taken over a lot of my attention. All this money I have sitting on the sidelines. I gotta get my money working for me. And I think I still need to work through a couple of subconscious blocks. There's still a fear of loss... a fear of not having enough that I need to clear. Hence the symbolic picture of mentally getting past a wall. Still as routine goes, I got up, cleaned up the dog poop and then got on with Monday routine. That would be the walk first thing in the morning of course. No reason not to go for 15000 steps now although from all indications, I probably did the most steps in the last week than I ever have. To the tune of 88000+ steps. WOW! That's the product of not one but TWO 15000+ steps days. And I'm not feeling sore or anything like that. I felt like I overdid it some last year. Not this time. Besides it's supposed to be a scorcher today. Better get in as much as I can before lunchtime. Already at just 8 AM I was starting to sweat not even 5 minutes into the walk. At least I didn't have any meetings today. I needed to get to work. First things first, that HRSA report. Unfortunately, it took longer than I thought.  It would take me a good couple of hours in the afternoon to get it all done. At least I had a nice steak burrito bowl from Chipotle. That is just about what I'd expect if I were just being a stay-at-home dad isn't it? Just pick up lunch here and there. Today I felt like getting Chipotle today. I remember last year when Johnnie and I would bike or scooter to Whole Foods and get a pizza or something. I wonder if he's having fun? Dumb question. Actually, Lisa would call later on in the early evening to say hello, just as they got done doing their afternoon activity. Today it was fishing. The boys Makehinu and Kavena ar much bigger now. But then again so is Johnnie. I caught a glimpse of him getting into the shower... I guess they were at the pond right behind the golf course we used to go to. They had good sandwiches and hamburgers there I remember. And even though we were there just a few times, they would remember us. I didn't really expect to hear from Johnnie much this trip. I am pretty sure he would be having a good time and maybe he would write something down or draw something for me the way he does for his mom during the week when he is with me. Still, they called right around the time I would be picking him up at Lisa's house for Monday hand-off. Don't tell me I am not thinking of him. I have the dog but with all the pooping going on in the last couple of days it has been more of a nuisance so far. Fortunately, his poop was much harder in the afternoon. That's because he started eating what he used to eat before. Goes to show how much I know trying to give her something different. Serves me right. And so it was that I got my report done... and a little after that I got started with my Tech Council presentation. AND even got some of the performance evals I'm on the hook for on Friday. It was a really good start to the week and I felt very productive.  I will admit it was strange going to bed alone on a Monday night with no Johnnie. I didn't have to make him milk or even before that I didn't have to make pasta for him today for his chicken noodle soup. All i did eat was my leftover beef stew from last night. Awww... I do miss my Little Bug don't I....

Last Time For This Foursome In A While...

So I woke up this morning with an ugly sight in my kitchen. Claire had pooped all over. In a way I did this. I gave her new puppy food yesterday afternoon because she didn't seem to be eating the same food we always give her. I took her out for a walk last night the second I got home and she didn't poop. I figured that was ok. Turned out to be not. And so I would be spending first thing this morning cleaning up dogshit in my kitchen floor. <Sigh> And I have to leave her all morning to play golf. Did I dare? I had no choice of course. And so off I went to Pasadena to play at Altadena. And I knew it was going to be one hot day. There was a lingering memory of the last time we played here when it was this hot and that was when Chris was injured and drove around in a golf cart and Greg and I were huffing and puffing all day trying to keep up. One of many lingering memories of our time playing golf together. All 4 of us made it today even though all but Scott were at the party last night and I would have given Greg a pass for missing today since he had to stay until it was over. Probably at 11 PM. But here he was swatting long tee shots off the tee and hitting a pair of pars right out of the gate. Me? Ehh... I did not start well. I have GOT to find my shot from the fairway. My tee shots were ok. But my fairway shots were nowhere to be found. Of course I have not shot decently from the fairway for a good month now and I probably should find some practice time because my swing is all tweaked up. Still I played decently after the 5th hole. Even tied to win 2 holes actually. When I messed up on Hole 7 which is usually my best hole on this course, I knew today was not my day. But hey, I tied for the win on 8 and I had a nice hole on 9 except that I blew a very short putt to miss tying for my 3rd hole. The significance of today was that this game was probably the last time this foursome will be playing together in a while. I hate to sound sentimental but this week has been one for timemarkers and such. And I'm just creating one here. It reminded me that no matter what, we had a lot of good times on the golf course the four of us. And I will miss Greg. And that cackle of his. 

It's funny when he started playing with us intermittently more than 5 years ago at Penmar at that 9:30 AM timeslot, I will admit I likened him to that character in Get Smart Albert Pfister in the Nitrowhisperine episode. Kind of an older kook who needed a lot of sunscreen. Who knew he was already older than Scott. When Mandy and Lisa stopped playing, he sort of just stepped into the void. When he traveled to Harbor to play with us, that's when you knew he wanted to play with us regularly. And then after the separation and divorce, the foursome sort of just coalesced and cemented. And now here we are at the end of that foursome. You never how long a good thing will last. Which is why you enjoy the moment as much as possible. Anyway after the golf game, it felt like just another Sunday, except that I finally got a text from Lisa that Johnnie had left me a note. I don't think he realizes I won't be getting it for 3 weeks but that's ok. It was just to let me know they had made it to Maui just fine. I went home and Claire had pooped all over the kitchen again. Lucky it was stone. I felt bad rubbing her nose in her own shit but she has to learn. And then I got me some French Dip and onion rings from Marie Callenders and just chilled the rest of Sunday away. I did make a pit stop at Lisa's to take out her garbage bins. Yes, I was checking on Courtney. Hey it took all of a couple of minutes and I did it on the way to the grocery store anyway to finish my shopping. Tonight I made myself some beef stew for dinner. Hadn't made that in a few months. It used to be the winter staple. Tonight, it was simply the fastest thing I could make that I could leave alone simmering for a bit. I reminded myself that I'm already on Day 2 of 3 weeks that I have to put something together if I'm truly serious about retiring by the end of the year. Getting to $1.1M or better by then would be nice, although really I already have a year's worth of savings to get by on don't I? I need to do my calcs, research tax implications and get my game plan rock solid. That much I need to be done with before Johnnie comes back. It's all good.

Greg's Goodbye Party

So what do I do my first Saturday with no Johnnie and no Lisa? Well go on over to her house of course LOL. And I took Claire with me too.  I wanted to wash all my bulk items and what better washer to use than Lisa's huge washer instead of going to the laundromat?! The last time I did that was about 3 months ago I think. It's time. And I decided to do one of my big pillows and all of Claire's towels to boot. Of course I wanted her in a controlled environment so I set up barriers so she stays in an area I could easily track. The one thing I noticed is that I am far more worried about her now than I am with Johnnie.  Great. No wonder I'm feeling a little bit of anxiety being alone with this dog?! Anyway I posted a pic of me folding Lisa's clothes. Yep, those would be Lisa's clothes. She left them in the dryer and then left a text asking one of us (me or Courtney) to put them away. Lisa just being Lisa. I had to do it because I needed to use the dryer obviously! Anyway I didn't get to the house until well past 9 AM. I had to have some breakfast first didn't I? And so I made myself nice and comfortable since I knew it would take at least a couple of hours to do the laundry. It's actually like being in a laundromat since this isn't my house but at least I could watch TV. And I could get some food to eat too. It gave me memories of that last summer before I left his house when they were in Hawaii. I had the place all to myself then too. I didn't like being alone in this house. I'm much more comfortable in my small apartment. While I was here I was mulling over numbers to see if I had enough to retire on this year and then I started to think about July 2013. That would be the time I pretty much had a schedule all to myself. I had just been let go by USC at the end of June that year. And I just got an offer from QueensCare and I was waiting on an offer from UCLA. And USC was still paying me which they would for the next 2 1/2 months still. I did not need to work. But work I did. I chose QueensCare and here I am 8 years later almost to the day actually. It was great to start something new. Lisa and I had just visited her uncle in Vegas, Lisa and I played golf, I ran a lot but back then I needed to go back to a job. Same place I was 7 years before that in 2006 when USC Dentistry let me go too. But that July in 2006 turned out to be the best time I've ever had and the best time with Lisa. So see? Not all Julys turned out to be like 2018. Most of them were plenty good actually. Anyway I spent the morning just relaxing at Lisa's couch, even watching Wolfblood which I found on her amazon Prime video account. Had me a nice fish sandwich from Burger King too only interrupted by Scott driving by, and leaving his present for Greg for tonight. He wasn't coming citing a danger to his wife with the Covid Delta variant picking up a head of steam in LA> though those of us that are vaccinated really aren't all that worried. 

Anyway that was the event of the day, Greg's goodbye party at Industry Hills. For some reason though the afternoon seemed to compress. I was getting this and that, puppy food for Claire, my golf clubs at Lisa's and pretty soon it was already almost 4 PM! The party started at 5 PM! And I knew without a doubt I would hit some kind of traffic. Still I got to the venue at 5:30 PM which really wasn't so bad. A lot of folks were there already. Of course the only ones I would know were Chris and Mandy and they would not get there until well past 6 PM. They must have hit the same wall of traffic from the westside as I did. Only my familiarity with the area got me there without relatively little stress. I mean it was like driving to my mom's house, which of course is just a few miles away. As far as the party, they really went all out. They had sushi for hor's doeuvres. Free drinks until the dinner got started (and then I paid $5 for a coke!!). I mean this thing was legit!! We were seated at a table with all of Greg's folks that he played golf with although really it was already enough to simply catch up with Chris and Mandy. I hadn't talked to Mandy since before the divorce actually. Their son Connor was not even one the last time we saw them. Now here we were, he's 3 turning 4 and Johnnie is turning 7 in a few months! Time sure passes. It was really good to catch up with them and I was very glad that I came, if not to hear Greg speak - according to his wife, as much as he ever had in 18 years of marriage. She is social and gregarious and a fitness instructor, and they as a couple would fit into one of those questions like: how did THEY ever get together? WHo knew?! The party had a full entertainment slate too. A comedian. A singer. and dancing. We made it to 9 PM with the comedian and then I started to worry about Claire all alone at home at night. And so I begged my leave. As did Chris and Mandy who had a sitter to worry about.  It was a really nice party and when I got home, Claire was doing just fine. Or so I thought...

More Time Than I Thought

So I thought I was supposed to drop off Lisa and Johnnie at LAX before 9 this morning. They had a 12 PM flight but for once Lisa wanted to be there early. As in really early. I couldn't believe my ears when she first said it. Couldn't be Lisa I thought. How many times did we have arguments over leaving for a flight late? Or argue over luggage and what was coming and what was not. Not that we missed any flights but she cut it much closer than I was comfortable. Every. single. time. And so yes abject shock was my reaction when she asked to get dropped off more than 3 hours before her flight! And so I was there at 8 AM on her front door with croissants for breakfast for mom and son. You can even see from the picture I got right up and didn't bother to even comb my hair. That's because it's Friday and I had to get up early anyway to lock in a tee time for next Sunday. I got up in time. But couldn't get one at Harbor. Oh well. Johnnie was clearly excited to go. He was already dressed up. And so when Lisa finally got out of the shower she informed me that she had texted earlier because there flight was moved from 12 PM to 4 PM. I took the day off for nothing! But hey, I wanted not to be bothered anyway. I had already gotten up to 420 vacation hours which was my limit. I literally am losing hours by not taking vacation.  Besides, this meant I simply get to spend more time with Johnnie anyway. Lisa asked me to stay and asked if she could get back to a nap since she had stayed up until 2 AM in the morning packing. Sounds just about right. Johnnie and I get to have the entire morning still since now I don't have to drop them off until about 1 PM later. So while Lisa napped, Johnnie and I pretty much goofed around like we usually would on a Saturday at my apartment anyway. It's like one of those Lisa piano lesson Saturdays on a fRiday is all. I even figured out how to get Wild Kratts on Prime video on Lisa's TV. And we got to watch the movie SING again!  It was all good. and I was happy to spend some extra time. For some reason the memory that came up today was July 2018  when they took off for Hawaii by themselves too. Only it ended up being the last couple of weeks I would end up living here at Maplewood. I still had a shred of hope when they left that perhaps maybe our marriage could be saved. Their Hawaii trip dashed every remaining bit of hope left. And that is ok. No such drama this time around. I'm just hoping to use Lisa's washer for my bulk items this weekend. She almost roped me into feeding all the animals but it turned out Courtney is staying there at her house and was given that task. Works for me! I already have the dog for the next 3 weeks.  Poor Claire.  i know he won't have nearly as much fun with me as he does with Johnnie. And i know Lisa cuddles him constantly and I really don't. Hey it's just for 3 weeks.  And so Lisa got to rest up a bit and then we ended up at Mitsuwa for lunch. Johnnie wanted som eudon, I got to have some chicken katsu and Lisa got to have some tuna rolls from the grocery store. A win-win-win. And I dropped them off as intended, by 1:30 PM almost 3 full hours before their flight. Sigh. Lisa actually asked if I could believe that. And of course I remarked that it was indeed shocking. And so it was that they off for Hawaii. And like my personality, I started shifting to my single guy with a dog persona from the single dad persona. I walked Claire later on around my neighborhood and sat through a bunch of episodes of El Cid. Yep that would be the Spanish knight known as Spain's national hero really. It's clear that I have to distract myself quite a bit these next 3 weeks to keep from missing Johnnie and that's ok. I do have plenty of distractions not to mention I have to do something with this time to move forward in my quest for financial independence and early retirement. There I said it. I'm quite serious about retiring early. And early calculations show that I might already have enough to do so right now. Or at least by the end of this year 2021. But of course I wish to do so on my own terms and I really do need to verify my calculations and talk to a real financial planner or tax expert. Either way I am grateful to be even at this point already. Well ahead of most Americans. The idea is to retire in relative comfort and maintain my current lifestyle. Then I get to switch personas again... stay-at-home DAD. I LIKE the sound of that!

Last Full Day Until Johnnie is Off to Maui

I'm clearly still in an emotional mood this morning. I knew this as soon as I woke up and turned to see Johnnie still sleeping in the bed and I just gently touched his forehead before I got up to take the dog out to poop and pee. It may have woke Johnnie up though because when I got back he was already up and it wasn't even 7 AM yet. Of course we did the morning routine... McDonald's breakfast, the dog patiently watching. She doesn't even make a motion to leave her spot when we take off either. I think she knows by now I'm dropping Johnnie off and coming right back. It would be the last time I'm doing that this month. I didn't stop to shoot baskets this morning. I already did my 280 active minutes as of last night. The earliest I had gotten to that point ever. Did it in 3 days. And that was my goal for the week! I've done 100+ active minutes for 3 straight days in fact.  By the time I got through with my morning, which was literally just team meetings back-to-back, first with my IS Team then the EHR team, it was already noon. It was already lunchtime. I felt pretty good about the last meeting though. I felt bad for those guys on the EHR team. They sounded like they've been beat up on for a bit and no one was defending them. That would be my job I think. And I told them I was serious about doing just that. Anyway I barbecued some wafer thin pork steaks for lunch. If there is something I'm already remembering about this summer it is how often I used that barbecue for lunch. At least once a week. And then of course the other thing I'm already remembering about this summer is picking up Johnnie at camp. He had his usual gallery of stuff he made at camp today (look at the pic below with an airplane he made... he and I actually finished it together). How cool is that! Today would be it for summer camp until the very last week. I couldn't help but think I had already made it through the summer season with him and I think he had a fun 5 weeks. Certainly a better experience for him than the summer before TK that's for sure. He's still affected by certain songs he hears that I would play when I picked him up during that time period. <Wait for Me by Hall and Oates for one> He doesn't want to hear them now because it makes him sad again he says. Awww. My son has a sentimental side. That's good. So Lisa called ahead and she had to do errands, including returning her RENT-A-CAR and her mom was over so her idea was to pack tonight and then I would just bring Johnnie over in the morning. I thought it was a SOUND idea considering we had spent MANY MANY pre-travel nights with Lisa just bugging because she was packing. She would stay up until the wee hours of the morning. It was not one of my good memories of her. I told her to tell Johnnie though and to my surprise it was Johnnie that was disappointed at that. And he wanted to go to her mom's house tonight. I had him so ingrained with routine that by hook or by crook, it is his time to go back to mom's house tonight and that was exactly what he was going to do. And of course Lisa said it was ok. I would just be coming over at 8 AM tomorrow morning to pick them up and drop them off at LAX. Hey at least I got time to clean up a part of the house. I did the kitchen, scrubbed the floors and did the living room too. I hadn't cleaned in more than 3 weeks. At least it looked pretty damn clean again. And so it was that today was the last full day of Johnnie before he left for Maui. I know he's going to have a good time. I hope I don't miss him too much...