One of the cool things about living here

THIS...


EVENTUALLY LEADS TO THIS...

Happy Valentine's Day...

... a day late, no less.

The idea was a good one. Every year since Stacy and I have been going out, we went to dinner at a small little Italian joint in Fresno, called Mike's Pizzeria (the one on West and Shields.) I hear the pizza is great - but we've only ever had their calzones. Even when we moved, we still went to Fresno on the weekend before or after V-Day for dinner. Then came the big move and last year's V-Day away from home - and no Mike's dinner.

This year, with the help of my cousin Sylvia, my Tia Chunca and cousin Jade, Mike's was being delivered for V-Day dinner. A calzone for everyone, packed in dry ice and shipped overnight via UPS. It was a great idea.

Then came the storm. And apparently, UPS doesn't follow the Post Office's "neither rain nor snow nor sleet..." motto. Because dinner never arrived. And the price for the overnight service? Yeah, UPS doesn't offer refunds for weather-related delays. Instead, Stacy made dinner and I ended up "telling" her what I'd planned.

The UPS guy showed up around 11 Thursday morning and we planned to have them for dinner. They were good - filling and just as scrumptuous as always.

* Thumbs-up to Mike's Pizzeria, Syl, Tia Chunca and Jade.
* Thumbs down to Mother Nature and UPS.

This is why they close school?

The kids got out early on Tuesday. School was closed Wednesday and Thursday. And to round things out, they shut 'em down again for Friday. And Monday is a holiday...

Thanks for the Memories, Old Fresno...

(Credit to the Bee for the pic)

I just saw this article from last week's Fresno Bee. They closed the Old Fresno Hofbrau. This place, an icon in downtown Fresno for generations, was one of our after-work hangouts not too far from The Bee. It was where Me and Stacy and Steve and Michelle used to go when I was falling head over heels for Stace. Stev-o and Michelle were such great friends during those times. Michelle has stories about me at the Old Fresno that she'll will be telling my grandkids...

The best thing on the menu: Hot Open Face Turkey Sandwich; The best thing at the bar: Those ice-cold goblets filled with a cold beer.

Fresno won't be the same without it...

Yes, There is More to Life Than the Weather...

But in the past couple of weeks, it has - by far - dominated our lives. Today started with snow, which turned to sleet and freezing rain. The sidewalks downtown were slushy and slippery. The roads were dangerous - icy. When I finally got home, my truck started sliding toward the tree next to the driveway and I ended up having to shovel around the tires so I could get some traction. But, the highlight of today's weather...

The Metro was empty on the ride home. Most companies had shut down early to get ahead of the ice storm that was on the way. The parking lot at the metro station was all but emptied out. Only a few cars. Mine was covered in ice - the door was even frozen shut until I could pull it open. I had no choice - I started the truck and let it run for about 20 minutes while the defroster melted away all of the ice.

Then I noticed that my truck was in an empty parking lot covered in snow and ice. Hmmmmm... What could me and my truck do in that slick, snow-covered parking lot? (Scccrrrreeeeeecccchhhhh sounds a lot different on snow - but it was fun sliding around like that. I felt like a kid again - if even for just a minute.)

Ten Days Later...

This blog thing really has a way of dissolving unless you really stay on it. Life goes on and days pass by... Let's see, since my last post:

* Indianapolis Colts beat the Chicago Bears 29-17 in Super Bowl XLI (That's 41) in a pouring down Sloppy Bowl in Miami. I won $20. Lost way more than that. But, * tter. They lost the week before. This week was much much better. Zack also got an A on his speech about Nat King Cole for Black History Month.

* Steve Jobs posted an open letter to the record labels, calling for an end to DRM software in music downloads. Basically, it's the technology that forces you to play music that you bought from iTunes on an iPod only. He even raised the possibility of licensing his technology for a fee - an idea that the recording industry jumped on. The jury's still out. Check it out.

* It snowed. Only a little bit. Did I mention that already? This time they closed school. They shouldn't have. It didn't snow the whole rest of the day. But it did leave a nice couple of inches, enough for a couple of hours of playing. It's actually supposed to be snowing again as I type this - but I can't tell because I'm in the basement. It's supposed to turn to ice anyway. Great!

* Stacy scored her first contract for the school. She researched the information, wrote a proposal, facilitated a meeting of both parties, negotiated the terms and closed the deal. She's really doing a great job at that school.

* Josh Kwan came to town so everyone came over here to hang out for lunch - us, lori and spencer and cecelia and oltac. and kids too. it was cool just hanging out. a bunch of san jose friends.

Overall, it was a pretty cool nine days. I'll try to stay committed to this blog. It's tough... But wait until you hear what I'm trying to pull off for Valentines Day... If it happens, it will be so cool.

Lesson from Katrina

There was some footage out of central Florida where a deadly tornado ripped through as people slept. It was sad - all of those people with their homes and all of their belongings strewn about. And elderly gentleman interviewed by the TV crew said that there had been a lot of response and many offers of help to start with the cleanup. People, total strangers, drove to the affected areas and pulled into neighborhoods and just got out of their cars and started helping.

Americans were quick to jump in and help when they could - a lesson this country has learned from Katrina.

HEAT

It's back... and it cost me $1000 less than the first repair guy wanted to charge.

Nice...