Have one with me

With the local weather cool and cloudy I keep thinking about sharing a pint with my friends

(Self)Employed

What does it mean to be self employed?

(Self)Paid Sick Days
(Self)Taught Hours
(Self)Paid Holidays

Today I woke up sick with allergies. After taking the kids to school this morning I stopped back home to rest. When I got to the office we had a few fires that had to be put out. Then I made a few phone calls to follow up on some receivables. By the time 2:00 rolled around I was finally able to sit down and code. An hour later, for the same client, I took a phone call to consult with their programmer in Oregon. 5:10 I'm out the door to pick up my kids to enjoy the intense thunderstorm.

It's days like these that I can't determine if they are win, loose, or draw. Some days are easy wins...6 billable hours and I'm home at five. Others are losses...no billable hours and a headache from being spun around. But days like today could fit any of the labels. My hope is to learn something to make tomorrow better.

Today I realized that being self employed is about making the elements work together. It sounds like freedom to do what you want but it's really freedom to be creative about finding work, being trusted to do it, making time to do it, and making sure you're paid.

... and it all works out:

(Self)Esteem

Jazz Photos

Crawdaddy's is a popular music spot in Visalia where our band plays several times a month. Inside the restaurant you can find pictures of various jazz artists on the wall. These three are my favorite.



Miles Davis' intensity has always captured me. In this shot I see the scene around him completely absorbed into the moment of his playing. Complete freedom within the constraints.



Coltrane's stare is piercing without aim. It conveys his vision of changing the world through music.



Dizzy's smile represents the excitement of the music. This shot taken on 52nd in New York sums up the excitement that was found at the center of the jazz world.

Money Framework

I found this diagram on a post title "Framework for Thinking Through Personal Finance".

Presented in that light, can personal finance get any clearer?

Anniecalifornia

Ever get excited about something amazing and want to tell people?

That's the reason behind the previous post. My girlfriend Annie (aka: anniecalifornia) wrote that piece about our trip to Santa Cruz and I wanted to share it.

She's a writer with an amazing talent with words. Listening to her describe her experiences is where the magic starts. She easily finds the subtle forces that make things happen...all described with the best blends of color.

How she remembered it ...

"Sitting on the shelf of the world; I could feel the ocean pulling me in. I dipped my toe into the vast blue equanimity and shivered with the shock of the temperature battling the warmth of my blood. As I stared off at the almost hot California October, I felt the pressure of sight pressing upon the back of my neck. I turned to see him there staring at me. I turned back around almost embarrassed for having seen him looking at me when usually the opposite seems to be the truth. He sums up my form, the same form that he has learned to manipulate, love, and fuse with. At moments like these, my usual response is one of sarcasm or wit; however, I am thoroughly dumbstruck and awed by the intensity of his gaze.


I feel as if he is coming to a decision or a conclusion. I feel as if he needs me to stand still with my mouth silent. I give in to this for there must be a reason why he has not spoken yet. There must be a reason why he has not looked away. He brushes his dark curls from his eyes and smiles. “Let’s go home.” He whispers as he reluctantly peels himself off the rocks facing our ocean. I am in love.


I realize love the moment he walked away. I coveted the meaning of that gaze. I coveted the moment that I was all he was wrapped around. There were no Computer Programers, iphones, ipods, imacs…there was just i. He was neither distant nor appeasing for the sake of my sanity. He was mine and he was there with me, only me.


We climbed into his BMW. There was reluctance in that seat taking. Yet we had tasks to be accomplished at home, meaningful yet tedious tasks. We had taken this vacation with the onset of a task to get us back on track. We needed to remember that there was a mutual need for one another’s company and attention."

-- anniecalifornia

No longer interns!!

Weekend in Santa Cruz

Angelina and I spent a great weekend in Santa Cruz. We enjoyed lots of coffee and conversation amongst the diverse culture.

There is this clown that quietly shuffles up and down Pacifica avenue. He's always dressed in pink with gold wire frame glasses. His pink and white top hat clashes with the New Balance shoes but defines his funky and silent style. I've seen him the last three times I've been in Santa Cruz over the last three years.

Passing thoughts

A few recent thoughts:

I've known a few really smart people with a really high IQ. What I noticed about them is that they usually are depressed. Is it because they think themselves out of happiness?

Here's an original quote:

"Work with your hands to earn food, work with your mind to earn money, work with wisdom to earn your life"

From the funny farm:

If you're lucky you'll notice the most interesting things at the gas pumps. Last night I saw two women washing their car with the windshield squiggies. Washing as in not only the windshield, but the hood, trunk, side panels, and EVEN the insides!