Christmas Time A Coming

With the "Advent" of Christmas, in addition to a season of preparation comes also more secular concerns. I'm working on cards, photos, letters, gifts, trips, parties, work, school events, clothes and all sorts of things that make this "The most wonderful time of the year".

Watched Father of the Bride on TV with Sarah last night. A good movie and I am starting to feel a bit like George Banks. As his wife said, no eye rolling, complaining or loosening the top button on your shirt.

Predictions made for 2009

Reviewing some notes made this January 5, 2009

What will 2009 bring?

Effective marketing and pricing will be prized

Take nothing for granted - changes are going to be expected and desired by business and customers e.g hiring, pricing, buying

Pretty much on target - maybe a little strong.

The word for 2009 is likely: FLAT. Not a big downturn, but little movement upward as well. Must keep pushing for 2010.

Three more work weeks in 2009: want to make the most of them

Reviewing the to-do's for 2009, I got them done in the nature of getting the cases resolved. But I am falling a little short on the 52 new clients goal set. So far, it's at 32. Maybe there'll be a rush but if I can get 4 more, I'll be happy and ready for 52 or more in 2010.

Friday after Thanksgiving

I went into work today, working at the court until 11 and then in the office until 3:30. Very productive and ready for Monday.

Tomorrow is my my 18 mile marathon training run starting at 0600. Down Col. Rowe 2nd St. Trail, over to Chase Tower and Bentsen Tower and up parking garage. Down to the airport, over to 10th and to 2nd and then back up 7 miles to home. I'm ready.

Happy Thanksgiving

It is Thursday Nov. 26 and the U.S. Thanksgiving. We've got Susan's parents here for the day or two and dinner is about to get cooking by yours truly. I've followed our tradition by getting the meat already prepared from the local BBQ joint, Rudy's. In Houston we used to get it at a place called T Bone Tom's which I understand was recently featured on Guy Fieri's show Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives. Pretty amazing of all the places in Houston they'd find that one, but its a good place.

With a captive audience, I'm trying a few new recipes. I'm going to use my new fryer and make sweet potato fries at home. Hope some will enjoy but ... we'll see. It's good to be the cook.

I've got to do a little (little) work tomorrow but over the weekend, I hope to

get the Christmas cards started

get the outside Christmas lights hung

do an 18 mile marathon training run (did a 6 mile turkey trot today)

watch UT beat Texas A&M tonight

see the movie The Blind Side (good book BTW)

play 9 holes of golf

That way, I'll be ready for Monday, next week and next weeekend.

200+ Miles Saturday

Friday afternoon I rented a Harley Davidson Street Glide for a day. I picked it up at 4:00 from the dealership. There are new owners, Gene and Bobby. Bobby is a local attorney I know a little. Kind of a glamorous business to get into, like owning a restaurant. Lots of inventory and employees.

It was raining slightly and getting dark so I went straight home Friday. Saturday, I went for a run of 9 miles and then met Tom, his son Mark & Jeff and we went to pick up a 5th but he had been out late and was in no riding shape. From McAllen we headed east to Raymondville where we had breakfast at a little cafe, Casa Blanca. Amazing the places you go into on a motorcycle that you'd never otherwise stop in. The waitress was very nice and the food was good and cheap. Afterwards we headed east to Port Mansfield. I had never been there. Its kind of a dead end right in to the bay. Some house and commercial sites there but very small. After a break there we came back down a road I had ridden my bicycle on, FM 1420. That is where we had to stop due to high wind in the Jalapeno 100 in 2008. I saw the little church we were at.

Going further, we stopped at Camp Perry which is the local Boy Scout camp. It was a nice setup right on the arroyo. Tom is very active in the scouts (both he and his son were Eagle Scouts/Order of the Arrow) so we were able to go in the OA Leader room where Tom showed me his "Wood Badge" which he called the Ph.D. of scouting. There was a camp going on so people were there. We also met Pete who is the camp director.

My scout history was not so illlustrious. We moved when I was in junior high. I had been active in the Cub Scouts and Webelos, but going to a new Boy Scout troop, I never quite fit in and lost interest. Never even made it to Tenderfoot rank and only earned one merit badge (in Music!). You earned several badges by going to scout camp but I never made it there.

After the camp, Tom asked if I had ever been to Dirty Al's in South Padre. "No"... "Well we've got to go there then!" Off we went, and it was worth it. The fried shrimp were as good as promised. Excellent. At this time it was 3:30 so time to head back. I got the motorcycle back at 5:00 p.m. and it was a long day of riding. When I got home, I was not able to stay up and watch the Longhorn game. Out by 8:00 p.m Susan said.

Today I was at home mostly. We got the backyard trimmed and cleaned up the beds. It looks good. It was a nice day so I washed the car and went to the driving range in preparation for my golf game tomorrow at the redesigned Brackenridge Park in San Antonio. I'm looking forward to see how they fixed up one of my favorite courses of all.

Thursday Nov. 19

Today was a productive day getting into the office relatively early. The work I've been doing to get ready for the holiday has been beneficial. Now it seems like I am waiting for things to happen. At least I've already done the work to get to this waiting part. Marie came in a bit late (she's not feeling 100%) but that was OK. I think she is mildly surprised to see what kind of boss that I am. "Treat people the way you'd like to be treated" - works every time.

This evening, I worked on my guitar playing. I was looking at a new guitar the other day but it seems like the ones I have work just fine. Talked with my friend Paul and he was telling me about going to a guitar show (like a gun show/swap) in Arlington so maybe I'll make it up there next year.

Feeling sick

I think I'm coming down with a cold so I'm trying to keep well rested today. I was supposed to get up early to run but it got cancelled and I used the extra 2 hours to sleep. We had two trials in court today and then I went to the end of a seminar. After my orthdontist appointment I thought that the 73 degree weather deserved some outside time. So I went the golf course late in the afternoon and got 9 holes in, shooting 43. I finished as the sun was going down and it reminded me of many similar golf games when I was in high school and college. It is always nice to see the sun set when you are outside.

I figured the fresh air would do me well. I hope to rest up again tonight and feel better tomorrow.

Tuesday Nov. 17

The week is clipping by. I did receive a check from a new client today so I've got some new work to do. I was at the court today and the day went by pretty quickly. I attended a seminar at the McAllen Chamber of Commerce on internet marketing and enjoyed it. I had a bit of experience with the subject having paid many $$$$s over the year for different web sites that never quite lived up to promise.

Highlight of the day was the call to Shadow Creek Golf Club in Las Vegas. I decided that I would shoot for the stars on my one round out there. Who knows when I might go back? Its already been nearly 6 years.

So I decided to make the call. I spoke to Joy who unfortunately told me that Thursday Dec. 31 was reserved for the high rollers. I was under the impression that golf was only available Mon-Thurs. I inquired about Monday but told her I'd have to check our flight departure. She suggested calling back later about Thursday and then also suggested that Sunday morning would likely be slow and that the chance was best for me then. She thought that everyone would be partied out by Sunday morning. She said the weekday rule was just a guide.

So I was really pleased I had called early and made plans to call back Dec. 1 to check on a tee time on Sunday Jan. 3, 2010. The round is expensive but it should be worth it, since it includes limo transportation to/from the course, cart, forecaddy and food and drink. Can't wait to get a chance to play this top 50 course in the USA

Rock N Roll 2009 San Antonio

I completed the half marathon in San Antonio today. I think my time was 2:20. I ran with my friend Tom and guided him in to his first half. He was pretty happy at the end especially when he sprinted ahead of me. He seems to go in waves, alternately running smoothly but with some bouts of tough breathing.

Several highlights were:

Good start organization

Ran right by the Alamo

Interesting course

Good weather

Seeing his family on the course

PF Changs afterwards as a race sponsor: lettuce wraps, wonton, dessert, fruit infused water.

Quick pickup by his wife Karen.

I stayed at his home on Saturday night and we had fun having dinner and then playing the guitar. We had some good conversations - I guess I'm at the point when I appreciate the honest approach.

Saturday I had a nice golf game with Dan. We actually ran into our mutual friend Tim who joined us. Tim used to live in Harligen but now lives in San Antonio. The course Fair Oaks Ranch was a really good one. Reminded me of the Riverside Golf Course in Austin where I spent my formative years. I played pretty well: 46-42 and gave

Dan a good game on the back 9.

Friday the Bishops Golf Tournament was a success. After we finished the older guys hit the hotel about 7:00 p.m and were done: "Goodnight!". I was not ready for a night watching tv so I changed and went out for a drive, a milkshake and a late movie. I saw "Couples Retreat" which I enjoyed, despite a quick snooze in the middle.

Thursday Nov 12

Its been a busy day at work getting ready to head out of town for 3 days. Friday I leave for San Antonio at 0600 so no time for anything (even a cup of coffee) in the morning. I'm playing in the Bishop's Golf Tournament at Canyon Springs (supposed to be a nice course). I'm staying in a local hotel Friday night. Saturday, I've arranged a golf game with a fellow attorney Dan at Fair Oaks Ranch in Boerne. If the course is anything like the house I visited there (see August Triathlon post), it should be top notch.

Saturday night I'm staying with my friend Tom and his family at his fine home in Terrell Hills. Then he and I are running the San Antonio 13.1 mile half marathon Sunday morning. I'll be running under the name "Karen" his wife who signed up but can't run this year. My friend/training partner Kristi will be there also, so I hope we can all run together.

Sunday Nov. 8

Today its been a nice day as has the previous few weeks. I have been looking for reasons to get outside. Today I decided to hit a bucket of golf range balls. When I got home I decided to wash the car. So now my swing is grooved for next Friday (Bishops Golf Tournament in San Antonio) as well as the follow up round with fellow attorney Dan (tenative) on Satuday. I'll be up there for the Rock N Roll San Antonio half marathon (13.1 miles). I'll be running as Karen, my friend Tom's wife who signed up but hurt her foot. I've beeen looking for ways to keep the running fun - an alias will be a good one.

Friday night we attended the Chamber of Commerce banquet honoring hospital general counsel Jim Darling. That was a nice event, although there did not seem to be as many people as in years past. I guess chamber participation mirrors the economy. Memorial had their last regular season game and had to win by 10 points to make the last playoff spot. There were ahead 21-0 at halftime but lost 24-21. So the football season is over for this year. Wait Til Next Year!

Saturday, I participated in the 2nd Annual Ride for Breast Cancer, a local cycling event put on by Texas Oncology and Team McAllen. I did the 40 mile ride. I had not riden that distance in some time so it was a challenge especially toward the end, but I got it done. I was pooped when I got home and took a long nap. Sarah went out in the evening so I cooked shrimp & grits at home based on a good recipe. That was a good end to the day.

Reading a good book called Go Like Hell which is about the Ford-Ferrari rivalry at Le Mans in the mid 60s . Interesting to read about event that happened right about when I was born!

Getting Better

I've been working on a new approach at work. Not only have I been recommending people to do various things (some which they don't want to do), I've started to add about three sentences on "Why" it is a good idea. Amazing how people start to listen when you list the proverbial three good reasons.

I tried it today. I've been working on a hard to settle case. Once I finally cracked the code, I quickly moved to send the documents to get signed. Along with three good reasons why they should sign. Hopefully I'll have them all back tomorrow or the next day. Best of all, it's bill time!

We've had some great weather lately. Its made for beautiful sunsets as well with the time change and the sun setting about 6:15 or so.

Tomorrow we're going to see Sarah's picture she had taken professionally after getting her braces off. The photographer is very nice. We're looking to get a family photo done soon as well.

I got the invite to go another trip, this one to Chile. It looks like it might be more trip that I'm ready for at this time, but it is fun to look at flights to Punta Arenas Chile. The area of Patagonia is very beautiful according to the pictures.

The Terminators fantasy football is going great. I'm doing better than ever and spending less time on it. Last night we gathered at Jorge's beautiful new house (complete with outdoor kitchen, projection TV, professional kitchen, wine cellar and rooftop patio) to watch the Monday night game. Livin' Large!

Halloween 2009

We had a memorable Halloween, hosting a surprise party (15th birthday) for Lauren. She came over with her parents, dressed up to go trick or treating. Imagine her surprise to find a houseful of friends. All the kids dressed up nicely and they had a good time with pizza, chips and sodas.

Our friends Ronnie & Bridget came over with their 2 and 1 year old children so it was lots of fun playing with them. Reminds me of the old days. You forget what its like to pick up a kid and toss them around! So light!

Today started the end of daylight savings so the fall back gave an nice extra hour of sleep. I played in the church band and we really rocked the last song, Trading My Sorrows (Yes Lord/Yes Lord/Yes Lord/Amem!).

It was such a nice day I wanted to do something outside. So after I met Susan and Sarah for lunch I went to play 9 holes. I hit a bucket of balls first and then walked, carrying my bag. I had an eventful day - could not hit the longer clubs off the tee without getting into trouble, so I hit a lot of irons. Good time.

I also saw the Michael Jackson movie THIS IS IT which was excellent - 4 stars. A great combination of movie, play and reality show. Even if you're not a Michael fan, you'd like it. And since everyone likes Michael Jackson, it was really good.