day one without cigarettes... again

today... well I guess you could say yesterday... I quit smoking. today was kinda hard. I always said before that when I was quitting, I would probably start again some day, but this time I'm going to stick to it! All I have to do is not smoke. after all, I don't smoke.

my one non smoking catch phrase to keep me

from smoking. it worked before, why not now?

anyway... today was a nice sunny day... it's been warm (like 60 degrees) the past two days, and now I am starting to get used to this nice weather. I really hope it doesn't get cold before I leave. I would like to remember Michigan as a warmer place.

we went to Frankenmuth yesterday to walk Jaani around the town... he liked it... it's one of the most touristy type towns in Michigan.

Today we walked around the trail in down town Fenton, and it didn't really go anywhere... a gazebo at one end, and it went across the river (twice) and ended up connecting to the side walk near a school.

Last weekend we went to downtown Detroit... it was kinda disappointing. it was too cold to walk very far, and the Eastern Market was empty because the season is too early. Greek-town has changed alot. the old alley that was converted into a mall has now been completely over taken by the casino. which kinda sucks cause Ev isn't 21 yet. That night we went bowling... just Ev and I... it was kinda fun, we got all dressed up for St Patrick's day (I wore a bow tie and plastic green hat, she wore a tiny green hat thing and a necklace with clovers on it.) I have been getting better at bowling... now I bowl an 80 to 100 instead of a 30 to 50.

Other than that, we have a count down going. 15 days until April 7th. that is when we're leaving for Seattle. Although, we don't know what car we are taking. The van we planned on taking just got totaled. it is fortunate that bernie survived the crash... I was amazed when I saw the interior that nothing bad happened.


at this point I am debating whether the air bag would have caused more damage or not. But Bernie did smash his face in pretty bad. he has to get plastic surgery this weekend, and in about 4 to 5 weeks he will be fit to go back to work.

It looks like the debate of how I'm getting to Seattle is under way. I hope this doesn't delay our leaving. I really want to get back out west, but not at the expense of my brother in law.

anyway. I guess that's my story. so far... tune back in next time for The trip of a life time: again

Later,
SteveO

Good old Wikipedia...

today my dad and I were trying to print up a blueprint from Grand Rapids Builder's Exchange and we ran into a problem with paper sizes... we knew the paper was 11 X 17 inches, but all the computer gave us was names for the paper sizes... so I went on to Google and searched for paper sizes... saw a Wikipedia article... and decided that was the best choice. I was very pleased to find out that the paper name was Tabloid.

it just goes to show that you can find just about anything on Google and/or Wikipedia. they are a great team.

Other than that, the departure date for Seattle is April 7th; 20 days from now... first thing in the morning.

this past week we had a nice sunny day... then it got cold again... other than that, we got two trucks at the Jewish Academy on Tuesday, so I was working there all week... and.. good night.


Later,
SteveO

mom is back

well, today mom got back from her vacation. It seems that she got stuck in traffic on US 23 just after she got back into Michigan. apparently there was some sort of accident that stopped her for a while.

Ev and I went shopping today. Guess had a closing sale at Great Lakes Crossing... so we went to see if anything was worth getting... and I had a $10 coupon for Old Navy (Banana republic or Gap as well).

after shopping we went to Mongolian Barbecue for dinner...

I guess not too much has been going on. Ev has been upset because her friend is upset with her getting engaged to me... oops.

It has created a little bit of drama between us. which is annoying. he calls her constantly, and they have been talking on the phone almost every waking moment.

I have been trying to figure out how long it will take for me to get back to Seattle. I really want to get out of the cold, but I want to say goodbye to everyone before I leave (again)... I suppose I wish that I had spent more time with my friends, but Ev doesn't think that any of them are her type... she hasn't exactly tried to get along with anyone here... which is not very good, but what can I do...

anyway, that's my thoughts in a nutshell.

Later, SteveO

No Cream in my coffee!!!

Today I came downstairs to find that all of my coffee cream was gone... when I went to use the trash I saw the empty container sitting there. Normally if I were responsible for this it wouldn't bother me... Evelyn knows how much my morning coffee means to me... so she wouldn't do it...

I guess what bothers me the most is that my brother is such as ass hole. He drank over half my French vanilla coffee cream... and then has the audacity to tell me that I have everything paid for while he eats a sandwich made from bread I bought...

The other thing is that I just bought the cream a couple days ago. Normally that same sized container will last me over a week, but it only lasted a few days. You would think that... god dammit, I hate my family.... 'cept my Dad... he never does anything wrong... and he provides everything too. but my brother is a pompous ass hole... my mom bitches and screams about everything... Susie always leaves her kid here and tries to volunteer me to watch her kid... I guess nothing is really wrong with Sally and Sheila... but I never see them... and I just want to go back to Seattle.

This really is the last straw. I want out of this fucking state... Michigan sucks... there is nothing to do (unless you want to go to the bar or sit around watching TV)... no good jobs... it's cold... and I miss Seattle so much.


Well anyway... I get to go get dad from the air port today. Evelyn will probably go with me. I don't know when mom is coming home... but I know she is driving.

Other than that... I've been looking around at new (to me) cars... I kinda like the idea of a used Cadillac... that would be nice... but who knows right now. things are kinda crazy.

so, that's how my day started.

Later,
SteveO

what to do now...

I have been trying to figure out exactly what my plan is... I want to go back to Seattle, but it's just so hard to try and get back across the country.

Funny how much harder it is to get across country without the support of your parents to help you out.

anyway... so, now evelyn and I are trying to move back...

We were thinking about moving to Holly, but I guess that isn't the best idea... not if I'm moving to Seattle...

I guess another thing that kinda sucks is that right now we need a new project manager at the company... and as much as it would suck to be stuck in the office all the time... it would be nice to make more money. anyway... I guess I'll just have to see what's going on.


Other than that... Jaani (my dog) is doing great! he is a cheerful over-attached little pug. but he's my little buddy... we just got a check from Genesee county for getting him fixed... so that helps...

this past week I went out to Gull lake... I stayed from Monday to Wednesday... and 12 hours Monday, 14 hours Tuesday, and 13 hours Wednesday... The Gull Lake Inn is ok... the beds aren't comfortable... the heater kinda sucks... and the TV reception is sometimes fuzzy... but Bernie and Josh are pretty cool... I don't want to go back out there... but there are 2 trucks worth of cabinets waiting to be sorted and unpacked... and work on the 7 science labs, 2 prep rooms, 2 CAD labs, 2 Art rooms, art gallery, and about a dozen offices need to betaken care of soon before we can move on to the next wing of the building... and the pressure was on to finish the upstairs art and science/prep rooms... I guess it is a 6 million dollar job... and having two guys working on it almost all alone for 5 months is kinda bad...
I fear that I'll be going back out there next week, but I don't know what I'm going to do with Evelyn... I hate leaving her here alone... because she still doesn't know anybody yet... and the only people she's met so far are all the way down in Dearborn... hmmm... .what to do... what to do.

anyway... Other than that, Ev has been looking at this job for National City bank... as a telephone banker... so, I was thinking with this check I would put her through driver's training... I think that would do her a lot of good. I kinda can't believe she still doesn't have her license.

oh well... that's life I guess.

I'll be back when I can think about more to say...

Later,
SteveO

Another day in paradise...

well, I guess things are going well. The more I think about it, the more I want to go back to Seattle... and Evelyn wants to go back even more. I don't think it was the right thing for me to come out here, nor to bring her. I know we plan on getting married, but it just isn't a good place for either of us.

I guess that we will head back to Seattle soon. Part of me wants to stay until Cedar Point opens again, but mostly I just want to go back. I miss the mountains. Although, I was kinda thinking about California as my destination. I guess I don't really know for sure.

Anyone have any Ideas?

Fun with Google!

I've been playing around with all the google services... Google Checkout... the "new" blogger... Google Earth... Picasa... Google Desktop... Google Reader... Adsense... Froogle... Google Book Search... Google Code Search... not to forget Gmail, Google Video, and Google News...

My only complaints are that Google Updater doesn't work well for me... and I can't install the Google screen saver as a stand alone application...

I use Gaim in stead of Google Talk... and it works fine with the program...

Google Video is better than having TV... now even more so that youtube.com and Google have teamed together...

I am very happy with Google's services... and I'm currently working on the Google Maps API so that I can have a really cool map on my blog of everywhere I have been...
anyway... I guess that's about it about Google...

I also went over to Micro Center the other day... I got Google Hacks and Java Swing in a Nutshell for only $4.99 each... plus I got a 2GB USB flash drive for $15.99

Jaani (my dog) got fixed yesterday... and we picked him up from the doctor today...

I figured out that the other Laptop needs a new hard drive today... so I'm just going to throw a 60GB drive in there... I just have to get the drive from the store still...

I finished reading Introducing Philosophy... and started reading Introducing Political Philosophy I have been very happy with the Introducing Series... so much in fact that I ordered Introducing Hinduism and Introducing Memory and Learning just the other day from textbooks.com... I was happy to find out that using Google Checkout I could get $10 off my first purchase... so I think of it as getting 2 for one with the books...

so... I have 4 books, a wife, and a dog/kid to keep me busy for a while... on top of looking for a good computer job... I am getting tired of working in the carpentry industry... it just isn't much fun.

anyway... I guess that's all kids...

Later,
SteveO