Living in Long Beach

I know this picture is really bad quality but I am still learning how to use my newest camera phone (which has many options). Sometimes simpler is better. Anyway, now whenever I am going out of town (which seems to be all the time - I am posting this blog in a hotel room in Atascadero), I have to open up two suitcases so that Caj can sleep in one of them.

We asked some strangers to take a picture of us at the Paris hotel and casino on the Vegas strip while we were waiting for the valet to get our car. This was with my camera phone. Considering that it was after 1am and that Jessica and I were super full after our decadent meal at the VooDoo Lounge - I guess it looks okay.

...stays in Vegas. Nuff said.

So as some of you already know, I flew into FAT today!! FAT is the airport code for the Fresno airport. If you are afraid of flying, this would have been the worst. One seat on the left and two in the right. A bus took us to the plane (I didn't even know that they did that at LAX!) and the steps were the smallest that I've EVER taken to get onto a plane (including our corporate jets.) Sitting behind me was a little girl that SCREAMED the whole flight. She was directly behind me and her screams were so sharp that they were causing pain to my right ear. Finally I asked her parents (who didn't seem to care at all how loud she was screaming in this small plane) if gum would help. It did. She stopped. However, the father took my whole unopened pack of Orbit gum (my fav) and didn't give it back. I meant one or two pieces but whatever, it was worth it to get her to shut up. The flight attendant gave me the thankful eyes. And a few people thanked me when we got off the plane. A...

Just a quick post to let everyone know that Caj is doing much better. Hopefully, I will be able to take a picture of me injecting him with fluids soon. I think Abby, the future vet, would enjoy helping me if she was here. In the meantime, here is a picture of the new rug I got that Caj & Miska enjoy sitting on and looking out at the sun and birds. Seriously, surf's up dude!

I had a really long week. Tuesday afternoon, I drove to San Fernando, CA to give a presentation to Service Providers. I spent the night as I had a meeting the next morning at 7am down the street in Van Nuys. I tried taking a picture while I was there (and driving) by randomly sticking my phone out the window. In the first picture, I was trying to take the mountains but they are hard to see as it was getting dark. The second picture, as Father knows, is my special pet project that you can help with here: After my meeting was over in Van Nuys, I had a meeting back in Orange County and had to take someone to the airport. I understand why people complain about LA traffic now. Good grief...it took forever (though I knew better that to take the 101 to the 405. I wanted the scenic view, which it was, and knew it would take longer.) Then, I made Jessica mad by calling Father in Ohio to tell him it was 80 degrees! Though if he's reading this, it did go down to 73 by the time I was in Orange...

Please let me know in the comments whether you preferred the old blog layout or the new pink one. I think I like the black better and will probably change back tomorrow unless I hear any other opinions.

Here are the promised pictures of Caj. I wasn't able to get a before picture. Sorry. This is the best trim he has had. As Jessica would say " he is so soft...just like Cashmere." (Sorry, Eric.) Too bad he smells like a strong floral sachet. I think it is the overwhelming little old lady flower smell (from the bath) that is making Miska hiss at him much more that usual. (She hid for the first few hours after he got home, they were both so traumatized.) As for me, my new crown on my cracked molar (I grind my teeth at night and had no enamel left on it!) hurt a lot. So much so, that the dentist used temp glue and I have to go back in 3 weeks to get it permanent or....get a ROOT CANAL. Anyone want to see a picture of that?

Tomorrow I am getting my permanent cap. Yuk. But more importantly, Caj has a very important appointment tomorrow in Huntington Beach. Yes - Caj is going to the groomers! I will post before and after pictures this weekend. Meow!

In case any of you were wondering, I have created a map of my stores. I currently have 74 stores in CA, ranging from the bottom of Los Angeles County (Long Beach / Signal Hill) to the Fresno area (right under Modesto), 10 stores in Las Vegas and 3 stores in Utah (St George area).

I am very late in posting this...Jessica and Tinu now have a son, Langston James Emmanuel Thomas. I can't wait to teach him about all sort of things...rock and roll, film, surfing, etc... His birthday is 11-27-06 for those keeping tabs.

Well, I am happy to report that my work is bringing me back to LA. I had to go to Burbank yesterday and must say that I had forgotten how horrible the 5 can be, even in the middle of the day. Once you get past the inner city part of the 5 and to Glendale, it really is very pretty. I also had to go to Redondo Beach so I stopped by the South Bay Galleria. LA is different from the OC. How quickly I forgot. It's good to be back.

Here is a fun video of Tinu after becoming a MD!!

I have been living in Long Beach for the last three years as a transplant from Georgia. I cover a lot of Southern California for work and am going to use this blog to share experiences and ideas with my family and friends. (Yes, I am suggesting that this blog will probably be very boring for those who do not know me!!)