So I'm walking down the street with Ray Liotta.......

I made it Friday with my sanity intact....well, at least as intact as it was at the start of the week.

Temps in the 20's today but I think it is going to be cloudy for the next 7 days.

I called my tenants yesterday and they didn't answer the phone. I left a message but no returned call. I will give it a shot again today.

This morning I have to go to a breakfast meeting with a vendor. I really don't want to go but our curriculum director asked me to go with him because I am part of this project. I always find the conversation uninteresting or "polite" type talk. At least it shouldn't last long. I can always say I have something else to get to and excuse myself.

Jess has a game tonight against the number 1 team in the state. Last time they beat us by 40 and I would imagine it will be a similar thumping tonight. This team is a recruiting base for Iowa State and they recruit girls and families from all over, even one from Australia, to play at Ballard and then on to the Iowa State program. They have 4 division 1 caliber players on the team.

Drew has early morning practice again. He is up and about and ready for the day. We had his parent teacher conference yesterday and he is doing well.

Oh! They are shooting a movie here in Perry. I mean a BIG movie, Ray Liotta and some other stars are here in town this week and have been shooting in some of the locations here in Perry. I have no idea what the movie is but they are spending quite awhile here in town. I think it may be a month. I will have to go watch the movie just to see the town in it.

Nancy is meeting with her sisters this afternoon to look at nursing homes for their dad. It is a difficult time they are going through so my they have been in my thoughts and prayers.

Jess plays basketball Saturday in Des Moines at Des Moines Christian and then Sunday morning we are driving to Council Bluffs for a volleyball tournament. I wonder if I will be able to fit in a nap somewhere along the line.

Off to start

Since when did the 40's seem balmy?

Well I get to take the trash to the curb for the ladies to pick up today. I hope they don't get a run in their stockings. FSOB

It looks like the weather is going to be good today. I think it will be in the 40's. Maybe I can get enough snow to melt so I can walk to work again. Right now I have big o'l drifts.

Class went well last night although it moved kind of slow. I had a guy from Laos and he really struggled. He told me after class he was going to drop, get some basic knowledge and then try again next semester. Everything else went pretty well. I did have to stay until 9:40 because I had a student that was working on the pre-test and took forever.

I received the letter from my plumber backing me in the whole issue with the renters. I will give them a call today and get this worked out. I am curious how it will go but not really looking forward to it.

Jess said she had a hard practice last night and it was good. Tonight she has volleyball practice after basketball practice. We play in a tournament in Council Bluffs on Sunday so any of you that want to make the trip East, let me know and I will send you the details.

Drew has practice again this morning so he is up and about early. I think he hates getting up early to go but is happy when school is out and he doesn't have to go to practice.

Nothing on the calendar for today. It will be good to have time in the office.

Off to start

Indignant is an understatement

We are half way through the week and I seem to be a bit out of sorts. I have no idea about the weather, which is usually something I pay attention to, and I just feel a bit off.

I teach class tonight. I started with 9 people showing up last week and now I have 14 in class. It kind of stinks because I covered all of the first day stuff last week so I will have to get the newbies up to speed quickly. It really wastes time having to redo things.

The girls lost their game last night. Jess played pretty well. She scored 12 but we had a girl on the team that just kept shooting three pointers, only hit two and wouldn't pass it to the open girls underneath. If the coach doesn't get that turned around, we are going to loose a bunch of games coming up.

Drew's team lost as well but only by 1. He played well. Had some blocked shots and some steals. He didn't score but had a good defensive game.

So I got the certified letter from the tenants. Long story short. They are claiming I broke Iowa code by not providing adequate heating in the house for two days. They wrote a statement about how I knew the furnace needed repairs and refused to do them and the plumber told them the furnace was a piece of crap and I should have had it fixed a long time ago.

Well, I talked to the plumber and he basically said they were nuts and he is writing a statement for me. They want money knocked off the rent to cover expenses they had while the heat was out. They still owe $500 rent past due, the $650 deposit and haven't paid rent on-time since the first month they moved in. When they both lost their jobs, I let them float on the rent until they could catch up and this is what I get.

Once I get the letter from the plumber I will go and talk to them and get this taken care of. It may be time for them to move on.

Life is full of adventure. I hope there are no "kick in the crotches" waiting for me today.

Off to start

The oath of office

We will have a new president sworn in today. It is going to be quite the event and I plan on putting the tv on today to watch the activities. There are many challenges ahead.

Weather is going to be ok the next few days. It will step up each day until it gets to 40 on Thursday and then it steps back down and gets cold and snow is expected for Sunday. WINTER!!!!

Drew was sick yesterday. He had an upset stomach Sunday night but got up and went to practice Monday morning. We were supposed to have a parent teacher conference at 7:30 but when he came to my office, he looked terrible and said he felt sick. I sent him home and he slept almost the whole day. He didn't eat anything until dinner.

I made chicken nuggets and mac & cheese. It was a hit. Drew ate quite a bit so I think he was feeling better. As I look back he barely ate anything on Sunday.

Jess has a game tonight. It is about an hour away. Carlisle is on the south east side of Des Moines so I will head out around 4:30. Tom Tom should get me there.

Did I mention I almost hit a train the other day. It was after the Carrol game and I was driving through a small town. I saw what appeared to be a low bridge or a wall in the middle of the road. It was dark and cloudy so visibility wasn't that great but when I slowed down, I saw it. A dang train track with a train sitting on it. No lights, no railroad signs, no cross bars. Dang!

The post office was closed yesterday (MLK day) so I couldn't get my certified letter. I will fill you in on that one tomorrow.

I am up to 14 in my Wednesday night class. I really hope I don't get anymore. Class becomes more of a lecture with a bunch of people. Small class sizes allows me to work with the individuals more.

Off to start.

Still hating Mondays

We had a bit of a warm-up this weekend. It was in the 30's so some of the snow melted and we can see some cement. What a nice change that is.

I am not sure what the weather is going to be like this week but I hope it stays warm.

Friday night the girls lost their basketball game. The team played like crap and the other team couldn't miss a shot. Jess had 16 and was the only one to have double digits but she probably should have had 30. She missed 6 or 7 free throws and a few shots she should have made and normally does.

I was talking to the boys coach last night and he said the other teams school allows them to practice on snow days. We can't do that here so we hadn't practiced in a week and they were practicing every day.

I have a couple meetings today but since it is MLK day, DMACC is closed and I don't teach class tonight.

I got a notice that I have a certified letter to pick up at the post office from my tenants. That can't be good. I wasn't home Saturday when they tried to drop it off so I will stop and the post office this morning and see what the hell.

I have Drew's parent teacher conference this morning at 7:30 so I have to go in a little bit early this morning. (Nancy - if you are reading this, I will stop by around 7:20.)

Ok, off to start the adventure.