Catch up on the last three months - clift notes

August and September were a mixture of ups and downs.

I got over pneumonia pretty quickly, but was even more run down than normal and tired all the time for a few weeks after. Followed up with normal doctor and said I should have been given a chest X-Ray and not worked for one to two weeks. Yeah, right.

Last weeks of August = work hell. We completed our first step in going public. Auditors were here torturing me and disorganization abounded. Worked too much – not worth it.

Jury duty early September. Civil case. Plaintiff felt excessive force was used by two trolley code compliance inspectors. Seem like the plaintiff thought they would settle, because they seemed unprepared and unorganized. Defendants’ attorney was sharp and organized. 5 days of testimony and 1 day closing arguments and deliberations. Since it was a civil case, only 9 out of 12 needed to agree to come to a finding. Nine out of 12, including me, thought there wasn’t excessive force used. There wasn’t a “preponderance of the evidence” showing there was. Yes, the guy was roughed up, but I think the plaintiff was resisting and threatening. I think justice was served.

At the very least, I was able to hang out in my old stomping group of downtown. Enjoyed revisiting my favorite food spots. Nice to actually take a lunch hour (lunch was actually an hour and a half) and enjoy life. Very interesting group of people. 84 year old man reminded my of Grandpa VJH. Very nice to talk to and very interesting life. A middle school principal in the El Cajon School District who lives in Jamul – restored my faith in there being good people out there – and even better, he’s helping our future.

I was juror number 11, and number 10 was also a controller. He was best friends with the controller who use to work with my new boss. Exchanged cards and have made contact. Mainly want to talk to his best friend to learn more about the workings of my new boss.

Drama about whether or not I would get paid by work for jury duty. Really very stupid. Ended up getting paid, but proved to me that the right hand doesn’t know what the left is doing.

Boss exploded on me one day. Completely unprofessional. Yelling so loud at me for something so stupid that the person in the office next to his could hear him thru the wall. Apologized, but I only accepted as a way to maintain fake peace. I think he could bully me by yelling, but obviously he doesn't know me. Need to get away from this place, but specifically him.

End of September spent catching up at work and waiting for SEC comments.

October was pretty bad and very good all at the same time. Jammed thru 3Q financial statements, updated S-1 for 3Q, and prepared all requested workpapers for auditors. Auditors barely here to look at the work before vacation. Drama while I was gone. Auditors waited until the 11th hour to audit some numbers. Cranking until the last minute at the printer. Said I didn’t give them things, which may be partially true, since I’m not perfect. However, if they did their work before I left for vacation (which they knew when I was leaving), all issues could have been avoided. Oh well. Maybe we’ll finally get it right during the annual audit, which based on this experience, I’m looking forward to (facetious).

Yes, vacation in Kauai mid October. Kiddos stayed with grandparents. 9 days without kiddos. Very relaxing. I forgot what it was like before kiddos came along. We could actually hold a conversation for an extended period of time without interruptions! Love Kauai. I want to live there for an extended period of time some day.

Had a great Halloween weekend with the guys. Weather Boy wore the Spiderman costume from last year (still fits), and Drewbie crammed into Weather Boy’s costume from two years ago – Bob the Builder. Drewbie loves Bob the Builder and I love the way he says “Bob.”

The boys and I went to the carnival at the local elementary school in costume. Jumpie slides, pony ride, mini Ferris wheel, games, book sale, etc. Had fun wandering around. $10 on rides, games etc. and $6 for a bag of books – great way to spend our mid day. Weather Boy and Drewbie had fun running around on the field behind the carnival. Got some great pictures. Weather Boy’s dad was able to join us for a while, which made it more fun. Weather Boy’s dad and Drewbie did pull ups together on the monkey bars. I’m surprised at how well he holds on – Drewbie that is.

Had fun Halloween night. Weather Boy has the concept down. Knock, “Trick or Treat,” Candy, “Thank you,” and run to the next house. Drewbie tried very hard to keep up with his brother. He was pretty good at putting his candy holder (shaped like a pumpkin) out for the candy and at saying “Bye-Bye.” Most of the time, he ended up dropping the pumpkin and running to keep up with Weather Boy. Very fun, but I’m glad that doesn’t happen every night. Really warm night here in So Cal – probably 75 degrees. Could have gone out in t-shirts and shorts. Quite the contrast to last year when we were all bundled up.

Back to work and in catch up mode. New round of auditors here currently. Yuck. No help from boss. Considered another job, but I need to call today and say I’m not going to take it, even though I would love to walk out of here. Tired of always being so far behind without any help. Suppose to be bringing in someone to help, but boss hasn’t finalized the ad.

Well, at least it’s Friday! I’ll post pictures from the last few months, including Halloween soon. I need to get back in blog mode. Adios!