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(2) Sat Apr 01 2006 12:47 PST Adventures in Babysitting: We watched our neighbor Payton so his mom and dad could go to the temple Thursday night. Payton is almost two. He had a lot of energy. He did laps around me at one point for about 10 minutes. When his parents got home, he ignored them and kept on playing with me and Susie. His mom couldn't believe it. Normally he runs to her, she said.

Everyone says this proves I'll be a good father. I still have doubts. It's easy to be an entertainer when you know your energy only has to last for three hours. It is entirely another matter to do it full time.

We're visiting mom for conference weekend. Mostly, we are trying to think up creative things to do with her two-foot Christus she recently acquired. I'm of the opinion that one does not need such things littering around their abode to prove one is a true Christian, to themselves or to others. Tonks sure does like it, though.

(4) Mon Apr 03 2006 12:41 PST Sunny Days: All weekend I listened to somebody I am related to complain about Daylight Savings Time. I like daylight savings time, for many reasons.

1. It's a change of pace.

2. I can get home before dark now, and actually do something outside. What a concept.

3. I still get up when it's dark now, so I don't have to feel like a total lazy bum. (I've started working out again to appease Susie).

4. Busy season's over, so who cares about the missed hour of sleep? I mean, really, since the effects of this day are on a Sunday, I slept just as late as I would have otherwise.

5. It saves energy. And that saves money. And I like money.

I went to Priesthood session of conference by myself. And it was no big deal. I don't understand why people are afraid to do things alone. I mean, I know no one in Bakersfield, so what? I went, I got lost in Oildale, I communed, I came home, I ate a blondie. What's the big deal? It was nice to hear President Hinckley talk about racism and acceptance. Which has left me wondering about a certain topic I read about in NewsWeek not too long ago, that is, where do you draw the line on acceptance?

For example, same sex marriage. If we, as a society, decide to accept the notion that marriage is not just between a man and a woman, and can be between a man and a man, then why not between a man and multiple women? Or to animals? Where do you draw the line? And please don't read between the lines, because I don't know the answer, nor am I playing devil's advocate. The essence of the question is that, in order to be more accepting, does that mean accepting everything, or not? And what is the deciding factor? These are the thoughts in my head of late.

(3) Wed Apr 05 2006 08:13 PST Not Buying What You're Selling: There is this guy in the office. We'll call him George, cuz that's not his name. Anywho, I was in the service cluster talking to a coworker when he quite rudely and abruptly announced that she was in his way. He came back later and quasi-apologized by adding the following caveat to the end of his justification: "But I'm from New York." He's from New York. What does that mean?

Do they give out rude, prick licenses only in New York? Or was he trying to imply that everyone from New York is a prick, so I should naturally accept it as fact, move on with my life, and avoid New Yorkers like the plague?

Now, I'm not stupid. I know what he meant. Somehow, the efficient nature requires that people not socialize, and get the work done. And being in front of the coke machine hindered his efficiency. But I would assess that characteristic as being more concerned with self-interest than efficiency. After all, it's not like I was in front of the Xerox. And even if I were, so what? Do manners not still exist in an efficient society? And does being from a certain locale exempt me from adopting the culture of my "new" surroundings? For example, is it all right for me to go to NYC and get in people's ways all day long and say "Sorry, but deal with it, cuz I'm from California"? There are other stories involving George, but I won't go there. Suffice it to say, I don't buy the breeding and upbringing argument.

Susie and I went to le Target last night to buy Chronicles of Narnia. But we didn't watch it because we also went to the library. And they had movies to rent. Good movies. Every time I looked for movies in Provo, they were more educational than entertaining, and thus I was not interested. But we ended up coming home with Regarding Henry and Maverick. I should mention that we also rented some books. I hope Cooper's Last of the Mohicans turns out to be a good read.

(4) Sat Apr 08 2006 18:50 PST And they call it "Puppy Love": Susie and I went to the Irvine Spectrum last night, just to look around, as Susie has never been there before. There was a pet store there (seemed a little out of place, but that's another topic), and they had the absolute cutest puppies I've ever seen! They were also selling birds for $800, but that's another story.

In particular, I fell in love with the silk terrier, cocker spaniel, and mini schnauzer. I think, eventually, when we have a home, we'll end up with a terrier of some sort.

There were no prices on the puppies, which were all born and bred in Iowa. I guess they wait until you fall in love with them to give you the price. There was a teenage girl clinging to a puppy begging her father to let her have it. After much debate, the father won out. I thought to myself, after witnessing their little display "Duh! You knew this would happen. Why did you go inside in the first place?" One of the workers, who noticed that I had been watching the altercation, told me that it happens every day. Needless to say, I can't go back, cuz I'd come home with a wuzzle.

(1) Thu Apr 20 2006 07:59 PST Happiness is: Watching the bunny rabbits eat the leaves on the bushes as I walk to work.

(3) Mon Apr 24 2006 10:07 PST Fifteen Minutes of Fame: Today I got an email from "the man" congratulating me on hitting my one-year anniversary with the Firm this week. I don't think one year's that big of a deal; but I suppose that it is in this industry. But of much cooler news, I am looking out my window at work at "the 'other' man's" Air Force One. Bush is down at the Irvine Hyatt, and his plane is next door. I don't think it really matters if you like the guy or not, blah blah blah, it's kinda cool to think he's in the neigborhood. Of course, I also probably think that because his appearance has not disrupted my day (not flying, driving anywhere, etc).

And speaking of "blah blah blah," that phrase helpd Susie effectively convert to KUZZ and all it stands for. My wife is listening to country music--and she's enjoying it. Who says you can't change your spouse?

(4) Thu Apr 27 2006 17:45 PST Surprise!: This last little while has been full of pleasant surprises.

1. Susie and I went to Disneyland last night. In three hours we went on Splash Mountain, Winnie the Pooh, Big Thunder Mountain Railroad (twice), Indiana Jones, Matterhorn (twice), Autopia, and Space Mountain. We also saw the parade.

2. It was supposed to rain while we were at Disneyland, and it didn't.

3. Only 27 days until Alaksa!

4. I got a present from EY today re CPA exam. It's an empty oak box with a plaque on the outside noting I passed the CPA exam. Not sure what I'll do with it, but still....

5. Today was "bring your kid to work day." So I got my "shred" box emptied by a bunch of kids. And I got to go to lunch with them. And, because kids have small attention spans, all the parents left work early, so now I'm leaving early.

I guess one surprise I got wasn't so pleasant: I got my ethics exam in the mail today. I've got one year to take it. Apparently, the road to a CPA license is riddled with fees, education classes, more tests, and paperwork.