November's posting...
Well, what
the heck have we been up to?
It's
been a while since we've had enough time to update the site with details on what
we've been up to. I've never kept a journal, so I'm woefully out of practice,
and I'm not all that familiar with "blogging," but it seems a good,
meaty update on what we are doing and up to is in order. Here goes!
All is well
at the homefront. El Niño has returned
to Northern California this year, bringing wet and wild weather. We had a near
hurricane a couple of weeks ago that blew many shingles off the roof, and forced
me out into the storm to reattach gutters in the howling storm! At least I
finally realized how great a power drill is! The deer have adopted our house as
home. A family of five live under the stairs and on the hillside, so we've grown
accustomed to each other.
Josh is now
busier than a one-armed paperhanger! As Director of Business Development for Altura
International, I'm supervising about 8 folks across the country. Altura is
the parent company of CatalogCity, and
based in Monterey, CA, about 125 miles from the house: I go down to Monterey
about twice a week. Without my Valentine
One radar detector, and Audible.com's
digital audiobooks, it would be a tough commute. As it is, it's perfect, as I
work from home 3 days a week.
In addition
to Altura, I've formalized by eBay Trading
Assistant business by forming a company with my old friend and partner Tim
Kilroy, in Boston. bGon Enterprises
has about 20 clients, and we are now Silver Power Sellers on eBay! We have about
$150,000 in inventory to sell, and we're having a great time doing so. It's a
lot of work, but the work is fun, enjoyable, and satisfying. If you want to sell
your products on eBay, make it bGon!
Amy's
enjoying being back at work, after a 6-year break. She's working in the auto
industry, for Lexus of Marin. She's
learned a lot about the industry, and loves the Lexus, since she owns one. She's
also completed her real estate training, and will soon be taking the state exam
to become licensed to sell real estate, though she may sell some cars, in the
meantime. In any case, she's better than she's ever been!
Traveling?
Well, we've been all over. We took a few quick trips to Boston, as my
grandmother passed away; we miss her. Mostly, we've been spending time out West
here: a few trips to our good friends Lloyd
& John's, in their new house in Reno, and, of course, Wine Country.
We'll be celebrating Thanksgiving in Mill Valley with about 10 people, and
looking forward to it!
Other news?
Well, let's get you up to date on gadgets in our lives (what else?):
- Josh
finally went wireless! Our house is now Wi-Fi enabled, which allows us to
wireless access our cable modem service! Stay with the Tretakoff Bed and
Breakfast, and tap in to high-speed internet, wirelessly!
- Yes,
we have lots of computers in the house. The Sony desktop
PC, the Sony Laptop
PC, and the iMac!
The iMac is now running OS 10.2,
aka Jaguar. Folks, this is the way a computer SHOULD be. It made me realize
why I loved a Mac. If they add support for Exchange (supposedly early next
year), my next computer is an iMac!
- Amy
decided having a home theater wasn't enough for Josh, so we joined the PlayStation
2 crowd. Gotta say, with all our equipment, this thing sounds, and
plays, amazing:
- 66"
Toshiba Projection TV
- Bose
Acoustimass 5 speakers
- Sony
Dolby ProLogic & DTS receiver
- DirecTV
Dolby Digital Satellite system
- Progressive
Scan DVD Player
- By
the way, if you ever are told video games are not addictive, check out Medal
Of Honor as the proof. Good God….
- Ok,
I admit it. I'm hard to buy for. Luckily, friends always seem to know what I
want. However, as hints, I've left a wish
list at Amazon, should you be so inclined.
- My
VisorPhone
still is plugging away, though I've put the Prism through hell. I'm getting
that hunger for a new PDA, but the convenience of having a single device
that's a phone and PDA in one is strong. Must be color, too. That leaves the
Treo
or the new Tungsten
W as the strongest contenders (no, I won't consider PocketPC).
Let's
see…what else? I'm still smoking cigars, of course. With a 2-hour commute,
it's a necessity! Zinos
are still my favorite, but I've recently gotten turned on to Punch's, as well.
Finally,
upcoming events for us include:
- Thanksgiving
at the house
- Mendocino
in December, for the weekend
- Sedona
in January, we hope
Basically,
we're enjoying life to its fullest, having a great time, and relaxing. Thanks
for stopping by!
