my peeps

Antioch, CA

Getting ready for the Easter Tradition.

baby bunnie birth control

Antioch, CA

On Saturday I reconstructed the rabbit runs. Now the closest the sons will get to getting their mother pregnant is by looking at her through the fence. I know, I'm a love hating monster. Oh well, I can still sleep at night.

In flight show

Antioch, CA

Yesterday, one of the things my father gave me was this wood plane. Instantly, as I took it out of the package, I had a great memory return from my childhood. My brother grew up with a kid named Kenny. Kenny was...interesting. A good example of Kenny would be the night he convinced my brother to see how long it took to blow up an egg in the microwave, and then spraying the microwave with Right Guard Deodorant to get rid of the smell. Another example of Kenny would be the day my brother and him were at an amusement park in Santa Clara. With a little free time on their hands, they went out and bumped cars to set off car alarms - to see who was going to get off their rides, come rushing out of the park to see if their car was okay.
Today the memory I am reminded of is the day Kenny got a similar plane. He attached three Black Cat Firecrackers to it (one on each big wing tip and one in the center with a bit longer fuse. He then lit them, held it for a few seconds and then sent it into flight. When the fire got to the end of the fuse, the plane disintegrated in mid air. It was cool to watch - and totally Kenny.

A day in the life of March 28 2009

The time my alarm was set for

The time I got up

On Friday we had two trailers full of horse manure dumped in the back yard, so at 8:05 I was out shoveling the manure around the garden. I stayed here until 10:45.

For part of the morning I had two little helpers out there with me. However, after they discovered the plethora of centipedes in the manure, a whole host of scientific experiments were underway and I was left spreading the horse poo by myself.
Denise bought me a small breakfast which was good because I hadn't had dinner last night, went straight to the garden so I needed some food in me if I was going to do anything else the rest of the day.
Then it was off to a quick shower,
and some teeth brushing.
This is what I would look like if I had rabies.

I was trying to make up for lost time, so I was exceeding the posted limit.

Evidently, some people were in more of a hurry than I was.
And some people weren't.
I met my father for lunch in Pleasanton where we ate more beef and discussed the storage unit problem, his new relationship, and he gave me my mail and other gifts.
After lunch we went on a walk around downtown Pleasanton, a first for both of us. We stopped at an art gallery and a Museum (sorry - no pictures were allowed.)
A pretty tree we saw on our walk.
I then went back home to get ready for the evening. The boys were playing guitar hero when I got home. After a month without the excitement of Guitar Hero the 10 year-old got a new version for his birthday and various rock songs have been filling our home again.
I colored in all of the black spots on my black slacks with black marker.
After another quick shower (I was sweaty from the walk and could still smell the horses on me) I got ready for the evening. I haven't worn this suit coat for 8+ year. It still fits, sort of.
After meeting at Robin's, Amy Robin and I went to go see Shell, who was nice enough to take our picture.
So we took hers as well.
This was just a quick shot from the Maritime Academy's campus. I like how the bear looks like he is walking on the bridge. I love taking pictures of those bridges.
After seeing Shell, Robin drove into the City (SF) and I sat in the back seat taking pictures.



We went to a Fund raising Gala. During Cocktails you could participate in a silent auction.
Or you could take pictures of the room and its chandeliers.
Or the piano player
Or of Robin and a chandelier.
Eventually was dinner starting first with the salad.
Sitting next to us at the table was a young camera happy couple that had a camera just like mine. We took pictures of them and they did the same for us.
More chandeliers
Dinner was delicious.
The Gala took place in a Marine Memorial Club. In between the cocktail floor and the dinner floor was the bathroom and a group of walls with the names of soldiers who had died in Iraq. It was a rather sobering place to stand after peeing. After dinner, Robin took us back to Vallejo. We saw Shell again and I gave massages to shell and Robin before heading home. On my way home I purchased breakfast for Sunday and a snack for Sunday as well.
This is the time I eventually made it home. I'm going to bed at 2.

Buildings closing in

SF, CA

I went to the city for a fancy party today.

(A Day in the Life of Sean - March 2009)

An apple tree in progress

Oakley, CA

I finally had time today to take down the snowchild and put up something for spring/summer. On Monday I'll print off apples to be colored by clients (it is an "activity for daily living" skill they must master). I figure this can last until September where we'll put something like this up.

**Because the artistic design will be lost on my 5 year-old clients and on my 35 year-old co-workers, there was a purpose behind the way I did the tree. I felt that the snowchild was very 2-D and I wanted the tree to be more full, and pop out a little more, so I cut out various leaf clusters and put them on top of each other. I figured if I put up just a single sheet the tree wouldn't pop out as much. I'm still not happy with it but I have 6 months to get it right. (I'm also not happy with the clouds and I'll probably tweak them either in shape or in color.)

preparing for a french dip

Antioch, CA

So I need to learn to stop opening my mouth. On Sunday the children and the mom were sitting around discussing the children's new chores. (They didn't have any before). It was decided that you get one night to do clean the kitchen and do your laundry. I adventured out of my room to ask for Thursday nights for laundry and dishes. Then I suggested that the children need to learn how to cook (I did this because I get tired of them bitching to their mother about them being hungry. More than once I have suggested they feed them selves and they say "I don't know how.") The 17 year-old chimed in and said "That's a great idea. And Sean should have to cook too." So tonight I had the blessing of cooking dinner. If I got put on a jury yesterday - I was going to buy pizza. Instead tonight I made french dip sandwiches and curly french fries.

Jury Duty

Martinez, CA

For the first time in my life - I had jury duty today. However, after 4 hours of sittin' around, I, along with about 25 others, got kicked out of the pool for reasons not explained while about 75 people got to stick around.

Thank you card for 2 birthdays

Antioch, CA

Today I got in the mail this card with the following inscribed:

"Dear Uncle Sean,
Thank you so much for my doctor books. I really love the pictures, especially of the bloody heart. I really like everything doctor and I have been taking my books everywhere. Mommy really likes to see the disgust on people's faces when they realize what they are looking at. Ever since we dissected the cow eye, I want to see pictures of increasingly gross things. We are glad you were there at the start of it all. "

I think I should win a prize for not only best uncle but best brother-in-law. Not only did I get the kid what she wanted but the gift was so good that my sister-in-law gets to use it too - to gross other people out. Go me.

looking for quarters

Antioch, CA

Gorilla

Antioch, CA

On Friday night, Shell was giving me crap about not having the Joby Gorilla with me. Truth be told, I was missing a piece of it in my room. Today I had a little photo shoot with my Gorilla (after I found the missing piece) . Enjoy the shoot.

**edit**
Amye: This is a bad pic of a Gorilla. Plus this is a picture of me using my Gorilla at work.

fun with the Joby Gorilla