Best Things in Life

The past few days have been relatively uneventful. I won’t bore you with the humdrum of our daily machinations. I’m always anxious to show you photos of where we’ve been, what we’re up to, and new and interesting places we’d never been. The weather has been great here and my next door neighbor, Chris, asked me to play golf the other day. Not playing since November, I was a bit tentative about embarrassment on the links. However, it proved to be my best outing so far, holing out at 87, for a great round.

The only down side of this course is its location next to Luke AFB. The jet fighters practice all day long and about every 30 seconds Chris and I had to cease our discussions as hearing each other was literally impossible. The next morning I wanted to ride the motorcycle into the White Mountains. We got up early and went through a newly designed town called Verrado. It was well planned and made one want to move right in. It was reminiscent of the streets of Pasadena. But then I thought how must the heat be in the summer. Nevertheless, it was great to be on these new city streets long before any inhabitants were out and about.

We’re trying to do something about the vicious spell that some dastardly person has placed on both of us. It seems as if were compelled to eat Oreo cookies, or crackers and Philly cream cheese, or just sweetened cereal after dinner. We have no idea who put this spell on us but to combat it we’ve been getting to the gym daily, taxing our muscles and spending time in the jacuzzi.

Yesterday was one of those days when you wished didn’t happen. We hadn’t used the satellite since leaving Florida. We were receiving great reception with the regular antenna and we weren’t spending significant enough time in one place to go through the issue of setting up the “dishes” as we have two since we opted for HD. We still have a great signal here with the networks but we’re Jones(ing) it for the Food and Travel Channel. So I decided to set things in motion early in the day. No sooner did I have everything out and ready than it started to rain. I was undaunted and by the time both dishes were in tow, I was soaked. And then it happened. No signal. I metered the satellites. Nothing. I checked the azimuth, skew and elevation. I was right on. But no signal yet. Robin is on the phone to Dish Network by now. I’ll make this short and get to the point. After seven phone calls, and talking to another dozen “mentors”, they are sending out a technician the next day. My frustration level was taken out on who else…Robin. Who could I vent on. We blew the entire day pissing around with this satellite system. I’m was to the point of canceling the entire contract and cutting my losses. And on top of this, I didn’t like my wife very much either. Really, she was a champ but I had to vent my frustration somewhere. The evening was spent in relative silence. In the aftermath, how childish that was. Even Brutus was a bit dumbfounded by the silence and lack of interaction. But today the Dish Man Cometh!

The tech was to come today between noon and five. That meant that we really couldn’t go anywhere or do much so as not to miss his visit. It was a good time to clean out storage tubs, get rid of things we haven’t used on months, and relax around the patio. The temps climbed into the high 70s. We cranked up the music and smiled that we were not back East in snowmaggedon.

I received some email from my great friend Jay, showing us our house, the street we lived on, and the surrounding area and about the county. All toll, they have over 30 inches of snow just this week. My heart went out to them. I had been a bit homesick this past week for family and friends back there. I still miss them dearly but after looking at the blizzard photos my homesickness took a quick hiatus. Jose, the Dish Man, exchanged my two satellite dishes for one new upgrade with High Def. He set it up, spent time showing me what was wrong, what needs to be done when a future move is made, and then made the adaptations and calls necessary in order for us to pick up the local networks. Everything is working beautifully. The Food, Travel, and Discovery channels our giving us that much needed fix. Although we waited around most of the day for the techs visit, it proved to be well worth it. Reading, music, and good conversation wiped out any previous day’s tension from the unsuccessful TV challenge. The sun, the rest, and the accomplishments all created a great mood.

Robin has this little stone plaque on the window sill. I look at it every day and think, how true this is. Life is good. Enjoy it fully.