Today was a busy day, I got a lot done with the Short Sales and only knocked on a few doors. But we got a good vacant in Cocoa and a lead on one in Orlando maybe tomorrow.

Dennis is doing pretty good. He is good with people but he struggles with the computer stuff. But I dont know if he realizes that he doesn't need to the computer stuff to succeed at this stuff.

They might move down here, but Dohnnie is not having any part of it. Summer wants me to talk to him to see if we can work something out but who knows whether that will work or not. He wants to do it for sure. But Dohnnie is not so sure.

Dohnnie got served with papers today from Lena. Surprising really, she wasn't as dumb as she lead us to believe. Or at least her mother isn't as dumb. Whatever. She's a wench.

Summer is getting ready for FBAH to open up and she is psyched.

Not working out yet but I am planning joining the gym here first chance I get. So that'll be nice. Hopefully some of these deals will go through and get some cash flowing. I am worried that Dohnnie is gonna lose all of his money to his wonderful soon to be ex-wife. We'll see.

We didn't go to church today. Erin was supposed to come early for a pow wow to deal with Dad but she didnt get her until later in the morning. We went ahead and got most of everything straight about Dad. He is going to sign the power of attorney with all of us on it. And he is going to leave all the rest of the money from his life insurance to Megan to help her with school. Kind of surprising.

He is not really there. He kept saying that we all were from Fort Worth Texas when we're not. He even said that the computer in the living room was a TV that he couldn't get to work right.

I had a mini-panic attack tonight trying to deal with the kiddies and think about what is gonna happen with Dad. I am responsible for my children but not for Dad. But not really. Strange that I have to deal with all of this. Plus we have no money to speak of. We spent over a hundred bucks just on his prescriptions alone. Come Tuesday morning we willl be overdrawn again. And we are not spending a lot of money just babysitter and food. We are not even paying rent yet. So all of these worries really bother me. Plus I am getting fat again. I haven't worked out in weeks. Really starting to get on my nerves. I almost just wanna go sign up at Health-First just so I can go and work off some this stuff. Right now I am just eating it away...good example, I ate a whole bag of Oreo cookies tonight with milk.

Summer's Dad is coming tomorrow. That should be real fun. I mean he is way too stupid to do all this stuff. He doesn't get this stuff. You have to understand how to work computers and he doesn't get it. He'll just start talking about how he is from the Industrial Revolution and we are from the Technology Revolution. Like that is gonna get him anywhere. Anyway I'm ranting.

Well Dad had his heart catheter today. He had five grafts in 94 and now two of them are completely blocked and one is partly blocked. Two are clear. He is doing a lot better tonight. He is real emotional he says that he saw Mom a few times and she was herself not a willowy angel or anything.

Summer thinks it might be a sign that he is going to die soon. I don't know. One I do know is that if he only has two grafts open to his heart it is only a matter of time before he has a heart attack and dies along with the other stuff. Unbelieveable really. Both of my parents will probably die before I am thirty. I shouldn't be selfish and should think about what he is going through. His life is almost over. I can't imagine all the regrets and wishes he still might have as he stares death in the face. I think he understands what he is up against. He looks fearful in the face tonight. He has told Erin and Summer that he loves them already. He is concerned about the kiddies. If something happens now the kids might not remember their grandpa.

I haven't worked out since I got here. Only a couple of bike rides one that left me with a flat tire. I really am hoping that the title is clear on the Sebastian property so that we can refinance and we can get some cash out. That would be so nice. Not to have worry about money right now.

If Dad recovers he might not be able to do as much as before. And that wasn't much then. I wonder if he would be eligible for hospice care. That might be an option even though he does not a "terminal" illness. Who knows.

All I know is that I gotta make some changes. I am overweight and subject to emotional eating. I will end up like Dad and Mom and Dohnnie. So I need to fix things. I just don't know how to stop right now. I feel like I have no control. And I guess I don't really. Just over my own decisions. Whatever. I am done. Erin comes down tomorrow so we'll see how that goes.

Today has been a dandy. Dad got worse at the hospital. He is very disoriented and confused. He has only gotten worse it seems. I can hardly stand to see him like that. I am the only family member that is close to make decisions.

He had a heart attack it seems. And then his blood sugar went sky high. He is not a candidate for a quad bypass again so he needs a angiogram and maybe a stent. But the dye might cause his kidneys to prematurely fail which would mean dialysis. So that sucks. Dad needs prostrate surgery, dialysis, angiogram, and so on.

Then I get a call from Dohnnie and he is having chest pains. So now Dohnnie is in the Emergency room with chest pains and an abnormal ekg. So that really sucks. They are gonna do a stress test tomorrow on him. He is staying overnight at Sand Lake Hospital.

So all this is going on and I don't know what to do. I am so worried about everybody. Erin might be coming down tomorrow if Dad is not in better shape. I hope she does cuz I am just not up to all this right now.

Well another day another dollar right? Tomorrow I have to catch up with Dohnnie's short sales. I also need to follow up with my calls tha t I made today. Plus I need to record the Deed from Sebastian after we do a title search to protect our interests.

Plus everything else too. So much to do. Plus I need to knock on doors in Brevard. I have already wasted a day or two.

Dad is doing better today. He is talking and complaining. So that is a good thing.

Summer's Dad is coming and Dohnnie has no problem with a half and half deal with Dennis. So that might be nice.

Need to exercise tomorrow dangit!!! I hope everything goes okay so we can get some cash and sign up for a gym and do some things that we need to get done around here like getting cars fixed with the cigarette lighter and ac in the Honda. And Montessori for the kiddies.

We met with the Bishop and it went well. He recommends paying Tithing in installments so that way we don't fall behind. But hey who knows he's a good guy.

I can't help but feel confident about all this. Things are good.

I'm in the Money...I'm in the money...

Today I went to get the Deed for Emmons in Sebastian. I got it but I had to drive almost five hundred miles to get it. I had to go and pick up the notary public in Lake Wales and then go all the way back and forth all day. I was gone for nine hours. But its a good deal She owes around 35000 and its worth at least 75000 maybe 80.

Tomorrow I have a bunch of stuff to do my to do list is huge but i am feeling good. I have three deeds so far.

Dad is still not doing so hot. He is talking about his grandson, whoever that is and thinks he is in Missouri but at least he is talking now and somewhat coherent. Tomorrow I think I will exercise a little bit. Or at least try.

I might go and record the deed tomorrow in Indian River I need to call and find out how much doc stamps are in that county. As I write this I remember what I am supposed to do tomorrow.

Summer's father is coming on Thursday and he is staying until Wednesday. He wants to come and learn a little bit about the short sale process. We'll see how he does. Funny how I dont even know for sure what I am doing yet but I am supposed to teach him something? Interesting.

Its been awhile since I called you...

Well its been about a week. And we have moved to Florida and are getting on our feet. I had to cancel an upcoming race due to work. I am self-employed now and I already have two houses or rather two yeses and I am waiting for the deeds. So I drive a lot now and I like what I do. I don't have a boss except Dohnnie but he doesn't really count. And I am in control of my destiny. But that that can be a problem since it makes you care about what you are doing so you have the highs and the lows. But I like it that way really.

I like the house we are in. I really would like to stay in it for awhile but you never know if we can get someone to buy with the lease agreement in place. I installed a network as well through our phone lines and it is nice to have shared printer and stuff.

I haven't worked out consistently since before we started moving so I have gained almost all of my weight back. But never fear tomorrow I getting started again back on a regimen of swim,bike,run twice a week. An hour each workout. That way the pounds will melt off again. And I thinks its important since I am sitting in a car so much these days. Way too much fast food.

I am excited about the two houses. One is in Ormond Beach a really nice house that can be discounted and one house that has tenants and is really run down. So we'll see. For one thing, I still don't have the deeds so until can't really say anything. But I am gonna try to stay optimistic and not get paranoid. But Summer and I feel good about the move...We need to get the kiddies in day care though. She starts FBAH in a week so she'll need that time until then. Later.

Alright the move is complete. And it only took a couple of days to get it done. Summer and I drove straight through to Melbourne tonight. We both took NoDoz to keep us awake. Of course she is asleep now and I am still wide awake at four in the morning. But its all good because I got to play with my cool laptop that was waiting for me here. The house rocks. I just hope that we can keep it. Summer is in absolute love with it. It is so big. I mean it is huge. We don't have nearly enough stuff to fill it with. There are no curtains or anything. In fact earlier tonight, some random dude walked by outside like he was exercising or something. Weird. Kind of freaked us out. Sammy was up too for a while (I gave him too much Diet Coke in the truck). But whatever. We are actually here. We have a lot to do tomorrow. We have to unload the truck, go buy a refrigerator at Lowe's, I have to install the DSL service on all the computers, And call the Water people to make sure its turned on. The water is kind of on but we cant tell for sure. I really feel positive about this move. It seems we are moving on with our lives which is great. I think Dad will like this house it is just so big. How many times can I say that? Probably a few more. Anyway enough rambling. Later.

Are we moving yet?

I hate to beat a dead horse here but I am so ready to move. I did an internet search on my awaited cell phone and I cannot get it until we move. So that is gonna be some wrangling. Whatever.

I just saw probably the best basketball game of the year. Lakers Spurs Game 5. Duncan hits fade away with .4 seconds left. The Spurs go crazy, the crowd goes crazy, even Doc Rivers the announcer proclaims that the Spurs are now 3-2. Then the Laker advance the ball with a full timeout. Then after a strategic timeout. They look for Kobe and end up passing it Derek Fisher who hit a flying the wrong way jumpshot to win it. Unbelievable. What a circus shot!!! I screamed so loud I woke my kids up. Wow. I found it hard to root for the Lakers but I have to due to Karl Malone. He deserves a championship even though he choked against the Bulls...Twice.

Well I got my new cell phone number which is good. I also did some research into workout gyms in Florida. And man since when can they charge an enrollment fee? Unbelievable. Its gonna cost twice as much to workout there. And I have to workout. What can I do? We'll see what Dad says.

Summer has her last final tomorrow then we are done. And we pick up the truck on Sunday and head out for sunny Florida. YES.

I don't know but I wonder why anyone would want to have more then one blog...I mean how much free time can a person have?

Well I swam a mile today. Man that felt good too, I have that tired feeling in my body that you can only get swimming Its not the exhausted feeling like running or the dizzy feeling like you get when you run. Its just different. But its feels good.

My next tri is a longer swim 550 yards so I have to prepare for it. Then I am also running more to help with last transition to run at this one. I wonder how the weather is going to effect me. We'll see.

Erin and Sasha might come down to Melbourne for Memorial Day. But hey whatever. We are so ready to move. We are already there in spirit. Summy's business with family books at home is going good, she had a conference call with the Field Development Manager and Sales VP.

Tomorrow I lift and run. Maybe bike if it gets done. I really want some new aero bars the ones I have are clunkers. But we can't really afford it. But whatever. Maybe things will work out.

Am I going to sleep yet?

Man I got so mad today when I heard about that poor civilian getting beheaded in Iraq. I was running and I felt like I could run all day with all that emotion. I got a good workout in though. An hour running, then weights. And I swam with Summer and the kiddies. They had fun. And I had fun too.

It is really late like twenty-five minutes after midnight and I can't get to sleep cuz I got the munchies and went to Hardees for a thickburger. Now I am waking Summer up so I'll get out of here. I am itching to move and get out of here.

Today was my first day of no school. Yep thats right no more college for me at least not for a while. I made a bunch of phone calls and did some research for Dohnnie. And I didn't do a bit of schoolwork. We paid some bills and continue to prepare for the move. So we're are pumped.

I went for ride this afternoon and my bike spoke broke. I had to call Summer to come pick me up. We got to try out the bike rack though and it worked like a charm. I took right to Route 66 Bike Shop and Dan-o there is gonna order a new wheel. So that'll be nice cuz thats two spokes now and counting. Good thing its under warranty.

Not much else going on today. Its all good. So anyway. Later.

Well Life Goes On

Yep we're moving. And I am done with College at least for now. I just have one more essay to write and then I am finally done. Seven years after I graduated from High School and I have finally done it. And I didn't even go on a mission to give me the excuse for the time.

Training is great. I have incorporated weights back into my schedule. I am doing a Base week next week. Around 8 hours scheduled for the whole week. An hour and half of that is weights. Lots of swimming. If I am gonna do 550 on the swim I gotta get more efficient.

We bought two laptops, One for Summer and One for me. She got hers for Mother's day. So we are giving Dad's puter to Hannah for college. She had a really bad car accident yesterday but she walked away with a big gash in her head. Summer was with her at the ER and said she could see the skull. Pretty trippy.

We are excited to move to Florida. We got pictures of the house and it looks so sweet. It would be nice if we could reinstate it or just live in it. That would be so cool. But we'll just have to see. I have ordered a cell phone for that area, and we have our laptops coming along with some software so we're psyched.

My next race is the first Orlando Summer Sprint at Belle Isle. Its a spring fed lake so I don't know if I will need a wetsuit or not. I certainly can't afford one. But come on, June 6 in Orlando Florida? Its gonna be a scorcher.

Dad's gonna fly from Nashville to Orlando...So that's nice. Wonder if we can leave his stuff too... Well we can dream can't we.

RACE REPORT

So I went up to Columbia for my goal for 2004. To compete in a triathlon. Well I borrowed a sleeping pill from Dad and off we all went to the Super 8. Summer and I got separate rooms cuz there was no way I was gonna get any sleep with the kiddies and a five in the morning wake up time. I took like three immodium just to be sure and my other pills.

Off to the course. Got my time chip and set my transition area up. Not much really. Since I was using toe clips didn't really need that much stuff. Attended the pre-race meeting with all kinds of threats of dqs if rules weren't followed. With it being a pool swim I thought I would be the slowest swimmer. But I wasn't there were a lot of swimmers slower then me. That made me feel good. In the swim everybody bunched up. So it took a little longer then the planned six minutes. But I was quick out of T1 And off on the bike I was. I felt good on the bike till the first big hill and it kicked my butt cuz I wasn't warm. But I recovered and made a good go of it. My chain fell off twice and I had to walk one super hill. But I did the 17.5 miles in 1:15 which with two chains incidents wasn't that bad. Then on T2 I drank a lot and swallowed more gel boy those gels are really cool they help so much. The run was not easy. I ran for two miles then I walked about a half of mile then I ran the rest. Summer got some good footage of me on the Camcorder while I was running. I looked like a real triathlete. And that is because I am a triathlete. I won the middle of the pack award cuz my time was the exact average of all the men in the pack. Pretty cool I won an free entry in next years race.

I still can't believe I did it and did so relatively easy. I am not really that sore today the day after. The only thing I can work on physically is my calves cuz they hurt on the run. So I will add calf raises. I am quite proud of myself. So now I am a triathlete.

You know it just occurred to me that I am running a race in less then a week. Boy that is pretty exciting. I am still troubled over whether I should buy some speedplay pedals and shoes. I am really weak about buying stuff. Its a really bad habit of mine. I guess that comes from not having much as a kid. Who knows.

Today I actually worked for Dohnnie all afternoon except for the hour over at Dad's watching the Sopranos. Man that is a good show. We had another talk about what he is concerned about with moving. He said once that he even thought we were abandoning him. Unbelievable. We want him to live with us. Whatever.

We find out if we can move into that three bedroom two bath house in Melbourne tomorrow. Dohnnie has an appointment with the homeowners at 4:00 pm if he gets the deed then we will live in there till the house is sold. So that could all Summer.

Summer is packing like a crazy women. She is a whirlwind when she gets her mind on something. I still have to do the counties tonight. So I'll be up late. My kids are so cute. Sam is parroting everything we say. He is just learning and learning. I really hope we can make enough money to get him in Montessori down there in Florida. It would be so good for him.

Well I better stop procrastinating and get to work. Tomorrow I have my brief swim to prep for the race.

WORRY WORRY

We talked with Dad today about the move to Florida. He is very skeptical. We don't for sure have a three bedroom two bath in Brevard county yet so he's concerned about where we are going to stay. Dad has to stay with us. He is just in too bad of shape. But he wants his privacy and doesn't want to live with us in the two bed two bath we have right now. So whatever. Dad basically is worried that the whole thing is a sham. He is scared about the change I think. Especially since he is going blind in one eye. It is supposedly getting better but he had to have surgery last time.

We went to Church today and had fun with the rugrat. Summer is so good. She kept feeding them crackers and oranges. Then they played with Play-doh (homemade kind) and colored a picture. They were very entertained. Plus I had the pleasure of taking three sunbeams to the bathroom at one time. Boy they can sure pee when they want to.

We are so excited about the move. I might even decide not to walk for graduation and get down to Florida right away. I have a lot to do tomorrow. I have to submit at least four deals. So I am going to be busy.

On the Triathlon tip, I ran 2.7 miles and walked 3.3 more with Summer. So six miles in one day isn't bad. Burned around 1000 cals. I am going back on Atkins tomorrow. I am going to do induction until Friday night then Carb load and eat normally on Saturday. Then Sunday is race day. I am worried that Dohnnie wont pay us before the race on Sunday. If I don't get paid then I don't think I can do the race. We'll have to scrounge for the opportunity to get up there. Plus I gotta get my bike fixed. All this could bode bad for the race.

Oh but I almost forgot. Turns out that the really nice house in Melbourne has a second mortgage so its a good prospect for reinstatement so that we could live in it. Its real close to a park and the Community College...And the BEACH!!! But Dohnnie does not have the deed yet so its still in play.

You know really its really interesting the way people approach blogs. I guess they represent the individuality of all of us as the human race. It's amazing that people can do that now. People used to write journals in notebooks... Welcome to the 21st Century.

I rode 14 miles today. I did an out and back to Doolittle a town west of us here in Rolla MO. I got honked at by a mullet with his girlfriend sitting Cowboy style in his Ford Ranger. I was totally at the side of the road and he had nothing better to do then honk at me and scare the you-know-what outta me. Whatever.

But I tried some gel for fuel and it went down fine if you like a honey like paste oozing down your throat. But I washed it down with water and all was well.

You know I am thinking about not even walking for graduation. I want to get out of here as soon as possible. I could care less about the cap and gown and all that crap. Who cares. Not like UMR meant that much to me anyway. Just a degree. I had good times here I spose, my first two kids were born here and my marriage became a loving one here so there is there is some sentimentality in that. but I will be glad when we are gone.

We cleaned Dad's place for him today. It was nasty. I did his dishes and Summer did the rest. She is amazing at that amount she can accomplish if she puts her mind to it.

We did some Shopping and Summer got an overdraft fee taken off our bank statement with her charm. Last time I did that I had to threaten to stop my account with them. Whatever.

We had dinner over at Tom's and Rebecca's. They are nice people. They seem to be softening up a little bit after three years of sporadic dinners with them. Summer discovered an old school Super Nintendo and played Zelda for like thirty minutes straight. Man I forgot how boring those games can get. I remember why they used to annoy me. Once Super Mario Bros became passe` I was done with video games.

Not much else going on Rebecca is interested in doing Family Books At Home which is great. We'll see how that works out. I'm out.

Its Supposed to rain on race day!!!

Yeah I just checked the forecast and its supposed to rain tomorrow and rain on the Second which is my race day. I guess I understand why they canceled the bike portion of the race last year due to torrential rain. Man if I dont get to do my triathlon I will be pissed off. Whatever.

Well I got my mighty Jackson Hewitt bonus and it was 118 bucks. Yeah that's right 118 bucks. Whatever. I hate that place. What a joke. I am glad I am done with them. Man are we moving yet?

I took Dad to St. Louis for his doc appointment today. It went pretty well. I also went by a couple of bike shops and I finally learned how pedals work. Pretty neat how they do work. They are spring loaded so your cleats which are attached to your shoes lock in with a snap and then if you want to get out you just wiggle your heels to get out. Pretty neat if you think about it. I was impressed. At least I finally get how they work now.

We cannot wait to get down to Florida. Just cannot wait. I hope it doesn't rain tomorrow so I can get my ride in. We'll see. Later

BRICKS BRICKS AND MORE BRICKS

I did another brick today. This time I simulated T1. I had my lovely wife Summer wait for me with the bike. It took 6:19 for the swim. Then it took me around two minutes for the transition. And I was off for the bike ride. I did around thirty four minutes. Around 8 miles. Tomorrow I will do a long ride maybe an hour and half. I wish I could get up to Columbia to test ride the Race for Sight course. Oh well.

Didn't do much work today just email and stuff. Not much to do except wait for people and banks to get back at us. So what are you gonna do? Tomorrow I also have to take Dad to the Doctor's office. So I plan to cruise by the bike shops in St. Louis.

I also have a take home test due in Russian tomorrow. I am starting to feel more confident about what is going on with Triathlon, Family Books At Home, and the Preforeclosures. More to come.

Wow I am signed up for gmail

Yeah that's pretty cool I am excited to try it out. You know I noticed that the Google Adsense ads for blog have morphed from Triathlon websites to McDonalds. Why did that happen? Do the computers know that I have a problem with Double Quarter Pounders? I smell a conspiracy here. But seriously folks...I did a good run/walk with Summer we went around the block and did 3.2 miles in 43 minutes. Its funny I sprinted the last 100 yds and I noticed that my heart rate stayed at 175 the whole time but my breathing went through the roof. Weird.

I missed class this morning I overslept. Oh well. Am I graduated yet? I got my De Soto short finally from UPS (they screwed up the address). So I tried them out on the run and they felt great. I feel like I am really starting to get my fitness back. My HR was pretty low for most of the run. Except for the hills when I pushed the stroller...Man those kids are a load! Sixty pounds worth.

I watched Timeline and Master and Commander today. Both pretty good movies. Timeline seemed kind of campy and farfetched but hey its a time machine movie. Russell Crowe was up to his old tricks in Master. Very good movie well done. Very deserving of all those Oscar Nominations.

Not much going on with the foreclosures, just waiting to here back from clients or lenders. I cannot wait for payday on Friday, even though I know that it won't be much. But hey anything is better then nothing. We have bills to pay. That's it really. Later.