Weekend in Agoura Hills

Had a great time up at the Lancaster Home.

We meant to wake up and leave at like 8am but we got up around 7:45 and didn’t end up leaving until closer to 9:00am. I had rented out a white 2006 Volvo S40 with like 234 miles on her from Enterprise. I requested a full size or premium since they had this weekend rate of like $29.99 a day for a premium and $24.99 for full size. When they told me they had a Volvo for me, I was pretty concerned. I remember them being boxy and uncomfortable. Well, they’ve changed.

The seats were leather (or faux leather I’m sure) and padded pretty well. Each seat had a heater in it, there were track and volume controls on the steering wheel, all sorts of various settings for the A/C and heater PLUS 6-disc CD changer and AM/FM stereo. OH and I forgot my favorite piece…the sunroof. I know it’s so stupid but that just made me feel a little more wealthy than perhaps I should have.

SO anyways we drive up there with very little traffic in our way and arrive about 11:30 (we stopped off for gas and batteries. Fuel for the car and the camera. We got there and headed out to a chinese place they like in Westlake. NICE. The food was pretty good and fairly cheap. When we got back we tried to think of what to do. So we decided Charlotte (their toy poodle) needed a walk so we headed to Malibu Creek State Park for a short hike.

Well I said short and I mean short. We walked across the lot, down a short flight of stairs (the drop from one stair to the other was a bit more than I’m comfortable with) and maybe a quarter mile onto the trail when a Ranger came by sporting a bald head, a goatee and a bad attitude. “You can’t have that dog in here. No dogs allowed on the trail.” Jen protested, “We didn’t see a sign when we came in and the ranger at the gate didn’t tell us anything.” “Well,” said Ranger Bumblenuts “that’s a pretty easy dog to miss and the sign is right there at the head of the trail. So you need to get that dog off the trail and get the hell out of the park NOW.” WO…a bit aggressive are we over a 2 yr old toy poodle?

So Jen said, “Alright well if we’d known we would have brought her in, we’ll go then.” Then she started to walk back the other direction. “Pick the dog up and carry her! She can’t be on the trail!” OK now this Ranger’s pissing me off. Apparently he’s gotten under Jen’s skin a bit too as she retorts “You could be a little more polite about it. We’re doing what you asked. Calm Down.”

Then she backs away from the truck a bit and the Ranger apparently thought we were just going to keep walking down the trail because we quickly got a “IN THE OTHER DIRECTION!” “Well I’m just getting out of your way so you don’t spray us with dirt and rocks when you pull away…” “Just get going” The Ranger retorts sounding out of breath and just tired of trying to talk sense into us. So we pick up the dog and start heading back to the car. We got our refund at the gate and complained about the man’s attitude. You give a redneck a badge and an SUV and a little uniform and he thinks he’s equal to the police. Field General Ranger Roy. I’ve always pictured park rangers as being helpful and polite little tree huggin types. Apparently not.

SO we instead head to Valley Oaks Park to shoot some bows and arrows. Drew a nice picture of the lovely ranger on a target and Alex and Victoria shot him up good. We had a great time doing that. Jen hurt her back while we were there and so I spent a lot of my time between shooting arrows being concerned for her and so we shot 4 rounds and headed back so she could get some ice on it. By Sunday the pain had subsided some so she wasn’t too worried.

Saturday night we went to a Ranch House BBQ place. The food was amazing! They serve little garlic rolls which are great. drenched in butter and covered in garlic…ooooh yum! Then I had the tri tip with mashed potatoes and baked beans while Victoria and Jen opted for the Tri Tip Sandwich and Alex got BBQ Half Chicken. There was a bit of a wait (come early Saturday nights…like opening-5 instead of 5-closing) but the prices were good for a steakhouse with most of it being under $20 an entree. It all reheated really well the next day too. Mashed potatoes tend to get grainy and meat tends to get tough…this didn’t at all.

We went home and Jen and Alex showed us a video on the Rave scene and DJs in general that a film student they know put together. He interviewed Alex who has DJed for over a decade..almost two I think. Anyways, we really liked it. Weird thing was that every time I started thinking of a question I wanted to ask Alex, there he’d be in a few seconds answering my question on the video. REAL strange.

Anyways us old folks went to bed early (Like 10pm or so), though Victoria and I stayed up for a bit. She read and wrote while I studied math a bit. I have a test next Monday and I want to ace this thing. It’s the first test I’ve taken since finals in High School back in June 1996.

Sunday morning we got up around 8am and had breakfast. We had a great conversation about religion, school, jobs, and a few other things. We sat and loafed a bit in front of the TV, played some rummy, and then headed home around 4pm. Hated to leave but we’ll be seeing them again soon. Jen should be due in like August I think…so we’ll get to see the new baby then. I’ll take lots of pictures. Took a few this weekend and I’ll get those up on my flickr site when I can.

Anyways, returning the car last night was officially saying goodbye to the weekend. Loved that car…though I still think I’ll go with a Honda Civic when we get a new car. Possibly a Toyota Prius if they’re more readily available.

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So…in with the haircut,..out with the haircut

So I dye my hair blue, think it’s cool, get all sorts of compliments on it and then I go to church today.

Called as a greeter.

So there goes the blue hair. Now granted the bishopric had no idea I had blue hair when they decided to call me, still it means the blue is gone and my natural brown will be returning in 2 weeks.

Just to clarify, I’m not upset. I really like my calling and I can’t wait to get started on it. I just wish I’d known this was going to happen before I spent $20+ on hair bleach and dye. Now I’ve got a full jar of blue hairdye. Thing is though, it lasts a long long time and so I’ll just wait until my calling is over. I might not even want to dye it back when that time comes. Still, it’ll be there if I want it.

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While I was hoping for a midnight blue, this will work for now. I think this happened because I bleached my hair and dyed it in the same evening. I’ll try again next week.

Color stained the tub. Gonna have to bleach it later. SUCK.

Watched a pretty decent episode of Boondocks last night. The MLK Special. Listened to the latest episode of This Mormon Life and really loved it. It’s worth a listen, even if you aren’t LDS.

Well…that’s it for now. Things here have been pretty slow. Hopefully I’ll come up with something to discuss with everyone.

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Happy 2006!

I was reading back on some of my entries in 2005 and I was amazed at the fluctuations in my attitude and speech. In the beginning it was “I’m gonna say what I want. I’m not giving up who I am.” Then I got to be a little more and a little more calm and collected in my thoughts and speech. Then back again with “It’s party time! The old me is back!” Then VERY quickly I realized my mistake and ducked down ashamed of what I’d said.
After Stephanie passed away, my tone was much more mellow and it picked up a bit of steam on the way out the door. Well, here I am again and who knows what I’ll be in a month from now or even a week. Still searching for a ME that will stick.

Thinking back on 2005 has got me thinking back on ME and my life. The best side of me loves everyone I meet and cares about the welfare of every stranger. The worst side will say exactly what I know will hurt the worst and only cares about my own welfare. The best side of me wants to serve the Lord by serving others. The worst side believes in only serving myself. I’m trying my best to let my best side shine through and I’m hoping that with that, my worst side will grow weak enough that it just won’t show through.

Now I know I’m human. My flaws will definitely work their way to the surface. More in the beginning and less as I gain control over myself. Perhaps that’s what all the fluctuations are for. I am 27 and I still don’t know if I’m a self-centered jerk or a deeply caring individual. Perhaps the answer is that I’m both or at least capable of being both and I need to work on choosing the right more than the wrong.

So it’s 2006. Time for a new beginning. Here are my New Years Resolutions:

– To do more things that I know I’ll never regret having done and to avoid doing things that I might regret having done. For instance, I’ll never look back and say, “I wish I spent less time with loved ones” but I could say, “I wish I hadn’t spent so much time online”.

– To eat more healthy and exercise more in 2006 than I did in 2005. If I do this successfully every year what could go wrong? If I fail, then there’s always next year but I at least want to try.

– To get my temple recommend before the end of the year and preferably by the time my sister’s work can be done for her.

– To spend more time with my wife. Even if it’s just sitting on the couch watching a TV show I don’t really like.

– To try and enjoy life more than just survive it. I worry so much about work and finances and what I should or shouldn’t be doing, that I often don’t take the time to enjoy the beauty of moments and things around me.

– To spend less money on things I can’t take with me when I die and more on things that will live with me forever. So less on gadgets and more on giving to others or special trips to see family.

So there you have it. My first post of 2006. Let’s see where I am in 365 days.

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