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Tuesday, June 8, 1999

I have  to issue a big apology.  I haven't posted anything here in the last couple of weeks.  I have been on a very hectic travel schedule with the races in Charlotte and then all of last week I was in Chicago on business

I should have this space updated in the next couple of days.

 

Wednesday, July 9, 1999

I have been so behind in updating my notes I really do not know where to begin. I guess

I should first say congratulations to Andrew for achieving the rank of Probationary Black Belt in his Tae Kwon Do class. I was able to come home from my trip to Charlotte to be in the audience for his performance. It was well worth the trip.

Andrew had tried on two other occasions to reach this rank, but had trouble breaking his boards. Suzy and the kids had asked for an early dismissal from testing, so Andrew and another kid got to take the final step in their black belt testing before the other kids. Andrew stepped up to boards and on his first try neither board broke. I have to tell you that my heart sunk and I thought it was going to beat out of chest. My Snyder (a guest instructor who operates a Tae Kwon Do school in Greensboro) talked to both boys that were testing early and when they stepped up to their boards the next time…presto, broken boards and the big prize. However, the results aren’t officially announced until the week following testing, which includes the Tae Kwon Do pattern, some sparring and the board breaking.

One thing I haven't mentioned to this point is Andrew stood up there with about five other kids to perform his pattern and suddenly in the middle of the pattern he lost his place. This was our first gasp. We had never worried about the pattern stumbling him because he knows it so well. Andrew's instructor excused all of the other kids and Andrew got to give his first exhibition. He nailed it. We all breathed a collective sigh of relief. Heck, this is the same pattern that gave him a first place trophy in the Greenville, SC regional tournament, so there was nothing to worry about, right? Not.

He was a proud puppy that afternoon and of course he was acting like Mr. Cool. He received his certificate and black belt the following Wednesday. I happened to be in Chicago.

* * * *

And speaking of Andrew. We have been celebrating his 7th birthday for about a week now. He had a bowling party with some of his buddies last week and then on Monday we celebrated with Bob and Barbara Thompson. Bob's birthday is just a couple days before Andrew's. And then yesterday, the official day, we continued celebrating with two more adult friends, Gail (aunt Gail) Martin and Linda Rainey. Andrew got to pick the restaurant and so dinner was a Pizza Hut. At least it was kid's night , so the kids ate free. Dinner was followed by ice cream at Allen's, a local dairy freeze, which must just barely pass the sanitation test. However, the soft serve is good and you can get a dipped cone. I tend to alternate between chocolate, butterscotch and cherry.

I missed the birthday dinner at Pizza Hut. When I cam home from work I was greeted with a home whose internal temperature was off the scale. Poor Suzy and the kids had been suffering with this all afternoon as it was readily apparent that our air conditioning was on the fritz.

 

I promptly called for service and was informed what the emergency night service call would be and while it was distasteful, I had no other option unless we checked into a motel. Hopefully the service technician would be here soon.

I went outside and found that neither unit was working and then found the breaker that controls the AC appeared to be tripped. I tripped the breaker and they started back up and the breaker tripped again. We would definitely need some service. I couldn’t figure out what was going on. We have never had any trouble with the A/C breaker tripping in the 11 years we have owned the house.

Suzy and the kids headed off the dinner and Don the service man arrived shortly thereafter. He began to mention things that could be wrong compressor, short, etc., while he was gathering his tools. I told him about the breaker. He pulled the cover off the units and measured the power load, which he promptly said that shouldn't be causing the breaker to trip. Then it was off the breaker panel and he felt the breaker that was tripping and it was extremely hot. He said maybe we had a bad breaker. He pulled the breaker box cover and found that the lugs on this breaker were loose. The lugs were tightened and the A/C was back working. The breaker didn't trip and began to cool down. He suggested that I keep an eye on this breaker and if it got hot again that I should replace it. Not to worry.

Well naturally it took well into the night for the house to begin to cool down and everything seems to working okay today. Since the A/C units are about 11 years old and we have two of then (2 zones in our house) I might consider putting them on service contract.

* * * *

And when it rains it pours. I know you've heard that.

Suzy and the kids were headed to Discovery Place in Charlotte, NC early this AM and to start the day off right here alarm clock did not sound off at the appointed time. She jumps out of bed when she realizes what has happened, shower's and I get the kids rousted.

She heads off to meet the rest of her group and I get a call that her car (which is one that is going to be utilized for this trip) is making a loud shrill sound and the RPM gauge is very high.

I tell her I will meet her and let her have my car. I then got in her car and started out of the parking lot and had just stuck my nose onto a very busy Silas Creek Parkway when the power train in her car died. There I was at rush hour with the powerless stuck crossways in a street where speeders approach freeway limits with no power. Several cars swerved to missed me a several gave me a honk of the horn, but I saw an opening and got the car to coast across the street safely. I had this fear that I would be stuck in the middle of the street and get broadsided, but luckily I didn't.

I then called for a tow and by this time had figured out that we have a transmission problem. Don't know what the final verdict is yet, but I am sure it won't be so simple.

Suzy is planning to leave for a trip to Pennsylvania on Saturday and had planned to drive her car. If there is a fortunate side to this story it's that this trouble happened while I was behind the wheel and not while she was on her way to Pennsylvania or to Charlotte with a car load of kids.

 

I also have not been amused at to what's happening on Wall Street. I like to play around with a few equities and one that had been a high flyer for me (@Home) has been tanking lately. Hopefully it will come back soon, but they are in a tussle now with other internet providers who want to provide high speed access over the same cable. Ain't deregulation great?

I have been considering purchasing an educational IRA for both Katie and Andrew.   Who knows what education costs will be by the time they ready to head off to college and I will be able to use all of the help I can get.  You can only deposit $500 per child per year, but at least the proceeds on the back end will be tax free.

* * * *

Here are a few tidbits I found surfing  the web that I thought might interest you:

 

Friday, June 11, 1999

It really have come as any surprise that Winston has decided not to return to NASCAR Winston Cup Racing in 2000 as the sponsor of Jimmy Spencer's No. 23 No Bull Taurus.  Afterall the team's performance has been fairly disappointing and they folks at Winston have the entire Winston Cup Series to concentrate on with their marketing might. 

The internet stocks keep getting hammered on Wall Street and I must admit that I'm getting hammered some along with them.  I personally think the market has talked itself into a semi-bull market, but some will tell you this .com craze had just overpriced the entire sector.  I sure hope they come back soon.

Got the verdict on Suzy's car.  It's the transmission okay and we're facing a repair bill north of 3 grand.  Ouch.  I hope the market turns bullish soon!

And to add a little insult to all of these injuries.  I relinquished my car to Suzy for her trip next week to Pennsylvania and immediately the gas gauge quits working in my explorer.  She'll have to judge her gasoline consumption going up the mountain with the odometer.  Good Luck Suzy.

Like they say when it rains it pours.  I hope the storm is over.

Saturday, June 12, 1999

Suzy and Linda Rainey are on their way to Pennsylvania for a visit to see Suzy's grandmother and then later in the week to enjoy (?) the Moravian Women's Fellowship conference in Elizabethton.

The kids and I are batching it.  Today we ate pizza and spent the afternoon at the pool.  On Monday Andrew begins his week long adventure at the Muggsy Bouges basketball camp here in Winston-Salem.  Heck, Andrew will be almost as tall as Muggsy I suspect.  We also got a pair of tickets to the ECW Wrestling match at Lawrence Joel Coliseum.  Andrew will be taking in his first live wrestling match and I am sure life won't be the same afterwards.

 

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