I like T-Mobile

My new T-Mobile account for my laptop is working very well. I have used it in coffee shops around town and in Borders Books and it has been great. Strong signal, consistent behaviour and fast downloads. Because I have high wireless security protection on my laptop I must use the special logout site they have set up and that is not a problem although it is less convenient. I have yet to try it at an airport since my international and domestic air travel has stopped for awhile. I have heard there are some problems at terminals and I will find out when I try it.

Movie Recommendations:

"Planes, Trains and Automobiles" (1987) - Yes, see it. OC+

Lee's OC Index:
OC+ = High potential healing and/or educational message for people with OCD tendencies.
OC- = Low potential healing and/or educational message for people with OCD tendencies.

Hot or Not?

And the answer is: HOT!
I got a mobile phone call from my wife letting me know that my son had completed cutting up the tree he recently downed in his front yard and he offered me the wood for our heating needs if I would come pick it up quickly. I was already dressed for outdoor work and was on the road having completed taking our refuse to the transfer facility (the dump).
I drove to my son's place asap for two reasons: First, I wanted the wood although I had doubts that it would be burnable this season having so recently been taken down. Second, the tree is right in the front yard of my son's home and many cars and bicyclists pass by every day and it made a messy looking place and I live in the mountains where wood-mess in the winter is normal and acceptable and I wanted to help him tidy up his place which is small, cute and easily overwhelmed by untidiness.
Wow, am I impressed! I started our nightly fire in the usual way, and then when it came time to add the medium weight wood, I mixed the wood from my son's place with my usual aged bay wood and was happy to see the new wood take flame. When it came time to add the serious logs, I mixed the heavy, dense and unaged rounds from my son's place and was amazed to feel the heat they produced after igniting. I added lots more as the evening continued and we are happy to report that we had a very warm home last night due to the HOT burning wood from my son's place. Thanks P & J *:-)

Movie Recommendations:

"The Score" (2001) - No, don't see it. OC-
"The Three Amigos" (1986) - No, don't see it. OC-
"He Knew He Was Right" (2004) - Yes, see it. OC+

Lee's OC Index:
OC+ = High potential healing and/or educational message for people with OCD tendencies.
OC- = Low potential healing and/or educational message for people with OCD tendencies.

Tree Awareness

Now that the work we have been doing with our arborist is sinking in and becoming part of our routine I am seeing the trees we are responsible for in different ways. We had the courage to terminate one of our old apple trees, and it will be removed in another week or two. This opens a big hole in our protective visual screen and we will be choosing something to replace it but we don't know if it should be a tree or some other screening device. I am seeing all the growing things here differently and am motivated to pay attention and work hard at aligning our growing things with the use plan we have for our property. I love doing it and it feels very much like right livlihood to be caring for the natural gifts we have been given. I will post some pictures soon.

Movie Recommendations:

"TipToes" (2003) - Yes, see it for the many messages and don't get lost in triggers. OC+

Lee's OC Index:
OC+ = High potential healing and/or educational message for people with OCD tendencies.
OC- = Low potential healing and/or educational message for people with OCD tendencies.

Plum Blossoms On The Table

Our home is filled with the gentle and sweet smell of the plum blossoms that we brought in and placed in a vase on our dining room table. The delicacy and beauty of the blossoms is exceptional, unique and ephemeral and not easy to describe in words and I am not motivated to try. We believe that the blossoms come from our Old English Greengage plum tree, and our arborist has promised to stop by when the fruit is on so he can confirm the variety. This is exciting stuff for us and we are really into it *:-) Thanks for the trees, Mother Nature *:-)

Movie Recommendations:

"The Notebook" - No, don't see it. OC-

Lee's OC Index:
OC+ = High potential healing and/or educational message for people with OCD tendencies.
OC- = Low potential healing and/or educational message for people with OCD tendencies.

Youthful vigor and appearance return

We are very happy with our arborist, who completed the first pruning season on our fruit trees today. He brings his dog along to keep him company, which irritates our cat for a little while and now everyone has settled into their natural routines. The trees are now open to the sun and breeze and although it will take another 2.5 years to complete the orchard renovation, including the removal of one diseased and very old apple tree I can see and feel the effect of the arborists touch already. A walk around the yard is now completely different, with shadows and breezes appearing and leaving from different quadrants and in different amounts now that the air flow has been corrected. I did not know that air flow was so important and I appreciate the arborist taking the time to explain and show that to me today. I believe he will return next week to remove the diseased tree and to "chipper" the downed limbs and twigs.

Movie Recommendations:

"50 First Dates" - No, don't see it. OC-
"Spy Game" - Yes, see it. OC+

Lee's OC Index:
OC+ = High potential healing and/or educational message for people with OCD tendencies.
OC- = Low potential healing and/or educational message for people with OCD tendencies.

Live Jazz Tonight

It's cool to show up at a local restaurant/jazz venue and have a great crowd already there, all ages, enjoying the free come-one come-all jazz performances. We had a great time and many people were glad to see us because we haven't been able to make it for a while. The food was ok, the beer was very good and the jazz was real. Thanks everybody *:-)

Movie Recommendations:

"The Bourne Supremacy" - Yes, see it. OC+

Lee's OC Index:
OC+ = High potential and/or educational message for people with OCD tendencies.
OC- = Low potential and/or educational message for people with OCD tendencies.

PG&E and the phone poles

The squirrels are pissed.
For two weeks now the PG&E crews have been on our road replacing phone poles that aren't up to code.
They sent notices to all of us humans that we would be inconvenienced and occaisonally without power, broadband, etc., and PG&E didn't say a word to the squirrels.
For the last two days two squirrels have been trying to retake territory from me. I have been fortunate that I have been able to be home (an extended weekend) and so have bravely fought them off with 'ol Tippmann 98 Custom paint baller which sends 62 caliber rounds after any squirrel that trespasses.
The squirrels got the message and are digging in outside our territory, and also away from where the PG&E teams are messing up their homes. They may attack at dawn.

Movie Recommendations:

"Shark Tale" - Yes, see it. OC+

Lee's OC Index:
OC+ = High potential healing and/or educational message for people with OCD tendencies.
OC- = Low potential healing and/or educational message for people with OCD tendencies.

Salinas

Nice town, spread over a wide area and containing diversity. At this time of year the open field and foothills drive from where I live to Salinas was beautiful because the rain stopped last night and during the sunny part of the day everything was clean, fresh and beginning to "spring". The fields were all very tidy and prepared for the growing season, with their plastic blankets tucked in at the corners and stretched taut across the acreage. The roads are not yet clustered with fruit transport trucks and farm implements and were enjoyable to travel. I considered stopping by the Steinbeck Center because my daughter-in-law's father is part of the governing board and we've been invited a couple times but haven't made it. I had appointments in the state government offices however so the Steinbeck priority did not get moved high enough to get done, plus I got lost on the way out of Salinas and ended up at the very remote UPS night transfer facility asking directions of the desk staff (which they couldn't provide, which I thought was strange since it was UPS).

Movie Recommendations:

"Mystic Pizza" - Yes, see it. OC+

Lee's OC Index:
OC+ = High potential healing and/or educational message for people with OCD tendencies.
OC- = Low potential healing and/or educational message for people with OCD tendencies.

(1) CD Prices & (2) Shanghai Hello

Today I had a quick lesson in retail pricing. I needed to purchase 20 copies of a jazz CD to use as business gifts.
I priced them at a shop in a well-known tourist area and each CD sold for $19.95 total. With a quantity purchase of 20, the price is reduced by 10% to $17.95.
I priced the identical CD at the local discount CD store and each CD sold for $9.98 total. With a quantity purchase of 20, the price is reduced by 10% to $8.98 total.
So I can pay either $359.00 for 20 identical CDs or I can pay $179.60. I happily paid the lower amount *:-)
Today I had a quick lesson in global good will. I had responded to a blog entry from someone who's blog I have been following for a little over one year. The blogger does not know me, and I have never posted a reply to his blog before. The blog originates from Shanghai, PRC.
I was surprised when just one day after I posted a reply I received a very nice and thoughtful reply from the blogger! This is not a small, unknown blog, but an internationally recognized blog.
I think that is very cool and it makes me feel good *:-)

Movie Recommendations:

"The Motorcycle Diaries" - Yes, see it. OC+

Lee's OC Index:
OC+ = High potential healing and/or educational message for people with OCD tendencies.
OC- = Low potential healing and/or educational message for people with OCD tendencies.

Maybe I shouldn't have watched "Troy"

All five of the computers in the downtown branch office of the company I am doing contract work for are fully infected with what they believe is one of the Trojan varieties.
It has been two days that IT has tried to clean the machines and IT has decided that they will just replace the hard drives with new ones since they can't get rid of the infection.
That means all data will be gone and it is a relief to me that I don't keep much stuff on the office machines (they are shared).
At our home office for my wife and I we have two systems for protection and we hope that is enough although we recently upgraded to full broadband which I understand is far more highly vulnerable. Good luck to us.

Movie Recommendations:

"That Touch Of Mink" (1962) - No, don't see it. OC-

Lee's OC Index:
OC+ = High potential healing and/or educational message for people with OCD tendencies.
OC- = Low potential healing and/or educational message for people with OCD tendencies.

Ugly, but they sold!

I watched with trepidation as the person in charge of the bake sale made a small "tent card" that described the baked goods that I donated.
If you recall from yesterday's blog entry my stuff did not have a very professional or polished appearance.
As the day wore on, and as I kept passing the person who was watching the money and the baked goods, I kept feeding him tidbits about my stuff, such as "they have butter cream frosting", and "all organic flour" and "marbled cake". He dutifully annotated the tent cards with each additional piece of information, and by noon the cake sold! I breathed a sigh of relief and held my head a little higher.
As I was getting ready to leave, about 4:15 in the afternoon, I got to watch one of our workshop trainers looking over the remaining baked goods, which included the cupcakes I made. He bought the cupcakes! *:-) I told my wife right away and we high-fived ourselves for being real contributors to the fund-raiser.
Thanks for the help, everybody *:-)

Homemade, and ugly *:-(

I just finished icing the homemade St. Valentine cake I made and am donating to the office fund raiser tomorrow. The cake is heart-shaped, sort of, and the icing is almost red, but more on the raspberry side of the color wheel. I tried to compensate for the lumpy surface by sprinkling those little rods of colored hard sugar but it didn't work too well. The icing is still running down the sides of the cake onto the supporting plate and I hope that stops as the house cools off tonight. I will be slightly embarrassed when I put it on the bake sale table and my name is not on it so if I enter and leave the room with alacrity perhaps I won't be seen. I will be much more embarrassed if when I leave work at 5 pm my cake is still on the bake sale table unpurchased *:-

Movie Recommendations:

"Late Marriage" (2001) - No, don't see it. OC-

Lee's OC Index:
OC+ = High potential healing and/or educational message for people with OCD tendencies.
OC- = Low potential healing and/or educational message for people with OCD tendencies.

Tunnel Of Fudge Bundt Tasting Results

Mmmmm *:-) Just the way I like it because it is almost cake-brownie like, and with lots more sophistication, visual beauty, a reserved and pleasant aroma, and it is strong yet subtle enough to let accompanyment such as chai or champagne still have their own voice. The sophisticated and very high quality chocolate is reserved yet makes a clear statement without overpowering the other ingredients. I'd say it is a great success, and I had a great tasting *:-)
The classic recipe comes from the book "Bundt Classics" published by Nordic Ware and available at the website linked above. Enjoy!

Movie Recommendations:

"Stand and Deliver" (1988) - Yes, see it. OC+

Lee's OC Index:
OC+ = High potential and/or educational message for people with OCD tendencies.
OC- = Low potential and/or educational message for people with OCD tendencies.

Hearts, Cakes, Cookies But Not Pie

Today is the last of several pastry preparation days in our home before the St. Valentine's Day celebrations. My wife is brilliant with food and pies, and this year has added cakes to her repertoire. Of course I am the taste tester and will have had quite a few palate pleasers behind me before her baking is done. Today my objective is to provide a culinary review with tasting the "747" of Bundt cakes, the Tunnel Of Fudge Bundt *:- o .
Yesterday we delivered custom loaves and baby-bundts to family members and it will be fun to get reports from them on their tastings.

Movie Recommendations:

"Fahrenheit 451" (1966) - No, don't see it. OC-

Lee's OC Index:
OC+ = High potential healing and/or educational message for people with OCD tendencies.
OC- = Low potential healing and/or educational message for people with OCD tendencies.

3 Cats

Two blacks and one orange. Our new deck seating area is attracting a lot of attention from our neighbor's two black cats and causing our orange cat to cautiously supervise how the two blacks use the area, because the heightened and wide railing is perfect for getting a 360 degree overview of the yard, and also provides a position of territorial strength and defensibility. All three were frozen in place for a moment this morning, as they each noticed the other tactically positioning for a potential strike. I opened the upstairs window and had a brief discussion with each of them which temporarily resolved the issue and cleared the area.

Movie Recommendations:

"Gallipoli" (1981) - Yes, see it. OC+

Lee's OC Index:
OC+ = High potential and/or educational message for people with OCD tendencies.
OC- = Low potential and/or educational message for people with OCD tendencies.

Global Gathering

Professional associates from my recent corporate past are gathering here locally soon. My favorite ones have been contacting me and because of the work I have been doing on myself with the state workshops for career centering I am fully prepared and actually excited about seeing the former teammates. Of course there are one or two of them that I hope don't show up [ *:-) ] but that is the way life is.
Winter is letting go of our valley here, and a few miles away down in the lowlands the blossoms have fully engaged their bud sheathes and are beginning to burst. Ours are holding back because we can get very cold at night until another month or so because we are higher and more vulnerable to temperature shift.

Movie Recommendations:

"The Manchurian Candidate" (1962) - Yes, see it. OC+

Lee's OC Index:
OC+ = High potential and/or educational message for people with OCD tendencies.
OC- = Low potential and/or educational message for people with OCD tendencies.

Jazz *:-)

I hit on a very cool jazz cd that I did not know about...been listening all day every chance I get. My wife will get to hear it shortly when she gets home from her class. It is raw, down and un-managed. Very gritty by some very cool cats *:-)

Movie Recommendations:

"Troy" (2004) - Yes, see it. OC+

Lee's OC Index:
OC+ = High potential healing and/or educational message for people with OCD tendencies.
OC- = Low potential healing and/or educational message for people with OCD tendencies.

Flaky Chocolate Croissant

I forgot to take a lunch with me yesterday, Monday, which is the day of the week when my schedule allows only 19 minutes of lunch time between the end of one meeting and the beginning of the next. I was "forced" to run (literally) to the Starbucks nearby and get a small orange juice and a chocolate croissant. I had to eat the croissant quickly on the way back to the building because it is a state facility and only beverage not food is allowed inside. It was good enough and got me through the next meeting, and I don't want to know what the ingredients of the croissant are *:-) I will do better next time.

Movie Recommendations:

"The Little Shop Of Horrors" (1986) - No, don't see it. OC-
"Clue" (1985) - No, don't see it. OC-

Lee's OC Index:
OC+ = High potential and/or educational message for people with OCD tendencies.
OC- = Low potential and/or educational message for people with OCD tendencies.

Early Bumble

In the afternoon of yesterday, while the last warm rays of the pre-spring sun warmed patches of planter and deck I was stopped still by the heavy rumble of the bumblebee behind me. A small wash of mild adrenaline flowed through me for a half-second or so and then my brain identified the sound and I relaxed, smiled and waited for the Bombus Terrestris to catch up and pass me on its way to an early flower. The sight of its clumsy and delightfully heavy flight signalled the beginning of our spring dance.

Movie Recommendations:

"Vanity Fair" (2004) - No, don't see it. OC-

Lee's OC Index:
OC+ = High potential healing and/or educational message for people with OCD tendencies.
OC- = Low potential healing and/or educational message for people with OCD tendencies.

In the hallway twixt & between

As awareness dawns about who and where I am in my period of perceptional transition between USAs, tidbits of clear knowledge arrive. The most recent visualization is that I am in a silent misty hallway of twilight doors and floors, not numbered yet infinite in number. My instructions are to remain calm and silent and choose no direction to move in but to constantly move in the right direction. No one else is here and everyone is here. As a friend put it, time to yell "WooHoo" and gleefully get on with nothing while doing everything *:-)

Movie Recommendations:

"The Stranger" (1946) - No, don't see it. OC-
"The Killers" (1964) - No, don't see it. OC-

Lee's OC Index:
OC+ = High potential healing and/or educational message for people with OCD tendencies.
OC- = Low potential healing and/or educational message for people with OCD tendencies.

Chai Variables, Variable Chais

In my travels globally and locally I suffer from severe chai inconsistency (follow the link to find out what "chai" is if you don't already know). Coffee is way too strong for me unless I need to remain awake and alert for several days without sleep, and soy chai is just the right combo to feed my desire for a stimulant without wiring me into an array of neon body spasms and mental twists and shouts. The best chai in the world is made by my wife and when we are together that is what I get, which then makes all others less than best. However, the variables of the ingredients that go into chai and the preparation methods are so variable that I am not able to rely on it from place to place, vendor to vendor. When I get the time, I am going to make my own chai recipe and take it with me for preparation on the spot *:-)

Movie Recommendations:

"Ray" - No, don't see it. OC-

Lee's OC Index:
OC+ = High potential for healing and/or educational message for people with OCD tendencies.
OC- = Low potential for healing and/or educational message for people with OCD tendencies.

Now I get it!...re-discovering America

I am out of my home office today so that my wife's fiber friends can do their thing freely and un-interrupted. This puts me on the street *:-) Actually, at Borders using my T-mobile account to get the web mail and other business done, plus synchronistically running into people I haven't seen in a while, having great conversations, AND...after walking to and fro on the Pacific Avenue Pedestrian Outdoor Shopping Promonade (PAPOSP), burdened with two heavy shoulder bags, I had a flash-realization that the experience I am currently in the middle of, which is a job transition after 25 continuous years of high-intensity USA global corporate management, puts me in a parallel universe to Tom Hanks character in "The Terminal". Because I am not confined to a corporate cubicle, and because I am no longer a citizen of corporate America, I am being given insights into the reality of America that I did not notice because of my limited corporate-specific vision prior to entering my "terminal". Carrying the heavy bags back and forth, I am having spontaneous experiences that could not have happened within the corporate cubicle environment. I am patiently waiting for the entrance doors into my "new America" to happen, and in the meantime, will continue to learn, live and be.

Root canal

I spent with day with my wife at our (excellent) Dentist. 4.5 hours in the chair for her for a long over-due root canal. The travel time to and from our Dentist totals 3 hours, so we were dentaling all day. She is still not comfortable today. My turn in 3 weeks.

Movie Recommendations:

"The Killers" (1946) - Yes, see it. OC+

Lee's OC Index:
OC+ = High potential healing and/or educational message for people with OCD tendencies.
OC- = Low potential healing and/or educational message for people with OCD tendencies.

Yes, he is the right guy

The gifted orchardist actually showed up a little early, which is promising, and also turned out to be a very nice person. He is intelligent, immediately understood what the trees needed, and got excited about working with fully mature, natural (non-dwarf) varieties that are older than he is *:-) He reminds us of our youngest son, who is currently interning at the Toyota manufacturing facility near San Francisco. He is fully protected with liability insurance and is providing a disclaimer statement to cover unforseen circumstances during his time on our property. We plan to work with him for several years to bring the trees to their best possible state.

Movie Recommendations:

"Carolina" - No, don't see it. OC-
"13 Moons" - No, don't see it. OC-

Lee's OC Index:
OC+ = High potential healing and/or educational message for people with OCD tendencies.
OC- = Low potential healing and/or educational message for people with OCD tendencies.

Apples, Pears, Plums, Prunes

Hooray Hooray!
If all goes well, tomorrow evening a truly gifted orchardist will begin bringing our 12 fruit trees back to their natural healthy state of growth, after several years of neglect because I was too busy. He and I will do a walk-around, chat with the trees, and find out if we are all compatible. I will not be inviting the deer or the squirrels for the walk-around because I don't want them to know that this fall's crop will be especially tasty after the trees are cared for properly. The word will probably get out anyway because a bird or owl or bobcat or racoon or mountain lion or opossum or wild turkey or horse or dog or gopher or snake will let the cat out of the bag.

Movie Recommendations:

"What A Girl Wants" - Sure, see it if you want to. OC+

Lee's OC Index:
OC+ = High potential healing and/or educational message for people with OCD tendencies.
OC- = Low potential healing and/or educational message for people with OCD tendencies.