Ruby Ann-Marie has come into the world today.

She was born today, January 25th 2007 at 3:14PM PST. She is 8 pounds 9 ounces, 21 inches long, so precious. Michelle and Matt are both doing fine.
I can’t wait to meet her in person now. She’s so beautiful.

Matt and Michelle are at the hospital now and I expect we’ll get to meet the beautiful new person soon. I can imagine what they’re going through right now, it was only three years ago Dawn and I went through it. Nervous, scared, amazed, surreal. They are such wonderful people, I know they’ll be great parents.

Those of you who know me, know I enjoy hiking now and then. TioTony is really the one who got me a lot more into it, and for that, I’m quite thankful. Now, in what seems to have become my near-monthly review of iTunes for new podcasts, I’ve found one that looks seriously interesting. Not that my vintage 4th gen black and white click-wheel iPod will play them, but none the less I’ve subscribed.

<click here for iTunes link>

It promises ‘An Almost Unabridged Expedition Experience’. Can’t wait to watch these. Enjoy.

Well, it’s the end of the year and I’m wondering where the heck it went. Time flew by, but I gather that is normal once parenthood becomes your life. And I can honestly say, I wouldn’t trade it for the world. Having our Little Man around is the most amazing thing that’s ever happened to me. My opinion may have a small bit of bias, but I think he is brilliant. Each day he does something that astonishes me. Just the other day, xmas actually, he picked up a present and correctly stated who it was from – may have just been a good guess, but none the less was great.

I’ve decided to make a few resolutions this year as well. Yes, I know, how cliche, but what the heck:

1. Meditate more often. This is a big one, and I’ve purposely stated it first. Without this, I do not expect any other resolutions to get very far. Say what you will, but a focused and clear mind will accomplish anything.
2. Commit myself to more excercise. Not only physically, but mentally as well.
3. Pay off the dang credit card. Enough said.
4. Integrate the GTD system into both my work and personal life heavily.
5. Write more. I have had many ideas to write about; this is the year to get off my arse and do something about them.

Life is really good. Everything at home is really great, and I can still say with complete honesty that I really enjoy my job. My assumption is that a good percentage of people in this world cannot make that statement. I consider myself very fortunate though. I work for a great company, that has a future. I have a really cool boss that I also consider a personal friend. And, the team I work with includes people whom I consider some of my closest friends.

And what would this post be without mentioning my beautiful Dawn. She is my strength. Dawn, I love you.

Happy New Year everyone.

We recently returned from a visit to my parents house. It’s always good to go see them, but, I must admit, Lompoc is a strange place to me. (and if you haven’t heard of Lompoc, no worries, that’s normal… hahaha no one knows where it is.) Dad tells me it was once the flower seed capital of the country. I can’t believe this, but doing a quick search on youtube brought up a video of the ‘Lompoc Valley Flower Fields’:

Just another example of my long belief that anything you want to find is really on the internet. hahahaha….

I’m always told that it should be no longer than a 3-4 hour drive from my home, but it is actually a 5-6 hour drive….. EVERY frigin time. This is where the entry title comes in: ‘Rick, follow me I’m right behind you’. There was a huge big rig that we passed on the way. Someone had written that in the dirt on the back of it. Then, we got stuck in traffic. About 45 minutes later, we passed the same truck again. Now mind you – there is only one route up where we were and Dawn and I did not remember the truck passing us, but sure enough we passed it again. We agreed that while the statement makes little to no sense, it was the theme of our driving trip. Don’t know who Rick is, but I’m sure he’s as strange as our Twilight Zone’ish journey up there. Each time the place gets further away. (think the forever stretching hallway in Poltergeist)

Well, enough about the trip; all in all is was great to see my parents, and Little Man had a blast with Grandpa & Grandma.

Today is my Dawn’s birthday.

I love you Dawn.

I didn’t know them, but this really saddens me. May the compassion of 10,000 Bodhisattvas shine upon the Kim family.
James Kim truly did what any good father would have done; given his all to try to save his family………

It’s been a hectic week to say the least. Hell, it’s been a hectic month. Work is the busiest it’s ever been, and it’s only promising to get busier. The coming months should be quite amazing though – as busy as it’s going to be, I’m honestly excited about it.

This weekend will be great. I don’t get to hang out with Matt too often, so this Sunday will rock. Little Man and I get to hang out while the girls have the baby shower. (which btw, any of you that know me, know that I’m of the ‘new school’ of fathers who believe in sharing the parenting 50/50. So, this whole ‘girls only’ baby shower isn’t a popular subject with me, but hey, whatever )

They are going to make such great parents. Michelle is an amazing person. Seriously. Always kind and caring, the type of person you really do know is completely special. (and those of you who know Matt, can imagine the level of patience she has. hahaha j/k Matt) Matt is one of the most unique people I’ve ever met. I’ve told the story time and time again, so what’s one more time….

I was working at <the place that shall remain unnamed for fear of losing my sanity> and saw this dude wearing a Cthulhu t-shirt. Went over and told him what a cool shirt I thought it was and we started talking. After a while I saw his desk. Now, we’ve all seen the typical cubicle farms that office workers are shoved into and this place was no different. Most people have books, food, whatnots up in the overhead bins of their cubicles. On no – not Matt. He had every happy meal toy imaginable from all fast food places in a 12 mile radius of the place! And not only that, they were arranged into this intricate diorama with complete story on how the M&M guys were robbing a bank, but the animal doods were the local armed forces trying to stop them, while the stuffed animal thingys were the horse cavalry trying to raid the local quiki mart. Or something like that (Matt, if you’re feeling up to it, please comment with the full story – cuz I know you remember it). Well, as you can imagine, I just had to be friends with this person. He was wayyyyyy too unique NOT to be friends with. And ya know, he’s been one of my best friends since. In a strange way, this is what lets me know the kind of Dad he’ll be. He is seriously smart, insanely creative, and incredibly imaginative. And I know he’ll be able to help their child be as creative as he is.

Well, enough said. This is going to be a fun weekend.