July 13, 2023, Thursday night, 7:19pm, pacific standard time, hotel in Bakersfield, California, USA. Two pieces of good news; first, the state called for Bakersfield and said the complaint was unsubstantiated and the case was closed. Such a relief. Second, palm Desert made money last month. The first time the branch earned a profit in over two years. I am proud of that accomplishment. And I am happy I don’t have to write a plan of correction for Bakersfield. I talked with the regional Vice President about Bakersfield this afternoon. She has a plan for more clinical support. Which means I don’t have to de-camp here like I did Palm Desert. That frees me up for other possibilities. I am motivated to get through this month and see how the second half of the year goes.

July 12, 2023, Wednesday evening, 7:34pm, pacific standard time, hotel in Bakersfield, California, USA. I have a massive blemish on my nose. It makes the right side of my face red and tender. The pain was driving me nuts so after work I went to Ulta beauty and bought an acne serum. It at least made the situation a little better. Now, hopefully over night the swelling will subside and my pores can go back to normal. It is no fun to have something like that with no means to correct or conceal the area.

July 11, 2023, Tuesday night, 6:43pm, pacific standard time, hotel in Bakersfield, California, USA. I can hear people outside my window in the hotel pool area. It sounds like a couple families having a great time together. I imagine they are on vacation and the kids couldn’t wait to get in the water. I remember summer days like that. Eager to be outside, splashing around, laughing and making memories. I am ready to go on vacation and make some fun memories myself. Only three more weeks. I worked out coverage for the office, now I need to finish strong and get to august.

July 10, 2023, Monday night, 7:12pm, pacific standard time, hotel in Bakersfield, California, USA. Another day in Bakersfield. God, I hope it doesn’t take as long to fill the Director position as it did in Palm Desert. I don’t mind the work but it is pointless without someone to carry on afterwards. The right candidate needs to have a great attitude, a willingness to learn and wants to grow professionally. I am putting that out on the universe in hopes she/he manifests in existence. Speaking of which, the new director from Palm Desert is here this week. Since I couldn’t split time between the two branches any more I had him come up to Bakersfield for training. We will see how it goes. Tomorrow is the staff meeting and compliance training. Should be an interesting week.

July 9, 2023, Sunday night, 8:24pm, pacific standard time, apartment in Dana Point, California, USA. Went and saw the Insidious movie this evening with my daughter and her friend. It was frightening, lots of jump scares. We originally planned to see an early afternoon show but the girls slept in and had homework so we pushed the time out until 5pm. That meant I spent the day lazying around the Aliso Viejo apartment all afternoon while they did school assignments. The movie ended at 7pm. Afterwards, I dropped them off and had a couple slices of pizza before heading to Dana Point for laundry. I am going to stay up past my usual bedtime waiting for stuff to dry but it was worth it. I am not looking forward to going to Bakersfield tomorrow. I don’t really want to stay here I am just tired of the same routine I have been doing for the past year.

July 8, 2023, Saturday night, 7:47pm, pacific standard time, apartment in Dana Point, California, USA. The girls went to a gem show most of the day so I hung out with the dog in Aliso Viejo. When they got back I took my daughter to get dinner and drive around. Now I am in Dana Point, watching shows and having a beer.

July 7, 2023, Friday morning, 5:58am, pacific standard time, hotel in Bakersfield, California, USA. My dream job was recently posted. I came across it on indeed.com this morning. I am not actively looking for work yet I like to browse Spiritual care positions, more for relaxation than anything else. This job so exactly matches what I envisioned it is scary. It matches my training as a chaplain, my desire to travel and it provides for my family. I wish I had found it a year ago. Even if I don’t pursue it I feel relieved. The type of job I want exists.

July 6, 2023, Thursday night, 7:30pm, pacific standard time, hotel in Bakersfield, California, USA. Today went quick. Which is good because it wasn’t particularly fun. The state came to the office at noon, following up on an anonymous complaint. That created unease. I spent an hour answering questions and pulling data. I won’t know the outcome or plan of correction until the report is done and I don’t know the specifics of the complaint though I asked for details. We will see how it goes.The office also had a biweekly group meeting this afternoon. It didn’t go smooth since the clinical leader quit last week. But we managed with the help of a regional nurse. Finally, I called mom tonight, told her the itinerary for our visit next month. She is excited.

July 5, 2023, Wednesday evening, 7:38pm, pacific standard time, hotel in Bakersfield, California, USA. I got the same room I checked out of yesterday morning. I wonder if someone stayed here last night? Probably not. It is a good room, so I am not complaining. Been thinking about this day last year. It was my final interview for a job in Rancho Cucamonga, California. A job I accepted on July 8. I ended up rescinding my acceptance to take this job. I am much happier with the choice. I would be burned out already and no closer to stability if I had taken that job. I am thankful things turned out the way they did.

July 4, 2023, Independence Day, 7:16pm, pacific standard time, carnival in San Juan Capistrano, California, USA. Drove back to Orange County from Bakersfield this morning, came to the carnival this afternoon so the girls could ride rides. After dinner we came back. Now it is packed. Fireworks start in two hours, after that we will go home.