July 15, 2024, Monday night, 7:30pm, pacific standard time, Hilton garden inn , Victorville, California, USA. I am in the same room as last week. The same room I was in for my birthday. It is weird to come back to the same room two weeks in a row. A little too home like. Which at least I am not in Dana point. I have to admit, I really don’t like my apartment. Love the location, but hate the place. Can you tell I am in a grouchy mood? Tomorrow is a follow up call about the internal audit. I spent over 8 hours last week and this week catching up on audits. And still not close to being done. And literally, I am the only one stressed about it. The directors haven’t done anything. The ADCO hasn’t helped. Ultimately it falls on me so I guess i own the failure. I will eat the berating and keep plugging away. So stupid. So annoying. Also, my boss is coming to town to do my performance evaluation. Normally they would be my biggest stressor.

July 25, 2024, Sunday afternoon, 4:03pm, pacific standard time, apartment in Dana Point,California,USA. There are certain things I like about my job; my car, the company credit card, my paycheck, a sense of identity, doing something I am good at, etc. and there are certain things I don’t like; every work day is full, there are no skate days. Weekends are busy, my phone is constantly going off with calls, texts and emails. These two favors create constant tension. I am officially halfway through the time of my daughter started high school and when she will finish. That is the minimum period of time I said I wanted to stay. The part of me that like the job is good with that. The part of me that doesn’t like the job questions if I can even make it to September. There is always energy keeping me in and pulling me out. I guess eventually the tension will break one way or the other and I will leave. I doubt I have that much control over the timing. All I can do is stay in the game as long as possible and see when it all ends.

July 13, 2024, Saturday night, 11:11pm, pacific standard time, apartment in Dana Point, California,USA. Started the day with the Blue Lantern walk this morning before driving to the El Toro Planet Fitness for a workout. After coming home for a bit my daughter called so I drove to Aliso Viejo to see her. She was still in bed so I took the dog for a short walk then got gas for my work car, washed it, took it to jiffy lube for service and came back home to shower. I then went back to Aliso to take my daughter to Dunkin. This afternoon I stopped to get a haircut innLaguna Niguel. They were busy so I needed to come back 45 minutes later. To kill time I picked up the mail in Dana Point then returned at 2:45pm. After my haircut I visited Albertsons to get coffee pods, French bread pizza and gum. I came home, napped, did some chart audits for work and watched the new Beverly Hills Cop movie on Netflix before falling asleep.

July 11,12, 2024, Thursday, Friday night, 11:51pm, pacific standard time, apartment in Dana Point,California, USA. Drove back from Victorville yesterday morning and worked from home. Today, worked out at the gym, picked the dog up, took her to the groomers, took my daughter to Dunkin’ for lunch/breakfast, picked the dog up, took her home, hung out with my daughter on the couch watching YouTube then came home and went to bed early. I am tired of work filling up all five days of the week. There are no skate days with this job. It is exhausting. Also, my daughter’s California grandma continues to deal with health issues. I don’t know many details. I believe at this point, she is in Santa Barbara at a skilled nursing facility. Most likely the family is going to sell her house and move her to Valencia, closer to family. That means last weeks trip will be the last time we go to Lompoc. That makes me sad.

July 10, 2024, Wednesday evening, 7:48pm, pacific standard time, hotel in Victorville,California,USA. Woke up and worked out in the clothes I bought yesterday. It was alright, but not spectacular. Better than not going. The last two mornings I really have been dragging and I don’t know why. I don’t feel sick but I definitely don’t feel great. I drove to the office and had my coaching session at 9 then did some chart audits before attending meetings in the afternoon. I didn’t leave the office until almost six pm. Got Panera from door dash then ate candy and watched family feud. A friend invited me to go to Europe with her in November. I told her that was a little too ambitious for me at the moment though it did sound like fun. Perhaps, someday I will go.

July 9, 2024, Tuesday night, 7:06pm, pacific standard time, hotel in Victorville, California,USA. Woke up this morning to work out and realized I forgot to pack my gym clothes. I wasn’t feeling very well so I just went back to bed and slept until 7:30am. After that I spent the day in the office then found a sporting goods store nearby to get shoes, socks and shorts. I spent a hundred dollars just because I couldn’t stand the thought of missing one more workout. That is alright, it could have been more expensive and I needed another pair of shorts and shoes anyway.

July 8, 2024, Monday evening, 6:47pm, pacific standard time, Hilton Garden Inn, Victorville,California,USA. Drove up to Victorville today to deal with a HR issue. I will stay through tomorrow and go back on Wednesday. My daughter’s mom’s mom is still having issues and the family is working through options which at this point consist of in-home care or a move to assisted living. Neither are ideal, but most likely necessary. On a side note I am staying in the same hotel room I stayed in on my birthday back in February. I have fond memories of my friend coming to visit me that day. We fell out of touch a short time later and haven’t reconnected. I know it is best we stay apart but on many levels I still miss her.

July 7, 2024, Sunday night, 8:06pm, pacific standard time, apartment in Dana Point,California,USA. Got back from Lompoc just before noon today. I helped unpack the car then headed on to Dana Point. I spent the afternoon at home, doing laundry and chatting with friends. My daughter’s mom’s mom is having issues with her health and there are questions about long term care. I am trying to offer advice and be objective. Some tough decisions with significant financial ramifications lie ahead. I see this all the time with patients and their families at work but, it is different when it hits this close to home.

July 6, 2024, Saturday night, 9:34pm, pacific standard time, daughter’s grandma’s house in Lompoc, California,USA. Walked the dog early this morning then drove to south side coffee for a large drink and a side of whipped cream. After coming home for a little bit the dog and visited La Purisma mission. I planned a leisurely stroll but inadvertently took a longer hike thsn anticipated. By the time we got home we both were exhausted. However, my daughter woke up so we got back in the car to grab lunch and to Solvang and back. A little later my daughter and I returned to the mission and walked around. We bought a book at the gift shop and turned the time into a ghost hunt. This evening we drove and got Little Caesars pizza, watched Expedition unknown and the played a game called Rummicub. It was a full and fun day.

July 5, 2024, Friday night, 7:27pm, pacific standard time, daughter’s grandma’s house, Lompoc, California, USA. Woke up at 3:30am this morning. Went for a walk, then stopped by the gym for a quick workout. After packing a bag I headed to Aliso Viejo and met up with my daughter and her mom for the drive to Lompoc. When we got here we all took a nap then went to Applebees for dinner. Afterwards, we shopped at Walmart. They always have unique one off candies and treats at the Lompoc Walmart. We got some healthy starburst candy and plant based Reese’s peanut butter cups. We also got Star Wars themed Oreos. Now we are sitting around talking.