August 23,2023, Wednesday night, 6:53pm, pacific standard time, hotel in Palm Desert, California,USA. Twenty five years ago was my last day in Paradise, California. I was an intern pastor at Paradise Lutheran church, just finishing up before heading home to Evanston, Wyoming to wait for my first ministerial call. I was 26 years old at the time. A whole lifetime has passed since then. Amazing how quickly it went. I look back and am grateful for the last 25 years. It hasn’t been perfect and I am far from saintly but it has been something. In the end I made the best decisions I could. I am thankful for those I met, the things I have done and the people I have lost. Heres to another 25 years and another lifetime to come.

August 22, 2023, Tuesday night, 7:21pm, pacific standard time, hotel in Palm Desert, California, USA. A lot of the staff was off today, which made it hard to do patient care. However, it gave me time to enjoy being in Palm Desert and have a bit of nostalgia. I will enjoy this week then it is back to Bakersfield. I got a tuna sandwich from Jersey mikes for dinner tonight. Then watched celebrity family feud. I also texted and FaceTimed with a new friend tonight. I am usually not available for such things but to tell the truth, I was bored. That is a result of not drinking much alcohol/beer this weekend. When I drink over the weekend it takes three or four days to get right. Now I have more energy. Ironically, perhaps too much energy, which makes me anxious. Oh well, better than feeling like shit all the time.

August 21, 2023, Monday evening, 6:52pm, pacific standard time, hotel in Palm Desert, California,USA. I have been away from Palm Desert long enough that it feels nostalgic to return.. I am staying at the Fairfield Inn, had chipotle for dinner and stopped by the office for a couple hours this afternoon. It has been nice. Palm Desert is a good place for me. I appreciate its energy. Though getting here took effort today. I got all the way to Riverside when my GPS re-routed me south toward San Diego. Then, at Lake Elsinore, it turned me back north to Moreno Valley and the 60. From there I took I-10 to Palm Springs 111 and meandered to the hotel/office the rest of the way. Despite dire warnings I didn’t see standing water on the roads. There were places with lots of sand and tree debris but no flooding. In a week the temperature is supposed to be back to 110 degrees . If there is water I am sure it will be dried out by then.

August 20, 2023, Sunday evening, 6:56pm, pacific standard time, apartment in Aliso Viejo, California, USA. Spent the day inside the apartment in Aliso Viejo. It has been rainy consistently but not heavy. Now the wind is picking up. Spent the day texting friends and family, reading, watching videos and movies. I am supposed to go to Palm Desert tomorrow for work. That area is getting the worst of the storm. I will check in the morning to see how the roads look and make a decision then. I don’t think I can be this lazy two days straight.

August 19, 2023, Saturday night, 10:25pm, pacific standard time, apartment in Aliso Viejo, California, USA. The hurricane is supposed to hit Southern California tonight. My daughter is excited and scared. It was proposed by her mom to stay the night together. It seemed like a fun idea, and perhaps safer, so I am staying the on the couch tonight. This morning I drove to Oceanside for coffee with a new friend, got the work car serviced at 4pm, then drove with my daughter to get things from the Dana Point apartment and pick up pizza in San Juan Capistrano. After dinner we sang happy birthday again, ate cake and watched big hero six.

August 18, 2023, Friday night, 10:50pm, pacific standard time, apartment in Dana Point, California, USA. It is my daughter’s fifteenth birthday. And it was the first day of of school for her 10th grade yea. She had a full day and so did I. Lots of meetings and phone calls. At 4pm she, her mom, and I picked up her friend then drove to downtown Disney in Anaheim. We ate dinner at the Storytellers cafe then shopped at the stores in the mall. We got back to Aliso Viejo at 10pm. I took the dog for a short walk then headed back to Dana Point. Now it is time to fall asleep and rest for several hours.

August 17, 2023, Thursday night, 10:10pm, pacific standard time, apartment in Dana Point, California, USA. Drove back to Orange County this afternoon so I could be present for my daughter’s 15th birthday and her first day of school tomorrow. Traffic was awful through LA county, but I made it. I went to their apartment in Aliso Viejo to say hi this evening but she was playing online with friends. No big deal. I will see her tomorrow and spend time with her then. We are going to downtown Disney for her birthday and having dinner. Should be fun.

August 16, 2023, Wednesday night, 7:14pm, pacific standard time, hotel in Bakersfield, California, USA. I found a dime outside the office today. It only meant something because it reminded me of the two nickels I found on my trip from Chandler to Henderson two weeks ago. I don’t think it means anything but you never know. Maybe I will look back on these posts and see the significance down the road. Other than that not much happened today. I drove to Delano to see a patient. It was uneventful but it got me out of the office for a couple hours. That was nice.

August 15, 2023, Tuesday night, 7:07pm, pacific standard time, hotel in Bakersfield, California,USA. Today is my one year work anniversary. A year ago today I was in Palm Desert starting as an Executive Director Specialist. The training started at three and ended at five. I knew I would like the job with hours like that! Kidding aside it had been a good year. I fried out on anxiety at the end of March but all in all I am happy. And they are happy with me. Hopefully I am writing a post about my two year anniversary in 2024.

August 14, 2023, Monday night, 8:34pm, pacific standard time, hotel in Bakersfield California,USA. Survived the first day back from vacation. And I survived my first dentist appointment in almost four years. There are a couple small cavities that will get filled next week but nothing major. I was worried it would be worse. Also, financials came out while I was on vacation. I had to prepare a presentation this morning and present this afternoon. I ended up not getting to Bakersfield until after five. Then I stopped by the office to let the IT guy in to fix the phones. After dinner and grocery shopping I was going to meet a friend for coffee but, our plans fell through. Maybe later in the week we will get together.