November 9,10,2024, Sunday evening 7:36pm, pacific standard time, apartment in Dana Point, California, USA. Yesterday I spent the day with my daughter in aliso Viejo while her mom went to valencia to see her mom. Today I drove to Costa Mesa and met a friend at a place called AhbA. On my way back I noticed the Hyatt regency off Jamboree and the Orange County airport. The hotel reminded me of my first job out here, the airport my third. So many years and memories have passed. I don’t remember much of Utah/Wyoming any more. All the emotional ties have been severed. Orange County is home and will be until fate or circumstance dictates otherwise.

November 8, 2024, Friday evening, 5:02pm, pacific standard time, apartment parking lot, Dana Point, California, USA. I have meeting set up for Monday and Wednesday next week. I should have a job in place by mid-December. I want to work and want a paycheck but not excited about full-time. Of course I don’t really enjoy completely not working either. Hard to find middle ground. I did receive my endorsement from The Humanist Society. I was close to applying for PrN chaplain work when a hopsice called me back regarding a Director position. I told a friend I am open to the possibilities of the universe. We will see where life takes us.

November 6,7, 2024, Wednesday, Thursday morning, 7:24am, pacific standard,apartment in Dana Point, California, USA. Yesterday was uneventful. I worked out, took the dog for a walk then came home. My daughter is sick so she stayed home from school. I stayed up late on election night and drank too much alcohol. Consequently I went to bed at 5pm last night and slept for 11 hours. Today I need to do something productive. I am feeling lazy.

November 5, 2024, Tuesday night, 6:32pm, pacific standard time, apartment in Dana Point, California, USA,election night. Worked out this morning then took my daughter to school. Picked her up at one and took her home before parent/teacher conferences. Now I am watching election results. It is disappointing and frustrating. On a personal note, I was contacted for the job in Rancho Cucamonga this afternoon. I also have an interview for the job in Torrance next week. They are a step down in responsibility and pay but enough to keep me solvent.

November 4, 2024, Monday evening, 5:06pm, pacific standard time, apartment in Dana Point, California, USA. Daylight savings time ended Sunday. I took advantage of the extra hour to sleep in this morning and recuperate further from the Anime Convention. At 8am I drove my daughter to school and then proceeded to Planet Fitness for a work out. I barely had time to settle in for the day when I had to go back to the school and pick her up. She gets out early all week for parent teacher conferences. That is until Friday, which she has off along with the following Monday for Veterans Day. On the way home we decided to visit Barnes & Noble for some new books. I bought The Great Gatsby, she got Stephen King’s The Dead Zone.

November 3,2024, Sunday night, 6:39pm, pacific standard time, apartment in Dana Point, California, USA. Last night was rough. My daughter wanted to stay with her friends. To do so meant her friend’s dad, visiting from Pennsylvania, would have to sleep in his rental car. I said, “No,”to the sleepover. Subsequently, we walked back to our hotel with my daughter’s sniffling sobs piercing the post-midnight quiet of downtown Pasadena. This morning she had calmed down and was a little better. By breakfast the distress was forgotten. I feared a similar scene when she wanted to go to the Griffith Observatory with her friends this afternoon and I said, “No.” Going would put us hours away from home on a school night and frankly I didn’t have the energy. But she took the news in stride and we enjoyed a nice drive back to Orange County. I am glad this weekend is over, it was exhausting. I need time to recuperate tomorrow. In the morning I am going to work on my job search, though I am not particularly motivated. I am more curious to connect with the Humanist Society, get my Chaplain endorsement, and begin a career that is actually rewarding. I should be focusing on a calling rather than on money.

November 2,2024, Saturday afternoon, 4:14pm, pacific standard time, Anime Pasadena Convention, Pasadena Convention Center, Pasadena,California, USA. My daughter and her friends are at the Anime Convention. I agreed to be the adult chaperone. I have spent most of the day in the Civic Auditorium listening to cast panel discussions. The girls have been independent, hanging out in the vendor hall. Now they are trying to find a female chaperone for a sleepover. If they are successful I will head back to Orange County and return in the morning. If not, I will stay the night Pasadena with my daughter.

November 1,2024, Friday night, 8:42pm, pacific standard time, apartment in Dana Point, California, USA. This morning I went for the Blue Lantern walk then had a good back, shoulder, biceps workout at Planet Fitness. I took my daughter to school then a friend came over while I did laundry and cleaned. My daughter’s dog is still under the weather so I spent the afternoon with her. When I picked my daughter up from school she was concerned a minor scrape on her knee might be infected. A visit to Urgent Care in Irvine put everyone’s mind at ease, though it wasn’t cheap. This past week I have spent money like it is going out of style; Credit card renewal fees, contact lenses for my daughter, emergency veterinary care for the dog and now Urgent Care. At this point what the hell does it matter? Just throw another couple hundred on the pile and watch it burn.

October 31,2024, Thursday night, 9:59pm,pacific standard time, apartment in Dana Point, California, USA,Halloween. They picked up the company car today. It made me a little sad to see it go. I enjoyed having it, especially when the gas and all the maintenance was paid for. at least now I can completely move on and focus on the future. This evening we went to my daughters boyfriends house in Ladera Ranch to eat pizza and celebrate the holiday. We had a good time. Halloween is always a fun day with lots of good memories.

October 29, 30, 2024, Tuesday, Wednesday afternoon, 1:58pm, pacific standard time, apartment in Dana Point, California, USA. The trip to Mesquite was good. I enjoyed not driving all the way from Wyoming to California in one day. I was peeved a little the Casino charged me a resort fee on top of the Priceline charge (which already had a resort fee) but it was only $9 so I can’t complain too much. I left Mesquite at 7am yesterday and stopped in Vegas to workout. The gym was nice but the neighborhood didn’t feel 100% safe. After Vegas I stopped at Whisky Pete’s in Primm and Alien Fresh Jerky in Baker. My last stop was a gas station in Barstow. I got back to Orange County around 3:30pm. I waited around Laguna Hills and picked my daughter up from school at 5pm and took her home before dropping her off at the Kaleidoscope to see a movie with her boyfriend and his family. Today I had an interview for the job in Torrance. It went fine but they are replacing someone who hasn’t been fired yet. That makes me feel unethical. There is no loyalty or longevity in these positions. The hiring manager is someone I know from my first job in Orange County, back in 2012. All the people I interviewed with two years ago for this company are long gone. So are the ones I started with at my previous company. I need to find something with more stability. I am tired of constant upheaval.