Your true colors are shining through

I just dusted off my soap box....it's been sitting in the corner for a while.

I have a pretty sweet deal going on with Kelli. We have a house, decent cars, our bills are paid, and we have a great daughter. I've said it before and Kelli will whole heartedly agree it hasn't been easy.

We did things a little out of order by moving in with each other almost instantly (3 months), buying a house and THEN getting married. It has worked out.

There is a member of my family , a man, currently going through a divorce. One party has been showing their true colors lately. Basically how ugly they really are.

Throughout my past relationships I've never been ugly to the other person. Even when my college girlfriend grabbed my dreadlocks and tried to cut them off with scissors, I was never ugly. She DESTROYED my dorm room. Cops were called, she replaced everything and we went our separate ways. We are friends today.

This family member is taking it well. He is just going with the flow. His soon to be ex-wife is being a really nasty person. I don't understand how someone who once was allegedly in love with someone enough to have two kids can be so downright ugly. She has not had to be financially responsible for anything for years. Everything has been paid for by my bother in law or my mother in law. Everything. He's been paying her cell phone bills and more even after they split up...before any legal paperwork. My nieces no matter how young can pick up on it.

My brother in law is an incredibly patient man...everyone on Kelli's side of the family is patient and easy going.

Soapbox down...for now.

 

Where'd the geek go?

So I've been updating my other blogs...but this one has been a little dormant. Sorry about that.

This whole commuting to work in Chicago has really killed my free time. Looking forward to NOT commuting soon.

When we bought our house in 2004 a great fixed rate was 6.0% while a great ARM was 4.0%. We went with the ARM.

So far we have "won" as our rate has been as high as 6.375 and as low as 3.375 with an average of 4.92.

Kelli is on a current trip to get a fixed rate on a 15 year loan. We are locked in at 3.5% for a 15 year loan. We have lots of paper work to do.

I bought a HP Touchpad this weekend...kinda for me...kinda for Natali. They were on sale for $99...same size as an Ipad....different software.

I'm enjoying my two low power PCs . The two computers together use less than 1/4th of the power of just ONE of the previous computers. Quieter and much less heat produced.

Hopefully I can get back into updating this site....

A lot of traveling

I travel a lot...yeah I know its my job, but sometimes I feel like I never stop moving.

Last Sunday I woke up in Phoenix, flew some folks to Los Angeles, rode as a passenger to Dallas, went home, packed then flew as a passenger to Newark and went to bed in Highland Mills, New York (an hour northwest of New York City). All in one day. I went over a week without sleeping in my bed.

At the end of this month Kelli's cousin is getting married in California. Debating going. If I do go I have to fly from San Francisco to Chicago right after the wedding as I have to work the next day. Hmmm.

I've reduced the power consumption of the house dramatically by switching to dual core Atom CPUs for two computers that use 1/5th the power of the previous computers. They are also fan less (no heat or noise). Very happy with the performance. I might replace one more and be done. Of course I have to find something to do with the old computers. Hmm.

Gas mileage in my Prius has dropped dramatically over the last two months. I think its the short trips and heavy A/C usage. Down to 44MPG. Kelli's Prius is still at 51 MPG. She takes much longer trips than me. My longest trip is 12 miles. Most are under 5.

My monthly average for driving has dropped to 400 miles a month as I fly more. Last year this time I was driving to and from work 4-5 times a week. Now I drive to and from twice a week.