If I was still living in Los Angeles, all I would hear about this time of year is the imminent collision of UCLA and USC for bragging rights. But amazingly, even while the "Territorial Cup" is also this weekend (where Arizona State plays Arizona), it's been far more muted. Work has left me, in the words of my Director "in a holding pattern". But there's still a lot to talk about.

First, Carol Baker Tharp died. [link] She recently left a position at USC to run the City of Los Angeles's Department of Neighborhood Empowerment or DONE. Originally, I thought this to be a cynical move by Villaraigosa. Tharp had done excellent research, but it was obvious that the City Council didn't want Neighborhood Councils (ad hoc groups of residents who weren't insiders) to have any real power. But as I was told, Tharp apparently wanted the job badly and it may have even caused her to not seek treatment for her cancer soon enough. Now the City is at a crossroads of enormous significance. Without Tharp, it's unclear that anyone will rise to the challenge of making the Councils work. And that would effectively end Villaraigosa's political influence (for reasons which I can explain later) in the City and usher in a time when Councilmembers would feel particularly brazen to go it alone and make L.A. that much more unlivable.

USC though wasn't done making news. Apparently it has negotiated with the Rose Bowl to stop playing football in the Coliseum after a mere 80-some-odd years. [link] UCLA (who also plays there) claims it's a temporary situation to help USC deal with a renovation agreement at the Coliseum. (For those who don't know, the stadium is in Exposition Park which is across the street from Troy.) But USC will never return if it isn't allowed a lease in which it becomes the master tenant. The Coliseum Commission, a group of local appointees who manage the property on behalf of the state...well they are having fun with this one. But of the nine commissioners, the City appoints three, the state appoints three, and the county appoints three. To make it more confusing, the County Supervisors all appointed themselves, while the City appointed Bernie Parks (a councilman) and major philanthropists in the area. The State meanwhile, appointed donors and activists close to its venture in Exposition Park the California Science Center. So now that you are thoroughly confused here's the simple math.

Bernie Parks helped Villaraigosa win the 2005 mayoral election by taking away the black vote from then mayor-Jim Hahn. I perceive that Villaraigosa will endorse Parks to replace him after Tony leaves office. Parks though, was known as the chief of police for a stint at the turn of the millennium but his old buddy...Jim Hahn decided to replace him because of this scandal called "Rampart". Bernie, among other things though, likes football. He used to coach Warren Moon and James Lofton in Pee-Wee. And the dude is convinced that bringing a NFL team back to the Coliseum will help re-energize the black community and South L.A. Nevermind that everyone and his brother always salivates over building a new stadium in some other part of the county...the black politicians in L.A. never stand for it. Part of this has nothing to do with football at all...but a guy by the name of Tom Bradley. In short, Bradley reflected the epitome of black political power in urban areas and it has declined ever since.

The sad part is, both USC and and the Commission think they have the upper hand in the fight. And that usually means both are in for some nasty surprises.

Lastly, the City of Phoenix announced it is suffering from a huge budget deficit too. In fact, all the cities in Maricopa County expect lower revenue in the current fiscal year. But wouldn't you know Cougar Country is the only one that doesn't foresee a cut in public services. [link]

Would you know it, but annual leave requests for Friday were granted. That meant that I was coming in to work on "Black Friday". But as strange as it might sound, I actually think it was a smart choice.

On Thanksgiving, I accepted an invitation to my coworker Duane's Thanksgiving meal. His parents were visiting their grandson, and another friend of his from BYU brought his wife to the dinner. The food was classic Thanksgiving fare, and if anything I had a great time chatting up a storm. But the problem with getting Duane and I together is that we have endless grist for our mills about work and no one else can really relate. For that reason I tried to not constantly invoke work but as you can imagine, everyone was curious to a degree.

Because the meal was early in the day, the young adults (Duane, his wife, his sister, myself, and his friend Nathan and his wife) played a game together. It was the most fun I've had in a while. In the end, I was perceived to be winning but in fact Nathan did because of points accrued at the ballot box. (The name escapes me.) By the end of the game, it was time for me to leave (not that Nathan and company stayed any later either) to go watch Arizona State play USC. And what can I say?

No sooner than I arrived to a sports bar with a few Trojan fans mixed in between loud and excited ASU students, than USC managed to open the can of whup-ass. It was such a savage beat-down, I almost should have gone there in person. (Had ASU won, there was a chance they would be in the BCS Championship Game.) Nevertheless, I walked home after finding no cabs and was still smiling the next day at work.

Irony is, one of my agency budget officers told me to expect a phone call for one of the Department's associate directors. Only problem is...the phone never rang. So while the workload was light to begin with, I had to contend with waiting for...nothing. Talking with coworkers made me curious about just what discounts were out for Black Friday. So lo and behold, after I left work I made trails to Fry's. Why you ask? Take a look at this: [link]. Ever since moving to Arizona I couldn't find this at a retail place for less than $199. So at $149 I was ready to lose it. But alas, driving down to Tempe, I found out the store their had it priced at $179...cheaper...but not worth it yet. Ironically, I later learned that my building has a good system to for accepting packages anyway. Which means that I would just have to wait until the weekend to get it from our front office.

The weekend itself was mighty anticlimactic though. With temperatures dropping like a stone, I headed to the same sports bar as on Thanksgiving to watch UCLA bulldoze Oregon. However in a weird twist, it was only playing on the second floor in the back right next to the ....sportsbook. Much to my surprise, the Upper Deck Sports Bar and Grill has a very active horse racing section where you can make bets on races. Of course this is Arizona, so what are they betting on? Yeah you guessed it...Hollywood Park. (And potentially Santa Anita.) I went out to a lounge after eating leftovers for dinner. Unfortunately even though the place had a reputation for being able to talk...I didn't really chat with anyone...but the waitress. This time however, I found a cab and got home in about five minutes for a mere $7.

The next day, I decided was too cold for kayaking (if you can believe it) and instead decided to finish exploring and taking pictures of Papago Park.

Now I know you are thinking...some park...with nothing but dirt and scrub right? But as you'll see my soon-to-be developed photos, Papago is one of the quintessential things about Phoenix. What you can't see from the flyover photo is the distinctive red rock buttes that abut from the landscape. Apparently it is not sacred or significant in that regard but was a National Monument before being abolished to form a German detention camp in WWII. Afterwards, the City of Phoenix bought the land and maintains all the area except the National Guard post. Rest assured, I won't have to wait long to develop these photos.

The deep freeze settled in this week, no matter where you were.

As it turned out, work slowed down precipitously by Tuesday. And no sooner had this happened than temperatures in Arizona fell. So far in fact, that for the first time since moving they were below average. Mind you, winter in Arizona means a high of 68F or so while barreling near 40 at night. But because there's precious little humidity...mornings can be surprisingly cold. Almost as cold as a New Hampshire day.

After reading some campaign news online, I began to wonder how cold it was in those early bird states of Iowa and New Hampshire. Lo and behold I learned that this time of year is when the snow begins to fall. And now it also happens to be when the campaign becomes red hot. Someone other than Hillary Clinton has topped a recent poll in the Hawkeye State for the Democrats. And I guarantee you have never heard of the person running second for the GOP.

The stock market, meanwhile, barreled through the 13000 mark on its way down. And what you say, does any of this have anything to do with me?

Wednesday's gentle pace coincided with the Governor's monthly interview session on NPR. She steadfastly revealed that while the budget deficit for FY 2008 has climbed to $800 million instead of the earlier $600, taxes would not be raised and services would not be cut. My interest was peaked in part because of the timing. The state relies on "transaction privilege tax" at the cash register for the single biggest source of revenue and merchants are already nervous about the lackluster Christmas shopping season. Needless to say I've tried to do my part this month buying a huge thing of toilet paper at Costco and two new tires...but I guess its not the same as heating up the plastic for that 40' LCD TV.

Cooler temperatures outside do force me to think about buying clothes again. No, not for work but for outdoor activities. Highs in the 60s is terrible weather for the pool...but it opens the door to stuff I have been putting off like kayaking and hiking. Nevermind the fact that I might be working on Saturday next month...at least I can dream of my sojourn on the seas. Moreover it also means my electric bill could inch up and affect my finances a little.

But then again, with the dollar in almost a free fall against many foreign currencies this week I suppose I might stock up on imports while I still can. As the value of the greenback declines so does the ability of China to provide us with all that stuff sitting in the aisles in Wal-Mart, Target, or Costco. (All right, so most stuff these days is from China...there I said it!) But the truth is I want to sleep in a real bed already. Moreover, there's not a whole lot I want to buy these days. It's basically limited to upgrading my work wardrobe ( to be "elegant" as my team leader says) and getting a digital camera to usher in a new era in photographing my life. Otherwise I'm not too impressed with what's in stores right now.

But the good news is that hours after the Governor's appearance on NPR, New Hampshire Secretary of State William Gardner announced his state would hold their primary on January 8th. This reaffirms that Iowa's caucus on January 3rd will kick off the nominating calendar and preserve the mania building there. For it's not just Barack Obama's recent surge that has people talking, it's also the ascendancy of Mike Huckabee on the Republican side.

What's so unusual is that back in August, Mitt Romney and Mike Huckabee finished 1-2. Romney with 31.5% of the vote (out of 14,000) and Huckabee had 18.1%. Scientific polls however had Mike nowhere to be found until this month. Mitt on the other hand was always coming out on top, both in terms of campaign spending and poll results. Ron Paul meanwhile, despite raising money he thinks may soon be worthless, has decided to stage his defense in New Hampshire, thus leaving Huckabee the chance to pull the potential upset.

What's funny is that both Romney and Huckabee are former governors, but Mitt spent four tough years in Massachusetts while Mike meandered through a decade in Arkansas. Mitt has been hammered for being a flip-flop on conservative bellwethers like abortion, whereas Mike is derided for his Christian populism, despite being unequivocally against gay marriage, abortion, and fast food. All of this is lost on the "top tier" candidates of John McCain, Rudy Giuliani, and Fred Thompson who can't figure out why everyone else in the race hasn't conceded already.

Nevertheless, this Barack Obama guy has proven willing to chase after the Hillary bus just as much John Edwards, thus ensuring that I'm not going to bed early on January 3rd.

Make no mistake though, autumn's nip has turned into winter's bite.

No sooner than five o'clock arrived last Friday than the Director sent an ominous email warning that he wasn't sure if annual leave requests for this Friday (the day after Thanksgiving) would be granted. I groaned, and figured that I should prepare for this worst this week. And as you can imagine, it was all for naught, with my workload suddenly slowing down. (Thankfully.)

But I didn't know this 96 hours ago, and as such was very conservative in my recreation choices. A few highlights:

• I finally went to Adventures 2000 for the interview. It was obvious that there would be some cost involved to join (as they advertise and have a little office in Scottsdale.) But when I found out the yearly cost was $1000 to a member (and that doesn't include any activities) I nearly choked. But it also appeared that the group was a lot older than I thought...and more female. So this Cougar Country Club can wait...but apparenly its ranks are full of nurses and teachers eager to meet men. Great...I have such an admirable track record with both.

• The weather was warm enough that I decided against renting a kayak on Tempe Town Lake. (This is something that I will probably do more of soon. But if we are working on Saturdays next month...yeah um yeah.) I did go and take some pictures in the late afternoon and managed to get in a sunset at Papago Park. The irony is that next weekend ought to be about 20 degrees cooler. Fine to work out and walk around in, but definitely not shorts weather.

• I did out long enough to eat dinner at Dos Gringos, but then went back to my place and went to bed earlier than I normally do. I slept in, and went to the car wash and afterwards Circuit City. I didn't buy anything, but I did want to ask about TVs. You see, my "team leader" (as I might have said earlier) had an old TV lying around and thought it nice to let me have it. I took it home and promptly learned that it didn't produce any sound. This was news to him, but nevertheless makes having cable or a satellite dish a moot point. However the TV I was using in my apartment I bought in 1998 for a mere $300 so I went to Circuit City seeing what was out there. It turns out that no one wants to sell you a TV anymore for less than $500. Why? Because you can't buy a real tube TV and instead can only get an LCD one. Don't get me wrong, I'm happy to upgrade but the smallest sizes stocked now are in the 27' range. And my apartment's living room isn't big enough to have something much larger than a 32'. So it's official, despite making a significant amount of money...I am too poor to watch TV in America. But if you doubt me, the local paper had this story: "TV Screens Grow, Prices Drop".

Before long I was home doing my laundry in anticipation of another unpredictable week at the Capitol....

It's come to me that I should reorganize my blog a little. Not in the actual layout...but in the order of postings. I realize perhaps the best way to do this is to have two posts a week. One will be titled "Play" talking about the weekend and all the fun I have on my time off. The other, towards the end of the week will be work-related. This sort of duality is important to understand  my life these days. It's fairly deliberate....kind of like Parker Posey in "Party Girl". But with that said....I'll move on.

This week I had my budget reviews with the Director. I sort of feel that I was true to form. I did a great job on the complex issues, but the simple stuff was bungled. There's no time to mourn, as the deadlines are closing in. Mind you, the way the process works is that as the analyst, I propose which requests to recommend to the Governor. My team leader, the Director, the deputy chief of staff, and even the Governor herself get to intervene and decide something different. And even then, it doesn't become law. The Executive Budget Recommendation is submitted to the Legislature and they negotiate with us until the budget is finally passed.

In any case, talking too much about work is always fraught with peril  Anyone remember "Too Many Secrets?" But as for the stuff going on that's far from confidential:

• Today they assembled the Capitol Christmas tree. Does it really feel like Christmas where you are? The forecast for this weekend is still in the 80s out here.

• More than one person(not from work) emailed me the following article: "Schwarzenegger orders plans for 10% agency cuts." The situation in California is the opposite of Arizona. There, it's a Republican executive blaming the Legislature for spending too much. Here, the Republican Legislature hammers the Democratic governor for being too wasteful. But as to that number...you ask...10%? Wouldn't that be a big enough cut for someone to actually notice? [Sound of freeway collapsing.] Well it might be, but keep in mind Schwarzenegger's ultimatum came on Tuesday of last week. Not to be outdone, that Friday saw the Joint Legislative Budget Committee (our counterpart in the Legislature) released its own spending reduction strategy. The newspaper cites the target for them being "6%" for larger agencies.  My contribution to this whole thing will become public eventually.

• The economic news in general is pretty awful. But in Arizona, that is because our state relies on a transaction privilege tax for a tremendous amount of revenue. So while people will point to collapse of home prices as signs of trouble...that is not really the reason for cutbacks. Instead it's the not-so-well defined relationship between home prices and people's spending habits. After all, a rash of new shopping centers just opened up around the Valley of the Sun. (For you urban planning junkies, this includes the "revolutionary" SanTan Village.) Yet despite all these new cash registers...the county and the state both are finding revenues drying up. Keep in mind, California is different. There, the individual income tax is much more important, and the state often relies on a group of very wealthy state residents to pay such high income tax as to keep us afloat. In the 1998-2000 and 2006 budgets, the culprit were employees of tech companies who were exercising stock options. The latter in particular has to do with Google going public. Yet since both states are alike in that they have moved away from a more stable source of income: you know, property tax.

• Yet for all the tough economic talk, everywhere I go there are "help wanted" signs around town. What's this you say, how can this be? Well you did know that Arizona signed into a law employer sanctions for hiring illegal aliens didn't you? And while the law is not in effect, it will be on January 1. There's already an appeal to the federal courts, but so far...it appears the law will survive. Add this to the story about students going "missing" in Mesa. (The town has a large number of Hispanics.) It all adds to even more anticipation for the next few months

• If I had my druthers I would have watched the Presidential Debate tonight in Vegas. I think the timing of this was excellent by CNN and ought to be really good viewing.

The great thing about being a state employee (wait...there are many great things) is having ten paid holidays. And that means more than one three day weekend. I saw my coworker Duane working late on Friday and offered to give him a ride home. (He takes the bus to work.) Duane offered to have me eat with his young family and accepted. We even played a card game! Mind you, it was very nice living on my own to get to feel like you're walking into a "home". Thanks, big guy. But in any case, it just set the tone for a nutty weekend.

Most of it was not that enjoyable. The reason behind this is that I went to Costco and renewed my membership and developed some old photos from the summer. (Hint, hint, they are on their way to the photo album.) But in any case, I paid my cell phone bill and went to Wal-Mart to have another tire replaced, and then hit Flicka's again for Monday Night Football. (Again the team I picked to win was shutout. Nice.)

All of this gave me the sinking feeling that I was spending money that I didn't have. Not because I intended to this, but because I figured I would pay for my bed this week. (I already put this thing on layaway.) But for some odd reason...I realized I have overshot my budget big time. Now, the irony of living in the world of the salary man is more money always comes along...but still my back won't be able to take this much longer.

In fact the only thing I was debating about was whether to go out on Sunday night. (As opposed to Saturday.) I was curious to check out the Pussycat Lounge which is always plastered on Dirty Scottsdale. But when I called about Sunday being "Industry Night" I was told it was indeed open to the public and only a $10 cover. What's funny as hell is that in Arizona, $10 is a big amount for cover. In Vegas and L.A of course...cover can be $20-50. So naturally, geeky old me pays.

Keep in mind, I dressed a little different this time wearing one of my dress shirts and pants but keeping it tucked in. (Before I was wearing polos.) I did it fearing PCL had a strict dress code. (Guess again.) But I always went early before any line could form and stood there patiently waiting for the place to fill up. (And it did.) AXIS (which is much bigger) was having it's ten year anniversary next door so I wondered if the place would empty. But sure enough, I had to keep moving...because I would just stand against the rail and sip my Newcastle. (It's not my favorite, but I didn't want to spend $20 on cocktails.) Finally, as the room that is PCL gets picked up I just stand there until the humanity is unavoidable and I just get to play along.

Well the striking part was it had been about an hour (arriving at 10pm) and I start seeing lots of nice looking girls walk in. In fact, I saw lots of gals who obviously had work done. And I don't mean boob jobs which are ubiquitous in Arizona. Alright, that statement does not apply everywhere. Latinas, among other groups, don't need them anyway. No, I'm talking about being in a place where fifty women all have the same nose. At this point, it's already passably enjoyable, but things soon got much more hilarious.

Within a couple minutes I notice a familiar face walking in....none other than USC great Matt Leinart. Who knew that I would run into him before the Governor? (Remember where I work.) Anyway I did not introduce myself to him at all. But it was funny because #11 was rolling several deep...with as many black guys as an episode of Def Comedy Jam. However, even though they seemed shorter than him (and hence a position player...maybe) I seriously couldn't recognize any of them. In any case, Matt then stands right next to me for ten minutes until taking his table for reservation. That helped shield him from thousands of onlookers...but DS reports that he's apparently not that popular these days. That's kind of sad because I actually have a lot of respect for Leinart. First, the guy made stubble fashionable...woot...woot. But secondly, he is another Trojan who inadvertently has to make his fortune in a tough situation in Arizona. (He wanted to be drafted by Tennessee I'm sure...) I've thought of contacting him but realize as an NFL quarterback he's surrounded by his coterie that won't let anyone get close to him because we all must want him for something. But as you can imagine, I honestly don't. If I even making contacts in the sporting world out here it's because as a person in gov't...I can relate to their struggles. (Don't give me that look...football and policy are much alike...it's all about using strategy to achieve your ends.)

The preponderance of Matt's Men attracted some attention from some young ladies however. So  imagine my surprise when a couple of gals (who weren't bad looking) nearly tumble over me trying to get introduced. They immediately realized their gaffe and actually introduced themselves. Or rather, had me introduce myself. Then one of them began to dance and I started dancing next to her...fearful she wasn't down. (See previous entries about The Bar.) But imagine my shock when she clasps my hand and starts to get jiggy. Her unnamed friend then squeezed her to say..."This is my girlfriend...we are lesbians." But the fun continued on and off for a while long. And then, after chatting with some other guys, my dance partner introduced herself as Shayna. She said she was going to leave for Dirty Pretty (another Stetson club). But she offered to have me join her.

And this is where you gag.

I turned her down...BUT...I had a damn good reason. Girls don't pay cover at these clubs usually but guy do...so hopping clubs would have cost me $20 in cash. And I only had that much left because I had to pay for my taxi. Now I know, I could have walked home, right. And the ride would have cost around $10, I thought. But the thing is...before you rip me a new hole...remember that even if I had gone with them....the night would have been over if I couldn't take them home. These chicks weren't going to be down for a 30 minute walk back to my apartment or car.

After that, I decided to get a drink of water and go back to "chilling". But wait this story ain't over yet.

Oh no....I hobble back to my spot on the rail after motoring through the crowd...(and being sure to tip the attractive female bartender). And what happens...another duo of girls...apparently they were African-American...decide to test my mettle. One asks me if I can dance like a "salt-shaka". Naturally my Irish heritage means I can get animated easily. While this other lady didn't introduce herself, she didn't pull away after five seconds either. Her friend seemed impressed and I let them go on their way. Suddenly I see another familiar face entering the club...Shayna!

Her friend asks me what's up and I reply with "You tell me!" Unfortunately this plan backfired I think since they walked into the center of dance floor and danced with the brothers. I looked at 'em every so often to make sure they weren't gesturing me over...but alas no dice. By now it's almost 1 am and I am surrounded by hot women who in  theory I could just start talking to. But I didn't because I actually though Shayna was cool enough and that really...I was already stoked. So as you can imagine my surprise when someone starts tapping me on my shoulder from behind. Apparently the girl wanted me to approach her group, but they were in the seating area so I wasn't sure I could. Moreover, one gal pointed at another one who seemed to be with a guy already. So I played dumb.

(I could have sworn of the gals in this group was lampooned as a "trannie" on DS. But I digress.)

As last call approached...I waited for something magical to happen. But instead the place just wound down and I walked out. I know you are probably wondering what was responsible for all this sudden attractiveness on my part? Has my time finally come? Did the new shirt choice help?  Yeah I'm thinking it was all the alcohol.

Meanwhile I sauntered out to find lots of cabs. (This was a relief because one night there were none and I had to walk home.) But instead some guy tried to hail me off the street. (I believe this is illegal.) Anyway I figured this guy might be a "black cab" because of the circumstances. Having been to New York City a couple times, I'm familiar with black cabs and try to avoid them. Why you ask?

Even though it looked legitimate on the inside, the guy never turns on his meter. So when he drops me off at my apartment, he says "$20". Now...remember from Devil's the ride home was $6 and PCL while further north is less than a mile from Devil's. So...yep I got swindled. But it's okay really...because I'm all the wiser and it's not like I can't call the City of Scottsdale and tell them what's up. nevertheless, I went home alone...but it's okay really. I still don't have my bed, and it's not like the medicine cabinet is stocked up.

Nah, this Arizona thing isn't working out at all.

Say, you didn't leave me a voicemail message over the past few days did you? If you did please accept my apology. In my five years of being a Nextel customer...I've never let my mailbox fill up....until now.

No sooner did I return from my bereavement leave than the equivalent of hell broke loose at the Office. Budget Season '09 is on! (This is because we are doing preparation for the fiscal year 2009 which begins on July 1, 2008.) Unlike my prior assignment, which was largely done under the veil of executive privilege, this is something far more public process.

Essentially, many agencies in Arizona only have a budget approved every two years. So if you analyze only those agencies (like me), the only consideration you have in the off year (which this is) are "funding issues" proposed by the entity independent of the base budget. Even though only five departments have done so, that doesn't  mean they can't request more than one "issue". And so only a couple agencies fall into that category.

Naturally, I didn't want to leave for the weekend until I had it mostly under control. But next week ought to be just as crazy despite only being a four-day week. And that won't be the end of it.

I am fairly certain that I can disclose what agencies request in the funding issues already. But my recommendation has to be secret for another month. For this reason, I'm not sure anyone really wants more detail. Truth be told though, I'm happy to explain more if there's really interest.

Otherwise just know I'm really busy and I will check my messages this weekend. I promise.

For the first time ever, I'm not registered to vote for an election. I'll explain why this happened later, but as it were, you should realize it's been an eventful couple of days. I went back to California for Arlene's funeral. But because she gave us little instruction as to what she wanted...we had her cremated and played lots of Elvis. Her brother came from Riverside, and other friends of the family showed up including my aunt and uncle from Temecula.

On Saturday, my siblings and I had some time to bond in Santa Bawbwa. My sister had this class through UCSB extension, so this left us to spend the night at her place (think real small) and then wile away the daylight hours meandering through the city. It sort of felt strange though, as I saw a pastiche of good looking girls and guys with no direction, and many Latinos hustling from job to job. In other words it was just like Cougar Country, except for the cougars. Oh and I forgot, the beach. Minor difference.

Yesterday I used to do the errands I would have done on the weekend. But as luck would have it, I paid a visit to the Goodwill Store not far from my house. Because they had mostly children's and women's clothes I didn't buy anything, but notice across the street a place called "Antique Trove". Given that I'm always looking for a cheap couch to score...I walked in and was stunned. This place was like a museum where everything was for sale. Everything from Norman Rockwell covers, to numismatics, to stuffed animals. I was tripping, hard. So I ended up buying a Currier and Ives reprint and walking out. (It's to decorate the office.)

Afterwards though, I decided to stop in and watch Monday Night Football at Flicka's Cantina. I had heard for weeks on the radio that Chuck Powell, who hosts the local alternative rock station's morning show, hosted "Flicka-ball". I was curious and needed to get dinner, so I went in figuring it would be bad. Instead, I was totally blown away. First, the food was cheap. Secondly, it was well-attended but not too crowded. And instead of being this distant figure on a stage....Chuck actually walked to all the tables and introduced himself. This was a little hard to believe, but perhaps ratings out here for the Edge 103.9 aren't as good as say...K-ROQ. But no matter, all the contests were free, and there was no cover...so now I know what to do on Monday night until January.

In the bathroom though was an advertisement for a group called Adventures2000.net. I put it up here because I want input if people think this is a wise investment. Admittedly it seems like a company that sells friends. But then again, even the Mormons pay 10% to stay members. So I'm wondering if this is worth it. Please weigh in.

Tonight I'm getting ready to go back to the Golden State for the weekend. My grandma died on Monday. It was very sudden and even now I don't have very many details. All I know is that her condition declined in the overnight hours and she was found nonresponsive on the 29th and taken to the intensive care unit. She passed within hours. Until I go back to consult with my siblings, I do not have much to say that is blogworthy.

Now it's true, I've lost many family members already. And all I can really say is that death is an opportunity. For the deceased, there is no more time. But for the living, there is and no shortage of people to spend the time with. So in the end, I believe death is a reminder to us all that our time on earth is to be spent wisely. Savor those moments with your friends, and family because you never know when it might end.

The Office totally supports me in my decision to be there for my sisters this weekend. But it's not as if I won't have work to do when I get back. Governor Napolitano disclosed tonight that the current budget deficit has increased here in Arizona. Moreover, her chief of staff for fiscal affairs (who supervises the Office) suffered a heart attack on the 20th as he hiked from rim-to-rim in the Grand Canyon. So the twenty-some-odd of us have been left to weather the storm ourselves. But don't cry for me, Argentina. There's no substitute for experience.

As for this weekend, the Dirty Scottsdale will just have to wait.