Jim

Hi, there. I'm Jim. Welcome to my phlog!

This site was written for Las Vegas, then LouisVille. Now, it seems to be about anywhere. In these phlogs, you'll see a lot of my personal notes and pictures. I like to post my observations here to remember life and celebrate it. I'm not religious. I don't pray for good fortune. I'm ecstatically grateful for the gift of life and I think our time should be remembered and not taken for granted. I'm not a writer. I think pictures tell stories so much better than words. I love just about everything in this life, and, I guess that would have to include you. So, if you've seen me, don't be surprised if your picture is in here somewhere. Of all the critters, people are absolutely the most interesting.

<< 07/2006 < 07/2007 Calendar 08/2007 > 07/2008 >>

Wed

07/25/2007 23:22:12

jim It was a chatty day

Got up this morning to brush up on my stock jargon.
Chatted with MIKEY!!! YEAH!
Wrote a program at work today, to create test data, then tested it.
Writing programs from scratch is fun! YEAH!
Got home, went to Sam's and Walmart to get Becky a homeless cart...
You know, one of those carts that have two wheels.
She needs one to shuffle laundry up and down the floors here.
We also picked up an air mattress for Rod.
We popped his while camping...lol.
Swung by Rod's house, but Rod wasn't home. awe.
We dropped an air mattress off anyway.
Got home, and webcamed SONNY!!!! YEAH!
We spent about an hour or or so enjoying pleasant conversations about the whacky worlds we've been thrust into this last month. He's at Circus. I'm in Louisville. Everything is whacky!
Got off, and webcamed GMa!!! YEAH!
We chatted for some time, then Paul came down and got her microphone working, and life was GREAT!
We topped off the night by swinging by Hilton's bar next door!!! YEAH!
I wanted to try a shot of their famous Kentucky Bourbon.
It was a beautiful bar, all woodsy, plush and beautiful.
But, they were busy, it would have taken too long,
So, now its BED TIME!!! YEAH!!!

Wed

07/25/2007 07:08:48

jim Bond Fund jargon

Yield - What the bonds have paid in the last 7 to 30 days. Kind of worthless to look at.
Net Asset Value (NAV) - What the bond fund is worth, per share.
Total Return - What the bonds have paid dividends, along with their Net Asset Value changes.
However, I can't seem to pin down what period of time this value uses. Hopefully, its over 12 months.
Without knowing the time frame, its worthless.
The way it plays, if I remember right
The bond funds spit out a dividend, and the NAV goes down.
The NAV eventually goes back up...and it spits out another dividend.
While its doing this, it becomes very hard to track, unless you have kept a log of everything.
For example: Take an instance where you invest $100 to buy 100 shares in a bond fund for $1 a share(nav).
When the bond fund pays a dividend, its NAV drops to $.90 a share. Fair enough.
The bond fund pays out a 10% dividend and you don't reinvest it in the fund.
You get $100 because the Dividend=$.10 . You have 1,000 shares worth $900.
You gained nothing. You only gain $10 gain when the NAV goes back up to $1.
The bond fund pays out a 10% dividend but you have the dividend purchase more shares.
You get $0 because you rolled the Dividend over, the NAV drops to $.90 .
You now have have 1,100 shares worth $1,000 (1000x$1 + 100x$1)
You gained nothing. You only gain $10 when the NAV goes back up to $1.
There may be an advantage to buying the bond fund, right before it pays the $10 dividend.
The price of the fund before it pays the dividend should be $1.10, I'd think.
All of this makes funds very difficult to track without keeping a log.
If you have the dividends payed to you, then you have to keep a log of all payments.
Its comforting to know that if you have the dividends paid to you for years and years and years, its unlikely that the NAV of the fund would ever drop much less than your original purchase NAV.

Wed

07/25/2007 00:02:54

jim Nightmare on Durrett Street

Today, I spent the whole day fighting Freddy Kruger.
I only slept a few hours last night, and that Vicodin doesn't leave your system like it should.
So, I kept nodding off.
It was harder staying awake today, than it was on our 35 hour drive to Louisville.
Rough day!
I had two meetings today, on top of it all.
One was a conference call with about twenty people connected. Very anticlimactic.
I hear, that if I worked salaried at my job for a year,
I could pretty much transfer anywhere in the country.
I could even end up working in that old data center in Las Vegas, right around the corner from GMa's.
Wow....it is a small world.
hmmm.

Tue

07/24/2007 07:52:48

jim Hotmail rejects emails with ’Password’ in it.

I bought a years subscription to Morning Star, and have sent you 4 emails trying to tell you how to get into it.
Morningstar is a really good investment site.
The site is at: http://www.morningstar.com
I'll call tonight and give you the logon and password for it.

Tue

07/24/2007 07:10:35

jim We are Wall Streeters now!

I invested in the SWHFX mutual fund.
I invested in Schwab’s Schwab Health Care Fund (SWHFX)
Its Average Return runs around 8%
If anyone has any investment suggestions, I'm all ears.

Tue

07/24/2007 16:26:42

Jim (Reply)..We are Wall Streeters now!

Now how does that work now Squirt?
We shower you with treasures and you shower us with...ahem...gold,
haha.

Tue

07/24/2007 16:29:29

Jim (Reply)..We are Wall Streeters now!

Now how does that work now Squirt?
We shower you with treasures and you shower us with...ahem...gold,
haha.

Tue

07/24/2007 07:05:08

jim Phantom toothaches. Whats up with that?

Up most of the night.
The dentist gave me a script of Vicadin, which I gratefully took.
Vicadin seems to make me itch, and it keeps me up for some reason.
hmmm.
I guess it'll take a few days for the infection to go down.
And I thought it was all over, too.

Mon

07/23/2007 10:30:21

Jim Dentist Appointment

Dr Mathis
Appointment: 502-451-2212
3000 Bardstown Rd, 40205

He told me we could save the tooth, like it was a cherished life form...haha.
I told him the tooth had no use, it had nothing to grind against. It wasn't a chomper.

Once again, I heard the story about how I'm going to look all goofy.
They always say its because my teeth have nothing to rest against, they'd fall over or be pointed in all kinds of directions (they teach that story in Dental School, I guess). I told the dentist what I really wanted was dentures or plates. And I'd like two sets of them made.
I told work I'd be coming back in unless they turned me into a drooling idiot.
Well, that's what they did, darn-it! Taking any kind of time off at this job is insane. But then again, coming in, frothing at the mouth and sounding like I lost half my brain could damage my already, odd, reputation worse.
I really wanted them 10 years ago when I had more jawbone.
The jawbone deteriates from tooth decay. If you have no teeth, you don't suffer as much jawbone loss (as I understand it). Anyway, I'm scheduled to come back 8/27/2007 at 2pm

Sun

07/22/2007 18:19:54

jim The City Parks of Louisville

Eva Park - Dumpy
Louisville Soccer Park - Busy but nice
Hutchins Park - Okay
Cherokee Park - HUGE, long windy roads, a golf course is next to it. Its a jungle
Seneca Park - Very LONG, lots of soccer fields, very nice
The houses around Cherokee and Seneca were ancient and unique.
Iroquois Park - Beautiful - We saw 360 degree views of the entire Louisville area.
The houses around this area were new, and unique. They looked GREAT! I want one.

Waverly Park - Ok. Lots of trees. It ended with a home made lake...but I'd call it a mossy swamp.
Someone is building the lake with a backhoe. You can tell too. It has no water supply so the water is stagnant.
The ranches out here are spectacular though.
River Gardens Park - What park...it was less a baseball diamond with overgrown grass.
Campground Road - had no campgrounds to it, just factories.
Pleasure Ridge Park - nasty
Shawnee Park - Okay...we didn't really blend in.
There were only two parks where people parked in the grass, and blasted their music.
Both parks were 100% Hispanic.
Along the way, we stopped at a Fresh Produce Store
I ate almost an entire bucket of strawberries during the trip.
We watched a Railroad Bridge descend to let a train go over.
That was cool. I don't know what's more beautiful about this place, the area, or the sparkle in Becky's eyes!
Last of all we ate at Joes Crab Shack.
Half of it is on stilts overlooking the Ohio River. The food was the same, but at this altitude, with the air being more humid, the food tastes better. They're drinks are fantastic. Becky had a strawberry margarita, and I had a Pina Colada.
Great people. Great scenery. Great food.
I'm beat.

Sun

07/22/2007 14:57:58

jim Hardwood Forest, Ky

Sun

07/22/2007 13:57:04

jim Louisville,KY-IroquoisPark

Sun

07/22/2007 01:23:41

jim Six Flags over Louisville

I bought two season tickets from this fellow at work for 50% off regular rates.
This afternoon, we swung by just to make sure there wasn't going to be any hastles about us being non-residents.
Disneyland wouldn't give us our annual tickets, even after we paid for them online, which stunk! They wanted to see an apartment lease or utility bill. BTW - I know now, how I could've have beaten that.
We watched a Looney Tunes show which was pretty cool, and went on a ride that went up and down, in circles.

I called it a kiddie ride, along with the Marry-Go-Round and the Bumper Cars, and Becky got mad!

That was funny. She said "I'M NOT A KID!" and I laughed.
I should have Fear-Of-Park-Amusement-Rides (FOPAR)
myself, but I don't. FOPAR seems to be a genetic thing.
A thirteen year old girl lost both of her feet on the Superman ride, at this same park, about 3 weeks ago. I think that made national news. The Superman is a pretty tame ride, and its in a lot of amusement parks. A cable snapped and must have whipped around on its way down. I suppose that could happen in an elevator just as easily, but I'm not afraid of them either.
We polished off the night enjoying a nice Web Camming with GMa and Jennifer.
There's some kind of big party going on down stairs, but I'm just too burned out too join in.

Sat

07/21/2007 16:26:50

jim Louisville,KY-Six Flags

Sat

07/21/2007 14:32:26

jim Buggy Buddies and Dance Partners

Mike, Melody and a horse, of course. We met them on the Belle of Louisville, and we just clicked. Next thing you know, we're hanging out all night. I really enjoyed the last part. They put couches on Fourth Street with pillows, and we just kicked back and joked. It was like we were in an open air living room.

Sat

07/21/2007 08:25:58

jim Belle of Louisville

The $15 three hour tour goes north up the Ohio, and includes dancing and an optional $15 buffet. We wouldn't have missed the buffet. The band was very uplifted. We'd heard them on 4th Street Live earlier in the week.
Its a non-smoking tour, but ya know, 33% of the people here smoke. They were all around cuffing their cigs, haha.
The people on the cruise are just out to have fun and to socialize. We did a lot of that.

Fri

07/20/2007 18:36:18

jim Louisville,KY-Belle Of Louisville,Onion Coach Ride

Fri

07/20/2007 07:20:46

jim Went bowling last night

The lanes are all decorated, and there's a TV screen right above the bowling pins. Its cool!
But the people are SO polite here.
I just wanted to watch a clip from a Bruce Willis movie, and a guy next to use, kept motioning me on,
letting me know it was okay to bowl, he'd be more than happy to wait.
Now, its not like we were actually taking turns.
I know its supposed to be polite not to bowl a ball while the person next to you is bowling.
But sometimes, manners can just go too far.
I also noticed these guys couldn't remember which ball was theirs.
They kept using my ball every several rolls...hahahahaha. And they weren't drunk either....lol.
Manners in Louisville are extreme!
It shows up at its worst at 4 way stop signs.
Everybody's trying to let the other person go ahead of them, and nobody goes at all!
My head could actually explode here.
Just kidding. I love it here. Its like being in an episode of "The Waltons".

Fri

07/20/2007 06:23:26

jim This month has been extreme.

Sonny, just wanted to let you know, I’m not forgetting you, slighting you, or dodging you in any way.
I’ve just bent so burnt out.
Maybe we shouldn’t have moved downtown.
Its definitely not boring.
We went bowling last night. We’re going on a steamboat cruise tonight.
We saw two concerts, went camping, and walked the Louisville skywalk last week.
I’ve got a natural curiosity of this high rise.
I’ve already popped a breaker taking an outlet box apart. They have of each room’s outlets coupled with half of the adjacent room apartments rooms. So I pop a breaker and half this apartment goes out, half the adjoining apartment goes out. Its weird!
And these outlets, Sonny, I’ve never seen anything like them before. They are so odd looking. You can see two bare wires sticking out facing the front of the outlet, right next to the cover screw. That’s seems dangers to me. And these outlet covers have plastic that goes into the outlet. I doubt you could buy them anymore. The breakers for the whole floor are next to the trash shoot.
I took a board off the wall. There concept to fixing a whole in the wall is to put a panel over the whole, and anchor it in there. It is kind of handy. But inside the walls is the interesting part. The pipes are copper, and the corrosion almost adds 10% to the pipes diameter. I’d feel fearful about touching any of the plumbing, even just turning off a sink valve. The pipes and valves are so old. They’re begging to break.So, its been a wonderland kind of life here too.
Its hard to believe we were in Las Vegas less than a month ago.
So much has happened in the last 27 days. That's why I want to keep this blog updated.
I'm going to forget this month if I don't write it down someplace that won't be deleted.

Thu

07/19/2007 20:20:04

jim Louisville,KY-4thSt LuckyStrike

Thu

07/19/2007 07:19:31

jim Vegas fires are news in Louisville

And they're not in Las Vegas!
Louisville's Channel 6 news said there are more than 400 fires in Nevada this morning.
But Las Vegas's Channel 3 and Channel 8 said nothing about it.
I first heard about them last week.
It's national news!
So I was surprised when, after I talking to Sonny, he didn't know anything about it.
Wanna know something about where you're living?
Look at another city's news headlines.

Wed

07/18/2007 23:24:48

jim I can’t think of any place I’d rather be

The things happening in this area are so exciting.
It's the free concerts around the corner every other night.
It's the water front, the old buildings, and all the history here.
It's the girls in their cowboy boots, mini skirts or shorts, and tank tops
It's the guys, none of which ever fails to smile at ya, and give ya the 'man nod'.
It's the quality of schools, people, and level of existence here that makes me feel good.
People in Louisville probably don't know what they've got here.
And people in Las Vegas don't know what they've lost.

Tue

07/17/2007 23:47:18

jim Ate at the Bistro

We walked several miles around Louisville and ended up here.
Very EXCELLENT food!
Here I am, walking off the pounds, just to go to a restaurant to put them back on. We went to the water front. Walked along the Ohio River. Watched horse drawn carriages pull people around town.
Then we found the sky walk. Its an enclosed walk a story up, that takes you around and through the buildings downtown.
What can I say?
For a couple of weary travellers, its paradise.
These buildings are 200 years old. 200 years from now, they'll still be standing.

Tue

07/17/2007 21:10:54

jim Louisville,KY-Becky,Jim Bistro

Mon

07/16/2007 20:32:04

jim Louisville,KY-OldBld bldgs

Sun

07/15/2007 23:33:05

jim The Lake Rudolf Experience

We took off Saturday morning to meet Rod, Resee and Jessica at the campground.
On the way, we picked some fold out popason chairs.
I thought it would be funny to use living room furniture for camping. "You know you're a redneck when there's a couch in your front yard".
It was fun bopping around the park
I decided I'd drink beer while hanging out. That added antics to the adventure.
Rod took the golf cart through the woods on to a highway! That was incredible.
He wanted to see if he could get the cart out of the park.
Jessica and I went fishing
However, I spent almost all of the time straightening up the line. I didn't succeed though. My beer hangover messed up my vision, so the 2 beer max rule is back in effect.
I was so tired the whole time.
I hope I wasn't too much of a putz. I just barely made the 60 minute drive.
My whole body is sore from all the activities in the last few weeks.
And I've got a killer toothache. We took off at 2pm Sunday, and I have got to slow things down. After frantically jogging around the city trying to find a notary and a Fed Ex at 4pm on Friday, I thought I couldn't take any more. I was wrong. I guess self abuse has no limit.
We drove through an incredible storm on the way back. Visibility was 5 to 20 feet.
I had too pull over, which was a blessing. I kept fading in and out.
I just couldn't get any sleep. Kept having nightmares, and my dreams are almost always beautiful.
But all of that aside, it was fun weekend.
Its too bad we couldn't have stayed for the rides at Holiday Park.
I think next time, we'll plan things better and rent an air conditioned cabin or travel trailer.

Sat

07/14/2007 22:20:10

jim Camping with Rod!

Sat

07/14/2007 10:57:28

jim SantaClause,IN-HolidayWorld leaving

Sat

07/14/2007 08:08:01

jim .Camping

I'm ready. We're bringing beer, smokes, blankets, and rubbers (wading boots).
I think I'd like to do some spear fishing.
This guy looks like he had fun.
I suppose, if I can't find a spear or a pole, I could create a new sport called "Stomp Fishing"
Holiday Park is only 60 minutes away. Thats great!
Too bad we can't do the water park together. That would be a blast too!
But HEY, its only 60 minutes away and annual passes are just over $100.
Thinking about it, I'd probably end on the news as the fat guy who got stuck in the water tube.
You'd see Katie Couric live at Holiday Park,
reporting how a crane is dissassembling a ride, trying to a free a fat, ugly, desparate vacationer named LVDUDE, and that they had to shut off the parks water main to stop the flow of water.
hmmm.

Fri

07/13/2007 21:06:15

Jim Eliminated those pesky bot ids.

I should do like Yahoo, Aol and the other sites do for logons
They put a graphic up to verify a human is trying to log in.
Another long day. Got up at 5am.
Found the web site had been abused. So I wrote a fix and put it in.
Figured out my project's design was flawed.
I corrected it, but...
The real problem is, I've sent the Documentation to several users for our meeting next Tuesday.
So, my first meeting may make me look bad.
Work keeps asking me if I'd consider full time.
Its a toss up of benefits verses dollars.
At any rate, I told them I couldn't commit to anythingt until my contract is up in November.
I indicated I would like that.
I finally got the seller's documents to sign.
Grady called and said if i could get it signed today, the deal was probably blown.
All this happened today, on a Friday, around 4pm.
I had to go home during rush hour, get the docs, find a notary and a Fed Ex place.
All this I had to do in a town that rolls up its side walks at 5pm.
My brain is fried again.
Somehow, we pulled it off, and I think I lost some of my hair.

Fri

07/13/2007 09:15:14

Jim Hackers...what do you do with them?

Its funny when people try to hack this system.
There's really no useful information in this system to steal or get.
And almost everything is out in the open.
Gotta love it

Thu

07/12/2007 19:31:02

jim Louisville,KY-BAMS

Wed

07/11/2007 23:27:06

Jim Churchill Downs, Emerson Drive Concert

Been kind of broke...at least for this week, my checking account has been getting pounded for the last three months.
BUT, there's plenty of free things to do in Louisville.

Saw the last race for the spring Kentucky Derby Races.
Rod and Jessica picked us up.
WE WON!...actually, Becky did. She bet something like 2, 5, 7 and 9 to win.
Her pick was a long shot that paid 16 for 1.
Then again, we got a flat that morning, which cost $130 to replace...
So, WE LOST!!! yaaaahaha.
The Emerson Drive Concert
We watched a free concert on this block. About 1,000 came to watch it.
It's a blast living near the heart and soul of Louisville.
I love how these country people dress and behave.
They seem so peaceful and happy.

Wed

07/11/2007 22:21:37

Jim .Concert Down At The 4th Street Live

I love your writing Becky. Your personality comes out in your spelling (retstruants = restaurants).
I seriously enjoy your spelling of words more than the correct spellings.
They are very cute. So, I'm not gonna show you spell check yet.
Love ya bunchs and bunches and bounches. 8^)

Wed

07/11/2007 22:02:16

jim Louisville Blgs

Wed

07/11/2007 20:57:08

jim Louisville,KY-4thStLive Party List

Wed

07/11/2007 13:34:59

Jim Well, I am fixing toilets...lol

But I'm doing it for free.
I know, I said I'd fix toilets for what work is paying me but
The apartments hopper quit filling up and rather than wait for management to fix it, I went out and bought a Flowmaster for $6 and threw it in. Plus, I hooked up most of the Ice Maker.
Our internet is still not working.
A guy from Insight came out yesterday, and totally botched the job.
He hooked up the cable TV, and just left the cable modem.
After spending an hour on the phone with Insights Support (which, right now, costs me 45 cents a minute on my cell phone), they determined the modem was just plain BAD.
Someone left the cake out in the rain, alrighty...lol.
I would be upset, but they gave us a digital box for free.

Sun

07/08/2007 20:17:35

Jim Moving/Kentucky Derby/River Front Park

Friday, we signed papers for the apartment, but we couldn't move in yet.
So, we just hung out at Suburban.
We ate pizza at Old Chicago's, and I've gotta say, it was the best pizza I'd ever had!
Saturday, we moved into our apartment.
It took two trips to move out of the Suburban.
Then we bought a TON of Walmart furniture (airbed, chairs...)
We moved all of that in and passed out around midnight.
Sunday, we had to exchange another VCR (without a tuner in it, which we need)
Our GPS went strange on us, and we ended up at a Walmart in New Albany.
On our way back, we had to go down Albany's back streets.
We actually got stopped at a railroad crossing for 20 minutes (I hopped out and picked flowers...lol).
Albany's a beautiful, small town with very old Buildings.
I64 was out to Louisville, so once again, we had to take a detour and I blew a flat!
Finally, about noonish, we got back to Louisville.
Churchill Downs with Rod and Jessica.
Rod and Jessica met us at the apartments and gave us a lift. They are such great company!
Becky picked the horses and won!!! Yippee!!!
Ending the day, we went to The River Front Park
Cool place. There's a Joes Crab Shack high on stilts over the river.
The park has a water jet show, and lots of grassy areas.
Kids were playing frisbee football and soccer. It looked like a blast.

Sun

07/08/2007 13:43:42

jim Louisville,KY-Kentucky Derby-Rod,Jessica,Jim,Becky

Sat

07/07/2007 16:22:21

Jim See ya’ll Tuesday

We're going off line until we get our new internet service
Have a GREAT WEEKEND!

Sat

07/07/2007 07:26:34

Jim Living downtown...how to adapt?

I'm really excited about this change.
Entertainment is in walking distance. A CVS is just a block away.
I noticed that most of the Kentucky Towers dwellers don't have a car.
To get from the street to our apartment
- we have to park in a garage
- go to the 3rd floor
- walk up a ricketty stair/bridge to our apartment building
- go down and around a hallway
- take the elevator to the fifth floor
- then go down the hall to our apartment #503.
There is no convenient way to get from the parking garage to the apartment at ground level.
However, if we take the bus
- We can enter the apartments directly from the front
- take the elevator to the fifth floor
- then go down the hall to our apartment #503.
So, either we find a place to park at ground level, or we take the bus.
This is going to be so much FUN! And I am going to lose weight!

Fri

07/06/2007 21:52:26

Jim Sea shells in the desert? Global Warming?

When driving across the country, its obvious that almost all of this country has been under water at some time or other.
After all, we pulled out of the ice age only 18,000 years ago.
We know the ocean level has risen 400 feet since then.
Ever wonder what happened to all of that ice?
I do. We've seen, from a distance, that Las Vegas looks like a glacier slid through it at one time.
What would happen to the continents if all of the ice melted on the polar caps?
Is the Earth's water supply constant? Does it evaporate into outer space then collapse? Is it a gift from passing comets?
Where does the Earth's water come's from?
I can't find an answer. Some say it came from comets, (see a taste of water). Others say its been here since the beginning. At either rate, it seems the Earth is neither losing or gaining water. That would mean, if the continents were under water at some time, both the water and the land masses had to shift. Toss in the polar caps melting, and you might get fossils on mountain tops.

So here's my thoughts on global warming.
It's natural. The chart above is from studies of the polar caps. They have recorded the Earth's global temperatures through out almost all of the Earth's existance. In the chart above, can you see the beat?

El Capitan is a chunk of the limestone reef that rose during the mountain building of the Guadalupe Mountains 10 to 12 million years ago. Weather has eroded much of the surrounding sandstone. Because of the limestone's greater resistance to erosion, the towering cliff remains, revealing its trove of seashells. We've found seashells from shore to shore, on mountaintops and places in between. Chances are, you have seashell fossils in geologic formations in your home state.
What all of this means to me is
Global warming is going to happen. Global cooling is going to happen too.
If we nudge it along with pollution, it will happen sooner. Either way, it will happen.
If we don't adapt, we will become extinct.
And no, we're not going to destroy all life on this planet by our foolishness (like the doom sayer say).
Just like six foot tall Penguins vanished from the equator to the Arctic regions to become the two foot tall ones we see in the movies, life will adapt.

Fri

07/06/2007 15:32:10

jim Louisville,KY-Kentucky Towers-Apt

Fri

07/06/2007 00:15:38

Jim Our new apartment

We move in 3pm tommorrow...yahoo!!!
Kentucky Towers: 513 S 5th #504, Louisville, KY 40202, (502) 585-6300
Our apartment is on the 5th floor of this 1920's high rise.
In its hay day, was a ritzy hotel. The Hilton is across the street from it.
They are refurbishing it, along with the rest of the downtown area.
I'm curious, and paranoid, about moving into a high rise.
But this one looks REALLY COOL!!!
It has 100 washer dryers, a swimming pool on the 5th floor, an excercise room and shops on the first floor.
A Hilton Hotel and a coffee shop are across the street.
Fourth Street Live, Louisvilles ritzy party area, is one block away.
Best of all, its only 10 minutes to work,
the drive is simple,
so its unlikely that I'll be blasting the stereo,
then miss a turn at 70 mph,
and end up headed towards Nashville,
like I did the other day.

The people are very friendly and mostly attractive.

- A security guard showed us the route from the parking lot to our apartment and was nice enough to walk us through the route. He said its a quiet building.
- I talked to a front desk clerk from the Hilton who was smoking outside. She said we were going to love it. She had a lease 4 blocks down the road.
- There was a crazy lady sitting at a bus stop yelling things, probably talking to god.
- A fellow hit me up for a dime. Another hit me up for a cigarette.
- Three girls walked in alone at different times.
Each dressed like they just came from a company party.
One said she was involved in politics, and just got back from Washington DC.
So the people are going to be quite varied, but not threatening.
Our next challenge will be finding furniture on a shoe string budget.
We won't have an internet connection until Wednesday.

Thu

07/05/2007 01:15:48

Jim 4th of July at Rods

- Spent the day checking out webcaming with Sonny, Jennifer and Joy.
- Chatted with Gma.
It was great!
We were actually on our way to downtown Louisville to watch the fireworks over the Ohio, but decided to swing by and say Happy 4th!!!
Rod spent about $300 on fireworks, which sounds familiar to me.

We hung, drank a couple of beers, at beer brats.
Jessica, Rod and Reese's daughter plays the clarinett...and she had it sitting out. I picked it up, and guess what? I could still play, AND read sheet music. Its been 30 years since I was 1st chair in the high school band. There was a thunderstorm with lots of lightening on 15 mile drive home.
Altogether, it was quite a night.
We'll be going to the Kentucky Derby's last race on Sunday.

Wed

07/04/2007 09:50:00

Jim Apartment follow up is important

We saw an adorable apartment.
It was in an old brick four plex, right off the street, with parking in the back. There were trees in the front.
The owner/manager was outside fixing a window. I asked him why it was broken. He said he didn't know.
He showed us the apartment. It was nice, $500 a month, and we filled out an application.
I felt ready to take it.
HOWEVER...
When I was leaving, a guy at the bottom of the stairs gave me an evil look.
Then the manager said, "Hey Jose, how are you doing?".
Jose dropped his look and smiled.
We drove by an hour later.
There were three 15/16 year olds hanging out in the hallway.
They were sitting on the stairs and they were dressed in gang attire.
When the sun goes down, the bad guys come out.
I realized why the manager was replacing broken windows.
At least I learned that 4 plexes like that sell for $240,000 here.

Wed

07/04/2007 05:24:07

Jim They should have built Las Vegas in Louisville

They should have built Las Vegas here, instead of in the middle of a desert!
Its beautiful out here. The days are hot and muggy, however, the nights are cool and very pleasant.
And my breathing problems have all but gone away, so its actually therapeutic out here.
It would be hard to come back to Vegas to live now.
I'd forgotten how beautiful this country, and its people can be.
I've heard one horn honk out here, and it was for a good reason.
I put my blinkers on to switch lanes, and people let me in. Wow!
One of my test to see how people are in different areas of the country
has been to ask strangers for directions.
People here, actually stop, look you in the eyes and try to give you their best answer.
They seem less self absorbed than Vegans.
This would be a great place to chant a mantra! Lol.
Speaking of spirituality….
Wouldn't you know, my Be Quick notary/courier business took off like a rocket, right after I agreed to this consulting contract. I also had problems with my tenants and my condo's association too right before I moved. The logical solution was to sell my condo.
I felt like something was pushing me into coming out here, for some reason.
Ever feel like that? Like you are being controlled?
For years now, I've felt that I couldn't retire yet…
that there was something else I had to do first.
I felt that I'd be led to a task. I believe that's whats happenng.
Lately, its a voice has been SCREAMING at me, telling me what to do.
(Move to Louisville and sell your property)
Its like 'the voice' that hits us all when we reach puberty.
It comes to us in dreams. It tells us what to do and how to do it, and it requests action.
For some reason, I'm blessed by being able to remember almost all of my dreams.
For a long time, I have had no doubt that 'that voice' in my dreams has been telling me what to do, and how to do it.
I wish that voice would become even louder.
I hope in death, 'that voice' will show me its face.
If it does, I know it will be beautiful.
Well, that voice is telling me to eat now.
It's 5am, I'm hungry, and all I have to eat is some old shoes.
I wonder how long I'll have to boil them before they can become breakfast.

Tue

07/03/2007 06:40:50

Jim Apartment Quandary

Barrington's Place
Pro's: Downtown. $540, all utilities. We have a 14th floor apartment reserved that looks out over Louisville. Its walking distance from the waterfront, 4th Street Live, Slugger Stadium. Its 10 minutes from work.
Con's: Management is flaky. They told us we could move in the 6th. Now, they're saying the 18th. They just told us it was a year lease, not a 6 month, and the buy out was 2 month. We haven't seen a model, or the apartment, only pictures. Parking is across the street for $50 a month.
Crescent Center
Pro's: Downtown. $750, no utilities. Great looking place. Its walking distance from the waterfront, 4th Street Live, Slugger Stadium. Its 10 minutes from work. Parking is free.
Con's: Expensive.
Intown Suites
Pro's: Next to work. $800, all utilities. A little larger than Suburban. Decent looking place.
Con's: Questionable area.
Imperial Suites
Pro's: 5 minutes from work. $549, no utilities, 6 month lease. Large 1 bedroom on 11th floor. Decent looking place. Very secure. Has a pool (closes in August).
Con's: View faces South and kind of sucks. If a North view opened up, it would be great!
Breckenridge Square
Pro's: 10 minutes to work. $589, 800 sq ft, internet, pool, spa. Nice looking area.
Con's: Unknown.
Breckenridge Pointe
Pro's: 10 minutes from work. $450, $50 utilities, internet, 675 sq ft. A little larger than Suburban. Easy parking. Only 60 units. Great looking place.
Con's: 1 year lease.

Sun

07/01/2007 00:17:42

jim Louisville,KY-4thSt Party-Jim,Becky

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