Ona Lacher

My grandmother would be 115 if she were alive today. It's her birthday. March 7, 1899. I wish I had known her. Maybe she would have helped me be a better person? Who knows. Not that I'm a bad person. I happen to think I'm a decent guy. But there's always room for improvement. I would have loved to hear stories of her growing up at the turn of the 20th century. And how bad it really was during the depression. My mom always told me she was the kindest loving woman you could ever meet. She was so sweet to my mom when my dad came home with his new bride. I'll never forget in February 2010 when I took that trip to Iowa and I found her and my Grandpa's (Franklin Lacher) graves. The tears just started flowing. So many emotions. Wishing I could thank them for raising my dad. Wishing I could have met them (I did meet my Grandma when I was one). Just being so close to them physically, yet so far away. Wondering if they were looking down on me. And what they were thinking. And what advice they would give me. Would they be mad at me for not achieving to my potential? Or would they just love me because I'm their flesh and blood. I stood there crying for a good ten minutes on that cold winter afternoon in the middle of a small town in Iowa. It was wonderful.

Hope (St)

I moved into a new place almost two month ago. A little studio in the back of a house by Cal Poly. I like the privacy and it's plenty big for me. The problem is the landlords (the owners in the main house) kind of suck. I keep asking them to fix stuff and they don't. They're just very unprofessional. I really don't want to move again. Moving is a pain in the ass. And this location works really well for me. I'm almost resigned to just put up with it. I am a little concerned about how hot it's going to get in here in the summer. There's no AC. There is a fan at least. I guess we'll see.

So, we got a new union contract at work. I'm not a big fan of it. I get a whopping $.10 raise. I voted No but I guess I'll have to deal with it. Management really massaged the numbers to make it look good. Personally I think we're going to get screwed on the healthcare benefits in the coming years. But it seems my fellow drivers don't agree. Oh well.

Time to move on. I really need to start adjusting the eating and exercising more. Not to mention saving money. I could really change my life for the better this year. I'm NOT going to squander this opportunity.