2009 started off with a bang with the Penguin Plunge and then three nights up in Pismo Beach enjoying the central coast.  But I’m back at work now, alternating some briefing with some de-Christmasing of the Casa and a bit of gym strategizing that became necessary after seeing the Penguin Plunge pictures.   Going to have to look at coordinated plungewear next year, like these gentlemen on the Central Coast [gallery] .  The Chippendale look might give the New Years event just the formality it deserves.  Laundry and dishes and accounts receivable are rounding out the agenda here at the end of the extended holiday.  Then I can try and post the weekend’s photos.

So far the busboys’ teachings have proven correct and the bannister slide into 2009 has been splinterless.  Enjoyed the Rose Parade, had a great Penguin Plunge, and as soon as we finish loading the car we’re heading up to the Central Coast for a few days.

And thus it came to pass, as 2008 was being kicked to the door and 2009 was being welcomed into our lives, that the Ancient Order of Mystical Frycooks and Busboys did deliver eggrolls, shrimp, and divine wisdom.  When asked to provide guidance and fortune for Chuckie, they advised that

As you slide down the bannister of life, may the splinters never point your way [in bed].  

I will take this prognostication as favorable, and carry the Ancient Order’s message forth in my heart.

Not only can’t you sue an empty pocket, invoicing them is kinda rough too.  Hence the necessity for some flexibility in ideology.

Diego’s eating his normal dog food for the first time in a week.  I guess the fact that he isn’t expecting more ham, or roast beef, or quiche, or bacon, or some other buttery/greasy food to ‘accidentally’ fall in front of him shows his acceptance of a return to the status quo.

It was a great holiday season, incredibly busy this year, but I’m happy things have slowed back down.  I’ve got things I need to get done, and really need to take a look at the practice and make some changes for an economy that looks bleaker and bleaker by the day.  Too many projects became involuntary pro bono this year.  Sorry folks, but I decide where I volunteer my time, not you.  

At least it will be a short work week as I ease back into some kind of a pattern.  Spinner goes back to work on the fifth, so I won’t get much done until then, except maybe a little mental health roadtrip.  And, weather permitting, our local little Penguin Plunge.  Need to start the new year fresh.

Still enthralled with Spinner’s Christmas gift to me, a shiney new iPod Touch. On top of finally having a player with a battery life again, I’m getting spoiled by the wifi and dowloading way too many of the apps.  

ould use some help though.  We need a name for my new dependent/dependency.  For context, the old iPod was named Spike and Spinner’s is named Hiro.  Neither comes close to Howley though (my precious little Black Berry).  Any suggestions?

[A] powerful special district with the task of clearing the air in four smoggy Southern California counties, including Riverside, is going to make builders stop framing tract homes with wood-burning fireplaces. As of March 9, all new homes in heavily populated areas of Riverside, Orange, Los Angeles and San Bernardino counties will have to have gas-log fireplaces —- or no fireplaces at all.

Then, in fall 2011, the South Coast Air Quality Management District will begin issuing orders for people with traditional fireplaces to avoid lighting fires on days when soot pollution is high. The agency says those temporary bans on fires will occur, on average, 10 to 20 days each winter.

I suppose this could be purely an altruistic move to make Santa’s big night safer, but in reality I guesss it’s just that some government agencies and their minions have nothing better to do than micromanage how people live in their own homes.  Kinda makes one wonder if there was more to San Diego’s attempt to remove all the beach fire pits under the guise of “budget cuts.”

The ghost of Christmas Present has me in my comfy robe blogging while the husband makes himself more presentable.  The ghost of  Christmas Future has us going out to fawn over decorations and finish up the shopping.  The ghost of Christmas Past has me feeling like an unrepentent glutton about to burst at the seams.  And now Tiny Diego’s going to find a big bag of treats in his stocking Thursday morning.

Fighting for rights by the light of the full moon.  [via]  Amazing the amount of damage a simple word can cause, isn’t it?

Happily back in San Diego after a couple of days up the coast in Ventura.  The little roadtrip was planned back in September as a pre-Christmas shopping trip scheduled around a billable court appearance but ended up just being a rain-drenched driving nightmare sandwiching an otherwise successful little hearing.  

There was some anxiety about the scheduled trial, because the judge at our September settlement conference seemed skeptical of some of our legal arguments.  Even more anxiety when I showed up at the courthouse and found there were fifteen cases on our particular judge’s calendar for that afternoon, and began to worry if I had enough clean socks and undies to deal with a continuance.  Then when checking in the clerk let me know that because of the scheduling crunch we were being transferred to a different department down the hall.  The new judge, my new most favorite judge, loved our legal arguments, and the hearing was a breeze.  And easily the best part of the trip.

The rest of the trip was simply a rain-soaked disaster.  Most Californians simply can’t drive safely in the rain, and despite a major storm with high winds most Angelenos still seemed to be trying to navigate the highways with a cell phone in one hand and a latte in the other.  The 170 mile trip took 4 1/2 hours to make.  I lost count of the number of totalled cars on the sides of the highways, but loved the semi on the 5 in Los Angeles that managed to block all four southbound lanes after it hit the center divider.  Too bad the camera was in the trunk.  Fortunately his debris only blocked one of the northbound lanes I was using.  

Even walking around Ventura this morning there was snow visible on the nearby hillsides and I almost killed myself sliding on the frozen timbers of the Ventura Pier.  

This isn’t the way a trip up the California coast is supposed to go, even in December.  This wasn’t even Central California.  This is the weather I abandoned in DC and Idaho, and now it’s followed me here.  Maybe I should have tried for a restraining order while I was at the courthouse.