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Today was my first day of work at my new job as a Web Systems Analyst at The Bakersfield Californian. I will be working on web related projects and doing other software development as needed. Everyone at the paper has been great and the work environment is awesome. Everyone is really open to my ideas and my suggestions seem to be genuinely valued. There is no shortage of interesting ideas being kicked around as future projects, so I am really looking forward to the coming opportunities to apply my skills. I also get to run Linux at work, which is a big plus!

Yesterday, while in the local Barnes & Noble killing some time before lunch, I finally remembered to look up what type of bird this is:

It turns out to be a “Green Heron”, so now I have a type to put with the bird. I have seem him a lot lately, usually fishing for crawfish in the pond by my apartment. He is quite fun to watch because his actions seem quite erratic to us humans, hence the name “Crazy Bird”. More info on his species can be found here.

I just received the 3 Ram Heatspreaders I ordered from Newegg.com less than 48 hours ago. Their turnaround time between receiving an order and shipping it is phenomenal. Less than 48 hours from giving them my order they had it on my doorstep. And this was using cheap FedEx ground shipping! Newegg’s prices are always the best, far lower than any other online store and traditional store, such as Best Buy. Quite simply, they are the greatest store in the world!

I have probably purchased over $5000 worth of stuff from them and have never been disappointed. I have built at least 5 computers from parts that I got from them and only once did I have a problem with a part being ‘Dead On Arrival’ (which wasn’t their fault, they didn’t make the motherboard). Their customer service did an awesome job, issuing me a Return Authorization Number in less than one hour, all over email, and with no hassles. I had the replacement motherboard the next day!

Newegg.com carrys computer hardware, home electronics, cameras, laptops, and software. If you ever need to buy anything related to any of these categories then check them out first. I know this sounds like a commercial, but I am just one of hundreds (if not thousands) of raving Newegg fans. Try them out and you won’t be disappointed!

Aliciana had her picture in the Bakersfield Californian, the local newspaper, last Saturday. The article was about our church’s preparation for the Hanging Of The Green event that was held last Sunday. She has only lived in Bakersfield for 5 months and she is already famous. Here is a scan of the newspaper picture:

Today, on the way back from the mailbox, I had a run in with a local apartment complex dweller. Being only 9 inches long and crawling on the ground, I nearly stepped on him. I don’t know for sure what type of crustacean he was, being the first one that I have seen that wasn’t on a plate with a butter dipping sauce, but maybe my Dad can put his Biology degree to use and let me know.

After seeing him, I ran back to my apartment to grab my camera and then returned to the wild to capture my discovery on film. I moved him over from the sidewalk so I could get a better picture of him and he didn’t seem to like being picked up. He proceeded to square himself up to me and threaten me with his big red claws. I assumed he lived in the pond by the mailboxes and had gotten out for an afternoon stroll in the rain, so I let him be after snapping some shots. The pictures of my new friend are in my photo album.

Yesterday, Aliciana and I visited the California Living Museum (CALM) which is located out by Hart Park. Everyone knows that I love animals and Aliciana is quite fond of them as well, so, as you can imagine, we had a blast. There are plenty of photos of the animals we saw and of me petting the farm animals in the petting zoo. It was a hot day and you can tell from the photos that the animals sure were feeling the heat. For the first time in my life I saw a squirrel laying down. He was just sprawled out on the ground… it was a weird sight to see.

Yesterday Aliciana and I drive to San Luis Obispo for the day to do some errands. We also got a chance to visit my Brother Nick, his main squeeze Jessie, their puppy Zeus, my best friend Aaron, his new fiance Melinda, and Kali the cat. We had a great time catching up with everyone. We ended up going and having a good Chinese food dinner and then dessert at TCBY. Even though I couldn’t eat dessert because of my diet, I still had a great time hanging out and talking. We will have to definitely make a trip to SLO a common occasion, maybe even a monthly event if Aliciana isn’t too busy being a full time worker.

I just wanted to let everyone know that Aliciana received her diploma in the mail today. She received her Bachelors Of Science in Business Administration from Cal Poly, complete with Arnold Schwarzenegger’s signature. Congratulations Baby!!! We are all very proud of you!!!

It has been too long since I last wrote a blog, but moving will cause that to happen. We almost have everything put in it’s place at our new apartment in Bakersfield, California. Moving was quite an ordeal. It took us 4 trips to get everything to Bakersfield, with each trip taking 5 hours of driving. And of course we had the packing, moving, lifting, carrying, dropping, cursing, and unpacking of all our worldly possessions that added to the experience. So, as you can imagine, we are quite tired and sore. Next time we move, we are definitely going to get some help.