The days are getting interesting. The job change is really under way. Today was a very busy day but it was also a day of handing over the reigns. It's hard to let go. It's real hard to let go. I built a very special empire in these departments and made a real positive splash. It's time to let go and grab on to a new challenge.

My workout was pretty good. Probably the best all week. I was really surprised at this since my shoulder is really going through a rough time.

Home life is good. I also got a very nice “essay” from slave paul. He's so sweet.

Tonight is night four of the DNC! All I can say is

OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA

OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA

OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA

OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA

OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA

OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA

OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA

OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA

OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA

OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA

OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA OBAMA

It was a busy work day but it went a lot smoother than yesterday. I can only wish that my shoulder felt better.

My workout was so so. I just felt tired. Tonight I'm looking forward to relaxing. I just don't have too much to say today.

I knew that today was going to be very busy and I thought I had it all figured out. Man, was I wrong. I ended being swamped and behind all damn day. What a day. The good thing is that in the end I made it through with pride and flying colors. I was actually shocked that I made it out on time. It was so busy I almost felt guilty for leaving.

After work I hit the gym and had a very good workout.

When I got home I was thrilled to see that the new Motorhead CD arrived on my doorstep. If only I had the time to listen. I will hear it soon, that's a fact!

In the evening I will be watching day two of the DNC convention. AKA Hillary night. She better come through for some party unity! She owes it to the part and our country.

I'm a busy boy at work. There's the end of month pressure and I'm trying to get my feet wet with some new challenges. It's interesting, fun, challenging and I'm enjoying it.

My workout was very good. A lot of this was because my back and neck are feeling so much better.

Tonight is massage night and we are both going to take full advantage of that. We are both pretty sore.

Tonight is also the beginning of the DNC. I'll be watching that starting at 8:00. Yes, I do love the political process and I do want to see what my party is up to during this critical week.

I was up early and excited. Today is my fantasy football draft. My team, The Black Bandannas are the two time consecutive Superbowl champs and we are back again. So needless to say we are ready to rock.

I was was up around eight and I got right to work. I was planning and plotting my team. I did that and some other chores. By around 10:00 I had my head straight and a somewhat clear idea of how I wanted my team to look.

I had slave barb make me some breakfast and then I started the laundry and did an all day project of dubbing some VHS to DVD. Glad I got that project squeezed in.

My first outing of the day is to visit my Aunt. The visit went ok. I was nagged and pressured but overall it was ok.

The other issue I had to deal with was about an online order I made the other day. There seemed to be some issues with it so of course I had to take care of that. That was another half hour wasted.

After I got back home I called slave paul. We had a great Sunday discussion. I think it was a much needed conversation and I think there was some wonderful growth and understanding that happened along the way. Right on.

Now it's go time. It's time for the draft. While I was involved in the draft slave barb was grillin' some ribs. I was having me some real manly football food for the draft.

The draft was fun and of course serious business. In the end my team looks ok. It's not a team filled filled with all the superstars and ego. It's a solid team that really has a chance to make some headway. If luck goes my way and I can get everything firing right I think I can make the playoffs. The way my team is built I'll really need to read up on the crew every day and be on top of everything. I think I can do that!

After the draft I had another great Sunday discussion, this time with slave barb. We talked about some hot spot issues and it's safe to say that we each came out for the better. Right on.

As the night arrives I will prepare for work ( I did some work stuff too) and settle in for the night. Tonight we will watch the finale of Generation Kill and part three of Hard Knocks. The Dallas Cowboys training camp.

We were up on time and had a nice breakfast. We are both looking very forward to this day. Today is the day we attend slave rick's presentation called the 12 Steps to Freedom. In this case the freedom which is being addressed is the freeing yourself to achieve your higher path and to be one with the universe. To tell you the truth I'm not sure if I'm phrasing that correctly but this is a long class.

We got to our destination at 11:00 and it was wonderful to hang with so many friends. It was also great to hang with everyone because we were “off duty”. We had no speeched to make, no presentations to give. We were simply audience members looking for education.

The presentation was amazing. It was filled with sound thoughts, laughter and good times. I learned a lot. Specifically I learned two things. When looking at my spiritual path, I have a long way to go. This doesn't make me feel bad or lesser than because I think most of us have a long way to go. That's not to say that we as a whole are “bad” it's simply a testimony that to get spiritual enlightenment there's a lot of hard work and as barb has said in the past in presentation ( quoting Maya Angelo) nothing will work unless you do.

The second thing that I learned is is the easier part. It's the part that will allow me to work hard and deal with the struggles of the first thing I learned. And that is that I'm on a good track. It may not be the exact perfect track, but spiritually I'm on a good path. That's a pretty cool thought.

After the five hour presentation ( with three breaks) everyone hung out and again had a a wonderful time. Certainly one of the highlights of the event was thirty or so of us going out to dinner together.

That was loud and fun! No doubt! The restaurant was happy to see us leave. I think we kept them open far later than they normally we have. Oh well, they certainly made their money on us and that's a good thing too.

After that we headed home. In my mind I thought myself and barb would have some alone time, talk, chill, cuddle, whatever. Instead we settled into bed after a long an wonderful day and fell asleep.

The other big news of the day is that Obama picked his running mate. Joe Biden. I'm pretty happy with the choice. I would have loved to have had the dream ticket of Obama and Clinton but as good as that would look on paper it would have been a hard sell since they battled so hard and there was a lot of hitting below the belt during their epic primary. Would people really believe that ticket would work cohesively? Probably not.

Of course Sunday morning Sunday morning news shows like Meet The Press will be all over this and I'll be watching big time.

Monday starts the DNC convention and once again I'll be watching big time.

Friday has finally come! It's been a brutal work week and i'm looking forward to this weekend. Work was insane, again. The good thing was that I had some very productive meetings. I feel real good about what's going on there.

A real treat for today was that my back really felt good. I got some good mobility and I'm almost pain free. Lets just hope that sticks.

With my back feeing so much better this allowed me to have a great workout. This is the first good one all week. I was thrilled when I left the gym.

I was looking very forward to a quite night with barb and catching up on stuff but instead things went a bit haywire. I pipe broke under the kitchen sink and we needed to get that fixed ASAP. So $322.00 later the pipe is fixed and we are way behind schedule.

Hopefully we will salvage a good night. Bring on the weekend.

Work was brutal. Really busy and insane.

My back is brutal. Really stiff and insane.

The gym was brutal. Really tough and insane.

There was a beautiful hummingbird in the yard. That rocked! That wasn't insane.

There are still a decent amount of days left in August but I feel like I'm ready for Fall.

There's something that I'm celebrating. The Summer Temps have been pretty cool. So far there are no real dog days and the humidity has been low. This has allowed us to not have the AC on that much. It's very nice running fans and having the windows open and not feeling caged in due to the Summer's oppression. ( Don't get me wrong,I love Summer). What I'm very thrilled about is that with the AC hardly being on we were able to bring down our bill by $23.00 per month. That rocks.

I woke up this morning with plenty of back stiffness. That sucked! I managed to push my way out of bed.. I also managed to push my way through a very busy work day. As the day went on the stiffness in my back eased up allowing me to have an adequate workout.

The other thing that's bringing down this household is allergies. Mine suck and barb's suck to the tenth power! Ragweed, yuck foo!

Tonight will be another night night of stretching, icing and watching the Olympics.

Well I guess it's full steam ahead ( sort of) with the new position at work. Everything is official and the transition will soon begin. I'm excited and thrilled to be given this chance.

Of course my day was very busy. It can be tough to keep up sometimes. Especially when my back is acting up the was it has been as of late. This really sucks.

Somehow I still managed to have a good leg and ab workout.

My focus for tonight is pretty simple. Watch the Olympics, stretch and ice my back! Oh yes, research my new tattoo.