A new job for my wife begins on the 26th! Whew and "woo-hoo" are the operative words. Now if only the Packers could have won that game. You know, I can't really fault Sherman for not going for it on 4th and 1 when having done so earlier in the game and failed. And Favre's bad throw? Well, that's a tough one to swallow but you can't turn back time, right Cher? Better luck next year. I think we're poised to improve now. At the beginning of this season, the general consensus among Packer fans was that the team was in slow decline. I think bringing in Grady Jackson and the emergence of Javon Walker and Robert Ferguson helped turn that around. Nick Luchey was a good acquisition at FB and the O-line stayed healthy this year. Having backup RBs Najeh Davenport and Tony Fisher averaging 5.0 yards per carry is testimony to that, I think. We have a lot to be proud of this year, I just wish we could have taken it all the way so the emotional day when we got into the playoffs by trouncing Denver and then watching Minnesota choke it big time against Arizona would be remembered forever. Well, I have to say I probably will remember it for a very long time, regardless of the end result. Philly is obviously the better team, they have more weapons. Still, we almost beat 'em and for that we should be proud. I like our chances next year, provided everybody can stay healthy.

The first new year's resolution begins today. No drinking for a while. This past weekend was quite the bender. On Saturday, my wife and I went to my former boss's house in Alameda and proceeded into a long, 10 hour alcohol soaked and barbecue stuffed day. We watched the playoff games and played darts, and I learned a few grilling pointers along the way. Plus, it was nice to see him on an upward swing having recently found a new job. I've been in a somewhat awkward position here at work, witnessing the layoff of both people involved in hiring me in the first place.

And I still sit here, with time on my hands to write in this journal. it doesn't seem fair, but today I am happy. I am happier than I have been in a long time because my wife got the job she truly wanted. To me it justifies the year that she worked in a very part time basis for this organization, because when she lost her subsequent full time job working with the parole department just after Thanksgiving, the person she worked with for her now current organization pulled some strings and helped her get her foot in the door for an interview. It has now paid off!

As for me? Tour still approaches, though I don't know exactly when. And we have the landlord situation to contend with. Our house was bought last month and the new owners have hinted that they want to do an owner move in, but it doesn't appear that they can do that legally. We found out that they did an exchange of property, and that they are not likely residents of the property they exchanged ours with. So legally they can't force out the tenants with an owner move in unless they take a tax penalty. Just this past week my wife had the new owner come in to replace a simple washer for the faucet in the kitchen. He replaced the whole faucet. Then he said that he was only doing this out of the goodness of his heart but that we were responsible for paying for those types of repairs? Oh really? Why does it say that the tenant is only responsible for repairs if it has to do with tenants' negligence in the contract we just signed, then? My wife said to him that this is really the only benefit of renting, that when something needs to be repaired out of normal wear and tear, the tenant is not responsible. "Well, I don't live there" he said. Then came the shocker: "There are plenty of other places to rent if you don't like it." The gentleman declared war with that statement.

There was a letter they sent last week that declares that our rent is to be raised by $50 starting in February. We have since found out that this is not the proper procedure so we are filing for mediation/arbitration. These people need to know that they can't bully people and they need to learn the law. They complained to the tenant upstairs, who is in her sixties, that they were planning on "taking over the whole place." They complained about how the rents were not enough to pay for the mortgage. Well, maybe they shouldn't have bought the place then, knowing there were existing tenants. They must have figured that they could bully the tenants into giving notice. Well, they are fucking with the wrong people. This might work in some neighborhoods with some people, but not with us. We don't need them as a landlord referral, because the previous owner had a management company that was perfectly happy with us, and then they were unceremoniously dumped when the lady who owned the house passed away and her nephews took over the place. So the new owners are about to find out that fucking with us was the wrong call. I look forward to that fight because they need to know that it's not okay to fuck with tenants. Oh, and the realtor that sold the place was also shady. I look forward to justice being served.