On Saturday, 2/16/2013, Arlyn and I drove to Surrey, British Columbia to visit with JR, Roselle, Elle and Coco Abanador. We spent two nights at their abode.

On Sunday, we all piled into my big-ass rental truck and drove to Steveston, BC which happens to be the filming location for the television series "Once Upon a Time."

That evening, JR, Arlyn and I went into downtown Vancouver to visit with Bolusanon Naty and Nita. Once we arrived, we learned that their wireless network was horribly hampered by problems. I immediately jumped into action and after an hour, had the problem fixed.

Arlyn traveled with me to Seattle. After landing in Seattle on Sunday afternoon (3/24/2013), we jumped into our rental car and quickly headed to Surrey, BC Canada. She wanted to spend the week with family there. So I dropped her off and drove back to Bellevue, Washington. I spent the week doing my 'normal' duties at T-Mobile while she visited.

The most difficult part of being apart across international lines was being able to communicate. But through the use of Viber and Voxer, we were able to get by without racking up huge bills roaming. After visiting with her families for the week, I returned back to pick her up. We spent Easter in Bellevue and I once again worked. After another week, we finally returned back home in Sacramento on April 5, 2013.

While working at T-Mobile, I had heard of a seafood restaurant that serves copious amounts of food by dumping bowls of shrimp, crab, roasted potatoes, corn on the cob, mussels and clams on butcher paper. Knowing that my asawa loves seafood, this should be a perfect place to go. And we were not disappointed. The waitress dumped a huge bowl of hot food on our table and left us to graze. Arlyn was very satisfied with the meal at the Crab Pot.

We were invited to Greg and Pansang's house to celebrate Pansang's birthday. Pansang celebrated with many friends, coworkers and relatives. There was a plethora of food and drink. Greg got a chance to fire up his outdoor heaters as the Richmond evening got cooler. Happy Birthday Pansang!!

Arlyn, Dad, and I ventured to the Cheesecake factory to celebrate my birthday. It was a quiet and very enjoyable evening. The Oreo cookie cheesecake was awesome.

The client that I have been working with for the last 4 1/2 months, T-Mobile, has notified Teradata and Claraview that they no longer require my services. They wish to utilize contractors that are cheaper and local. My last day is scheduled for 5/17/2013.

Although Vine celebrated her official birthday last week, a bunch of us got together to BBQ some pork, have some fish and consume some adult beverages to celebrate.

During the last week of May, I had the unusual opportunity to do some catching up. I have been traveling for the last five months and my 'honey-do' list has been getting a little out of control. Siezing the opportunity of being 'on-the-bench', I was able to get back into the garage and take the next step in its build out. So, the south wall got a couple coats of paint and the garage floor in that area was prepped for painting.

The garage floor got its paint.

Scott, Emilyn and Cameron drove from Oakland to Sacramento to help us celebrate Father's Day with Dad at Mimi's. It was a good day.

Once again, Scott, Emilyn and Cameron drove from Oakland to Sacramento to meet up with Arlyn, Dad and I at the Nicholson's home. The day turned out to be a lot of fun visiting and getting Brenda on Facebook for the first time. It also turned out to be the hottest day of the year thus far at 109 degrees...whew!!

After spending some much needed time on that 'honey-do' list at Sacramento, I got a phone call from Claraview. It would seem that the folks at T-Mobile had a couple of guys that were going on paternity leave and needed someone to backfill their positions while they were gone. T-Mobile requested for me to return to T-Mobile in Seattle, Washington.

I took advantage of the opportunity and brought Arlyn with me. This could be the last chance to see Seattle.

The Teradata and Claraview team got together and had dinner at Wild Ginger.

Shortly after booking our tickets, Aunt Carol sent an email out to the family stating there was going to be a Celebration of Life for Lee Harris who passed away several weeks earlier. The celebration was to be at the Kalama Marina Park in Washington. After discussing this with Arlyn, we decided to surprise Aunt Carol with a visit on July 13. She was surprised!!

On July 14, Arlyn and I visited the Space Needle in Seattle.

While Arlyn and I were packing to return to Sacramento, I received word that T-Mobile wants to keep me until the end of October. Looks like this will not be the last trip to Seattle after all.

My Everquest II Summary Page was updated to provide EQ2U links.

Luz Guay celebrates her birthday on August 23. Arlyn celebrates her birthday on August 26. So the gang decided to celebrate the birthdays together at one time. The gang gathered at our house to take in the decadent and lavish food.

It was time to bring Arlyn back to Seattle as she was getting showing the early signs of Cabin Fever. The way to cure it is to get her out and on the road again.

However, shortly after I planned Arlyn's trip with me, my father, Lee, needed to have some dental work done. The last of his nine teeth had to be removed in preparation to his new 'teeth'. He would need to have someone around for the next three or four days to monitor him and to make sure he was healing properly. My brother, Scott, was nice enough to bring his son Cameron to the house and stay for a couple of days. So on Friday, September 13, Dad had his teeth removed. On Sunday, September 15, Scott and Cameron arrived at the house to stay with Dad for two nights. Arlyn and I flew to Seattle on the evening of Sunday, September 15.

I spent the week like any other week at T-Mobile. On Friday evening, September 27, after attending a Teradata/Claraview T-Mobile planning session, Arlyn and I jumped into the BIG BLACK suburban and drove to Surrey, British Columbia to stay with the Abanadors.

On September 28th, Arlyn, J.R., Ging-ging, Elle, little Coco, Ging-ging's mother Yolanda and I drove to the Capilano Suspension Bridge Park, located north of Vancouver. Although it was a little chilly and cloudy, it was fun to wander the numerous bridges and walks.

Arlyn and I returned back to Bellevue, WA on Sunday afternoon. The line to cross over the border into the United States was the worse I have ever seen. We remained in line for at least 60 minutes.

During the next week, I had learned that my services were no longer required at T-Mobile. This was going to be my last trip (sound familiar?).

Arlyn and I also had dinner with fellow Claraview alum Courtney Kurtz. She is now working as a Teradata contractor and currently lives in Seattle.

Arlyn and I returned to Sacramento on the afternoon of Thursday, September 26, 2013.

With only three months left in the year and no vacation time spent, it was time to take some vacation.

Arlyn and I drove the quick two hours to the Hyatt Regency Resort and Spa located at Incline Village on the shores of Lake Tahoe. We grabbed dinner at the Sierra Cafe. It quickly became dark and we learned that there were four fire pits located around the property. The Tahoe Provisions store carried kits that are used to make S'mores. Since Arlyn had never tasted or heard of s'mores, it was time to introduce her to the tasty dessert. Of course, she burned the first one, but subsequent marshmallows turned out great.

The next day, Arlyn had a date at the Stillwater Spa. She had the Lake Tahoe Stone Massage and HydraFacial treatments. Needless to say, she looked great afterwards. She had a glow on her very relaxed face.

That evening, we had dinner at the Lone Eagle Grille where Arlyn enjoyed the King Salmon Fillet and I had the Bone In Niman Ranch Port Chop.

The next day, we drove down the east shore of the lake to hook up with US 50. The goal was to drive through Placerville to take advantage of Apple Hill. Since it was currently apple harvesting time, the pies and cider should have been available. And we were not disappointed. We brought home apple butter, crumb pie and cider.

After countless trips to The Home Depot, many hours of painting the ceiling, walls, floor and shelves, hundreds of wood screws and many repeated charges on the cordless drill, the first phase of the garage is complete. It has taken 12 months to complete, but it is worth it. Arlyn was a real trooper and help tremendously painting and holding shelves when needed. She was a real inspiration.

Now...on to the next phase...

Last year, it was only Arlyn, Dad and I for Thanksgiving. It was a quiet, subdued celebration.

This year turned out to be different. We had a houseful of people with a ton of food, fun and one very unlucky turkey. We were happy to host the dinner for Scott, Em and Cameron Ogden (Oakland), Kent (along with his appetite) and Luzminda Guay (Antelope), Gary and Rose Neely (Belmont), and Jim and Gigi Swan (Sacramento). Everyone contributed to the fare by bringing a dish, making the preparations much easier on the cook.

It has been six years since Arlyn and I got married in Cebu City, Philippines. And it has been a fun, quick six years. I guess time does fly when you are having fun.

We wanted to get out of the house and away from all the Christmas stuff that was going on around us. So we jumped in the truck and took a drive. Besides, Arlyn has been itching to go for a long drive and see some snow. She also expressed a desire for seafood for dinner. So what would be a better place to go than South Lake Tahoe?

Instead of taking the normal route of US 50 directly to Stateline, I decided to take a less-traveled route. This included taking California State Route 88 (SR 88), otherwise known as the Carson Pass Highway. This route has great significance to me as this was a route taken by my family when we vacationed in South Lake Tahoe.

Arlyn and I took SR 49 to Amador City, then continued on to Sutter Creek. At Sutter Creek, we headed for the small, sleepy town of Volcano. This is the town where my family stayed on several occasions. We always stayed at the St. George Hotel.

After stopping at the St. George Hotel and taking a self-appointed tour of the facility, we jumped back in the truck and traveled to SR 88, via Pioneer. Once we hit SR 88, we turned east and headed for the pass. Along the way, we passed Ham's Station, a place that my father remembers fondly.

Ham's Station is a roadside stop still in operation as a restaurant and convenience store, located at 38.544406°N 120.377471°W at an elevation of 6,000 feet (1,800 m). Ham's Station was built by 1879 and originally served as a toll station on the highway. Ham's station is routinely used by Caltrans to indicate points where tire chains are required for continued travel during snowstorms, as it is the only landmark between Pioneer and the junction with State Route 89.

We ventured on through the Carson Pass until we hit SR 89. We then headed north on SR 89 until we hit South Lake Tahoe. After crossing over into Nevada, we stopped at the MontBleu Casino for dinner, a location we frequent often. There, we enjoyed lobster tails and a rib eye steak. Then we drove US 50 back home.

This Christmas was very much like last year's, started out quiet for the morning, but as the day moved forward, more and more people began to arrive.

Scott, Em and Cameron Ogden (Oakland) arrived at our Sacramento home in the early afternoon. Kent and Luzminda Guay (Antelope) and Nida Munce (Sacramento) joined us for dinner. It should be noted that Nida forgot the location of our house in Natomas and spent a significant amount of time wandering the streets and knocking on people's doors.