Golf.

I want to go golfing....I have a small pile of money for green fees plugged into a job on seventeen mile drive.  Hopefully I will get to go to the range and hit some balls this weekend as Friday is upon me and the week was so hectic I never made a booking.  Weather in the 80's means all my local tracks will be booked.

I'm scheduled for surgery next Friday.  No golf for while after that.

Tricky.

Email is tricky.


"IDK if this is the right way to start off the first damn job, but I guess it'll do, carry on...WTF"


Or something like that was the content of an email we received last night from a senior official.  Where's the emphasis? How do you interpret the tone of this?  Well....when it comes from someone who accounts for 30% of your business, the content of this email is a problem.  It was rooted from an issue I let slip through the crack while on paternity leave and it put us in a situation where we had to substitute one material for another.  So today I spent nearly 100% of my time sourcing the right material.  3-1/2"O.D. pipe.  I bought all of it in Sacramento, San Jose and even some from L.A.  By all of it I mean literally Sacramento doesn't have anymore 3-1/2" pipe.  It will be rushed shipped to Livermore so we can rush it to a job site in Bakersfield next Tuesday.  Whewwwwww!  Just another day at the fence barn.


Now that I had all the facts and all the right material I called the senior official on my way home tonight to come clean and let him know I dropped the ball.  I explained my paternity leave and the juggling of tasks while I was away and downplayed the struggle I went through today getting the right material.  He chuckled and said "Oh man I just did that to FUCK with Bob a little bit"........


Fuck.  Then I had to call Bob and explain our misinterpretation of the message.  He said Fuck too.
Like I said, just another day at the fence barn......

Stuff is really popping off at Chain Link Fence these days.  PG&E has accepted and adopted a new fence specification that was developed and finalized by Bob and I.  This means that PG&E is about to buy a whole bunch of fence from us and the rush has begun.  All this is going on and I’m on the sideline, enjoy sometime with the family.  I have been monitoring email and having discussions with Bob.  Yesterday I thought his head would spin 360 degrees on his shoulders.  But it didn’t; Bob has done a really good job picking up my slack at a time when our 3 person management team could really use an extra brain or two.  Perhaps it’s his heart and dedication, or maybe he came back from his vacation rejuvenated but Bob is getting stuff done, maintaining his sanity, and still telling people to get fucked when the time is appropriate.

Craig called yesterday; we used to do a lot of work with him when he was with Grace Construction Co.  Craig was good because he rarely questioned my pricing nor my methodology but he was damn pushy, I didn’t like his vibe, nor him.  Now Craig is with another company, Hotline Construction, yet another civil firm staffed with ex-PG&E employees making a living tight rope walking the line of ethics.  So here’s the sales pitch as relayed to me from Bob; “I need you guys to come up to Valley Springs and move the farmers gate over a smidge.”  What Bob didn’t relay over eMail was Craig’s tone, you can tell a lot from a civil reps tone and I know Craig’s well.  I’m sure Craig’s tone said, “It’ll only take you about an hour so I expect a dirt cheap price.”  The problem with Craig and his tone is that he probably was condescending to Bob as he often was to me.  Bob and I didn’t get run out of PG&E for unethical behavior,  Craig did.  The problem with this situation is Craig acts like he still works for PG&E when he doesn’t; additionally we installed the gate in question one week ago and we know that 2” below the top soil lies a slab of solid rock.  To relocate the post we would need a 2 man crew and a T-300 skid steer on site to bore through the solid rock.  The task could cost no less than $3100.00.  Craig wants to pay $635.  Bob saved us both some time by thanking Craig for the opportunity and recommending him to call the inferior fence company Hotline typically deals with.  Craig would have done that anyway once he saw our $3100 proposal.

Life is Grand

Dean went on a golf trip to Waskesiu two days after Erin was born http://www.waskesiugolf.com/
Tim went on a hunting trip four days after Megan was born.


I'm trying to sneak away four days after the birth of Sullivan so I can go to work.


Erin will not be that impressed, but she understands that the efforts I put forth now can potentially mean big dividends down the road.  We are constructing a new White Nosed Coatimundi exhibit at the Oakland Zoo.  Coatis are similar to Racoons and Ringtail cats but unlike coons' Coati's are mostly active by day.  A trait which makes the Coati ideal for the Oakland Zoo.  They are curious, athletic and the females often play fight.





The exhibit is fairly large and will require a crane service to lower 35' poles into 6' pier holes.  The kickoff meeting is next Tuesday and I need to show up and stay aware of what's going on with the project.  Bob seems to have plenty on his plate managing the other 12 projects I have going.....


In the meantime Mum & The Babe are sleeping the afternoon away while I sit in a chair watching the Masters.  It's our first real family time.  Life is Grand.

Sullivan Murray Stanley

So the adventure begins.... about a month ago Erin and I decided to have a kid....



Ok...that's not exactly how it went, but we were having a casual conversation about nothing that steam rolled into me saying something like "I'm going to predict the day the 'Babe' will be born and you're going to pay me $1000 when I'm correct"  Erin of course agreed and offered me the opportunity to pick first since she had the unfair advantage of having the 'Babe' strapped to her belly.  "April 4th."  Erin's face went pale because she knew, that would be the day that the 'Babe', now referred to as Sullivan or Sully would arrive.

What a waste of $1000 bucks, Erin picked the same day and now niether of us won.  Money that is.  Sullivan is quite the charmer....my Grandpa and I agreed that he's like cuddling with a piece of oak firewood (he's heavy, 9lbs 12 oz)
but even still he's kind of a celebrity around the San Ramon birthing center.

Early in the pregnancy process Erin came to me with a list of names; if you know Erin you realize this is very early in the pregnancy.  It was August 4th or so and we we're on board a Virgin American flight enroute to visit Carlos and Dani in Dallas, Texas.  Her list was great, but I hadn't developed any names of my own...we we're only four weeks pregnant wtf?  But we had to make the decision, so Sullivan was my only iron in the fire.  I got the name from a band, "Scott Sullivan's Ping Pong Orchestra."  I've napped on many a cross country flight listening to Sullivan's sweet tunes.  They are just right, it's hard to find a bad thing to say about them.  So that's the roots of your name dude, some band I listen to while sleeping and freeriding on my snowboard.  They are mello, just like you!

Murray is my mother's maiden name, it's also the last name of my grandfather Ronald and my uncles, Ken, Ric, & Tim.  These four gentlemen  and the entire Murray clan have had a positive affect on my life and I want my son to ask me about it one day so I can share the stories of the Murray family and property.

Enough for now....time to feed the babe!