Bud’s Bits and Bytes

Well, this was an interesting Weekend. Tammy’s brother-in-law Phil Wheeler turned 100 yesterday. His birthday bash took place at the doubleTree hotel with 120 people in attendance. You make a lot of friends and have a lot of relatives when you live that long. Hearing the stories about Phil made me realize what a special person he is. The event looked more like a wedding than a birthday party with everything done first class. I am sure Phil is exhausted and resting up today because we also had a open house/dinner for him at his home Saturday evening with about 25 people. I did not take pictures but many pictures and video’s were shot and I will get copies of some of them and post them.

I had a very nice Easter yesterday. I do miss being with my kids on Easter but managed to survive. Tammy and Went to a friends home for Easter Brunch. I was the only "white" guy there. Met a vietnamese man who told the story about how when he was 8 years old his mother woke him up, handed him a bag with a few things in it and said "I want you to go with this woman and these other kids". The woman led the small group across Vietnam, walking only at night for a number of weeks (he estimates about 1 month) to the gulf of Thailand where they joined another group, boarded a small boat and set sail for Thailand. When the were close to Thailand they were confronted by Thai pirates who stole everything they had and violated all the women (he didn’t tell that part - Tammy told me about that later). They made it to shore and walked to a refugee camp. They were then sponsored to the USA. Can you imagine sending your child away with a stranger to escape Vietnam and communism? It makes you realize how truly lucky we are to live in a free country. He has traveled back to Vietnam several times, the last time being to bury his mother who never managed to escape and lived out her life in Vietnam.

On a positive note, it was a really nice day and Tammy enjoyed the day with the top down on the Corvette.

Well, Spring is finally here. I took the Corvette out of storage on Wednesday. After charging the battery it started right up and is running like a champ. Spent the rest of the day driving around with the top down. Ahhhh, feels so good to be young!!! Worked until 10:00 pm yesterday and it was 72 degrees when I left work so needless to say, I drove home with the top down. It is beautiful again today and I will leave for work at 12:30 pm (with my top down - the car, not me personally). Tommorrow is Tammy’s birthday and the store is closed for Easter so we will spend a nice day together. We are going to her friends for lunch and I will take her out to dinner. If any of you are wondering about the business I looked at in San Diego I am very excited about it but have decided to wait until after Tammy and I return from Vietnam in July before purchasing and starting the business. It is both a little scary and very exciting at the same time to think about investing so much in a business and being on my own but it is a wonderful business. Most of those in the business boil it down to this "you will be doing someting nice, for nice people, who appreciate it". Sure sounds like a nice way to make a living. As of today I have been with Micro Center for 4 years. It has been a great experience and I have learned a lot about technology and about retail but it is time to move on. Well, it is almost noon and I have to take a shower, eat lunch and head off to work.

Wow, What a weekend in San Diego. I will begin more serious planning and investigation regarding the business. It looks very positive at this point. Also, I got a ride in a brand new $280,000 Lamborghini - Holy cow - what a car!!! I got back about 11:00 pm last night (Sunday) and had to be at work at 8:00 am this morning so I am tired. It is 9:00 am now and I am at work. Have another hour before the store opens so I wanted to get this posted. Stay tuned for updates regarding my future.