Adoption the Wild Goose Chase - Intro

I once read that the Celtic Christians of St. Patrick's day referred to the Holy Spirit as a Wild Goose. I thought how irreverent! Researching a bit further I realized it was because they felt following Him was an adventure, just like trying to follow wild geese is. They never knew where He was going to take them, but it was always fun, difficult, unsettling, and rewarding all at the same time.

That analogy has resonated with me ever since. I look at a flock of wild geese and wonder, "Where are they going?" and right after that think, "Wouldn't it be cool to find out?" That parrallels my thoughts on God, specifically the Holy Spirit's leading. I often think the same two thoughts, whether it be my family life, job/career, or ministry calling. 

Where is the Holy Spirit going and/or taking me? Man I can't wait to find out!

This series of entries, Adoption the Wild Goose Chase, will chronicle my families' adventure to follow the Holy Spirit's leading towards adoption. We have no idea where it's going, honestly, so many thoughts run through our heads; private adoption, fost/adopt, holding a sign out front of Planned Parenthood/Abortion Clinic reading: Don't Abort we'll Adopt! Heck it could lead nowhere.

I hope you'll join us on our journey, but first a bit of background. If you've been following the Beauty and the Beast: The Linda and Patrick Story series you know that Linda and I have been married almost 15 years and together almost 20. 

Early on we weren't sure if Linda could have babies, due to some health problems. I remember

 maybe even as early as 2 years into our courtship, we were open, maybe even called, to adopt. I definitely remember talking about it a great deal during our pre-marital counseling. 

We got hitched in 1994, but didn't feel ready to "multiply and fill the earth" until about 1999. We felt led to try to get pregnant and if it was not happening we'd look into adoption. Well, the Wild Goose, was at work because we got pregnant right away...like first try. Adoption hold number 1

.

Joshua Patrick, was born to us in March 2000 and even though he is a bit strong willed he is a joy and delight, for a father the first born son is always special and Josh is no exception. His strong will, and the Wild Goose, led us not to propogate again until 4 years later.

That time, it took a few months. We were a bit saddened, but wondered, "Does this mean God wants us to adopt?" The answer came in June 2005, when Jason Travis was born to our family. He too is the apple of my eye. But again Adoption hold number 2, maybe we weren't meant to adopt after all...

Fast forward to 2008, Jason is actually sleeping rather well now and we've somewhat forgotten the fact Linda had stroke like symptons during Jason's gestation (long story). Well, we feel that urge to once again fulfill the blessing God gave us to be fruitful. Thus quite a bit of prayer and conversation have gone on that I can best sum up like this:

Linda: Doesn't this picture look like there's room for at least one more kid.

Me: Are you getting frisky?

Linda: No I'm just saying, it looks like we have room for at least one more.

Me: Hhhmmmm, I seem to remember you having stroke like symptoms last time, maybe we should consider adoption.

Linda: Yeah, we've always felt called to adopt, but I really get sad thinking I won't have no more babies. (I've taken artistic license here, Linda wouldn't be caught dead talking like that.)

Me: Huh, I really think we should look into adoption.

Linda: Maybe, let's keep talking and praying about it.

A few hours later (Again, artisitc license I think it was 24 hours later.)

Me: Ok, so what do you think?

Linda: Let's look into adoption!

Me: Sweet, you still feelin' frisky?

With that our journey has begun, into the adventure of looking into adoption, hopefully ending in an addition to our family (maybe two?). We'll see...

That's the intro, I just wanted to give you some background into how this adventure got started. In Part I, I'll chronicle our look into private adoption vs. Fost/Adopt and where the Wild Goose is taking us next.

Sabrina (Centennial Edition)

Linda takes a turn...

Move Over, Hubby

CoachZ Lets His Better Half Speak

CoachZ | 11/18/08 | Movies, Reviews, On DVD 

What we learn in this tale, however, is that Prince Charming isn’t necessarily the road to happily-ever-after. Love might not be what ignites our passion in a worldly sense, but rather what quietly and surprisingly meets our needs.

Tinker Bell

From the House of CoachZ

Even Kids Know What's Good and What Isn't

CoachZ | 11/05/08 | Movies, Reviews, On DVD 

Be proud of the talents that you have been given. Tinkerbell tried to be someone else in the movie, a garden fairy instead of a tinker fairy, and she ruined Spring. She fixed it later, but bad things happen when you try to be someone else.

Obama-McCain Phil 4:8 Challenge

Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. (Phil 4:8)

With a little over a week left before the BIG election day, I thought I'd issue this little challenge. Are you up for it? It comes from personally wanting to vote FOR someone, not just AGAINST someone else.

Here it is, please read all the guidelines, I have the ability to delete your comment here and I will if you do not adhere to the guidelines to the T. 

OK let's go...here's what you do:

1. Leave a comment with a list of true, honorable, just, pure, etc; thoughts about eithter Obama or McCain 

2. Your comment must adhere to Phil 4:8. In other words, what is true, commendable, praiseworthy about Obama or McCain?

3. Your comment must be true, therefore provide a link showing that it is (i.e. Obama promotes Fatherhood and Responsibility http://www.prolifeproobama.com/plpo_willdo.htm)

4. Leave your name. You don't have to create a blogger ID, just do anonymous and leave our name inside the comment. We don't like anonymous around here...it's hiding and cowardly.

If your comment is not in this format (i.e. McCain is a warmonger: which doesn't fit any of the top 3) I will delete it. This exercise is meant to be different than all the press coverage, blogs, etc you've been going to. They are negative, let's find some positive. One of these men is going to be our President. 

I'll combine all of these lists into one big blog. Thanks!

Here's an example of what I'm looking for:

Obama:

1. Promotes Fatherhood and Responsibility http://www.prolifeproobama.com/plpo_willdo.htm

2. Wants to see better disclosure of the budget http://www.obama-mccain.info/compare-obama-mccain-budget.php

3. Worked as a Civil Right attorney for more than a decade http://www.obama-mccain.info/compare-obama-mccain-civil-liberties.php

McCain:

1. Is Pro-Life http://www.obama-mccain.info/compare-obama-mccain-abortion.php

2. Has 25 years of experience as a Representative or Senator http://www.obama-mccain.info/compare-obama-mccain-career.php

3. Has extensive military service experience as well as a war hero (good since he'd be commander-in-chief) http://www.obama-mccain.info/compare-obama-mccain-military.php

4. Adopted a daughter from Bangladesh that his wife brought home from a trip with Mother Theresa http://www.obama-mccain.info/compare-obama-mccain-children.php

That kinda thing...looking forward to seeing whatcha come up with! 

BatB Part V: Illegal Maneuvers in the Dunes

This is the fifth part of Beauty and the Beast (BatB): The Linda and Patrick Story. On the main blog, there is a list of all the chapters if you need to get caught up.

DISCLAIMER: Please remember Linda and I were 18 and 19 years old, respectively, when this happened. We, meaning I, was young and foolish. Read on...

It was the summer of 1990 and we saw each other every day. We found jobs at the second biggest airport shuttle service in LA, (not the blue ones the crimson red ones) as reservation agents (RA). I convinced Linda into joining me there with lines like, "It's super close only 10 minutes from here." [It was more like 30.] So if we weren't working together or at Church, we went out on dates. It was fantastic!

Whenever you call a customer service center, like the one above, you can bet that the people are messing around when calls are slow. We were no exception. We would challenge each other to take entire reservations using Australian or English accents. One time, I turned my chair on it's side and pretended I was on the Millenium Falcon shooting down tie fighters.

The best thing we did, other than leave cute love notes in each other's inbox, was play pranks on those we worked with. We could see our friend Ruth in the reception area, through closed caption TV (now that I think about it I don't see the logic in that). So I called the main number.

Ruth: Red Van Shuttle, the crimson van not the blue, serving all of Orange, Ventura, and Los Angeles Counties, some of San Diego, and for an extra charge Santa Barbara, this is Ruth, how may I help you?

Me (in my best old man voice): Hello!

Ruth (rolling her eyes, cursing the day she took this receptionist position, but with a very pleasant voice over the phone): Yes how may I help you sir?

Me: Um, I left my Depends on your van! [While I was talking Ruth would mute the phone and pound her fist on her desk]

Ruth: Sir do you know the driver's name or van number?

Me: It was a red van, red one! I need my Depends, I can't go to Puerto Vallarta without them! Uh-oh I think I just peed my pants [remember I'm doing this in old man voice]. Wait a minute, I think I left my teeth on the van too!

You get the picture. I must have kept the old man bit going for at least 10 minutes. Every 30 seconds Ruth's blood pressure would rise to dangerous proportions. The RA area was riotous! When calls would come in, the people on the phone had to mute every time they weren't talking. It was epic!

At the end, I changed back to my regular voice and said, "Ruth, it's me...Pat" Oh my Gosh, if it is possible she was livid and cracking up at the same time. If she wasn't afraid to get fired she would have rushed the RA area and killed me!

Here's the best part; through our 3 years of dating they kept asking us to come back to work for them...because we were so responsible! If only they knew. In fact, when the company hired some consultants to help take the business to the next level, they asked me, Patrick Zalamea, to be the RA representative...classic.

That's how we spent the summer, either at the shuttle company, on a date, or at church. It was great. A couple of times that summer we went on camping trips to the Oceano Dunes...yes the ones we live 10 minutes away from now. My family had a couple of Quads that we towed up to the Dunes in our RV. We'd get stuck, sometimes for a week at a time and just ride. It was insane!

On the first trip, we saw the sign above: No Passengers. We only had three quads on that trip for four riders. So we did what any red blooded, Bible believing Christian would do: we broke the law. Repentently, I think back on those days and wonder what the heck we were thinking! We parked right next to some Dunes and would sneak in away from the Park Ranger's trucks and jeeps and have a blast.

One night, we were doing a speed run. This is where we went as fast (and I mean so fast it scared you) as our Quads would take us along the beach...in the dark. I would wear no helmet, Linda would ride on the back with mine on, and my brother and his friend would try to keep up with us.

After a run, we were sitting on the Quads talking and up pulls none other than a Park Ranger. Pause. Remember, I had accepted Jesus less than a year before this time. So I sometimes still had sinful first reactions. This was one of those times. I started up the Banshee and took off...in the pitch dark...into dunes...with a Park Ranger hot on my tail with lights flashing. It was like a scene out of the Dukes of Hazzard.

I remember Linda yelling into my ear, "What are you doing? Stop! What are you doing?" I remember thinking once we get past the first set of dunes there is no way he is going to follow us in that SUV. Guess what? He did. Not just past the first set, but the second and third as well. Then he stopped.

I remember looking back and seeing him at the top of a dune and turning back. I also remember us hurtling over a dune in the pitch black. It must have been a big one, because it took a while for us to hit the ground. When we did we almost hit some kind of dune vegitation and I had to swerve to miss it.

This is probably a lot like the Dune we fell off of

I turned everything off, engine and lights, and waited a little bit. Linda wouldn't talk to me...I think she was in shock. Once I felt the coast was clear, I started the Banshee up and headed back to the RV. Now I had already made mistake #1 by running from the law. So I made mistake #2 by leaving Linda alone by a mile marker in the pitch black to check our camp for cops.

The coast was clear and I went to go pick her up. She wasn't very happy with me and I apologized profusely. It was a knee jerk reaction from my old days. See back then: 2 broken laws (no helmet and passenger on quad) + Park Ranger shows up = RUN!

It was a crazy thing that we (ok maybe just I) look back on with fondness and regret. Another thing that happened on one of those trips was me telling Linda that I was going to Bible College that September. I remember the sun was setting and we were sitting on the trailer watching it and I broke that romantic setting with:

Me: Linda I'm going to Bible College [subtle Zalamea, subtle]

Linda: What? [I was genuinly surprised that she was so freaked]

Me: Yeah I'm going to Bible College isn't that awesome?

Linda: No, you are going to find some other girl up there.

Me: Oh, is that what you are worried about? There is no way! You are the only one for me.

Linda [clearly not convinced]: Ok, I think we can make it work.

I was so surprised that Linda was so concerned. She was, and is, the best person in my life other than Jesus. Nobody could steal me away from her. I tried to console her during that conversation and the days and weeks before I left, but she was very sad.

Me on the Banshee with all my gear

Linda, post-Banshee on my Honda 250X (ain't she cute?)

That concludes Part V of BatB. I'm not sure how much farther I'll take this, but if you wanna see more let me know. From here I live in Lake Arrowhead for about 9 months and that was an adventure before instant messaging, cell phones, e-mail, and Skype.

Iron Man on DVD

Not sure if I posted this...

Iron Man

Action-Packed Wake-up Call

And Tons of Bonus Features on DVD

CoachZ | 10/07/08 | Movies, Reviews, On DVD

This is a refreshing blockbuster superhero flick. Many of us waste our lives… maybe not as blatantly as playboy Tony Stark, but waste it nonetheless. I hope God uses this film to wake some of us, including me, out of that malaise.

Morning Surprise!

Here's a bit of a Ruby Update and random stuff...

Ruby has 600 miles on her, so that means I have to take it in to the dealer for it's "break-in" maintenance. My friend AMac thinks that's a crock! But I'm glad break in time is over (aka I can go more than 60 now...don't tell Linda). Seriously I don't go that fast yet. My safety course won't be done until mid-November, which means that's when I'll have my motorcycle license, which means that's when I can go on the freeway and actually go over 60 MPH.

Picture above is from my 2MP phone camera and I just took it. That's her parked outside my work. I usually keep her covered, but I'm going to probably have lunch with my bride and younger son after HomeBuilders so I'll just leave her be till then.

This morning I went to ride in and my neighbor/friend/fellow CalvarySLOer Megan was waiving at me vigorously. I was like wow she's happy to see me or Phil is riding his motorcycle this morning. But it's Thursday and he said he could only ride in on Mon-Wed-Fri. So I dismissed it and rode on in.

A few miles down the road I see a motorcycle behind me and I thought, "Huh wonder if that's Phil." At the stop sign, all of a sudden there he was on my right! So we took a round about way to work...and it was a great surprise to ride in with a friend. I just e-mailed him to see if we can do it again tomorrow, but leave a little earlier and go even more round about, plus have coffee after. We'll see...but that was a great surprise. Thanks Phil!

I've been meaning to do Part V of BatB, but things are kinda crazy. We put new wood floors in our house and while the baseboards were off we painted all the bedrooms. The Men's Advance is this weekend and the week before is always a trying time for me. I hope to do Part V next week. 

Just as a preview I'll be talking about Linda and my first summer together. We actually spent every day that summer together and we got chased by a Ranger in the Pismo Dunes...

New on DVD

Wow Wow Wubbzy: A Tale of Tails

Sticky Sweet Is Good In Small Amounts

And Children's Video Serves It Up Liberally

CoachZ | 10/06/08 | TV, Reviews, On DVD

I had never heard of Wubbzy. In fact, when the publicist sent me an e-mail asking if I wanted a screener, I thought it was SPAM. But when I got home one day, my boys (8 and 3) were already watching the DVD. They were completely enthralled.

As usual click any of the hyperlinks to get to the "full" review.

Win a trip to HSM3 Premier

If you are in to HSM (I'm not saying that I am officially) you could win a trip for four to the premier! Check it out through HollywoodJesus.com.

New on DVD

School House Rock: Election Collection

Blast From The Past For The Present

If You've Got To Get Political With Your Kids...

CoachZ | 09/24/08 | TV, Reviews, On DVD

This set features any and all the songs you remember from the educational series that relate to the upcoming Presidential Election. Best of all, at least for my 8-year-old, the set comes with a map and red and blue dots to track the upcoming election.

Surprised by My Inner Biker!

There is a time for everything, and a season for every activity under heaven: (Eccl 3:1)

A time and a season for everything! I grew up fascinated with mechanized vehicles...and the dangerous thrill inherant in riding or driving them. I have early memories of doing some crazy things on a big wheel. I think I wore out the plastic tires and that sweet pull up brake within a month or so (what we lived on a steep hill).

I also remember, always loving when my crazy uncle (I'm sure he wasn't really my uncle, but filipinos think everyone is family) rode up to our house on his motorcycle. He would always take me for a ride, which on second thought wasn't good because he always smelled strange (which I later realized was beer). For some reason, he had a really huge leather belt and he'd strap me on to him as I sat behind and we'd go for really fast rides "around the block." So much fun!

I remember also jumping my banana yellow (I'm sensing a theme throughout my blogs) bicycle with banana seat. It was so 70s, but it was so rad! For some reason I remember riding up and down my street with my cousin and I was disgusted by some dry dog poo. She kicked it around like it was nothing and I thought she was from mars...but I digress.

I was driving at a very early age...like right around puberty. My dad would let me move the car, then I graduated to driving the family buick around the block, and at 14 years old my dad let me drive the banana yellow Nissan Sentra to Palmdale. (Can one be arrested for such things 24 years later?)

At 15 I had my drivers permit and in the 80's you know what that meant? I could ride a scooter. I had a Honda Passport C70. It was a 70CC "scooter" that had 3 clutchless gears so I thought it was way more like a motorcycle than my friend's Honda Elite. I rode around in a scooter gang and we terrorized Foothill Blvd (back in La Crescenta/La Canada not the one in SLO) to school and back. I would draft buses and cars and get my Passport up to 60 MPH (all without helmets...it was cool back then to be stupid).

I think my Mustangs are well chronicled in this post. Those cars, especially the Mach I were super fast! I once got the Mach I past 120 MPH. I'm not sure how fast because the spedometer stopped at 120 and the needle went past that all the way to the 0 on the other side! 

About that time I bought a Yamaha Banshee. For the uninitiated, that's a four wheeled 350cc 2 stroke joy machine. It brought me many times up to the Oceano Dunes from the Glendale-Pasadena area where I grew up. That thing was so fast! It also gave me the opportunity of a life-time...to jump a car (well technically a sandrail). On a trip, to the Mojave Desert, with some of my brother's friends I got to drive a street legal sandrail. There was a natural place to jump it, so my brother and I made like Bo and Luke Duke and jumped that bad boy. I still remember that to this day!

I tell you those stories to say that was a season in my life, from about 1980 to 1990. Right after that, I started another season in my life, just as good, but different. A season of duty and fiscal responsibility. In that time, Linda and I got married, were able to purchase a home before the market got crazy, Praise the Lord, and with just a few bumps and bruises the Lord has given us financial stability...for now. 

He gives and takes away and we are ready for whatever he has for us, I'm just saying from about 1991 through 2008 there wasn't a whole lot of Mustangs and Banshees and that sort. And that's totally good! I wouldn't trade where Linda and I are right now for all the fast machines in the world! In fact, in that season, Linda would often ask me why I didn't have some kind of Mustang, Banshee, or what not. My answer was always the same, those things cost a lot of money, not just to purchase but to maintain etc (as I'm sure my bro can attest!) Tens of thousands of dollars could have been poured into 4x4 Trucks, Weekend Warrior Trailers, gas, oil, mechanics...you get the picture. Instead they were poured into the fam.

Well I'm in a new season...as chronicled in this post...I have a 2007 Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Custom (pictured above). And you know what? I am super suprised at how much fun I'm having riding it! Linda isn't surprised...but I am. I had forgotten the inner biker that lurkes within me...buried under almost 20 years of not having a fast, somewhat dangerous, piece of machinery. The other day I was riding through Shell Beach with the clear blue sky, our clean Central Coast air blowing through my full faced helmet and ventilated motorcycle jacket, the gorgeous ocean in my peripheral vision...it just doesn't get better than that! Well except when I'm riding Ruby (that's what I think I'm gonna name the Vulcan) through the 227 on some windy curves. 

Oh...words can't describe the joy...thank you Lord! The motorcycle has been a complete surprise gift tangibly, but spiritually it has been too. See, I believe a man is made for duty, that's for sure. We should provide, bring security and protection...safety. But I also think there is a time for the gift of joy, even if it's a little dangerous and impracticle. This motorcycle isn't exactly like my 1980 through 1990 days...I'm a much different person, a lot less reckless. But I still enjoy the speed and thrill...and it seems a sweet reward for the years of duty and responsibility. It doesn't have to be a selfish thing...sometimes it can be a reward for selflessness.

So I hope that answers the question, "What is an almost 40 year old responsible man doing with a motorcycle?" All the while thinking MLC (Mid-Life Crisis). I hope this blog entry puts it into percpective. It's a kick in the pants!

Three DVDs

I've been super busy and now can only right little blurbs about the DVDs I get in the mail! Here are three:

The Apostles of Comedy

Clean Comedy? Yeah, Right!

But Lo And Behold, These Guys Pull It Off

CoachZ | 09/17/08 | Movies, Reviews, On DVD

Clean Comedians; oxymoron or possibility? With Apostles of Comedy it is reality. I put the DVD in with all the skepticism the genre of “Clean Comedy” deserves, but very quickly I realized these guys are good!

Wayside School: Season 1

Clever, Entertaining Lessons

The Kind Of Thing You Want In Your Home

CoachZ | 09/11/08 | TV, Previews, On DVD

We were not sure what to expect when this DVD came to our home along with the book. Was it going to be South Parkish, as cartoons are wont to be right now? We were pleasantly surprised while watching that it was neither raunchy nor stupid!

Transformers Animated: Season 1

Keep It On The TV

Too Much Of A Decent Enough Thing

CoachZ | 09/11/08 | TV, Previews, On DVD

The storyline is a good one: good versus evil, and the weaker, more noble Autobots conquering the stronger, more selfish Decepticons. But the attitudes and plots are just a little too much for our boys’ age group.

As usual these are teasers from the "full" version on Hollywoodjesus.com. To see the rest click on the hyperlinked title...

BatBPart IV: Let's Get Together ya ya ya

This is the fourth part of Beauty and the Beast: The Linda and Patrick Story. On the main blog, there is a list of all the chapters if you need to get caught up.

This is how clueless I am:

• Linda started coming home more often from APU.
  
  
• She would talk to me for hours in the church parking lot. Very often, it would be pretty close to 3pm before we'd leave each other.
  
  
• Other guys, seeing that we were getting close started asking her out...but I didn't.
  

In hindsight, I'm pretty sure a girl coming home more often from a college teeming with good lookin' Christian dudes and talking with you for 2-3 hours in a church parking lot (no doubt hungry hint hint Patrick) means you should ask her out. I'm going to have to teach that rule to my boys, because I sure missed out on that logic.

I don't even remember what we talked about. Was I charming? Not sure, but we went on and on like that, showing both Linda's patience and my cluelessness. It must have been pretty close to four months (Jan thru Apr).

Then I hatched the sweetest plan. See our church at the time decided to join APU during Spring Break in a week long missions trip to Mexicali. So of course, Linda would go right? Every APU student goes. Here's the conversation we had a couple of weeks before the trip:

Me: So, I'm going with the church on that APU Missions trip to Mexicali.

Linda: Cool. [All sheepish and cute.]

Me: So, I'll see you there? [I'm thinking man am I smart to have signed up for this thing, I'll see her there and we can flirt with each other...oh and serve people too.]

Linda: Um no I'm not going.

Me: Huh? [It suddenly dawned on me that not all 3000 students were going.]

Yeah, just call me clueless in the parking lot. Linda did say she would go if there was still a spot for her. I quickly told her I would call the Youth Pastor, who was heading the whole thing up, and get her in. Her spot secured I looked forward to the trip.

The trip was perfect. We went down there to camp out for a week and adopt a little town (Peligro which means Danger) and minister to the kids. We watched each other minister; her doing VBS and me playing soccer with the kids. I pulled out all the stops on this one...(single dudes take notes):

• I worked it out so we sat next to each other on the 16 hour round trip bus ride to and from Mexicali (all except a small portion on the way back when we told other people that we liked each other...and of course they told us...so Jr. High!)
• I made sure to fall asleep holding a baby during one of our lunch breaks.  
  
• We flagrantly flirted with each other, we were often found giving back rubs or just talking and giggling, even though there was a complete moratorium on flirting (which of course makes everyone want to flirt more!)
• I won over her mother by making her laugh. When she picked Linda up, at the end of the trip, I had my arms full of stuff so I waved at her good-bye...with my foot. It worked!

I think that was about the time I finally got that she might actually like me. That week, I called her and asked her out for a date. I went all out...Omelets, made by me, at my house (I still lived with my parents, don't forget I was 18).

A few dates later (May 3, 1990), we kissed...I know we hadn't even DTR'd (Defined the Relationship) yet! If you think of that Brady Bunch episode, where someone gets kissed and there are fireworks, it was like that...but a bazillion times more awesome. It still is now!

About a month later (June 1, 1990), we DTR'd. Here's how it went (we were out in the car outside her parents house...every once in a while her dad would flip on the bright Alcatraz driveway light to get Linda to come inside):

Me: Hey Linda? [Man I am smooth...like I practiced it a million times in front of the mirror!]

Linda: Yes [Still sheepish and oh so cute!]

Me: Wanna get hitched [Wait that's not what I practiced!]

Linda: Huh?!?

Me: You know...go steady, be my girl, become an item...exclusive? [Nice recovery Zalamea]

Linda: [Long pause...I'm sure because she was like who is this guy?] Yes.

Me: Did you just say, "Yes"?

Linda: Yes

And that was it...she was mine. For the first time in my life a girl, THE most beautiful and captivating girl in the world, wanted to be mine. I can't tell you how elated I was that night and still am to this day. Linda and I were made for each other, I sincerely believe that with all my heart. I am so glad that God brought us together and look forward every day to living life in complete unison with her.

That concludes Part IV of BatB. In the next installment we see each other every day the summer of 1990 and I drop the bomb on Linda...I'm going to Bible college...oh and we got chased by a Park Ranger on my ATV...

Vulcan MovesMe

Sequence of events:

Sunday Aug 31st (Yes less than one week ago.) - Took Harley ridin' Father-in-Law to the local Vespa Dealer...Dad not impressed at all, suggests looking into a small motorcycle, 250cc's or so. I'm told him no way I have the cash, that used Vespa he just test-drove was more than I could handle financially. He says no way a brand new Honda Rebel 250 is probably that much.

Monday Sept 1 -  I start looking into the Honda Rebel and find one I really like...a Burnt Orange masterpiece...in Burbank. But I have the funds to afford it.

Tuesday Sept 2 - No longer like Rebel, found a sweet Hyosung (Korean for Suzuki) GV250, that the cruiser crowd has been raving about. A bit beefier than the Rebel and much more powerful. There just happened to be a mean lookin' black one at Central Coast Mechanics.

Wednesday Sept 3 - Ask Harley ridin' Father-in-Law to check out said GV250 with me. He is somewhat impressed, but not totally. He takes me outside and drops a bomb...him and Mom want to help me purchase a more substantial motorcycle. He doesn't know anyone that ever bought an entry level machine and kept it more than 6 months. I'm dumbfounded...and mustering every ounce of manliness within me to keep from crying in front of him. So we check out some Honda Shadow 750's (to get an idea of what the 600s would be like) at San Luis Motorsports (SLM). Guess what? there aren't any...in California...Sold Out!

Thursday Sept 4 - Next to that Hyosung GV250 was a GV650, a Harley V-Rod look a-like that for some reason really caught my eye. It just so happened to be a 2007 and the great owner Brad was willing to cut me a great deal. I was ready to go right there...until I read 30 pages worth of problems with the machine (only in it's 3rd year of production...still working the kinks out). Another start over.

That night Harley ridin' Father-in-Law and I went to Bike Night down in Santa Maria. A weird happening once a month in a strip mall by the freeway that houses a Harley-Davidson, Yamaha, and Kawasaki-Suzuki store. The crowd was full of very interesting, yet very cool peeps. Dad and I both sat on a Raven Black 2007 Kawasaki Vulcan 900 Custom. I secretly really liked it, but the sticker was much higher than even the Shadow 750s we had been looking at. So I left it alone.

Friday Sept 5 - I started a comparison of the Vulcan 900, Shadow 750, and Yamaha V Star 600. This research did not end until 2AM the next morning. The clear winner for price/value...you know bang for the buck? Vulcan 900 Custom. AND I found a couple that were 2007 leftovers going for the same price as the 2008 Shadow 750! So being the weirdo that I am I created a table for my families reference that showed stuff like MSRP, Specifications, etc. And Hands Down the Vulcan 900 seemed the best value. And wouldn't you know it? SLM had one on the showroom floor...brand new...no miles...never been started, beautiful candy apple red finish.

Around 1AM I hit the jackpot a 2007 Candy Apple Red (Linda and I really wanted this color)...in Woodland Hills for less than the Honda Shadow. I was amazed! This was just the leverage I needed to bring to SLM or heck I could just go pick that candy apple cruiser up in Woodland Hills!

Saturday Sept 6 - A day that would live in infamy. The Woodland Hills dealer did me up one further...he gave me the OTD out the door price for the Vulcan 900! I had some cool chores to do (hung a shelf in our coat closet...thanks Harley ridin' Father-in-Law for showing me how to do this!) had some lunch and met up with Harely ridin' Father-in-Law to go see Kevin or Jake about the bike.

After galking at the Vulcan like tweenagers who just saw Zach Efron and making small talk with Jake we got down to brass tacks (what does that mean?). Could SLM meet Woodland Hills' OTD price...or at least save us a trip down there. I filled out a form, Jake went to Kevin's office (not sure what they were talking about in there) and then came back with an OTD price that was basically $150 more than Woodland Hills. We faked like we weren't impressed and tried to get a free Helmet out of it, but they didn't bite.

So I plunked down the credit card and as you can see this baby is sittin in my garage...not in the picture it's in front of my garage there, it's in my garage right now.

I can't tell you how much this gift means to me! Thank you so much Harley ridin' Father-in-Law and Safety First Mother-in-Law! Thank you for augmenting what amounted to a down payment for a 150cc used Vespa into a brand new 900cc Kawasaki Vulcan Custom (yes that's 750cc's worth of growth in one week). I can't thank you enough!

I'll leave ya'll with this picture (Yes that's a big smile on my face):

I Wannas Clarification

Pictured here is the new bike I'm interested in. It's a 2008 Hyosung 250cc Aquila. Hyosung is a Korean motorcycle manufacturer that has been around for 30 years and for much of that they have manufactured Suzuki bikes for much of that time. Many of their bikes are found all over the world...just came to the states in 2000 I believe. Oh, I got my Motorcycle permit today.

Being a man (we only have so many words to say or type) I shortened the conversation I had with Linda in my last post. I wanted to expand, because it was a great blessing!

Let me first set the stage...we had been discussing a financial dilemma and we were wondering what to do over the phone...

Me: We should use some of the vacation pay I'll have left to help out.

Linda: I really think you should use that for something that you want. You've sacrificed so much and learned a great deal about contentment the past 6 years you deserve it.

Me: Silence (well honestly there was a bit of whimpering as I started crying...seriously men cry)

Linda: You still there?

Me: [whimpering some more] uh-huh

Linda: I know you've always wanted a big flat screen TV, who's whimpering in the back ground? Are there baby's there? Or maybe a used Vespa or something?

Me: I'm crying right now [I at least wiped the tears with a whole sheet of Brawny paper towel so that was manly right?]

Linda: Ah hon...I love you. Thanks so much for hanging in there and allowing God to teach you so much, we should figure this financial situation out without that vacation pay out.

Me: I gotta hang up now, because someone is going to walk in to my office and ask me why I'm bawling my eyes out.

I often tell people that Linda is my Ezer Knegdo(sp?) the hebrew word used in Genesis for helpmate (whatever that means). I like the translation life saving companion. She saves me in so many ways, more than most people will ever know this side of heaven.

As men we ought to be doing our duty, taking care of business on the homefront and at our jobs. Sometimes in can be gruelling, sometimes a joy...but mostly gruelling ;) It's been such a joy...a life giving gift really to be able to think about flat screens, a vespa, and now some sort of entry level motorcycle.

Thank you so much my love! I'm so sorry that I have run away with the I wannas a little bit. Linda know that way more than the thing(s) I've looked at purchasing, I treasure that you thought of me...I love you and your heart! Thank you!

Major Case of the I Wannas...continued

If you didn't read my Major Case of I Wannas blog this won't make any sense.

So the I Wannas didn't stop. I'm going to be getting a little bit of money when I switch jobs as a pay out for Vacation earned. Linda and I discussed using that money on something "for me." That got me spinning on what that something might be.

Tops on the list are a big screen TV or a large down payment on a Vespa LX 150. I entertained notions of doing both, but it's just not enough money for both. So I'm stuck with an either or situation.

So I took my Harley ridin' father-in-law to ride one of those Vespa type things. Needless to say he was quite unimpressed. Using words like "squirrly" and "it's a scooter" [said with disdain]. Then he made the error of telling me there were actual motorcyles in the same exact price range that were decent beginner motors.

That got my mind spinning and all of a sudden...at least for now the big screen is on hold and so is the Vespa.

The above picture is a 2005 Honda 250cc Rebel in Candy Orange paint (I think the only year they offered it). According to most of the reviews I've read (a vast majority women) this baby hauls AND gets up to 70 MPG!!

I'm seriously thinking about it...but there is a lot to think about.

So stay tuned...I have no idea where this Wannas journey will take me, but it sure is fun (at least for me!)

Oh and stay tuned...I think I should have Part IV of BatB in the can in the next couple of days...

Josh's First day of 3rd Grade

Well today and tomorrow I am a single dad. Linda's Uncle passed away and she and her parents went down for the funeral. Today was Josh's first day in the 3rd Grade (hopefully he won't need first aid).

Here are some pictures...Linda come home soon and enjoy the pictures.

Cars and Romance

So while you are waiting for the next installment of the BatB, I thought I'd entertain you with some of the cars that I've had while I've been with Linda...and the two before because they were so cool!

Ready? Here we go:

Pre-Linda
First car 1965 Ford Mustang coupe...sweet car. We used to call it 10/10 looked good from 10ft away and/or 10 MPH. I still love that car though. (Looked a lot like this car it's a 66 though and it had a hood scoop with centerline wannabee chrome wheels.)
Second car 1970 Ford Mustang Mach I 351 Windsor w/ Cleveland heads bald tires and a sweet handling package. I often blew the doors off of new Corvettes just for fun! (it actually looked a lot like this one, but the paint was a lot dingier and cracked and peeling)
With Linda
Mid 80's Yellow Nissan Sentra (couldn't find a banana yellow one so use your imagination). My parents bought this car so our illegal nanny from the Philippines could drive us to school...without her license. Then she ran away with the baker from our bakery/coffee shop in the Wilshire District. I'm not kidding...


Mid 80s Ford Ranger 4x4...many of you don't know this about me, but I used to come up here to the Central Coast to ride ATVs in the Oceano Dunes. We bought a truck very much like this without the roll bar and push bar to tow our RV out of the sand. We'd get the RV and trailer full of toys stuck in the sand and then pull it out with this bad boy...only problem is it was cheaper to just pay the tow guy to get you out and we used to pay him to get this truck unstuck too...bunch of Filipino yahoos.
We spent a lot of our dating relationship in this truck...good times.

1980 Honda Accord (aka the mistake from you know where) this car was a piece of junk, but I really liked Linda's car so my parents bought this for my sister...then she pawned it off on me, which I deserved because I helped make the decision. Linda's looked like this one, but brand spanking new...like it came off the show room floor 10 years earlier. If you ever get a chance to buy a Dean Durand (Linda's dad) owned car you should pay $1k over blue book and you'll be glad you did.
Mine was...you guessed it Banana Yellow! It stunk and the seat in the back was completely deteriorated so nobody ever sat back there.

Early 80s maybe late 70s Buick Regal (I think) I can't even find a picture that does this car justice. I got kicked out of my parents house and had to give up the sweet Honda Accord (blah) and bought this baby for $700. I made weekly payments to my roommates friends for it. It ran like a charm and had a bench seat hubba hubba. Needless to say when I moved back I sold it to some people that only spoke Spanish.

1992 Honda Civic DX hatchback white with black trim. We used to call it the Panda car (get it Patrick and Linda put together?)
I always wanted to trick it out like this, but never had the $$ or the gumption to steal to get it done. It was bone stock...steel wheels w/ hubcaps and everything. I think I put a sweet stereo system in it but that was it. I remember getting a terrible deal on it...it was so bad the sales person was apologizing and i was going, "What don't normal people spend $14k on a $10k car and get a loan for 14% interest?" I was really bad with money back then...

We took the Panda into our marriage in 1994. I hope you enjoyed this quick tour of the cars during our 3.5 year dating/courting relationship.

FYI we sold the panda and bought a Toyota Corolla (we aren't sure why now). Then Linda's parents gave us their newer Toyota Camry for whatever we could sell her 1980 Honda Accord for. We still miss you Sunny Car! Where are you? If only we had a 3rd garage that baby would be on blocks or in a museum in Japan somewhere...

We sold the Camry for a 1996 Volvo Station Wagon (you may see a college aged woman driving it around town with a Calvary Sticker in the back window) and the Volvo turned into our sweet 2006 Toyota Sienna. Regardless of popular opinion Mini-vans are awesome. 14 cupholders in that baby and it's sweet at the drive-in. I crashed the Corolla or a lady turned left in front of me and that turned into our sweet 2000 Honda Civic that my friend Chris keeps trying to get me to sell to him.

Don't tell Linda, but someday I want one of these...

Disneyland on a budget...

Sorry we were away from internet for a few days...it's so very difficult! I promise the BatB story will continue asap. Hopefully we haven't bored you to death yet. Linda and I are getting a great kick out of it.

Anyways we are tired and ready to rest at home after 3 days at the Disneyland Resort. Linda and I found a great place to stay right across the street from Disney California Adventure Park called the Anabella Hotel.

It was a fantastic hotel...I'm talking it should have been $200 a night not the $115 (w/ parking) we paid. It was only a 15 minute walk to the Disneyland entrance, we never started the car once we parked it in front of our room.

It was a great deal and we'd stay there again. In fact, we probably have to since we just bought 4 annual passes!

BatB Part III: Movies and Blue Corn Chips

This is the third installment of Beauty and the Beast: The Linda and Patrick Story. Catch the other parts below.

I finally had the excuse to nonchalantly ask people about Linda, since everyone could see that we got along famously (see crash and burn conversation in Part II). Here's how the conversations went:

Me: Hey other college group person (OCGP) howz it going?

OCGP: Hey Pat (that's what they called me back then in the 80's) how're you doin?

Me: Good...wow the sky is so blue and so was the sweater dress Linda was wearing last Sunday, do you have any idea where she is? (Very tactful and nonchalant eh?)

OCGP: Ummm she goes to Azusa Pacific University. (At this point OCGP is thinking should I really tell this stalker?)

Me: Oh yeah? Where is that? (This is before the internet and google maps really took off...remember 1989?)

OCGP: Ummm Azusa.

So using my own brand of investigative journalism and private detectiveness I found out that Linda was 30 minutes away and only came home some weekends because she was busy with school and choir. Every day that went by I wondered when she would be home long enough for me to win her heart.

A couple of weeks after Thanksgiving she got out of Azusa on Christmas Break (I think they call it that there because it's a Christian University). I started seeing her at the College Group where we had Sunday School and mid-week Bible study.

After one of those studies me, Linda, one of Linda's Good Friends (OLGF), and an OCGP we'll just call Muscle Pants (because he always wore them) were sitting outside talking. One of us had the great idea to go do something together (this was before Starbucks was on every corner).

We all decided to head to Blockbuster (the analog version of Netflix for all of you born in the 80's) to rent a movie and then watch it at Linda's house.

Now you have to remember I was a brand spanking new Christian, which is to say I thought I had joined some form of the Amish. I was always surprised that these holy people watched movies. I was also surprised that Linda had invited us over to her house while her parents were out of town. In my old days that was code for...who's 21 year old cousin are we going to call to get us a keg...

But I digress...after almost an hour of perusing Blockbuster with me and Muscle Pants offering movies like Robocop and Rambo, but getting completely shut down, we found the perfect movie: Say Anything. Yes that was the movie we would watch. How can you go wrong with John Cusack.

At this point I should tell you that I was flirtin it up with Linda. I was pulling out all the stops, well as much as you can in a Blockbuster. I pretty much walked around following Linda like a lost puppy, but not looking like I was following her around...know what I mean?

I would do things like open the door to where the refrigerated Cokes were (why are those at Blockbusters anyways?) so my pecs and bicep muscles would flex. Again she was completely unimpressed.

Or I would show how well rounded my movie viewing was, I mean I didn't just like things like Robocop and Rambo with just a bunch of shooting. I liked stuff like Above the Law where they used Martial Arts to kill and maime. (I'm just glad I kept my love of Star Trek a secret). Linda was still unimpressed.

What does a guy have to do? Well we brought Say Anything back to her parents house. I think she made us some popcorn, but for health reasons she brought out some blue corn tortilla chips for herself, which are much more common now than they were then (there were only a handful of Trader Joe's back then).

I said something like, "Oh how like totally like awesome! I like totally eat those like totally all the time!" She looked at me the way I wanted her to look at me after flexing my muscles to get a Coke at Blockbuster. Like she was finally impressed. YES! Score one for the Patman...(nobody called me that I just made that up)

We watched the movie and I was mesmerized. It was like I was watching our prophesy right there on her parents television screen, in beautiful Hi-Fi VCR man! Except for the station wagon part and the Dad being a crook and a few other things this movie is our story.

See I was kind of the weird crazy ADHD guy that was into kick boxing (sport of the future) and quite head over heals in love with the Game Show Hostess/Valedictorian. (BTW Linda recently revealed to me that this was the night she knew she wanted to marry me...honest! She was just coy about it for 4 more years because one of us had to graduate college.)

After the movie we parted ways. Muscle Pants was trying to horn in on my lady and stayed a while longer. I was somewhat worried until I remembered...he wears muscle pants all the time.

Fast Forward to a College Group movie night within that same Christmas Break (apparently private colleges have like 2 months off because I think this was in January 1990). We were all sitting around at Don's house, he was the Deacon in charge of corralling us college peeps, trying to think of a movie we all could agree on. (We had already seen Princess Bride like 12 gazillion times since I got saved in November.)

We decided to send a few of us to Blockbuster to pick a couple of movies, you know the old Joshua and Caleb spy out the land kinda thing? Well Linda was very vocal about how picky she is with movies. So I volunteered to represent her choices, because we had shared blue corn tortilla chips.

Well needless to say four of us went to Blockbuster and were gone for about 2 hours. Remember OLGF (one of Linda's good friends)? She was with us and was playing a prank on me. She told me that Linda loved Bobcat Golthwait. And I bought it because you know she is OLGF and at this point Christians were still kind of a mystery to me and maybe they all just liked Bobcat for some reason.

Since none of us had a cell phone (they were the size of a cinder block) we couldn't call ahead and see if our movie choices were any good. We brought back Spaceballs and Hot to Trot (which really was some of Bobcat's best work...not). I could only guess what Linda was thinking, because she was thoroughly disgusted by both movies. Do I need to remind you that I was her representative? Oh my gosh! All the points I had made with the blue corn tortilla chips went down drain.

I was absolutely sure she hated me, big time! But you know what she started coming home more often from school...

This concludes Part III. As a preview I will tell you that we actually DTR in Part IV. It's a beautiful story of long talks in the church parking lot, other college group boys trying to get my girl, and a little town in Mexico called Peligro (Danger). Until next time...