My buddy Eric also came out to take some pictures for us. Click in to see all the pictures.

Tomorrow is also our house warming party for family; nearly six months after we’ve moved in, we finally having people over. Busy weekend!

Being married with the stress of life and work, you sometimes forget that as a married couple, you need some time together alone also. And this time isn’t time together to go over bills and stress about the future, but rather time together to enjoy each others company, reconnect, and be lovey with each other.

Since it’s been awhile since Andrea and I had been on an actual “date”, we decided it would be good to do so given that we were going to have a nice three day weekend with Memorial Day and all. With a great, last minute deal from TravelZoo, we got ourselves two tickets to the San Francisco Giants vs Atlanta Braves game on Memorial Day Monday at AT&T Park. The weather was just gorgeous, a tad warm, but nice and sunny; perfect baseball weather. It was my first time at an actual live in-person baseball game and Andrea’s second. I definitely have to agree with everyone who has said that watching the game in person is so much better than on T.V. The crowds, the atmosphere, the cheering and jeering all contribute. The Giants did excellent scoring in the 3th, 4th, and 5th innings. We left at the beginning of the 9th inning when it became clear that the Braves were not going to defeat the Giants. A lot of stunning moments such as base stealing and sliding into home. From where we were sitting, we also got a great vantage point. Pics are here.

We had dinner at Amici’s in San Mateo, which was quite nice, be on the lookout for a foodie review on RichBui.com.

I’ve been meaning to make more posts to update everyone on Stripes and Panther’s progress. The good news: they are getting along with each other more and more everyday. When we first brought Panther home, Stripes was not liking him at all. Over time, she started warming up to him and even on a few occasions have actually licked his head and paw. Most of the time Stripes seems to enjoy chasing Panther room to room and across the living room. Most of the time Panther manages to avoid being caught by Stripes, but on a few occasions, Stripes has cornered him or actually tackles him which results in some wrestling. It’s cute to see Panther being chased, but we usually break it up when Stripes has the obvious advantage of being on top of him or he is cornered.

Stripes and Panther have now reached a point where we are allowing them outside in our yard. It started off very slowly with Andrea taking them one at time outside for 5-10 minutes while holding them to let them get the scent and lay of the land. That progressed to slowly letting them walk around for 5-10 minutes during lunch time. Then we let them both out at the same time for limited periods of time. They are now at a point where they can both come out and we crack the door so they can come back in when they like, but they are usually supervised and not left alone. Stripes, as she has always been, only likes to stay outside when there are people to watch her. She has explored a bit and checked out our two ajoining neighbor’s yards. Panther on the other hand has done a lot more exploring and has even ventured into one of our neighbors garage. We are obviously a bit more worried about him.

One of the major problems that we have been unable to resolve is that Panther keeps eating Stripes’ food. Panther, when he eats, he devours all his food in one sitting. Stripes on the other hand likes to space her eating out. She’ll eat a little bit for breakfast and come back 15-30 minutes later to eat a bit more and so forth. The problem is that after Panther is done eating all his food, he seems to be still hungry and finds Stripes food to which he devours all of also. It’s not like we’re starving Panther, he just seems to like to eat. So now we have to put Stripes’ food away when she walks away so Panther doesn’t eat all her food or overeats.

Panther also has been getting braver. In the beginning, he was quite scared of Stripes. A simple stare by Stripes would cause him to bolt under the coffee table or under a bed. As of late, he has no fear in sneaking up on her and tackling her; although Stripes returns the favor.

So that’s what our two cats have been up to as of late.

Amazing how much has happened, yet it only feels like yesterday when I was standing at CSU Stanislaus saying our vows on that beautiful, slightly windy October day. It has been such an amazing journey so far with Andrea and I’ve enjoyed every minute and look forward to many, many, many, many, many (x 1,000,000) more years with her. I’m very fortunate to have someone so beautiful, intelligent, understanding, and compassonate as Andrea. She truly is my other half.

When we first brought Panther home, we tried to introduce the two slowly by having Stripes come up to the box to get Panther’s scent, but she started hissing and growling. We figured as much would happen. We had talked to a number of people and read a number of things online about getting a new pet when you have an existing pet. We wanted Stripes to have someone to keep her company and play with her because since she’s not allowed outside, she sits pretty inactive around the house not getting enough exercise. What a lot of people have recommend if you wish to introduce a new pet to an existing pet is

1. It’s going to take a lot of time and patience. Nothing’s going to happen overnight or for awhile
2. For cats, if the existing pet is older (Stripes is 6), it’s best to get a kitten of the opposite sex (Panther is 6 months old and male)
3. Do not leave them alone together. Any interaction between the two has to be supervised
4. Have separate litter boxes, food trays, and water bowls for them
5. Try not to change any routines with the existing pet
6. Spend equal quality time with each of the pets alone so that they understand they are loved and not being replaced

For the first week or so, Stripes would ignore Panther and hiss and growl at him whenever he came too close to her. Panther, being a kitten in a new environment, was immensely curious and wanted to play with anyone and everything whereas Stripes was used to a slower and calmer  pace. Unfortunately, every night, we had to confine Panther to his room (our office) and he would cry and cry wanting attention. Stripes would sleep with us.

Gradually, the hissing and growling became less and less and now they for the most part are playing with each other. Stripes will chase Panther from our room to the living room and back. It’s funny to see and hear their little paws on the hardwood floor. But when we leave for work, Panther is put back in his room and Stripes is allowed to roam the house.

Yesterday, they finally slept together on our bed next to each other; a huge step forward. We believe Stripes is finally accepting Panther.

Stripes didn’t take an immediate liking to Panther, but he didn’t seem to mind. For now, we’ll keep them separate when not at home and give them some supervised time together daily. We’re confident Stripes will eventually fall in love with Panther as we have.

Pictures to come soon!

When we finally let her roam around the house, she started exploring every corner and square inch of the place and has found her favorite lookout spot, a big window we have over the kitchen sink with a ledge. Last night she also spent the night with us in bed, although it took awhile before she tired down from running around in and out of our bedroom, but around 2 A.M. she finally curled up on the bed and went to sleep.

She also rung in her birthday with some maguro sashimi (Tuna) from Ichiban Sushi (if you’re looking for a good sushi/sashimi place, I highly recommend Judah Okazuya in San Francisco, great value for excellent freshness). Unfortunately she was still a little too scared to eat all of it, although she did have one slice of the maguro.

I’ll put some pictures up later tonight or so.

I know I should be happy to have a job when so many others are being laid off - and I am. That however does not remove the fact that the your furlough and layoff plan was perhaps the worst possible approach for obtaining savings from the state payroll. It doesn’t proceed from any intelligent or thoughtful plan to raise the productivity and efficiency of the state work force. It ignores the adverse long-term impact of its actions. It doesn’t address the administrative redundancy found in many departments. It doesn’t address the state’s poor hiring practices which frequently place both workers and managers in positions they are unqualified to perform. Lastly it doesn’t address the lack of standards of performance and accountability for our state agencies and departments.

As for how I am dealing with my paycut, I’ve cut my contribution to my Roth IRA by 75%, increased my tax deductions, refuse to pay my State tax until April 15, no eating out, no shopping, i.e. that big screen Sony TV will have to wait, and we are only living on the bare essentials. How is that going to help the economy?

I’m sure I don’t have it as bad as other State workers who are on only one income, but none the less, it still hurts. Sad to say, for the first time, I will not be voting for a Republican Governor in 2010; pretty bad both the Republican candidates have already said they would slash another 10% of the State workforce.

You’re a disgrace to the Republican party Arnold. I never thought I would vote Democrat, but I’ve had enough; I’ll be voting Democrat in 2010.

Truly yours,
Just another State worker