A Morning Planned for Trails, Taken Over by Code It’s always a thrill to wake up with the day’s plan etched in your mind. For me, this morning, December 17, 2004, was all about embracing the crisp, early hours for a refreshing hike on the Kim Williams to Sentinel via Hellgate Trail. The darkness at…

Life sometimes throws us into a whirlwind where every decision, no matter how small, feels monumental. Picture this: you’re wrestling with whether to ride your bike or drive your car to work. The bike saves gas, but the physical toll and hunger pangs afterward are real. The car seems easier, but then there’s the cost…

This morning, as Marcy and I watched the sun rise over Missoula, we enjoyed our weekly McDonald’s Big Breakfast—twas good, indeed! Thankfully, last night was peaceful, with no partying upstairs. Today is grocery day, and I have a meager $15.00 to spend. I’ve carefully prepared my list and double-checked it, and now it’s time to…

It’s almost bedtime, and I’m more than ready to hit the sack. Last night, my neighbor came home and partied until the early hours of the morning. They even ordered pizza and had it delivered to my place, knowing full well I couldn’t pay for it. Their behavior was just mean. Last week at work…

This morning I am running late. It is not because I was sick last night and took Excedrin and went to bed a little early. No, it is not because I woke up at 5a.m. and started reading and implementing some XSLT code. Well …. maybe it is. Well here it is time for work…

It’s snowing this morning, and there’s a light dusting of snow on the ground as I took Marcy for her morning walk. Last night’s trail run up Sentinel Gulch Trail with Marcy was fun, even though it was in the dark. There’s a bit of snow at the top of the saddle between the two…

Of course, everyone knows about XML and even XSL. I’m now delving into XSLT, Xpath, and XSL-FO, all of which are used for formatting XML data on a web page. It’s very cool, and I’ve even tried it out. This might not seem like a big deal, but the last time I checked, this stuff…

Yep, again. Just got a job yesterday and accepted it. But, get this, about 20 minutes later, I got a call about a job opportunity at Edu Log here in Missoula. I told them I’d already accepted a part-time gig at Mars Stout. Then, they ring me back a second time, saying it’s a full-time…

I was contacted today by the folks at Worforce that Mars Stout has proposed me a job offer to come to work part time as a Web Developer. As a national services organization, M.A.R.S. STOUT has established a reputation for excellence, by providing unparalleled levels of service for more than 20 years. My position may…

The sun is struggling to come out on this brisk but pleasant fall day here in Missoula. The sky is a bluish white and the battle is on to control the air and skies. No matter, I am going trail running up the Sentinel South Ridge today. Today the wait is on. I am waiting…

The biggest news is that the interview yesterday went well, and hopefully, tomorrow I will have good news. Here’s a lesson we should all follow if we blog regularly: write your blog in Word first. For starters, spell check and grammar checks are a plus. Secondly, and most importantly, when you make a mistake, you…

Today, I have an interview at Mars Stout. The job opportunity comes through Workforce here in Missoula. It feels like this is my final chance to stay in Missoula. Well, I can’t ramble any further down the path, beg your pardon. Stay on the path of the beam, and I’ll see you there later. I…

Today marks a pivotal moment in my life. I’ve just drained my bank and PayPal accounts for one final grocery haul. The weight of sadness is almost tangible. In a week, uncertainty looms like a dark cloud. Maybe heading back to Arizona early is my best bet. But really, what do I do next? As…

Again! The paradox of progress is that you burn toast more often. Today is a busy day with stops at Workforce, A to Z, and LC Staffing. Marcy is starving, so it’s off to the grocery store first. The hot porridge with cocoa, toast (burned), and mocha have been downloaded into my gullet, and now…

Tonight, the colors in the sky were absolutely breathtaking. Marcy and I embarked on a run up the Kim Williams Trail to the Hellgate Canyon Trail. As we reached the summit of Mount Sentinel, snowflakes began to descend. I knew something was amiss when we attained the peak and couldn’t see any city lights. Tonight,…