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November's posting...



Well, what

the heck have we been up to?



 It's

been a while since we've had enough time to update the site with details on what

we've been up to. I've never kept a journal, so I'm woefully out of practice,

and I'm not all that familiar with "blogging," but it seems a good,

meaty update on what we are doing and up to is in order. Here goes!



All is well

at the homefront. El Niño has returned

to Northern California this year, bringing wet and wild weather. We had a near

hurricane a couple of weeks ago that blew many shingles off the roof, and forced

me out into the storm to reattach gutters in the howling storm! At least I

finally realized how great a power drill is! The deer have adopted our house as

home. A family of five live under the stairs and on the hillside, so we've grown

accustomed to each other.



Josh is now

busier than a one-armed paperhanger! As Director of Business Development for Altura

International, I'm supervising about 8 folks across the country. Altura is

the parent company of CatalogCity, and

based in Monterey, CA, about 125 miles from the house: I go down to Monterey

about twice a week. Without my Valentine

One radar detector, and Audible.com's

digital audiobooks, it would be a tough commute. As it is, it's perfect, as I

work from home 3 days a week.



In addition

to Altura, I've formalized by eBay Trading

Assistant business by forming a company with my old friend and partner Tim

Kilroy, in Boston. bGon Enterprises

has about 20 clients, and we are now Silver Power Sellers on eBay! We have about

$150,000 in inventory to sell, and we're having a great time doing so. It's a

lot of work, but the work is fun, enjoyable, and satisfying. If you want to sell

your products on eBay, make it bGon!



Amy's

enjoying being back at work, after a 6-year break. She's working in the auto

industry, for Lexus of Marin. She's

learned a lot about the industry, and loves the Lexus, since she owns one. She's

also completed her real estate training, and will soon be taking the state exam

to become licensed to sell real estate, though she may sell some cars, in the

meantime. In any case, she's better than she's ever been!



Traveling?

Well, we've been all over. We took a few quick trips to Boston, as my

grandmother passed away; we miss her. Mostly, we've been spending time out West

here: a few trips to our good friends Lloyd

& John's, in their new house in Reno, and, of course, Wine Country.

We'll be celebrating Thanksgiving in Mill Valley with about 10 people, and

looking forward to it!



Other news?

Well, let's get you up to date on gadgets in our lives (what else?):





  • Josh

    finally went wireless! Our house is now Wi-Fi enabled, which allows us to

    wireless access our cable modem service! Stay with the Tretakoff Bed and

    Breakfast, and tap in to high-speed internet, wirelessly!




  • Yes,

    we have lots of computers in the house. The Sony desktop

    PC    , the Sony Laptop

    PC    , and the iMac!

    The iMac is now running OS 10.2,

    aka Jaguar. Folks, this is the way a computer SHOULD be. It made me realize

    why I loved a Mac. If they add support for Exchange (supposedly early next

    year), my next computer is an iMac!









  • Amy

    decided having a home theater wasn't enough for Josh, so we joined the PlayStation

    2     crowd. Gotta say, with all our equipment, this thing sounds, and

    plays, amazing:




    • 66"

      Toshiba Projection TV


    • Bose

      Acoustimass 5 speakers


    • Sony

      Dolby ProLogic & DTS receiver


    • DirecTV

      Dolby Digital Satellite system


    • Progressive

      Scan DVD Player











  • By

    the way, if you ever are told video games are not addictive, check out Medal

    Of Honor     as the proof. Good God….









  • Ok,

    I admit it. I'm hard to buy for. Luckily, friends always seem to know what I

    want. However, as hints, I've left a wish

    list     at Amazon, should you be so inclined.









  • My

    VisorPhone

    still is plugging away, though I've put the Prism through hell. I'm getting

    that hunger for a new PDA, but the convenience of having a single device

    that's a phone and PDA in one is strong. Must be color, too. That leaves the

    Treo

    or the new Tungsten

    W     as the strongest contenders (no, I won't consider PocketPC).




Let's

see…what else? I'm still smoking cigars, of course. With a 2-hour commute,

it's a necessity! Zinos

are still my favorite, but I've recently gotten turned on to Punch's, as well.



Finally,

upcoming events for us include:





  • Thanksgiving

    at the house


  • Mendocino

    in December, for the weekend


  • Sedona

    in January, we hope




Basically,

we're enjoying life to its fullest, having a great time, and relaxing. Thanks

for stopping by!

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