UPDATE: CHARLOTTE WACHDORF HOME FROM HOSPITAL

Well, the good news coming out of San Antonio is that Charlotte (Gram, Char-Baby) Wachdorf is now back at home with Art and Lorrae Wachdorf, her son and daughter-in-law. Her condition is fairly stable and no longer requires constant monitoring.

She is, however, now under hospice care with a nurse coming by weekly to check on her status. She has been diagnosed with Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) - credit goes to Les Hardison for the link and update info. - which is incurable. In effect, without oxygen at all times, she cannot survive. Further complicating things is the fact that her bone marrow is now only able to supply 50% of normal new blood cells to her system. She has been taken off of coumadin, due to continued internal bleeding problems which are waning, and her diabetes medication as it also apparently is contributing negatively more than it is positively.

Needless to say our thoughts and prayers are with her, Judy and their family. We look very forward to seeing her next week for Thanksgiving. John and Judy are already down there as of yesterday. Jill and I will have a bounty of goodies from the German deli that will no doubt lift her spirits. Here's a photo of a very proud Charlotte with her son, Air Force Colonel Art Wachdorf, who she now lives with in San Antonio.



TOM REPORTS ON BAR EXAM RESULTS

Further less-than-good news was reported by Tom yesterday. His California bar exam results came in and he did not pass. He'll get detailed information about what sections were good for him and which were not. He says he'll take California again eventually, but now he knows he (and Kate) will need to take the Oregon bar exam and, possibly, the Washington and Nevada exams as well just to diversify his and her future opportunities.

Jill and I can't say we're happy he did not pass, but we're certainly happy that the turn of events will bring them up for a visit in February for the Oregon bar exam and, possibly, a future, permanent relocation for jobs. Besides.. we need someone to help out when Mom and Dad move up this direction.. our hands will be full!

UPDATE: HEATMISER AND SNOWMISER... IN THE KNOW

Yesterday, I posted about how the Heatmiser was on vacation and that his brother, Snowmiser, thought he was too much. Links were provided, but I really didn't realize what kind of a following these two claymation characters have until I played around with Google.com.

The two brothers, each fighting for control of Earth's weather, are from the Rankin-Bass Christmas special A Year Without Santa Claus. I didn't find the show all that compelling as a whole, but the Heatmiser and Snowmiser each sing quite a swinging song that's hard to forget for those who remember it - the show was from 1974.

Heatmiser


Snowmiser


If you Google these two characters, you get all sorts of hits in addition to the two I linked yesterday:
This one gives links to both Heatmiser's song and lyrics and Snowmiser's song.
This one states that Miser Brothers Christmas lights for your tree (!!) are no longer being manufactured - with a picture.
This one details the 2000 Rumble in the Claymation Jungle grudgematch - with voting - between Heatmiser and Snowmiser. You can click the link at the bottom of the page to a CNN.com site declaring the winner and other important headlines.

Here's my Google.com query page for anyone that's wants to look into this further...

And for all of you who think I'm an idiot for posting all of this information, here's a link for you.

BLIZZARD IN PORTLAND - HEATMISER OFFICIALLY ON VACATION

It appears freak weather in the PacNW has yet to run its course. This morning, a Portland-area rain storm was bowled over by a sudden, unexpected cold front. Here's the result:



The Heatmiser couldn't be reached for comment. His brother, Snowmiser, released this statement: "I'm too much!"

JILL'S GRANDMOTHER IN THE HOSPITAL

Charlotte Wachdorf, Jill's grandmother - Judy's mother, is in the hospital due to a bad fall and, apparently, pneumonia. She was in intensive care for a while, but she's apparently holding her own now. We don't have much more news than this, but she's a tough lady and she's very much in our thoughts and prayers. We'll be visiting her for Thanksgiving in San Antonio next week.

REWARDING CAREER SOMETIMES

I learned last week that a community/housing development corporation has successfully been awarded tax credits to build apartments for farmworkers in Salem, Oregon. The reward was based largely on the feasibility study and market need analysis I conducted for them. There's a serious lack of safe, non-slum housing for farmworkers all over Oregon, but in Salem, the state's capital, the need was particularly bad. Well, in a year to two years, the project should be constructed. It will provide low-rent, quality apartments, english lessons, day care, volunteer legal services and job/computer training to enhance work skills among families renting there. That's all good news in my book!

That's just one of the projects I've been working on.. here's what's keeping me busy right now:
- Financial analysis for the City of Wood Village to determine if the redevelopment of their old city hall property can pay for a new one
- Statistical analysis and quantification of residential composting rates for the purposes of a statewide tax credit
- Economic and fiscal (tax revenue/public service costs) analysis of a few million square feet of office, industrial, retail, condominium and hotel development near downtown Seattle
- Market position analysis of three different apartment complexes in the Sacramento area
- Waterfront development need and feasibility for the Port of Siuslaw in Florence, Oregon
- Market Need, financial feasibility and economic impacts of a business park to be built along I-5 in Keizer, Oregon
- Community impacts of redeveloping properties in a lower-income/higher-crime neighborhood in Seattle

And I manage to get some sleep every night!

JILL SPEAKS WITH VIVI & LUCIA RUCUCH QUILA IN GUATEMALA CITY

Last week I reported that the Guatemalan election was a bit of a zoo but that results indicated that the former dictator Rios Montt was defeated. Well, that's still the case, but Jill telephoned Vivi and her mother Lucia in Guatemala City to see how things were. Both are doing fine, though Lucia reported some minor health problems. Vivi is extremely busy raising her son and working full time in the City (she and her family live many slow miles out of town in a government subsidized - well - shantytown. Rats and all.).

Politically, things are stable and just fine. They reported no real bad news, though so we feel much better about the situation. I'll try to post some photos of them soon so that everyone can see who we're talking about here. Jill was Vivi's case manager in 1996 back in Eugene. Vivi was kidnapped and tortured by the military during the country's civil war at the tender age of 14. We've visited them there twice and keep up with them. We continue to financially help Vivi, particularly with her college education.

ELECTION NEWS FROM GUATEMALA

CNN.com is reporting that Sunday's presidential election in Guatemala appears to be fair, if not chaotic, and former Guatemala City mayor Oscar Berger (likely with the National Action Party - PAN) was in the lead with about 48% of the vote.

So, what's the big deal? Well, we heard from Vivi Rucuch Quila, our Guatemalan friend, and she reported that things were destabilizing because former dictator General Efrain Rios Montt was running for president and killings/kidnappings were being reported as a result. Rios Montt, a hard right-wing evangelical "christian" -quite a lot of nerve to call himself that - was responsible for the most bloodsoaked period in Guatemala's modern history during his "presidency" in the early 1980s. Why he hasn't been tried for genocide we have no idea.

Anyway, CNN reports that Rios Montt is in a distant third place with 11.2% of the vote so far. The trouble is the Guatemalan constitution, for all intents and purposes written on a dry-erase board, forbids re-elections after two terms. Rios Montt managed to strong-arm the judiciary into ruling that he could run again. Encouragingly, voter turnout was heavy and Montt has been rejected. In the old days, he'd have stormed the presidential palace. But with so much public pressure from the international community, that isn't likely.

Most encouragingly CNN reports:

The U.S. government has warned that U.S.-Guatemalan relations will suffer if Rios Montt, 77, is given a second chance to lead the country.

Human rights groups in Guatemala and Spain have accused Rios Montt's former government of carrying out massacres, including the 1981 arson of the Spanish Embassy in Guatemala City in which 37 people died. Officials in both countries are investigating the charges.

So, it seems the U.S. has made its opposition to him very vocal. That's good news. Because the winner must have at least 50% of the public vote, there will now be a run-off and Montt is out of it for good.

MOM AND DAD SELL THE HOUSE

Well, the Vegas house has been sold in one day for $5,000 more than asking price. I'd say that the realtor has 'splaining to do. Congratulations! Now the business of packing and moving things into storage begins. Until then, I haven't heard, but I suppose someone's going to be sleeping in a U-haul.

It looks like the U-haul, filled with goodies, will be headed for Portland with a drop-off in Sacramento. Beanie Babies decor for Tom & Kate! Details are currently being planned.


ME-MA BETTER AFTER BIRTHDAY FALL

After a misdiagnosis, Me-Ma's head is now healing much better after the backwards fall she suffered the weekend of her birthday. Looks like eczema is the problem and has slowed healing, or something to that effect. Either way, she's doing better now that a second opinion has brought a better treatment.

BILL VISITS SACRAMENTO

I had a business trip to Sacramento last week, well Wednesday and Thursday, where I got to drive all over Roseville and North Sacramento looking at apartment complexes and lying about who I was in order to get information about the project they otherwise wouldn't reveal. Kinda like a secret shopper.

While there, I spent the night at Tom and Kate's estate in Natomas. They have a really impressive two-story house now with nine-foot ceilings, sitting areas and a kitchen with enough space to hold a dance. I was impressed, to say the least. I did ask about the name of the street: Paul Corter. It turns out that all the streets in their development were named after police officers killed in the line of duty.

I thought the idea a little bit morbid, but then again, it's certainly a better tribute than anything I've heard many cities publicly attempt. While I was there, the murderer of officer Bill Bean Jr. (Bill Bean street is two blocks from Tom & Kate) was found guilty of 2nd degree murder and was made ineligible for the death penalty. Police officers present at the sentencing were shocked and disappointed. You can read about it here.

I suggested that a mob of Bean's family spring him from jail, take care of business and then bury the remains under Bill Bean street. Get Mike Benner on the phone!

While there, Tom and I hit In-N-Out twice for lunch

and then Kate, Tom and I had Jamaican food at a restaurant near downtown (buffet!). It was a good trip.

SAN ANTONIO TICKETS PURCHASED

I finally broke down and purchased our tickets to San Antonio (pronounced Santone), Texas for Thanksgiving. John, Judy, Jill and I will be headed down to spend Turkey Day and the weekend with Jill's grandmother. John and Judy will be headed down sooner than we will as we have to work the Wednesday before. She's trapped in Sherz, Texas because her insurance supposedly won't let her leave the state and receive oxygen.

Our crack team of lawyers in Sacramento suspected that was a bunch of hooey and that the insurance plan couldn't dictate her ability to travel in that way. We'll be investigating further.. I'll follow up with details. It will be fun to visit Texas again, well Santone anyway. I hope to post some info about Santone and what we hope to visit while there, in addition to Charlotte.

WILL GALVIN UPDATE

Will Galvin, my first roommate and friend from Baylor University, emailed recently to say hi and give some news about his goings-on. I kinda felt sorry for Will.. his freshman dormitory roommate card said his roommate was from Anchorage, AL instead of Anchorage, AK. So, instead of a hick from the Redneck Riviera who might have been some fun, he got a nerd from Alaska.

He's back in Delaware with his wife Julie and their son Jake (six years old! Hi, Jake, if you're reading this.) He was in Saudi Arabia for the Air Force managing purchase contracts with local Saudi vendors. Now he's back home, working on a master's degree as is Julie. He didn't say what either was pursuing, but I do recall that Julie is a skilled painter. Will, if you read this, email with more details. I know my family would like to know.

He did say he recently bought a new car - picture below - and was very happy with it. He always did have a weakness for sporty cars.

Not bad, eh? Well, greetings from Oregon to Will, Julie and Jake!