So long, time clock.

Two very long years ago i earned a BA in Literature/English Education. It has since been slowly and painfully decomposing in the back seat of my life as i have tried unsuccessfully to fulfill it. i was content to make coffee as long as i could keep "do you want fries with that?" out of my head. Next i became a retail monkey, selling people the very books upon which my very expensive but seemingly worthless education was based. Then Jeff Kane reminded me of a website that posts jobs for writers. i checked it out and responded to the following post:
"A conservative non-profit organization in Sacramento seeks a Research & Communications Assistant. Duties include: Research and writing, web content development and education. Relevant college coursework and experience desirable. Opportunity for growth and flexible schedule. "

They called me Monday, i interviewed, and today they offered me the job. i work for the Sacramento chapter of the National Right To Life Committee. My job includes keeping track of relevant legislation and communicating said legislative action to the public. In other words, i translate government stuff so regular folk can keep up with what's going on. i'm nearly doubling my earnings, applying my skills and education, and actually working for something i believe in. It'll nice to be able to sleep at night

check it out:
http://www.californiaprolife.org
http://www.nrlc.org/Missionstatement.htm

thanks jebus :)
-kal

Yes, again.

A wise old Sharpa once said, "Victory is futile when playing 5 vs. 8." This is the lesson learned earlier this evening as the Sacramento Kings fell short of a victory once again due to a horrible call favoring the opposing team with less than a minute to play. With 58 seconds on the clock, center Brad Miller drove to the hoop and plowed through a defender to score two points with a foul to bring the Kings within one point of the Chicago Bulls. However, all three referees determined that the defensive foul was in fact an offensive foul on Brad Miller for charging. But with the miracle of replay, you can clearly see that the defender's heel was over the arc under the basket, deeming the foul on the Chicago player. By losing a three point swing, the Kings went on to lose by five points. What else can you do but scratch your head in amazement.

~Josh

Not Again!?!

So how many times do my precious Sacramento Kings have to lose to the referees and not their opposing teams. For the second straight home game, the Kings have been screwed by the referees for not calling crucial game turning events. The only part that is worst is the teams have now lost too; two of the elite in the west division, Phoenix and Dallas. On Wednesday night, the Kings were down 123 to 125 to Phoenix with 12 seconds left in the game. The Kings got a shot off under the hoop where an offensive interferance call was not made on a Phoenix player who blocked the shot to win the game. And now tonight, the Kings were ahead by one point with less than a minute to play against Dallas when a sure goal tending play was not called giving the Mavericks another possesion to drive down to the opposite end of the court to put in a basket to win. Sacramento is not a happy city. I hope the Referees are held accountable for their poor play. Some of the King's players were fined and suspended for their reactions to the finale of the Phoenix game...so I don't see why these referees shouldn't be fined the same 10,000 or 15,000 with a suspension. Fair is fair.

Photography 101?

So I signed up a photography class here in Elk Grove a couple weeks ago. The first day we went over color theory, opposite colors, color fatigue...all that good stuff I have already been taught. So I talk to the prof after class and ask if we will be going over lighting techniques for photo shoots (which is what I really wanted to learn) and she explains they won't go over that in this class. I might be able to do a studio day with my prof and learn some lighting stuff, but then I would have to finish taking the class. After I have spent four separate hours four different days getting books, registering and other crap for this class. So do I stay with the one day a week four hour long class, or do I drop it? And furthermore, do I actually put effort in this class and go for an A or B or am I beyond grades that demonstrate my self worth?

~Josh

Deep Thoughts by Kallie

On Sunday we were in Yuba City with about 23 other Bakers for baby Anna's dedication. Josh asked me how my relatives knew so many people at the church....one word answer: Nazarenes. (he's still learning) Living in NorCal and being so close makes me realize that all those 'little' family events i was missing out on living in San Diego aren't so little after all.

VIVA SAN DIEGO!

Attention all southlanders: The tenative dates for Josh and Kallie's visit are March 17-21. Plane tickets have not been purchased yet, but as soon as the Man says it's okay, we're buying! Plan accordingly! Clear your calendar! Dust off your party shoes! Make up a bed for us cuz we're using all our money to get there and can't stay in any hotels!!!!

Crow: The Lost Delicatessent

Well it is official. My new Saturday Red wine label will be taken public in a few months. It will be Global Wine Group's first retail based wine. Hopefully you will all see my work in shopping markets soon. It is always nice when the "man" tells you that they don't like your design when everyone else in the company loves it and then it comes back to bite them in the butt. Like that one time I designed an awesome label and the "man" thought their idea was better and that mine wouldn't work which would have meant that I wasted two weeks worth of work until the time came to start the promotion of the wine and we went with my lable due to time constraints on a limited basis only to see how much consumers loved it so much that they had no choice but to pursue the option of taking the label public because it would make so much money!!! Yeah, that time was cool. EAT YOUR CROW!

Funny Book Titles

these are funny/scary titles that i've come across at work, i've included their corresponding sections and i'll update it whenever i find more::::
Sorry, Everybody: An apology for the re-election of George W. Bush (political science)
Impotence Is Always Having To Say You're Sorry (humor)
I Hate Red, You're Fired!! (interior design)
How To Think Like A Pancreas (diabetes)
What The Hell Is A Groom And What's It Supposed To Do Anyway? (wedding reference)
The Day My Butt Went Psycho (children's fiction)
Bless Your Heart Tramp (humor)
Itty Bitty The God Who Loves You (occult & parapsychology)
The Complete Idiot's Guide To The Politics Of Oil Investment Banking (politics & government)
and finally, the best ever...
Truly, Madly, Viking (romance)
You may purchase all of these stunning works of literature thru bordersstores.com

:] kallie

BillyHarveyMusic

http://www.billyharveymusic.com

This guy could possibly compete with Darren as the funniest singer I've seen. The navigation on this site is amazing, not to mention pretty funny too.

Covered Parking Mishaps

So Kallie and I roll back into our parking lot after a great Christmas in Redding to find our neighboring car port has collapsed. And yes, there is a car wedged underneath. Fortunately no one was hurt, but apparently our complex doesn't do well in the rainy season. Parts of it like to fall down due to its own weight. And to think we passed up paying an extra 20 bucks a month for a covered parking spot. Karma!!

Baker Christmas!

Andrew shows us that storing carrot in your cheeks ALL DAY means you don't really have to eat veggies.

After our German/Japanese Markle Christmas, we got to fiesta with the Mexican branch of the Baker family tree and eat lasagna for Christmas dinner. Throw in a little Kwanzaa and we would've had it made! THIRTY TWO people were at my parents' house for Christmas, complete with a newborn, a set of twins, and flask of whiskey. My grandpa Dan showed Josh how to play Bacci Ball like a man and Travis demonstrated the danger of projectile pistachios when launched from a kitchen knife. And like good missionaries Josh and i spread the joy of Speed Scrabble and learned Spades in the process. We walked away with some new socks and a pound of ground beef to call our own. And no longer will we be sleeping on Josh's lifelong V-shaped bed because my parents rock!!
If there was a common theme this year in our multi-faceted Christmases, it was how veryvery blessed we are to have doubled our wonderful families into two. We also got to see some very dear friends in the days around Christmas, so before and bow was unwrapped we already had more than we could ask for. Cole Porter said it best:
"You're the top! You're the Colosseum!
You're the top! You're the Louvre Museum!
You're a melody from a symphony by Strauss,
You're a Bendel bonnet, a Shakespeare sonnet,
You're Mickey Mouse!
You're the Nile, you're the tower of Pisa,
You're the smile on the Mona Lisa,
i'm a worthless check, a total wreck, a flop,
But if baby i'm the bottom, you're the top!"

luv, kal

Christmas Party Pics

Winter and Jason's Christmas Party and Jeopardy Jamboree!!

Markle Christmas 2004

This year's Christmas had two very different perspectives...that of a three year old and that of an 83 year old. It was interesting to see the excitement of a toddler tearing open the unknown only to shriek in glee with its contents revealed. It didn't matter that it was just a box and she hadn't really made it to the "actual present" inside, it was all about the excitement of the event. The exact opposite was present as well. Some older family members who have had their fair share of Christmas' peel open a couple presents to reveal books and knick-knacks that they are sure are copies of something they already have. Oh well, tis' the season. It is always the thought that counts. Regardless of who got what and who liked what, it was great seeing family. One of the main reasons Kallie and I made the swap from San Diego to Elk Grove was for the family. And that is exactly what I got for Christmas.

-Josh

sick-sick-sickypants

Josh's charming little niece and nephew (aka Bearers of Death and Snot) coughed all over us at Christmas and now we're sick. But it was worth it because Claire throws a damn good tea party. i had brunch with Ashley yesterday and got to ride in her sparkly new car! We ate at LeBou which i decided i liked alot and we caught up on our life-happenings.

My only friend at work is a Christian girl named Jerusha and we have funny conversations about all the weirdos and Witches we work with. Seriously. We work with at least four practicing witches. They're nice though, for witches. Anyway, one coworker is a Yale-educated "Christian, Witch, and Buddhist" and tried to tell Jerusha that it's okay for Christians to drop acid because it allows them to experience God in the holy realm and not just in the earthly realm. Jerusha came and found me and we confirmed that 'nooo, drugs are BAD'. Those coworkers who are not witches are Lord of the Rings nerds and grown men who play Dungeons and Dragons. Jerusha put in her 2-week's notice yesterday so she's going to abandon me to the acidy depths of nerdy witchhood. Sad.

Please move to Elk Grove post-haste.

luv, kal

Early Christmas

We spent this weekend at Grandma Laverne's house (aka "Big Red") to embark in some early holiday festivities. This year's holiday treat was some well needed socks for me and Kallie. Of course the evening ended with the traditional competitive game of Phase 10. I'm afraid my team had nothing to be proud of this year.

Operational

Consider this blog operational. I would like to take the time to thank David Overholt and Macromedia's Dreamweaver for making this all possible.

damn the man!!

Last night one of my managers shut and locked a door in my face while i was talking to her. This morning i told the supervisor and she's gonna get in trouble. You don't shut doors on me. Be advised.

Second Blog

I hope this works.

My First Blog

My first blog.

Thanks Dave.