My Desktop

So, a few friends were visiting the bakery the other day and I was showing the young daughter around (I was sneaking her some pretzel M&M’s, but that stays between us). On the wall near the ingredients, I have a photo of Yeni holding our bear, me doing something, and Forrest (on my computer monitor– he’s my desktop). She asked me about the picture.

I told her, “That picture is everything I love.”

She looked at me, thought, and asked, “isn’t your dog dead?”

Sometimes the answers come to me quickly. This was one of those times.

“Yes, but that doesn’t mean I stopped loving him.”

100k miles, again.

I’ve owned a few Ford trucks. For a long time, I was very brand loyal to Ford– but that’s another story. This story is about my ass sitting behind the wheel for 100,000 miles, again. It may be the first time that this truck hit the 100k mark… but it’s not mine.

The first car I took past 100k was my 86′ Toyota Celica. Got that car used in 1990 (30k miles) and drove it until the axle disintegrated around 150k. I bought my Ford Ranger new off the lot in ’96. At 150k, I traded her in towards the Expedition I’m driving now. Bubba was a good ride… protected me when I got hit by a Greyhound bus, and Forrest just loved sticking his head out the rear window.

And now, for the third time, I’ve passed the 100k mark. I got this truck in late ’03, and even though I swore I’d never buy a new car again, Ford’s 0% financing was too hard to turn down (it was cheaper to finance new at 0% than buy used). This trucks been through 2 Michigan winters, a couple of hurricanes, and the brutal Florida summers. It’s the most comfortable vehicle I’ve ever driven… I’ve made the trip from Florida to Michigan more times than I can remember… and the truck probably knows how to drive there on it’s own.

At 100k, she’s still doing ok. She’s got a Bearkery logo on the back, and has been delivering some beautiful cakes weekly.

So, the scary part is thinking about sitting behind the wheel for 100k miles…

• If I drove 100k miles at an average speed of 55 MPH for 12 hours a day… it would take more than 6 months.
• If I averaged a fantastic 14.7 miles per gallon, like above, I would need a little more than 6800 gallons of gas. At $3/gallon, that’s a nice $20,000.
• This is my third time driving my personal vehicle more than 100k miles. At 55 MPH, driving non-stop, that would be more than 9 months.

It’s great to have a vehicle completely paid off… and I certainly hope this one becomes the first truck I take past the 200k mark. =)

Forrest loved that truck.

Gainesville Wedding Cakes and More

In case you haven’t realized, Yeni and I have opened a bakery in Gainesville, FL. We’ve named it Dream Day Cakes and, well, you MUST COME BY! First, let me tell you a little story.

Once upon a time, in the land of North Central Florida, there lived a boy named Fred Posner. Fred, a large, rotund, bald boy, loved eating, riding motorcycles, and living la vida loca. Not so much listening to La Vida Loca but actually living it. One day, while attending a wedding in Southern Michigan, Fred spotted a princess– a small, petite brown eyed princess. “One day she will be mine,” Fred thought to himself as he danced the sprinkler with other wedding guests. (Ironically, dancing the sprinkler at a wedding usually works to repel a princess)

After devouring the wedding cake, and drinking many alcoholic beverages, Fred summoned the strength to approach his princess and talk with her. He failed. Words were not his friend, but this was ok. English was not the princess’ friend, and it would take many years for the gods to make the star crossed lovers find their path. Six years to be exact.

Six years later, while not attending a wedding (or eating wedding cake)… Fred takes his stallion (a green Harley Davidson) and rides to the princess. The princess joins Fred and they ride off to the sunset, the petite princess secured behind the wall of a prince.

After getting married and returning to Gainesville, the princess decides it’s time to follow another dream and starts baking cakes. Her cakes are fantastic. Fred actually is moved to eat cake over cannoli. It’s a sign from the gods.

Fast Forward to now and you have…. Dream Day Cakes. A family owned cake bakery in Gainesville, FL proudly serving Ocala, Gainesville, High Springs, Lake City, and all of North Central Florida. From Wedding Cakes to custom sculpted masterpieces, Cakes do come true at Dream Day Cakes.

Visit us at http://www.dreamdaycakes.com.

Passive Agressive? Yes. Funny? Perhaps.

I’m no stranger to the fun and joy that comes from dog ownership. Let’s not forget that Forrest was 115lbs and as regular as could be. We tried (well, he couldn’t care actually, more realistically I tried) to be very considerate of private property when making our rounds. Now I don’t want to go off on a rant here, but… 

Letting your dog leave a big turd directly next to a driver’s door is one of two things: 1. It’s on purpose or 2. It’s by accident. However both have one thing in common — the asshole who walked away without doing a single thing (and I’m not talking about the dog).

Yes, I can see the humor in it. After all, I’m the guy that’s in his thirties and still find farts hilarious. That being said, leaving your dog’s shit on a driveway, walk, sidewalk, etc. is just a dick move. Bad form and one of the most un-neighborly actions a neighbor could take.

So yes, I’m the asshole who renamed his network “Pick up your Dog Shit.” I admit, this is also a dick move… but for the time being, I think it adequately expresses my current state of mind. And, well… I think a geek reaction is better than a few other ways I could think of handling the gift we received.

Happy Birthday Forrest. I still love and miss you.

The pup back in 2002

That little spec in the center is the duck. And in the bottom right corner is the one mom threw in.

So today (December 20th) marks the 2nd Anniversary of Forrest’s passing. Last year, I rode the Harley out to Cedar Key, Florida and threw a duck into the ocean.

Why a duck?

Well, when I graduated UF back in 2006 (Go Gators), my parents threw an open house graduation party for me. My mom decorated the house with an army of little foam ducks wearing a graduation cap.  Forrest loved them. He absolutely loved them and would quickly remove the head from the body, shake it around a little bit, find a new duck, lather, rinse, repeat. When we returned to Gainesville, I must have brought about 20 ducks with me and every now and then I’d leave one for him to seek and destroy.

After he passed away, I had a handful of them left, so on 12/20/2007 I rode out to Cedar Key on the bike (read the post) and had brought one of the ducks with me. I didn’t really have a plan; I was just pretty sad and seeing the ocean always makes me feel better.

When I got to Cedar Key, I had the duck in my hand and was just kind of squeezing it (like one of those stress relief balls). For no particular reason I reached back and hurled the duck as far as I could into the ocean… watching as the duck “swam” out to see. I don’t know why, but I loved it. And I said I’d do it every year I could.

Giants Stadium at AT&T Park

This year, I happened to be in San Francisco on 12/20, which of course wasn’t an issue — since the ocean is right there. I had brought a duck and coincidentally my mom also brought one out for me (there’s a long story there… but in 5 words or less, Great minds think alike). We went out to the Giants stadium and we launched the ducks into the Pacific.

And with that, I was reminded how much I still miss my dog.

Don’t get me wrong, I do not like flying. I hate almost everything about it… From taking off your shoes to the airline reps behind the counter (has anyone ever had a positive experience with a gate agent??), from flight attendants to busy crowds, flying today for me is a last option. I’d much rather drive than fly on any given day, and, if time isn’t a factor (like Thanksgiving), it’s exactly what I do. I remember once being excited about flying and loving going to Airports, flying in airplanes, and just traveling by air. Loved it. Much like my hair, those days are gone.

But, I digress. So, if I have to fly, I like American Airlines. Let’s put it this way. When I’ve missed connecting flights from other airlines, getting a new flight was a hassle. Hassle and drama, drama, drama. With American, by the time I got off the plane, they had already reserved me a seat on one flight and put me on standby for another. (I ended up getting the standby ).

Anyway, I made it to San Francisco and had a great dinner with my sister, Scott, my parents, Tovah, David, and Scott’s mother and father. We were celebrating Scott’s graduation from college and was a great reason to see so many people that I love.

On plan for today? Dim Sum with the family and then throwing a duck into the ocean in remembrance of Forrest (today’s the 2nd anniversary). Also, it’s the first anniversary of Shadow’s passing.

See also:

• Lyrics to Come Monday by Jimmy Buffett (hence the title of this post)

So after Forrest passed I wanted to start a Foundation… basically something that would try to raise money for dog charities such as Malinois Rescue, etc. I even registered a couple domain names.

Anyway… the accountant was pretty adamant (the word, not the singer… and I’m just too lazy to check my spelling right now) that I shouldn’t go this route. He advised that I would spend more in accounting fees for a non-profit than would be worth it, and I’d be better off donating money on my own directly.

So… here I am with a domain name of TeamForrest.com and nothing to do with it. So it hits me… why not get a d/b/a for my company, and change my logo.

And there you go. The Palner Group is now Team Forrest. The logo should come as no suprise.

I’m very thankful that people are letting me keep to myself right now. It’s still a little difficult to talk and I’m appreciative of the alone time.

When I posted the previous post about having a bad day, I would have never had imagined that December 20, 2006 would become perhaps the worst day of my life.

When I woke up that morning, Forrest wasn’t doing well and after a trip to the vet’s I learned that he had developed a massive growth that could not be removed and was causing him great pain. Within 14 hours of the last post, Forrest was gone and I would begin to experience the worst days of my life.

I know Forrest may have been “just a dog.” But to me, Forrest was a combination of my best friend, my daily companion, and something that I loved more than anything else. His abscence is tremendous. I miss him deeply and am only now starting to make it more than an hour without breaking into tears.

I’m starting a new foundation in his name to help/provide assistance to rescue organizations, service dogs, etc. and will post more info.

My sister gave me a very nice cigar over’s kit complete with my first ash tray. I don’t think I know how to smoke a cigar without ashing onto the floor, but this kit is so awesome I must learn.

Martin gave me a subscription to Atkins at home, making sure that by this time next year my goal of no longer being morbidly obese should be realized.

Update — Forrest has passed away.