So – Friday morning dawned overcast in Anaheim. With it came the buzzing of my phone – TMBWitW is messaging me that she is on the way – 0630 and on the road. I message back, asking her to drive safely, and roll over for a short nap. I woke up about 0700, rollout, shower, get dressed, and decide that a long walk to get away from hotel conference food is in the cards. My walking takes me north on Harbor Boulevard towards the Mouse Eared Main Gate and a certain high-volume arched restaurant right across the street. I order and eat, taking my time, and people watching as the crowd surges in and out on it’s way to the park. I start walking back to the hotel and just enjoy the weather – about 72, slightly overcast from the marine layer, with the sun starting to burn off the haze.

Back in the room, I settled in for a marathon of American Chopper. Knowing that my wife will never set any land speed records (especially with her right arm in the shape it’s in) I even nap once in a while. I’ve got the sliding door open, and I’m enjoying the fresh air and cool weather. She calls around 1000, letting me know she’s napping in Indio. An hour later, she’s back on the road. I talk her in by phone once she is close, and my family joins me around 1330. TMBWitW promptly lays down for a nap (sore and tired – bad combination!) and I take another Deacon’s nephew to meet him at the Park.

When I get back to the room, TMBWitW is on the verge of a power nap – so I take MEG and head for Redondo Beach. We spend a few hours building a sand castle and chasing the waves, splashing, and having a good time. Sorry, no pictures – I was concentrating on keeping an eye on my fearless daughter, and didn’t want to run the risk of dropping a camera in the ocean.

The next morning, I pack the car, we check out, and we hit the Santa Ana Zoo. There is an adoption event going on – mostly German Shepherds. We get in, wander the zoo, ride the “canimal” and even the train. On the way out, we pass a kennel with a sweet little black lab puppy – he looks about nine months old – and it’s everything I can do to keep moving toward the car without adopting him on the spot. We hit the road, and head back for Phoenix. First stop: Mighty Mikes for dinner, then home and my own bed. Whew!

Chat ya later…

Thank you for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, God bless you all, don’t buy or breed cats or dogs while homeless pets die (spay, neuter & adopt a pet, one by one, until there are none), Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

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Just before the trip to Anaheim, I join Twitter. Not sure how it’s going to work out. I initially joined to find out how it worked, in order to help Kidstop get going on Twitter. In the process, I’ve ended up following a lot of other tweeters.

Sunday at the opening session of the ASTRA conference, I end up following Graham David, the opening speaker. Over the course of the Academy and two days of Marketplace, I ended up following more industry twitter leads.

(i think i may have found a way to start catching up on industry information, compared to the boss – but i know that i will never be able to match her knowledge about this industry. i can only keep learning as much as possible.)

After ASTRA, The Good Toy Group meets and buys for the winter catalog. All the vendors who were selected to be in the catalog are in a private buying session, and orders are placed by the stores. This is another day and a half. Thursday, the room looks like a warehouse with the items I am bringing back to the store, the boss is catching a ride to the airport, and instead of waiting for my wife and child to arrive any minute – they are sitting at a parts store in Phoenix while a mechanic friend tries to wrestle the inoperable piece of alternator off the engine block to replace it with a working version.

Family vacation delayed for lack of equipment. I am frustrated because I’m not there to help. She is frustrated because she ends up spending eight hours in a parts store with our daughter. My cousin shows up, and he and I go to dinner without my family. It’s good to meet Bob, bad that my family couldn’t make it. The thresher shark at the Dana West Yacht Club is delicious.

Chat ya later…

Thank you for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, God bless you all, don’t buy or breed cats or dogs while homeless pets die (spay, neuter & adopt a pet, one by one, until there are none), Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

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OK, I’ve been back since Saturday evening – and I am still trying to process everything I’ve seen/heard/learned. The ASTRA Conference and the TGTG catalog buying event sure left a lot of information floating around in the head.

Had a great time with several blogging friends (Gawfer, Political Pistachio, and Prying1) at Chronic Tacos in Corona – very sorry that more weren’t able to make it. One in particular (a certain Marine who just transferred back stateside but wouldn’t be actually stateside until a week after the meeting) I was really looking forward to being able to see (but his sister and her son did), and another (American and Proud) who’s schedule just would not cooperate.

Gotta run – more later.

Chat ya later…

Thank you for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, God bless you all, don’t buy or breed cats or dogs while homeless pets die (spay, neuter & adopt a pet, one by one, until there are none), Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

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Good News: I can get the starter out of the Road Rhino in twenty minutes.

Bad News: I’ve taken the starter out so often that I can do it in twenty minutes.

At first, I thought it was just a hot start problem. Then, after the Rhino had been sitting for over an hour and it still wouldn’t start, I knew there was a problem. So, I asked the guy who had gotten the starter for me if he still had the receipt. I got out from under the Rhino by 2320 hours, and after cleaning up, here I sit. I’m supposed to be leaving for the ASTRA Convention in a few hours. Now, I’m very wound up/exhausted. Yeah, doesn’t sound like a good sleep combination to me.

Follow me on Twitter and I’ll keep you up to date this week – no blogging, and after the timed-release Father’s Day post, nothing new until I get back. So, both of you regular readers, don’t lose heart. I’ will be back.

Chat ya later…

Thank you for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, God bless you all, don’t buy or breed cats or dogs while homeless pets die (spay, neuter & adopt a pet, one by one, until there are none), Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

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The American Specialty Toy Retailers Association is having their conference next week, starting Sunday morning. I will be at that conference, representing Kidstop Toys, along with the owner and her husband.

Gosh, this is the tough part of the new career – having to go to Anaheim, in June, and learn about (and play with!) a bunch of new toys, and meet the industry movers and shakers … [sarcasm=OFF]

I have arranged a meet-and-greet with some excellent blogger friends for Saturday evening. I have already met two of them in person, this is going to allow me to meet more of these fine folks. You will find them in the sidebar, with their blogs listed. I’ll have an after-action report when I get back from Anaheim.

Why after I get back, you ask? Well, we only have the one laptop between us, and since TMBWitW is the one tracking things like bills and whatnot, we decided it would be best if I left the laptop at home. Now, unless I can find a public access computer in the Anaheim Convention Center, I’ll be off line for the next week. It’s OK though – after the ASTRA Conference, the family and I will be enjoying some downtime together – TMBWitW and MEG will be joining me on Thursday of next week. I will also be catching up with a distant cousin, one who helped my family pack up for the move from the LA area to Colorado, before I was born. I don’t know if he reads this, so I don’t know if he’s aware of the passing of Dad, Lea Ann, and Mom – half of the group that he helped move …

At any rate, I will be MIA for a few days, at least. I am still connected by the cell phone, and if you follow me on Twitter, I will be twitting my adventures there, or at least I’ll be trying. Bosslady moves fast at these things, and I’ll be keeping up with her. One thing I’ve learned – tweeting and walking don’t mix.

Chat ya later…

Thank you for stopping by, In GOD We Trust, God bless you all, don’t buy or breed cats or dogs while homeless pets die (spay, neuter & adopt a pet, one by one, until there are none), Wear Red on Fridays, and support Warriors for Innocence!

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