CONTACTS 
0201 - IBM Credit Corporation               925 277 5600 fax 5654
020101 - Mr. Ross H. Armstrong
020102 - U.S. Sales Development

SUBJECTS
Armstrongs, Ross, etc.

0403 -    ..
0404 - Summary/Objective
0405 -
040501 - Follow up ref SDS 5 0000, ref SDS 3 0000.
040502 -
040503 - After Ross checked out our car, ref SDS 5 1911, we had a chance to
040504 - visit while Ross and Claudia were doing chores, getting their home
040505 - ready for sale.  We went to Hutch's football game.  They have
040506 - interesing challenges and opportunities that will bring excitement and
040507 - new perspectives for the family.
040508 -
040509 -      [On 981030 submitted this to Ross. ref SDS 6 0000]
040510 -
040511 -
040512 -
0406 -
0407 - Progress
0408 -
040801 -  ..
040802 - Installed Seismic Retrofit on Water Heater
040803 -
040804 - Helped Ross install some metal straps to restrain the water heater in
040805 - the event of an earthquake.  This is required for selling his home, in
040806 - conjunction with his move to New York.
040807 -
040808 - Claudia was busy with other clean up and repairs, getting the house
040809 - ready for sale.
040810 - ..
040811 - Ross indicated his new assignment will require travel to Europe.
040812 - He expects to eventually be posted to Paris, which will give the kids
040813 - an even greater multi-cultural experience.  Ross thinks this is 4 - 5
040814 - years away, so Hutch will likely be in college in the US, but Stu may
040815 - get to live in Paris for awhile.
040816 -
040817 -     [On 991025 Ross and family are thinking about a vacation to
040818 -     Europe. ref SDS 8 0860]
040819 -
040820 -
040821 -  ..
040822 - New Office and Staff Set Up and Functioning
040823 -
040824 - I asked about progress planning the relocation of the family, setting
040825 - up his new office facilities and staff, from our discussion on 980917.
040826 - ref SDS 1 8848
040827 -
040828 - Ross indicated everything is set up and functioning.
040829 -
040830 -
040831 -  ..
040832 - Ross Has Found Possible Home in New York
040833 -
040834 - Ross described a home he has inspected in New York or Conneticut,
040835 - which is about a 45 minute drive to his office.  It is spacious with 4
040836 - bedrooms and has lake frontage.  It is a new home, built on "spec" by
040837 - a general contractor.
040838 -
040839 - One question that arises with new homes is how responsive the
040840 - contractor is to correct problems that arise from use of the home.
040841 - Lack of use, means that none of the defects that occur in every
040842 - building have yet been discovered.
040843 -
040844 - Additionally, it may be possible to get the contractor to provide some
040845 - key improvements in order to make the deal.  Make it a provision of
040846 - the sale that the home be inspected and that needed corrections be
040847 - made before payment is made.  It might be worth it to hire a local
040848 - contractor or architect to make an inspection with Ross and Claudia.
040849 - This might cost $500, but that is much cheaper than buying something
040850 - that requires $10K - $50K in corrections, and months of frustrations
040851 - trying to get the contractor to perform.
040852 -
040853 - Typically a punch list is created by the owner of a new building as
040854 - part of project close out or commissioning.  In this case, there was
040855 - no punch list, because the General Contractor was the owner.  So a lot
040856 - of stuff gets covered up with a pretty paint job.  Mechanical,
040857 - electrical systems, doors, windows, drainage, everything should be
040858 - carefully inspected.  Has the home been through a winter?
040859 - ..
040860 - Claudia commented on the way back from the football game about
040861 - the commute time.  Ross feels in his case he will be traveling alot,
040862 - and even when he is in town, he may not have to drive to the office
040863 - everyday, so it is less of an issue with him.  For Claudia, it will be
040864 - more of a daily grind.  Perhaps though after her position is
040865 - established at her new office, it may be possible to do some
040866 - "telecomuting."
040867 -
040868 -    [On 990208 Ross said they wound up in Connecticut. ref SDS 7 2224]
040869 -
040870 - Claudia described an insurance mechanism to pay for correcting defects
040871 - discovered by a home buyer, who pays a flat fee of $40 for each
040872 - incidence.  This sounds like a performance bond procedure that could
040873 - be applied to the purchase of their new home in New York.
040874 -
040875 -
040876 -  ..
040877 - Basement Clean Up Needs Review
040878 -
040879 - Hutch, Stu, and a friend, Peter, were cleaning up the basement. There
040880 - was discussion about the need for management review of this clean up
040881 - effort, similar to the work performed by S&C reported at 981022.....
040882 - ref SDS 4 1840
040883 -
040884 - Hutch said he could not see anything further that needed to be done.
040885 - Ross agreed to provide guidance after the football game to align the
040886 - work with requirements.  He wants to facilitate the pending termite
040887 - inspection by removing wood members from the basement.
040888 -
040889 -
040890 -
0409 -
0410 -
0411 - 1245
0412 -
041201 -  ..
041202 - Went to Football Game, Clayton Valley v. Martinez
041203 - Hutch Get's Hamburger, Weighs-in for the Game
041204 -
041205 - On the way to the game, Hutch wanted a Carl's Jr. hamburger for lunch
041206 - prior to the game at 1500.  Ross suggested Transworld Hamburgers, Jack
041207 - in the Box, or Wendy's, which were encountered on the way to the
041208 - stadium in Martinez. Hutch noted that Carl's Jr. is near Costco, which
041209 - we passed sometime prior to getting to Martinez.
041210 -
041211 - Hutch settled on a Wendy's hamburger.  Turned out that the woman at
041212 - the counter, was a family friend.  Ross noted as we left, that she and
041213 - her husband likely own or manage this franchise, along with another
041214 - store.
041215 -
041216 -
041217 -
041218 -  ..
041219 - Lunch at Transworld Hamburger's Disappoints Ross, Stu Not Hungry
041220 -
041221 - We dropped Hutch off with his hamburger at the high school for
041222 - weigh-ins prior to the game.  Ross took the rest of us back to the
041223 - transworld Hamburger shop, for lunch.
041224 -
041225 - We actually made a detour so Ross to get some cash at an ATM at
041226 - Safeway.
041227 -
041228 - At the Transworld Hamburger shop, Stuart said he was not hungry, and
041229 - so he did not order anything to eat.  He ordered a Snapple to drink,
041230 - but did not specify a flavor.
041231 -
041232 - Ross ordered a baconburger.  Peter and I ordered cheeseburgers.
041233 -
041234 - I asked Stu if he would like a bite of my hamberger or some fries, and
041235 - he declined, saying he was not hungry.
041236 -
041237 - When the order arrived, Ross could not see the bacon in his hamburger.
041238 - He asked for a correction.  The manager showed Ross that there was
041239 - some bacon in the hamburger.
041240 -
041241 - Ross was not pleased with the price/quality/service on this occassion,
041242 - and so plans to avoid Transworld Hamburgers in the future, at least in
041243 - Martinez, which should not be too difficult while living in New York.
041244 - "Transworld" does have a broad based to it, so he may encounter a
041245 - critical decision if there is a Transworld franchise in the White
041246 - Plains area.
041247 -
041248 - Ross asked Stu if he wanted a bite of his bacon burger.  Stu said he
041249 - was not hungry.
041250 -
041251 -
041252 -
0413 -
0414 -
0415 - 1417
0416 -
041601 -  ..
041602 - Stu Gets Hungry After Lunch in Anticipation of Big Game
041603 -
041604 - After lunch we drove back to the high school where Hutch's game would
041605 - be played.
041606 -
041607 - There was some slight difficulty getting parked.  Ross backed into the
041608 - parking space, and at the last second discovered that someone had
041609 - unexpectedly constructed a light pole in his path.  We checked the
041610 - bumper.  I did not see any apparent impact.  Claudia later reported
041611 - seeing a slight dent in the rear bumber.
041612 -
041613 - Ross, Peter, Stu and I walked around the field in front of the home
041614 - field stands, and passed the snack shop on the way to the visitors
041615 - stands.
041616 -
041617 - Just as we got seated, Stuart reported feeling hungry.  He asked Ross
041618 - and/or Peter to walk with him back to the snack shop for some candy.
041619 - Ross and Peter wanted to watch a game that was in progress when we
041620 - arrived, and which preceded Hutch's game at 1500.
041621 -
041622 - Stu was insistent about going to the snack shop.  He also wanted to go
041623 - to Safeway for some batteries, I think for a handheld electronic game
041624 - that he, Ross and Peter had been playing at lunch and during the ride
041625 - to the game.  Evidently the batteries finally failed.
041626 -
041627 - I offered to go with Stu to the snack shop and to the Safeway, which
041628 - was only a block-or-two away.  Stu wanted Ross or Peter to go with
041629 - him.
041630 -
041631 - Finally, Stu relented and permitted me to go with him to the snack
041632 - shop.  He seemed to have forgotten about the batteries while climbing
041633 - up and down the grandstands (actually a small set of bleachers).
041634 -
041635 - On the way, I asked Stu if he could beat me in a race to the snack
041636 - shop.  He took off.  I managed to catch up, but he finally passed me
041637 - and made it to the snack shop first.  I said that Stuart won because I
041638 - had lunch, and so was not as hungry as he was.  He had the greater
041639 - incentive.  Stu feels he is the faster runner.  I said that his Dad
041640 - and Aunt Nina are both faster than I am, so Stu may be right.
041641 -
041642 - Stuart ordered a lollipop for himself and an "Airhead" candy of some
041643 - sort for Peter.  I suggested this was a small order for such a lot of
041644 - fuss and effort to get to the snack shop.  Stuart said he was not that
041645 - hungry.
041646 -
041647 -
041648 -  ..
041649 - Clayton Valley Falcons Dominate Martinez Mustangs in Mud Bath
041650 -
041651 - Stu and I made it back to the visitor stands in time to see a 99 yard
041652 - run for a winning touchdown by the Martinez team in the game that was
041653 - finishing up for the smaller kids.
041654 -
041655 - Peter was pleased to get an Airhead.
041656 - ..
041657 - Hutch's game began at 1500, as planned.
041658 -
041659 - Ross and I made a point to see how well Hutch blockedon kick-offs,
041660 - which had been a problem area a few weeks ago. ref SDS 2 0739
041661 -
041662 - Claudia was supposed to meet us at 1500, but got delayed.  She finally
041663 - arried just before the end of the first half.
041664 -
041665 - The center of the field was extremely muddy due to heavy rains early
041666 - this morning, and poor drainage and maintenance.  Ross said the high
041667 - school no longer plays its home games on this field, so it is
041668 - generally neglected.
041669 -
041670 - The poor condition of the field hampered both teams initially.  The
041671 - poor footing stymied efforts to run the ball.
041672 -
041673 - As the game progressed, Clayton Valley got the passing game going. The
041674 - quarterback has a strong arm and pretty good mechanics.  He threw a
041675 - long touchdown pass that put Clayton Valley up 6 0.  They missed the
041676 - extra point because the ball got stuck in the mud.
041677 -
041678 - Clayton Valley scored again, using its passing to move the ball into a
041679 - part of the field that was less muddy, so the running game could get
041680 - untracked.  They got a running touchdown from Kruupa, who had a strong
041681 - game.
041682 -
041683 - Hutch was instrumental in Clayton Valley's success dominating his side
041684 - of the line at offensive tackle, allowing time for the quarterback to
041685 - set up and throw, and making holes for a strong running attack.
041686 -
041687 - After the game, while walking back to the car with Hutch, we discussed
041688 - improvement from the game I saw a few weeks ago. ref SDS 3 3978
041689 -
041690 -
041691 -  ..
041692 - Stu Gets Hungry Again, Ross Does 50 Push Ups
041693 -
041694 - Just before the first half ended, all this activity on the field seems
041695 - to have made Stu hungry again.  He actally made several trips back to
041696 - the snack shop.
041697 -
041698 - Something came up during the banter among the three of us that
041699 - prompted Ross to bet Peter that he could do 50 push ups.  Under the
041700 - terms of the wager, some ill, large or small, was to befall Peter, if
041701 - Ross could do 50 pushups.
041702 -
041703 - Ross walked down the steps and around to the rear side of the
041704 - bleachers. so he was not disruptive to the on-going game, but where we
041705 - could observe his efforts from our seats at the top corner of the
041706 - bleachers.
041707 -
041708 - It seemed to me that Ross did the 50 push ups, although to give him a
041709 - bad time, I counted out only 42, when he stopped.  He was kind to say
041710 - he stopped at 49, so that Peter was spared from having to endure the
041711 - fate that had been wagered, if Ross had won the bet.
041712 -
041713 -
041714 -  ..
041715 - Claudia Arrives, Clayton Valley Falcons Improve
041716 -
041717 - Claudia arrived just before the end if the first half.
041718 -
041719 - This was just in time for Stuart's next trip to the snack shop.
041720 -
041721 - Back from the snack shop, Stuart demonstrated his agility to climb the
041722 - bleacher framing.
041723 -
041724 - When the game resumed, Clayton Valley seemed stronger in the second
041725 - half.  They quickly ran up two more touchdowns.
041726 -
041727 - Hutch began playing defense as well as his usual position on offense.
041728 - He recorded two (2) quarterback sacks, and stuffed the Martinez
041729 - running game.
041730 -
041731 - Eventually, Martinez was able to score a touchdown in the closing
041732 - seconds of the game, against the second and third team defense fielded
041733 - by Clayton Valley.
041734 - ..
041735 - After the game, I drove back with Claudia.  She related Ross'
041736 - strong feeling about the home he has found in New York, and important
041737 - decisions they have to resolve together in the period ahead, as
041738 - discussed above. ref SDS 0 6455
041739 -
041740 - I mentioned the discussion with Ross, that our trips to Yosemite are
041741 - probably behind us, but that their future may lead to assignments in
041742 - London or Paris. ref SDS 0 7388  Thanks, to Claudia, their children
041743 - are already bilingual, but if the family does move to London or Paris,
041744 - the kids will become multi-cultural.
041745 -
041746 - While daily turbulence will be encountered, in the main it seems that
041747 - hard work and focus on family unity are paying off in smooth sailing
041748 - for the years ahead.
041749 -
041750 -
041751 -
0418 -