Wow! Time flies when you are having so much fun. It's hard to believe that it is Monday.
Saturday was spent with final preparations for the night's ghost hunt in Pleasanton. I also ,made the drive to the shirt designer to pick up some CHaunts blankets, sweatpants and a polo shirt. we had some luncha nd then it was back home to load the van and sleep.I have an ulcer so that was acting up. I purchased some TUMS at a gas station to alleviate the tummy pain.
I left at about 6:15 p.m. to pick up John and the at 7 p.m.,I picked up Caren, our lead sensitive. Then we made the 1.5 hour trip to Pleasanton for the investigation.
Once we arrived, we tried to order pizza but the kitchen was shut down, si for the first hour, we lived on the chocolate doughnuts that Caren had brought for us. Yum doughnuts and Mountain Dew. As we feasted and did a walk through to see where we should place our surveillance cameras, Fred and Julie arrived as did Kat-they are all part our five person Central California team.
Our contact for the evening, Julie arrived and I interviewed here while the cameras were set up. Once that was done, I sat down art the control center and started attaching camera lines to the DVR and found that one camera wasn't functioning properly. That is disappointing as the camera is new and is one of our super cameras that allows us to see 135 feet in the dark. Hopefully it was just a malfunction and I intend to check it at a later date.
Julie, our contact graciously made us Ceasar salad and garlic bread. It was delicious.
After eating and replacing the camera, it was lights out at about 11:15 p.m.
The next few hours were spent conducting EMF measurements and EVP sessions. Towards the end of the investigation, I took a team down into the basement area to conduct an EVP session while at the same time utilizing dowsing rods. We seemed to be talking with a female spirit who had a sense of humor. LOL.
At about 1:45 a.m. we wrapped and I sat down with Julie the contact and gave her a preliminary overview of what we found.
No. I am not going to leave it at that and tease you.
We found high Elelectro Magnetic Frequencies (EMF) throughout the building and also found a plausible explanation for mirror that is thought to have some writing on it many think is paranormal in nature. Our answer? Aging mirrors tend to get certain marks on them that can appear as dark shapes when looked at from certain angles. Washing a mirror can also build up spots that could appear as shapes.
As far as the EMF goes, high EMF can cause paranoia ie: feelings of being watched, headaches and other stuff. The building is close to a street and the report of objects moving on tables could be the result of heavy trucks going by. The city also sits on an earthquake fault.
From the perspective of the sensitive, she detected one spirit, the spirit of a female who had lived about 130 years ago.
So now the research and evidence review begins.
I got home at about 4 a.m. on Sunday and slept most of the day. Today, has been slow. I rescheduled a doctor's appointment to tommorrow beause I have a writing assignment this afternoon. I went to Walmart this morning and now I am answering emails and writing this. I will unload the van later this afternoon and then visit a friend this evening.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Friday, February 19, 2010
So much to do....
Without sounding overly campy and cliche, I honestly believe that there should be at least three of me to keep up with everything.
It is about 1 a.m. and I have spent the day writing, taking ma to the dentist, running a family errand, taking pa to the doctor and then catching Avatar in 3D.
It doesn't seem much, I know but let me lay it out to you time-wise. I was up at 6 a.m. writing and at about 7:30 a.m. had a quick breakfast, then there was more writing. At 9:45 a.m. I took ma to the dentist and stayed there for about an hour before taking the pickup to have some tire work done. we got home at about 11:30, picked up pa because he wanted to do a little shopping and had some lunch. We finally got home at about 1:45 p.m.
After answering some emails and going over bills, it was time to take pa to the doctor, that lasted until 5 p.m. I got home, jumped in the pickup and headed to Davis for a quick dinner and a three-hour movie.
On Feb. 17, I spent most of the day designing a press release, placing the upcoming ghost walk on several online newspaper calendars, watching six hours of video from Saturday's investigation,did my Blogtalk Radio show, placing the press release on Facebook and Myspace and answering emails. I also sent out 67 emails to advertise my Blogtalk show.
At about 9 p.m., I finally got a break and sat in front of the TV watching the olympics and munching on popcorn.
Whew...makes me tired just thinking about it.
It is about 1 a.m. and I have spent the day writing, taking ma to the dentist, running a family errand, taking pa to the doctor and then catching Avatar in 3D.
It doesn't seem much, I know but let me lay it out to you time-wise. I was up at 6 a.m. writing and at about 7:30 a.m. had a quick breakfast, then there was more writing. At 9:45 a.m. I took ma to the dentist and stayed there for about an hour before taking the pickup to have some tire work done. we got home at about 11:30, picked up pa because he wanted to do a little shopping and had some lunch. We finally got home at about 1:45 p.m.
After answering some emails and going over bills, it was time to take pa to the doctor, that lasted until 5 p.m. I got home, jumped in the pickup and headed to Davis for a quick dinner and a three-hour movie.
On Feb. 17, I spent most of the day designing a press release, placing the upcoming ghost walk on several online newspaper calendars, watching six hours of video from Saturday's investigation,did my Blogtalk Radio show, placing the press release on Facebook and Myspace and answering emails. I also sent out 67 emails to advertise my Blogtalk show.
At about 9 p.m., I finally got a break and sat in front of the TV watching the olympics and munching on popcorn.
Whew...makes me tired just thinking about it.
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
Keep on Truckin'
After having slept all of about fours on Sunday morning, I found myself unloading equipment out of the van and then loading up the family for a trip to Harbor Freight, a tool store. While I wasn't very happy about rushing off...you see I had what I thought was a 2 p.m. performance at the Mondavi to attend and the time of heading to Harbor was 11 a.m. so we would be cutting it close.
So off I drove to Harbor and it all oorled out anyway as I ended up buying a set of screwdrivers, some Velcro cable ties and a plastic organiozer box for the hundreds of batteries that we carry to investigations.
We stopped off for a quick lunch and then the second I got home, I hopped into my pickup for the 40 minute drive to Davis, which meant, if all was well with the world, I would arrive to pick my friend up at 1:30 p.m.
So as I head to Davis, I can see the Mondavi from the highway and the parking lot seems empty. I am thinking that maybe the show got canceled. I pick up ny friend, who has the tickets and we drivr to the Mondavi and notice that no one is going in. To her horror, my friend realizes that the tickets are for 7 p.m.
Now what do I do? I am exhausted and I don't want to make the drive back to Sacramento because I would have to drive back at 5:30 p.m. so I decide to go shopping. We drive to Dixon and go to Walmart where I buy some food items for my family and a tool box for the group. Then it wa back to my friend's apartment to stowe the gear.
By now, it's around 5 p.m., so we go to dinner which is followed by the show. I was so tired and fought my way through the performace but i made it and then headed back to her apartment where I reloaded the truck.
Luckily there is a gas staion enar her apartment and I was able to get a Rock Star energy drink for the ride home. I got home around 11 p.m. and didn't wake up until 9 a.m. but still felt exhausted.
My mother had a dental appointment at 10 a.m. so I went to that and then headed off to Office Max to make copies of some rebate stuff for my cell phone. We stopped off at subway and went home and had lunch. I fell asleep for about an hour then it was into my office to design a Webpage for our upcoming event in Downieville, call some merchants to finalize details, write a press release and then take another nap for an hour.
My evening ended in Davis, watching the Olympics with friends and then I headed home to write this blog.
Now...I MUST SLEEP.
So off I drove to Harbor and it all oorled out anyway as I ended up buying a set of screwdrivers, some Velcro cable ties and a plastic organiozer box for the hundreds of batteries that we carry to investigations.
We stopped off for a quick lunch and then the second I got home, I hopped into my pickup for the 40 minute drive to Davis, which meant, if all was well with the world, I would arrive to pick my friend up at 1:30 p.m.
So as I head to Davis, I can see the Mondavi from the highway and the parking lot seems empty. I am thinking that maybe the show got canceled. I pick up ny friend, who has the tickets and we drivr to the Mondavi and notice that no one is going in. To her horror, my friend realizes that the tickets are for 7 p.m.
Now what do I do? I am exhausted and I don't want to make the drive back to Sacramento because I would have to drive back at 5:30 p.m. so I decide to go shopping. We drive to Dixon and go to Walmart where I buy some food items for my family and a tool box for the group. Then it wa back to my friend's apartment to stowe the gear.
By now, it's around 5 p.m., so we go to dinner which is followed by the show. I was so tired and fought my way through the performace but i made it and then headed back to her apartment where I reloaded the truck.
Luckily there is a gas staion enar her apartment and I was able to get a Rock Star energy drink for the ride home. I got home around 11 p.m. and didn't wake up until 9 a.m. but still felt exhausted.
My mother had a dental appointment at 10 a.m. so I went to that and then headed off to Office Max to make copies of some rebate stuff for my cell phone. We stopped off at subway and went home and had lunch. I fell asleep for about an hour then it was into my office to design a Webpage for our upcoming event in Downieville, call some merchants to finalize details, write a press release and then take another nap for an hour.
My evening ended in Davis, watching the Olympics with friends and then I headed home to write this blog.
Now...I MUST SLEEP.
Sunday, February 14, 2010
A Long Night
It's 3:15 a.m. and I am just getting home from a ghost hunt at a residence.
My day started at 8 a.m. with a check of the DVR followed by a trip to Office Max for supplies and lunch. Once home, I put together investigation paperwork and then loaded all the equipment into the van.
At about 2 p.m., one investigator called in sick but that is OK. Because we have so many people, it is easy to find a replacement.
I spent two hours at a movie and then it was back home to wait on two investigators before leaving for the investigation.
Once we arrived, John and Jerry worked with the two trainees and taught them about the use and setup of the equipment. We then spent the next five hours at the site before heading to Denny's for a nightcap.
One thing of note: The client gave the team a very generous donation. I gave Jerry half of it as a payment on the Thermal Imaging camera he bought for the group.
Now, as I write this, I am listening to some EVP work and hopefully will be going to bed soon.
My day started at 8 a.m. with a check of the DVR followed by a trip to Office Max for supplies and lunch. Once home, I put together investigation paperwork and then loaded all the equipment into the van.
At about 2 p.m., one investigator called in sick but that is OK. Because we have so many people, it is easy to find a replacement.
I spent two hours at a movie and then it was back home to wait on two investigators before leaving for the investigation.
Once we arrived, John and Jerry worked with the two trainees and taught them about the use and setup of the equipment. We then spent the next five hours at the site before heading to Denny's for a nightcap.
One thing of note: The client gave the team a very generous donation. I gave Jerry half of it as a payment on the Thermal Imaging camera he bought for the group.
Now, as I write this, I am listening to some EVP work and hopefully will be going to bed soon.
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Busy Busy Busy
OK so two days have passed since I last blogged.
On Thursday I took the family to the Jelly Belly Factory. On Thursday night, I was a guest on a radio show on Blogtalk Radio-Cathies Distant Echos where i was interviewed not only by Cathie but by a fellow ghost hunter. It was a fun hour but was over before I knew it. Thursday night was spent answering numerous emails and updating the Website.
On Friday, I finally got around to doing the equipment check. There are six boxes of various meters, cameras, mics, cords, walkie talkiesa nd other investigation-related tools that we use in teh field. In addition, there are eight 100 foot audio/video lines, a monitor and a nin-channel DVR. I also use an HP mini laptop on investigations.
All in all it took about an hour to do the check and I found, to my dismay, that a thermometer was missing so I emailed my team to see if someone had taken it home by accident. If that's not the case, then I will have to buy another one. I also found that the walkie talkies were in need of batteries. The bad part is that each walkie talkies three to four AAA batteries and generally we use five on investigations so itc an get expensive.
After emailing my team, I went out in search of a library meeting room for the next team meeting. Lunch followed with atrip to the pharmacy and then to Walmart to buy extra batteries. I then returned home to prepare for my evening meeting at Denny's with potential team members.
Let it be know that I detest sitting idle so the downtime -about three hours between getting home and going to the meeting, made me stir crazy so I wrote up my proposal for a special event in March and emailed it off.
When I arrived at Denny's, John and Marcy were already there and had a table waiting so we waited for the recruits to arrive. After an extended meeting in which I had dinner, we all went home.
But I wasn't done yet. I answered emails and tested out a recording system that may be used in future investigations. Apparently I have the wrong cable because it was a bust. Tomorrow I will make a trip to Radio Shack for the right cable.
And so here I sit writing and drinking ice water and thinking about the things I need to do tomorrow.
Already I have a full plate.
1. Test the DVR
2. Prepare the investigation forms.
3. A trip to radio shack
4. A movie with a friend
5. Loading the car and conducting the investigation.
As the song says, "I Can Sleep When I'm Dead."
See ya.
On Thursday I took the family to the Jelly Belly Factory. On Thursday night, I was a guest on a radio show on Blogtalk Radio-Cathies Distant Echos where i was interviewed not only by Cathie but by a fellow ghost hunter. It was a fun hour but was over before I knew it. Thursday night was spent answering numerous emails and updating the Website.
On Friday, I finally got around to doing the equipment check. There are six boxes of various meters, cameras, mics, cords, walkie talkiesa nd other investigation-related tools that we use in teh field. In addition, there are eight 100 foot audio/video lines, a monitor and a nin-channel DVR. I also use an HP mini laptop on investigations.
All in all it took about an hour to do the check and I found, to my dismay, that a thermometer was missing so I emailed my team to see if someone had taken it home by accident. If that's not the case, then I will have to buy another one. I also found that the walkie talkies were in need of batteries. The bad part is that each walkie talkies three to four AAA batteries and generally we use five on investigations so itc an get expensive.
After emailing my team, I went out in search of a library meeting room for the next team meeting. Lunch followed with atrip to the pharmacy and then to Walmart to buy extra batteries. I then returned home to prepare for my evening meeting at Denny's with potential team members.
Let it be know that I detest sitting idle so the downtime -about three hours between getting home and going to the meeting, made me stir crazy so I wrote up my proposal for a special event in March and emailed it off.
When I arrived at Denny's, John and Marcy were already there and had a table waiting so we waited for the recruits to arrive. After an extended meeting in which I had dinner, we all went home.
But I wasn't done yet. I answered emails and tested out a recording system that may be used in future investigations. Apparently I have the wrong cable because it was a bust. Tomorrow I will make a trip to Radio Shack for the right cable.
And so here I sit writing and drinking ice water and thinking about the things I need to do tomorrow.
Already I have a full plate.
1. Test the DVR
2. Prepare the investigation forms.
3. A trip to radio shack
4. A movie with a friend
5. Loading the car and conducting the investigation.
As the song says, "I Can Sleep When I'm Dead."
See ya.
Thursday, February 11, 2010
This That and The other Thing
OK so now I have the time to really pursue stuff for my group. After finishing up my final article this evening, I now can make things happen.
After doing my blogtalk radio show, which was fun by the way, I drove m to the .98 store and did some shopping. MMM-three words, Philadelphia Water Ice in varying flavors. Try it. Trust me.
Once I got home, I confirmed an investigation at a pizza place in the Bay Area this evening. I was able to talk with my team members for a while too.
As a team, we are all excited about this weekend's investigation. Residentials' are always nice to do. You have more control over the environment than you do in commercial job\s where sometimes you are at the mercy of their schedules. Hotels can be interesting because, especially on weekends, the bars stay open late and people are laughing and the music is blaring. Sometimes you work around it and hope for the best or you wait until early morning to start the investigation.
A lot of people have asked me why I became a ghost hunter. My answer is curiosity. Since I was a kid I remember seeing "things" in my house. Not bad things but to me, theyw ere scary. My family would laugh and chock it up to bad dreams and fantasies but I knew because I would see them during the day.
As I grew older, I watched all those shows like Unsolved Mysteries and In Search Of as I tried to find answers. as an adult, I joined a paranormal group and had several interesting adventures. I also did investigating on my own and sometimes came away scared.
Now, as the head of my own group, I am still seeking answers but at the same time, I understand what it is like to feel unsure of oneself. many people who see spirits in their homes are either afraid , think they might be going nuts or are curious like I was and still am.
So my objective is now twofold. I want to help those people, who like me, seek answers. I want to be able to assure them that they are not crazy and I want to get evidence to prove that. If paranormal activity is found in a location and the client feels uncomfortable about it, tI call in one of the team psychics to work with them.
As a team, we seek the truth and go to extreme measures to make sure that what the client is experiencing isn't caused by a natural or man made occurrence. When we've finally ruled out all possibilities, then we look at what else could be the cause of the sightings, noises or objects being moved around.
In the end, we bring some peace of mind to the client.
After doing my blogtalk radio show, which was fun by the way, I drove m to the .98 store and did some shopping. MMM-three words, Philadelphia Water Ice in varying flavors. Try it. Trust me.
Once I got home, I confirmed an investigation at a pizza place in the Bay Area this evening. I was able to talk with my team members for a while too.
As a team, we are all excited about this weekend's investigation. Residentials' are always nice to do. You have more control over the environment than you do in commercial job\s where sometimes you are at the mercy of their schedules. Hotels can be interesting because, especially on weekends, the bars stay open late and people are laughing and the music is blaring. Sometimes you work around it and hope for the best or you wait until early morning to start the investigation.
A lot of people have asked me why I became a ghost hunter. My answer is curiosity. Since I was a kid I remember seeing "things" in my house. Not bad things but to me, theyw ere scary. My family would laugh and chock it up to bad dreams and fantasies but I knew because I would see them during the day.
As I grew older, I watched all those shows like Unsolved Mysteries and In Search Of as I tried to find answers. as an adult, I joined a paranormal group and had several interesting adventures. I also did investigating on my own and sometimes came away scared.
Now, as the head of my own group, I am still seeking answers but at the same time, I understand what it is like to feel unsure of oneself. many people who see spirits in their homes are either afraid , think they might be going nuts or are curious like I was and still am.
So my objective is now twofold. I want to help those people, who like me, seek answers. I want to be able to assure them that they are not crazy and I want to get evidence to prove that. If paranormal activity is found in a location and the client feels uncomfortable about it, tI call in one of the team psychics to work with them.
As a team, we seek the truth and go to extreme measures to make sure that what the client is experiencing isn't caused by a natural or man made occurrence. When we've finally ruled out all possibilities, then we look at what else could be the cause of the sightings, noises or objects being moved around.
In the end, we bring some peace of mind to the client.
Tuesday, February 9, 2010
Time to Step It Up
Now that some of my writing is slowing down I can step up working with the investigation group.
Today, for example, I wrote down ideas for an upcoming event in the mountains. I also called and confirmed an investigation at a popular hotel near Yosemite.
I spent the better part of an hour answering calls from team members and getting emails out about the confirmation as well as about an upcoming investigation.
Tonight I find myself answering more emails and writing my blog.
I am glad things are slowing down a bit, It has been frustrating balancing real life with my ghost hunting life. There is always so much to do and prioritizing it can be a bear.
Well tomorrow will be a better day...I hope.
Today, for example, I wrote down ideas for an upcoming event in the mountains. I also called and confirmed an investigation at a popular hotel near Yosemite.
I spent the better part of an hour answering calls from team members and getting emails out about the confirmation as well as about an upcoming investigation.
Tonight I find myself answering more emails and writing my blog.
I am glad things are slowing down a bit, It has been frustrating balancing real life with my ghost hunting life. There is always so much to do and prioritizing it can be a bear.
Well tomorrow will be a better day...I hope.
Monday, February 8, 2010
A little about Me
First off I want to welcome you to this blog.
As the days progress, I will try to blog daily as my schedule permits but there will be days that I am very busy with life things and won't be able to write.
In short, I run a paranormal investigation group of about 45 members. Members are spread throughout California.
This blog will show you what it takes to run a successful group-I will hold nothing back including my frustrations.
So here goes:
I am a journalist by trade but am currently unemployed due to a layoff at a newspaper. The timing of the layoff was interesting because my elderly father got sick and I now take care of both my elderly parents in addition to working towards creating an online newspaper. I also write for publications on occasion, for free, just so I can keep my name out there. As jobs for journalists are scarse these days, keeping my name out there may help in future job interviews.
This weekend was very busy.
Friday, my day began with a family trip to Walmart for some items that included a pair of sweat pants. We then headed to the shirt printer so that I could order shirts for my new team members and i also dropped off the sweatpants so that I could have the group logo embroidered on them. After ordering a few items, itw as back in the car and out to lunch with ma and pa. we then headed to Costco. When I got home, I answered some emails and then I was off again to visit a friend.
I spent yesterday, Saturday, in a Northern California town, touring and talking with business owners and residents about their alleged hauntings. I got names and numbers and in the next few days will be calling them to arrange a ghost tour of the town and two investigations. Later on in the week I will make the 2 hour drive back to the town to take pictures of the buildings and set up a tour route.
Today, Sunday, I started my day with a birthday lunch and the went to Office Max to buy some supplies and then it was to see Rent which was followed by a dinner.
This evening, Sunday, I spent time emailing new and old team members about the event in the town. I also spent a couple of hours trying to get a guest for the radio show that I host every Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. PST on www.blogtalkradio.com/californiahaunts. Once I got the guest, I then spent another hour notifying everyone on my frends lists at blogtalk, facebook, and Myspace and the Paranormal Classifieds about the show. I also placed an announcement on three message boards at meetup.com.
It is now midnite and I am still trying to get the word out about the show. I also went to Walmart today to buy printer paper and another tool box for investigation equipment. In a few minutes I will load that box up and hopefully get some much needed sleep.
As the days progress, I will try to blog daily as my schedule permits but there will be days that I am very busy with life things and won't be able to write.
In short, I run a paranormal investigation group of about 45 members. Members are spread throughout California.
This blog will show you what it takes to run a successful group-I will hold nothing back including my frustrations.
So here goes:
I am a journalist by trade but am currently unemployed due to a layoff at a newspaper. The timing of the layoff was interesting because my elderly father got sick and I now take care of both my elderly parents in addition to working towards creating an online newspaper. I also write for publications on occasion, for free, just so I can keep my name out there. As jobs for journalists are scarse these days, keeping my name out there may help in future job interviews.
This weekend was very busy.
Friday, my day began with a family trip to Walmart for some items that included a pair of sweat pants. We then headed to the shirt printer so that I could order shirts for my new team members and i also dropped off the sweatpants so that I could have the group logo embroidered on them. After ordering a few items, itw as back in the car and out to lunch with ma and pa. we then headed to Costco. When I got home, I answered some emails and then I was off again to visit a friend.
I spent yesterday, Saturday, in a Northern California town, touring and talking with business owners and residents about their alleged hauntings. I got names and numbers and in the next few days will be calling them to arrange a ghost tour of the town and two investigations. Later on in the week I will make the 2 hour drive back to the town to take pictures of the buildings and set up a tour route.
Today, Sunday, I started my day with a birthday lunch and the went to Office Max to buy some supplies and then it was to see Rent which was followed by a dinner.
This evening, Sunday, I spent time emailing new and old team members about the event in the town. I also spent a couple of hours trying to get a guest for the radio show that I host every Wednesday at 6:30 p.m. PST on www.blogtalkradio.com/californiahaunts. Once I got the guest, I then spent another hour notifying everyone on my frends lists at blogtalk, facebook, and Myspace and the Paranormal Classifieds about the show. I also placed an announcement on three message boards at meetup.com.
It is now midnite and I am still trying to get the word out about the show. I also went to Walmart today to buy printer paper and another tool box for investigation equipment. In a few minutes I will load that box up and hopefully get some much needed sleep.
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