To Improve Your Shopping Experience...

Please engage your brain...

Sometimes I wonder what people are thinking or how their houses look by what they do in stores...

I try to see things from their point of view but sometimes, it's so hard...

A woman came in and reported that she injured herself in our store the previous day.  She tripped over the cart her husband was pushing...

The inevitable people who back into our cart machines from a parking space and call the police.  Imagine their surprise when they get ticketted for unsafe backing...

The people who treat the clothing area like a yard sale.  Why can't you just refold the clothing instead of leaving an Autumnal pile?

There are people who are upset right now because we stopped carrying the pumpkin bread mix after Thanksgiving...
And the ones who are looking for that item that had a really good price on it.  How can we be sold out?  We had a pallet of them last week.  The item was low priced because it was on clearance to get rid of the rest of it.  The price drop did it's job.

Some people won't think this one is funny but this has to do with my sense of humor.  A gentleman wouldn't buy something the other day because it was made in Mexico.  He only buys American...

If you didn't get the joke, it's okay.

I informed him that it was made in America.  He said 'no, it was made in Mexico."

He paused and glared at me.  "You know what I mean.  Central America."

I apologized for the inconvenience and tried to end the conversation politely but quickly.  It's frowned upon to laugh at customers.

Yes, I get the idea.  I don't do it to be mean.  And there is really nothing I can do.  It's like the guy who tells me he's never going to shop in my store again...every week... for the past 3 years.

I knowit can be a frustrating time of the year and money is tight.  Our expectations have been set too high.  We seem to be like Dudley from Harry Potter, counting the number of gifts this year and comparing them to last year.

My family gets annoyed with me every year because I don't know what I want for Christmas.  I've already got all I want and none of it can be bought with money...

Ok, the roof over my head and the food and the car are nice but I don't really need a new game or some of the other stuff.  I haven't watched all the DVDs I got last year yet...

At least we're allowed to say Merry Christmas this year.  I said it last year too.  I call it freedom of speech...

HAND!

Oops! Been a While...

Almost a month has gone by since i last blogged. Weird word that.  Imagine saying that to someone 50 years ago and they would probably have thought you had gotten sick, or drunk.

Life is busy. Stuff to do.  I try to reshuffle things so I am doing more of the stuff that I want to or should do.  Re-prioritizing, I geuss.

So, I'm the cub scout pack leader for my son's pack of wolf scouts.  Most of my Monday nights are taken up with meetings and Saturday Mornings are taken up by special events.  Jake loves it and I enjoy spending the time with him.

Now I have to find a way to spend regular time with Emily.  First i need to hide her phone, computer, and tv.  Then keep her away from her friends.  That doesn't seem right.

Working on the walls of the bathroom. All of the old wall paper and glue is gone but the Dif we used to take it off has left a residue like a blue Slimer has gone beserk in there.

Slimer.  The green globby ghost from Ghostbusters.  The first one...

I have almost all the baseboards in place in the kitchen.  It may not be the most professional looking job in the world but I did it myself and it was the first time I have done something like that. It looks pretty good to me.  And I enjoy playing with Great Stuff and Liquid Nails...

Now if I could only pry this scraper out of my hands.

The trampoline is down for the winter.  That was kinda like my brother shutting down his pool except I don't use it myself, I don't sit near it sipping Reisling, and it was far easier to take it apart than put it together.  I've always had a knack for breaking stuff down.  Ask anyone.  The only mishap was I pulled off one of the aglets on the rope that goes around the outside.

If you don't know what an aglet is look it up.

That actually was one of those mixed blessing things.  It was taking the longest to 'unweave' the rope from all the loops and such because the aglet would catch on the edges and have to be guided through every single one.  These loops exist on the enclosure, the base covering, and the frame; all around the perimeter.  Therer are alot of them.

When the aglet popped off, and I couldn't slip it back on.  Silly thought, I know.  I realized that now I could pull the rope through three loops at a time!  And next year, I will ue the end with the aglet to thread the rope through.

The deck is cleared off for winter.  It is still full of happy memories of making kabobs for visiting family or just sitting around the porch fireplace as the night sky deepened to just stars and planes.

I'm glad i took the trampoline down before I accidentally glued the paint scrapper in my hand with Great Stuff!

HAND!

I tried not too... Belling the Cat...

Y'know that guy at work who does stuff he shouldn't or does, basically, nothing but escapes notice by pointing out the flaws of his co-workers?

Would you vote him in as President?

Or the person who uses the work of others as their own accomplishments?

Or just points out what a bad job someone else is doing and says that if they had that job, they could do better?

I don't know when the last time I went to a job interview and tried to get the job by making the other applicants look like they aren't a good choice so hire me...

Name calling? Funny quips?  Fact distortion?

Is this a presidential election or the 5th grade?

A few  thoughts, correct me if I'm wrong with constructive criticism...

One of Barak O'bama's running points before was ending the war by bringing our boys home.  The hint was that the mission would not be completed and I thought thats what people voted for. 

Now the mission is complete and our President is taking the credit.  yes, he has to ok the operation but aren't we glossing over the fact of all those soldiers and intelligence workers putting the thing together until it was handed to the President, whoever it was?  What would be the response if such had happened and the go ahead had not been given?  After all this time and energy and lives spent?

Point of order; it has been hinted that there were times in the past that the problem may have been handled pre 911 but the President at the time did not give the go ahead.

So, unless there had been a total withdrawal, wouldn't the mission have happened no matter who was President?

The war had started before he took office so he can't be blamed/ hailed for that.  This was the culmination of the work begun then...right or wrong. 

But I'm not sure what the other guy will do and the waffling and softening of position has begun to please the... contributers?

A sociology professor of mine once said that maybe there should be a 'None of the Above' button in the toll booth so that people wouldn't have to split along party lines or try to vote in a 3rd party canidate who, frankly, doesn't stand a chance in our media driven culture.

And maybe if None of the Above got the most votes then the 2 VP canidates would have to lead the country together until more suitable canidates could be found instead of the two guys with the deepest pockets and the most friends. 

We're not voting for the Prom Queen here, people.

I'm finding it easier and more satisfying to be non-partisan now than ever before.  Unfortunately, the way things are, this is a two person race.  the guy who's been doing the job and the guy who wants to do the job.

And, in my mind, they are spending tons of money calling each other names when we have an economy that is hindered partially by our countries ever increasing debt.  There's something to spend the money on.

Can someone give me a percentage of the debt that could have been paid off by the amount of money spent on the election include dinners and fundraisers?

I'm an assistant manager and I have closed and re-opened a position because no one who has applied was qualified.

I have also hired the wrong person before.

So, in conclusion,

Go out and vote, it's our right and duty.  Just, please, vote with your head and not with what others tell you to do or what you've always done in the past.

And don't get your hair stuck in the polling levers...

H.A.N.D.

Hello! I'm talking to you!!

I finally figured it out yesterday.

I had heard tons of reports and commentary about texting, most of which i can't remember except the whole keep the phone a foot from your head...

You know about that, right?

Anyway, the problem I have with texting...

I text a ton.  i'm not as bad as my 16 year old daughter but between work, friends (from work), and family I get the amount up there. 

The problem... this is why people don't like my blog.  i can't stay on topic...

And that's the point.  Kinda.

Conversation is immediate.  Conversation is reactive.  When you are talking to someone there is also body language and tone of voice...

The average length of time between statement and response is 3 - 5 minutes. i'm at work and text my boss about an issue at work.  5 to 10 minutes is a long time to wait for a resolution.  Usually it becomes like a test answer if his response matches what I did.

And, in a text-ual conversation, people will often just not repoind to statements they don't want to address.  Kinda like a political debate.

Or they just never answer.  I didn't get the text or I was busy or I must have accidentally erased it.

And then there are the people who get upset if you don't answer right away.  Like, I'm driving or at work busy. Give me a break. 

They are also the people who just never get back to you when you check on them and then are mad when you run into them in the grocery store.

That's like me saying something to you and you walking away and the next time we talk you get mad at me for not saying good bye the last time.

And saying goodbye has gone away too.  My daughter doesn't say goodbye to her friends when she talks to them on the phone.  When she calls them.  I have seen her text a friend who is on the other side of the car.

Now I;m telling us to bell the cat here.  I mean, what can we do?   I geuss we need to work on conversational closings so you know that the conversation is over.  And maybe coloring the messages would help with tone of voice.

Or maybe some courtesy instead of just never answering.  Apologize later. Tell what happened.  It's ok if you can't answer back right away.  If you need an instant answer or a conversation, dial the phone.

If I am too busy or driving, I won't answer.  or I will answer and explain that now isn't a good time.

Just some thoughts.  I still prefer face to face conversation...

Stripping! It's not what you think...

Get your brain out of that gutter.

I spent most of my Saturday off stripping the old wall paper in our bathroom with the help of my mom and wife and kids.  It was actually fun.  and i kinda like the new appearance of the room with just the plaster and wall board, little scraps of wallpaper and glue still clinging in spots waiting to be scrubbbed/scraped off while we prepare to paint.  The old dingy room is getting a new look.

I was pondering this after i dropped Jake off at school this morning and realized a theme.  kinda the frying pan to the back of the head as the Lord showed me a connection to other things.

I also shaved my moustache off a couple weeks ago.  I was done hiding behind it.  I was never one to believe much that facial hair meant you were hiding but, as I looked back at the past, oh, 20 years, I realize I came to Corning with a full beard, mustache, and long enough hair to tie into a small pony tail.  Over the years, the hair got shorter, the beard became a goatee and then just a moustache.  I would chew on the moustache when it got too long and it would smell gross at times.

So I shaved it off.  My son didn't want to get in the car the first afternoon after school until I spoke.   He wasn't sure it was me.  People at work tell me I look good. neater.  Younger.  15 years younger to be exact by the usual estimate.

And I felt better.  I have dealt with some old baggage and struggles.  I can't believe I carried some of this stuff around for so long.  Not that shaving the moustache got rid of the baggage but what i got rid of made me appear younger.

And I didn't do it because I thought I would look better but because I was sick of the old thing.  Too much time spent making it more presentable, like old wall paper that no longer serves its purpose.

Now I'm starting to wonder why a couple of people at work are growing out their facial hair.  Wonder if they are trying to hide something from themselves...

Random Thoughts...

To answer the question posed, I geuss Billy Joel doesn't write classical music, although John Williams can be found in the Classical music section of a store.  He would be writing orchestral Music.  Point conceded.  I don't sweat the small stuff.

Do I really want a President whose first name is the larval form of head lice?  Just to be non partisan.  I picked on the DNCC last time.

The Patriots lost again.  Close good game though.  I geuss there was a bad ref call.  I don't watch Patriots games for the reason that they always will start to embarass themselves while I am watching.  Yes, I watched last years Super Bowl.  I have also come to the conclusion that bad ref calls are part of the game.  Like weather.  They just happen.  If the game is that close, there are other problems than a bad call.

Does anyone else feel like both presidential candidates have done such a good job convincing me that neither of them should get the job?  Is Mickey Mouse running again this year?

A good driving habit kept me from having a car accident today.  I was at McDonalds getting coffee and was waiting for traffic to clear enough on the 4 lane to get out of the lot when a very nice guy in a truck waved me in front of him.  Having the previously discussed good habit of only pulling into the near lane when turning onto a four lane, I was missed by the driver moving up the left lane of traffic, as he has the right to do because there was no traffic there.  Wouldn't have been pretty.

Jacob has a new Darth Vader sweat shirt that has a zippable hood that looks like a Darth's mask which he proudly wore to school today.  He got it on a BTS shopping spree with his grand-mother Saturday.  He became upset in the car as I dropped him off because the kids were already moving into the school when we arrived.  He would not be able to show them the cool clothing because they are not allowed to wear the hoods in school.  I was proud of him for knowing the rules and wanting to obey them over his own desires.  He would have to wait until recess or after school.  Small stuff.

There's a good christian song about the little things which drive us crazy.  i can't remember the artist.

It's called 'The Little Things.'  It's kinda a fun song.  Give it a listen some time.

Is our country's economy caught in a ping pong game between the 2 political parties?

I would say that this one wasn't so random but calling the presidential race and the economy small things doesn't seem right.

Maybe I should call the random thoughts editions Small stuff.

HAND!

Aaaah! Autumn!

There's a couple reasons I love where I live.  I know taxes aren't great and the town is strange but I love New York seasons.  I love all four but, to be honest, Summer is my least favorite.  Hot days make me a lethargic.  Humid days are just plain uncomfortable and hard to handle, especially with a wife and child with asthma problems.  I do enjoy the golden sunlight and the outdoor activities but the threat of sunburn, Jake got burned twice this year and he had sunscreen put on both times.  Re-appliction was the issue and once was at park program, and heat exhaustion, Jake and Steph fell prey to that this year as well, take some of the joy out of it.  I don't like looking out the window at a bright sunny day but knowing that we can't go out to play because of the heat index.
Then again, I'm a precipitation freak.  And I love to watch the leaves turn colors in the fall.  Just like I love to watch the barren branches start to green with buds in the Spring.  And then, suddenly, there are leaves and flowers.  And, yes, pollen.
Sometimes I think I like Winter because most people don't.  Invariably, when I tell people I like winter, I am told that I must ski.
Nope. Never have.  Don't foreesee it happening either.
The long, cold darkness, as someone called it recently.
I find sunny days in the winter after a good snow to be brilliant!  All that white is so beautiful and refreshing!  It's like a purification! And I still like snow angels!
I don't mind the driving as much in the winter either, having grown up in the country on back roads.  I've been in ditches and skidded out.  My mom once did a 360 in the car she was driving me to school in.
I love seasonal changes.  I get bored of the same thing all the time.  Days of heat that seem to wilt us worse as they continue.  Everyone says they love it but they get more irritable as the heatwave continues.  Tempers flare and I find myself in 'discussions' with people anout the cruelty of dying plants on the sales floor or why are we biased against Macadamia nuts.  We carry all other sorts.
Seriously.
I love rain.  I love wind.  I love snow!  It's beautiful.  I love to look at ssingle flakes on a windshield.  I love the patterns of frost as the coat the world.
Dew is cool as well.  I enjoy fog.
Seasons of the planet are like seasons of life.  You can either sit there and complain about what its like outside or you can enjoy it!  Find the good in it!  I also like winter because I don't have to mow the lawn! 
And, as I always say, its more fun to warm up with someone you love than to cool down!

HAND!

A view from above...

I go back to work today after 10 days of vacation.

Not that I didn't work over my vacation.  I got a lot done around the house, as you probably know.  Started repairing the driveway.  Got  a good start but ten bags of asphalt got the job half done.  I have to wait until payday to get more.  I'm still sore but then again...

Climbed up onto my roof yesterday.  Scary experience for all.  While the top is flat, getting there was very steep.  I might be sore from that too.  Got a nasty contusion on my shin from crawling up and down what had to be a 75 degree angled roof.  And I do mean crawling.  The highlight was when I went to put my foot on the first wrung to get down off the roof onto the relative safety of the ladder, there was no way I was planning on trying to get lowered to start on the second wrung, the cuff of my pant leg snared the top of the ladder side.  So my left foot was flat on the wrung with part of the ladder up my pant leg and there was no room to put my right foot unless I turned to face out from the ladder and I was having trouble getting my foot up high enough to get it free...

I could almost hear my guardian angel sigh.  Leave it to me to get into a situation you would only find in a Vacation movie...

I survived and got down safely, obviously.  Probably mostly due to fervent prayer from the family.  The roof is patched with tar now.  I got all the way up there with a brush in my back pocket and used a rope to get the can of tar patch up next to me, no way I was going up that roof with the can in my hand or even mouth.  I think I grabbed the edge of the roof with my teeth once when I started skidding backward on my ascent.

You home repair specialists know whats coming next.  I needed a putty knife, not a brush.  IT LOOKS LIKE A PAINT CAN! OK?

So, my family finds a putty knife, actually a paint scraper  but it worked.

While waiting for them to find this stuff, I took the time to do something which, I think, I have become known for.  I made the best of a tenuous situation.  I cracked jokes, my personal stress reliever.  I scanned the neighborhood.  I looked at the clouds and the sky and the sunlight on the trees.  It looked like rain was on its way but I wasn't concerned about that.  Sure that would make the descent problematic but that was in the future.  I had enough problems for now.

The work on the roof was easier than the preparation and clean up.  I didn't realize I had hurt my leg until I went to shower and saw the bleeding.  Adrenalin can be a wonderful thing.

I couldn't have done this alone.  I am afraid of heights.  My head gets tight and my spine starts to vibrate.  A panic lurks in my head ready to pounce on every nasty danger...

I hope the wind doesn't pickup...

The extension ladder felt like it would snap in half and the incline of the upper roof...

And my family telling me I didn't have to if I thought it too dangerous.  I did feel it was very dangerous.  My brain was screaming for me to give up.

But I couldn't live with that.  I wanted to try harder and defeat these fears and do the job.  I could do it.  I knew it could be done.  People do stuff like this all the time. 

And I didn't want to give up in front of my son who is at that age where the stuff I do in front of him will become parts of who he is.  I wasn't reckless.  I thought things through.  I took my time.  And I prayed alot.  I'm sure he heard me reciting the 23rd Psalm on my way down to the ladder...

I didn't do it.  I had a lot of help, mostly heavenly, to complete the job.

Proof you say?

As we started taking down the extension ladder, rain began to fall.  Good thing I hadn't worried about it.  It was already taken care of...

HAND!

What now?

Football is here.  I love this sport but, yeah, these guys make a lot of money.

So don't politicians.  Do we really need a 4 day convention to tell everybody something we already know?

And Nascar, and other races, isn't the fuel supply tight enough?  Pollution?  Anyone? Anyone?

When all was hunky-dorey, no one really thought about where we should cut back and what are un-needed expenses.  Most american families are making these decisions now.  Where to shop, how much to buy, how to cut down on extra trips.

But some of the people out there think this is business as usual.  Things may be fine now but, some day soon, hollywood might find out that the price of movie tickets and popcorn is just too high.

Add into that the cost to drive there.

Or to go to a sporting event.

And then there's the time investment.

I didn't get to watch too much football today because I had other things to do; a roof to patch, decorations to hang, a family to spend time with who don't enjoy football.

Just a thought tonight.  The Steelers/Broncos game is entertaining.  Everyone else is in bed asleep so I can spend the time to watch it...

HAND!

Random Thoughts!

Like I really have anything else...

Does it bother anyone else that the Democratic Convenition acronym is DNC? I geuss if your a Democrat it doesn't. Actually it does, I heard it called the DNCC on the news yesterday.

Just so you know, I'm a registered Nothing.  Not an Independent.  I am a registered voter.  I know that means I can't vote in Primaries but when was the last time that mattered.  Bob can tell me I'm sure! LOL!

I actually think a lot of the problem with the country night now is the 2 party system and the liabilities that come with it.

I'm gonna get Comments now...

We rented the original Pink Panther 2 last night, still very funny, and I pointed out that the credits came at the beginning of the movies back then.  Now they put hidden scenes at the ends of the credits so you'll sit through them.  I usually sit theough the credits because I want to take note of all the people who have worked hard on a movie.  i'm probably one of the few who can recognize several composers by their movie scores.

I hear Billy Joel is supposed to write Classical music.  Maybe he should do some movie scores.

I still can't get over how half-starved looking women are supposed to be attractive.  Wasn't it Julius Ceaser who said he would rather have well fed friends as they are satisfied and less likely to stab you in the back?

Have you seen the ads for the new tv show where there is no power so people have to use crossbow and such to defend themselves?  I didn't know handguns needed electricity.  My daughter pointed out that it takes electricity to make ammo. I informed her that guns existed prior to electricity.  Well, captured electricity.

Which reminds me of one of my favorite lines from a great movie.

'They used to say a demon lived past the speed of sound.'

The Right Stuff.  With Neil's passing, now would be a great time to go rent that.

Micheal Duncan Clark died Monday morning.  We have had a slew of great actors and writers leave us.  I revere MDC because a person of his physical dimensions you would think would only be an action movie star.  He was very talented.  His roll in Armageddon is my favorite.  I used to sing the theme song from that movie as a lullaby for Emily.

And anyone who has heard my singing knows that I shouldn't sing lullabies.

Another of my favorite songs, and now Emily's too because we taught her to listen to the words, is Time After Time by Ms. Lauper.  I still remember the first time Emily got to see Cyndi Lauper in a video.  She was amazed by her looks. 

Remember when you didn't have to be attractive to sing well?  Or need a synthesizer? And bands played their own music?

And you didn't have to be attractive to be a great actor or national leader?

They say Kennedy won a presifdsential election partially because of the first televised debates...

I geuss those thoughts weren't so random after all...

What a difference...Redux!

And traffic is mostly back to normal today around town and near Jake's school.  Go figure!  Where are all the cars that were parked and the parents dropping off their kids and the traffic jams of people dealing with buses!  The high school went back into session today so I thought it would be worse but we'll have to go to Stephanie for that story as she took Em to school.  Or Em drove herself.  And a friend...

I'm glad the roads were less busy.

But it seems odd that the day of so much importance, yesterday, has now become the next day and its all routine.  The kids are still getting used to having to return to school.  One day is like a trip to a boring museum during the summer...

My kids like museums.  They beg to go to museums.  Museums they have been to EVERY year, sometimes more than twice.  I have weird kids.

Now the little students are going to be realizing that this WILL be an everyday thing.  I think the second day is important too, if not moreso. If you can get them excited about the year now and keep their interest this first week when they still are thinking about all they used to do during the day all Summer...

Swimming, going to museums, playing video games, day trips to someplace fun...

Then they have a better chance of staying the course.  Being focussed!

Jake came home from school and the first words out of his mouth was the Math test they took in class that he did awesome on! It was easy and he only got a couple questions wrong!  And he did perfect on the Time quiz!  He can even read a not-digital clock! (His words)

There's some good teaching going on in those two statements.  Nothing succeeds like success and you have to know where you are to get where you're going.

If you need some more conversation on where I get that, don't hesitate to ask.

Jake blames his Star Wars wall clock for his ability to read dials.  He says he just looks at the pictures.  Something most be sinking in...

Now if I can just find children's workbooks on how to be a video game designer...

HAND!

WoW!! What a difference one day can make!

School is back and so is traffic! Buses, pedestrians, kids wandering like sheep to the pasture to graze at their educational repast...

Yesterday, traffic was confined to Dunkin Donuts and McDonalds drive thrus for the early morning coffee!

Now, left turns are not illegal but ill advised as you might be forced to wait quite a while to turn.  Parents are congregating excitedly on corners discussing what they will do while their cherubs are confined to the educational institution for the afternoon!

I usually use the first day of school, and the ride to it, to discuss the summer with my little Jedi.  Did we do enough this summer?  Did I spend enough time with him? Was there anything we didn't do that he wanted to?   I also try to remind him of plans he may have made at the beginning of the summer that he didn't quite achieve.

Jake said his summer was great and he was very happy.  I spent more than enough time with him.  I don't know if that last comment is a good thing but I was happy to hear that.  I have decided that I will never feel like I have spent enough time with my kids or any of the people I love.  I have to go to work some time...

He wore his favorite new shirt, Plants vs Zombies, although he was worried about it being appropriate.  What a good kid.

And we saw a girl standing lost on the sidewalk leading up to school with that mortified expression that i will probably have one my first day back to work after vacation.

Only it looked worse on her.  The last time I felt the way she looked was when I was sitting on my bed at Oswego after my parents and girlfriend had dropped me off, feeling totally alone and abandoned.  My roommate was going to be a day late for school so I was staring at the empty half of the room with no one to bond with.

Thats too much stress for a 7 year old.

I'm glad Jake was excited to go back to school, even though he didn't want to admit it.  He was wearing his back pack a half hour before we had to leave.

I'm glad I take the first week back to school off every year to make the transition a little easier and to connect about the summer.  And just to be there.

I can still see that girl in my minds eye and I feel like she just needs someone to tell her to turn around and get up that hill.  Just walk forward and get started.  It may seem terrifying but a million kids are surviving it every day...

So I try to remember that when I'm looking at a big problem. 

Walk forward and get started... somewhere.

Just standing there is going to just let time get away...like summer...

HAND!

A NOOK in life...

I had to reset my wife's Nook this morning.  Kinda one of those favorite situation things where there is a problem with the device and trying to uncover a solution may involve using the broken device.  Like call customer service if you have trouble with your phone...

So I got out my Nook and looked their trouble shooting guide which just had the soft boot and didn't work...

So I got on line, thinking about checking my Blog as i got on but first things first, and got the hard boot instructions.  The Nook seems to be recovering and is changing pace instead of just idling on the start up screen or trapped in what it was doing...

Probably an infinite loop type thing.  A nefarious computer problem which can spring up at any time where a series of decisions and options, or just pushing too many buttons as my son finds out too often, causes the program to go through the same motions continuously.  You can see people doing this in the junk food aisle of the grocery store as well.

It's also a time travel problem which never seems to be explored in most fiction:

I'm going to go into the past to change something horrible that happened, like Chuck being cancelled by NBC, and succeed.  But then I have no reason to go back into the past to convince them to not cancel Chuck so it gets cancelled so then I go back in time to keep them from....

Nook still resetting.  I may have not solved the problem.  At least I tried...

The point, because, interestingly, this all has something to do with what I was planning to bring to your attention.

Cuz, I love that contraction, sometimes life seems to be caught in an unfulfilling infinite loop of work, eating, sleeping... or worse.  I know someone who's daily infinite loop includes drinking a six pack of beer before bed to help them unwind and sleep.

So it's time for a reset.  Study what you want to be doing, thinking, living, and try to make sure what you are putting in your head and heart is what you want to have coming out of your life, mouth, you...

If you spend your night, after work, watching the News and listening to all the horrible stuff thats going on, you're going to get depressed...

And a big impact can also be made in the morning.  What you do in the morning.  I used to get up with just enough time to shower, shave, and rush out the door.  No breakfast.  Swing by McD's for coffee on the way...

No wonder I was in a tense, bad mood most of the day...

So I took some advise from Chip Ingram and started to read the Bible every morning, got up a little earlier to get a couple chapters in.  I also use my Nook to read the Bible while riding in the car or sitting on the commode...

I have a little Bible in my glove compartment which I read a little of during my lunchbreak.  I feel more refreshed and in touch and I'm being kinder and nicer...

So if you want to keep being grumpy, keep your News IV going...

Or start reading a crafting magazine in the bathroom if you want to do more crafting,

Watch more cooking shows if you want to learn more about cooking...

Etc,

HAND!!

Ok, so I don't post much...

And I don't always edit my work after typing. So there...

Probably less people reading this today cuz I've missed more birthdays and lost track of some more friends.  You get in the grind of going to work, playing with the kids, doing stuff around the house, finding time to eat or sleep, maybe get some time alone, spend time with a relative (which was a very nice afternoon and change of pace)

And sometimes I get annoyed by people who lack the creativity and desire to get back to you somehow.  My old friends from long ago...

back when the orcs ranged the hillsides and undead would sprout from the ground like campaign promises,

...know where I am and how to get in touch with me. I know I haven't called them lately but they haven't called me either...

And I have tried to be available to people.  I have invited folx from work to my new house but they are as busy as I am... I geuss...

So I texted a friend during the bad storm, ie TORNADO, we had here a couple weeks ago to see if they were ok and how they were doing... and I still don't know.  I suspect they are in Oz although their house is still standing and they still go to work...

So I don't know if I lost track of more friends or if they are just hiding from me.  Maybe they are like ninja friends, lurking in the bushes until the appropriate, or inappropriate, time to appear...

Do you ever think about how much life is NOT like TV and the movies?

I have yet to have an ex wander back into my life and say, "How's it going?" Maybe its me. Once you get to know me, You don't mind me not being there!

I Yam what I yam

HAND!

Oops! And now for something...

If you don't know the rest of that quote, too  bad.

I thought the last post was a little dreary so lets try this...

Ever wake up in the middle of the night thinking about something you haven't thought about in, like, forever? Metaphorically speaking, of course.

And you can't get it out of your head?

When it's a person from the past, I take it that they need some prayer and i pray for them.  That usually works.

If it's something I did and its not a happy thought, I pray for forgiveness and too learn from the mistake.

That usually works.

The other day, I woke up in the middle of the night...

oops.

The other night, I woke up thinking about a hobby I used to enjoy.  Somethimg legal.  And I haven't  spent time enjoying that in quite a while.  And I still have all the stuff I needed to take up the hobby again.

It's a game, so you know more.  To be more descriptive is to wander away from the point.  If there actually is one but I'm enjoying the 'sound' of my own voice right now so...

But i don't have anyone to play the game with anymore.  Or the time.  And I'm not really sure I want to play that game anymore but I have boxes of the stuff...

And I couldn't get it out of my head.  And I didn't know what to do to get back to sleep.

So,

And maybe this is the point...

I decided to divert my thoughts.  I got up grabbed the Bible and read for a little while.  That was when I was reading Proverbs.  I'm in Isaih right now with some quick forays into Revelation (no s at the end) and Acts...

The other day, I was noticing how much John's writing ability had advanced between the Gospel and the last book of the Bible.  I'm not saying that i think they were written by 2 different writers.  It just seems like Revelation flowed better and it is a far more complex book...

Its like some of the stuff in Genesis.  The people who put a pen to it did not know that the earth was round.  But some of the stuff they write makes more sense with that knowledge.  I'm not saying it was fasified.  The age of the documents proves otherwise.

In case you are wondering, I got back to sleep in about a half an hour...

I wanted to read more though...

HAND!

Oops! Where does the time go?

So I was talking with a friend the other day and they said, You haven't Blogged lately.  I almost answered I didn't know anyone cared.

I'm not much, I have found, into narrating the events of my life. Not that I'm ashamed of what I do but that it never seems all that interesting to me...

I cleaned some more of the basement today and fished some mothballs out of the garden...

Rivetting...

And my views on society always seem to leave tigers hiding in the bushes...

Hey, you just pulled directly into the outside lane while turning.  You hate that!  You're blog says so...

Or even views on public events.  Do we really need another person to say how upset they are that Ray Bradbury is gone or that school shootings are horrible?

I once did an opinion piece for a college writing class about how rabies is bad for pets.  Filled with facts and footnotes.  It was a thickly vieled opinion on how everyone else was choosing topics that no one would argue about.

And then I get sooo concerned about spelling mistakes and making it perfect cuz i don't want people to discount the opinions withing cuz I forgot to use spellcheck...

or capitalize my i's...

Sometimes, it seems to me that a blog is a one sided conversation and those who are the best at it might be the ones who like to hear themselves talk...

Thats not even an opinion.  That's a thought.

About opinions, I sometimes think they are about to become illegal.  Can't take the chance of hurting someones feelings.  They might charge me with harrasment or hate speech.

It's like road rage.  If you have ever read the road rage law?  If you accelerate or decelerate in reaction to another driver?  Does that mean that braking for the person who cuts you off so you don't hit them is road rage?

Well, this hole has gotten pretty deep.  Maybe I should climbout of it before the neighbors come over bearing pitchforks and torches...

HAND!

And then...Vacation!

Well, that vacation lasted awhile....

It seems, when you go on vacation for a week, it takes up more than a week.  It's like dropping a marble into a glass of water.  It's like time displacement.  All the time you spend planning any vacation events and packing, if you can afford to go anywhere, and making sure you're caught up at work and other people who have work that is dependent on you get caught up or prepare for you not to be at work...

And then you've got to travel...

If you go anywhere...

OR... you might have a project that you've been meaning to work on and this vacation at home will be the perfect time to get that done...

To make a long story short, after two weeks of preparing at work for my vacation and preparing for a 3 day trip to Splash Lagoon in Erie, PA...

I only got half the detritus from beneath the deck cleaned out,

I'm still not caught up on Alcatraz or Castle,

the lawn still needs mowing,

I didn't make it over to my parents to help around their house (Now I have guilt),

I still have beer,

I forgot to assign a reset at work due the day after Easter,

Splash Lagoon was great!!

Which leads me to wonder,

Why do we only give ourselves one day to unpack?

HAND!!

Back to driving...

So now people are inverting traffic law.  I have seen more people pull into the far lane when turning right or left than ever before, usually speeding up afterward so that someone who turns onto a multi-lane road cannot pull into their desired lane first.  Even if I have my turn signal on.

Is this a desire to just automatically pass the person in front of you?  Is it a racecar mentality?  Have they thought through how dangerous this practice is?

I don't know how many turners I have almost hit, and have upset, because I turn into the closer lane as they try to turn, from the opposite direction, into their far lane or the one I am going for.  And then they get mad at me for turning at the same time as they did

I am all for courtesy, although I don't really fully agree with Ms. Manners idea of slowing for people who intentionally pull into a merging lane to jump ahead of traffic by hitting a high speed, but where is their courtesy?  I'm all for letting people merge into traffic or turn out of lots before me but not when they've put themselves in the situation on purpose due to impatience. I do let them in because I don't fully agree with having an accident.  And they know this...

That's borrowed stress.  There is enough stress in life without creating more by trying to pass one more person.  De-stress, follow the rules. 

That's the other part of this that is becoming apparent.  I think some people are doing it just because it's against the rules. 

It's like the story I heard once, or joke, of a guy driving his friend to work.  He sails right through a red light.  Doesn't even slow down.

The friend freaks out! "Aren't you afraid of getting hit?"

"No," the driver sighs.  "My brother does it all the time."

They skid around a corner through another red light!

"That is so dangerous! And illegal!"

"Don't worry about it," the driver says.  "My brother does it all the time."

They roar up the street and the driver slams on his brakes and stops at the intersection.  The friend looks around to see why.

"What are you doing?" the passenger says.  "The light is green."

"I know," the driver says.  "Just checking for my brother."

By the way.  As far as I know.  My brother doesn't drive like that.

HAND!

So...I'm driving...

My brother as been Blogging about driving...

What would Jesus drive?

Blogging.  Doesn't that sound like something from an old monster movie or something?

Picture Spock looking into his periscope saying, "The Blog is growing but these readings still don't make sense. What do you think Bones?"

"Dammit, Spock! I'm a doctor not a Blogger!"

Oops. off subject again. Silly me!

So my brother has been blogging about driving which is weird because I was once thinking of writing articles about driving and how driving is like life which is where 'What would Jesus Drive?' comes from...

Because I didn't think of Blogging but someone else obviously did so I have all this stuff in my head that I can Blog...

That's just funny right there.  Like it was all planned or something...

OK, on topic;

The biggest pet peeve of drivers was found, by someone who was paid too much money to figure it out, to be not using turn signals.  And we still don't use them.

Is that because we're too lazy or we don't want people to know where we are going?  People don't think turn signals are important until they almost get hit or they sit at a green light for too long because the other person is waiting for them to go straight so I can turn left...

I means it only takes a couple fingers to hit that turn signal on.  If your hands wweren't tied up with that cell phone, McDonald's coffee, cigarette and talking...

You've never seen someone gesticulate while they talk on a cell while driving? That's good times right there...

I find, when I pull up to a light in the turn lane with my turn signal on, just about everyone else suddenly turns theirs on.  Maybe they just need to be reminded to use it.  Their lives are so busy and hectic that things escape them.  I forget everyonce in a while and I become the guy who notices the turn signal infront of me and turns mine on.

I'm not perfect neither.  But I know the inherent(?) safety of using my turn signals to warn others that I'm going to be turning and slowing down, hopefully, to accompany the action.  So I don't get rear ended.

That's another funny story.  But I think I've rambled enough on this one.

Final thought; are the people who don't use their turn signals on a regular basis as directionless as they seem to be as drivers? Do they not really know where they are going?  Are they making it up as they drive instead of mentally plotting their course for the journey or day ahead.  Don't take the drive for granted.  Some destinations can only be reached by careful planning and your turn signal should be on to tell people where you are going and you know what you are doing...

Always thank God when you reach your destination safely, I say.

H.A.N.D.

Oops! Almost forgot to name the blamed thing...

Learning experience time. Let's see if the curve is still there.  So I'm not on Facebook right now but have been thrown into another spatial dimension of the WWW just because I read a blog and filled out a form and now I am the sole defender and protector of this little piece of heaven which will remain blank if I don't fill it or someone else never finds it but since this place is infinite, it is unlikely that someone else will find it unless I continue to fill the white emptiness with words.

Shouting isn't allowed  I geuss...

That's the part of writing, blogging, painting (which I don't do) and such that's cool.  You start with nothing.  Just a sheet (screen, etc) of white which you can fill.  I'm kinda using the vomit approach right now as I just pour my head into space.  No real structure.

Kinda like creation.  God started with a blank universe of nothing one day and started writing.  If you write, or draw, or paint (ET al) you have an idea how its all going to turn out and you just work on the creation until it meets the idea.

Imagine writing a sentance by placing each dot on the paper to create letters to create words...

I think that's it for now.  The bucket is empty.

HAND!

In the Starting...

So, I read my brother's BLOG and FaceBook let me start one so I said "what the heck" and started one.  Not that I really said that outloud because that wouldn't be right as Emily is relaxing on the couch and that would disturb her and I'm disturbing enough.
So, I wondered how people got their ideas for Blogs since it's supposed to be such a big dealig and everyone seems to have one and, since I'm american, I wanted one too but I wasn't sure what I would Blog about or even what i would cal the thin since it asked for a name so I went for one of my super secret inside jokes to see if anyone would ever figure it out. Since there's like a billyun people on this thing and all the good ideas have already been done, it probabl won't take too lon.
And then I realized how cool it was to have a Blog named HAND on Facebook...

Syill don't know what to Blog about...

Maybe next time we'll discuss WWJD where D is Drive...