It's the Most Wonderful Time Of The Year...

Yeah, who am I kidding?

The psychology of what is rapidly becoming a broken holiday is mind numbing.  People complain about having to shop and having to get it done and how much they hate Christmas because it's all about presents and gifts. On and on about how it's all commercialized and etc.

I have never heard so many people in my more than 20 years of retail experience know what a problem is and not try to fix it.

And 'Thanksgiving is being swallowed by Christmas,' They complain

We let it by being led about by print ads and promises of better deals.  We are forgetting other things that go into the cost of a gift;

Time.

Thought.

Comfort.

The next time we're standing outside a store at 11:45 Thanksgiving night in the freezing cold, we should ask ourselves 'Is this worth the money I am saving or would I rather be home, sleeping, and being well rested for a few bucks more?'

People say they don't like this time of year and yet they keep dancing to the drummer of commercialism because they wouldn't want to not get a ton of presents either.

Would that be so bad?  We watch the Grinch every year and we still don't get it.

Maybe Christmas doesn't come from a store,
Maybe Christmas, perhaps, means a little bit more...

I love Christmas.  I love the cold, the snow, and the sound of sleighbells.  I love being with my family on Christmas morning, that sparkle they get when they open a present and they realize you love them and have been listening.

I am also the person, if you ask me what I want for Christmas, I have trouble coming up with ideas.

I have a roof over my head and a warm family.  I have happiness and peace.

And I have the greatest gift of all, Christ in my heart.

Sure, I'm not perfect.  I make mistakes and I don't always act as I should.

But God loved me so much that he had a baby born in a manger to pay the price for me and for all of us.

So when the sun is rising on Christmas morning, whether over fields of white or green, realize that you can never give or get enough presents to outdo the one God has already given you.

All those objections are just excuses because it can't be that easy.

All those hard feelings are just mistakes because too human people took matters into their own hands and have said stuff that turns you away.

Get back to the core of it.

What do I want for Christmas?

Love.  Oh, wait. All ready got that...

HAND...

And Have A Nice Christmas, too...

Autumnal is one of my favorite words...

The leaves are changing and have moved beyond the colorful stage to something more dreary and dull.  They will fall to make way for spring flowers and greenery but first the trees become dormant and hibernate for the winter.

Could you imagine what the world would be like if humans hibernated for the winter.  I guess college students do.  They get like a month off between semesters.  i expect my daughter will curl up on the couch with her laptop and Nook and hot cocoa.  She loves my Keurig.

But now is the time to make sure summer is put away.  Just stored all the deck furniture, including the firepit, in the shed.  And all the memories of good times with a beer and the stars and a fire burning for Smores...

And filling up all the room I made in the shed this year so it all fit with out looking like a storage unit from Storage Wars.

I prefer Sam Adams lager while I sit on my deck grilling and making Smores.  If you haven't tried Smores with Reese's instead  of just chocolate, you are missing out.

Next the trampoline comes down to truly fully signal the end of summer and the expectation of winter.

I love winter.  I love fall.  I can't imagine living in a place without 4 seasons, and i have a pretty good imagination.

But there are still good times ahead.  Just had dinner with my Sister and Brother in law and my parents. Very good time, and I haven't spent that long after dinner in a restaurant just chatting since... the last time I went to Olive Garden.  The Sam Adams Octoberfest was very tasty too.

And fall is the beginning of Cub Scouts.  My son is a Bear this year which has got to be one of the most fun years yet.

Life is what you make of it.  You can remember the good byes or the the good times leading up to them and the promise of Hellos in the future.

HAND!

Broken Stuff...

I have never seen so much hoopla over a web site not working.  Especially with the amount of traffic it is getting.  Lets face it folks, a little common sense will tell you that any new web site, with the amount of traffic the Health Care sites are getting, are going to have some bugs.

I'll be honest, I'm not a big fan of the exchanges, but I get enough of people blowing things out of proportion at work.  What about Beta testing?  How many of the MMORG's out there don't need patches?  The games on Facebook and Zynga? I got a used game for our PS3 and the first time I use it, the game downloads patches and fixes.

Let's broaden the concept outside of computer programming which American Society takes as being too infallible.  It's only as good as the humans who design it.  And multiple humans design it.  These big progs are actually software quilts and every here and there the stitching doesn't match up.

You have heard of automobile recalls? Product recalls?  Read a book lately with a spelling mistake in it?I have.  I know of a fiction series that has a science mistake in the first book. A spelling mistake is  lethal in a computer program.

The only thing as ridiculous as the amount of outrage over something fixable is the defense raised by the Democrats that its the Republicans fault because they stalled the project so much.

Excuse me, last time I checked, more time to work on something leads to LESS problems.

You want to get upset about systems that cause inconvenience and waste?  The FDA no longer holds food dating as a bad violation except in the case of baby formula.  Food dating is a measure of quality now.  Stuff doesn't go bad at the stroke of midnight on the date printed on the package.  Do you know how much food is thrown out in this country because of those dates?

Do you know how much food is thrown out because it is the wrong artificial color?

Let's cash some reality checks people.  We have bigger problems than inoperable health care web sites.

HAND!!

It's Over Before You Know It...

The fall colors have dimmed passed the spectacular stage.  I missed them at their  height as well.  Autumn always seems to be like that; overnight it seems the leaves go from green to to dreary oranges and I've missed the bright natural kaleidoscope that God created. Life has been moving too fast between an ever changing work schedule made more complex by co workers out for various reasons from simple vacations to the beginnings of life.

Suddenly, the Weather Channel is reporting snow in various places and the nights are dipping into the 30's.  More frost, soon snow. I like snow but Autumn is over and I never got to experience it...

My friends invited me to stop by and spend some time with them some Saturday night like we used to.  I usually close on Saturdays or open early on Sundays.  It has been about 6 months since i have spent time with them. Sometimes I'm surprised they still want to see me...

My daughter is almost done with her first semester of college/first half of her senior year.  She volunteers at a spook house on the week ends but since it runs past 9, she can't drive to it.

Cub Scouts has started and I'm the leader of my son's Bear den.  We went to Iron Kettle farms this weekend.  I had a bracelet allowing me into all the events but I used it to keep an eye on my charges. At lunch, the bears separate into their families again and I got to share lunch with Em and Jake in the back of my truck as the sky got darker, the breeze became a chill wind, and two trucks collided on the road.  We left after lunch and I realized during the hour drive home that I hadn't gotten to play with my kids.  I spent so much time watching and supervising...

I offered to go elsewhere with them on the way home but we were so tired and Em had the spook house to go to...

My brother and sister are at my parents from out of town for a week or so.  I put in for time off to see them but we are short managers at work right now so it was denied...

My Uncle died over the weekend.  I always thought I would see him again.  My father is officiating the service.  I would like to be there but work and kids and I work a middle schedule all week. He used to come into the Sam's Club where i work from time to time and we'd catch up a little.  He was always smiling.

Time to get ready for work soon.

Time to do that thing I don't like doing.  Giving advice that I can't seem to take;

Find the time to spend with those around you.  Make memories.  Have fun.  Don't try to sleep with regret.

Because, well, read the title again...

HAND

Thank You, Mr. Ramsey...

I know, there will be a billion Blogs about Charles Ramsey and his heroic actions which freed 3 women after 10 years of captivity...

I am struck by the normalcy of our hero. How he recounts eating his Whopper when the scream came from the house next door and going into action so rapidly that the sandwich was still in his hand when he started to kicking at the door.

I am moved by his emotion that he had lived next door for a year and hadn't freed them, even though he didn't know.

I am stunned that he is already turning down a reward, wanting it to be given to the freed hostages.

I wasn't surprised to hear him say he was Christian... although hearing Wolf Blitzer site the Good Samaritan parable to typify him caused me to raise an eyebrow at Wolf.

Not that it doesn't fit.  I'm not here to deconstruct the parable and how this tale matches up.

I think Mr. Ramsey wouldn't agree that it fit.  He doesn't feel he went out of the way to run to the rescue.

I wonder what he would have said if someone had told him that by days end he would be a national hero.

I do want to call a note of caution.  Mr. Ramsey is a normal human being. 'Just like you.' as he said at one point.  Don't be disappointed if we find out how fallible and human he is.  Let's just remember that he did the right thing in an ordinary moment and is now an extrordinary individual.  And he still seems to be the man who jumped on his bike one day to get some Burger King for lunch just before his life changed, possibly forever.

Thank you, Mr Ramsey.  Heroes sometimes appear to be few and far between.  You do a good job reminding us that normal people can be heroic too...

God Bless you...

HAND!!

Parable time...

So, this guy starts eating at All You Can Eat Buffets every night.  In a couple months, he realizes that he is getting very overweight because he is getting a large belly.  Instead of looking at his lifestyle and realizing that maybe he shouldn't eat so much food and should exercise more and learn some self control, he decides to take a surgical option.  Maybe his belly being stapled or something.  Just something to get rid of the weight gain that his excesses and gluttony had led too.

Don't get me wrong, he has no medical condition that has led to the obesity.  That would be a different matter.  He just is leading a lifestyle that is adversely affecting his health.

But the surgery is expensive and it would cause some risk to his heath as well.  So he tries to find a way to get his insurance or public funding to pay for the medical option, possibly causing tax payers to pay for his healing.

And he doesn't plan on ceasing his frequent visits to buffets or learning how to control his urges or take precautions to keep himself from having a recurrence of the same problem...

He wants to take advantage of the same system that has been set up for those less fortunate than he is and continue to do whatever he wants...

And it is his body so he has a right to do with it as he pleases...

Sorry! This made me laugh...

Okay, so I was perusing old blogs after I finished the previous one about 2 seconds ago and I stopped at the one about wild things that happen at work and I remembered the one for last week...

So, of course, I was the only manager on.  And I get a call to the lot from a cart person...
Not a, hey can you get out here ASAP.  Just, Coach Tim to the parking lot.  It's usually and irate customer who doesn't like having their receipt checked on the way out, at least we don't make you walk through an impersonal scanner that 50 years from now we will find has given everyone who perused game stores too much a serious medical condition.  Or someone who has done something stupid in the lot, like the woman who ran into the handicapped parking pole because she had sped up to turn in around pedestrians.
I don't make this stuff up....
Or the person who recked there jeep trying to park in the cart corral.  Seriously.  and then he drove off and got upset when we called the police to complain about him destroying it.  He said it's our fault the corrals aren't wide enough...
I'll wait for you to stop chuckling...

Done?
So, I didn't rush to the lot but I did make my way directly there because, y'know, it could be important.
A car was leaking gas into the lot.  It was a couple gallons by the time I got there and every passerby had to comment about how we now have to call the EPA and get a full Hazmat team on site.
They train us for stuff like this.
Unfortunately, that was a couple years ago and I haven't had to use the Chemical Spill Emergency guidelines since.  Yes, there's a term for it but I'm not sure how sensitive it is but the cart person should have utilized it.  No biggie.  I got Dennis to grab some oil dry, which we sell.  And I had Chris get the plate # to the service desk to page the member.  And we blocked the area off with upturned carts and i went inside to call the fire dept...

Ok, it used to be that fire depts and police depts all had normal #s and I don't call them all the time.  So, yes, I admit I looked 911 up in the phone book.  Not that i couldn't remember it, I wasn't sure if this qualified as a 911 level emergency.

Done laughing yet?

Obviously it is because I'm pretty sure they were on site before I got back to the lot.  I think someone else called them first...

So this guy runs up, like literally 10 seconds after the page, and says
"Aw man! We just drove that car off the lot!"

The fireman says, "We have to tow it out sir, after we plug the leak."

"And we just filled the tank!"

Too which Chris says, bless his heart...

"Ain't full anymore!"

I know it's not funny but it is.  I have to not burst into laughter while I assure the man it's under control and it's in his best interest NOT to drive the car at this time.

The wife was furious because they had just bought $200 in groceries and didn't have a car to take them home in.  It was all my fault.  The fire man calmed her down.

After it was all done, I remembered to check the flipchart to see if I handled the incident properly...

Like, if the building is on fire, I'm going to run to the flipchart to see what I should do...

We got it right except the cart people decided to clean up the oil dry themselves instead of let the Fire dept do it...

HAND!

Driving Me Crazy, I Tell You!!

I've been keeping track of something when I'm filling the car with gas because it seems like it not only costs more for gas but it takes longer to fill the tank but I guess that's a product of the cost of gas because the pumps fill based on the price not on the amount you get.
Does that make sense?  I mean, if your getting 8 gallons, it should dispense at the same rate irregardless of how much you're paying for it, right?  Does it take McDonald's longer to make the same burger if they raise the price for it? A bottle of beer is a bottle of beer and the rate at which you can empty it isn't governed by the price of that bottle but by the activity...
And sometimes how many you have already emptied but that's not the point.
The length of time it takes to fill my tank, or your tank, isn't the point either.  I know we usually fill the tank to a monetary amount but I use approximately the same amount every time.
And what is it with the pump slowing down as if gets 50 cents away from the end anyway?  Is the gas pump afraid its going to dispense too much so it has to slow down?
Anyway, back to the point, so I'm spending what feel is like half an hour putting $30 in my tank, yes, I wait too long between fill ups but that's a blog for another day that will probably never get here, and since the process is almost completely automated, my mind notices things and, when given the opportunity, compares trends.
God given talent that, trend comparison and efficiency analysis.  I'm no expert but I notice things..
So why is the price of the medium grade gas more cheaper, I did that on purpose, when the lowest grade is cheaper than when it's considered high.  I consider it high all the time right now partially because I remember when it was less than a buck and people threw a fit then when it went up.  I think I dimly remember it being 25 cents a gallon but that doesn't seem possible anymore.  And I'm not complaining about the natural inflation of goods and services.  I mean, have you had your shoes polished lately?
Me neither,
Back to the point...
So sometimes, the medium grade is only 10 cents higher than the lower grade and sometimes, like now, its 25 to 30 cents more.  Is this to offset charging less for the lower grade than they should?  So why don't they do that all the time?
Is it because the medium grade goes up proportionally to the price of gas?  Doubling or tripling the gap over 50 cents is a huge ratio and, if you follow the progression down, there would come a  point where the medium grade would be like a penny more.
It's not making sense.  But I bet it makes cents.  Actually $'s.  The cost of gas is supposedly where it is by gas stations because they have to charge so much or a certain amount, right?  I find it eerie when all the gas stations in town have exactly the same price for gas.  So much for competition...
So why can the medium grade fluctuate so much in price comparatively?
As I said,  doesn't make sense to me.
Maybe it has to do with the amount of people who buy medium grade and making extra money off them.  Wouldn't that tick you off?  Being extra gouged for using a better product in your car than you are already being gouged for?
I'm not a gas expert, no matter what my kids say, but there's something not right there...

I'm just saying...

HAND!