Blog Number 111

Greetings and welcome to today's random thought.

OK, so I have to mention THIS story where a judge ruled that the US paper money is unfair to the blind and ordered that the US Treasury Dept. begin working on a solution within 30 days.  I don't really have a comment, just thought you'd like to know that if the money changes format later, you heard it here first.

Our decoder box for our satellite TV ceased working Monday afternoon.  It just would not turn on.  Other items plugged into the same power strip continued to function so it was not the power outlet.  We unplugged it from the strip and then directly into the wall and it still did not work so it is not the power strip.  That is the extent of my trouble shooting techniques.  I called AT&T Home Entertainment to plead my case.  I waited on hold for about 10 minutes and 5 seconds after a real person picked up, I was promptly cut off.  I did not have 10 more minutes to wait on hold so I just called later Monday night.  I got right through with no wait time and they agreed that there was no other trouble shooting that could really be done and promised to send someone out the next day.

They gave me the incredibly precise timeframe of 8 AM to 5 PM for the repairman to visit.  The wife had to hang around the apartment until they showed.  Fortunately they came around noon so her whole day was not shot.  The repairman did the same thing I did in trouble shooting but he did ask us if there was a light switch that might control power to that outlet.  This is a little crazy since we had already confirmed that the other items plugged into the SAME power strip were functioning fine.  So either this guy was asking us if we had rewired the house / power strip so that the light switch controlled INDIVIDUAL plugs on a store bought power strip OR he was a moron.

I will leave it up to you to decide for yourselves.  He did replace the decoder free of charge and we are back in business so all’s well that ends well I guess.

Thanks for reading my Random Thoughts.

Jon

Blog Number 110

Greetings and welcome to today's random thought.

First of all, a correction to my last post: the hotel was really a Red Roof Inn and not a Motel 6.  There, I feel better having gotten that off of my chest.

The trip home was amazingly uneventful (just how I like it).  Although there is a Shell station in Oklahoma that claims it has clean restrooms (either their definition of "clean" is different than mine or they need to take down their sign).  We arrived home on Sunday at about 2:30 in the afternoon, quickly unpacked and then headed out for some lunch since we had not eaten since breakfast (410 miles ago).  We hopped in the Buick (since we were a little sick of being in the minivan) and headed to our favorite pizza joint.  Everything was going fine until I tried to lower the windows.  Both the front driver's side and passenger's side windows would not work.  The back windows functioned properly though so I am guessing it is a fuse.  At this point in time I was not really motivated to fix the window problem.

This is not a big deal since I do not roll the windows down for any reason (or so I thought).  I arrived at work Monday and realized that I do indeed use that window since I need to flash my badge to get into the parking lot.  The badge is magnetic so it must come close to the reader in order to raise the gate to allow my car to go through.  I rolled the back window down and reached back and was able to get in just fine and then put the window issue back onto the back burner.  At this point in time I was not really motivated to fix the window problem.

Today I repeated the back window technique and so all was well.  Then I remembered that I had to drive to Ft Worth today for a meeting.  This requires paying a toll which would require me to roll my window down in order to throw change into the receptacle.  I really could not roll the back window down since I needed to throw 3 quarters and using the back window would require more throwing skills than my left arm had.  So I had to open the door and throw the change in that way.  There were 4 spots that require you to stop and pay a toll.  Each way.  So 8 times today I had to open my door and throw 3 quarters out.

At this point in time I was really motivated to fix the window problem.  I will keep you posted.

Thanks for reading my Random Thoughts.

Jon

Blog Number 109

Greetings and welcome to today's random thought.

It is early Saturday morning and we have a 10 hour drive ahead of us.  By "us" I mean the wife, the daughter, and I.  The son is staying with my mother for a few more days and then he gets to take his first airplane ride back to Texas with her.  He is pumped (even more so of having Grandma all to himself for a few days).

We are going to stop today in Springfield, MO, which is just past the halfway point home.  Missouri is not mapped properly to allow us to stop exactly half way home (the nerve of that state not to have a properly sized town 465 miles from Kokomo!).  We have reservations at a Motel 6 for around $43.  This is pretty cheap for a motel so I am not getting my hopes up for a pleasant stay although all the reviews at Hotels.com seemed to indicate it was a nice hotel.  The Motel 6 chain allows pets at no extra charge and since I could not talk the wife into leaving the cat in Kokomo....

The Hotels.com website was sketchy on information about this hotel, specifically if they allowed pets or if there was an extra charge for pets.  A call to the Hotels.com reservation line was of no help either so I looked up the local number and called the motel direct.  I avoided the option for reservations and waited for a local person to pick up and asked if pets were allowed.  The lady on the other end of the line said yes.  I then stated that I would be bringing a 600 lb. elephant with me (I like to pick on people, it is a weakness).  Without missing a beat she said that she could accommodate us.  I liked this lady so even though it was a few more dollars to reserve through her than the Hotels.com website, I made the reservation.  She seemed to understand my sense of humor.  Most people need about 6 months of exposure to it before they can tell when I am kidding or serious.

We were going through the normal stuff: what is our arrival date, departure date, number of adults, etc.  I then stated that we would have a 4 year old with us.  Again, without missing a beat, she said in a professional voice, "I am sorry sir, we don't allow children."

This is already my favorite hotel, and I haven't even been there yet!  I will let you know how it goes later.

Thanks for reading my Random Thoughts.

Jon

Blog Number 108

Greetings and welcome to today's random thought.

Well I am full and I have not eaten in about 6 hours so it was a successful Thanksgiving.

The daughter lost her first tooth last night.  She will be 5 years old in 10 days.  She does not quite get the concept of losing her teeth.  Her mother has always told her her that if she does not brush her teeth properly, then they will fall out.  So ever since the tooth started to loosen, she has felt the need to do a better job of brushing her teeth.  She also has been told that everyone loses their baby teeth.  She (logically) thought that since she is not a baby any longer, this does not apply to her.  My son thinks / thought this way as well.  The normal excuses that work on most kids do not work on them.  Instead of the tooth fairy, we told the son (and now the daughter) that the tooth will just magically change into money overnight.  The son bought this for a while but one night as I was coming in to trade the tooth for money, he heard me come in so I quickly told him I was checking to see if the tooth had "changed" yet.

We are staying at my mother's house and the kids are sleeping in the same room.  The daughter is excited about the "tooth to money" change and the son is still convinced that WE are the ones responsible for the metamorphosis.  Realistically I know that this cannot go on forever but the look on his face convinces me that he is not 100% sure that his hypothesis is correct.

Along with not doing the tooth fairy, we don't do Santa Clause either.  It is not that we are against Santa Clause, it is just something we don't talk about.  So the daughter has no idea who Santa is or what he does.  On the ride home from the Thanksgiving dinner today she noted that she saw Santa the other day.  She said that he could fly on his skateboard (instead of sleigh), that he was pulled by mooses (her plural of moose)..  As the wife and I tried not to laugh too hard, we asked her where Santa lived.  With a straight face she replied, "the mall."

Well, I have to go into her room now and make the "tooth to money"change.  Wish me luck.

Thanks for reading my Random Thoughts.

Jon

Blog Number 107

Greetings and welcome to today's random thought.

Well I am still on vacation which means of course that we must eat out.  A vacation is not a vacation without spending 10 times on food compared to what you would normally at home (you can look this fact up, search for "qualification of vacation: food budget").  This of course means that those 10 pounds I worked hard to get off will not find their way back in no time.  Oh well.

Lunch was at McAlister's which is a deli like restaurant.  So for about $10 I got $1 worth of chicken on standard wheat bread with some cheese, a cup of French onion soup and a few glasses of their famous tea.  I am not sure what makes their tea so famous.  It tastes like normal brewed tea.  Maybe it is famous for not being that famous.  Maybe it is famous since they claim it is famous and then everyone who orders it realizes how mediocre it is, and therefore they remember that.  Who knows.

At McAlister's, you place your order and then get a little plastic number to put at the end of your table and then they bring your food out to you.  This means that there are a lot of McAlister employees wandering about.  This means that you get asked, "Is everything OK?" about 2 dozen times during your lunch.  They also constantly want to take away your plate if you are done with it.  If you have a few chips left and are just eating them slowly, you get asked this a lot.  One of the people that I had lunch with went to the restroom toward the end of the meal and had a few tortilla chips left.  She was gone maybe 5 minutes and 3 separate employees asked if they could remove the plate (this is bad though since I had 4 in the pool).

This got me thinking about Wickes Furniture.  Though I have never been to Wickes, I have been to their website in the past.  They have this really cool thing where you can pick up a little sign to carry with you throughout the store.  The sign basically says "Just Looking" so that no sales people will bother you while you look at furniture.  What a concept!  I like it!  I think all shopping should be and led this way.  Imagine how much more fun shopping for cars would be?  Or TVs?  Or anything?

Imagine if McAlister's adopted this concept?  I think I will just make my own sign for my next visit.  "No, I am not done with my plate!"

Thanks for reading my Random Thoughts.

Jon

Blog Number 106

Greetings and welcome to today's random thought.

Well it is day 4 of the "vacation" and all is going well.  We made the 932 mile trip in 14 hours and 56 minutes with only one small hiccup in traffic near Indianapolis.  The kids did great on the ride though the daughter was convinced we were never going to get out of Missouri (it was 1/3 of our trip).  Tiger (our cat) made the trip just fine.  The wife claimed that he would calm down and stop meowing after 30 miles.  75 miles later, he was still a little upset to be in a moving car.  But once he found my lap (while I was driving) he calmed down.  I cannot say that I have ever seen a cat in a car (like you would normally see dogs).  I am sure we got a few looks from fellow highway travellers when they glanced over at us and saw a cat looking back at them.  Tiger is now staying at the mother-in-law's house so at least I get a vacation from him.

We were able to attend our "old" church this morning.  The wife got to play her French horn and I got to sing "So You Wanna Go Back To Egypt" (an old Keith Green tune) with the praise and worship band during the offering.  This was followed by an excellent sermon from Exodus.  Sadly though, the Indianapolis Colts just lost to the Dallas Cowboys.  This makes me glad I am not in Texas and working tomorrow morning as I am sure I would never hear the end of it.  Tomorrow I am having lunch with some local co-workers.  I do have a little but of work to do while I am on vacation (something came up so it could not be avoided).  This does not bother me really (just don't tell my manager!).

It is still a strange concept to me to be vacationing in Kokomo, IN.  I still cannot wrap my head around the idea.  I need to do some vacation-like activities to make it seem more real I guess.  However, there is really nothing to do here in Kokomo per se.  And nothing new had been opened since we left 3 1/2 months ago (though at least one of our favorites restaurants has closed).  The kids are having a blast though since they are near the grandmas again (who are desperately trying to make up in the spoiling department).

I am sorry I don't have a funny ending for this blog.  Hey, I am on vacation!

Thanks for reading my Random Thoughts.

Jon

Blog Number 105

Greetings and welcome to today's random thought.

‘Twas the night before the big trip and all through the house
There was no one more crazy than the woman, my spouse
Though the suitcases were packed by the door with care
Don't get in her way, I am telling you, Beware!

The day before a big trip is the worse.  So much to do, so little time to do it.  We (e.g. the wife) have to do one last load of laundry so we can pack.  We (e.g. the wife) have to make sure the fridge is cleaned out.  Etc., etc., etc..

And then there is "The Dread".  The Dread is for the 900+ miles we will be driving tomorrow.  We don't have a DVD player in the van so the time will be passed solely on the creativity of yours truly to entertain the children (and, to a certain extent, the wife).  As the kids get older, they become a more demanding audience.  The normal stuff stops working.  I have to admit, I am feeling the pressure (The Dread).  I don't know what I am going to do but hopefully inspiration will hit by the time we hit Oklahoma.

By this time tomorrow though (10:30 PM Eastern Time), it will all be behind us and we will have fun family memories to remember for years to come.  At least that is what I keep telling myself when The Dread starts to sneak up on me again.  Wish me luck.

Thanks for reading my Random Thoughts.

Jon

Blog Number 104

Greetings and welcome to today's random thought.

Well in 2 days we are heading back to Kokomo, IN, for vacation.  It seems very odd to me to be vacationing in a town that (up until 3 1/2 months ago) I have lived in all my life.  I am trying to figure out what I am going to do with the week or so that I am there.  I am sure I will find something to fill my time.  I don't have anywhere in particular that I want to visit.  No favorite restaurants that I am missing, or stores that I want to shop come to mind.  I am going to try to return my Indiana license plates for a partial refund and maybe close my bank account since I no longer need it.  All this sounds real exciting to you I am sure.

We went to Kroger's the other day.  I am not a big fan of Kroger's or Marsh really but the wife wanted to go there so off we went.  This store is a "signature" store.  Signature stores must be really "in" down here as there are several signature Wal-Mart stores as well.  This Kroger has a Starbuck's inside of it.  As we rounded the turn at the end of an aisle, the daughter noticed something.  Upon further inspection there was a day care center inside the Kroger store and several toddlers were in there along with an older lady.  There was a TV for watching DVDs and 2 TVs for playing video games (Nintendo Game Cubes I think).  Wow!  So you can come to grocery shop, drop off your kids and then sip a latte, all while leisurely filling your cart with food.

Kokomo does not have any signature stores.  Nothing is super flashy or unique about your shopping experience.  Just get in, get your stuff, and get out.  Now that I can look forward to.

Thanks for reading my Random Thoughts.

Jon

Blog Number 103

Greetings and welcome to today's random thought.

Monday morning it was quite foggy here.  Visibility was probably only a few hundred feet as I was heading out of the apartment's parking lot and off to work.  I was extra careful when pulling out onto the road and I made sure my lights were on so other cars could see me.

Everything was going fine until I was about 5 minutes from work.  It was then that my cell phone rang.  I do not keep my cell phone near me on the way to work.  I keep it in my laptop carrying case.  The case has a nice compartment inside one of the outside pockets that is made to hold a cell phone so I dutifully keep it there.  I just got a new carrying case as I was able to convince my manager at work that I needed a new one.  Anyway, that was where the cell phone was.  The carrying case was in the back seat directly behind me.  I simply open the driver's side back door of my Buick and put it in there before heading to or from work.  I know of only two people that have my cell phone number and they are very unlikely to call me on my way to work.

So anyway, the phone is ringing, the phone is in the carrying case, the carrying case is in the back seat directly behind me.  Oh and did I mention that there was fog not to mention the normal traffic that is on the 6 lane road that I take to work?  Since only my mother and my wife know my cell phone number and since they know that I would be driving to work, I assumend that whatever they wanted to tell me was very important.  I reached back and grabbed the carrying case (all the while trying not to veer out of my lane).  By the time I got the case into the front seat, the phone had stopped ringing.  Once I had the outer pocket open and the cell phone out, I could see that it was my wife who called.

Now, I am not a fan of people talking on cell phones while they drive, let alone while in heavy morning traffic, (and did I mention the fog?  I thought I did) but the wife would not call me if it wasn't important.  I carefully dialed her number and thankfully stayed in my lane while doing so.  She answered and I asked her what she wanted.

She wanted to know if the fog was hard to drive in.  Next time, I am not answering the phone.

Thanks for reading my Random Thoughts.

Jon

Blog Number 102

Greetings and welcome to today's random thought.

First things first, I apologize for the delay between postings.  I still have random thoughts, I just haven't taken the time to blog about them.

So I am still making use of the "extra" hour my body seems to have each morning since it has not yet adjusted to "falling back" an hour.  I have faithfully gotten up each weekday morning at 4:30 and headed down to the workout room that our apartment has for tenants use.  This makes my wife very happy.  I have only seen two people in the workout room thus far.  For the sake of this blog, let's call them "Little Blonde" and "Pony Tail."  I will explain the names in a little bit.

I try to work out for 30 minutes splitting my time between the exercise bike and the treadmill.  When I arrive each morning, Little Blonde is already there and using one of the two treadmills.  The workout room has two televisions and both are on different channels.  One is muted, one is really, really loud.  Initially I gave LB (Little Blonde) the benefit of the doubt since the treadmill is loud, it makes sense that the TV needs to be loud.  Upon further inspection, I noticed that she was also wearing headphones.  So she has the TV set so loud as to hear it over the treadmill AND her headphones.  This is particularly annoying but since I am new (both to the apartments and to the workout routine) I don't want to make waves.  When she leaves (after about 50 minutes on the treadmill), she leaves both TVs on even though the remote controls are right by her area.  I just stop what I am doing and turn off the loud TV (the remote is busted for the TV that is muted).

As soon as LB leaves (almost as if on queue), Pony Tail (PT) enters and gets on the same treadmill.  When I was telling my wife about the people in the room, she asked if one of them had a pony tail.  She evidently had spoken to PT sometime in the past.  PT has headphones as well but does not feel the need to turn on the other TV (thankfully).  I have never spoke to LB but I have spoken to PT.  PT and I speak about LB.  In fact, it is PT who asked me the first day I was there, "Did the Little Blonde leave the TV on real loud?"  When I was first asked this, I did not know how to respond.  I would never refer to any woman as "Little Blonde" and so I had to be careful how I answer this question.  If I answer YES, then it might be construed that LB is a phrase I would use to describe her.  If I answer NO then I am lying.  I answered, "I think so" hoping that it would suffice.  PT explained several things that she did not like about LB.  This might account for her arriving right after LB leaves.

This morning I got there about 5 minutes later than normal and missed LB.  She was there though as the TV was up really, really loud again.  By the time I got to the treadmill portion of my time there, PT was there.  I had not been on the treadmill the same time as PT before and the equipment is laid out so that you can see the other persons settings (incline and MPH).  I was walking happily along and then she started.  I was going 4.2 mph at a 2 degree incline.  She had the gall to do 4.5 mph and 2.5 degree incline.  My ego got the better of me and I bumped it up to 4.5 mph.  After a minute or so, she declined down to 1.5 degrees.  A few minutes later, she started to go 6.7 mph.  "Crud!" I thought.  Not to be out done I jumped up to 6.5 mph (in my mind this was close enough).  Thankfully she slowed down a few moments later and soon my 30 minutes was up and I left with my ego still in tact.

I feel like an intruder though.  Even though the room could fit a half dozen people each working out on different machines, LB and PT seem to have it sorted out so that they are alone.  I have even thought of using this as an excuse for stopping to go there in the morning.  That would probably upset TW though (The Wife).

Thanks for reading my Random Thoughts.

Jon