Blog Number 220

Greetings and welcome to today's random thought.

Well today is the day!  Moving day has finally arrived.  The kids are...well they are excited but that hardly covers it.  The kids constant reminder of the countdown of the days that remain until we move can only be compared to the anticipation of Christmas.  The guys from Two Men and a Truck are due here in about 30 minutes so now we are just waiting (other than the wife who is cleaning the bathroom one last time).  We actually could get into the house on Saturday so we have made (8) trips to the house with the van loaded down.  It is about 8 miles to the new house.  Actually we did discover a short cut that brought it down to 5.  Mr. Google was not aware of the road that was just built near our house so I don't blame him for not knowing that we could take a shorter route.

There really is no comparison between the apartment and the house we are moving to.  I will have to show you some pictures to show you how much of an improvement we are moving into (and pictures of how we have lived for the last 12+ months).  For now though you will have to trust me.

I have to go now.  If the wife catches me blogging while she is cleaning the bathroom it would not be good.  One last note, I have NOT signed up for high speed internet at the new house yet so I have no idea how long it will be until my next blog (unless I can find a wireless connection somewhere that is "free").  Until then...

Thanks for reading my Random Thoughts.

Jon

Blog Number 219

Greetings and welcome to today's random thought.

Well today is moving day (or more specifically, day 1 of the moving days).  The movers will not be here until Monday but we bought a few boxes at the local storage place and are going to start moving what we can today since today is the first day we can get into the house.  So today will be a busy (read: no fun) day for the kids.  I think once we make a trip or two, the kids will start to get more excited but we will have to wait and see I suppose.

I have spent the last week stopping and starting electricity, water, gas, internet and phone services which is not a lot of fun.  I has gotten easier though since the last time we moved.  You can even do the forwarding of your mail over the internet (for a $1 charge).  Also, the water service for McKinney, TX, can be done online.  Furthermore, the gas and electric service is through the same company so that was a breeze.  If you know me then you know what I am thinking:

This is all going a little too easy.  Something catastrophic will ensue shortly.

I am just waiting for something to break, quit working, etc.  Or for some hidden, huge fee to come up and slap me from out of nowhere.  I can only liken this feeling to the feeling you have when walking through a haunted house.  You know something is going to jump out of nowhere and so you are tensed up in anticipation.  That is a very good analogy of the way I have felt this week and I am even at a higher level heading into today.

Well, I have a lot of stuff to do, I will keep you posted if a monster jumps out to get me.

Thanks for reading my Random Thoughts.

Jon

Blog Number 218

Greetings and welcome to today's random thought.

I received a phone call around noon today.  It was my wife calling to inform me that our daughter lost another tooth.  She lost one last week as well.  She was making sure that I had some $1 bills since the tooth last week caught us off guard and the daughter's tooth turned into $5 (we did not have anything smaller than a 5).  Anyway, I did not have anything smaller than a $10 so it was time to walk over to the bank.  Actually it is a credit union and they have a branch inside the building where I work.  They are renovating their normal location so I had to go down the escalators, through the cafeteria and then back up the escalators in order to get to their temporary location.  There was a small line when I got there (I did not make it over there until about 2 pm) and so I chatted with the lady behind me in line and explained my predicament.  She recalled losing one of her Sacajawea dollars that she was saving when one of her children suddenly lost a tooth.  Another time she had to give up a $2 bill she was saving.  She wished me luck and then I headed back the way I came and made the 2-escalator trip.

While on the escalator I wondered if there were guidelines on how fast the moving stairs can move.  Is there some sort of OSHA guideline on the speed?  Well it turns out that is is not OSHA that sets the standards, it is actually ASME (American Society of Mechanical Engineers) and the code outlining escalators is: ASME A17.1 - Safety Code for Elevators and Escalators (Includes Requirements for Elevators, Escalators, Dumbwaiters, Moving Walks, Material Lifts, and Dumbwaiters With Automatic Transfer Devices).  Since these are published guidelines managed by ASME, they are not free so I could not research the safety guidelines for speed.  I have been on many of these things in my life and I can say (with some authority) that the ones in my building could use a little more speed.

It took 25 seconds to get from the bottom to the top (or the top to the bottom depending).  I used the a very accurate measurement when timing my ride (1 Mississippi, 2 Mississippi, etc.) and all my trips were close to 25 seconds (or Mississippi's if you like).  I think that the company could save some money if they cranked up the speed.  Let's assume the following for the sake of this blog...

1. There are 5,000 people in my building.
2. Each person uses the escalator twice per day (once up and once down).
3. Each person makes $25 / hour.
4. Each person works 230 days a year at this building (figuring for weekends, holidays, travel days, sick days and vacations).
5. Every second saved in escalator travel will be spent in productive work (this is the biggest assumption!).
6. ASME will allow us to increase the speed such that it only takes 20 seconds to get from the top to bottom (or bottom to top) of the escalator

Ok, if you are buying this premise so far we have this...

1. Each person makes about 0.7¢ per second
2. Each person will save 10 seconds per day (5 seconds per trip for 2 trips) for a total savings per day per person of $0.07.
3. For 5,000 people, the per day savings will be $350.00.
4. For 230 days, the annual savings is $80,500.00.

Now this may seem like craziness to you but I have seen some other proposed cost savings measures and this one is more feasible than most and the data is far more accurate (and can be backed up).  I had to use the escalators 4 times today just to make change and could have saved $0.14.  I did make good use of my 100 seconds on the escalators though, I basically wrote this blog in my head while going up and down (and up and down).

Thanks for reading my Random Thoughts.

Jon

Blog Number 217

Greetings and welcome to today's random thought.

I left work right at 5:00 today.  Traffic is not bad at all unless I stay until around 5:30.  By 6:00, it is much worse.  I park in a garage and have to navigate around two large circular drives before I even get out to the road that I take to and from work each day.  Behind me today was a little, blue, convertible Mercedes.  The top was down and the guy in the car appeared to be ready for the weekend.  I was on a small road that connects the two circles that I have to drive around (the circles only go one way) when all of a sudden a security truck came out of an entrance.  He did not appear even to look for traffic and I had to hit the breaks pretty hard.  I did not really come close to hitting them but if I had not been paying attention there could have been trouble.  I was going to let everything go at that and get back on my way home.  However, the blue Mercedes dude had other thoughts.  He honked his horn (a little to long and loud for my taste) and then passed me and passed the security truck.  He offered a choice hand gesture to the driver of the truck (not THE hand gesture but a hand jester all the same).  He then sped past the truck and went away.  I decided to stay behind the truck and follow him around the circle.  He ended up turning off before I did but when I came to the stop light I saw Mr. Attitude in his little blue car.  For all his speeding around he accomplished very little (other than being 3 cars ahead of me in line for the light).  Once the light turned green, he began to speed up and weave in and out of the lanes to better his position.  But no matter what he tried, I caught him at the light.  By the time I was turning onto another street, he was still only 20 foot or so ahead of me.  These kinds of drivers are a pet peeve of mine.  I actually blame NASCAR.  I think these rush hour jockeys get a little too much Jimmy Johnson in their blood when they get behind the wheel.  I will admit that for all my frustration in watching him drive, I did get a pretty good feeling when I would see him drumming his fingers waiting at the same light that I arrived at while driving the speed limit and staying in my lane.  That put a smile on my face.  If I were bolder, I would have gotten out of my car while the light was still red and let him know that my 4 door Buick was making just as good time as his Speed Racer unit was.  But seeing as how he works at my company, it would be my luck that he is an upper level manager or something and it would all bite my in the end.  At any rate, I got home at the normal time (and probably beat him home).  Also, it is the weekend so all is well.

Thanks for reading my Random Thoughts.

Jon

Blog Number 216

Greetings and welcome to today's random thought.

Today the decision that we made many years ago to have a second child has backfired on me.  The wife volunteered to make 4 1/2 dozen cookies for our church so tonight she is making them.  She uses the electric beater to mix up the dough and the mixer only has two beaters...

Quickly doing the math, if each kid gets a beater, then there is none for dear old dad.  This was not always the case.  Up until recently, the daughter had no interest in licking the beater.  Now however she is all about getting her own beater.  I also used to get to lick the bowl and then the wife purchased some really good spatulas (curse you Pampered Chef!) and so the bowl is pretty clean by the time she is done scraping out the last of the cookie dough.  So I don't get a beater and I don't got to lick the bowl!  And (to top if off) tonight, these cookies are not even for me!!
Overall, deciding to have a second child was a good decision.  My daughter has brought me much joy during her life.  Tonight however, as I watch her stroke her tongue all around the crevices of the beater...

Well anyway, I might have to make a Kroger run for some cookies tonight after the kids head off to bed.

Thanks for reading my Random Thoughts.

Jon

Blog Number 215

Greetings and welcome to today's random thought.

Well today was another 100° day here in Texas.  This is about what it was like when we moved down here except it is more humid now compared to then.  Tonight was soccer evaluation.  Both kids are playing soccer this summer / fall.  The son is doing so because he has done it in the past and enjoyed it.  The daughter is doing so because she wanted these shin guards...

As soon as she saw these pink shin guards at Target earlier in the year, she was convinced she was going to play soccer next session.

Tonight being evaluation night, both kids showed up (in the heat) and did a myriad of tests (throw the ball, kick it far and straight, run, kick the ball around some pylons, etc.).  They were each scored accordingly and the scores will be used to put them on teams of kids with similar skill levels (or lack thereof).  What does this really mean to me?  Well I am glad you asked.  Basically it means that (more than likely) the kids will have soccer practice on separate nights and have games at different times on games days.  Translation: my Monday nights, Tuesday nights and Saturday mornings are claimed for the next few months.  Oh well.

The daughter also lost a tooth today.  I believe I have mentioned how we handle lost teeth in my house.  You put it under your pillow and the tooth turns into money.  We do not believe (or encourage belief) in the tooth fairy.  The son has reached the age where he is convinced that I am switching the tooth for money.  I explained to him that when he stops believing that the tooth turns to money then they will most certainly stop.  Hallelujah, he is a believer again.  Anyway, very soon (slightly after I finish this blog) the daughter's tooth will magically turn into money (I hope).  The son has purchased Spy Gear (like this Alarm Kit that has a key code that he has installed on his door) and has threatened to booby trap their room.  I tell you my mom had it easy.  I slept hard and was happy with a quarter or two.  The daughter is convinced she will get $5 and I have to "break into" her room in order to give it to her.  A dad's job is never easy.  Wish me luck.

Thanks for reading my Random Thoughts.

Jon

Blog Number 214

Greetings and welcome to today's random thought.

I am trying to enjoy the things that I like about this apartment as much as I can since in two week we are outta here.  One thing that is very nice is the apartment video library.  It rotates monthly and has quite a few hit DVDs that you can borrow.  There are rules (like only keeping the movies for 2 days) but they are not enforced.  At any given time there are about 50 titles available but there are days when the pickin’s are slim.  The kids and I watched Rocky Balboa last night (it was not too bad).  The wife and I also watched Casino Royale this week.

When I got home earlier this evening I decided to change clothes and then walk up to the office and see what movies they had today.  As I was walking I heard quite a bit of chirping coming from under one of the carports so I investigated and found this...

These 4 chicks were way up under the carport.  I had to hold the camera at arms length over my head and step on my tip toes to get the picture.  Mama bird did not seem to happy so I got out of there.  Once I brought the picture home and showed it to the kids I noticed how ugly these small birds really are.  I zoomed in on the picture of the bird on the far right and it reminded me of the Skeksis in The Dark Crystal.  But do not take my word on it, judge for yourself...

 

Enough said.  Perhaps young chicks were Jim Henson's inspiration for the terrible Skeksis characters.  At any rate, I talked with a few guys that were also looking for movies and ended up picking up The Brothers Grim.  I will have to let you know how it is.

Thanks for reading my Random Thoughts.

Jon

Blog Number 213

Greetings and welcome to today's random thought.

So the semi-big news is that we are staying in Texas.  Most of you will not see this as big news since you did not even know that we were considering NOT staying in Texas.  So perhaps the semi-big news is that we were considering leaving Texas (going back to Indiana) and the also-semi-big news is that we have decided to stay in Texas.  Anyway, that's the news.

Either way we went, my family has sacrificed enough for me during the past 12 months.  They moved from a 1,583 sq. ft. house on about 1/2 of an acre into this 1,150 sq. ft. apartment with no yard at all.  The kids went from having their own room to sharing a room (a concept they found exciting for about the first 6 months but is wearing thin now).  Everyone had to make new friends and hardly see the old friends at all.  The wife lost all her free, "no advance planning needed" babysitters.  We had to find a new home for our dog, Pongo (I think even the cat misses him, though I doubt Tiger would admit it).  Many, many sacrifices all made on my behalf so I could take a shot at advancing my career.

Don't get me wrong, we were not looking forward to leaving Texas.  We have found a great church, made some great friends and we very much like the weather.  Allen is a better city than Kokomo.  When the wife and I listed the pro's and con's of one state versus the other, they came up about even.  One thing on the side of Indiana was that we were going to keep our return a secret from almost everyone in Indiana.  The wife and I plotted about this quite often.  We were going to work with one or two people in Kokomo and get settled back into Kokomo.  Then we were going to have a contact there invite both our mothers and my wife's sister to a fake party (Tupperware, Pampered Chef, etc.) and give the address of the party as our new address.  We almost wanted to move back just to do this.  It would make for one great story to tell (and blog to write).

But in the end, the job is going pretty well and it would not be a wise decision career-wise for me to leave my company's headquarters and go back to the relatively small office back where I started.  Plus there is much more opportunity here then there ever was back there.  Yes, staying is the best and only choice really.

Our apartment lease is up at the end of this month so we needed to find a place to move to once we we're kicked out of here.  We crunched the numbers, found a price range for houses we could afford and in the end decided that leasing a house for a year was a better financial decision.  This gets us into a house at least (with a yard) but does not tie us down to what we can afford with my current income.  Perhaps in another year down here we will be able to afford a house that we like.  For now with us running out of time to find a place to live, we decided on leasing.  So in about 2 weeks we are moving.  I will be going up and down those same 19 steps that I did when we moved in here last year.  This year though the move will not be preceded by a 900 mile trip in a U-Haul (ah, memories).

So in the next few weeks you can expect blogs about the frustrations of moving (again).  I will try to make is so they are not just reruns.

Thanks for reading my Random Thoughts.

Jon

Blog Number 212

Greetings and welcome to today's random thought.

Last Friday I woke up with my tooth hurting me.  That statement is almost entirely true were it not for the fact that the tooth that was hurting pretty much does not exist.  It was the tooth that I had worked on right before I left for Argentina in January.  The dentist took as much of the tooth as he possibly could (and still be able to do a crown rather than a root canal).  As such, it was my gum that was actually hurting (but it sure felt like a tooth ache).  It was not that bad on Friday but on Saturday and Sunday it was quite bad.  Assuming it was an infection (I was just praying I did not need to go back in and do the root canal thing) my wife decided to use one of her home remedies.  So for the last 5 days I have taken the following...

Garlic Bulb Fluid Extract - 2.0 ml  / 3 times a day
Extra Virgin Coconut Oil - 1 tablespoon / 2 times a day

I think the garlic portion is a natural antibiotic (the likely prescription - had I gone to the dentist) and I forget what in the world the coconut oil was supposed to do (the wife told me several times but I guess I was not paying attention).  I whined, complained, moaned, groaned, protested, and made faces all week but took my "medicine" anyway.  I must admit I am feeling much better.  My upper jaw still aches a little but the pain in my non-tooth is gone for the most part and I am on the way to full recovery.

We try to eat fresh garlic and we due use the coconut oil for most of our cooking (although we do use olive oil as well) so these are not uncommon to my body.  I am just not used to taking them all by themselves.  The garlic was mixed in with a few ounces of water (holding my nose to drink it) and the coconut oil was just taken on a tablespoon (it has no taste except the faintest hint of coconut and does not have a very oil feel in your mouth).  The garlic was about $10 for 15 "servings" and the coconut oil (if I remember correctly) was about $6 for a jar.  If you add it up, it is still much cheaper than a trip to the dentist and a prescription co-payment.  Honestly, the cheapness of it is the only reason I even opted for it.  I am just happy it worked (although having the wife gloat about it adds to the overall price a little ).

Thanks for reading my Random Thoughts.

Jon

Blog Number 211

Greetings and welcome to today's random thought.

The wife and I were able to catch a late afternoon nap yesterday (thanks Mom!) so we were up late last night.  We were watching an old Ellen DeGeneres stand up special on YouTube.  It was conveniently cut up into 7 parts (part 1, part 2, part 3, part 4, part 5, part 6, part 7).  While we were watching (and laughing until we cried), we noticed a small bug making his way across our dining room floor.  It was heading from the direction of our bedroom toward the kitchen.  From a bug's point of view this must have been quite a journey (the human equivalent of several miles I would guess).  As we watched him make his journey, we both noted that we had not really seen any live bugs while living in this apartment but since our cat was still back in Indiana and since our cat took care of any bugs then we agreed that this is why the bug was still alive.  I then suggested that he was some sort of scout bug sent on a mission.  I theorized that it had been many generations since a bug from his tribe had journeyed to the promised land (a.k.a. the kitchen).  It must have been quite an honor for him to have been selected (or perhaps he drew the short straw - I could also envision a long, horizontal line of bugs and the bug commander asking for a volunteer bug to step forward and then the entire tribe [except for this unfortunate bug] taking a step back).  Whatever reason it was, he was the lone bug on this mission.  I wondered if this was an honor for him or he saw it as more of a duty.  Perhaps he was trying to impress some lady bug back at base camp.  After we discussed this for a short period of time, I grabbed a Kleenex and scooped him up and sent him to the great (literally) trash can in the sky.  I wondered then what his final thoughts were.  Maybe in generations (or month's) past, there were those who survived the cat and made it back to warn the others.  I am sure they embellished the truth so make themselves look good in front of the other bugs.  The bug that made his way across our floor was probably on the lookout for a giant, furry creature with no claws.  A giant white blanket (Kleenex) probably was the furthest thing from his mind and even after he saw it coming, he probably did not even think it was dangerous.  I doubt if many bugs make it back after being attacked by the giant white blanket.  Oh, it might be a myth from 100 generations ago (when the previous renters were in this apartment, renters who were not as adept with the Kleenex as I).  The myth might suggest the blanket of doom but today's younger generations of bugs pay no attention to such wild tales of the ancient bugs.  This bug however, should have listened to the tales.

Thanks for reading my Random Thoughts.

Jon

Blog Number 210

Greetings and welcome to today's random thought.

The kids arrived home safe and sound yesterday afternoon.  They had very exciting stories to tell about their train ride from Illinois.  My mom however looked about like she had just spent 18 hours on a train with 2 small kids.  At any rate, it is nice to have the kids home.  This morning we all piled in the van and headed to Panera before meeting a realtor at a house that we are going to lease starting at the end of this month.  Oh, I forgot to mention that we are staying in Texas.  There was a slight chance that we were going to move back to Indiana.  In fact, while we were up there on vacation we did look around at apartments just in case we ended up back there.  We should be able to move into this house toward the end of this month.  I am sure I will have tales to tell about the move.

Last night we had our 2nd poker night with our ABF (Sunday School) class.  After the first poker night, a fellow participant went out and bought a really cool poker chip set and he has been eager to get to use it.  These chips are the real deal.  I was surprised how heavy they were.  He told me they were made partially out of metal (hence the weight).  They ordered Hungry Howie's pizza and everyone brought chips, pop and desert.  The get together started at 6:30 (ish) and poker did not actually start until closer to 8.  In all, there were 9 poker players (including 6 adults and a 12, 9 and 7 year old).  We passed out the chips, went over the rules and then dealt the cards.  I knew I was in trouble as I had a good (but not great) hand right off the bat.  My 2 pair was covered though by the 12 year old's straight.  She played in our first poker night and was the first one out of chips.  I could tell she had spent some time honing her skills since last time (of course getting a straight on the first hand helped too).  I folded a few hands and then thought I had a good hand again only to be disappointed but the river or the turn.  I played conservatively for a while and by the 10th hand or so I was needing to make a move.  I bet a ton on an Ace-Jack and hoped for the best.  I was pot committed and had 2 of the kids bidding me up so I went all in.  I got lucky with a 10 on the last card giving me a straight or else I would have been done.  That tripled my chip count and then I was good to go for a while.  One by one everyone dropped out until it was just me and the guy who owned the chips.  We each had about the same number of chips but he was slightly higher when I went all in and he called.  I won that hand which crippled him.  With the ante and blinds raised pretty high, he was able to crawl back in.  By 10 PM or so though I decided to go all in with a 10-8 and he called with a 7-6.  The flop had a 6 but also a 10 so I was better.  The next 2 cards didn't help either of us so I took the pile...

We joined the others in the other room and talked until about 11.  The daughter was already asleep and the son was looking a little haggard so we headed home.  We all agreed we needed to do this again soon so I will have to defend my title the next time.

Thanks for reading my Random Thoughts.

Jon

Blog Number 209

Greetings and welcome to today's random thought.

Well it has been quite a week.  First off, the kids were still in Indiana with their grandmas while the wife and I enjoyed an empty apartment all to ourselves.  It is basically the first time in 9 years that we have had an empty home other than the occasional times both kids were staying overnight somewhere.  This is definitely the first time we have had multiple nights alone since before my son was born.  Tonight though the kids are on a train with my mother heading south towards Dallas.  They will arrive sometime after noon tomorrow and we are really ready to see them.  This week we have been practicing for when the time comes and the kids move out of the house.  I think we will do OK with the empty nest syndrome when we have to deal with it.

Tonight though the wife and I celebrated our last night alone and the anniversary of our first year in Texas by going out to Pan Acean.  This is a restaurant that we visited last July when we first came down to the Allen area to look for a place to live.  I think that this is the only Pan Acean anywhere (at least I could not find another one with the help of Mr. Google).  It is a very good Asian restaurant.  It is about 25 miles away and only 35 minutes if we took the toll road.  Being a cheapskate and since we had no one back at the apartment to come home to, we took the long route and arrived there in about 45 minutes.  The food was as good as we remembered (Pad Thai and Kung Pao along with some lettuce wraps) and we brought plenty home to reheat for lunch tomorrow.  When it came time to pay the bill I recalled the last visit to this restaurant.  We met my cousin and her (then boyfriend and now) fiance and he picked up the check.  So this is the first time I had to pay for food here.  Also with the check came some fortune cookies.  I chose mine carefully, then swapped with the wife, the swapped back again.  When I finally opened mine up there were 2 fortunes inside instead of the normal one.  I do not know if this is a sign of good luck or bad but here are my fortunes...

You will find your solution where you least expect it. - AND - Do not let great ambitions overshadow small successes.

I am not sure which one I like the best but I am leaning toward the second one right now.  The drive home was nice as we listened to NPR (National Public Radio).  For some reason I find this station interesting (even moreso than Jack FM which I also like).  NPR has all sorts of interesting stories and covers them from different angles than the normal news agencies.

For now though we just have what's left of tonight alone.  Until next time...

Thanks for reading my Random Thoughts.

Jon