The Northwoods Is No Place For A Pink Flamingo
Wordpress (my blogging platform) just released a new version and I am having some difficulty with the upgrade. Be patient, some things may disappear from the blog for a short time before they come back. No content lost this time though!! I should have it all working again by Saturday night, with perhaps a new theme too!
As you can see, I’ve added a new theme tonight! Change is good, change is constant. It never gets old for me. I upgraded the back end of this blog today as well to Wordpress 2.8 and it’s added several new features behind the scenes including a new theme browser and installer which just makes it easier for me to change the look of the web site on you all. Another thing it has done (and I think it’s a bug) is completely remove the visual editor which means at least for the time being, I’ve lost the integrated spell checker and style formatting buttons. I don’t have time to play with it tonight to find out how to fix it so hopefully my spelling won’t be too bad.
I got LOTS of stuff done today finally. I was finally able to get outside for a little while and mow the grass. It has been raining non-stop for nearly a week here and I think the grass grew a good 6″ in less than 3 days. It was nice to get that trimmed down a bit. My plants are just loving the wet weather. The tomato’s are coming along just fine and my herb garden is starting to take shape. Soon, I’ll have a flower bed of daisies and one of my rose bushes made it through the winter so I should start to see some flowers on it soon. I wish I had more time in the day to enjoy my little yard. As it is, I am working so much that I hardly have time to mess around out there and when I do get a day off, I’d much rather be at the lake than at my house in town (so would Gavin). Oh well, I’m glad I even have a yard.
I’ve got a new addition to my wrist now. Mom bought me and my dad new watches for father’s day and it’s been a good 15 years since I’ve actively worn a watch. It’s not a bad idea to have one, I hope though that I don’t destroy it at work. One of the main reasons I quit wearing a watch is becuase time moved SO SLOW when I wore it. I just have to quit looking at it. I like this one though. It’s got a good band and I think I’ll be able to get used to it.
I decided tonight that I would hit Subway for dinner. It’s been quite a while since I’ve had a sub from them and it was a toss up between Pizza and a Sub. For what it cost me, a Pizza would have been much better. My typical fare for Subway is their Subway Melt. I can remember in Grand Rapids eating this sometimes 2-3 days a week (ya, I know, I don’t need the “healthy food lecture”). I don’t ever remember spending more than $5-6 on a meal combo. It cost me $9.50 for a meal combo tonight! That is INSANE! I can eat at Burger King for less than that, hell, I can eat at home for less than $1!!!! I do need to start looking a little harder at my diet. I’ve managed to cut back on the cheese burgers but I’m still a softie for a BK cheeseburger. Gotta have them. My goal this summer is to shed another 5-10lbs which is pretty ambitious. I’m not sure yet how I’m going to accomplish it.
I go back to work this weekend for the 3rd weekend in a row. I’m not looking forward to it. I’ve not had too many customer issues lately thank God. My co-workers have but I’ve managed to avoid the nasty people lately. That’s good becuase when you are working 55-60 hour weeks, tired as hell, and physically worn down it only takes one jackass to screw you up for the entire week. The weather is supposed to be pretty decent (still dam cold) and I hope that brings people out. I have a HUGE sales week forecast this next week. If I don’t see more people, there is just no way I’m going to make it! GET OUT AND SHOP! This recession will continue as long as people are not spending money. Well, it’s off to bed now. Have a good weekend!
There is one thing I just do not like about living in northern Michigan, well, make that Michigan in general. This place reminds you in nasty ways that it’s still the middle of fucking winter here and it will be until May! Another foot of snow fell up here today in the northwoods. Pretty quickly too. When I went to bed last night, this mess was supposed to fall south and east of here. Well the storm changed directions and dumped a shit ton of snow on us all day today and tonight and another 5″ again expected tomorrow. 12-18″ of snow in 48 hours is a bit much for any rational person to deal with on a regular basis but yet, somehow we all manage to live here without going nuts. Oh well, summers do make up for it but I could really do without this sort of thing.
Found a video on the net tonight I thought I would post. I got this from a web site called wimp.com although this clip is all over youtube too. You should check that web site out if you have high speed Internet (and are not at work). Its a REALLY random collection of videos from around the Internet, many of them really funny, some of them really random, and some of them even educational. This reminds me of my old cat Pooh who used to sit in the window and do this to birds.
Wow, it’s been a long couple of days. It’s been quite warm up here but it looks like we’ll be getting snow now this weekend. I’m finally off for another weekend and boy I need the rest. I think I’ll be sleeping in late tomorrow unless I happen to fall asleep very early tonight which is quite likely. It’s been a zoo at work. I’m always amazed at the human condition, especially in these parts. People put off their projects until the very last second and then they completely overwhelm themselves with the amount of work they have left to do and hardly any time left in the season to do it. I’ve sold a TON of exterior paints and stains this past week and I’ve had to make sure that me and all my employees were warning customers about what happens if you use these products when it is too cold or wet. It won’t stop most of them from trying to get their projects done, the products will fail and they will be back next year to blame me for their inability to follow directions. That’s the one thing that I’ve become very used to over the years working in retail. It doesn’t matter how much information and education you give a customer, they STILL will not follow directions and it will STILL be MY fault when the product doesn’t work like they think it should. Ya, you know we retail slaves own all the manufacturing plants of all the products we sell and are personally out there making this shit….it reminds me of my mom’s stories of her preschool age students when she was teaching, they all thought she lived at the school because she was a teacher there. Children could not separate the profession from the person…much like the people I deal with daily can’t separate the salesman from the manufacturer. Not much difference there folks. Don’t be dweebs.
So all this shit going on at work and guess what happened on Thursday morning as I was on my way out the door 20 minutes before I had to be at work (I love living close to work now). I HAD A FLAT TIRE!!! As my car gets older I’m starting to lose my tolerance for some of this shit. I replaced all 4 tires on my car 2 years ago and I’ve had 3 flat tires in since then. Lucky for me I learned early in my life how to put on a spare tire and I did actually make it to work on time although screaming down the road at 55mph with a tiny spare tire is not exactly a safe thing to do. Today, I spent 3 hours sitting in the waiting room at Discount Tire after I got out of work while they fixed my car. I don’t blame all these tire problems direction on Discount Tire. They have always treated me well and none of my flat tires have cost me a dime to have fixed (due to warranty). Most of the issues have to do directly with the types of rims on my car which fuck up the tire and cause them to leak…sometimes very slow, sometimes quite quickly…of course I also work at a place the sells nails and screws which routinely end up in the parking lot…go figure. What I don’t like however is the fact that going to Discount Tire is NEVER a short in and out trip. Just like shopping at Meijer, I can always count on an excessive amount of time being spent waiting around. So anyhow, I also had them fix a recall problem specific to my car, rotate my tires and balance them and get them all working correctly. I should be good now through the winter. The next project on that car is to have the brakes done. That’s the other issue with this car, I’ve had the car about 6 or 7 years and I have had at least 4 brake jobs on it….not just brake pads..the whole dam rotors and everything. Not cheap, I’m not likely to buy a Chevy Malibu again.
Finally a bit of good news before I sign off for the night. I found out yesterday that I will get 10 paid days off this next year. I’ve finally been with my company long enough that they feel I deserve 80 hours of vacation (rather than 40) so I get to take several long weekends this coming year and I am also planning another trip to Las Vegas at some point in the early spring (contingent on all the other bills being paid…yes, that means what I owe to you Mom and Dad).
I realize the election is over but I haven’t posted much in the way of offensive jackassery lately so here you go.
Had a pretty good day off today. I slept until nearly 10am today which is very unusual for me. Usually I’m up and out of bed by 8 at the latest. I was pretty tired though. I packed up Gavin today anticipating spending the day at the cottage out on the boat. While it was a beautiful day, it was just not boat weather. Instead I spent a couple hours installing the last part of the sprinkler system in the new garden beds my folks have in the back. It proved a little more difficult than I had anticipated only becuase some of the root systems on the grasses are shallow and the big tree has big roots near the surface. It took a little work but I got it working and it should be good to go now.
After I had finished that, I decided I would take Gavin and go for another hike in the woods. There are all kinds of hiking trails in Leelanau, most of which are deserted after Labor Day which is just what I like. Today we hiked the “Farm’s Trail” part of the Bay View trail system in Sleeping Bear National Park. I had done this trail once before, I’d say about 15 years ago. It was far more interesting than the last one I spoke about here. The color is just starting to come out and many of the sugar maple trees are now turning bright red. This makes a great contrast among the trees that are still green. The light was not real good for pictures today but I did get a few good ones. I’ll be adding them to the “Early Fall 2008″ album on my website later tonight or tomorrow sometime. The “Farm’s Trail” features several old homes and barns that have been acquired by the national park and preserved. There is something mystical about old barns that I really like. The look of the old wood and the detail of each grain makes me long to live in the country. I was thinking about that today on my hike; about how much more I like living in the middle of nowhere. I don’t mind my new place and I really like being close to work. I miss the smell of the country, the clean air, the smell of campfires at night. Who knows, maybe when I start looking for a house this next year I can find something close to work where I can still have some of those things.
Tonight I am just taking it easy. I was going to clean the garage a little bit since there is still a TON of work to do in there before my folks can possibly think about putting their trailer in there. I’ve still got shit everywhere. I’ve just lacked the motivation to do anything about it lately. I’ve acquired some new Elton John CD’s and have been enjoying them most of the day. Gavin is exhausted and sleeping in the little chair behind my desk, snoring loudly.
Here is a picture from today. Look for more at www.leelanauphotography.com either later tonight or tomorrow.
OK, the title might be offensive. At the front, I want all readers to know that there is a HUGE difference between a set of PARENTS, and a set of BREEDERS. The first use shows a defined commitment to a child or children under their care who blatantly express through a multitude of actions that their children are their first priority in nearly every aspect of their lives. I would lump my parents into this category as well as millions of other sets of parents who truly care for their children. The second use (Breeders) is defined as 2 people who fuck for fun, who then conceive, produce a child, have no concept of how to raise that child, disregard that child, care nothing for that child and create a situation that is not only unhealthy but exceptionally unsafe for that child in nearly every situation they enter. I had an encounter today at work with some breeders that I must share here becuase people like this should be shot 30 times in the face and then skinned alive.
My intern ran over to me late this afternoon somewhat laughing but somewhat concerned as well about some guy in my grocery section shoving his face with chips and dip. A manager was needed (me since I was closest) to resolve the situation. I approached what was a GIANT of a teenager, mumbling and opening jar after jar of chip dip from the store shelves. My own background in having dealt with a few difficult (and different) children kicked in, I immediately recognized severe autism. Clearly my co-workers (including my own boss) had no idea how to deal with the situation. This child’s parents were nowhere to be found. Gut reaction was to simply stay put. Distract from the food that was now all over the kids face and try to get a parents name out of the child so we could begin searching for this child’s parents. No such luck. The temptation of food was too great and too distracting and even with good intrepreation skills, I could not make out either his name or anything else. I’d say his vocabulary was quite limited. So the next move was to remove and redirect. Using the chips as a lure, I was able to convince the kid to follow me to the front office. At this point at least 25 minutes had passed with me making all the effort and my co-workers not being much help (ignorance). I wasn’t about to blame the child for his condition but each minute that went by that the parents didn’t show up created more tension and rage within me. I was able to to get the kid to sit quietly on a pile of bird seed while we figured out how to use the intercom (NOT a good idea when it c comes to lost kids but in this situation our only choice). We announced “would the parents of a lost child please report to the cash registers” Eventually, another disabled person showed up and approached me. I asked if he was a parent, no he was the brother. Clearly in better shape but also clearly autistic. It was clear at this point that this was a family relation and the child was released to his brother. All of this was being filmed by security cameras, the child was followed as he walked back with his brother to another department where he was reunited with COMPLETELY unconcerned and inattentive parents who continued to shop as though nothing had just happened.
Nothing further was done with this incident. We took the loss on the food that was consumed and that was the end of it. The only reason I relay this story is to say that had I been the general manager, those parents would still be dealing with child services. My GM rightfully pulled me into the security room after I released the child because he knew I was pissed off, we watched the security cameras to make sure the child ended up with the parents and then out the door with them. Had I seen the breeders in question in person I likely would have gone ape shit and caused a scene. I do not understand how any parent can be so callous, so disregarding, so completely unaware of EVERYTHING around them that they would loose a 250lb teenage boy who stood at least 6′ tall, who was VERY audible (even in gibberish), and who could have easily hurt me (had I not known how to act) or hurt himself. How could you NOT notice that this child was not with you? How could you so completely disregard his safety? In the 30 minutes he was with me at the front of the store, any predator with intent could have had this child nearly to Kingsley 30 miles away. People like this should not be permitted to breed. It just makes me sick. OK, that’s enough.
Now then, tomorrow is another day, the landlord receives a letter tonight, I suspect I’ll get a phone call tomorrow pleading for me to stay here, I will be getting the storage unit tomorrow and the next several days off will be spent getting some things over there and out of this house. The fun begins.
It’s time for a complete change now folks. UPDATE YOUR BOOKMARKS to point to the web address above. THIS BLOG WILL NO LONGER EXIST in 30 days, it has all been moved to the above address and THAT is where it will be updated.
Major improvements, enhancements, and other things can be found at www.leelanauwhippersnapper.com including an explanation of why that name was chosen. Go check it out.
Well, it’s been an interesting week. Pretty busy this weekend at work, people have spring fever so they are coming out to shop which is fine by me. I need it to be busy or I get board.
There are going to be some changes ahead for this blog. I am likely going to be moving it from a hosted service over to my own domain/web service if I can get the site to do what I want it to do. I have had a hosting account with godaddy.com for a number of years now and have never really developed any sort of web site. Turns out that Wordpress (the host of this blog) has a standalone application similar to this platform that I can host on my own web site. I’m going to test it out and see if I can migrate everything over there. If I can, it will allow me a LOT more flexibility in so far as design, features, and fun things that I can make the site do. We’ll see what happens, if I do move, I will try to keep it seamless.
As I’ve been writing this I’ve been playing with the new web site and it looks like there will be a switch over very shortly. I’ll put a referring link up here once that happens. I’ve got to make sure it’s going to be something I want to spend the money on. Stay tuned!
Well I finally made it. A month now where the money will just keep flowing. This is the only time of year when I get three big bangs all within 3 months. Tax returns, Profit Sharing Bonus at work, and Management Bonus at work. The first wave this year went to pay off my folks for being ever so generous in helping me keep my head above water this fall and winter. I seem to have this problem of every time it rains it pours. It spent a LOT of time pouring this winter. Today it was profit sharing time at work. I can’t elaborate much but employees of my company get a certain percentage of their gross earnings back each year as a bonus IF the store you work at is profitable. We were so I got my bonus. By the time you get to be a manager this bonus can add up to several thousand dollars. I got Three.
The first grand went to uncle sam. It seems that you can’t avoid the luxury tax on this type of bonus. The second thousand has been set aside and earmarked specifically for credit card debt and car related expenses. The third thousand is MINE. I didn’t get to spend any money this year on myself or Jirar at Christmas because money was so tight. Everything I had went to gifts for other people. No biggie, that happens a lot. I buy for everyone else before I buy for myself. This is my turn.
Today I purchased a new camera that I have been looking at now for a few months. I take a LOT of pictures and after Jirar dropped our Sony Cybershot into Crystal River last summer, its never worked the same so this is the replacement. It’s a huge step up as far as features and quality and it will NOT be going canoing with us this summer! We’ll save the Sony for that. There is a story to this but it’s likely only interesting to me but I’ll post it anyhow.
Like I said, I’ve been looking at this camera now for a few months. I’ve researched it on-line, I’ve gone to Best Buy and played with it, I’ve asked other photographers I know what they think of it. Everything I read and everyone I talk with has said this is a great camera. So today after work, I went to Best Buy to purchase it. Now, if I were not so damm impatient, I could have purchased this camera on-line and had it shipped to me for less money than what I paid today but I’m impatient. I went into Best Buy and waited for a sales person to help me. I waited, and waited, and waited, and…
Clearly Best Buy was not interested in my business. Multiple employees passed me, not a single one of them asked if I needed help, not one of them appeared to be doing much at all. Since I’m a sales manager by trade, I never miss an opportunity to test our competition. My actions were obvious, I made eye contact, gestures etc that would have suggested to any attentive sales person that I was at the very least in need of some help. I tend to make people work for my business. I don’t think it’s rude and in fact the residual payoff for YOU the sales person is quite great if you give me the time of day. Too bad Best Buy, you didn’t and YOU lost a sale today.
I strolled out of the store, got in my car and left. I headed over to Ritz Photo in the mall. I had done my research you see and Ritz was the same price as Best Buy. I didn’t go there initially BECAUSE I HATE THE MALL. I’ll be going to Ritz now for my photography needs. I was greeted, asked how I was doing, what I was looking for, etc. etc. Because I already knew what I wanted the guys there didn’t have to work very hard at all. They knew I had done my homework and they were eager to help. I purchased the camera, a new memory card, and a new set of rechargeable batteries and a carrying case. I also purchased something that I don’t normally purchase. I got a SERVICE AGREEMENT (EKKKKKSSSSSSS!!!!!!).
I am usually very hesitant to purchase service agreements or extended warranties. In fact, nearly everything I read about these for digital cameras said DON’T buy them, you won’t use it. This one is a little different though and it takes into consideration how I use the camera. This agreement actually covers normal wear and tear from NORMAL AND ABNORMAL USE including UNINTENTIONAL abuse, shock, or trauma! That means that if I am hiking pyramid point this summer and drop the camera down the 500′ vertical cliff and it comes apart in the sand, I will get a new camera. I purchased a 2 year plan because in 2 years, I intend to go back to Ritz and purchase a D-SLR camera as I increase my knowledge and skill level as a photographer. The next step in equipment is the big leagues. This camera will teach me how to use the manual settings and it will prepare me for the challenges (and big pay-offs) of the professional level D-SLR cameras that I will eventually purchase. See what I mean about residual pay off? The sales person at Ritz has a customer who will come back because he took a minute to give a shit about making a sale.
Anyhow, this was a LONG post to not really say much. Here is a photo take with the new camera and slightly edited in Photoshop. The detail and closeness of this picture was not possible with my other camera. There will be plenty more to come and there will be more posted at www.leelanauphotography.com as well. This is Pooh.
So you all know that I have just a wee bit of libertarian blood in me. I mostly believe that the government has it’s place but it’s not in my house. I don’t like government intrusion into my life and I don’t like random people having information about me, my life, my family, my health, etc. etc. Seems the ACLU agrees. The ACLU is a strange bunch. The left loves them for their positions on free speech. The right loves them for their positions on the second amendment. Both sides go back and forth hating them and loving them. They are sort of like the supreme court. The only time you can stand them is when they make a decision you agree with. They are a creative bunch and they know how to make a point. Check out THIS web site, those of you with dial up will need to just sit there and let it load. It’s worth the wait. It will open in a new window.