Farewell, 2011

It's time to say goodbye to you, 2011. As always, I need to thank you for some things before you go.

First of all, thank you for giving me an action-packed first year as as a department manager.  You gave me many different kinds of situations and issues to deal with at work, all of which I learned from.  And you also gave me three great guys to work with as part of my work family.  We had our moments, as all families do, but all in all, it was a great first year in this new chapter of my life. 

Thank you for your timing.  The first four months of 2011 were almost problem-free for me at work, church, and at home, giving me the time I needed to devote to my Master's thesis project.

Thank you for leaving your mark on my second Master's Degree dimploma.  It will always be a reminder of you whenever I look up at it hanging on the wall and see the "2011" date on there.

Thank you bigtime for doing what I asked last year on New Year's Eve -- taking it easy on my parents.  They had a great, happy, healthy year. Although you were a bit hard on them this summer during our record-breaking heat wave, but they're pretty tough. And you were a bit hard on all of us in Louisville thie year with all of the rain, just saying.

Thank you for giving me the opportunity to be more involved in activities and things at church. You taught me patience and diligence, and I was very excited, honored and humbled when I was appointed as head of security at church. 

Thank you for giving me the guts to do something that most people just dream about:  starting their own business.  The saying goes that "timing is everything" and this year you sure showed me that was true.  Early this year when I made the decision to start my own church security consulting business, the whole process came together almost effortlessly. Well, not really effortlessly; there was work involved, and a time or two things were moving almost too fast.  But everything fell into place, and I could not have asked for an easier pathway to entrepreneurship.

Last but not least, thank you for allowing me to be part of a Christmas miracle.  You gave me the chance to literally become God's hands and God's feet, making Chrismas 2011 THE best Christmas that my family and I have ever experienced.

Thanks again for everything you taught me this year, and for making it a very happy year for me.  I pray that 2012 will give me much of the same -- twelve months of happiness, health, and opportunity.

Flashback Friday

I had to work today (yes, on a company holiday) for year-end inventory, and on my way to work very early this a.m. I wanted to stop and mail my Netflix DVDs back so I could get more coming from my queue.  That having been said, we don't really trust leaving mail in our mailbox out on the street across from the house because thugs come and steal the mail, so I either take our mail to work or stop at the post office up the street and mail it.  Well, this morning I was running a few minutes late for my early a.m. arrival at work, and as I was driving it dawned on me that there are no longer any mailboxes on the street corners like there used to be. It only makes sense; they want to get rid of the Saturday mail delivery, so they want to get rid of the corner mailbox, too.

Back in the day, you couldn't walk down a street without passing by an official USPS blue metal mailbox.  Now you can hardly find them in the entire city.  I thought and thought and the only blue metal mailboxes I could recall were ones at the post offices.   

If any of you, faithful readers, know of an old school blue metal mailbox in your area, please let me know. 

Happy New Year's Resolution

New Year's Eve is just a couple of days away, and for a week now we've all been hearing about New Year's resolutions.  I did some quick research and found some awesome synonyms for "resolution" -- dedication, purposefulness, perseverance, and my favorite, immovability.

I've never been one to make official resolutions at the beginning of the New Year; I kinda make them all year long in the form of goals.  But this year, I am going to make an actual New Year's resolution: in the new year, I am going to be dedicated in calling and visiting old friends that I haven't seen in a long time.  I already started, by persevering and visiting a dear old friend from work tonight.  It felt great, and tomorrow I'm going to call another old friend and set up a time to get together.  So, Essie, if by chance you're reading TWIT, I'll be calling you in a day or two. 

New Product Review

First of all, I apologize for being a slacker and not taking a picture of this burger.  That having been said, tonight was our weekly Wendy's night; I stop and normally pick up three Baja salads on my way home from work.  Only tonight, Mom wanted to try the new Cheesy Cheddar Burger.  I was only happy to oblige.

To cut to the chase, Mom said it was very good and she would definitely order one again next week on my weekly visit to Wendy's.  

It's a small burger, on their "Value Menu" and is plain (which I would love).  It's just a bun, a burger patty,  a slice of cheddar cheese and a plop of the squirty cheese like they put on their broccoli and cheddar baked potato.  Mom said it had a lot of flavor, and that you could really taste the beefy burger. 

Based on my Mother's expert opinion, TWIT is happy to give Wendy's Cheesy Cheddar Burger a thumb's and the Official TWIT Seal Of Approval. 

Snow Alert: Not

As always in typical fashion, the weatherazzi had us all worked up today over a forecasted 1" of snow here in the Ohio Valley.  At work today I believe I saw it snow for all of two minutes.  So much for that.

My Top Ten Food Memories From Christmas Past

It seemed that every person I talked with over the past two days all mentioned at least a couple of different foods they were going to have for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day.  Now, before you start to chastise me, I'm the first to say that food is a major huge part of the Christmas celebration for us all -- cookies, jam cakes, the ham, egg nog, and everyone's favorite, Chex Mix.  I did some thinking last night and here are my Top Ten Food Memories From Christmas Past (in no particular order):

1. Christmas Eve 1999 -- my aunt and uncle were still here in KY, and each of us had our favorite fast food for Christmas Eve supper (Taco Bell, Arby's, and McD's)


2. Christmas Eve 1995 -- Dad and I made egg nog, and had enough for most of Jefferson County to have at least one cup

3. Christmas Day 2010 -- we deviated at The Compound and instead of the traditional Christmas dinner of ham or turkey or whatever is considered traditional, we had ribs cooked outside on the grill and awesome hot potato salad

4. Every Christmas Day that I can remember -- we always had homemade fruit salad.

5. Every Christmas Eve or Christmas Eve Eve since 2000 -- we've always had White Castles for lunch

6. Every Christmas season that I can remember -- we always have homemade oatmeal raisin cookies

7. Every Christmas that Grandma was living with us -- she always made fudge, bourbon balls and potato candy

8. Santa always leaves a Lifesavers candy book in my stocking

9. Every Christmas Eve since 1995 -- we've always had peel-and-eat shrimp for our Christmas Eve supper

10. Every Christmas Eve until 1972 -- we would always leave a Benedictine sandwich for Santa Clause. In 1972, I started to develop my reasoning and deductive skills, and realized that my Grandpa (who lived with us) was the only person I knew that liked Benedictine, well, except Santa.

Merry Christmas!!

I would like to wish all of you, faithful readers, a very Merry Christmas. May your day be filled with love and laughter.  In between the eating and drinking and presents, please take a moment to reflect on the true meaning of Christmas -- the birth of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. 

Happy Christmas Eve

It's Christmas Eve. I'm sure kids everywhere are so excited they will soon be getting on their parents' nerves, if they haven't already. As a kid, it seemed like Christmas Eve was the longest day of the year, as my parents probably did, too.  But I digress.  Not only is this Christmas Eve, it's also a day of rest for me. I've vowed to not leave the house today until we go to church later on this evening.  And it is a vow I'm going to keep.

For the past two weeks I've been running and running and had a couple hours worth of errands and things to do just about every night of the week.  I glanced back over the past two weeks in my planner book, and realized that I've only had supper with my family two or three times in that two-week period.  Yesterday after more and more running, I was stopped in traffic and realized how tired I was of all of the running.  I'm not complaining about the running; the majority of it was to help out a very needy and special family at church.  But I'm just stating the facts that I'm tired.  So today I'm staying inside and not getting in a vehicle until it's time to go to church.  And I hope to repeat that pattern again tomorrow. 

I'd love to write more but I'm going to go to the couch and watch the Food Network for a couple of hours.

Flashback Friday

So Happy It's Thursday

Some of our dear friends I and L stopped by The Compound this evening, and the 'Rents and I had the best time visiting and laughing with them.  While we were sitting around the dining room table laughing, it hit me how important that laughter is.  I and L are dear friends from church, and they are some of the coolest people you would ever hope to meet.  Being with them tonight just reminded me the importance of laughter in our lives.

That having been said, I urge each of you, faithful readers, to laugh a lot tonight or tomorrow or whenever you read this post.  As my awesome Grandpa said, "Life's too short to be unhappy.  If you're not happy, it's your own damned fault."

Finally

After two and a half years of studying, research, projects and tests, and another six months of waiting until their next official graduation date, I am very proud to say that I received my diploma yesterday from Webster University.  Mom and I were a bit weepy when we read the big bold print that said "Master of Arts, Business and Organizational Security Management."  Dad was equally proud, but he didn't get weepy like we did.

It seems like it was only yesterday when I made the big decision to go back for a second Master's Degree. At the time, there was something stirring inside of me and urging me so hard to do it, that I just could not ignore it.  And I'm so thankful I listened to that little voice inside me and went for it.

Something You Don't Hear Everyday

Overheard while shopping in WalMart by a man who appeared to be in his early 30's.  He was talking to his wife:

"Spending money makes me nervous."

Monday, Monday

I know I've had a few Monday, Monday posts during my years of blogging, and today is no exception.  It was non-stop chaos from 7:55 until 4:30 this afternoon.  In the midst of work drama and year-end inventory problems, I had extra work drama, and also had some church drama and a slight bit of Compound drama.  But it all worked out, sorta. 

After three hours of running errands after work, I made it home a bit after 7:30.  The first thing I did was kick off my shoes and plop down in the Lazy Boy recliner. After regrouping, I recounted the previous three hours worth of errands and even though it wore me out, it was a good feeling.  I spent the majority of that time running around and getting clothes and other items for a very needy family at church.  And I can hardly wait till Wednesday night when I get the opportunity to be Santa Puddin and deliver the stuff to the family.  I'm not posting this with the intentions of bragging; I'm just saying that helping this family that has touched my heart has helped me have my best Christmas ever. 

Link Of The Week

Anyone that knows me, knows I love trivia.  Friends and family grew to avoid me because they knew I would want to break out the Trivial Pursuit game.  But that's neither here nor there.  Here's a link to a fun Christmas trivia site. http://www.christmastrivia.net/.  Check it out and forward it to your friends, family and coworkers.  Good luck.

The 2011 CPI

The price of partridges, pear trees and turtle doves has spiked, pushing the cost of every item mentioned in the carol "The Twelve Days of Christmas" above $100,000 for the first time.


Holding mostly steady this year: maids-a-milking, ladies dancing, lords-a-leaping and gold rings.

The 364 items repeated across all the song's verses would cost $101,119, an increase of 4.4 percent over last year, according to the annual Christmas Price Index compiled by PNC Wealth Management. The broader government Consumer Price Index increased by 3.9 percent over the same period.

Those with the money to spend would end up with 12 drummers drumming, 22 pipers piping, 30 lords-a-leaping, 36 ladies dancing, 40 maids-a-milking, 42 swans-a-swimming, 42 geese-a-laying, 40 gold rings, 36 calling birds, 30 French hens, 22 turtle doves, and 12 partridges in pear trees. (The price does not include bird maintenance.)

But buying just one set of each verse in the song will cost $24,263 this year -- a moderate 3.5 percent rise.

Eleven pipers piping will set you back $2,427, but that's a relative bargain compared to seven swans-a-swimming, which cost $6,300. That's a 12.5 percent rise over last year.

Jim Dunigan, managing executive of investment for PNC Wealth Management, said the core rate of increase is less than half the 9.2 percent jump last year.

"The story in general is wages are still a very sluggish part of this economy," said Dunigan, who noted that the price of eight maids-a-milking at minimum wage was $58 -- the same as in 2009.

Five gold rings even declined a bit, Dunigan said, to $645, from $650 last year.

But last-minute shoppers who turn to the Internet may be in for some surprises. The core list that costs about $24,000 in stores will come to $39,860 online -- a whopping 16.1 percent increase over Internet prices last year. Dunigan said the high cost of shipping live birds explains some of the difference.

Six items didn't go up in cost this year: French hens, calling birds, gold rings, maids-a-milking, ladies dancing and lords-a-leaping. Pipers piping and drummers drumming rose 3 percent. The partridge is still the cheapest item, at $15, and swans the most expensive.

PNC Financial Services Group Inc. checks jewelry stores, dance companies, pet stores and other sources to compile the list. Some of its sources this year include the National Aviary in Pittsburgh and the Philadelphia-based Pennsylvania Ballet Company.

Flashback Friday

Nothing says Christmas like a candy cane pen, I always say.  And just about every year of elementary school, I got one in the plastic Christmas stocking that the PTA room mothers would hand out to us at our class Christmas party. You could always count on either a candy cane pen or a candy cane pencil in the stocking along with the awesome ribbon candy and the ever popular jelly-filled hard candies.

The pens would seldom write, but they were cool anyway.

Joke Of The Month

Two old guys, one 80 and one 87, were sitting on their usual park bench one morning.

The 87 year old had just finished his morning jog and wasn't even short of breath.


The 80 year old was amazed at his friend's stamina and asked him what he did to have so much energy.


The 87 year old said, 'Well, I eat rye bread every day. It keeps your energy level high and you'll have great stamina with the ladies.'


So, on the way home, the 80 year old stops at the bakery. As he was looking around, the lady asked if he needed any help. He said, 'Do you have any rye bread?'


She said, 'Yes, there's a whole shelf of it. Would you like some?'


He said, 'I want 5 loaves.'


She said, 'My goodness, 5 loaves... by the time you get to the 5th loaf, it'll be hard.'


He replied, 'I can't believe it! Everybody in the world knows about this shit but me.'

Winter Weather Update

It's a week and a half before Christmas, and the high today was close to 70 degrees.  And it's supposed to be in the mid 60's tomorrow.  It's just not supposed to be like spring when it's a week and a half before Christmas.  What happened to the cold and snow?  I'm really full of the Christmas spirit this year, but I would be even more spirited if it were cold. 

Something You Don't Hear Everyday

Overheard in line at Taco Bell on Sunday afternoon, by a chubby, balding guy who I ascertained was 30 years old as he was talking to a younger guy:

"She wasn't anything like she was in high school." 

Oxymoron Of The Month (Maybe Year)

"Up In Smoke" smoke shop is next door to "Louisville Oxygen".  Need I say more?

Link Of The Week

Anyone that knows me well knows I love my electronic gadgets, pens, notepads, glasses and cups.  Our kitchen cabinets are full of various glasses, cups and water bottles.  You can't have too many, I always say. But I digress.  This week I found a site where we can all help those less fortunate and get a very cool water bottle in the process.  Visit http://water.org/gift/.  For the low price of $35 you can get a cool stainless steel water bottle, or for only $25 you can get a almost-indestructible Nalgene bottle.  Proceeds from the water bottle sales will go to Water.Org and your purchase of a bottle will help get clean water to those that need it. And funds raised will be used in the U.S. as well as other countries. 

Words Of Advice

Here is a lesson that I learned the hard way:

Don't play "Words With Friends" with someone who majored in English.

Flashback Friday

For weeks, I've been looking for something I remembered as a little kid: brick ice cream. You could only find it at Christmas. It was simple - a slice of ice cream wrapped in wax paper. You could get two kinds -- green and red, or white and red. And you could only get it at Haywood's Dairy. We had it every Christmas until my early twenties, when our neighborhood Haywood's closed. It was one of my favorite Christmas foods.

As I said, for weeks I've been looking online and in stores, hoping to find my brick ice cream. But I didn't have any luck. Until today. A friend from church, VD, emailed me this morning and she had found that we still have one Haywood's Dairy here in Louisville. And it was only 5 minutes from my office! I called them as soon as I read her email, and imagine my surprise and excitement when they said they still had the brick ice cream.

I couldn't wait till my lunchtime to head over and get it. I got four boxes, just so I'll have enough for the next couple of weeks. But if I run out, I can always get more.

I had a slice for supper tonight, and it tasted as creamy as I remembered. And as soon as I post this, I'm going to have one more slice before I go to bed.

Maxey, I Salute You

I cannot believe that I was a goofball yesterday and totally forgot to mention another Pearl Harbor survivor that I had the honor of knowing.  We'll call him Maxey - that's what most people called him.  Maxey was a dear friend of our family for probably fifty years. He served in the Army and was on duty at Pearl Harbor during the horrific attack on Decembeer 7, 1941.  I remember him telling the stories of how in the days and weeks, and months after the attack, he and other troops had set up camp inside an old inactive volcano there in Honolulu. 

After he was discharged from the Army, Maxey joined the Teamsters and was a truck driver until he retired in the mid-80's.  Even though I enjoyed all of his truck-driving stories and his tall tales about school-bus sized catfish in the Ohio River, I enjoyed hearing his stories about Pearl Harbor most of all.

A Day We'll Never Forget

FDR said it best, when he said that December 7, 1941 would be a "date that will live in infamy." Americans will never forget the day that Pearl Harbor was bombed, and I was proud today to see patriotism and honor on display today as flags were flown at half mast. 

Mom and I had the priviledge of going to Honolulu back in 1984, and our visit to the USS Arizona Memorial was definitely the highlight of our trip.
This picture of the Arizona is eery, but yet it's one of my favorite pictures of Pearl Harbor.

I've talked to the 'Rents before about their memories of December 7, 1941.  They were both 7 years old. Dad said that he remembers someone coming into church and interrupting the service with the news. His memories of that day are as clear as my memories of 9/11.

I had the honor of meeting a Pearl Harbor survivor tonight at church. His name is Lee Ebner. He was at the signalman station high above the deck of the USS West Virginia 70 years ago today, and he said he still vividly remembers that morning - from seeing the face of one of the Japanese pilots as he flew by, to hearing and feeling the explosions. In fact, he said just about every time he looks out his windows at home, he expects to see the Japanese planes flying by. 

TWIT honors those 2402 military personnel that were killed during the attack on Pearl Harbor, and we salute those that survived.

It's What It Is

I've mentioned previously how much I truly enjoy the lunchroom conversations from my 11:30 lunchtime gang of coworkers.  The topics vary bigtime - on any given day, you could hear us talking about hunting, Facebook, church, Dancing With the Stars, the Scouts, recipes, old TV shows, music, etc etc.  Toward the end of our lunchtime today, the conversation took a more scholarly theme:  it's vs. its.

My coworker, childhood friend and faithful reader SH was leaving the lunchroom before her lunch time was over, saying she had to go do some research on something for her son's homework.  They were discussing when you use "it's" and when you use "its."  She asked me about it, and with about 99% confidence, I told her that you use "it's" as a contraction for "it is" and you use "its" as a pronoun when you're talking about possession. We discussed it for a few more minutes, and then I said this reminded me of a joke:  How many Master's Degree'd people does it take to figure out it's vs. its?  In this case, it took two.

I'll Drink To That

Let me preface by saying TWIT does not condone drinking and driving.  That having been said, TWIT would like to say that today is Repeal Day.  On this day back in 1933, Prohibition was repealed.  It's a rainy, messy night here in Louisville tonight, so to all of my local faithful readers, please stay in for the night and fix a cocktail in honor of this occasion.  There's no need to travel out in this rainy weather to go to your favorite bar or speak-easy --- just stay at home.

Link Of The Week

As I mentioned the other day, we're in full-blown Christmas mode here at The Compound.  This week at work, our department started listening to a local FM radio channel that plays nothing but Christmas music starting the day after Thanksgiving and going until midnight on Christmas Day.  Sure, we hear the same song probably a dozen times during the 8-hour day sung by a dozen different artists, but we don't mind at all.

If you love Christmas music as much as my coworkers and I, here's a site for you.  Visit http://www.christmas-carols.net/ and you can get the lyrics to a ton of Christmas songs.  And they even play the music, so you can sing along. "Here we come a-Wassailing . . ."

Taking A Second Look

Since Thanksgiving, I've gotten into Christmas mode.  Today, it's almost full-tilt. The Compound is decorated, the office is decorated, we've watched a few Christmas show, and we've been listening to Christmas music all week long at work. I guess I've got Christmas on my brain, because for the past week, everytime I've read a news headline that mentions Newt Gingrich, I've had to do a double-take because at first glance, I thought it said "The Grinch."  Take a headline on the AOL news page earlier this week -  "Will Gingrich Usher In A New Compassionate Conservative Era?"  I had to look twice because I thought it said "Will The Grinch Usher In A New Compassionate Conservative Era?"  And today on AOL, another headline said "Gingrich Clarifies Position on Personhood."  I thought for sure it said "Grinch Clarifies Position on Personhood."

Before you start bashing me, this post is strictly bi-partisan.  I'm not making a comparison between Newt Gingrich and the Grinch Who Stole Christmas.  I'm merely saying that their two names have made me do a double-take, that's all.

Flashback Friday

It's only December 2, and we have Christmas in just about 99% full tilt here at The Compound.  The only thing left we have to do is put up my tree in the living room.  But I digress.  We usually don't have Christmas decorations out early, but we do have our favorite Arby's Currier and Ives glasses out a few days before Thanksgiving, just so we can get a lot of use. 

Ever since I can remember, I've always liked glasses and coffee cups.  And nothing makes me happier thank drinking my egg nog or any other beverage out of our Currier and Ives glasses during the holidays.  We've had these glasses for at least 25 or more years.  That in itself is newsworthy - given the fact that we've kept them around that long without breaking them.

I remember when we got the above glasses.  Dad, Grandma and I were out shopping one night and stopped at Arby's for some carryout (that was when carryout wasn't cool) and I remember bugging the crap out of them until they bought a set of the glasses.  Just one glass was not going to suffice; we had to have a full set.  And of course, they bought them for me.

I picked up Arby's carryout for supper tonight, and in honor of all things old school, Mom got out the glasses for us to use.  Sure, they're small and only hold 6 or 8 ounces, but we still used them. 

Tomorrow morning,  I will make sure that we use our Arby's Currier and Ives coffee mugs!

Happy December 1

It's been a weird day today, faithful readers.  Work was weird. Home is weird. And everything in between was weird.  I'll just leave it at that and say welcome to December.  It's one of my favorite months of the year, mainly because it's finally getting colder, and I love the cold months.

I hope all of you had an uneventful December 1. And hope that you have a great Friday and an even greater weekend.  Get all of those Christmas decorations up while you have the chance.

And in case you're wondering, I was able to get our friend's computer back up and running last night.  Even I was impressed with my mad computer skilz.

You Gotta Have Faith

A few days ago a friend called asking for some help with her computer.  She was having trouble with the game site that she plays.  I was only too happy to help.  I gave a few tips to her and told her if she couldn't get it fixed, I'd come over to her house after work on Tuesday to try and fix it.  I didn't hear anything from her yesterday, so I assumed that she got the issues fixed.  Wrong.  Flash forward to this morning at work when the receptionist called and said I had a visitor in the lobby. 

I trotted up to the lobby, and saw my friend HM there, handing her laptop computer bag over to me with the instructions of "Fix it and call me when it's ready."

You have a lot of faith in me, HM.  A lot of faith.  As always, I'll keep you posted.

Black Friday 2011

Shortly after noon this past Wednesday, a Black Friday adventure started for two of my coworkers. Note: I didn't say "two of the guys that work for me."  Yes, I'm they're boss, but we all work together.  So that having been said, I let them leave extra early on Wednesday so they could go get in line at Best Buy to get an unbelievable deal on a 42" flat screen TV for $199 bucks.  Here is a detailed report of their adventure that started at about 1:00 Wednesday afternoon and ended after 1:00 in the morning on Friday.  This entry will be long, but I enjoyed being a part of their adventure through text and email updates and I wanted to put it in my blog to preserve for history. 

1/23/11

1:00pm Left work early to be first at Best Buy. Thanks to great boss CP for the early exit.

1:05pm Reminded Black Friday partner AK to put ice in his cooler.


1:15pm Finally left the office.


1:30pm Made it to Best Buy on Shelbyville road. Talked to manager and found out we are first in line. Also found out we can get one item each of each door buster item. So, if you want me to get something for you call me before tomorrow night.


1:45pm Since nobody else is waiting we AK and me eat lunch at McDonald's.


2:15pm Wasting time in Best Buy because we are still first. Also looking for wall mounts for TV's.


2:30pm AK is already bored and bothering me. only 31 hours to go!


2:55pm Our first BF competition showed up. 10 guys were asking the same questions we did earlier. 2 more showed up asking the same questions. None of these guys stayed but I'm sure they will be back.


3:30pm Our hand was forced to actually get in line. 3 dudes set up a tent. Also a mother set up a tent. AK and I got in line finally. We are numbers 6 & 7.


5:00pm My beautiful wife stopped by and brought AK and me some Subway. Also, another guy showed up with a nice canopy and some camping heaters to keep us warm. 11 people are here in total so far.


6:00pm Taking stock of AK and my supplies:
2 folding chairs
2 sleeping bags
1 cooler with bottled water, sliced turkey, a loaf of bread & 2 Subway sandwiches
3 jackets
A bunch of Hot Hands
2 books
1 can of Pringles
1 football


6:05pm The first twinge of controversy happened. The first three people in line had a friend show up. The friend wanted to join the 3 guys in line but they told him he couldn't let him get in front of the other people in line. The 3 guys did the right thing but we would have told him to get behind us anyway.


6:25pm We've had two more tents show up. Now we have 14 people waiting.


6:26pm We campers have already has countless amounts of people taking pictures of us. Some people make fun of us and call us stupid. Well, we will have the 42" HDTV and they won't! We all are having fun with people asking us stupid questions. I'll explain the fun after watching a movie with AK.


7:25pm Two more tents have been added. One of the tents has a married couple with a child that appears to be less than a year old. Wow, I thought I was stupid! The other tent has two people. Just past the last tent is a lonely guy sitting by himself. He told me his brother works inside Best Buy and is going to take his place at 3am. He also said his brother has agreed to sit in line for him until midnight tomorrow because he paid his brother's phone bill. The lengths people will go through to get a 42" HDTV. The guy that set up the white canopy next to us just brought out a kerosene heater. It is a good thing he did because my fingers and toes are starting to get cold.


7:40pm I can't feel my nose.


7:45pm The guy with the white canopy let us move in. Warm and toasty with the kerosene heater!


9:10pm More people in line now. The baby is still here but sitting in a car with her father. Inside the white canopy is still warm. The poor people outside the canopy are literally freezing their collective asses off. Getting back to stupid people saying things to us waiting people. You would be amazed how many people ask us what we are doing or why are we camping. We are having fun saying equally stupid things back.


10:05pm The store just closed. No immediately available toilet until midnight Friday! Oh no!


11:45pm There are now twelve tents in our village. I didn't count everybody but it has to be close to 50 now.


11/24/11
1:05am I fell asleep and the others in our heated canopy made fun of me.


9:00am I've been awake for about an hour now after sleeping in my truck for a few hours. AK slept in the tent instead of his car. The India or Pakistani family behind us in line are now awake. I swear that family sounds like Borat's family. Very Nice!


10:00am AK and I just got back from making another run to Thornton's. Shelbyville road is very lively now. Thornton's too. A couple of young guys in line with us at Best Buy walked to Thornton's earlier. They had icicles hanging off their noses when they got back. I have to say that the idiocy of the people we are waiting with isn't limited to their decision to wait outside Best Buy.


11:30m Good friend EG stopped by to take my place for a little while in line so I can eat Thanksgiving dinner with my family. You don't really know how good a friend is until the take your place in a black Friday camp. I have to remember to buy EG lunch soon! The nice guy letting us use his canopy brought another toy out of his truck. We now have a TV hooked up to a battery and are watching the Macy's parade. The tv also has a built in DVD player. I guess we will watch some movies later. Again, AK and I are very fortunate! The line is still growing but no offers yet of people wanting to pay us for our spot in line.


3:15pm I just got back from eating with my family and friends. What a waste of time! EG had to leave to spend time with his girlfriend and her family. What a nice friend. The two ladies that are friends have some serious friction between them now. One friend has been here the entire time. The other friend has had a real hard time staying in line. Early this morning while everyone was sleeping she snuck away, drove home and went to bed. The friend that stayed is so embarrassed and is telling all of us other people her friend should lose her place in line.


3:45pm The line is now wrapped around the corner and down the whole side of the building.


6:00pm At 5:15pm AK and I made our last to Thornton's for a bathroom break. When we got back at 5:30pm, the local news crew was here. They filmed everybody in line, even the inside of the canopy we are sharing. One old man inside our canopy was interviewed. The line has now wrapped around the back of the building
6:30pm The lady friend that hasn't been here for hours just showed up. There is a sort of weird tenseness between the two ladies. People in line are starting to pack up their occupy/camp equipment. The stress of waiting out the elements and time is starting to disappear.

7:30pm We people at the front of the line are getting restless. Some feel that people are going to try to rush the front of the line. So we have dismantled our tent city and lined up clearly so everyone can see. Our actions have caused a chain reaction among the rest of the line. All the tents down the line are coming down. AK and I thought it was too early to do this, but there is a decided increase in traffic in front of the store. Now the wait in the freezing cold starts for the last few hours.


8:50pm Best Buy employees have been trickling in for about 30 minutes now. The police just showed up. It is getting closer and closer to game time. Hurry up time I'm freezing!


9:20pm I just made my last trip to see where the end of the line is. It took me over 3 minutes to walk from my #6 spot to the very end of the line. The line is literally hundreds and hundreds of people long. I have no idea what the people in the back expect to buy. It will take most of those people at least an hour just to get through the doors once Best Buy opens. Us at the front are increasingly feeling like animals in the zoo. In about 30 minutes the managers will start handing out the vouchers for the door buster items. The time is finally here!


10:15pm They finally started handing out the coupons/vouchers. About 5 minutes ago one homey tried to blend in at the front of the line. Every single person around me started yelling at the guy and the cops came over and made him leave. He said he was waiting for a friend to show up. Yeah, right!


10:40pm Finally! The wait is over! Now the wait for S.S.S. begins!


10:50pm Here is a picture of the kerosene heater that saved us. That is AK acting like a total sissy. OooooI'm so cold.....


11/25/11
1:00am We finally made it through. The journey started at 1:00pm on Wednesday and ended at 1:00am on Friday. After getting our vouchers for our items and then waiting for the doors to open at midnight, it took us 1 hour to get the items and check out. After helping AK take his treasures to his house, it is back to my home where food and sleep awaits. I think I will go home just after I stop at WalMart in pursuit of the elusive $2.84 waffle maker....

Anti-Cyber Monday

I spent the past two days looking online for a fairly cheap Android tablet. In my typical planning fashion, I visited countless websites and compiled all kinds of notes and lists about the many different models I researched.  Then this afternoon, I had an epiphany.  I was not going to spend a dime today on Cyber Monday, and instead I would be very content with the electronics and computer equipment that I had.  Needless to say the stuff I had works way better than most of the cheaper tablets I looked at today.  As Dorothy said in "The Wizard of Oz", "I won't look any further than my own backyard; because if it isn't there, I never really lost it to begin with."

Then just moments ago, I heard the news anchor say how many billions (yes, billions) of dollars were spent today on Cyber Monday, I'm even more glad that I came to my senses and didn't spend a dime online today. And it made me even more thankful that I'm not in debt right now.  

I did spend three bucks and some change at Radio Shack this evening, though, for an adapter I needed.  While I was waiting to get checked out, an older couple was ahead of me in line, and hand to heaven, the total on their bill was over $1100.  That was for electronics and computer crap for their three grandchildren for Christmas, which they were only happy to talk about with me and the store clerk.  I couldn't help but wonder if those three grandkids had grown to expect such expensive Christmas presents from their grandparents. Or if they even appreciated them.  Oh well.  That's their mess to sort out.

Link Of The Week

Hopefully everyone made it through Black Friday unscathed. But now we have Cyber Monday looming over us. I'm trying to fit in as much stuff as I can on my holiday weekend so I'll make this short and sweet.  Before you go and buy something tomorrow, check first at http://www.pricegrabber.com/.  Just enter in the item you want to buy and then you'll get a list of the prices that the item is going for.  Happy shopping.

Small Business Saturday

TWIT is proud to be a part of Small Business Saturday.  Now that hyped Black Friday is just a memory, today we can focus on the core of our country's commerce, the small business.  A website promoting Small Business Saturday says "The 2nd annual Small Business Saturday® is a day dedicated to supporting small businesses on one of the busiest shopping weekends of the year. On November 26, we're asking millions of people to Shop Smallsm at their favorite local stores and help fuel the economy. When we all shop small, it will be huge."

I started my Small Business Saturday observance yesterday, by getting carry-out from a locally owned awesome Italian restaurant here in the south end.  And today I am observing it by buying a few groceries from a local non-chain grocery store not too far from my neighborhood.  I don't really need anything from the grocery; I just want to go there and buy a few things just becaue it's Small Business Saturday.

And also in observance of this 2nd annual Small Business Saturday, I'm going to be working on some things for my favorite small business - mine!

Flashback Friday

When I was younger, Thanksgiving morning was almost as special as the big meal later on in the day; it was when you got to watch the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade.  You would get to see every float, marching band, gigantic balloon, horse-drawn wagons and carriages, and anything else that was in the parade.  The very last float in the parade would always be Santa Clause.  One year he might be waving to the crowds from inside a chimney, or he might be in his sleigh. 

Yesterday morning, I got up and sat down in the Lazy Boy with my cup of coffee, looking forward to the Macy's parade. Boy was I disappointed.  The majority of the TV coverage was big production numbers from a dozen or more Broadway musicals.  Now, I'm the first to say I love Broadway musicals, but not as the main part of televised parade coverage. 

What happened to the marching bands?  I loved to listen to the announcer tell where the band was from and how many kids were in the band, and how long it took them to raise the money to get there to the parade. Not any more. And  I especially loved all of the horses.  In addition to the horse-drawn carriages and wagons, there were always half a dozen or so mounted riders, all in fancy costumes. Not any more.

We did get to see some of the gigantic balloons, but not all of the ones in the parade.  The ones they showed were not being handled very well by their handlers, because they all looked like they were laying down.

It was very disappointing. But I should have known that not much in this old world is like it was when I was a kid.

Black Friday

I am very happy to report that the extent of my Black Friday shopping was a quick visit this afternoon to Rite-Aid for their BOGO sale on vitamins and supplements and a trip across the street from Rite-Aid to Speedway for a tank full of gas.  Other than that, that's all the money that they will get out of me today.

Something To Be Thankful For

In the days and weeks leading up to today, Thanksgiving Day, we've all been reminded to be thankful.  Be thankful for our families, our health, our friends, our job, etc.  Not a day goes by that I don't thank the Lord for those things and for many more.  A couple of days ago, I was pulling into a shopping center parking lot and couldn't help but notice the large neon sign from a dentist.  The sign said "Be thankful for healthy teeth and gums."  I had to stop and think for a moment before I got out of he car to go in to the grocery store and ponder this.  Out of all of the things I have given thanks for in my life, I honestly don't believe I've ever given thanks before for my healthy teeth and gums.  But by golly, they are truly something you need to be thankful for if you have them. Without them, we would have had a pretty difficult time eating our Thanksgiving dinner today.

Happy Thanksgiving

TWIT would like to wish all faithful readers a very Happy Thanksgiving. I'm thankful that you take the time to read what I write, and in the seven and a half years that I've been writing daily in TWIT, I have not taken my faithful readers for granted. 

I hope everyone enjoys a great meal today with your family and friends. 

Quote Of The Week #2

I heard something yesterday and it was too good to not share. The quote was spoken by my best friend in the entire world's father. She had made a comment to him about all she has going on in her life right now, and she said her plate was pretty full.  He said (and I quote) "Then you just need to scrape some off of the plate."

If only it were that easy.

Happy Thanksgiving Eve

As we prepare for the Thanksgiving feasts tomorrow, I want to say I'm thankful and happy for Mom that her homemade pumpkin pie (sweetened with Splenda so she can have a slice) turned out so pretty.  

Quote Of The Week

There's a two-fold meaning behind this quote.  First and foremost, it was spoken by a President who's young life was cut short by an assassin's bullets on this day in 1963, John F. Kennedy.  And it also has meaning for a situation going on at work right now.

"Life is not fair." 

It Hit Me Out Of Left and Right Field

There's so much I'd like to write about tonight and get off my chest, but for the sake of those involved, and more importantly and selfishly, for the sake of my job, all I can say is something happened at work today that me and many many others just did not see coming in no way, shape or form.  As I type this, I'm still shaking my head in disbelief over it all.  I know I'm being cryptic but to save myself from being fired for mouthing off about it, I have to keep my mouth shut. There's no way I can even write about it without explaining it all.  So suffice to say I'm mad and at the same time very disappointed in certain people.  Now if I can just let it go.

Link Of The Week

Thankfully so, our country celebrated Veteran's Day Friday before last.  And for the first time in decades, they held a Veteran's Day parade here in the 'Ville.  I've already made a vow to myself that I will attend next year's parade.  But I digress.  In keeping with the theme of our beloved and heroic veterans, I found a link this week that will help us all celebrate Veteran's Day all year long.  It's called simply BuyVeteran.  Just visit the site and enter a city and state or a business name or category and it will show you all of the veteran-owned businesses in that area or type of business.  Visit http://www.buyveteran.com/ and support our veterans today. 

Assess THIS!!

I had to work today on the official kick-off of year-end inventory, and I was driving to work this morning, an interesting commercial came on the radio.  In fact, it was so interesting I pulled over into the parking lot of a convenience store to write down a few notes about it.  The commercial was advertising a service called "reputation assessment."  Yes, reputation assessment.  Apparently, you pay these people and they will search online "thoroughly" and "clean up" anything that would ruin your reputation.  There are other "reputation management" services that deal with marketing your products, etc, but this was about assessing your personal reputation.  I only caught the tail-end of the commercial, so I didn't get to hear all their services.  But my guess is they will search and if there are any incriminating pictures of you posted in Facebook or other sites, or any comments you posted along with your name, they will tell you about it so you can go in and get it all cleaned up before your boss or preacher finds it online. 

I don't know how much a reputation management service would charge, but I'm guessing it probably isn't cheap.  I'm far from being a saint, but I'm 99.9% sure that the reputation assesment people would be pretty bored looking my stuff up online. 

Flashback Friday

A quote from my Grandmother has been on my mind for the past couple of weeks.  She said it about 20 years ago.  A friend was interviewing Grandma for a project and was recording it on a tape recorder (note: that is a flashback in and of itself). My friend was asking Grandma different questions about life, living and friends. When Grandma started talking about friends, she said something that has stuck with me all of these years, and for the past few weeks I've thought about it.  Grandma simply said "Old time friends - they're the best."  I couldn't agree with you more, Grandma.

Top 25 Worst Passwords

1. password
2. 123456
3. 12345678
4. qwerty
5. abc123
6. monkey
7. 1234567
8. letmein
9. trustno1
10. dragon
11. baseball
12. 111111
13. iloveyou
14. master
15. sunshine
16. ashley
17. bailey
18. passw0rd
19. shadow
20. 123123
21. 654321
22. superman
23. qazwsx
24. michael
25. football

My only question is how they found out people's passwords in the first place.  Just saying.

Bring It On

The fine folks at the National Weather Service posted their forecast for snow for this winter, and as you can see in their picture, we're "Much Above Average" for just about the whole state of Kentucky.  Personally, I love snow.  I have two pair of snow boots, a pair of slip-on spikes to go over my shoes in case of an ice storm, and I have a 4-wheel drive SUV that can make it through a deep snow.  So all I will say is bring it on.

On an unrelated note, I will also say "bring it on" for the northeast part of the country, which happens to be the part of the country where my company sells the most pumps during the winter and spring months. 

File Under: WTF?

 I didn't think it was all that bad for Mr. Toad's Wild Ride this afternoon, but I guess I was wrong.  On my way home, I saw two cars in a usual fender-bender, but this time, there were 7 LMPD patrol cars, all with sirens blaring and lights flashing, at the scene.  I passed by the wreck, and to me, it looked like something that could be buffed out, but there were (hand to heaven) 7 LMPD patrol cars stopped at the scene of the accident.

The first thing that comes to mind is that the first officer responding did a check and both parties involved were wanted felons.  That would be the only thing that would merit 7 LMPD cruisers at the scene of this fender-bender.  I have to ask . . . WTF?

Batten Down The Hatches

Whatever hatches are, get the battened down.  And don't ask me how to batten because I'm clueless.  All I know is the weatherazzi is all worked up over severe storms moving through the 'Ville tonight, with possibly tornadoes. 

Other than being windy, it's fairly calm at The Compound this evening.  But we've already finished with supper, and have washed the dishes in the sink in record time, so we're ready for the storm to hit.  The portable digital TV is charged up, as are the cell phones.  Candles, flashlights and lanterns are all systems go so bring it on. Even if the power goes out, we still have the portable digital TV to watch the "Dancing With The Stars" semi-finals tonight.

And let me say again how so very glad I was that we got the trees cut down this past spring with the big windstorm we had this weekend. 

Link Of The Week

I'm inside for the day, trying to get some rest and get rid of this cold I've had for a few days now.  Other than feeling incredibly tired this morning, I don't all that bad.  With my tiredness and some aches, some would try to diagnose and say I have the flu.  I'm the first to admit I don't even pretend to know what the difference is between a cold and the flu; I will leave that up to the doctors to decide.

Anyhoo, the flu is still out there whether we can accurately diagnose it or not.  The fine folks at the CDC have a map where you can track confirmed cases of the flu.  It's updated weekly.  Check it out at http://www.cdc.gov/flu/weekly/usmap.htm.  And just in case, drink plenty of water, take a vitamin C supplement, and stay healthy.

Ohio Valley Crud

Some time in the past few days, I developed the usual Ohio Vally upper respirartory infection.  I'm treating this with OTC meds, and I have to say it's working.  Yesterday at work, I had no voice and had to have my guys get on the intercom and page people for me because I couldn't speak above a whisper.  But I've been taking the miracle drug Mucinex (in liquid form) and in the past 24 hours, I can tell big results.  I still fill incredibly tired, but haven't been coughing very much, thank goodness. When I got home from work last night, I barely spoke a word, and I think not using my voice made a big difference in my recovery.

I'm going to sign off for now and go back to my bedroom and lay down.  And I'm trying not to talk.  But I'm expecting an almost-full recovery by Monday morning.  As always, I'll keep you posted.

Happy Veterans Day

We interrupt the regularly scheduled Flashback Friday to wish all of the brave and selfless men and women who served or are currently serving in our military a very Happy Veterans Day.  I would especially like to wish a Happy Veterans Day to my favorite veteran of all time, my Dad, who proudly served in the Navy during the Korean War.

In the few minutes that you would have [hopefully] spent reading a Flashback Friday post, please use that time to call or email a veteran and thank them for their service.  I know they will appreciate it.

Light Up America

I'm not sure if anyone else saw this picture online today, but I think it is very damned cool.  It's a map of the United States, but those lights on there aren't just any lights.  Each light on this map is a McDonald's. It you look where the state of Kentucky is on the map, it's pretty much all covered with McDonald's. And if you get out northwest to Montana, you don't have many at all.  Go figure.

I Have A Dream

I don't think I've mentioned this before in the years that I've been blogging, but for as long as I can remember, I've had a recurring dream that a tornado was coming.  Each time I had the dream, I could see the tornado through a window or from outside a building, and I would always wake up before the tornado would reach where I was.  That is, until last night.  Last night, I dreamed once again that I saw a tornado. Only this time the tornado actually hit while I was still dreaming.

In the dream, I was at company office, and could see the tornado through windows.  The tornado got closer and closer and then it hit while I was still dreaming.  In my dream, I could feel myself being shaken and jolted a bit, but after the tornado blew threw, I was fine. The top half of my company's office building was blown off, but I didn't have a scratch on me.  After I knew I was OK, I remember calling home on my cell phone to tell them I was OK. After a few frantic moments of dialing and dialing, I got through and told my family I was fine, and then hung up the phone.  The dream continued with me actually running across town from my demolished office building to find people that could have been hurt.  Once I reached the destination and saw they were OK, I turned around and literally ran back to my demolished office.  Then I woke up.

I know a lot of people put a lot of credence into the interpretation of dreams. I don't really get into it, but this dream was still significant to me - it was the first time in countless dreams of tornados that the storm actually hit and I was OK.  I'm not sure what it means, or if it truly means anything.  I'm just anxious to see if I have another recurring tornado dream.  As always, I'll keep you posted.

This Is Just A Test

Tomorrow afternoon at 2:00 EST, there will be a nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System.  As part of the Emergency Preparedness Coalition's ongoing efforts to keep our country and communities safe during emergencies, the Federal Communications Commission and Federal Emergency Management Agency will conduct the first nationwide test of the Emergency Alert System (EAS).  This Wednesday afternoon test may last up to three and a half minutes, and will be transmitted via television and radio stations within the U.S., including Alaska, Hawaii, the territories of Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and American Samoa.

This test is simlar to the local emergency alert system tests that we get on Tuesdays at noon.  Tomorrow at 2:00, an audio message will interrupt television and radio programming indicating: This is a test. When the test is over, regular programming will resume.

So now you know what will be going on tomorrow at 2:00, just so you don't think we're being invaded or flooded out or anything. As always, be aware and be safe.

Insurance Mess Update

In the midst of taking care of a dozen problems today at work, I was able to get in touch with the 'Rents' insurance agent and left a message for him to call Dad. Maybe I have more superpowers than I thought, because the guy called Dad within a half hour of me leaving a message.  Anyhoo, their long-term care policy is not cancelled and all is well.  For the most part. I don't have the strength to go into the full story, but suffice to say they still have their long-term care policy and all is well.

Link Of The Week

More and more I hear friends complain about how they're getting gouged for their phone, cable and internet service.  Sure, they're all shiesters, but if we want the service bad enough we'll pay their high extortion fees. 

This week, I found a site that can help us hopefully pay a bit less for not only our our phone, cable and internet, but for electric, water and other utilities as well.   Visit http://www.allconnect.com/ and just enter your address and zip code and they will show you all of the available phone, cable, internet and other utility services available in your area.  You can even refine the search more by entering what you currently pay for these services.  Good luck and I hope you save some money.

An Hour I'll Never Get Back

I wasted an hour of my life last night - a precious hour that I will never be able to get back. I watched an hour of "Extreme Home Makeover" and I regret it.

Back in "younger days" you couldn't hardly pry me away from the TV.  Now, I hardly ever take the time to sit down in the family room and watch a show. Sure, up until six weeks ago, I would watch the day's episode of my beloved "All My Children", but other than watching shows that came on at 10:00 when I go to bed, (I lay in bed or on the floor in my room and watch certain shows that come on at 10:00) I don't watch much TV.  There's just other things I would rather or need to be doing. 

Last night, I was laying on the bed working on my security consulting stuff, and decided to turn the TV on for some background noise. "Extreme Home Makeover" was on and I was suckered in an watched it for an hour.  And I wish I hadn't. For an hour, I laid there on the bed just watching the show and not even multitasking on business work.  And the more I watched, the more it bothered me.

Sure, the moral of the show is very good - building a very expensive and huge house for a needy and deserving family. But last night's show bothered me.  I hesitate to express my opinion on this but this is my blog and I can say what I want. 

The show was about an Iraq War veteran who had a severe case of PTSD. It was so bad that he couldn't even be around people talking loud, because noise would freak him out and make him have an episode.  But the Exteme Home Makeover crew got a huge piece of land away from anybody else and built the family a humongous house.  They even made a "quiet room" in the house for the guy - with walls that were five feet thick and made of concrete. 

I was happy for the family and especially for this veteran, but then it bother me.  For the past couple of weeks I've been reading an e-book that is filled with stories of our "wounded warriors" - veterans from the current wars who were almost killed and how they and their families were just trying to survive.   Their wives have had to put their lives basically on hold to help care for their husbands - most of whom had lost arms and legs and suffered severe burns.  I started thinking of how many of the wounded veterans that could have benefited from the hundreds of thousands of dollars spent on that new big house. I'm not saying that the vet on the show last night with PTSD didn't deserve help; that's not it at all.  I just thought of how many additional vets that could have been helped with a portion of the money spent on that extreme makeover.

Flashback Friday

On this Friday night, I'm thinking back to not so long ago, when Friday nights meant a time to relax and rest after the previous five days at work. Tonight, I think I'm working harder than I did during this past work week. Ever since I got home from work and ate supper, I've been working nonstop on either my security consulting business or doing research for a friend's Master's Degree program class.  I wish it was a relaxing Friday night like back in the day but this is the real world.  And while I'd like to have a night to do nothing and just goof off, I'm actually happy and content working tonight.  Go figure.

Drama At The Compound

I'm glad that I will be leaving in a few minutes and will be gone the rest of the evening, because it's not going to be a very peaceful night here at The Compound.  The 'Rents are on the warpath, and I can't blame them one bit.

Back in the summer, their old insurance agent moved to Iowa, and his replacement paid them a visit.  He went over their coverage, and was even able to get them a premium reduction in one of their policies.  During the review, Dad said they wanted to increase their coverage on their extended-care policy. No problem.  The agent filled out the proper paperwork and it was a done deal.  Until the next day, when they got a call from a nurse hired by the insurance company, saying she needed to come out and give them an exam in order for them to get the policy.  Dad told her that they weren't getting a new policy - they were just adding more coverage.  She had to come anyway.  So she came and gave them the exams, and she even told them that there was no reason she should have come - they weren't getting a NEW policy. 

Fast forward to today when the 'Rents received a letter from the insurance company along with a copy of the check that they wrote out for the additional coverage.  The letter said the medical exam info arrived too late" and they were declined coverage.  Of course when they received the letter, their insurance agent's office was already closed so they'll have to wait till tomorrow. 

Like I said, I'm kinda glad I won't be around here tonight.  As always, I'll keep you posted.

Thank You, Little Voice

I had to run an errand after work, and then make a stop at a grocery store on the way home for a couple of necessities for tonight's supper. I sure am thankful that I listened to my Little Voice and stopped at Sav-A-Lot instead of Wal-Mart.  At the time I would have been at Wal-Mart, there was a shooting in the store.  Apparently, a Constable shot at a shoplifter. If someone were to shoplift, I would imagine they wouldn't have been in the canned vegetable section of the store that I would have shopped in had I visited Wal-Mart, but you never know.  Anyhoo, I'm glad I went to Sav-A-Lot instead and avoided all of the drama at our local Wal-Mart. With the way this week has been at work, I think I might have started shooting, too.  That having been saaid, watch the local news at 6:00 and you'll hear all about it.

Happy November

It's hard to believe that today was the first day of November.  It's been pretty cool in the mornings for the past week or two -- in the low 30's -- but it's warmed up to the 60's and higher.  Today, it was in the low 70's.  When I stopped at the grocery on the way home, I was very surprised to see quite a few variations of Ugh Boots out in full force.  And I saw a few parkas, too.  Yep, it was 70 degrees and I saw some people wearing their snow boots and parkas at the grocery store.

I'll be the first to give an free pass on the Ugh Boots; it was in the low 30's this morning, so maybe people were cold and wanted their feet to be warm this morning so they wore their boots and didn't bring any other shoes to change into as the day got warmer.  But as for the parkas, all I can say to them is WTF?  It's 70 degrees - you don't need to be wearing your hooded parking into the grocery store. Nuff said.

No Potato Salad For Me, Thank You

Karen Henry Arrested: Florida Woman Attacks Father For Not Sharing Potato Salad, Cops Say

One charge of aggravated assault, with a side of rage.

Police in Florida arrested a 45-year-old woman after she allegedly attacked her father for refusing to share his potato salad.

Officials say that Karen Henry, of Palm Bay, became enraged during the Oct. 22 incident, wielding a knife against her 80-year-old father and verbally abusing him, CBS Tampa reports.

"Karen became very angry that she could not have the potato salad and began throwing and breaking items," a report obtained by The Daytona Beach News-Journal states. "[She] then grabbed a large kitchen knife and began threatening [her father] with it."

Henry's father, Hubert, defended himself with a chair before retreating to his bedroom for safety, according to reports.

Shortly after police arrested Henry, she began complaining of abdominal pains. Authorities allowed the suspect to be treated at Florida Hospital Flagler, only to catch her on the phone pleading with her father to drop the charges against her. As a result, police added an additional charge to Henry's file: tampering with a witness.

Karen Henry is also charged with aggravated assault using a deadly weapon and is being held in Flagler County Inmate Facility without bail.

As I type this, Mom is putting the finishing touches on supper, and one of our dishes is potato salad.  I hope to goodness there's enough for all three of us. If not, I'll surely do without.

Link Of The Week

Halloween is tomorrow, and if you haven't gotten your candy yet, you've still got a little bit of time left.  Make sure you get something that you like, in case you have any leftover.  I know that's what we do here at The Compound. 

A friend sent a link to me this week about Halloween candy, and I found it very interesting; kinda scary, but interesting.  Visit http://www.mensfitness.com/nutrition/exercise-away-your-favorite-halloween-candy and you can find out how much exercise it will take to burn off a serving of your favorite Halloween candy.  Good luck. 

Persistence Pays Off

For the past two months, the 'Rents and I have been looking at a 3 foot tall plastic jack-o-lantern at our 'hood Krogers.  It was only $39.99.  Dad had been talking about this pumpkin for weeks,  and how we could put one of our battery-powered lanterns inside to light it up. As always, if either one of the 'Rents really wants something bad, you know I will move heaven and earth to get it for them. I'm far from being a tightwad but $40 for a plastic pumpkin that you can put out a few days a year was a bit steep even by my standards. We visited the store weekly, in hopes that they would have a sale and give us at least 20% off. But no dice. That is, until today. This afternoon, I stopped by Krogers and found the pumpkin (it was the only one, mind you).  Of course, it had no price tag on it so when I was trying to check out at the self-check-out station, it summoned a store manager.  He looked at it and then looked at me.  I simply told him "My Dad wants this to take to church tomorrow night for Trunk-or-Treat" and he didn't hesitate and said "Would you pay $20 for it?"  I didn't even blink and told him that I sure would.  Never mind that it was a couple of days before Halloween and the over-priced pumpkin was still on the shelf.




As I type this, Dad in the family room with the big pumpkin, making sure all will be perfect for tomorrow night's Trunk-or-Treat.  I'll be sure to take some pictures. 

Flashback Friday

When I was little, I would start my Christmas shopping as soon as the Sears catalog would come in the mail.  Shopping for me, mind you; not for presents for other people.  One year all I wanted for Christmas was a Coke dispenser, and lo and behold, Santa brought it to me.  It was without a doubt one of my favorite Christmas presents ever. I'm pretty sure I got it when I was 5.

The white boxy part of the dispenser came off, and you would carefully lay a 16 ounce bottle of Coke on its side (opened, of course) and attach a little hose-type thing to the opening of the bottle.  That part was connected to the gray plastic lever that you would push in to dispense the Coke. It was a very cool toy. But it was very messy.  I venture to say the only thing I've ever bought that was messier was a $%&@*^ juicer machine.  But I digress.  When it was attached right, it worked just fine.  But if it wasn't, you sure had a mess on your hands with spilled Coke everywhere.

The Coke dispenser came with small plastic Coke glasses, just like in the picture. I've long since gotten rid/thrown away my Coke dispenser, but we still have a couple of the glasses somewhere here in The Compound. 

So Happy It's Thursday

I don't know about you, but to me this has been an extremely long week at work.  It seems that we've had three Mondays in a row so far.  I hope that today doesn't turn out like another Monday.

In the days ahead at work, I'm going to be faced with a managerial task that I haven't had to deal with in my 10 months of being a boss:  filling out annual performance evaluations.  I've made a few notes, and will start filling them out today.  I only have three guys in my department, and unfortunately for me all three evaluations fall in the same quarter.  In filling them out, I'm going to remember some very good advice Diva Stacy gave me back in January when I became the department manager.  She said when in doubt about how to handle something, keep three things in mind: what's fair for me, what's fair for the employee, and what's fair for the company.  As always, I'll keep you posted.

Halloween Updates

Halloween is less than a week away, and Mom and I have changed our minds yet again on what costume to wear Sunday evening at "Trunk or Treat" at church.  I was originally going to be Elvis and she was going to be Judge Judy, but as of tonight, Mom is going to be Elvis and I am reprising my role as a Conehead.  Believe me when I tell you the last time I wore the infamous Conehead was back in the early 80's.  But keep in mind today is just Wednesday; there's plenty of time for us to change our minds.

And in case you're wondering, there is a rumor that Dad is going to wear a costume.  More on that later.

Hopeful Tuesday

From what I've heard, yesterday was a crappy day for quite a few people.  So I'm hoping that today has been a much better day for everyone.

I know it's been a good day for me.  It was a busy day at work with one of my guys out on vacation this week; that means the boss has to cover for him.  I've barely had time to go to the bathroom the past two days with all of the extra problems going on but we made it through, and are getting geared up for more of the same tomorrow.

I'm almost ashamed to say that's all I've got today in terms of posting. Like I said, it was a busy day at work, and it's going to be a busy evening tonight here at The Compound.  I'm just thankful that I've got the time and the patience to deal with it all. 

If any of you are able to read this early in the evening, get out and enjoy what's left of the sunny afternoon, because tomorrow the bottom falls out with rain and cold in the forecast.

File Under: WTF?

I've been following a blog written by someone that works for the TSA.  Here's their latest post.  I'm not ashamed to say that it frightens me.  Half of the guns found had one in the chamber.

Our officers found 22 loaded firearms since I posted last Friday in carry-on baggage. And 1 one on a passenger! (Not counting the unloaded and replica firearms we found). Here is a rundown of the loaded weapons we kept off of airplanes this week:

10-14: TSA Officer at SAT detects a loaded .22 pistol with a round in the chamber.

10-15: TSA Officer at CLL detects a loaded .45 pistol with a round in the chamber.

10-15: TSA Officer at MCI detects a loaded .9mm pistol.

10-15: TSA Officer at ATL detects a loaded .380 pistol with a round in the chamber.

10-16: TSA Officer at CLT detects a loaded .38 pistol.

10-16: TSA Officer at OKC detects a loaded 9mm pistol.

10-16: TSA Officer at PHX detects a loaded .380 pistol with a round in the chamber.

10-17: TSA Officer at BNA detects a loaded .45 pistol.

10-17: TSA Officer at BUR detects a loaded .38 pistol.

10-17: TSA Officer at MCO detects a loaded 9mm pistol with a round in the chamber.

10-18: TSA Officer at BNA detects a loaded .380 pistol.

10-19: TSA Officer at LAW detects a loaded .357 pistol with a round in the chamber.

10-19: TSA Officer at PHX detects a loaded .380 pistol with a round in the chamber.

10-19: TSA Officer at PHX detects a loaded .38 pistol with a round in the chamber.

10-19: TSA Officer at FMN detects a loaded 9mm pistol.

10-19: TSA Officer at LIT detects a loaded .380 pistol.

10-19: TSA Officer at SAV detects a loaded .380 pistol with a round in the chamber.

10-20: TSA Officer at IAD detects a loaded .380 pistol with a round in the chamber.

10-20: TSA Officer at TUL detects a loaded .38 pistol.

10-20: TSA Officer at LIT detects a loaded .38 pistol.

10-20: TSA Officer at ATL detects a loaded 9mm pistol.

10-20: TSA Officer at MEM detects a loaded .38 pistol with a round in the chamber.

10-20: One passenger at DFW took it to the extreme. In the passenger’s back pack, a duffle bag and a sleeping bag, a TSO found two unloaded pistols, (.380 & 9mm) 8 knives of varying blade lengths with seven inches being the longest blade, a saw, and three ammo magazines.

10-20: After alarming the walk through the metal detector at HSV, a passenger immediately remembered he had a loaded .22 Derringer in his pocket.

Link Of The Week

It's hard to believe that Halloween is just a week from tomorrow.  There's been a flurry of activity around The Compound for the past week with the 'Rents getting our Halloween decorations out.  They've also been busy getting decorations together for Trunk or Treat next weekend at church.  And in the midst of getting the decorations figured out, they've also been trying to figure out a good costume for me.  Somewhere there has been no mention of them dressing up; just me.  We've narrowed it down to three different costumes, and since I'm the one that will be in said costume, I think it's only fair that I get to make the final decision.

If you're like us and want to come up with a good costume but are clueless, I've got a good website for you.  Just visit http://costumeideazone.com/ and see what you can find.  Surely out of all of the ideas on the site you can find at least one costume for next Monday.  Good luck.  And if you do dress up, please send pictures.

Mullet Watch

I'm the first to admit that I've been remiss in the past year with mullet watching.  With everything else going on, it somehow got pushed way back on the back burner.  But today, I spotted a classic.  It was a Fem-Mullet, with a perm and color.  And to top it off, the mullet host was someone that I knew.  It was someone that I worked with back in the 80's at my bank gig.  I ran into her this afternoon at WalMart while searching for Halloween decorations for The Compound.  I wish I could have taken a picture to post of the multi-characteristiced mullet, but I didn't think it would be very polite to take a picture while we were chatting and catching up in the WalMart parking lot.  But suffice to say it was in deed a Fem-Mullet, and it definitely had a perm, and had some color enhancements. 

Flashback Friday

This isn't a normal Flashback, but it's enough of one to still fall in my Flashback Friday posts.  But even if it didn't, it wouldn't matter because this is my blog and I can say whatever I want.

That having been said, today, I ate a Hostess product that I probably hadn't had in over 20 years.  I had a Sno-Ball.  And it rocked.  First of all, let me say that I hate coconut.  I don't like the feel of the little coconut flakes.  But yet I like coconut flavor.  Go figure.  The last time I had a SnoBall was about 20 years ago, when a coworker, KPH, and I shared a pack.  We had the neon pink variety.  It rocked. It was so fresh and very goo-wee.

Since then, I always admired the SnoBalls.  They would come in various colors - green for St. Patrick's Day, orange for Halloween, white with little red marks like a baseball for spring and summer, and neon pink for the rest of the year.  But since I didn't like coconut I would never eat one.  Until today.

My old friend, faithful reader and coworker SH and I shared a pack of the orange SnoBalls today, and she said that hers was just as good, fresh, and goo-wee as she remembered as a kid.  So today's blog entry is a flashback for SH, too.

File Under: WTF?

I rushed home tonight from an evening out, hoping to get home in time for my beloved "Grey's Anatomy."  I've missed the first half hour of almost every episode so far this new season but tonight I was determined to watch the entire episode.  I pulled in the driveway at two minutes till 9:00.  I rushed into the house, hugged both the 'Rents, and ran to my bedroom and turned on the TV. But only "Grey's" wasn't on.  After spending 10 minutes trying to move the antenna in every possible position, there still was nothing on the screen.  I came to the family to ask Dad if anything was wrong with their TV and he flipped the channel from the World Series to ABC only to find it blank as well.  WTF?

Then I did what any person would do to find information - I went to Facebook. Lo and behold on the wall of WHAS 11, was a post about how the station had a power outage and they didn't know when they would be back on the air.  At least I know it wasn't just my TV. Oh well. I'll catch the show tonight online.

Wednesday Rodeo

We just finished with the Wednesday Rodeo here at The Compound.  When I pulled into the driveway, the little yipping dog from up the street was in the driveway running around.  As soon as I got out of the Blazer, the yipping dog ran up to me and started jumping up and down.  Of course, my arms were full with my purse and briefcase and I didn't have a free hand to reach down and grab his collar so I could take him up the street to his home.  So what did he do?  He did the next best thing.  He followed Mom next door as she was going to check on Miss Rosemary, and he promptly ran into the house.  Once inside, Mom said he plopped down on the floor, as if he belonged there.  Mom walked over and grabbed hold of his collar, making sure the little fellow wasn't going to get away, while Miss Rosemary's daughter called his owner.  In about two minutes, his owner was knocking on Miss Rosemary's door, ready to haul the prodigal dog back home.  I'm just thankful that we were able to corral the little fellow before anything bad happened to him.