Thank You, Faithful Readers

I had a few messages and emails last night from you, faithful readers, telling me that you were glad I found my prescription glasses.  That means that people are still reading and following TWIT and that you are still interested enough to comment.  For that, I thank you. 

Sunday Morning Confession

I mentioned the other week that I had lost my beloved RayBan Wayfarer sunglasses, circa 1983.  I haven't found them yet, and I'm pretty sure they are somewhere in the house, but I bought a new pair of Wayfarers to replace them.  They are tortoise shell instead of the black frames on the missing ones.  But I digress. I feel the need to confess that also lost something else.  I lost my prescription glasses. 

My contacts have been bothering me the past few days so I thought I'd take them out yesterday and wear my glasses for a few days.  But I couldn't find my glasses.  The last time I remembered seeing them was when I packed for my trip to West Virginia a few weeks ago. At that time, I couldn't find the cool copper glasses case. So I wrapped them in a handy blue felt Crown Royal bag and put them in the glass holder compartment in my briefcase.  Last night, I found the glasses case but couldn't find my glasses.  I didn't have time to look this morning before church, and when I got home I started the search again. I had looked on my dresser and in the suitcase and in my purse to no avail.  I walked to the back bedroom and started to sit down at the computer but that little voice inside of me said to go look in the briefcase that was sitting on the bed. There they were.

Stay tuned, because it will be just a few days before I lost something else.  As always, I'll keep you posted.

Awesome Quote Of The Week

I had the pleasure of attending "An Evening With Douglas Gresham" the other night at church.  Gresham is the stepson of the awesome, brilliant writer C.S. Lewis.  Gresham was co-producer for the "Chronicles of Narnia" movie series.  During the program, Gresham quoted his step-father many times, and this was my favorite.  And I quote:

"Don't let your happiness depend on something you may lose."

Flashback Friday

This was a big fundraising week at work, with coworkers bringing in their kids' catalogs and brochures.  Even though I don't have kids, I still have a reciprocal urge and always buy something in repayment for all of my parents coworkers that bought countless bottles of spices or miracle cleaner that I was selling. 

Just as my coworkers kids are lucky, so was I; my parents had a lot of coworkers to hit up when they brought the sale papers to work.  It was reciprocal; everybody at my parents' factory bought stuff from their coworkers' kids because that was the thing do.  You pawned your kids' fundraisers off on your coworkers so it was only fair that you bought when your coworkers pawned their kids' stuff on you.

One fundraising effort stands out in my mind.  It was fourth grade, and we sold large plastic bottles of spices and seasonings.  I remember this because each case of 10 bottles was a cool heavy cardboard briefcase-like box.  That was the selling point for me - getting to carry the briefcase-like box around to my neighbors and to friends at church.  How disappointing it must have been for my parents who sold the spices and seasonings at work with nothing but a brochure to show their coworkers. 

For the life of me I can't remember what it was, but I do remember that I won the Grand Prize for selling the most bottles of spices and seasonings that year in fourth grade. 

Something You Don't Hear Every Day

As I've mentioned in quite a few posts, I have lunch with a very interesting, if not eclectic, group of coworkers.  Today during lunch, a coworker asked me something.  We'd been talking about hospitals, so that spurred the question.  And I quote:

"Do you have to be smart to be a nurse?"

Like I've said before, you can't make this stuff up.

Party On, Puddin

Even though Mom's birthday was yesterday, in typical fashion we are still celebrating today.  In 30 minutes, the neighborhood will descend on The Compound and we'll be partying again to celebrate Mom's birthday.  I snuck in the house to type this post, and as I am sitting at the computer, neighbors are at different stations around The Compound.  One neighbor is on our back porch frying up a huge mess of green tomatoes.  Another neighbor is at our stove, mashing up a big bowl of potatoes, while another neighbor just brought in two huge buckets of KFC.  And another neighbor just now came in and asked where they could put the two homemade pies.  Oh how I love The Compound.

Happy Birthday, Mom

We've been celebrating now for two weeks, and the actual day has finally arrived; today we celebrate my sweet Mother's birthday.  Believe me when I tell you that we have been celebrating for two weeks.  And something tells me that just because today is Mom's actual birthday, the partying won't end tonight. I have a feeling we will be celebrating for at least another week.

But in all honesty, my Mom said it best -- we should celebrate our birthdays every day. I couldn't agree more.

It made me feel almost as special as Mom when she told me about the phone calls and cards she received today from friends of mine that took the time to write a card or make a phone call to an "older lady" to wish her a happy birthday.

I hope my friends will have many, many years ahead to give her and Dad birthday wishes. 

Link Of The Week

It saddens me to have to bring you, faithful readers, this Link Of The Week Update.  For almost every year since I've have a blog, the folks at Campbell Soup have had the Click For Cans promotion.  During the NFL season, you would visit their website and vote for your favorite NFL team each week. The team with the most votes would get tons of Campbells Chunky Soup to be distributed in their city.  And at the end of the season, the team with the most votes would get an insane amount to be distributed in their city to different food banks and organizations. 

I'm sorry to say that this year, there is no Click For Cans.  So I ask you to visit their website and send a letter of complaint.  Visit:  http://www/campbellsoupcompany.com/feedback/aspx.  Voice your opinion.  Hopefully if we get enough complaints they will get the program back for next football season.

I'm Not A Wantrepreneur

You already know that I am an entrepreneur, having started my church security consulting business a year and a half ago.  And you also know that recently I got my first paying customer - a large church in Huntington, WV.  But what you don't know is that today, I became an eBay seller.  I'm an old pro when it comes to eBay buying, but this morning, I put a couple of items on eBay in hopes of selling them.  For now, I am going to stick with selling all of the duplicate Louisville Bats and Cincinnati Reds commemorative items.  If I'm successful at that, who knows what will be next? 

So, if any of you, faithful readers are intersted in a NIB Joey Votto cermaci beer stein, please look on eBay because I know where you can get a great deal on one.

As always, I'll keep you posted. 

Have You Seen Me?

As you already know from many previous posts over the years, I am always losing something.  And it's usually something important and not-so-cheap.  The current missing item is a 25+ year old pair of Rayban Wayfarer sunglasses, as seen in this picture.  They were last seen about six months ago when we were [imagine that] looking for something in the back bedroom aka computer room. 

Mom and I have looked for a week and we still can't find them.  I know we didn't throw them out or give them away; my instinct is telling me they're in a bag somewhere. 

We'll continue the search this weekend.  As always, I'll keep you posted. 

File Under: WTF?

 Corner curio cabinet.

Kor-ner kyoor-ee-oh kab-in-ett.

All together now: CORNER CURIO CABINET!
This is the phrase Paul Atkinson will be repeating for the rest of his life. The Oregon firefighter was a contestant on a recent episode of "Wheel of Fortune," and was one letter away from possibly winning $1 million, which, as any "Wheel"-watcher knows, is no easy feat.

His puzzle? CORNER CURIO CA_INET. So easy. All he had to do was say the phrase aloud, and a rare $1 million prize would be within his grasp. Unfortunately, whether it was the excitement of the moment or a sudden constriction of his sharp-looking bow tie, his answer came out something more along the lines of: "Corno curro cabnet."

With a quick review and a terse buzzer, the "Wheel" judges denied him the solution. Fellow contestant Luis swooped in and snatched the victory with a slightly more precise articulation.

Atkinson may have dropped the ball on the big prize, but he has certainly earned the sympathy of a nation. "Did 'Wheel of Fortune' Judges act unfairly?" reads one article. "Did Paul get robbed?" asks CNN's New Day blog.

Atkinson appeared on CNN's New Day on Thursday and discussed his flub.

"It's painful, every time I watch it, and I've watched it hundreds of times," Atkinson said with an exasperated smile.

Atkinson confessed that it was the "curio" that caught him up. "I had never seen that word before," he said. "...So I was so stressed out about pronouncing 'curio,'...so I was staring at the word when I said 'corner,' I cut the 'o' at the end, and I said 'corno.'"

It was a tough break, but Atkinson appears to have remained good-natured and he says he's not bitter at the "Wheel" powers-that-be.

"The people at 'Wheel of Fortune,' they were so nice," Atkinson said. "Pat Sajak, he came up to me at the commercial break and said, 'Don't worry, it happens hundreds of times and far worse than you have ever done.'"

He also said that he felt "terrible" after the incident, but a couple of rounds of tequila with a buddy and a night of Vegas gambling cheered him right up.

Believe it or not, the "Wheel of Fortune" judges seem to be pretty strict on the pronunciation front. A similarly sad situation happened in 2012, when a woman was denied a prize after she left the "g" off her pronunciation of "Seven swans a-swimming." Atkinson can at least take heart in knowing his isn't the first mistake like this, and probably won't be the last.

Happy Talk Like A Pirate Day

TWIT would like to wish you, faithful readers, happy Talk Like A Pirate day.  The fine folks at Krispy Kreme are getting on the fun, too. If you visit a Krispy Kreme store and talk like a pirate, they will give you a free glazed doughnut. If you take it it one step further and dress like a pirate, they will give you a dozen glazed doughnuts. If I could get my hands on a parrot and a peg leg, I'd go claim my free dozen. Ahoy, matey!

Fair Weather Fans Need Not Apply

When we got home from church tonight, the three of us sat down at the kitchen table to have a snack.  This is a Wednesday evening ritual; we eat lunch later on Wednesdays, because as soon as I get home from work, we head downtown to church.  So we have a snack when we get home.  Tonight we had homemade oatmeal raisin cookies courtesy of one of the coolest ladies at church, Margaret.  But I digress.  As soon as we walked in the door tonight, Dad turned on the TV because the Reds game was about to start.  We were munching on our cookies and watching the game when I noticed that the stadium was less than half full.  The Reds are playing the Astros at their Minute Maid Park in Houston, so I could understand that there wouldn't be a lot of Reds fans there, but there was no reason for there not to be many Astros fans there.  Then Dad told me that the Astros are in last place in their division.  So nobody wants to watch a losing team, I supposed.  But I'd be damned if I stayed home just because of that.  My beloved Bats were close to last place most of this season and I attended every game I could.  Heck, the stadium was packed for just about every game I attended this season.  If I peel $$$ for season tickets, I'll be there rain or shine, win or lose.  The Louisville Bats fans could teach the major leaguers a thing or two about supporting their team.

Something You Don't Hear Every Day

We were having lunch today at work, when a coworker asked me, and I quote, "Where do pickles come from?"

I knew in an instant that he was serious.  I told him that pickles come from cucumbers.  And from then on, I had to explain the pickling process to him.  At any rate, he was satisfied with my explanation. 

Once again, I can't make this stuff up. 

Apologies

There have been some bizarre things happening with Blogger/Blogspot in the past month.  One such thing happened last night when I wrote my blog post, only to have it not appear.  But as always, I digress.

You know from following me through many years now, I will post some way, some how. 

That having been said, stuff happens.  But I tend to take it personally when my posts don't go through on a daily basis.  But nonetheless, I will still use whatever method I can to post. 

Link and App Of The Week

Most of us try to be more careful of what we eat and drink these days.  (Key word: try)  We try to eat more fruits and vegetables every day, and try to stay away from fried foods, and we try to drink more water.  And we also make an attempt at reading the labels on foods.  That's when things go crazy.  We can't pronounce half of the ingredients, which is a sure sign we shouldn't be eating that food in the first place.  But I digress.  I found a site that has an app that help you figure it all out. It's called Fooducate.  Here's what they do:  "Fooducate's scientific algorithms grade each product and provide simple, concise explanations.

Grading system developed by scientists, dietitians and concerned parents."  You can find it at http://www.fooducate.com.  You can look up the foods and beverages at the website, there are links for the iOS and Android apps. 

Security Tip Saturday

While I was traveling on Good Shepherd Security Consulting business last weekend, I made it a point to pay extra attention when I went to a public restroom - be it at a rest stop, restaurant, or at the church.  The main thing I was looking for was the placement of the hook that is almost always on the back side of the bathroom stall door.  It's usually less than a foot from the top of the door.  And that is more than enough space for someone to walk by and reach in and grab your purse (if you have it hanging on the hook).  A few weeks ago a dear friend at church told us about how her purse was stolen by someone doing the same thing.  

If your purse has a long shoulder strap, I recommend putting your purse over your head cross-body while you have to use the bathroom.  Sure, it's a bit inconvenient maneuvering around your purse while you do your business, but you won't have to worry about someone reaching over and grabbing it if you have it on the door hook.  If your purse has a handle instead of a shoulder strap of it if doesn't have any handle or strap, take a few seconds and tear off some toilet paper and put it on the floor between your feet or better yet on the floor by the back wall of the stall and set your purse on the toilet paper.  Someone would have be be thin and would have to crawl on the bathroom stall floors in order to grab your purse.  

The rest area I stopped at near Morehead, KY had an awesome idea.  In one of the handicapped-accessible stalls, they put the coat hook on the back of the door but it was lower, so it could be easily reached by someone in a wheelchair.  Unless the purse thief was an NBA basketball player with unusually long arms, your purse would be safe hanging there. I wish more places would take the time to put the hook at this level. 

Stay safe. 

Why Is It . . . ?

On most mornings, I pull into my usual parking spot at work, and sit in the car for a few minutes as I finish drinking my coffee.  Almost always, there are no cars parked within 3 or 4 spots on either side of me, so there are plenty of spaces for my coworkers to park. Why is it they always have to park right next to me?

At home before I leave for work,  I put my purse, lunch bag and work briefcase bag on the passener seat or on the back passenger seat, out of habit.  Why is it when I park and get ready to get out of the car to go to the passenger side of my car to get my stuff, that is the exact moment in time that someone pulls into our parking lot and wants to park right beside me?  When this happens, I walk quickly around to the driver side of my car or go back by the tailgate safely out of their way so they don't run over me.  But it never fails.  Almost every friggin morning when I pull into the parking lot and get out and go to the other side of my car to open the door and get my stuff, someone always pulls into the space next to me. 

I could understand it if I zoom into the parking lot like a lot of coworkers at one minute before 8:00, but I usually get there no later than 7:45, and a lot of times even earlier.  It's as if they know just when I am going to pull into the parking lot and then they all rush in and park next to me. It just irritates me.

A First Time For Everything

Today at work, I witnessed a first.  Not only did I witness it, I was a part of it.  Today I had someone that is under me tell me what I should do.  No, it wasn't one of the three guys that work for me in my department; they know better than that.  It was someone in another department that needs to learn that you don't use that tone nor verbage with someone that is a supervisor.  It took a few hours but eventually we got the air cleared on this, but it still had me in a bad mood all day long. 

I hope that that won't happen again, but I have a feeling it will.  All I can do is hope that I will keep a cool head and not stoop to others' tactics.

Something You Don't Hear Every Day

I pulled into the parking lot at work today around noon, after running an errand, and while I was waiting on the street to pull into out parking lot, I noticed an interesting trio that was sauntering through the parking lot.  At first glance, I thought it was 3/4 of the Black Eyed Peas.  One of the guys was an African American with an interesting hairdo that reminded me of Will I. Am from the BEP's.  The other guy was a gangstah wannabe.  But the best of the trio was the woman.  She was wearing tight white leggings, and was attempting to swagger across the parking lot in 6-inch stiletto heels, and she had long wavy hair that was a shade of red that I had never seen before. 

As soon as I saw this, I called a coworker and told her to get up to the lobby so she, too, could witness the Black Eyed Peas.  I ran across the parking lot and came in that entrance so I could get a closer look.  That's when it got interesting.

The Fergie of the trio was doing all of the talking.  She had asked our receptionist if there were any jobs available.  Then she asked if there was drug testing.  Our receptionist told her that there was an initial drug testing when the person was hired, and then at least two random drug tests per year.  The redhead replied "Oh well" and they walked off.

Once again, I can't make this stuff up.

Something You Don't Hear Every Day

Overheard at the Subway during lunch today, and I quote:

"I ain't go no pants here."

Faithful readers, I can't make this stuff up.

Thank God For Hot Dogs and Root Beer

I just got home and got settled in from my business trip this weekend.  It was an awesome weekend except for the last few hours of the trip.  I was stuck in traffic for three hours due to two fatal wrecks on I-64 that had the interstate closed in both directions. 

I am thankful that before I left Huntington this afternoon that I had a hankering for a hot dog and an ice cold mug of root beer, delivered to my car on a tray that fit over the car door window opening just like back in the day.  If I hadn't taken the time to get my hot dog and root beer and take some time to eat it in the parking lot, chances are I could have been going through the spot of the wreck when it happened. 

Thank you, Lord for watching out for me like you always do, and I thank you for making me listen to that small, still voice.

Almost Heaven

I've been in West Virginia for a bit over twenty-four hours and even though I'm not as infatuated with the state as John Denver was, I like it.  Other than being more hilly than Louisville, it's not all that different. 

The morning at the church was awesome.  People greeted me as soon as I pulled into the parking lot, and were welcoming me all morning long.  The church is a lot like my church in terms of physical size, membership size, and location, so in a lot of ways, I felt right at home.  

I got a few strange looks this morning while I was writing down notes, and I noticed a few people asking one of the staff members about me, which thrilled me to death because that meant that the congregation members are observant and on the lookout. Once the staff member told them who I was and what I was doing, they came up to me and welcomed me and thanked me for taking the time to come and help them. 

I will say again, that the whole time I was at the church this morning I felt confident and calm, and had no fear.   

Stay tuned. I'll keep you posted.

No Fear

In a few minutes, I will be leaving The Compound and heading eastward to West Virginia, where I will start my first paid church consulting job.  I'm so excited that I cannot put it into words.  I've trained and studied for this for over five years and I'm ready for it.  It's exciting being an entrepreneur, and it's equally exciting being able to share my knowledge to help a church. 

While I'm excited, a couple of nights ago I had a minor meltdown about it all.  But my best friend in the world was able to talk me down.  Her simple advice was "You've got this."

Honestly, fear has not been around in this whole venture.  When I made the decision during the heart of the recession in 2008 to go back to school for a second Masters Degree, there was no fear.  During the degree program, there was no fear.  And when I decided to start my own church security company, there was no fear.  So why should there be fear now?  I guess the bit of fear I had the other night was not fear of failure, but fear of success. 

I'm not going to say "Wish me luck" this weekend, because I don't really need luck; I'm ready. I've got this.  And I have no fear.

Flashback Friday

Way back in the dark ages before the days of digital cameras, we had 110 and 126 and fancy 35 mm cameras, and we had to take the rolls of film to a shop to have it developed, and have the pictures printed out into the standard 4x6 prints.  You either took them to the drugstore for developing, or you went to the handy FotoMat.  Fotomats were conveniently located in shopping center parking lots.  They were drive-thru, but I guess you could park and walk up to the window.  But I digress.

Fotomats were a bit more expensive than the drugstore or discount department store film developing places, but they were convenient.  If they were still around today, without a doubt I would be using them; as you well know, I preach that the older I get, the more I am willing to pay for convenience.

Another Public Service Announcement

Dear Time Warner Cable:

Is it just a coincidence that I waited on the phone for 20 minutes last night to speak to a live person about my internet connection issues, only to have the problem fairly corrected by the time I got off of the phone?  The Old Man had no problems to report today as he was online on his iPad.  And last night, I was online for about an hour after I hung up from talking with Customer Support, and experienced no connection interruptions whatsoever.  Coincidence?  I think not.

Until the next issue,
Puddi

Public Service Announcement

Dear Time Warner Cable:

Thanks again for giving us, your customers, back the cable channels that we have been paying for.  But did you have to do it at the expense of our internet connection?  Is it just coincidental that as I was reading the email from you last night telling that the channels were back, I lost my internet connection and it's been going in and out non-stop ever since???? 

Your very frustrated customer,
Puddin

Public Service Announcement

Dear Time Warner Cable:

Thank you very much for giving your subscribers back Showtime and Movie Channel yesterday.  And thank you even more for not even attempting to give us a credit or discount on our cable bill for August.  If you check your records, we haven't been able to get Showtime or Movie Channel for a month.  So shouldn't you have taken the month's worth of Showtime and Movie Channel subscription fees off of our bill?  Since you apparently forgot to, I will do you a favor and will deduct that fee from my monthly bill payment.  How's that sound?

Yours truly,
Puddin

Something You Don't See Every Day

Today was the last Bats game of the season, and even though there was a 30% chance of rain today, I was not going to let that get in the way of the last game of the season.  Well, the 30% chance of rain hit half-way through the fourth inning, and we had over a two-hour rain delay.  But as I said, I was not going to let any rain get in the way of the last game of the season. 

The rain cleared up and the grounds crew got the field as dry as they could get and play resumed, only to have us down 5-2 at the bottom of the 9th inning.  Bases were loaded and Bats right fielder Dennis Phipps came to bat with 2 outs.  He hit a grand slam home run, and I thought the few remaining fans were going to tear down Slugger Field.  We ended up 69-75 for the season, but at least we won the last game of the season thanks to this young man's grand slam home run.  I sure am glad I stayed.  In my 20+ years of being a faithful fan of our Louisville Triple A teams, this is the first time I have witnessed a grand slam.  Yep, it's definitely something you don't see every day.

App Of The Week

I use Excel spreadsheets a lot at work and with my business, and I was thrilled when I found an app that would let me not only read the Excel spreadsheet but also edit it.  Please check out Documents Unlimited.  It's free and it works great.  I downloaded it on Friday and have tested a few spreadsheets this weekend it performs just fine.  Not only can you view and edit Excel spreadsheets, but Word documents, Powerpoint presentations and other files as well.  And did I mention that it's free?