Black Friday 2009

Another black Friday has come and gone. I can't believe that people still wait in these crazy lines. In years past I have been out before 5am in search of Black Friday deals but have never waited in any line. I would time it so I arrive when the store opened. I don't know if it is that I am getting older or if it is just that I am not into like I have been in the past. Anyway, I see no reason to battle the crowds at that hour of the day. Instead I casually, arise and depart the house around 7:30AM with the wife in tow. Our first stop was Kmart where they had a good deal on Lego sets, which rarely go on sale, they were buy 2 get 1 free. Also got a good deal on some MP3 players.
Next went to Pep Boys where they had 5 quarts of oil and filter for 4.99 and wipers buy one get one free.
At Modell's we picked up some work boots at 50% off along with some athletic gifts which were all 50% off.
Over at the mall we picked up a number of clothes item at JC Penny and Macy's. Then wrapped things up at Best Buy where we got a digital camera at half off and some DVD's. All that along with some lunch and we were back home by 1pm with a good jump start to our holiday shopping.

Happy Thanksgiving

1. “Celebrate the happiness that friends are always giving, make every day a holiday and celebrate just living!” - Amanda Bradley

2. “We tend to forget that happiness doesn’t come as a result of getting something we don’t have, but rather of recognizing and appreciating what we do have.” - Frederick Keonig

3. “Not what we say about our blessings, but how we use them, is the true measure of our thanksgiving.” - W.T. Purkiser

4. “Thanksgiving is nothing if not a glad and reverent lifting of the heart to God in honor and praise for His goodness.” - Robert Casper Lintner

5. “Let us remember that, as much has been given us, much will be expected from us, and that true homage comes from the heart as well as from the lips, and shows itself in deeds.” - Theodore Roosevelt

6. “If the only prayer you said in your whole life was, “thank you,” that would suffice.” - Meister Eckhart

7. “Gratitude makes sense of our past, brings peace for today, and creates a vision for tomorrow.” - Melody Beattie

8. “Be thankful for each new challenge, because it will build your strength and character.” - Author Unknown

9. “We can always find something to be thankful for, and there may be reasons why we ought to be thankful for even those dispensations which appear dark and frowning.” - Albert Barnes

10. “When asked if my cup is half-full or half-empty my only response is that I am thankful I have a cup.” - Sam Lefkowitz

11. “Feeling grateful or appreciative of someone or something in your life actually attracts more of the things that you appreciate and value into your life.” - Northrup Christiane

12. “If a fellow isn’t thankful for what he’s got, he isn’t likely to be thankful for what he’s going to get.” - Frank A. Clark

13. “You say, ‘If I had a little more, I should be very satisfied.’ You make a mistake. If you are not content with what you have, you would not be satisfied if it were doubled.” - Charles Haddon Spurgeon

14. “God gave you a gift of 86,400 seconds today. Have you used one to say “thank you?” - William A. Ward

15. “Gratitude consists of being more aware of what you have, than what you don’t.” –Unknown

16. “Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it.” -William Arthur Ward

17. “To know the value of generosity, it is necessary to have suffered from the cold indifference of others.” -Eugene Cloutier

18. “We give thanks for unknown blessings already on their way.” - ritual chant

19. “Do not get tired of doing what is good. Don’t get discouraged and give up, for we will reap a harvest of blessing at the appropriate time.” - Galatians 6:9

20. “Gratitude is a quality similar to electricity: it must be produced and discharged and used up in order to exist at all.” – William Faulkner

1936 Thanksgiving Camel Ad: Smoke a Camel after each Course

This advertisement for Camel cigarettes appeared in the November 23, 1936 edition of LIFE magazine. It earnestly demands that you smoke a Camel after each course of Thanksgiving dinner -- "for digestion's sake." Some of my favorite quotes from the ad include, "smoke a camel right after the soup," "By all means enjoy a second helping, but before you do -- smoke another Camel," and "My own personal experience is that smoking Camels with my meals and afterwards builds up a sense of digestive well-being."

Happy Thanksgiving

Book Review: Enjoy the Ride

Reading this book and after hearing Steve in person got me to thinking. The title says it all. In a rapid paced lifestyle we tend to lose sight of enjoying life and the ride we are on. After reading this and listening to Steve it becomes quickly clear how much stress we put on ourselves and just keep adding it on. He brings home the idea of enjoying our ride. It is a must read and if you have the chance GO SEE HIM!!

It's not how you start or how you finish; the true joy of life is the trip. Enjoy the Ride is a gift to anyone searching for an inner peace. Steve ignites people’s ability to choose what they do, why they do it, and who they do it with. In his refreshingly straight forward style, Steve Gilliland shares unique insights into what it means to be successful. He enables readers to identify their dreams and puts genuine success within their reach. Add his humor and brilliant advantage of mixing words with wisdom, and Steve brings forth a book that truly motivates a reader to make changes and believe in the power of positive thinking. Success is not limited to those with financial resources or special talents. It is available to anyone willing to learn a few practical principles and then follow through with them day to day.

Forgiveness- Dealing with Adult Child's Struggles

Have faith, hope and courage, and love. Hang in there, and don’t tolerate what shouldn’t be.

 

by Stephen Bly

When your adult child can't seem to get his act together and take responsibility for his life, some common reactions surface. Here's how to deal with them:

First, it's important to set aside your emotions.

Two common emotions – resentment and failure – fight to possess your thoughts during times of stress. You will feel resentment: Why is my child doing this to me? After all we did for her, she is self-centered and spoiled. She is going her merry way, and we have to pay the price.
And you will feel failure: If we had done the job right the first time, if we'd sent him to military school, if we hadn't sent him to military school, if I'd helped him with his math, if I'd been there when he need me, if we'd insisted that he not date that girl, if we hadn't moved during his senior year, if…if…if…

Set realistic goals.

Struggling children do not always move back home, but they all need to find a new direction in life. So with you and your spouse advising, help them set realistic goals.
A realistic goal is one that all of you believe is within reach. A realistic goal is also measurable. For example, when Richard and Betty's son, Andy, moved back to his parents' home with his children after his wife left them, he set three goals for himself: He would quit drinking, he would take a nine-month vo-tech course in welding, and he and his boys would be in their own home in 18 months. This plan was realistic and measurable.

Plan how to reach those goals.

Goals are not reached overnight. Nor do they happen without plans.
If your daughter needs to get her own place, don't simply say, "Well, Darci is going to move out whenever she finds the right house." Instead, calculate the cost of rental, lease, or purchase. (Include first and last months' rent, cleaning and security deposit, moving cost, or other expenses.) Then estimate how much your daughter can contribute per month to that fund. If it will take five months for her to save enough money, Darci can set a goal: In six months, she will be settled in her own residence.

Agree how you can help.

What do you owe your adult children? Probably nothing. For better or worse, you raised them to adulthood. They are responsible for their own decisions. To clam that their present difficulties are the parents' fault only hinders their progress toward independence.
But you do have an investment of love, and most times you will want to help your struggling adult child get reestablished. So discuss exactly what you see your role to be.
Be specific. Here are a few examples:

• "We will allow you to live at home for two years. You pay for room and board, at $300 per month."
• "We will pay one-half of your rent until the retraining program is completed."
• "We will watch the grandchildren after school every day for one year."
• "We will allow you to use the old pickup until next September so you can save to buy a vehicle."

Set specific, objective points of measurement.

Don't wait until the very end to find out if you reached your goal. Decide on a way to evaluate progress and redefine goals and roles if necessary. Set a date, such as, "On the first of December we will evaluate this arrangement." And establish some performance standards for measurement. If your child is to finish college in two years, for instance, at the end of six months he should have completed 15 or more units of credit. If he is saving to get his own place, he needs $1,000 saved by January 1.

Explain your position if goals are unmet.

Explain what your position must be if your child refuses to reach those goals – not merely fails to reach, but refuses to reach. Sometimes goals are unreachable. Sometimes circumstances truly prevent goals from being reached. Some goals are dated and lose their value with time.

Fulfill your part of the arrangement.

It might mean working overtime, going back to work, giving up golf, or putting up with a backache every night from lifting the grandkids, but fulfill your part of the arrangement. If you fail to keep your promise, you will spend the rest of your life wondering what it could have been like if you had stuck to the agreement.

Accept the consequences.

No plan, good or poor, always succeeds. Maybe your adult child will suddenly get a life, straighten out his family relationships, settle down, and live happily ever after. Or he may bomb out again and again and again. Most adult children will probably end up somewhere in between.

Remember, you are in control, and while the potential alternatives are scary, until forced to stand on their own two feet, they won’t.

If you were walking back from a well, carrying a bucket of water & someone jostled you, there could be spilled from the bucket only that which it contained. As you walk along the way of life, people are constantly bumping into you. If your heart is full of ill nature, bad temper, and ugly disposition, only those things will be spilled from it. On the other hand, if it is full of love, you will spill a smile or pleasant remark. You can spill from your bucket only that which it contains. ~Author Unknown

Atlantis Space Shuttle Launch

I was at the Kennedy Space Center last week while I was in Florida on Union business. My conference in Orlando ended on Wednesday and I decided to drive to Cocoa Beach and on the way saw signs for the space center so I drove there to see what the visitors center was all about. I didn't arrive until after 2pm and was disappointed to see that the entry fee was $38.00. Needless to say, I didn't pay the fee and go in. I did get out of the car and take a number of pictures from the outside. There was a space shuttle and other rockets you could see from the outside.

Too bad I wasn't there today to witness the liftoff of the space shuttle Atlantis. I have heard that it is quite a awesome event to witness in person. As you can see from this photo it appears to be quite spectacular. Maybe someday I'll be fortunate to take it in first hand. Just another thing to add to the list of things to do.

Aerial View of My Home

Here is an aerial view of my  home. This shot must have been take a few years ago as my 1999 Dodge Ram and 1997 Dodge Caravan are pictured in the driveway. Its very neat how you can get these images online. I got this one from Bing Aerial Maps. This is about the best quality image you will get for free off the internet. Our home is 4 bedroom 3.5 baths. There is a 2 story addition on the back that was built in 1988. As you can see from the image there are many trees surrounding the house giving us lots of shade in the spring and summer months but causing lots of yard work int he fall and winter.

Canteen Contract Ratified

After an uphill battle with Canteen Vending Teamsters Local 67 leadership along with a balanced organizing committee was able to reach an agreement that the committee felt obligated to support and present to the membership. It was the Last, best and final offer from the company and after the rejection vote that took place 2 weeks ago, another rejection vote at this point would have signified a strike. With the current wage structure and the fact that the company withdrew all their attempts at sanctions that were in the last offer the Union felt significant progress had been made over the last offer that was rejected.

The contract was voted on and ratified this morning and the folks at Canteen Vending now have a new 4 year Collective Bargaining Agreement. Props go to Frank and John along with the rest of the bargaining committee in securing these members very good paying secure jobs for another 4 years.

Sea World Orlando

On Tuesday November 10 Maureen, Jenna and I visited Sea World. Our passes from Discovery Cove the other day enabled us to visit Sea World as well. The first thing we did was the Shamu killer whale show. It was spectacular. Our favorite part had to be when the young lady is swimming with the whale and does some awesome dives off the whales nose as the whale jumps from the water. It was quite impressive the interaction between the trainers and the whales.
We then saw the dolphin show which was just as spectacular. It had a cirque soleil feel as there were many acrobatic and swing type performers intertwined with the dolphin performers. The finale was something to see.
Jenna and Maureen went on the Manta ray which is the new roller coaster which you hang below the car. It's supposed to simulate a Manta Ray. The ride had many loops and I didn't think it would agree with me so I passed on that one.
We spent some time with the seals up close and personal. You could purchase fish and feed them to the seals. After that we saw a rather funny seal and otter show.
I was very disappointed that the Polar Bear exhibit was closed. Also there was no water ski show that day.
We enjoyed visiting the Budweiser horses and taking pictures of them. Years ago when I visited that part of Sea World they offered you free samples of Budweiser beer. That wasn't the case this day. $4.00 a glass.
The park was really clean and I would recommend anyone to spend a day there. Lot to do, see and enjoy.

Discovery Cove Orlando

While on Business in Orlando Florida I visited Discovery Cove. I was a little bit concerned that I would be disappointed when I arrived because the cost of admission was so high. Jenna and I chose to purchase the dolphin swim package which cost $289.00 each and included all the food and drink (beer) along with a 14 day pass to either Sea World or Busch Gardens Tampa Bay. We were only in town a few more days so we could only go to Sea World for 1 day. Maureen had already done the dolphin experience a number of years back so she went with the non-dolphin for $189.00

We got there right when the park opened and upon entering the park, we entered a small cabana-type building where we waited on line to check in. After we gave the clerk our names he gave us our time for our dolphin encounter, we stood in front of a camera and got our picture taken. We were then told to go to another desk where we picked up ID card which had our names and photos on them.

Immediately upon stepping out of the cabana we were approached for our complementary photo. The approached by another park worker and instructed where to go to pick up our gear. On the way to get our gear we passed the main galley and decided to go in for the continental breakfast. The provide a wide assortment of pastries, fruits and cereals along with any type of drink you care for. That is except beer. I was informed beer was not allowed to be distributed until after 11am.

After breakfast we proceeded to look for the pick station for our wetsuits, goggles and snorkels. Basically, you receive a locker during your stay and you are handed either a vest or a wet suit. The attendants just estimate what size they think you are. Being that it was November Jenna and I elected the wetsuit Maureen went with a vest. The snorkels are new and they come in a mesh bag with sunscreen and a pair of goggles. The sunscreen is specially made to be safe for the animals. In fact you are warned not to use your own sunscreen and to shower to remove any soap residue before you enter the water. Oh my gosh I was in shock at how fat I looked in the wetsuit. I'd say that's very brave posting this picture. That's why I'm on a diet.

The atmosphere of discovery cove is great. There was no crowd at all. Supposedly even during peak season they limit admission to 1000 people. There couldn't have been more that 3-400 that day. The park is big and densely landscaped. It feels like you are one of very few people in the park.

The first stop we made was the coral reef ocean-simulating pool. This pool contains hundreds of fish of all species. There are enormous manta rays on the bottom of the pool which are the size of some small houses. The wetsuits made it very easy and were helpful staying afloat to take it all in. There are also some underwater viewing areas where you can look and feel like you are swimming amongst different species of barracudas. The water is extremely deep in this pool.  The water was quite cold and extremely salty. This pool was beautiful and a once-in-a-lifetime experience that shouldn't be missed and is well worth the expense.

Next we went to the stingray lagoon. This is a small pool with many baby stingrays in it. The water is about 4-5 foot deep with a sandy bottom. The stingrays are quite approachable and they let you pet their backs. There is an attendent in the pool at all times who sternly warns you to keep your feet on the ground at all times. It was very cool having them come so close to you. In fact I got a picture of of one swimming right between my legs. We also had the opportunity to feed them. One of the attendants gathered us all in circle and gave everyone a handful of fish. You were instructed to hold the fish in your closed fist then put it out in front of you. The stingrays would then swim over the fish and suck it out of your hand. It was a really weird feeling. We each got like 10-12 fish.

After that it was time to do the dolphin encounter. We made our way down to the cabana and watched a short movie about dolphins and then were introduced to the trainers. The encounter itself consists of the trainer telling you about the dolphin and also go through some basic points. When we got to the beach we were introduced to our dolphin. "Tyler" who out 0f 46 dolphins ion the park was the same one Jamie and Maureen  swam with 7 ago.They had Tyler come right in front of us so we could feel, pet and rub him on both his back and stomach. We learned a lot about dolphins. They had him do a number of trick for us and had a us pose for a number of pictures such as the one above. For the grand finale we went out into about 12 feet of water and got like a 30 yard holding the dorsal fin. That was very cool. The whole encounter lasted about 30-40 minutes. Once again worth the cost.

By now it was well after 11 and the bar was opened. We proceeded to the closest one and grabbed a few beers. All Anheuser Busch products They also had plenty of snacks, ice cream and other soft drinks. We hung there for a while and then went over to the cabana fro lunch. There were all kinds of options for lunch for lunch from burgers, fancy salads and chicken. We had plenty to eat that's for sure.

After lunch we entered the lazy river which is actually quite rapid and pretty deep. Most of the river is about 8 foot deep. There are no fish in the lazy river, but the water is nice and warm and there are multiple waterfalls and underwater scenes such as giant pots and canons to stand on. The floor of the river is covered in river rocks which the kids love to dive down to grab and try to find different colors.  Somewhere along the course of the river, you go through a waterfall and enter the aviary.

Maureen and Jenna decided to go see the avairy while I rested on the beach. I really can't comment on how that was except that it's a hands-on experience with hundreds of birds.

The beaches at the Cove are beautiful with nice white sand. You don't have to worry about stepping on anything and you can take your shoes off and relax. The park is also very clean in all areas including the showers and bathrooms. The gift shops sell merchandise at reasonable rate and some of the profits go back to support marine wildlife. The only area in which the park tries to make a large profit is in its photographs. You get a complimentary group photo when you enter, but after that no photos are free. We bought a couple pictures of our dolphin encounter one posted here.

In conclusion, discovery cove is a beautiful park and a great experience for people of all ages. I thought it was well worth the expense and will treasure the memory.

Tragedy at Fort Hood

I know what I'm going to say is going to get me hate mail and comments but I don't care. I would hate to be the doctor that is working on your scum bag ass right now. If it were left up to me, you would die and a slow painful death for what you have done. If you couldn't handle your life, why take it out on others. Go stick the gun that you used to kill innocence people and blow your worthless ass away. One has to wonder what the hell was the Army thinking in letting someone like yourself in the service. If you happen to recover from this I hope they throw the books at you and become Bubba's bitch in prison. But that would be to easy for you. I hope you die and rot in hell!

Happy Birthday to my Wife Maureen

Today was my wife Maureen's birthday. I was thinking this 2011 Porsche Boxer Spyder would make the perfect gift. If she didn’t need three seats, for her carpool this would probably suit her fine.  Zero to 100 mph in 5 seconds! Wonder if she could handle the power. What a beauty!  Hat tip to Zcars.com.

I don't want to strike but I will

I am currently a Union Rep at Teamsters Local 67 in Washington DC. We represent Brewery and Beverage Drivers along with vending companies. Our current contract with Canteen Vending expired on October 12th, 2009. After a number of negotiation meetings the company gave a final offer and this past Saturday we presented it to the membership. The company gave a couple options but neither was worth recommending to the members. Basically, they are trying to reduce the cost of health benefits by placing some of that cost on the members. Along with that they want to freeze the drivers commission rate for a minimum of 2 years. Being that the recession has not affected Canteen in any significant manner in the DC marketplace we felt this kind of proposal from them was unsatisfactory. The company continues to put more and more demands on the drivers and then turns around and offers no increases.
By law we had to present the final offer to the members. So on Saturday we did and they unanimously voted to reject the companies offer. This vote gives us the leverage to call a strike if needed. We are preparing to go back to the table and reenter the negotiations. Maybe then the company will make us a fairer offer.