Spending A Lot of Money

I'm not against spending a lot of money, as long as someone else is doing it.  I think my parents were pretty conservative and frugal, so I probably take after them.  Yesterday we wired a full year's salary as a down payment on our new house and I think I'm still twitching a little bit, maybe a lot.

Closing day is Monday and that's when the fun really begins.  Two furniture places are delivering and our our pod that has been storing our stuff  the past four months is also arriving.  In addition of course, is a couple car loads of things we've lugged around from NJ to two hotels and one condo since mid-December.

Now that the money is gone(or in the house), I can continue the daily or weekly battle between the guy whispering in my one year saying, "it's just $5, no big deal" and the other guy whispering in my other ear saying, "it's not worth it, it's $5."  I'm sure I'm not the only one who has the battle going on all the time, but I do know that some people have only one person whispering in their ear.

Living in a tourist area it's probably easier for people to spend money here, so maybe I'll learn how to do that eventually? Maybe one day I'll even walk around each day with more than $20 in my wallet? I wonder how long this process will take?  I think it's going to take awhile.

What Is The Policy at Starbucks?

About a week ago two African-American men were arrested at a Starbucks in Philadelphia, PA. while a video was taken of the police removing them from the store.  The two men were waiting to meet someone for a meeting and had refused to buy anything in the store and the manager asked them to leave and they refused. When the police arrived they also asked them to leave and they refused which led to the arrest.

Protests  began almost immediately when the video went viral and the police and Starbucks have both apologized for the incident.  Starbucks will be closing all of their stores in the United States in the near future for sensitivity training.  The easy explanation of what happened is that the store manager made a racist decision and the two men were mistreated, but is that what really happened?

I don't drink coffee and I believe only one time did I buy something in a Starbucks,(a business meeting) although I've delivered magazines to them many times.  But, as a manager for many years and as someone who has interviewed dozens of people over the years in fast food restaurants, I'm not sure I understand what the policy is these days in a place like Starbucks.

When I would meet someone I did not know in a fast food place to interview them, the first thing I did was go in and buy something and sit down at a table. Since it's not a library, I never considered just walking in and sitting down.  I have seen people at Starbucks with a book or a laptop, but aren't they paying customers? I really don't know.

According to an article in "The Washington Post", Starbucks said that non-paying customers are asked to leave.  The article also said that one of the arrested men asked the manager if he could use the bathroom and was told it was only for paying customers.  I know there are many places that have signs that say that, is that the policy at Starbucks.(If not, why would he ask the manager for permission?)

This did happen in Philadelphia, PA and not Billings, Montana. Hasn't this happened before? It cant' be the first time, is it.  And, if a police officer asks you to leave a store, how do you not do it? The article said that the police were unaware of the policy at Starbucks, I don't think they are the only ones.

"I Want To Check Her For Lice"

I like country music, but not all country music.  I wouldn't even say that I like a lot of country music, but I am a fan.  A few years back when I was watching American Idol I was exposed to country music and I was surprised.  There were some great voices and some ballads that could easily be pop songs.

There are a lot of people who have a misconceptions about country music.  I used to think it was loud music with a heavy accent and someone wearing a cowboy hat.  It sounds ridiculous, but that's what I thought.  There are plenty of people who would never admit to liking country music, but they have heard some country songs that they like.

I have to admit though, some of the songs are really funny.  I remember hearing the song "Beer Money" and the lyrics went something like this: "You got the kiss that tastes like honey and I got a little beer money."  I laugh every time I hear that song, because I can write lyrics like that.(I actually have and worse)  It is actually a pretty good song, believe it or not.

Yesterday I heard a song that I really believe the lyrics were- "I want to check her for lice."  I can understand where he's coming from, but I'm pretty sure no one wants to be anywhere close to lice.  Yet, somehow that song made it on the air.

Being down here in South Carolina there are more people who like country music.  I can't say I like it any more or less than I did four months ago, but I do like it-some of it.  Some of it sounds absolutely awful.  I guess there's good and bad in most things and the only way to find the good in something is to be exposed to it.

So expose yourself -you know what I mean, to some new things.

Numbers

I like numbers, I always have.  I consider myself a "number's guy."  I can add and multiply numbers faster than probably anyone you know.  Unfortunately, I can't do a lot of productive things with this unusual talent.  However, when I see numbers I always ask myself, does this sound right? What does it really mean? Are there any other possibilities to explain this number?

You see most people don't like numbers and numbers really aren't their thing.  Frequently people will see a number and trust that number that it's accurate and move on from there.  I was reading a column today in the local newspaper that was titled, "We're all too angry to get anything truly productive done."  The editorial writer made some good points in the column, but the basis of the column was, the average American now spends an incredible 12 hours a day viewing or listening to media, according to one survey, " and people are angrier because of this.

He didn't say what kind of survey or how many people were surveyed, or who these people were.  He was referring to social media which included, "television, movies, Facebook, podcasts, video games and even books."  I don't know how reading books is considered media, but let's play along with this.  If an adult who is working gets seven hours of sleep and they work 8 hours a day, that would leave only 9 hours in a 24-hour day they could be involved with media.  I guess they can be on social media part of their work day, but the numbers don't add up and it's not really close.

Do you spend 12 hours a day "viewing or listening to media?"  Of course not, but some people read this column like I did  and didn't think twice about it.  Next time you see or hear about a statistic, ask yourself, "does this sound right? What does it really mean? Are there any other possibilities to explain this number?" 

You may find that 50% of the time the number is not right.  Or it could be 20% or 40% or 60%.  I can guarantee you that some of the numbers you see are not really what you think you're seeing.

Just Like Riding a Bicycle

They say that once you learn to ride a bicycle you don't forget how to do it.  I think this applies to a lot of things.  If there is something you haven't done in awhile that you used to enjoy doing, don't hesitate-just go out and do it.

Playing tennis was always something I enjoyed doing going back to Junior High School days in the 1970's.  I was never on a high school team like some people, but I played well enough and learned to switch hands while I played.  Over the last ten years I've only played a couple times and I was looking forward to getting back on the court in South Carolina and starting to play regularly.

My daughter's boyfriend, Arber, was visiting and we went out this evening and volleyed for awhile.  I'm not sure, but I may have lost a step or two and I did start off slowly.  It took a little while until I started playing better, but I enjoyed it from the first couple swings.

So what have you been putting off doing that you'd really enjoy doing, but you haven't done it in a long time? Maybe it is actually riding a bicycle or contacting someone you haven't heard from in awhile.  Whatever it is, the time to do it is .... now.  Don't hesitate, don't procrastinate, just do it.

You may enjoy it as much as I enjoyed playing tennis tonight.

To Buy A TV or Not To Buy A TV, "THAT" Is The Question?

We are one week away from moving into a new house and the question keeps coming up, should we buy a TV now or later or ever? In 2018 it's a question that people think about because of how technology has advanced.  What do we need a TV for?

Sports? My teams are 600 miles away and if I really wanted to watch something I could "stream" it, if I knew how to do that.  Occasionally one of my teams may be on TV, but is that really worth it? Probably not.

Regular TV shows? We're down to watching one of two each week because not many of them interest us. We can watch them online the next day or next week or whenever.  Some of the networks now have "old" TV shows you can watch online and I may do that although "Moonlighting" and "Remington Steele" are not available right now.(shows from a long, long time ago)

News? Forget it-I haven't regularly watched news in decades and I haven't missed anything.  I can read about all the so called "news" online and can easily spot "opinions" that are not news.

It's going to be odd to be in a house without a TV, but right now it looks like we're going to just skip it.  I'm not sure we're going to miss it either, but maybe one day we'll buy a TV for our new house.  Maybe it won't be a new house anymore?

What I Say When I Work

I'm enjoying walking into stores and offices and making deliveries and it's fun getting people to laugh at some of the things I say.  From time to time I go too far, but it does make the day go faster for them too.

I always need to get a signature on my hand held device so I ask them for their autograph.  Sometimes I'll say, "you do give out free autographs here, don't you?"  They always at least smile and sometimes they will play along and say, "I've never had someone ask for my autograph," and I add, "today is just the beginning." 

I then have to ask them for their last name and I type it in.  I always comment on the short, four letter last names, but recently had to type in "Day."  So I asked, "how do you spell it?", since it can be spelled "Dey", like the actress Susan Dey from The Partridge Family.  We then started discussing The Partridge Family(Dad- it's an old television show and musical group) and the songs they used to sing.  I had 2-3 women naming songs and I'm sure when I left they were still coming up with them.

I made a delivery in a Church office and when I asked for her autograph, the lady wanted to know if she should use her real name.  I said, "you can use any name you want, I won't tell."  She played along and said her name was Kristenbaum or Christinbaum or something like that.  I said, "Now I understand, you may want to shorten it." She did laugh, but I'm not sure she got the whole joke of a shorter name like "Christ" in a Church, but I laughed.(and you did too)

It's unusual to make a delivery to the same office three times in a week and when I did on Thursday I said to the woman, "If I come in again tomorrow does that make me a part-time employee? What benefits can I get?" She did laugh and although I did not have a delivery there on Friday I did drive right past her office and I was tempted, but I did not stop in for a laugh.

As I wheel in my hand truck I have to ask, "where would you like me to put these boxes?"  Sometimes I'll add, "I'll put them anywhere you want, except the roof."  That always gets a laugh, but there are times I zig-zag through many doors and into many corners of the office and it would be easier just going up to the roof and dropping them there.  I'd like to see someone explain to their boss that we got the delivery and the boxes are on the roof.

Finally, I have a smaller hand truck than you are used to seeing and it folds up very neatly and can be placed on the dashboard of my van on the passenger side.  A young girl in her twenties saw the hand truck and said, "that's cool and you have a cool looking van too."  Yes, I'm almost 58 years old and it took this long for someone to say I have cool things.(just wanted my kids to know)

"Your Television Will Be Back With You In A Minute"

When these words appeared on my television screen my first thought was, "where is my television right at this minute and how does it know to get back to me?"

Technology is wonderful, but let's face it-sometimes it is confusing or befuddling to say the least.  For instance, if you're trying to learn how to use a new iPhone that is already outdated and the name of it is "honor", that is already confusing.  I've heard of a lot of phones, but "honor?"

A couple weeks ago our cable in our condo was upgraded.  We got a few more stations, a new box, and it looks like a clearer picture.  What I didn't know was that we also got a new remote.(our family name for remote is "clicker")  I sat down one night to watch the only show I'm watching each week, "Gotham", and I picked up the remote to check out the new cable. That, was my first mistake.

It took twenty minutes for Monika to fix the mess I made because you have to use the old remote to turn on the television and adjust the volume and the new remote to also turn on the television and change the channels.  I think I have this right and now you know why I was confused.

But this week was different.  I used both remotes to turn on the television, but I got no channels.  As the first few minutes of "Gotham" went on without me, suddenly on the screen appeared the unusual words, "Your Television Will Be Back With You In A Minute."  Also on the screen was the number 10, which I was hoping was ten seconds, but it was not.  The number changed to 9 and then 8 and soon skipped to 6. Eventually, my television got to one and the channel appeared and I watched my show.

Why can't we go back to just manually pushing a button on the television and turning the dial and the volume, is that too much to ask? If we can do that, how about just rolling up and down our car windows.  I know you won't admit it, but you miss those things too.... sometimes.

Locked Doors

I'm not a fan, really. I don't like locking doors or ringing a door bell or knocking on a door to get in.  Maybe it just slows me down.  I used to park my car on my driveway and leave the car unlocked.  Years ago we think that someone took a small cassette player from my car when I left it unlocked.  I still left my car unlocked.  Occasionally, I have locked my car door, at a mall or when I'm going to be gone awhile, but I really don't like the idea at all.

A couple years ago my wife told me that there were some robberies of unlocked cars in the neighborhood and asked me if anything was taken from my car.  I answered no without giving it a second thought. The next day I went to get some change in my car and found only one penny stuck to the change slot and I knew what happened.  The other morning I found a penny on the ground outside my car and I knew that all my change(a few dollars) was taken.  I didn't mention it to my wife, but it got me thinking that I do keep my GPS in the car also and I didn't want to lose that.  I hated locking my car, but I did it.

Doing a lot of deliveries in NJ and PA I would sometimes come across an office that was locked in the middle of the day.  I always found it amusing, maybe they have a lot of money in there or they are CIA inside.  In South Carolina, I've found more offices locked during the day and I asked someone why the door is locked.  "There are a lot of crazies out there," she said.  "In South Carolina?", I replied.  It's hard to believe that some people feel it's necessary to lock their front door in a place where people are so friendly.  Maybe they have some loose change or a small tape recorder they don't want to lose?

The Red Sox Fans

There is no better or more bitter rivalry in all of sports than the Yankees and Red Sox.  These two baseball teams have a history that go back to the early 1900's  when the Red Sox sold a young pitcher/outfielder by the name of Babe Ruth to the Yankees.  The Yankees became THE franchise in baseball and Babe Ruth became THE baseball player in the game and it's been like this for the last hundred years.(and the next hundred years)

When I started working in South Carolina, I met Dave from New England and naturally he was a big Boston Red Sox fan.  We became quick friends and have shared with each other some of our favorite Yankee-Red Sox moments.  It's the first week of the season and we are already teasing each other about each team.(The Red Sox are off to a great start and the Yankees just an average start)

The other night Monika and I were walking on the beach and we started talking with a couple small kids about shells and their Dad came over.  He was from the New England area and spotted my New York Yankee hat I was wearing and of course he was a Red Sox fan.  We talked baseball for a good fifteen minutes and had a great conversation about our teams.  It was a lot of fun.

When we walked away, Monika asked me how two strangers who are rooting for two opposing sides could be so friendly? It was a good question and the answer is very simple.  Most people are friendly and everyone is unique and has their own views about just about everything.  If you're open and friendly to people there's no reason why people can't be cordial and enjoy talking with one another.

Besides, I'm not going to hold it against the guy on the beach or Dave at work just because they are rooting for the "wrong" team.

How Much Milk Do You Need To Block Out The Taste of the Orange Juice in Your Cereal?

Let's say you're putting your Cocoa Krispies in your bowl on a Sunday morning and you're distracted. You open the fridge to grab the milk and you grab the orange juice instead.  I'm not saying I did this, but what if you did this?  You start pouring orange juice into your cereal and suddenly realize your mistake.

The important question of the day is: how much extra milk do you need to pour into your cereal to drown out the orange juice taste? My guess is that you need more than normal.  I think scientifically the orange juice might spread out across the bowl and the extra milk combined with the cocoa from the Cocoa Krispies could make your cereal completely taste normal.

Some people like to drown their cereal in milk anyway and then they rescue the bits of cereal with each scoop of their spoon.  I've actually heard cereal gasping for their last breath as they come out of the milk and just before they are chewed are swallowed and gone forever.

The answer to the question of the day is: put some extra milk in and everything will be okay and whatever you do, don't tell anyone what you did at breakfast this morning.

The Untimely Death of a Cell Phone

Isn't the death of any cell phone untimely? Probably not, but for some people a cell phone dying would actually feel like a death.  Wasn't it a British poet, John Dunne, who said something like, "when a person dies, a part of each of us dies too?  So, I understand if you feel some remorse about this sad story.

I had a flip phone for many years and finally after everyone in my family urged me over and over that I had to get an iPhone, I gave in and got a hand me up iPhone 5C in February.  I actually thought it was an M5, but I probably confused that with James Bond's title.

I was jinxed this week when my mother-in-law commented that I'm "enjoying" my cell phone and my Dad said that I was "really good" with it.(or something like that) I'm not sure either of those comments are accurate, but I was texting more and taking some pictures.

This morning I was delivering to an accounting firm and I had to carry six boxes of paper weighing fifty pounds each up two flights of stairs and down the hall.  The firm has the name "Sapp" in it and I certainly can relate to feeling like one as I went up and down the stairs.

The last box had one plastic strap missing, so I crouched down and slipped my hands under the box and attempted to get up.  One hand slipped out, the box fell to the ground, I fell on my ass and the worst part was that my iPhone flew up in the air.

Let's face it, if an iPhone is airborne there is not a 50-50 chance it will fall face down.  It has to be about 80% and my unprotected phone hit the ground-face down.  The screen is cracked in many places, but the phone still works, so it really is not "dead"-yet.

I figure I can still use it.  It's sort of like when your making a sandwich and the last piece of bread has some mold around the crust.  I just take off the bad part and make the sandwich.  My iPhone 5C has lasted about seven weeks.  I think it has at least another seven weeks in it before I look for another hand me up.

You Never Know

You really never do know what surprise is right around the corner.  You can plan and prepare, but life has it's way of making you laugh, or scratch your head, due to the unexpected.

I think part of "Becoming A Southerner,"  is visiting home from time to time.  Our first trip north was a success, but it took a lot of planning and cooperation from family to make it work.  Leaving at 4 am Friday morning we planned on arriving home around 1 am Monday morning in enough time for me to get some sleep before going to work. 

Traveling a total of 1,400 miles in three days, we had four main destinations and it was a tight schedule.  We were pretty much right on schedule as we arrived in the parking lot of our condo at 1:15 am. this morning. We were both exhausted as we piled everything from the car onto a luggage cart and pushed it into the elevator to get to the second floor.

It was at that point of being at our door at 1:30 am that we had the surprise of our trip.  There's a lock on our door and you press a couple numbers that unlock the door, but it did not open. Several times we tried and failed.(the only problem we had in three months is when I forgot the numbers)  My wife called the landlord(who is in Connecticut) and somehow she was awake at that hour and she was able to unlock the door through some kind of technology.(no clue and it didn't matter and I don't care)

If we weren't able to reach her what could we have done? Get a hotel room across the street? I dreaded the thought of putting everything back in the van and then unloading it into a hotel room so I could use the van.

The old saying is, "when life throws you a lemon, make lemonade," but at that point we were not thirsty-we just needed to sleep.