Family Christmas...

This Saturday is my family's (by family I mean my brother and sisters) Christmas gathering which we fondly call "The Laughlin Family Christmas".

We have been doing this for quite a few years now. Each year we gather up all the kids from the four of us (there are currently 11 kids), our significant other's and any pets or friends and go to one of the family residences and eat, exchange gifts, visit and play games. Last year we had the gathering at my oldest daughter's, "One," new home. This year the holiday festivities are being held at my brother's house. My youngest sister rents the basement of my brother's place, so it technically could be her house too, but she doesn't really own it and since she is the youngest sibling, we usually don't count her anyway. (Kidding "Bugga"!)

We have a "Secret Santa" gift exchange for the old people (16 and over). The names are picked sometime around Memorial day or shortly there after. Since it is a biological trait of our family to have no short term memory, by December no one recalls who they are supposed to get a gift for, which makes one think that the secret part wouldn't work very well. However it works fine because the same lack of memory cells also means no one retains any recollection of an overheard secret name! We did finally learn to assign one person the task of keeping the official list, otherwise we would be completely lost. Anyway, we are all on a tight budget (seemingly every year), so we try to keep the cost of the gifts reasonable, at the $25 range.

The kids (those under 16) however, make out really good. They each get multiple gifts. They get a gift from each of their Aunt and Uncle pairs, except that my youngest sister currently doesn't have a guy yet so there are only three uncles... and Sweetie isn't officially an Aunt yet, but she's pretty close, so there are only three aunts. Sometimes there are a few extra gifts given out if a friend or other family member decides to be generous.

The last couple of years, we started a second "gag gift" exchange for the "old folks" called a "White Elephant"... I don't know where the name came from, but we usually have a fun time with that, probably more fun with that than the regular gift exchange.

The group shares the cooking or at least the food purchases. This year, as with most years since my ham incident (oh yeah, I haven't written about that yet), I don't cook. I am pretty good at getting snack type items like pop (soda for those in the rest of the country), chips, pretzels, etc. There is usually always plenty of food, and tons of people to eat it, and not too much goes to waste.

This year is the first Christmas without our Mom. She passed away earlier this year (no I didn't write about it). I never had a close relationship with my mom, because I was raised by my grandmother, but she was a good person, with a good heart, and I will miss her unique personality this year. I will also miss the noodles, and deviled eggs she made each year... My Dad passed away many years ago, my grandparents who raised me have also passed, so I am officially an orphan. That is if you can consider a man in his 4Th decade with 4 kids a orphan.

After the food and gift exchange, and when most people are still blind from the repeated flashes from the cameras, we decide to relax and visit or play games. Almost every year someone gets a game as a gift, so we usually hang out until late in the evening gaming, and picking on our youngest sister.

Anyone have any unique holiday traditions they care to share?

Later Lou

Last night... and this morning

Last night my youngest, "Four" had her Christmas Choral Concert. She wasn't on stage very much this year, because her grade has a very small group, but she got to be in the spotlight a few moments during a short solo! Yah! She was worried she would mess up, but she did good!

I got a few snapshots of her face with a microphone covering most of it! :-) I should have taken the photo from the side instead of straight on. Oh well, I am not the photographer that some of my readers are.

It's raining, very hard this morning. When I awoke this morning, and turned on the TV the talking head said there was a lot of freezing rain and that the roads could be icy. I immediately turned it off, and went back to sleep (for another 30 minutes) - no need to rush this morning.

(NOTE: The Red Arrow is where I am, just southwest of the ice/snow)

After I got my shower I went into the bedroom to get my clothes and noticed the shower was on in my bedroom. There were three wet spots on the ceiling, and water dripping down from all three. I just had this roof repaired over the summer, and here it is the first big rain since then and the roof is leaking... arg!

I called the roofer, but I only got his voice mail. I left my normal rambling type of message saying something about the fact that the roof was leaking and he just did the roof, and could he come look at it. I asked him to call me back, and here it is almost 2 hours later and I haven't gotten a return call yet... I know he could be busy, but I would think a roofer wouldn't be out roofing on a day like today... So what's he doing? Sleeping in too?

Well I am at work now, so I better get back to doing what I get paid for. And don't tell anyone that I was posting an entry on my blog while I was on company time... I don't think they would approve.

Later Lou

December Updates

A lot of stuff has been happening, as it usually does as the year is preparing to close. Here's a brief rundown:

1. Saturday we cleaned out the Ex's old house, what I call the Marital Home. The same house I am trying to sell because she abandoned it, and it fell on my shoulders. It seems I am perpetually cleaning up after her.
2. The 13 yard dumpster was filled to the top with stuff that she left in the place.
3. The dumpster cost me $230.
4. My realtor called last week and said that she wanted to take inside pictures of the place so they publish a "virtual tour" online. This phone call prompted the cleaning up.
5. My realtor called again this past weekend and said the people that showed interest in buying and "gutting" the place, are no longer interested, and that no one else has showed interest yet. HOWEVER, the interest rates are down in the 5% range, so she is confident this will help boost sales...
6. My brother and Sweetie helped me to clean up the mess in the martial home, and I bought them lunch (actually Sweetie paid, but I paid her back).
7. The virtual tour isn't online yet.
8. I had a big fight, actually I lost my temper, with my middle daughter, "Three", Monday night.
9. She only visits me when she needs something and then leaves when she has gotten what she needs, without spending any time with me. I told her that I was tired of being used and that my "stuff" was no longer open for use, but she was welcome to come visit.
10. Three left a voice mail on my phone last night cursing (using multiple swear words - all of the good ones) at me about fixing a computer for her boyfriend.
11. Three is only 16.
12. Went Christmas gift shopping last night with Sweetie to prepare for our annual family get together scheduled this Saturday.
13. I spent money I don't have.
14. I don't have money, because my tenant still hasn't paid December's rent (which isn't surprising given her past performance the last few months).
15. I over-drafted my bank account by $21 dollars and had to borrow money from my 17 year old son, "Two" to cover me until this Friday when I get paid (sigh).
16. One of my projects at work is causing major problems at some customer's stores, and I have to rework the project in an emergency attempt to fix the problem. Only no one, including me, knows if my "reworked" design will fix the problem.
17. I just got disposable contact lenses that can be worn for up to a month. I am wearing a "test" pair this week and if the work out I can get some more for next year. Bye bye eyeglasses!
18. Sweetie bought me a new watch for Christmas. She told me to wear it to work today, so I am. It's a gold and silver Fossil watch with four diamonds in the gold face, at the 12, 3, 6, and 9 positions. It's really nice...
19. The watch band needs adjusted slightly as it is a little loose on the wrist. Either that or she needs to keep feeding me so I can grow into it.

OK that's all I can think of at the moment...

Later Lou

Two is moving on...

Two passed his driver's test, and is now a licensed driver... Those in Western Pennsylvania - Look out!!!

I am overwhelmed with a wide a range of emotions from excitement and pride, to feelings of loss. I am excited that he succeeded. The look on his face when he walked in the testing facility with the instructor after his test spoke volumes! I was so excited that I completely forgot my PSP sitting on the bench where I was waiting, and left without it (more on that later... since that's another story). I am proud that he overcame his battle of 'nerves' and succeeded. He is not what you would call a "natural born driver", and learning to drive has been a struggle for him.

I think most parents would be proud and excited when their kids succeed at something that means a lot to them, so that's not unusual... What's unusual is my sudden feeling of loss. All of a sudden I realized yesterday that Two really won't need me as much any longer. Now that he has his own transportation, and his own source of income, I won't be asked to take him places, loan him money, or hang with him as often. I will be just a guy that he will "see occasionally" as he stops into the house to get a change of clothes or a bite to eat.

The sense of loss is bigger than I expected, I think, because my girls don't hang with me much, they tend to stay mostly at their mother's place. So I think I am beginning to experience a slight taste of the "empty nest" syndrome.

Of course, now that I have said all of this, I will of course told the world (well a small part of it anyway) that I actually do have feelings, and I do more than grunt, laugh, yell and fart. So how much of my masculinity have I undermined today?

Congrats Two! I am proud of you! I hope you continue down the road and become a better man than me! P.S... Don't forget when the car breaks down, or if you need a few bucks, or some good wise old advice... call your mom, I am going to be out having a good time! (smirk!)

Later Lou

December...

Well December has arrived... and here in Western Pennsylvania it's arrived with White Christmas weather. As I may have mentioned in the past, I am not overly fond of snow. It does, however, make the bleak, post autumn landscape look wonderful, but snow almost always accompanied by outside temperatures below 32 degrees Fahrenheit. I tend to prefer temperatures above 60, actually 70 and above, but I am willing to be a little flexible.

There are other negative aspects of snow as well. Snow creates a walking and driving hazard, which isn't much of a problem for me, but since there are a lot of people that don't know how to walk and drive in the snow, I have to go around them, or go much slower than necessary. Snow means I have to spend more time preparing to go some where than just getting in the car and going. I have to add a few layers of clothing, shovel the walk, scrape the car, and wait for the car to warm up. As bad as snow is, don't get me started on ice!

Anyway, today we have plenty of snow and a little ice, and it made the drive to work less than pleasant. It was exciting a few times, when the car slid unexpectedly, but in the morning before my brain has kicked in, I could do without that type of excitement. Today is also the day that Two has scheduled to take his driver's test to get his license. This is his second attempt, and he is extremely opposed to rescheduling.

His school's annual semi-formal dance is this Saturday, and he would like to have his license so he can drive to and from and pick up his date without needing another "licensed driver" to ride shotgun. I don't blame him for his desires, because I had a similar desire when I was his age. I remember it well... (add chimes and a fade out as we go back in time....)

I went to the driver testing station my grandfather full of confidence just a scant few days before the a big dance, and a big first date. We waited in a long line, and after about an hour, my number was called, and away I went. A few minutes later, my confidence was deflated, and I was feeling like a loser... because I had failed my driver's test. I was told I couldn't take the test again until the next day, which was only 1 day before the dance. The good news is that after a second day, and an even longer line I passed the test, got the license and drove to the dance.

So here back in present day, I am hoping history will repeat itself, and Two will succeed today. If not, he won't be able to take the test tomorrow, as there is now a longer waiting period between tests (I believe it's a week), and you have to schedule your testing time, instead of just waiting in line.

Please think good thoughts, say a quick little prayer, and cross your fingers with me and hope that all goes well this afternoon at 3PM, in the snow, in December, a few scant days before the big dance.

Later Lou

Rated G?

I had my blog rated today, and I realized that I might need to "spice" things up a bit!

The Faces of Lou

Car trouble...

My son, "Two", saved up his money and purchased a car back in October. It was a pretty good looking car, but shortly after he got it, we had to replace the transmission. After it was repaired, he paid for insurance, inspection, and PA registration. He spent hours with his mother, myself, and other family members practicing his driving. All of his hopes, money, practice and repair work went towards passing the driving test to get his license, which was scheduled yesterday. It was scheduled at 1:30PM, and I figured around 2:00PM, I would get a text message, a phone call, or I would otherwise hear the Earth move from his jubilation. When 4:30 came and went, I realized I hadn't heard anything, and I was surprised. I got out my cell phone and started typing out a message to him, and we had the following text message conversation:

Me: Where are you? Two: Here Me: Gee thanks. Where is 'here'? Two: Right where i'm sitting Me: Are you at my place or your mom's or some other location. Two: The second Me: How did the big test go? Two: She said I did great, except that I hit a cone while trying to parallel park Me: So is that a pass or not? Two: Not Me: Did you resched? Two: Yes Me: When is it scheduled? Two: Next Wednesday at three

He decided to skip his weekly scout meeting last night, and instead he went out driving with his aunt to practice parallel parking. When he was at the testing facility they told him he could practice on their course after hours. On his way back from his successful practice his car "died", and he couldn't get it started back up. By the time I got there the "Ex's" husband had arrived on the scene and had jumper cables hooked up to recharge his battery. We had a little gathering of people looking at his car: Two, his aunt, the Ex's husband, myself, the owner of the property were Two's car broke down, and the owner's 4 year old daughter. We decided that the problem seemed to be the alternator, and that when we got Two's battery charged up he would be able to drive it home. After a few minutes of battery charging, he turned the key and the engine started right up. A few minutes later, we are closing the hood of his Cavalier, and he leaves trying to get the car home before the battery dies again.

After he gets the car to his mother's house, he packs up his stuff, and slumps himself into my car, despondently. I tell him to not worry, and that replacing the alternator is a pretty easy task and we can do it ourselves without needing to take it to a mechanic. His spirits lift only slightly, and he tells me the day was one of his worst, but it wasn't all bad... He got a girl's phone number today.

My first thought was that he was kinda "pulling my leg" a little. I figured he must have gotten the number of the driving instructor on some result paper from his test... and he was just trying to lighten the mood with a joke. So I kinda dismissed him, and didn't really give him a chance to explain...

After a few minutes later, he then asked if I wanted to hear about this phone number he got. So I decided he needed to get the joke out, so I said to give me the story. To my surprise he wasn't joking, and to my relief it wasn't the driving test instructor. He had met a nice young lady from another school earlier in the day at a meeting.

Two is the "Rotary Club Student of the Month" for November at his high school, and he attends the weekly Rotary club meetings on Tuesdays during the day. This is where he met the "Student of the Month" at another local school, and they shared a "moment" making fun of the "old guys" at the Rotary club.

Two is growing up... He's almost driving on his own, and has enough courage to ask for a girl's number... I didn't learn how to do either until last week! (OK, Ok, I stretched the truth a little... I learned to drive much younger.)

Later Lou

100% Pittsburgh

A coworker of mine sent me a quiz to see how "Pittsburgh" I am. I have spent most of my life in the area (north west of da 'Burgh), so I am not surprised I got:

You are 100% Pittsburgh.

Great job! There's nooooo doubt about it. You're from Da Burgh. You deserve a reward, so go have an Ahrn City or two. And GO STILLERS! How Pittsburgh Are You See All Our Quizzes

Later Lou

Vacation is over...

My unplanned vacation is over, and I am back to work.

When the "bad check" crisis hit last Monday, I took an unplanned vacation for the three days before Thanksgiving to resolve the issue. Well, it took practically the entire time to get it resolved. If you want to read a lengthy post about the details click HERE.

My tenant's son said he was going to pay December's rent in advance so I "wouldn't have anything to worry about." He also said he would pay it this past Friday (11/23), but as you probably already guessed, I haven't seen the money yet. I am sure next month will be another battle.

My tenant is now telling me she is going to move out after the "Holidays," which I took to mean in January. I don't know if it will happen or not, but at least I am getting a possible heads up. I received an unsolicited call this past weekend asking if the apartment was available for rent. When I mentioned it might be in January they said that was perfect... So if they do move out, I may have someone ready to move in right away.

I got the marital home listed for sale. If you are interested in seeing the property, or are just curious you can click HERE. My realtor said she may have an interested party already, so I am hoping to hear some good news from her soon.

Regrettably, I am back to work. My boss isn't here today, so it seems pretty quiet in the office. Even though my vacation was unplanned, and except for the money crisis, it was for the most part, very enjoyable. Now that I am back, I wish my vacation was longer!

It snowed again here Thursday evening, and neighbor kids were making a snowman in the shared yard in front of Sweetie's place, but they didn't get to finish it... So there were a couple of large "snow balls" in the yard for the weekend.

My family is planning a Holiday gathering and gift exchange, so I have to create a wish list. I am having a tough time coming up with a list of things I would like to have. Actually my real "wish list" is quite lengthy, but most of the items don't fit within the monetary limit set for the gift exchange! If you had to create a list of things you wanted under $50... What would you ask for?

Later Lou

Happy Thanksgiving

Give thanks for all things, and all times (good and bad), because they give us reasons to rely on each other and our Creator, and God gives us the strength to accept the help and in turn help those we love. I am thankful to have a wonderful family, a Sweetie and a God that love me and help me make it through each and every day. I am also thankful for my readers and the blogging buddies that I have just started to get to know. When you drop by, drop a line and say hi. I hope everyone has a great and memorable holiday. Later Lou P.S. I hope you have lots of turkey, before they get us!

Interesting day... or two.

When I went to bed Sunday night, I was expecting Monday to be a great day. I am not one of those people that wake up every day jump out of bed, excited to be awake... I have to pry my butt out of bed in the morning after hitting the snooze bar about a zillion times... But Monday, I got out of bed happy... I finally had something to be excited about: The son of my tenant had given me a check on Sunday to pay for his mother's back rent ($1,200). I couldn't wait to deposit it in my bank account and finally have enough money to pay some of my slightly overdue bills, and still have a few bucks to spend... So I didn't waste any time, I logged online and scheduled my bills to be paid. Unfortunately, the day didn't turn out to be a great day, as a matter of fact, it turned out to be be one of my bad days... Which recently has all I have been having. Enough of my whining... on to the story. I skipped out of work for a few minutes so I could deposit the check early. At the bank while I was waiting in line to deposit the check, I looked over and read the little sign explaining when deposited funds will be available, and my mood and smile broadened when I read that checks drawn this bank are available the same day. Woo Hoo, no fees because the check didn't clear fast enough!!! I walked up to the teller with the check, deposit slip and my toothy smile on my face. The smile faded within seconds as the teller returns the check to me and flatly says "We can't take this check." "WHAT?!!?" My jaw dropped, and I couldn't help but keep the attitude out of my voice. I thought they were pulling a joke on me at first, since all of the tellers know me well. She wasn't smiling and she explained that she wasn't "pulling my leg". There were no funds in the son's account and the check would "bounce" and cost me money if I were to deposit it. My good mood went from extreme glee to extreme gloom. I yanked out my cell phone and immediately dialed the tenant's son, and was rewarded with a message from Verizon saying the person I was attempting to call was unavailable... All I could think was "that jerk had given me a bad check and skipped town!!!" The mood shifted from gloom to doom! I wanted to strangle him right then and there! All I could think of was all of the scheduled electronic payments I had setup based on this check being deposited today, and all of the bank fees I was going to be charged without the funds in the account. It was going to cost me a small fortune! The tellers were felling bad, and the branch manager did a little research and without giving out too much private information said that I would "be trying to be get water from a stone," based on what she was seeing in his account history. I stormed out of the bank and immediately started calling everyone I could think of. I called his mother (my tenant), his sister, his employer, and his previous employer. Everyone I could think to call. Of the few people I was able to talk with told me that he has a history of being a little less than trustworthy. The mother only knew "he said he would take care of everything". His sister never called me back. His employer said he hadn't seen him in a month and a half, and that he had been "fired from his previous job too". His previous employer said he was trying to contact him also, because he had some equipment from the company that was never returned. The worst part was that no one seemed to know how to get a hold of him. I left work, and drove around my home town looking for him. I drove past his house, knocked on his door. I knocked on his mother's door. No one was home. I gave up driving around after an hour and went back to the phones. "Sweetie" recommended I call his mother (my tenant) at her work, and that idea worked (Thanks Sweetie!). She said she had heard my message I left on her voice mail, and that his cell phone's prepaid minutes had run out, and she had no way to get a hold of him. She said he would probably be around after she got home from work at 3:30 and would talk to him then. Some how word must of have finally reached him, and he called shortly after I talked with his mother. He apologized profusely (too much actually), saying he had mistakenly used the wrong checking account. He promised to be at my place within the hour to make it all better. After all of the things I had heard from his previous employers I didn't really hold my breath. After waiting about 5 hours, about 4:30 in the afternoon and multiple calls from him postponing and postponing, I had pretty much given up. At about 6PM he called to tell me his girlfriend was just in a car accident, and that he has to go to the hospital to be with her. He told me that she wasn't really hurt, but just getting checked out to be sure. He "promised" would be stopping at my house after she was released. He knocked on my door at midnight. Yeah you read that correctly 12:00AM. As soon as his foot crossed the threshold he once again started with the excessive apologies and a half hearted explanation. He handed me $800 in cash, $400 less than he owes me and made some meaningless promise about how by 10:30 the next day he would give me the remaining $400, plus an additional $600 for the rent due in December. If you are a betting person, you probably bet that 10:30 the next morning came and went without a phone call or a knock, and you would be right. However, his mother did stop over around 11:00 with $200 in cash, still $200 short. She said he would be over later in the afternoon with the rest. I did not get the remaining money until today (Wednesday) at 11AM. He gave me an extra $50 towards next month's rent, and of course made another promise about how he would have the rest of December's rent by Friday. I believe I will be lucky to see that amount before December's rent is due on the 3rd. Tuesday morning I made an appointment with my attorney and got the scoop on what I could do to evict my tenant and what my legal options were to press charges for the bad check. None of the options were a quick solution to my problem, but I am armed with a good deal of information to help minimize this from happening again in the future. After it was all said and done, the tenant is now current, they are planning to stay through December, but said the plan to move out at the first of the year. Personally I was happy with them moving out this month, but with the signed lease I am pretty much obligated to let them stay there as long as they pay the rent. I was really, really hoping I could put the eviction notice on the door, but now I get to save that privilege for Christmas eve! :-) Yeah, that's how nasty I feel right now! Later Lou

It's snowing!!!

Ok, that "!!!" in the title isn't a exhaltation, it's a exclaimation!

This is what I saw when I went outside this morning:

BTW: When I was snapping this picture, Scrappers, my second cat, decided to investigate the going's on outside, and was fascinated with the falling white flakes.

I mean, I thought we were experiencing global warming, and the ice caps were melting... why in heck is it snowing in Western PA in mid November!?! Ok enough of my complaining, for now. Later Lou

Vacation Day...

Another Scout leader training session was completed on Sunday, and we trained 8 more people. This brings the total to 26 newly trained cub scout leaders. The final two sessions are planned this week on Tuesday and Wednesday evening.

Sweetie and I took a "vacation" day on Friday. Actually I took a vacation day, and she called off. The fact that I wasn't at work probably explains why I didn't create a new 'rambling along' post. It seems as if the only times I can find an opportunity to create a post is when I am at work. I wonder if that means; I am not doing enough work? or I don't care as much about work to actually do it? or If there just isn't any work to do? Hmmmm... that's a good set of questions.

We took the day off with a plan in mind: To clean the second apartment in my duplex. It was expected that the tenant was going to be moved out on Thursday. I say "was expected" because Thursday night they had not yet moved out. I came home Thursday night after our team got creamed in bowling, to find a note on my door that said:

Lou, I won't be out till next wend. "My son" gets a big check from work next week you'll get a lot of it. "Your Tenant" The names were changed to protect the innocent. (me)

The note means I have to wait another week to get into the apartment and clean it, and get it listed to re-rent. Hopefully, it also means that I could see some money this week, and that would be a nice change of pace.

You know I just realized that my tenant could be reading this blog... It's not like I am hiding myself very well. I mean, my profile does list my real name and the real town I live in (or at least it appears that way right?)... Oh well...

Anyway, Sweetie and I ended up cleaning MY apartment instead, and after two hours she stated we "still weren't done..." (sigh)... Apparently I am not a very clean bachelor. I guess I could use a good life partner, a good child or two, or a good maid to help me keep it clean.

This past Saturday afternoon, we also went and visited the old marital home, and checked on the roof construction happening there. I don't recall if I mentioned it or not, but I did manage to scrounge up enough money credit to replace leaky roof, and I hired a Realtor recommended contractor to do the work. The contractor told me the work would be done in one week, and that he would start on Saturday (11/3/2007). When we stopped in this Saturday exactly one week after construction was started, it didn't appear like the job was done. As a matter of fact it didn't look like it would be done by Sunday. True to our expectations, when we drove by late last night (Sunday) and it still appeared as if there was work to do, and there was a lot of clean up yet to do. So it's taken so far, 1 week and 2 days. I wonder if I will get a credit since the job wasn't completed within the contracted time? Or do you think I will get charged more because the job took longer than expected? In either case, I am sure the project time will be blamed on the weather - It did rain, and there were a few snow flakes this past week.

The weekend was otherwise a great one, because I got to spend it with Sweetie, even though we ended up doing a lot of chores together all weekend.

Later Lou

Training

Our first two training sessions are done. We have trained 18 new leaders so far, and still have 3 more training sessions to go.

The first night was a little rough, and I was pretty nervious since I hadn't done training for awhile, and I kept thinking I would mess up... Guess what I didn't do? If you think I didn't make a mistake, you would be mistaken... What I actually didn't do was... Yep, you guessed it... I didn't do it perfectly... Surprise! no actually not really... But I did re-learn that you don't have to be perfect to teach, but you do have to recognize your mistakes and correct them.

Tonight was much better. I was much more comfortable, and not nervious at all. And guess what? I made more mistakes than last night, but I had more fun, and corrected them better.

Yesterday most of my mistakes were not so much informational mistakes, but a lack of cofidence, stuttering, and not following my notes. Today my notes were used, my confidence was stronger, no stuttering, but my information needed a little tweeking... Fortunately, I had my mentor there to keep me in line! ;-) Maybe this Sunday's session will be somewhere in between!

The next training sessions are on this Sunday, Tuesday, and the last one a week from today. Then I go back to Scouting retirement, and back to the non-uniformed civilian.

Later Lou

P.S... I saw snow flakes yesterday!!!

Back to Scouts...

For many years I was a major Cub Scout Leader for our local Cub Scout Pack 481 in my home town. I started as a leader for the oldest boys, 4th and 5th graders, called the Webelos (WE'll BE LOyal Scouts). Shortly after I took that position the CubMaster and Committee Chairperson moved into Boy Scouts, and that left a few openings.

I was the enthusiastic new leader, and I was excited to be involved. So I moved into the CubMaster role, I helped to find a Committee Chairperson and helped with the planning and organization of the pack. The other parents weren't as enthusiastic as I was, and since I wanted to help the Pack grow bigger and more fun than it was, I started doing more and more. Eventually I was doing practically everything; planning our pack's functions, running the functions, attending training, attending district meetings, taking the boys on outings, and etc. I even got myself involved with running the district's summer day camp.

Well, as you can imagine, my enthusiasm waned, because I didn't get the help I needed. No one else wanted to help, probably because they thought I could do it all. I struggled for the last couple of years trying to keep things going, but I could see that it was falling apart. The parents seemed to only want a place where they could drop of their kids for an hour or two each week, and leave and do their own chores or go home and watch TV uninterrupted. I think they thought B.S.A. stood for Baby Sitters of America istead of Boy Scouts of America.

So couple of years ago my Cub Scout pack shut down. The Boy Scout troop continued for boys from 11 through 18, and so I became "just" a parent of a boy scout and attended the occassional Parent's (Committee) meeting. I stopped doing all of the training, the district events, the day camps, and everything else. Even though I gotten myself too involved, and I burnt out quickly, I find myself, even today, missing it. It was very rewarding teaching and working with the kids.

Recently a good friend of mine in Scouting asked me if I would help give some training sessions to new Cub Scout leaders. Training other leaders was something that I truly enjoyed doing when I was involved in Scouting in the past. I really do enjoy teaching, and I sometimes think I took a wrong turn on the career path... I would have also liked to be a writer, journalist, or even a photographer as well... but I digress...

Tonight is the first of 5 training classes we are offering over the next 2 weeks. We are teaching Tiger Cub Den Leaders tonight, which are volunteers (parents) who will work with the youngest kids in the pack, the 1st graders. Tomorrow night we teach the Wolf and Bear Den Leaders, which are the volunteers who work with the 2nd and 3rd graders.

I am looking foward to getting slightly involved in Scouting again, and hopefully the distraction will not only keep my mind off of my current financial situation, but to give me some sense of positive action in my life, since everthing else seems to be going negatively.

Later Lou

Back to work...

The weekend is over. My nephew came over Friday night, and stayed until late Saturday night. I took him to his Flag Football game, and his Indoor Soccer game. He had a great time at both, but unfortunately neither of his teams got a win. He had the most fun with his new PlayStation 2 game: "LEGO: Star Wars" that his Dad picked up for him earlier in the day before he came to my place. It is a two player game, and he convinced me, and "Two" to play the game with him most of weekend, that is when he wasn't doing Football or Soccer.

Saturday was full of driving. I got up early to take "Two" to work, then took my nephew to his games, with a stop back at home in between to change, and then picked up "Two" from work late afternoon. After "Two" got home, we had decided to go to see the 'Bee Movie'. After about two minutes of the movie, I wanted to put in ear plugs. Jerry Seinfield's whiny voice was in every scene. I liked the TV show "Seinfeld", but this movie wasn't "Seinfeld." To be honest, the movie is very cute, but it's very, very, very much designed to appeal to a very, very young audience. I had a hard time tolerating the movie. The youngest two of the group, "Four" and my nephew loved it. Everyone else thought it was lame, and stupid. This was definitely not a movie I will be adding to the DVD library. Sunday was not as full, it was kind of a "lazy day". I did have to get up and take "Two" to work early, and pick him up late afternoon, but other than that, the day was pretty quiet. "Three" and "Four" went back to "Ex's" place when I picked up "Two" from work. So most of the evening was just him and I. As I left to go pickup "Two" from work, and I was going to the car, my tennant was going into her apartment. I stopped her and said "Hi", and asked how she was doing. She said she was ok, but that she needed to talk with me. I hoped it was in regards to her paying her rent from October, and now November. I was right, but not in the way I had hoped. She told me that they were moving out, and they would be out by this Thursday. As a matter of fact, her daughter had already found another apartment and had left, and she would be gone already if she could be. She felt unsafe in the apartment because apparently someone left her door unlocked and someonelse came into the house and took some pills and some money, and they did it all within 5 minutes. Now, I have lived in my duplex for over 3½ years now, and I have never had a single problem. I am not dismissing her, or suggesting that she didn't lose the money and pills... I am only wondering two things: 1) How did they know they could get into the house and out within 5 minutes, that there was money and pills, and exactly where they were (house wasn't trashed) 2) Why didn't the thief take anything else worth more money? I told her that I was sorry to hear about her problems, and I expressed my displeasure at not being informed, as I could have done something to help her be more secure by installing a security system or something. The real kicker to the whole conversation wasn't that she was moving out, as that will probably be a good thing... The kicker was that she said she will have to pay her back rent in "payments". My mortgages and utilities don't accept payments... oh wait... they already ARE payments! :-) I am betting that since she plans on being out by this Thursday, Nov 8th, that she will feel she doesn't owe November's rent... (sigh) I am really beginning to not like being a landlord. So to solve the immediate needs I have to advertise the apartment again, and as soon as she moves out completly, I need to clean it and get it rented out again! Hopefully it doesn't need any major repairs, because I haven't the foggiest idea where I would get the cash for that! Tonight I am going over to "Sweetie's" for dinner, and we are going to discuss a "plan of attack" for the duplex. She is already talking about skipping work on Friday and going to clean out the apartment. Got to love the practical side in her, but if I am skipping work with her, I would rather not be "working". Later Lou

Bowling update / Weekend plans

Retalix Strikers, my bowling team, didn't bowl so well this week, or last. "Sweetie" stopped in to the bowling alley tonight with her son, "Other Two" and watched our team lose two of our three games. Last week, we only won one of three games as well, so the team has moved from first place last week, to probably 4th or 5th after tonight. Our team captain is out for a few weeks with a sore elbow on his bowling arm, so we are a player short... However, that doesn't account for our recent losses, that is due to our less than stellar athletic performance. The good news is that it is still early in the season and if we can just bowl our average or better, we can easily regain our position in first place.

This weekend my brother's wife is going out of town, and because he has to work, and his oldest son wants to play in his football and soccer games on Saturday, they are staying at home. My brother will be working at Heinz Field during the Pitt and Steelers games on Saturday and Sunday, so I get to spend time with my nephew again.

My nephew is coming over Friday night after I get done with work and is going to spend the night with me, and my kids;"Two" and "Four." I think my daughter, "Three", will be coming down as well, so I will have a full house. We may go catch up on the current movie releases at the theater, rent a movie or two, or just sit in front of the wide screen TV and play video games on the PlayStation. Saturday we get to take him to his flag football and indoor soccer games. He really enjoys soccer, but football doesn't yet seem to get his enthusiasm going.

I am really looking forward to a non-work, fun filled weekend with the nephew and the kids.

Later Lou

Lost Patience... twice...

Well finally happened.... My patience got lost, and got lost good. Fortunately I found it, but then I lost it again. WARNING: If you like a quick read, you might want to skip today's post.

Yesterday was going to be a great day, because it was a vacation day, and only things I chose to do would be done, and done at my own pace. I took a vacation day because the marital home needed the heat turned on so the pipes wouldn't freeze this winter, and also so the house would be more appealing to the future owner. Running water, working electricity and heat are good selling points, I think. Columbia Gas scheduled an an appointment with me at their earliest, which was Wednesday morning. They said a technician could be there sometime between 8AM and 12PM, and since they had no weekend or evening appointments available, I accepted the appointment and submitted a vacation request.

Being that work is so important and I didn't think I should miss any of it at all (smirk), so I briefly considered taking only a ½ day off, and saving the rest for the holidays. But I reconsidered and submitted a vacation request for the entire day. Besides, it was Halloween and I wanted to enjoy the holiday, by cleaning up the marital home yard, getting the gas turned on, checking to make sure the furnace was working, and still have a little spare time to relax and get ready to take the kids out for "Trick or Treat."

Halloween morning started with me awaking in a panic. It was 8:15AM, and I was late for work. Slowly when the Halloween cobwebs cleared, the panic subsided as I remembered that it was a vacation day, and that I only needed to get up and get ready to go to the marital home to get the gas turned on, and to clean up the yard. Before I packed the car with the yard care equipment, I cut the grass at my Duplex, and picked up the street garbage from the sidewalk and the side of the building. I then packed and arrived at the marital home around 10AM.

Since the lawn mower is incapacitated, I had to use the weed-whacker... (remember I bent the blade back in September). It was slow going, and I hadn't gotten very far when the phone rang. While it was ringing, pleasant thoughts were going through my mind, about how smooth the day was going; I was not at work, grass was getting cut, the gas company is calling right on time to tell me they are on their way. Surprise! The call was from Sweetie, and my day was made perfect. It just couldn't get better.

At this point, it should be mentioned, (and it is pretty close to a scientific fact) that I have really bad luck.

Sweetie called not to be sweet, but because she was upset because her son "Other Two" was sitting in the principle's office at school, and she was stuck at work. I offered to go, but she said that her Ex (his Dad) was going, so I didn't need to, just that she was upset and worried because she didn't know what had happened. To help her calm down and get some answers, I suggested that since she couldn't be there, she should call and talk with the principle. She liked my idea and she called the school, and then quickly called me back and and gave me the scoop, with even more concern than before the call. She told me that he was being suspended, but didn't give me any details, because she didn't know all of the facts yet. He was OK, just sitting in the school's office waiting on his Dad to pick him up. She went back to work, and tried really hard to not worry too much about "Other Two", and I went back to work on the yard.

BTW: Patience was still there at this point, but with that bit of bad news, I felt my luck was starting to run out, which doesn't bode well for patience.

As it started to near lunch time, about 11:30AM, I called Columbia Gas and asked where the technician was, since he was supposed to be at the duplex in the morning, and morning was just about over. The gas company representative politely put me on hold, apparently did a little research and told me that the tech was in the area, and I would be his next stop, but it would be just a little after 12. After a brief complaint that my morning was wasted waiting, I asked if they would make it up to me by giving me a credit on the account. The response was "Sorry. I can't do that." The phone call was ended with a snide comment on my lips about how "convenient" it was for them to not be able to help or make me feel better... Patience almost got lost, but it held on.

An hour later, 12:30PM, still no technician. A second call to Columbia Gas and a different representative, that told me some interesting facts I hadn't heard before. The appointment was listed in their system as an "all day" appointment and that the tech would be there sometime before 4:30PM, instead of before 12PM. My explanation to the rep that I had a morning appointment, and that I had recently spoken to another representative that fell on seemingly deaf ears. The representative told me sorry, there wasn't anything they could do to help, I would just have to be patient, and the tech would be there sometime today.

That's when the patience got lost.

A tone started to develop in my voice, which was hard to contain, and I expressed that waiting was unacceptable as I had already waited a long time. I tried to calm down and ask the representative if they could find out how soon the tech might arrive. They said they had no way of knowing. My teeth started to grind together, and between the clenched jaws, I attempted to ask politely for the rep to check with the dispatch department, or a supervisor, or a manager. "Sorry, I can't do that" was the immediate response. At this point the jaw came unclenched, the lungs filled with air, and my voice got very noticeably louder, and reminded the rep that "I am the customer" and I demanded I be helped and helped now. "Sorry, there is nothing we can do for you". My voice rose a few more decibels and demands to talk with someone else, another representative, a supervisor, a manager, or any other living person working for their company. "Sorry sir, I can't transfer you, no one else will be able to help you". My face when deep red and the patience didn't just get lost, it fled! In my loudest, angriest, nastiest voice, which is usually keep reserved exclusively for "Ex", I said, "Give me a supervisor NOW!" And after repeating those words multiple times, I finally got transferred to a supervisor.

The supervisor came on the phone all polite and kind, and immediately called the dispatch department and found out that the tech was detained on an emergency call, and that they apologized for my inconvenience. With just a little consideration my face returned to normal colors, my noise level generated by my own voice lowered so I could hear the music on the radio, and patience returned. I quickly explained to the supervisor that I had scheduled a morning appointment but that it was put into their system as an "all day" appointment, and that I was pretty upset at the amount of time I have been waiting, and how upset the representative I was just speaking with had made me. To appease me even more, the supervisor gave me a $40 credit on the account, and almost all feelings of displeasure left me.

Hopefully that phone call was recorded or monitored for quality assurance, and the representative is told to find another job where their talents could be used... maybe they should work for Comcast.

Patience was recovered, and all was right with the world again.

After I got my $40 credit for the wasted morning, I went to lunch, and read the newspaper. The technician finally did arrive at 4PM, after a third call to Columbia Gas in which I was politely told that he was still on his emergency call, but would be there shortly. When the tech arrived, I found he was a very personable guy and we started talking about the day. He said his day a pretty bad one. He was at a house that had a pretty bad leak right outside and he was trying to fix it before there were any major problems, like explosions.

He took a few minutes and adjusted the gas meter, and quickly got the gas turned on, checked for leaks, and even went above and beyond and helped me insure that the furnace would light.

While we talked he told me that his son was looking for a cheap place in the area to fix up and move into, and I said I was selling this place, and maybe his son would be interested. He asked the price, and I told him and he said he thought his son would be very interested. I showed him around the place, and he was the first person I showed the house to that saw potential instead of problems. I gave him my business card. Now the question is, was he blowing gas up my tail pipe, or was he serious? If he was serious, I could finally get the Albatross off from around my neck, without the need to hire the Realtor, and all of the other repairs.

Later that night, I took the kids trick or treating and afterwards I went over to visit "Sweetie" and "Other Two," since "Other Two" was not allowed to trick or treat because of his school suspension. From talking with "Sweetie" earlier I knew she was short on dinner and that "Other Two" was still a little hungry, so I offered to pick up a hamburger on my way. I brought a couple of hamburgers, and some ice cream to smooth Sweetie's nerves. I also brought some for myself and "Other Two" since he didn't get to go trick or treating. We ate and watched a little TV and when it was time for "Other Two" to go to bed, things got a little out of control. I don't think it's fair to give the details, but needless to say, my patience got lost again. My face didn't get red, nor did the voice get loud, but I stormed out of Sweetie's house angry and upset.

I wrote her an angry Email that was quite a bit longer than this post... yeah, I tend to be a little verbose... Maybe I should change my Blog title to "Rambling Verbosely Along..." (Is that a word? "Verbosely"?) After I wrote the Email, I re-read, edited it, and re-read it, considered not sending it, and then promptly hit the send button.

I don't know if she read it or not, but she called me this morning, and we apologized to each other, and all is right with the world again. The only problem now is that I am back at work, and I didn't get to have any fun on my day off, except for a very short time during trick or treat.

I am bowling tonight, and for some reason when I try to hit ten 3lb wood sticks painted white, with my 16lb ball and get them to all fall down, my patience tries to escape again. Hopefully I can keep a hold of it tonight.

Later Lou

Whammie...

Well the loan company never called me back, so a little while ago, I called them. I asked them "Big Bucks or Whammie?", and they said.. "What?"

After a brief explanation of the old game show "Press Your Luck" (not really, but it makes a better story), I was told that the representative I spoke with yesterday had just stepped out to go to lunch, but if I gave them my SSN they would look up the loan for me. After a brief pause, I got the response, "Yeah, this just came in...!! Oh Sorry, you didn't qualify for the loan." Yeah, right, they had it probably most of the morning, just didn't want to call me and give me the bad news. (sigh)

I asked if I could qualify for a lesser amount, but was quickly told "No," because my credit score was below the minimum value for giving out a loan. I tried to once again express to the representative that most of the bad stuff on my credit was due to "Ex", whom I haven't been married to for seven years, didn't refinance debt "awarded" to her in the divorce settlement. I said that they should look only at the items that were new since our separation, and not the things that I was listed as a co-borrower on before my separation, and they would see that I have paid all of my stuff on time. I tried to argue that the bad credit score wasn't all my fault, and there should be someone alive to review my history other than a computer rating system, but I was told "Sorry, there is nothing we can do."

So basically the 30 minutes I spent on the phone giving my entire financial history was completely in vain, as all they did was pull my credit score, say "No", and move on. (sigh)

So, I guess I am going to either need a lot of baked sale items, or one really, really unique item I can sell on eBay? Any one have a rare old comic book, postage stamp, coin, or other collectible that I could buy cheap? I promise to not return it. :-)

Later Lou

Press my luck...

I spent most of yesterday talking to everyone I knew well enough to ask, how to go about getting "Big Bucks and No Whammies." The results were not great, but they have a little potential:

• Find a loan company that will grant me a loan. A co-worker suggested a company that I called last night. I spent about 30 minutes on the phone giving them my entire life's financial history. The representative told me I would get a call this morning, and I have been waiting all morning for that call... It hasn't happened yet, which leads me to believe from past experience that no news is definitely not good news.
• Ask the head guy at our office, who has a little money, to give me a personal loan. The issue with this is he is my boss's boss. I am saving this suggestion for next to last resort.
• Ask "Sweetie" to get a loan in her name and I make the payments to her in advance. This option sounds good, except that "Sweetie" doesn't want to have anything to do with this house because it involved "Ex", and because she feels that my luck is really bad, and that things aren't going to go as planned, and she will end up having to make the payments. This option is last resort.
• Ask my one of my uncles whom I have hardly spoken to for years, to loan me the money. I wasn't a good kid growing up, so there is a little bit of bad blood there. And to top off the situation, my brother had a similar situation a few years ago, and when he asked to borrow a few bucks, they told him they wouldn't help him. And he was the good kid growing up, so this one is beyond the last resort.
• Hope that money falls out of the sky, or that some lucky lottery winner decides to read my blog and show me pity and send me a small portion of his/her winnings. Yeah, I am dreaming, but I figure it's better than having a crime against my imagination - Right Limpy?
• I could petition the government for a grant... or I could sell them a few of my hammers... I understand they were buying a few for a couple grand each a few years ago. Nah, they would probably arrest me, or worse yet, make me work for them.

OK, so I am rambling... but it's what I do.... I am trying really, really hard to be patient for the phone call from the loan company. But it's only 15 minutes until the morning is over, and they did say they would let me know in the morning... Unless their office is in California, or Hawaii, then maybe I have a little more time...

Later Lou

Good News...??

This weekend I talked with a Realtor and I met with a contractor about the marital home.

Real quick update for new readers:

I separated from "Ex" in January 2000, and divorced in Dec 2001. She got to keep practically everything including the marital home. She lived there with her new husband and my kids until Sept 2006, after she bought herself a new $170,000 home on the outskirts of the school district - good for her. She put the marital home up for sale.

I lived in rental apartments for 7 years until I was able to buy the duplex building I have been living in for the past 3 years. I closed on the duplex in May 2007, and in July I rented out the second apartment.

In June 2007 the "Ex" had not yet sold the marital home, and decided that she no longer wanted to pay the two mortgages on the old marital home, and since I had all this money to buy my property that she would stop making payments on the mortgages. In the seven years of our separation she never refinanced the mortgages, so they were still in my name, and when she stopped paying on them, my credit rating took a nose dive. To stop the credit score "bleeding" I had her sign the property's title back over to me, and I paid the back mortgage payments, and have continued paying the mortgages and utilities since then.

Now back to the present:

My tenant has not been a reliable, on-time rent payer, so I don't have the rent money to offset the new expenses and I have had to use my credit cards more than I would like in order to survive. I have stopped the downward spiral of the credit rating, but in it's place I now have a downward spiral of available money.

So, I have decided to try to get rid of the marital home. This past week I contacted a Realtor who is supposed to be really good at moving properties, even in my real estate depressed area. The Realtor reviewed the property and told me that it could definitaly sell, but that I had to do some repairs to the place to make it appealling to potential buyers. Before this, I had already had a few people look at the place and give me estimates. Just to be sure they were good estimates, I had a new contractor come out this weekend and give me another quote.

The property needs about $10,000 worth of work to make it "sell-worthy". The Realtor said that with those repairs it could be listed for an amount that if it sold at that amount I would would be able to recoup the repair money, and still make a profit. The really good news is that I could accept an offer much lower than the listing price, and still break even or make a few bucks. The Realtor is pretty confident that the property could move pretty easily with the right advertising at the right places. So if the Realtor is right, I could be rid of the drain on my income and get a little extra money to pay off all my credit card debt, and finally get my head above the debt level.

There is only one road block to this whole scenario... coming up with the $10,000 to do the repairs. I only have roughly $6,500 in available credit, and my savings have been pillaged to purchase my duplex back in May. I am roughly about $4,500 short, and I don't know how to get the remaining amount.

I have already tried my local bank, my immediate family and other mortgage/loan places. No one is willing to loan an amount that small to someone who has the credit rating I have. As a matter of fact, one of my credit card companies recently reduced my "available credit" from $2,000 to $0 because of the dip in my credit rating... Yeah, thanks "Ex" for bailing on the mortgages in May, you were very thoughtful! (yeah, right!)

Anyway, I may have to take Tysgirl up on her offer to start a phone sex company... Or maybe I could have a bake sale?

Later Lou

No Money...

I currently have $0.85 in my checking account... Woo Hoo!! I am wealthy!

I am not really bad at managing my money, it's just that I don't have very much of it to manage... I make a good income, however I don't get to keep any of it. I pay taxes, child support, health insurance, and loans all of which are taken out of my paycheck before I even get it. So, that leaves me to "take home" less than 40% of what I earn. With the remaining amount I pay my car payment, car insurance, 3 mortgages, 3 sets of utility bills, credit card balances and if I am really lucky, I get a couple of bucks for groceries, and gas for the car... phew...

I need a new source of income... Anyone want to hire a used software engineer? Not that I am limiting my abilities to software engineering, because I can learn a new skill.... possibly.

OK I am done whining. There are a lot people with a lot worse problems and situations than me. So, I am going to go back to work, and wait patiently for my 40% at the end of the month.

Later Lou

Nephews...

My brother has three wonderful boys. His youngest was born this past March and is still a baby. My youngest is 12 years old and in middle school, so yeah, I am the older brother.

At his oldest son's birthday last party I had gotten him a duplicate gift, a DVD that someone else had already given him. So I offered to exchange it for any other movie he wanted. He asked me to exchange it for "Meet the Robinsons", which unfortunately didn't come out until this past Tuesday. His birthday was in August, so I had to hang onto the DVD for quite some time to exchange it.

I went last night directly after work to Best Buy, where I purchased the DVD to exchange it. Best Buy is one of my favorite stores. I love to just wonder around the store gawking at all of the "toys" (i.e. TVs, Computers, Stereos, Cameras, etc...) and "games" (DVDs, Software, Cd's, accessories, etc...). Coworkers and I have taken lunch hours just to go to the store and check out the large, wide screen, HD TVs.

As I entered the store I was thinking what a great Uncle I am taking care of this without anyone reminding me, because usually I forget or postpone these kind of things and I have to be reminded a bunch of times, which is a normal guy thing I think (I am pointing out my guy-ness because it was called into question lately).

I walk up to the return counter, and I am as expected immediately waited on and asked how by the man in the blue shirt can he could help me. I said, I wanted to exchange this unopened DVD for another one. He said "Sure, no problem. Can I have your receipt, please." I paused, and said I didn't have a receipt, but that I only wanted to exchange this unopened DVD, and I didn't want any money back. He told me that they could not return or exchange the DVD without the receipt, something about how their computer system wouldn't allow it. He said because he didn't know how much I paid, he couldn't give me a credit. I suggested he give me a credit for the lowest price of the DVD, and he said, "Sorry, but without a receipt I can not process your return."

I stormed out towards the front door, only to be stopped by their "doorman" and told that he was sorry I wasn't happy, but that was store policy. I told him the policy was stupid and continued my rampage out the door.

Right now Best Buy is not my favorite store.

On a lighter note, I got to take my brother's middle son to his soccer game/practice on Saturday. He is only 4, and hasn't gotten the gist of the game yet, but he seemed to enjoy running after the ball and try to kick it in the correct direction. When we arrived at the practice field there were about 2 dozen or so teams of kids playing. It was the first time I had taken my nephew to soccer practice, and I hadn't met his coach or any of the other parents before. So I figured I would just find other kids with the same color shirt. So I looked out onto the field, and they ALL had on the same color shirt, with the same symbol on the front... no help!

We walked around the area about 10 minutes until eventually my nephew started walking onto the field. I was surprised, because he seemed hesitant to walk onto the field everywhere else we had been. I asked him if this was his team, and he nodded his head. I looked up to the coach, and asked "Do you know this little guy?" and he responded "Yeah, that's your brother's middle son." (OK, he didn't actually say "your brother's middle son", instead he said his name, but this blog is public, and I haven't asked permission to give out his name, so I took a little literary license)

They practiced a little and then had a three on three game with another team. My nephew didn't score any goals, but he had a great time, and so did I. I should have gotten my kids more involved with sports when they were young... too late now.

Later Lou

Towed

I had a car towed from my property tonight... and it wasn't mine.

(This photo isn't the actual van, but it's the same make, model and color).

When I brought "Two" home from work tonight, we arrived a little before midnight, and parked on my property was the van that had been parking in front of my garage earlier in the month. "Two's" new car is now parked in front of the garage, so I guess the van driver felt they could park in front of my front door, on my property.

It's not as if they parked on the street in front of my house or somewhere near my property... No, they parked right smack dab in the middle of my driveway. The street was empty, the parking spot in front of their building was empty, the parking spot NEXT to my garage on their property was empty... but they still chose to park on my property.

Well I didn't even turn my car off, I dialed the police. Well, actually, I called few minutes after I sent "Two" into the house to retrieve the phone book, so I could lookup the regular number for the police department. I didn't want to call 911, cause I didn't think it was an emergency. I asked the police officer that answered what my options were, and he said I could have it towed, and I should call the local towing company, and they would remove it. He gave me the name of the company, but didn't think they would be able to do it tonight.

I called the towing company, and they agreed to come out, so I stood outside my building for the 20 minutes it took them to arrive. I waited outside with my car's four-way blinkers on hoping that the owner of the van would notice me and come out to investigate. However, when the tow truck driver arrived no owner had showed. The tow truck driver asked that I have the police here in case there was any problems, so after a quick call and a few minutes two cruisers pulled up.

I explained the situation to one of the officers, and he officer took down the information, had me sign a document stating that it was my indeed property and the vehicle didn't belong to me, and then he gave permission to the tow truck driver to take the van.

The Ford Windstar Van has front wheel drive, and because it was parked with the front end facing the building, the tow truck driver couldn't just tow it. He had to first pull it out of the driveway, and turn it so he could get to the front wheels. He kinda surprised me at how he managed to get the car out of the spot. He just hooked up a cable, to the back of the van and yanked the van out. Then he connected the cable to the front wheel of the van yanked it sideways to turn it.

I started to feel a little bad, but at the same time there was a intense feeling of "satisfaction" as I saw the minor damage that was being done to the van in order to get it off my property. I mean I didn't do the damage, and yet it seemed somehow a fitting punishment.

The van is gone now, the police have left, and now I am sitting here at 1:30AM unable to sleep for fear that the driver of the van is going to get hostile. I don't know the person. Heck, I never actually met the owner, only a person who said they "knew who the van belonged to." They might be a nice person that just made an honest mistake...

Nah, they were blatantly wrong, and I think I was absolutely right to remove the van from my property. Right?

I wonder where they took the van? Hmmmm....

Later Lou

Sweetie Weekeind

If you haven't read my post "Bringing you up to speed" or my Blogger profile, then what are you waiting for... Do it now! Because I can't continue this story unless you are up to speed...

OK. I am going to assume you are like me and are a little lazy and sometimes "skim" rather than read (no I don't do that to everything I read, just boring work stuff mostly), so I will give you the highlights that are pertinent to this story:

• I am a single father of 4 kids, and the oldest is out on her own. The other three switch between their mother's house and mine. My son spends more time at my place than the girls throughout the week, but every other weekend, I get the kids from Friday through Sunday.
• Sweetie is a single mother of two, with her oldest out on her own as well. Her son alternates weekends between her house and his father's place usually on the same schedule as my kids, so on alternate weekends, we have "non kid" time to spend together.
• Back in September, Sweetie told me she was going to "move on", and it prompted a few days of me sulking at home taking a "mental health day" or two.

If you have been reading since then, you may have noticed that I still talk about Sweetie and it seems as if we are still together... Well, we kinda still are. I didn't want to post about this for fear it would "jinx" it and she would keep on "moving on". Anyway, after she said she was moving on, I stopped calling as frequently, but we still spoke occasionally. She invited me up to a dinner with her family a few weeks later, and we talked some more. I was still kinda hanging back giving her some space until 2 weekends ago. We had a non-kid weekend, and she didn't have any plans, so we kinda just 'hung out' together. We had a great time together, and it seemed to re-energize her. Since then we have been talking at our normal pace, and spending more time together. She has seemed more at peace with herself, and more happy lately, and she was using a lot of "we" words when about talking about things, which I take as good signs for the future of our relationship. So right now I am hopeful we will be together for quite some time, as long as I don't push or pressure her. She has been through two failed marriages, and as much as I want her to be my wife, I don't want to push her into something she doesn't want. I am just glad we are together, talking and spending time together. Who knows what the future will bring.

Later Lou

Cell Phones

A couple of weeks ago Sweetie told me that our state was banning the use of hand held cell phones while driving, and that this ban would take affect in November. I, of course, being the "know-it-all" that I am told her that "I find that hard to believe." I wanted to say "You're wrong", but in order to save face in case I wasn't right, and to be polite to the woman I love, I edited myself. The following day in our local newspaper ran the article: "Cell phone users warned of bogus e-mails." The article mentions that the state legislature is considering a ban, but that's all so far, just considering. Apparently the proposed ban hasn't even gotten out of committee yet and hasn't been discussed on the house floor, and at the time of the article (10/10/2007) , it hadn't even had it's first hearing in the committee yet. Well I had to do a short "I told you so" comment to Sweetie, and she politely told me (thankfully) that she was surprised, rather than kicking me in the 'nads for doing a verbal "touch down celebration dance". Apparently she had fell victim to an Email scam that was going around telling people that the cell phone ban was taking place on November 11th. The fraudulent Email didn't just snag Sweetie in it's trap, it apparently also caught a lot of other people, who got upset and started to call their state representatives who were completely taken by surprise because most of them didn't even know about the proposed ban yet. There have now been at least 2 newspaper articles in our local paper, a blurb on the hourly radio newscasts, and a short story on the evening TV newscast. In all of these stories they described this massive response to the government representatives. They talk a lot about how people were duped, and how people should check their facts before forwarding on Emails. Not one of theses commentators dared to mention the fact that there were a lot of people who apparently do NOT want a ban. So to me, it sounds as if this proposed ban, should be shot down before it even gets started. Now before I go any further, let me say, that no one is banning cell phone use completely, only that they are wanting to restrict it so that if you want to use the cell phone, you have to use it 'hands free'. Hands free means using an Earphone, speaker phone, or one of those BlueTooth ear buds. This of course means that you have both hands free to drive, or at least one hand free to drive, and the other free to gesture with as you talk. I personally believe that the ban is wrong, but by saying that I don't mean that it's a good thing for people to use hand held cell phones while driving. I have been on many conversations with people who have had "near misses" while talking to me on the phone (yeah, Sweetie, that would be you). Once I was on the phone having an innocuous conversation with my youngest sister when all of a sudden I heard an usual noise and then silence. I later found out she had been in an small accident, and fortunately she wasn't hurt. I don't know if the innocuous conversation contributed to her accident, but I have to believe it didn't help her avoid it. I believe the ban is wrong only because I don't think the government should restricting our freedom to do stupid things. If we start banning stupid things, how long before they ban me for talking? Later Lou

100th post...

Woo Hoo!

Today I am having a celebration of sorts...

I am celebrating a monumental occasion: This post is my 100th entry to this Blog!

Who would have thunk I had that much to write about? Well I don't, actually which is why I just ramble along... and it's taken me almost three years to get here!

Thinking to myself:

Wow. I am good, I just worked the the title of the blog into the post... just like those screen writers work the title of the movie into the script. Maybe I should become a screen writer? Nah, I like my mediocre income and complete lack of fame. Of course if I did write a movie, I would probably be even less wealthy than I am now, and I would be famous only in as much as I was known as the worst movie writer ever... oh wait... I believe that title has already been taken... by _______ (you fill in the blank).

OK back to the post...

I use StatCounter to provide the little "ticker" that shows the number of people who have visited my blog, and another one that counts the visitors to my family's website, that I manage. Even though I have posted 100 times on this blog, I only have a little over 6 times that many visitors, and most of those visitors are me. So if you take away two for each post for my own visits, that leaves on average 4 people visiting per post. Not much of an audience, huh? Oh well, I write for myself anyway. :-) The visitor counter, is not all that StatCounter does for me. It has other less obvious features as well. One of these less obvious features of StatCounter is the additional reports it provides about the Internet visits to the website. Of course some people think this is invasion of privacy, and maybe they are correct, but whether or not it is, I think it's fun information. It's not like the reports provide very much detail anyway, but it does provide a little fun data like:

• The general area the visitor is from (city, state, country). Of course this is only the location of their ISP, not the location of the individual's home or office, but it gives a general idea of where the person is that is reading the page.
• It lists the various pages the person viewed while visiting the site
• And of course it shows the time and day they visited, and if possible how long they may have visited the site.
• The only other information it provides is and what search engine, or link referred them to your site.

This last bit of info is the one that I always find the most interesting.

There are of course the normal expected referring links from my family's website, from one of my kid's blogs, or from my various profiles on sites like Blogger, Yahoo or Flickr. These expected links are the ones I often intentionally plant in hopes of leading people to my ramblings in hopes they would comment, laugh, or otherwise be amused. The unexpected referrers come from the search engines. Now I am not surprised that people can find me through the search engines, but I am surprised at what they are searching on that leads them to me. Now it's extremely possible that they weren't really looking for me, but rather something much more exciting like porn or something... but they stumble across my site and read a little and then skitter away without leaving so much as a whisper that they were here. BTW: There isn't anything on my site that could remotely be considered porn, but then again, what else do people really search for on the Internet now a days? I mean, here it is Thursday, and I am not even doing the HNT ("Half-Nekkid Thursday"). The funny thing is, I actually get thank you notes for not doing HNT. :-) Well let me share with you some interesting search phrases that have brought people here:

1. "hit a rock mower stopped working" (from Missouri)
2. "dream interpretation 1 half slipper" (from Hawaii)
3. "my property is very sloped" (from Florida)
4. My favorite: "old person's rambling" (from Western Australia)

Yes, I have written something about all of those topics, except the "1 half slipper" part, and yes, I am an old person rambling... (well old enough to know I am not quite young any longer...) But what type of person searches for these kind of topics? I don't believe I know or have met any of these people. If you are one of those people that actually searched on those topics I listed, please don't be offended... I am glad you found me, and hopefully you added my blog to your favorites and you visit often... But I have to believe you weren't looking for me when you searched for those things, or were you? If not me, then what were you actually searching for? I think today is a banner day, no matter how people get here... The only thing on my mind now is whether or not I can create 100 more posts before the end of 2008? Later Lou

Traffic violations...

Back at the beginning of September I mentioned I got pulled over on on my way home for speeding, but the trooper ticketed me for an expired inspection instead.

Last week, "Sweetie" did a favor for her cousin and drove her to Pittsburgh to Heinz Field for the Steeler's game. She didn't go to the game because she was expecting guests at her home. On her way back from Pittsburgh she got pulled over for speeding (4o in a 25 mph zone) through a small town a few miles from her home.

The police officer was not the most "pleasant" person she had met. Her apprehension at being stopped and his immediate gruff demeanor, got her so nervious she couldn't extract her driver's license from her wallet. The "understanding" officer told her he couldn't touch her wallet and she had to take it out for him. She started to panic and couldn't get it out.

While she was struggling, the officer decided to push her nerves to the edge. He started asking her questions like: "Where did you come from?" and "Where were you going?" Even though Sweetie was struggling to keep herself together she still had enough wits to ask why those particular questions were relavant to him pulling her over. He promptly informed her that as a police officer he could ask her anything he wanted. His questioning made her feel like she was living in a 3rd world country, or that she was a criminal. I thought in this country we have the freedom to not answer?

Well I decided to do a little research and found an interesting article about why a police officer may ask questions, and what to do. Click here to check it out.

Eventually the officer let her go, but not after giving her a citation for speeding that will cost her over $100.00. Although no one wants to pay $100, that bothered her far less than how this officer treated her.

A few days later I took her out to dinner and at the restaurant was a table of four police officers eating. She almost had a panic attack thinking that the officer that just pulled her over was there. The host that sat us reassured her that they were from the sherrif's office and didn't do traffic stops, and she relaxed a little. The host then preceeded to share with us a story about him getting pulled over on the same road that I got ticketed on in September, and like me he got pulled over for speeding, but got ticketed for the expired inspection instead. I wonder if it was the same police officer?

I have talked to a few friends, and most people feel that police officers are generally gruff, but that the one that pulled over Sweetie was a little more rough than most. I suppose being a police officer is a stressful job, but putting people on the defensive immediately doesn't seem to be an effective way of dealing with the public... Is it?

I know Sweetie's experience with the police hasn't made her feel any more secure, in fact it has done the exact opposite. She is now going out of her way to and from work to avoid the small town she got pulled over in. If the officer's intent was to keep people from visiting his town, he is doing a good job!

Later Lou

New Dollar Coins

Yesterday as I was heading out to lunch a fellow coworker stopped me to say "Hello". He noticed I had a small handful of the new Presidential Golden Dollars in my hand, which I was going to use to pay for lunch. He hadn't seen them yet, so I showed him the coins. If you haven't gotten one of these new dollar coins, you should stop to your local evil bank and ask for them. The government is going to mint four different $1 coins each year for the next 11+ years. Each coin will have a different president on the front, called the "obverse", of the coin, and all of them will have the Statue of Liberty on the back, or the "reverse". They are a golden color, and even though they aren't real gold, they are cool to look at. This year they have already released coins with George Washington, John Adams, and Thomas Jefferson. Anyway, back to the story... We started to talk about the minting errors he had heard about the new $1 coins. As with all coins there are tons of errors (remember it's the government who makes them) to discuss, but he focused on the new edge lettering. On the edge of these new coins the mint inscribed the words: "In God We Trust", "E Plurbis Unum", and the year of the coin's mintage ("2007"), and the mint mark (usually a "P" or a "D"). They did this to give more room for the presidential portrait, and to make the coin more unique.

One of the most well known errors on the coins is the missing wording on the edge of the coin. At first some people who got the coins thought this was intentional to remove the "In God We Trust" from the coins with all of the political "hay" about religion and government, but this isn't the case. Instead it was a minting error that created some coins without the writing, and they are now being called "Godless coins". Some of the Washington "Godless" coins have sold on eBay for $600, but most sell for around $40-50. The Adams "Godless" coins are rarer and are commanding an higher price. Of course there are a few people trying to cash in on this error by filing off the edge writing and trying to sell the fake "Godless" coins as authentic errors. My friend said that he heard of another error related to the edge writing. He said that the mint intended for the writing to be read correctly when the coin was face up, but some of the coins have the writing face down. I hadn't heard that, and I thought he was pulling my leg, so I kinda dismissed him with a wave, and went off to lunch. Well today, pulled out a handful of my $1 presidential coins and I looked at the edge writing. Of the 20 coins I examined, 8 of them had the writing face up, and 12 had the writing face down. If it's an error, I have a whole bunch of them! Which of course makes it unlikely that the error is worth anything. I did a quick Internet search and found that it is in fact not an error! The mint never intended to control the direction of the edge text. The machine they use to inscribe the edge does not check the direction of the coin before it inscribes, so there is roughly a 50/50 chance of the text being face up or face down.

So if someone stops you on the way to lunch and tries to tell you that $1 coin with the text the "opposite" way is worth money, don't be fooled and wave him (or her) off and continue on to lunch. Later Lou