Good thing it's the last day of the year!

I wrote the first part of this in an email to my wife this morning...



I am so frustrated. The train was 11 minutes late this morning, and since I only had a 6 minute wait for my connecting bus, I had to walk 20 minutes to work instead of 5. As I stood at the train station and wallowed in my frustration, it set off a kind of “year in review” thought process. (It wasn’t very pretty, at least not in the mood I was in.) I got on the train, and my Zune locked up on boot up, and now I can’t get it to reboot (a problem I later learned is being called the Zune 30 Midnight Meltdown). Not helping.

Here’s the short version of my review:

Since being out of work last year, my budget and credit rating are in the toilet, and going down fast. Debts up to my eyeballs, and just when I think I see the light at the end of the tunnel, I get a notice of garnishment from a debt I couldn’t manage while out of work. Not helping.

My car is headed for the junkyard, (not currently drivable) and I still owe a TON on it, adding weights to my sinking credit rating and budget. Not helping.

I have had health scares this year requiring hospitalization and a slew of new meds. I lost 20 lbs this year, but I am still in the super-obese category (I never thought of myself that way, but that’s the correct medical term). I get winded just walking and I’m SICK OF IT!! But then that gets me down, and what do I want to do?? Eat. Yeah, not helping.

Yes, we had a great Christmas vacation, but upon return to real life, the same problems were still there waiting for us.



Now that I have had some time the let it all digest (and deal with the ensuing acid stomach), here is what I would add as an addendum:



I also know that I have many blessings to be grateful. I have a good family, I have an affordable place to live, I have a good job (and survived the recent layoffs), I have a great ward at church with a fantastic bishop, I am reconnecting with many old friends and acquaintances on facebook, etc, etc. In spite of the things that could be improved in my life, I have a good life.

While I know that 2009 will start rough for me, I am looking forward to it improving, and expecting it to do so!

I know...it's a bit cliche' and even cheesy.

It is what it is.

MESSY FACE!!

I play with my kids...a lot. I'm a big kid at heart, and love to play with my kids. At dinner, when one of them has something on her face, I'll point and in a sing-song voice say "MESSY FACE!!" They laugh, but the point is made. My 2 year old has started saying it, whether it applies or not (she still doesn't get it, but then my 6 year old is only now just beginning to get what knock-knock jokes are really about).

Yesterday after dinner, my 6 year old told me that I had messy face. I knew I didn't, so I placed the burden of proof on her. (Sounds much more mature than it was.) I asked "Where?" She pointed across her upper lip and said "all across here." I reminded her that this was just my mustache, to which she smugly replied "That makes you a messy face for life!!"

Darn kid is WAY too smart for her own good (or my comfort)!!

Oh The Weather Outside Is Frightful (aka An Interesting Christmas)

Long before the economy (and our budget) tanked, we purchased a trial membership in a timeshare. We had planned several trips that were spectacular...too much so, since we couldn't afford them. We were to a point of use it or lose it, so we made reservations for one of the nearby resorts for Christmas. We picked Wolf Creek, which is near the Wolf Creek ski resort.

We went up on Sunday, and stayed until today (Dec 26th). We spent a lot of time running errands, and spent too little time just sitting (as I had planned). Not being my home, I did get a bit restless just sitting, but enjoyed having a place to stay that was nicer and roomier than my dinky student apartment.

We ended up running back and forth for many reasons...my wife had a Sterling Singers concert Sunday night, we spent the day Monday doing business and finishing our Christmas Shopping, and met a relative in Logan Utah to trade presents before she traveled to Idaho. Some of the running was in a lot of snow. There were several snowstorms that probably approached blizzard conditions. Fortunately, we had just put new tires on the Durango (tires that we still have to pay for, since we had to borrow the money). We got a LOT of snow...36 inches in about 3 days. Note that this equals about a foot a day average...I think that's about right.

The big downside to our vacation was that we started having engine trouble and were told we need a new engine. This on top of other repairs it needs...now totalling around $5500. Needless to say, we can't do them, and have parked the car. Thank heaven for public transit!!

In spite of this (and a puking child), we enjoyed our vacation immensely. We really needed the down time, and it was great being able to relax and hang out with the family, without always having to be somewhere.

Too bad we had to come back to reality (...sigh!)

Here are some pics from our vacation...

This is a part of the view from our balcony

...and Boo sledding.

Our mantel, and what it looked like after Santa visited (below).

Little Cat got a "Little Einstimes" rocket and characters...she was so enraptured by this toy that we couldn't even get her to look up for a picture! 20 minutes later, we asked if she wanted to open another present, and got a terse "no." Again, she didn't even look up from playing.

Below, Punkin with her favorite toy...a Mystery Machine and the whole Scobby Doo gang!

Punkin sitting with Bubby... Heather chillin... and Little Cat playing shy (emphasis on playing...she's definitely NOT shy!).

Rudolph Rant

OK, I tease my wife about her Rudolph Rants, but here I go with one of my own...

There is a humor columnist I like to follow in the Salt Lake Tribune. His name is Robert Kerby. I recently read an article of his about saying Merry Christmas, and how the PC police make it out to be Federal crime to be what they consider Politically Incorrect.

Check out the comments on that article (linked above)…this one was my fav:

Soon after moving to Utah from Japan , I was about to enter a downtown office building and, much like Kirby, held the door open for someone approaching the door at the same time. She stopped, gave me a glare and said, "You don't have to open the door for me just because I'm a woman!" Nonplussed, I responded: "I didn't open the door for you because you are a lady; I opened it because I am a gentleman."

I agree with the article. I also think that some people are just looking to be offended. When did it become my job to keep their nose in joint?!? Why can't people take a greeting in the spirit it's intended?? Maybe I'm offended by their offense!

I used to have a boss who was a Muslim from Iran. He didn't practice Christmas, (or Hanukkah, Yule, Kwanzaa, or Groundhog Day for that matter). He used to wish me Merry Christmas, knowing what that would mean for me. When in Rome, you know? I liked that, and respected him for that consideration, among other reasons. If he had wished me Happy Ramadan, I would have said "thank you, you too." If I had a friend who celebrated Alien Visitation day instead of Christmas, I would like to think that I would heartily wish him "Klaatu barada nikto!" or whatever they wish each other.

These PC people think they are being so enlightened for embracing Political Correctness. Yet in insisting people don't say Merry Christmas, I think they are merely being intolerant. How un-PC of them! How contradictory! Shame on them! They should be reported!!!

Ode to Winter - A Rhyme

It’s cold this morning,
I don’t want to wake up.
Toddler climbs in my bed,
Now I’m all shook up.

With aches and pains,
I walk to the bath.
The shower’s too cold,
I’ll show maintenance my wrath.

I towel off and dress
Just as quick as I can.
Turn up the heat,
And on comes the fan.

It snowed all night,
Now my car I must brush
I load the kids up,
And I leave in a rush.

The roads were all slick
My tires were bald.
With gut clenched in fear,
“Look out, jerk!” I called.

Dropped the kids at the sitter
As I left, they did wail,
Then I crept down the road
At the pace of a snail.

I look back on my trip
As I sit here at work,
Suddenly being inside
Is now such a perk.

As I sit at my desk,
I think “what the hay,
Maybe next year I’ll buy me
A horse and a sleigh!”

getting out of debt

Found this on a friend's blog and had to add it.



I wish it were this simple (I mean, it is, but it isn't...see what I mean!)

Not so kid-friendly part 2

Here is the response I got from The Mayan Adventure:

John,

I was horrified to hear about your experience at the Mayan Restaurant and wanted to quickly respond to your e-mail with my apologies. The fact that you were forced to wait for so long for your food, couldn’t get refills in a timely manner and still did not receive the service that the Mayan Restaurant is famous for is very distressing to me and I wanted to immediately apologize for the incident.

We have been tirelessly laboring to ensure the best in customer service. The 18% gratuity is a standard practice among restaurants for parties of 8 or more, but because of the horrible service received, I would like to refund the gratuity back to your credit card with your permission. Simply let me know the last 4 digits of the credit card used and the date that you visited us and I’d be happy to take care of that.

Again, I apologize for your experience. Please let me know, at your convenience, the last 4 digits of the credit card used so that I can refund your gratuity. I also wanted to let you know that partially because of your correspondence, the Mayan Restaurant will no longer charge for additional salsa. Thank you for your letter and I hope to have you back at The Mayan.


Sincerely,


Asst. General Manager
The Mayan Adventure

Here is what I sent them:

We visited The Mayan on (date and credit card info included here). The manager who did almost nothing was a woman of medium hight, thin with light brown hair.

I would like to ask about the kid size spoons...is that something that will be stocked now? Also, I would like to suggest that in the future, a scoop of ice cream with some sprinkles or whipped cream would go a long way when someone has a birthday. It would cost very little, and would create a lot more goodwill than that $25 package. Then, if they want to upgrade to the $25 package, they don't feel forced into it, or that they don't have options.

Thank you for your response. I appreciate the changes you have indicated you will make, as well as your offer to be your guest. It would be difficult to return in December...would January work?

How would you have handled this?

I had to open my mouth!

I commented on another blog that I could wait for snow, as long as it's here in time for Christmas.

We got dumped on today.

Shoulda kept quiet.

Not so kid-friendly after all

My Boo turned 3 recently, and wanted to go to a local theme restaurant called The Mayan Adventure. It's a pretty cool environment that I would describe as Indiana Jones meets the Swiss Family Robinson. They even have cliff divers and/or fire dancers every 15 minutes. They used to have animatronic birds that would move and talk, which was very attractive to the kids. Now, as I watched the (very cool) fire dancers, I kept thinking "I hope my 3 year old doesn't try this." I simply said "we don't do that, do we?" to which she replied, "no, we don't."

There were many other problems with our experience, but rather than try to re-describe the experience, I am just going to include my complaint to The Mayan's parent Company - Larry H. Miller, Inc. (owner of the Utah Jazz, numerous auto dealerships, a TV station, etc., etc., etc.). By the way, while I usually link to the places I mention in my blog, I am not doing so this time, as I don't want to do anything to increase traffic to their site. I will include a link to the Deseret News story on the cliff divers and some pics they included. Here are some pics on Flikr (and elsewhere) that show what the environment is like. (These are random pics of random people on Flikr...I don't know any of them, but appreciate being able to link to the pics to show The Mayan).

Here it is:

I went to the Mayan recently and have to say I have never been so disappointed in the place. With the exception of our waiter, the whole experience was a poor one. The Mayan used to be very kid friendly, and my daughter chose The Mayan for her 6th birthday. I was disappointed to find that they wouldn't even do a scoop of ice cream for the birthday girl unless I paid $25. (This is for a birthday package, so it's all or nothing.) Maybe $25 doesn't mean much to Mr. Miller, but to me it's a lot (especially on top of what I paid for dinner, not to mention how chincy it is to charge for a second bowl of salsa, after giving only 2 bowls for 3 baskets of chips). The kid seating us left my 77 yr old arthritic mother behind even though I asked him to go slow, I had asked for a table with extra room so we had a place for her walker and we got one that was a squeeze instead (it looked like it was made for 6 instead of the 8 in our party). Our waiter was very attentive, but everything else was very slow. Once we ordered, it took a half hour to get our food, we had to ask 3 times for ranch to go with the fries, and had to ask twice for soda refills for the kids. Then, when we asked for spoons for our preschoolers to eat rice, they brought us table spoons that I wouldn't want to put in MY mouth, much less a 2 or 3 year old's mouth. How do you expect children to eat rice with a fork?? Whoever made that decision obviously has no clue about kids. The clincher on our dissatisfaction was when we were forced to pay an 18% tip for such sub-par service (TIP=To Improve Promptness...why should they be prompt when they don't have to earn the tip?!?!?). The service wasn't worth 18%!!! Then, to add insult to injury, when we spoke with a manager about it, she made some poor excuses and a half hearted apology. It was as if she was bothered at taking the time to hear our complaints.

I don't know that we will be back to The Mayan for a long time, if ever. We may just avoid all LHM companies for a while.

Do you even care?? Your manager didn’t seem to.

Be assured that we do, and will tell people of our experience.

John


Any thoughts on this?? How would you have handled it?

Christmas Vacation

I am soooo looking forward to my Christmas vacation. Not because of Christmas itself, though.

I LOVE Christmas and am looking forward to it, but I can be patient for Christmas. I don’t want it to come to fast, because the faster Christmas arrives, the sooner it’s over. Once it’s over, the festive air of the season stagnates into the gloom of winter. The skies seem greyer, the snow seems dirtier, people are less friendly, etc., etc.

No, I want TIME OFF WORK!!!

Don’t get me wrong…I love my job and the company I work for, not to mention I am just happy to have a job in this economy. I just need a break. I need a week where we can sit around and read a book, watch TV, and play with the kids, without worrying about what deadline or task is up next. I have a week off and plan to enjoy every minute of it. I also want to play card games and board games, and take drives that have no particular destination, and no time frame other than the next time the kids need to be fed. (They really expect that on a regular basis! What is it with that??)



Don’t get me wrong…I don’t expect a week completely free of responsibility. We will still have a task list, like finishing the Christmas shopping, getting the presents wrapped, etc. But what fun tasks! I just want to be able to sleep as long as the kids will let me, and set my own agenda for the day, along with my wife…to be able to play those games and take those drives.

I can hardly wait!

(Does this make me like a kid at Christmas? I hope so!)