I'm sure you trivia buffs will recognize the line from the song in the movie "Bye, Bye Birdie" there. My kids....they do drive me crazy.
Submitted for your approval---
1) Andrew Poe-Bowdren. So we get a letter from his school today indicating that in one of his classes that Andy is getting a "F+". I'm not exactly sure what an "F+" is, other than....as someone told me awhile back, it must mean 'a really good F'. Now mind you.....this isn't the first time that Andy has brought home one of these letters....or that one of these letters has been mailed to us. We almost have begun to expect them.
And then Andy will rush at breakneck speed to the end of the school year or semester and bring his grade up. Have you ever seen that painting called "Silent Scream"? That's the way I feel when I get these reports on Andy. So anyway.....so we sit him down and talk with him about it. According to Andy (at least at the beginning), the grade was a huge mystery to him.
"So, uh....you have no idea why you got this grade?"
"Nope....I don't understand it."
"So you haven't had any sort of bad grades on a test, homework or project?"
"No....I really don't understand it."
"So you've got nothing but passing grades on your tests, homework and projects?"
"Yes."
"So now....if your mom was to call or email your teacher....she wouldn't get a different story from your teacher, would she? Because I gotta tell you....if the teacher had a different story than that, I'm sure your mom would feel a little stupid....and boy do I hate when your mom looks stupid."
"I passed all my assignments that I've gotten back."
"Okay....so there are no missing homework or tests?"
(That would be the dreaded pause in the conversation)
"Well....there might have been a couple of homework assignments that I didn't turn in."
"AHA! Now we're getting somewhere. A couple? How many is a couple?"
"Uh....like....a few."
"A few? That's more than a couple, isn't it? Would you say that the number of assignments that you haven't turned in is....hmm....more than five?"
"Uh....about seven."
(Cue the Homer Simpson sound wave: DOH!)
"Seven? Well let me ask you this....how many homework assignments have you turned in that you got credit for?"
"Hmm.....about.....12."
"So you turned in 12 out of 19 assignments.....I think we're starting to get some where."
And then there was the proverbial teeth knashing, and knuckle rubbing, and harsh words (although I did manage to keep my voice down and not lose my temper---amazingly). It reminded me of the line from the movie "Parenthood". Jason Robards is the family patriarch and is talking to his oldest son, Steve Martin, about the problems that are being created by the youngest son, Tom Hulce.
"You never ever cross the finish line. You never stop being a parent. There's never a point where they're not your child. You never finish that race."
Submitted for your approval:
Kellie Poe-Bowdren
2) So Kellie got a referral the other day. Why? Because they were having a fire drill at school the other day...and Kellie decided to invoke the old knee injury into getting out of it. Tried to use the elevator and take a short cut. Man, she's really a little weasel--and turning out a lot like me. So we sort of gave her a little lecture....but nothing really big. I told her to listen to her teacher....and if her knee hurts that much, maybe she shouldn't come home and play basketball after school.
The other night we were having dinner when Kim dropped one on me. She looked at Kellie and asked her if "she could tell me what they had talked about". Kellie said yes.
"Kellie, um...has a boy who has told her that he's interested in her."
(Uh-oh. Careful there mister.....careful.)
"Oh really. Is this someone we know?"
"Well apparently its a friend of a boy that Kellie knows."
"Does he go to your school?"
"No." Kellie said. "He's in 9th grade."
(DOH! High school boys! Blood pressure soars)
"9th grade? He's a high schooler?"
"Yes." (Head down....no eye contact)
"Hmm. And what's his name?"
"Tim."
"And you met him how?"
"Well, he came to our last concert and my friend introduced us."
"I've told Kellie," Kim interjects, "that of course Tim would have to meet us before they could ever go out anywhere."
"He's supposed to call me tomorrow," Kellie says.
"Hmmm.....really?"
And so another chapter begins in my life as a Dad. Kellie: The Dating Years.
Pray for me.
Later,
Jeff
Friday, April 28, 2006
Sunday, April 23, 2006
4/23/06---Sports News and thoughts!!
So I have to tell you....this weekend the NHL playoffs began....and so far they've been rip roaring stuff. I mean, in the opening 8 games of each series, I think there were at least 3 games that went into double overtime! Just crazy good stuff. After the King Tut exhibit we got home just in time to watch the 2 overtime periods of the Buffalo-Philly game, and it was about as exciting a game as you'd ever wanna see---considering that there was only one goal scored.
Naturally of course....the Florida Panthers are not in the playoffs. However! Things may be about to change in that department......
Sort of an amazing hockey season. I mean to tell you, earlier this season......the Panthers were absolutely cursed. I have NEVER, EVER seen a team lose games the way that they did. Not only was it that they lost, it was that they lost......doing shit like allowing a goal with 5 seconds left in the game. Or, by allowing a goal when they had a 5 on 3 advantage.
Seriously, it was truly an amazing thing to watch.....you watched to try and figure out what sort of crazy unusual way they would blow the game. And then....the Olympics came.
After that....it was like they signed 25 different guys to play the game. Their post Olympic record was like 15-7-4. They were probably one of the 5 best teams in the conference.
Luongo was standing on his head, Jokinnen turned into the dominant power forward we've been waiting 5 years for, Neuwindyk & Gary Roberts provided the veteran leadership....and Jay Boumeester finally became the world class defenseman that we drafted 4 years ago.
All that, and two other veteran free agents---Martin Gelinas & Jozeph Stumpel---both played their asses off. Gelinas finished up like a plus-25 for the season, which is 2nd alltime in Panther history. The other good news is that the ownership finally stepped up to the plate and resigned Jokinnen to a 4 year contract (instead of trading him like everyone thought they would), then resigned Chris Gratton--who actually had a pretty good season for us also---which showed a commitment to the team. The reason that this is important is that Luongo, who is totally the heart and soul of the team, had said that if he didn't see some sort of message from team ownership that he would sign with another team.....after the last game of the season was quoted as saying that he expects to sign a new contract with the Panthers soon and fully expects to remain with the team.
So, we go into the offseason with (to quote the 4th Star Wars) "A New Hope". And after 5 years of no playoffs, that's something we haven't had lately. The owner has come out and said that he will raise the team's payroll about $10 million....so there are a lot of rumors about the Panthers going out and making a big move in the free agent market. The loudest rumor is that Ed Jovanovski is going to leave Vancouver and come back to Florida. Apparently his wife is from down here and wants to come home. Eddie Jo and Boumeester would make a very interesting # 1 defensive pairing.
So we got that going for us....I may have to even look into getting one of those 13 game packages before the season starts....the fact that I'm even THINKING about it means my confidence level is up.
As for my Cubs.......(DOH!)....well, besides the fact that Mark Prior & Kerry Wood continue in their seemingly never ending stints on the DL.....this week Derrick Lee gets bumped on a fairly routine play at first....and manages to break two bones in his wrist.
Bingo, he's out 2 to 3 months....the Cubs best player. Truly amazing how cursed one franchise can be.
We're one week away from the NFL draft---so you know what that means. I'm going to start to head into my own personal bunker (which may or may not be like My Own Personal Idaho) and began researching in depth how and who my Minnesota Vikings will be drafting. Should be interesting to see if they make the jump up in the draft and target a QB....or stay where they are and possibly go LB....or do something altogether different and make me look like a complete idiot--which wouldn't be the first time.
Finally, yesterday was the annual Blue & Gold game in South Bend, Indiana, as the Fighting Irish played their spring football game. Now, that would be news enough to keep a poor lonely ND football fan happy for awhile.....however....we were also happy to hear the additional news yesterday that the Golden Domers received a verbal commitment from prep QB Jimmy Clausen, a high school hotshot from California.
Now...honestly, I try and take this sort of news with a grain of salt. I mean, we're talking about a 17 year old here. However, scouts have had their eyes on this kid since he was a freshman playing QB, his two older brothers both started at QB at Tennessee, and the kid is regarding as....I kid you not....."the LeBron James of high school football". Hey, I think I'll get just a little bit excited!!
Later,
Jeff
Naturally of course....the Florida Panthers are not in the playoffs. However! Things may be about to change in that department......
Sort of an amazing hockey season. I mean to tell you, earlier this season......the Panthers were absolutely cursed. I have NEVER, EVER seen a team lose games the way that they did. Not only was it that they lost, it was that they lost......doing shit like allowing a goal with 5 seconds left in the game. Or, by allowing a goal when they had a 5 on 3 advantage.
Seriously, it was truly an amazing thing to watch.....you watched to try and figure out what sort of crazy unusual way they would blow the game. And then....the Olympics came.
After that....it was like they signed 25 different guys to play the game. Their post Olympic record was like 15-7-4. They were probably one of the 5 best teams in the conference.
Luongo was standing on his head, Jokinnen turned into the dominant power forward we've been waiting 5 years for, Neuwindyk & Gary Roberts provided the veteran leadership....and Jay Boumeester finally became the world class defenseman that we drafted 4 years ago.
All that, and two other veteran free agents---Martin Gelinas & Jozeph Stumpel---both played their asses off. Gelinas finished up like a plus-25 for the season, which is 2nd alltime in Panther history. The other good news is that the ownership finally stepped up to the plate and resigned Jokinnen to a 4 year contract (instead of trading him like everyone thought they would), then resigned Chris Gratton--who actually had a pretty good season for us also---which showed a commitment to the team. The reason that this is important is that Luongo, who is totally the heart and soul of the team, had said that if he didn't see some sort of message from team ownership that he would sign with another team.....after the last game of the season was quoted as saying that he expects to sign a new contract with the Panthers soon and fully expects to remain with the team.
So, we go into the offseason with (to quote the 4th Star Wars) "A New Hope". And after 5 years of no playoffs, that's something we haven't had lately. The owner has come out and said that he will raise the team's payroll about $10 million....so there are a lot of rumors about the Panthers going out and making a big move in the free agent market. The loudest rumor is that Ed Jovanovski is going to leave Vancouver and come back to Florida. Apparently his wife is from down here and wants to come home. Eddie Jo and Boumeester would make a very interesting # 1 defensive pairing.
So we got that going for us....I may have to even look into getting one of those 13 game packages before the season starts....the fact that I'm even THINKING about it means my confidence level is up.
As for my Cubs.......(DOH!)....well, besides the fact that Mark Prior & Kerry Wood continue in their seemingly never ending stints on the DL.....this week Derrick Lee gets bumped on a fairly routine play at first....and manages to break two bones in his wrist.
Bingo, he's out 2 to 3 months....the Cubs best player. Truly amazing how cursed one franchise can be.
We're one week away from the NFL draft---so you know what that means. I'm going to start to head into my own personal bunker (which may or may not be like My Own Personal Idaho) and began researching in depth how and who my Minnesota Vikings will be drafting. Should be interesting to see if they make the jump up in the draft and target a QB....or stay where they are and possibly go LB....or do something altogether different and make me look like a complete idiot--which wouldn't be the first time.
Finally, yesterday was the annual Blue & Gold game in South Bend, Indiana, as the Fighting Irish played their spring football game. Now, that would be news enough to keep a poor lonely ND football fan happy for awhile.....however....we were also happy to hear the additional news yesterday that the Golden Domers received a verbal commitment from prep QB Jimmy Clausen, a high school hotshot from California.
Now...honestly, I try and take this sort of news with a grain of salt. I mean, we're talking about a 17 year old here. However, scouts have had their eyes on this kid since he was a freshman playing QB, his two older brothers both started at QB at Tennessee, and the kid is regarding as....I kid you not....."the LeBron James of high school football". Hey, I think I'll get just a little bit excited!!
Later,
Jeff
4/23/06---A Saturday evening out with the Bowdren's.....and more!
So the other day Kim mentions to me that this weekend will be the last days of the King Tut exhibit at the Museum of Art in downtown Ft Lauderdale. She says she thinks it will be a good idea to take the kids to see it--now, she's probably right here....kids can always use a little "culture" and stuff, but I'm wondering...what in the heck do I know about King Tut. The only thing I can remember about the boy King is when I was in high school Steve Martin came out with that goofy song about him.....
Lyrics for: King Tut
King Tut (King Tut)
Now when he was a young man,
He never thought he'd see
People stand in line to see the boy king.
(King Tut) How'd you get so funky?
(funky Tut) Did you do the monkey?
Born in Arizona,
Moved to Babylonia (king Tut).
(king Tut) Now, if I'd known
they'd line up just to see him,
I'd trade in all my money
And bought me a museum. (king Tut)
Buried with a donkey (funky Tut)
He's my favorite honkey!
Born in Arizona,
Moved to Babylonia (king Tut)
Dancin' by the Nile, (Disco Tut)
The ladies love his style, (boss Tut)
Rockin' for a mile (rockin' Tut)
He ate a crocodile.
He gave his life for tourism.
Golden idol!
He's an Egyptian
They're sellin' you.
Now, when I die,
now don't think I'm a nut,
don't want no fancy funeral,
Just one like ole king Tut. (king Tut)
He coulda won a Grammy,
Buried in his Jammies,
Born in Arizona, moved to Babylonia,
He was born in Arizona, got a condo made of stone-a,
King Tut!
So anyway, we took the kids out there....and I'm sorta proud to say that it was pretty damn interesting! Don't get me wrong--I'm not a real "patron of the arts" or anything, but on a limited basis, going to your local museum can be a rewarding experience!
(Did I just say that?) Anyway, its pretty amazing to see different things displayed that are literally thousands of years old....and the stories that go along with it....drama, intrigue....good Lord, the guy's life was like an episode of "General Hospital". And I don't mean today's crappy "General Hospital"....I mean the Luke & Laura & Scorpio & the British woman who ended up on "Dynasty" version of "General Hospital".
Not that I ever watched it mind you.
Jeff says....check it out.
Lyrics for: King Tut
King Tut (King Tut)
Now when he was a young man,
He never thought he'd see
People stand in line to see the boy king.
(King Tut) How'd you get so funky?
(funky Tut) Did you do the monkey?
Born in Arizona,
Moved to Babylonia (king Tut).
(king Tut) Now, if I'd known
they'd line up just to see him,
I'd trade in all my money
And bought me a museum. (king Tut)
Buried with a donkey (funky Tut)
He's my favorite honkey!
Born in Arizona,
Moved to Babylonia (king Tut)
Dancin' by the Nile, (Disco Tut)
The ladies love his style, (boss Tut)
Rockin' for a mile (rockin' Tut)
He ate a crocodile.
He gave his life for tourism.
Golden idol!
He's an Egyptian
They're sellin' you.
Now, when I die,
now don't think I'm a nut,
don't want no fancy funeral,
Just one like ole king Tut. (king Tut)
He coulda won a Grammy,
Buried in his Jammies,
Born in Arizona, moved to Babylonia,
He was born in Arizona, got a condo made of stone-a,
King Tut!
So anyway, we took the kids out there....and I'm sorta proud to say that it was pretty damn interesting! Don't get me wrong--I'm not a real "patron of the arts" or anything, but on a limited basis, going to your local museum can be a rewarding experience!
(Did I just say that?) Anyway, its pretty amazing to see different things displayed that are literally thousands of years old....and the stories that go along with it....drama, intrigue....good Lord, the guy's life was like an episode of "General Hospital". And I don't mean today's crappy "General Hospital"....I mean the Luke & Laura & Scorpio & the British woman who ended up on "Dynasty" version of "General Hospital".
Not that I ever watched it mind you.
Jeff says....check it out.
Wednesday, April 19, 2006
4/19/06--The Old Black Dog
Well today was the day that my main buddy, my dubba bubba, my bestest buddy.....the one I call 'the old black dog', Midnight, went back to the veternarian for the 2nd of 3 visits to evaluate him post-surgery for his tumor. If you recall, we decided to forgo the chemo treatments on Midnight--mainly because of the astronomical costs--and the oncologist told us to have him visit his "primary vet" (and he doesn't even have an HMO!) on a 1, 3 and 6 month basis to have a physical and ensure that there were no signs of a reoccurence of tumors or other signs that Midnight's pre-Christmas surgery wasn't anything but a complete success.
This was an important visit, because the other day I was speaking on the phone to my parents and thought I felt a tumor on his side---I mean to tell you, I about had a heart attack right then and there. Kim and I did a complete once over on the wonder dog, and couldn't find anything though.
So today, he goes back to see Dr. Sullivan---"Sure I remember Midnight"---who checks him every which way but loose and pronounces:
Midnight seems to be doing just fine.
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Later,
Jeff
PS....so while we're waiting for the doctor, one of the nurse's comes in the room and kneels down to pet Midnight. She scratches his head and says:
"Oh look at you. You are very handsome.....such a good looking boy!"
I swear to God when she left, he looked at me with that smart ass look of his. I told him not to get too cocky.
This was an important visit, because the other day I was speaking on the phone to my parents and thought I felt a tumor on his side---I mean to tell you, I about had a heart attack right then and there. Kim and I did a complete once over on the wonder dog, and couldn't find anything though.
So today, he goes back to see Dr. Sullivan---"Sure I remember Midnight"---who checks him every which way but loose and pronounces:
Midnight seems to be doing just fine.
YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Later,
Jeff
PS....so while we're waiting for the doctor, one of the nurse's comes in the room and kneels down to pet Midnight. She scratches his head and says:
"Oh look at you. You are very handsome.....such a good looking boy!"
I swear to God when she left, he looked at me with that smart ass look of his. I told him not to get too cocky.
Sunday, April 16, 2006
4/16/06--Regarding the purchase of my new toy
So, truth be told....I really didn't go into a dealership last Friday night with the intention of buying a new car. The wife and I were sort of doing the old....."preliminary search" for potential new vehicles. And then, lo and behold, I end up being roped in with the
"if we can come up with a deal that just blows you away, would you buy a car tonight?"
routine. I mean, don't get me wrong...I'm totally satisfied with the 4-Runner and all....its a car I've wanted for a long time....but I played the situation wrong. My brother used to always tell me that when you go into buy a car, that you have to treat the salesman like a piece of garbage. The person that's going to make you happy is the sales manager--or his boss. What I really should've done is just walked my big ass right out of the dealership that night and told them that I need to think about it. I guarantee that my monthly payments would have gone down around $25 a month if that had happened.
Live and learn...ya know? But...I wanted to tell you about the really interest part of the evening--negotiating for my satellite radio.
Now, as some of you know, I have a Sirius Satellite radio. Like I said, I hadn't gone into the Toyota dealership that night planning to buy a car, it just ended up happening.
So as we're drawing up the final contracts, I mention that I need to get my radio returned to me.....and the problems began.
"Uh...well....the guy that does that has already gone home for the night." (it was around 10pm so I'm sure he was telling the truth--at least here)
"Well, if I have too, I'll come back tomorrow to get it returned."
"Well, we're probably going to have to charge you to have it taken out."
Uh...say WHAT? I'm thinking at this point....that I just signed a contract on a car that retails for $28,000 and these guys are going to nickel and dime me about taking a radio out of my trade-in?
So the next day I come back to the dealership and the salesman from the night before goes with me to the service area where we are joined by the service writer and the technician that's going to remove my radio. Now, mind you....the evening before, the salesman....old Mr. "I sold 30 cars last month and I am doing FANTASTIC at this dealership"......had told me that he was going to speak to the technician and see if he could "call in a favor". Now, the next morning, all of a sudden it was.....
"Uh....I think you're going to have to pay something to have the radio taken out."
At this point....I really just wanted my radio back. I had made an appointment with Best Buy to have it installed in the new car and figured that time was wasting. So I leave the dealership, with the intention of returning in about an hour or so and picking up my satellite radio, the antenna and the various wires used to install it. I go up to the service writer....
"Okay," he tells me. "That will be $100.00."
"$100??!!?? For what?"
"Well.....its $85.00 to remove the radio, $5.00 tax, and a $10.00 service fee."
"Service fee? For what?"
"Well....its something that we have to charge anyone who uses the garage facilities."
Lovely. I sort of give the guy the disgusted "whatever" look and go off to pay the cashier...who was smoking hot but had a total attitude. Hey baby, you're nice looking, but you're working at a CAR DEALERSHIP.....so don't act like you're all that and a bag of chips, ya know? Anyway, at this point the service writer comes up to me with a big smile on his face and announces to me that they had waived the service fee. Isn't that nice? They waived the fee that I shouldn't have been charged to begin with!
Anyway....so I get my equipment and take everything to Best Buy. The guy there couldn't be nicer, which is actually a big improvement from the first visit I had there.
This guy is explaining everything about how he's installing the satellite radio and how everything works---the first time I had the radio installed, the person who did the installation that day acted like he was doing me the world's biggest favor.
So as the radio is being installed in the new car, I'm telling the guy how the dealership had charged me for taking out the radio from the old car. He sort of laughs and tells me that they would've taken it out for free and only charged for the installation. That made me even more upset with the dealership.
So a couple of days go by and I decide to call up the dealership. They have one of those big signs saying that if you are not 100% satisfied.....to call the owner of the dealership. So I call up...and asked for the owner. I explained my situation to him, mentioned what Best Buy had said about taking the system out of the old car and he says to me....
"So you sort of have a badtaste in your mouth about the end of the deal?"
"Well.....yeah.....yeah, that's a good way of putting it."
"Okay....I'll mail you a check for $100 today."
"I don't want $100. I want $91.03. That's what I paid...that's what I want."
"You got it."
This past Thursday....I get a check. $91.03.
Squeaky wheel gets the grease sometimes folks.....squeaky wheel.
Later,
Jeff
"if we can come up with a deal that just blows you away, would you buy a car tonight?"
routine. I mean, don't get me wrong...I'm totally satisfied with the 4-Runner and all....its a car I've wanted for a long time....but I played the situation wrong. My brother used to always tell me that when you go into buy a car, that you have to treat the salesman like a piece of garbage. The person that's going to make you happy is the sales manager--or his boss. What I really should've done is just walked my big ass right out of the dealership that night and told them that I need to think about it. I guarantee that my monthly payments would have gone down around $25 a month if that had happened.
Live and learn...ya know? But...I wanted to tell you about the really interest part of the evening--negotiating for my satellite radio.
Now, as some of you know, I have a Sirius Satellite radio. Like I said, I hadn't gone into the Toyota dealership that night planning to buy a car, it just ended up happening.
So as we're drawing up the final contracts, I mention that I need to get my radio returned to me.....and the problems began.
"Uh...well....the guy that does that has already gone home for the night." (it was around 10pm so I'm sure he was telling the truth--at least here)
"Well, if I have too, I'll come back tomorrow to get it returned."
"Well, we're probably going to have to charge you to have it taken out."
Uh...say WHAT? I'm thinking at this point....that I just signed a contract on a car that retails for $28,000 and these guys are going to nickel and dime me about taking a radio out of my trade-in?
So the next day I come back to the dealership and the salesman from the night before goes with me to the service area where we are joined by the service writer and the technician that's going to remove my radio. Now, mind you....the evening before, the salesman....old Mr. "I sold 30 cars last month and I am doing FANTASTIC at this dealership"......had told me that he was going to speak to the technician and see if he could "call in a favor". Now, the next morning, all of a sudden it was.....
"Uh....I think you're going to have to pay something to have the radio taken out."
At this point....I really just wanted my radio back. I had made an appointment with Best Buy to have it installed in the new car and figured that time was wasting. So I leave the dealership, with the intention of returning in about an hour or so and picking up my satellite radio, the antenna and the various wires used to install it. I go up to the service writer....
"Okay," he tells me. "That will be $100.00."
"$100??!!?? For what?"
"Well.....its $85.00 to remove the radio, $5.00 tax, and a $10.00 service fee."
"Service fee? For what?"
"Well....its something that we have to charge anyone who uses the garage facilities."
Lovely. I sort of give the guy the disgusted "whatever" look and go off to pay the cashier...who was smoking hot but had a total attitude. Hey baby, you're nice looking, but you're working at a CAR DEALERSHIP.....so don't act like you're all that and a bag of chips, ya know? Anyway, at this point the service writer comes up to me with a big smile on his face and announces to me that they had waived the service fee. Isn't that nice? They waived the fee that I shouldn't have been charged to begin with!
Anyway....so I get my equipment and take everything to Best Buy. The guy there couldn't be nicer, which is actually a big improvement from the first visit I had there.
This guy is explaining everything about how he's installing the satellite radio and how everything works---the first time I had the radio installed, the person who did the installation that day acted like he was doing me the world's biggest favor.
So as the radio is being installed in the new car, I'm telling the guy how the dealership had charged me for taking out the radio from the old car. He sort of laughs and tells me that they would've taken it out for free and only charged for the installation. That made me even more upset with the dealership.
So a couple of days go by and I decide to call up the dealership. They have one of those big signs saying that if you are not 100% satisfied.....to call the owner of the dealership. So I call up...and asked for the owner. I explained my situation to him, mentioned what Best Buy had said about taking the system out of the old car and he says to me....
"So you sort of have a badtaste in your mouth about the end of the deal?"
"Well.....yeah.....yeah, that's a good way of putting it."
"Okay....I'll mail you a check for $100 today."
"I don't want $100. I want $91.03. That's what I paid...that's what I want."
"You got it."
This past Thursday....I get a check. $91.03.
Squeaky wheel gets the grease sometimes folks.....squeaky wheel.
Later,
Jeff
Wednesday, April 12, 2006
Sunday, April 9, 2006
4/9/06---My daughter....I love her
So the other evening my wife sort of casually mentions to me that her father had given her a phone call earlier that day. Now, that's not a huge surprise, since her dad calls her on average like 4 times a day (I wish I was joking about that). So she begins to tell me that her dad had asked her...."what's going on with the cell phone bill?" Now, her father pays her cell phone bill, and the kids cell phone bill. (I pay my own, thank you very much all of you smart asses who were getting ready to ask that question)
Kim asked him what he was talking about and he mentioned that the bill was quite a bit higher than it had been the previous months. He gave her the bill to look at and Kim had a friend of hers at her job explain what all the minutia of the bill was a reference too.
It seems our daughter discovered the wonderful world of text messaging. Like everything else that she does, I'm sure that one of her little yenta friends showed her how to do it---even though she had been previously banned from using the cellphone.
Oh, didn't I mention that? Well, apparently her mom had allowed her to use it on Tuesdays on the day that she was at school late. Naturally she didn't tell ME about this, but hey....I digress.
So Lil Miss Kellie....darling daughter....then proceeds to start text messaging her friends--DURING CLASS. And I don't mean "occasionally". Between the middle of February and the middle of March? 1300 hundred text messages....all on Tuesday and all between school hours. She had turned to text messaging the way that Whitney turned to crack. Full fledged addiction baby. So we get home and have the old "family meeting". We did it under the guise of discussing their upcoming trip to Dallas with the school band.
Come into my parlor said the spider to the fly.
We told them how they needed to behave on the trip and not do anything stupid, etc and then mentioned how they should give us a call at least once a day...yadda yadda.
And then....before she knew it.....the fly was trapped in the spider's web.
"Oh yeah....the phone," I said. "Hey Andy....see this phone?"
"Yeah."
"Well as of right now....its yours. You can leave the table now."
Kellie sort of sat there....not fully understanding the situation....well, not at first.
"So you have any idea why I might have just given Andy the phone?"
"Um...I've been using it too much?"
"Mom....you have something you want to show Kellie?"
Kim laid out the cell phone bill. 32 pages worth. 1300 text messages. Almost $200.
Kim then began listing the TIME of the calls and the text messages--how they were occuring DURING school. I sat there doing a slow burn as Kim continued to go over all the charges---text messages, downloading ringtones....it just kept getting better.
"Can I ask you one question?"
"Yes."
"Were you OUT OF YOUR MIND???"
It was a rhetorical question, but I really wondered. I raised my voice some, smacked the table with my hand for added dramatics......and told her that I wasn't so sure that she was going to Dallas. That drew a visible wince from her. Kellie above all else understands social status and perception of social status. If she wasn't in Dallas with the rest of the band, it would look very bad and she would have....in the words of Ricky Ricardo....'some splaining to do'.
I left it on that note and let her stew on it. The next day I went to work and told a few friends with daughters the story. Amazing. The minute I said the word "text messaging" they all---everyone of them---rolled their eyes and went..."oh yeah, I went thru that."
At least I didn't feel like my daughter was the ONLY ONE doing something stupid.
I spoke to Kim about what I felt an appropriate--and we argued about it. Which is something that we almost never do, so it made it all the more difficult. Kim's reasoning was that it wasn't the end-all-get-all of bad things she could do....where as I felt it was probably even a dumber thing to do than the old Myspace.com situation earlier in the year.
Andy had a special class he was taking that night at school to help him prepare for the SAT's, so Kim and I had dinner alone with Kellie. I asked her if she mentioned what had happened to her friends and she said that she had. I told her that we weren't going to take the Dallas trip away, because it had pretty much been a Christmas gift to her and her brother and it probably wouldn't be fair to take it back---no matter how dumb her actions with the cellphone had been. I told her that Kim and I were still in "negotiations" as to what her punishment would be....but that she shouldn't count on seeing a cellphone until the beginning of her sophmore year of high school (in other words, about a year and a half). The rest of the punishment, including how she was going to repay her grandfather....would be forthcoming.
UGH. Teenagers. And its just begun with her.
So, just as a little sidelight to the story....the kids made it to Dallas for their trip and the first night they were there they called us (Andy handled the phone). We had given them each about $80 for spending money for the weekend (Thursday thru Sunday) with the knowledge that they would have their breakfast and dinner paid for by the school---so all they were responsible for would be their lunch and what they spent money on.
So here we were....the FIRST day.....and Kim asked Kellie how her day went.
"Good, we went to the mall." Kellie informs her.
"How's your money doing? Did you spend any yet?"
"Yeah, I bought a pair of shoes for $50."
$50. And she hadn't been there a day.
My little girl is becoming quite the young woman. I think I just felt another gray hair come in.
Later,
Jeff
Kim asked him what he was talking about and he mentioned that the bill was quite a bit higher than it had been the previous months. He gave her the bill to look at and Kim had a friend of hers at her job explain what all the minutia of the bill was a reference too.
It seems our daughter discovered the wonderful world of text messaging. Like everything else that she does, I'm sure that one of her little yenta friends showed her how to do it---even though she had been previously banned from using the cellphone.
Oh, didn't I mention that? Well, apparently her mom had allowed her to use it on Tuesdays on the day that she was at school late. Naturally she didn't tell ME about this, but hey....I digress.
So Lil Miss Kellie....darling daughter....then proceeds to start text messaging her friends--DURING CLASS. And I don't mean "occasionally". Between the middle of February and the middle of March? 1300 hundred text messages....all on Tuesday and all between school hours. She had turned to text messaging the way that Whitney turned to crack. Full fledged addiction baby. So we get home and have the old "family meeting". We did it under the guise of discussing their upcoming trip to Dallas with the school band.
Come into my parlor said the spider to the fly.
We told them how they needed to behave on the trip and not do anything stupid, etc and then mentioned how they should give us a call at least once a day...yadda yadda.
And then....before she knew it.....the fly was trapped in the spider's web.
"Oh yeah....the phone," I said. "Hey Andy....see this phone?"
"Yeah."
"Well as of right now....its yours. You can leave the table now."
Kellie sort of sat there....not fully understanding the situation....well, not at first.
"So you have any idea why I might have just given Andy the phone?"
"Um...I've been using it too much?"
"Mom....you have something you want to show Kellie?"
Kim laid out the cell phone bill. 32 pages worth. 1300 text messages. Almost $200.
Kim then began listing the TIME of the calls and the text messages--how they were occuring DURING school. I sat there doing a slow burn as Kim continued to go over all the charges---text messages, downloading ringtones....it just kept getting better.
"Can I ask you one question?"
"Yes."
"Were you OUT OF YOUR MIND???"
It was a rhetorical question, but I really wondered. I raised my voice some, smacked the table with my hand for added dramatics......and told her that I wasn't so sure that she was going to Dallas. That drew a visible wince from her. Kellie above all else understands social status and perception of social status. If she wasn't in Dallas with the rest of the band, it would look very bad and she would have....in the words of Ricky Ricardo....'some splaining to do'.
I left it on that note and let her stew on it. The next day I went to work and told a few friends with daughters the story. Amazing. The minute I said the word "text messaging" they all---everyone of them---rolled their eyes and went..."oh yeah, I went thru that."
At least I didn't feel like my daughter was the ONLY ONE doing something stupid.
I spoke to Kim about what I felt an appropriate--and we argued about it. Which is something that we almost never do, so it made it all the more difficult. Kim's reasoning was that it wasn't the end-all-get-all of bad things she could do....where as I felt it was probably even a dumber thing to do than the old Myspace.com situation earlier in the year.
Andy had a special class he was taking that night at school to help him prepare for the SAT's, so Kim and I had dinner alone with Kellie. I asked her if she mentioned what had happened to her friends and she said that she had. I told her that we weren't going to take the Dallas trip away, because it had pretty much been a Christmas gift to her and her brother and it probably wouldn't be fair to take it back---no matter how dumb her actions with the cellphone had been. I told her that Kim and I were still in "negotiations" as to what her punishment would be....but that she shouldn't count on seeing a cellphone until the beginning of her sophmore year of high school (in other words, about a year and a half). The rest of the punishment, including how she was going to repay her grandfather....would be forthcoming.
UGH. Teenagers. And its just begun with her.
So, just as a little sidelight to the story....the kids made it to Dallas for their trip and the first night they were there they called us (Andy handled the phone). We had given them each about $80 for spending money for the weekend (Thursday thru Sunday) with the knowledge that they would have their breakfast and dinner paid for by the school---so all they were responsible for would be their lunch and what they spent money on.
So here we were....the FIRST day.....and Kim asked Kellie how her day went.
"Good, we went to the mall." Kellie informs her.
"How's your money doing? Did you spend any yet?"
"Yeah, I bought a pair of shoes for $50."
$50. And she hadn't been there a day.
My little girl is becoming quite the young woman. I think I just felt another gray hair come in.
Later,
Jeff
Monday, April 3, 2006
4/3/06---surviving Houston
So the wife and I returned last evening from our visit to the "land of Dubya", otherwise known as Houston, Texas. It was an interesting weekend to say the least, and I mean from the very beginning to the very end.
So we're sitting on the tarmac, waiting to get underway for our flight to Houston--this would be Thursday afternoon--and we got one of those people. You know the ones I mean. The ones who decide, come hell or high water, that their luggage can fit into the overhead compartment. Now mind you, there luggage is approximately the size of Rhode Island, but that's not going to stop them from attempting to complete their mission. So in this particular case, its two women. One of them sort of has that ditzy look, too much lipstick, boobs flopping around. The other one sort of looks like Michelle Rodriguez from "Lost"--if ya get my drift and I think ya do. Anyway, the tough chick is trying to stuff her luggage into the overhead, and finally these two guys come to help her...and their tugging, pushing, pulling....just about anything to get this one last suitcase to go in. Finally it goes in. Spontaneous applause erupts from the back of the plane (no lie--it really happened). Ms. Tough Chick says...and I quote:
"Thank you everybody. My friend is a little upset. She's worried I might have broken one of her dildo's."
There was about 3 seconds of dead silence. And then, finally....someone (that would be me)....spoke up.
"Uh maam, if your friend's dildo broke, you...uh....may have yourself a poor quality sexual apparatus there."
"Well I guess we'll just find out tonight now, won't we?"
"Well uh....yes sir, I guess you will."
I love going on vacation.
So we get to Houston, and the drive from the airport to our hotel is approximately 4 hours---well, at least it seemed that way. Our hotel was located in beautiful downtown Sugarland, Texas. The only bad thing so far was that Hertz didn't have one of those new Mustangs for me to drive. UGH. Our hotel though, was really nice.
Sugar Land Marriott Town Square: Hotel specials, rates and availability in Houston
Actually, compared to the hotel we stayed at in Tampa---the place was a palace. Or maybe it was just that the Tampa Marriott is a dump. Anyway, Sugarland is areally nice emerging town. I say "emerging", because it sure isn't a small town anymore.
Trivia for 100 points. What was Sugarland, Texas, famous for in the 1950's??
One thing you can say about the Houston area that makes it different from south Florida is that you can just see the corporate money that's there. All that money is coming in as new construction, new homes, new shopping centers. And here's the amazing thing.
The shopping centers? All have different stores. You know how when you go into a mall in south Florida that essentially you'll find the same exact stores in different locations. Houston isn't like that....every shopping center and mall have different stores.
It was unbelievable. I kept waiting for them to run out of stores. Across from the hotel is the Sugarland City Hall, which is a really amazing looking building that looks like it was constructed out of sandstone or something. Around the block from our hotel there are at least 10 restaurants--everything from a Starbucks to a an English style pub to a 5 star steakhouse. Every restaurant you could conceivably think of is within a mile of the hotel. Not only chain restaurants (Fridays, Outback, etc) but also local restaurants offering Mexican, Italian, steak, burgers---whatever. Its really amazing.
Thursday evening we went over to Cheesecake Factory, which my wife seems to be able to find in a manner that anteaters can locate ants. Just this one restaurant mind you.
Friday morning we got up and decided to head downtown into Houston to check things out. We ended up stumbling into a mall that was located right in the middle of an office building. The mall itself was really no great shakes, but we were tipped off that we had missed "the tunnels". The tunnels? So we see this escalator going down, down, down.
I mean...into what seemed to be the bowels of earth itself. And its there that we discover that all the office buildings in downtown Houston are connected. Like 100 feet below the streets there is just this maze of restaurants, shoppes, barbers, beauty shops...I mean, you name it and its down there. Its absolutely unbelievable. We were there just about at lunchtime, and the place fills up like you wouldn't believe. I had mentioned to my wife earlier that the streets of downtown Houston were surprisingly free of traffic. I found out why. Their all underneath the streets eating. The people can arrive at work around 8am and leave at 5pm and never see the sunlight. Underground Houston---"the tunnels"---was definitely one of the highlights of our trip.
So I wanted to show the wife the world famous Galleria Mall in Houston, which is nationally known as the mall that has a skating rink in the middle of it. The wife is checking the maps out, trying desperately for a clue that will show up where its located.
She's really getting frustrated and then finally, while looking at the map of Houston, says:
"Gee, you think that the Galleria might be located where it says..."GALLERIA" here on the map?"
What a navigator. That night, we went in search of geniune Texas BBQ. Our search took us to "Goode Company BBQ" Goode Company - Home Page, which surprisingly is not owned by my man Greg "Cable Guy" Goode....who of course would be known as "Greg 'BBQ Guy' Goode" if he were.....but I digress. Anyway, we swung in and dug into some authentic Texas style BBQ. Kim called the beef brisket top notch. I went with the spiced pork (very good) and the ham, which was disappointing. The baked beans had too many peppers in them. However, nearly saving the entire meal was an absolutely delicious slice of homemade pecan pie. OMAN!
Saturday morning Kim had to go to her conference at a nearby Healthsouth, and I walked over to a nearby Barnes & Noble late in the morning. We met for lunch and had the worst Chick Filet I've ever had in my life. YUCK! I drove Kim back to her conference and kept the car which allowed me to do some exploring of the greater Sugarland area. Its a nice little town that is getting bigger every day. The housing market is doing well, as houses are going up all over the place.
Observation of the day: As you can imagine, there are a lot of Mexicans in Houston.
Well, as I made my way around the Houston area, I decided: Cuban women are better looking than Mexican women.....and its not even close. You walk around a mall in Houston, you see a few really smoking hot looking women. Here in south Florida, you go in to a mall, and you'll see tons of gorgeous Cuban women. That's right....I said it.
However, what you may not realize is just how many Oriental women are in Houston.
Mainly Chinese and Vietnamese....the best looking woman I saw was Oriental.
Okay, we're back! So Saturday night we decided that we wanted to go out for a nice Texas style steak dinner. We had gotten a few recommendations, but decided to go with our first choice and went to the Texas Land & Cattle restaurant. We were both very happy with our dinner and left happily stuffed. Geez, its seems like all we're doing on this trip is eating.
Sunday morning Kim had to go to the very end of her conference so I went over to the shopping center for some last minute purchases and went back to the hotel and watched a movie ("Heat" w/Pacino & DeNiro---*****--Highest recommendation). Kim finally got back and after checking out, we made our way out for lunch. One more chance to check out some Texas style BBQ. This time we went to Pappa's BBQPappas BBQ Menu! At last! Now here--HERE--was some fine BBQ! Kim got the Po Boy BBQ beef sandwich, and I got the pork sandwich. Both were top notch...as were their home cut french fries. The Texas style beans were a bit too much like chili to my liking, but my lunch also came with a....get a load of this.....BOTTLE of grape soda. Two things.
I can't remember the last time I had a bottle of soda--and especially grape soda. They get bonus points just for offering that. We still had a couple of hours before we needed to be at the airport, and decided to hit a mall that was close to the airport and see if we could get any last minute gifts we might have forgotten.
Our first tip off was that the Houston police department had a branch office at the mall.
We walked around and noticed an unusually large amount of closed stores. I realized what was going on. It was just like Chris Rock said:
"You know how in every town....you have the 'nice mall', the one that just recently opened, and its all shiny and new.....and then.....well, then....you have....the 'other' mall."
We were in "the other mall". I was waiting for a rumble to break out at any moment.
We finally got out of there and started heading for the airport....I say we "started" because once again, Kim the navigator managed to get us turned around. Or, as other people call it......LOST. However, we regained our bearings and finally got where we needed to go (only a minor argument, I promise).
We had a nice flight back....I started watching a pretty good movie on our portable DVD player (The Constant Gardner) and we arrived in Ft Lauderdale around 10:20pm.
A nice end to our weekend.
Only....it wasn't. We get down to baggage claim and 2 of our 3 bags come out right in the front...and then we wait for the last one. And we wait. And we wait. I'm beginning to lose my mind...mainly because its MY BAG. (Hey, I'm selfish---sue me) The guy informs Kim that the bag is coming on the next flight from Houston (who knows why?)
and will arrive in Ft Lauderdale around 1:30am and that he will drive it to my house and deliver it if I want---at around 2am.
Suffice to say folks, it was a late night for your favorite writer....I went to bed damned tired...happy to be in my own bed....with my own suitcase in my house.....and really, really happy that I had decided to take Monday off at work.
Later,
Jeff
So we're sitting on the tarmac, waiting to get underway for our flight to Houston--this would be Thursday afternoon--and we got one of those people. You know the ones I mean. The ones who decide, come hell or high water, that their luggage can fit into the overhead compartment. Now mind you, there luggage is approximately the size of Rhode Island, but that's not going to stop them from attempting to complete their mission. So in this particular case, its two women. One of them sort of has that ditzy look, too much lipstick, boobs flopping around. The other one sort of looks like Michelle Rodriguez from "Lost"--if ya get my drift and I think ya do. Anyway, the tough chick is trying to stuff her luggage into the overhead, and finally these two guys come to help her...and their tugging, pushing, pulling....just about anything to get this one last suitcase to go in. Finally it goes in. Spontaneous applause erupts from the back of the plane (no lie--it really happened). Ms. Tough Chick says...and I quote:
"Thank you everybody. My friend is a little upset. She's worried I might have broken one of her dildo's."
There was about 3 seconds of dead silence. And then, finally....someone (that would be me)....spoke up.
"Uh maam, if your friend's dildo broke, you...uh....may have yourself a poor quality sexual apparatus there."
"Well I guess we'll just find out tonight now, won't we?"
"Well uh....yes sir, I guess you will."
I love going on vacation.
So we get to Houston, and the drive from the airport to our hotel is approximately 4 hours---well, at least it seemed that way. Our hotel was located in beautiful downtown Sugarland, Texas. The only bad thing so far was that Hertz didn't have one of those new Mustangs for me to drive. UGH. Our hotel though, was really nice.
Sugar Land Marriott Town Square: Hotel specials, rates and availability in Houston
Actually, compared to the hotel we stayed at in Tampa---the place was a palace. Or maybe it was just that the Tampa Marriott is a dump. Anyway, Sugarland is areally nice emerging town. I say "emerging", because it sure isn't a small town anymore.
Trivia for 100 points. What was Sugarland, Texas, famous for in the 1950's??
One thing you can say about the Houston area that makes it different from south Florida is that you can just see the corporate money that's there. All that money is coming in as new construction, new homes, new shopping centers. And here's the amazing thing.
The shopping centers? All have different stores. You know how when you go into a mall in south Florida that essentially you'll find the same exact stores in different locations. Houston isn't like that....every shopping center and mall have different stores.
It was unbelievable. I kept waiting for them to run out of stores. Across from the hotel is the Sugarland City Hall, which is a really amazing looking building that looks like it was constructed out of sandstone or something. Around the block from our hotel there are at least 10 restaurants--everything from a Starbucks to a an English style pub to a 5 star steakhouse. Every restaurant you could conceivably think of is within a mile of the hotel. Not only chain restaurants (Fridays, Outback, etc) but also local restaurants offering Mexican, Italian, steak, burgers---whatever. Its really amazing.
Thursday evening we went over to Cheesecake Factory, which my wife seems to be able to find in a manner that anteaters can locate ants. Just this one restaurant mind you.
Friday morning we got up and decided to head downtown into Houston to check things out. We ended up stumbling into a mall that was located right in the middle of an office building. The mall itself was really no great shakes, but we were tipped off that we had missed "the tunnels". The tunnels? So we see this escalator going down, down, down.
I mean...into what seemed to be the bowels of earth itself. And its there that we discover that all the office buildings in downtown Houston are connected. Like 100 feet below the streets there is just this maze of restaurants, shoppes, barbers, beauty shops...I mean, you name it and its down there. Its absolutely unbelievable. We were there just about at lunchtime, and the place fills up like you wouldn't believe. I had mentioned to my wife earlier that the streets of downtown Houston were surprisingly free of traffic. I found out why. Their all underneath the streets eating. The people can arrive at work around 8am and leave at 5pm and never see the sunlight. Underground Houston---"the tunnels"---was definitely one of the highlights of our trip.
So I wanted to show the wife the world famous Galleria Mall in Houston, which is nationally known as the mall that has a skating rink in the middle of it. The wife is checking the maps out, trying desperately for a clue that will show up where its located.
She's really getting frustrated and then finally, while looking at the map of Houston, says:
"Gee, you think that the Galleria might be located where it says..."GALLERIA" here on the map?"
What a navigator. That night, we went in search of geniune Texas BBQ. Our search took us to "Goode Company BBQ" Goode Company - Home Page, which surprisingly is not owned by my man Greg "Cable Guy" Goode....who of course would be known as "Greg 'BBQ Guy' Goode" if he were.....but I digress. Anyway, we swung in and dug into some authentic Texas style BBQ. Kim called the beef brisket top notch. I went with the spiced pork (very good) and the ham, which was disappointing. The baked beans had too many peppers in them. However, nearly saving the entire meal was an absolutely delicious slice of homemade pecan pie. OMAN!
Saturday morning Kim had to go to her conference at a nearby Healthsouth, and I walked over to a nearby Barnes & Noble late in the morning. We met for lunch and had the worst Chick Filet I've ever had in my life. YUCK! I drove Kim back to her conference and kept the car which allowed me to do some exploring of the greater Sugarland area. Its a nice little town that is getting bigger every day. The housing market is doing well, as houses are going up all over the place.
Observation of the day: As you can imagine, there are a lot of Mexicans in Houston.
Well, as I made my way around the Houston area, I decided: Cuban women are better looking than Mexican women.....and its not even close. You walk around a mall in Houston, you see a few really smoking hot looking women. Here in south Florida, you go in to a mall, and you'll see tons of gorgeous Cuban women. That's right....I said it.
However, what you may not realize is just how many Oriental women are in Houston.
Mainly Chinese and Vietnamese....the best looking woman I saw was Oriental.
Okay, we're back! So Saturday night we decided that we wanted to go out for a nice Texas style steak dinner. We had gotten a few recommendations, but decided to go with our first choice and went to the Texas Land & Cattle restaurant. We were both very happy with our dinner and left happily stuffed. Geez, its seems like all we're doing on this trip is eating.
Sunday morning Kim had to go to the very end of her conference so I went over to the shopping center for some last minute purchases and went back to the hotel and watched a movie ("Heat" w/Pacino & DeNiro---*****--Highest recommendation). Kim finally got back and after checking out, we made our way out for lunch. One more chance to check out some Texas style BBQ. This time we went to Pappa's BBQPappas BBQ Menu! At last! Now here--HERE--was some fine BBQ! Kim got the Po Boy BBQ beef sandwich, and I got the pork sandwich. Both were top notch...as were their home cut french fries. The Texas style beans were a bit too much like chili to my liking, but my lunch also came with a....get a load of this.....BOTTLE of grape soda. Two things.
I can't remember the last time I had a bottle of soda--and especially grape soda. They get bonus points just for offering that. We still had a couple of hours before we needed to be at the airport, and decided to hit a mall that was close to the airport and see if we could get any last minute gifts we might have forgotten.
Our first tip off was that the Houston police department had a branch office at the mall.
We walked around and noticed an unusually large amount of closed stores. I realized what was going on. It was just like Chris Rock said:
"You know how in every town....you have the 'nice mall', the one that just recently opened, and its all shiny and new.....and then.....well, then....you have....the 'other' mall."
We were in "the other mall". I was waiting for a rumble to break out at any moment.
We finally got out of there and started heading for the airport....I say we "started" because once again, Kim the navigator managed to get us turned around. Or, as other people call it......LOST. However, we regained our bearings and finally got where we needed to go (only a minor argument, I promise).
We had a nice flight back....I started watching a pretty good movie on our portable DVD player (The Constant Gardner) and we arrived in Ft Lauderdale around 10:20pm.
A nice end to our weekend.
Only....it wasn't. We get down to baggage claim and 2 of our 3 bags come out right in the front...and then we wait for the last one. And we wait. And we wait. I'm beginning to lose my mind...mainly because its MY BAG. (Hey, I'm selfish---sue me) The guy informs Kim that the bag is coming on the next flight from Houston (who knows why?)
and will arrive in Ft Lauderdale around 1:30am and that he will drive it to my house and deliver it if I want---at around 2am.
Suffice to say folks, it was a late night for your favorite writer....I went to bed damned tired...happy to be in my own bed....with my own suitcase in my house.....and really, really happy that I had decided to take Monday off at work.
Later,
Jeff
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