Granddaddy: "Tommy, I’m taking Sarah, Noah, Amy and Evan to McDonald’s. Want to go?"
Tommy: "No. I’ll stay here."
They leave.
Dad: "Tommy, please find Molly."
Tommy: "Ok. Is Evan awake?"
Year: 2007
Of Grasshoppers
Student: What to do when someone else’s problem becomes yours?
Master: Own it! Embrace it! And maybe you can solve two people’s problems at once.
August Happiness Challenge
I am happy today because I am getting to do the things that I have had to ignore these past few weeks.
Sidebar: This is hard. I was very happy until about an hour ago. I’m not really happy at all right now. I mostly feel like giving up.
Don’t ever be nice, just be nice about it
Stephen R Covey talks about climbing the corporate ladder only to find that its leaning on the wrong wall. Psychologists all over the place have publications explaining why good girls like bad guys. Nice guys do come in last. All my life I have lived very altruistically, and no Dr. Helen, I haven’t wanted anything for my altruism…it’s just a Southern thang. I am generous and kind living by the motto "wrong me once, shame on you; wrong me twice, shame on me." But in business that just gets you used.
More and more I am beginning to believe that I need to quit being nice. I can still be a nice guy without being a chump. Perhaps if I did less for others and more for myself then those around me would benefit more than having me help them directly. The words "not my problem" just do not roll naturally from my tongue. SEP!
All Bridges Closed!
This just in!
KNOXVILLE (Rooters) The Department of Homeland Insecurity (DHI) has re-enacted the Local Militia Act of 1775 to close all bridges across the country. Head of DHI’s Transportation Division, Mr. Jack A Sinine, explains, "we have over extended our National Guard so calling upon local militia to barricade our bridges and protect the public’s safety is cost effective and a boon to the local economy. Instead of having starving farmers on their porches with shotguns they will sit in front of the bridges acting as transportation routes officials limiting logistical security. After collecting a toll which helps pay for their services, these TROLLS will steer people to the nearest airport preventing them from crossing the dangerous bridge and allowing us to take the traveler’s fingerprints, naked pictures with our x-ray scanners, and document their every move around the country for their own safety. They are still free to travel anywhere in the country as long as they do not cross a bridge. For their own safety!"[Source]
My wife should feel much better now!
Does your body bother you?
If I lay on my back and put something, like the tv remote, on my stomach, I can watch it pulse in sync with my heartbeat. Am I really supposed to see my heartbeat through my stomach?! This bugs me just a bit because when I notice it, I can’t make it stop!
August Happiness Challenge
August comes at a terribly trying time for me. The A/C is broken and we are all grouchy and uncomfortable. Money is tight and next to Christmas, this is the most expensive time of year for our family. However, I have two things that have made me very happy today (I’ll do 2 since I missed yesterday). 1) The insurance company was eager to help with our hvac woes (keeping fingers crossed that they don’t change their mind) and 2) a major project that has been albatrossing me got finished today. Oh yes, there will be some wrap up work based on client feedback, but now I can move forward!
From the mouths of babes
We found a calculator in Staples with the numbers in a circle like on an old rotary telephone.
Dad: "Old phones used to have this dial, like a wheel, and you would stick your finger in the hole with the number you wanted then dial it around. That’s why we call it dialing a telephone number.
Noah: "So like was there an arrow or something so that once the number appeared on the screen you could make the call?"
From the mouths of babes
Cathy: "It’s too loud."
Tommy shouts back: "What do you mean it’s too loud?"
Of Grasshoppers
Student: I’ve forgotten.
Master: What?
Of Grasshoppers
Student: Patience being tried!
Master: Perhaps you should exercise more.
Nothing to say
Actually I have much to post but when the pressure is on and the heat is up I just do not have time to speak; however, I do have time to babble.
Ah the memories!
Not having A/C and relying on fans has taken me back a bit. There is a distinct smell to a house that is not cooled with A/C. There is a definite humidity not felt under the unnatural A/C. The sounds are different in a house closed from the world to contain the conditioned air. It takes me back to the summers I spent at my grandparent’s apartment in Richmond, VA. It reminds me of the times spent in my great grandmother’s in Wilmington, NC. These are not bad memories. And this is not a bad time. I do not want to go an extended length of time without A/C but living without A/C is not all that terrible.
Alright, to do list:
- check to see if the unit is under warranty
- see if home owner’s insurance will cover the repair
- see what KUB‘s financing plan looks like
I have also learned that no one trusts any hvac repair person in Knoxville and that everyone has the guy to call. Yes, that’s right..it’s a contradiction…
Hug me
Evan woke up on the needy side today. I live for these moments. He leaned against me and rested those tiny arms lovingly and securely on my shoulders then laid his head against my neck and shoulder. He wouldn’t let me put him down for about 20 minutes. No urgency. No matter how desperate our situation. No matter what deadline. Nothing could interfere with our moment! This is being a dad!
Of Grasshoppers
Student: I am so capable.
Master: A stone at the top of a hill is capable but does nothing until pushed.
