Don't Piss off the lady in charge

Well, I found out that you don't want to cross my wife.

I am not going to name names but lets just say that some people kind of "used" her because they don't like dealing with the problems in their own life and instead had her dealing with them. She finally had enough and told them all off. Which is rare for my wife.

Usually she doesn't like to create "waves" and usually just complains to me about what is pissing her off. This time she had enough and told everyone she is DONE!

I was so proud of her, she had been letting everyone take advantage of her for too long. She had to rearrange her schedule and dish out money for others and rarely got anything in return for it. She told them she has her own family to worry about and is through taking care of everyone else's family.

I love my wife. She is one strong woman and I don't know what I would do without her!

Technology at it's finest... and the idiot who uses it

Don't you love technology? I do.

I think it really helps us accomplish so many things. Like cooking meals in minutes, Listening to music anywhere, keeping us safe and secure and making sure no one can access restricted areas.... even if we have the access to them...

The place I work is a secure building, so we have to wear badges that you use to slide into slots (like ATM cards) in little machines next to all the doors to gain access to a place.

Recently, they have been switching over to the proximity badges (where you just hold the card up to this little box on the wall and it lets you in).

They are starting with Level 4 and working their way down. So my level is 2nd to last, so I have two cards I have to wear. I wear mine on a lanyard around my neck... lately though I take it off at my desk because it gets stuck on the edge of the desk and when I back up or get up, it snaps it's little retractable cord back and I get hit.

So I had to get some change in the change machine on the main level (I work in the lower levels) and my co-worker was leaving early and I thought I would walk her out, get my change and head back.

I do all that and get in the elevators to come downstairs. I get out and go to the elevator lobby doors to let me onto my floor and realize--I left my badge on my desk.

So upstairs I go to the main lobby and the security desk (Thank god it is staffed 24 hours a day) to get a temp badge. Thank goodness they know me and let me have one without too much hassle. Sometime they require you provide them with your Driver's License (which is at my desk)

So I get the badge, and I am waiting behind some other guy trying to get in and his card makes the walkway/entrance detector say proceed, then immediately change to wait and back again a few time (it reminded me of something out of Maximum Overdrive--where everything electrical went nuts) so I go to another walkway and try mine and the proximity card works in the lobby (their upgrade is complete) and I continue on down the elevators to my floor. I go up to the elevator lobby on my floor and slide in the ATM like card and..... nothing...... I try it a few more times and then try the reader on the other side of the lobby....... nothing. Back upstairs.

So I get up there and the security guard is confused why it doesn't work, but switches the cards out so I can try again... back downstairs.

So I try the ATM-like card in the elevators and it flashes a few times and viola! it works. So I go to my department door and try my card. It flashes really slow a few times and..... nothing....... So back upstairs.

I talk to the guard and she makes some calls and realizes that she gave me the wrong card. Because I am a contractor I get a yellow temp badge not a green. Back downstairs I go.

Finally everything works and I get into my department. I grab my badge and go back upstairs to return the temp badge.

Let me tell you that no matter what I am always wearing this badge at work. That was too much effort to get back into my department. I wasted about a half hour.

So isn’t technology lovely......

10 Year Reunion at CHS

Well, so far there is no plan yet for a 10 year CHS reunion.

BUT, Fear not! Bianca Ward is collecting contact information for the class of 96.

If you would like your contact information included (fellow students) please let me know and I will pass it along to her!

You can also access the District 12 Alumni page and find her listed there and while your at it you can have yourself added to the growing list of alumni.

(UPDATE: Jason Frey and Bianca created an MSN group. You can reach it here.)

Here You Come Again!

Well, it is official.

October 29th Dolly Parton will be at the Xcel Energy Stadium! I just have to quickly pay off a credit card and then I can order tickets! I am going to try and get Lower Level seats up close.

The last time she was in concert in MN was 1993 at the MN State Fair. I had crappy seats then.

I am so excited.

Refinance the easy way.

I just closed on my refinance of my vehicle.

I went to Lendingtree.com and told them what I needed and Wells Fargo came through for me and paid off a few Credit Cards too!

Only took an hour to close on the loan and I have insurance to pay for the car should something happen to me or Amy. Which Chrysler didn't offer.

We dropped our payment down to $200 a month instead of $400! So this is a good thing!

A Matter of Opinion.....I have been converted!

After getting home from Onamia Sunday night, we decided to get food for dinner, but get something somewhat healthier than fast food or pizza. We had our choice of Wendy's, Quizno's or Subway. We settled on Subway.

We get there and they are having a dinner rush. There are about 3 people in front of us, but the first person is ordering for a family so we are waiting for about 20 minutes before it is our turn.

We tell the guy we want 4 kid's packs. He proceeds to tell us they are all out of rounds, so they will have to put them on 6" size bread for no extra charge. Fine with us.

There are 3 people working. The bread/cheese/meat guy, the toppings guy and the cashier girl. The cashier girl is trying to hurry us along by asking us what kind of 6" subs we have while the toppings guys is asking what we want on the first one, while the meat/bread guy is asking us about the next sandwich. So my mom is trying to talk to 3 different people at the same time. Meanwhile the girl isn't understanding that we are ordering kids packs.

The bread guy keeps smooshing the bread when cutting it so he gets all mad and throws the bread (literally throws the bread) in the trash. The topping guy disappears. So now the bread guy also has to do the toppings as well.

We then proceed to tell him we want a foot long wheat. He says the wheat is still too hot to cut. Okay, how long until it is cool. About 20 minutes. Fine, we will have it on white. Oh wait, they are all out of white and it won’t be ready for another 20 minutes. (couldn't they have announced all this BEFORE WE WASTED 20 MINUTES IN LINE!) Fine we will wait.

So we step aside to wait and I look back and see about 20 people now in line. So I tell my mom forget it we will just take the kids sandwiches (and then very loudly) AND WE WILL JUST GO TO QUIZNOS TO GET OUR OTHER SUBS. Everyone in line starts looking at each other like, uh oh, why is he going to another sub shop? Meanwhile no one bothers to announce to these poor people that they are out of these breads.

So we go to pay for the kids packs and she asks if I want milk or juice. I say juice. She says we don't have any juice left. WELL, THAN WHY DID YOU ASK ME WHICH I WANTED! So I sigh really loudly and tell her milk. By this point she knows I am pissed. So we leave.

We drive back home to tell Amy that we now have to go to Quiznos (she was against it to begin with, because she has never eaten there and doesn't know what she would like)

So I take the phone with me. We walk into Quiznos--no one in line. We peruse, order our sandwiches, tell them thank you and how wonderful they are and how nice they are compared to our recent Subway experience. And if they all of a sudden have a crowd, they know why. We were in and out in 10 minutes. Less if we wouldn't have taken our time looking at all the food they have, soups, salads, desserts, ton of sandwiches. WHICH TASTE GREAT!

So I am boycotting subway. Quiznos is the way to go and they are HOT sandwiches with WAY more taste!

It's a wonderful day in the neighborhood

I had such a pleasant weekend this past weekend. Even if I had to get up at 10 am on a Saturday!

First, I hate road trips. The long drive, the cranky kids. It just sucks! So normally I fall asleep and let my wife deal with it all. I know, I know, that is kind of mean, but I just can't (or should I say don't want to) deal with all that jazz.

We had to drop off Devin, stop at the store and stop at the gas station to do potty breaks. By the time we were done with all that and on the road. We were halfway to her sisters house and it was already noon, so I was wide awake.

But it was a pleasant drive. My wife and I chatted about stuff, the kids played quietly and we had a nice drive (even if she did 80 a few times!)

When we got up to her sisters house in Onamia, all the kids were happy to see us. We had to "tip toe through the dog poo" (I wish it was tulips!) Then clean off our shoes. But that was okay.

We visited for a while, had lunch, visited some more. Plugged the iPod into their home theatre and listened to music. Let the kids ride bikes outside. Before we knew it, it was like 7 pm. So then we had dinner and decided to sleep over. (They really wanted us too!)

So we put the kids to bed and had some adult time. We played the no name game (a really cool card game with 10 goals you have to do. The first to do all ten ends the game, but whomever with the lowest score wins) Kinda like Rummy 500 but with goals and certain rules. I was the first to get through all 10. Which is usually hard to do and takes quite awhile, but # 8, 9 and 10 just fell into place within the third round for each goal. But Amy came out first, then Jen, then me and Jason was last with the highest score.

After that we blew up the air mattress, and fell asleep.

We awoke the next morning and everyone had breakfast while I fell asleep in the chair, while the kids kinda noisily played on the PS2. At one point Jen came over and whispered to me that her side of the bed was open and that I could go sleep with Jason in their room away from all the noise. But I was too tired to move.

Apparently much later Jason was awake and was trying all sorts of stuff to wake me up. Like putting loud toys right next to my ear. Amy finally woke me up. We chit-chatted some more and then headed on home around noon.

We picked up Quiznos for dinner on our way home and then settled down and watched Superman III with the kids and Devin. Everyone loved it.

We sent the kids of to bed and then stayed up and watched some infomercial and decided we are going to get the Magic Bullet chopping system (seems handy enough) and a trial run of the Bare Essentials Cosmetics for Amy. (UPDATE: Never did get the Bare Essentials for Amy. We did ge the Magic Bullet).

All in all it was a great weekend and I loved spending time with my family.

BANKS SUCK!

I hate banks. All these hoops and fees that they have. It is such crap.

The bank I am currently at (not naming name--Not Wells Fargo, Not TCF, the only other major one left!) has this ridiculous policy that if you deposit a check that is not direct deposited, then you have to wait 24 to 48 hours before the fund become available (unless you have enough in your account already to match that amount). They only make $100 of it available.

For the past 4 weeks I have been hit with overdraft fees because technically my check was "available" one day late! So they took out over $600 in fees. What kind of shit is that!!!

We are going to our local credit union this weekend and getting a new account. They don't pull that crap nor do they plan too. My current bank said that all banks would be switching to that policy in a month or two. SO WATCH OUT!

Other than that everything is okey-dokie! This weekend we go to a Twins game. I haven't been to one in years! Since I was in Cub Scouts. After that we go up to Terri's for a Karaoke contest she is hosting and probably spend the night or something! I am sooo excited!

Current music in my iPod:

• Celine Dion - Amar Haciendo el Amor, Fever
  
• RuPaul - Looking Good, Feeling Gorgeous (all 7 remixes)
  
• The Wilkensons - 26 Cents
  
• Jem - They (Sorry, not the 80s cartoon)
  
• Jedd Hughes - High Lonesome
• Jane Moheit - Over the Rainbow
  
• Lee Ann Womack - Buckaroo

I suggest going and getting iTunes and downloading it (need Windows XP or a mac) and getting these songs online! They are worth the 99 cents!