Shopping

We need to go shopping for Christmas. This is a task that I am not looking forward to. Not because I don't love giving people presents, truthfully, I loathe the traffic I have to get through to purchase all the presents. I went to the mall to day for a haircut (at the instruction of my wife) and if the parking lot was any indication of the state of our economy, we are going to be just fine.

Parking lots are a source of human weirdness for sure. I am amazed at how some people just switch off their brain when entering a mall parking lot. From the old guy in the Buick LeSabre who is driving at 1.7 mph, to the visually impaired person who manages to consume 2 parking spaces for a Honda civic.

Anyway, so now my hair is cut and I am sitting here blogging because there are 4 ladies in our living room who are laughing out loud, and opening presents at the same time. This means I have no access to my beautiful tv. Marci's gal pals are over here for their annual Christmas gift giving. This is a tradition that has been going on for years. It always amazes me how much fun, and words women can have at these events. It's kinda cool. Most guys would never call each other and say "Hey man lets all get together, just us guys and watch each other open our presents, Hooray!!" Could you possibly even imagine this? Now if the call that went out went like this "Hey, you jacka$$'s come over to my place for Xmas so that we can insult each other, tell dirty jokes, drink beer, fart out loud and laugh about it" you can bet that all of my guy friends would be here.

That's the difference between guys and girls. Marci still has problems understanding this. Part of being a man, is knowing how to insult your fellow man in a way that actually says - "hey I like you well enough to make fun of you." Women just don't communicate this way. Guys like to insult each other, we think its funny, ladies don't. You would never see a girl pointing at another woman's belly saying, "what happened here?, maybe you should cut back on the beer - HAHAHA" That would not go down well. A guy can say that to another guy, and both have a good laugh. Hey, in our world a beer belly is a medal of honor.

Anyway, I digress. I am going to go into the living room now, into the fray of words and laughter.
On the other hand, it's kinda nice to come home to a house full of 4 lovely ladies!


Sean.

Winter - ugh!

I woke up this morning to a layer of snow over everything. It continued to lightly snow for most of the morning. Then there was a blizzard when it was time for the drive home. You'd think the fact that I live in PA and have lived here my entire life would have helped me like winter. Not so much. I appreciate the beauty and briskness of snow. I appreciate a walk after the snow has muffled all sound around me. But I'm not ready for it just yet. This is what I came home to . . .


Yes, those are pumpkins on the porch and some petunias and mums in the garden. I thought it was still November and not even quite Thanksgiving. Oh well, winter has arrived.

Travel

We are back from Phoenix. We had a great time. The 80 degree weather wasn't too shabby either.
However, arriving at the airport and finding your vehicle in 32 degrees, covered with a fine layer of snow will snap you back into reality quickly. Marci was jumping up and down at the car door begging me to let her in, out of the cold while I loaded our stuff into the trunk. It's always nice to come home from a long trip and flop down onto your own bed. There's just something about swinging the door open to your own home that makes you let a out a breath of warm relief. The smell of familiarity. It somehow fells like the most comforting thing to let your house wrap it arms around you again.

Much less can be said for air travel. I don't quite know where, or when I stopped enjoying this part of the adventure. Maybe it was when they made you completely disassemble and then re-assemble yourself at the security checkpoints. Maybe its the long lines at the airports, and is it just me or does every employee of every airline just look miserable and annoyed these days? It's somehow feels like its my fault that the airlines are losing money because of years of poor management, delays, and under staffing. Now, the bar of misery has been raised even higher.

It costs $15 dollars to check 1 piece of luggage, and $25 for the next. Am I the only person who thinks this is completely insane? That's like staying at a hotel, and being charged for the air you breathe while staying in the room. How on earth is one supposed to travel without luggage?
Surely this is part of carrying a passenger. Ok - 250 pounds of extra boxes and junk I can understand, but ordinary luggage? Really??

As we were herded onto the plane I saw a nice sign from US Air, explaining that drinks and coffee are all now $2 per serving, and a small snack is $7. I opened their on-board magazine out of sheer boredom and read the note in the front from their CEO, explaining with his big smile that this was their new "you choose your level of service" strategy, and how it was going to make my whole US Air experience so much better. So, let me get this straight - $15 to check my baggage (per person, so that is actually $30) plus a drink for us each ($4) and a pathetic sandwich with a nice plastic spork for lunch ($14) equals a total of $48 (one way)
He's right - this is much better strategy than free. And they wonder why they are losing money.
When did Southwest - (remember them? the "discount, no frills") airline suddenly become the luxury option?

I wish the Captain would simply turn on the PA and state the following:
"Good morning folks, this is the captain speaking. Today's flight is going to suck - you are going to be cramped, freezing and uncomfortable, and our bathrooms are going to be extra nasty. You will probably have to sit next to some annoying passenger and pretend to be polite. We are going to rip you off with our pathetic cabin service and your luggage is likely already smashed in the cargo hold. We are definitely going to be late for your connecting flight, because I don't feel like making the plane go any faster. So, sit back, relax and enjoy your flight suckers"

And another thing - when are they going to update the Skymall magazine? Seriously, I see the same junk in there year after year.

Pictures from Arizona are here.


Sean.

Home Again

We are home. I'm already missing the 83 degree weather in Phoenix. We stepped off of the plane this evening in Philly and I almost suffered from frostbite. What a shock to the system! But as always, the vacation must come to an end. Sean and I had a fabulous time with my sister, brother-in-law and nephews. It was so wonderful to see them and spend some quality time together. We meandered around Old Town Scottsdale, took in the sights in Sedona, relaxed together, and strolled the streets of downtown Phoenix. Sean and I needed a little get-away and this was a perfect opportunity. Thank you, Lori, Michael and boys. Miss you already!

(P.S. There are photos of the trip. I'm married to Sean and his new camera, aren't I? He's editing them as I type. We'll post those later.)

Weekly news update.

Here is the weekly news update.

1. I took an online IQ test, and I scored above average. If this is true, then why is it that after a year of living here I still cannot figure which drawer in the kitchen holds the dishtowel.
2. I am reveling in the fact that Comcast now has a selection of old James Bond movies in HD. I have since indulged myself in 4 days of 007. Last night I dreamed that someone was stealing my wife and much to her surprise I grabbed her while she was sound asleep. I may need a possible break from watching Bond.
3. We are going to Phoenix later this week for a few days away from the sprawling metropolis of Lancaster PA. How am I going to cope with being away from all this excitement for so long?
4. It is now officially cold in Pennsylvania. Last night it was 38 degrees.
5. I drove a BMW 3 series the other day, and suddenly realised why American auto makers are in such trouble.
6. My 401K is now only my 201K
7. Found a new beer called "Harpoon Ale." Very good. Thanks to my friend John for recommending this sweet nectar of heaven. Hooray, Hooray.


Have a great week.

S.

Wow

OK folks,
Wow, I didn't expect all those comments on my last post. I truly appreciate all of your feedback.
Unfortunately, since this is an open blog some anonymous members of our new society have decided to post some not so nice things that I really don't feel are pleasant.
The goal of this blog is to create warm fuzzy feelings about family, life, love and friends - not a forum for a political gunshot wound.

So I take full responsibility for throwing the "cat amongst the pigeons" but have removed the last post and comments in the interest of maintaining happy thoughts.

Feel free to comment - (nice things only)
:)

S.

New Tradition

I have always loved the weekend. It means you can sleep in and take a break from the work week. But lately I have come to love it even more. Sean and I started a new weekend tradition of having a brunch of coffee and bagels or pastries either on Saturday or Sunday morning. (I usually have tea because I'm not much for coffee. However, I have discovered that I like caramel lattes because they're so sweet it's difficult to taste the coffee. I'm all about the sugar.) Anyway, today we headed out to one of my favorite spots in Lancaster, Prince Street Cafe. Sean had never been there and enjoyed it. Although next time he gets a table while I order our food. He kind of got mine a bit mixed up. Still tasty though.

We're taking recommendations for future brunch locations. We have the usual Panera and Starbucks. Of course there are the local goodies, such as Coffee Co and Prince Street Cafe. Any others?

Things aren't always as they seem...

This week I decided to reward myself with a present. Why? Just because.

So I bought Apple TV. This is a cool little device that allows you to download HD movies, stream music wirelessly from your Itunes library to your stereo, view your photos on the tv, etc, etc.
I know, I'm such a tech nerd. I love it.

Getting it set up was a pain. I had to run another HDMI cable behind the wall.
This got me thinking, that things in life are not always as they seem. For instance, take a look at
the picture of our TV (nicely installed on the wall), and then the picture of whats behind the TV.

What a mess.

Oh well!

S.

Voter Burnout

Have you heard of this?

Its a useful phrase, coined conveniently by political organizers. This way they can put a definition on those folks like me who are sick and tired of hearing about this election.

It's much easier to handle something when you have a name for it. Its much easier to not offend anyone. We are great at that in America. This all happened when we started calling the janitor a "custodial technician." Or a secretary an "executive assistant."

So, if there are people out there who are suffering from "voter burnout" you can now form a special focus group designed specifically to win back those precious lost votes. You can create new positions, for instance: you can have an "administrative assistant to the public relations liason" for the "special voter burnout task force"

Thats great! Who's going to pay for this? Oh never mind, were going to use money from a government grant. How much you ask? Oh, a couple hundred million, that should do it.

Good - aren't you glad that votes come cheap?

Speaking of cheap - if the credit markets are so screwed up, and there's no money to borrow, why did I get an application in the mail today from Chase bank for a $50,000 home equity loan with "payments as low as $198 per month!!!"

Here's where I am with all of this.

1. I'm tired of getting forwarded emails telling me that Obama is a complete terrorist, and we will all die if he is elected.

2. I'm tired of John McCain calling me his friend, and telling me that he will veto any pork barrel bill - and I will "know their names"

3. I'm really tired of hearing about "change" when I see nothing but more of the same from both sides.

Wow - I must have a really bad case of voter burnout.......

Fall is here

I love the fall.

The cool crisp air in the morning, the leaves changing on the trees, the days of sweltering heat finally behind us.

Soon it will be time to put the mower away, and watch the grass go back to sleep.

This is the best time of the year to be out on the road, visiting customers. I can drive with the windows down, I don' have to get back into a steaming hot car, and for some reason people just seem more relaxed. I like to take my camera out with me, the air is nice and clear and I never know when I can quickly snap a picture of the leaves turning.

I drove past this little tree a few days ago, and it looked like it was on fire, so I pulled over, grabbed my SLR and took a few shots. (Click Here)

What is your favorite part about the fall? Carving pumpkins? Pulling on your favorite sweater?

Warm cookies from the oven, with a nice cup of hot chocolate on standby?

Sean.