I am really tired this morning for some reason and I have to go to work. But, this song has been in my head all morning..I really can't explain why it is in my head but I suspect that the video came on the in the middle of the night while I was half sleep. Anyway, not too much to say today. Enjoy the song though.

Customer Service

Since when did Customer Service get so bad across the board. It seems as if everywhere that I go that people really do not want to be at work. You would think in these times that people would appreciate the fact that they have jobs and act accordingly. I have had no such luck. Yesterday I spent my day off with my son and he and I went searching for an item that I needed for my computer. The first establishment that I went to had decent service. I emphasize decent. The gentleman asked me if I needed assistance and I stated that I did. I gave him the specs for my computer and he did some research but had to call someone else in. This second person did not acknowledge me or my son and acted like I was stopping him from doing something else. I took offense to this but held my tongue due to me being a good father and all. So, once the rude gentleman informed me of the price I told him that I wanted to look around a bit before I paid that price and I left. I went to four other stores yesterday and things went downhill from there. One store the employee was busy having a conversation with someone else when I was trying to get information from her. Another store the employee did not even look me in my eye when she was speaking to me. One store I called the person had the nerve to take a loud slurp (pause) from their drink in a very loud fashion. When I finally settled on a store to buy what I needed the employee at the front checkout basically threw the bag at me and rolled her eyes. This is just unacceptable. I don't know where good customer service has gone. It seems as if everyone that I have spoke to have had a experience that mirrors my own. I don't want to speak to the elephant in the room here but that might be a possibility. I will save that rant for another day.

I watched the Departed for the hundred time last night. This movie seems to only get better every time that I watch it. My wife has told me on numerous occasions that I watch this movie too much. If you have ever seen this movie the acting is superb. Plus, I think Jack Nicholson is one of the best bad guys to ever grace the screen. Very good movie indeed.

Crazy neighbor

As soon as I got home from work yesterday the neighbor who just moved in the complex two months ago came knocking at my door. Now I am very funny about people coming to the house anyway so I was already on edge a little bit. This is the same neighbor who stopped me one morning and started telling me how she is from Chicago and she is in her townhouse alone due to her husband passing and blah blah blah. I really stopped listening after a while. Yesterday she came and asked me if I had be hearing weird noises in the walls. I had to think for a second and I responded that I have been hearing a strange sound behind my fridge but I have not been able to pinpoint it. So, crazy woman proceeds to tell me that she keeps hearing a scurrying sound above her bedroom and it sounds as if it could be a raccoon. She keeps this wonderful dialog going by explaining how in Chicago you can just shoot the raccoon and keep it moving and how in Maryland you can't do that. This conversation led to how her son lives not to far away but far enough so that he does not come visit and how her daughter comes by every now and then. How does all of this concern me? She ended the conversation by saying that she is going to call the police and have them deal with the situation and she was going to keep me informed. This is once again an example of pointless conversation and 15 minutes wasted of my valuable time. I really have the desire at times to stop people when they are talking and ask them what the %^$ they are talking about. I know some people might have the thought that she is lonely due to her husband passing but that my friends is why they have facebook, match.com, or a vast array of internet sites to keep you busy. It does not mean come to my household. Okay, I am done venting for the morning.

Interesting

I may be on a little late on this clip right here but I someone sent this to me this morning and it had me shaking my head. I may be a little biased for I am a huge Michael Dyson fan but this is ridiculous. Pat Buchanan really comes off as not able to debate in this conversation. Some of his points may have merit but after a while he really goes off the deep end. Now, to be fair Michael Dyson takes a dip in that end as well. I would just say to watch it and take away what you must.

I wonder if this new shift in power in Cuba is a way for the younger Castro to appeal to Obama. I have been hearing for a while that Cuba would like sanctions lifted after all of these years and I wonder if they see an opening with Obama. It is going to be interesting to see how this plays out. This issue is one that has not seen much light of the day recently due to the economy issues but it is on the radar.

Can someone tell me when you can get a ticket for letting your car warm up in the morning without you being in it. Yesterday morning as was walking back inside my house after starting my vehicle the police drove by and advised me that if my car is on that I need to be in the car. She then pointed to my neighbors truck which also was on and asked me where she was. I stated I did not know and the officer went to her front door, asked for her DL and registration and gave her a $70 ticket for leaving her vehicle unattended. That is just crazy. I know PG county police are going through a budget shortfall but this is crazy.

Weddings

275 people. That is way to many people for a wedding if you ask me. One of my co-workers is in the process of planning her wedding and takes every minute of the day to ask me my opinion on things. The first thing that I told her is that when my wife and I got married we had a very small ceremony. I mean small like 10 people. That is what we both wanted and we were happy about it. I really didn't see a reason to break the bank on a wedding. I have known of people who spend 30k on a wedding and then spent the next few years going back and forth about money. I did not want to be in that boat. So, this co-worker of mine plans on having the ceremony at this location on the water and she wants an open bar and this and that. She told me yesterday that she wants to find a way to not invite children to her wedding. I advised her that this might not be a good idea and I was shut down. First she told me that she did not want children screaming during the ceremony and then she started talking about the cost of food for the wedding. I stuck to my guns though and still gave my opinion. When I spoke to my wife about what my co-worker had said, she agreed with my co-worker. My wife is of the mentality that it is her wedding and she can do what she wants. My wife said that if she wants to have one legged beetles are her wedding she can have that too. (Verbatim of course) I just think that if you are having a wedding on a weekend that children are going to have to come. Maybe that it just me. I must say though that the number of people on her list is going down by the day. It was up to about 350 last week. When you start factoring in the cost of the food per person and the photographer everything else you learn real quick about easing up on the guest list. I wish her the best of luck though. I know a few people who are getting married in the next year and I hope they plan wisely. 10 people was wonderful....No issues what so ever.

Envious

So, this morning I wake up at 4 something this morning to my wife's cell phone going off informing her her school is closed this morning. Then I get call around 6:45 this morning stating that my office will NOT be closing this morning. As I rolled out of of bed and looked outside I saw at least six inches of snow on the ground and thought about every excuse in the world that I could come up with to stay home. I could not come up with one. So I woke up, did the three s's and intended on starting my day in a bad mood. After I got dressed though that all changed. I went in my son's room, got him out of bed, and informed him that it was snowing and he would be staying home today. He then ran to window in our bedroom and the look on his face was priceless. My son started smiling and telling me over and over again that it is snowing and that the snow is white. (He has just learned his colors) This changed my entire outlook on my day. I can't tell you how it feels to see his excitement of seeing his first real snow. It may seem small to some but you learn how to treasure every little thing when you have a child. I told him that I have to go to work to make money and he stated that he wants to make money too..You gotta love it. If we could only get passed those damn child labor laws.

Any and everything

I think my itching for reggae music is back in full swing. I have been playing nothing but reggae for the last two days. Prior to this I have been asking around to see who can get me some old school reggae. I used to listen to it a lot growing up and kind of lost my love for it. I don't know where this renewed interest came from. Let me just say that if anyone has some please sent it to me. Don't be shy.

They are saying that we are supposed to get a lot of snow this afternoon and this evening. I can't wait. I have been saying all winter that I want a big snow storm and it looks as if I may have my wish. Now, I know I am older and my office will not close but it still makes for good times. I think my wife will be out of work tomorrow and my son will get to run wild one more day. That makes me smile.

I watched Robert Gates on meet the press this morning there was very strange moment in which David Gregory asked Gates if he was going to serve out the term his position and he stated that it would be challenging. I found this very interesting. I must say that I was shocked at first when he agreed to stay in the position after the transition but I did not know he would make a public statement like that. I must say though that I liked the fact that he stated that Obama is more of a analytical person that Bush is. That too made me smile.

I am in the third full month of my beard and I must say that I am happy. I have tried for many years to grow a beard and I have always come up short. Oh how things have changed. I now have a full "Black thought" like beard and I am too happy. One of my clients told me that it makes me look more distinguished. My wife even told me that I look more handsome. That is all I need.......

I highly advise everyone to go to Ovation TV and watch the special that they did on Miles Davis. I must say that I have always been a fan of his work. I grew up in a household where his music was constantly played, but watching this special made me a bigger fan. Just to see the genius behind his music making process is enough to get anyone with a creative gene inspired. He also was very much an enigma. I don't think anyone fully understood him but they read him through his music. I think more artists should strive for this.