A Fine Example
You've heard me rant before about the nature of the average human being, how selfish and arrogant and frankly idiotic most are. This entry will not be another of those but a tribute to the kind of person who seems to have gone extinct.
My grandfather passed away yesterday morning after a few years of ailing health. He was a man of few words, yet you always knew where he stood. There was no fudging the line between right and wrong with him. He believed what he believed without hesitation and his actions always comported with those beliefs.
He was a child of the Depression, one of The Greatest Generation; people who knew hard work and hardship, yet were always there to lend a helping hand or give a piece of important advice, WHEN ASKED. He was never one to meddle in your business but you always knew the answer to a dilemma by watching the way he lived his life.
No truer proof of the quality of people exists than the quality of their children. My grandparents raised some of the most genuine, kind and hard working people you'll meet...learned, charitable and respectful to all, just like they were.
My grandfather was like a second father to me, except he was always there when you needed him; a counterbalancing force to the man who was my biological father. If you needed some cash, he'd put you to work; if you needed some advice, pull out the cribbage board and have a chat. He never uttered many words but said much.
I could go on and on and on with specific examples of my fondest memories -- from working cutting wood with him, to playing on a softball team together when I was a teen and he was 60, to the way he looked through you peering over his glasses with that "no bullshit" way of his -- but the point of this post is merely to attempt to articulate what an important person he was to me and how he'll truly be missed as an example of the way people should be.
Hopefully soon I'll have a piece on BoSox Tavern about him as a Red Sox fan.
My latest project
Some background: A month or so ago I scheduled a routine physical because I wanted to talk to the doc about what could be done to help me quit smoking. I've never come close to quitting before. I've recently developed a minor smoker's cough, something I never had before unless I had a cold. I'm tired much more than I should be, I think. The fact that it would save me at $150 a month is a factor, especially with now another car payment. But mostly it's my age...mortality takes on a very different meaning now, I guess.
So I talked to the doc on Friday. Of course she thinks it's a great idea. She scheduled me for a chest X-ray, which I took this morning, just to take a look. The biggest thing is that she gave me a prescription for a new quit smoking drug called Chantix. It's supposed to work different than the others in the past in that it doesn't contain nicotine. "When you smoke, the nicotine you inhale binds to receptors in the brain. This releases a chemical called dopamine, which gives a feeling of pleasure but only for a short time, and the body wants to repeat this feeling of pleasure. Based on researach, it is believed the Chantix works by activating these receptors to a lesser degree and blocking nicotine from attaching to them..."
So it's a pill with escalating dosages. You start taking it the first week and you can still smoke. You're supposed to pick a quit date and start taking the pills 7 days before that to build up before you actually quit. So I'm picking it up tonight, start taking the pills tomorrow morning. So the quit date will be like next Tuesday.
This will give me another week, on top of all the mental preparation I've already done, to be in the right frame of mind to do this. Almost 30 years of a habit is a long time but I think I'm finally ready. I'm going to start scaling back to get in the habit of starting to quit and keep going over all the reasons why I need to and want to.
But I'm also bringing you all into this as well. You can be my support group.
Pounding the pavement
There are certainly aspects of this job that I don't like, don't look forward to; but it's a game and you have to approach it that way. All in all things are going well. When I put my game face on and approach each customer with the right attitude, I generally come away with a positive attitude.
I spent much of the last two weeks working out of a hotel room in Portland, just coming home on Wednesday nights to bowl. I also worked a "booth" in Bangor on that middle Sunday. So until this past weekend I haven't been home much to speak of.
It's been an interesting process to go through classroom training in an old TWC area while doing job shadowing with reps in old Adelphia territory, since that's where I live and will be my area. So it's been like working for two companies at the same time. Starting this week I'll be working up here in the Augusta area while still trying to reel in some folks I've had contact with in Portland for the last two weeks. The philosophies, the products, the systems and environment are very different between the two areas still, even though it's all TWC now and has been since August. At least I'm not in the category of folks who've been doing things successfully for several years one way and are now having to change.
I'll try to update more often that I have of late, and I intend on writing a little piece anyway about my early Christmas present.
Long time, no write
Sorry it's been so long but the new job has taken up most of my time and especially my brain. I've been commuting to Portland for most of the last several weeks for training, and will be down there for the next 2 weeks on the street. Things are going well and I'm confident this will be a great opportunity. I'll try to let you know how it goes.
On the Nascar front I'd like to congratulate Jimmy Johnson and the 48 team on winning the championship. They were the best team and deserved to win, and they did so in spite of a Chase format that will some day make a champion out of a team that was 10th best for most of the season.
I did finally win the fantasy season game on our
message board, something I've been trying to do for at least 10 years...miracles do occur.
I'm optimistic about the progress of Petty Enterprises and think next year could see them improve even more, to the point where a win would be a distinct possibility. It was also great to have a Nascar season where one of my favorites won several races. That hasn't happened since Richard Petty in the '70's. So congrats on a great year for Kasey Kahne. I think they're a definite Cup contender for next year. That would certainly warm the heart of this Mopar fan.
Finally, I'd like to do a quick blog intro and let you know that several of us from the Under da Porch message board have started a Nascar blog, which you can find
here. I'll mention more about it after we've had a chance to build it up some, but please stop by and wish us well and give us any input you'd like.
Have a great Thanksgiving. And last but certainly not least, today is Munchkin's 16th birthday. Happy Birthday, sweetie! (Wow, I can't believe the youngest is now 16 or that I've been through this 6 times!)
128 & 321
Maybe I'm starting to get things consistent bowling-wise. I bowled a 128 on my second string Wednesday night!! (though I am disappointed that I didn't get to 130 because the guys had me laughing so hard I gutter-balled a 0 on one of the spares. LOL) Started with a 91, then the 128 and finished with a 102 for 321. The 102 should have been better since I opened with two spares. But still, I've been better every week.
New job's going fine. Still job shadowing. Early this week it was with folks who support the DSR's (direct sales reps), like dispatch, field techs, etc. Then the last 2 days has been classroom instruction in Portland, as will all of next week and at least part of the week after. Cuz, I'm a half-mile from where you work...we should hook up for lunch one day.
Squirt's play starts tonight and runs next week. I'll let you know how it goes. I'm going tomorrow night. She'll be great as always. I'll get Shel to update her blog about it since she goes to every performance. She updated recently about the family, etc, if you haven't seen it.
Hope to have a political blog up this weekend; I know it's been awhile.
Splitting wood
Munchkin and I spent the day at Gram's splitting up the wood for winter...over did it a bit but it's all done. I knew I'd have today, watching the race and football, to recoup a little...though Monday's training in the office. So no bigs there.
The first week at the new job went well...mostly job shadowing a couple of salesmen. This coming week will be job shadowing in the office, a day with service techs and the end of the week will be learning the billing program.
I should've played the lottery today. Why, you ask? Well, when's the last time all 3 of my favorite drivers finished in the top 10 in a Nascar race? I'm thinking it's never happened. The 43 used pit strategy plus getting the car better all race long to finish 3rd. Way to go, Bobby. Kinda the same with Kasey, though he ran better than the 43 most of the day, who finished 6th. The most consistent of the 3 was Kyle Petty, though he finished 10th; but he ran in the top 15 the whole race. That's a sight for sore eyes, for sure.
I'm somehow leading my fantasy league by about 60 points before the race started, but all I had left to pick from was pretty much mid to back packers. I had planned on using Bobby Labonte at Martinsville, but he didn't run that great in the spring there and has been good on the Charlotte/Atlanta type tracks. So in the end I decided to save him for Atlanta or TX, same with Ken Schrader (who ran in the top 10 all day today until a wreck finished him off...phew) So I settled on Jeff Green for M'ville, and he qualified 8th and ran between 8 and 12th all day, finishing 8th. Maybe I'll finally win that league.
Limestone
I spent the day Friday in Limestone visiting with Em and touring the Maine School of Science & Math. Let me start by saying what an interesting area it is. The town of Limestone couldn't be much smaller, a main street with a handful of businesses; but sitting on the hill on the way into town are these two very large school buildings...a reminder of what things were like in Limestone when Loring AFB still existed. You'd scratch your head if you didn't know why there's a large high school in this tiny town with a large auditorium and swimming pool, etc. The former middle school sits next door and has been converted to dorms for the MSSM students. Between MSSM students and LHS students there's about 200 kids, less than half the students the place was built for.
A quick aside: Last time I was in Limestone was 1979, losing a high school baseball playoff game 1-0. In the trophy case there sits the 1979 Class B State Championship trophy.
It is a great school for kids like Em, over-achievers, kids who aren't challenged in most traditional schools. The curriculum is very tough and many kids can't handle being there in an environment where they have to be self-motivated. As expected, Em is thriving in such an environment. She loves the school, its teachers, the town (my wonderful tree hugging, vegan, nerd!!) and being in a place surrounded by students like her.
Aside from being able to tour the school and meet with the teachers, the students put on a variety show that evening, as well as some of them (including Em) sang a capella during supper. Emily sang a song with the chorus, and she and another student performed 3 songs from the play "Wicked." I don't get to hear her sing very often, so that was a highlight. Another highlight was her performing a song from Phantom of the Opera as a piano solo!! Dad's very proud of you!
Finally, Shelly updated
her blog recently with news about our family. I know many of you have asked about what's going on with my step "children," especially Tim in Korea. So you can read about them there.
Chase Race #5
Before I get to my thoughts on the race, I want to say GET WELL SOON to my friend Buff, who just had hip replacement surgery. I know he's loopy on drugs but happy to have it over with and looking forward to walking normal again. The timing must've been tough though, because it meant him missing last night's race in person. Get well, Buff, and start that blog you've been talking about.
And congrats to Dave's Tigers for sweeping the A's for the American League Pennant...10th trip to the World Series for the Tigers, first since '84. How about a round of Two Boats, Dave?
I have to say I don't like the smaller fuel cells. It takes a lot of the strategy out of the racing and doesn't give the cars enough time to shake out and see who has good set-ups over long runs. The numerous caution flags contributed to that problem as well. Here's to hoping that new surface cures soon. I know it's always been a fast and tricky track but this is crazy. I can't complain though because Kasey won his 6th race of the season and a sweep of the Charlotte races. Love the Mopar logo on it this weekend but not sure about the color. That team seems to be getting things together and should be one of the favorites to win next year, though things will be leveled with everyone learning the "car of tomorrow." Bobby Labonte had perhaps the quietest 5th place finish I've seen in a long time. Yes, the announcers mentioned them a couple of times but it seems he got there in stealth mode. I'll never get tired of seeing the 43 run well, of course.
Mark Martin's career bad luck streak continues. A late accident that was pure bad luck probably eliminated him from a championship because he hasn't had a dominant car to gain a lot of points...they've just been consistent enough to hang in there.
I'm rushing this together because I'm getting ready for orientation tomorrow. So sorry this isn't an in-depth article. I'm still planning on writing a piece about why I don't like the Chase format, as well as telling everyone what a great day I had with my daughter on Friday. I'll get to that soon.
Mark Martin Mopar Petty Tigers Charlotte Kahne Labonte Nascar Chase
Candlepin
On the bowling front: Getting better every week, especially now that I've straightened out my mechanics...still need to get them more consistent but discovered last night that part of the inconsistency is the house shows (sure, Zeb, blame the shoes). Now that I have the mechanics consistent I'm able to tell that my front foot slides inconsistently. I had a string last night with 3 6's and a 5 but still managed an 89 (those numbers make no sense to the fake bowlers of the Ten Pin world). So a new pair of shoes are now a high priority. It's frustrating when you know you're throwing well (first string 104 last night) but something you can't control messes it up. My team finally had 5 bowlers last night, so for the first time this year we took some points...not sure how many yet because our 5th is new and his handicap was yet to be calculated and added in.
I'm heading off to Limestone tomorrow to spend part of the day with my eldest daughter at the Maine School of Science & Math (4 hours away). She'll be participating in various concerts and a variety show. I'll report back this weekend on all of that. I haven't seen her since the beginning of the school year. So I can't wait.
I have orientation at Time Warner on Monday and then start training Tuesday. I'm excited about the opportunity and eager to get started.
Oh, anyone else getting into the new show "Heroes?"
I was going to do a Todd update but I can't get the picture uploader to work. So I'll do that another time.
Apple Festival and such
Spent a very nice couple of days with my youngest daughter Friday and Saturday. We spent some time Friday morning setting up
her blog. Then we headed out to run some errands. I took care of my Time Warner pee test, and then we headed off for lunch at Red Robin, which opened here a few months ago. I lived w/in a mile of one in California years ago and went quite often; but this is the first one I've seen since then, almost 20 years later. She had a bacon cheeseburger and I tried something called burger parmaseana...a nice big burger covered with a deep fried mozzarella patty, sautered onions and peppers and red sauce. Quite, quite messy and quite good.
Her 16th birthday is coming up in November and I didn't want to delay any longer getting her sweet 16 charm bracelet ready. So off we went to Kay Jewelers, where I know the manager and where they had done my other daughter's last year. We figured out what heirloom pieces could be turned into charms and picked out a new one from the catalog to order...should be ready in a week or so.
My wife volunteered to organize and run a booth at the Winthrop Apple Festival to raise money for Squirt's HS theater group to go to NYC again. Unfortunately this was Homecoming Weekend, so not as many helpers as there would be otherwise. So Munchkin and I went and spent the afternoon helping out there. They raised lots of money for the trip and I got to listen to some very good local bluegrass bands all afternoon.
I know I haven't blogged about Nascar in a while. Think I might do a separate one later. Congrats to Brian Vickers on his first win, but that is also the prime example where Nascar throws the caution flag too early and where they should still allow racing back to the line. No, not because Kasey would have won either.
Goodbye Yankees, goodbye!!!! I put up a little blog about them losing on
BoSox Tavern.
Another good thing about the Time Warner job is that I won't be working a job on second shift and should be able to continue to bowl Wednesday nights. I've bowled 3 weeks and am getting the rust off and mechanics straightened out. I hope to update each week and maybe can get Lil Cuz to chime in.
Not being out at night all the time also means I can better keep up with my politics and blog, as well as be able to watch the Bruins and Celtics and Patriots (it was possible I would've had to work Sundays at W-M), and blog about them here on occasion as well. Though not overpowering, still a nice win for the Pats yesterday, which I think pretty much locks up the division already. LOL The Bruins looked awful in their opener but came back to win the second game of the season. I don't expect much but at least they won't lose every game.
Todd is doing well. I hope to have the Mrs. update her blog soon. Guess that covers things for now.
Vickers candlepin bowling Boston Bruins Patriots Nascar Nextel Cup Kahne
