29 September 2007

Photo of The Moment


Today while at the Gallery a wedding reception was happening next door. Then the newly weds arrived... on the back end of a fire engine.

19 September 2007

T'ai Chi Ch'uan

I found this neat site where you can create animated avatars of yourself. It's called Meez.com. I practice T'ai Chi Ch'uan, a form of martial arts, which promotes health and longevity. It's also great in managing stress as well as bringing balance into ones own life.

Anyhow I decided to create my animated avatar based on this. You may also select various backgrounds. I chose a painting by Van Gogh.



I just realised when posting your Meez image the animation is shortened due to the size of the file. When I chose the T'ai Chi animation it looked like I was doing a strange dance. So I changed my selection to a Wushu animation, which has similar moves to T'ai Chi. Wushua is type of martial arts that focuses on self-defense. T'ai Chi is the path of least resistance, but when force is applied it too becomes a method of self-defense.

However it now looks like I am doing the Safety Dance! Oh well, you can dance if you want to ...


* 1 October. Apparently when you go into Meez.com and make changes to your animation it changes the original so that is why I no longer have a Van Gogh background.

18 September 2007

Inner Geek


Well this morning I am channeling my inner geek. See how this image captures my geekiness? We moved out of the BOC (Box of Chaos) and into our new sales office, the UFH (Unit From Hell). Actually calling it that is not fair because the space is very nice and a definite improvement upon the BOC. There are some issues which need to be worked out such as the cabinets are still a mess and the second bedroom has no power and I have run an extension cord down the hall to run the computers and such.

However it is a wonderful place. I mean it's a house. We have space AND most of all we have working TOILETS! Right now I am trying to get the computer systems hooked up. After this I will then get to the decorating. Yay!

The weather is actually cool this morning. Currently it’s 68 degrees and we will have a high of 85. Finally cooler weather! Well I guess I better get back to work, but first I need to run to Starbucks and deal with the Starbitch.

15 September 2007

Starbucks & the Starbitch

I have been frequenting the Starbucks in the Kroger out by the Savannah Mall lately because I am often at the construction site, which is right next to it. Generally I won’t frequent such a place because I prefer independently own stores such as Gallery Espresso, but when I need a fix, I need a fix.

There is a new barista at this location that has taken it to a whole new level with me. She is now known as the Starbitch of Starbucks. She really yanks my chain. This is the second time she has rubbed me the wrong way.

What did she do you ask? Well, I always get iced soy mocha without whipped cream and she always refuses to stir the damn thing. I asked her why she doesn’t stir it and she told me it was corporate policy! WTF?

Okay everyone else stirs it for me. Heck when I go to the Gallery they stir it, and pour it into another cup twice so all that chocolaty goodness is mixed quite well.

Starbitch tells me that the chocolate and coffee is supposed to sit at the bottom of the cup and the milk on top. I said this is ridiculous. It’s supposed to be a mixed coffee drink. She went on to tell me (with attitude) she had worked in a Starbucks in two other locations and this is the way they were told to do it.

I asked her to stir it anyway and she told me it would be easier if I stir it with my straw and handed it me my cup! WTF? What kind of customer service is this?

10 September 2007

Clear The Air

Today I received a somewhat annoying post to an earlier post of mine, entitled People (Part 2) accusing me of being an angry person. I originally responded to this person within that post, but I got to thinking I need to explain myself better and add a couple things and re-post it here for all to see.

This person goes by “Anonymous”. Here is their reactionary post to my rant.

“Even though someone did arrive, you still condemn them.

Did they arrive casually, seemingly upset that there was an argument over jurisdiction, or did have concern?


Ever look at the times the police were dispatched, or just simply cast a stone because you were upset? CAD records are available under the Open Records Act.


Call the MPC, you'll find out that the roadway is Metro responsibility, and the car dealership is Thunderbolt's. It has been that way for YEARS.


Who showed up first though?


I think you would have condemned ANYONE who showed up because you were angry to start with.”


Dear Anonymous,
I don’t think I condemned anyone. It was merely an observation as to when the police arrived. No, I don’t think I need to telephone the MPC or look into CAD records because I was there as were two others involved in the accident.

I was not the only one to say it took the police some time to arrive. In fact the two young men that were in the accident with me commented the same thing as did the individuals in the dealership.

As far as the roadway being the responsibility of Metro and the dealership Thunderbolt this really means nothing to me. There isn’t a sign on the roadway. “In case of accident on Victory Drive please call Metro, but if it happens in the car park, please call Thunderbolt”. I am certain it probably has been this way for YEARS and there probably is some logical reason for it, but I am a civilian and would not know this. It’s not in the driver manual!

As far as me being angry at the situation this is further from the truth. I am someone who rarely gets angry. I do tend to get annoyed easily and fed up easily. Perhaps it’s a character flaw. I try to be aware of it and quite often I am critical of myself because of it. Ask anyone who knows me and they will say I am rather easy going. Sometimes it has been said too easy going. In certain situations they have been amazed I don’t get angry when they would have. I tell them I just don’t see the point and I rather not waste my energy. Anger leads to disease and shortens the life span. I certainly don’t want any part of it.

The family members of the two who were in the accident stated to me they were grateful I was so calm. I basically said accidents happen and I am happy everyone is okay. Perhaps it may have seemed I was angry in my posting. I was recently rear-ended and was without my car for some time. I envisioned having to go through the whole process again and I was also on my way to an important client. 

Again there was no real anger. I stood there chatting, joking and laughing with the other two guys in the accident. One guy was nervous and not sure how to go about things. I helped him out. I joked with their families while we waited for things to finish up. An angry person would not have done this.

If you actually took the time to read anything in my blog you will be hard pressed to find signs of real anger.

Your response makes me think you may be an officer or perhaps related to one or just well versed in obscure police jurisdiction information. In all honesty when the officers did arrive they were quite nice and helpful and I mean both Thunderbolt and Metro officers. AND for the record it was Thunderbolt who arrived first. (I think this is what you really want me to clarify) They did their job professionally and I am grateful.

Life happens. We move on and I certainly have.

07 September 2007

Morning Drive


Driving out to the site seems like it takes forever, but in reality it's only 15 minutes. I guess it's the drive on the Veterans Parkway that make it seem this way. It cuts through the marshes so there is nothing around. It's nice to see open spaces like this in city limits. Sometimes you can see an alligator or wild boar frolicking about. (Actually wild boar frolick and alligators just kind of sit there.)

It makes for a relatively peaceful journey, though I still think downtown is much better.

This image was taken on this crazy bridge that goes out over the marsh and practically corkscrews back around onto highway 80. Sometimes people tend to drive too fast on the extreme turn and flip over.

06 September 2007

OH.MY.GOD!


"The Love Machine"

05 September 2007

Chaos

Things are a little chaotic right now. We are finally nearing completion of Unit #14 which will be our sales office. However there are some things, which still need to be completed before we may move in and I have some issues. Such as the kitchen!

Here the backsplash is being installed. It should have been done last week.

Oh look! The refrigerator is too short and where the hell is the stainless steel panels. Oh and while I'm at it why is my double oven laying on the floor in the breakfast area and not installed in the wall? AND don't get me started on the cabinets. They look like crap!

Wait is that furniture delivery? OH.MY.GOD.

Quick clean the floors! They were filthy. The plaster and dry wall dust got through the paper covering the floors and then ground in. On top of all this the painter’s tape that was used to keep the paper down has stained the floor. The floors may need to be replaced!

My wonderful dinning room selection. WHAT THE HELL! Why is there a toilet in my dining room? Oh I see it's for convenience and extra seating.

There is no electric, no A/C and no running water as of yet. I'm losing my mind and I need a drink!