The Dawn of a New Year

I know it's taht time again. Time to make resolutions and all that mumbo-jumbo. But the truth is, reolutions are mostly a devise to make yourself feel better for a few days, maybe a week. Most people can't last 3 weeks into their reolutions, which is ironic since it reprotedly takes 21-24 days of repetition for somethign to become a habit. Coincidence?

Most Americans talk a good game. We like to discuss ad nauseum what we are going to resolve to do. We even carry them out for a little while, as I previously mentioned. Try going to a gym during the first two weeks of January, and you'll see what I mean. But the fact remains that most of us never complete our goals. It's sad, actually, that we are a nation of quitters, by and large (and getting larger all the time).

I'm thoroughly impressed by those folks who can put their mind to doing something and follow through with it. I respect those who are able to make a resolution and carry it out to fruition. Sadly, I've never been that type of person, a fact that is probably quite obvious to many.

So, I've decided that I'm not going to resolve to change things about me. Saying it is meaningless. I am going to change things about me. Hopefully, those of you who know me will see said changes as they evolve. We'll see how this goes.

So, bring on 2009, because 2008 needs to be pushed into distant memory as soon as possible!

My 5 Favorite Christmas Movies

In the traditon of my Christmas songs lists found on The Lyric Philospoher, I decided to list my top 5 favorite Christmas movies. Now, these are not your 'traditional'' Christmas movies. You won't find "Miralce on 34th Street" here, nor will you find "It's a Wonderful Life". This list is for your more...contemporary movies. Perhaps in 30 years, these will be the classics someone blogs about.

5) “Muppets Christmas Carol” – Kermit, Miss Piggy, Scooter, Gonzo, Fozzie, Ralph, and Animal doing Dickens? Instant comedy ensues.

4) “A Christmas Story” – Okay, it’s a pop culture phenomenon. Even the annual 24-hour marathon cannot diminish the humor and the sweetness in this movie. I can watch this twice in a row, and laugh at the same things each time, yet each time I watch it, I notice something that I hadn’t before. It is a “Love it or Hate it” movie, like most comedies. If you love it, you will always love it. If you hate it, you will never get it, and have to put up with those of us who love it.

3) “National Lampoon’s Christmas Vacation” – Ah, the Griswalds. Again, a movie that you either love or hate. But, let’s be honest, how can you not laugh out loud when the cat gets fried under the recliner? Although, I do find it interesting that somehow Rusty, who was the older sibling in the first movie, is suddenly the younger sibling in this movie, but I digress.

2) “Mickey’s Christmas Carol” – Perhaps I should be ashamed of myself that my fondest memories of Dicken’s classic “A Christmas Carol” are of animated versions of his timeless characters. On the other hand, is there a better Ebeneezer Scrooge than Uncle Scrooge?

1) “Scrooged” – This is my favorite Christmas movie. I’m not even sure I can pinpoint an exact reason, other than I laugh myself silly every time I watch it. Every character in the movie is so outrageous. Carol Kane as the Ghost of Christmas Present is comedy gold. This is Bill Murray at his best. Watching him descend into comic madness while trying to maintain some form of control is simply classic.

Championship Game 2008

Well, for the second time in three years, I find myself vying for the Alliance Fantasy Football League championship. I wasn't sure I'd make it this year, given my 1-3 record in the final 4 weeks of the season. Yes, I did back into the playoffs, but I made sure to structure my team in such a way that, if I made it to the playoffs, I'd have players with favorable matchups when I got there. That strategy served me well in the first round, having won by a total of 40 points. The championship round is a best of two weeks process, as was the semi-finals, so it is the cumulative total of points over the next two weeks that will determine the champion. Knowing that teams that are guaranteed playoff spots tend to rest their starters in the final week. it's always helpful to have players that are on teams still trying to get into the post-season. This is where I feel I may have an advantage, because I have only three players that are currently on playoff-bound teams. And each of those players have capable back-ups that I can start next week if needed.

So, while I won't go so far as to declare victory, I am feeling pretty good about hoisting the McKeesport FFL championship cup once again.

Top 10 Most Annoying Christmas Songs (part 2)

I've posted numbers 5 through 1...but you'll have to check out The Lyric Philosopher to see what they are. It will be worth the click, I promise.

Tagged

I discovered that I've been tagged by my good friend Jeff - status pending after this, :o) - so I felt I should provide the requisite 8 things about me that may or may not be well known.

8) I am a ridiculously emotional guy, much more so than I'm ever willing to admit. I've been know to have tears well up in my eyes at Hallmark commercials.

7) My dream job would be a Studio Session and Tour Backup Singer. I have no desire whatsoever to be up front on stage. I love to sing, I love to sing harmony, and I want to sing with whomever will let me sing with them.

6) I absolutely hate computers but realize that they are a necesary evil in my life.

5) I'm a TV Junkie (no surprise for some). Favorite Shows right now are "Chuck," "NCIS," "CSI," "Numbers" and "Knight Rider."

4) I was 16 when I bowled my first and only 300-game. I am desperately trying to repeat that feat.

3) I want to go line-dancing.

2) The only regret in my life is that I stopped taking piano lessons after 3 years.

1) I think I'd like to live in Nashville at some point in my life.

Top 10 Most Annoying Christmas Songs Part 1

Well, I figured since it's that time of year, and I'm in a rotten mood because of work, I'd start off this blog with my 10 most annoying songs of the season. Here are songs 10-6... (these are also posted on my music blog The Lyric Philosopher)

10) "Blue Christmas" (Elvis Presley) – schmaltzy song, stupid lyrics, obnoxious spoken part in the middle, and the goofy ‘whoo-ooh-ooh-ohh’ repeating over and over again make this one of the more annoying songs of the season.

9) "Do They Know It’s Christmastime?" (Band-Aid) – the “We Are the World” of Christmas songs. While I’m all for feeding the world, do we need to be reminded through this less than appealing song every December? Shouldn’t we be doing this all the time? Christmas songs should not be political in nature.

8) "My Favorite Things" (from Sound of Music) – I have yet to understand how this song has been classified a Christmas Song. So the song talks about snowflakes and presents. In the context of the musical, it has nothing to do with Christmas.

7) "Happy X-Mas (War Is Over)" (John Lennon) – Another example of good artists doing bad songs. Politics and Christmas songs do not mix.

6) "Wonderful Christmastime" (Paul McCartney) – A perfect example of what happens when good artists do bad songs. Maybe the former Beatles should have stayed out of the Holiday song genre.

My Newest Venture

I’ve been pondering this for some time now, and I’ve decided that my day-to-day life just isn’t interesting enough to blog about on a daily/weekly/monthly basis. Yet, I still feel the need to share my opinions on certain topics that may not necessarily be related to my life…at least directly. So, I contemplated starting a sports-based blog, but my good friends over at the Peanut Vendors kind of ran with that idea. So, I thought about focusing on a specific sport, and that may still play out. But most sports are seasonal, and hard to keep going during the off-season. The exception may be football, and there are just way too many football blogs available for me to get noticed. I might try a bowling blog. And maybe a softball blog over the summer, but the jury’s still out on those.

So, after much thought, I decided that I could try to keep a regular appointment with my computer on the subject of music. So that’s what I’m going to do. I’ll be blogging about songs that affect me at any given point in time. No genre is off-limits, though I don’t see me blogging much about rap, death metal, emo, techno, classical, and folk music as those genres aren’t found on my iPod playlist at the moment. More likely, you’re going to see a lot of posts on CCM, Praise & Worship, Country, Rock and Pop music. Basically, I’ll be ranting about all things lyrical and musical. I’ll be digging into lyrics, pointing out the absurd and the annoying. I’ll also point out the thought-provoking and the poignant. I tend to be a lyrical philosopher, sometimes seeing deeper meaning in song lyrics that may or may not be present, but often have an affect on me. I’ll try to provide my opinion and insight into some songs where applicable. And, ultimately, I will give my yea or nay on the song. I’m thinking a “Makes the Playlist” to represent a thumbs up, and “Recycle It” for a thumbs down.

So here it is...The Lyric Philosopher!


So, hopefully you will find something of interest here and perhaps I will find some satisfaction in knowing that my thoughts and opinions might make a difference to someone out there!

Back From the Dead...sort of

The sightings are true. I am alive and well. I can't believe it's been over a month since my last post, and for the 4 of you who may still read this, I sincerely apologize. I liken it to the tree falling in the woods metaphor. If no one reads my blog, then was it really missed?

Quick catch-up time...

My Dad is officially cancer free. He had his kidney removed and so far, all is well. He's still recovering, much slower than he woud like, but actually somewhat ahead of schedule for everyone else but him. :o) Praises to the Great Physician!

Still hovering around 210 average in bowling. We're over three months in, and I've only dipped below 600 twice so far. Still thinking about a new ball, but that's a luxury that will need to wait for another time. Considered joining a Sport Bowling league - 4 weeks on each of the PBA oil patterns - but I think that might have to wait until next year at this point.

Work is ridiculous. Too much to go into right now, but please keep me in your prayers, as it's getting more stressful than ever, which is not fun at all.

Church is going great. our Annual Christmas Cantata is this coming Sunday, and promises ot be a wonderful event. We're praying that God will use the Choir and the music to draw those in darkness to a saving relationship with Jesus.

That's life in a nushell. Christmas is coming way too fast. If work wasn't so nutso right now, I might actually be looking forward to it. It disturbs me that, lately, I'm finding myself identifying more with Ebenezer Scrooge than with Bob Cratchitt.

More to come, I promise. Just now now.

Now that the dust has settled

There are days in life that you will remember forever. Each generation has them. Moments that profoundly affect not only you as an individual, but moments that forever affect the population as a whole. These are the "Where were you when..." moments in life.

"Where were you when JFK was shot?"

"Where were you when the Challenger exploded?"

"Where were you when the towers fell?"

Sadly, these moment tend to have a negative event as their cause. Some catastrophe that manages to bring the nation together for a brief moment, giving us a collective pause, and a sense of unity, however fleeting it may be.
Yesterday was not one of those moments, even though some in this country will classify it as equal a catastrophe as the ones mentioned before.

My friends, mark your calendars, preserve your newspapers, and order extra copies of Time Magazines "Man of the Year" Issue, because history was made yesterday when Barack Obama became the first African American to be elected as President of the United States of America. This is an event that forever change our country, the effects of which will be felt for generations to come. I echo my friend Beth's sentiments, in that I am proud to say that I was witness to this milestone in our country's history.

I am not ashamed to say that I did not vote for Obama. It had nothing to do with his race. It had to do sole with the fact that I disagreed with too many of his policies. Whether or not he will be a capable president remains to be seen, and history will be the judge on that. I continue to contend that he was elected more for the sake of the historical aspect than his policies. However, I will acknowledge that I am glad that when this historical event had come to pass, It was Obama standing at the podium rather than someone like Louis Farrakhan or Jesse Jackson.

So, now that history has been made, we must all pray for our country, and for our new Commander-In-Chief. It is a proud moment in our country's history. Let's just hope it doesn't end on November 4th.

My Second One and Only Political Rant

Okay, I lied, I have another political rant in me. But this will be the last one regarding the 2008 election, I promise.

As I mentioned yesterday, the process that many of Americans use to determine who they’re going to vote for is absolutely ridiculous. They’re not voting based on the issues or the facts. They vote based on popularity and other factors that have no bearing whatsoever on the capability of the candidate to lead this country. This election, more than any other in my memory, crystallizes that fact.

Around the office this morning, I’ve overheard a lot of people discussing who they’re voting for. And to a person, the ones who are indicating they’re voting for Obama are using the same argument.

“I want to be part of history by electing the first black president”

I’m am equal parts dumbfounded and angry at this. We are not in high school choosing a student body president. We are electing the leader of the USA. And the sole criteria that a seemingly large part of population (based on my scientific polling process of eavesdropping on conversations at my office) is selecting a candidate that will allow them to say they helped make history happen.

The fact is, those voting for McCain could use a similar argument, by claiming they want to be part of history by electing the oldest first term president and the first woman vice-president. Yet, at least in the conversations I’ve overheard or been a part of, those voting for McCain/Palin are not focused on age or gender.

What does the man’s race have to do with his ability to lead this country? Does the fact that John McCain is white mean that his policies and agendas are automatically wrong? Does race or age factor in when mass infanticide is being allowed under the umbrella of legal abortion? Does race or age factor into taxes or health care? Are we really that stupid that we, as a country, believe that electing a candidate base on their race or their age is the best criteria?

I’m not going so far as to say that Obama cannot be a good president. Nor do I believe that every Obama supporter is voting for him because of his race. I do disagree with many of his policies, but if he is elected, I will not cry foul or pout about it. But it disturbs me that if he wins, his election will have been more about his race, and not about his policies.

Sadly, no matter who wins, half of the country will be angry and upset, and the sense of unity and bipartisanship that is going to be required will become harder and harder to achieve.

My one and only Political Rant

I figure that it is about time for me to put in my two-cents worth on tomorrow’s Presidential Election. I do so knowing that no one will probably read this, but it will make me feel better having provided my only political rant, so that I can go on record after the fact regardless of the outcome. So allow me to begin with the primary foundation of my argument.

The democratic election process in this country is a joke!

Actually, let me rephrase that. The election process itself is integral to our country. How we determine who we will cast our vote for has become a joke. When considering who we feel will best lead our country, should our primary consideration be how the candidates compare to the current President? Regardless of how good a job you feel President Bush has done over the last eight years, to base your decision for the next President on a direct comparison to the current one is foolishness.

This election has become about the ideal of change for change’s sake. All we hear is how bad the last 8 years have been and how our current state of affairs is a direct result of President Bush’s ineptitude. Yet, it has been documented that it takes between 8 and 10 years for the effects of policies and economic changes to be felt en masse. So the problems that we are facing now are more likely the result of changes and policies put into place by Clinton/Gore.

And the campaign policies of the candidates do not make it any easier for us to select a candidate. It has become more important in the current political climate to talk about how the other candidate will hurt the country. It has become commonplace for the candidates to attack the other’s integrity.

The result of this type of negative campaigning has removed our ability to vote for the best candidate. Rather, we are now relegated to voting for the lesser of two evils. It disgusts me that the choice for the leader of our country is to be decided not by who is best for the job, but by voting to make sure the ‘worst’ options doesn’t get elected.

And, ladies and gentlemen, we will get it wrong with this approach.

Any time the election process becomes about negativism, no good can come from it. Regardless of the winner, we will have effectively polarized and angered nearly half the population in the process. The opportunity to create an atmosphere of cooperation will have been missed, and we will suffer as a country because of it. If you need any proof, look at the last 20 years. Not since Reagan has there been a general agreement across party divide on the selection of a President.

Unfortunately, there is really no way of getting to the truth anymore in American politics. There is no way of truly discerning what each candidate can do, or will do, if elected. Every piece of information is chopped up and reformatted for sound bytes, and the result of this process is a media-influenced reality that skews drastically to the left.

For me, I can agree with come of the policies of McCain, and I can agree with some of the policies of Obama. Conversely, I disagree with many of their policies as well. I’ve resigned myself to the fact that neither candidate will be able to fully meet my desires for the leader of this country, that I will have to accept the good with the bad. But what it comes down to for me is selecting the candidate that best aligns with things that I hold firm to.

I am firmly pro-life.

I am firmly anti-socialism.

It is for those reasons that I will be voting for John McCain in tomorrow’s election.

Every other policy, agenda and issue in this election is really irrelevant in my opinion. Taxes will always go up. Health Care will always become more expensive. Companies will always look for cheaper ways to do business regardless of who it affects. Lobbyists will always pay to have their agendas pushed through. Oil will always be a concern, and new sources of energy will always need to be created. Those issues will never change no matter who is elected. The only difference will be how fast they change.

I urge you all (and by you all, I mean the 4 or 5 people who read this), to not vote tomorrow for the lesser of two evils. Rather, I urge you to take a deep, hard look at what you yourselves hold firmly to, and then find the candidate that most aligns with your ideals and cast your vote accordingly.

Good night, and may God continue to bless America…even if we don’t always deserve it.

Christmas is still in December, right?

Note the date. November 3rd. Keep this in mind as you continue to read…

I ventured to a local fast food establishment for lunch today as I had only 30 minutes between meetings. As I sat there and quickly ate my grilled chicken sandwich, reading my newspaper, I became aware of the music playing in the restaurant. Here is the song list as I heard it while I was eating…

“Rockin’ Around The Christmas Tree”
“Where Are You Christmas?”
“Jingle Bell Rock”
“Hey Santa”

Again, note the date…NOVEMBER 3!!!!!!

Call me a purist, but it should be illegal to play Christmas music before the day after Thanksgiving. If I ever run for political office, that will be my platform! The only Christmas music that should be allowed to be heard prior to that day is in rehearsals for choirs/band/orchestras as they prepare for Christmas programs.

Maybe I’ll go complain to the local mall Santa about this. He’s open for business on Saturday!

Facing Mortality

Lately, it seems like I’ve been faced with having to take a serious look at my own mortality, and I have to say I’m not enjoying it. Not that there’s anything physically wrong with me (aside from the obvious need to lose weight), but it seems like every time I turn around, there’s another reminder of the finite nature of life.

Allow me to preface this by saying that I know that I have the promise of eternal life through the saving grace of Jesus Christ. I’m assured of my eternity. I do not fear death. Admittedly, however, I’m not exactly looking forward to it and I am hoping and praying I’m fortunate enough to die in my sleep when the Lord calls me home.

That being said, I’m struggling with death. More specifically, I’m struggling with the potential void that is left after a loved one dies. Diamond Rio has a song called “God Only Cries” that contains these words…

God only cries for the living, ‘cause it’s the living that are left to carry on.
God only cries for the living, ‘cause it’s the living that are so far from home.

Now, I will admit that I tend to be a ‘lyric philosopher.’ I look for nuggets of wisdom in songs, whether or not they are actually there. Sometimes, I look a little harder than I should. Sometimes, I will twist the original intent of the lyrics to line up with what I want to get out of them. But those words hit home with me from the first time I heard them.

My mind wanders to a family who just lost their young daughter to leukemia…

My mind wanders to another family who lost their son in a motorcycle accident years ago and have never quite recovered from that loss…

And my mind wanders to my dad. Not because he’s died (thankfully), but because, for the first time in my life, I am forced to face the reality that there may come a time when God calls him home. And while I will celebrate his homecoming, I know I will struggle with the gigantic void that will be left in my life as a result. I pray that I will not have to face this realization for many, many years to come.

Maybe I’m being selfish. Perhaps it is wrong of me to ask God to let him stick around for a few more decades. But there is so much more of life that I want to experience with my Dad, and so much more that I know I need to learn from him. I want to let him hold his granddaughter when we return from China. I want to watch him hold his granddaughter. I want to learn from him how to be a father, how to be a better husband, how to be a man of God.

I’m not ready to let him go quite yet.

Hey, hey, hey...Goodbye!

For the 4 or 5 of you who follow this painfully inconsistent blog as of late (I would like to be more consistent, but my life just isn’t that interesting at the moment), you know of my intense displeasure with the entity that is Comcast. From forcing me to watch all things Philadelphia or raising my rates, they are clearly the scourge of the earth and need to be knocked down a few pegs. Unfortunately, aside from doing something that would likely land me in jail…or Gitmo…there is little I can do but complain about it on a blog.

Until now! To paraphrase Navin R. Johnson, “The FiOS is here! The FiOS is here!” (extra points if you can name the movie without looking it up on IMDB)

Yes, that’s correct. As of Friday, Verizon FiOS service is officially available in the Upper Allen area (among others), and I quickly made my way to the nearest Verizon store to sign up. Therefore, as of November 6th, I will no longer be a slave to the oppressive tyranny of the Comcast empire. No longer will I have to wonder what is on NFL Network. No longer will I have to endure incessant increases in rates simply because there was no competition in sight. No longer will I have to put up with unwanted and inconsistent internet updates. I will be soon able to stand up and say “Free At Last, Free At Last”. (I pause as an old dcTalk ditty runs through my head).

Now, I do realize that I may be trading a tyrant for a mean king, but it’s a trade I’m willing to make at this point. I am sooooo looking forward to November 6th, when I call up Comcast and tell them to cancel my service. I promised Comcast a year ago that as soon as FiOS was available, I would be moving to their service, and I love being able to keep my promises!

Final word on (this) PP&L Fiasco

Well, as reported last week, we managed to get the PP&L bill fixed and things are back to whatever qualifies as normal. So, then, why this post? Well, on Friday, we received a letter from PP&L. While I'm not going to recite the letter word for word, the general idea was something like this...

"We are writing to inform you that we've recently discovered a problem with the RFID transmitter attached to your electric meter. As a result, you may have been slightly overcharged on your most recent bill. Rest assured that we have taken the necessary steps to correct this problem for you, saving you the effort of having to bring this problem to our attention. It's all part of our customer service promise to you, our valued customer."

As I'm sure you can imagine, this letter just infuriated me even more. THEY discovered the problem? SLIGHTLY overcharged? SAVING me the effort of having to report the problem? What a bunch of bull that is. Had I not called them and raised cain with them, I'd still be on the hook for the $775, with not even so much as a peep from them.

What bothers me the most is that this is becoming the SOP for most of American business. The new mantra is "It's up to the customer to let us know if we screwed up, but we'll never take accountability for it when we do."

Random Thoughts and Updates...

Update to the PP&L Fiasco:
I finally received a call from them and was informed that my meter was not replaced, but the RFID transmitter was what had gone bad and was replaced. The catch here is that when they install the new transmitter, they have to manually enter the current reading from the meter. And this is where the problem comes in, because you have to rely on human intervention on an automated process. So, instead of entering the correct value of 1463, the technician entered 11463, which effectively charged me for 10,000 kilowatt hours that should never have been charged. While I appreciate the fact that this has been caught and corrected, I am still a little miffed that I have not yet received so much as an apology for the situation, and I’m left wondering if there would have been any resolution had I not alerted them to the error.

I’m now a statistic:
It’s official, I’m now one of the millions of Americans who have been a victim of identity theft. Well, maybe that’s a bit drastic, but I was recently informed that I’ve had fraudulent charges placed on my credit card, which has resulted me the credit card company having to cancel my existing account and provide me with a new account. Fortunately, it was caught. Fortunately, it was only one card, and nothing else seems to have been affected. But it’s enough to make me start to reconsider some of my online purchasing and bill paying practices.

Sporting news, thoughts and observations:
I’m still maintaining a 213 average in my bowling league through 5 weeks. I am starting in research new bowling balls (don’t tell Anita), but I’m not close to making a purchase. I’m a staunch believer that technology and equipment can only accomplish so much, and there still needs to be a level of skill and ability to make it all work. So I’m working on tweaking my delivery before I get too wrapped up in new equipment.

My Steelers are 4-1 (as if I have anything to do with their success) heading into their bye week. Hopefully they will heal up some during the layoff, as they’re still facing the league’s most difficult and physical schedule from here on out.

The Phillies pulled a rabbit out of their hat last night to win Game 1 of the NLCS. One of the downfalls of being a transplant here in Central PA is having to put up with the plethora of obnoxious fans of all things Philly. That is not to say that all Philly fans are obnoxious. I’ve met one or two that don’t qualify for that description. But by, in large, they are rabid and loud. Based on conversations and articles I’ve observed this morning, one would think that a victory last night automatically declares the Phillies the champs of the World Series, and the rest of the playoffs might as well be cancelled. And when the wheels come off this afternoon, these same fans will begin to claim that the umps screwed up, or that MLB is setting up the Dodgers to win, or yada, yada, yada. The only good thing about the Phillies winning is that the Eagles are 2-3 and are keeping most Philly fans from becoming unbearable.

Taking it old school:
I’ve recently uploaded some of my older CD’s to my computer and have put them on my iPod. This has afforded me the opportunity to enjoy some long lost favorites of my formative years. Here’s what I’ve been listening to lately…

A lot of the early DC Talk. Their first album came out when I was in high school (1990), and I’m amused (or perhaps alarmed) that I can still sing/rap along with such classics as “Heavenbound,” “Lean On Me,” “Free At Last”, and “Jesus Is Just Alright.” And I’m reminded of how much they’ve grown when I listen to “Jesus Freak” and “The Red Letters,” the latter of which is probably my favorite DC Talk song of all time.

PFR (Pray For Rain). I got hooked on these guys in college, and their early albums (“Pray For Rain, “Goldie’s Last Day,” “Great Lengths”) are still some of the best of all time. Some personal faves from this missed trio; “That Kind of Love,” “The Love I Know,” “Do You Want to Know,” and “Didn’t He.”

Rich Mullins. I remember exactly where I was when I learned of his death – in the car, on the way to a Geoff Moore concert at Messiah. I was a late-comer to the Rich Mullins catalog, but I have since found his music to be profound and inspiring. He was one of the greatest story-tellers in music, not just Christian music, but all genres. Every time I hear “Elijah” I think back to that night in the car, and I ponder if I am ready to leave all this behind, if I can say “…it won’t break my heart to say goodbye.”

Hey, you’re still reading this. Wow, I feel so warm and fuzzy!

The Lost Art of Customer Service

I've come to the realization that the art of Customer Service is going the way of the dead languages. soon, we will treat Customer Service in a manner that is usually reserved for the teaching Latin - good to know for historical purposes and some foundational language skills, but otherwise useless in today's society. This has become painfully clear to me given my recent dealing with PP&L, which is quickly maneuvering to take over the top spot of my most despised companies (which currently begins and ends with Comcast).

In my previous post, I mentioned the delivery of a $775 electric bill. This is obviously a horrendous error on the part of PP&L, and I am desperately trying to speak with someone in their organization who can look into this and make the necessary corrections. On Friday, I called, only to be put on hold long enough for the people I need to speak with to go home for the afternoon. I was told then by the moderately clueless customer service rep that she would create a 'ticket' (is there any more ambiguous statement in the world of customer service) and have someone call me on Monday. She could not provide an estimated time of this magic call, nor could she provide me with a direct line to the department with which I needed to speak. So, unsatisfied with waiting for someone to call me, I altered my work schedule this afternoon to make sure I came home early enough to call PP&L before 5:00. What follows is an abridged retelling of this scintillating conversation. I will pick up the action after the mundane details of confirming my account and address and whatnot. PP&L will be in italics, my response will be in bold

What can I do for you today, Mr. Smith?

Well, for starters, you can connect me with the department that handles the meter replacements so I can discuss this incorrect bill with them.

Mr. Smith, if it is a billing issue, I can help you with that.

No, you cannot, as I was told on Friday that I needed to speak with someone in the equipment department.

Mr. Smith, if you tell me what the problem is, I'm sure I can help you with the situation.

--at this point, I run through the whole issue, explaining how my bill is over 6 times my monthly average for the last 12 months, how I know that the meter replacement is to blame for this situation and that I want to have ti resolved as soon as possible--

Oh, Mr. Smith, you need to speak with someone in our equipment services department.

(sarcastically feigning surprise) Really? Wow, I wish I knew that going into this conversation. It might have saved us both a lot of time and energy.

Let me transfer you...oh, wait, I see that a ticket has already been created for you on this particular subject. I cannot connect you at this time. You will have to wait for the equipment services department to contact you. Your ticket is in the queue.

Well, I am on the phone now, so please connect me with whomever it is I need to speak with.

Mr. Smith, you don't understand, once the ticket has been created and put in the queue, I cannot move the request. You will have to wait for that department to get to your request in the order it was received.

No, you don't understand, I am on the phone now, and I expect to speak with someone regarding this issue.

Mr. Smith, we do not make outgoing calls on Monday, so you will have to wait until tomorrow for your ticket to come to the head of the queue. We have a daytime phone number for you and will be calling you as soon as your ticket comes up.

--my blood pressure is nearing it's boiling point at this juncture in the conversation, and I am doing everything in my power to not scream at this woman over the phone--

So, let me see if I understand this correctly. On Friday, I'm told someone will call me on Monday. But I decide to do everyone a favor and call you rather than wait for you to call me, only to be told that PP&L, in it's infinite wisdom, does not make outgoing calls on Monday? You'll have to forgive me but this is one ridiculously stupid system of handling issues.

Mr. Smith, getting angry with me will not make the situation any better.

I'm not getting angry with you. I'm angry with the run-around that I'm getting. You are in the customer service department. I am a customer, and I expect service, and I am getting nothing even resembling customer service here. So am I to take the day off tomorrow and sit by the phone waiting a call that will likely never come?

No, Mr. Smith. We would never wish to inconvenience you in any way.

You obviously do not understand the meaning of that word, for I am being significantly inconvenienced at this very moment by not being able to speak with someone who can look into my issue.

The conversation pretty much went downhill from there, me requesting to speak with a supervisor and/or manager, only to be told that none were available at the time. And here's the kicker. If this call does come in tomorrow, and I am not available to answer it, then I will have to call back, and be put back into the mystical queue in hopes of getting someone from the right department to speak to me about the issue.

The irony of all of this? It's National Customer Service Week.

If Life is a Monopoly Board...

...then I must be the thimble, and every role I throw lands me on the Income Tax spot, the Public Utilities spot, the Luxury Tax spot, or the Go To Jail spot. All the while, everyone else is rolling doubles and buying up every available property so that, on the off chance I manage to miss one of the 4 previously mentioned spots on the board, I still owe someone something! I just feel like I've been drop-kicked by life this week. The thing is, nothing really bad happened, but nothing really good happened either. It was just one of those weeks when, sitting alone on a Friday night in front of one's computer, you're left to ponder the meaning of life and all the other unanswerable questions of the universe. Of course, this makes you feel even more insignificant that you already do, and allows life to throw in that one last sucker punch to finish you off.

Every time I turned around this week, I found someone else with their hand out, expecting payment for something that they have no right expecting payment for (see previous Monopoly rant) . First it's the store that sold us our mattress. Without making a long story unbearably longer, we had our mattress inspected because, in less than a year, there are depressions that are over an inch deep. We were told that such depressions could not occur with this particular mattress, hence the inspection. The inspector agreed that there is a problem with the mattress, but the manufacturer will not do anything until the depressions are 1.5 inches deep. He did, however, determine that there was damage to the foot of our box spring, which he noted in his report. So, the store is now trying to convince us that the previously unnoticed damage to the foot of our box spring is causing the depression in the middle of our mattress. I'm not an engineer, but even I can tell that there is faulty logic there. However, the store is offering to replace our box spring - free of charge - and will re-inspect our mattress in 60 days to prove that the depressions are being caused by the box springs. Sounds good, right up until the store tells us that we have to pay $90 to have the new box spring delivered. My arguments have fallen on deaf ears, and now I cannot get a manager of the store to talk to me regarding this situation. And if we do not replace the box spring, we void the warranty on the mattress, so we're in the proverbial catch-22.

That's how the week started. Today, I got our electric bill. But first a brief history. PP&L discovered that our meter had stopped working properly, and replaced it on July 29th. It had been working fine up to that point, with the possible exception of the month of July being off in terms of it's reading. So I expected the next bill to be a bit higher, to make up the difference. So, imagine my surprise when I open a $775 bill! yes, $775. That is more than our last 8 months of usage combined, and is more than 6 times our monthly average for the last 2 years. Obviously, there is a problem, so I call PP&L at 4:45 pm, and am promptly put on hold for 15 minutes. When I finally speak to a customer service rep, I'm told that I have to speak to the equipment department. Of course, that department closes promptly at 5:00. Perhaps if I wasn't on hold for 15 minutes... So now I have to go 12 rounds with PP&L on Monday to get this straightened out.

Perhaps this is phase one of the bailout plan...

And the icing to this miserable cake? Finding out that my dad has a significant medical condition that, while unconfirmed, looks like cancer. Needless to say, the wheels came off tonight, and I spent a bit of time curled up in a ball screaming at God.

I'm not asking for an easy life. I know God doesn't promise us a life of ease. But I think I've had my share of frustration and stress for the month, and wouldn't mind a little respite from the frustrations of daily living.

There's definitely only one set of footprints in the sand right now...

Most points in the league, but still in last place

We're 4 weeks into the 2008 fantasy football season, and I'm racking up the points in the IFFL (Immanuel Fantasy Football League) like there's no tomorrow. In Weeks 1, 3 and 4, I put up the second most weekly points in the league, and in week 2, I scored the most points for the week. So what do I have to show for my superior drafting and managing skills? I'm tied for the worst record in the league at 1-3.

Yes, In weeks 1, 3 and 4, I had the misfortune of going up against the team who scored the most points in that particular week. I would love to know what the statistical probability of that happening twice in a season, let alone three times in 4 weeks (Jeff, I'm assigning you that task)!

It's like having an Aces high full house in poker only to get beat by four deuce's on the river.

* if that analogy means nothing to you, I want to play poker with you soon *

I have to believe this is going to turn itself around, but I also know that I have the worst luck in the world, and could very easily see this scenario every week. Of course, the longer it continues, the more blog fodder I have, so I suppose there is a silver lining in my misfortune.

On second, thought...

One...lousy...4-pin...away...

Week 4 of bowling brought me as close to that elusive perfect game as I've gotten in recent years. The lanes were quirky last night, as I had to fight to keep the ball outside enough to turn it into the pocket. If the angle entry was too shallow, I was leaving a lot of 6-, 9- and 10-pins. If I brought it in too steep, I was leaving a lot of 4- and 7- pins. There was maybe a 3-board margin of error last night.

The first game I spent trying to find the right combination of angle, speed, location and torque. It took me a while, but by the 9th frame, I finally found what I needed, finishing with 4 strikes and a 177 game. I carried the first 2 in the second game as well, giving me 6 strikes in a row. In the 3rd frame, I thought I had my 7th, only to be foiled by a wobbly 4-pin. If the pin-setter had been a few seconds slower, it might have fallen, but we'll never know.

By itself, a 4-pin is not that untypical for me. I've often started a game with a couple strikes, only to leave a single pin spare on what I thought was a decent pocket. But what really stinks about this particular one is that I ran off 9 more consecutive strikes to finish with a 279. That lousy 4-pin is all that kept me from a 300!

Game three was spent trying to adjust to the inevitable breakdown of the lane conditions, and I finished with a 183, throwing a strike on the left lane every time, and a spare or split on the right lane every time.

When the dust settled, I finished with a 639 series, keeping my 213 average intact for the season.

The unfortunate thing is we lost 3 out of 4 points on the night, which drops us down to 8-8 on the season. It was a rough night for everyone on the Boilers squad.

Sales Lady from Hades…but she has 48 years experience!

Now that our basement is finished, our intent was to put our old futon and recliner in there until more suitable options could be found and procured. However, that plan has been quickly scrapped by my beautiful wife, who has deemed the basement much too nice looking to put our old futon and recliner in it. While I definitely agree that the basement does look incredible (accented nicely by our newly acquired pool table!), I had hoped to put off the purchase of new furniture a little longer than, say, 1 day.

Truth be told, we had been casually looking around at some furniture pieces off and on for a couple of weeks, not intending to actually purchase anything, but to get ideas of what was available. I’ve become quite alarmed at the rather prevalent shift in ‘contemporary’ furniture that looks like it’s trying to mimic the lovely designs of the 60’s and 70’s, but that’s a whole other rant.

In our looking around, we did find a piece that we both liked – a minor miracle in itself – and according to the measurements on the tag, it would fit in the space we are working with in the basement. So, with the newly developed sense of urgency, I found myself groggily climbing into the car first thing Saturday morning and heading off to the furniture store, prepared to take advantage of the 55%-off sale they were having.

We get to the store, only to discover that the dimensions on the tag were incorrect, and the piece was almost 14 inches longer than would fit in the space we’re working with. This, of course, set us on a day long journey to no fewer than 6 other furniture stores, including one particular store 30 miles away, only to find out it was closed as it prepared it’s inventory for it’s going out of business sale.

If you’ve managed to read this far without falling asleep, I’m sure you’re wondering when I’m going to explain the title of this little essay. Well, wait no longer.

After the disappointment of learning the piece we liked would not fit, we found ourselves heading to another furniture store here in Mechanicsburg. This particular store is quite expansive – two floors, thousands of square feet on each floor, massive amounts of couches, love seats, table, chairs, recliners, beds, dressers, etc. for one to choose from. It would be easy to spend 4 or 5 hours just browsing. As you enter the store, you have the option of going left or right, or heading up the staircase to the second floor. Of course, as you enter the store, you are also greeted by at least one overly-enthusiastic vultur- er, I mean salesperson.

We walked in, and before we could get to the point where we had to choose if we were going left, right, or up, Doris (names have not been changed to protect the ignorant) had practically run from her salesperson post to greet us. We received the typical “Welcome to our store” routine. We responded, indicating that we were merely looking to browse and get some ideas. In most cases, this would have been enough to send the salesperson back to her desk. But Doris would not be deterred. Here’s a brief synopsis of our conversation. Doris will be in italics, our responses will be in bold.

“Welcome to Furniture. Have you been in our showroom before?”

“Yes, and we’re just looking around today, getting some ideas.”

“Oh I see, well, you obviously are looking for a recliner, since you were headed upstairs. All our recliners are upstairs. I’d be glad to assist you in your selection.” (keep in mind that she stopped us before we were able to choose a direction).

“No, actually, we’re looking for a couch or a sectional piece.”

“Oh, well, then why were you heading upstairs? Our couches and sectionals are on the lower level. You really didn’t need to even go upstairs.” (the sound you heard was the grinding of my teeth).

“Well, thank you for clearing that up. As we said, we are just looking around, getting some ideas.”

“Of course, take your time, and let me know if you need any help.”

If our interaction had ended there, I would probably not be writing this. However, five minutes later, I stumbled upon a modular sectional, and had called for Anita to come take a look. This was my ultimate mistake on two levels. First, I audibly called for Anita, which not only got Anita’s attention, but alerted Doris to our location in the showroom. My second mistake was my call to Anita provided Doris with the indication that I was interested in the piece as a possible solution to our furniture needs.

“Ah, I see you’ve found the Kasey. This is a wonderful piece, and would obviously meet your needs.”

“Yes, well, we're going to take a look at the possible configurations to make sure we can find one that would fit in the space we have available.”

“Of course this will fit into your space. You can configure this into to any number of layouts to fit the space you have. How much space are we talking about?”

“92 to 96 inches.”

“Well, I have 48 years experience in interior design. I laid out this store and selected all the colors and patterns for every piece of furniture we have on the showroom floor. So I know that this will fit in your basement, and these colors would look perfect for you.” (the piece was a sage green. Our basement is bisque, and the pool table felt is burgundy, none of which was ever discussed, so obviously the color would match perfectly…).

“Well, we still want to take a look around and see what other options are out there”

“Why would you want to do that? We can make this piece work for you. See, if you put these three pieces together, you can create a side that is 9 feet long, which will work for your allotted space.” (I’ll pause while you do the math)

“Um, no, we only have 92 to 96 inches to work with, so we’d need to try something else.”

“You have obviously been looking around for a while and should know the space you have to work with. I’ve been doing this for 48 years, and if you have 96 inches to work with, you obviously can fit a 9 foot long piece into your space.”

“All the same, we’re going to look at some other options.”

I got up and walked away before giving Doris a chance to respond. It was everything I could do not to take her 48 years of experience and cram it down her throat. She may have 48 years of experience (which she mentioned no fewer than 9 times during the course of our conversations), but she obviously can’t do 2nd grade math, and must be deaf as well. We left the store feeling angry and belittled. Not exactly the best way to make a sale in my opinion.

And in case you’re interested, we did find a piece we liked on Sunday at a completely different store, and will most likely be making the purchase this evening.

A Bed Skirt, seriously?

Okay, I need some assistance from the 4 or 5 faithful readers that I have. Yesterday, for reasons that I couldn't begin to explain here, I decided to wash the sheets on our bed. No, it's not the first time I've ever done it. In fact, I just washed them 2 weeks ago. But because of said situation, I had to remove the mattress from our bed, which gave me unencumbered access to the bed skirt. So I figured, I'm washing the rest of the sheets, why not this as well. This seemed like a logical action to me. So in the washing machine everything went. Afterwards, it all went into the dryer. No muss, no fuss. Everybody happy, right? Matt took initiative, did something that would both benefit the Smith household and please his beautiful wife.

Of course, as our evenings tend to go, we were out and about for most of the night, and when we returned home, the sheets were dry, but obviously a little wrinkled. But they were clean and fresh smelling. And I was anxious to get to bed, as it had been quite a long day. So I proceeded to put the sheets back on the bed, starting with the bed skirt, which was also quite wrinkled. But since Anita and I are the only ones who ever really get to see our bed, I figured it was not that big of a deal, and the wrinkles would, in time, work themselves out.

This, apparently, was not the correct solution. When Anita saw the bed skirt, it triggered an intense need to not only make the wrinkles disappear, but to do so that very instant. so, at midnight, I am standing in our room, holding our mattress up so that she can iron the bed skirt. Needless to say, this did not make either of us very happy.

So, what did we learn from this situation? Apparently, bed skirts are never to be washed. But if that is the case, why do they put washing/care instructions on them? And, if they are never to be washed, why are they made of a material that can, well, get dirty?

So, to my faithful few, please show me the error of my ways or provide me a leg to stand on!

Some recent random highlights

On Thursday of last week, I finally broke down and set up a Facebook page. I'm not sure about the whole social networking thing, but my primary goal is to use it as a central site to keep in touch with the college kids from church. And since most of them are on Facebook, I figured I better crawl out of the dark ages and get on board. So far, 31 friends and counting. I even figured out how to set up a group on Facebook for the college ministry, and there are 19 students already logged into that as well. Now, if I could only figure out the flair...

Saturday, I turned 36 with little fanfare, which was pretty much how I wanted it.

Sunday, we had 35 students from Messiah stick around for lunch after service. I was completely blown away by this. We had to have close to 60 students in our morning service. As a church, we're studying the "Experiencing God" material by Henry Blackaby, and one of the key tenets is to find where God is moving and join Him there. For whatever reason, one of the areas Immanuel is seeing some serious movement is in our college ministry. It is simultaneously exciting and scary. I'm trusting that if God is bringing these kids to us, then He is equipping us for ministry to and with them. Hard to believe that this all started with 4 or 5 faithful students 4 years ago. Immanuel Church has never drawn Messiah kids by the droves like some of the other churches in the area, but we have always been blessed with quality students, ones who are seeking to serve and connect with a local church family. It was that way when I was a student, and it continues to be that way now!

Monday night was week 2 of the 2008-2009 Almech Bowling league (and, sorry Jeff, I don't know what Almech stands for either). We took all three games and series tonight as a team, making us 7-1 on the season so far. I also managed to pull off a 698 series on the night with a high game of 250, putting me in first place in the league in both categories...briefly. One of the guys in our league decided to do me one better and shot a 300 game and a 779 series. But hey, the season is young. I'm still hoping for my elusive second 300 game. We're down on the good lanes in the house (1-14) this year, so it's definitely possible if I can keep my head screwed on straight.

So that's the rundown since my last post. Hopefully I'll get back to being a bit more regular with these.

Back on Track

I could try to come up with any number of excuses why I have not been to the gym in almost two months. I could probably generate a series of near facts and plausible circumstances that have prevented me from continuing on my journey of improving my physical condition and overall health. In fact, if I tried hard enough, I could probably even convince myself that those reasons were rationally sound and legitimate.

But, the sad fact is, I let other things get in my way, and the handful of opportunities I had to get back to the gym, I squandered on things like extra sleep and having dinner with my beautiful wife.

However, this evening, I returned to my modest self-improvement journey and returned to the gym. Truth be told, I was prompted more by a phone call from the gym asking for our new address than I was by a burning desire to get back to working out...or whatever you want to call what it is I'm doing.

So, after stretching out a bit, I jumped onto a nearby elliptical machine, and ran/elliped for 30 minutes, which included a 5 minute cool-down. I was pleasantly surprised when I hit the 1-mile mark at 10:10. Not bad for the first time back in 7 weeks. I was nearly giddy (yes, I said giddy, deal with it) when I hit the 2-mile mark at 20:05. I actually ran the second mile faster than the first by 15-seconds. I decided then not to press my luck, and slowed down significantly, hitting 2.5-miles at 27:00, and finishing at 2.7 miles for the 30 minutes on the machine.

After that, I quickly got up onto a stationary bike and set out on a 20-minute ride. Much to my surprise, I had pedaled 7.5 miles in those 20 minutes. I had put my towel over the read-out for my ride, as I was just looking to see how long I could pedal continuously without slowing down too much. I was actually shocked when I stopped to see how 'far' I had gone. Guess I'll go back tomorrow and see if I can match these numbers.

Makes me wonder where I'd be today if I hadn't taken that gym sabbatical for the last two months.

Finally, Something I'm Good At

Well, the 2008-2009 bowling season for the Almech League officially kicked off tonight. I had the fortune of having bowled a few games in recent weeks, so I wasn't as rusty as I had expected to be. Last year, my average dropped nearly 12 points from the previous season (from 208 down to 196), so I'm hoping to get it back up closer to the 210 average I am shooting for. I'd love to get it higher than that, but I'm certainly not going to complain if I can reach the 210 plateau.

I started off the season well with games of 200 - 224 - 190 for a 614 series, and just shy of a 205 average to start off with. I left a number of 10-pins tonight, converting 6 of the 8 I left, which is a pretty good ratio for me. The 10-pin is the bane of my bowling existence. Always has been. Some night's I can get it, others I can't get close. Most of my balls were in the pocket tonight, so I was pleased with that.

One of my goals this year is to try to relax more and have some more fun. I tend to take bowling way too seriously - I know, big shocker there. Hopefully having Jeff and Dan on the team this year will help me keep my cool and have some fun.

So, I'm sure you'll hear more of my bowling exploits from time to time on here. Who knows, maybe this will be the year I finally get that elusive second 300 game. I doubt it, but it's fun to dream.

A Rough Start To The Fantasy Football Season

Well, if championships are won and lost in the first week, I'm going to be paddling upstream for the rest of the season. It has not been a kind Week 1 for the ol' Amish Electricians (McKeesport) / Mayhem (Mechanicsburg) squads. The Amish Electricians are down almost 50 points , and the Mayhem is fighting to get within 10 points, but both of my opponents have Adrian Peterson playing tomorrow night, so I have little doubt that I will be starting out 0-1 in both leagues.

The thing is, this has been one of the strangest opening weeks in recent years, from a fantasy perspective. Injuries have run rampant - Tom Brady might be lost for the season - and big name players did little to help their teams - Torry Holt and Chad Ocho Stinko en Fuego a-no-no had a combined 2 catches. On the flip side, Willie Parker had more TD's today than he had all of 2007, and Donovan McNabb had one of the best games in his career. Chicago is totally dominating Indianapolis as I type, and the Atlanta Falcons, universally picked to finish at or near the bottom or the league, wins their first game behind a rookie QB.

This is part of the fun and agony of fantasy football. You pick your guys, and you are left at the mercy of their performance on the field. Sometimes you get lucky, and sometimes you don't. I'm definitely on the unlucky side this week, but next week's another story.

The good news is I should get first crack at the waiver wire on Tuesday!

The better news is my beloved Steelers kicked some major tail at Heinz Field, showing that they will be a team to be reckoned with, especially given that they have the hardest schedule in the league.

So here's hoping my luck turns next week, and the Steelers keep rolling along against the Brownies.

A Golfer I Am Not

I’m sure you’ve all heard someone say “A bad day at golf beats a good day at work.” It’s a pithy, tongue-in-cheek remark that is usually only said by those who actually play golf. It’s a remark that I’d been known to utter from time to time. And until recently, I held true to it.

But after this summer, I’m more prone to agree with Mark Twain, who remarked that “Golf is a good walk spoiled.”

I’ve gotten out 5 times this summer, and my score got worse and worse with each round. Now, I don’t consider myself a ‘Golfer.’ A ‘Golfer’ is someone who plays regularly, usually from the blue tees, and can generally hit the ball in the general direction that they’re aiming, close to the fairway and/or green, and typically doesn’t need a sickle, scuba gear or chainsaw to play their next shot.

No, I’m more of a ‘Hacker’ when it comes to golf. And I was okay with that, because I was able to at least show minor improvement through the course of the summer, to the point that I was able to break 100 with some regular consistency. But this summer, I feel like I’ve never picked up a golf club before (And starting to question why I ever did in the first place). Take yesterday’s round as a great example. I hit more trees and put more balls in water in yesterday’s round than I have in all my rounds last summer. For every decent shot I hit – all 3 of them - I had 10 that were just contemptible. In fact, the best swing I had all day was when, after 15 or 16 consecutive horrid shots, I took a frustrating swing at a nearby tree. It was the first time all day that I made solid contact with something!

The thing is, I have no illusions to the reality that I’ll never be more than a hacker when it comes to golf. I don’t aspire to be a golfer, but I do desire to get better as I play more. And I’ve found that I usually do get better at something the more I play it. But golf is a different beast for me. In fact, I think it was the ‘class’ that I took last September that has actually caused my recent ineptitude. Before I took this class, I didn’t know what I was doing wrong to know the ‘correct’ way to fix it. I would fix things in such a way that worked for me, and it seemed to be sufficient, sometimes even effective. But now that I know what I’m doing wrong and the way I’m supposed to be doing it, I find myself thinking about it before every swing, trying to manipulate my body in such a way that is ‘correct.’ The problem is that I’m no longer comfortable with my stance or swing, and I can’t figure out what to do about it. I’m trying to forget everything this class taught me, but it’s hard to get rid of that information when I’m in the middle of a golf course.

The way I see it, I have three options at this point…

1) Go out and invest some money in some real golf instruction and a fitted set of clubs (I’m still playing with the Wal-Mart sale clubs I bought 10 years ago), and see if that makes a difference.
2) Throw my clubs in the Susquehanna River and forget I ever considered stepping foot on a golf course
3) Accept the fact that I pretty much suck at hitting a golf ball, and just try to enjoy the 4 hours spent on a golf course.

While option 2 is certainly appealing at the moment, option three is most likely the course I’ll take, but it will definitely be the hardest for me to accomplish.

After every round of golf, I'm reminded of why I bowl.

Starting Their Next Chapter

I remember my first night on campus at Messiah. My family had left for the home, and I was alone in my room (my roommate hadn't arrived yet). I was sitting there fumbling with an envelope that Dad had handed me as we said our goodbyes. I opened it and read what he had written, his encouragement to me and his desires for me. I cried. Even now, I'm still a little misty-eyed thinking about it. I still have the letter tucked away. But the one thing I remember most about that night was a statement he made, that this moment was '...the start of the next chapter...' in my life's story.

On Thursday, I was fortunate enough to help with moving new Messiah students into Naugle dorm. For 4 hours, I carried more mini-fridges and TV's than I could count, and if there was a box that weighed more than 30 lbs, it somehow ended up in my arms. And I must have had some sign on my back that indicated that I was the guy to see if you were moving into the 3rd floor, because almost everyone I helped that day lived on Naugle 3rd. As I was moving the kids in, I was watching them and their parents, thinking back to my first day on campus. You could tell which families were doing this for the first time, and which one had been through this before. You could tell which kids - and parents - were probably going to have an easy transition, and which ones were going to struggle a little bit. For the most part, it was fun to be part of.

Of course, I was soon struck by the reality that I was helping move kids into the dorm who were half my age. When did I get old?

One of the last trips I made was to the room that was next door to the room I lived in my first year at Messiah. That's when it hit me. I took a moment and stepped into my old room - Naugle B303 - and remembered my first night and that letter. It was in that room where my 'next chapter' began nearly 17 years ago. And I prayed that these kids who were starting out their next chapters would each give their books to the author of all life, and that their journeys would be exciting and fulfilling.

Welcome to Messiah, everyone. Welcome to the next chapter!

Shawne Merriman is an IDIOT

It appears that steroids really do kill brain cells. It was reported today that Shawne Merriman, the Por-Bowl linebacker for the San Diego Chargers has decided to forgoe the advice of four doctors, and play this season, despite having two torn ligaments in the same knee!!!!!

Now, having been the victim of a single torn ligament in my knee, there is a reason why the doctors tell you not to resume activity right away. It's to have surgery and let the body heal itself, so that you can continue on with your normal life in a few months. Yes, it's frustrating to have to be a quasi-invalid for that time, but it's better to have full function for your entire life than to risk that for a few moments of whatever.

I suspect we're going to see a sight similar to this before the end of the football season, with Shawne "Who needs knee ligaments" Merriman.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1i_bJv_0z-k

Drafts are over, let the games begin!

Well, it's official. The drafts are over, and I'm now ready for the season to begin. I am in three leagues this year. The first one is with a group of guys back home that I've been playing with for about 6 years now. The second one is a league that I run with a group of guys out here in Mechanicsburg (mostly) from Immanuel (mostly). The third one is something a bit different. Both of my other leagues are through Real Time Sports, and they started up a number of pay league options this year. One of those options was what I'm calling a "draft-it-and-forget-it" league. In this case, you pick your team, and the system chooses your best possible lineup and that's your score for the week. You do nothing else all season other than check on your score each week. So I created a league in that and got 9 other guys to go in on it with me. Should be interesting to see how that one turns out.

So, now that all my drafts are over, I'm left only to ponder the upcoming season and to speculate as to how I might finish in each league. I't like to say that I'm confident that I'll be victorious in all three, but I'm not. In the McKeesport League, I believe I'll be able to make the playoffs again, but I do not see me finishing higher than 3rd again this year. In the Immanuel League, I feel I have a strong team, but I believe there is at least one team out there, on paper, that is much stronger than mine. Second would be a vast improvement over my 7th place finish last year, but still not a championship. The "Draft-It/Forget-It" league? Well, I have no idea. Based solely on predictions, I should finish well, but was my draft good enough for 1st? Only time will tell.

But through all of the drafts, I am always amused and amazed at how people manage their drafts. The guys in the McKeesport League are all a bit fanatical about it (myself included). The amount of preparation - for almost all the managers - is impressive. We draft 20 rounds in that league, so you really have to do your homework and know NFL rosters 3 and 4 deep on the depth charts.

The Immanuel League is quite a bit different. Most of the guys are quite laid back about the approach, which is good in that it keeps the smack talk to a minimum and usually allows for a bit more fun. But the biggest drawback to this is that when guys are less prepared, it takes forever to draft. We only have 16 rounds in the Immanuel League, yet that draft took almost an hour longer than the McKeesport draft did.

The "Draft & Forget" league took 2 hours exactly for 18 rounds. Everyone was online for that one, and that might have made it go a little faster - no chit-chat in between. Plus, I got the sense that most of those guys were pretty well educated in the draft process and were well prepared for any strange occurrences - like the guy who set his team to auto-pick and drafted 8 consecutive running backs, completely screwing up everyone's draft strategy.

I'll probably do one more 'league' this year, but not a draft-based league. I'm playing in the NBC 100K Fantasy Football Challenge for the second year in a row. This one is quite impressive, and really makes you think and prepare. Each week, you can pick 2 or 3 players from each position. The catch is, you can only use them once during the season. So if you pick Tom Brady and Peyton Manning as your week 1 QB's, you cannot use either of them again (with the exception of the Sunday Night Bonus Player rules). This requires a lot of strategy to accomplish. Last season, I finished in the top 5000 (doesn't sound impressive until you realize that there were nearly 400,000 people playing last year). My goal this year is the top 500. It's free to enter, so come join me if you're up to the challenge.

I was always told to get a hobby!

Too Good To Pitch?!?!?

I just finished reading the article that’s been circulating the net (read the story here) regarding the 9-year-old pitcher in Connecticut who’s been, in essence, banned from pitching because, well, he’s too good. At first I thought it was a joke, until I heard it repeated on two radio shows this morning as well.

I’m almost speechless at this. These morons who run the league are telling this kid that he can’t do what he loves and is exceptional at because he’s so much better than the other kids in the league? Their argument is that it’s a ‘developmental league’ and young Jericho is preventing the other kids from learning. What? In the immortal words of Charlie Brown, “Good Grief!” If you have a kid who can throw the ball hard – and ACCURATELY – at 8 years of age, you need to do everything you can to continue to encourage him to keep pitching.

I remember playing in a game when I was 10 years old, where the pitcher on the other team was almost 6-foot tall, and could throw the ball harder than anything I’d ever batted against up to that point. This kid couldn’t walk and chew gum at the same time, and he literally fell of the mound after every pitch. And you had no idea where the pitch was going. The first one he threw to me went at least a foot behind my back. I remember in my first at bat being so frozen with fear standing in the box, having no idea where the next pitch was going, that I could only take half-hearted swings at the pitches, eventually grounding out weakly to 2nd base. Our parents complained, saying he was too tall to be 10 years old, but his coach and parents had a birth certificate on hand as proof (guess this was a normal occurrence), yet no one complained that he was too good to be out there. Granted, he was a bit wild, but he also struck out nearly every batter he faced. Sure, it was discouraging to whiff against this kid, but rather than sulk and complain, most of us took it as a challenge to try to get a hit off of him. I know I did. He was better than me, and I wanted to prove to him and myself that I could be as good as him. By my last at bat, I hit a deep fly ball to center field. It was caught, but it was one of only two or three balls our team hit out of the infield.

My point is this; going up against a kid who was definitely better than I was made me step up my game to try to get to his level. That what the parents and other managers are missing in this league in Connecticut. This kid, Jericho, has the chance to raise the level of every child in that league. But rather than allow that to happen, they’d rather ban Jericho so their kids don’t get their feelings hurt.

We’re so concerned about fairness and entitlement, that we are raising a generation of weak, feeble, spiritless, spineless children who will eventually turn into weak, feeble, spiritless, spineless adults who feel the world owes them everything. We are becoming the spoiled brats of the civilized world, and we’re going to get slapped hard because of it if we don’t grow up as a nation.

There is a ‘circle of life’ moment here that I think needs to be explored…

Competition eventually breeds Passion
– to compete is to want to win, to fight for it.
Passion eventually breeds Desire
- to fight for something bad enough to prove how bad you want it
Desire eventually breeds Drive
- to want something that you will let nothing get in your way
Drive eventually breeds Perseverance
- to continue to push forward even as obstacles come your way
Perseverance eventually breeds Accomplishment
- to endure the obstacles long enough until you complete that which you set out to do
Accomplishment eventually breeds Confidence
- once the task is completed, you’re ready to show everyone else that you can do it
Confidence eventually breeds Competition
- to put your skills on display in a manner that allows you to gauge your abilities

There will always be someone better than you at something. And if you want to grow as a person, you have to rice to the challenge to place yourself in competition with that person. Iron sharpens Iron. You cannot get better by refusing to play greater talent. You cannot learn anything by taking the easy road. Yet this is the lesson that has just been taught to these kids. Shame you, New Haven!

What if Michael Phelps was banned from the pool because he swam faster than the other kids?

What if Shaquille O’Neal was banned from the basketball court because he was taller than the other kids?

What if Bill Gates was banned from high school because he was too smart for the other kids?


Anyone else seeing the ridiculousness in this situation?