Simply Living

Got some updates over there. Take a look.

Another Bucket List

Check off all that apply:

(x) Seen way too many of those "check off all that apply and forward it to everyone you ever met" lists.

The Other Side Of The Coin

People who know me well know that I'm not at all reticent about screaming bloody murder when someone's done me wrong. But I'm nothing if not fair, no doubt a product having been treated unfairly many times over the years. And so it is that I at least try to speak up when I see things done well.

And so it was that I stopped by the local Shell station this morning to pick up some Pepsi (one of life's necessities; besides, they had it on sale) and took the occasion to ask to speak to The Manager (not the "assistant manager on duty" -- The Manager). With a reassuring "It's nothing bad" from me, the clerk scampered off to fetch The Manager, who appeared a moment later with a quizzical look on her face.

Accustomed as she is to hearing complaints, what came next must have been a bit of a shock to her system. I explained that her station had become my new default station for buying gas, due to reasons:

- when gas hit $4, they stopped buying until the price came down, since they were among those in town who didn't feel right about the consumer getting gouged;

- their price wasn't the absolute lowest in town, but it was within a few cents -- close enough for my purposes; and

- since getting my gas there, I've noticed a marked improvement in engine performance.

The poor woman's probably sitting around talking to herself now.

8 Simple Rules For Living

1. All I really want is to be understood. Hence, the yelling.

2. Sometimes it helps to count to 10 on your fingers. Or just one, if you know what I'm saying.

3. The secret to leading a tranquil life is to ignore petty annoyances & save your anger for really serious matters. Like if somebody looks at you funny.

4. It's important to vent your frustrations. But you have to recognize the appropriate time and place to vent and blow off steam. For me it's anytime, anyplace.

5. My idea of a high-stress job is any job where you have to work with other people.

6. To stay relaxed in today's frantic, stressful world, you have to force yourself to stop & put your feet up. I put mine up just high enough to kick the butt of whoever is annoying me.

7. I don't see the glass as half-empty or half-full. I see it as a glass somebody else has already put their lousy germs on.

8. School prepares you for the real world, which also sucks.

Hamming It Up

Well, I gave it my best shot.

Went down this evening and took the Technician Class ham radio test.

Very disappointing results.























I only scored a 94.28571429%

*hangs head in shame*

None Of My Concern

Sometimes, I get irritated at the way Americans butcher German words. You'd think they'd do a better job pronouncing words that come from a language that forms about half of their own. The worst, of course, is that "Jahn" comes out every which way except "yon".

But I got to thinking about a guy I worked with years ago who had been station at Ramstein AB, near Kaiserslautern. He kept talking about something he referred to as the "concern". For the life of me, I couldn't figure out what he was talking about. Just as I was about to give up, the light went on. He was referring to the "Kaserne" (kah-SAIR-neh; meaning "barracks").

Sheesh....