Most have seen this before - and while I am not a Gates worhsipper, I do think it pertinent to life.
Bill Gates gave a speech at a High School about 11 things they did not and will not learn in school. He talks about how feel-good, politically correct teachings created a generation of kids with no concept of reality and how this concept set them up for failure in the real world.
Rule 1: Life is not fair - get used to it!
Rule 2 : The world won't care about your self-esteem. The world will expect you to accomplish something BEFORE you feel good about yourself.
Rule 3 : You will NOT make $60,000 a year right out of high school. You won't be a vice-president with a car phone until you earn both.
Rule 4 : If you think your teacher is tough, wait till you get a boss.
Rule 5 : Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your Grandparents had a different word for burger flipping: they called it opportunity.
Rule 6 : If you mess up, it's not your parents' fault, so don't whine about your mistakes, learn from them.
Rule 7 : Before you were born, your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way from paying your bills, cleaning your clothes and listening to you talk about how cool you thought you were. So before you save the rain forest from the parasites of your parent's generation, try delousing the closet in your own room.
Rule 8 : Your school may have done away with winners and losers, but life HAS NOT. In some schools, they have abolished failing grades and they'll give you as MANY TIMES as you want to get the right answer. This doesn't bear the slightest resemblance to ANYTHING in real life.
Rule 9 : Life is not divided into semesters. You don't get summers off and very few employers are interested in helping you FIND YOURSELF. Do that on your own time.
Rule: 10: Television is NOT real life. In real life people actually have to leave the coffee shop and go to jobs.
Rule 11 : Be nice to nerds. Chances are you'll end up working for one.
Friday, April 11, 2008
Monday, March 31, 2008
USA 3 - 0 Poland
All in all a good days work for our MNT! Set pieces was the theme of the day for our boys in Poland last week - Im late posting is all. Bob Bradley has done a good job with our team so far and establishing international friendlies with decent counterparts. If we can keep this kind of momentum going - then World Cup 2010 looks like it has a bright future for the US! At the very least -w e get to play England at Wembley in June - ah, if only I could be there........
Monday, March 24, 2008
I finally gave in......
I've been fighting it for about 8 months now. The urge to buy the iPhone. It's expensive! But with my birthday came some money and since I get an allowance from work for cell phone usage - it really is not costing me anything extra on my plan.
So I did it - I bought it. I cannot even explain to you how cool it is. I mean, it is so easy - I have everything set up - and I never even had to use a User Guide. How cool is it you ask?
Well, for starters, I can access the Internet.
I can consolidate all my contacts including everything I would ever have in a day planner.
I can access my CSS email automatically as well!
My iPod music is consolidated in here.
And when I go on vacation in a month - we can upload movies to it and watch movies on the airplane through the iPhone.
Oh and wait - I can take notes and store them.
AND I even have quick access to YouTube - AND because of that........I of course already have my Michael Bradley YouTube videos book marked. :) I am in heaven.
iPhone
So I did it - I bought it. I cannot even explain to you how cool it is. I mean, it is so easy - I have everything set up - and I never even had to use a User Guide. How cool is it you ask?
Well, for starters, I can access the Internet.
I can consolidate all my contacts including everything I would ever have in a day planner.
I can access my CSS email automatically as well!
My iPod music is consolidated in here.
And when I go on vacation in a month - we can upload movies to it and watch movies on the airplane through the iPhone.
Oh and wait - I can take notes and store them.
AND I even have quick access to YouTube - AND because of that........I of course already have my Michael Bradley YouTube videos book marked. :) I am in heaven.
iPhone
Friday, March 21, 2008
My Venting Session
So I am going to start with the sugar before I say the spice.
Sugar #1
US U23's not only beat Canada 3-0 in the semi-final to advance to the final - they qualified for the Olympics in Beijing and they won in good fashion. GOOD JOB BOYS and GOOD LUCK THIS SUMMER! So the irony is they qualify for the Olympics without having to win the qualifying final. But they will play regardless. And Honduras is in the final as well. Looks like Mexico goes home - YEAH!!!
Sugar #2
We got another customer! And we got our developer moving forward with our database. Exciting stuff. So by the end of April - we should be ready to really rock and roll with our web site.
Spice #1
Tryouts happened last weekend. In some ways I love tryouts. It's an ego thing with me. I get a high knowing I can in 3 hours identify a player's mental, technical, tactical, and physical ability. And knowing I can do this evaluating a variety of players. And then knowing further, that over the course of the year - I am going to prove myself right. Yes, that's right.........I am a right fighter. I love to be right. I love to win. I love to prove someone wrong. Is it a flattery asset of mine - no, I know it is a behavioral flaw of mine. But I don't care. :)
So moving on to the good stuff. So we promoted 2 players - always a good thing! We dropped one player and we picked up 5 good players - including a keeper that WANTS to play for us. Oh I can't tell you how happy we are about that.
The bad stuff. SO one of the players we kept - failed to contact us within 24 hours of posting the results. Actually it was past 72 hours before the parent contacted us informing us that the player would like to play for us again.
Here is the problem. We stated to contact us within 24 hours to reserve a spot. We then followed up with the family 48 hours after - because we have to start notifying alternates. You know where this is going correct?
So 72 hours later - we contacted our first alternate to offer her a spot. About 8 hours later - we get an email from the other parent. So now I ask you....what do you think we should do? And before you answer that, keep in mind the following aspects:
Our team/club is not cheap. If you want to play on our team - which is less than if you are on the A team - you pay a minimum of $2000 a year.......to the club. This does not count the money spent on uniforms, travel costs, tournament fees, indoor fees, etc. So realistically it's about $3000.
So think about how one person's lack of organization, could impact YOUR child's playing time? How do you feel about that knowing how much you pay for your child to participate.
So do we eat crow and accept the girl - we like her - but the mom has been like this the past year. Apparently she has a lack of organizational skills. The excuse - they were moving and didn't have Internet connection. The problem with that is we also had one of our players send the player a text message. And the girl is 14 - she isn't 11. So we also feel that this should not be the sole responsibility of the parent. After all - the girl is not only old enough to to contact us, she had means to do so even if her home Internet was not available. And we had agreed that after last year's tryouts, we would never let parents hold us hostage again. it's just not fair to us, the team or to the alternates that otherwise would take a spot on our team. So with all that said....how do you feel about it?
Spice #2
Customers are obnoxious - this would be my day job. I find it amazing that i work in an industry where people think you should fix their errors and shortcomings, for free. That their ignorance is unimportant, and your customer service should make their problem right. Because it isn't their fault they screwed up. And because they don't want to have to explain how their lack of attention to detail caused a fracas. Ahh mortgage brokers. I hate them.
The other day, we had a $732 charge we assessed to a customer's credit card for rescore charges he incurred. A rescore is when a broker takes data from the individual and their creditors and passes it on to the three credit bureaus in an attempt to clean up their credit file - so they can get a better FICO score so they can fund a loan or get a better loan term for the borrower. the consumer can do this for free to the repositories directly - but it takes about 60 days to go through this process. The broker can do it within a week - but for a hefty price tag.
So the guy signs off on the order form - one inch below where it discussed the pricing. We got billed, therefore he gets billed. Well of course he called. he was pissed. His problem? He didn't understand how much the total bill was going to be. But he has been doing loans for 10 years. his rescores have been partially comped at other CRA's because he had bundled service packages. So the bottom line was, he said he was only going to pay $200 and that he was going to charge it back. Go ahead buckaroo - you won't win the charge back cause your signature signed off on the pricing. So he failed to read the pricing and if he had a question on it, he didn't ask anyone for a total amount either - even though he was the one who checked what services to perform on what bureaus, etc. His gripe - no one told him the total before the services were performed.
And how is that our fault when you were responsible for doing the math - we gave you the prices. Ah but the CS person spoke with him twice about the services - why didn't she tell me? First off - it wasn't our CS, it was our credit agency's CS person. He didn't care. And he tried to tell me that good customer service to retain him as a customer would be to basically eat it on his behalf. Cause....he knows lots of originators and he can tell people not to use us...........oh no, a little bad press - alert the media!
I told him - that' ok, our CEO is friends with your CEO. And then I told him - it would take us over a year or 2 before we began to see any profit from his account if we ate the fee - only in the hopes that he didn't get upset at anything else and remained our customer.
We have people scream at us all the time because we won't fix the name information on the credit report they pulled - when they were the retards that typoed it in the first place and we even gave them a review screen. The reason we don't.....we just can't pull the report back in our system is all if we do fix it. But it pisses them off that we won't fix their mistake.
Do you see my woes?
Sugar #1
US U23's not only beat Canada 3-0 in the semi-final to advance to the final - they qualified for the Olympics in Beijing and they won in good fashion. GOOD JOB BOYS and GOOD LUCK THIS SUMMER! So the irony is they qualify for the Olympics without having to win the qualifying final. But they will play regardless. And Honduras is in the final as well. Looks like Mexico goes home - YEAH!!!
Sugar #2
We got another customer! And we got our developer moving forward with our database. Exciting stuff. So by the end of April - we should be ready to really rock and roll with our web site.
Spice #1
Tryouts happened last weekend. In some ways I love tryouts. It's an ego thing with me. I get a high knowing I can in 3 hours identify a player's mental, technical, tactical, and physical ability. And knowing I can do this evaluating a variety of players. And then knowing further, that over the course of the year - I am going to prove myself right. Yes, that's right.........I am a right fighter. I love to be right. I love to win. I love to prove someone wrong. Is it a flattery asset of mine - no, I know it is a behavioral flaw of mine. But I don't care. :)
So moving on to the good stuff. So we promoted 2 players - always a good thing! We dropped one player and we picked up 5 good players - including a keeper that WANTS to play for us. Oh I can't tell you how happy we are about that.
The bad stuff. SO one of the players we kept - failed to contact us within 24 hours of posting the results. Actually it was past 72 hours before the parent contacted us informing us that the player would like to play for us again.
Here is the problem. We stated to contact us within 24 hours to reserve a spot. We then followed up with the family 48 hours after - because we have to start notifying alternates. You know where this is going correct?
So 72 hours later - we contacted our first alternate to offer her a spot. About 8 hours later - we get an email from the other parent. So now I ask you....what do you think we should do? And before you answer that, keep in mind the following aspects:
Our team/club is not cheap. If you want to play on our team - which is less than if you are on the A team - you pay a minimum of $2000 a year.......to the club. This does not count the money spent on uniforms, travel costs, tournament fees, indoor fees, etc. So realistically it's about $3000.
So think about how one person's lack of organization, could impact YOUR child's playing time? How do you feel about that knowing how much you pay for your child to participate.
So do we eat crow and accept the girl - we like her - but the mom has been like this the past year. Apparently she has a lack of organizational skills. The excuse - they were moving and didn't have Internet connection. The problem with that is we also had one of our players send the player a text message. And the girl is 14 - she isn't 11. So we also feel that this should not be the sole responsibility of the parent. After all - the girl is not only old enough to to contact us, she had means to do so even if her home Internet was not available. And we had agreed that after last year's tryouts, we would never let parents hold us hostage again. it's just not fair to us, the team or to the alternates that otherwise would take a spot on our team. So with all that said....how do you feel about it?
Spice #2
Customers are obnoxious - this would be my day job. I find it amazing that i work in an industry where people think you should fix their errors and shortcomings, for free. That their ignorance is unimportant, and your customer service should make their problem right. Because it isn't their fault they screwed up. And because they don't want to have to explain how their lack of attention to detail caused a fracas. Ahh mortgage brokers. I hate them.
The other day, we had a $732 charge we assessed to a customer's credit card for rescore charges he incurred. A rescore is when a broker takes data from the individual and their creditors and passes it on to the three credit bureaus in an attempt to clean up their credit file - so they can get a better FICO score so they can fund a loan or get a better loan term for the borrower. the consumer can do this for free to the repositories directly - but it takes about 60 days to go through this process. The broker can do it within a week - but for a hefty price tag.
So the guy signs off on the order form - one inch below where it discussed the pricing. We got billed, therefore he gets billed. Well of course he called. he was pissed. His problem? He didn't understand how much the total bill was going to be. But he has been doing loans for 10 years. his rescores have been partially comped at other CRA's because he had bundled service packages. So the bottom line was, he said he was only going to pay $200 and that he was going to charge it back. Go ahead buckaroo - you won't win the charge back cause your signature signed off on the pricing. So he failed to read the pricing and if he had a question on it, he didn't ask anyone for a total amount either - even though he was the one who checked what services to perform on what bureaus, etc. His gripe - no one told him the total before the services were performed.
And how is that our fault when you were responsible for doing the math - we gave you the prices. Ah but the CS person spoke with him twice about the services - why didn't she tell me? First off - it wasn't our CS, it was our credit agency's CS person. He didn't care. And he tried to tell me that good customer service to retain him as a customer would be to basically eat it on his behalf. Cause....he knows lots of originators and he can tell people not to use us...........oh no, a little bad press - alert the media!
I told him - that' ok, our CEO is friends with your CEO. And then I told him - it would take us over a year or 2 before we began to see any profit from his account if we ate the fee - only in the hopes that he didn't get upset at anything else and remained our customer.
We have people scream at us all the time because we won't fix the name information on the credit report they pulled - when they were the retards that typoed it in the first place and we even gave them a review screen. The reason we don't.....we just can't pull the report back in our system is all if we do fix it. But it pisses them off that we won't fix their mistake.
Do you see my woes?
Thursday, March 20, 2008
I gotta lot to say today
Actually - it's been building up for a few days now. But I'll have to come back to this cause my boss is sitting in front of me - and i know he is going to look at my computer screen in a minute.
update on the U23's - they scraped through the group phase and managed to squeak out a win in the 95th minute against Honduras. Boys - you need to find your groove or else you won't make it past Canada today! Canada vs US update will be coming later.
update on the U23's - they scraped through the group phase and managed to squeak out a win in the 95th minute against Honduras. Boys - you need to find your groove or else you won't make it past Canada today! Canada vs US update will be coming later.
Colorado
A friend sent this to me and I gotta say - it is SOOO true!
You're from Colorado if----
You'll eat ice cream in the winter.
When the weather report says it's going to be 65 degrees, you shave your legs and wear a skirt.
It snows 5 inches and you don't expect school to be canceled.
You'll wear flip flops every day of the year, regardless of temperature.
You have no accent at all, but can hear other people's. And then you make fun of them.
'Humid' is over 25%.
Your sense of direction is: Toward the mountains and Away from the mountains.
You say 'the interstate' and everybody knows which one.
You think that May is a totally normal month for a blizzard.
You grew up planning your Halloween costumes around your coat.
You know what the Continental Divide is.
You don't think Coors beer is that big a deal.
You went to Casa Bonita as a kid.
You've gone off-roading in a vehicle that was never intended for such activities.
You always know the elevation of where you are.
You wake up to a beautiful, 80 degree day and you wonder if it's going to snow tomorrow.
You don't care that some company renamed it, the Broncos still play at Mile High.
Every movie theater has military and student discounts.
Everybody wears jeans to church.
You actually know that South Park is a real place not just a show on TV.
You know what a 'trust fund hippy' is, and you know its natural habitat is Boulder.
You know you're talking to a fellow Coloradoan when they call it Elitches, not Six Flags.
A bear on your front porch doesn't bother you.
Your two favorite teams are the Broncos and whoever is beating the crap out of the Raiders.
You've been to the original Chipotle near the DU campus on Evans.
When people out East tell you they have mountains in their state too, you just laugh.
You go anywhere else on the planet and the air feels 'sticky' and you notice the sky is no longer blue.
You're from Colorado if----
You'll eat ice cream in the winter.
When the weather report says it's going to be 65 degrees, you shave your legs and wear a skirt.
It snows 5 inches and you don't expect school to be canceled.
You'll wear flip flops every day of the year, regardless of temperature.
You have no accent at all, but can hear other people's. And then you make fun of them.
'Humid' is over 25%.
Your sense of direction is: Toward the mountains and Away from the mountains.
You say 'the interstate' and everybody knows which one.
You think that May is a totally normal month for a blizzard.
You grew up planning your Halloween costumes around your coat.
You know what the Continental Divide is.
You don't think Coors beer is that big a deal.
You went to Casa Bonita as a kid.
You've gone off-roading in a vehicle that was never intended for such activities.
You always know the elevation of where you are.
You wake up to a beautiful, 80 degree day and you wonder if it's going to snow tomorrow.
You don't care that some company renamed it, the Broncos still play at Mile High.
Every movie theater has military and student discounts.
Everybody wears jeans to church.
You actually know that South Park is a real place not just a show on TV.
You know what a 'trust fund hippy' is, and you know its natural habitat is Boulder.
You know you're talking to a fellow Coloradoan when they call it Elitches, not Six Flags.
A bear on your front porch doesn't bother you.
Your two favorite teams are the Broncos and whoever is beating the crap out of the Raiders.
You've been to the original Chipotle near the DU campus on Evans.
When people out East tell you they have mountains in their state too, you just laugh.
You go anywhere else on the planet and the air feels 'sticky' and you notice the sky is no longer blue.
Friday, March 14, 2008
US Women
Won the Algarve Cup - again. No surprise. It was their warm up to their own Olympic qualifying tournament. And no - I haven't checked the score.
However, it is listed on the FoxSoccer site that Hope Solo has been named as the face of Women's Soccer following her "World Cup fiasco" as some writers called it. Remember my lovely posts from last summer?
Ah...don't you just love irony.......
No mention of if or where Mr Ryan is now coaching...........I am sure he will show up as one of the 7 professional women coaches next year though - cause well that's how it works in our soccer industry - whatever......
Don't even get me started on our new 6 or 7 team professional women's league. At least it will not be called WUSA.......
However, it is listed on the FoxSoccer site that Hope Solo has been named as the face of Women's Soccer following her "World Cup fiasco" as some writers called it. Remember my lovely posts from last summer?
Ah...don't you just love irony.......
No mention of if or where Mr Ryan is now coaching...........I am sure he will show up as one of the 7 professional women coaches next year though - cause well that's how it works in our soccer industry - whatever......
Don't even get me started on our new 6 or 7 team professional women's league. At least it will not be called WUSA.......
US U-23
Beat Panama 1-0 yesterday to go 1-0-1 in their group. Now they need to win or tie Honduras to advance. Their performance yesterday was quite uninspiring and they won because they got a PK. Good job on the strike Freddy Adu! Personally I thought there was just a little too much flopping going on by our boys and not enough penetration into the box. But what do I know.......except if you can't put Cuba and Panama away - how they hell do you expect to compete with EUROPE when you get to the big dance!
And in case you haven't heard - 7 members of the Cuban U-23 team defected a few days ago. Since the teams are only allowed 18 players, and one was serving a suspension from the US game - that knocked the team down to playing with 10 men for the match.....they gave t a good effort but ultimately lost 2-0 to Honduras.
As to me...I played my first outdoor match in about 4 months. And I was awful. It was like I was back in 1st grade or something. Guess it was lucky for me I was not playing like that on a national team. LOL
And in case you haven't heard - 7 members of the Cuban U-23 team defected a few days ago. Since the teams are only allowed 18 players, and one was serving a suspension from the US game - that knocked the team down to playing with 10 men for the match.....they gave t a good effort but ultimately lost 2-0 to Honduras.
As to me...I played my first outdoor match in about 4 months. And I was awful. It was like I was back in 1st grade or something. Guess it was lucky for me I was not playing like that on a national team. LOL
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
The Funniest Thing
So the reality is - I think it is stupid the Heerenveen team were doing this in the middle of their season - they could have gotten seriously hurt. But my boy is in this video and he realy is the highlight of it so have a good laugh at his expense. He is at the very end - so watch it all - it's only a minute and a half long.
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Our Boys Didn't Get it Done
The US U-23 boys closed out their first game of Olympic qualifying with a tie to Cuba 1-1. Freddy Adu scored in the first half initially giving us the lead before the Cubans unfortunately - and luckily equalized in the second half.
Boys - you should have put this one away in the first 20 minutes when you had the Cubans up against the fence. Sadly my boy Bradley was not in the line up since Heerenveen would not release him. But I have a feeling we will see him in the summer.
And for those wondering - I am better now. Day 8 of antibiotics and still recovering - but I see the end of the tunnel - thank goodness!
Boys - you should have put this one away in the first 20 minutes when you had the Cubans up against the fence. Sadly my boy Bradley was not in the line up since Heerenveen would not release him. But I have a feeling we will see him in the summer.
And for those wondering - I am better now. Day 8 of antibiotics and still recovering - but I see the end of the tunnel - thank goodness!
Thursday, March 06, 2008
Walking Wounded
Sunday afternoon I developed a flegmy cough out of nowhere. Weird I thought - must be that weird respiratory thing my coworker had. Monday came and the cough was about the same, just a little more frequent - but I felt fine. Tuesday came and the world started to not be such a great place by nightfall. Monday morning and I thought I was on the road to dying. So much that work was not an option and I actually found the local Urgent Care(which really happened to be a walk in clinic in a semi seedy part of town but whatever). Why didn't I just go to my primary care provider you say? LMFAO Uh that would be because I don't have one. As in why do I need one except in instances like this? I'm one of those people that goes to specialists for my problems, and since I don't have kids and Tony gets sick less often than me - it just never really makes sense to establish a relationship with one. Anywho, I digress.
I initially thought I might have gotten some form of Whooping cough since we just moved offices and the office I inherited was inhabited by a guy that just took his kids into the hospital for Whooping cough, but it appears that it is a little worse. Walking pneumonia is what the doctor thinks. So body aches, fever, congestion, cough, coughing up gross stuff, fatigue and a few others I won't mention have landed me in the current place I am - sick as a dog! I unfortunately have been here 12 years ago - only then it was worse. I really did think i was going to die and didn't have any antibiotics to help me. Luckily the doctor gave me some antibiotics so I will be on my way in a few days but it's one of those things where sometimes you feel comfortable enough and then sometimes you just can't find anything that makes you feel good - walking around for a minute fatigues you. Laying down makes your lungs junk up and a cough sequence occurs, sitting up means paying attention and then comes the slightly fatigued but awake feeling. Let's not forget the cough cough cough. Ironically there has been a little silver lining over the past two days.....
My furnace has been busted.
How is that positive you say? Well since it has been colder than green bay in my house.....ok so that was an exaggeration, it's been about 65 degrees - although today is was down to 60-62. So my fever hasn't really been playing too much of a factor cause I haven't been hot! LOL Although the furnace guy just came out and fixed the problem, so here we go. I'm not so sure I am excited by this new development. I may have been creating a false sense of feel good feelings because of it. I will let you know how I fare over the next few days
I didn't really have a point to this post - I was just bored.
I initially thought I might have gotten some form of Whooping cough since we just moved offices and the office I inherited was inhabited by a guy that just took his kids into the hospital for Whooping cough, but it appears that it is a little worse. Walking pneumonia is what the doctor thinks. So body aches, fever, congestion, cough, coughing up gross stuff, fatigue and a few others I won't mention have landed me in the current place I am - sick as a dog! I unfortunately have been here 12 years ago - only then it was worse. I really did think i was going to die and didn't have any antibiotics to help me. Luckily the doctor gave me some antibiotics so I will be on my way in a few days but it's one of those things where sometimes you feel comfortable enough and then sometimes you just can't find anything that makes you feel good - walking around for a minute fatigues you. Laying down makes your lungs junk up and a cough sequence occurs, sitting up means paying attention and then comes the slightly fatigued but awake feeling. Let's not forget the cough cough cough. Ironically there has been a little silver lining over the past two days.....
My furnace has been busted.
How is that positive you say? Well since it has been colder than green bay in my house.....ok so that was an exaggeration, it's been about 65 degrees - although today is was down to 60-62. So my fever hasn't really been playing too much of a factor cause I haven't been hot! LOL Although the furnace guy just came out and fixed the problem, so here we go. I'm not so sure I am excited by this new development. I may have been creating a false sense of feel good feelings because of it. I will let you know how I fare over the next few days
I didn't really have a point to this post - I was just bored.
Thursday, February 28, 2008
I thought I had seen it all...
but this one just takes the cake! And if you look closely - they have a mini pool in the front yard too!
Wednesday, February 27, 2008
Bathroom Etiquette
Yes this is in some ways a typical post for me. But really, you may be a little surprised by what I say. But I have a bone to pick, cause this seems to be happening to me a lot lately. And this is really directed more to women than it is to men. Cause I know men don't care as much. They'll take a dump in a gas station bathroom and not use any toilet paper when sitting on the seat for all they care.
SO you know when you have to go to the bathroom in a public place, you enter and the first thing you think of is - which stall am I going to enter. For small places that have one to three stalls - this really is a no brainer on the selection. And for women a non written rule is that you pick one that allows a separation between you and the next party - at least that is the ideal scenario.
In my office bathroom - there are 10 - stalls. yes ...... I said 10. So you would think this should be a non issue. I mean, there are only like 10 girls on the whole floor. And well I sort of have an issue going poop in a public bathroom - I would rather hold it if I can't go in private - cause really, are any one of us looking to share that kind of moment with another person? I think not. But it is part of nature and we all do it.
So with that said there is an unwritten rule that if you walk into a bathroom with many stalls, you find one that is not right next to someone else. So I ask you now, if you are the second person coming into a bathroom - what on earth would make you think to yourself......hmmm I think I am going to enter the stall RIGHT NEXT TO SOMEONE WHO IS POOPING when there are 7 other better options. Seriously - what is the rationale behind this??? Do people enjoy sitting 2 feet from someone else during a private and disgusting moment separated only by a one inch piece of metal when they are in a space of ohhhhh 600 sq feet?
What on earth could possibly propel someone to either think or not think about this when using the john? And then you have the ridiculous people that do this only to have you realize - oh....I guess we are having a pooping moment together. Are you for real???? I don't want to sit anywhere near someone else doing that - so why on earth would someone want to come sit near you when they can have a much bigger space ALL TO THEMSELVES??? This is not supposed to be a public bonding thing - it is a private matter. If anyone has some insight into this - please let me know. Because I have racked my brain trying to figure it out and yet it just befuddles me.
One Ex: Yesterday, I had a girl come in the bathroom, talking on her cell phone (to a guy cause I could hear his voice through the phone), only to walk down past most of the stalls and try to actually ENTER my stall. And people, it's really easy to tell if someone is in the stall or not by the door being CLOSED. So she picks the stall NEXT TO MINE. Then she proceeds to continue talking and peeing - really loud too. Now she at some point also spoke in a different language so this might be where she was coming from on the toilet etiquette issue (3rd world countries have different standards I know - but who brings their cell phone into a public (corporate) bathroom for a conversation while you are having a moment???
Can you feel my woe here?
SO you know when you have to go to the bathroom in a public place, you enter and the first thing you think of is - which stall am I going to enter. For small places that have one to three stalls - this really is a no brainer on the selection. And for women a non written rule is that you pick one that allows a separation between you and the next party - at least that is the ideal scenario.
In my office bathroom - there are 10 - stalls. yes ...... I said 10. So you would think this should be a non issue. I mean, there are only like 10 girls on the whole floor. And well I sort of have an issue going poop in a public bathroom - I would rather hold it if I can't go in private - cause really, are any one of us looking to share that kind of moment with another person? I think not. But it is part of nature and we all do it.
So with that said there is an unwritten rule that if you walk into a bathroom with many stalls, you find one that is not right next to someone else. So I ask you now, if you are the second person coming into a bathroom - what on earth would make you think to yourself......hmmm I think I am going to enter the stall RIGHT NEXT TO SOMEONE WHO IS POOPING when there are 7 other better options. Seriously - what is the rationale behind this??? Do people enjoy sitting 2 feet from someone else during a private and disgusting moment separated only by a one inch piece of metal when they are in a space of ohhhhh 600 sq feet?
What on earth could possibly propel someone to either think or not think about this when using the john? And then you have the ridiculous people that do this only to have you realize - oh....I guess we are having a pooping moment together. Are you for real???? I don't want to sit anywhere near someone else doing that - so why on earth would someone want to come sit near you when they can have a much bigger space ALL TO THEMSELVES??? This is not supposed to be a public bonding thing - it is a private matter. If anyone has some insight into this - please let me know. Because I have racked my brain trying to figure it out and yet it just befuddles me.
One Ex: Yesterday, I had a girl come in the bathroom, talking on her cell phone (to a guy cause I could hear his voice through the phone), only to walk down past most of the stalls and try to actually ENTER my stall. And people, it's really easy to tell if someone is in the stall or not by the door being CLOSED. So she picks the stall NEXT TO MINE. Then she proceeds to continue talking and peeing - really loud too. Now she at some point also spoke in a different language so this might be where she was coming from on the toilet etiquette issue (3rd world countries have different standards I know - but who brings their cell phone into a public (corporate) bathroom for a conversation while you are having a moment???
Can you feel my woe here?
Wednesday, February 20, 2008
Attitude
As I am cleaning out copious amounts of folders, papers and the like from a multitude of offices around here in this great empty space in anticipation of our move over the next couple of days, I came across this piece of paper with insightful words that I felt was worthy of sharing....
Attitude
The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude is more important than facts. It is more important than past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, gifted ability, or skill. It will make or break a company, a church, a home.
The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace from that day. We cannot change our past, we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have and this string is Attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you....we are in charge of our Attitudes.
-Charles Swindoll
Attitude
The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude is more important than facts. It is more important than past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, gifted ability, or skill. It will make or break a company, a church, a home.
The remarkable thing is we have a choice everyday regarding the attitude we will embrace from that day. We cannot change our past, we cannot change the fact that people will act in a certain way. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have and this string is Attitude. I am convinced that life is 10% what happens and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you....we are in charge of our Attitudes.
-Charles Swindoll
Friday, February 15, 2008
Why Valentine's Day is Special to Me
So most people would think this is a no brainer. It's Valentine's Day - you get to spend time with your honey, you get some flowers, a card and dinner. Well yes those are all great things and I do love that aspect. But Valentine's Day holds a trully deeper meaning for me. And I can sum it up with the phrase from my mother's V Card "Its You and Me Day".
10 years ago from yesterday was the first time I spoke with my biological mother Lori. Most of you know I was adopted. It was the first time we were reunited after almost 21 years of separation. I remember coming home from a rugby match to find a message from my mom Susan left by my roommate. It said, your mom called, she got in touch with your biological grandmother. I had gone from telling my mother I needed to know and was ready a month and a half before, to all of a sudden it was close. I called and she told me she just got off the phone with my mother (that was a weird feeling when she said it) and said she would call me after 4:30. The reality that I had gone from - I'm going to have to hire a lawyer to figure this out to oh my god my mother is going to call me was quite the speeding bullet. I couldn't back out now. My mother couldn't wait however and we talked for 4 hours, which was the beginning of a fresh perspective for me.
It was a reunion that had been long in the making and one that I am so glad I went through with. You can't possibly understand what it is like to grapple with feelings of should I or should I not find this person. What the inherent outcomes you will find, are unknown at the time and you can only hope for the best, and yet prepare yourself for the worst. Most of you have no idea what it truly is like to not know where you come from. Who you look like, why you do certain things - that are uncharacteristic from your adopted family members. The idea that there is another family out there that you almost lived your life with, can be quite the surreal experience. Especially when you do finally meet them.
Growing up I would always look at my friends and their parents and try to see where they got features from or even their attitudes. And if you think that finding your biological family only deals with you and your feelings - you are wrong. You have your existing family and their feelings to think about. I remember my brother feeling scared he was going to lose his sister and the relationship we had. I remember my stepdad yelling at me 10 years ago that this was my family and I need to just leave it be. And that I was only hurting my mother by going this route. I will leave many a choice words towards him about this subject alone, but I am really glad I did not pay attention to him. However, it was an element that I dealt with for a long time - how would my family handle this? How was I going to handle my family with this?
In the end, finding my birth mother has brought me peace and clarity. It has been what I needed in order to feel ok about myself and who I am. I have a greater understanding of the nature vs nurture breakdown within my own being. But in moving forward with my quest to find my mother, it was marred with all sorts of internal torment that one usually never thinks about. You have trepidation, anger, hurt, confusion, sadness, anxiety, remorse, fear. All things that propel you to satisfy a need you feel you must face. But the biggest feeling you must grapple with in this quest...is rejection. Rejection before you have every been rejected and being able to cope with that concept in the event that is what happens. It's a difficult thing to do however. But when I finally got to that point - I knew I was ready.
In the end for me, it was all worth it. But there are many adopted children don't feel that need. I feel that if I had a much more stable and loving environment growing up, I would have not felt this innate desire to find my mystery life. But I am glad that I was strong enough to do it. I have met many adopted people whoes eyes light up when they hear my story but they tell me they are too afraid to do it. It's in these moments I really have felt a desire to write a book. I probably will at some point - the question is when. I actually would like to write several books - a children's book and an adult book - for people to grapple with both sides.
Yesterday was my mom and I's 10th anniversary, and every year we celebrate it like an anniversary. It was our time and our moment. And Valentine's Day will forever hold a special place in my life because of it.
10 years ago from yesterday was the first time I spoke with my biological mother Lori. Most of you know I was adopted. It was the first time we were reunited after almost 21 years of separation. I remember coming home from a rugby match to find a message from my mom Susan left by my roommate. It said, your mom called, she got in touch with your biological grandmother. I had gone from telling my mother I needed to know and was ready a month and a half before, to all of a sudden it was close. I called and she told me she just got off the phone with my mother (that was a weird feeling when she said it) and said she would call me after 4:30. The reality that I had gone from - I'm going to have to hire a lawyer to figure this out to oh my god my mother is going to call me was quite the speeding bullet. I couldn't back out now. My mother couldn't wait however and we talked for 4 hours, which was the beginning of a fresh perspective for me.
It was a reunion that had been long in the making and one that I am so glad I went through with. You can't possibly understand what it is like to grapple with feelings of should I or should I not find this person. What the inherent outcomes you will find, are unknown at the time and you can only hope for the best, and yet prepare yourself for the worst. Most of you have no idea what it truly is like to not know where you come from. Who you look like, why you do certain things - that are uncharacteristic from your adopted family members. The idea that there is another family out there that you almost lived your life with, can be quite the surreal experience. Especially when you do finally meet them.
Growing up I would always look at my friends and their parents and try to see where they got features from or even their attitudes. And if you think that finding your biological family only deals with you and your feelings - you are wrong. You have your existing family and their feelings to think about. I remember my brother feeling scared he was going to lose his sister and the relationship we had. I remember my stepdad yelling at me 10 years ago that this was my family and I need to just leave it be. And that I was only hurting my mother by going this route. I will leave many a choice words towards him about this subject alone, but I am really glad I did not pay attention to him. However, it was an element that I dealt with for a long time - how would my family handle this? How was I going to handle my family with this?
In the end, finding my birth mother has brought me peace and clarity. It has been what I needed in order to feel ok about myself and who I am. I have a greater understanding of the nature vs nurture breakdown within my own being. But in moving forward with my quest to find my mother, it was marred with all sorts of internal torment that one usually never thinks about. You have trepidation, anger, hurt, confusion, sadness, anxiety, remorse, fear. All things that propel you to satisfy a need you feel you must face. But the biggest feeling you must grapple with in this quest...is rejection. Rejection before you have every been rejected and being able to cope with that concept in the event that is what happens. It's a difficult thing to do however. But when I finally got to that point - I knew I was ready.
In the end for me, it was all worth it. But there are many adopted children don't feel that need. I feel that if I had a much more stable and loving environment growing up, I would have not felt this innate desire to find my mystery life. But I am glad that I was strong enough to do it. I have met many adopted people whoes eyes light up when they hear my story but they tell me they are too afraid to do it. It's in these moments I really have felt a desire to write a book. I probably will at some point - the question is when. I actually would like to write several books - a children's book and an adult book - for people to grapple with both sides.
Yesterday was my mom and I's 10th anniversary, and every year we celebrate it like an anniversary. It was our time and our moment. And Valentine's Day will forever hold a special place in my life because of it.
Monday, February 11, 2008
He's only 20 yrs old - I've got 15 more years to drool
Because I just love to share.....here he is back in Heerenveen during training - about the size of my hometown Rolla. Video below is after his flight back to Holland after the US Mexico game and right before his game with PSV - leaders in the Eredivisie and whom Heerenveen tied this last weekend (1-1) with a Michael Bradley goal that pushed them to a 4 way tie for 2nd but int he lead nonetheless.
Dutch Eredivisie Standings - 2007/08
GP W D L GS GA W D L GS GA W D L GS GA GD P
1 PSV Eindhoven 24 16 5 3 51 18 9 2 1 31 10 7 3 2 20 8 33 53
2 Heerenveen 24 13 5 6 64 29 6 3 3 40 16 7 2 3 24 13 35 44
3 Ajax 24 12 8 4 61 33 7 3 2 34 15 5 5 2 27 18 28 44
4 Feyenoord 24 13 5 6 44 24 8 3 1 28 7 5 2 5 16 17 20 44
5 NAC Breda 24 13 5 6 30 26 5 3 4 13 15 8 2 2 17 11 4 44
Dutch Eredivisie Top Scorers - 2007/08
Rank Player Team Goals
1 Klaas-Jan Huntelaar Ajax Amsterdam 23
2 Blaise N'Kufo Twente Enschede 18
3 Robin Nelisse FC Utrecht 14
4 Roy Makaay Feyenoord Rotterdam 13
Michael Bradley Heerenveen 13
HE'S A MIDFIELDER TOO!
Wait - there's more!!!
From two weeks ago..
Hold on - I'm not done yet!!!
As of this weekend I am the proud owner of
- a Heerenveen jersey - with 13 autographs - not sure who they are yet but will see if I can make them out.
- An autographed pic of Michael Bradley
Now let me tell you something - you have no idea how hard it was just to get ANY Heerenveen jersey. I even looked on foreign shops sites that I had to use Google translation tools to translate to English. And all jerseys either did not exist or were SOLD OUT. So the fact I got one for the price I did, plus it is autographed - I feel like a lottery winner! Now Michael is most likely on his way out to a bigger club at the end of the season - but that is ok.
And as to the picture - you can't find a Michael Bradley autograph ANYWHERE - so another score! And for pretty cheap too. So Michael Bradley will get a place next to Kasey Keller and Paul Scholes in my house.
Dutch Eredivisie Standings - 2007/08
GP W D L GS GA W D L GS GA W D L GS GA GD P
1 PSV Eindhoven 24 16 5 3 51 18 9 2 1 31 10 7 3 2 20 8 33 53
2 Heerenveen 24 13 5 6 64 29 6 3 3 40 16 7 2 3 24 13 35 44
3 Ajax 24 12 8 4 61 33 7 3 2 34 15 5 5 2 27 18 28 44
4 Feyenoord 24 13 5 6 44 24 8 3 1 28 7 5 2 5 16 17 20 44
5 NAC Breda 24 13 5 6 30 26 5 3 4 13 15 8 2 2 17 11 4 44
Dutch Eredivisie Top Scorers - 2007/08
Rank Player Team Goals
1 Klaas-Jan Huntelaar Ajax Amsterdam 23
2 Blaise N'Kufo Twente Enschede 18
3 Robin Nelisse FC Utrecht 14
4 Roy Makaay Feyenoord Rotterdam 13
Michael Bradley Heerenveen 13
HE'S A MIDFIELDER TOO!
Wait - there's more!!!
From two weeks ago..
Hold on - I'm not done yet!!!
As of this weekend I am the proud owner of
- a Heerenveen jersey - with 13 autographs - not sure who they are yet but will see if I can make them out.
- An autographed pic of Michael Bradley
Now let me tell you something - you have no idea how hard it was just to get ANY Heerenveen jersey. I even looked on foreign shops sites that I had to use Google translation tools to translate to English. And all jerseys either did not exist or were SOLD OUT. So the fact I got one for the price I did, plus it is autographed - I feel like a lottery winner! Now Michael is most likely on his way out to a bigger club at the end of the season - but that is ok.
And as to the picture - you can't find a Michael Bradley autograph ANYWHERE - so another score! And for pretty cheap too. So Michael Bradley will get a place next to Kasey Keller and Paul Scholes in my house.
Thursday, February 07, 2008
Monday, February 04, 2008
Quick Follow Up
For anyone who disagreed with me on a previous post relating to a HS girls BB game blowout, here is some extra facts.
The team in question was ranked 3rd in the state for 3A.
The team has been undefeated in both league and post season play this season.
The coach served a two-game suspension for his part in an eye-opening, 112-16 rout of Evergreen on Jan. 8.
I think it is crap that the coach was suspended but whatever. Good luck to his team and I hope they win it all.
The team in question was ranked 3rd in the state for 3A.
The team has been undefeated in both league and post season play this season.
The coach served a two-game suspension for his part in an eye-opening, 112-16 rout of Evergreen on Jan. 8.
I think it is crap that the coach was suspended but whatever. Good luck to his team and I hope they win it all.
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
I mean, he just keeps scoring!
Bradley on fire......
Again he scores?????
Michael Bradley extended his rich vein of goalscoring form with two goals in Heerenveen’s 3-0 win over De Graafschap on Saturday. With the victory Heerenveen move up to second place in the Eredivisie table.
Of Note: Undoubtedly inspired by his excellent podcast performance yesterday, Michael scored in the 20th minute before adding an insurance goal for his team late in the second half. The two goals give Michael 15 in all competitions, and five in his last four games. Meanwhile, Heerenveen jumps three spots in the table, though most teams around them play tomorrow.
Michael's goals today put him second all time for most goals by a U.S. international in a European first division domestic league season. With eleven tallies, Bradley passes former MNT players Eric Wynalda and Brian McBride who each scored nine times. Wynalda achieved that mark with Saarbruecken in the Bundesliga during the 1992/93 season, while McBride was Fulham’s leading scorer last year in the Premier League. Earnie Stewart, who scored 17 times in his debut season at Dutch club Willem II in 1990/91, currently holds the record.
Again he scores?????
Michael Bradley extended his rich vein of goalscoring form with two goals in Heerenveen’s 3-0 win over De Graafschap on Saturday. With the victory Heerenveen move up to second place in the Eredivisie table.
Of Note: Undoubtedly inspired by his excellent podcast performance yesterday, Michael scored in the 20th minute before adding an insurance goal for his team late in the second half. The two goals give Michael 15 in all competitions, and five in his last four games. Meanwhile, Heerenveen jumps three spots in the table, though most teams around them play tomorrow.
Michael's goals today put him second all time for most goals by a U.S. international in a European first division domestic league season. With eleven tallies, Bradley passes former MNT players Eric Wynalda and Brian McBride who each scored nine times. Wynalda achieved that mark with Saarbruecken in the Bundesliga during the 1992/93 season, while McBride was Fulham’s leading scorer last year in the Premier League. Earnie Stewart, who scored 17 times in his debut season at Dutch club Willem II in 1990/91, currently holds the record.
Sunday, January 27, 2008
This one is for Staci
New Kids On The Block Stage Comeback
After months of speculation and rumor, the Kids are coming back. A well-placed source tells PEOPLE exclusively that New Kids On The Block are indeed getting back together.
The band's Web site, www.nkotb.com, which had been dormant, is now back up and running in anticipation of the official announcement, which the source says will be made in the next few weeks.
The site currently features a television graphic with a fuzzy, flickering photos of NKOTB in their heyday, and a link inviting fans to sign up for info.
The boy band, which made legions of tweens swoon in the early '90s, selling more than 50 million albums, became a worldwide phenomenon before calling it quits in 1994.
Eighteen years later, they're still "Hangin' Tough." The oldest "Kid," Jonathan Knight, now a real estate developer, will turn 40 later this year. Since the band's demise, former members Donnie Wahlberg, 38, and Joey McIntyre, 35, have seen acting success, while Danny Wood, 38, has worked as a music producer and Knight's brother, Jordan, 37, has continued to record.
After months of speculation and rumor, the Kids are coming back. A well-placed source tells PEOPLE exclusively that New Kids On The Block are indeed getting back together.
The band's Web site, www.nkotb.com, which had been dormant, is now back up and running in anticipation of the official announcement, which the source says will be made in the next few weeks.
The site currently features a television graphic with a fuzzy, flickering photos of NKOTB in their heyday, and a link inviting fans to sign up for info.
The boy band, which made legions of tweens swoon in the early '90s, selling more than 50 million albums, became a worldwide phenomenon before calling it quits in 1994.
Eighteen years later, they're still "Hangin' Tough." The oldest "Kid," Jonathan Knight, now a real estate developer, will turn 40 later this year. Since the band's demise, former members Donnie Wahlberg, 38, and Joey McIntyre, 35, have seen acting success, while Danny Wood, 38, has worked as a music producer and Knight's brother, Jordan, 37, has continued to record.
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