Today was a good news/bad news day.
Good news:
I picked up three new foster kittens. I'm only going to have them for a week or so. Basically, the ranch, where the cats and dogs live while they are waiting to be adopted, is having a bout of upper respiratory infection. So not a place we want to put healthy cats. While the infection is working its way out, I'll have the kittens. Probably for about a week. They are very cute, but pretty traumatized at this point after a long car ride to get to NoVA and then to my house. They'll probably be much perkier tomorrow.
Bad news:
My uncle Bill has been battling health issues for a while now. He had mouth cancer and had to have all his teeth removed. He hasn't been able to find dentures that really fit right, and so he's been eating pureed food for quite a while. Then he had to have a heart stint put in. Apparently he was having bladder issues and they couldn't diagnose them until after the heart stint was stable. But yesterday they found a carcinoma. Don't know the extent of the problem yet, but not a good situation on top of the other two.
Good news:
Tomorrow is the birthday of one of my bestest friends - Happy Birthday, Kevin!
Bad news:
My mom called tonight. My father has been feeling run down for a while and felt like his pulse was slower than it should be. This morning he went to the health center on the Asbury campus, and they sent him to the emergency room. Where he was admitted and they put in a pace maker. I don't know much about pace makers, and I think it's *relatively* not a big deal. But scary nonetheless. My father is 82, so his health is bound to have some issues though he's been remarkably healthy until now. But these last few months, things have been getting rougher health-wise. He had a mini-stroke in January. He had diverticulosis this summer. Now this. None of these are major events. But lots of little events are still darn scary.
Here's hoping that tomorrow all the news is good.
Friday, October 16, 2009
Monday, October 12, 2009
Too Many Phone Options
I have caller ID through my local phone company. I also have two old corded phones. And one cordless phone.
Until recently, the caller ID on the cordless phone was working just fine. And I almost never used it. The cordless phone is upstairs, and in the evening, I am almost always downstairs. When the phone rings, I don't actually run upstairs to look at the cordless phone before answering. In fact, much of the time, I don't answer the phone at all. If the phone hangs up in the middle of my answering machine message, then I know it was an automatic dialer and not a call I wanted to take. If someone leaves a message, I can usually hear it and know that I have a call that I may really need to return. It's been a pretty good system.
But the one aspect of the caller ID on the cordless phone that I did use quite a bit was the redial of a number in the caller ID directory. For example, my niece might call me. To call her back, all I would have to do is go through the caller ID list and pull up her number and dial it. Much easier than looking her number up. It only works for local calls, but many of the people who call me are local. So all in all, I found this a convenience.
But recently, my caller ID on my cordless phone stopped working. Unfortunately, neither of my corded phones have this function. I called the local phone company, and they checked their system. They said all looked fine from their end. Hmmm.....
The cordless phone also came with an answering machine. As with the caller ID, I have voice mail through my local phone company. I never use that service - it came with the calling plan - I just use the answering machine that came with the cordless phone. But I noticed the other day when I went to make a call, that the dial tone was three short beeps. Which meant I had a voice mail, not a message on my answering machine. As I said, however, I had never used this system. I hadn't even set up a password for it. But I had noticed it right before I called the local phone company about my caller ID issue, so I asked them about my voice mail service. They gave me the number to call to check voice mail and to set up a voice mail system with my voice on it. Which I did. I had four voice mails, including one that was over a year old. Very strange.
So after these two episodes, I thought why don't I get a newer cordless phone - one that has caller ID and no answering machine. That way, hopefully my caller ID problem might be solved, but at a minimum, I would be able to get rid of having an answering machine and a voice mailbox.
Did you know you can't buy a cordless phone without an answering machine? Every single style and manufacturer, even if they had multiple cordless extensions, had at least one with an answering machine.
Now I suppose it's possible that I could "disable" the answering machine on the cordless phone. I know other people who have cordless phones and phone company voice mail. There has to be a way to do this.
But it seems more complicated than it needs to be. And in the meantime, I still don't have functioning caller ID. And I have two methods to get messages. From all those auto-dialers.
Until recently, the caller ID on the cordless phone was working just fine. And I almost never used it. The cordless phone is upstairs, and in the evening, I am almost always downstairs. When the phone rings, I don't actually run upstairs to look at the cordless phone before answering. In fact, much of the time, I don't answer the phone at all. If the phone hangs up in the middle of my answering machine message, then I know it was an automatic dialer and not a call I wanted to take. If someone leaves a message, I can usually hear it and know that I have a call that I may really need to return. It's been a pretty good system.
But the one aspect of the caller ID on the cordless phone that I did use quite a bit was the redial of a number in the caller ID directory. For example, my niece might call me. To call her back, all I would have to do is go through the caller ID list and pull up her number and dial it. Much easier than looking her number up. It only works for local calls, but many of the people who call me are local. So all in all, I found this a convenience.
But recently, my caller ID on my cordless phone stopped working. Unfortunately, neither of my corded phones have this function. I called the local phone company, and they checked their system. They said all looked fine from their end. Hmmm.....
The cordless phone also came with an answering machine. As with the caller ID, I have voice mail through my local phone company. I never use that service - it came with the calling plan - I just use the answering machine that came with the cordless phone. But I noticed the other day when I went to make a call, that the dial tone was three short beeps. Which meant I had a voice mail, not a message on my answering machine. As I said, however, I had never used this system. I hadn't even set up a password for it. But I had noticed it right before I called the local phone company about my caller ID issue, so I asked them about my voice mail service. They gave me the number to call to check voice mail and to set up a voice mail system with my voice on it. Which I did. I had four voice mails, including one that was over a year old. Very strange.
So after these two episodes, I thought why don't I get a newer cordless phone - one that has caller ID and no answering machine. That way, hopefully my caller ID problem might be solved, but at a minimum, I would be able to get rid of having an answering machine and a voice mailbox.
Did you know you can't buy a cordless phone without an answering machine? Every single style and manufacturer, even if they had multiple cordless extensions, had at least one with an answering machine.
Now I suppose it's possible that I could "disable" the answering machine on the cordless phone. I know other people who have cordless phones and phone company voice mail. There has to be a way to do this.
But it seems more complicated than it needs to be. And in the meantime, I still don't have functioning caller ID. And I have two methods to get messages. From all those auto-dialers.
Tchotchkes
Apparently, I have a lot of tchotchkes. Otherwise known as knickknacks. I collect vases, so I have quite a bit of those. I have both glass and ceramic ones. The display case in my living room has about 20 vases. The rest of my house has probably a dozen more.
I have a couple of other display areas. One is a collection of tchotchkes from my college days - a Lego castle, a pair of glass dolphins arcing over a piece of wood, a couple of Russian nesting dolls - all things that I either got from college beaus or from my sister on her travels during that time. So they have some sentimental value.
But to show my house, I need to seriously limit the number of tchotchkes on display. For the pictures of my home, there should be only minimal displays. That way, the house will look less cluttered and bigger.
The same thing goes for pictures on the walls. I asked my real estate professionals, and they said that it's good to have some bare walls. Rather than having something on each wall.
Same idea with closets. It's best to have the closets be somewhat empty. They look bigger that way.
Needless to say, I'm not going to throw all this stuff away. Instead, I will have to rent a storage space for a few months. Until I sell this house and buy another one.
So if you come to my house in the next couple of months, you'll see fewer tchotchkes. For now.
I have a couple of other display areas. One is a collection of tchotchkes from my college days - a Lego castle, a pair of glass dolphins arcing over a piece of wood, a couple of Russian nesting dolls - all things that I either got from college beaus or from my sister on her travels during that time. So they have some sentimental value.
But to show my house, I need to seriously limit the number of tchotchkes on display. For the pictures of my home, there should be only minimal displays. That way, the house will look less cluttered and bigger.
The same thing goes for pictures on the walls. I asked my real estate professionals, and they said that it's good to have some bare walls. Rather than having something on each wall.
Same idea with closets. It's best to have the closets be somewhat empty. They look bigger that way.
Needless to say, I'm not going to throw all this stuff away. Instead, I will have to rent a storage space for a few months. Until I sell this house and buy another one.
So if you come to my house in the next couple of months, you'll see fewer tchotchkes. For now.
Friday, October 9, 2009
Busy Weekend
So this weekend I am very, very busy. I am painting my master bedroom. I am going to a concert a couple of hours away. I am having brunch with one of my girlfriends to celebrate my birthday. I also plan to work out each day of the weekend. I need to do the usual errands - dry cleaning, groceries, cat food, etc. And then I also want to take some clothes to be altered. And return some others that I bought online that don't really fit. And maybe buy some replacements for the ones I'm returning. Finally, I am planning to rent a storage space so I can start moving some of my things into it to stage my townhouse for sale in early 2010.
Whew! Could be a really, really fast weekend.
Whew! Could be a really, really fast weekend.
Wednesday, October 7, 2009
Birthday - Week Four
My record for birthday celebrations is six weeks. This year, I'm at four weeks.
Celebration #1 (9/20): My family's celebration, a joint celebration with my cousin Steve and his newborn son, whose birthdays were just before mine. This celebration of MY birthday was overshadowed by the celebration of the BIRTH of Quinton - and you know, that's exactly how it should be. What's year 47 compared to year 1?
Celebration #2 (9/26): My actual birthday, dinner with my good friend Kevin in New Hampshire. We saw a moose on the way to dinner. Freaked out Kevin, but made me happy! I've always wanted to see a moose in the wild.
Celebration #3 (10/2): Celebration with a bunch of my buds at a bar where we often hang out. Needless to say, I didn't pay for my glass of wine. :)
And the celebrations to come....
Celebration #4 (10/10): A concert with my other friend Kevin. We're going to see Nick Lowe (with opener Bill Kirchman) at the Avalon Theater in Easton, Maryland. Should be a fun night out to hear good music. Pretty much my favorite thing on earth.
Celebration #5 (10/11): Brunch with my good friend Cindy at our favorite place for brunch, Artie's, one of the Great American Restaurants. Possibly the best French toast ever. A brioche soaked in eggs and cinnamon. With scrambled eggs, bacon, and hash browns. Yum!
Four weeks and counting....
Celebration #1 (9/20): My family's celebration, a joint celebration with my cousin Steve and his newborn son, whose birthdays were just before mine. This celebration of MY birthday was overshadowed by the celebration of the BIRTH of Quinton - and you know, that's exactly how it should be. What's year 47 compared to year 1?
Celebration #2 (9/26): My actual birthday, dinner with my good friend Kevin in New Hampshire. We saw a moose on the way to dinner. Freaked out Kevin, but made me happy! I've always wanted to see a moose in the wild.
Celebration #3 (10/2): Celebration with a bunch of my buds at a bar where we often hang out. Needless to say, I didn't pay for my glass of wine. :)
And the celebrations to come....
Celebration #4 (10/10): A concert with my other friend Kevin. We're going to see Nick Lowe (with opener Bill Kirchman) at the Avalon Theater in Easton, Maryland. Should be a fun night out to hear good music. Pretty much my favorite thing on earth.
Celebration #5 (10/11): Brunch with my good friend Cindy at our favorite place for brunch, Artie's, one of the Great American Restaurants. Possibly the best French toast ever. A brioche soaked in eggs and cinnamon. With scrambled eggs, bacon, and hash browns. Yum!
Four weeks and counting....
Monday, October 5, 2009
Is It Really That Bad?
I know the economy is bad. I understand that retailers are hurting. But I just saw a Christmas commercial for Sears. It's October! Please!
I noticed the other day that Hallmark has its annual Christmas ornament in stores, too. I've seen that in year's past and thought it was absurd to display Christmas before Halloween.
But it's one thing to have something in a store. But on TV?
At this rate, Christmas is going to be like elections - we'll all be sick of it before it gets here.
I noticed the other day that Hallmark has its annual Christmas ornament in stores, too. I've seen that in year's past and thought it was absurd to display Christmas before Halloween.
But it's one thing to have something in a store. But on TV?
At this rate, Christmas is going to be like elections - we'll all be sick of it before it gets here.
Saturday, October 3, 2009
Bad Business
I'm always amazed when people make bad business decisions. Not that I'm the best business person in the whole world. But sometimes people just make decisions that seem so obvious to me to be wrong. And bad business at the same time.
For example, I know a guy who opened a new restaurant. It was built in the shell of another restaurant that had a reasonable amount of business, but had gone out of business nonetheless. So I guess the new owner thought that the area was known to have a restaurant, that people would come to the new restaurant if it shared enough of the good menu items from the previous restaurant, and he hired a bunch of the servers from the old restaurant who would bring back their regular customers.
Except that he didn't address some of the reasons that the other restaurant had closed. He didn't do much advertising, for example. He didn't point people to the new restaurant. It was in the same place, yes. But many of the stores that had led to the old restaurant weren't there anymore. The mall as a whole has been getting less business. Given this economy, that's not a surprise. And all the more reason to let people know about a new business. So yes, some of the regular came back. But not all of them. In the time between restaurants, they had found other places to go. They didn't automatically switch back. Maybe they found the other restaurant was ultimately more satisfying. Maybe they were just in a new pattern and too lazy to change again. And maybe they just didn't know that the new restaurant was there. If they didn't have another reason to go by the space, how would they have known? Bad business.
The restaurants in the area have all started offering a happy hour, when none of them did before. Seems like a good business decision. Bring in more happy hour traffic and make more money overall. But if you offer half price drinks, then you have to bring in double the business to make the same money. That's the simple math of it. And if you do it for most of the evening that the restaurant is open, then you will ultimately make less money. Bad business.
But this particular restaurateur didn't think about that. Instead, he's expecting to make the same sales he used to make. Even though the prices are lower when the business is greatest. And he's open fewer hours. Bad business.
Am I the only one who recognizes that this is bad business?
For example, I know a guy who opened a new restaurant. It was built in the shell of another restaurant that had a reasonable amount of business, but had gone out of business nonetheless. So I guess the new owner thought that the area was known to have a restaurant, that people would come to the new restaurant if it shared enough of the good menu items from the previous restaurant, and he hired a bunch of the servers from the old restaurant who would bring back their regular customers.
Except that he didn't address some of the reasons that the other restaurant had closed. He didn't do much advertising, for example. He didn't point people to the new restaurant. It was in the same place, yes. But many of the stores that had led to the old restaurant weren't there anymore. The mall as a whole has been getting less business. Given this economy, that's not a surprise. And all the more reason to let people know about a new business. So yes, some of the regular came back. But not all of them. In the time between restaurants, they had found other places to go. They didn't automatically switch back. Maybe they found the other restaurant was ultimately more satisfying. Maybe they were just in a new pattern and too lazy to change again. And maybe they just didn't know that the new restaurant was there. If they didn't have another reason to go by the space, how would they have known? Bad business.
The restaurants in the area have all started offering a happy hour, when none of them did before. Seems like a good business decision. Bring in more happy hour traffic and make more money overall. But if you offer half price drinks, then you have to bring in double the business to make the same money. That's the simple math of it. And if you do it for most of the evening that the restaurant is open, then you will ultimately make less money. Bad business.
But this particular restaurateur didn't think about that. Instead, he's expecting to make the same sales he used to make. Even though the prices are lower when the business is greatest. And he's open fewer hours. Bad business.
Am I the only one who recognizes that this is bad business?
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