Family Christmas...

This Saturday is my family's (by family I mean my brother and sisters) Christmas gathering which we fondly call "The Laughlin Family Christmas".

We have been doing this for quite a few years now. Each year we gather up all the kids from the four of us (there are currently 11 kids), our significant other's and any pets or friends and go to one of the family residences and eat, exchange gifts, visit and play games. Last year we had the gathering at my oldest daughter's, "One," new home. This year the holiday festivities are being held at my brother's house. My youngest sister rents the basement of my brother's place, so it technically could be her house too, but she doesn't really own it and since she is the youngest sibling, we usually don't count her anyway. (Kidding "Bugga"!)

We have a "Secret Santa" gift exchange for the old people (16 and over). The names are picked sometime around Memorial day or shortly there after. Since it is a biological trait of our family to have no short term memory, by December no one recalls who they are supposed to get a gift for, which makes one think that the secret part wouldn't work very well. However it works fine because the same lack of memory cells also means no one retains any recollection of an overheard secret name! We did finally learn to assign one person the task of keeping the official list, otherwise we would be completely lost. Anyway, we are all on a tight budget (seemingly every year), so we try to keep the cost of the gifts reasonable, at the $25 range.

The kids (those under 16) however, make out really good. They each get multiple gifts. They get a gift from each of their Aunt and Uncle pairs, except that my youngest sister currently doesn't have a guy yet so there are only three uncles... and Sweetie isn't officially an Aunt yet, but she's pretty close, so there are only three aunts. Sometimes there are a few extra gifts given out if a friend or other family member decides to be generous.

The last couple of years, we started a second "gag gift" exchange for the "old folks" called a "White Elephant"... I don't know where the name came from, but we usually have a fun time with that, probably more fun with that than the regular gift exchange.

The group shares the cooking or at least the food purchases. This year, as with most years since my ham incident (oh yeah, I haven't written about that yet), I don't cook. I am pretty good at getting snack type items like pop (soda for those in the rest of the country), chips, pretzels, etc. There is usually always plenty of food, and tons of people to eat it, and not too much goes to waste.

This year is the first Christmas without our Mom. She passed away earlier this year (no I didn't write about it). I never had a close relationship with my mom, because I was raised by my grandmother, but she was a good person, with a good heart, and I will miss her unique personality this year. I will also miss the noodles, and deviled eggs she made each year... My Dad passed away many years ago, my grandparents who raised me have also passed, so I am officially an orphan. That is if you can consider a man in his 4Th decade with 4 kids a orphan.

After the food and gift exchange, and when most people are still blind from the repeated flashes from the cameras, we decide to relax and visit or play games. Almost every year someone gets a game as a gift, so we usually hang out until late in the evening gaming, and picking on our youngest sister.

Anyone have any unique holiday traditions they care to share?

Later Lou

December Updates

A lot of stuff has been happening, as it usually does as the year is preparing to close. Here's a brief rundown:

1. Saturday we cleaned out the Ex's old house, what I call the Marital Home. The same house I am trying to sell because she abandoned it, and it fell on my shoulders. It seems I am perpetually cleaning up after her.
2. The 13 yard dumpster was filled to the top with stuff that she left in the place.
3. The dumpster cost me $230.
4. My realtor called last week and said that she wanted to take inside pictures of the place so they publish a "virtual tour" online. This phone call prompted the cleaning up.
5. My realtor called again this past weekend and said the people that showed interest in buying and "gutting" the place, are no longer interested, and that no one else has showed interest yet. HOWEVER, the interest rates are down in the 5% range, so she is confident this will help boost sales...
6. My brother and Sweetie helped me to clean up the mess in the martial home, and I bought them lunch (actually Sweetie paid, but I paid her back).
7. The virtual tour isn't online yet.
8. I had a big fight, actually I lost my temper, with my middle daughter, "Three", Monday night.
9. She only visits me when she needs something and then leaves when she has gotten what she needs, without spending any time with me. I told her that I was tired of being used and that my "stuff" was no longer open for use, but she was welcome to come visit.
10. Three left a voice mail on my phone last night cursing (using multiple swear words - all of the good ones) at me about fixing a computer for her boyfriend.
11. Three is only 16.
12. Went Christmas gift shopping last night with Sweetie to prepare for our annual family get together scheduled this Saturday.
13. I spent money I don't have.
14. I don't have money, because my tenant still hasn't paid December's rent (which isn't surprising given her past performance the last few months).
15. I over-drafted my bank account by $21 dollars and had to borrow money from my 17 year old son, "Two" to cover me until this Friday when I get paid (sigh).
16. One of my projects at work is causing major problems at some customer's stores, and I have to rework the project in an emergency attempt to fix the problem. Only no one, including me, knows if my "reworked" design will fix the problem.
17. I just got disposable contact lenses that can be worn for up to a month. I am wearing a "test" pair this week and if the work out I can get some more for next year. Bye bye eyeglasses!
18. Sweetie bought me a new watch for Christmas. She told me to wear it to work today, so I am. It's a gold and silver Fossil watch with four diamonds in the gold face, at the 12, 3, 6, and 9 positions. It's really nice...
19. The watch band needs adjusted slightly as it is a little loose on the wrist. Either that or she needs to keep feeding me so I can grow into it.

OK that's all I can think of at the moment...

Later Lou

Vacation is over...

My unplanned vacation is over, and I am back to work. When the "bad check" crisis hit last Monday, I took an unplanned vacation for the three days before Thanksgiving to resolve the issue. Well, it took practically the entire time to get it resolved. If you want to read a lengthy post about the details click HERE. My tenant's son said he was going to pay December's rent in advance so I "wouldn't have anything to worry about." He also said he would pay it this past Friday (11/23), but as you probably already guessed, I haven't seen the money yet. I am sure next month will be another battle. My tenant is now telling me she is going to move out after the "Holidays," which I took to mean in January. I don't know if it will happen or not, but at least I am getting a possible heads up. I received an unsolicited call this past weekend asking if the apartment was available for rent. When I mentioned it might be in January they said that was perfect... So if they do move out, I may have someone ready to move in right away. I got the marital home listed for sale. If you are interested in seeing the property, or are just curious you can click HERE. My realtor said she may have an interested party already, so I am hoping to hear some good news from her soon. Regrettably, I am back to work. My boss isn't here today, so it seems pretty quiet in the office. Even though my vacation was unplanned, and except for the money crisis, it was for the most part, very enjoyable. Now that I am back, I wish my vacation was longer! It snowed again here Thursday evening, and neighbor kids were making a snowman in the shared yard in front of Sweetie's place, but they didn't get to finish it... So there were a couple of large "snow balls" in the yard for the weekend. My family is planning a Holiday gathering and gift exchange, so I have to create a wish list. I am having a tough time coming up with a list of things I would like to have. Actually my real "wish list" is quite lengthy, but most of the items don't fit within the monetary limit set for the gift exchange! If you had to create a list of things you wanted under $50... What would you ask for? Later Lou

Happy Thanksgiving

Give thanks for all things, and all times (good and bad), because they give us reasons to rely on each other and our Creator, and God gives us the strength to accept the help and in turn help those we love. I am thankful to have a wonderful family, a Sweetie and a God that love me and help me make it through each and every day. I am also thankful for my readers and the blogging buddies that I have just started to get to know. When you drop by, drop a line and say hi. I hope everyone has a great and memorable holiday. Later Lou P.S. I hope you have lots of turkey, before they get us!

Lost Patience... twice...

Well finally happened.... My patience got lost, and got lost good. Fortunately I found it, but then I lost it again. WARNING: If you like a quick read, you might want to skip today's post.

Yesterday was going to be a great day, because it was a vacation day, and only things I chose to do would be done, and done at my own pace. I took a vacation day because the marital home needed the heat turned on so the pipes wouldn't freeze this winter, and also so the house would be more appealing to the future owner. Running water, working electricity and heat are good selling points, I think. Columbia Gas scheduled an an appointment with me at their earliest, which was Wednesday morning. They said a technician could be there sometime between 8AM and 12PM, and since they had no weekend or evening appointments available, I accepted the appointment and submitted a vacation request.

Being that work is so important and I didn't think I should miss any of it at all (smirk), so I briefly considered taking only a ½ day off, and saving the rest for the holidays. But I reconsidered and submitted a vacation request for the entire day. Besides, it was Halloween and I wanted to enjoy the holiday, by cleaning up the marital home yard, getting the gas turned on, checking to make sure the furnace was working, and still have a little spare time to relax and get ready to take the kids out for "Trick or Treat."

Halloween morning started with me awaking in a panic. It was 8:15AM, and I was late for work. Slowly when the Halloween cobwebs cleared, the panic subsided as I remembered that it was a vacation day, and that I only needed to get up and get ready to go to the marital home to get the gas turned on, and to clean up the yard. Before I packed the car with the yard care equipment, I cut the grass at my Duplex, and picked up the street garbage from the sidewalk and the side of the building. I then packed and arrived at the marital home around 10AM.

Since the lawn mower is incapacitated, I had to use the weed-whacker... (remember I bent the blade back in September). It was slow going, and I hadn't gotten very far when the phone rang. While it was ringing, pleasant thoughts were going through my mind, about how smooth the day was going; I was not at work, grass was getting cut, the gas company is calling right on time to tell me they are on their way. Surprise! The call was from Sweetie, and my day was made perfect. It just couldn't get better.

At this point, it should be mentioned, (and it is pretty close to a scientific fact) that I have really bad luck.

Sweetie called not to be sweet, but because she was upset because her son "Other Two" was sitting in the principle's office at school, and she was stuck at work. I offered to go, but she said that her Ex (his Dad) was going, so I didn't need to, just that she was upset and worried because she didn't know what had happened. To help her calm down and get some answers, I suggested that since she couldn't be there, she should call and talk with the principle. She liked my idea and she called the school, and then quickly called me back and and gave me the scoop, with even more concern than before the call. She told me that he was being suspended, but didn't give me any details, because she didn't know all of the facts yet. He was OK, just sitting in the school's office waiting on his Dad to pick him up. She went back to work, and tried really hard to not worry too much about "Other Two", and I went back to work on the yard.

BTW: Patience was still there at this point, but with that bit of bad news, I felt my luck was starting to run out, which doesn't bode well for patience.

As it started to near lunch time, about 11:30AM, I called Columbia Gas and asked where the technician was, since he was supposed to be at the duplex in the morning, and morning was just about over. The gas company representative politely put me on hold, apparently did a little research and told me that the tech was in the area, and I would be his next stop, but it would be just a little after 12. After a brief complaint that my morning was wasted waiting, I asked if they would make it up to me by giving me a credit on the account. The response was "Sorry. I can't do that." The phone call was ended with a snide comment on my lips about how "convenient" it was for them to not be able to help or make me feel better... Patience almost got lost, but it held on.

An hour later, 12:30PM, still no technician. A second call to Columbia Gas and a different representative, that told me some interesting facts I hadn't heard before. The appointment was listed in their system as an "all day" appointment and that the tech would be there sometime before 4:30PM, instead of before 12PM. My explanation to the rep that I had a morning appointment, and that I had recently spoken to another representative that fell on seemingly deaf ears. The representative told me sorry, there wasn't anything they could do to help, I would just have to be patient, and the tech would be there sometime today.

That's when the patience got lost.

A tone started to develop in my voice, which was hard to contain, and I expressed that waiting was unacceptable as I had already waited a long time. I tried to calm down and ask the representative if they could find out how soon the tech might arrive. They said they had no way of knowing. My teeth started to grind together, and between the clenched jaws, I attempted to ask politely for the rep to check with the dispatch department, or a supervisor, or a manager. "Sorry, I can't do that" was the immediate response. At this point the jaw came unclenched, the lungs filled with air, and my voice got very noticeably louder, and reminded the rep that "I am the customer" and I demanded I be helped and helped now. "Sorry, there is nothing we can do for you". My voice rose a few more decibels and demands to talk with someone else, another representative, a supervisor, a manager, or any other living person working for their company. "Sorry sir, I can't transfer you, no one else will be able to help you". My face when deep red and the patience didn't just get lost, it fled! In my loudest, angriest, nastiest voice, which is usually keep reserved exclusively for "Ex", I said, "Give me a supervisor NOW!" And after repeating those words multiple times, I finally got transferred to a supervisor.

The supervisor came on the phone all polite and kind, and immediately called the dispatch department and found out that the tech was detained on an emergency call, and that they apologized for my inconvenience. With just a little consideration my face returned to normal colors, my noise level generated by my own voice lowered so I could hear the music on the radio, and patience returned. I quickly explained to the supervisor that I had scheduled a morning appointment but that it was put into their system as an "all day" appointment, and that I was pretty upset at the amount of time I have been waiting, and how upset the representative I was just speaking with had made me. To appease me even more, the supervisor gave me a $40 credit on the account, and almost all feelings of displeasure left me.

Hopefully that phone call was recorded or monitored for quality assurance, and the representative is told to find another job where their talents could be used... maybe they should work for Comcast.

Patience was recovered, and all was right with the world again.

After I got my $40 credit for the wasted morning, I went to lunch, and read the newspaper. The technician finally did arrive at 4PM, after a third call to Columbia Gas in which I was politely told that he was still on his emergency call, but would be there shortly. When the tech arrived, I found he was a very personable guy and we started talking about the day. He said his day a pretty bad one. He was at a house that had a pretty bad leak right outside and he was trying to fix it before there were any major problems, like explosions.

He took a few minutes and adjusted the gas meter, and quickly got the gas turned on, checked for leaks, and even went above and beyond and helped me insure that the furnace would light.

While we talked he told me that his son was looking for a cheap place in the area to fix up and move into, and I said I was selling this place, and maybe his son would be interested. He asked the price, and I told him and he said he thought his son would be very interested. I showed him around the place, and he was the first person I showed the house to that saw potential instead of problems. I gave him my business card. Now the question is, was he blowing gas up my tail pipe, or was he serious? If he was serious, I could finally get the Albatross off from around my neck, without the need to hire the Realtor, and all of the other repairs.

Later that night, I took the kids trick or treating and afterwards I went over to visit "Sweetie" and "Other Two," since "Other Two" was not allowed to trick or treat because of his school suspension. From talking with "Sweetie" earlier I knew she was short on dinner and that "Other Two" was still a little hungry, so I offered to pick up a hamburger on my way. I brought a couple of hamburgers, and some ice cream to smooth Sweetie's nerves. I also brought some for myself and "Other Two" since he didn't get to go trick or treating. We ate and watched a little TV and when it was time for "Other Two" to go to bed, things got a little out of control. I don't think it's fair to give the details, but needless to say, my patience got lost again. My face didn't get red, nor did the voice get loud, but I stormed out of Sweetie's house angry and upset.

I wrote her an angry Email that was quite a bit longer than this post... yeah, I tend to be a little verbose... Maybe I should change my Blog title to "Rambling Verbosely Along..." (Is that a word? "Verbosely"?) After I wrote the Email, I re-read, edited it, and re-read it, considered not sending it, and then promptly hit the send button.

I don't know if she read it or not, but she called me this morning, and we apologized to each other, and all is right with the world again. The only problem now is that I am back at work, and I didn't get to have any fun on my day off, except for a very short time during trick or treat.

I am bowling tonight, and for some reason when I try to hit ten 3lb wood sticks painted white, with my 16lb ball and get them to all fall down, my patience tries to escape again. Hopefully I can keep a hold of it tonight.

Later Lou

St. Valentine's Day (again)

Today is the 23rd of January. It's a good 22 days until St. Valentine's Day... that's over 3 weeks away. Yet people have already started to decorate for the holiday. When did we start decorating for St. Valentine's Day? I thought all we did was buy some chocolate, flowers or maybe just a card. Now we have to get window decorations, pink and white lights, and inflatable yard balloons. I haven't even taken the Christmas wreath down from my front door yet! I guess I need to be more "in touch" with the world, and go buy some decorations... How else will those retail outlets keep their doors open?

Happy New Year 2007

I just wanted to take a brief second to wish everyone a great, fun, and memorable new year. May this year be better for you and your family than any other year so far! Later Lou

Holiday Time Again...

It's time to decorate... to visit family... to eat lots of food... buy and give gifts... and if you are lucky it's also time to celebrate! December is a busy month. Everyone is trying to do something special. Work is having a holiday party, families are having get togethers, and reunions, organizations are having banquets and parties. Who has time to decorate?

Ok I admit it, I am making excuses... I could decorate, but I just don't enjoy it. Now I enjoy looking at other people's decorations, but I just don't enjoy doing the decorating myself. I know what you are thinking... I am a Grinch, or a Scrooge... Far from it... I enjoy the Christmas Holiday a lot... I give lots of gifts, I attend the parties, I even help host some of them. But I just don't enjoy decorating... Is that bad? I mean there is a new movie all about a couple of guys (Matthew Broderick and Danny DeVito) who have a competition about the decorating. I have heard stories on the news about unbelievable light shows in the local Pittsburgh area. The local department stores are running out of inflatable yard decorations. But what's the thrill? I would rather spend the time and money on gifts and stuff for family and friends. Maybe I am a "hum-bug"... Oh well... I have been called worse! Merry Christmas!

St. Valentine's Day

Today is the day "us guys" are expected to buy the flowers, give the chocolate, take her out to dinner, or buy her some jewelry. Of course being guys we need a holiday in order to remind us to do this at least once a year! So, if you haven't gotten the flowers, the chocolate, the jewelry or reservations for dinner out... You better hurry... The good news if you don't get it done by the end of the day, you have an entire year to apologize... Just don't do it again next year!

Groundhog Day

Today Phil saw his shadow, and according to legend that means the remaining days of winter will be harsh... in other words, it won't be an early spring. I don't know about you, but I haven't the foggiest clue why there is a "Groundhog's day" or why it's held on February 2nd, so I decided to research it. According to Stormfax® the holiday was brought from Germany and was originally called "Candlemas". It was held on February 2nd, because this is "mid-point between the Winter Solstice and the Spring Equinox". Apparently before the groundhog was introduced to the date, it was determined that if the weather was nice (sunny and warm) on February 2nd, then the remaining 6 weeks would be harsh, and if it was bad (cold, cloudy, and yucky) on the 2nd, then the rest of the winter would be mild. When the tradition merged with the native American Indian beliefs of the Punxsutawney area, then all of the components were ready to create Groundhog's day. The celebration of Groundhog's day started in Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania in 1886, and it's been repeated every year since then. Today many people accross the country tune in to find out whether the groundhog named Phil from Punxsutawney will see his shadow when he comes out of his "home" on February 2nd. Today Phil came out wearing a Steelers Terrible Towel, but after seeing his shadow, he "peed" on the towel, in fright. I am hoping that isn't predicting a bad outcome to the upcoming SuperBowl... But that's another topic!

Happy Lunar New Year

Happy New Year - Well, Lunar New Year... Which is also called the "Chinese New Year". This is the "Year of the Dog", or the year 4703-4704 on the Chinese calendar. The Chinese calendar is based on the "lunar" or moon based cycle rather than the "solar" or sun based cycle that our calendar is based on. A lunar year is comprised of 12 cycles of the moon, or from "new moon" to "new moon". A pure lunar calendar uses 12 cycles of the moon, and each day of the month is a specific "phase" of the moon. This type of lunar calendar is not very practical because there are slightly more than 12 lunar cycles in an actual year. This means that from lunar year to lunar year the seasons shift and happen in different months, than they have in earlier years. As a matter of fact this shift requires the addition of another lunar month every 33 years in to keep the seasons in line. A calendar that uses this combination of lunar (phases of the moon) and solar (sun based seasons) activities is called a "lunisolar" calendar. The Chinese calendar is considered a lunisolar calendar. So get out your firecrackers, and red clothes to scare off the evil spirits, and celebrate the start of the new year!

2005 Mayfly

Same home. Same kids. Same job. Same expenses. Less money. Trip to Dallas. Tumultuous relationship. Cub Scout Pack problems. Daughter became driver. New laptop.

Sum up 2005

I was browsing random blogs, on Blogger.com and I was reading a entry where they summed up the whole year of 2005 in 24 words or less. The limitation of words, supposedly helps to force you to think about what was most important to you for the year. If you click the title of this post, you will go to the site that is promoting this and see other people's examples. Before I post I want to sit and reflect on last year, and see if I can get it within 24 words... I have never been known for using just a few words, but I will give it a shot... Stay tuned... Can you sum up your year in 24 words or less?

I haven't posted here in awhile, but I wanted to wish everyone a great start to a great year.

Weekend

This past weekend was full of interesting happenings. Saturday my oldest and I took a visit to the a local PA DMV office. She was attempting to become a licensed driver. I was impressed that the PA DMV had improved things so we didn't have to stand in a long line and wait for hours. All we had to do was go online and schedule a time and show up at that time and take the test. They were prompt and on time, so we had practically no wait. She has had a learner's permit for quite some time, but has been very nervous about taking the test. Her mother helped her to get a new car (2005 Chevy Cavalier) and this put a little pressure on her to finally get her license. She was still hesitant because she was worried over parallel parking. I picked her up from work a few times before her test, and showed her how to park, and get close enough to the curb. When I took my driver's test, many, many years ago, I had to take it twice, and we didn't have to do parallel parking. However, she became a licensed driver on her very first attempt. I am extremely proud of her. My son went to Penn State College for FBLA (Future Business Leaders of America) leadership training conference. He came back tired yet a little more wise. He is quickly becoming a man, and has already laid out a plan over the next year for getting his driver's license as soon as he can after he turns 16. I also took my two youngest to get costumes for Halloween at the Spirit Halloween store in the mall. So after an hour in the store, a few tears because the perfect costume was too small, or too expensive, or the wrong color, a run back to the car to get a wallet, and an empting of that wallet, costumes were bagged and taken home. They will be a fairy princess and a wench tricking and treating around town this year. Well the weekend is over, and it's time to relax... at work.

St. Patrick's Day

Happy St. Patrick's Day

The day I wrote this, it was March 17th, 2005, and we were all (at least most of us), looking forward to drinking some green beer. Some of us may have started a little earlier!

In many parts of the world, this day of prayer, and renewal of one's faith, and a celebration of the life of a single man who changed the face of a nation - St. Patrick. To the rest of us, it's just a reason to PARTY!

There are many stories about St. Patrick, but no one can deny that he has impacted our world. Even if some of the stories of him are more legend than fact, he showed the impact one person can make on the world when following the will of God.

So let's wear our shamrocks, and our green, sing folksongs, kiss the Blarney stone, catch the leprecaun, buy a Shamrock Shake from McDonalds, and raise a pint of green beer to St. Patrick!!

Neat

I am over the holiday blues. I am feeling really good, new vim, and vigor... What is "vim" anyway. I did eventually put up Christmas decorations, on Christmas Eve, but now they are still up... Well, the tree is. But I have been feeling good, so I don't care! ;-) I have decided to take my life by the scruff of the neck, and kick it in the butt, and tell it to get moving. A few projects at work came up and I didn't really "take charge", but I did take a leadership role, in so much as I attempted organized the chaos a little. I arranged a few meetings, helped to coalesce a few ideas, instead of things flying all over the field. What's neat about this is that the people I am working with don't feel like I am stepping on their toes, at least I don't think so. They actually seem to appreciate it. Of course, only time will tell on that issue. I have learned quite a bit in the last five years about organizing things, and arranging things because I had to working with Scouts. I also had to learn how to deal with many, many different personalities, and not let it get personal. That experience is helping me now. Kinda neat when you do something for someone else, deal with the ups and downs that come with it, and you can learn from it and apply it back in a positive way in your life. Of course it's only 9 days into the new year, and the pessimist in me (who many times out weighs the optimist), says that they are just appearing on the surface to like this, and behind the scenes and my back, they are gabbing about how I have "taken over". Well, for now the optimist is winning, and I don't really think that's happening... Again, only time will tell for sure. Check back, in a few weeks, or months, and I will let you know which side wins! Neat huh? Do me one last favor, keep the survivors of the tsunami in your prayers. They need that more than just about anything.

New Year