Cluck-U

I've been hankering for some chicken wings for a while. There is a chain called Cluck-U that specializes in the things. They used to have one in the town that I live in but, for some reason, that store closed. While driving back from church one day, I saw a person in a chicken costume promoting a Cluck-U restaurant in Lanham, Maryland. Today, I decided to see if I could find the place and satisfy my hunger for some chicken wings.

I didn't know where the restaurant was in Lanham. However, I remembered that my Garmin GPS unit has names and addresses of restaurants. I decided to see if it had a listing for the Lanham Cluck-U. To my delight, it did. I clicked on the listing and, my GPS promptly figured out how to get me to the restaurant. Within a minute, it had the directions. I subsequently followed and found the place with no problem.

I decided to try their family pack which is 30 wings and four 8-ounce sides. They have a number of different flavors of wings going from super mild to super hot. I wimped and went for honey mustard. For my 4 sides, I decided to try their yellow corn, cole slaw, black beans and rice and mashed potatoes. The total cost with tax was $27.55. I believe it took them approximately 10 minutes to prepare my order.

The wings had a decent amount of meat on them and, the honey mustard flavor was all right. As I didn't want to make a pig of myself, I ate the yellow corn and mashed potato sides. Mashed potatoes tend to taste lousy cold and, corn goes with mashed potatoes. Both sides were all right. Overall, I was pretty pleased with the food and, I'll definitely buy some more wings from the Lanham Cluck-U restaurant when I'm out that way sometime. Cheers all!

Nice News

I got some nice news yesterday. I decided to call the travel clinic to find out the results of the chickpox blood test I had done. To my annoyance, they kept telling me they'd call me back with the information and never did. Finally, I got ahold of someone who was able to tell me the results. It turned out I still had enough chickenpox antibodies to where I don't have to worry about catching it while I'm travelling in Egypt. So, I won't need a chickenpox shot. As I don't like shots, I was delighted with the news. I just wish I didn't have to call them 4 times to find out. That takes care of that item on my checklist.

Not Much To Tell

I haven't been blogging much because, I haven't had much happening at my end of the woods. To my surprise, I've been getting a number of hours at the Post Office. That was a mixed blessing as I had to work on 2 routes I didn't know at all. I saw my Periodontist this past Tuesday for a cleaning. He wasn't pleased with me as I haven't been doing my homework i.e. flossing. I knew I had a fair amount of tartar build-up since the last cleaning. One of the reasons I've been seeing him every 4 months vice the normal 6 is to keep it from getting bad. The most annoying thing about tartar is that once its formed, it can only be removed by a dentist. You have to floss daily to keep it from forming and, I haven't been.

I continue to count the days down till my Egypt trip. I found out Avalon Waterways offers 3 sound and light shows during the tour. I think that's too many and, I asked my travel agent which of the 3 was the one I should definitely see. Visa wise, I'm going to do like so many others and get it when I arrive at the Cairo airport. This will be easier than driving down to D.C., trying to find the Egyptian consulate, hoping I arrive when it's open and hoping I get my passport back in time.

I continue to play scratch off lottery tickets. My luck has been great at times and crappy at others. I hit the $108 prize for a second time and won $172 total that time playing. Right after that, my luck turned to crap and I ended up losing $60. So far, it looks like no one is hitting the big prizes. The number of those still out there hasn't changed in 2 weeks at least. I wonder what's up with that. Did the Maryland lottery make it so only a bunch of the small winners would come up? That way, they wouldn't be stuck with a lot of tickets once all the big prizes are gone. I don't know. I continue to dream of hitting the $80,000 top prize on their Lucky 8's game.

The weather finally started getting warmer. Hopefully, this is a sign that winter is nearly over. I can't say I've been a big fan of winter. I'm less of a fan now that I have to work in it. I'll be glad when spring arrives though that'll have it drawbacks too i.e. rain.

That's all to report for now. I hope any readers I have out there are doing well. May you have a fun President's day weekend. Cheers!

Documents

I received my travel documents from Globus earlier this week. I've been waiting excitedly for them. I'm definitely ready to go on my upcoming trip to Egypt. It should be really awesome. The temples, tombs and history are fascinating. Plus, I'll get to cruise on the Nile River for 3 days. The only down side to the trip will be the long flights to and from Cairo. The flight from New York JFK to Cairo will be 10 hours 45 minutes alone. Plus, I know the flight will be delayed getting out of JFK. I think all flights out of there are now a days.

A different kind of travel bag came with the documents. The Nile Tour/Cruise is run by Globus affiliate Avalon Waterways. Their bag was blue and looked more like a messenger type bag. One pleasant surprise was the guide to the Nile that came with the documents as well as tips for cruising on the boat. I'll be curious to see how cruising on Avalon's boat differs from cruising with Royal Caribbean. Hopefully, Avalon won't try to milk me like Royal Caribbean did. If nothing else, I'll be on the boat 3 days which isn't too bad. It's sort of like an introduction to river cruises.

That's all to tell for now. Stay tuned for further updates. Cheers all!

Shots

Last Wednesday, I made it to the nearby base immunizations clinic to get the shots I needed for my trip to Egypt. I found out I missed out getting the inhale flu immunization by a week. The supply they had on hand expired then. So, I ended up getting 3 shots. One for the flu, one for typhoid and a combination tetanus/diptheria/pertussis shot. I thought the typhoid would make the arm I got it in sore but, it turned out the tetanus did that. It's felt like I had a big knot in my left arm from that shot.

Thankfully, I haven't suffered any flu like symptoms from the flu shot. I was dreading that. I've had that happen previously.

Now, I have to wait for results to come back from the chickenpox blood test. I found out from the immunizations folks that if they come out low, I'll need at least 1 shot though the procedure calls for 2 30 days apart. Hopefully, I won't need either. We'll see. If nothing else, it's nice to have these done and out of the way. I should receive my travel documents by the end of this week. I can't wait to get those. Cheers all!

5 Day Delivery

I saw in the news where the Postmaster General requested Congress remove the 6 day delivery requirement. He'd like the Postal Service to go to 5 days a week delivery wise. This would save a lot of money as it would cut down significantly the amount of overtime the Postal Service would have to pay potentially. From my side of the woods however, this would be devastating financially. The Postal Service wouldn't be able to guarantee me at least 1 day of work anymore. The consistent time I'm needed as a substitute carrier right now is on the regular carrier's day off i.e. their 6th day. If we go to 5 days a week, the regular carrier won't have a day off they need a substitute carrier for anymore. The Postal Service will still need substitute carriers to cover for when the carrier's take annual leave or calls out sick but, those days are sporadic. I believe the Postal Service will have a hard time attracting substitute carriers if this goes through. I suspect it will. For me, I'll just have to bite the bullet and look for a second job though that'll be hard to find with the bad economy at the moment.

Blood

I decided that today I'd drive down to the clinic on the base that is near where I live in order to get the shots that I've mentioned previously. The trip is steadily getting closer and, I have to have the shots to be safe. Unfortunately, I had to have blood taken so they could see if I was still immune to chickenpox. Apparently, there is a danger of it in Egypt. I'd hoped the Air Force had a done a blood test on this earlier. I found out from the people in the immunization clinic that years ago (when I served), they would ask people if they had chickenpox as a kid. If they said yes, they took their word for it and let it go. If they said no, they got the shot. People learned to say yes so they could avoid the shot. Unfortunately, this didn't prevent them from getting the disease. After a number of cases of this happening, the Air Force instituted mandatory testing for chickenpox immunity. If you had it, you got to skip the shot and, if you didn't, they gave you the shot so you wouldn't get it as an adult which is supposedly worse than getting it as a kid.

One problem I have giving blood is I have small veins. I've had a number of times where I was stuck multiple times because of my small veins. This is the reason why I didn't want to give blood if I didn't need to. Sadly, I had to. Luck was not with me this time. The nurse did her best but, it took them 4 tries to find a vein. I took it in the best spirits possible. I had to have the blood taken because I had to find out if I'm immune or not. If I'm not, I wanted to get the shot to be safe. I won't like getting the shot but, I'll like a heck of a lot less getting the disease. So, I gritted my teeth and, they got their blood sample.

By the time I got done with the lab folks, the immunization clinic was closed. Work permitting, I'll go back tomorrow and get the tetanus and typhoid shots and the flu inhale immunization. The typhoid will make my arm sore which is annoying but, it's the flu immunization that will be really bad. I know I'm going to come down with flu like symptoms for at least 2 or 3 days afterwards. The doctor at the travel clinic assured me I won't really have the flu. That'll really make me feel loads better (not!) as I shiver and clog up from the fake flu symptoms. Stay tuned for more updates on this. Cheers all!

Map Update

Yesterday, I received word from Garmin that they had a map update for my Nuvi 750 GPS unit. I was delighted as I've noticed some blank spots on the unit. Some of these, I know are areas that have had construction within the last year or so. One glitch I don't understand is when I drove along Soil Conservation Road. The unit told me to follow the road to Greenbelt during a couple trips I've made to Bowie, Maryland. I did what the unit said and on the unit's map, it had me driving right off the road though I stayed on Soil Conservation Road the entire time. Weird.

The map update file to my surprise was HUGE. It was 1.9 gigabytes and it was compressed. Because of it's large size, this is when I could've used a cable modem as it would've significantly sped up the download. It ended up taking over 5 hours. Then, you had to extract the file which took another hour I think. Then, you had to install the new map. As you can see, the whole process took a while. Still, it'll be worth it in order to have the latest and most accurate maps on the device.

This first map update was free. I don't know how much it'll cost for others. I'll find out in time. Garmin says they come out with updates up to 4 times a year. As I definitely want the most up to date maps, I'll pay within reason whatever they want for my next update. Also, I'll remember how long the process takes and start the process just before I leave for work for the entire day or before I go to bed. It does take a long time to finish the whole procedure. Cheers all!

Another French Lesson

After nearly a month off, I did another French lesson at the Alliance Francaise with my teacher Nadya. The lesson went alright though I'm still having a hard time understanding spoken French. My vocabulary is slowly getting better. I was able to translate more today but, I still had problems with some flowery phrases a French writer used in describing some of the wonders around Aswan, Egypt. I'm still bad about doing my homework.

After next week's lesson, my teacher returns to France for 2 months. I don't plan to request a temporary substitute teacher as the sub wouldn't know where I am in my studies for starters. Also, I'd only be able to get in maybe 5 lessons before Nadya returned from France. Lastly, holding off like that will make it easier to fork up the next $1,000 for the next 25 hours of private lessons.

On a different note, I used my GPS unit to get to the Alliance Francaise and to get home from there. It did another great job. I hardly know my way around Washington D.C. driving wise so, it was priceless in helping me find a quick route through the city thereby avoiding having to take the long way on the D.C. Inner Loop (465). I continue to be really impressed with the unit. I'm very glad I bought it. Cheers!

You Get What You Pay For

I previously blogged about buying a parka at a Burlington Coat Factory store. I thought I got a good deal. I was wrong. I don't know how they put the down in the parka but however they did, they got it wrong. To my surprise, the down feathers are working their way through the fabric. The result is that when I take the parka off, I find myself picking feathers off my shirt. Funny in a way but annoying too. I never had this problem with my triple fat parka. I suspect this is a classic case of you get what you pay for. If I'd pay more money and bought a higher quality parka, I wouldn't have this problem. Oh well. Live and learn. For now, I'll continue to use the thing as I can't afford to buy a better one. Next winter, I'll see about buying a better quality parka.

Hard Day at the Post Office

I had a very hard day at the Post Office yesterday. I knew I would before I went in. We had a 3-day weekend thanks to Martin Luther King day. Holidays are bad for mail carriers. Just because you don't get any mail doesn't mean your mail isn't being processed. The Postal Service runs 24 hours a day, 365 days a week. The mail continued to be processed. All the holiday did was prevent it from being delivered which caused headaches for the carriers as that meant there was that much more mail to be delivered when they came back to work. That's what I faced yesterday. I had 3 days worth of mail to sort, pack-up and deliver. It was going to be a hard day made worse by the route I was on. The route I worked is one of my least favorite routes because, it has a lot of apartments that people move in and out of. This causes a lot of undeliverable mail that I have to bring back. Second, the route is all multi-mailboxes which means I have address ranges in the mail case. Example: I have one mail slot at the mail case for an entire condo building. There will be at least 12 condos in that building. This will make it easy to case at the Post Office BUT, I'll have to sort the mail again when I get to the condo. This is a real pain and, it causes me to be out on the street a LONG time. Yesterday, I was out delivering mail for 7 hours in the cold windy weather. It was a real pain. I was seriously glad when I got done and could go home. I definitely earned my money yesterday. Still, it'll help pay off my future trips so it was worth it. Cheers all!

U.S. and Canada Tours

I paid off sort of my future Globus U.S. and Canada tours. By sort of, I still have to pay the credit card bill off. The tours themselves will be interesting in a number of ways. For starters, they're both short. The U.S. tour is only 7 days. It's intended as an introduction to escorted tours. It starts in Washington D.C. and finishes in Philadelphia. It stops in a number of sights that I've wanted to see but, I've never gotten around to seeing such as Yorktown, Jamestown and Gettysburg.

The Canadian tour starts the day after the U.S. tour ends. To my embarrassment, I've never seen much of Canada. While living in Detroit, I was able to look across the river and see Windsor, Canada. My Dad took our family over there for all of 5 minutes. We subsequently looked back at Detroit and stared at it. Also, I got to stop in Montreal on a flight home from England. It was near Christmas time and all you could see outside was snow. Lots of it! This tour will knock out Quebec City, Ottawa, Montreal, Toronto and Niagara Falls. I've seen more waterfalls in other countries than I've seen in my own. I'm looking forward to getting to see the famous Niagara Falls.

Lastly, I look forward to adding to my Hard Rock Cafe t-shirt. I found out there are 4 places where I'll be able to buy t-shirts on the Canada tour. I know it's kinda stupid but, I enjoy collecting them. They're a way for me to show off some of the places I've been. I'm looking forward to getting them and showing that I've been to Montreal and Toronto. They'll be cool.

Overall, the tours should be a lot of fun. I'm curious to see if the group develops the same camaraderie they develop on long tours. I hope it does as that is one of the things I really enjoy on the long tours. The only drawback I see is that the tours will be over in no time. If 2 weeks can really fly by, 1 week is going to be nothing. In that way, I'll be glad that I'll be doing back-to-back tours. The fun will last a little longer though it'll be with different groups. So any readers out there, stay tuned for some interesting posts in the future. I'll get to see some more interesting places and be able to post about some cool adventures. Also, there will be some nice pictures posted. Also, don't forget that the Egypt tour is coming up. It's less than a month and a half before that adventure begins. That should be an incredible adventure with lots of ancient things to see and experience. Stay tuned.

Rough Day at Work

I was supposed to do Express Mail only today. A month ago, I made an appointment with the travel clinic at the base I frequent. The travel clinic was the one that would authorize the shots I needed for my upcoming trip to Egypt. Because of the importance of the shots and the closeness to my upcoming trip, I couldn't possibly cancel the appointment.

To my disbelief, my boss called me at 6:45 a.m. and asked if I could do a full route. She knew of my appointment at the travel clinic. She said I could leave and come back and finish the route. As she didn't have anyone else to do the route, I agreed to come in at once. I managed to get all the mail cased that was waiting at the mail case. Around 8:30 a.m., I departed for the travel clinic. It would take 30 minutes to get there.

In my rush to get to the Post Office, I forgot my shot record. The travel clinic couldn't access the immunizations clinic database so, I had to go that clinic and get a copy of my shot record. By the time I got back, the chief nurse was seeing another customer. I had to wait over 25 minutes. Finally, I got in to see her. She reviewed my shot record, looked at what shots I would need for Egypt and told me some of the things to watch out for there. Then, she said I had to see a doctor to get approval for the shots. The doctor was seeing another customer. Aaargh! I waited another 20 minutes impatiently. By now, it was past 10:30 a.m. At last, I got to see the doctor who agreed with what the head nurse said. Also, I found out I'd have to do a blood test to make sure I was still resistant to chickenpox. I had that as a kid and normally once you've had it, you're resistant for the rest of your life. The blood test would show if I still was resistant or not. If not, I'd need a shot for that. Crap! Luckily, there is a inhale vaccination for the yearly flu shot. I just made the age limit for that. Right now, it's only available to anyone up to 49 years old. Cool, one less shot though I suspect I'll come down with flu like symptoms once I take it. Yuck!

I finally got done at the clinic and quickly got back to the Post Office. I found out no one had been able to case any of my mail. Dang! I would spend the next hour casing mail then, I had to get my packages in order (17 of them) and pull down my mail. I hit the street around 1 p.m. Thankfully, because mail was light, I was able to deliver all my mail in about 3 hours. I returned to the Post Office and, I clocked out about 4:30. It had been a trying day. Hopefully, tomorrow won't be as bad. We'll see.

Return to Maryland

This is the last post on my recent trip to Michigan for my step-mother's funeral. The events this posts described happened on January 8th, 2009.

I would've liked to have stayed longer with my Dad, Jane (my Philippino step-mother) and Hank (also known as foodcreep or the bottomless pit). But, I couldn't. I have a deal with the Post Office where I work where I won't take long periods of time off except once every 4 or 5 months. As my readers know, I'll be going on a 12 day tour/cruise of Egypt in March so, I couldn't take lots of time off for my visit.

I hoped to be on the road around 6:30 a.m. to avoid commuter traffic. That hope went out the door fast. My Dad asked if I would clear the snow from the driveway. My Dad has one bad leg and the good one isn't that good either. I didn't want him falling so, I agreed to clear the driveway. He offered to let me use his snowblower but, I didn't think it would need that. I was wrong. The snow was powdery stuff but, there was a lot of it and, Dad has a large driveway. I spent over 30 minutes shoveling snow. Finally, I got it cleared and, I got my car loaded up. I saw my good-byes and drove to the Howell, Michigan White Castle restaurant. There, I experienced another delay. They weren't prepared for a 90 hamburger order (3 cases). I had to wait over 20 minutes though they were kind enough to give a free lemonade while I waited. Then, I needed to tank the car up with gas. I wanted to be able to drive as far as I could non-stop before having to fill up again. I got the car filled up, started to pull out and noticed the car was having a hard time getting through the snow. The car continued to have a hard time on the main road to the highway entrance. Then, I noticed on the dash that the brake light was on. Shit! I looked down and sure enough, I'd forgotten to release the parking brake. Duh! After that, I didn't have a hard time driving through the snow.

By the time I was finally headed out of Michigan, it was 9 a.m. Prime commuter time and, I ended up bumper to bumper for over 20 minutes. Groan. At last, I got past that. I made good time from there and reached the Michigan-Ohio border around 10:30. I found out Ohio also got clobbered with snow. The road crews did a great job of making the roads drivable but, there was a LOT of salt and dirt on the roads. It was easily kicked up onto my car's windshield. I had to repeatedly use the windshield cleaner. Also, when I finally stopped for gas in Hagerstown, Maryland, I had to clean the salt off the passenger windows.

My GPS unit work superbly again. I never had to look at a map and, I had a good idea when I would arrive back at my apartment. When I turned off to get more gas, it quickly re-calibrated the route to my apartment.

I arrived back to my apartment around 5 p.m. which I thought good considering I'd driven over 550 miles with one short stop for gas. My car had worked superbly. I was certain the servicing I had done the previous week helped. I believe I saved over $250 driving though it took me twice as long as it would've if I had flown. I was totally sold on my GPS unit and, I plan to use it for all long trips as well as trips in Maryland. The next day, I'd be back at work at the Post Office. Life would return to normal and, I'd get over my step-mom's death though I'll remember her for a long time. Cheers all!

2nd Day

My second day in Michigan was filled with mis-adventures and sadness. As I previously mentioned, I planned to visit the Lyon's Den bookstore in South Lyon. Its in an old building with wooden floors and wooden bookshelves. If you like a bookstore that has a feeling of mustiness and charm, this is it. I found only one thing to complain of with it. Its shelves were pretty lean selection wise. I don't know if they were trying to hold down their inventory or hadn't received a new shipment in. I bought a book on France that showed 25 must see sights. I was curious to see how many I'd seen. Also, I bought a copy of "The Hobbit." I've seen the cartoon version but, I've never read the book. With them hopefully starting to make the movie version, I felt it was time to read it.

My Philippino step-mother Jane had decided to tag along. It was an easy way for her to get out of the house and, she wouldn't have to drive. She found herself a couple books to read including one on sale.

The South Lyon Post Office is right across from the bookstore and, we walked over to one of their mail trucks. I pointed out the 7 mirrors on the truck and, how a mail carrier would deliver mail from it.

Then, we got in my car and, I got to try to program my new GPS unit. The address was 3832 East Grand River Avenue. I couldn't figure out initially how to punch in the east part of the street name. I didn't see a button on the choices saying space. I finally punched in Grand River Avenue and got a location in Detroit. According to White Castles website, the restaurant I wanted to go to was in Howell, Michigan. Still, I decided to try it. Jane and I drove all the way into Detroit and found out I got it wrong. Worse still, the neighborhood didn't look too safe. I didn't want to place Jane in any kind of danger so, I turned around quick and got out of there. When we got home, I figured out what button was the space button on the GPS. Using that, I was able to find the right address for the White Castle restaurant in Howell. It turned out it was only 15 or 20 minutes away. I drove out there and bought a case of their hamburgers, 2 very small sacks of their onion chips (Jane really likes these) and a very small sack of their clam strips. The hamburgers were great and, I thought the onion chips and clam strips were good too. I planned to drive out to the restaurant again the next morning to get myself and some friends some White Castle hamburgers before I headed back to Maryland.

Around 3 p.m., I got myself ready for my step-mom's funeral. I hadn't slept well the night before because of that. I was terribly sad about the thing. I decided to drive out there myself as it would be less hassle for my sister. I seemed to be getting the hang of my GPS unit so, I was pretty sure I'd be able to find the place with its help. To my surprise, Jane decided to come along. Once both of us were ready, we got in my car and, I programmed my GPS unit.

The GPS got the directions smack on. My only concern was the weather. It started snowing and, that made the roads treacherous. I slowed down to avoid going into a skid. Worse still, my step-mom's house was on a back road in the country. I kept my fingers crossed that I'd be able to get back out after the funeral service.

To my delight, a number of people showed up for my step-mom's service. There must have been at least 40 people. My sister, Jane and I showed up from our side of the family. My step-mom's stepson from her marriage to her last husband Ed showed up with his mom too. I hadn't met him since he was a kid. Now, he was going to be a father soon. I had a pleasant chat with them before the service.

My sister and the lady who took of my step-mom in the later stages of her illness found a fairly new Baptist pastor who lived close by. He said a small service for Kay. I felt he should have concentrated more on the fact that for those of us who believe in Jesus Christ would be seeing her again so, this wasn't good-bye forever but, merely a short separation (in relation to eternity). We'd get to see her again in her new resurrection body and, she wouldn't be sick or frail like she had been in her last days. Instead, he tried to save some souls among the attendees. Still, it was nice of him to come and say a few words on such short notice.

After the service, there were food and drinks available. I passed. I found the container holding my step-mom's ashes. It was hard to believe that small metal container held all her remains. Sitting next to her ashes was a wooden box of sorts. I thought that might be a more appropriate container for her ashes. I later found out it held the ashes of her late husband. So, both their remains were at the service.

When Jane was ready to leave, we hopped in my car and headed back to my Dad's place. The roads were bad so I went slow but, we made it back safely. The GPS unit worked great again. I was glad the service was over though I would spend a couple hours talking about my step-mom with my Dad. She may have been my step-mom but, she really was my mother for all effective purposes. From the age of 12 and 1/2, she raised me. I've had very little contact with my biological mother. I don't hate my biological mother but, she hasn't played a part in my life in over 30 years. My step-mom did. No one at the service knew her longer than I did. For approximately, 40 years I knew her. I suspect that's why her death and loss hurt so much. She was so much a part of me and my life. Also, I felt she died too soon. My Dad told me she was born in 1942. That meant she was just 66 years old when she died. She should've lived at least another 10 years. Now, she will live in my memories. I do take some comfort that I will get to see her again some day as I believe in Jesus Christ. The pain lingers some but, it will pass. As I said in another blog, life goes on. The next day, I would head back to Maryland and all my trials and tribulations there. Stay tuned.

Arrived

I managed to hit the road around 6:15 a.m. It was raining. By the time I reached Michigan, it was snowing. Thankfully, the road crews were out and, I was able to make good time the entire way. I was surprised by the toll charges in Pennsylvania and Ohio. PA cost me $10 and Ohio hit me up for $7.25. The GPS unit I bought performed outstandingly. I never had to look at a map. The device would tell me when it was time to turn right or left. It would also tell me how far I had to go till the next major turning point as well as what the speed limit was on all the roads. It only had one hiccup when I-76 broke off and became I-80. I was pretty sure I was supposed to keep heading toward Cleveland vice stay on I-76. About 30 seconds after I passed the I-76 off ramp, it changed and said to keep heading on I-80.

I found it kinda neat to stop to fill up on gas and do a bathroom break. It reminded me of the Globus tours I've been on. I'm still counting the days till Egypt. I can't wait to go.

Tomorrow is the funeral. I'm not looking forward to it. I wish very much my step-mom were still alive. I wish she had told me she was doing as badly as she was doing so I could've come up here before she died instead of after. (sigh) Oh well. There is little point in wishing for such things. I have to deal with what is. She's gone and it sucks. Tomorrow, I'll pay my respects and then, I'll carry on with my life as every one else will. That's how it is. Life goes on.

That's it for this update. Not the most cheerful one but then, funerals don't tend to be very cheerful. There will be some fun things. Tomorrow, I'm going to go to a nearby White Castles where I plan to pig out on their hamburgers. Also, I plan to visit a very cute book shop in South Lyon, Michigan. The owner is pretty cool and, I try to visit there every time I'm nearby. It'll be neat to say hi. Stay tuned for further updates.

Road Trip

I found out my step-mom's funeral was rescheduled for January 7th. As it's on a Wednesday vice a Saturday, I'll be able to get the time off and attend. I plan to drive up to Michigan for the funeral. The drive should be something of an adventure as I've never driven from Maryland to Michigan. According to Mapquest, it should take 9 hours though I hope to do better time wise. Also, I'm hoping I can get my new GPS unit I ordered from Costco in time. That would help in preventing any wrong turns enroute. It's supposed to arrive on the 5th. We'll see. Stay tuned for updates on my drive home. Cheers all!

Servicing

I took my car in yesterday to be serviced. It was time for its 75,000 mile servicing. This was one of the major servicings and it ended up costing $300. Ouch! Thanksfully, the only thing they found wrong with the car was its front brake pads needed to be replaced. Still, that tacked on $169 to the bill. I found out my rear brakes are all right for now but, they are getting worn to. I have no idea how long it'll be before I have to get the pads replaced on those.

I had the servicing done at the local Carmax. I was very pleased with the service rep I dealt with as well as the customer rep I had to pay my bill with. However, I was very displeased with one item at Carmax. Carmax has apparently changed its policy concerning its free shuttle service. They'll give you a ride to where ever from the dealership (as long as its within 5 miles) BUT they won't give you a ride back when its time to pick up your car. In my case, that would've meant calling a taxi to take me back to the dealership. That makes their shuttle completely useless and, it meant I had to stay at the dealership and wait while they worked on my car. I didn't care at all to sit in their waiting area for almost 3 hours. I was very glad I'd made an appointment for my car so I could get it right in. I hadn't, I would've had an even longer wait. Because of their shuttle service thing, I have mixed feelings about them. Still, I want to make sure my Camry continues to run fine so for now for major servicings and repair work, I'll continue to go to them.

On a different subject, I hope all my readers have a Happy New Year. I hope 2009 brings you the fulfillment of your dreams. Cheers all!

Photos

Yesterday, I finally had copies made of some of my France tour photos. I suspect the reason I was so slow about getting it done was because I could see the pictures on my computer. Also, in order to make copies of the photos, I had to burn a CD disc so I could take them to either a closeby Costco or Sam's Club. I know you can upload photos to their website BUT, I use max resolution on the photos I'm going to get copies made of. That means a single photo will be over 3 megabytes. It would take forever to upload 124 pictures at 3 megabytes a piece. Lastly, I had a lot of photos to go through and choose from. I took over 300 during my tour of France. One nice thing about digital cameras is you can take tons of photos and, it doesn't cost you anything. Also, if you take a crummy picture or accidentally hold the button too long and take a second picture of the same thing, you can easily delete it.

One of the bad things about digital pictures is you can't pull them out of your pocket and show them to your friends. You might be able to do that if you have a camera phone but, you're not going to leave your phone with your friend while they look through your 100 plus photos. That's why I finally had copies made. Folks at the Post Office have asked repeatedly to see them as have my friends the Baldons. I kept saying I would and, I finally got off my lazy duff and did it. So, now they can see what I was talking about when I said Mont St. Michel was huge or Carcassone was impressive. The photos are for them vice myself. Me, I'll keep viewing them on my computer.

Difference

It was incredible the difference in package volume before and after Christmas. The Saturday before last, I had to deliver over 50 packages. Yesterday, I had 16 packages. The number of catalogs I would deliver was down too. The biggest shopping season of the year was over so merchants stopped mailing their various catalogs. Now, I'll get to see another difference mail wise as it'll gradually drop through the year until fall. The low point mail wise will be in the summer. I'll be happy about the lower mail volumes in one way and not in another. We're due to have another mail count for the rural routes at my Post Office. The last one didn't go well. If trends continue, this one won't either. We'll see what happens. For now, I'll be happy that I got through the Christmas rush and, I can look forward to my trip to Egypt. Cheers all!

Grief and Guilt

My sister updated me on what was going to happen with my step-mom's body. She'll be cremated Saturday and, a small service will be held afterwards. I think this makes sense. They'd have to use blowtorches to carve out a grave for her in the ground if they wanted to bury her. They have between 7 and 8 inches of snow and ice in Michigan right now. The high yesterday as far as I know was 5 degrees Fahrenheit.

As I stated previously, I very much wanted to attend the funeral BUT, Saturday is the worst possible day for me. Anyone who has ever worked as a substitute mail carrier knows that is the day most of the regular carriers want off. Also, as a substitute, I don't earn any paid vacation time. I checked into flying out the day of the service and, it would cost $70 more to do that. That would pretty much wipe out most of the money I would make the previous day (I usually get to work full routes Fridays and Saturdays).

I spoke with my Dad and, he said he didn't see any reason in my coming up there. It wasn't going to make any difference to her. He was right but, her death still hurts. There is also guilt over the fact I thought I had plenty of time and so I didn't mail her the gifts I'd bought for her and, I wanted her to have. I never knew she was that sick and, I would've liked to have been able to say goodbye and tell her I loved her one last time. Flying into the mess up there won't enable me to do those things so there isn't any point in going.

Her death however has made me determined to go home and see my Dad, my sister, my brother and my Dad's wife. I want to see them and enjoy them and make sure I won't feel this way if death should come knocking again God forbid. I've learned the hard way nothing is forever. Hopefully, I'll cherish the family I have left more thanks to my step-mom. We'll see.

Shock

As any readers I have know, I was looking forward to just getting Christmas over with and eventually going on a 12 day tour of Egypt. Christmas isn't special for me unless I'm home. My step-mom had asked me to come home for Christmas but, Christmas is the worst time to ask for time off at the Post Office. Mail volume is heavy and everyone is working extra hard. I had to tell her no. I'd bought her a china plate from Chateau Chenonceau and various other goodies. I was eventually going to get around to mailing it to her. I knew she was fighting her third battle with breast cancer. The last time I spoke with her, she was upbeat that she was going to beat it though she sounded really tired. I was concerned enough to ask my Dad (whom she divorced) how she was doing. He told me she also had liver cancer. Oh shit! He was skeptical about the treatments she was taking. Also, this time, the doctors found cancer buds throughout her body. They apparently didn't get all the cancer wiped out after her second bout with it. Crap! Still, she had said she was recovering and according to her, all was well. She was wrong.

Yesterday was a normal Sunday. I'd procrastinated about doing my French homework so I was busy trying to get that knocked out before I drove down to D.C. to do my French lesson. I get a phone call from my sister. My step-mom took a massive dive for the worst and was rushed to the hospital. Her liver was failing and her other organs were shutting down. Basically, her body was throwing in the towel. The doctors said it would be either a matter of hours or days. I was shocked. Shit! Damn! This sucks! Of course, there wasn't anything I could do about the situation. I live at least six or seven hundred miles away. I didn't want to fly home at once and then stay there for days when I was desperately needed at work. I asked my sister to call me when there was more definitive news on my step-mom's condition. Then, I called my boss's cell phone. She didn't answer so I left a message giving her a heads up that I was likely going to have to go home on very short notice. I would have to go.

I had to work hard to regain focus on my French homework. I kept thinking of my memories of my step-mother. All the stupid fights we had and some of the good times we had too. I remembered the Lord of the Rings film exhibition the 2 of us went to. We got to ride in a stretch limo to the hotel. We walked over to the exhibition hall and looked in wonder at all the cool stuff they had at the exhibition. Afterwards, we had lunch at the Hard Rock Cafe. I was determined to get their t-shirt so I could add it to my collection. We shared a room and, she played mom again when she reminded me to pick up my clothes. I grumbled and told her we were going to get separate rooms next time. She mentioned that she'd like to do the Egypt tour that I'll be going on money permitting. I thought that would be cool as long as we had separate cabins (grin).

I managed to regain my focus and, I had another great French lesson with my teacher. I learned some interesting French idioms (like our idioms like you can't have your cake and eat it too). It seems the French like to use the word "coup" (which means kick or hit) a lot. While driving back through D.C., my Dad calls. There isn't any way I can answer it. D.C. is terrible to drive through. Plus, I'm paranoid about missing a stoplight after the $75 fine I got for missing my first (and hopefully last) one. The stretch I was driving on had something like 25 stoplights. I figured I'd call him as soon as I got back to my apartment which I knew wouldn't be long.

I got back and promptly called my Dad. He confirmed the news. I asked him what I should do. Should I come home immediately? There wasn't anything I could do to help. I was willing to fly back at once but, I didn't want to hanging around for days in the dumps waiting for the unmentionable. Shit! Damn! This sucks! My Dad said to wait for my sister to tell me what to do. All right, I'll go with that.

I quickly grabbed something to eat for dinner. I hadn't eaten since breakfast. I decided to walk over to my best friends the Baldons and tell them the news. They're always willing to lend a shoulder to lean on. I made it down to the 2nd floor of my apartment building when my sister called. She said she was gone. I swallowed, sucked in a breath of air and said "dead?" She said "Yes." Grief washed over me. I'd known her for over 35 years. She had played a big part in my life. No one that super close to me has died before. SHIT! Some Christmas this is going to be. I have to fly home and bury my step-mom. God damn it! I knew my brother who had enough hard knocks already was going to be stunned. My poor brother. Christmas is the highlight of his year and, it was now totally fucked.

I continued walking over to the Baldons and told them the news. They were awesome. After speaking with them for about an hour, I returned to my apartment and called my boss again. Again, I got her voicemail. I left an update. I spoke with my friend Harvey too who expressed his condolences also. Memories of my step-mom continued to flash by. It's hard to believe I won't see her any more. I never got to give her the souvenir plate I bought her at Chenonceau. I thought there was plenty of time. God! Grief which God had thankfully shown me little of washes over me. Damn. God may pick the perfect time for someone we love to die but, that doesn't ease the pain of their leaving much. I'm going to really hate it when I have to fly home and see the body. There will be someone who I loved and she's gone forever. Shit. Tears well up in my eyes. Suck it up buddy. Carry on airman. Figure out what you're going to do. So, I'm left with my grief and waiting for word from my sister. Once I receive word from her, I'll make my reservations for home and quickly pack a suitcase. This Christmas is going to royally suck. I hope you who read this have a far better one. Cheers all!

Quiet

It's been quiet the last 3 or 4 days. I worked a full route the last 2 days. It went fine. Packages were heavy (I had 50 of them yesterday) but, that's to be expected during the Christmas season. Once that ends, it'll get back to normal and the mail volume will begin to decrease. It'll keep on decreasing till next fall. Weather wise, I've been lucky. It's been cold and it rained Friday but, it hasn't snowed. I'll take rain over snow any day. Thanks to the cold but not freezing temperatures, I've been able to hold off turning on the heat in my apartment for the most part. My latest BGE bill was just $33.78. I was very pleased about that. I don't like giving BGE any more of money than I have to. If I've felt a little cold in my apartment, I've put a coat on vice turning the heat on.

Also, the winter solstice was this morning. You say no big deal. It does matter mail wise. Once the winter solstice hits, we start getting more sunlight vice darkness. Delivering the mail in the dark can be a royal pain as well as dangerous. I wear a reflector belt so I can be seen by cars when I'm crossing streets to deliver packages. Another hazard I have delivering the mail in the dark is my mail truck. The truck has serious blind spots. To compensate for these, they've installed 7 mirrors so you can see all around the truck but, these mirrors don't do a lot of good in the dark. You have to be very careful backing up a mail truck in the dark.

Barring working at the Post Office, I'm impatiently counting down the days till Egypt. Also, I'm slowly but surely paying off the Globus U.S. and Canada tours I'll be going on next summer. I'm impatient to get my scooter. I think the thing would be handy for short errand runs. I got approved for a new Dell credit account. I plan to use that when I buy a new laptop computer from them in May or June of next year. I wonder how bad my taxes are going to be this year. Last year, I got really clobbered. I plan to make a recycling run soon. I've been amassing a considerable pile of old magazines, cardboard and various bottles. I plan to treat myself to lunch at the Baltimore Hard Rock Cafe. I found out I'm less than $3 away from my next $20 credit with my All Access membership. I've been writing a few blog entries on MySpace. I finally figured out how to link pictures in their blogs so I was able to show folks on there some of my best France pictures. Slow slogging away at creating a database for my CDs. I need it so I don't buy duplicates of ones I already have. Been trying to get rid of some of the junk I've amassed. I'm something of a packrat and, the stuff does pile up. I'm gradually getting a pile together of stuff I'm going to take to the Salvation Army.

That's all to report for now. Like I said, it's pretty quiet at my end of the woods. And, it'll probably stay that way for at least another month. When it gets closer to the Egypt trip, things will start picking up as I'll get busy getting ready for that. Cheers all!

Multiple Blogs

Jim (I don't remember his last name) at Seratoninrain has multiple blogs. I know blogger offers the same option though I had no idea how that worked. Out of curiousity, I decided to find out. It turns out blogger creates totally separate and unlinked blog pages. With Seratoninrain, you can access all 3 blogs on the same base page. I guess that is one of differences between blog site providers.

In regards to my other blog pages, I don't intend to use them. I find it difficult enough trying to post things of some kind of interest on this blog and my MySpace blog. My life for the most part is terribly boring. While I enjoy reading about the issues of the day, I don't care to create a blog to discuss them. I've seen how rancorous those can get. So, I'll stick to telling about my travels, music I've listened, airmiles games I've played and whatever trivial stuff I can think of. Cheers all!

Surprise

3 or 4 days ago, I decided to try out my Sony CDP-C900 CD player. I'd bought the thing when I was stationed in South Korea back from late 1985 to late 1986. It was part of a dream stereo system I decided to buy while I stationed there. Korea at that time was the place to buy stereos or cameras if you were in the military. Supposedly, you could get good deals on them there. So, I bought myself a Sansui double cassette deck, Pioneer 2-sided record player, Yamaha pre-amplifier, Yamaha power amplifier, Yamaha tuner, Sony CDP-C900 CD player and Bose 901 Series 5 speakers. It turned out to be a really nice system.

In time, I lost interest in using the thing. It is a bit of hassle hooking everything up. It's a lot easier to just play a CD in a small portable CD player. At some point, I put 10 CDs in my Sony CD player. Then, I forgot about those 10 CDs. When I was re-located to my last duty station, I noticed that the CD holder cartridge was in the CD player. I didn't think anything of it. So, it sat for over 7 years. I did notice that I was missing some CDs but, I had no idea what I did with them. Today, I found out what happened to them. I decided to see if the CD player still worked. To my annoyance, I wasn't able to listen to the thing as I didn't have a set of headphones with a 1/4 inch stereo plug and, I didn't want to go through all the hassle of hooking my stereo system up. I had to drive to Best Buy and buy one. When I got home, I plugged in the new set of headphones I bought at Best Buy and popped out the CD cartridge so I could put in some CDs I'd been meaning to listen to. That was when I got a big surprise as there were 10 CDs in the cartridge. Now, I have to go through my CD collection and find out if I replaced the CDs or not. I hope I didn't but, I won't bet on it. I've done that before where I mis-placed something, bought another one then, I found the first one I bought. Crap! One good thing came out of this - my Sony CD player works fine. Maybe, I'll finally get around to listening to the stack of 15 CDs I bought that has been sitting on my dresser for the past year. We'll see.

Shots

Last week, I found out the recommended immunizations (shots) for Egypt. I fervently hate shots BUT, if I have to get them, I figured I might as well get it over with. So, today I visited the base immunization clinic for the first time since I retired from the Air Force. I didn't know how things would work since I'm retired. One advantage I have being former military is that they military gave me every shot I might remotely need including anthrax. So, I didn't think I was going to need too many. I thought I heard some where that I'd have to pay for the shots. I could deal with that. I didn't think they would be exorbitant so off to the clinic I go. I found out that I to make an appointment to see someone at the travel clinic who will apparently check my shot record and determine which shots I need. Then, I'll be able to get them for free and be all set for my trip to Egypt. So come January, I'll drive down to the travel clinic and hopefully get my shots. I found out the only one I REALLY had to have was a new tetanus that includes Pertussis and Diptheria and is good for 10 years. Since I'll only be in Egypt for 12 days, Typhoid is optional BUT, I'm going to get it any way though the arm I get it in will be sore the next day. It always is from the Typhoid shot. Oh well.

French Lesson

Yesterday, I did another French lesson with my teacher Nadya. I had 2 weeks off from the lessons because Nadya went some where to see her grandkids and the next week, I didn't feel like driving down to D.C. It's a real pain to drive in D.C. It's constantly stop and go. Also, you have to really pay attention to potential stoplights. There must be 20 plus of them on the route I take to the Alliance Francaise. About 4 weeks ago, I wasn't paying enough attention and got half way through an intersection before I realized the light was red. At that point, you might as well keep on going. To my rotten luck, one of the D.C. traffic cameras caught it and I got a notice with pictures of my car informing me of the $75 fine. I knew I did what the camera showed so I promptly wrote the check and mailed it. Since then, I've been really watching out for the stoplights.

The lesson itself went well. I still have one major problem - vocabulary. I'll try to compose sentences in French and, I'll find words I don't the French equivalent for. Nadya told me that'll come with me reading more articles in French. I'll keep looking up the words I don't know and, I'll eventually remember them. So, it'll just take time and lots of reading on that. I am getting better on translating written French. Nadya had me read in French an article where the Marquis de Lafayette was awarded American citizenship posthumously. After reading every 3 or 4 lines, she'd have me translate it into English. I could see I was slowly getting there.

That's all on the French lessons for now. Au revoir!

Keeping Airmile Accounts Active

One thing a less than frequent traveller must watch for is making sure they do some kind of activity on the airline frequent flier memberships. A number of them will delete all your miles if you don't have any activity in the past 18 months. There are a number of ways you can keep your accounts active. One of the easiest and most pleasant is through a dining program. Northwest Airlines has such a program. I haven't had any activity in my membership with them since April so I decided to check out a restaurant called Pasta Nostra so I could earn a few airmiles and have a nice lunch.

The restaurant itself is clean and pleasant enough looking. It's easy to get to. It's located just off of Van Dusen Road in Laurel, Maryland. It serves good Italian food like Penne al Salmon and Calimari Fritti (the 2 dishes I had). Price wise, it was reasonable. It is different from your normal fancy dining in that there is open seating and there aren't any waiters or waitresses. You go up to a counter where you order your and pay for your food. They give you a plastic number which you set on your table. When your order is ready, someone from the kitchen finds you and gives you your food. I wasn't thrilled with this aspect but, Pasta Nostra isn't trying to be a high class restaurant so it wasn't any big deal.

Overall, it was a nice restaurant that I wouldn't mind going back to. It was also an easy way to keep my Northwest Airlines frequent flier account active. That was more important to me as I want to keep my miles just in case I decide to try to use them for some kind of travel in the future. If you want an easy way to keep your airmile account active, you might check and see if your airline has a similar dining program. Bon appetit!

Puzzle

While at work, I noticed an interesting puzzle on my boss's desk. It's a paragraph that has 25 books of the bible hidden in it. Some are very easy to find and some aren't. I found it fun and challenging. You can find it online at http://www.eternalchoice.com/puzzle.php. For those who are less knowledgeable about the various books of the bible (like me), you might want to print a list of the books of the bible so you know all the books that could be in the puzzle. Cheers!

Won a Lot at Dave & Buster's

As I said I'd do, I made my way down to Dave & Buster's at Arundel Mills Mall and tried to put a hurtin on them ticket wise. It was 1/2 price game day. This is the best day to play their arcade games because you get twice the game play. I spent approximately $160 playing Spin & Win and, that enabled me to play approximately 250 times. I think that increased my chances of winning considerably. I ended up winning 34,200 tickets. I hit the 1,000 light 26 times! I was delighted. People kept commenting on how many tickets I won. It was sweet. I wish I could be that lucky when I play the Lotto. Oh well. I brought my total ticket winnings to 110,895. I'll savor that for a while. Cheers all!

Parka

About 7 or 8 years ago, my sister Ellie took me to a Burlington Coat Factory store to buy a winter coat. I needed it with as cold as it got where my folks live. The parka I bought turned out to be a really good deal both in price and in the job it did in keeping me warm. Unfortunately, clothes only last so long. Through wear and tear, part of my parka's zipper got ripped out and some of the seams were coming loose. My parka began shedding feathers (it has a down lining). So, it was time to get a new one. Because I was able to get such a good parka at Burlington before, I decided to try them again. There were a couple in the area where I live. I checked both of them out and found out one with the features I wanted (a hood, double zipper and down lining). The price was good again. My parka cost me $60 and would've cost around $150 else where. We'll see how it holds up with the coming winter.

Game Ticket Special

One advantage of registering your game card with Dave & Busters is apparently they will email you special promotions like their 1/2 price holiday game promotion. Last week, they emailed me a coupon where if I won 1,500 tickets, I would receive a bonus 1,000 tickets. There were some exemptions on the coupon. The biggest was I couldn't use it on 1/2 price game days. Today, I decided to use the coupon. I got lucky right off the bat. I hit the 1,000 ticket light on my very first spin at Spin & Win. Then, I went cold. I kept missing the 1,000 light by 1 or 2 lights. I tried to keep count of how many times I hit the 20 ticket or 40 ticket lights. Finally, I got up to what I guesstimated was 1,420 tickets. Then, I hit the 1,000 light again. Thankfully, I had the sense to stop. I took my tickets and went to the Winners Circle counter. It turned out my guesstimate was off by 180 tickets. I'd already reached 1,600. Oh well. I received my free bonus. Now, I have 76,692 tickets. I checked out the prizes they had and apparently a lot of the good stuff is going fast. All the 30 GB MP3 players were gone as well as the digital video camera. I'm curious to see what they replace them with. I plan to go back in the future on some Wednesday and try to run my ticket total higher. I want to take advantage of the 1/2 price games. We'll see how I do then. Cheers all!

Looking Like Christmas

It was definitely looking like Christmas on the route I did today. A lot of people had their outdoor Christmas lights up or were putting them up. I saw a pick-up truck drive by with a Christmas tree in the back. Lastly, we received some light snow flurries which gave a nice white dusting on the ground. I don't think we'll get any real accumulation. It's too warm for that. Still, it does make it look pretty outside.

Almond Bark

I visited the Trader Joe's in Columbia, Maryland. They have almond bark again. Their almond bark is made with dark chocolate and at 50% California almonds (I don't see what is so big about California almonds). They're selling it in 8 ounce single slab boxes vice last year when they were selling it in 1 pound/2 slab boxes. At the Columbia Trader Joe's, a box is selling for $4.99. This is a seasonal item so if you want to enjoy their almond bark, you'll need to buy it during the Christmas season. Come January, it'll be gone again till next Christmas season. Cheers all!

Hair Update

I haven't given a report on Propecia or the laser comb in a while so here goes. The Propecia is definitely working. My hair loss has totally stopped. However, there are some negatives to the Propecia. First, there is the cost. Sam's Club is slightly cheaper than Costco but a 3 month supply of Propecia will still set you back over $180. Second, you have to take the drug at the same time every day. This was a major hassle when I was travelling because of the time difference. It was a serious hassle to have to stop what you're doing in mid-day and make sure you took your pill. It's a lot easier to take it first thing in the morning.

In regards to the laser comb, I'm not sure how well it's working or if it is. That was why I held off buying the thing initially. There isn't any set success rate with the comb barring it is more than 30% effective and less than 90%. The comb has been a pain in 3 ways. First, I have to use a stopwatch everytime I use it. You must comb your hair/top of your head with it a minimum of 10 minutes. However, it doesn't do anymore good if you go over 15 minutes. Second, you have to remember to use the comb every other day. Using it more often than that doesn't do you any extra good. Lastly, you have to be careful using the comb with your eyes. It is a laser and it could harm them if it shines directly in your eyes. I make sure I have the thing over my scalp before I turn it on. The biggest advantage of the comb is what it could save you in money if it works. The comb costs approximately $580. A 1 year supply of Propecia would cost you $720. So, in the first year, it would save you $140 and the savings continue after that.

So, that is what is happening there. I still wish I'd started on Propecia earlier. But, I'm not going to go bald so I'm happy with that and I'll deal with the hassles. If you think you might be going bald and you don't want to, you might want to check into Propecia or the laser comb.

Computer Problems

I had unexpected computer problems this past Sunday. I decided to re-watch one of the extras in the extended version of Fellowship of the Ring. One of the interesting things they threw in with the extended version was interviews with the actors who talk about the other actors and their experiences. It's neat stuff.

Anyway, I put the disk in the DVD/CD player and it spins for a little bit but, when I click on the movie program to play it, it doesn't show the movie listed. Uh oh! I call up Windows Explorer and it doesn't show the DVD/CD player either. Something was clearly seriously wrong.

I called up Dell's Support Center (I have a Dell laptop) and had some suggestions on what to do about such a problem. I tried them and they didn't work. Finally, I contacted Dell's technical support. After waiting about 5 to 10 minutes, a person named Justin came up on the chat window. I told him what my problem was and he said he could fix it. It turned out he was right. The problem is fixed but, it brought up a couple unexpected issues. First, my extended warranty will end the middle of next year. I won't be able to extend it again for the coverage I have now. What that means is I'll have to buy a new laptop. That's the last thing I want to do. Still, I like having full warranty coverage on my computer just in case. I haven't forgotten what happened when the motherboard went out on my first laptop. It cost me $400 to fix and the laptop was never the same. Second, one of the major problems I had was a registry problem. I remembered that Norton's 360 program claims to be able to help with those. I didn't buy that program because I was cheap. I didn't care to spend the extra $20 for it. I'm wondering now if I should have. I suspect when it's time to get the latest version out i.e. 2009, I'll get that program vice the one I'm using now.

For now, my computer is running fine (knock on wood) but, I'll have to sadly think about replacing it. One of the rubs about laptops is they don't last like desktop computers. Also, you can't upgrade them like you can desktops. As I've been very pleased with my Dell, I'll buy another one of their computers. Hopefully, when it's time, I'll be able to get a good deal with them. We'll see. Cheers all!

Hard Day

I had a hard day at the Post Office yesterday. I knew it was going to be a rough one. The day after a holiday always is. Holidays are bad for mail carriers because they'll have 2 days worth of mail to deliver when they come in. 2 other things worked to make things worse yesterday. The second was the DPS (deliver to point service) mail. It came over an hour late. You would say that shouldn't be a problem since DPS mail is already sorted. Yes it is BUT, the carrier still has to break it down for each address or address group. In yesterday's situation, I had to break it down to over 300 individual addresses. That takes any where between 45 minutes to an hour and a half depending on how heavy it is. Yesterday, because of the holiday, the volume was heavy so it longer to break it down. Lastly, the Christmas season began to hit. What does everyone like to receive during Christmas? Presents! For a mail carrier, presents are a mixed blessing. They're good for the Postal Service because they make more money for it than say a first class letter. They're bad in that they require more time. Usually, you can't just stick them in the mailbox and be done with them. The mail carrier will have to get out of their mail truck and take them to the door of the residence. If the neighborhood is bad and the recipient isn't home, they'll have to write up a 3849 (I think that's the right number) and leave it at the door so the person can pick up their package at the Post Office the next day. All of this takes time and time is one thing the carrier is racing against in the race to get back to the Post Office and finish up. Also, in the case of a substitute, unless you're hitting 40 hours that week, the longer you take to deliver your mail the more time you give to the Postal Service for free. Yesterday, I probably gave the Post Office 3 free hours. No one likes working for free barring volunteer work. So, that wasn't a lot of fun in that way.

Thankfully, I got the route done, wrapped things up at the Post Office i.e. turned in my outgoing mail, my accountables including my mailbox key and clocked out on my timesheet. Today, it should be easier barring having to be back an hour sooner because of the outgoing truck leaving sooner. I'll still need to hustle to get the job done but, it won't as bad as yesterday. Cheers all!

St. Emilion Wine Merchant

This is a wine shop in St. Emilion, France. I took this picture during my September Globus tour of France. I decided to post it here because I didn't use it with the story I posted on the Globus exchange travel stories website. They only allow you to post 4 pictures with every story and, I wanted to show more of the town itself and the vineyards around it with my story. Still, I like the photo and I hope you like it too. The box of plants to the right of the picture are grape vine plants. You could even buy your own grape vine at this shop. I thought that was pretty neat.

Concerning my France stories, I've finally finished them. I've posted 9 of the stories on the exchange travel stories website. I'm letting the other 3 sit a little. I've found that once I write something, it's good to let it sit a little because, it's easier for me to come back and catch typos and improve it then. All totalled, I ended up writing 12 stories on the France tour. It took that many because of the word limitations they have on the story website and, because I got to do a lot of cool stuff. I really enjoyed the tour. The only thing I didn't enjoy was saying good-bye to those in our group. That's always the hardest part of the tour for me. One of the nice things about Globus tours is you get great camaraderie. More so, I think with the long tours. By the time the tour ends, you have a lot of friends and, it's hard to say good-bye to them. Also, you know you won't ever see most of them ever again. I do take some consolation in that I'll get to meet some more really nice people on the next tour. Slowly but surely, the Egypt tour date is getting here. It isn't moving fast enough for me and it never will. The minute I finish one tour with Globus, I'm itching to go on another one. If I had my druthers, I would spend all my time doing tours with them and seeing the world. Sadly, I can't afford it. Oh well. Maybe it helps me appreciate it that much more when I do get to go on a tour. Cheers all!

Holiday Special at Dave & Busters

I've been wishing that Dave & Busters would offer another half price game day. To my delight, they have. During the holiday season, Dave & Busters will have half price game Wednesdays. On Wednesdays, all games will be half price except for photo morph whatever that is. This is a really good deal as the games can be very expensive at Dave & Busters. I'm certain that Dave & Busters will still be raking in the money. It still takes a lot of tickets to get some of the really cool prizes. However, this will make it easier for you to win the cool prize you've been wanting to get. See you there on Wednesdays. Cheers all!

Happy Thanksgiving

I wanted to wish any readers I have out there a Happy Thanksgiving. I hope you are able to get together with family and friends and enjoy the day.

What Next?

I went by the apartment manager's office where I live to let them know I wasn't going to sign the lease addendum for the new cable tv service. I'm still seriously pissed off about it. Plus, I don't need my rent going up $45 a month for something I don't want. The big question that remains is: will they bill me for the cable service anyway? If so, I'll definitely be moving when my lease is up. If not then, I have to see what they do when it comes to renew i.e. are they going to try to slip the cable charge in with the rent increase? We'll see what comes next.

Commissary

One of the benefits you receive in the military is being able to shop at the base commissary (supermarket). This benefit continues when you retire as in my case. I can't say I've been terribly appreciative of this benefit as I rarely have to watch the pennies when I go grocery shopping. I've seen the sign at the entrance to the commissary saying how much things were cheaper in each of its departments vice what it would cost you off base but, the numbers don't really click. They don't show in hard dollars how much of a difference there can be. Yesterday, I got to see it in dollars and cents. Recently, I bought some Ferrero Rochers chocolates and Tostito tortilla chips flavored with a hint of lime at a local Safeway supermarket. I was curious to see how much cheaper they'd be at the commissary. I found out there was a big difference. The Ferrero Rochers were over 60 cents cheaper for a 5.3 ounce package. The Tostito chips were over a $1 a bag cheaper. Also. packaged luncheon meat is cheaper though I can't give hard price differences there. I was a able to buy a 1 pound package of Louis Rich turkey bologna for $1.25 at the commissary. I believe it would be at least 50 cents higher at Safeway. So, I got to count my blessings for being able to shop there. I probably saved at least $10 or $15 which can make a difference. I'll have to make an effort to go to the commissary more often. The reason I don't go there that often is because it's a hassle going through base security. Plus, it reminds me of my former military life. I still miss it. It's been over 3 years now since I retired from the Air Force. Oh well. I suppose I'll get use to civilian life in time though, I don't like it as much as the military life. There is definitely a lot more bs in the civilian world. Cheers all!

Furious

I got a nasty surprise from the apartment complex where I live. It seems that upper management who run the chain of properties that my complex is part of decided that all the tenants in my complex were going to get cable whether we want it or not and we are going to pay $45 a month for the cable service whether we want to or not. Apparently, an addendum to my lease allows them to do this. I'm furious. I don't want cable tv. I don't own a tv and, I don't miss it at all. So, for now, I'll have to pay the additional $45 a month starting January but, when it comes time to renew my lease in October 2009, I'll be telling the upper management where they can stick their mandatory cable bill. Hopefully, I'll be able to find a place in the town where I live that's reasonable. All the new apartment complexes that have been built recently are more expensive. We'll see what happens.

Crazy Truck

I had some bad luck truck wise today at the Post Office. The truck that is normally assigned to the route I did was out for maintenance. Because of that, I had to get a different truck that wasn't being used. Thanks to some open routes on the city side, that wasn't a problem. What was a problem were some of the things wrong with the truck. The first thing I found out that didn't work was the tailgate on the truck. I put the truck into to it to unlock it and raise it and it wouldn't unlock. Because of I was anxious to get on the street, I let this go though it would be a real nuisance to have to make my way through the mail in the back of the truck to the tailgate to open from inside. The second problem I ran into was in regards to truck going in reverse. Depending on the level of the ground, the truck at times wouldn't reverse. This was a major problem when I got within 4 inches of a car. There wasn't any way I could steer around the car. Finally, I put the truck in neutral and physically pushed it back. I had to do this twice. After that, if a situation came up where it looked like I might have to reverse, I avoided it. Instead, I'd stop the truck parallel to the box, get out of the truck and put the mail in the box. It took a little longer but, it avoided any further hassles with the truck. Thankfully, I didn't have any other problems with the truck and, I was able to get back to the Post Office before the truck taking the outgoing mail left. I hope I don't have to use that truck again.

Scooter

Yesterday, I made another down payment on the Yamaha scooter I plan to get in April or May. By making pre-payments on it, I'm making it easier to make the final payment on it when I pick the scooter up at the dealership. $3,020 is a lot of money to shell out all at once.

I find it a bit embarrassing to go the cycle dealership to make the payments. The scooter I'm going to get is a seriously wimpy bike. It can't go faster than 40 mph and it looks seriously wimpy, especially compared to the sleek motorcycles they have at the dealership. Yet, I don't know if I'm going to like riding the thing or not and, I don't want to shell out over $7,000 for a serious scooter only to find out I don't like the thing. Plus, if you get a bike with a 50cc or larger engine, you have to do a motorcycle safety course and get a motorcycle license. That would be a royal pain. So, I'll stick with my plans to get my wimpy scooter and see how things work out. If I like the thing, I'll move up to something I can take out of the city and on the highway. We'll see how things work out.

Not Much New

Not much new to report at my end of the woods. I did my fifth French lesson at the Alliance Francaise in Washington D.C. It went well and I'm definitely improving. I'm finding it easier to change thinking modes into French. My one major handicap with French is my vocabulary or lack of. I keep thinking of things I want to say in French and, I don't know all the words. During today's lesson, I learned more new words and phrases. Hopefully, in time, they'll sink in.

I managed to get my procrastinating butt to church. I learned some things though I also fell asleep during both sermons. The Colonel and his son both have the ability to put me to sleep. I don't know why.

I received my Globus Journey Club membership card with the $75 coupon good toward a new tour with them that I must take between now and December 2009. I plan to put it toward the Historic U.S. East tour I plan and hope to do next July.

I nearly got a day off at the Post Office where I work. This week's work schedule came out this past Friday. I wasn't scheduled to work Wednesday. I was amazed. That lasted for just 5 hours. When I got back to the Post Office after delivering the mail on the route I was doing, it had changed. I'll be delivering Express Mail then. So, I'll get to work 6 days this week too though 4 of them will be delivering Express Mail (2 and 1/2 hours tops). There'll always be the chance I'll get called in early or the schedule will change again. Sometimes, it can change hourly.

I'm also trying to figure out what I want to do money wise. I have too many things I want to do and too little cash. I want to pay off the U.S. and Canada tours but, that'll cost over $4,000. I want to put some more money down on the Yamaha scooter I plan to get eventually. That'll be easier to do. I plan to pay down another $300 on that. I continue to put $270 a month into my IRA and $250 a month into a mutual fund. I know the market is tanking but, I have hope it'll eventually recover. I'm thinking for the long term on that. And don't remind me of Christmas. Christmas presents. Aargh! Serious bah humbug on that though my brother Hank would kick me if he heard me saying that. It's his favorite time of the year since he gets stuff. He's a real character.

I continue to write about the France tour I took on Globus's exchange travel stories website. Because of their 1,500 word story limit, I have to write about the tour in parts. I'm working on Part VI which will be about the French chateau country. I had escargot for the first time and I got to visit Clos de Luce, Chenonceau and Chambord. I'm surprised that they don't have more people tell of their adventures with them. I guess they figure it isn't worth it. To bad.

That's all to report for now. Pretty boring stuff and it'll likely continue that way. That's the price I have to pay for the cool trips I get to go on every 6 months or so. I'll try to think of something interesting to post on here. Cheers all!

Holiday

Everyone enjoys a holiday but, I confess I don't like them if I have to go in and work a route the next day at the Post Office. The reason for that is that the mail doesn't stop moving just because it's a holiday. If you have a day off at the Post Office, you'll be facing 2 days worth of mail when you come back to work. That is seriously bad news as it is a royal pain to have to case and deliver 2 days of mail. The main reason I hate Mondays so much at the Post Office is because of that.

Yesterday was a prime example. Normally, I would have 2 tubs of flats (newspapers, magazines and cards advertising whatever) waiting for me. Because we had Tuesday off because of Veteran's day, I had 7 tubs waiting for me. Plus, I had to case Pennysavers too. My spirits sank a bit at the sight of it then, I buckled down and got to work. One nice thing about the route I was on was that once the mail was cased, I wouldn't have to mess with it again vice packing it up and putting it in the person's mailbox. Routes where you have multi-mailboxes, you have a 2nd mail sorting which can be a real nuisance.

Because of the heavier mail volume, I got out on the street later and consequently got back later. I got back to the loading dock at 5:45 p.m. which in my opinion wasn't bad. I seem to be delivering the mail faster on the route I did. Thanks to the sun going down earlier every day, I had to use my miner's light for the first time. I used it so I could see the addresses on the mail to make sure I put the right mail in the right box. Nothing pisses off customers like them getting the wrong mail. Some of them take their anger out on the mail itself by writing all kinds of things making it clear they got the wrong mail. A simple note saying wrong address will do. I doubt the people who get the previously mis-delivered mail appreciate the previous person's artwork. I know I wouldn't.

Layoffs

I saw a blog entry on http://returnoftheconservatives.blogspot.com/ mentioning that the U.S. Postal Service plans to layoff 40,000 workers. I've heard this before and, I believe they do plan layoffs for the first time in their history. I know for a fact they are offering early retirement to full time carriers. One city carrier I know at the Post Office where I work has put in his paperwork and is counting the days till he leaves. I'll be saddened to see him go as he is a really good joe and, as far as I know, a good mail carrier too.

Return of the Conservatives blog entry mentions that the Postal Serviced is bloated. I can state unequivocally that at the Post Office where I work, that isn't true. We have 2 custodians doing the job of 5. We have at least 4 city routes that they haven't filled with full time carriers. Because of that, other city carriers have to take pieces of these routes and carry them in addition to their regular routes.

On the rural side, we don't have enough substitute carriers though that problem is complicated. We have substitute carriers that will only work 1 day a week and aren't able to come in on short notice. The reason they do that is because they have other full time jobs. I can understand why they keep their full time jobs (the Post Office won't guarantee them more than 1 day a week) but, it creates real problems for the few subs that will come in on short notice. Those few subs tend to get tagged a LOT and that isn't right. Another problem we have sub wise is we have some bad eggs. We have one sub that has been written up at least EIGHT times and, they still can't fire that sub. That sub is now refusing to carry any route that sub doesn't like. If that sub gets assigned to a route the sub doesn't like, the sub calls out sick. The sub refuses to provide documentation that the sub was legitimately sick. Guess why. This "can't fire us mentality" is a major problem at the Postal Service.

The bad economic times promise to make things harder at a time when the Post Office is already having problems. High gas prices have really clobbered the Postal Service though this has let up some with the price of gas coming down though that won't last. More and more people are paying their bills on-line is hurting the Postal Service as it costs them their bread and butter mail i.e. First Class. And, can you remember the last time you actually wrote someone a letter? That hurts the Postal Service too. With the bad economic times, advertisers will cut back the fliers they mail. You say that's great. I say you're wrong. It's those fliers that are now paying for your mail service. Cut back on those fliers and the price of 1st class stamp may have to go higher which conversely will hurt the Postal Service as more people will turn to paying their bills on-line. It's a real problem. Ironically, this comes when the Postal Service is doing a better job than ever at delivering your mail. And, we offer good value. A study I saw recently showed that we did just as good a job as FedEx or UPS with Express Mail i.e. we promise to deliver it to the address by Noon and we were as much as 30% cheaper. Unfortunately, the word doesn't seem to be getting out about that.

Times promise to be hard for the Postal Service for at least the next year. The Postal Service needs to be more responsive to its customers and postal employees need to get out of this mindset that their jobs are absolutely safe. While the postal unions can offer some job security, there is a limit to it. The upcoming layoffs prove that. In the coming times, the greatest security those working at the Postal Service will have will be on how well they take care of their customers. Take care of the customer and, you'll stay in business (and the Postal Service is a business). Fail to do so and someone will take the Postal Service's place. FedEx and UPS and have shown that.

Roman Aqueduct

This is the Roman aqueduct on the Pont du Gard. The Romans built the aqueduct between 30 and 15 B.C. It was built to bring water from the mountains to the city of Nimes. The aqueduct had a slight decline that helped the water flow down the aqueduct till it reached the city. Amazingly, the Roman got the slight decline right and the aqueduct worked beautifully for 400 YEARS! I say amazingly because the feeds into the aqueduct and the aqueduct itself ran for miles. The Romans managed to calculate the slight decline without the use of computers or any other sophisticated tools. It is truly a marvel of engineering and the skill of the Romans as builders.

Carcassone

We arrived at Carcassone around lunch time. The old city of Carcassone is the largest Medieval fortress in all of Europe. When you walk its streets, you feel like you've stepped back in time. The old city is surrounded by thick high walls with towering towers. It's a very impressive place though not as impressive as Mont St. Michel. For the most part, I enjoyed walking around the city. I wasn't impressed with some sword shops they had there as all they had was kitschy junk. I did have a pleasant lunch there. I had one mis-adventure here. The old city has modern free self cleaning bathrooms. Apparently, after someone uses the bathroom, the room automatically locks, the light goes off and water and soap are sprayed on the floor and in the toilet. Then, wind is blown across the floor to drive the water into in place drains which whisk it away. How I learned all this was when I ducked into one of their automatic bathrooms without waiting for it to clean itself. I started taking a leak when the lights went out and water started being sprayed across the floor. In a matter of seconds, my sneakers and trouser bottoms were soaked. Then, the wind started blowing across the floor which helped dry out my slacks a little. I finished my business and very embarrassedly stepped out of the automatic bathroom. I'll definitely remember how these things work after this mishap.

After our stop at Carcassone, we re-boarded our bus and drove to Nimes where we spent the night. The next morning, we'd drive the Roman aqueduct that was finished in 15 B.C. Stay tuned.

Gold Card

After my latest blog about Dave & Busters, I decided to check into what you had to do to get their Gold card. It turns out you have to buy and use 1,200 chips. That'll cost you around $180. If you're going to play the games a lot at Dave & Busters, it's worth getting their Gold card as it saves you 10% on every game. That can add up.

Another thing you should do is register your game card on their website. That way, you can get it replaced if you lose your game card. If you lose your game card and you didn't register it, you're out of luck as far as getting it replaced and recovering all the tickets you may have won. I remember finding a game card in their prize shop. Someone dropped it and no one had reported a lost game card. That card has 56 tickets on it. Not a fortune in tickets but, every bit can help towards getting one of their prizes. It is worth doing.

French Lesson 2

Today, I attended my second French lesson at the Alliance Francaise in Washington D.C. Due to my laziness and procrastination, I was able to turn in only half my homework. I expected to finish the grammar homework at the Alliance but, my teacher Nadya was already there. Crap! At least, I had the 4 sentences I had to write in French done.

During the lesson, I learned more ways for French to confuse me when listening to it. We practiced direct French pronouns like me, te, le and la. If I wanted to say "I met Jacques" but, I didn't want to say his name again, I could say "Je le ai rencontre." (the last e of rencontre would be hyphenated). In English, this translates to "I met him."

Also, I discovered how diplomatic the French can be. In English, we call our in-laws father-in-law, mother-in-law, sister-in-law etc. The French are more kind in their names of their in-laws. For example, father-in-law in French le beau pere which means the handsome father. Mother-in-law in French is la belle mere which means the beautiful mother. You can see how the French are diplomatic as they give nice names to people they otherwise might dislike. I found it funny.

I find myself wishing I could do more lessons but, that isn't possible. My work hours remain very unpredictable at the Post Office and, there is the cost. French lessons are one of a number of things I want to do. There are the two tours I'll be taking next July with Globus. Also, there is a new Yamaha scooter I look forward to getting. Lastly, I'll need spending money for Egypt. Because of all those things, I plan to work a lot at the Post Office when I can. Still, the lessons are fun and I definitely plan to continue to them. Salut!

Daylight Savings Time Reminder

I just wanted to post a reminder that tomorrow morning at 2 a.m., clocks will go back an hour as Daylight Savings Time ends. You might want to do it tonight before you go to bed so you don't forget the next morning. Cheers all!