Sale O The Century

Today was one of those days...we spent yesterday hauling furniture and other items out of a friend's old house to help her sell this weekend at a garage sale at our house along with the junk crap gently used items we have piled crammed neatly stacked in our home.

As a result I slept the day away and it seems senseless to go back to sleep now so I'm probably going to spend a little time with Amy and go to work early.

Actually Erin our personal organizer (Erin's organizing skills can be purchased by the way - blatant plug) has set aside stuff into piles which should make putting the piles out on the lawn and slapping "for sale" signs on them easier.

Erin went out of town for a couple of days and so our primary goal is to get all the crap junk gently used items which we crammed stuffed neatly placed in the garage out of there before she comes home to see how quickly we've disorganized what she organized. Of course if we were to sell some things in the process that would be nice too.

The other issue we're dealing with is something of a moral dilemma - almost all of the items we are selling for our friend are far nicer than the crap junk gently used items we have in our home so I suspect this is going to turn into something of an internal swap meet: we take her table and put it in our living room and then toss our table out in the yard to sell...we take her chairs and put them in our house and then put our crumbling crappy gently used chairs up for sale. In the end our friend will get about 6 bucks out of the sale and we'll get new furniture.

I see only one real flaw in this plan - we can never let our friend in our house again lest she notice that she's furnished our home.

We haven't figured out that part of the plan yet....but the night is young.

Picture Perefct

"Badges? We ain't got no badges. We don't need no badges. I don't have to show you any stinking badges!" - Gold Hat in "Treasure Of Sierra Madre."


The company has issued new identification badges to get in our building. Which means the most commonly heard phrase at my office today was, "My picture looks terrible!"



I was among those uttering that phrase. I have lost weight but the camera is supposed to add ten pounds, this shot looks like it took off about 30. I feel like I should post this photo with the message, "for as little as 52 cents a day you could feed this man."

I showed it to Amy and she shrieked...she says I look like a P.O.W..

Personally I think I look like I'm about 80 and it also subjects my gender to some debate.

Mercifully I am not required to actually wear my badge, I only need it to get in the door, so it is already entrenched in my wallet where it won't scare any children...or me.

Happy Birthday

Happy Birthday to an American icon...



The Twinkie is turning 75 years old.

By the way Hostess says they don't last 75 years. The company claims Twinkies have a shelf life of 25 days.

Of course they probably live on in your arteries for decades.

As to the origins of the Twinkies, again according to Hostess:
Twinkies were invented by Jimmy Dewar, manager of the Schiller Park bakery near Chicago, in 1930. He wanted to make better use of the shortcake pans that were used only during strawberry season, so he made spongy yellow cakes and injected them with banana cream. He came up with the name Twinkie when he saw a sign for "Twinkle Toe" shoes in St. Louis, Mo. Cream filling replaced the banana filling when there was a banana shortage during World War II.

The Best Part Of Waking Up

Amy is on cloud nine...she's landed her dream job - bussing tables and schmoozing with people at Starbucks.

Admittedly this is not the job that's going to right our financial ship, but it's a big step for Amy. She feels healthy enough to work at least part time and quite honestly she loves Starbucks, not simply the coffee, but the culture.

She worked there very briefly several years ago until she was offered a job more in line with her talents. She loved Starbucks and didn't want to leave, but it didn't seem to make sense - primarily to me - to turn down a more "button down" job to be a "Barista."

I was wrong. The job she took may have carried more prestige, but it didn't pay all that well and certainly didn't pay enough to justify the emotional and physical strain she endured.

Now of course there are other issues which make Starbucks seem like a God send. Amy needs a flexible schedule since we're a one car family...she can at times have some short term memory problems and was a little worried about having to remember drink orders from the crazed and caffeine deprived. She won't have to mess with making drinks or working the cash register. She'll be able to work hours that fit her schedule that won't hopefully drain her physically much less emotionally. Amy is still healing and no job is worth putting a stumbling block in front of that process.

Apparently Starbucks has never hired anyone for this position ever...anywhere. It's for someone to keep all the tables tidy, supplies stocked and most importantly - at least to Amy - to "mingle" with customers at one of Starbucks busiest locations (which happens to be only a couple miles from our home). Evidently at every other Starbucks in the world those duties are divided up among the staff, but the folks at this particular store convinced the company they were so busy there was a need for someone to do this job and only this job during their peak hours.

The company took a chance creating the position and I gather that the people in charge of the store have been praying they would find someone to make it work...to prove to the company they were right.

The people who hired Amy were quite obviously dismayed someone with Amy's résumé and skills - not to mention previous salary history - would want the job.

Amy was equally dismayed. She can't believe anyone would turn down such a position. She loves people, loves coffee, and doesn't want to stand behind a counter shouting out drink orders. She interviewed yesterday...they hired her today.

The folks at Starbucks are overjoyed - they've got someone who's not a bashful 17 year old mingling with customers, who knows everything about coffee and who understands what customer service really means. They've also hired someone who is not simply looking for a "summer job."

I wasn't there, but I'm certain as soon as Amy walked out of the interview the interviewers were high-fiving each other.

So Amy will get out of the house a few hours a week and go to Starbucks...and they'll pay her!

She'll get a free pound of coffee a week (okay, I have my ulterior motives too) and the money she earns we can keep outside our "budget" in a completely separate bank account to hopefully use for small spur-of-the-moment purchases and to augment our "date" fund.

Amy still has other sideline jobs that pay a little here and a little there, fixing computers, doing some web work but this is her first steady job "outside" the house in a long while. It's a big step.

It's also a big lesson...for me.

In the past couple of years like many folks we've felt the pressures of finances and fate. We wrestled with worry and tangled with trauma. We've done without and come to grips with forgoing desires.

We've come to know fear and confront confusion.

But in the process we've discovered some wondrous things, not the least of which is the true value of money.

We've come to recognize those things in life of real worth.

Invariably there are no dollar signs on them.

Healthy days. Content and independent children. Time together. True friendships.

The fulfillment of a job enjoyed.

And occasionally a truly good cup of overpriced coffee.


The Lord has done great things for us, and we are filled with joy. - Psalm 126:3

Off Play

Ah...the NBA playoffs are here.

I spent last night at Gordon's home - Gordon has cable - with my father-in-law watching the Spurs perform miserably. They couldn't do me the favor of playing lousy from the outset...they had to grind it out to the end. Hence I am awake a couple hours later...ready to head into work knowing I could have spent that time sleeping.

It was an enjoyable evening.

This morning, on the other hand, is distinctly lacking in beneficial qualities.

There may be only one saving grace.

Happy B-Day Joseph!

My step-son Joey turns 22 today.

He's an artist. Although this is another artist's rendition of him.



He's also become a blogger.

Knowing Joey...this is only the beginning.

You are greatly gifted, and a great gift in my life.

Happy Birthday.

Out Of My Ivy League

It was an odd sensation this morning...besides the fact my alarm went off at four a.m. on a Saturday. I had to drive our oldest child, Tiffany, to the airport. She flew out at 6 a.m. bound for Logan International in Boston and then into the bowels of Beantown - the subway system that will take her to Harvard.

She's checking out the school for a few days before starting her Master's program there in the fall.

She had everything planned out with maps showing which subways to take. She knows where she will be staying, who she needs to talk to about financial aid, and what classes she wants to sit in on before she comes back.

She's got it all handled.

She is completely independent.

I hugged her and sent her on her way. I groggily drove home thanking God she still at least needed someone...if only to drive her to the airport.