5.31.2005

Watch out...

Big Brother's are watching us at all times. Beware of who you trust and choose to associate with.

The customer also has a responsibility...

Today we had a customer become quite upset when after driving quite a distance to pick up her car she found out the work was not completed and we had not contacted her. What actually happened is that the number we had on file was her home number and she of course was at work today. A young man had performed the initial write-up because we are so short- handed at this time and therefore because if his inexperience he failed to ask her for a contact number. Now, we will receive, and rightfully so, 100% of the blame for this oversight. But does it not also fall on to the customer to offer a contact number also? If I was a customer of a company that was going to have need of contacting me, would it not be prudent of me to offer a way to reach me? Should I not be held as accountable as the company I am doing business with? It just seems there is too much of a "me first" attitude in the world. Something to think about.

5.30.2005

Alternatives.....

Last week I went to see "Revenge of the Sith" and last night I watched "Return of the Jedi". At the end of "Return" I noticed that the Anakin that appears with Obi-Wan and Yoda is now the actor Hayden Christenson instead of the older man that was at the end of the original movie. I am not sure if I like this or not. I mean, it makes sense to use the person that was last Anakin because there would be no way to know exactly how he would look as a man in his mid-forties because of his scars. And yet, this seems to be the most grievous of George Lucas various changes to the original films. Generations will never know just how the original ended, with the fatherly looking Anakin watching over his son for the first time as a "good" man.
On a different note I wanted to make a suggestion, at the risk of angering the purists. Near the end of "Return" when Darth Vader and Luke are in the midst of their final battle (the music score is incredible!) Luke does not give in to his anger as we all know. What if he did? I suddenly had this picture in my mind of Luke and Leia standing side by side in black (can you picture a young Carrie Fisher clad in black leather? WoW?) as master and apprentice, ruling the galaxy.

5.29.2005

Pain.....

Today was supposed to be a nice day. A day spent with my Dad at the Texas Rangers baseball game. Instead, it ended with pain. Not mental pain because my Dad and I got into some kind of argement, but rather physical pain. I was once again trying to be nice to someone and not bother them and it ended up costing me. As I was climbing over the seat to go get something for us to eat I pushed off with my right leg and lifted my left leg over the seat back I felt a pop in my left leg. At first I thought the seat bottom had flipped up and hit me but I quickly realized it was far too small to hit me that high on my leg. And just as that realization entered my mind so too did the pain enter my leg! (On a side note, because the pain registers in our brain, is the pain really only in our mind or is it actually in the leg, like the tree falling and no one is there to hear it, did it really make a sound? Something to ponder at a future time). All I know is I could barely walk. I tried to continue on to get the food but there was a long line at the atm and my leg was really starting to hurt so I returned and told Dad I needed to go home. He made his way down the aisle and I explained to him what happened. I really felt bad because he had gotten these tickets especially for me. The weather was nice, they were great seats and in the end the Rangers kicked Chicago's butt severely. We left during the 3rd inning with the score tied 1-1. By the time we we arrived at Dad's house Chicago had a 3-1 lead. So we ate some stuffed jalapeno's and egg rolls and watched the rest of the game on television. The good news is Texas exploded for a 12-4 win, beating the team with the best record in baseball for the second time in a row, the bad news is my leg still hurts. I have had pulled hamstrings before and I know it will be ok with some rest, it is just not a good time for this to happen. A lot of things are going on at work, my boss is sick and taking a leave of absence and several people either have or are about to quit so I will need to be on the move. Also, my daughters mother is returning town with my daughters younger brother and that has Jess worked up. So many things are happening and this leg issue will just slow me down. But like everything else in life, it is just something to be overcome and dealt with. I cannot change the past, I can only go forward with things as they are sent my way.

5.22.2005

Very interesting to read.....

A movie review written back when the movie was new. The NY Times really is one of the most wonderful news outlets that exists. With the release of "Revenge of the Sith" I thought it would be great fun to go back and read what was thought about the first movies when they came out. Below is a link to that review. The New York Times: STAR WARS Movie Review

5.21.2005

I am a Jedi Knight!

I just took a test and scored 8 out if 10 on my first attempt! I recieved 2 light sabors which means I am a Jedi Knight! But I must to better if I want to become a Master Jedi! I don't know, being a Jedi is pretty good so why mess with a good thing? Not craving greed or power is a quality in a Jedi and not all can be a Master so maybe I will just stop now, hmmmm, I will contemplate this.
Today was a pretty good day at work. Of course we started out very busy as next week is Memorial Day so everyone was getting their oil changed. But after the first couple of hours it died down and I went to my office to catch up on paperwork. Spent most of the day there but again it was very hectic at closing time as everyone was now picking up their cars. But all in all I had a mostly uneventful day at work.
Speaking of work, yesterday I had an opportunity to help a customer that has just been having a struggle of a time. She has a noise in her front end that we just cannot resolve. We have replaced several parts and just cannot locate the noise. My boss was busy with another heat case so he asked if I could help her. I have been learning from some people I know how to be patient with other people. I just allowed her to explain her feelings and issues before setting up an appointment for her to have a rental to drive while we take a couple of days to make a strong effort to locate this noise. She responded with appreciation and grattitude at my listening to her problem. I told my boss that I had committed us to 2 days of rental and that we most likely will not be able to submit a warranty claim on it. He was totally fine with it and was completely on board with what I had set up. It is instances like this that give me a good feeling but at the same time will lead to me handling more and more of these types of situations. But that is ok as I can handle it and it give me a measure if job security. I am just not in the mood to change jobs at this time so her e is where I will work. I will just make it the best I can and go from there.
Tonight my daughters ex-boyfriend stopped by to get a few things he had given to her. She is not here so I made a list and searched a bit for them. I found his jersey butnot the 2 necklaces. I will get them from her when she returns and hopefully that will be that. I worry he or a friend of his will do something to my van which is something I truly don't need right now, or ever for that matter. I tried to apoligize and I was a little short with him but my daughter had said he had threatened her. I don't take kindly to that. I feel for the boy, he is only 18 and out on his own with no family. I really welcomed him into my life and was supportive and cool about their relationship. According to my daughter, he became possesive and controlling and according to him she was with another guy while dating him. Either way it was not meant to be and I told him I just hope that if it is over, it is over and we all move on. He said he has. These stresses I am just not very good at dealing with. I wish I was a better father but I do keep trying.

5.19.2005

Internet Phones Given 911 Deadline - Yahoo! News

The government is stepping already and ruining a great thing. Voip (Internet Phones Given 911 Deadline - Yahoo! News) is going to suffer because of this. I am so sorry for the woman that lost her daughter but if she had taken the time to learn just how voip works, I am sure she would have known not to rely solely upon a voip phone. I am going to order a voip phone system from Vonage soon but I will always have a mobile phone with me. My prepaid works fine and I will make sure to have it handy for an emergency. People really must learn the ins and outs of a new technology before using it. To get something new and expect it to work like something else is not using good intelligence. Voip telephony is not the same as what we have been accustomed to for the past 50 or 60 years. Again, it is such a tragedy what happened to the womans daughter and nothing will ever bring the little girl back. But I hope people will learn from this. It wasn't the technology, it was the inexperience of the user.

Happenings...

Well, things are rolling along. My computer broke but Dad gave me a new box. I put my optical and hard drives in it but had trouble getting the 2nd hard drive to show up. Finally, today I figured it out and now I am rolling along. The new box worked fine with my drive with windows on it, but I was worried that I had lost all my photos and music.
Went to my trial Tuesday with my ex. I was so worried for weeks about it but it worked out very well. I will continue the counseling with the goal of reintroduction with my son. I am expecting it to take at least six months, possibly longer. But it will be worth it.
The tv season is winding down so I will be watching alot more movies. I also discovered these DVD's sold for $1 at the Dollar Tree store. Each one has 4 episodes of an old tv series from the beginning of television. I bought two the other day, "Flash Gordon" and "Sherlock Holmes". My daughter and I sampled a Flash Gordon today. It was quite an amusing experience to watch these old shows! I will buy alot of these!
Work is continuing to go well. No complaints there. I am worried about a fellow blogger though. Charity, who writes under the name of selena darkwalk, recently married a guy after only knowing him for a short time. Then she became pregnant and the marriage went south, far south, from there. She has not posted in nearly a week and I am truly concerned for her well being. I have had a bit of email contact with her but nothing since last weekend. I have said prayers for her and I hope anyone that reads this will do the same. She has become a friend and I hope she is ok.
Well, the heat is finally arriving. Today the high was 88, tomorrow it is supposed to reach 93. I am going to have high electric bills for the next 3 months, but I don't care. I will not suffer with heat and humidity.
Time to go now, just wanted everyone to know all is well in Pauliemac's World.

5.07.2005

Well.....

I have not been posting much at all for awhile now, but I am goint to rectify that shortly. There is just too much going on in the world for me to just let it go by without putting in my 2 cents worth. Work is going good, although I am fortunate to still be there. More on that soon enough. Jess is doing pretty good although I worry about how fast she goes through boyfriends. I am hoping she is just feeling her way as to what she likes and doesnt like about boys. The weather is weird, it is May and we have days only in the low 60's for the high! For here, in Texas, that is weird. Folks are doing good.
I have always enjoyed racing but for some reason, this year I have really gotten into watching Nascar. I used to watch the big races (Daytona, Indy,) but I find myself watching it each week and actually planning my schedule around it. Even more weird, I have become a fan of Jeff Gordon! I couldn't stand that little punk! But now that he is in his 30's and there is a whole new group of smartass little 20-something punkass drivers, I identify with him more. I don't know, I just know I root for him most weekends. Of course Tony Stewart can wreck on lap 1 each week and I wouldn't feel bad at all! Can't stand him either!
I have a trial in a week and a half concerning my son. I finally found out it was my responsibility to schedule the counseling. So all this time, my ex I am sure knew this and said nothing. I went last week for the first session ($110/session!) and really took to her. She was sympathetic to my issues and reasons for having stopped being in Ryan's life 6 years ago. I feel I will continue with this and re-enter his life. The counselor is aware that I have limited funds and will work with me in scheduling the sessions. I spoke with the ex's lawyer the other day about just what they wanted from this trial. He told me to just finalize the temporary orders. If there any lawyers out there I sure could use a couple of questions answered. Cooking me some pork ribs tonight. I love them. Not supposed to eat carbs anymore (although I did have some jalapeno salsa and corn chips tonight!) so I eat meat. Love the stuff. I won't tell any vegetarians how to eat if they don't tell me.
I was reading about a "blog sight" tonight where this guy started this company. What he is doing is hiring several different people to write a blog, updated several times a day. They each have a different topic and scour the net for articles, comments, whatever, that is related to the topic of their particular blog. I like that and in the past have tried to include comments about the world around me and not just my world. We shall see.