Keeping Your Word

I am feeling a bit let down this morning.  One of my friends was going to go to a casting call for the Amazing Race but bailed at the last minute. 

 My advice to all of you (all 2) that read my rants herein; KEEP YOUR WORD.  If you don’t give an answer because you need to think it through all they way, no problem.  Just be damned sure when you give the thumbs up that the runway is clear for takeoff.  In this case it wasn’t and my “friend” lost some street cred with me…….although I am forced to understand.  It was a decision around “heath, risk and physical cost”.

Whatever.  The sun is still shining!

Have a great weekend!

Outback Steakhouse

Well,

My double date tonight was nice.  No kiddos and good friends with lots of laughter and good beer. 

That said:

1) The service sucked

2) The waitress told us she didn’t like boys anymore

3) Even though one of the buss boys is “totally” in love with her.

4) My friend’s steak was unedible according to him and had the manager take it off the bill.

5) The Pork Chops are way too peppery served with a weird orange marmalade mixed with red peppers type of sauce.

The steaks were clearly not worth the $20 each that we paid.  (I know I know…it IS Outback afterall)

Needless to say this chain has gone down hill in the last few years and we won’t be back for quite some time if ever again.

I would have eaten “outback in my backyard with a steak that I BBQ’d any day over those skewered gems we had tonight.

Hold the pepper!

Out.

Dawg.

Christmas Card Etiquette

OK people, ’tis the season…….the grinch stole Christmas…..I got a brick….whatever.

Can someone please tell me why 90% of the cards I am receiving from both friends and family are completely preprinted.  I am talking about the entire damned thing!

Let’s start with the envelope shall we??  I mean I can understand that most folks these days have return address labels, for heavens sake the Salvation Army send me 50 with a flag every year I give a donation. 

I digress.  Why can’t people hand write the address anymore?  I do.  I hand write the addresses because I think it adds a little bit of humanity and thought to the whole process.  I would really appreciate it if folks would hand write their addresses.  At the very craziest minimum, I would like my complete name spelled correctly.  For example if it were Smith, I am talking S-M-I-T-H.  NOT smythe, smithe, smyth or smit.  Come on put some time into proof reading and verifying the last names are at least correct.

Let’s move inside the envelope.   Please don’t buy those really expensive, foil lined and double packed envelopes.  They are hard as hell to open and after all, why spend extra on something goes into the trash anyway?  I don’t care about the envelope.  A carrier pigeon could drop the card on me and that would be just fine. 

On to the card.  If you send a card….any card, please make sure you at least sign your name to it.  Sign something to it….hell at least get a pen and write on it somewhere.  This year I am receiving an inordantly high amount of the costco picture cards with the very generic “Merry Christmas!  Love Becky, Paul, Olivia and John Smith”  What the hell is that?  Come on people, I haven’t heard from you in 6 months and would like to get caught up on what is going on. 

Let’s move on to the final piece of this rant.  The stamp.  It is now $0.39 to mail a letter/card.  Don’t send me a card with a $0.33 cent stamp and the rest in 1 or 3 cent stamps.  It is time to bite the bullet sammy and realize that if it has been that long since you sent a letter, you might as well just pack it in.

 Oh, and no joking around….if I don’t receive a card from you this year, you won’t get one from me next year.  I am tired of you lazy sons-of-bitches that can’t send a Merry Christmas  card with a love, so and so on it.

Every year I send out at least 30 cards.  I handwrite all of them with the exception of the return address. 

Yes they have correct postage as well.

Ho Ho Ho, Merry Christmas!

The Christopher Gardner Story

I heard on the way in to work this morning about the Christopher Gardner Story.

 Basically a rags to riches story about overcoming obstacles and knowing who you are to get to the top.  I love these stories because they are very similar to what I went through as a kid with my mother.  I mean we never stayed in a BART bathroom and we always had the same house, in fact to this day my mother still lives in the same house I grew up in.  I remember waiting in the car alot while she went to get things, sometimes even digging through dumpsters for arts and crafts supplies.  These supplies were usually blocks of wood and other textiles that we then would cut up and make things with.   I remember going to FISH closet to get clothes and government cheese.  We went to church every Sunday.  I am so grateful that my single mom raised me with integrity, trust and confidence.  Maybe more on this later.  In the mean time, here is the link for Chris Gardner’s Website.

Flu Shot Soreness UPDATE

I have good news to report.  I am no longer sore.  After drinking a TON of water last night, the soreness is gone.  Thank god.  Feeling much better today.  I had a friend send me the following just in case there is any interest:

What are the side effects that could occur?

• Soreness, redness, or swelling where the shot was given
• Fever (low grade)
• Aches

If these problems occur, they begin soon after the shot and usually last one to two days.Can severe problems occur?

• Life-threatening allergic reactions are very rare. Signs of serious allergic reaction can include breathing problems, hoarseness or wheezing, hives, paleness, weakness, a fast heartbeat, or dizziness. If they do occur, it is within a few minutes to a few hours after the shot. These reactions are more likely to occur among persons with a severe allergy to eggs, because the viruses used in the influenza vaccine are grown in hens’ eggs. People who have had a severe reaction to eggs or to a flu shot in the past should not get a flu shot before seeing a physician.
• Guillain-Barré syndrome: Normally, about one person per 100,000 people per year will develop Guillain-Barré syndrome (GBS), an illness characterized by fever, nerve damage, and muscle weakness. In 1976, vaccination with the swine flu vaccine was associated with getting GBS. Several studies have been done to evaluate if other flu vaccines since 1976 were associated with GBS. Only one of the studies showed an association. That study suggested that one person out of 1 million vaccinated persons may be at risk of GBS associated with the vaccine.

More facts about potential side effects of the influenza vaccine can be found in “Prevention and Control of Influenza, Recommendations of the Advisory Committee on Immunization Practices (ACIP).”What should I do if I have had a serious reaction to influenza vaccine?

• Call a doctor, or get to a doctor right away.
• Tell your doctor what happened, the date and time it happened, and when you got the flu shot.
• Ask your doctor, nurse, or health department to file a Vaccine Adverse Event Reporting System (VAERS)* form, or call VAERS at 1-800-822-7967.

*Note: This link leads outside the CDC site to another federal agency or CDC partner site. Any links from these sites to nonfederal organizations’ links do not constitute an endorsement of these organizations or their programs by CDC or the federal government, and none should be inferred. CDC is not responsible for the content of the individual organization Web pages found at these links. The link will open the page in a new browser window.

Lunch today

I just went with a friend to a mexican place that is new to me, La Castena.  You would never know that such a great burrito place existed.  As you pull up in the back parking lot, you know that this place is authentic.  I felt like I was in little Tijuana while I walked through the market, completely hispanic foods of course, to the back through a doorway where the kitchen was.  It was cafeteria style.  Now I am not fond on the “hofbrau” style of dining, but this was a sight to see.  For my epicurean delight, there were three choices of burrito; small, regular and super.  I, of course, being there for the first time, ordered the super.  I don’t mean 10 inches super.  I mean 3 ft super.  Thats right, for 10 bucks I got a burrito that was 3 ft!  It was made with 6 tortillas and was exactly as I ordered, because I was able to tell them what I wanted in it like you can at Subway or Togo’s.  I now have my intestines at least 2 ft fuller and feel like passing out.  Or at least taking a nap.  The bottom line is,  what the hell was I thinking?? That was one heck of a burrito!  You should have seen the looks on everyone’s face as we both hauled in our “small children”, I mean burritos.  When making an impression with a burrito, I have now learned that size really does matter.