Where do Old Ships Go?

So those of you that know me know that I like to travel. You also know that I enjoy cruises quite a bit. I occasionally look around online and see if I can find any deals for cruises and think that if I can I would go. So this past weekend as I was looking around I started thinking about my past cruises and wondered about all those ships.

The first cruise I went on was on the SS Norway from Norwegian Cruise Lines. I was pretty sure that it was no longer sailing with them but was curious as to where it was and what it was doing. So I decided to google it and here is what I found.

This boat since 1999 has had quite a story, we traveled on it in 1993. On May 28th of 1999 it had a fire on board and the boat had to be evacuated and then taken out of service until it was repaired. It then continued service again for the next 4 years.

On My 25th 2003, almost 4 years to the day later, while in the Port of Miami there was an explosion in the boiler room. Several of the crew lost their lives and the Norway was towed around for the next few years pretty much not having any plans or being repaired. It was slated to go to the Asian Market and then they were going to turn it into a floating luxury hotel in the Middle East. None of these plans ever worked. Finally it was sold to a company that was responsible for scrapping ships.

Many people really wanted to save the Norway and tried but they could not make it happen. It was tied up in court for quite a while due to the asbestos that was used in it's counstruction, their could not be any destruction until they knew it could happen safely. Eventually the SS Norway was renamed Blue Lady and on August 15th, 2006 the Norway was run aground and beached in the waters off India where she would be cut up for scrap use and disassembled.

Below I put together a slideshow of the pictures that I could find of the Norway's final days. I am sure there still may be a couple of lost receipts with a lot of Michelob Lights and Strawberry Daiquiris. But even more than that I am sure are a lot of memories. If you are interested in the entire story you can find it here: http://www.maritimematters.com/norway.html

Clearing out the Cob Webs....

WOW!!!! How long has it been? You don't have to answer I know it has been over a year. But I think it is time for me to begin blogging again. So I have cleaned out the cobwebs and dusted everything off, it is time to write again.

I have had a lot on my mind recently and figured this would be a good place to begin sharing. The other day at work I was talking with an old friend and she made the comment to me that I really did find the perfect job for me. As I pondered her observation I was wondering if I really had. If that was the case, then why did I feel so unfulfilled and why is it I feel like I want to be doing so much more? But then if people think this then maybe I do not realize that perhaps it is the perfect fit for me.

The more that thought has resonated in my head the more uncomfortable I have become with this notion that I was in my perfect job. I do like what I do and I think I do a good job but after doing it for about 4 years now I think it is really time for me to find something new. I don't know that I believe it is the perfect job for me, I think I just do a good job of it and people recognize it.

So what is it I want to do? I really have no clue. There are so many things that I have dreamed of and so many avenues I want to pursue I never know which way to turn. What I do know is that I have not tried my best to get that. I have been comfortable in this job that is apparently "right" for me. It is difficult to step outside of the comfort zone. I tend to make a million excuses not to go get what I really want. I guess inside sometimes I think if I get my dream then what. It is no longer a dream at that point and what will I desire next.

I don't know the answers to all these things. What I do know is, I want to pursue new things. I want to step outside of my box and challenge myself. I know that as much as I like living in Texas and love my house, I want to be closer to my family. Since none of them are thinking about moving to Texas, I guess I need to think about moving back to them.

Well, there you have a few of the thoughts that have been in my head. I look forward to sharing more and hopefully bringing whoever wants along on my journey ahead. I promise it will not be a year before my next blog. Now I am off to where I do some of my best thinking. Laying in bed before falling asleep. Night for now!

One Big Ramble....

Over the past couple weeks there have been so many things to comment on but just have not known how to put them in words. I am going to finally attempt as I think it is time. This may ramble but I will try to keep focus. :-)

First...to the victims, their families, friends, those injured and anyone touched by the tragedy that happened at Virginia Tech this week...my prayers go to you. I have not been able to quit listening to the stories and trying to understand what makes something like this happen. There is just no good reason. Kids are supposed to be safe. Parents are supposed to be able to send their children away to college with the peace of mind that they are safe and things like this will not happen. In the lives of those students it is their first step to independence. A time that is supposed to let them learn to not fear and to know they can survive out on their own and make it on their own. It is that transitional step from living at home with your parents to being out on your own.

I read a transcript of a conversation between a mother and a daughter at VT. The daughter was in the building and just laying low but managed to get online and speak with her brother and mother. You could hear the fear in her conversation. The mother just tried to comfort her and have her relax. Told her that she would be ok. The only thing this girl wanted was to go home and be with her family. I just cannot imagine being a mother watching that on TV and then having your daughter on the inside giving you the play by play and wondering with every pause in conversation if something has gone bad. Towards the end of their conversation all the girl wanted was to get home and be with her family. I hope she was able to get that.

Living so far away from my family, I know that feeling of just needing a hug from a Mom, Dad, Brother or Sister. I have never been through anything like they were but when times get hard you always want to be able to get to those close to you that support you and will stand behind you no matter what. For that reason I miss my family, it is not easy to just get back home and get that hug.

Second...this is a little older but the entire Don Imus debacle. Let me begin by saying, I do not condone what he said and I think he was wrong for taking away from the accomplishments the women's basketball team at Rutgers had just enjoyed. That is the story that was lost, this was a team that pulled together and brought themselves to the top of their game and together prospered.

That having been said. Was it necessary to drag this through the media the way that it was and turn it into the spectacle that it became? If this had not hit the media, I would have never known that he made the comment. My guess is that the majority of people that were at the center of these stories never would have heard these comments either. I also believe that most of the people that did hear it were able to shake their heads and say to themselves "That's just Imus".

I believe the media and all the attention given this situation is where the hate comes from. We sow those seeds by drawing attention to it. I was becoming angry with the whole situation the more I heard about it. It angered me that people seem to call for us to be angry. They want us to get mad and to be angry over this.

We learn early in life that if we want wounds to heal we cannot pick at them and aggravate them. We have to leave them alone and let them heal on their own. This is a constant picking of a wound that will not allow us to become one. I hope someday this is figured out and that this country can become greater than it already is.

Third...Monday I had a job interview with a big box retailer like Best Buy. As I went to this interview I had to ask myself if this was a place I would want to work or not. I still wonder the same things. You see, I believe customer service is very important at all levels of a business. Especially when it comes to that very first impression. I walked into an office with white walls, folding tables and chairs spread around a room in total disarray. One of the tables was set up like a receptionist desk. On the door as I entered was a hand written sign that said the name of the company and District Office.

Is this how this company really wants to be perceived? I believe that if you want someone to work for you you need to show that you are going to be a nice place to work. When I arrived, I was not greeted or given any direction. I was handed an application and told to fill it out. My interview was scheduled for 10am and as that time passed by I was never given any direction or even information that they were running behind. It was 10:30 and finally someone came out and asked me to come back. My problem here is not that it was late but the fact that I was not given any information. If I had showed up late for my 10am interview they certainly would have noted it and probably formed an opinion on my reliability. Especially if I gave them no reason for being late. I believe that as someone being interviewed I deserve the same respect that I give to them. I arrived early and I told them who I was and why I was there. They told me nothing but to fill out their paperwork and sit down. On the upside it was positive and I am going for a second interview tomorrow. I do not know what will come of it but it is a start to something that might work out.

Finally...SAYONARA Sanjaya....I have been waiting for Sanjaya to be gone for weeks. I cannot believe he made it this far. It has been a long disturbing rise for someone that just could not figure out how to showcase the talent that he has. Now I can finally look forward to all the performances each week on American Idol. As for my choice, I am a Melinda Doolittle fan.

Well there you have a few things that have been on my mind for as long as a couple weeks. I have not reread what I wrote so I hope I did not ramble in too many circles. Sometimes when I get so many thoughts in my head I tend to ramble and not take my time to focus. I Look forward to comments and blogging more soon.

It Is Finished!!!!!!!

Well I did it! Today I took the final exam and passed. I have officially completed the pre-licensing course for the Florida Real Estate License.

Now the next step is to pass the state exam. I cannot take that exam until my license application has been completed by the state. Hopefully all of that will be complete soon, it is definitely in the process.

Just wanted to provide the update and let everyone know that I have completed the first big step to obtaining my Real Estate License.

Almost There...

Well today I completed and passed all units and pretests of my Florida Real Estate License Course. I only have one last task to complete.

I have to take the final exam. That is 100 questions and once you start you cannot stop. I feel like I am ready to attempt it but I am being a little cautious with jumping into it. If you do not score a 70 or better then you fail. If you fail, you must wait 30 days and then retake the test. I do not want to fail and I certainly do not want to have to wait to retake the exam.

I have pretty much decided that tomorrow morning I am going to once again take the practice exam, which is also 100 questions and then as long as all goes well I will go ahead and jump into the final.

Wish me luck, I will let everyone know how it goes.

A Game to Remember...

Growing up in Florida and all through school, everything was about football. I never went to a basketball game during my high school years and I am not sure very many other people did either. But since going to college in Kentucky I have learned to really enjoy college basketball. Especially love March Madness.

Tonight I was watching the Ohio State - Tennessee game and have to say through most of the first half I was disenchanted. It was not exciting and Ohio State actually was losing by as many as twenty points at one time.

Then as I was watching the second half the Buckeyes seemed to wake up. Before I knew it I noticed they were losing by only 6 points and then eventually it was tied. Once tied it kept going back and forth never really giving me a comfort that the Buckeyes would pull it out. Finally with 6 seconds left, Ohio State took the lead for the last time and that was where it ended. Ohio State wins 85-84.

Now that was exciting! Yes it was even better that Ohio State won, but it would have been a great game regardless of the outcome. Just a little harder to swallow.

I guess that is about it for now. Just wanted to share my exciting night of basketball. Hope the rest of the weekend is as exciting as tonight has been. Go Buckeyes!!!!!!

Three Days and Going Strong

Well I have officially completed my third day of working on completing the Florida Real Estate course. I sit here and study all day long and just when I wonder if I am getting it, I have to take a test and it is validating that I am getting it.

As of today I have completed 33 hours of a 63 hour course. It almost scares me that it seems to be going so fast. Yesterday I struggled a little as I was learning a lot of law but no matter how difficult I seem to have grasped the topics.

Today I learned about land and surveys and how land in Florida is defined and given an exact location. Really was quite fascinating. To my surprise I got a perfect score on the test for that unit. Then it was over to Real Estate contracts. Now this is not real exciting. A lot of legal language again and it was by far the longest unit that I have had to work on. When it came time to complete the unit test, again I surprised myself with a perfect score.

What a feeling to know that things seem to be clicking so well with me. This is something I really have always wanted to do. I can remember being in high school and thinking about my future and I started dreaming about Real Estate. To this day I can remember standing in my Dad's family room and telling him that I had been thinking about going to Real Estate school instead of college. Of course, that did not go over well and I guess I let it go. Then through the years it has always been in my head. I actually began a couple years ago and applied for my license but never took the course.

It is exciting to finally be doing something that I have always wanted to. Something that I think I can be really good at. Something that I feel like I will pour my everything into. I truly believe that I can make this extremely profitable for me. Is it what I will do full time for now. That I do not know, I mean I do need to get that business going. It is not an easy thing to start. It is really something that I need to do on the side.

Well whatever I decide and however it works, just know that I am excited about it and looking forward to what lies ahead. I hope everyone can share my excitement with me.

And we're off...

Well I did it! As I mentioned in my previous post I am going to get my Florida Real Estate License. Today I enrolled in the course and completed the first 6 units out of 25 total. It kinda felt good to be working for something today.

I was up early, went to breakfast, stopped by the bank and post office then came home so that I could begin by 9:30am. I was here and worked on Real Estate all day. I turned the TV off and just focused. Some of it was hard, some of it pretty easy but what is important is that I am started.

Not sure how long it will take me to complete and pass the course. I know if you take the course in a classroom it is 10 full days. They say it is 63 hours. Today I completed what amounts to about 14 hours of class time. My goal is to have completed the course and passed the final exam by the end of next week. I would like to stick to the 10 day max time frame.

Well....I guess that is about it. Just wanted to give an update on my progress. Not much new happening right now.

I know, I know...

Again it has been a little while since my last post. But in all fairness, I have been sick. Actually ended up going to the doctor. I do not do that often but the flu kicked my backside pretty good. I am feeling much better now and glad that it is gone. The doctor was right, those were good drugs and I did not get any worse than I was at the time I was in his office.

So I have decided to do something I have been wanting to do for quite a while. I have always wanted to get my license to sell real estate and have decided to go ahead and do it. Today I applied for my state license and in a few minutes I will be going to be fingerprinted and have them sent in to complete my state license application. I also intend to enroll in the class online so that I can complete this at my own speed. Hopefully that will be a fast paced for me.

Once I complete the course, I should be ready to go ahead and take the state exam to be licensed to sell real estate in the state of Florida. I decided on the state of Florida because it is where I call home. I believe that I have better contacts and could build a better network faster if I were to start there.

I am still continuing my job search as I am going to need to have something to keep me going while I get my feet on the ground. I may shift my focus to concentrate more on jobs in Florida rather than here in Texas. It might be the time to make that shift.

Might also be getting close to the right time to put the house on the market. My biggest fear is that the money runs out and I am stuck with a house. I would much rather get rid of the house and still have the money left. Seems to make better sense to me.

Anyway, just wanted to update on things that have been going on with me. Hope everyone is doing well. I am off to be fingerprinted now.

One Thing Leads to Another...

What a long day today was. There has been water standing in my yard where my main waterline runs to my house. I was originally told that the water was a result of all the moisture and run off and it was normal to be there at times and to not worry it will go away.

Recently this water seems to have been there much longer than ever before so I had a friend of mine come over and look at it with me. He looked at it right away and said I have a leak. We started trying to get the water away and as we got the level lower we quickly found the leak. I asked him who I should call to get it fixed and he simply asked me if I had a shovel.

We ended up having to dig up a rather large portion of my yard around this area and we quickly found just how poorly these lines were laid. As we started trying to isolate the leak other sections started breaking as well and it turned into about 4 different leaks that had to be repaired. Fortunately from his past he is a licensed plumber and someone that I really trust with all of this. He decided we should fix it correctly rather than just trying to piece it back together. This should hopefully avoid any future issues.

For me, one that is not plumbing savvy, it was easy to see that it was pretty shoddy work. Once we got everything fixed and put back together in a better way it was easy to see how much better it was now. We turn the water back on and immediately there is another leak. Right in the middle of the main water line. So back to Home Depot we go and fortunately we were able to fix that pretty quick.

After testing we found that all was working well and we put the ground and everything back together. What a big job it was. I learned what real mud really is. Having grown up in Florida, I have never seen mud quite like this. I believe it would actually form into pretty hard rock when dry. Once all done, except for some mud left on the surface you could barely tell that we had done all the work that we had.

It was amazing to me how easy the work really was. Also amazing the that we repaired everything for less than $20. I would guess a plumber would have charged me at least $500 and probably not taken the time to do the job quite as good as we did.

Thanks to my buddy Earl that helped me out with this.

Ok, Ok, I am blogging again...

Ok so it has been a VERY long time since I last blogged. I have no excuse for not blogging other than I just have not done it. However, I have been keeping up with the blogs I read on a regular basis just have not felt inspired or creative enough to post.

I am not sure that tonight I have anymore creativity but I was pretty much told it is time for me to get my blogging fingers back to work. So here I am. This is brief but I promise to start blogging again and trying to stay on top of it.

So what is new with me? I am in the job market. This is a new world for job searching and one I am trying to learn very fast. The fact is you cannot just walk into the front door of a company anymore and talk to someone about working for them. There is no phone number you can call and you cannot talk to a person. Heck, you are even lucky if you find the name of someone to address a cover letter to.

When you try to make contacts you get the same responses all the time and that is to submit your info using their website. The fact is only about 15% of the jobs filled are filled in this manner. 80% of the jobs are filled by people knowing people. This makes that old saying "It is not what you know, but who you know", very true. The name of the game is networking.

I am guessing that networking is something that many people struggle with. It is hard to meet random strangers and then make the transition to this is what I do and who do you know that could help me. Finding the leads and the contacts is very difficult.

This makes me think of that Six Degrees game. It is the theory that any two people can be linked together by a string of six or less people. It sure would be an interesting test to try and see how easily you can make these links. Hmmm that gives me an idea for a reality tv show.

Well this blog is brief and not focused but it starts the ball rolling again. I am tired so I hope it is not too much of a ramble. These are just some things that have been in my head lately. Look forward to blogging more soon. Goodnight!

Destined for...

I know it has been a while since I last posted. It has been a difficult time for me to try and decide what to blog about, there have been so many things on my mind. As most of you that read my blog know that my position with Verizon was done away with after 13 years. So this leaves me trying to figure out how to move forward.

I have always felt that I was destined for more. I have loved my job with Verizon but always felt it was just that. A job. I have always had big dreams for myself but have never really gone for them. I always seem to do what seems the "safest".

As I am faced with this change in my future, the first decision I have to make is if I want to try and stay with Verizon or not. As I struggle with this decision I go back and forth on whether or not it is the time for me to move on and chase some of my other dreams.

At this point it is worth me noting that I have always felt I could succeed at anything I do. But as I go through this that one question keeps coming up in the back of my head, "What if?".

"What if?" is simply the fear of the unknown. I mean I could probably get a job within Verizon and keep doing just as I do. But then again that "What if?" pops into my head again. Only this time the thought is "What if I passed up a great opportunity to change careers"?

I don't know what I am going to do. For now I am exploring both options. I just hope that whatever I do will be the right thing. There certainly is a lot to weigh as I try to make my decision. I am pretty sure that however I decide to move forward I will be successful but it sure is a tough decision to make.

Keeping Things in Perspective...

This week we are faced with another layoff at work. Thursday they are to announce a 15% reduction in our workforce. They are very quiet about who is to be cut. If you remember, I went through this about six months ago and the word we have been given is we more than likely will do it again the first quarter of 2007. As you can imagine, work is not very enjoyable right now. You try to get things done but all everyone is focused on is what is going to happen and will they be affected or not.

I sit and listen to these conversations and listen to how everyone feels so cheated and like they are owed something by our company. Now I do not want to lose my job but I have accepted that this is a business decision that had to be made and unfortunately it may affect me and many of my friends. I am not too worried about it, I really do not think that I will lose my job but at the sametime there is always the thought in the back of my head that I could. I have accepted that and think I am ready for that. Of course, I am not sure we are ever really ready for that. I suppose that reality will be a different test of that.

Today amidst everyone talking about things and wondering about their future. I had a friend in town that manages one of my former stores. She let me know that one of the ladies that worked for me lost her 18 year old son, David, in a car accident early Sunday morning. I worked in this store in 2001-2002 so he would have been in middle school at the time. He would come into our store and see his mom and also hang out and chat sometimes. He used to tell me about the animals he was raising to show at the livestock shows. Now I was never much of the type to raise animals for a livestock show but his passion made me excited for him. I remember one year he won a $25,000 award for a chicken he had raised, that was just incredible to me. He was always the most polite kid and enjoyable to have around. He would always answer me with yes sir or no sir and always very respectful. I had to convince him that it was ok for him to simply call me Dan. He loved football, especially Texas A&M football. I am pretty sure he loved that they beat Texas this past Friday.

After hearing that news it made the thought of some of us losing our job just seem a lot less important. There are certainly worst things in life than losing your job. And I am certain that David's family is going through one of the worst times I can imagine. This really has made me realize that the little things in my life are really a lot smaller than what they seem to be.

Tonight say a prayer for David's family and know that this has to be a very trying and difficult time for them. David was certainly a sparkle in their eye and I am sure in many others.

It Wasn't the Same....

I have been trying to write this post for about 24 hours now. Yes, it has been a long time since the last time I posted and it should probably be easy. But for some reason it just is not. Yesterday I watched one of the best football games that I might have ever seen. It is one that I am going to remember for a long time.

I was brought up as a Buckeye fan, or as my Dad would say "I was Buckeye born and Buckeye bred and when I die I will be Buckeye dead".

I remember growing up and always getting pumped up by my Dad for the Ohio State - Michigan game. It was always exciting. He would hang banners in the house and special game signs all over the house. One of which I did not quite understand when I was little but I certainly get it today. :-) My Dad was always certain to wear his best Ohio State shirts and he ALWAYS had hats close by, usually wearing a different one each quarter. I am also sure my Brother and I always had a football close by ready to throw it every chance we got.

This week getting ready for the game was no different in my mind. I was excited and pumped up for it. This year it was not only Ohio State - Michigan but it was #1-vs-#2. That makes it even more exciting. Friday I wore an Ohio State shirt to work and certainly talked about my excitement with all my buddies at work. Even a few of my coworkers that live in Michigan.

Saturday came and I got out of bed and put on a different Ohio State shirt along with my OSU hat. This was going to be a day for me to remember all those great games I have watched through the years none of them could be as big as this one.

I made myself a plate of smoked oysters, kipper snacks, saltine crackers and that mustard/mayo & horse radish sauce that my Dad used to make for us on the big game day. Everything is set I am ready and it is now gametime...

It was all just as I remember it, the snacks, the game and the excitement. The only thing missing were the signs hanging around my house and three other Ohio State hats. Oh and of course Dad and my Brother are at home in Florida and I am here in Texas.

As exciting as it all was it was just not the same watching the game by myself. My Dad is the reason I am "Buckeye Bred", he is the one that instilled in me the love for the scarlet and grey. He made me get excited for the game and all that goes into it. It just is not the same sitting here watching it by myself. Those days watching the big game with my Dad is such a great memory. Even today, I love going to Dad's house and watching the big games with him and my brother.

Today I got pictures of game time at Dad's. It was obvious that for the most part it was just as I remembered. I saw his hats and of course he had his Buckeye shirt on. My nieces looked to be having a good time and based on the outcome of the game I am pretty darn sure my Dad and everyone else had a great time as well.

I did have a great time. I did yell a lot and pretty darn sure Dad would have been pretty proud to see that I truly am "Buckeye Bred". Thanks Dad for giving me that. It is pretty darn exciting to be a Buckeye fan. And I am going to do my darndest to try and be able to watch the championship there with you. That will be exciting.

GO BUCKEYES!!!!!!!!!

Hard to Resist...

So I have a weakness for dogs. I would love to have one. I just have not wanted to take on that responsiblity as of yet. I keep thinking about it but have not done it yet. But I always look and think about it. So this is the latest puppy that has tugged at me. Can't you just hear her saying "Please take me home". Now I gotta stay strong and resist this urge.

Striving to Finish in 6th Place???

As you probably know I arrived in Florida last week. The trip was pretty uneventful with the exception of my car starting to act a little odd. The longer I have been down here the worse it has started to act.

Yesterday I took it to the dealer to have them check it out and figure out what the problem was. I made an appointment to have it there at 7:15am and I was there with time to spare. By 2pm I had to call them to find out what was going on. At 3:10pm they found the problem but did not know if they could get it done before the guy goes home at six. I ask several questions after that, all of which the answers were “NO”.

I decide to run to the dealer after work in hopes of being able to get my car. I actually was quite pleased when I got there my service advisor tells me that it is just finished. I said great then I will be able to take it home. And he very directly says "You are not taking anything home until I receive payment from your extended warranty company and then payment for your part". Mind you, the extended warranty company has authorized payment and that they complete the work. I then ask how long will that take I am told it could take until the next day and I get the “I leave at six” answer. I guess it does not matter that they are open until 9pm if he is gone no one can help me. I then ask several more questions all of which are answered with a firm “NO”.

Then as I am waiting I decide to walk into the cashier area to check on it. I am greeted by someone talking on the phone moving papers around not even looking like she is really doing anything more than moving them from one side of the desk back to the other and being sure to do anything to avoid looking at me. I patiently stand there and wait for her to finish her phone call.

At this point I start reading the tacky signs all over the glass that is separating me from the cashier. Most of them were hand written with specific words underlined and highlighted. The theme here is on everyone of these signs the word “NO” was underlined and highlighted. There must have been 10 of these different signs taped on their glass.

Then I notice a couple signs posted for the employees. I knew this because they were turned the wrong way. Well something I can tell you, is that white paper with black writing you can read the sign either way. One of them said “DO NOT release any keys until you have received payment in full”. Now this is probably an ok rule, but do you need to have a sign in plain view of your customers that says basically they do not trust their own customers to pay if they were to put the keys in their hands? How does that make us feel as customers?

Finally this girl just asks me what I need without ever looking at me. I explain everything to her. She says that she does not receive the authorization for payment it comes in the next office I could go check over there. So I walk out one door and quickly see the door is marked: “Service Office – Customer Help Here”. I think great! I walk in the door and ask the girl if she was the one that could help me figure out if they have received the authorization of payment from my warranty company. I am quickly given a finger point at the wall behind her and an answer of “NO you can do that next door”.

How exciting to be tossed back and forth every time knowing that I am going to get an answer of “NO”.

This dealership boasts they are the 6th Largest Ford Dealer in the World. I would like to suggest that if they learned to use different words than “NO” that perhaps they could be the “Largest Ford Dealer in the World”. When I purchased my car at this dealership it was not a pleasant experience. I tried to go elsewhere but no other dealer could make me the same deal. People obviously tolerate them because they give good deals but is that how they want to be known? What great tag lines: “Brandon Ford the Tolerable Dealership Because of our Great Prices” or "Brandon Ford - People Tolerate Us".

Having worked in sales/customer service for about twelve and a half years I have always tried to work by telling people what I CAN do for them rather than what I cannot. I find customers, I like to think of them as guests, really respond better when you approach them this way. No one likes to be told “NO”. I hope this dealership will someday wake up and get it. They probably do have the potential to be much bigger than they are. I cannot believe that they wake up and say that they want to be the “6th Largest Ford Dealer in the World”. That would be like playing in some game and hoping to not win.

Stopping for the Night...

So about 8pm central time, I pulled into the Fairfield Inn in Mobile, Alabama. It has been a long day. I had to finish mowing the yard this morning before I left.

I got on the road about 10am and have driven all day. It has been fairly uneventful. I have taken some pictures. I left the camera in the car so I am not going to be adding any tonight.

For now I am off to bed so I can hit the road early again. I will blog more once I reach Tampa. Goodnight All!

On the Road Again...

Ok I know I have not been great at blogging lately but I am going to be really slack as I am not even going to do a Thursday Thirteen. I am going to let everyone know that I will be heading to Florida tomorrow morning.

I was supposed to leave Saturday but decided I was going to take a couple days off work and head out early so I could get in at a decent time Friday. I am going to try to find some photo opportunities as I am traveling so maybe I can come up with something to post tomorrow night.

My plan is to stay the night in Mobile, Alabama and then head to Tampa bright and early Friday morning. I do need a little help, I need to see if I can get my haircut on Saturday. Any takers on wanting to make a call for me? :-) Surely someone would make a call for me and get me an appointment. I will be on the road so feel free to give me a call anytime. My plan is to leave home by 10am.

Looking forward to seeing everyone real soon.

Mr Wilson?

Are you familiar with Dennis the Menace? If you are then you know who I am talking about.

Mr Wilson was the crabby old guy that lived next door and seemed to despise kids and them having fun. He hated when they would run through his yard or romp through his flower beds. The kids never seemed bothered by him it was almost as if they enjoyed antagonizing the "Crabby" old guy.

As I was growing up I really did not have a neighbor like this. There were a few times that I can remember them getting frustrated because we might have kicked a ball against their car or pool.

The interesting thing is I might have become Mr Wilson. I try to remember that I do not want to be a Mr Wilson but sometimes when I walk outside and find one of them riding a bike through my front yard. It is all I can do to not say a word. It does leave tracks in my front yard but I just try to look the other way trying not to be the crabby old guy.

Hmmm I wonder if I am getting old or if I am just overly concerned with the appearance of my yard.

A Hot One Today....

So about 10:30am this morning my director walks by my desk and says hey lets pack up and go play golf. He said to plan on playing at 1pm. Now I do not remember if I blogged about it or not but we did this a couple weeks ago and it was HOT!!!! That was right in the middle of "Heat Wave 1". After that first round he and I both agreed from now on we would do this in the morning. But oh well, golf is golf and I wanted to play.

So of course I quickly organized my things and got myself to a point where I could leave. Naturally all my stuff was at home. I had to run all the way home (25 miles) and then back to the golf course (another 25 miles).

As I am home getting my things together I get a call from my director informing me that we have changed plans and we are going to go play a different course and we have a tee time at 1:40pm. This was ok with me, the new course was a lot closer to my house. What is next is what is really intriguing...

The course we decided to play is called Tour-18 here in Flower Mound, TX. That is really the Dallas/Fort Worth area if you are not familiar with this area. (I will explain more someday about this lovely place and all the communities and areas, I find it interesting). Now back to this golf course.

Tour-18 is a golf course that all 18 holes are replicas of what they call the "18 Greatest Holes in Golf". So today I played a combination of several of the famous golf courses and some of their most recognizable holes.

One to note in this posting is Hole 9, it is a replica of number 17 at Sawgrass Mills in Jacksonville, FL. Yes it has the island green and all. All I was worried about was getting on the green and not in the water with one stroke. The two people I played with were both successful at doing that. Of course that puts the pressure on me. Now I had been going between clubs trying to decide what to hit. This is never a good thing just before hitting. That is uncertainty and it puts lots of thoughts in your head. I get up there and confidently swing my club it is going left but it looks good. Fortunately it stayed on the island just like the other two but I definitely had my work cut out for me as it was right against the wood wall around the island. I managed to make a bogie (4) on this hole.

The other 2 to note were holes 16, 17 & 18. This was a replica of what is known as "Amen Corner" at Augusta National Golf Club where the Master's Tournament is held. This was exciting for me, I was curious to see how close they were and how I would play those holes. All 3 holes looked just like what I saw on TV and even as the announcers describe them they felt like they were very close to the real. I managed a bogie on hole 16 which was really #11 on Augusta National. On 17 (#12 Augusta National) I got a whopping triple bogie (6). A quick note here is I had a great tee shot that looked like the pros landing on the green. However this was a VERY difficult putting hole. Then on number 18 (#13 Augusta National) I managed to make a par. I hit a long nice drive to turn the corner to the left and set myself up for a an easy two strokes to the green and then two putts for a par.

How exciting it was to play those 4 holes. The others could have been any hole on any golf course for all I know. But it was still an exciting adventure to know that I was playing the same holes the pros play. If you ever had that fantasy of walking up the 18th green today definitely added to that and made you think about it a lot. It was a fun day.

As far as the heat goes. We are in the middle of "Heat Wave 2", it was HOT!!! Not quite as hot as last time, I think it was 107 that day. Today the temperature read to be 103. I am not sure that I would really know the difference between 107 and 103.

Now as exhausted as I am, I am heading to catch the movie You, Me and Dupree with a friend of mine. Had I not bought the tickets online before golf was planned I would probably save it for another day but I must press on. Perhaps I will have to write another movie review tomorrow for this movie. We shall see tonight.