More Time

I want more time. The days are not long enough for me. If I could go without sleep, that would work, but I need at least 5 hours a night. Hmmmm. Maybe I could get back some of the time I wasted. I have blown a lot of time in front of the television, but a lot of my wasted time was not my fault. Doctor's offices have racked up many hours. Restaurants, the DMV, and entertainment have taken their share. Look at all of the time you have sat in a theatre waiting for the movie to begin.



We don't know how much time we have left to do what we want. Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz was shown how much time she had left. The witch gave her an hourglass. The years are rolling by as fast as those grains of sand were falling, and as I age, time becomes more precious. There is a lot I want to do, have to do, need to do, and should do. Still, I cannot use every second efficiently. Wasting time is almost necessary or life would be nothing more than trying to accomplish a string of tasks.



I do not want time just to accomplish things; I just want more of it. I like using it, spending it, and even wasting it. Maybe it is good that I know this now. Some buzz through life thinking they have all the time in the world. Then, all of a sudden, they learn their time is almost used up. The trick is to enjoy the ride and not think of life as arriving at a destination.



I am a practical person and I realize I only have so much time. Actually, I have had a lot of time already. I have seen and done a lot. I am appreciative of all of this. That said, if I were to live for another few hundred years, here are a few things I would like to do:

• Visit every country in the world and sample the local cultures. I would talk to the people, eat their food, and take part in their way of life.

• Learn to play the piano and the saxaphone.

• Learn to speak Spanish, French, and Japanese

• Write a book or two.

• Create and tend a few gardens.

• Keep running marathons.

What would you do if you had more time?



Until the next time

John Strain

Eating Over the Sink

What I thought was normal behavior may just be normal "guy" behavior. I am referring to a penchant for eating over a sink or a trash can. It is admittedly not elegant or sophisticated, but it is practical and efficient. I mean why dirty a dish for one to three chicken legs, when you can just eat over the sink and wash the crumbs down the drain. While you're at it, wash off your mouth and hands. Grab the dishtowel and dry off, then the dining experience is complete.



I never really thought about the behavior that much. Surely my mother told me to go to the table instead of eating over the sink, I know my wife has, but it seems much ado about nothing just to eat one or two cookies. Why dirty up the table?



I once worked in an office with a girl named Celeste. We both brought our lunches. Celeste would spread out paper towels, and use a plate and silverware. It was an all out place setting complete with fresh flowers in a vase. All I did was drag the trashcan between my legs and I was ready for lunch. I was content eating my sandwich over the can. She couldn't stand it though and had to comment about my crude behavior frequently. Celeste could not understand how I could be happy eating like that.



This past Sunday, I was watching football. I had a bag of hot Cajun peanuts, a fresh beer, and a trashcan between my legs. No one was home to criticize me. As I ate the peanuts, the hot spice began to work its magic. My nose was running and I started sneezing. The trashcan paid off, because I could just lean forward and sneeze into it. No muss no fuss. I was aware that this behavior would not be appropriate if anyone else were around, but they weren't.



Unscientific surveys of a few women at work confirmed my suspicions that the above-described behavior is a guy thing. To their disdain, their husbands also eat over the sink and trash can.



I do not necessarily prefer eating over the sink or trash can as opposed to the table, but sometimes it just feels right. When is it right? Well, that too is a guy thing.



Until the next time

John Strain

Writers Write

I like this phrase. It is basic and simple. What does a writer do? A writer writes. What of purpose and responsibility? Does a writer have an obligation to write about certain things and in certain ways? Good questions.



Read what William Faulkner said in his Nobel Prize for literature acceptance speech December 10, 1950. You can either read the text or listen to the speech in mp3 format. I did both. Take the time to do this, it is thought provoking. I was taken with how timely his advice for that day still resonates for this day. It inspired me. I am interested to see what some of you think.



The main link for this site is: http://www.americanrhetoric.com/speechbank.htm



Until the next time

John Strain

COMPUSA: Another Recipient of the Customer Disservice Award

That's right folks, COMPUSA has earned one of my customer disservice awards, which is a nice way of saying, "F COMPUSA." (Sorry Mom about using the "F" word, but sometimes it is the only word adequate to express my depth of feeling.) When companies practice exceptional customer service, I recognize it. I proudly display logo links for Canon and Belkin on this site for their "above and beyond the call of duty customer service." COMPUSA, however, has risen to the top of my customer dissatisfaction list and here is why:



We are a MAC family. My son John has an iBook and attends LSU. One of his classes, ISDS is, what amounts to, training for Microsoft Office 2003. If you are going into business, you must know your way around Microsoft Office and Windows XP. He has software for the class that does not run on the MAC. Therefore, he needs the use of a PC.



Solutions:

• He could use his roommate's PC, but that would probably be a problem, because they are in the same class. I can see time conflicts on the horizon, especially the night before a test.



• We could buy him a PC. That solution works in function, but I don't like the cost factor.



• We could buy Microsoft Virtual PC for the MAC bundled with Windows XP for about $249 and John could run Windows XP and his class software on his MAC. This is the way to go.



He, of course, needed the software installed ASAP, since the class is underway. After some investigating I found out I could either order the software online and get it Monday for $239 total or drive to New Orleans and get it at COMPUSA for $249 plus tax. I decided to pay the extra money so I could get it all installed and working properly before John headed back to Baton Rouge Sunday evening after work.



Before driving the hour to New Orleans, I wanted to make sure COMPUSA had the software in stock. I called and of course was launched into voice mail hell. The flat, monotone, impersonal voice tried to navigate me through their customer service nether world. Finally, I got to the part about checking for PRODUCT AVAILABILITY AT A PARTICULAR STORE. "Thar she blows" I said and pushed in the product number and my zip code as instructed by the voice which sounded as if it were attached to a narcoleptic Dracula. The voice confirmed that the Metairie COMPUSA did in fact have the software.



Barbara and I had some other errands to run so we took care of that before making the trek to New Orleans. We figured, while we were over there, we could eat at one of our favorite restaurants. We got to COMPUSA at 6:00 PM. Next door was a Dress Barn so Barbara went in there while I browsed around in COMPUSA. I could not find the software on my own so I had to do the thing most men hate to do. I had to ask for help, damn. The clerk looked in the same spot I had just looked. I began thinking, "Uh oh." Then he walked off. Then he came back and told me someone was looking for it. Then he came back and said, "We don't have it in stock." Honestly, I was not surprised. I knew the narcoleptic Dracula voice may have been pulling my leg so he could derive some sort of twisted satisfaction. I said, "Are you sure? Because I called and the narcolepsic Dracula guy said you had one." The clerk told me, "That item is an online only product." All of a sudden his voice was starting to sound like narcoleptic Dracula. I could feel my heart pound harder and my breathing increase. All of the clerks were starting to look alike and sound alike. I was in the middle of a bad horror movie. I mustered a complaint, "The narcoleptic Dracula said you had this product in this store and I drove all the way from Covington to get it." The clerk's response was, "Sorry."



That was that. I left the store, pulled Barbara out of the dress barn and began releasing my dissatisfaction by skillfully stringing together curse words and promising to blog about the injustice. I am making good on that threat right now, muahahahahah. That will show them. Dump their stock folks, because when this post gets out, it is going to nose dive.



In New Orleans we see disappointment as an opportunity to have a party, so Barbara and I had a nice Mexican dinner and a visit to the Krispy Kreme Donut Shop, who are on my exceptional customer service list. Keep those free, hot, melt in your mouth, donuts coming folks. The evening was not a total loss. I came home and ordered the software online from MacMall for the $239. I will have it Monday.



End of story.



Here's to those of you, know matter who you work for, who deliver customer service that exceeds expectations, unfortunately you are in a small group.



PS - I shouldn't have bragged about the weather yesterday. Today it is 30 degrees with winds from the north at 17. I get to run my 12 miles in the refrigerator today.



This just in: Thank you Andie Pandie for this link. Apparently, I am not the only one COMPUSA has victimized.



Until the next time

John Strain

An Overheard Conversation

Good morning from 63 degree 94% humidity Louisiana. It is hard to improve on a Saturday morning. I am sipping fresh coffee and waiting for a little more daylight before taking a nice easy 7-mile run. I have an easy running schedule this week. My long run tomorrow is only 12 miles. The build up will begin though for the February 27 marathon. All systems are go.



Friday night we tried a new restaurant; Glockner's Seafood in Lacombe, LA. Our traditional Friday night seafood joint, St. Roch's, closed. Since then we have been reeling, St. Roch's was our Cheers, where everybody knew our name. Glockner's seems promising. One of the St. Roch's chefs is employed there so the food is good. The restaurant has character. It is a small place all alone on a little finger of land surrounded by a canal and Lake Pontchartrain. Louisiana is full of places like this and most of them are good. They are the neighborhood seafood restaurant. The furnishings are not lavish, the people are friendly, and the seafood is plentiful and good.



Friday morning I was at the gym and overheard the conversation of two deer hunters:

Deer hunter One: Yer average eight-point buck is two years old. Now some of em are bigger, b'tcher average one is two.

Deer hunter two: Now the bigger eight-points are older aren't they?

Deer hunter one: The bigger ones might be a little older, b'tcher average eight-point is two.

Deer hunter two: I guess it depends on when they wer born.

Who can argue with that logic?



Time to stretch and head out the door. Have a nice weekend folks.



Until the next time

John Strain