Sunday, September 30, 2018

Inside The Beast

I'm hitting the Apple store in Friendswood, Texas to make a new purchase.  I always dread a trip to the Apple store - they're all overcrowded and chaotic.  With the money they charge for their products, and the money they make as a company (they are the world's first trillion-dollar company), they should have more stores. 

They should be the 7-11 of phone stores.  They need to be everywhere - at every mall, and in every town.

I don't like that I have to make an appointment (where they give you a very rushed 15 minutes of their time), I don't like that I have to sit on an uncomfortable chair at a table where I'm elbow-to-elbow with other people who are crammed around the same table waiting for assistance, and I don't like being able to walk in and get assistance immediately. 

They know they're in high demand and I think they take advantage of the fact that people will wait.  Because they do wait.  And they put up with the rushed service.

I know because I do it.  I'm guilty.  

I'm feeding the beast.



~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2017: 
Time For Tomatoes

2016: The King And Queen Of Friday Night
2015: A Tree Grows In Moab
2014: More Is More
2013: Pick A Patch Of Dirt And Park Yourself On It
2012: The Heat Of The Road
2011: My Super Handsome Man
2010: It All Started With Betty
2009: Traffic Stopping Skyline
2008: When You Are Proud To Be Told Your Roots Are Showing
2007: Engulfed In Color
2006: Fish And Loaves Of Bread Are Not The Only Things He Is Generous With
2005: 23 Things

Saturday, September 29, 2018

Essential Travel Preparation

After years of wishing, it's finally happening!  We're going on a European river cruise!
The cruise will take us to Hungary, Slovakia, Austria, Germany, Czech Republic, and The Netherlands.  Our flight there and back will stop in Istanbul for a total of 40 hours.  We're hoping to be able to see something while there.

Before the cruise begins, we'll be spending five days in Budapest, Hungary.  When the cruise ends, we'll be spending two days in Amsterdam and three days in Paris.

I'm researching now and I can't even express how excited I am!  


But right now, I need to buy a good pair of walking shoes.  Because in 2010, I learned some lessons.



~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2017:  
Getting The 'Ol Girl Washed

2016:  Lit From Below
2015:  The Devil's Highway Takes You Past A 27 Million-Year-Old Rock With Wings
2014:  One Of Millions 
2013:  I Walked In The Footsteps Of Richard Gere
2012:  Flower Bar
2011:  A Sign For Sore Eyes
2010:  A Primm Landscape
2009:  I Am A Kandee Addict
2008:  The Tiny Intersection Where The Colors Collide
2007:  Loved Shack
2006:  Holy Mother Of Pearl
2005:  The Starfish Effect

Wednesday, September 26, 2018

Born In MCMLXVIII

The Adirondack Chair is one of my favorite pieces of outdoor furniture.  When I was young we had several of these in our yard and when we'd have family barbecues at our house,  the little kids would sit back to back, feet through the holes on each side, using the arms of the chair as a table.

The chair in the photo was made by my brother.  It's functional and from what he's said, but extremely heavy because of the bolts.  My mother wanted it for her backyard but he said he's already got a buyer for it, so she's SOL right now.

Today is my brother's 50th birthday.  FIFTY years.  Half a century.  I hit it last year, now it's his turn.  I know everyone ages, most people will hit fifty, and the passing of time isn't a big deal.  But somehow, it is.  When you're young, old people are fifty.  I don't think you ever really imagine someday being fifty.  But before you know it, it's here.


I have the best memories of my brother and with my brother - moments like this and this and this and this was this and this and this and this - so many over the past fifty years and so many more to come.

Happy Half-Century Birthday, Mikey!



~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2017: 
A Big Delivery

2016: Killing Two Birthday Birds With One Stone
2015: The Greatest Spectacle In Racing
2014: Fall Babies
2013: We Are Family! I Got My Brother And Me!
2012: The Highlight Of My Life
2011: Dream Big. Live Bigger.
2010: Always Merry When Around My Brother
2009: Living Outside The Touch Of Time
2008: Girls And Their Boys
2007: Living History
2006: Company On The Prairie
2005: Rack Eyes

Tuesday, September 25, 2018

Monday, September 24, 2018

Priceless Antiquities Get A Ride In A Big Rig


This week we were involved in a six-truck move transporting an art exhibit from the Saint Louis Art Museum in St. Louis, Missouri to the Minneapolis Institute of Art in Minneapolis, Minnesota.

The Sunken Cities: Egypt's Lost Worlds exhibit has been called one of the greatest finds in the history of underwater archaeology.

"More than 200 objects — from 16-foot-tall sculptures to gold coins and jewelry — are featured in this major exhibition at the Minneapolis Institute of Art.

The objects — including three monumental sculptures, each weighing more than 8,000 pounds — came from two cities lost to natural disasters and the rising tides of the Mediterranean Sea more than 1,200 years ago.

The ancient city of Thonis-Heracleion — a major port and Egypt’s premier center for trade with the Greek world — and neighboring community Canopus once stood on Egypt’s north coast. But by 800 C.E., soil liquefaction, natural disasters and the rising tides of the Mediterranean Sea caused them to submerge. "


We didn't get to see the pieces since they're crated for transport, but just knowing they were on the truck was kind of exciting.

Now I can say we've moved freight that's thousands of years old and priceless.





~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2017: 
Hecho En Tucson
2016: Color Cutting Through The Gray 

Sunday, September 23, 2018

Me, Augustus, And Kublai Khan

When we're on the road for our birthdays, we usually stop and have dinner at a nice place.  But this week we're on our way to pick up a load so we just had dinner on the go.  I didn't think I was going to have any cake.

But when we stopped for the night in Illinois, Ed left to go into the truck stop and wound up walking across the street to the grocery store, coming back with a carrot cake.  He knocked on the back door of the sleeper and when I opened it, he was standing there with candles blazing!

On the Google page for your birthday, they illustrate the word with a clickable link that takes you to the page showing events, birthdays, deaths, etc. for that day.


Look at all the people who share my birthday:

Seems I'm in good company.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
2017: 
The Ultimate F Word - Fifty

2016: Cheers To 49!
2015: Loving Snow For Over Four Decades