Book Review

Finished a very good book today. Sometimes I get in the mood to read self help and business idea books. Such as "Raving Fans" or "Who moved my cheese". "Fish" falls in that category. I found it very helpful and an enjoyable quick read. At the end of the book there is this a quote, it summarizes the book. " As you enter this place of work please choose to make today a great day. Your colleagues, customers, team members, and you yourself will be thankful. Find ways to play. We can be serious about our work without being serious about ourselves. Stay focused in order to be present when your customers and team members most need you. And you should feel you energy lapsing, try this surefire remedy: Find someone who needs a helping hand, a word of support, or a good ear- and make their day."

The book begins by telling the story of a woman that has the privilege of working in what she calls the toxic waste dump. She visits a fish market in Seattle where she learns the highlighted concepts. CHOOSE your daily attitude. We learn the in all reality we choose what mood we will be in. PLAY at work, make it fun and enjoyable. We spend a large percentage of our lives at work it might as well be enjoyable. BE PRESENT in everything we do, how often are we thinking of the chores or bills when our kids are telling us about their day, or when the customer is explaining a problem. Finally MAKE THEIR DAY, can we in someway reach out to someone that needs help in some way.

I liked the theme of the book and I know that I can use it's teachings not only at work, but at home in my everyday life. I tried it a little today. I made eye contact with 3 people at church and asked them how things are going. That is not something I can usually do. I would much rather stick to my comfort zone and be to myself.

Tonight we had the debate that has pestered my family through the ages. Seems as though when ever we want to go out to eat it is a battle because each of us has a finicky stomach. They get that from Jill because I will eat anything. Anyways, the battle comes down to this: where do we go that serves the best quality food.

Tonight the debate centered around the all important burger. Who is it that makes the most enjoyable and finger licking one in town? Every place is eligible for this discussion and I personally believe that each burger has it's place. Starting with McDonalds. This is the low end of the spectrum. A burger thrown together and sometimes not cooked all the way just cannot make it to the gourmet page, but that said if it were not for McD's I know some expectant mothers that would have starved. Besides what do we expect from a clown? I personally believe Burger King is a step above in the fast food chain. I like the Whopper with cheese. Maybe it is the thought of flame broiling. Around here Ab's is not to bad. Wendys is stashed between McD's and BK. The top on my list has got the Five Guys. My mouth is watering right now. Of course this is were we ended up again tonight. Picking everything you want slapped on the piece of meat has it's advantages. I feel the Crown Burger/Apollo fall just short of the best burger in town.

Now feel free to post in the comments what you think I would be glad to hear. Maybe it will awaken my taste buds and force me to try someplace different.

Jill so kindly pointed out to me last night that I have not posted in quite sometime. Kolbie is over at dance so I have about 20 minutes before I need to leave so I will peck out something for my entertainment. (That is what this blog is, my entertainment)

Some of you may know that my brain thinks in only one gear..... No not sex, it thinks lots about sports. Today I had a lunch date with my new fantasy baseball league. We all met up at "Five Guys" in Midvale to discuss the up coming season. I had the cheeseburger with all my favorites, I wonder how many weight watchers points that cost me? So here is how the date went.... calling it a date sounds to feminine. This was the owners pow wow. I am related to 4 of the 10 members of this league. They have endured my begging for years to let me into their league. See I usually end up in the Yahoo league that by Memorial day there is only 1 guy left playing and it stinks. Lance finally gave me the OK and let me in starting way back in November. I inherited a pretty bad team so this off season I have bartered and got rid of the dead wood. (the league is calling me the Dodgers east because I ended up with a heavy load of the blues) Today was my first face to face meeting with the guys I had been emailing and chatting with for the past 3 months. It went well, I was fashionably late. I figured I did not want to be on time because I am the rookie so I might have to buy everyone Else's lunch. After I get my food we begin to discuss strategy and the what not. They are pegging me with questions about who my keepers are going to be etc. You know when you picture online friends one way and they turn out completely different, well that was how it was. They seem like a great bunch and I should have fun with this new adventure.

I collect baseball cards, boxes and boxes of them. I have more packs that are unopened than I dare let Jill know about. I really like the pictures on them. I do not want a card with some reflective background. I like the bats to be swinging and the arms to be flailing. I am weird that way. So lately I have this itch to buy more of my favorites. More Dodgers of course and I will see if I can find some of my old favorites. These are the pictures of the guys I have on my team currently. Of those 7 guys I need to keep 5. Tell me waht you think. Should I take my chances that Manny will sign? Or play it safe with Jimmie Rollins and the gang.

Welcome mat is out!!

We have the wonderful opportunity of having a mouse or a family of mice at the shop. It is such the great thing to host this family on a regular basis. They have enjoyed our hospitality. In fact the candy bowl has been raided several times and lately these mice have been great at playing games with us. Most definitely they like the get the food out of the trap without setting it off game.

This leads us back to a few years ago when we thought we had a mouse in the shop. This mouse scared us to death. He would only come in on the weekends and he ate an entire bag of sunflower seeds off the top of one of the guys' tool boxes. (destroyed the bag) We decided we needed to catch the beast when we noticed sunflower seeds on the top of the engine of a car one time. It was almost like he had himself dinner and then fell asleep in the warmest spot he could find. Turns out this was no mouse at all, he was Rocky the squirrel. We bought a large animal trap and got him one Friday afternoon. The stupid squirrel was trying to eat through the bars on the trap and he tried to bite us. We did the only right thing and transported him to "body shop alley" on 3rd west and 9th south and let him out over there. It was by the train tracks so he would have plenty of body shop sunflower seeds and places to sleep by the train yard.

Anyways our current mouse or mice are smart. I set an ancient trap and the dang thing took the bread and did not set off the trap. So we went out and bought some of the sticky traps. I told the guys I would catch them dead before they could in the sticky traps and so the competition was on. Each of us got 2 traps. Me with my traditional whack em dead traps and them each with the fangdango new dealies. The next morning I had 1 dead mouse, but one of the sticky traps was gone. That stupid mouse had carried the trap some 6 feet away and basically eaten itself out. We have gone a week without another trapping. So today at NPS we found a rather large trap. I posted it in a good location, almost broke my finger by the way. Tomorrow I know that we will find a dead mouse.

Tina hates mice and she cleans savagely everywhere we notice the appearance of mice. I was walking around the office pointing out every corner that a mouse could have been. She certainly has the cleanest desk in the shop, and I know that those mice like the copy machine and fax machine (they need to be cleaned).