Inside the Head of a TV Junkie

I attended the movies with Erin Mead last week.  I had to use the bathroom and did so before we entered the theater.  See the image below to see what I found in the bathroom!

It’s been a year today since my father passed.  It’s kind of strange how quickly time goes by.

Anyway, that’s all for now.  Posts will start becoming more regular now that the Olympics are over.

The image above shows the distance from my work to where Mike’s mom works.  Today we leave for Las Vegas and we have a situation.  The truck that Mike usually uses to get to my house is needed this weekend so he is unable to drive it over today.  A solution was figured out and it requires me to pick him up at his mom’s work before we head out of town.  Not a big deal at all, but I think it’s amusing how far away it looks in Google Maps.  I guess it looks far because it is door-to-door, it’s 30 miles.  :)

Okay, I realize that this post is a bit behind schedule.  I’ve been very busy with work and Mike.  :)  Anyway, the 4th of July this year was full of good times.  My friend Erin had come up from Sierra Vista for a weekend of Diamondbacks baseball and invited me to go to the game on the 4th.  There were going to be fireworks after the game and I figured, why not!?  Last year I spent the 4th sitting out at Tempe Town Lake from 7pm in 100 degree heat*, let’s just say that this was much better.  For my $10, I got to see a baseball game (we lost) and fireworks in an air conditioned ballpark?  What could be better?!  The photo above is one I took of the fireworks after the game.

I also attended another game with Erin on Saturday.  Again, the D-Backs lost.  Oh well, it was still fun!  I’ve been to more baseball games this year than I have in the past two years.  I think the thing I like most about going to baseball games is that you don’t really have to watch the game.  Don’t get me wrong, I watch the game but I also spend a fair amount of time socializing.

*For those of you not familiar on how things work in Phoenix, Arizona, it can easily be over 100 degrees for hours after the sun has gone down.

On Wednesday I went to the post office to mail an item through priority mail.  I dread going to the post office for fear of the lines that await me.  I fear those lines less than I fear the mail room at my office though and so we have this story.

I decide to drive to the Tolleson post office because I figure the lines there will be much smaller than at a larger post office in Phoenix.  Besides, the Tolleson post office is closer to my office than any other so I save on gas.  When I arrive at the post office, the lines are okay, not too long and it seems like everyone has their shit together.  I get in line behind this lady who feels that letting her child run around the place is a good idea and wait.  At the front of the line, there is this older gentleman who gets called to the counter next.  There are three USPS employees working the counter.  What happens next is just classic.  I have never heard someone complain so much to a postal worker about how much the US Postal Service sucks.  Here’s how the conversation went down:

Older Man: “I just moved into a new home in the area and they said I had to come down here to get my mailbox keys.  Why do I need mailbox keys?  Are these keys going to be for that large collection of mailboxes?”

Postal Worker: “You are correct.  You will need to collect your mail from that central mailbox location.  The keys will unlock your box.  What is your address so I can get you your keys?”

Older Man: “That is ridiculous!  Back in the day, you would get your mail delivered to your house!  I am an old man and I cannot be walking to the mailbox every day to pick up my mail!  Why are we paying $0.42 to send a letter and not even getting our mail delivered to our door?”

Postal Worker: “I’m sorry you feel that way sir, but this is how the USPS requires new home developments to be setup.  We no longer deliver to people’s front doors…”

Older Man (interrupting): “Yes you do!  You deliver letters to my sisters front door and put them in her mailbox!”

Postal Worker: “Does your sister live in an older home?  We still deliver to doors/mailboxes in older communities.  The central mailboxes are only for newer communities.”

Older Man: “Do you know how hot it is outside?  You expect me to walk and pick up my mail every day?”

Postal Worker: “I do know how hot it can get here, sir.  May I suggest that you drive to the mailboxes to pick up your mail?”

Older Man: “What?  Do you know much gas costs?  You think I have that kind of disposable income to use gas to drive over to the mailboxes to pick up my mail?  That is ridiculous!”

Postal Worker: “I’m sorry that you feel it is an inconvenience but I have no control over your mail delivery.  If you’d like, you can write a letter to the Postmaster General.  Did you need to mail an item sir?”

Older Man: “Yes, I need to mail this letter.”

Postal Worker: “Okay, is there anything else I can help you with today?”

Older Man: “You’d better give me some stamps as well.  I need a sheet of $0.01 and a roll of the regulars.”

Postal Worker: “The roll of stamps will be $42…"

Older Man (interrupting): "What?! I’m on a fixed income!  I can’t afford that! Just give me three stamps, that’ll hold me over until next week."

Okay, so they may not be direct quotes above, but it is pretty close.  Anyway, the old man proceeds to leave the post office.  If any of you have been to a post office recently, you know how they sell supplies in the lobby?  Padded envelopes, boxes, etc.  Well, this old man is leaving the post office, walks over to the stand and says to himself, "Huh, I need some of these (padded envelopes) for those tapes I am going to mail."  He takes four or five from the rack and walks out.  Seriously, out of control.

The only other funny event that happened that day was a bride and groom mailing out their invitations.  The groom must not have mailed something in about 5 years as he was shocked at how much a stamp cost and accused the man behind the counter of wanting to charge more for a wedding designed stamp.  Crazy!!!

Mint.com is a website that allows you to view all of your financial accounts in one location.  It gives you an overview of your financial life.  Signing up for Mint is incredibly easy and takes only a few minutes.  The only identifying information that is asked of you is an email address, zip code, and a password.  Once you have an account created, you can begin adding your financial accounts. 

Don’t worry, Mint is safe.  (view a video about it here)  Mint utilizes Yodlee for financial account storage and connection.  Yodlee has been around for 10 years and powers many of the large banks that allow for online banking (Bank of America).  If someone were to gain access to your Mint account, all they would be able to see is how often you go to the grocery store and how much you spend each time… and this info wouldn’t be attached to your name, address, or other personal information, just your login with Mint.  Pretty safe, in my opinion.  Of course, there are people out there that aren’t going to be comfortable with Mint and giving up their login information and that’s fine. 

For those of you who do want to give this a shot, please do.  The founder of Mint used to balance his check book every month, but soon fell behind.  He realized, as I did quite a few years ago, that balancing a check book isn’t the only way to keep on top of your spending or keeping your various accounts in check.

By the way, I have every credit card account, every investment account, and my main banking accounts (checking and savings) tied into Mint at the moment.  I’m loving it.  I have SMS alerts setup for when payments are due on the credit cards.  I have Mint setup to send me a SMS if an unusually large purchase is made or a banking account balance falls below a specific amount.  I also have a monthly budget setup that greets me every day when I log into Mint so I can see how I’m doing.  It’s a one stop shop for my financial account health and it’s already saving me time.

So, do you use Mint? 

Walmart will be updating their logo over the next few months.  Get used to this logo showing up on storefronts before 2009.  I enjoy the fact that they have removed the hyphen from the name, but what is that flower thing??  I find myself shopping at Walmart more often than I would like to admit but it’s difficult not to when it is so close to work.  I enjoy getting some errands done while on my lunch break.  With gas as high as it is, I have a problem with driving 6 miles to a Target to get my goods.  Anyway, the logo is nice and it’ll be an interesting change to the boring storefront sign we’ve all grown accustomed to.

As you may or may not know, I love reading comments posted by users on newspaper websites.  Some people are just crazy and there’s no wonder they have no job and have time to post comments to random stories.  The following comment was posted on AZCentral.com as a response to a truly ignorant comment.  It shouldn’t be hard to figure out what kind of story these comments were written about.  This is probably one of the more amusing comments I’ve ever seen on the site.  Enjoy!

Haran,

Thank you for doing so much to educate people regarding God’s law. I have learned a great deal from you, and I try to share that knowledge with as many people as I can. When someone tries to defend the homosexual lifestyle, for example, I simply remind him that Leviticus 18:22 clearly states it to be an abomination. End of debate. I do need some advice from you, however, regarding some of the specific laws and how to best follow them.

When I burn a bull on the altar as a sacrifice, I know it creates a pleasing odor for the Lord (Lev. 1:9). The problem is my neighbors. They claim the odor is not pleasing to them. How should I deal with this?

I would like to sell my daughter into slavery, as it suggests in Exodus 21:7. In this day and age, what do you think would be a fair price for her?

I know that I am allowed no contact with a woman while she is in her period of menstrual uncleanliness (Lev. 15:19-24). The problem is, how do I tell? I have tried asking, but most women take offense.

Lev. 25:44 states that I may buy slaves from the nations that are around us. A friend of mine claims that this applies to Mexicans but not Canadians. Can you clarify?

I have a neighbor who insists on working on the Sabbath. Exodus 35:2 clearly states he should be put to death. Am I morally obligated to kill him myself?

A friend of mine feels that even though eating shellfish is an abomination (Lev. 10:10), it is a lesser abomination than homosexuality. I don’t agree. Can you settle this?

Lev. 20:20 states that I may not approach the altar of God if I have a defect in my sight. I have to admit that I wear reading glasses. Does my vision have to be 20/20, or is there some wiggle room here?

I know you have studied these things extensively, so I am confident you can help. Thank you again for reminding us that God’s word is eternal and unchanging.

Okay, I called a different company to come over and fix my HVAC system.  After seven and a half hours of work and just over $1200 the unit is fixed!  I have a cool house now!  Yes!!!  I will post a longer entry about the whole thing later, after I talk to the previous company and see what they have to say about their role in the whole fiasco.

The photo above says it all!  I’m going to spend the night suffering.

Beware of Sonoran Air.  They don’t know what they’re doing.