Harried Holidays

Why do we do this to ourselves?  Why do we let a time that should be joyous - a celebration of the birth of the Savior - be crammed with so much garbage?

The list is never ending.  For those of us that work in retail, there is no bigger period.  Hence, work simply cannot get more high pressure and stressful.  Add on to that obligations for things like Christmas cards, travel arrangements, parties, planning, and the never-ending to-do list, and things become nearly intolerable.

The only saving grace are the people with whom we go through all of this with - our friends, family, and co-workers - and the special time that we'll have together.  

And, of course, the ultimate Saving Grace.  

Here's wising you all peace and perspective this holiday season.

Saturday Song Share: Todd Carey (and friends) - The Weight

I'm not a big Todd Carey fan - his sound is a little too pop for my tastes.  That being said, I bumped into his cover the The Band's classic, and it really moved me.  This captures why I love music so much and what music means to me - it sounds incredible, it's a team effort, and most of all it elicits joy.

Wish I would have been there to see this live...

Gopher Football Overachieves - Big Time

I have to hand it to the Minnesota Gophers football team.  In the past, I've come down hard on the futility that has been Golden Gopher football, but this year has been a big surprise.  Huge wins included a 30-14 route of Michigan at the Big House, a 51-14 drubbing of Iowa, and a 28-24 win at ranked Nebraska.

Unfortunately, the Gophers couldn't pull off the miracle season, with a final game loss to Wisconsin at Camp Randall.  Despite no chance at a Big 10 championship, it still was a fantastic season.  One that earned the team a lot of warranted attention.

Now the Gophers will go on to play in one of the better bowls in which they've played in nearly 50 years.  And I'll actually be watching.

Go Gophers

My Team

I am extremely fortunate to work with some incredible people.  They work incredibly hard. achieve so many great things, and are just outstanding human beings.

Here was my Thanksgiving message to them:

It’s going to be a pretty meaningful Thanksgiving for the YDP household this year.  Mrs. YDP has come through her ordeal far better than either of us could have hoped, and we’re far, far luckier than most families that suffer the same diagnosis.  

Events like that really make one reflect and take stock in what is important, what we consider relevant, and how and with whom we spend our time.  I’ve been doing a lot of that reflection lately, and one thing that keeps coming back is how thankful I am to get to work with all of you.  The talents you all possess, the passion with which you do your jobs, the selflessness you have when pitching in for each other (or me), and the fantastic sense of humor that each of you have is just astonishing to me.  I am so lucky to work with you.  

Every year, a family tradition of ours since I was a little kid was to have everyone go around the table and talk about what they were thankful for.  I already know my speech – 1) Vera 2) her deliverance from cancer 3) my family 4) you guys.  

Here’s wishing you your best Thanksgiving ever, filled with food, family, friends, and football.  And maybe some brandy slush, if you’re so inclined.  


Rest well – you’ve earned it – and know that I am so very thankful for you and everything that you do.

When my wife was diagnosed with cancer, the entire team sent a care package, and that included this picture:

Everyone in pink, everyone sporting a pick wrist band, everyone there for my wife and me.  You know, sometimes work is a horrible drag.  However people like this, doing things like this, make me realize just how fortunate I am.

Obama Administration Ignorance - Again

This is old news, and forgive me for being late, but I'm catching up on things that have a bee in my bonnet.  The latest one goes back to ISIS' most recent beheading of an American - Peter Kassig.

It is bad enough that ISIS killed yet another American citizen as we sit back and look completely impotent.  But the really bad part is Obama's official statement (emphasis mine):


"Today we offer our prayers and condolences to the parents and family of Abdul-Rahman Kassig, also known to us as Peter.  We cannot begin to imagine their anguish at this painful time.  Abdul-Rahman was taken from us in an act of pure evil by a terrorist group that the world rightly associates with inhumanity..."

The name Abdul-Rahman is the name Peter took up in a last minute sham "conversion" to Islam - a hail Mary to attempt to prevent his captors from cutting off his head.  Obviously, it didn't work.  And the Obama administration, in an act so callous and tone-deaf that it is jaw dropping, feel the need to be so politically correct as to call Kassig by the name that his killers made him adopt.

You cannot make this stuff up.  These are the people that are leading our country.

There are no words...

Kids Off Limits? Sometimes

The liberal blogs blew up yesterday when it was reported that a low level staffer (specifically, a communications director for Rep. Stephen Fincher (R-Tenn.)) said some harsh and inappropriate things about the Obama daughters via a Facebook post.  She later apologized, but that is not good enough for the Left, which is blowing tyhis up as big as they can, as this episode is pretty much the only thing going for them right now.

Curious that such a low level person can raise the wrath of an entire political bent.  Cries are going up about how unfair it is, what a bully she was, and most importantly, how kids are off limits.

Oh, yeah.  I forgot about kids being off limits.  Like Trig Palin was/is off limits, you mean that kind of off limits?

Do a Google search on Trig Palin to see what off limits means to the Left.

Crocodile tears, hypocrites.

Business Travel and the Goodness of Others

I spent the past two days travelling for business.  Ordinarily, I kind of like business travel.  I like the hustle of it, and the game of it in terms of how to solve getting from A to B in the most expedient, cost effective, and comfortable way possible.  

Unfortunately, this trip was less than fun.  It started with my conversation with a TSA agent at my departure gate.  As he checked my driver's license, he noticed it was two months out of date.  While that meant I could still travel, I knew my plans for a rental car were likely scrapped.

After waiting in a long line at National Car Rental at my Columbus, OH destination (OSU was hosting Michigan in football the coming day) I did my best to ply the National agent, but Ohio law prevented them, or anyone else, from renting me a car.  Thus, I took a cab to my crappy Holiday Inn Express.

Hungry from my trip, I walked outside to grab a bite.  Options were a Tim Horton's, a Big Boy, a Wendy's, and a grocery store.  I opted for the grocery store, got some baked chicken, and made the most of it in my room.  Ah, the glamour of business travel.

I set up a taxi ride for the next morning to take me to my appointment, and headed off to bed.  I slept like a champ, took a descent run on the hotel's crappy treadmill (it was just too cold outside for a run), and got ready for my taxi.

At my appointed hour, no taxi was there.  I went to the front desk, but that person was working solo and was doing the best she could.  With the game in town, most taxis were around the stadium, and I was at the opposite end of town.  Finally, about 20 minutes late, my cab arrived to take me to my appointment.

After a 10 minute drive we arrived, and I pulled out my credit card to pay.  The cabbie waived me off, and demanded cash (holy cow, it is 2014).  I grabbed my money clip and paid the man, got a receipt, and got on my way.

Everything was going good at my appointment until I got up and for some reason grabbed my own butt and realized that I didn't have my wallet.  I don't carry any of my cash in my wallet (save for an emergency $20), but my out-of-date ID was in there, and I wasn't sure how I was going to board my return flight without it.  Managing the best I could despite my growing panic, we retraced my steps, exhausted all options, and realized it was likely left in the cab.

Thanks to the receipt the cabbie gave me, I had the number to the cab company.  While conversations were very strained (English was not the first language of any of the people with whom I talked), I was able to discern that my wallet has been found.  Unfortunately, the cab was back at OSU making a killing, and he wasn't leaving anytime soon.  When he did, he'd need to charge me for the trip back to me.

Fine.  I just need my ID.  Everything else I can deal with.

I had the cab pick me up at the end of my appointment, and he actually arrived early.  He told me a subsequent fare found it - "they are black people - very bad" but to his surprise they gave him my wallet.  And at that point he handed this over to me:

Between the cabbie and the fare that found it, you know what was missing from my wallet?  Not a damn thing.  

It cost me $60 for a fare back to me to get it, but at least I was able to get home last night.  

Whoever it was that found my wallet, I hope their football team won yesterday.

   

Saturday Song Share: J.D. McPherson - North Side Gal

Sounds straight out of 1954.  I defy you to not tap your foot through this: