Rules Kids Don't Learn in School...

I have always loved this and ran across it when I was cleaning my laptop up tonight. And NO, I am not talking about ANYONE so no one should be getting their feathers ruffled!!!
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Unfortunately there are some things that children should be learning in school, but don't. Not all of them have to do with academics. As a modest-back-to-school offering, here are some basic rules that may not have found their way into the standard curriculum.

Rule #1. Life is not fair. Get used to it. The average teen-ager uses the phrase "it's not fair" 8.6 times a day. You got it from your parents, who said it so often, you decided they must be the most idealistic generation ever. When they started hearing it from their own kids, they realized Rule #1.

Rule #2. The real world won't care as much about your self-esteem as your school does. It'll expect you to accomplish something before you feel good about yourself. This may come as a shock. Usually, when inflated self-esteem meets reality, kids complain that it's not fair. (See Rule No. 1)

Rule #3. Sorry, you won't make $40,000 a year right out of high school. And you won't be a vice president or have a car phone either. You may even have to wear a uniform that doesn't have a Gap label.

Rule #4. If you think your teacher is tough, wait 'till you get a boss. He doesn't have tenure, so he tends to be a bit edgier. When you screw up, he is not going ask you how feel about it.

Rule #5. Flipping burgers is not beneath your dignity. Your grandparents had a different word for burger flipping. They called it opportunity. They weren't embarrassed making minimum wage either. They would have been embarrassed to sit around talking about Kurt Cobain all weekend.

Rule #6. It's not your parents fault. If you screw up, you are responsible. This is the flip side of "It's my life," and "You're not the boss of me," and other eloquent proclamations of your generation. When you turn 18, it's on your dime. Don't whine about it or you'll sound like a baby boomer.

Rule #7. Before you were born your parents weren't as boring as they are now. They got that way paying your bills, cleaning up your room and listening to you tell them how idealistic you are. And by the way, before you save the rain forest from the blood-sucking parasites of your parents' generation try delousing the closet in your bedroom.

Rule #8. Life is not divided into semesters, and you don't get summers off. Nor even Easter break. They expect you to show up every day. For eight hours. And you don't get a new lease on life every 10 weeks. It just goes on and on.

Rule #9. Television is not real life. Your life is not a sitcom, nor a soap opera. Your problems will not all be solved in 30 minutes, minus time for commercials. In real life, people actually have to leave the coffee shop to go to jobs. Your friends will not be perky or as polite as Jennifer Aniston.

Rule #10. Be nice to nerds. You may end up working for them We all could.

Rule #11. Enjoy this while you can. Sure, parents are a pain, school's a bother, and life is depressing. But someday you'll realize how wonderful it was to be kid. Maybe you should start now.

Well golly gee...

I am told that I do not post enough. Sheeeesh... as if I don't have ENOUGH stuff going on right now!!

I am SOOOO busy... I am getting ontrack to REALLY grow the business this year. I have several deals in the making and business is really booming. Since I got this office I have been putting a LOT more time than normal into getting things running the way that they should. I am impressing even myself. :)

I met with the SBDC (Small Business Development Center) this morning to get some much needed help in writing a business plan and getting a marketing plan in place. I could use some assistance with the books too as I am NOT an accountant, but a computer guy. A BRILLIANT computer guy if I do say so myself (and no matter how much my parent-in-laws think I am not)!!! :) At any rate, I am really getting ready to do it. This year will be do-or-die I believe. I know I can do it though... as long as Marilyn keeps supporting me and is understanding. I know that this takes away from some of the time I have with her and the kids, but it is very important to me and I think she understands that.

I have set some lofty goals, but I know that I can achieve them. I know how to work hard to get what I want. That seems to be a trait so lacking in the young people of today... they seem to want it all handed to them. But I was raised with the belief "if you want it, bust your ass and get it". I prefer that. :) I can never thank my parents enough!

I also got a call from a company that owns like, 80 restaraunts or so (40 Applebees) today as well. And oddly enough, Marilyn may have an interview with them next week. We think they might be the same company... so that was FREAKY.

At any rate, I really don't have time to even be typing THIS much. I am BUSY.. and I have another client to go see. Tomorrow is so booked I may not even be able to go with Marilyn and the kids to Emporia to drop them off. That would be the first time I have missed it. :( Oh well... they would be happier not having to listen to my music anyway. :)

Wow...

Ok, my Saturday was MORE than interesting. I have some pics from what my cousin and I refer to as "The Gateway to Hell" (Which is in reality the 18"-20" crawlspace under their house, and a couple more ice pics.

First, let me explain. My parents lost power in the storm and their pipes burst. I went over yesterday morning to help clean up the limbs all over the yard, and to see what assistance I could offer with the pipes. My cousin Dave is a plumber (and MUCH thinner than me) so I gave him a call to see what help he could give. (I totally forgot to mention to him that the pipes were in a crawlspace that is FILLED with insulation and many big bullsnakes. OOPS!).

My cousin gets out there, and he gets under the house and becomes seriously not very happy. He sees about an 8' bullsnake wrapped up under there, and you have to crawl about 80' or so to get from the access hole to where the pipes are. The former owner of the house thought it would be brilliant to put insulation UNDER THE HOUSE (WHY??????????) so it is hanging down all over the place as well.

Sooooo... I tell my cousin that, if I can fit through the access hole, I will go down there and help him. (I have some REALLY broad shoulders and no one thought I could fit). Ok, to fit down this access hole I basically have to put my arms over my head end "dive" into it. Yes, I go head first. And it is TIGHT. Oh man. Once you get in there you see insulation hanging everywhere and a dirt floor. Bear in mind however, that there is MAYBE 20" of space between the dirt and the floor above you. You can't even crawl... you have to shimmy along the floor. Not for the claustrophobic. :)

These are BAD pictures mind you... I took them with my phone. Did the best I could.
View when you first get inside:



Ok...so you shimmy along the floor for aways and then you get into another "hallway" of sorts. This at least has plastic on the ground. Then you go about 40' to the end where the pipes are. In the meantime, there are snakes hibernating around. Sheesh.

Anyway, These pics were taken from the halfway point with my cousin Dave at the other end with a REALLY bright light helping him work on the pipes. You can't see him because of the light, but the pics get the point across. What you see hanging down and on the sides is insulation (we shoved it all out of the way) and the ground has plastic on it. Bear in mind that, this is only 18"-20" high, we were in here for a total of about 6 hours, and made about 5 trips in and out.







What an interesting day eh? :) I also took a few pictures with my phone to show how much ice we got:

Ice covered branch


Ice covered walnut looking thingy you find on Maple or Birch trees ( I forget which)

To show how much wind there was and how it shaped the ice that formed:



You can't tell really well, but this is some ice I broke off around a branch. It is about 1" thick, and it is only ONE SIDE:




Lastly, my wife and I are avid Jenga players and got my brother and sister EXTREME Jenga for Christmas. These following pics are pretty funky as they show how the entire tower is leaning, but not falling, and it is resting on one block that is on one side. It looks phycically impossible, and my brother about crapped his pants when I pulled that block out and it stayed like that. :)

You see Marilyns hand in the background... she is not holding it, she is trying to find a block to retrieve without knocking it over! :)





Anyway, I think that is enough. I am VERY sore and VERY tired still. I just could NOT sleep from being so sore. UGH!

Damn ice...

Wow... my backyard looks like a warzone. We have had SOOO much ice and snow here in Wichita, KS it is unbelievable. We have tree limbs and trees down all over my backyard, and all over town. You can stand outside and it sounds like rifle shots going off everywhere; then you realize it is tree limbs snapping off. Pretty impressive. I could definitely do without it though.

I walked around the backyard last night to survey the damage. I heard a loud cracking sound (sounded like a rifle) looked up and got the heck out of the way. A large amount of ice had just shaken loose from the tree way up top and came crashing down. I figured it was time to go back in the house at that point. :)

My wife has taken some pictures of the damage and sent them, but she has obviously sent WAY too many and they have to be way too big as they are taking forever to download in this email. Gotta warn her about that one. :) I am going to save this post as a draft and revisit it once I can get the pictures downloaded!

Ok... we have some pics, but they do NO justice whatsoever to the damage around here:

Woohoo...

Cool... looks like the people I know are getting switched over. :) Glad to see it! Maybe now we can all keep in touch and have some PEACE? :)

For those of you switching over, I HIGHLY recommend using Hello so you can upload your posts and pictures (get Picasa for cataloging your pics... it works with Hello!). It makes things VERY easy... and SWEET to use!!

www.picasa.com
www.hello.com

At any rate, I was just overjoyed to see that everyone is going to use it and we can get away from the CRAP that we have been dealing with!