posted @ 23:41...

Alright, I'm over my whining about being unprepared, especially now that I'm secure in my preparedness. I just itch a lot now that the sunburn is healing. An annoyance and a relief all in one.

I've been reading up a bit on customer habits - specifically in the service industries. There are a ton of pages devoted to complaining about fast food customers. Specifically, how they're lazy, greedy, whiny, never satisfied, etc. Some of these rants could very well fit the banking industry. But on the other hand, I have some very cool customers. In fact, the more regular the customer, the more of a relationship we build, and the more understanding the customer becomes to just how crappy my job is sometimes. And then there are the customers who make it crappy...

Did you know that it's personally my fault that our branch has run out of travelers' checks? Did you also know that it's my fault the our corporate behemoth of a bank charges non account holders $10 for a cashier's check. Gruff & tough 40-year-old men, in an attempt to be intimidating, stare me in the eye and say, "That's outrageous!" My response: "You're certainly welcome to purchase a cashier's check at your own bank." I also get non account holders that can't cash their paychecks because they don't have a second form of I.D. [as is the requirement at our bank]. Again, "You're certainly welcome to deposit the check into your account at your own bank." The problem is, many of these fools are on the ChexSystems database, [a network that keeps irresponsible check writers from getting bank accounts at other banks]. "I don't have a bank account," they say. Many things come to mind about what to say to these people next. "Well, it looks like you're screwed then!" ...or, "Try that Vcom machine over at 7-11" ...or maybe, with regard to fees, "You think we're all standing on this side of the counter for the sheer enjoyment of seeing you? No, we do this for money...!"

Tempting, indeed.

But I was surprised at just how many people don't have even a simple FREE checking account. And I'm not even necessarily advocating getting one at my bank [besides, I'm not saying which one I work for anyway]. There are many banks that offer free checking. There is even a list somewhere of banks that don't use ChexSystems!

Alright, I feel better.

posted @ 20:01...

Feeling unprepared is my least favorite feeling. Long ago, I was a Boy Scout. Perhaps the most important thing I learned was the motto: "Be Prepared" And so, here I sit writhing in pain as a result of a Memorial Day weekend in beautiful Rockport, Texas. In case you were wondering what hurts so bad, it's not my throat! Spending four hours in the sun tends to scorch my pale Irish skin. And this has happened to me for more times than I care to think about. "But you should have used sunscreen!" Ah, my beloved reader, Sea & Sun SPF 50 was generously and lovingly applied to this white body before entering the sunlight.

Now, it's important to remember that I'm not a vampire. I'm not an albino. In fact, I don't believe it would have been as bad this time if I hadn't been on various medications over the past few weeks. I did a search for "skin sensitivity to sun" and found an article on Weather.com, which states, "Some medications, such as antibiotics, can increase your skin's sensitivity to the sun." I've been on antibiotics and pain killers (albeit deceasingly) ever since my surgery, and it makes sense now that even after just four hours wearing SPF 50, I'm still burnt to a crisp.

Oh yes, I was going to yammer about being prepared. Unpreparedness is a scary feeling for someone who needs to be "ready." One of my goals (obsessions) in life is to be ready for whatever may come my way. I have an extremely intelligent, dedicated, talented wife. I have a weather radio. I consistently wear a Swiss Army knife in a pouch on my belt. I have a four wheel drive vehicle, and within it are the following items: CB radio, jumper cables, small set of necessary tools. My "favorites" folder contains this link. I've never thought about all of these things together before, but putting the puzzle together, it seems that these items form some sort of collection of preparedness paranoia. There must be some type of psychological name for what I've got. There are many names for various phobias, but I haven't found one whose definition is "fear of being unprepared." Maybe I'm crazy. In fact, my wife just said, "You need to chill out and come to bed. You're really just freaking yourself out." Maybe there's terminology for someone who freaks themself out. If you find it, let me know... because I feel lost without it. [Just kidding!]

Anyway, having an intense sunburn makes me feel unprepared, because if something happened where I'd need to react, I couldn't do it -- or at least I couldn't do it effectively. If i were on duty as a professional firefighter [as i plan to be someday], wearing bunker gear and SCBA would be absolutely agonizing. There are possibly tornadoes touching down in Texas tonight, and if one came by and decided to rip through my neighborhood, I fear I'd be more likely to be lying on a stretcher than helping carry it.

So anyway, I'm going to bed. All too soon, it'll be time to get up and drive to a bank.

posted @ 17:47...

Quote of the month:
"It is better, of course, to know useless things than to know nothing."
--Seneca (4 b.c. - 65 a.d.)

posted @ 08:43...

In about 17 hours, I'll turn twenty-eight years old. I'm so stinkin' old! Actually, what's weird is, people usually mistake me for being much younger [early 20's], but that doesn't really matter much. I know how old I am, and it's too stinkin' old! Of course, I have a several friends who are in their 30's, and even some co-workers in their 40's, so they would say I'm a big whiner. Well, that's probably true. Feel free to email me your thoughts on this.

This is also the last official day of my leave of absence from work. So there probably won't be as many updates on this here blog. [I'd like to keep it current though. I hate going to somebody's blog, and they let loose about how bad their day was, and so on... then you look at the date, and the post was written three months ago. I guess if you had a bad day yesterday, it's news. If you had a bad day several months ago, I don't really give a crap.] Anyway, the doctor says my throat is healed enough to go back to work this coming Monday. This is despite the fact that I had bleeding this past Monday, and needed emergency surgery that night. They finally stopped the bleeding in my throat, but so much blood had trickled down to my stomach, they had to pump it. There's an uncomfortable experience. I'll stop here, because you didn't come here for some gross story about stomach pumping.

Anyway, I'm going to be 28, and that feels weird, because I'm really not that old... at least not in my mind.

posted @ 08:33...

I noticed, via my site stats that a lot of traffic is coming to my Scanner Frequencies page because people are searching for Texas DPS Frequencies (State Troopers). That's really cool, and I like when people visit my site... but I gotta tell ya, those are some of the more boring freq's to listen to. Ninety-nine percent of the DPS radio traffic is when the DPS officer checks license plate numbers for warrants; the dispatcher then says, "negative 29's" (no warrants), and that's that. The most exciting thing I've heard on a DPS freq was when there was an 18-wheeler near bastrop involved in a high speed chase. Even then, the DPS dispatcher simply repeated what was already being said on the local Sheriff channel. Oh well.

To me, the most exciting scanner traffic is from the fire dept. I may be partial to them because I am a volunteer firefighter, and I actually know what they're talking about. I also listen to the police: APD's "Adam" sector because I live in North Austin, and I wanna hear things that are going on closer to home.

I realize that I'm a nerd for listening to a scanner, but I don't care. It's not cool; it might even make me a redneck, but I would bet that everybody has certain interests that might be considered uncool. The difference is, I followed my interest regardless of whether it was "cool" or not. I wonder how many people are interested in certain things, but choose not to become involved in them because of how dorky it might seem.

posted @ 09:36...

I may start a series somewhere (maybe here) in which I tell about all the funny things I learn from watching TV - particularly daytime TV. I just realized that people who are diagnosed with genital herpes might be devastated at first, but they also get to explore the great outdoors on high adventure kayaking trips. What fun that would be! I wish I could go to the mountains for an adventure. I'm not about to get herpes though.

How dare you call yourself a Cassadine! I've also learned that in the soaps, everyone is wealthy (has perfect hair, perfect clothes, perfect makeup). Every situation is extremely intense and serious. No one is at all lighthearted, and everyone always has a secret.

I think I'll go watch another one of my rented movies...

posted @ 20:26...

What is it with British movies when I'm sick? In the past 24 hours I've seen Four Weddings & a Funeral, Sliding Doors, and Notting Hill. I've had all I can take of Hugh Grant. I have nothing against pasty English. I'm quite pasty myself when I'm not sunburned. But the mannerisms that have made Hugh Grant so "charming" for many people just seem to have gotten on my nerves. It's one thing if this unsure stuttering, stammering person is a character in a movie. But tonight on a special network presentation of Notting Hill, Grant provided a please-don't-change-the-channel-because-I-need-to-plug-my-new-movie commentary before each commercial. More on this later...

posted @ 20:16...

I miss cheeseburgers.

With the disappearance of my tonsils and uvula, there have been some marked changes in my immediate eating habits. I didn't know how much I loved cheeseburgers until I could no longer eat them. We always take things [and people, for that matter] for granted until they're gone. Taking people for granted. I hope I never do that... again.

I've also learned a new word: tepid. This is a descriptor of the foods that I can eat, which, under normal circumstances would be nice and hot. Tepid soup is okay. Tepid coffee isn't the greatest, so Kelly has been making me coffee milkshakes, so yum. Please God, don't ever let me take her for granted.