Month: December 2006

We Already Have a Dishwasher, Me

The inevitable happened last night, our dishwasher finally gave out on us.  It still works, but water leaks everywhere!  After some in depth viewing, the leak is actually coming from inside the door.  It’s old, probably around 30+ years.  Luckily, we anticipated this, and asked that everyone purchase gift cards for us to help with this purchase.

Now every major appliance in the house has been replaced except the stove, and it’s on it’s last leg.  A few months ago the oven just quit working.  We tried and tried and tried to get someone to repair it.  Someone even came out, and told us what the problem was.  They said they would order the part and return to install. That date has yet to come!  We have called, and even visited their shop, to no avail.  A couple of weeks ago, my mom came up from Louisville.  As I was explaining the stove situation, tada it started working again!

I guess the garage will have to wait a little while longer.  I want to just get it done, but have had little to no time due to my constant job search and the weird hours I am available to anyone now.

We have started a log of changes and repairs we have made to the house.  A great idea of my wife!

Hopefully the house will start to look different.  Rachel (and Taylor maybe) will start tearing the wallpaper off today.  Isn’t it hideous?  After some drywall patching we will paint, finally!  The original plan was to do it right after we moved in, 5 months ago.

LML Video Services Revamped

I had a late night yesterday, creating a new version of my business website, LMLVideoServices.com.¬† Please look around, and let me know what you think!¬† I’m all about constructive criticism.

The website is more about information than selling, so please let me know what you think about the information included.

With the help of Editor B, I will hopefully have a better logo as well.  Thanks B!

I think with this version, the site is somewhat professional.  Finally!

I Need A Vacation!

The only questions are why and where, everything else is covered! 

I have been contenplating travelling to New Orleans, LA for 2 reasons.¬† Number one, to finally meet “Editor B & XY”, number 2, to go to Mardi Gras for the first time.

Since my life has been nothing but a mess lately, I’m unsure if my wife and I will be able to make this journey.¬† Which pains me so.

My wife “claims”¬†she has¬†never been¬†to Florida, even though many know she has been :p¬† So now the plan, I think, is to have a longer spring break trip.¬† We would¬†visit Daytona Beach and Tallahasee, and end our trip with I’m sure a great time in New Orleans.

I am way overdue for a long road trip.¬† My father and I haven’t been able to¬†take our annual weekend Oklahoma trip,(Imagine driving 10 hours to¬†say HI, do you have a place I can sleep, and leaving in the morning)¬†which is great time for the 2 of us to spend quality time together.¬† I must admit, I have never “been” to the “deep south.”¬† I’ve driven through ‘bama and Georgia, but never stayed.¬† Just the thought excites me.

Travelling has always been more about the journey than the destination to me.¬† Don’t get me wrong, I always love where I go, I just enjoy viewing the amazing¬†sights our country has to offer us¬†on the open road.¬† I guess it’s a guy thing?, cuz the wife does not get it at all.

911, What’s Your Emergency?

Since losing my so called career in the pharmaceutical industry, I have had to take a hard look at exactly what I want in a career, and what makes me happy.

Part of why I enjoyed the pharmaceutical industry so much is because I was helping people.¬† I wasn’t on the “front line,” the consumer didn’t know my name, but it was very self fulfilling to know I was a part of making peoples’ quality of life better.

I have tried to continue in the pharmaceutical industry.¬† It seems as if I’ve been blacklisted though, as I haven’t even been offered an opportunity to interview.¬† Some positions seemed a “perfect match” with my skills, and one job was EXACTLY the same thing I did at Baxter!

With my wifes’ help I found that Monroe county has 2 openings for 911 dispatchers!¬† (She’s amazing at finding open positions) So I went for it.¬† What I understand so far about the hiring process is it’s more about testing than just an interview.¬† I took the first¬†test last Wednesday night, and I must say it was very interesting.¬† It was completely computerized, and to my understanding just an exercise in distraction.¬† It was mainly data entry type stuff, but here’s the kicker:¬† every few seconds an “emergency” would pop up on the screen.¬† If we did not dispatch the correct agency within 15 seconds, the test would give us a lower score.¬† All while doing the data entry portion at the same time!

It was very intriguing, yet fulfilling at the same time.  I am excitied about the possibility of becoming a dispatcher as I would be helping people, which is all I really want to do in life.

I received an email yesterday from the Monroe county director of communications, I passed the test!¬† No congratulations are in order yet, but it’s the first step.¬† The email also stated I would be contacted after the first of the year regarding more testing and interviews.

Wish me luck!

Stabilizing The Crude

As many Bloomintonian’s know, gasoline or diesel in this town is crazy.¬† Prices can and often change, sometimes dramatically, numerous times a day!¬† I think those days are coming to an end.

There have been many articles in the local newspaper (The Herald-Times)¬†regarding this issue.¬† They even have a “price watch” on their website.¬† In the end, every article I’ve read regarding this issue states the main reason prices are so high in this area¬†is mainly “greed.”

By simply travelling 20 miles, the price is sometimes up to 20 cents less a gallon.  Depending on travelling habits this could save a fortune.

A couple of months ago, Bloomington got a Wal-Mart supercenter.¬† I have issues with Wal-Mart, but that’s a whole other story.¬† A part of this supercenter is a gas station, called “Murphy USA.”¬† The gas station’s construction was delayed and did not open until last week.¬† In that week, the price of regular unleaded gasonline has dropped $0.12 a gallon on the whole west side of town!¬† On one day alone, they dropped their prices 3 times, with the other stations following their lead.

I am unsure if wholesale prices have dropped, or if it is exactly due to the opening of this new gas outlet.  I do have an optimistic outlook on this though, and hope to see the price keep dropping.

This gas station is on our way home, and it’s now very interesting to see if the price of gas has changed, and how much the change was.

Pardon Moi?

I recieved an email yesterday from a person visiting the ROX website.¬† They were viewing “my” page, which has answers to particular questions about me.¬† The unsettling thing is what the emails theme and tone are stating.¬† Here it is, for your viewing pleasure.

“Stealing from other people websites won’t do you any good.¬† I suggest you remove your so called “site” immediately, and never show up on the internet again.”

I have no “stolen” images on this blog, which is the only thing linked to my page on the ROX website.¬† The only images I have which come close to being stolen, are “borrowed” for my business website.¬† I was unable to create images that portrayed the products I sell, so I became an agent for a company that does the same thing I do.¬† Used a few of their images, removing their logos etc.

What do you think?¬† My co-blogger Kelly at cheese.rox is having the same situation.¬† I think that “public” picture use,¬†especially for non-monetary use,¬†needs some better definition.