The best session i went to at my conference last week was entitled "Stepping out of Your Comfort Zone". It was really great, and there was a lot in it. The main message was that many of us strive to be comfortable in life – but instead we should strive to contribute to the world and challenge ourselves. He said…"If you don't like your job…quit! If you are in a bad relationship…get out! What are you waiting for?!?"
That same day, I found an ad for a job that sounds like it would be really great for me. So…today I submitted an application. It doesn't hurt to shop around, right? I figured that if the only reason not to do it is that I'm afraid of the change, then that isn't a good enough reason. So we'll see. I won't really have any big decision to make until when/if they offer me the job. I kind of hope they do, though!
…i haven’t posted for a really long time. sorry about that.
on sunday, i’m off to a conference for work. however, it’s really not that exciting because it’s in minneapolis. originally it was supposed to be in new orleans…but that didn’t quite work out. so, i’ll get to sleep in my own bed at night, which is good. but what isn’t so good is that i didn’t realize that most nights i won’t get home until after 10pm, and i’ll have to leave again in the morning at least by 6:30. we live probably 30 minutes (no traffic) away from the conference site, but add in morning rush hour…and it will be much longer. oh well – this should be a really good learning experience for me, so i am excited to go. plus, because of all the extra time that i have to spend at this thing (way over my 40 hour work week), i get to take a few days off for comp time. so that’s good. it seems that i burn through my vacation pretty quickly, so extra days are always appreciated.
i think that’s about all i got for now. at least it’s all that comes to mind.
…to Erica and Trevor, who are officially engaged! I have never been in a wedding before (other than my own, and as a personal attendent for Jocelyn, which is different), so I am very excited and honored that they have asked me to be a bridesmaid and share their day. It’s a ways off (May 26, 2007 — which means that Chris and I will get to spend our 5 year anniversary in Nebraska instead of Hawaii like we had talked about)…but I am excited already. 
I am already trying to figure out how best to travel to the ceremony & bachelorette party (driving or flying). CONGRATULATIONS AGAIN!
My car accident was two weeks ago, today. My car was assessed and totalled out about 12 days ago. My loan was paid off last week. It’s all said & done.
Today I call my insurance agent to add the new car to our policy and he says…”Oh, did you get rid of something?”
UM YEAH. I ROLLED MY CAR OVER AND COULD HAVE DIED.
I suppose it doesn’t matter that he personally didn’t know – that the computer had to tell him – but there is just something about that I don’t like.
there is really nothing more irritating to me than poor customer service. chris and i are not people that feel compelled to tip a waiter/waitress 20% out of obligation. if you do a good job, we’ll tip you well. if you don’t, we won’t. isn’t that what a tip is – a reward for a job well done?
so – the people at Wayzata Nissan sure didn’t try very hard to keep their customers (us) happy. we bought the car on January 20th, and they said it would be ready on the 23rd. then the 23rd became the 25th…the 27th…the 28th. then they didn’t call us to update us, and they didn’t return our phone calls. then the date became the 31st…then the 2nd…and then we called them and told them that we were starting to believe the car wouldn’t be ready on the 2nd either, and that we’d like to go ahead and cancel the deal because we didn’t want to buy a car from their dealership. the same day, we went to Walser Toyota (previous home of Hog) and bought a new (used) 4runner. we casually commented that there was a scratch on the door, and they jumped all over themselves to say that we could bring it in next week at our convenience and they would completely repair it. they filled up the car with a full tank of gas. they gave us free oil changes for life. and because we bought our last car there, they also gave us $250 cash. then we drove it home the same day we bought it. now that’s customer service.
Ladies and gentlemen, meet Boss Hog, aka “Boss”:
so, i still haven’t gotten my new car although we technically purchased it on Friday. we bought it on the condition that they would fix the heater, and they originally said we could pick it up Monday. but then it turned out that they needed to order a part that didn’t arrive until this afternoon so….no new car for me yet. and i am like, the most impatient person in the world when it comes to getting to actually use my new ________ (insert item of choice). so this is like torture. and, no offense Pani, but me and the two dogs and the training gear don’t really fit so well in your two door car. it is driving me nuts. i feel like a woman with too many kids who has to carry all kinds of stuff around. really, is it too much to ask to get to drive your new vehicle? i don’t think so.
We bought this on Friday! It’s the same thing as I had before, just a bit newer and a bit blacker. They had to do a little tune-up on the heater, and so we are going to pick it up today. However….he still needs a name. My other 4runner was “Hog” because he was like a tough hog of a car. I don’t know what this one will be. Perhaps I have to get to know him better first.
be careful what you wish for. yesterday i was thinking that i am so boring and have nothing really news-worthy to post about….and then last night i rolled my SUV. voila. something to post about.
i was driving home from Rochester and was probably about 10 miles from my house on a county road. it had just started to snow a little bit earlier, so i was going only about 40 mph (speed limit there is around 55 mph). well, apparently it was icy because all of a sudden my car started to swerve. for a moment i thought i would go into oncoming traffic, but then the car veered to the right towards the ditch. i thought this was a decent way to end up until i realized that the ditch was very very steep…too steep for the car….and it rolled over. it rolled once and “landed” on the roof. there i was, hanging upside down by my seat belt. have you seen the movie Crash? well, we saw it a few weeks ago, and there is a scene where a woman in hanging upside down in a car after an accident and gas is leaking everywhere and the car explodes. that is all i could think of, especially because I had JUST filled up my car, so i was panicking! i had to undo my seat belt, and climb out a broken window to get out of the car. (no, it didn’t actually explode, thank God). i got out, and about a million people stopped to help me. a nice older gentleman (Dewey R, who was on his way to an American Legion meeting), let me sit in his car while we waited for the cops & Chris to arrive. they had to flip my car over, then put it on a flatbed to tow away. Thank God (literally!!) i am fine (my shoulder hurts and my hand is cut) and my laptop, cell phone and iPod were all recovered in working order. i have no idea about the car yet – we are waiting on the insurance people to check it out. i would not be surprised if it is totalled. it looked horrendous. I promise to post some pictures later today or tomorrow when we have them.
All I can say is…………THANKS GOD!!!
