How To Be An Effective Leader (and other things I didn't learn in kindergarten)

For the record, I'm still at the Hoover Public Library. And I think the last time I was here, I heard Soul For Real's "Candy Rain", just like I'm hearing now. 4,397 songs on the iPod, and that one comes up twice... amazing. "Always Be My Baby" by Mariah is next, though.

The computer works now, the transplant was successful. Our friend Brad Mac came over, did the surgery, and now the computer is in physical therapy... which means, we have to get a new network card. So, I have a computer, I just don't have a network card that functions as well as... well, at all. No 'net... but that's okay. I watched four episodes of "Jericho" yesterday on videotape, and it rocked.

We put in a new hard drive, worth about 120 gigs, and all my iPod music is on it now. So, I can fill my iPod up to the full 60 gigs, instead of keeping it around 20, because my hard drive was only 40. Gettin' all this? Anyway, the downside is, not being able to connect to the net, I can't update my iPod because I had to re-install iTunes, then move over all my music to iTunes again, to which the iPod now thinks its a different computer, so I have to "authorize" the computer so I can make the changes and updates, but I can't because I can't get on the internet and... well, you get the picture.

Had a meeting with our manager at the Bucks today. It was a little disheartening, so I thought I would just open up here and ramble a bit, knowing there is a chance that someone from the store might actually read this. I'll take that chance.

Apparently, there are three things that are hurting my ability to be an effective assistant manager at Starbucks:
1) Few people at the store know me. I mean, they know who I am, but they don't know me.
2) Communicating effectively to the team at the store
2) Building relationships with the team. For whatever reason, these three things are becoming the hardest obsticles I've ever had to jump, possibly because I've never had trouble doing it anywhere else.

I would like to think that I'm respected and have some sort of influence at church, and I'd also like to think that I have that same respect and influence with my circle of friends and loved ones. Just not at work. Perhaps I'm not connecting the two very well, and its time to let one bleed to the other.

One thing I've pinpointed is that this is the first time I've ever been in a position where I've had people under me. I mean, I've been a shift supervisor for probably, I don't know, three years prior to being an assistant manager, so I had to lead, but this is the first time I've ever directly had the power to call the important shots and do what is necessary to get the job done without a host of people to answer to--right now, there is only one or two to answer to.

(the fact that KT Tunstall's "Black Horse and the Cherry Tree" just came on the iPod shuffle makes my day just a little better... couple that with an encouraging email from K-Swiss, and life isnt bad at all)

Also, I'm a task oriented person. I struggle with delegating things to people, because simply, I have a way I want things done, and usually its quicker for me to just do it the way I want it done then to teach someone the way I want it done. Yeah, that's really a good trait to have. =) I gotta work on that.

Another thing is, the team doesn't really know me that well. Part of that is my fault, I'm guessing... I don't really go around announcing facts about me like being from Samson, Alabama, or that I was at the Olympic bombing of 1996, or that I have four older sisters, but then again, I don't really ask other people stuff like that either. Something else to make a mental note on.

My team at the store are some great people. I've proven that I can do the job and do it effectively... now I've got to prove to be a leader--or at least, prove to them I can do it. Other people in other parts of my life know I can lead. Or I think they do. Do they?

If it sounds like I'm upset, don't take it as such. I was for about twenty minutes after our meeting--which is how I roll: if I get frustrated, mad, upset or whatever, I let it seep and dwell for about 20 minutes or so, 20 minutes is all I'll give the unwelcome emotion, then I'm over it. Then I work on solving the problem.

So no, I'm not upset. Now its a matter of "Can I influence people positively, and how do I go about doing it without sounding disingenious?" and "How can I lead and delegate without soundling like I'm brash and barking out orders?"

The answers? When I figure those out, I'll tell you. For now, this is my reflection.

And remember, when two things are constant: God loves me, and it's just coffee. Such is life.

Blink. Blink. Blink.

So, I woke up Tuesday morning, did my morning routine (ie, brushed my teeth, checked Fox News for any major headlines, then turned it on SportsCenter while I showered, shaved and so forth). I then sat down and watched three episodes of Grey's Anatomy on dvd (we'll get to that in another column)

Then, right before I left for work, I went to the computer to check my email. And what I saw horrified me.

A black screen with a blinking cursor.

Blink. Blink. Blink.

I stared for a second. I rubbed my eyes.

Blink. Blink. Blink.

I immediately hit the power button to turn the computer off. This is, of the course, the natural reflex to all things computer-related. Reboot. It turned off, I gave it a few seconds, then turned it back on.

Blink. Blink. Blink.

I then, with my right foot, clicked the surge suppressor. One more time, we'll let it sit for more than a few seconds, perhaps it will then get itself right. I began to race through thoughts of all the things I have on the computer than I could lose... remember me spending two months loading cds into my computer? I have the first six seasons of the DFC on cd, but this season? I hadn't saved it on a disc past Week One. What about all my writings and such in the last several months?

With baited breath, I turned on the computer. Finally, it said "Hewlitt Packard" on the opening screen. I smiled. Then it went to black, saying "Press for Set-Up, Press for Resume". Heck, I wouldn't know how to set-up if my life depending on it, so I pressed F2.

Blink. Blink. Blink.

I called Stephanie, left her a message: "Dear... we have to get another computer."

I flipped it off and went to work. On the way, I called my buddy Jonathan Taylor, who is one of my few go-to guys for computer problems. He told me that the issue was the computer wasn't finding the operating system. What? This sounds bad.

There are two things you have to understand when it comes to our computer. First, Stephanie and I are both computer retarded. I mean, we can both put one together, perhaps combining our brain power, we can probably coming do some basic stuff... but when it comes to Giga-ram byte slave drive bit micro-macro-moncro-monchichi anything, we might as well both have drool coming out of our mouth.

Secondly, this is a computer that was pieced together from the Deuce. At The Deuce, we had five computers, one in each of the guy's rooms, and then one in the living room, all being networked. The one in my room had the extra hard drive on it, and when The Deuce shuttered its doors for the final time, Stephanie and I paid Shawn Sharp $100 for it. This might sound like a bad deal, but understand, this was 2004, when this computer was already about 2 years old. So I've got a "C" hard drive, which is the basic "master" drive, and "D" drive, which is the big one holding all of my music, much of my software, files, documents and so on.

To put this into persective, my iPod that I'm listening to right now ("Kiss Them For Me" by Siouxsie & the Banshees is playing at this very moment... okay, it just went to "Incense and Peppermint" by Strawberry Alarm Clock) is 60 gigs. My "C" hard drive is only 40.

Anyway, J-Taylor said he'd take a look at it when he could. This is a busy man, though, so I knew it might be a few days. I went onto work, did my coffee thing, then came home late Tuesday. One more try. Maybe, just maybe, a day of rest would wake up the computer, it would be rarin' to go, saying "Hey Dave! Thanks for the day off! I'm pumped and ready to be used for all your DFC/MySpace/Facebook/Drudge Report/ESPN/blogging duties!!"

Blink. Blink. Blink.

Stephanie and I spent about 30 minutes or more discussing the logistics of a laptop, how we can, or even if we can, afford it, what to do, when to do it, and all the while, I'm thinking, "Well, this just is poopy, isn't it?"

At church last night, I shared with some of the guys my computer woes. Notably Brad McGuffey, who is another computer tech guy. He asked me some questions, then told me, "Dude, your hard drive is fried." Were I four years old, I would have peed myself.

He explained to me the inner workings of the hard drive, told me that I should just get another one, then I can hook it up, turn the "C" drive into a "slave drive", transfer files, and so on.

However, this is what I heard: "LKoD K eoind dkone Deeoiaa[ 9ea7 _(7e[[ D(8yda- ". Making no sense? Exactly.

Brad graciously came over after church last night to inspect. He told me that really, all we needed was another hard drive, and at this day and time, even good ones are cheaper than ever. He and his lovely child-bearing wife Julie are possibly coming over Saturday for dinner, and we'll hopefully get it fixed.

This has made me realize how much I take for granted. No, seriously... I didn't even know who won the St Louis/NYMets game until about twenty minutes ago (the game was last night). I had 26 emails between Tuesday morning and fifteen minutes ago, some of which needed to be answered in a timely fashion (like the one telling me to wear a black shirt last night to church for dinner theater pictures) and I have no clue what's happening in the world. I almost feel lost... I almost feel like... it 1995.

So, here I am, standing at a computer in the Hoover Public Library. My hands hurt because of the angle in which I'm typing, and I'm trying to decide how to do the DFC this week, hoping that all will be working by Saturday night, preparing for getting another computer as late as a week from now. Possibly even further out.

Well, that's where I am. In case I don't blog again for another week or so, that's why. Three words:

Blink. Blink. Blink.

Mommy's Going Postal (and other thoughts)

So, I'm sitting here listening to the Jennifer Love Hewitt cd "Barenaked". No, I'm being serious. Why are you laughing? It's actually not bad... I mean, I'm not knocking the Dixie Chicks, Sarah McL and Sheryl off of my favorite chick singers, but its really not bad. I daresay its better than 98% of anything I've ever heard from Britney Spears. Heck, I even like her version of Jani Joplin's immortal "Me & Bobby McGee"... its different. Not bad.

Thank you, Hoover Public Library. Thank you for the discovery of the joy that is Jennifer Love Hewitt's musical spirit.

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Promised a reaction to the NYTimes article I posted on Friday, which if you don't remember or want a refresher, you can read it here.

Here's my thoughts on this... as someone who has worked in the youth department of Valleydale Baptist Church, and now Valleydale Church (an sbc fellowship), for the better part of 7 years, I've witnessed many students go up to that altar in a fit of passion during a youth camp or revival. Tears in their eyes, sobbing, and a committment to be what God wants them to be. Some have kept those vows. Watching them grow up, I've seen some who haven't. Some have turned completely opposite.

The article says that out of every 100 students, basically 4 or 5 are real in their faith. Maybe that number is a bit low, or the total teenage number is a bit high... the source of the stats himself says the numbers are skewered because the research itself is 10 years old.

My point? I think we are starting to see teenagers becoming real in their faith. Not just going through motions, not just saying the right church answers, but becoming walking, talking, evangelical machines... most not even going into the ministry, but carrying Jesus in their hearts, lives and actions into whatever career they choose.

My brother in law, Tyler, has said to me a few times that he feels like there is a revival coming soon. He feels that God is preparing he, and several other students in the high school ministry of which he's a part of (at Valleydale Church, an sbc fellowship), for something big soon. And I believe him.

Tell you what... let's take that only 5 out of every 100 teenagers will become "Bible believing Christians" statistic. That would translate to 10 out of 200, right? That Alabama math teachins ain't fer nuthin'...

Fine. How about you give me Tyler, Kid Sister, both Trey & Jamie Cartledge, either Kelley twin (cause both wouldn't be fair), either Long twin (pick one), Haley Heckman, Garrett Cheney, Jessica Compton and Bradley Pinkerton, and you can choose any 200 half-hearted sorta-walking-but-not-really-believes-in-the-Bible-but-you-wouldn't-know-it-outside-of-church teenagers you choose. Toss in Grace Mintz, and you can have 25 more of yours. And I'll bet my Teen God Squad of 11 starts a revolution. (some of you don't know any of these kids... but I wouldn't choose just anyone to make my point here)

Teenagers losing faith? Perhaps. But I'll bet the kids that responded mostly aren't ones that were living in Faith to begin with. I think the article is exciting. Gone are the Sunday-morning-believers, being replaced--and quickly--with those who are chasing God's heart.

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Just got back from the post office a few minutes ago. Stood in line for about twenty minutes to mail a few letters (they were oversized envelopes, so I had to get proper postage). Chick in front of me had her kid with her... kid was probably three, maybe four. At first, he was just an energetic little tyke (you know where this is going, don't you?), but as he waited with Mommy longer and longer, he started getting more restless. He was running all over the little lobby, as Mommy was trying to get him to stop, relax, calm down. And of course, the more he was getting scolded, the more he was protesting.

Now it just so happens that there are only two postal workers actually working. Like Wal-Mart, there were a number of registers (five here), but most were un-manned. The two workers each had a different Asian/Middle Eastern family at their post, looking to me like they were trying to get passports. The point is, they were taking a really long time, long enough for Junior to go absolutely nuts. He was wailing, crying, running all over the place, and Mommy was doing her best.

When she had him cornered across the lobby, he was sitting, crying, and I noticed Mommy just stood there, with her hand on her forehead, looking like she herself was about to go postal. The older gentlemen behind me in line, obviously from the "whoop-that-hiney" generation, said softly to no one in particular, "Looks like she's past the talking stage." I softly said, "Yeah.. I would have a whoopin' in my immediate future." Both the older gentleman and the lady behind him both chuckled. He made another comment that I didn't quite understand, and then I realized that I was coming across as making her sound like a bad mom, when in fact, I had no idea what her mommy capabilites were. I hope they are somewhat good, as she has another one on the way.

I heard her threaten Junior with the word "spanking", so I said softly, to no one in particular, "Looks like he's got a whoopin' in his immediate future." Of course, back in the age of 4, which was 1979, my mother would have probably just opened the post office front door and thrown me into the parking lot, daring me to move until she got done. She was still in there dealing with Junior's emotional state when I left.

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Went to Taco Bell for lunch. The one on 280 is actually quite nice, the one with a Long John Silvers attached to it. People there are usually friendly, and the drive thru is quick, as is the cafe everytime I've been there. Not so with the Taco Bell right around the corner. Its the one right down from the Galleria, next to Guthries and Blockbuster, in the Bruno's shopping center.

Last time I went in there--keep in mind, I order the same thing every time, a double decker taco and a grande soft taco, both with no lettice, and a medium Mountain Dew, so it's nothing complicated--it took me almost thirty minutes to get out. I walked in and there were six people ahead of me. The only reason I moved up in the line is becuase one by one, each person left before even ordereing. They were short handed, with one guy running the register, two people in the kitchen, and one guy on drive thru. Keep in mind, the one on 280 has a DT you can bolt from anytime... with this one here, once you get in the drive thru lane, you are locked in. There's nowhere to go.

One little red-headed chick was ruling the kitchen, barking out orders, while everyone lese was hustling. The guy at the register ran to the kitchen to help out, then would come back out to take orders... it was in his disapperance that they lost the six people in front of me. Then, the announcement came that they were out of hard shells. Yes, Taco Bell ran out of tacos. That's like Starbucks running out of coffee. Well, once we did run out of Espresso, but we used French Roast, which is a very viable substitute. Ther's nothing you can do when you are out of hard-shells.

My guess is that Sherry was late. Sherry was the short girl who came strolling in, taking her sweet time in wandering behind the counter. The reason I guess she was late was that Red-Head gave her a death look when she saw Sherry. I mean, if looks could kill, Sherry would have ben in four pieces splattered on the wall.

Working at Starbucks gives me a new-found patience when it comes fast food. Not that it excuses anything, but sometimes I just wait it out.

Today was a little better... though they were still slow as molasses on a sunny Alaskan December day. As I finally got my two tacos, I sat down, hearing John Legend's "Ordinary People" overhead. Fitting. "We're just ordinary people, we don't know which way to go. We're just ordinary people, maybe we should take it slow... take it slow."

Forget "Run for the border", use "Take it slow" to get that whole truth in advertising thing down.

I'm just saying.

Evangelicals Losing Teenagers, Sayeth the NYTimes

Despite my urge to use it for toilet paper, I actually picked up the New York Times today (it leaves printing ink in bad places if you use it for TP) because a front page article caught my attention; its the one you'll see pasted below. And I copied ALL of it, and just so you know, here's the link from their website. I only give it to you so you'll know I'm taking nothing out of context when I discuss this shortly.

In typical NYTimes fashion, the real truth to the story is buried at the end, two single lines that pretty much makes the whole story a moot point (I took the liberty of bolding it for you, because you know they wouldn't). Anyway, read this, but if you don't, I'm going to give you my take on it, with highlights, soon enough.

Oh yeah, before you begin... if these stats are right, I think this is FANTASTIC. I'll tell you why soon enough.

Evangelicals Fear the Loss of Their Teenagers
New York Times Page A1, cont'd on A18, 10/6/06
byline: Laurie Goodstein

Despite their packed megachurches, their political clout and their increasing visibility on the national stage, evangelical Christian leaders are warning one another that their teenagers are abandoning the faith in droves.

At an unusual series of leadership meetings in 44 cities this fall, more than 6,000 pastors are hearing dire forecasts from some of the biggest names in the conservative evangelical movement.

Their alarm has been stoked by a highly suspect claim that if current trends continue, only 4 percent of teenagers will be “Bible-believing Christians” as adults. That would be a sharp decline compared with 35 percent of the current generation of baby boomers, and before that, 65 percent of the World War II generation.

While some critics say the statistics are greatly exaggerated (one evangelical magazine for youth ministers dubbed it “the 4 percent panic attack”), there is widespread consensus among evangelical leaders that they risk losing their teenagers.

“I’m looking at the data,” said Ron Luce, who organized the meetings and founded Teen Mania, a 20-year-old youth ministry, “and we’ve become post-Christian America, like post-Christian Europe. We’ve been working as hard as we know how to work — everyone in youth ministry is working hard — but we’re losing.”

The board of the National Association of Evangelicals, an umbrella group representing 60 denominations and dozens of ministries, passed a resolution this year deploring “the epidemic of young people leaving the evangelical church.”

Among the leaders speaking at the meetings are Ted Haggard, president of the evangelical association; the Rev. Jerry Falwell; and nationally known preachers like Jack Hayford and Tommy Barnett.

Genuine alarm can be heard from Christian teenagers and youth pastors, who say they cannot compete against a pervasive culture of cynicism about religion, and the casual “hooking up” approach to sex so pervasive on MTV, on Web sites for teenagers and in hip-hop, rap and rock music. Divorced parents and dysfunctional families also lead some teenagers to avoid church entirely or to drift away.

Over and over in interviews, evangelical teenagers said they felt like a tiny, beleaguered minority in their schools and neighborhoods. They said they often felt alone in their struggles to live by their “Biblical values” by avoiding casual sex, risqué music and videos, Internet pornography, alcohol and drugs.

When Eric Soto, 18, transferred from a small charter school to a large public high school in Chicago, he said he was disappointed to find that an extracurricular Bible study attracted only five to eight students. “When we brought food, we thought we could get a better turnout,” he said. They got 12.

Chelsea Dunford, a 17-year old from Canton, Conn., said, “At school I don’t have a lot of friends who are Christians.”

Ms. Dunford spoke late last month as she and her small church youth group were about to join more than 3,400 teenagers in a sports arena at the University of Massachusetts in Amherst for a Christian youth extravaganza and rock concert called Acquire the Fire.

“A lot of my friends are self-proclaimed agnostics or atheists,” said Ms. Dunford, who wears a bracelet with a heart-shaped charm engraved with “tlw,” for “true love waits,” to remind herself of her pledge not to have premarital sex.

She said her friends were more prone to use profanity and party than she was, and added: “It’s scary sometimes. You get made fun of.”

To break the isolation and bolster the teenagers’ commitment to a conservative lifestyle, Mr. Luce has been organizing these stadium extravaganzas for 15 years. The event in Amherst was the first of 40 that Teen Mania is putting on between now and May, on a breakneck schedule that resembles a road trip for a major touring band. The “roadies” are 700 teenagers who have interned for a year at Teen Mania’s “Honor Academy” in Garden Valley, Tex.

More than two million teenagers have attended in the last 15 years, said Mr. Luce, a 45-year-old, mop-headed father of three with a master’s degree from the Graduate School of Business Administration at Harvard and the star power of an aging rock guitarist.

“That’s more than Paul McCartney has pulled in,” Mr. Luce asserted, before bounding onstage for the opening pyrotechnics and a prayer.

For the next two days, the teenagers in the arena pogoed to Christian bands, pledged to lead their friends to Christ and sang an anthem with the chorus, “We won’t be silent.” Hundreds streamed down the aisles for the altar call and knelt in front of the stage, some weeping openly as they prayed to give their lives to God.

The next morning, Mr. Luce led the crowd in an exercise in which they wrote on scraps of paper all the negative cultural influences, brand names, products and television shows that they planned to excise from their lives. Again they streamed down the aisles, this time to throw away the “cultural garbage.”

Trash cans filled with folded pieces of paper on which the teenagers had scribbled things like Ryan Seacrest, Louis Vuitton, “Gilmore Girls,” “Days of Our Lives,” Iron Maiden, Harry Potter, “need for a boyfriend” and “my perfect teeth obsession.” One had written in tiny letters: “fornication.”

Some teenagers threw away cigarette lighters, brand-name sweatshirts, Mardi Gras beads and CD’s — one titled “I’m a Hustla.”

“Lord Jesus,” Mr. Luce prayed into the microphone as the teenagers dropped their notes into the trash, “I strip off the identity of the world, and this morning I clothe myself with Christ, with his lifestyle. That’s what I want to be known for.”

Evangelical adults, like believers of every faith, fret about losing the next generation, said the Rev. David W. Key, director of Baptist Studies at the Candler School of Theology of Emory University, in Atlanta.

“The uniqueness of the evangelical situation is the fact that during the 80’s and 90’s you had the Reagan revolution that was growing the evangelical churches,” Mr. Key said.

Today, he said, the culture trivializes religion and normalizes secularism and liberal sexual mores. The phenomenon may not be that young evangelicals are abandoning their faith, but that they are abandoning the institutional church, said Lauren Sandler, author of “Righteous: Dispatches from the Evangelical Youth Movement” (Viking, 2006). Ms. Sandler, who calls herself a secular liberal, said she found the movement frighteningly robust.

“This generation is not about church,” said Ms. Sandler, an editor at Salon.com. “They always say, ‘We take our faith outside the four walls.’ For a lot of young evangelicals, church is a rock festival, or a skate park or hanging out in someone’s basement.”

Contradicting the sense of isolation expressed by some evangelical teenagers, Ms. Sandler said, “I met plenty of kids who told me over and over that if you’re not Christian in your high school, you’re not cool — kids with Mohawks, with indie rock bands who feel peer pressure to be Christian.”

(just a quick note... what school are YOU going to, Ms. Sandler? Even in Bible belt Alabama, I can guess there are very few schools where students are pressured to be Christians. Plus, I love it when secularists and liberals profess to have great knowledge on what it actually like to be a Christ-follower... heck, I've been a Christian for almost 12 years, and I can't imagine what a Christian in an Oregon school, or a Rhode Island school goes through. But that's just me--d$)

The reality is, when it comes to organizing youth, evangelical Christians are the envy of Roman Catholics, mainline Protestants and Jews, said Christian Smith, a professor of sociology at the University of Notre Dame, who specializes in the study of American evangelicals and surveyed teens for his book “Soul Searching: the Religious and Spiritual lives of American Teenagers” (Oxford, 2005).

Mr. Smith said he was skeptical about the 4 percent statistic. He said the figure was from a footnote in a book and was inconsistent with research he had conducted and reviewed, which has found that evangelical teenagers are more likely to remain involved with their faith than are mainline Protestants, Catholics, Jews and teenagers of almost every other religion.

“A lot of the goals I’m very supportive of,” Mr. Smith said of the new evangelical youth campaign, “but it just kills me that it’s framed in such apocalyptic terms that couldn’t possibly hold up under half a second of scrutiny. It’s just self-defeating.”

The 4 percent is cited in the book “The Bridger Generation” by Thom S. Rainer, a Southern Baptist and a former professor of ministry. Mr. Rainer said in an interview that it came from a poll he had commissioned, and that while he thought the methodology was reliable, the poll was 10 years old.

“I would have to, with integrity, say there has been no significant follow-up to see if the numbers are still valid,” Mr. Rainer said.

Mr. Luce seems weary of criticism that his message is overly alarmist. He said that a current poll by the well-known evangelical pollster George Barna found that 5 percent of teenagers were Bible-believing Christians. Some criticize Mr. Barna’s methodology, however, for defining “Bible-believing” so narrowly that it excludes most people who consider themselves Christians.

Mr. Luce responded: “If the 4 percent is true, or even the 5 percent, it’s an indictment of youth ministry. So certainly they’re going to want different data.”

Outside the arena in Amherst, the teenagers at Mr. Luce’s Acquire the Fire extravaganza mobbed the tables hawking T-shirts and CD’s stamped: “Branded by God.” Mr. Luce’s strategy is to replace MTV’s wares with those of an alternative Christian culture, so teenagers will link their identity to Christ and not to the latest flesh-baring pop star.

Apparently, the strategy can show results. In Chicago, Eric Soto said he returned from a stadium event in Detroit in the spring to find that other teenagers in the hallways were also wearing “Acquire the Fire” T-shirts. “You were there? You’re a Christian?” he said the young people would say to one another. “The fire doesn’t die once you leave the stadium. But it’s a challenge to keep it burning.”

An Incomplete List (but a great week)

So, out of 40 things on my To-Do task list since last Wednesday, my first day of vacation, I managed to knock out 30 of them.

My weekend:
(1) I rolled change for deposit to make up for my Sports Illustrated subscription--I will deposit it today.
(2) I inventoried and filed away my comics that were laying around
(4) I watched the pilot episode of Jericho
(5) I watched the pilot episode of Heroes
(6) I retyped skits and got them printed for WalkAbout
(9 & 10) I bought and attended the Troy/UAB game on Saturday (it was bad)
(14) I read I Samuel all the way through
(16) I out-served Stephanie in a few ways
(17) I sorted through a bunch of pictures, getting ready to put them in an album
(20) I had a conversation with a total stranger, Jennifer, the Waffle House waitress
(21) I updated my birthday calendar
(23) I spent two hours vegging, doing nothing
(24-29) I emailed Blair Andress, Susan Christiano, Anna Kelley, Bradley Granthem, Ambre Lake and Liberty Leak, all of whom I had not spoken with in at least seven to ten years
(30) Got the clothes folded (though now, there are more)
(31) Updated The Deuce Weekly Archive page
(32) Updated this page
(33) Wished Michael & Melissa Clark a happy anniversary
(34) Got Ryan Sherman's birthday card, will send out today
(35) Called Hallmark, got our Gold Crown Membership squared away
(36) Didn't get graduation gifts, but discussed with Stephanie about them, so it counts
(37) Got the ball rolling for the Make Your Mark for Elisabeth
(38) Dropped off books at the Hoover Library
(39) Read a bunch of Sports Guy columns
(40) Kept a running diary of my weekend

So here's what I didn't get done... (3) Watch Lost. That's for Wednesday morning... (7) Finish 2 books. Yeah, I started another one... (8) Mail out Thank You notes. I'm actually still on this... (11) Call Mom. I will, I will!... (12 & 13) Set pedometer and walk three miles. Yeah... (15) Read II Samuel. Didn't get to it... (18 & 19) Sort 160 pictures and start album. See, this took much longer than I ever anticipated, so this doesn't count that I missed it... (22) Update prayer calendar. No excuse on that one.

However... it was a productive weekend, I must say. Long live vacation!

Halfway There (23 Down, 17 To Go)

For this to make any sense, you'll want to either scroll down or just click here to read. Then after scrolling down, you'll want to scroll back up to the column just below this one or click here to read.

So, on my list of 40 things to do on my 5 day vacation, I've accomplished 23 tasks, with currently doing (40) a running diary, and then just now finishing (32) updating this page.

You might scroll around and see a few things added and removed... I did add a picture to the top of my profile (Steph hates that pic), while notably adding my friend Ambre's page to the links and also adding links to Kid Sister's page, my bro-in-law Tyler's page and for Steph, a link to John Tesh. And, you'll notice that the name was changed a few days ago from "Dave's Sojourn" to "Clouds In My Coffee". On my own MySpace page, you'll notice the blog there is "Clouds In My Coffee II", which mostly has the same stuff. I may post some stuff here or there exclusively, but check one or the other, and you'll get your fill of Dave, I'm sure.

So, what have I not done yet on my list? (1) Roll change & deposit $40 to cover the cost of my Sports Illustrated subscription--well, I've got the change rolls, I just need to roll.
(3) Watch Lost. Tomorrow, maybe.
(7) Finish 2 books. This may or may not get done.
(8) Mail out Thank You Cards for NYC--I'm working on that off and on
(9) Attend football game. Will do so tomorrow night
(11) Call Mom. Tomorrow
(12) Set pedometer and (13) Walk 3 miles. Hmm... we'll see.
(14) and (15) Read I & II Samuel. Tonight or tomorrow.
(18) Figure out 160 pictures to go in my new Creative Memories slide album, and (19) start working on said album. This afternoon.
(21) Update b'day and anniversary calendar, and (22) update prayer calendar. Tonight.
(29) Email one more person that I haven't talked to in a long, long time... Jason Smith. Later.
(31) Update Deuce Weekly Archive. I'll try to get this done today, between DFC updates.
(36) Get long overdue graduation gifts. I need to discuss with Stephanie.

But first... shower. It is 109pm, after all. I love my life.

21 Down, 19 To Go

If you haven't read "40 Ways To Vacation Like You Were Dyin'" yet, scroll down to do so. Otherwise you might be a little lost...

Wednesday
Finally got started on my list around 1130am...

1145am... (25) Email at least five people I haven't talked to in a really long time. Sent an email to Susan Christiano, who was a journalism buddy of mine in college--we haven't spoken in at least ten years I would say. Well, she did email me first, but I email her back with a longer "here's how I am, how are you" letter. So that's one down.

1230pm... (20) Have a conversation with a total stranger. On my way to accomplish (16), I realized I was heading in the wrong direction, so I turned around to go where I was supposed to. And I stopped in Waffle House for a quick lunch... I have figured out that I'm resuming my Weight Watchers diet on Monday, so I felt okay to do so. Anyway, a girl named Jennifer was my waitress, and I got to talk to her awhile. She'd actually be perfect for Starbucks--I may go back and recruit her.

1pm... (37) Get the MYM ball rolling. Made a few phone calls, am starting this process quick enough.

115pm... (16) Out-serve Steph. This is hard to do, because she does so much for me, but I tried. She and some fellow Creative Memory consultants have a booth set up at Kid's Market, in the old Winn Dixie building up on 150. I came in to give the girl in the CM booth, Angie, a lunch break.

A few observations:
--The booth next to CM was Southern Living Home, manned by a lady named Sybil Johnson (yeah, I thought the same thing too--when I mentioned it, she pursed her lips and said "I know her" in a way that made me think I wasn't the first person to bring this up). She was hardcore, though... every time anyone walked by, she was hollering "Sign up for a $50 gift certificate??!!" I didn't do anything of the kind for the CM booth. I'm there to man it, not market.
--To mark the different sections of the Kids Market, they had removed the Winn Dixie lettering off the walls. Apparently, they didn't have enough letters to go through all the sections, hence signs that read "A CESS RIES", "SAFET CE TER" and "KIDS MARKET & M M"
--Big lady sitting across from me. She was on her phone. She was wearing a short skirt. Needless to say, I cringed when I discovered she was wearing white underwear. Have you ever conciously NOT looked straight ahead for any given amount of time? Its hard to do.
--We had a fish bowl for people to sign up for the drawing (a basket full of free stuff). Some little kid walked by and put his hand in it, picking up cards. Before I could even say anything, he drops them all, says "Them ain't baseball cards" and walks off. I can't help but think some how some way my taxes will be paying his welfare in a few years.
--When Angie came back, I walked out. The security guard said "I can't help but notice you movin' in a fast pace, man."

245pm... (30) Fold clothes. Piece of cake. Did that while (4) watching the pilot episode of Heroes (it was intriguing), then when I finished the clothes, I moved onto (17) sorting pictures, though that will take me more than today.

Alright... so it's 4pm, and I'm off to accomplish #33, #34 and #38. Wish me luck. More later.

9pm... Never got around to doing (33), though I did see both Melissa and Michael, and wished them Happy Anniversary. The special day has been acknowledged, a card now would be overkill, so I'm marking this off the list. I did (38) drop off the books and pay the $2 fee, but I didn't get to (34) pick up the b'day card.

Thursday

2am... It's way too late. However, I just (24) emailed Blair Andress, and even invited him to the game this weekend. It would be good to see him.

240am... I was laying on the couch (this late at night, I just sleep on the couch, for fear of waking Steph in coming to bed--she's grumpy the next day) and just finished (4) watching Jericho, the first episode, on my iPod. Its a pretty good show... leaves you curious. I'll watch it again before I commit to it.

1048am... Now that its daylight, and I'm up and moving, I'm about to go shower, then head out to knock out (11) get game tickets. I'll probably try to get (34) b'day card while I'm at it. Then, hopefully, I can do a series of tasks this afternoon, one right after the other, like 1, 2, 6, 11 ,12, 14, 15, 21, 22, 26-29 and 35 before I dig into some of he longer tasks.

1pm... Headed down to UAB Ticket office. Just had lunch at Sneaky Pete's, and got to see the Presidential Motorcade pass by (Dubya's in town for a speech). Got to UAB's campus, parallel parked as pretty as you please, then found the box office. Along the way, they've got "The Fall of Troy" written everywhere, with badly drawn dragons all over the place.

If you've ever seen Roxanne, a complete underrated and little-seen brilliant Steve Martin movie from the 80s, there's a scene where the mayor is kicking off the town's annual Oktoberfest Celebration... in front of a mic, he holds up a forthy beer, sounds a whistle and says "Let Oktoberfest... BEGIN!!" The camera pans out to about three people walking down the street, not paying the least bit of attention.

This is what I'm guessing homecoming at University of Alabama-Birmingham is like.

Anyway, they have this deal where, for $40, you get four tickets, four hot dogs, four cokes and a t-shirt, and I need to buy 2 for the 8 people that are going to see the game on Saturday night. Well, the smarmy guy at the window said I could only buy 1 pack per family.

Of course, this probably had something to do with my Troy shirt I was wearing, plus the fact I told him I needed tickets to "The Rise of Troy on Saturday night". As I typed this, Wookiee called me and said he was going to pick up the other tickets, so (10) get tickets for football game is taken care of.

150pm... On the way back, I (34) got the b'day card, then (35) called Hallmark about our Gold Crown membership. These are things you never imagine doing until you get married.

220pm... Stopped by Starbucks on 280 to continue working on (37) Elisabeth's Make Your Mark project. Also, I spent two hours last night doing nothing but vegging out in front of the computer finding friends like Liberty Leak and Anna Kelley on myspace, so that will quailfy for (23) spending two consecutive hours doing nothing of value. And this morning, I (26) emailed Anna Kelley, someone I haven't talk to in a really, really long time.

340pm... As soon as I hit "publish", I'm going to start working on (6) retype skits for WalkAbout. See you soon.

Friday
1208am... Well, I just finished (2) inventory of my new comics. That took a long, long time, much longer than I expect. Steph had the girls Bible study here, like usual on Thursday nights, so I went to Vestavia Starbucks... now I could have done several things, but I did something that I forgot to put on this list, yet was just as important... cast skits for WalkAbout. That took the better part of an hour or more.

Then, like a goob, instead of working on (7) finishing a book, I actually started another one. Duh. I won't even tell you what it is just yet, because I'm only ten pages into it... I may not get any farther.

I did, however, (6) retype my skits.

And so I'm going to update the DFC Blogspot page, then go to bed.

1124am... Got up late. This did bother me, but hey, I'm on vacation. Just finished (27) emailing Bradley Grantham, an ol' college buddy of mine. Also (28) emailed Ambre Lake, another college buddy (and one time FH Formal date... whatever, she's no Stephanie).

1218pm... Finished (39) catching up on the Sports Guy columns. This stuff is just plain funny... where else would you see sentences like "The 2006 season has been overtaken by NFL coaches with man-boobs." and references to "Dustin Diamond's sex tape"? Hilarious.

40 Ways To Vacation Like You Were Dyin'

Today I start vacation. Starbucks' fiscal year ends on Sunday, and I have 24 hours of vacation (ie, three days) to use, so my manager was nice enough just to give me the rest of the week off... now, normally, at 845am in the morning, I would still be sleeping until about 10am, and do so every day until Sunday, but this week, I wanted to get some stuff done.

You know how there are a dozen or two little things just around that you need to get to, you just haven't made time to do it yet? Simple things that might take you an hour or less to complete, and would be totally satisfying upon completion, but you just haven't taken time to jump on the task? Well, thats this week for me.

So, I've made a list of several things I want to accomplish: Skydiving, rocky mountian climbing, ride 2.7 seconds on a bull named Fu-Manchu, love deeper, spoke sweeter, give forgiveness that I've been denying... okay, just kidding.

Here's really what I want to do, not necessarily in this order:

Just got a sweet deal on an 18 month subscription to Sports Illustrated, complete with a Cincinnati Bengals long sleeve t-shirt. Of course, $40 out of the budget means I gotta put $40 back into the budget. Good thing I have $40 change in my spare change bucket, so (1) Roll $40 bucks in change and deposit it before Stephanie yells at me.

For the two or three people who don't know, I'm a big comic book collector, and I keep track of them on a spread sheet I created a few years ago... you may think it's dorky, and it may be, but it helps me to remember what I'm missing. Right now, I have a stack of comics that need to be filed away, so (2) inventory and file comics.

Couple of tv shows to watch, so watch (3) last season's finale of Lost on dvd, (4) the pilot episode of Jericho on my iPod and (5) the pilot episode of Heroes on video.

For my middle school drama team, (6) retype skits and send to Kathy Compton for printing.

I've been reading four books at once, "Body Piercing Saved My Life" by Andrew Beaujon, "100 People Who are Screwing Up America (and Al Franken is #37)" by Bernard Goldberg, "One for the Money" by Stephanie Evanovich and "The Da Vinci Code" by Dan Brown. Hopefully, I can half this stack by (7) finishing at least two books this weekend.

I'm long overdue to finish this, and this may be one of the first two or three things I do, (8) to finish and mail out thank you cards for people who donated to the NYC mission trip.

(9) Attend a college football game
(10) Get tickets for said college football game
(11) Call Mom

When I was at NBC, we had this health initiative for walking, and everyone who participated got a pedometer. (That word makes it sound like you are measuring pedophiles... "Yep, my pedometer is picking up 4 in this area"). Anyway, I have one, and the only reason I've never used it is because I have to set it to my walking stride--so (12) set pedometer, so I can get an idea of how much I walk during the day.

Speaking of walking, I do need some exercise... five days, I can handle three miles, right? (13) Walk 3 miles.

The services at Valleydale Church (an sbc fellowship) have been great these past few weeks, studying the life of David. I've found myself actually reading ahead of the sermon notes, and I told myself I'd read through the books, so what a better time to do so? (14 & 15) Read I and II Samuel all the way through.

As a doting husband, figure out some way to (16) out-serve Stephanie this weekend... though I think that opportunity has already presented itself.

Within (16), I have been meaning to already do a few things... she is a Creative Memories consultant (scrapbooking) and though I don't go for putting pictures in a book with designs and cut out letters (not to demean it in any way, its a cool thing) they do have new slide albums, like your traditional books that you just slide pictures into--but better. Safer for the picture, the design is better, and there is room for notes about the picture. Of course, I need to (17) sort through the box of pictures I have, (18) figure out which 160 pictures will go in my new slide album and (19) start the album.

I was in a Barnes & Noble the other day, when someone asked me if I was from India. No joke. We chatted for just a second, and I moved on. Looking back, it was so random, who knows if that was just that--random--or a divine appointment that I blew off. So, hopefully, I have another shot at it. (20) Have a conversation with a total stranger

We love sending out birthday and anniversary cards, and recently, we have more names to add to our list, so (21) update b'day/ann. calendar.

I used to keep a great weekly prayer calendar, with all our friends and family on it, with each day having a different list of people to pray for. Needless to say, Steph and I haven't really looked at that lately, so (22) update prayer calendar.

Sometimes you just want to veg and do nothing, right? (23) Spend at least 2 consecutive hours doing nothing but sitting on my rear and flipping channels.

My friend list on my MySpace Page is getting large. Lots of people I've added that I haven't talked to since I added them, including one friend who emailed me a good letter that I haven't responded to.

(24) Email Blair and respond.
(25-29) Email five people that I haven't talked to in a really, really long time just to say hey and find out how they are doing.

Finishing a task I started on Monday, (30) fold clothes and get them out of the living room.

Back in February, I started posting the Deuce Weeklys, each time five years to the day of when they were orginally released. Since I got back from New York City, I haven't been very good at it--I'm a month behind. So (31) Update The Deuce Weekly Archive.

(32) I really need to update this page, while I'm at it. I think I'll call it "Clouds in My Coffee"... thats cool name. I don't want to be one of those middle school girls who change email address and myspace pages fifteen times over, but "The Adventures of Dave" was okay, and "Dave's Sojourn" just doens't ring with me like I hoped it would. Plus, I need to update some links.

Going back to (21), I need to (33) pick up an anniversary card for Michael & Melissa Clark and while I'm at it, (34) get a birthday card for my buddy Ryan. Plus, I need to (35) call Hallmark and find out why we haven't been getting their quarterly coupon thingies for being Gold Crown Members.

Months overdue, I should finally (36) get the graduation gifts we promised for Kourtney, Kandice and Jaci.

Got a note in the mail yesterday, found out one of my drama kids has Type I diabetes, and there is an event at the end of the month to raise money for a cure... this would be a perfect Make Your Mark idea (its a fund-raising program from Starbucks), so (37) get ball rolling for MYM for Elisabeth's event.

Due today, my audio book copy of Ann Coulter's "Slander", to the Hoover Public Library. This one whuld be easy... (38) drop off due books and pay overdue fees for a dvd I had out last week.

Speaking of reading, I'm waaaay behind in my Sports Guy columns. (39) Catch up on TSG's stuff.

...

Just sat here for about ten minutes watching Sports Center to see if they had any info on Terrell Owen's alledged suicide attempt (none yet), and just thinking of how to end this list on a nice, even number (who ends a list on the number 39?). I just saw a commercial for the dvd of Fast and the Furious: Tokyo Drift... what if I watch that? No, I like my 138 IQ.

I think I'll just keep you updated on my progress. (40) Keep a running tally of how much I've done (and didn't do).

Think I can get it all in? It's 10am... I need to shave and shower, and let's begin...

How Sweet It Is

Stephanie's birthday is Monday, and though I won't tell you how old she'll be, I will say she's celebrating her second 29th birthday.

I already got her something earlier this month for her birthday, which wasn't much, and I thought about sending her flowers, or getting her flowers again, which I've done several times already. Trouble is, I worked today (and here it is, already 3pm) and I work on Monday, and honestly, though she's worth it, flower delivery is expensive. And we're all on a budget.


Taken at one of our wedding showers...

So, I thought it would be fitting today just to tell her, here on the world wide web for all nine of my readers to read, how much I love her. So, here goes...

Steph, you are amazing.
You're truly the most unselfish person I've ever met.
I remember when I was so frustrated with NBC, you would just lay and listen to me for hours, only wanting me to be happy... and instead of saying "Honey, we can't afford for you to leave", you told me "If you hate it, just leave. Work at Starbucks full time. We'll make it work, somehow. I just want you to be happy." That's the example I use to people to tell how wonderful you are.
To use the term "I married up" would be funny, but within the humore, there is truth to be found. We're approaching three years of marriage, and somehow it feels like we got married yesterday... and at the same time, it feels like we've been married for decades... and I look forward to those decades to come.
Never could I have imagined God's purpose for my life when it came to who I married, and never could I have imagined being so blessed in so many ways, whether its someone to go to the $1 movies with, someone to sit on the couch and watch CSI dvds or lay in bed at midnight and just discuss life, work, friends and whatever else comes to mind.
Sometimes when I know you are coming home, or I know I'll get to see you, I still get butterflies in my stomach, like I had that morning of our first kiss.
Anyway, I love you so much, and I wanted to give you the words of a song I discovered, and I thought it was fitting.

You know what, though? I posted this featuring a great Johnny Cash song... the words are:
We're the best partners this world's ever seen, together as close as can be... But sometimes it's hard to find time in between... To tell you what you are to me... You are the rose of my heart... You are the love of my life
A flower not faded nor falling apart... If you're tired, rest your head on my arm (well, until it goes to sleep, then we'll figure something else out)... Rose of my Heart.
When sorrow holds you in her arms of clay... It's raindrops that fall from your eyes... Your smile is the sun come to earth for a day... You brighten my blackest of skies... so hard times or easy times, what do I care, there's nothing I'd change if I could... The tears and the laughter are things that we share... Your hand in mine makes all times good... You are the rose of my heart, you are the love of my life, a flower not faded nor falling apart, if you're cool let my love make you warm... Rose of my heart

Now, this is a great song... but this is my Stephanie we are talking about here. She'll think the above was really sweet, but I realized, after I posted this originally, that she's just not a Johnny Cash type of girl. And after this came up on my iPod, I decided to send out something that's more your style...

How sweet it is to be loved by you
How sweet it is to be loved by you

I needed the shelter of someone's arms and there you were
I needed someone to understand my ups and downs and there you were
With sweet love and devotion, deeply touching my emotion
I want to stop and thank you baby
I just want to stop and thank you baby

How sweet it is to be loved by you
How sweet it is to be loved by you

I close my eyes at night,wondering where would I be without you in my life
Everything I did was just a bore, (well, thats not true... the Deuce was anything but boring, but still)
everywhere I went it seems I'd been there before
But you brightened up for me all of my days
With a love so sweet in so many ways
I want to stop and thank you baby
I want to stop and thank you baby

How sweet it is to be loved by you
How sweet it is to be loved by you

You were better to me than I've been to myself
For me, there's you and there ain't nobody else
I want to stop and thank you baby
I just want to stop and thank you baby

Truly, how sweet it is to be loved by you

You are always My Song

Love,
Dave

(remember all of this when I tell you about my new subscription to Sports Illustrated)

Tales From the Drive-Thru: ...and then...

I'm pretty tired right now. Sleepy too. But this morning was just too much of a morning to keep all to myself... I have to share the jollies with the world.

Yesterday, Thursday, was my day off, but I get a call at 545am in the morning from one of our shifts, Merkel, at Starbucks. Our manager, Josh, is on vacation this week, so who calls shots this week? Ding.

Anyway, Merkel tells me that the computers are down. We can't ring anyone up, we haven't run the "open store" program that has to be run for the store to open properly, at least computer-wise, and they have started just giving away drinks and pastries upon request. He's on the phone with the honchos at our Enterprise Help Desk (they "help" us with the computer issues). I roll out of bed, throw on some clothes and take an early morning drive to 280, across town from The Dos Pesos (our apartment) just to help out. He's got it all down pat, though, just like I knew he would. He's a good guy.

I leave, and Merkel calls me later, telling me that the system is up and running and la-dee-dah, all God's childrens are happy.

You ever had those days when so many weird, odd things happen, that if someone walked in, gave you a jar of peanut butter and $100 and asked you to kick him in the shins using authentic Super Bowl XVII cleats, you'd think to yourself "On any other day, this might seem strange... but not today..."? Yeah.

I have to open this morning, Friday. I roll up around 455am, go in, and what do I see on the screen on the computer in the back? Yep, the blue screen of death. I spend about twenty minutes on hold with Enterprise...

...which leads me to a point... if there are that many people having problems to keep me on hold at five in the morning, then either they need to hire more people, or really crack down on fixing what is wrong with all these problems...

...and then...

...we figure out how to get the registers up and running. There is no connection between the registers and the back computer, meaning its almost like a really fancy concession stand at a football game. We can't open the "dummy till" in the drive thru--the way it works is when we get busy, one person takes orders and punches it into the system, and hands off the cup to the bar person. Meanwhile, the other person pulls up the order you just punched in on her register, then opens the window and takes the money. While she's taking money, I take the next order and so on and so forth.

Well, the register I am using doesn't work. So now, I'm writing on post-its each order, passing it off to Renee, handing the cup to Nall on bar, and Renee is now having to enter everything in her register before taking money... and its slowing us down like crazy.

...and then...

...the paper order arrives. The driver comes in, and says, "I have two invoices, but I am thinking its not all for you, even though both invoices have your address on it." I look, and they are the same invoice... but since he has two, that means there is two exact orders on his pallet. And on the order we take, its got 16 boxes--SIXTEEN BOXES--of grande hot cups. We ordered 3. I told him that we would take three boxes, and he could send back the other 13. Sixteen boxes, thats about 500 pounds of freight that we'd have to pay for. Plus, we have no where to put it.

...and then...

...taking an order in the drive thru, there's a sweet young lady in a Jeep Liberty who orders at tall nonfat caramel latte, with whipped cream and caramel drizzle. I took the order, said, "We'll see you at the window." She sits for a minute, then says, "I'm sorry... my car just broke down." I laughed. I grabbed Rocky, one of our shifts, and we both went outside and pushed her vehicle out of the drive thru (we gave her the drink)

...and then...

...the mocha guy shows up. Apparently, there is a shortage in Seattle of mocha powder, which is used to make the chocolate syrup. Our district manager made the call to order a bunch of cases of mocha, and have them delivered to our store. Because our store is easy to find, we're the easiest place to store it, so the stores from Huntsville, the one in Anniston and the one in Tupelo can come get it from us. So, we've got seventy cases of mocha. No, seriously... seven-zero. SEVENTY. In the middle of the rush, we just stack 'em anywhere we can, some in the back, some in the front, wherever. I called the DM and asked him, to which he said,"Can you find a place in the back to put them?" and I replied, "Uh... no. There is nowhere." He tells me each store should get 3.5 cases.

Do the math. Of all the markets I listed, we have about 18 stores... that's about 63 cases. That leaves us with 7. Okay, as long as we can get all the stores to come get theirs, quickly, we can get rid of this. And each case has six bags of mocha, each bag weighing 2 or 3 pounds, so this junk is all over the place. Well, Scotty2Hottie from the 150 store comes in to pick up theirs... S2H tells me that he talked to Huntsville, they already have theirs. And that our DM has miscalculated, and so with each store now getting 3.5, we'll have about 25 cases left. I give 150 five cases. Lakeshore, 119 and Galleria all got 4. I sent 8 to Vestavia.

...and then...

...one girl didn't show up for work. Another girl called in, crying. Family emergency, she said she's going to be an hour late. I told her to not come in crying, just don't come in at all.

...and then...

...a girl named Brandi (you're a fine girl) bought six pounds of coffee. Well, when you buy three pounds, thru September 30th, you get $5 Starbucks gift card. Unfortunately, our systems are down, so we can't load any Starbucks cards. I have to get her name and address and promise to send it to her.

...and then...

...Nall dropped a bottle of Frappuccino--well, it actually fell out of the fridge when he opened it. It crashed, spilled under the immovable fridges. We got it cleaned up.

...and then...

...we can't close tills. When someone is leaving for the day, or we are closing, each person has to go count their register drawer electronically, and it transmits a report based on over/under and how much each deposit is, and how much should be left in the drawer. When the computers aren't working, however, there is no information transmitted to the back, so while counting the drawer isn't hard, there is no report. We have to wing it, and I have to get info from Jacob and Renee, who are both leaving, so I can finish closing their tills later.

...and then...

...I also have to wing the deposit. Nothing to compare it to in the system, I have to count and hope its right (which, by the way, when the system did come up, I was one penny off... who's house? Run's house. I said who's house? Runs's house.)

...and then, I spent an hour on the phone with Enterprise Help Desk, finally getting the computers working...

...and then, I had to go to the restroom, but four times when I found time to go, someone was in there (including one guy who didn't lock the door--eeesh)...

...and then, we were out of root beer...

...and then, after I left for the day, I'm sitting on the couch tonight watching The Lifetime Movie Network, and Meredith calls me from the store, saying the computer is still down. Everything is working up front, all the registers are okay, both drive-thru tills are operational, but the motherboard in the back is fried.

...and then, I look back on the morning, and realize how lucky I was to have Nall, Renee, Jacob and Rocky on the floor with me... they rocked. Absolutely rocked today, through everything...

...and then, I think about how I'm married to the most incredibly wonderful woman in the whole wide world... I've got a Creator that loves me very much... I'm friends with some of the greatest people in the whole world... I weigh too much (which means I get well enough to eat)... I've got DVDs runneth over... I have an iPod... my car works... I do enjoy my job... Jessica Hawbaker gave me just the nicest compliment the other day, one which I'm still kinda smiling about (the power of positve words, thats an upcoming column, I think)... and I'm listening to an inspiring Nichole Nordeman right now...

...and then...

I know I'm so blessed to be David Dollar right now. Life is good.