Was driving through Atlanta, GA today listening to some local talk radio when the jockey who was on at the time mentioned brought up the state of Florida's projected $178 Million dollar study (in fiscal year one) to drug test people who collect welfare checks. So far, the study has found that while 2% we cited as drug users, 96% of these people do not use drugs. This is less than the national average of people over the age of 12 who use drugs (8.7%) and over the age of 26 (6.3%). It also disproves Governor Rick Scott's ridiculous statement that people on welfare are more likely to use drugs than people who are not on welfare. Wow, imagine that? When asked for comment, it appears that the Governor's office declined. Wow, imagine that?
The jockey went on to call out Governor Rick Scott for wasting $178M of taxpayer money on a ridiculous study when the state is struggling to fund other programs and cutting the jobs of teachers, firefighters, and policemen. He ended by saying, "This guy has got to go. People of Florida need to make sure their voice is heard at the next election".
I found it pretty funny that here we had a disc jockey for a radio station in the next state that was more in tune with the politics of Florida than most Floridians are. I wanted to call in and let him know that I agreed with him in full but the sad part is that an asshole like Rick Scott is likely to be re-elected because people in Florida are asleep at the wheel when it comes to politics.
Showing posts with label wow. Show all posts
Showing posts with label wow. Show all posts
Tuesday, August 30, 2011
Friday, August 27, 2010
Wow, Good People In Miami
I'm blow away by an event that has transpired over the past 2 days. I arrived home from work yesterday and got my mail and found I had a letter from the Traffic Citations department of Miami. At first I thought it might have been those new video cameras in Coral Gables that had busted me doin' a "California Roll thru a stop sign or something but when I opened it up I found a parking ticket inside. ""WTF?", was the only thought that entered my mind. Not that I'm immune to parking tickets by any means. I get them occasionally when I don't have change or something. This one was different though. I knew I didn't have my car that day.
I went online and found out where the ticket was issued. It was a place I'd only been to once. I had turned in my car that morning at Bimmer Shop, a BMW repair shop located caddy corner from Braman BMW. I had wires on both tail lights short out and needed to replace the whole damn panel. Bimmer Shop repaired it and did a great job. In fact, I was impressed with how nice everyone that worked there was and that they completed the work within hours. However, I guess at some point they had to move my car to a parking spot (their place isn't enormous) and while it was there it was ticketed. I'm assuming they took the ticket and intended to pay it but forgot or something because I never saw it. I knew nothing about it until I got the late notice yesterday in the mail.
I left a voicemail and sent and email to their office because it was after hours. I also called the next morning. The girl who answered the phone was really nice and had just listened to my message. She asked for my tag number and said they would take care of it. Most of the time in Miami this means you have to call the person every day to remind them to do it. Not this company. She called me back within 10 minutes and let me know the ticket had been paid. I couldn't believe it.
Bimmer Shop will definitely be recommended to any and everyone I know. They can do body work on any auto and mechanical work on any BMW and they do a really good job in a short amount of time. The people in both the office and shop are friendly and they showed me that they will make amends to any mistakes they make. Good stuff all around.
I went online and found out where the ticket was issued. It was a place I'd only been to once. I had turned in my car that morning at Bimmer Shop, a BMW repair shop located caddy corner from Braman BMW. I had wires on both tail lights short out and needed to replace the whole damn panel. Bimmer Shop repaired it and did a great job. In fact, I was impressed with how nice everyone that worked there was and that they completed the work within hours. However, I guess at some point they had to move my car to a parking spot (their place isn't enormous) and while it was there it was ticketed. I'm assuming they took the ticket and intended to pay it but forgot or something because I never saw it. I knew nothing about it until I got the late notice yesterday in the mail.
I left a voicemail and sent and email to their office because it was after hours. I also called the next morning. The girl who answered the phone was really nice and had just listened to my message. She asked for my tag number and said they would take care of it. Most of the time in Miami this means you have to call the person every day to remind them to do it. Not this company. She called me back within 10 minutes and let me know the ticket had been paid. I couldn't believe it.
Bimmer Shop will definitely be recommended to any and everyone I know. They can do body work on any auto and mechanical work on any BMW and they do a really good job in a short amount of time. The people in both the office and shop are friendly and they showed me that they will make amends to any mistakes they make. Good stuff all around.
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
"For a minute there...I lost myself."
Those lyrics from Radiohead's "Karma Police" couldn't better describe the events that transpired around 4:45pm at my workplace today. After years of snide comments, insults, misrepresentations, mountains of disrespect, and casting it all aside, I couldn't accept it anymore. I lost it.
I can't remember ever being that angry ever in the thirty-two years of mornings I've been blessed enough to wake up for. Sure, there have been times where I've been angry but never teetering on the edge of physically assaulting someone without following through with it. At least when I'd get into a fight there would be anger leading up to it but knowing that a scrap would end things right then and there made it easier to not be so angry if that makes sense. Even if I wasn't the victor (and believe me, I've taken my fair share of shots) at least my feelings were communicated in a way that was easy to understand. As time aged on I sought out the path of more reason, telling myself that there was nothing worth getting so worked up about. I let things go and it worked.
But there I was at 4:45pm, hands shaking as rage coursed through my veins causing them to pop out of my forehead and neck, turning my face tomato red. I removed myself from the situation three times because I felt as if I couldn't trust myself to stay cool and, no matter how good it would've felt to communicate my feelings physically, that the repercussions in the end would not have justified the means. Unfortunately, that just fanned the flames. This was my job, my means of living life, and that was being used as leverage against me. I felt trapped. I felt owned.
My buttons had been pressed for years but this time the "out of order" light didn't illuminate. Action was getting reacquainted with reaction. I took all my frustration and anger and I let it go in a verbal way, refusing to give in and turn the other cheek. I didn't curse (I'm still in shock I was able to do that) but instead chose to finally let all my feelings fly with the understanding that my little share session could result in my termination. I didn't care. I was not going to take one more ounce of disrespect and I was there to make sure everyone knew that.
In the end I was a little disappointed that I blew my stack because in a way I felt as if I'd lost the mild mannered person I'd worked so hard to become. Overall, however, I was proud. I was proud of myself for taking a stand, even if it was potentially my final stand. I'd rather starve than feel owned like that. After all, at the end of the day I report to myself, not a boss, not friends, not family, not God. Me.
I can't remember ever being that angry ever in the thirty-two years of mornings I've been blessed enough to wake up for. Sure, there have been times where I've been angry but never teetering on the edge of physically assaulting someone without following through with it. At least when I'd get into a fight there would be anger leading up to it but knowing that a scrap would end things right then and there made it easier to not be so angry if that makes sense. Even if I wasn't the victor (and believe me, I've taken my fair share of shots) at least my feelings were communicated in a way that was easy to understand. As time aged on I sought out the path of more reason, telling myself that there was nothing worth getting so worked up about. I let things go and it worked.
But there I was at 4:45pm, hands shaking as rage coursed through my veins causing them to pop out of my forehead and neck, turning my face tomato red. I removed myself from the situation three times because I felt as if I couldn't trust myself to stay cool and, no matter how good it would've felt to communicate my feelings physically, that the repercussions in the end would not have justified the means. Unfortunately, that just fanned the flames. This was my job, my means of living life, and that was being used as leverage against me. I felt trapped. I felt owned.
My buttons had been pressed for years but this time the "out of order" light didn't illuminate. Action was getting reacquainted with reaction. I took all my frustration and anger and I let it go in a verbal way, refusing to give in and turn the other cheek. I didn't curse (I'm still in shock I was able to do that) but instead chose to finally let all my feelings fly with the understanding that my little share session could result in my termination. I didn't care. I was not going to take one more ounce of disrespect and I was there to make sure everyone knew that.
In the end I was a little disappointed that I blew my stack because in a way I felt as if I'd lost the mild mannered person I'd worked so hard to become. Overall, however, I was proud. I was proud of myself for taking a stand, even if it was potentially my final stand. I'd rather starve than feel owned like that. After all, at the end of the day I report to myself, not a boss, not friends, not family, not God. Me.
Monday, November 23, 2009
Quest for 50
Travel, travel, travel. Seems like I'm always on the run (cue the Kravitz). This month has been pretty epic for travel though. Epic in the sense that this weekend I was able to knock off my third of the 14 untraveled states left on the list on my quest to visit all 50 of the United States.
I started November with 14 unvisited states left on my quest for 50, that number including Hawaii and Alaska. Earlier in the month I went to Tennessee and there aint no place I'd rather be (cue the Dead). Well, there are plenty of places I'd rather be but the bbq pulled pork sandwich I had at Golly Whoppers at least made me I was happy I was there at that point in time. I just wanted to make the Dead reference. A week later, I was headed to Minnesoooota, as the locals would pronounce it. Didnt really get to see the full Mall of America but I did have a few good meals, one being a burger that was almost better than the one I had at Burger & Beer Joint recently. This puppy had a burger patty with shredded lettuce, cheese, pulled pork, AND bacon on top of it!! My sales rep and I ate at a couple of sports bars out in Minnesota and the food was surprisingly good as was the service, something you never really get here in Miami.
The last state knocked off in November was Biloxi, Mississippi. This trip was pure pleasure though, no work involved. Why Biloxi? Good question. As I may have stated a few times on this blog, I love to gamble. The MGM group knows this because I have their players card and play often at their casinos when Im in Vegas. Well, they decided to mail me a postcard offering a free flight, transportation, and hotel for 2 nights for me and a companion to check out their Beau Rivage casino in Biloxi. At first I ignored it because it seemed like one of those "too good to be true" deals. Then, they called me and left a voicemail about the promo and sent another postcard. I called my cousin, who also loves gambling as much as I do, and asked him if he was down to go. They had also been sending him postcards and calls about the deal so we decided we would each take one of our buddies and head to Biloxi for a dudes weekend. I'm not going to go into detail but lets just say that it was a full weekend of over-the-top debauchery. Extravagant meals, a lot of drinking, and a lot of gambling. Oh, and I got shitfaced and fell asleep at a blackjack table for about 10 minutes which the casino staff all got a great laugh out of not only on that night but when they told me about it the next day as well. I had no recollection of that. Yay!
Biloxi was a great time with lots of hilarious memories. The casino was actually really nice and probably the closest outside-of-Vegas casino that I've been to that actually resembled a Vegas casino. The only buzzkill of the trip was that we didnt get to take a drive to New Orleans on Saturday, mainly because the rental car company had no vehicles but also because none of us were in any sort of position to drive, let alone sit in a car for 2 hours. Louisiana is one of the 11 states I now have left to visit. Wouldve been nice to knock that one off but oh well. There's always next year...
I started November with 14 unvisited states left on my quest for 50, that number including Hawaii and Alaska. Earlier in the month I went to Tennessee and there aint no place I'd rather be (cue the Dead). Well, there are plenty of places I'd rather be but the bbq pulled pork sandwich I had at Golly Whoppers at least made me I was happy I was there at that point in time. I just wanted to make the Dead reference. A week later, I was headed to Minnesoooota, as the locals would pronounce it. Didnt really get to see the full Mall of America but I did have a few good meals, one being a burger that was almost better than the one I had at Burger & Beer Joint recently. This puppy had a burger patty with shredded lettuce, cheese, pulled pork, AND bacon on top of it!! My sales rep and I ate at a couple of sports bars out in Minnesota and the food was surprisingly good as was the service, something you never really get here in Miami.
The last state knocked off in November was Biloxi, Mississippi. This trip was pure pleasure though, no work involved. Why Biloxi? Good question. As I may have stated a few times on this blog, I love to gamble. The MGM group knows this because I have their players card and play often at their casinos when Im in Vegas. Well, they decided to mail me a postcard offering a free flight, transportation, and hotel for 2 nights for me and a companion to check out their Beau Rivage casino in Biloxi. At first I ignored it because it seemed like one of those "too good to be true" deals. Then, they called me and left a voicemail about the promo and sent another postcard. I called my cousin, who also loves gambling as much as I do, and asked him if he was down to go. They had also been sending him postcards and calls about the deal so we decided we would each take one of our buddies and head to Biloxi for a dudes weekend. I'm not going to go into detail but lets just say that it was a full weekend of over-the-top debauchery. Extravagant meals, a lot of drinking, and a lot of gambling. Oh, and I got shitfaced and fell asleep at a blackjack table for about 10 minutes which the casino staff all got a great laugh out of not only on that night but when they told me about it the next day as well. I had no recollection of that. Yay!
Biloxi was a great time with lots of hilarious memories. The casino was actually really nice and probably the closest outside-of-Vegas casino that I've been to that actually resembled a Vegas casino. The only buzzkill of the trip was that we didnt get to take a drive to New Orleans on Saturday, mainly because the rental car company had no vehicles but also because none of us were in any sort of position to drive, let alone sit in a car for 2 hours. Louisiana is one of the 11 states I now have left to visit. Wouldve been nice to knock that one off but oh well. There's always next year...
Friday, March 13, 2009
Cheating Death on I-95
Let me start by saying today is a beautiful day. Sun is shining, birds are chirping, temperature is a nice 72 degrees, and I couldnt be happier right now. Why so happy? Well, its not every day that you see your life flash before your eyes.
This morning I woke up at 7am, hopped in the shower, got dressed, and headed on my way to FLL airport. Destination: Newark, NJ for a buying conference. This is my least favorite work conference as Im holed up at a hotel outside the Meadowlands for about 60 hours straight, maybe leaving for an hour or 2 to have dinner somewhere. I also dislike this show because American Airlines doesnt have any late flights out of Newark on Sunday night so I have to drive to FLL to fly Continental Airlines. Not a big fan of Continental but I guess things could be worse.
I like to leave at least 3 hours early when I go to FLL because its about 30-45 minutes away on average but you really never know what youre gonna get on I-95. I left about 5 minutes later than I wanted to but figured Id be fine if traffic was smooth. It was. This allowed me to do anywhere between 70 and 80mph with the requisite lane switching to avoid the assholes who do 50 in the left lane and expect everyone to weave around them. With the windows down and the morning tunes going though, I didnt mind. It was a nice drive.
As I approached the 103rd Street exit, I looked down into my lap for a split second to grab my phone to make a call. That's when it happened. I heard tires screeching and looked up to see bright red lights from the car in front of me skidding to a stop. Instincts took over and I slammed on my own brakes and went into evasive manuvers. The car in front of me was approaching rapidly and I was gonna nail it. I glanced quickly to my right, saw a small hole, and cut the wheel while my tires screamed from the brakes clamping down on them. Thats when I saw the reason for the accident. A car mustve collided with another car or just lost control because it was now perpendicular to the lanes and I was about to broadside this guy. Again, I give a quick look and jerk the wheel right, narrowly avoiding the car by about 6 inches. This whole episode happened over the span of about 5-10 seconds. I was now completely stopped, looking at the car who had caused the accident as liquid dripped from its undercarriage and the smell of burnt rubber filled the air. "Holy shit, did I really just avoid that?", was the first thought that entered my mind.
Once I realized I was fine and hadnt been part of this accident, I hit the gas and resumed my trip to the airport. I was full of adrenaline and my hands were shaking for a good 5 minutes afterward but my soul was singing songs of relief. Ive encountered at least 5 people since that incident today who have asked me, "How are you today?", and my answer has been, "Happy to be alive today!" every time. I guess there's nothing like a good ol' fashion near death experience to get me to pop in a blog post after a long hiatus. Its a great day to be L-I-V-I-N.
This morning I woke up at 7am, hopped in the shower, got dressed, and headed on my way to FLL airport. Destination: Newark, NJ for a buying conference. This is my least favorite work conference as Im holed up at a hotel outside the Meadowlands for about 60 hours straight, maybe leaving for an hour or 2 to have dinner somewhere. I also dislike this show because American Airlines doesnt have any late flights out of Newark on Sunday night so I have to drive to FLL to fly Continental Airlines. Not a big fan of Continental but I guess things could be worse.
I like to leave at least 3 hours early when I go to FLL because its about 30-45 minutes away on average but you really never know what youre gonna get on I-95. I left about 5 minutes later than I wanted to but figured Id be fine if traffic was smooth. It was. This allowed me to do anywhere between 70 and 80mph with the requisite lane switching to avoid the assholes who do 50 in the left lane and expect everyone to weave around them. With the windows down and the morning tunes going though, I didnt mind. It was a nice drive.
As I approached the 103rd Street exit, I looked down into my lap for a split second to grab my phone to make a call. That's when it happened. I heard tires screeching and looked up to see bright red lights from the car in front of me skidding to a stop. Instincts took over and I slammed on my own brakes and went into evasive manuvers. The car in front of me was approaching rapidly and I was gonna nail it. I glanced quickly to my right, saw a small hole, and cut the wheel while my tires screamed from the brakes clamping down on them. Thats when I saw the reason for the accident. A car mustve collided with another car or just lost control because it was now perpendicular to the lanes and I was about to broadside this guy. Again, I give a quick look and jerk the wheel right, narrowly avoiding the car by about 6 inches. This whole episode happened over the span of about 5-10 seconds. I was now completely stopped, looking at the car who had caused the accident as liquid dripped from its undercarriage and the smell of burnt rubber filled the air. "Holy shit, did I really just avoid that?", was the first thought that entered my mind.
Once I realized I was fine and hadnt been part of this accident, I hit the gas and resumed my trip to the airport. I was full of adrenaline and my hands were shaking for a good 5 minutes afterward but my soul was singing songs of relief. Ive encountered at least 5 people since that incident today who have asked me, "How are you today?", and my answer has been, "Happy to be alive today!" every time. I guess there's nothing like a good ol' fashion near death experience to get me to pop in a blog post after a long hiatus. Its a great day to be L-I-V-I-N.
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