Webkinz Vs. Real Life May 13, 2008

My daughters each have to webkinz.  They each have a pink and white kitty Emilie also has a White Persian cat, and Erynne has a Panda bear.  Emilie has registered her 2 pets and the Erynne hasn’t… although she does enjoy playing with Emilies Cats.

If you have never ventured into the world of Webkinz count your blessings.  The pets play games, go to work, and hunt for gems in an effort to earn money to by things like beds, rooms, cloths, food, and other stuff.

Well when ever my daughter wants to go on I have to help her.  She doesn’t quite get the games and how to work the mouse correctly.  What starts off as about 5 mins of fun quickly turns into me doing the jobs playing the games, and earning money so she can spend it. 

on Sunday she wanted to plant a garden for her pets which means that I spent about an Hour playing Cash Cow 2 getting her all the money should would need.  Which she spent in 3 minutes… she then placed her new garden stuff in the yard for about 3 minutes before putting her pets to bed and announcing “I am done, I’m getting bored with this.”

Thank you to the Ganz corporation for my new virtual job.

 

Later,

Billy

Also I wrote about my daughters webkinz one other time here

Why tipping is an art form May 9, 2008

This may anger some people. Especially those that work, or have worked, in the food service industry.  But Please let me say that I have worked for the world famous El Morocco and Dunkin’ Donuts and a HUGE portion of my pay from both of those places was from tips.

I always got good tips… A. Because I never felt like I deserved one, and B. because I worked hard to earn one.

Somehow we have gotten to the point that a tip is expected, and not earned.   I reject that notion… Please note I do tip at every sit down meal.  But if your service sucks your tip sucks.  If it takes you 15 minutes to refill my drink, and when you do you are carrying the glass with your finger inside… (like what happened at this nameless restaurant) then your tip is really going to suck.

We need to reclaim the power of the tip.  bad service = a bad tip (oops try this one),  good service = Good tip.  Back when I waited tables a customer gave me a $45 because I went next door and bought them a $2 bag of pretzels when my restaurant had run out of “bar snacks.”  That tip was just for the pretzels never mind all the drinks and food I brought them during the 3 hours they occupied my booth.  They left happy and I bought a PlayStation with thier tips.

I know, I know, what about problems in the kitchen, or being short staffed, or having to many tables in different sections… I get it.  You can’t control everything.  But Let me know that problems exist.  DO NOT WHINE OR COMPLAIN, just say something like “I am going to put your order in now but the kitchen is a little backed up would you like some rolls or salad?”  or “someone called out tonight so I have a few more tables then normal, I will keep checking in but do not hesitate to grab me or any other waiter.”  Then you do need to work harder to make sure everyone is a least comfortable, drinks are always full, bread or salad to make sure the people aren’t starving, and just simply don’t ignore them… Especially when they look upset.  That is when you turn on the charm and earn your tip.

Some people will just be unpleaseable.  and some will be cheap.  You can’t help that.  Just keep smiling (a lost art in itself) and perhaps the happy customer behind you will be a little more gracious.

 

Billy

Why I will be Smiling all day on Thursday. May 7, 2008

Tomorrow is May 8th.  It is also Erynnes 3rd birthday.

This post will be significantly shorter than this one, only because the back ground story is already out there.

Erynne is simply unique.  She has a fantastic sense of humor, her comedic timing is exceptional for a 3 year old (her favorite line is that’s what she said… I can’t take all the blame for it.  but it is hilarious to hear from a 3 year old little girl).  She never ceases to make me laugh.  Her laugh is infectious, it is a blend of mischievousness, joy, and just pure fun.  Slowly she has com around to loving the Red sox.  Before she used to taunt me and say “I hate the Red sox I love the Yankees.”  Her Favorite player is Hideki Okajima, just ask her to say it next time your together and be ready for a laugh.  She loves playing Mommy almost as much as her big sister.  She Loves her Nana and refuses to eat lunch with me at home when it’s “Nana day.”  I am amazed at how much she is capable of manipulation… It truly is an art.  She is Jedi like with her ability to manipulate people. 

She is still waiting for her hair to “grow up” since Collin cut it last summer.

Erynne is a tough kid.  One of her favorite things to do is pin Emilie down until she cries.  notice the size difference.

Erynne and Emilie have blessed me so much, and in such different ways.  They are like a romantic comedy.  Emilie is a cuddly little love bug and Erynne is a great dose of comic relief.  I love my girls more than they could ever know. 

Happy Birthday Erynne.

Billy

 

2 weeks May 5, 2008

So I haven’t written a post in nearly 2 weeks.  Things have been slightly busy but I hope to go on a posting frenzy this week.  Stay tuned and buckle up.

Some possible post topics… (I believe they call this a tease)

Erynne’s Birthday

Horrible service in restaurants

Work dilemma

I Love my wife (with pictures)

hmmm which will be first…

 

update to my last post. April 20, 2008

So in my last post I wrote how my oldest daughter was turning 5 on Friday.  And the many ways that her life has impacted mine. 

Well she turned 5 on friday.  And on Saturday We took her to the Boston Children’s museum.  We took the T into Boston and had a great day… That is until we got to the last room before we left.  We played for a bit then we are greeted with Crying and tears…  Apparently Emilie went down a slide and her shoe stuck on the rubber mat at the bottom and she broke her foot.

We didn’t know that yet so from there I had to carry a 55 pound lump 3 blocks back to the red line 2 stops to the green line and then a 50 min train ride back to our car that was another 45 minutes home.  Now it should be noted that I was not superman in this situation as I did make her walk a little bit of the way because Erynne was also tired and jealous that Emilie was getting carried.. 

So, Colleen brought her to the ER this morning for x-rays ($150.00).  Now she needs to wear that silly blue boot until it can be casted($???.??).

The morale of the story folks… Don’t plan a fun day in the big city with your kids with out being prepared to carry them.

Billy

This Friday at 6:30 am April 15, 2008

As Friday draws closer I stop and think about the last 5 years and how terrifying, life changing, incredible, and fulfilling they were.  And how all together privileged I am.

My journey over the last 5 years really started 6 years ago.  Life then was by no means simpler.  I was dating the women who would be my wife.  I was living at home, During School she lived a mile or so away in a cozy little dorm room.  When summer came she really had no “home”  She lived with friends a mile or so away from her parents house (because she just couldn’t live there anymore).  They all love/loved her but it still wasn’t home.  And she was an hour away from me  

We made it through the summer and the fall then late that winter January to be exact, I bought “the ring.”  Later that same day we would be having dinner with her parents and I decided that I would ask her fathers permission to give his youngest daughter the ring, and take her and start a new family with her.  That wouldn’t happen… As close as I can tell He died roughly 1 hour before I bought the ring.  He wouldn’t be found for another 6 hours. 

Well I decided to tell her sisters and thier husband and girlfriend, what I had planned and they all said go for it.  So I did.  Colleen and I made it through the next few months which were very rocky for her family… come to think of it they are still rocky with her family.

Then the day came when Colleen told me she thought she might be pregnant… and she was… WE were.  We upped our wedding date from June to November.  That brings me to this coming Friday.  April 18th is our first daughters 5th birthday.

I want to pause here because it occurs to me how often in this society young lives in so many homes are wasted.  They are ignored, neglected, abused… physically… mentally… spiritually… emotionally.  They are seen as ugly reminders of a father they will never meet.  They are treated like burdens, and blamed by their own parents for causing them to struggle.  They are even seen like meal tickets by some families.  and in the worst case they aren’t even given a shot at life, thrown in the trash with as much care and love as leftover meat loaf.

This Breaks my heart. 

5 years ago being a father was something I wanted… when I was older.  Not at the age of 22, not as a “nearly wed.”  I knew as a child growing up that I wanted to be a father and have 12 kids… We are done with 2 in case you were wondering.

I WOULD NOT CHANGE A THING ABOUT THESE LAST 5 YEARS!  This last 5 years have shown me real friendship and Love from the people that stood by us and supported us through those crazy times.  It showed us how to rely on God.  We struggled and he lifted us up like a cheesy Josh Groban song.  It taught us the importance of Family.  Whether they are blood or friends that are closer than a brother.  We were shown plenty of examples of Family.  We learned from them and developed our own thing.  I am so thankful for the amazing and less than amazing examples we have had… It gave us hope and a direction, it also showed us what we didn’t want to be.

Most importantly I gained a beautiful daughter.  She brings be so much Joy.  She has taught be how to Love, and be loved.  She is Smart, Funny, Creative, Sensitive, Loving, Caring, Clumsy, and Cuddly.  She shares my love for Music, she makes up songs, dances around like a monkey, and begs me to teach her guitar.  She loves the Red Sox and Jason Varitek, and Hates “those yucky Yankees!”.  She wants to me a mommy someday and she will be great at it.  She loves God and our church family.  She makes deep connections with people and remembers them long after they are gone.  She still reminds me about her times with PaPa(my father who died when she was 2) with amazing accuracy.

She isn’t perfect, she spills, and makes messes, she fights with her sister, and doesn’t always listen.  But I Love her anyway.  And I thank God for her.

This Friday my little girl turns 5… And I am so blessed and humbled by it all.

 

Billy

Cherries April 10, 2008

Yesterday I picked up my youngest Daughter at my brothers house where his wife had kindly taken her in for the day so I could go to work.  When we got home she was asleep so I decided to cook dinner.  I made Chicken Parmesan with Ziti.  The Ziti was from a box the rest I made.  Well except for the sauce cheese and bread crumbs…  It was good. 

After We cleaned up from dinner I decided to take my family out for some ice cream.  now I know the rules when we go out and get ice cream, as soon as my ice cream is sat before me I get the puppy eyes from my girls until I agree to give up my cherry.  They always come prepared with the eyes and I always cave.  I think I even over heard them in the back seat plotting new ways to get the crowning jewel from atop my sundae.  I have kept a running tally in my mind for the past few years of whose turn it is.  (Colleen, Emilie, then Erynne (the order they came into my life).  Last night would have been Emilie’s turn.  I say would have because there was no Cherry on my sundae…  My wife got 2 and I got none….  Perhaps the waitress thought she would eliminate the need for me to hand over the tiny red piece of fruit by just giving to her to start.  But I was a little upset with her presumption.  My wife eventually, begrudgingly handed them over to the to sad puppies on the other side of the table.  So I guess all is well.

But I have to know.  To all you fathers out there.  Do you ever get to eat the cherry again?

Later,

Billy

Frustrating Christians. March 27, 2008

I work for a Christian bookstore so I have this unique “privilege” to “Christians” at their best and worst.  Yesterday they were at their worst.

The conversation went something like this.

Me: Hello, how are you today?

Customer: <exacerbated> I need a bible!

Me:  OK well first do you have a translation preference?

Customer: the study kind.

Me: OK by translation I mean NIV, NLT, King James, New King James…

Customer: <irritated> I need the “Saint James, new living application international version study bible!  And it has to be The HOLY Bible!”

This is a good place to stop.  I should mention that this customer is a “pastor.”  When I asked what bible she read she couldn’t tell me.  when I asked what the “official” bible was for her church or the one she preached from on Sundays she replied “the saint James international study new living application Holy bible.”

To clarify she is looking for a KJV (king James version), NLT (New living translation), Life application, NIV (new international version), Study Bible… oh and it has to be Holy!  That is 3 different versions and 2 different sets of study notes all wrapped up in a nice neat little Holy package.

I can’t stand when “career Christians” come in and can’t even tell me what version of the bible they read.  On our Employment application it asks “what is your favorite Translation of the bible?”  more than 50% have a bible verse written below the question while another 25% have a quote like “God is good” or if you can’t say something nice…” AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!

Later I had a pastors wife come in looking for “THE sinners prayer.”  For one of the deacons in her church whose husband was dying of cancer.  He is not a believer and the wife had never felt comfortable (and still doesn’t) sharing her faith with him.

That story is HORRIBLE!  A wife not comfortable enough to share her saviour with her dying husband.  A pastors wife looking for “THE sinners prayer” because “any old words won’t do.”

Now I am not the best Christian I have my faults and struggles.  I don’t run into a phone booth rip my shirt and become super christian.  But these people that don’t take their faith seriously grate on me… 

This is what you believe…

Jesus Christ Came from heaven, and died on a cross for you.  Yet you have a cavalier attitude to it all.

One final note the “pastor” spent $60 on an “NASB Life application Study bible” (she picked it out because the box was black.)  When she handed me the money she said “I ain’t even worried about it.  God’s gonna pay me back 10 fold fo sho!” 

I pray she reads it.

Tell me what you think.

Later,

Billy

My Easter March 25, 2008

I have been meaning to write about my experience this Easter.  I have been busy with prep for the coming week and I am really looking forward to seeing what God can do this week.

So You may recall reading this post about how I wasn’t really feeling the “Easter spirit.”  Well very shortly after I wrote that post (and I mean very shortly after because as I recall I went to bed right after writing it) I realized that the Easter spirit is one of renewal, one of new birth and I realized that I was in need of that.

My friend Jeff had asked me a day earlier if everything was ok and that he was concerned about me.  I told him everything was fine just the “normal every day stresses.”  I was being truthfull, their really was/isn’t anything wrong more than the “normal everyday stresses.”  But sometime those little rutts are enough to through you off.

Back to Sunday.  The worship was great.  The songs were perfect, the videos were very well done there was a great energy in the room.  The first part of service I was torn between looseing my self in the worship and staying engaged to the needs of the ever increasing population in our auditorium.  As it was we added 2 rows of seats about 30 min. in to service.  I doing that I had the opportunity to poke my head into the kids class rooms.  The leaders and children were engaged with one another, and you could tell they were all excited to be there.  The message was next and I thought Marty did an outstanding job.  You could tell that he was passionate about what God had given him to communicate.  That translated into the room.

As I went about my day I realized that I had been a part of an amazing day at Fellowship church.  That God was there and did his thing.  We saw friends that hadn’t been around for a while as well as some guests that will hopefully become new friends. 

So I still have my “normal everyday stresses.”  But I can honestly say that after Sunday I feel spiriually renewed.  I think I just needed to see others in that place.  Donald Miller says in Blue Like Jazz “Sometimes you have to watch somebody love something before you can love it yourself. It is as if they are showing you the way.”  Just being around people that loved what they were doing and people that were worshipping the one that loves us.  A pastor passionate about his message

Easter March 22, 2008

Well, I haven’t written in a bit and I was thinking today about why that is.  I could blame it on writers block or being too busy and those would be somewhat true but really I have been trying to get into the Easter spirit.  Sadly to say with out much luck.  I could blame that on a number of things.  All the finger pointing though would be unjustified.  Truthfully I just haven’t gotten there.  I was struck the other day with the realization that Easter is tomorrow.  I work for a Christian bookstore, and a Church.  You would think that I would have been in the spirit a few months ago. 

I know all the stories of Easter.  The radical, life changing truths of this season are not lost.  What I missed though was finding the intimacy with God that I find myself at this 11th hour (literally and figuratively) longing for.

I was out at lunch on Friday with some of the guys from church and one of them noticed that another one of the guys was particularly quiet.  When Jeff (the first guy) mentioned it Steve (the second guy) said that his life group had taken communion a couple of nights earlier and it had left him in a pretty somber state.   I felt this piece of me scream “I WANT THAT!!!”

I want to be rocked to my knees tomorrow.  I want to be overcome with the knowledge that I was bought by blood.  I want to fall in such deep love with my creator that everything else seems worthless.  I want to live with that knowledge everyday at the front of my mind.  I want to see the same for others.  I want to see those far from God brought crashing to their knees.  I want to see amazing life changes happen. 

I will be at church early tomorrow (nothing new).  I am going to spend some time in prayer and then go on with my usual preparations. 

Join me in praying that got really rocks Holden, Ma and Fellowship Church.

Peace,

Billy