I don't know how many of you who read this site are not from around these parts (aka Alberta), but we have a weather phenomenon out here called a Chinook.  It's basically a heat wave coming from the Rockies that turns winter into summer, practically overnight.  Or, as is the case today, in a day.

  This morning I awoke, got ready for work, bundled up for the cold, ventured out in to the cold and snow, unplugged my car and went to work.  This afternoon when I got back home, I was in jeans and a shirt, with a good part of the snow melted and huge puddles and mud everywhere.

  Normally, this is a good thing.  And, it still is, but now there is a downfall to it, too.  I work outdoors.  In a very large dirt yard.  That has many vehicles coming and going.  It's muddy, slushy, slippery, dirty and wet.  And it should just be drying out by the time winter hits us again.

  Anyway, enough about the weather, let's talk about March.  Lots of good things being 'released' in March.  Samurai Jack season 3, the new Live cd, the new Goodkind book (?hopefully), Scrubs season 3 on DVD, and the new Harry Potter movie on DVD.  Now that's a lot of media that this humble man will be forced (yes FORCED!) to purchase.  All this hard work down the drain everytime something remotely cool gets released.

  I exaggerate.  I'm not quite obsessive about it, I just like to have stuff to do at home instead of going out every night.

  Okay, I'm done for now.  I hope you are all doing well, and I look forward to hearing from each and every one of you.  Take care all!

 

Fred

Hey all;

 

  It seems that the month of February has become the 'hidden expenses for Fred' month.  Everything I pay for or wish to pay for suddenly seems to become more expensive than it should have been normally.  Everytime I pay for something, I get a notice one or two days later telling me that I didn't pay enough, or that 'we have not received payment and are now going to charge you $X more.'

  First, it's Direct Energy.  I overpay them on my last two bills, and then overpay them on a third.  Two days later, I get a letter from them telling me that I own them so much money before the 2nd of March, and that I am acting in bad faith by not paying them.  AND they will want a security deposit due to my negligent payments???  I've already paid you!

  Next, it's the Post Office.  I pay to ship some items to the states, and the clerk doesn't know what they are doing, so I end up paying more than I had calculated it to cost.  Next day, I get a phone call telling me that not only did the clerk have me fill out the wrong information, but that she also UNDERcharged me.  The day after that I go in to ship another package: same clerk, same problem.  I spent about $30 more than I had figured on.

  And what's even worse, is that every package I have sent during the month of February has taken a lot longer to get to it's destination then is reasonable.  3 weeks for a letter-mail to get to Alabama from Taber?  Are you sending this on a Mule?  Is that why you have to charge me extra?

  Then, it's Ebay.  Oh, sure, you pay us on time and no problems, but we've decided that since you've paid us yesterday, we're going to send you a warning notice for the 11 cents you did not pay us yet.  Yep, 11 cents.  I double checked, and not only did I not owe them 11 cents, but I had also paid the majority of the upcoming month's bill.

  And finally, Christine and I go to Lethbridge to buy Christine a new coat.  She finds one she likes a lot, and it's on the $49.00 rack.  Wow, $49 for this coat?  Great deal.  It's good we went winter coat shopping at the end of winter, so we could get a deal.

  When we get to the check-out, however, the girl presents us a bill of almost $70.00.  Huh?  Why is that so much more expensive?  "Oh," the oh-so-helpful clerk replies, "that rack is the $49.00 and UP rack."  Then shouldn't it say "AND UP" in letters nearly as large as the $49 part?

  Anyway, I'll be happy when this trend is over, because its making me angry.  Take care all.

 

Fred

Just another 'brief' entry for everyone.

 

  It seems like every time the snow is just about fully melted and the mud is just about fully dried, we get another downfall of snow and another severe drop in temperature.  It started snowing like crazy today; big, fluffy, feathery, crappy snow.  I would shovel off my walk, and as soon as I finished, I would look back and it would seem like I hadn't done a thing.

  Anyway, the return to terrible road conditions has reminded me of a story I wished to share with everyone, in order to get it off my chest, and hopefully to give some folks a bit of a lesson.

  Not too long ago, maybe a month or so, I was driving down the road on a snowy, cold and icy night.  As I was driving, I saw a car at a yield sign shoot out in front of a truck that had right-of-way.  The truck tried to stop in time, but the roads were icy and the truck ended up smashing in to the car severely.

  The car spun around, jumped a curb and came to a stop up on a lawn.  I stopped, parked, and jumped out to see if I could help.  There were five youngish kids in the car; two boys and three girls.  The boys seemed to be alright, if a little drunk, as did one of the girls.  One of the girls had a damaged hand that was bleeding a lot.  The last girl was pinned in the car, pinched in between the seat and the crumpled door.  Of what I could see of her, I honestly did not think she was going to make it.  She had blood all over her face, she was shivering and slurring her speech, plus she was crumpled in the car.

  The guy from the truck called 911.  With Taber having decided that they didn't need snowplows, and with Taber also deciding that the best place for Emergency response to be would be in the industrial section, it took about five minutes for an ambulance to arrive on the scene.  Even thought the Hospital was only 5-6 blocks away.

  As the guy from the truck was on the phone with the 911 operator, he said "They just shot out in front of me," to which one of the girls snidely remarked (in his face), "Oh yeah, like it was our fault."

  I witnessed the whole thing, and yes, it was their fault.  Anyway, the emergency crew (the 10 or so I saw on site), ended up using the Jaws of Life to cut her out of the car and haul her away.  I had left before then to go to the Police Station to file my statement.  Judging from what I had seen, I thought this young girl would be lucky to survive the night.

  I spent the night thinking about my loved ones and my friends, and basically feeling horrible that I just watched someone die.  The next day, someone told me that she had not made it.  I know I was only just a witness, but I felt completely depressed upon hearing that and didn't sleep much the next night either.

  The following day, I heard from a reliable source that the girl did, in fact, survive.  "All" she suffered was a broken collar bone, a crack to the head, and her braces drove through her lips.  It looked a lot worse than it was.

  The lesson?  A few, actually.  First off, when you have someone, anyone, in a vehicle with you, it is your responsibility to make sure you take care of them like they were your child.  Drive like a maniac if you must, but do it by yourself and where no one else will get hurt.  Second, make sure you let those you love know you love them, because as doom sounding as it is, they could be gone in the next minute.

  And finally, for the last lesson: don't recite gossip when you don't have the facts.  Because somebody made an assumption and wanted to 'spread the news', I honestly thought I witnessed some young persons final minutes and it bothered me a lot.

  There, Fred out.

Hey all;

 

  Just wanted to 'BRIEFLY' say hi and wish you all well.  Nice and short.

 

Fred

As stated in previous posts, Christine and I have purchased a new car, with the help of her parents.  We have bought a bright red, four door Toyota Yaris.  We didn’t particularly want a red car, but it was the only four-door Yaris that they had in southern Alberta available for immediate purchase.  Otherwise, we’d have to wait for over a month to get another color, and that would involve severely risking our safety by continuing to drive Christine’s crappy Neon.  So, red it was.

                We drove up on a Saturday night and stayed at her folks’ place.  Sunday, we awoke and got our new car.  I have always been impressed with Toyotas, and this car is no exception.  We love it.  It’s got a CD player, it’s a standard, and it’s really good on fuel.  Plus, with Toyota’s magic ability to bend inter-dimensional space there is a lot more room inside the car than the actual size of the car.  I swear, you sit in there and you are actually inside a car that has more space inside than it should.

                Plus, Toyota must love to study Swiss Army knives.  So many things all tucked away and secreted within this car.  Why, just two days ago, I discovered our third glove box and a garbage.  We didn’t even know we had them!  Magic.

                All-in-all, we love the car and highly recommend getting one if you have to buy a new car.  Christine test drove a bunch of cars before we finally went with this one, and neither of us have any regrets.  If you have any questions about these amazing and cool little cars, please feel free to contact us.  Take care all!

 

Fred

                So, Christine is now a College chick.  She began Culinary Arts at LCC in January.  We scrambled around a lot, and with some help from her folks, we managed to get her in to school and pay for it.  It was a lot of work, and will continue to be so for the next year and a half, but it’s something she really wants to do.  That means we’re both more than willing to earn it.

                Also, her being accepted in to College has brought about a few technological changes for us.  First, obviously, is that we now have a computer at home.  That is so she can do her assignments and research at home, with a cat on her lap and her boyfriend constantly pestering her so he can get some attention.

                Second, we have gotten cell phones.  I have been watching the ‘plans’ a lot over the last year, and when I saw a spectacular deal appear with Bell, I leapt at the opportunity.  Now, she and I can be in contact while she is in Lethbridge at school and I am at work in Taber.  I know, I know; I swore I would never again have a cell phone in my life, but Christine’s security is more important than my ego.

                AND, we have also gotten a new car.  Mostly because Christine’s car was using more oil that gasoline, and we had a danger of it exploding.  And the $3000 that the dealership was asking to repair it was far too stupid an amount for us to agree to.  So, with some help, we managed to get a new car.  Christine now travels to and from Taber and Lethbridge in as much security as we can get.

                The only downfall (besides the debt we’ll have at the end of this all) that comes from Christine going to College for Culinary Arts is that she cooks less at home.  She’s not allowed to bring her work home with her unless she buys it, so I’m completely ripped off!  All day long she makes amazing food, and I just get to hear about it and not taste it.  She doesn’t even have to cook for homework!  It sucks.

 

Fred

 

                We had an incredibly hectic Christmas Break last year.  And we actually had Christmas twice.  Once with her family, and once with mine.

                First, we had Christmas with Christine’s family.  We drove up to Calgary on Christmas Eve (in the dying Neon).  We arrived later in the evening, with Christine’s parents out of the house, and Christine quickly got ready and left with Jonny (her brother) to visit some family members, while I stayed behind and relaxed.  Her parents and grandma got home and I visited with them for a while.  Then Christine and Jonny got back and we opened gifts.  I got a great jacket, a car seat warmer (which got installed in Christine’s car), some tools and gift certifs.  Christine got a Food Processor, some clothing, and some gift certifs. I’m sure we got other stuff, but that was two months ago and I don’t recall it well.

                Christmas morning we awoke and crossed Calgary to have breakfast/brunch with my sister Donna, bro-in-law Paul and nephew Jack.  I learned how to make Dutch pancakes, and it has since become a staple food in this house.

                After breakfast, we returned to Christine’s folks’ home and then went to one of Christine’s relative’s homes to eat dinner and celebrate together.  It was really great to meet some of her family, and we had a really good time, a great meal, and I got another jacket.  From famine to feast, eh?  Then we returned home, because Christine had to work on Boxing Day.

                A week later, we celebrated New Year’s at our place.  We had some friends and family over.  Surprisingly, we had both my sister Karen (and b-i-l Ron) and my sister Donna (and b-i-l Paul) come by.  We visited, played some GTA – SA, ate, played Scene-it, and just had a really great time.  At midnight we saluted the departure of our proclaimed “Year of the F-Bomb,” and welcomed in the newly proclaimed “Year of excessive expletives.”

                The next morning (Jan 2^nd), the entire family went to Karen and Ron’s for another great breakfast and some visiting.  Later, we went to Mom and Dad’s and had a great dinner and a gift opening.  Lots of gift certificates for us, as well as cool little baubles, some books, etc.  After all that, we went home and relaxed as we oozed off of our couch.  All-in-all, it was a great and busy Christmas.

                That was our holiday season.

 

Fred

November last year (2005), Christine and I went to Calgary to see our favourite live performer: Henry Rollins.  For those of you who don’t know much (or anything) about him let me give you some details.

                Henry Rollins basically started his ‘career’ as a singer for the infamous ‘Black Flag’.  After that, he formed his own band, named (originally, of course) “Henry Rollins Band”.  He has since taken small rolls in various films (“The New Guy”, “Jack Frost”, “The Chase”, etc), voice acted in several games (“Mace Griffin: Bounty Hunter”, “Def Jam: Fight for NY”, etc), voice acted for a Batman Cartoon, guest ‘sung’ with other bands/singers (“Tool”, “William Shatner” etc), hosted several shows both on TV and the Radio, written several books, and toured all around the world several times over.  Oh, and if I recall, he used to be a poster-boy for Apple.

                Most famously, however (at least to me), he does something called “Spoken Word.”  Essentially, he stands on stage for anywhere between 1-1/2 hours to 3-1/2 hours, and just talks.  He talks of things that have happened to him, things he’s thinking about, funny stories, sad stories, everything.  Truly, he is one of the most enrapturing orators you will ever witness.  It’s a career path that if I could take, I would.  So, if you get the chance to hear him, take it.  It will impress you, I promise.

                I first heard of Henry Rollins the same way many people first heard of him: His song “Liar”.  At the time, I just thought it was an interesting song with an interesting video.  But then, one night I was watching Much Music, and they had this mini-segment with Erica Em (<-spl?) that was entitled “Reader’s Corner” or something similar.  Basically, she would ask famous music figures what their favourite books were.  Well, I saw the one where she asked Henry Rollins what his favourite book was.  At the time, it was “The Fountainhead” by Ayn Rand.  Which, for those of you who know me, is one of my favourite books.  I’m a huge Ayn Rand fan.

                That started me on a path to discover just who this Henry Rollins fellow was.  And I have not looked back since.  Of all the celebrities I could ever meet, he’s the one I would choose first and foremost.  He’s had a fascinating life, he’s a crap-magnet (just like me!), and he just gets better with age.  I saw my first Rollins Spoken Word in Vancouver with my buddy Tim, and Rollins spoke for almost 3-1/2 hours.

                The next time I saw him was with Christine and Daren in Calgary.  The night in general sucked, but the Spoken Word show was amazing.  And then, most recently, I saw him for the third time this last November.  Every time I love it, and I will always see him any chance I am able to.  Christine is a huge fan of him as well, and the two of us have been slowly collecting Henry Rollins media steadily since I’ve gotten her hooked.  And my hope is that after you read this, you give him a chance and become hooked, too.  Take care all.

 

Fred

Wow.  I guess it’s been a while since I’ve entered anything here on the Blog.  Time for some major catch up.  Major.

                First, let me explain why I haven’t been keeping this updated better.  I think that it is a combination of being too busy; of not really having an interest of spending much time on the computer in my free time; and perhaps too much stuff going on to be able to keep up in any event.  It’s a long weekend and I intend to catch up everyone on as many things that have happened in the last three months as I can recall.  It’s kind of funny that once I finally get a computer at home, I just don’t keep up online as much as I did when I was computer-less.

                Generally speaking, I’ve been busy with my full-time new job (just passed the three month probationary period), and my little bits of work on my E.bay store.  Now that Christine is in College, she gets up at 6 am Mon – Fri and gets home around 4:30 pm, plus she still works Friday evenings 6pm – 2am and Saturdays 11 – 8pm at Luigi’s, AND she works a few hours at the local Taber book store on Tuesdays.  That means whenever we have time together, we take it for just ourselves.

                I wanted to talk about seeing Henry Rollins in November, and me and Christine’s Christmas/New Year, as well as Christine going to College, and us getting a new car.  I think I’ll divide a bunch of this up into separate entries.  Enjoy!  And ‘see’ you soon, if anyone still even checks this site…

 

Fred

  The time has finally come.  Chrsitine and I need to purchase a new/used car for the beginning of January, in order to have something for her to drive to Lethbridge and back.  We are just plain tired of having the problems with our cars, and we would also like to have something 'new'.

  So, this entry serves two purposes.  The first, is to 'advertise' our cars for sale, and the second is to request if anyone has any decent vehicle they would like to sell to us.

 

  1st Car:  a 1995 Neon, standard.  It looks good, and is very clean.  The goods?  We had the head gasket replaced about two years ago, just replaced the clutch, put on four brand new tires, replaced the thermostat and sensor.  If the deal is good enough, we will throw in a CD player that is less than a year old, and a remote car started.  And it is good on fuel.

  The bad?  Lower engine seal needs to be replaced (about $10 part), but has to have the transmission moved in order to do it.  Because of the oil leak, the engine has a minor bit of extra noise, that may eventually result in relacing quite a few parts in the engine.  Also, the rear wheel bearings need to be replaced as well.  We will take offers, but we want it sold by January 3rd.

 

  2nd car:  a 1992 Caprice, automatic.  It's inside looks good, the outside body is in good shape but could use a paint job.  It runs off of propane, and was once a cop car, and then a taxi after that.  The goods?  It's propane.  At the cost of gas nowadays, having a cheaper fuel source is good.  It's a comfortable ride as all of these cars are.  Uh... and it has power locks.

  The bad?  No radio.  I have a radiator leak in it that I am sure just comes from a bad hose; I just haven't really wanted to fix it yet.  The body shows the fade marks where the taxi logo once was and where the taxi lights were.  So, it needs a paint job.  Er, but it has power locks.

  I'm looking to get $1500 for it, but I will take offers.

 

  And finally, the car we are looking to buy.  We'd like a good highway vehicle that is as good on fuel as Christine's car is.  Reliable.  CD player would be nice, as would any accessory, but we aren't looking to spend more than $1500 at all, and would prefer $1000 or less.

 

  Okay, that's all for now.  Take care all.  Feel free to e.mail, or leave comments.  Thanks!

 

Fred and Christine

 

                Hey everyone.  It’s been a while since you’ve had a real entry from me, and I’m glad to say that I am back on track.  I have a computer at home, the internet is running, and I should start having free time on a regular basis in order to update and touch up my blog space and photos much more frequently.  Yay.

                First off, many of you have been inquiring as to my new job.  I took a position at the local UFA Farm Supply.  I’m a yard worker, and I have to admit how much I missed being one.  Outdoor work is great (except at the recent stint of minus 30 degrees C lately); I get a decent wage and a good benefits package.  It’s in town, close enough that I can walk if need be, and nice hours.  And the best part?  I don’t have to worry about where my next dollar is coming from once Christine starts College in January.  That is a load of reassurance.

                Next off, obviously, I have my computer at home.  I still haven’t finished off the room I want to put it in, so when I do, I’ll be much more comfortable.  The kitchen table is a good enough spot for it for now, but it will soon begin to annoy us, especially when we want to have a nice sit-down dinner.

                Christine’s car continues to invent whole new problems after we fix the last ones.  It’s getting very frustrated, and if I had the money to get another car, I’d take this one out and shoot it.  But, it’s all we have, so we keep pouring money in to it.  It will practically be a brand new car before much longer.

                The cats are doing well.  We’ve gotten Rylan to start accepting us holding him a bit longer.  And they both have several new tricks now for me to show guests.  I love the little guys.

                Christine has come down with the flu yet once more.  I feel so bad for her being sick, but there isn’t much I can do except make her food, tuck her in, and get up in the middle of the night to get her some water or medicine.  She assures me that I take good care of her, but I just hate her being sick, y’know?

                I’ve decided that for Christmas this year, it would be nice that all of my “internet only” friends sent us a nice personal e.mail along with some pictures of themselves and their family.  How about it folks?  Think you could help me out with that?

                Alright, it’s time for me to start trying to catch up on my enormous backlog of e.mails to respond to.  I’ll hopefully add another entry or two this weekend.  Take care all.  Glad to be back!

 

Fred

Hey all;

 

  Quick note.  I'll be completly down without a computer for a few days.  When I come back, I hope it will be on a much more regular basis.  Talk to you all soon.

 

Fred

Hey all;

 

  You may have noticed that I haven't had an update here for a while.  The reason?  It's because I've started a new job.  The job is almost entirely outdoors, and is entirely physical.  So, until I get a computer and internet at home, my entries will be few and far between.  I apologize, but I promise that when I get back to this, I'll be back with a vengence.  Take care all, and feel free to e.mail me if you like.

 

Fred

Hey all;

 

  Years and years ago, when I worked as security at CDIS in Vancouver, a tech-friend of mine (Tim) and I used to stand out front of one of the campuses and get in to these long and intense conversations.  Usually, they were philosophical in nature, because both of us had a strong interest in philosophy and how it meshed in to our day-to-day world.  We’d stand out in the rain or sun and really get in to all sorts of reality-based debates.  Because we both used to wear leather coats (Vancouver weather kinda promotes it), we dubbed these conversations “Leather Philosophy.”

  A few years after Tim left CDIS and I moved far up the company ladder, I got to really missing our Leather Philosophy and I resurrected it in blanket e.mail form, to get a bunch of ‘thinker’ friends of mine in to it.  It worked briefly and then fell apart for various reasons.

  Anyway, I got to thinking about it today, and I decided to try to re-animate it one last time; this time as a portion of me and Christine’s website here.  I guess the basic concept is that I’ll write about a topic, flush it out a bit, and then allow the comments section to be the discussion board.  I don’t know if it will work or not, but I’m going to give it a try.  If you like it and want to be a part of it (even if you only right “I totally agree” or whatnot), then please feel free to.  Because it is philosophical in nature, it will be able to leap all over the place on topics.  I hope it will be fun.

  Take care everyone, and see you soon.

 

Fred

Briefly;

 

  Is anyone out there interested in instructing me on Latin?  I have no class available locally, and would love to learn.  Yep, selfless plug for my own best interest on my blog.  Why not, right?

 

Fred

  Today being November (the 11th month) and the 7th of said month, makes this "The other 7-11 day."  These 7-11 days have become a bit of a tradition for some of us, and to celebrate, I thought I would make a smallish photo album and a smallish blog.  Oh yeah, I also got a slurpee, which is what you do on 7-11 days.  It's what I do on any day, but at least today I have a reason.

  But then my silly little mind started working its magic (read :  insanity).  I thought to myself, "Wouldn't it be great if I had a bunch of photos of my friends and family drinking slurpees?  Or at least posing with slurpees?  And why just friends and family?  Why not anyone who reads this?"  And depending on the response amount and time, I will post this pictures here either very soon, or on the next 7-11 day (July 11th).

  You can send your slurpee pics to one of my e.mail addys (iamentropy@hotmail.com), with the subject header of "Slurpee picture," or "7-11 day" or any variation therein.  I look forward to it, so have some fun with these photos.  I've got a few I did a year ago and today, just to get the ball rolling.  Take care!

 

Fred

                Remember in my previous post when I said Christine’s car started to sound louder and louder when I was driving back from Fox Creek?  I determined that it was because her alignment was out.  Taking the initiative, I took her car in to a local tire shop (“Fitch Tire Craft” – the best tire shop I have ever been to) to get her wheels balanced.  I bought an X-box magazine to read while waiting (with a feature on the new Elder Scrolls game “Oblivion”.  I drooled heavily, that game is going to be amazing!), and had just sat down to read when one of the guys said “Oh oh.  You’ve got problems.”

                Funnily enough, that didn’t make me feel good.  I stood up and walked over to where he was standing.  He showed me that my tires were so worn that the steel was showing, etc.  After I asked him to check all of them, we determined that three of the four were in said condition, and might or might not last me until next spring.  Yet, one tire was in great condition.  Go figure.

                After going over options and prices, I elected to have him bring in four new tires (apparently Neon’s have an odd tire size), at about $70.00 each.  Add $5.00/tire for mounting and balancing, and I now had another $300 invested in her car.  They mounted them for me, and now the car is running quieter.

                Still on ‘repair’ mode, I took the car to our engine shop.  Dad and I looked it over to find that it had a leaking Tappet (<-spl?) cover that was spilling oil all over the engine, including one of the sensors (which is hopefully why the ‘binging’ has started again).  Now, when time and money become available, we’ll be repairing that, too.

                Sigh.  This car is really starting to tire me out.  Pun intended.  Take care everyone.

 

Fred

Topic:  Calling on people

 

                With the ease in which one person can reach out and ‘touch’ someone else, it seems that many people have forgotten the personal respect that is supposed to exist when calling on another person.  Specifically in the realm of phone calls and stopping by someone’s house.

                First, let’s discuss phone calls.  It seems that many people have never grasped the concept of the proper number of ‘rings’ they should let happen before they hang up.  Of course, with the world nowadays, everyone seems to have caller ID and voice mail, but we’ll ignore this point for the moment.  When you are calling someone’s house, the proper number of rings before you hang up should be 4-5 rings.  Yes, that’s all.  Here are a few reasons why:

 

1.        What if the person you are calling isn’t home?

2.        Most voice mail/ answering machines activate before 5 rings.

3.        If they are busy in the washroom, or they have their hands full and they cannot make it to the phone in time, all you are doing by letting the phone ring is annoy the person you are calling.

4.        If they work night shift or alternate hours than the ‘average’ person then you are waking them up, getting them out of bed and angering them.

5.        If they hear the phone ring incessantly, they may assume that there is an emergency.

6.        If they have sleeping kids, you’ll wake them up.

 

There are other reasons, but these are the main ones.  After you let it ring 4-5 times, you hang up.

Try again in 15-30 minutes, just in case they were there but couldn’t make it to the phone in time.  After that, try again in an hour or two.  Of course, if there actually is an emergency, then let the phone ring non-stop if you must.

                Now if they have any form of answering service, you simply leave a message on it and leave it at that.  Don’t call and leave several messages during the course of a few minutes.  Two messages a day, maximum are all that is appropriate.  If they got your message and didn’t call you back, obviously they had something else on the go.  If they didn’t get your first message, the second one covers that base.  Anything beyond that and it’s just aggravating.  After all, they have a message machine.  They know you called.  If they don’t call back, it’s their prerogative.

                Next, let’s discuss when you stop by someone’s house without having previously scheduled.   Incidentally, you should always call before you stop by someone’s house.  It prevents a wasted trip and it also gives them time to get things in order before you arrive. Hopefully, you know this person well enough to know when they are going to be home and when they are going to be awake.  For example, at my house;  calling me or showing up at 9AM is incredibly rude (because Christine works late into the night, so I match her schedule), but if you did the same at 1AM, we’d be cool with it, because we’d be up still.  My parents’ house would be the opposite.

                Regardless of the occupant’s daily schedule, there are manners that must be observed in this case.  First, you ring the doorbell.  Wait thirty seconds to a minute and then ring it again.  Wait another thirty seconds to a minute and then knock.  If you really, really must, you can ring or knock once more after that, but that is it.  No more.  If they haven’t come to the door by then, then just leave (you could even leave a note, if you feel so inclined).  Don’t keep ringing the doorbell or knocking.  There are reasons for this, too.

 

1.        As previously mentioned, their schedule may be different from yours, so you may be ringing their doorbell at the equivalent of their 4AM.  Give them a minute to get to the door.

2.        If they have a hearing disability, or just have noise in the house, they may not hear your first ring of the doorbell.

3.        If their doorbell doesn’t work, you may not be able to tell.  That is why you knock.

4.        Sleeping kids…

5.        If they are in the washroom, or otherwise indisposed, then they cannot make it to the door quickly.  Give them some time to get there.

 

I am fully aware that there are a lot of other factors that are attached to all of this, but for the general rule, go by these recommendations.  You’ll find that your dealings with people will be far, far more pleasant when you do.  Take care everyone.

 

Fred

Hey all;

 

  I just wanted to take a moment to let everyone know that Christine has been accepted for college.  She starts in January, in Culinary Arts.  We're proud.

  As a side note, I just started dating a college chick...

 

Fred