Orlando, FL

Today was the first day of our Cleveland Range training seminars in the FER Orlando Test Kitchen. A couple of people were at the door when Craig arrived at 6:30 am! We had 20 people scheduled, but only 17 showed up. There were seven scheduled from Disney, but only one showed. I guess two of those guys are coming tomorrow. I would not care, but it throws our food planning way off.

Fay was the busy little hostess today taking care of the food and making sure everyone was happy. I think overall, the whole thing is going very well. Lunch today was do-it-yourself sandwiches and the caterer put out a big spread for them. I think it was nice.

The phones were down at Hollywood today, so we had their phones and fax forwarded to our office until their service was restored. Fortunately, the phones were not terribly busy today! With the extra stuff we had going on, that was very good.

Craig handed out payroll stubs today. Along with my usual $2500, there was an additional bonus check of $250! That was nice (especially since cash flow is not high right now), and will be helpful for my move.

Fay offered to drive me to the airport Friday morning so that my truck will not have to sit in the garage and run up parking fees. I might take her up on it.

Today was sunny and beautiful. When I stepped outside I found it nice and warm. Craig encouraged Fay and me to take the leftover bagels, cold cuts, and doughnuts home. I let Fay take the doughnuts home to her son, but we split the sandwich meat and cheese.

Lots of free food today. Today is Shrove Tuesday, and it is also National Pancake Day. You can get a free short stack of pancakes at IHOP today!

I tried to call the U-haul place in Wappingers Falls to check on my reservation, but nobody ever answered the phone. They are supposed to call me by 5 pm on the 3rd to confirm my reservation. I really need a truck to do this! This weekend is going to be exciting and stressful.

Two more days of training at our kitchen. Lots of interruptions and departures from routine, but Craig believes its a good PR move for us.

Sunday

It was raining this morning when I woke up at 5:30. It rained and drizzled for most of the morning. Sun came out around noon. Tonight it is supposed to be cool - around 45°F.

Just like a kid at Christmas I am dreaming of things I can get with my tax refund. One thing that would be tres cool to have would be the Wheelman's Bushpig (pictured on right). Click here to watch the movie! I do not know anyone who has one of these. Course, you know me, I will probably BUST my 37-year-old ass on the damned thing. Right now it is on sale for $839. That would leave money for helmet, knee and elbow pads.

Another thing that would be awesome is the Epson Movie Mate (pictured on left). It throws an 80-inch image from only 8 feet away! Built-in DVD player, speakers and woofer, and connections for audio and video in and out. Problem is, the Movie Mate is $1200 and I am only expecting $907 back from Uncle Sam.

Maybe I will just get the Spotbot, a new digital camera, a compound miter saw (I like the handheld bandsaw for cutting metal!), and spend the rest of it on new tires for my truck. Probably the most practical thing to do. I will be running up some debt bringing the truck with my furniture down here anyway.

Today I played around with the Datapig Excel tutorials some more. I think that Pivot Tables are awesome now! They are going to save me so much work and so much repetition. Right now I am re-entering Disney PO's into a month-by-month report of which PO number, PO date, factory, and amount. Well, that does not have to be done anymore. I can just take a pivot table of the whole PO log, sort it for Disney PO's, group by month, subtotal for months, hide the dealer column, and boom! I have the same report I was making by hand!

Anyway, the Datapig tutorials are pretty good. Since they are online, or can be downloaded, I can watch them as many times as I have to to get the hang of an idea.

Saturday

Fay brought her Spotbot machine in to clean some spots out of the carpet in the Test Kitchen before our training next week. She uses this machine to clean up pet spots at home all the time. It really was amazing to watch this machine work and it really does clean spots out of the carpet. Small enough to put away into the closet. I will have to think about it, but this could be very handy to have around.

Laundry is done. Today I just had to clean floors and the shower. Those things are done. Right before I got into the shower I laid a dark towel down on the vanity and used the Just For Men dye to color my goatee and sideburns. The pesky gray and white hairs are covered up now. Makes me look less "tired" when the color is strong.

In other news today, World Population Passed 6.5 Billion at 7:16 PM... how do they know this? Does anyone have a good count, anywhere? Population is projected to pass 7B in just six more years! Actor Don Knots Best-Known As Deputy Barney Fife Died - He Was 81... I am surprised he didn't go years ago. I read in Wired today that DeWalt is using nanotechnology to make batteries for cordless tools that are 4 times as powerful as regular cells and last twice as long!

Mike Walker in NY said that he will be in South Carolina next weekend with his kids so he can't help me load the truck. He is going to ask Cliff Gates if he can help. Depends on Cliff's work schedule I guess.

TGIF VINCE!! TGIF!!!

The first phone call of the day was 72-year-old Nancy Baranet screeching at full volume into my ear, "TGIF, Vince!! TGIF!!" She was so loud Fay heard her down the hall in her office! I swear that woman is gonna bust somebody's eardrum.

We found 62 butts for the 60 seats we have available for training next week in the Test Kitchen or "Culinary Center" as Craig refers to it now. I think the training is going to go well. Jack Muzzio flies in on Sunday, he is renting a car, he will come to the office on Monday to help finish setting up. I am getting alot of credit for pulling this together. Unfortunately, that is all I will get from this - credit.

It was very cloudy today, real dark and gloomy. It looks like it will rain, and the forecast is calling for rain. I bet the sun doesn't shine all weekend.

Today's Weekly Report Of Orders For Orlando went out with pivot tables on the second worksheet. Showing which dealers the money and orders came from on one table, and showing which factories and got how many orders and how much money. Craig really liked it. I bet it takes Barbara Hacker, in the Hollywood office, a couple of weeks to imitate it. After I began e-mailing the report back in June, it took Barbara about three or four weeks to copy me. I guess imitation is the sincerest form of flattery.

I did laundry lastnight. Finished drying it this morning. Folded towels up this evening and pressed two shirts. The only house work left now is floors - clean kitchen and bathroom floor and vacuum. I will have plenty of time to do whatever I want this weekend. That will probably include running through a few more of Datapig's Excel tutorials.

In my imagination, I picture this apartment stacked full of my stuff until I can find a garage or a storage unit for the overflow. It will all work out for the best.

Orlando, FL

Yet another busy busy day in the office. We are approaching $300k in orders. It was a beautiful day outside... around 81° F and sunny.

I let Fay take lunch first today because she was stressing. When she returned she came in the door and said, "Okay, you can go, it's your turn"... well I thought it was a good idea to do some turn over with her before I took off and I told her about the recent phone calls and the calls back I was expecting. Well, when I came back she came to me and said, "I know this is probably being petty, but I wish you would let me sit down and put my stuff away before you start to burden me with all of that stuff."

One day I am going unload on her and she is going to be sorry!

Dave Geiger from Delfield was here with Craig today. I guess Dave Geiger and Kevin Kelly, from Garland, had good things to say to Craig about me today. Don't get positive things in this industry very often. Not the most sophisticated clientele either.

Been sooo busy that I forget to eat my snacks or take other breaks. It's been like this for a few weeks now too... not sustainable.

My March issue of Wired came in the mail today. There was some junk mail, a mailing from a San Francisco porn studio (I like the full-color ads !), and a returned 2005 Christmas card that was undeliverable!

Orlando, FL

Good grief! What a day! I faxed over $175k to the factories today. I still have $46k in unresolved orders waiting in my inbox. This might be another record-breaking week.

Today I came home at lunch. I made a turkey and swiss sandwich. Then I went to the rental office to try to rent Garage 9E. Alas, it is already rented!! They said they would go fast! I have to check with them again tomorrow when Haydee and Tony Ann come back.

If worse comes to worse, I will just have to rent a 5x10 storage unit for my stuff.

Lastnight I watched one of the movies I downloaded recently, "Totally Fucked Up". It's about these 6 gay teenagers in LA who hang around together with almost no parental supervision. The one kid you think has it all together is the one who commits suicide in the end. It was pretty depressing.

Just hanging out and relaxing now until I sleep. Hit the gym in the morning. I am sure tomorrow will have some special challenges. Tomorrow evening our region manager from Delfield is flying in. Boy, I had fun reserving his hotel room since I found out about it at the last minute and almost no vacancy with the Daytona 500 going on.

Weekend

Yesterday I cleaned the kitchen and bathroom floors, folded my laundry, ran dishwasher, stripped my bed and washed the sheets/pillowcases, made the bed, vacuumed, and scrubbed the shower. It was sunny and warm outside. I stayed in all day.

This morning I got up and put my stuff together to go to the park. I went to office first. I finished filing the stuff I had left sorted, then I began checking orders and making them ready to fax first thing in the morning. I processed $113K in orders and I probably have another $40K waiting for revisions. Another good week for FER.

After working on the orders I went to Lake Eola to walk some laps. They had the Farmer's Market set up on the southeast side of the lake and I browsed it. I took the business card from this one table that caters food bouquets. They looked really nice!

Walked three laps (about three miles), then went to SuperTarget for some groceries. I got pears, milk, yogurt, cheese, frozen blueberries, bottled water, and whole grain bread. My bill came to $45-something. I think my overdraft protection has cut in now. Oh well, atleast I'm not hungry. I priced digital cameras while I was there too. I want to get the Casio Xlim thin camera, but it is going to be atleast $200.

Yippeeee!! Friday!!

I was almost done with my morning of back and bi's at the gym this morning... I was on the treadmill walking briskly at 3.8 MPH, mopping my face and head with my towel... when I fell! My foot hit the stationary side of the treadmill and I began to fall. I grabbed onto the handrail and called out, "Dammit Vince! Pay attention!" The people around me who saw it laughed.

It did not look like it was going to be a very busy day at the office. As I was filing, Nick Baranet arrived at the office. We immediately began to move things out of the Test Kitchen. Craig asked me if I minded carrying a few things over to the storage unit. Before long we are carrying stuff to the storage unit, pulling stuff out of storage to give away or put into the trash, pulling chairs out for the training session. I wore a white dress shirt and light khaki slacks... dirty now.

The Test Kitchen is very open again. Reminds me of how it looked when I started. We are trying to get everything ready for the Cleveland Range Training at the end of the month. 19 seats are full for 2/28, 16 seats are full on 3/1, and 16 seats are full on 3/2. We will fill them all.

Craig bought lunch for us from Orlando Ale House and brought it back to the office for us. That was nice of him. I took my usual lunchtime walk, it was sunny and warm today.

In the afternoon the phones began to get really busy and late in the afternoon the fax machine began cranking out orders! We ended up with $190k for the week - we beat Hollywood again, but I bet I have another $100k waiting right now.

When I got home I found a card on my counter. Evidently the Orkin man paid a visit today. Good thing too.

Doing laundry right now. In the morning I just have to do the floors, get a few groceries, and I want to go to the office, finish the filing, and get those orders ready to fax first thing on Monday.

Orlando, FL

Found this interesting softball poster on Flickr.com. Makes me almost want to join their softball league!! lol!

It was another beautiful sunny Florida day here, just a little cool. But it was warm enough to make my walk at lunch time. For lunch I started out for McDonald's to get a 99-cent heart attack, but the line of cars at the drive-thru wound around the building, so I headed over to Crispers for a salad. I think I can live with myself eating a salad.

Busy day today on the phones, but it was productive. Craig returned shortly after 5 pm, and I hung around until 6 pm. The traffic lights at our drive way on Vineland Road are working now, but they are still covered up and a cop directs traffic in the evenings.

Two bottles of water left in the fridge. I hope I can make the food I have left stretch for another week.

Orlando, FL

It has been chilly these past couple of mornings!! I think it got down to 35° F yesterday morning, and it was pretty cool this morning too.

On Monday night I did my 2005 Federal Income Tax Return. If I did everything right (fingers crossed), I am expecting a refund of $907! That money will be handy with my upcoming household goods move.

Didn't have to worry about flowers or candy or any of that Valentine's Day stuff this year. I guess it really IS easier and cheaper when you are single! LOL !

Finished reading The Singularity Is Near this afternoon when I went home at lunch time.

Fay and Craig were in Sarasota today having lunch with Sarasota Restaurant Equipment. The phone was very busy here in the office, but there were only a few orders. Overall it was not that bad. I got some filing done and got new folders made.

I guess it's time to shut everything down here at the office, get into my truck, sit in traffic, and try to get home. We can do all of this again tomorrow.

Orlando, FL

On Saturday it clouded up. I drove up to Dunellon to visit Linda and Roger. On the way up I passed a big truck full of pink grapefruit and I passed a truck towing a trailer with 60-foot-long rowing hulls. I think the bus following it carried the rowers.

I got off at Wildwood and followed 44 west. It took me through Inverness and all the way out to Crystal River. I turned at 18 and followed it north past the Crystal River nuclear power plant, and found 488. Followed 488 out to Linda and Rogers.

It continued to cloud up and it rained. Roger showed me the birdhouses and squirrel feeders he has been making - he is really bored. I swear, those two are turning into Betty and Carl.

Huge snowfall in the northeast. Has highways, rail, and airports crippled. I hope they get it cleared up or melted before I have to come up!

Stayed the night out there. We watched some of the Olympics.

They should be in Dunellon until March 25. I know I have a case of jelly jars in storage. When I get them down here I will take them up to Linda for canning.

Sunday was sunny and clear, but it was windy. I left around 2 pm to come back home. Linda sent me off with another jar of vegetable soup, two jars of tomato juice, and another jar of jelly. It occurred to me that for a diabetic, Roger sure eats alot of things with added sugar!

I stopped at SuperTarget on the way home to get food. Spent about $82 there. Came home and put that stuff away and stayed in for the rest of the evening. I only have about 30 pages left in The Singularity Is Near, I think I will have it finished soon.

I found my W-2 from Hi-Tec in the mailbox when I got home.

It got very cold lastnight. I think it dropped below freezing. It was very cold this morning. Another busy and stressful day at the office. I went out at lunch and got my hair cut. Was going to go to H&R Block for taxes, but then I remembered that I don't have enough money to pay them. I found the 1040EZ form on the Internet to download. My return should be simple enough to fill out by myself this year.

Orlando, FL

It was chilly this morning - 48°F when I got up. I slept well lastnight and I think that is because the house was cool lastnight. It was cool enough to convince me to wear a sweatshirt during the drive to the gym.

This entire day was just steadily busy. I did find time to call Jessica at Hi-Tec about my W-2. She is going to have a copy sent to my new address.

Craig was back in the office today. He gave Fay the Darden Restaurants gift card. We went to Olive Garden today for lunch. At the Olive Garden I noticed something interesting... that cute guy from the gym, Matt, he was waiting tables there!!

Fay had some angel hair pasta with apricot sauce and I had cheese-filled ravioli. We got a serving of gelato and two spoons to finish the meal on a sweet note and finish off the gift card.

The afternoon was steady too, but I found a quiet time to call Linda and Roger. I am going to go up to visit them on Saturday. I am going to return the canning jars to Linda (maybe get refills!). I guess I will be spending the night.

I am doing laundry right now. Maybe do some house cleaning tomorrow night so that I can go to Dunellon and not have to worry about cleaning when I come back. I will still have a couple shirts to iron.

Did you know that juice from blueberry skins makes a pH indicator? I noticed that when I ran tap water into a bowl I'd been eating blueberries out of, the water went from pink to light blue. The next time I ate blueberries, I tested the juice with acetic acid - vinegar (no change), then with a base - baking soda (blue color). I understand that the juice from red cabbage works this way too.

FER Orlando has sent $315k in orders to the factories so far this week. A very good week indeed.

Hump Day

When I called to ask Ana when we were meeting for lunch she was disappointed to have to tell me that she could not make it -- too much work. Boo hoo! As if the rest of us don't have work to do! I met Betsy and Peggy at Carmella's Cucina Italiana anyway. I know I was gone for over two hours... as a peace offering, I returned with a slice of cheesecake with raspberry syrup drizzled over it for Fay.

Right after the meal I went across the street to Barnes & Noble. They had a paperback copy of The Abs Diet for only $15. It doesn't have the nice shiny pages or color pictures like the hard cover edition, but I am after the information only. They actually have a lot of fitness books in there.

I already have a balance ball... just need to get some 15 or 20-pound dumbells so I can do some of the exercises here.

Betsy is finally sending the Capital Equipment Bid FY06 orders now. So far FER Orlando has racked up $279k in orders... and we will have two days to go!

I forgot to call Jessica at Hi-Tec about my W-2. I was steadily busy all day and completely forgot about it. I only remember it when I get to my mailbox at the end of the day - hoping to find the W-2 in there.

Stopped at Wal-Mart on my way home from the gym to get another bottle of Nitric Oxide precursor. Wal-Mart has it cheapest at $19.00 a jar.

Called and talked to Mike Leary lastnight for almost an hour. He told me to call about a week before I go to New York to let him know when I will be back. He will come over and help me move stuff in and he will bring a friend! I guess I will have to spring for pizza.

Orlando, FL

Today was a stressful day. Mostly because of the Disney orders going to Garland. If you give a discount deeper than specified by a dealer's program, you have to submit a Repspon Form to document it. Problem is, we gave discounts that aren't prescribed and don't fit into the form. Now the factory is complaining that my forms are not filled in right. Betsy is spending an obscene amount of money and she will probably make our week.

I bought my AirTran ticket to New York City for March 3 today. With taxes and fees it came to $113. Also, went to U-Haul.com and reserved my truck for March 4. I will be up there making the move before you know it! I need to check with the office on garage availability - all of that stuff is not going to fit in here. I have a tablesaw and drill press and other tools!

Was going to go out at lunch today, but I got a phone call at 11:30 - "What are you doing for lunch today? What is Fay doing?" Neil Gosselin, one of our west coast reps, was at the Rosen Center selling today, and he brought lunch for us from Quisno's. That was nice of him!

Still no W-2 from Hi-Tec Associates... damn it! I need that form to complete my tax returns! I need the tax refund for gas money in the U-Haul truck! LOL!!

Tomorrow I am having lunch with Peggy Patterson, Betsy Hummel, and Ana Velazquez. I guess we are going to eat at the Italian restaurant in Doctor Phillips.

Orlando, FL

Steelers won the Superbowl. On the radio this morning they had people calling in to vote for their favorite Superbowl TV commercials. I guess they were tame this year.

Today was a beautiful, sunny day. Just a little bit cool. Fay returned to work this morning. She was half an hour late, but she seemed rested and she was in a good mood all day.

At lunch today I came home and ate some of my veggie soup.

I called and talked to Mike Walker about my move. I made that call on the work phone so it would not count against my monthly minutes. He has no problem helping me. Infact, if his girlfriend is in town, they want to take me out to dinner. Mike talked endlessly about all of the people who have left and about the new NPO's, etc. I guess Paul Rubin is the plant manager now. I sure am glad that I am not there anymore! Now, I just need to buy my plane ticket (and find the key to the padlock on my unit!).

The afternoon was almost peaceful in the office, but it passed relatively quickly.

Found a few interesting things on the Internet today:

• Does anybody actually MAKE these projects?
• Ideas and techniques for speed reading.

Nobody seems to care where we eat lunch on Wednesday. Betsy voted for the Italian place again, so I guess that will be it then.

Weekend

It rained almost all of Saturday. Stayed in all day. I cleaned the kitchen and bathroom floors in the morning and just wasted time on the computer for the rest of the day.

Sun came out late in the afternoon.

Mom called. Not much new to say. Still baby-sitting Duncan while Marrissia and Kevin vacation in Hawaii. Aunt Ginny died and the calling hours are in Coshocton. Calling for snow in NE Ohio. Aunt Edie is buying a house in Kent.

This morning I went to Save-Rite to get some groceries. Made a 6-quart pot of vegetable soup this afternoon. I went to the Dollar Tree and got some cheap freezer containers to put leftover soup into.

Garrett Grainger called today. He wanted to meet for lunch at Panera Bread before he went to work. So I met him there at 3 pm. We ate and talked a little bit, then he had to work. I went to Dollar Tree and then Barnes & Noble. I looked at the book Ana recommended, The Abs Diet, but it looks more like an exercise book than a diet book. I am not sure if it is worth $26... I will think about it a few more days.

The book I did buy is a paperback about hacking: 1337 h4xOr h4ndbOOk. If I learn a few new things from it , it will have been worth the $15 it cost.

Supposed to have lunch on Wednesday with Betsy, Ana, and Peggy. We are not sure where yet.

I need to call Mike Walker in New York and be sure he can help me move next month. If I know he can help me load the truck, I will go ahead and get my plane ticket. I think Mike Leary will help me carry heavy stuff upstairs. I might want to look into get a garage too.

Need to go downtown on my lunch and update my voter registration too. I need to be ready for vote in this important election!

Friday !

It was overcast and rained almost all day today - very hard at times. Today was not very rough at work at all. Infact, I would say that we really didn't miss Fay all that much at all! That is what Craig wants me to tell her when she comes in Monday.

I called Hi-Tec to find out where my W-2 is. They did not bother mailing them until 31 January. So, it is somewhere in the mail right now. I guess it will get here next week. Sooner the better, I need to get my taxes done.

At lunch Craig came back to the office and picked me up, we went to Bahama Breeze in Lake Buena Vista with Debbie Owings and Betsy Hummel. Mostly lots and lots of gossip. I had the Cuban sandwich with fruit salad. Craig got gift cards when he got the check. He said they are for me and Fay for next week. Evidently he is going to Arizona this weekend and he is not coming back until Thursday!

The afternoon was not that bad... Evelyn was in to update the anti-virus on our machines and then she hung around to help Craig resize some images from his camera.

Before I knew it the day was already over! I think I am going to clean the shower tonight.

For your entertainment, I found these Brokeback Mountain spoofs yesterday. Enjoy!

Groundhog Day

Puxatawny Phil saw his shadow this morning -- six more weeks of winter. That's not so bad, I guess.

I found this wonderful (dated) photo on Flickr today. I think even at that time it would have been considered tacky to wear clothing made from the same material as your upholstery (or drapes)!

The longer I look at that picture, I begin to see spots when I look away from it!

Today was not too bad by myself in the office. The morning was pretty hectic - phones ringing, trying to get orders dispatched, order confirmations, phones ringing, taking care of service call follow up, phones ringing, generating quotations and quote revisions and the phone ringing, but the afternoon was quieter. I feel that tomorrow will not be too bad either.

Lunch today I went to Firehouse Subs. When I walked in I saw Chuck Milam, Gerry Patterson, and Jack Finch from Disney Sourcing & Procurement. I sat down and had a nice talk with them while my sandwich was made.

The office supply man delivered new ink cartridges today. Now my printer prints in color again. This is a good thing, because it turns out that it uses color ink to print gray too!

Tomorrow I am supposed to have lunch with Craig, Debbie, and Betsy Hummel. We do not know where we are going to eat yet. I am sure it will be nice though.

Garrett told me that he does not want to help me move, that he just wants to stay in Orlando during his break. So, it looks like I will be going to NY to do this myself. I think I can get Mike Walker to help me load the stuff up. I will call Mike Leary to see if he can help me carry those big things upstairs when I get down here.

Talked to Ana Velazquez this afternoon. She is still happy at Fairfield Resorts. She is highly recommending The Ab Diet to me. She says that it is well-researched and grounded in science. I wonder if I can really gain anything from it? Motivation maybe? Ana wants to get together for lunch next week sometime.

Orlando, FL

Hey ! I got paid this morning !! About time too ! Now I have paid the storage unit rent, rent on the apartment, the water/sewer/electric bill, a little bit to Lowe's, a little bit to USAA for truck insurance, and I bought a ton of groceries ($200-worth!). I am still looking forward to the Verizon phone bill and the February OUC bill.

Next: I need to coordinate with Mike Walker in New York, get my AirTrans plane ticket, and plan my household goods move from NY. That will save $200 per month in storage rent.

Today was a steadily busy day. It was sunny and bright all day and almost warm outside. Fay is going to be out of the office for the next couple of days so I know getting the phones, keeping up with e-mail, and processing all of the orders is going to be hectic. Debbie is supposed to come in tomorrow afternoon while I have a phone conference with Garland. She can get the phones while I am in that call.

Tomorrow I need to call Hi-Tec and find out where my W-2 form is for 2005. Funny how they are in no big hurry to get it to you if you do not work for them!

On Friday, Craig, Debbie, and I are going to have lunch with Betsy. Craig just wants to show some love to Betsy and let her know we are still happy to have her business. I am happy to have lunch with Betsy, but I know I will pay for it when I return to the office - the phone answering machine will be full.

I am sore. My bi's, tri's and ab's are all sore. I guess I hit it just as hard as if I had never took a break from the gym and my body is complaining about it. The soreness just means that I am challenging my body, but I'd better becareful -- no sense making myself sick again!