Here’s to Our Health

Posted on July 6, 2007 by Andy

Jenny and I are trying some changes in our diet. (who hasn’t said that before?) We’re giving up sodas for a while, leaded and unleaded. I’m trying to cut back on sugar, my biggest weakness. We bought lots of fruits and vegetables. If we go out to eat, we’re going to pick healthier foods instead of chicken fried steak and lasagna. No promises regarding how long this lasts, but it’s a start!

We spend most of our time at my parents’ house these days rather than our own, trying to keep our house looking nice and available for showings. I set up my computer in my parents’ gameroom, where I have a great view of the Four Seasons Resort. Right now I even see blue sky and sunshine, a nice break from the rain from the last month. We’re slowly moving clothes, food, and supplies over here. We’re probably going to keep AOL service only, which might actually be good for me. Jenny’s giving up soda, and I’m weaning myself from living on the Internet. And today we finally had a showing! These are good days.

Internet Addiction

Posted on June 23, 2007 by Andy

Due to lingering dissatisfaction, unreliable service, and poor technical support, I finally fired my internet company! It’s great b/c I don’t have to pay for poor internet access anymore, but it’s also hard b/c we no longer have access at home. I try to use Mom’s AOL dialup, but it’s like building a sandcastle one grain at a time. I finally talked them into upgrading to Time Warner cable internet, but my attempt at installation failed, so I have to wait until Tuesday. It’s amazing (sad?) how hard it is not to have a decent internet connection outside work. I think I’m addicted. No, I KNOW I’m addicted. But that’s OK, because it helps entertain YOU, my loyal AndyBox.com guests. Thank you for your patience during this transition period. I promise more frequent updates once RoadRunner arrives!

May Rants and Raves

Posted on May 31, 2007 by Andy

Rant: It really hacks me off when the captain has the “Fasten Seat Belt” sign turned on and passengers get up anyway. It seems to happen on most flights I take. Sometimes the sign might be on to make the food/drink service easier for the flight attendants, but often it’s on because there’s a chance of turbulence. It’s uncommon, but people do get injured by turbulence. We’ve had flight attendants get legs broken. The pilots get info on turbulence from their dispatcher, air traffic control, forecasts, and other pilots. Sometimes they can change their route or altitude to avoid/decrease the turbulence (get a “better ride”), but other times the only good option is to seat everyone and go through it. Obey the sign and stay out of the hospital.

Rave: Target’s Archer Farms brand of decaf hazelnut creme coffee is OUTSTANDING. Normally I doctor up my coffee, but this stuff is so mild and smooth that I drink it black and love it. It also smells great.

Rant: I finally fired Blue Wireless yesterday! After two weeks of very little internet access, lots of promises, and little explanation, I got fed up and called the billing department. The billing rep was the first one to actually tell me what was wrong. A technician came out this morning and fixed the connection, but I’ve already given my 30 days’ notice. If they’d only told me sooner about the plan, I would have kept them longer. Oh well. I wrote them a nasty email explaining why I was leaving. It was fun.

Rave: Elvira still rocks! I got over 35 mpg on my second tank of gas!

Rave: Ebby offers a Find House by Map feature that, well, lets you search for houses on a map. You select the number of bedrooms, bathrooms, property type, and price, and it shows you all the matching homes at whatever zoom level you want. You can overlay schools, restaurants, day cares, and DART stations as well. Try it out!

Rave: Our house looks great! =) I just mowed the yard (FINALLY! It’s hard to mow when it rains everyday, but it’s great to have so much free water for the yard!), and we manage to keep it looking nice by spending lots of time away. We’re having an OPEN HOUSE on Sunday, June 3, from 2-5 PM if you’d like to stop by.

Getting Fit, Saying No, and Other News

Posted on May 27, 2007 by Andy

My internet connection is STILL having problems. I’m also spending lots of time at my parents’ house and sleeping there to facilitate showings. So it’s difficult to update the site. To make up for that, you get a big entry today.

First, Elvira is here, and she rocks! If you need a car, I recommend Hondas, and I recommend getting yours from John Eagle Honda in Dallas. Talk to Anthony Hickman. He and I worked out the deal over email, and the whole process was very smooth. The Honda Fit is fun to drive, easy to park, very flexible, and has lots of great extras like cruise control and speed-sensitive volume with the Sport trim. Katy is borrowing my old car until the wedding because hers died hard. Soon afterward I’ll give Sarah to IBC.

We got the first offer on our house, but it was unusual. The buyers wanted to close in TEN DAYS, and their financing was odd. We couldn’t agree on the terms, so the deal fell through. It was encouraging to get an offer within the first month, though. We’ve had a few showings since then and still have hope for a good outcome.

I saw an amazing movie recently called Hotel Rwanda. It’s about the Rwandan genocide and civil war in 1994, an event that the West largely ignored at the time despite the deaths of nearly 1 million Rwandans. The founder of ALARM is from Rwanda and lost family members and friends in the tragedy. The movie tells the true story of Paul, a hotel manager who turned his hotel into a safe haven for over 1000 refugees and helped many of them to escape. It draws you in emotionally from the beginning with fantastic acting (particularly Don Cheadle, who plays Paul) and a great script. Today we have a similar situation in Sudan near Darfur, with similar apathy here among Western political leaders. I wonder how our reaction would be different if sub-Saharan Africa held the oil reserves of Iraq.

Jenny and I went bowling last night for Date Night. We visited Golden Triangle Bowl in Irving, a place where I attended a lock-in back in high school. I was thrilled to find that Golden Triangle is now SMOKE FREE! One employee said they’ve gotten lots of comments about the policy, both good and bad. I told him I thought it was great. My lungs didn’t shut off during the two games we bowled, and I didn’t come out smelling like smoke. I think and hope that most public buildings except bars will be smoke-free within 5-10 years. We are winning!

Doubletime and Its Benefits

Posted on May 8, 2007 by Andy

One of the things I love about my job is the opportunity for overtime. Until I became a dispatcher, I was either paid either straight salary regardless of hours or hourly without any chance for overtime. But now if I want to make some extra money, I can sign up for extra shifts. If I’d rather keep my days off, I can. Well, except for Saturday morning, when so few people had signed up for overtime that they had to start at the bottom of the seniority list and find someone legal to cover a shift. That someone was me, so I got called around 3:30 AM and semi-forced to come in for overtime even though I hadn’t signed up. I was supposed to help Katy and Eric move that day. I hated to break that commitment, but I must say it was nice to sit in an air-conditioned office making time and a half instead of lugging heavy boxes and furniture around in the muggy Texas heat. Anyway, our contract says that if someone works two or more overtime shifts during scheduled time off, every shift after the first is doubletime. Since I’d already been “juniored” on Saturday and had several days off ahead, I signed up for every overtime shift I could get! I worked two shifts on Sunday from 6:00 AM to 10:00 PM and another Monday afternoon. I was tired by the end, especially after Sunday, but it will give me a very nice bonus in my next paycheck. Note: I’m not trying to brag. I just thought you might find this process interesting. =)

That bonus comes at a great time since we’ve finally decided to replace my beloved 1996 Dodge Avenger, Sarah (11 years, 137,000 miles, the car I’ve driven since my senior year of high school), with a black 2007 Honda Fit, a small SUV-hatchback type car that offers great gas mileage, mucho flexibility, and Honda quality. I had to reserve it because they’re hard to find and in demand. Mine is currently sailing over from Japan and should arrive within a couple of weeks. I’ll be very sad to see Sarah go, but I’m really excited about getting a new car of my own. I’m probably going to donate her to Irving Bible Church’s car ministry. I’m working on names for my new Fit already. Since she’s black with tinted windows, mysterious and sexy, the frontrunners are Elvira (as in Mistress of the Dark, not the Oak Ridge Boys song) or Avril (as in Lavigne). Write me if you have any suggestions.