John's Little Corner of the Universe

Tagged

2006-12-05T12:53:00.000-05:00

So, I guess I have to write 6 strange things about me. That shouldn't be so hard to do.

1.) I only have 4 toes on my right foot. Before anyone asks, it wasn't a hunting accident, nor was I attacked by any type of wild animal. I was born missing the second toe on my right foot. Most people don't even notice unless I tell them.

2.) I eat my food in order, starting with veggies, rice or whatever, and then the meat if there is any. Also, I will always eat my fries first if I get fast food. Don't know why, but I do.

3.) I go by my middle name, John, not my first name, Michael. I just prefer John, always have, and this causes no end of hassles whenever I have to do anything official.

4.) I tend to analyze songs, the music, not the words. People will say, wow, that song is soo deep, and I will say, Yeah I love how they changed keys there, and the way the drum pattern changed etc. I have a degree in music, I guess that's why, I only hear parts of a song at a time.

5.) I am a walking dictionary. I always get asked, how do you spell this, or can you proofread this for me? It isn't something that I have worked on over the years, it's just the way it is with me.

6.) I can remember things that happened ages ago, what people said, what they are like, all sorts of details. Most people won't watch Jeopardy with me, I drive them nuts. At the same time tho, I can't remember where I left my car keys, my wallet, and I usually have to go back into the house to get something I have forgotten whenever I go anywhere.

Hypochondria will kill us all

2006-11-21T09:02:00.000-05:00

The person I normally work with is off right now, and I have been working with a temp for the last little while. Normally this is ok, and I can deal with it, but this guy has been suffering from all sorts of ailments, which are getting progressively worse as time has gone on. I wonder if he will be working tonight.

It all started off as a hamstring injury, that he was having trouble moving his leg, and that is why he is so slow. After that, he developed tennis elbow, and arthritis too. His diabetes was flaring (I didn't know diabetes can flare, but whatever), and he was getting a cold. This guy seems to be a walking game of Operation.

This week so far, he has developed pnuemonia, and rhuematoid arthritis. I think by the end of the week, he will be suffering from a case of death, if the complaining gets worse. If he starts complaining about his ovaries (and yes, that is an inside joke btw) I'm leaving.

I wonder what tonight's complaint shall be, perhaps colon cancer, or maybe leprosy if I am lucky.

Phantom, the Merciless Killer

2006-11-06T13:59:00.000-05:00

Over the last week or so, I was convinced that there was a mouse in here, but I hadn't seen anything, just heard it at night, scratching around. Also, my cat was staring at the cupboards almost constantly, so I knew that something was in here.

I woke up on Saturday morning, and was on my way to the bathroom, when I noticed something on the ground. It looked to be a little piece of string or something, so I bent down to take a closer look.

It was horrifying.

Before I say what it was, I have to say that my cat is pretty timid most of the time, loud noises frighten him, and he generally runs away and hides when vistors come over, with a few exceptions. He is, by nature, a fraidy cat.

What I saw on the ground both horrified and intrigued me - it was a mouse tail, just the tail, with a little piece of mouse left on the end of it. There were also a few more tufts of mouse hair lying there as well. EWWWWWWW!!!!

I looked around for the rest of this unfortunate rodent's mortal remains, but there were none. This led me to believe that Phantom not only caught the mouse and killed it, but also ate it.

Although it totally grossed me out, I have new respect for my cat now. If the rest of the mice are smart, they have packed up their mousey bags and left. Woe betide any more mice that get in THIS apartment.

Night of Nights

2006-10-19T12:47:00.000-04:00

Wow, it's been so long since I have written anything here, what with computer troubles and such. Finally, I can add something new here.

The last 2 nights at work have been interesting to say the least. Actually last night was the interesting one. For those of you who don't know what I do, I spend most of my night on the road. I work with a transport truck driver, and the two of us load and unload the trailer together when we get to where we are going. It's hard work, but my work partner and I get along very well, so that makes it ok.

My work partner has been off for a few days, so the company has gotten drivers from a temp agency. I have to say that whenever this happens, it usually works out ok. Not last night tho. When the hard work started, the temp asked where he could fill up his water bottle, so I said I would show him where the water cooler was. He then proceeded to give me his water bottle so I could fill it for him. No, I don't think so, you can do that yourself. Not really a great first impression.

He then asked where the washroom was, so I showed him where it was, and then he disappeared until I loaded the truck myself. Pushing 15 1000 - 1500 lb carts full of stuff onto to a trailer is tiring.

After we were all loaded up, off we went, and I soon learned that this guy had NO clue where he was going, at all. He is also directionally challenged, so when I said turn right, he went left. This made for a very very long night.

When it got dark, I also learned that the temp driver couldn't really see very well at night. When I opened the gate at one of our destinations, I had to jump out of the way because he started to go before I was clear. He couldn't see me. I told him to watch out getting through the now open gate, cause it was a tight fit. He blew that off, and then proceeded to scratch the side of the brand new $75 000 trailer on the gatepost I told him to watch out for. Arg.

It took him about 15 mins to finally back into the dock, and then he disappeared as usual when the work started, so I wound up doing all of the work myself. When we finally got back, it took another ten minutes to back in (it usually takes about 30 seconds). He knocked over two barrels that are set up to help guide him in. He couldn't see them. Big bright yellow barrels.

I was so glad to finally finish up last night, and be on my way home.

When you combine all of this with a hot water tank that decided to leak all over the floor, yesterday was a GREAT day :)

Birthday

2006-09-29T08:41:00.000-04:00

Today is the 33rd anniversary of me. Woo hoo! Am I excited?

Well, to be honest, I like my birthday. It isn't about presents, it isn't about getting better treatment, free drinks at a bar, whatever. I mean, I still have to work tonight, I'm sure I will get some nice presents in the meantime, and I will spend time with my family and friends, and that's great. But for me, my birthday isn't about any of those things.

It's about cake.

Just cake.

I can't eat ice cream anymore since I am getting older, but I love cake.

Vanilla cake, vanilla icing with lemon filling cake to be precise.

And that is the kind of cake that has been ordered for me, and that I will be enjoying on Sunday :)

Where were you?

2006-09-11T10:50:00.000-04:00

Today marks the fifth anniversary of the terrorist attacks on September 11th, 2001.

I remember this day very well, I can remember almost every detail very clearly. Just after the first plane hit, my brother called me from his car on his way to school, and told me that he just heard a plane hit the World Trade Centre in New York. We both thought it was a small plane, that it was some sort of accident. I went out and turned the tv on, to see what had happened.

I told Dave that it wasn't a little plane that hit the building, it was a big one. I was telling him what I was seeing, that there was a gaping hole in the side of the tower, and that smoke was billowing out of it. As I was telling him all of this, the second plane flew into the other tower, I watched it happen live. It was the most horrifying thing I have ever seen.

A few minutes later, I heard where the planes were from, where they had been hijacked. I realized that one was from Boston, and was bound for Los Angeles, and I knew my uncle quite often flew from Boston to the office in L.A., and that he was scheduled to take a trip soon. I couldn't get through to my aunt in Boston, but I did get through to my grandmother, who had gotten through, and told me that my uncle was safe, he didn't have to travel that day. I was overcome with relief, but horror at the realization that other people were not feeling the relief that I felt, that members of their families were gone.

September 11th, 2001 showed us how awful people can be, how evil and heartless they are, but it also showed us how selfless and heroic people can be too. When I think of September 11th, I think about all of those emergency workers who gave their lives trying to save others that were trapped inside the towers, and in the Pentagon. Those men and women are true heroes.

I think about my own country, and how people in Gander, and all over Canada, opened their doors to travelers that were stranded. I think about standing on my parents porch, and watching fighter jets on their way to patrol the border, and the strange absence of any other planes in the sky.

I remember most of all though, the thought that our world had changed, in a dramatic and terrible way.

To anyone that happens to read this, where were you when the world we knew changed? What memories do you have, what were you thinking? Everyone has their own memories and thoughts about that day, and if we share it all we will keep the memory of those heroes who gave everything, we will keep the memory of those whose lives ended on that day, and we will keep the memory of those whose lives were forever changed.

Updates and stuff

2006-08-28T09:16:00.000-04:00

It's been awhile since I have written anything, so here is what has been going on in my little world lately.

My mother returned from her trip to England and Scotland, safe and sound, she wasn't arrested or anything like that, she just had to wait on the plane for about 3 hours at Heathrow because of the terrorist scare. She said no one really knew what was happening at the time, the sort of pieced together what was going on through people talking to their relatives on cell phones. Eventually the pilot figured out what was happening and told everyone else. All in all, she had an amazing trip, and I am looking forward to seeing the pictures.

I just got back from holidays myself, and I wound up coming back a little early, cause the weather just sucked. It was cloudy, cold, and rainy, but at least I wasn't here. I love spending time at the cottage, away from everyone and everything for a little while. It was nice and quiet up there, and even though the weather wasn't great, it was still relaxing.

My cat decided to have an adventure the night we got back, and he snuck outside while we were unpacking the car. I figured he was hiding, he does that after he has been kittysat, and then comes home. Next morning, no cat, hasn't touched his food. He wasn't inside, so outside I went to look for him. Of course, he was under the deck, and it took about 30 mins to get him out of there. Now he is addicted to getting out and making a beeline for under the deck, he tried that this morning when I took the garbage out, but I was too fast for him. I must break him of this habit.

So, back to work tonight, which sucks, but all good things must end I suppose....

Terrorist threats and my mother

2006-08-11T10:47:00.000-04:00

My mom left for England and Scotland on Wed. evening, just in time for the terrorist plot to be uncovered. Lucky her, she was flying into Heathrow, and would have arrived at just around the time everything started to happen. I wonder how long she had to wait, I haven't heard from her. I'm sure everything is ok, I'm sure my mom has no idea how to build a bomb using liquid explosive, so she isn't in prison anywhere.

I know she will have to wait for a long time to get home though, and since I am picking her up at the airport when she gets back, I think I should bring a book. I might be there awhile......

So hot out.....

2006-08-02T10:26:00.000-04:00

What is with this heat? I swear, I nearly melted last night at work, and after the sun went down, it didn't cool off at all. It's distressing when at midnight, the temperature outside is still 80 degrees.

I must have drank 2 gallons of water last night, which is a good thing, but I still felt dehyrated all night. I didn't even feel hungry, and for all that know me, this is a big thing. The only thing I could do was slow down and take my time, but even then, after I got home, I was completely exhausted.

I sure hope this weather breaks soon, I don't mind hot so much, but this humidity is brutal. There won't be much of me left, I will be a pool of sweat on the floor if this continues much longer.

Right now, I am enjoying the air conditioning at home, and not doing much in the way of moving :) I'm so glad that there is cold beer in the fridge waiting for me tonight after work...

Some things I have learned this week

2006-07-31T11:07:00.000-04:00

There are weeks when everything goes wrong at work, and it's completely out of your control, and getting frustrated doesn't help at all.

At the end of every bad week, there are a few hours when everything in the world seems pretty good after all.

A shower that leaks without you knowing about it can be very bad.

Pets have a way of cheering you up when you aren't feeling so great.

Things stop working for no apparent reason at all.

Sometimes, people do things that surprise you in a good way.

No matter how early I wake up on Monday morning, I will always miss the garbage truck.

Mom's Trip

2006-07-26T09:32:00.000-04:00

I talked to my mother over the weekend, and she seemed pretty excited about something, and I didn't know what it was at first. Then she told me she was taking a trip in August.

Yeah this is some trip she is going on, she is leaving and travelling to London, England, and then travelling all the way north, through Scotland to the Isle of Skye. I am SO jealous!

When Mom was younger, she visited my great grandfather and other relatives who were still living in Scotland, long before I was born. She loved it so much she almost stayed there. Mom has been talking about that trip she took my whole life, and it's been her dream to go back.

I'm so happy that she is getting the chance to do it again, and she is even getting to see the Edinburgh Tattoo, at the castle. Again, I am very jealous!

I know she is gonna have a great time, and I'm really happy for her. I can't wait to see the pictures when she gets back :)

Guardian Angels

2006-07-15T08:51:00.000-04:00

Recently the Guardian Angels have started patrolling areas of Toronto, specifically the Regent Park area. The mayor is opposed to them being there, and the Chief of Police isn't too happy about it either. This makes no sense at all to me.

From what I have been able to learn about them, the Guardian Angels started operating in New York City in the late 1970's. The city was so crime-ridden back then that citizens started taking things into their own hands and aided the police to find and detain criminals by placing them under citizens arrest. They don't carry weapons, the are privately funded, and they help the police by detaining criminals by putting them under citizens arrest, and reporting crimes. Kind of like a wandering, aggressive neighbourhood watch.

So, if crime is escalating in Toronto, don't you think that something like this would be useful? Apparently Mayor Miller is upset that they have moved into Toronto. He would much rather rake in all of those tourist dollars, and tell everyone that Toronto is as safe now as it was 10-15 years ago. Hate to break it to you, but it simply isn't. I suppose the Mayor's solution to the problem would be to build more basketball courts, and have more after school programs to keep kids away from guns. How about having people around that aren't afraid to call the police when gangs of kids are shooting at each other, and killing innocent people in the process, like on Boxing Day? How many more bystanders have to get hit by gunshots before the Mayor of Toronto stops talking and starts actually doing something?

The Guardian Angels are a good idea for Toronto. It is a beautiful city with lots to do and see. I realize the crime there does not compare to what it was like in New York in the 70's, but it's bad enough, and it's better to nip this in the bud.

By opposing something that many people in Toronto want, Mayor Miller has made himself look a total fool, and with an election coming up, that isn't good for him. Hopefully someone with more brains will be elected next time.

My crazy cat

2006-07-12T09:21:00.000-04:00

For those of you that haven't met him, this is my cat Phantom. He enjoys sleeping in very strange places, and in strange positions. He also enjoys howling in the middle of the night, opening the cupboards in the kitchen and "helping" whenever I need to fix something. Basically he is a stomach on 4 legs. :)

Bad planning or a clever ploy?

2006-07-11T14:34:00.000-04:00

It's been awhile since I wrote, so here goes:

So recently, I was informed that it would be really nice if we had a lounge chair for the backyard. Since we don't have one here, that would mean I would have to purchase one. Off I went, looking at some online, and finally finding one that was relatively cheap, and looking relatively comfy.

I went over to the store, and looked around for the one I saw online. I couldn't find it anywhere, and asked someone. Wouldn't you know it, the one that was on sale was all sold out as of the day before, but we have these ones, also on sale. It was about 3 times as much as I wanted to spend, but still not unreasonable. All of the other types they had were about the same price, but not on sale. Hmmmm.....

I wonder if stores do that, order stock to put on sale, but not order enough so they can upsell the customer to a more expensive one that is also on sale when they sell out of the cheaper one. It's sneaky, but it works. Either someone is being very smart, or very dumb by not ordering enough stock. I think it's the former.

I wound up getting a hammock thingy, with it's own frame and everything. The nice thing is that it can be taken apart and transported, which is great for the cottage. It's really comfy, and probably much better than the one I intended on getting. It all worked out in the long run, but it still made me wonder a bit....

My Retiring Father

2006-06-23T08:41:00.000-04:00

So, my father, after working for a very long time at the same company, is now at the point where he can finally say goodbye to the wretched place, and do the stuff that he wants to do.

The thing is though, the stuff he really enjoys doing, like fishing, most of those things involve the cottage, which belongs to my mother's parents. Since my parents separated almost 3 years ago, he has been very reluctant to go up there. I guess he just feels awkward about it all, and I don't really blame him, I don't know how I would feel in that situation.

The cottage is where I got to know my father, all those trips into town, early mornings out fishing. He taught me to drive up there because, as he put it, there isn't anything to hit. I learned so much about him up there, and that's where I got to spend the most time with him. I remember all the times we spent under the cottage, trying to get the old pump to work, and both of us cursing it. I will always remember his fishing pole leaning against the tree by the lake, ready for him to use it again the following morning.

I remember one night, there was a brutal thunderstorm, the three of us were all pretty little, and scared. We were sitting on the couch, all huddled up, and Dad got some Koolaid for us, to make us feel better. He had the jug in his hand, and just then, there was a strike of lightning, very close to us, and the thunder was instantaneous, and all of us jumped. Dad did too, and the koolaid spilled out, and for years after, there was a purple mark on the floor, all of us would laugh when we first got up there every summer, and say, "Hey, remember that storm..."

I remember the tape we made when it was raining outside, I remember the time the chipmunk got in the car because Dad left the window open. I remember long walks to the farmhouse. I remember catching frogs in the evening.

Most of all, I remember my dad as a permanent fixture there, that's where he relaxed, where he loved to be. He would say to me in the middle of January "I can't wait to open the cottage up this year, I need to get out of this city".

I hope, beyond hope, that he one day feels comfortable enough to go back with me. It's so hard to think of that place without him there. I'm really happy that Dad is finally getting to retire, he has earned it without a doubt, but I so wish he felt comfortable doing what it is he truly wants to do.

Dad, if you read this, I love you.

Radio

2006-06-13T13:36:00.000-04:00

As I'm sitting here listening to the radio, I am amazed at how little taste some people have. Some of the songs that people request are simply horrible, no matter how sentimental it is. I understand that everyone has different musical tastes, but still, there are just plain bad songs out there.

No one needs to hear "Ebony and Ivory", much less request it for someone. What kind of message are you trying to send with a song like that? I just don't understand.

If anyone requested a song, any song by Michael Bolton for me, I would be very offended. In saying this, I hope no one, someone in particular, gets any big ideas.

I think I have pretty broad musical tastes, and I have been told this by a bunch of people, but there is just some music I can't take. I realize that is very subjective, and the stuff I don't like someone else might love. Just don't play it near me :)

Yay!

2006-06-10T19:42:00.000-04:00

I FINALLY got a call!

That's it for now :)

Yes it is, no it isn't, YES IT IS!

2006-06-09T09:17:00.000-04:00

Anyone who knows me will tell you that I like discussing things, anything usually, with people. Debating can be fun sometimes, but not all the time. Sometimes, it's nice to express an opinion or idea, and not have a 3 hour discussion about it.

For instance, if I said, "Wow, it's nice and sunny today", I wouldn't expect an argument. It's a fact, look outside, and see it's sunny. You don't have to debate that point, it just is. It's beyond me to think that someone would argue with a fact that is plain as the nose on their face. Splitting hairs by saying, yes but it isn't as sunny as yesterday, can be very very annoying.

The other kind of person that bugs me are the ones that take a contrary position to everything that is said to them. You know the type, the ones that will say black is white just to provoke you. Even attempting to talk to someone like that is futile, because they will disagree with everything you say. That sorta reminds me of the argument sketch by Monty Python.

The talk over you people are the best too, they are the ones that figure if they keep talking, you will give up and say they are right. Wars have started over that. "Ok then, keep talking, we will just invade you". If you try to talk a little louder to be heard over their babbling, they talk louder over you, and the cycle continues until both are redfaced and shouting at each other, and it's usually over something so stupid in the first place.

As much as I enjoy a good debate, I don't enjoy pointless arguments with people who just don't listen. Conversation is enjoyable, but getting angry over something ridiculous, not so much. Expressing an opinion and backing it up is fun, but so is listening to what the other person has to say too. There is no point in having someone else to talk to if you don't listen.

At the beep, please record your message, no one will get back to you

2006-06-08T10:48:00.000-04:00

Recently, I sent in my resume at the same company my friend Jaci works at. She added a referral to it, so it looked pretty good. A few weeks went by, and then I recieved a voice mail from someone in Human Resources asking me if I was still interested in the postion. I called the number and got voicemail say, so I left a message saying yes I am very interested, please call me back at home or on my cell, and I provided both of those numbers.

Ok, that was almost 2 weeks ago now. I have called every day since, I have left 3 messages so far, and nothing. I am totally in suspense, because I really want this job. I don't want to pester people by leaving a million messages but at the same time, I don't want them to forget about me either.

Did this person go on holidays? Did they get fired? Are they never at their desk, or always on the phone? It's an enigma.

Yesterday, I called the place and asked the reception person to put me through to human resources, and I specifically stated that I wanted to talk to a REAL person, not a recorded message. They said, sure we will put you in touch with someone right away. Yeah, sure, I got a DIFFERENT voicemail this time, for someone else. I left a message.

I'm not sure what the solution to this is except to wait. Stalking is out of the question, not a good way to make a postive impression on prospective employer. Neither is being rude on the phone, although I would like to be. Perhaps having a tantrum in the reception area? I don't that is an ideal solution either.

So, I shall continue to wait, jump on the phone every time it rings, and keep calling, every day, in the vain hope that someone actually answers their damn phone.

Weekend Drivers, the Bane of My Existance

2006-05-27T12:28:00.000-04:00

Today I had to do a fair bit of running around, getting groceries and that kind of thing. I have come to the conclusion that the people who live around here seem to switch their brains off on the weekends.

You get all kinds, from the people that drift from lane to lane without bothering to either look or signal, to people that drive everywhere at 40 kmh. The best though, is when you have a combination of slow people, people who think they are Mario Andretti in their 87 Honda Accords and people who think that the lines on the road are only suggestions as to where they should drive.

I don't profess to be a perfect driver, I have made mistakes in the past, and I will continue to make mistakes too. However, I have learned from them, and I don't drive around completely oblivious to everyone around me. People seem to think that just because their driving record is clean than they are great drivers. Problem is, they just haven't gotten caught yet. How many accidents have they caused because they have pulled out in front of someone, and then drove away without even noticing the chaos they have left behind them?

My personal favourite are the meanderers, you know the ones I mean, the people that suddenly decide they MUST turn right immediately, cut 3 people off as they go across 2 lanes of traffic, then make a right against a red into oncoming traffic. Don't these people even see how much danger they put themselves into? I'm sure that Rich has had more than a few calls to accidents like this.

My job involves a lot of driving around Toronto, and the more I see how people drive, the more I am afraid to back the car out of the driveway. It's not that people are stupid, or even careless, they are just off in their own little worlds, and they don't notice anything around them. Changing lanes in front of a transport truck that is going the speed limit when you are doing perhaps 80 on the 401 is not such a good idea, since the truck would need a lot more room to stop than a car. You could find yourself underneath the truck if you do that too often. All you need to do is look around you, and let other drivers know what your intentions are before you do it.

Oh yeah, and by the way, just because you turn your signal on doesn't mean you now have the right to cut people off. Sorry, had to get that out there.

Enough of this diatribe for now, I have more driving to do later today.

Wish me luck.

To the lady who lives next door...

2006-05-20T17:12:00.000-04:00

Well over a year ago I moved out of the dismal apartment that I had lived in and watched slide downhill for two years, and moved into a very nice basement apartment here in Burlington. Apart from having an "interesting" landlord, things here have been really great, it's a quiet neighbourhood, away from traffic, and I have great neighbours.

The lady who lives next door to us is a senior citizen, and she has been living on her own since her husband died, before we moved in here. We often chatted over the fence in the yard, usually about the weather, our respective cats, just about anything under the sun really. During the winter, I would shovel her driveway and sidewalk without fail, and in the spring, she would give us advice about the garden, so it seemed like a fair trade to me :)

About a month ago, I noticed she wasn't around outside all that often, and that her daughter was over quite a bit. She hasn't been out gardening, and there have been more and more relatives over at her house. I haven't been brave enough to ask any of them if she is ok or not.

Just the other day, there was a lady there speaking to a couple in the driveway, and I hadn't seen any of them before. The one lady doing all the talking seemed to be a real esate agent. I am starting to wonder if my neighbour has gotten sick, and can't take care of herself anymore.

I doubt she will read this, but I still want to say I hope she is doing well, and that I miss our chats over the fence. Good neighbours are hard to come by, and I hope that she is safe and well, wherever she is. I hope I see here soon, planting more flowers in her garden...

Too good to be true....

2006-05-16T14:14:00.000-04:00

Since my last entry, I have decided to go the used car route, but it's proving to be a little frustrating. It seems that lots of people want to unload cars that will cost way more money than they are worth to get into running condition.

Whenever I think I am getting a good deal on a car, I start to get excited about it, but then the voice of reason takes over, and I start wondering what's wrong with it. Why is it so cheap? Has it been rolled? Will it explode the second I drive it off the lot? Arg.

Oh well, back to reading the Auto Trader....

Attack of the Killer Car Salesman

2006-05-14T08:52:00.000-04:00

Since my car has sadly passed into the great beyond, I spent my Saturday checking out new cars to lease. While I enjoy checking out new cars, I do not usually enjoy dealing with salesmen, or saleswomen, whichever the case maybe. Sometimes I am pleasantly surprised, the salespeople are pleasant to talk to, informative without being pushy, etc. Other times, more often than not, they are overbearing, loud, pushy and obnoxious.

The first salesman we encountered on our travels yesterday was very nice, knew what he was talking about, knew the car, and was totally not pushy at all. He came with us on the test drive, and I actually didn't mind that he did. Although I was not completely sold on the car, I would give that particular salesman extra consideration just because dealing with him was pleasant.

The second one we went to however, not so good. The sales guy was much younger than I, and was very very very very eager to make a sale. We took a walk around the lot, looking at different models and that kind of thing, but they didn't seem to be in any sort of order, which was annoying. The whole time we were walking around though, this sales guy was watching us through the window, like a vulture. It was kind of unnerving.

When we decided to go in, this guy opens the door, and attacks us, "HI MY NAME IS...." He tells us we are welcome to his fine auto dealership, at which point I wanted to ask what would happen if we weren't welcome, would he leave us alone to look at the cars? He wants to know what kind of car we want, what options, lease or finance just as soon as we walk in the door. I don't think I have ever had a salesperson get in my face so fast in my entire life. I literally looked at the car I was interested in for about 30 seconds before he was pulling me away to crunch some numbers, and he had an offer to lease form already out and ready to fill in. Alarm bells were going off in my head, and red flags were waving, let me tell you.

Once we got back from the test drive, this guy really turned on the hard sell, saying how he used to work for the competition, so he could trashtalk them, everything he said and did was obviously part of a pitch. All of this was delivered in a booming voice. When it was made clear to him (again) that we weren't buying that day, he tried to play the urgency card, "Well, today has been a slow day, so my boss would be more willing to deal today, I don't know if she will be next week, probably not". Ok, look pal, I used to work with a bunch of salesmen, I know the routine, and that was probably the clumsiest way to create a sense of urgency in a customer. Also, telling me you don't care if you sell cars, you just wanna make your customers happy is complete and utter bullshit, since selling cars puts food on your table. Are you telling me you don't care if you eat? What turnip truck do you think I fell off of?

I would like to say that I dealt with a salesperson at the third dealership we went to, but alas, no one really bothered to talk to us so we left.

The last person we dealt with was very similiar to the first, asked a few questions about us without being nosy, asked us what kind of car we were interested in, gave us time to look, gave us space to talk together, that kind of thing. Not only that, but the car was amazing too, so we shall see what happens. I will keep the general public informed as to what car we wind up getting.

So ends my little tirade, I'm sure there will be plenty more as time goes on.

John

First one ever

2006-05-12T09:20:00.000-04:00

So here it is, my first blog entry. I have been thinking about doing this for a long time now, and this morning, I woke up and thought to myself, "You know, today I will start a blog".

Ok, it didn't really happen that way.

I read an entry that my friend Rich wrote yesterday, and I was inspired to create my own, and instead of just thinking about it, I actually did it, which is a big thing for me, as anyone who knows me will tell you. I tend to think about things for a long, long time.

So, we shall see where this goes, and I intend to have fun with this. It's nice to have a forum to vent :) I am looking forward to seeing what comments my opinions generate over time.

TTFN
John