Happy Memorial Day

Memorial Day this year has been a good one for me.

I was a bit paranoid that my radiator might be leaking some fluid, but after some investigation, I was pleasantly surprised there didn't seem to be any major leak. I still need to find a way to squeeze in a fan to keep the engine cool without running the heater all the time.

I hung around my apartment a bit. I picked up a somewhat patriotic toy I could only show off to a few friends. I made it to the store to pick up a few items I needed.
I also made a trip out to visit my parents and have dinner with them. It was our traditional Memorial Day type get together. We had potato salad, Eckrich sausage, and baked beans. I borrowed a book from my brother while I was there. An old classic: How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnige. My brother gave me a two week loan on the book. He said it shouldn't take that long for me to read. After reading only a few chapters of the book, it looks like he really needs to re-visit the book. This book is a book of application that you have to refer back to several times. The first three chapters emphasize how ineffective and destructive criticism is, which is something my brother doesn't seem to take to heart. The book also urges you to read each chapter twice before proceeding to the next chapter. The formula in the book for most effective use shows that it will definitely take more than two weeks to get the true benefit out of it. I'll read through it before the two weeks, but I will have to probably attain my own copy of it or at least go back and re-visit a copy of it periodically.


A friend of mine stopped by after work and told me a story about an irate customer.
The situation began with a misunderstanding of how many gallons she was supposed to set the pump at. The person pumping went past where it was supposed to stop. So they went over what they wanted to spend and wanted to blame it on the attendant, not the person pumping the gas. This situation was not handled with the best of grace, and the police even had to be called to handle the situation. I wasn't there and I haven't seen the video, but suspect that if my friend had better training and skills in handling people the situation would not have reached the point where police were required. I still stand by my friend, as she was just trying to do her job and we are all spiritual beings having a human experience. I think she may have a lesson to learn here though that she hasn't learned for herself yet. She just kept saying how if she was responsible for her actions in public, so should others. I don't think she realizes how she could have "disarmed" the customer with carefully worded kindness rather than show of authority and power.


My little mini vacation is over. Tuesday I put in a full day between two jobs.