I am not a coffee drinker. Over the years I have saved a great amount of money by not having to buy a Starbucks' drink one, two, or three times a day. Of course, I have found other ways to spend that money.
While I don't drink coffee (or alcoholic beverages), I am a great consumer of Coca Cola - not the diet stuff - the real, leaded, red can, classic stuff. Three or four a day has often been my pattern. But in an effort at better health and in an effort to become less wide, I am in day nine and counting of time without a Coke Classic.
Why do I tell you that? Well, my co-workers would rather me write than complain. Actually, I have done better than I expected. To this point, I have not had road rage; have not hit anyone; have not yelled at anyone; continue to shower and shave every day; and have gotten out of bed and gone to work each day. Not bad for someone in the major throes of withdrawal.
I have developed a growing concern though. In light of today's economy, I hope that my not drinking all those Cokes is not adversely effecting the bottom line at the corporate office!
Tuesday, June 16, 2009
Friday, June 5, 2009
Nostalgic Closing
The local news in Denton, Texas, this week included the closing of the two Piggly Wiggly grocery stores in town. While this doesn't compare to the President speaking in Cairo or the Texas Rangers leading their division, it does elicit a certain sense of nostalgia. These are the last two known Piggly Wigglys operating in Texas. I may be one of the people responsible for their closing. In almost two years of living in Denton and fifteen years working in Denton, I have only been in one of the stores and that was only one time. I think I bought some candy - not a big purchase.
But my nostalga is not about the last ones in Texas; rather, it goes all the way back to my childhood in Temple, Texas, where my mother seemed to always shop the small grocers - Dooleys in Troy, Wrights, Spot Cash, and Piggly Wiggly all in Temple. The thing that stands out to me fifty plus years later is that all the employees seem to know your name and knew where everything was on every shelf. As a child, I often ate a package of Mrs. Braid's chocolate cupcakes while we shopped. At the checkout counter, the clerk rang up an empty wrapper. If you went to one of these stores to run an errand for your Mom, you could tell the clerk what you needed and they could tell you what brand your mother usually bought. It was a day of personal service that has slowly slipped away as the smaller gives way to the larger. The need today is to recapture the friendliness and customer service of the smaller and place it in the larger. I just shop better at the grocery store if I am eating chocolate cupcakes.
But my nostalga is not about the last ones in Texas; rather, it goes all the way back to my childhood in Temple, Texas, where my mother seemed to always shop the small grocers - Dooleys in Troy, Wrights, Spot Cash, and Piggly Wiggly all in Temple. The thing that stands out to me fifty plus years later is that all the employees seem to know your name and knew where everything was on every shelf. As a child, I often ate a package of Mrs. Braid's chocolate cupcakes while we shopped. At the checkout counter, the clerk rang up an empty wrapper. If you went to one of these stores to run an errand for your Mom, you could tell the clerk what you needed and they could tell you what brand your mother usually bought. It was a day of personal service that has slowly slipped away as the smaller gives way to the larger. The need today is to recapture the friendliness and customer service of the smaller and place it in the larger. I just shop better at the grocery store if I am eating chocolate cupcakes.
Thursday, June 4, 2009
Is Virtual Reality, Reality?
Allergy medications may cause strange thoughts - certainly cause drowsiness. In the midst of the two, the question surfaces - is virtual reality really reality? Of course it is! Am I crazy or just drowsy? But - Presidential speeches being twittered; finding friends on Facebook; and texting on cell phones! Where have all the people gone! Gone to digital everyone.
Now don't get me wrong. The truth is that I like and use most of the digital forms of communication. I text three, four times a month - with proper spelling and grammar of course. I have a blog - actually, I have three - this personal one and two related to my job. I have a Facebook page and even have a few friends on it. Email accounts at work and at home easily accessible through my IPhone which also has a level, access to USA Today, and pool, bowling, and golf games (for when I am not working).
Could I get by without all of these devices in the world of virtual reality? I probably could, but I don't want to. I may be addicted - although I can quit anytime I want - I just don't want to.
But what about real people? Friends are more than digital transmissions through space. At some point friends must be real people that you shake hands with, that you hug, that you eat a meal with, and that you laugh and cry with. Sure you can do some of those things (at least metaphorically) online. And when distance separates you, online is a great way to stay in touch (metaphorically speaking). But we all need real, live people around us also. These are people that turn virtual into reality. These are people that can read your body language when words don't come from your mouth or from the keyboard.
Today is a good day - even with the allergies - to give some thought to the real people who make a difference in my reality while my fingers touch this keyboard in a virtual, sometimes real, always changing world.
Now don't get me wrong. The truth is that I like and use most of the digital forms of communication. I text three, four times a month - with proper spelling and grammar of course. I have a blog - actually, I have three - this personal one and two related to my job. I have a Facebook page and even have a few friends on it. Email accounts at work and at home easily accessible through my IPhone which also has a level, access to USA Today, and pool, bowling, and golf games (for when I am not working).
Could I get by without all of these devices in the world of virtual reality? I probably could, but I don't want to. I may be addicted - although I can quit anytime I want - I just don't want to.
But what about real people? Friends are more than digital transmissions through space. At some point friends must be real people that you shake hands with, that you hug, that you eat a meal with, and that you laugh and cry with. Sure you can do some of those things (at least metaphorically) online. And when distance separates you, online is a great way to stay in touch (metaphorically speaking). But we all need real, live people around us also. These are people that turn virtual into reality. These are people that can read your body language when words don't come from your mouth or from the keyboard.
Today is a good day - even with the allergies - to give some thought to the real people who make a difference in my reality while my fingers touch this keyboard in a virtual, sometimes real, always changing world.
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