Fun and Games Dept

I stumbled across this video while randomly navigating around YouTube. I have always been fascinated with the checkout process at a grocery or department store, though since Y2K I have found today’s experience to be boring and populated with semi surly people. 

I can’t help notice in this video that despite the fact the cashier and packer are doing all the work, they are still smiling and they seem to be enjoying their job. I know it’s a sign of getting old, but i can’t imagine anyone working in a grocery store today being as pleasant as they folks in this video are; we are lucky to get through an order today without an eye roll if the computer can’t identify the UPC code. 

http://youtu.be/Fsh-2WQbnPc

When I first took the job in my latest step in my career, I never expected to enjoy Greenville, S.C.  Now that I’m in the middle of my third trip down here in four months, I can safely say that this is a pretty nifty city, especially the downtown area.  Earl and I will be coming down here together in October.  I’m very much looking forward to showing him what I have discovered and discovering many more things together.

If you’re every driving Interstate 85, Greenville, S.C. is definitely a worthwhile stop. The downtown area has a lot of culture, scenery and fantastic places to eat. A foodies’ dream!

A quick snap from my hotel room …

Earl and I went for a ride in the Jeep after supper tonight. Since I work from home, it’s good for me to get out of the house once in a while. We stopped at a bakery for a little dessert but even though the door was unlocked, the bakery was closed. No one was tending to the counter or cash register.

We went elsewhere.

It’s a very common theme in this area, to close up shop early in the evening. Local restaurant owners complain about the chains taking over the area, but they don’t like to stay open as late as customers want them to be. You can’t have your cake and eat it too. Or something like that.

When we got home, there was a small bunny rabbit in the yard munching on grass. He or she (I couldn’t tell) was sniffing around for just the right bit of fauna from our lawn. When we got out of the Jeep, he or she jumped just a little bit out of our way. The nose was wriggling, the eyes intent, but food was to be enjoyed under the evergreen tree.

As I was wandering around the Internet tonight, I stumbled upon photos of mid-century style homes throughout the United States. When Earl and I move again, and we will when Earl retires in a few years, it is my goal to convince him that we need to purchase a mid-century modern home wherever we decide to move.

This photo of a 60 year old electric stove control panel caught my eye, as Grandma Country had this exact stove in her kitchen. Gramps had built the house in 1959 and the original stove lived there until a kitchen remodel in 1980, when the very attractive (at least to me) late 50s deco was replaced with some colonial style cabinets and linoleum.

As a toddler I was known for turning the stove on when no one was looking because I loved pushing the buttons that were well within my reach.

I found the photo on this page, which is an article about an immaculate mid-century kitchen recently found in Chicago, completely untouched and intact.

I’m pecking this out on my iPhone. I am aboard Delta flight 2013 from Atlanta to Syracuse. Sitting in seat 1A, I’m enjoying the amenities afforded by those upgraded to first class. My vodka cranberry will be arriving shortly. 

I’ve chatted with my aisle mates on both flights today, something that I rarely do on commercial flights. I’ve been working on coming out of my shell and striking up conversation helps. When I get home, I’ll tend to my INTJ nature and spend some alone time to recharge. 

My first aisle mate was a handsome man from Minnesota. He noticed I was traveling with the headset I use as a private pilot and asked if I had my license. He has taken his Private Pilot check ride twice and passed but declined the license both times. He didn’t feel confident enough to have the license. I didn’t say this out loud but that thought never ever crossed my mind. 

My aisle mate on this flight has flown from Iowa to Syracuse via Salt Lake City and Atlanta. He said he was tired and is currently napping. He is very pleasant. 

My next trip to Greenville, S.C. is already booked for next month. I hope Earl can join me for part of it but we shall see if that comes to fruition. 

In the meanwhile, I shall enjoy my first class vodka and cranberry. 

Greenville, S.C. is quickly becoming my home away from home. Granted, my experience of the area has been limited to the very quaint downtown, but I am impressed by what I have experience.  I’m looking forward to coming back again next month. 

  
I am sitting at the mall wondering why I’m here. As you can see by the photograph shown above, there’s not much going on at the local mall. Sears has left the building. Buses keep stopping at the entrance. The only person on said bus is the driver. No one gets on, no one gets off.

Earl is out of town until Sunday. I go out of town on Sunday. We are experiencing what we call “power couple time”, two career minded people passing like airplanes in the night, blinking our lights at one another, making radio calls and blowing kisses in the wind. Things will be back on track next Friday.

I just worked at 12 hour day and because I work at home, I was going stir crazy so I had to get out of the house. I had planned on flying after work today but it was too windy for me to derive any enjoyment from flying and once the wind settled down it was too late because the airport closes at 9:00 p.m. for construction. The construction was slated to be completed in July but now they’re saying September. So they’re closing the airport every night to work on fixing whatever they ripped up earlier in the year. 

Our tax dollars at work.

Next week, during my travels for work, I plan on flying with an instructor in a Cessna 172. Aside from that one time in Kansas City, Mo., I’ve always flown low-wing airplanes, so going up in the high-wing 172 will be a newish experience for me. This is another step in determining the type of airplane I want to purchase for us next spring. I spoke with the instructor today and she seems nice. Since airplanes handle differently, it’s always good to go up with a qualified pilot when flying a new model of airplane for the first time. Most insurance companies require a couple of hours of proficiency flight and when I’m trying something new I always want another pilot with me.  I’m really looking forward to the experience.

It still amazes me that our local Sears store closed and yet our downtrodden, dilapidated Kmart remains open (they’re both opened by the same company). Our Sears was a decent store. I’ve seen better, I’ve seen worse. Personally I think Sears could use a sprucing up by adding a little bit of class to their stores, something like this model of store, using the old logo from the 1960s. 

  
  I think it looks kind of sharp.