Bfth's Boring Blog

...from the woman from Verona... I t's the little things in life that surprise you.  Little things that make your day.  Little things that make you feel good. Let me tell you about my walk on Friday, July 20th. It was a typical walk day.  I was up in my "walking clothes" (aka t shirt, shorts and baseball cap to cover up the bedhead) by 4:40.  It may just be a month past the longest day of the year, but I'm already noticing how it's staying darker longer so I've got the dayglo safety vest back on.  (Yes, I look like a dork, but hopefully it helps people see me).  I was out the door with my earbuds on by 4:45 (I'm NOT liking earbuds much.  My ears feel raw after using them for 90 minutes which is approximately how long I walk.  Suggestions?  Cheap suggestions?) I walked, trying to keep a "brisk" pace.  Some days I'm brisker than others.  I'll never be able to do better than 16 minutes and 30 seconds per mile.  (And that...

If you'll recall I am not too happy with Arts & Music ( http://bfthsboringblog.blogspot.com/2018/07/the-rant-customer-service.html ).  Quick recap:  As I have for the past 4 years I sent in my renewal check (before the deadline) for the "free" summer deal.  Check was not cashed; credit card was charged for the monthly renewal.  Called customer service; left a message.  Waited.  Filled out their customer service form on line.  Waited.  Got a call from customer service, but the rep was not very helpful.  Waited.  Called the customer service line again.  Waited.  Filled out their customer service form on line AGAIN.  Got an email from a very nice customer service rep who tried to be helpful, but couldn't provide me with the information that I wanted.  (Did they have my check?  When would they refund my credit card?)  Frustrated after nearly a month, I blogged... Thank you all who read that blog....

If you are of a certain age, you know what the next line is.  If you're not, well then you need to Google it and listen to The Carpenters... Monday Morning Quiz...What make Monday Mornings more Fun? Sleeping in past 4:30 AM Cleaning out the freezer section of your refrigerator at 4:30 AM Dragging out the melted contents of the freezer and soggy paper towels in a trash bag that is destined to rip to the garbage can in the pouring rain. Sweating, even though it isn't that hot out but it IS incredibly humid and working out in the house (because it is pouring rain outside) makes you sweat and smell bad. If you answered anything but A, then your day started out just as good as mine.  If your day started out like mine, let me give you a virtual hug because that's the best I can do right now. Let me tell you about my Rainy Day AND Monday.... My Rainy Day actually begins on Sunday afternoon.  It was an "iffy" afternoon as we prepared to take my son back...

We've all had the dilemma:  needing to be in two places (or maybe more than two places) at once. Sometimes the decision as to where to be is simple.  Sometimes not so much.  Today is one of the not so much days... So here are today's two choices, besides work that is.  But it's a summer Friday so I work until noon (ha ha...if I ever get out exactly at noon I'll buy a lottery ticket because I WILL be blessed). Also, because it's summer, this week my son is attending a day camp.  The camp is a theater camp and runs daily from 9:30 - 2:30.  It's (sort of) within walking distance from our house so I don't have to take him or pick him up.  He's on his own.  (It is about a mile and is up hill both ways...seriously! Good thing he takes after his mom and is a WALKER!)  He says he's enjoying it. (I'm lucky that I can get that much out of him!)   They work on a "show" Monday-Thursday and then on Friday afternoon do a 20 or so minute perfo...

There are two very dangerous A words and in my opinion they are Apathy and Anger.  These words and feelings are all too common in our society today and I feel a large part of the problems that we face. Apathy;  it doesn't sound dangerous.  Doing nothing; feeling nothing.   Who wants to feel? This is  so understandable in our world where we are constantly bombarded with bad news and horror stories.  It can make us feel weak and helpless.  We want to be numbed from it. We DO become numb.  Apathy can easily set it.  Why try when nothing seems to change?  Nothing seems worth the effort.  Apathy guarantees that nothing will change.  We need to work through apathy (and yes it IS work) and give ourselves permission to feel and care.  Deadening ourselves to emotion hurts us and those around us. Then we need to USE our feelings in productive and creative manner.   Anger; it seems to fill the air.  It's fright...

I recently wrote about my pet peeve of businesses being open and ready for business during the hours they post as open. (https://bfthsboringblog.blogspot.com/2018/07/pet-peeve-open-for-business.html).  Now I'm moving onto a rant... When it comes to customer service I don't like to rant.  I KNOW how hard customer service can be.  I've worked in customer service.  It's not easy and a lot of things are out of your control. Customer service workers are so often put between a rock and a hard place. So this rant isn't so much about the people who provide customer service as it is about the lack of training they often receive AND the constraints they face. This time I AM calling at the company that needs some serious customer service help: Music and Arts .  My son has been playing trumpet since 4th grade and this is the company that he school music program works with to get the instruments.  Towards the end of the school year, I got the same letter I get every...

Maybe I'm crazy (okay, I know I'm crazy!), but I think if a business is open from x to y, they should be OPEN and ready for business during those hours.  (This excludes an extenuating circumstances.  Stuff happens to us all. ) I know that I am expected at my desk and ready to work by x.  Being the crazy person that I am, I am usually at my office and ready to go at least 10 minutes beforehand.  Sure, there are times when I am late, but it is not the norm.  If you need me, you know where you can find me and if I'm going to be late or not available, I generally let people know. Of course I do not work in the retail business, so my situation is a little different.  Still, am I wrong to think that if your establishment has set hours that you should actually be open and ready for business at that time? Two examples: 1.      I had a 10 o'clock appointment for a pedicure at my local salon.  The salon's hours are 10-...

...when we focus on what really matters and forget about colors, races, nationalities, etc.? We as a WORLD (not as a country, nation, state, etc.) can rejoice that all of the boys and their coach who were trapped in the cave in Thailand have been rescued. This was the result of people working TOGETHER.   People from all over the world focusing on a common goal.  And look what happened!  We could call it a miracle and perhaps it is.  But is the miracle JUST that all came out alive or is the miracle that people from ALL walks of life worked towards a common goal? Does it matter if a rescue worker was dark skinned or light?  Does it matter if a rescue worker was Christian, Jewish, Muslim, Buddhist, Atheist or whatever?  Does it matter of a rescue worker was a man or a woman?  Did you really think about those things while the efforts were going on?  Do you think the parents, relative and friends of these boys really cared? W...

Compromise:   1  a :  settlement of differences by arbitration or by consent reached by mutual concessions  b:   something intermediate between or blending qualities of two different things (From my favorite resource, the Miriam-Webster Dictionary, but you knew that right?). Compromise is NOT a bad word.  Compromise is NOT a bad thing. This is something I'm trying to teach my son AND myself.  I do so with varying success.  And when I don't succeed I try to use the experience as a teachable moment. Example:  My son has been sick, but he wanted to go to church with me one Sunday.  He insisted on dressing for it, which means a shirt, tie and jacket.  That's usually fine, but it was hot on Sunday and he was getting over strep.  I suggested a more casual look (nice slacks and collared shirt), but he would not compromise.  As a result, right after the first hymn, he turned to me and said, "M...

Let's start this off by going to one of my favorite resources, the Merriam-Webster dictionary and defining the word Liberty:   1 :  the quality or state of being free : a: the power to do as one pleases   b:freedom from physical restraint c:  freedom from arbitrary or despotic control d:  the positive enjoyment of various social, political, or economic rights and privileges e:  the power of choice 2:  a   :  a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant  b   :  permission especially to go freely within specified limits  3 :  an action going beyond normal limits: such as: a   :  a breach of etiquette or propriety  b   :  risk, chance  c   :  a violation of rules or a deviation from standard practice  d   :  a distortion of fact  In the United States of America we enjoy our Liberty.  Our country ...

Have you ever read these words?  Really read them? (I'm totally serious here!) http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/index.html It's the Declaration of Independence as we know it. Have you ever read this? http://www.ushistory.org/declaration/document/congress.html It is the draft showing what Jefferson wrote and what Congress changed.  Jefferson may have written the declaration, but the body of Congress necessitated changes.  There was debate. There were arguments. Changes were made. And thus the Declaration of Independence was born. Read it today as we celebrate our independence.  What do those words mean to you? Do they mean anything?  Do they have relevance in our world today? Would you, like our forefathers, " pledge to each other our Lives, our Fortunes, and our sacred Honor?"  Should our current Congress and elected leaders? As we celebrate our independence today; take a few minutes to read our Declaration.  That, mo...

The past is past.  History.  Over.  Done.  Unless you have miraculously invented/created a time machine by which you are able to go back in time and attempt to "correct" something that has happened (I really don't think that is happening), the PAST is PAST.  You can whine about it.  You can bitch about it.  You can reflect upon it.  You can celebrate it. But it's the PAST.  It is history.  It is gone.  You cannot change it.  (You CAN distort it for your own purposes, but you cannot change it.) Change is something that you can do in the present or in the future. Change is a work in progress.   Change is something we can work toward; not something we can think of in the past tense.  If you don't like the way things went in the past, then you need to act so that history doesn't repeat itself.  (Because things tend to stay the way they are unless someone or something implements change for the future.)...