I Noticed A Missing Link

I noticed that my blog has a noticeable void, well, at least noticeable to me anyway. Hockey!! I am a rapid hockey fan. Some have said obsessive, what? Who? Me? Naaaah. Well maybe a little. Secondly I am a die hard New Jersey Devils fan! OH what is that I see...top spot in the East? I never noticed.

The playoffs are fast approaching and I am getting excited about the prospect of hockey on TV ever night for a month or so. I believe I will have to ensure my playoff tree is reborn again this spring. Last spring I built this playoff tree on a wall in our home, much to the dismay of my lovely finace. She is patient with me. God love her for it. But I have to say the playoff tree was a sight to behold. It was awe inspiring. LOL

Now, I am not sure why I have never added hockey to my blogging. I certainly do love it and have a passion for the game. I follow the scores daily, I watch the stats and I read numerous articles almost daily. I can talk hockey with the best of them. That brings me to problem I have with all the anti-Devils people out there. I understand that the Devils have had some unfortunate years of stifling coaches that preached DEFENSE, DEFENSE, DEFENSE, which produced Stanley Cups, but some terribly boring hockey. However, like a true fan I stuck with them. So why is that no one has noticed their transformation? I guess because they are sitting right where they have been for the past 10+ years, at the top. Leading their division and/or the Eastern Conference. I know they got there with boring hockey, but that has changed. When the Devils hired Brent Sutter as their coach in this past off season he has been a changed the hockey philosophy in the New Jersey camp. This season they started slow out of the gate because of it. They were learning new systems which were a 180 degree change from previous years. They lost all their key defensemen and had a new coach who is all about puck pursuit and a strong passion for an aggressive fore check. That left Martin Brodeur alone in the back 40 to fend for himself for a number of games while the team figured out what this crazy coach was talking about. Not to mention they started the season with a nine game away schedule while they waited for the new Prudential Center arena in Newark to be finished. Needless to say with 13 games remaining in the 2008 season the boys from Newark are coming into their own and just in time. With the playoffs just around the corner; the offense is clicking, the defense has learned how to work with their veteran goalie and it looks like Brodeur is on fire, once again producing Vezina like numbers. In two games this past week against the leagues whipping boys (The Maple Laughs), Brodeur stopped 83 of 85 shots! Obviously some team break downs there, but what else would you expect from one the leagues best goalies of all time.

So as I gear up (like I am personally involved) for 2008s quest for Lord Stanley's mug, I watch on the edge of my seat as my boys hold on to the slim lead they have in the Eastern Conference. The Habs are working hard to bring back days of old to the Forum, backstopped by their young netminder giving them great success this season (flashes of the glory days of Patrick Roy dancing in their heads). And those pesky Penguins, lead by a young cast of incredible super stars are breathing down the necks of Devils for Atlantic Division supremacy. So if you hear a deafening scream and aren't sure where it came from; it was probably me cursing the all those who oppose my Devils ownership of the Eastern Conference!

My Two Cents
Jamie

eBay Has People Abandoning All Reason

I just don't get it! What is wrong with people today? Don't they understand how money works? now I do understand the supply and demand concept, but it is still nuts! I have been watching the Nintendo Wii systems being sold on eBay and buyers are either uninformed or just plain stupid. I know it sounds harsh, but I this chaps my ass!

A Wii console retails for about $249-$269 (I've done the research), yet on eBay these morons are driving up the bidding to well over $100 beyond the retail, that is before the ALWAYS bloated shipping costs. Oh, you live next door, wow, small World. So the shipping on that item will be $73.49. It's maddening! I would say the average (my guess) auction price on eBay for the Wii console is $380 + shipping costs. So the total cost, shipping included, is about $425-$475!!! Can anyone else see how insane that is!?!?

The sellers on eBay are buying consoles at a retail outlet in the morning and selling them by end of day for $150+ profit! I will give them credit for being on the ball. I don't blame the sellers for capitalizing on an opportunity to be make money. All they do is post the items and the bone heads bidding drive the price up beyond what it would cost them to get off the asses and go to the store and buy it themselves. Granted some are probably not in cities or towns with a retail outlet that would carry a Wii, but is there value in paying nearly double for the Nintendo Wii? Sure it's fun, but I am must be missing something.

Perhaps it is the Winnipegger in me...I don't like paying retail let alone MORE than retail. :)

I think eBay and what it offers is awesome but I just don't understand the mentality of the bidding public to drive the price well above retail. I will go back to watching the eBay auctions and continue to wonder in amazement why someone would pay so much for something worth half the price and ask myself, "Self," Because I call myself "self", "Self, what is wrong with people?"

My Two Cents
Jamie

Children And Their Oh So Cool Ways

I described a situation in an earlier blog regarding how I usually dress appropriately for the weather and joked about the parental lecture that accompanies the concept of warm clothes in Winter. I spent a great deal of time this past winter trying to instill some solid principles about wearing warm clothes with my 11 year old son. Even to the extent of purchasing "cooler" outer ware to avoid any fashion disasters. He has some pretty good looking stuff to wear. Does he wear it? Hell no! That would make sense. Oh but don't worry Dads he has it in his backpack just in case it gets colder than -45 degrees. Are you kidding me? He has this very nice ski jacket apparently; which was purchased without a zipper, oh no, I was wrong, there it is. He, sadly, has not mastered the art of zipper closure. So he walks around being very cool (who are we kidding he has to be freezing his ass off) with his jacket open exposing the stylish choice of sweater for that day. :) Then of course there is the classic pulling of his hands into his jacket, which would indicate to any sane person that your hands are cold. So how about putting on those mitts you picked out because they were cool? Naaa, this pulling my hands in thing works better and looks cooler. So let me understand this...it is cooler to look like you have no hands, than it is to wear mitts on them? Okay, got it. How about one of the multiple toques he owns? Those are in his bag too, and besides those are for Summer when he is skate boarding, DUH!! The kid wears a toque all Summer long and tucks it away in his bag all Winter long for safe keeping! UGH! Now I will extend a friendly reminder; Hey don't forget your boots, you know the nice ones that look like snow board boots to keep up the cool image. I get thanked (not in a gracious way though) for reminding him. And as we walk through the ankle deep, freshly fallen snow I find as we approach the van that he has remembered his boots; of course they aren't on his feet, they are snuggly tucked up under his arm while he walks through the snow in his runners....oh wait....sorry his skate shoes.

Clearly I have no idea or concept of what it takes to be cool, but as far as I can tell it has a lot to do with being very cold, having wet socks, chapped skin on the hands and let's not forget the unique fashion accessory of winter boots under each arm. But I digress.

All I can say is, I will continue to try and help him understand it is important to dress properly for Winter and hope somewhere in his brain he hears me. At the very least he can pass along all this wisdom to his kids one day.

And of course, we all know that when we were youths we NEVER EVER under dressed for the weather in Winnipeg!

My Two Cents

Jamie

That's it! I am done! No more! Finished! Fineato (is that a word)!

I came to the conclusion this morning that I am done with Winter. I know, I know, this coming on the heels of my diatribe about conversations surrounding weather. But I am requesting some latitude on this one, because it isn't really about weather per say, but more about seasons. A thin line, but one I am going to walk at this time.

I could not warm up this morning and for me that says something. I am a furnace, prefer cool to cold environments because I produce more than my fair share of body heat! That's right I said it, I am HOT STUFF! ;) But this morning, I could not for the life of me find warmth. At times it has been colder this Winter, but I never have any trouble being warm. So I decided that enough was enough and I am done with Winter.

Not entirely sure what that means?? I can't just walk away from Winter, now can I? Hmmmm. I don't think I've thought this declaration all the way through. (Is that smoke I smell, no wait, that is me thinking) I've got it! I could become a shut in until the season officially changes in a couple of weeks. Now how does that conversation go with the boss....."Uh, well, here's the thing boss. I am done with Winter so I won't be in until March 20th, once Spring begins." Ya that's the ticket! Na, that doesn't seem like a good idea. Although I am fairly certain I have said stranger things to my boss than that in the past three and half years. :)

It's odd for me, because this is the first time I can recall that winters iron grip on Manitoba has had such an impact on me. As stated above I am not normally effected by the elements. I do what I have to do and dress accordingly (most of the time, cue the parental lecture about warm clothes). I guess that is why I formed such a strong opinion about being fed up with Winter. Alas Winter is what is.

So long story shorten, I guess I will need to suck it up and stop being a baby. Winter is here for another two weeks, officially, and potentially another four weeks unofficially. There I think my hissy fit is over. Should be good now! LOL Thanks for tuning in this week for whiny guy cries about the weather. Now back to our regularly scheduled program.

My Two Cents

Jamie

Working For a Living Doesn't Feel Right

So I picked some extra work over the weekend. As much as I like helping a friend out (I was being paid mind you), I really hate working weekends. I worked all day Saturday, came home and went to a social. Worked all day Sunday, stopped for groceries on the way home and then went and played hockey Sunday night! Doesn't make for much relaxation, so I am tired and not really motivated to work today. Go figure! :)

Ya see, a good friend owns a company that provides I.T. Services. He has a client that was changing offices over the weekend. As with most major computer network moves, the network is expected to be up until end of day Friday and fully functional Monday morning like nothing happened. Sometimes easier said than done. Oh and better yet if you can swing it keep the network available the entire weekend, even while it is unplugged and in transport. There must be a way! But we loaded up the vans and moved about 50 PCs and all the computer related office stuff and headed to the new location. We unloaded and began the task of setting up an office. Running cables, setting up PCs, testing and tying down cables to make all look neat. That was just the office space, that did not include the behind the scenes work in the network closet. The area where all the magic functionality the office takes for granted is created. Isn't it amazing...you plug a PC into the wall beside your desk and poof...you have access to the Internet and all the pertinent file information you need is at your finger tips! The plight of the unnoticed I.T. staff. Boo hoo right!

Working for the 'man' sucks!

And it REALLY sucks when the paper your pay cheque is printed on is worth more than the money it represents! LOL. Funny story...I was talking to a woman that used to work for me back at Sobeys. She was a great employee and had a lot of potential. I remember how she wanted to advance in the company and so I worked on grooming her for bigger and better things. She wasn't always aware that she was being taught something, but I think that is a big part of teaching. She didn't believe me that she would be the leader one day, I knew she had the skill and talent to be exactly what she wanted to be, but she had a hard time visualizing it herself. But today she is the leader I thought she would be! She runs her own department and is very proud of her accomplishments. Back to the story; we were talking one day on MSN. Gabbing about this and that, the grocery biz and its ups and downs. Like any industry, it has its ebbs and flows. She had asked me about my career and how I liked my career change. I let her know I was not truly happy with the career choice I made. Talked a little about how the I.T. industry is not as satisfying a job. Basically it wasn't what I anticipated it would be. She commented that at least I was making more money than I was in the retail grocery game! I had to LAUGH, I find it funny how people ASSUME that working in the computer industry equals great fortune. The reality, at least my reality, is I make about $14000 LESS per year than when I left the retail grocery business. That is a lot of scratch! In fact I made more money when I was 20 years old than I do right now! That is sad, instead of moving up with inflation, I am regressing. However, I believe starting over has its price. I am new to the industry, so I am unknown and unproven. Back in the grocery World, I was known and proven. Numbers don't lie. My accomplishments within the Grocery industry were very clear and I might add, impressive. Companies came looking for me and not me looking for them. I know what it takes to make money, how to create profit, how to drive sales, how motivate others to excel and most importantly, how to create a team that knows how to build something special. I build people into powerful individuals that WANT to exceed expectations and WANT to be the best they can be (which is a different level for each individual person).

I will apply those acquired skills to a project of my own one day. That is the path I am working towards. The grocery industry is not for me because it has changed. So going back is not really the best option. Although I know I would enjoy it more.

I need a financial backer! Any business! You choose! I WILL make it a success, I WILL generate a profit, I WILL create an atmosphere of success that everyone involved will be proud to be a part of.

Well that felt good! I should get back to work and get something meaningless done today!

My Two Cents

Jamie