President Obama, Sarah Palin, George W Bush, and some of my other favroites are displayed!

Some tips that seem to make this easier:

• I have found that that it actually hinders my efforts if I buy from big box clubs such as BJ’s or Sams. Reason being, variety. If you have only two or three flavors of soup, you are going to get really tired of them really quickly. Every week a different brand of soup is on sale, go grab a nice varied selection.
• Soup isn’t always healthy, read the labels.  I keep really healthy options on hand for weeks when I’ve been bad at night,  and more flavorful ones for when I’ve been good or going to gym.
• If trying to lose weight, watch out for not only the fat content on the soup, but the crackers.  I try to limit myself to 4 Club crackers per lunch, but that is more of a guideline and sometimes I need to increase it.
• Keep a little TVP (textured vegetable protein) in your magic lunch box too, just a few tablespoons will not only add protein to anything, it will add some texture, which helps cut down on the need for fatty crackers. 
• Give yourself a reward day during the week. Let’s face it, some days you just don’t want soup or leftovers.

On December 10th, 2010 I placed my order, which included an extra $8.00 charge, which I was able to accept as I thought my gift would stand out more to them.

On December 12th it shipped, under the auspice of taking “6-8 business  days” from the Starbucks website and my order email, which has since been changed on the website, not sure about the order emails.

On December 22nd, I email them and explain that it’s now been over 8 business days and the order has not arrived, and inquired if it had been returned or lost.   There is no response for a few days

On December 23rd, I call support, and I’m rudely told that it’s 7-12 business days, and there is nothing they can do since it’s USPS.  Also, it’s “unreasonable to question” why it takes an envelope over week to travel anywhere in this country.   Worse case scenario, Seattle to NJ, will only take a few days at best.  I explain my displeasure with the entire situation to the service rep, who acts like he doesn’t care, but claims he will let his supervisor know of my displeasure with the entire process, per my request.  The CSR did not offer me any type of ticket number.

On December 24th,  get a response to my email sent on the 22nd, they say wait until the 12th business day then contact them again. This time, I get a ticket number.

On December 28th, I respond to the email explaining how I have now been embarrassed in front of my employers, and quite upset with the Starbucks brand.  I request in the same email that the cards be reprinted.

On January 4th, I respond to the same email asking if there is any status change or if anything has happened. All the while keeping the subject line intact with the order info, as well as all ticket numbers.

On January 5th, I get a response saying to call, with yet another ticket number, so I do.  On the phone, all of my existing ticket numbers don’t help her find any real information, so I give her the order string.  She tries to find me in their system, to see if I have a Starbucks card, then gets snippy with me for trying to explain that they are shipping to my office. After about 30 minutes she’s able to tell me that the cards were “signed for, then redeemed”.  I ask her how they could be signed for if they are just plain USPS, and she’s unsure, then ask her when they were used or redeemed. Again, she’s unsure.  I’m now told that this will have to be escalated, however I can’t speak to anyone about the issue, but she’s got a ticket full of the info, and of course a new ticket number, and someone will contact me with the resolution.

On January 19th, since I have not heard a word back from any supervisors I call back, and a very nice woman tells me there is an update to my last ticket I’m to be refunded because they are unable to reprint custom cards.  I explain to her that so far this has been going on for well over a month, and I’ve now spent about two hours of my life on the phone trying to resolve this, she is very apologetic and agrees that the entire thing is a mess.

On January 27th, a week and a day later, I contact my credit card company do charge back the initial charge.

On February 1st, someone calls me back and says “we see you disputed the charges, but we are going to send you coupons for a free coffee”..

I’m not going to sit here and rant and rave any further, but those of you in my office, and anyone in my personal life knows all about how badly this one was botched.  My recommendation is don’t’ bother wasting your time with Starbucks support staff, and especially don’t bother with custom gift cards. In short, thanks for screwing up my office Christmas and making me look like an ass Starbucks.

At least I’ll save a ton of $$ by either buying coffee elsewhere or making my own.  Now enjoy this funny, and freshly updated video:

July:

• Did some traveling
• Went to some Phillies and Riversharks baseball games
• Of course, a lot of drinking and picnics
• Helped run a benefit which raised about 3k for a family.

August:

• Plenty of drinking and  enjoying the summer with my friends and family.
• Our annual fishing trip was a failure because I wasn’t involved enough.
• Shot some big guns at the Widows Sons first annual ATF.
• Did a pub crawl in Rehoboth

September:

• Nearly got into a fight with some jag-off at the Red Bull Flugtag cause he felt he was entitled to take the spot I had been standing in for 5 hours.
• Did a pub crawl in Philly, missed the ferry on the way back, well sorta…..
• Again did some traveling, put lots of seat time on the bike.
• Helped at the Hogs for Hounds Benefit by the WS.
• Started a new batch of Syrah.

October:

• Did a few rides/poker runs, all enjoyable.
• During Restaurant week, I reviewed a few new places for the other blog.
• Went to see Social D in Philly.
• Hit a few Halloween parties, as well as a late Oktoberfest (it’s actually in September)
• Joined the Knight’s Templar, confirmed my belief that one should only join the Royal Arch path after they are a PM

November:

• Started off the month in Key West, how can you go wrong with that???
• My guys did a great job at GLI even if some people are already predisposed to dislike us, but that’s fine, it makes us stronger.
• Plenty of family/friend times between the holidays and wine tastings and such

December:

• Installations, Installations, Installations.
• Finished up my year as WM, what a year and experience it was.  I learned a lot about people, an experience I might try to do some things differently, but not that many.  I have many many thoughts on this, but sadly I’ll need to keep most of those close to my heart.  I’m glad I gave a year of my life to the lodge, but it’s time for someone else to take the reins.

January:

• Started off 2011 with a nice kiss from a nice girl, or two.
• Started my new role as Lodge Secretary, lots of work to get in order.
• Started Geocaching more often, thanks to a new portable GPS as well as one for my car.
• Visited Massachusetts for the weekend
• More wine tasting’s,  I won my first contest with a Zinfandel
• The first GLI I wasn’t required to be at, but I did goto the M&W meeting to help get the assessments sorted out.
• I didn’t do as well at the Shipwreck Brewery Chili cookoff as I had hoped, 5th place
• Started a batch of Bavarian Wheat Ale, can’t wait to taste this one and start another.

These are just some broad strokes, but as always been busy and I like it that way.

Sorry for the crappy pic, I was freezing.

When Santa Claus comes to town this week, he’d better watch out — because the federal government may be making a list of his crimes (and checking it twice), the Libertarian Party warned today.

 

“Hark the federal agents sing, Santa is guilty of nearly everything,” said former Libertarian Party press secretary George Getz. “The feds know when Santa’s been bad or good — and he’s been bad, for goodness sakes.”

Does Santa belong in the slammer? Instead of stuffing stockings, should he be making license plates?

Yes, said Getz, if he’s held to the same standards as a typical American. 

For example:

* Every December 25, the illegal immigrant known as Santa Claus crosses the border into the United States without a passport. He carries concealed contraband, which he sneaks into the country in order to avoid inspection by the U.S. Customs Service. And just what’s in all those brightly colored packages tied up with ribbons, anyway? The Drug Czar and Homeland Security want to know.

* Look at how this international fugitive gets around: Santa flies in a custom-built sleigh that hasn’t been approved by the FAA. He never files a flight plan. He has no pilot’s license. In the dark of night, he rides the skies with just a tiny bioluminescent red light to guide him — a clear violation of traffic safety regulations.

* Pulling Santa’s sleigh: Eight tiny reindeer, a federally protected species being put to hard labor. None of these reindeer have their required shots, and Santa’s never bothered to get these genetically-engineered animals registered and licensed. It’s no wonder: He keeps them penned outside his workplace in a clear violation of zoning laws.

* But Crooked Claus the Conniving Capitalist harms more than just animals — he’s hurting hard-working American laborers, too. Isn’t Santa’s Workshop really Santa’s Sweatshop, where his non-union employees don’t make minimum wage and get no holiday pay? Add the fact that OSHA has never inspected the place, and you have a Third-World elf-exploitation operation that only Kathy Lee Gifford could love.

* No wonder Santa is able to maintain his monopoly over the toy distribution industry: He’s cornered the Christmas gift market. Santa dares to give away his products for free in a sinister attempt to crush all competition — just like Microsoft’s Internet Explorer. Antitrust Lawsuit Memo to the feds: Is Santa Claus the Bill Gates of Christmas?

The bottom line, said Getz: “It might be tough sledding for Jolly St. Nick this Christmas if the government decides to prosecute him.

“We’re just surprised it hasn’t already happened. After all, Santa Claus is everything that politicians aren’t: He’s popular, reliable, and gives us something for nothing every December 25th — instead of taking our money every April 15th.”

by George Getz

Of course, one of the most important things that has happened to my life since February,  my bike.  During the coldest and wettest weekend of March I successfully passed the  motorcycle safety class, which was good because my mind was all over the place then.   About two weeks later I purchased a used Honda Shadow and I’ve been riding it as much as I can.   I reached that first milestone of 1,000 miles, then doing my first run.  There is just something therapeutic about jumping on the bike and riding a few miles and letting things work out in your head, or go away long enough for you to enjoy the experience.

I’ve also been very busy being WM of Mozart Lodge #121, it really is like a second full time job.  I love it, but it’s been a stressful few months, and I’m looking forward to a small break in so much to do each night.  From this task, and some of the other people watching I’ve been doing, I’ve actually wondered why I never went into the field of sociology.  Of course, a lot of this has involved Lionshead Puzzle Caps, so expect that page to be updated soon!

ps. I love how everyone is pissed about the oil spill, and yet so few are doing anything about it.

  I’ve just recently switched over to a Credit Union, I’m quite happy. My main income is directly deposited into my account, any checks for reimbursements or whatever get put right into an ATM machine.  They are almost always there the next day. For someone like me who is feeling the travel itch, that is a good thing. Who knows where I’ll be when I need to put some $$ into a machine. As far as I am concerned, never need to walk into a bank, or sit in a line at a bank again.   At this point, there was just no reason to sit at TD and get dinged for fees whenever they made a change or pulled something out of their asses.   Credit Union’s almost always seem to have better rates on CD’s, Savings/Checking/Money Market Accounts.  Not to mention the amount you can save on auto loans and home loans.

  I wonder what the point of conventional banks are at this point.  I make my deposits at ATM’s, many times getting a photo reciept of the checks right then and there (if desired), view my accounts online, then import the info with buxfer.com, done and done. While I am very happy at my credit union, I’m also considering opening up an Ally account to see how they are.  Their rates look very attractive and may fit my needs well.  I’ll keep you posted.

When available, try to eat lunch in a park. If you can find one with few benches and a lake, then you have hit a home run.  At a minimum, you just need a place to park, or a place to sit.

It may sound funny to make this a rule, but believe me, it has many benefits.

1. You save money by bringing  your lunch and not going to a restaurant, it’s probably healthier too.
2. Sitting in the park gives you time to slow down and relax and recharge without external stimulus.
3. It is nice to just get out of the workplace and to be surrounded by nature.  For instance right now, the leaves are changing/falling, and the wind has a nice chill.
4. I like to use this time to reflect, on what is going on around me, and to help me realize what is important to me.
5. It is a great time to study your Masonic ritual, I think the geese in Medford already know the MM exam.

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