Feb 20, 2008
Posted by Perry
After reading Alisa’s great post on IU/PU, I came to a sudden realization – I’ve lost my sports mojo!
Being originally from Cincinnati – and a die hard Bengals fan from birth – you grow up with football , and sports in general, as an integral part of your life. Families plan get-togethers around “big games”, team and school flags proudly adorn porches, loyalties and even rivalries are strengthened even with married couples. You are born with an innate hatred of everything Cleveland ( if it’s brown – flush it down! ) and Pittsburgh (where the beer is as nasty as the city!).
I religiously watched every Bengals game I could and could tell you many a tale of Bengals lore; from Anthony Munoz jamming then-coach Forrest Gregg to the ground while being scouted before the draft, to Justin Smith wrestling with then-defensive line coach Tim Krumrie, I had been present through the good and the bad.
This year was different – I watched zero games and checked scores rarely. Why? At some point in time – I simply lost interest. Upon hearing that Chad Johnson was upset and wanted out, my reaction was this – “Let him go – who really cares?”. Now while that may mean nothing to you, it was a profound statement from me. If you know me, you’d still be in shock from hearing those words.
Normally at this time of year I’m all about the upcoming draft and who’s going where, this year I could care less. It’s not that I’m bored with the game (football, in Ohio, is a religion) but I think the players attitudes have finally gotten to me.
Maybe one day I’ll get my sports mojo back – until then, I guess the sports world will have to get along without me.
Feb 20, 2008
posted by Shelley
After reading my friend’s BLOG post about funny stuff from work, it got me thinking about some of the funny things I’ve had happen and have heard on the school bus throughout the past several years. It’s true that you never know what kids will say …or what they will do when not under the watchful eye of a parent. Wanna hear a few?
A tearful little girl got on my bus one Monday morning. Sobbing, she told me that her Father had not returned home after a family argument over the weekend. I told her I was sorry to hear about it, and assured her that everything would work out for the best. She said, “My Daddy’s belly was full of beer and my Mommy was mad as Hell.”
I once had a child bring a knife on the bus for “protection”. The student was in the 1st grade! I took possession of the knife, gave it to the Elementary Principal with an explanation and he called the parent. The Mother told the Principal that she gave her son the knife and it could simply be sent back home with the child’s older brother (a 3rd grader). The knife reappeared on the bus that afternoon in the hands of the older brother. Der! Well, it gets better…
When I stopped to drop the children off that evening at home, the Mother was waiting. She wanted to know how her child was to protect himself when he wasn’t allowed to carry a knife on the bus. I honestly didn’t know what to say and while carefully choosing the right words, she exclaimed, “Someone pooped in his backpack on the bus!” I sternly looked at the 1st grader and asked how in the world someone could poop in his backpack on the bus without him knowing who did it. Within 2 seconds he blurted out that he pooped in his own backpack at school, didn’t know what he was going to do with it and made up the bus story. I admit…it was a good one.
Once a little boy called my name over and over until I looked at him through my rear view mirror. Here’s how it went:
Him: Miss Shelley, my roach got loose on the bus.
Me: Your what got loose on the bus?
Him: My roach. I put James in my backpack but he’s gone now.
Me: Your roach named James is loose on the bus?
Him: Yah, but we got plenty more of them at home. I’ll get a new friend tomorrow.
Several years ago a family who lived on my route had a pet goat. The goat would follow the 3 children to the end of the drive as they waited for the bus. I couldn’t tell you how many times we had to wait while one of the girls wrestled Norma Jean off.
I’ve had spilled fish, snakes in potato sacks, hamsters (one of which got away and I found 2 months later) and numerous other critters aboard. I’ve had to shut the door on an angry parent who blocked the bus in on a public road and I’ve cleaned up more bubble gum and melted suckers than any human should be required to scrape-up in a lifetime. I’ve had my bus smeared on the outside with Elmer’s Glue and I’ve had buggers flicked at me on more than one occasion. I’ve been rewarded with pickled eggs and some kind of quivering meat that was still warm (not from cooking mind you – from butchering!) and cookies that had been smooshed by feet other than my own.
I could go on forever with similar stories of funny things that have happened on the bus over the past years…but I could also go on just as long about many of my students who I’ve bought a winter coat because they didn’t own one. And I could tell you about the children that are put out in the rain to wait for me without a coat or hat; and about the ones that never, ever get their face washed or hair combed. I could even tell you what a school bus smells like in mid-August when it’s 98 degrees and the one child behind you hasn’t had a bath for who knows how long. But hey – that’s another BLOG post for another day.
Feb 19, 2008
…a soft spot on the couch on a cold winter day.
Feb 19, 2008
Posted by Perry
Last evening, Shelley and I were watching Intervention on A&E, and were amazed at the episode’s subject and his remarkable recovery from alcoholism. Being big fans of the show – we went on their website and saw a video of one case that caused us to look at each other in shock.
We have both blogged about the online game World of Warcraft in the past. Well, this particular episode featured a young man who was addicted to – are you ready – video games! Now the running joke between Shelley and I is that we play so long during our free-time that our friends and family may have to do an intervention to curb us of our WoW habit, especially during these cold days when going out is hampered by weather.
Addiction is never funny – I’ve seen it firsthand myself – and I’m not trying to make light of one’s struggles at all. We both found it shocking that something we joke about to ourselves is in reality something that others struggle with in their daily lives. It puts things in perspective big time…
We’ll still play, but it shows just how easy something you do for fun can turn into something that controls your life.
Feb 19, 2008
posted by Shelley
I’m reading a book by Timothy Ferriss called the 4-Hour Workweek. The tagline (and the fact my brother recommended it) is what got me – it reads, “Escape 9-5, live anywhere and join the new rich.” Ok, it’s cold in Indiana (13 degrees this morning), I only wish I could work from 9-5 and who doesn’t want to be rich? I certainly don’t buy into all the concepts within this book, but find it to be filled with great thoughts, tips and ideas.
Reading it has got me thinking quite a bit about the 80-20 Rule. The 80-20 Rule is the Pareto principle and it states that 80% of the effects comes from 20% of the causes. It isn’t new. But think about it for a moment. No, really let it sink in – and apply it to not only your business, but to your personal life as well. I was sold on the 80-20 concept at the end of my workday yesterday when I looked at my to-do list. I spent 80% of my day fighting fires and completed 20% of the items on my list. Sound familiar?
In business, 80% of the consequences flow from 20% of the causes;
80% of the results come from 20% of the effort and time; and
80% of your profits come from 20% of your products and customers. In personal relationships, I would bet that 80% of your problems stem from 20% of the issues you deal with everyday. Would I be right? Soooo….what 20% of the sources in your life result in 80% of your happiness?
I think that if you apply this rule to your life (and your business), it will help bring clarity to the things that are important and those that, at the end of the day, really don’t matter. If you can pinpoint the 20% of your inputs that result in 80% of your outputs – you can start finding ways to eliminate the other 80%. And more importantly, as you eliminate that nasty 80%, you’ll have more time to work on that 20% of the sources that result in 80% of your happiness.
