Apr 5, 2012
Yes. Way boring. And it’s not all about just winning.
I admit I was on a winning streak until last night when it comes to gambling, but cashing out a winner isn’t the only reason I love to go to casinos. I love the atmosphere. I love the laughter and the shrieks of winners. I love the sound of the machines. I find it all exciting — and to be honest, just walking through the doors of ANY casino gives me butterflies in my stomach. Every. Single. Time.
Belterra, I can’t tell you how disappointed I am. I donated my allotment, but it was nothing more than a transaction accompanied by low expectations. I’m willing to bet (heh) that 40% of the machines in the place were out of order. Seriously. In the high-roller area, I saw 2 machines that were in working order out of 30-40, and maybe 8 machines that were working in the $10-$100 spin range. The slot reels were dirty and faded on about 25% of the machines I sat in front of. I didn’t see ONE winner… not even an itty bitty winner. Everyone looked just like I felt… bored.
Boarding the elevator to leave, I asked a mother and her son if they had any luck. Both said no, they didnt, and then the woman explained her father died in March and left the family with a mortgage they couldn’t pay. She and her son were there to try to “change their luck” and make some money. Sad. You know this already, but never gamble money you can’t afford to lose. Everyone needs a little entertainment break (even this girl), and if you gamble what you might spend at the zoo or out shopping… oh well. But if you’re taking rent money or your car payment — you’ve got the fever a whole lot worse than me. All I wanted was a fun night out. My next gambling trip will NOT be to Belterra. Obviously.
And if it couldn’t get any worse… Hinkle’s milkshake machine was broken!! But all was not lost… the best part of the night? Someone waited up for me at home. Well, she tried really hard to wait up, and that’s what counts.
Apr 4, 2012
I have a certain brand of soap I like best. I prefer it not because it gets me cleaner or makes me softer than any other brand. I buy it because I like the smell. Now by the time I finish the whole regimen of hair crap and perfume, etc., I’m willing to bet no one could guess the brand of soap I use. It’s one of those little things — that seems like nothing at all — that I do for me.
What little things do you do for YOU? And, do you do those little things often enough?
Apr 3, 2012
I’m suffering from burn-out. When I promised this everyday crap I must’ve been out of my mind. Here’s to bringing back a Time Capsule Tuesday…
Did you know that Crothersville had a cafe in 1940? Me neither! All the information and photo was provided and written by Joe Fielden, a former resident of the ville…
Fielden's Cafe - 1940
The menu starting from the top left reads like this: Fried Ham Sandwich .10, Peanut Butter Sandwich .10, Combination Sandwich .15, Fried Egg Sandwich .10, Cream Cheese & Pimento Sandwich .10, Bacon & Egg .15, Cream Cheese & Jelley .10, Hamburger .05 & .10, Bacon Sandwich .10, Poached Egg on Toast .15, French Toast .15, Cinnamon Toast .05, Grapefruit .10, Hamburger Steak with onion .25, Buttermilk .05, Small Steak – French Fried Potatoes .35, Tomato Juice Cocktail .10, Eggnog .10.
Will that be to eat here or to go??? I have never ordered cream cheese and I do not remember anyone ordering it at the Cafe. During the 8 month school term the tables were filled with school children eating a bowl of chili, two small hamburgers and a drink. Most of the high school students went to Snow’s. In the evening it was the regular business people, widows, truck drivers, and several in transit. I can still see the morning crowd of truck drivers, business people, and especially Calvin Groves and his daughter Mary Ann on the two stools nearest the juke box drinking from the same bottle of Barq’s Rootbeer with two straws. This was after they finished delivering milk. That is a slot machine next to the kitchen door. I fed that thing a lot of slugs. I would get them from the juke box man and play them in the slot machine. I would get him to “trip” the juke box when he came to collect &/or change records. That was good for 24 songs.
During the “War Years” the Defense Workers riding the Kidwell Bus Lines from Seymour to Charlestown used the Cafe to wait on the bus and/or to get something to eat after work.
I remember several private meals in the dining room behind the stove. Customers would bring in squirrel and rabbits. Mother would fry them and we would have a special dinner in the dining room.
Apr 2, 2012
They say that slow and steady wins the race. Really? Does slow and steady ALWAYS work? NO!
Take for example the case of the company that provides me hosting — the virtual server where whatifitdid.com is hosted, among other sites. I began a business relationship with this same company when my son, Ben, was no more than 14 years-old. That means I’ve been a loyal customer for about 15 years, and I’ve been through about 4 different buy-out ownerships. Recently, an issue cropped up (I could really go into detail here but then, this whole post would turn into a rant) and the decision was made to move all the sites on my dedicated server box to a brand-spankin’ new one. That was in January. Yes, January.
So like my visiting turtle Fred, up there, they cast a glance my way and think they’ve thrown me just enough to keep me at bay. Slow and steady. A small tidbit at a time. Am I getting what I want? NO! Take this for example…
Mr. Tech Man sends me this in email on March 27th: “Shelley, I’m happy to inform you that the DNS situation that has been plaguing your migration has been rectified, and that we can move forward. If OK with you, I”ll use the migration manager to sync the domains, and afterwards change DNS of the domains you provided.”
I emailed back flowing compliments of satisfaction (lies to hopefully encourage him), and my okie dokie for the move.
Three days later…
Mr. Tech Man sends me this in email on March 30th: “I wanted to make you aware that I will unavailable next week [4.2.12 – 4.6.12]. My supervisor (NAME REMOVED) will be your point of contact for that week. Because of the DNS issues Windstream was experiencing, I did not cut DNS for any domains. I notified (NAME REMOVED) of this, and that you will be in contact with him to make him aware of DNS cutovers. (NAME REMOVED), this is currently the list domains that Shelley has given the nod to for DNS cutover. A DNS cut has yet to been done for these because of the afore mentioned reasons that you’re already aware of.”
As of today, NOTHING has been done.
Fred up there has the right idea. Hunker down boys! When you’re slow and steady, there are times you might just find yourself caught in a shit storm.
Apr 1, 2012
What a funky pair of shoes. Yah? I’ll get to that in a minute…
Mom came to visit the other night wearing a pair of capris. She called them pedal-pushers, so I guess to be ‘cool’ the current name for high-water pants is capris. On me, I HATE them. I like them on a ton of other people, they just look awful on me. I put them on and feel like Huckleberry Finn. A few more freckles and a fishin’ pole, and you’d hear me quoting him… “Yes, he’s got a father, but you can’t never find him these days. He used to lay drunk with the hogs in the tanyard, but he hain’t been seen in these parts for a year or more.”
Mom? For a great-grandmother, she was definitely stylin’. So I check her out and those short pants look pretty darned familiar. Why? I gave them to her! After hanging in my closet for a year with the tag still intact, I passed them to her. She looked so good, I thought for a moment I wanted them back. But they simply aren’t “ME.”
The shoes to the left… now THOSE are ME! The only thing that’s standing between my feet and those wicked shoes is FedEx.
