How The Sandwich Man Saved My Life

Perhaps you've seen him on TV or maybe you've read the book by Michael Gates Gill called How Starbucks Saved My Life. This is the story of a privileged kid who grows up, goes to Yale, gets a fabulous job on Madison Ave. at one of the most prestigious advertising firms in the world. Unfortunately, he was fired from his job, his on-going affair resulted in a divorce and he was diagnosed with a brain tumor. As I heard Gill say today in an interview, he was enjoying one of the last "luxuries" he thought he would have in a while by sitting at a Starbucks having a latte. Starbucks was having a job fair that day and the supervisor asked him if he'd like a job. He said yes, was hired and now makes about $10.50 an hour and is quite a happy camper from the looks of it. I've been seeing a lot of him on TV lately because his book is being made into a movie starring Tom Hanks as Gill.

For all you movie producers out there....I'd like Drew Barrymore to play me!

Carolina In My Mind

Thanks for all the well-wishes on our vacation. We had a good time! The weather tried to be difficult because their were strong winds coming off the ocean and every time we opened the third floor balcony door, a gust of wind would blow everything hither and yon. The wind nor the upper 70's weather kept us off the beach, though it did keep us out of the ocean for the most part. The winds made the ocean very rough, the undertow was very strong as were the rip currents. We also had a pool which was very chilly to get into for most of the week, so several of us, one prune-boy in particular rarely got out of the hot tub.

By the end of the week, the wind died down and the day we left was so stinkin hot that you perspired just from standing. There was almost no wind that day and combined with the heat, I'm sure we would have been eaten alive by mosquitoes.

Bri and I did take a drive down to Ocracoke Island and took a look at the sights there. We had to make a stop at Howard's Pub, the place to go on OINC!

Here's a few pics from the trip.

The beaches on Ocracoke are virtually deserted. You could potentially walk far enough that you probably wouldn't see anyone the entire day. I love the designs the wind makes on the sand.
This little bird is undoubtedly looking for something yummy to eat. There are little sand crabs all over the beaches in NC. They are very entertaining to watch because they run sideways after each other and you can get close enough to them to watch them bringing armloads of sand up out of their holes when the tide goes back out. On these deserted beaches, some of these crabs can get pretty big!

These horses, at the Pony Pen on Ocracoke are descendants of the Spanish mustangs that roamed the island freely. Similar to the ponies of Assateague Island, VA, these horses are rounded up yearly.

We Are So Outta Here!

Have a good week, talk to you soon. We are Outer Banks bound!

A Sad Farewell

I was very sad to find out that Anita Roddick, founder of The Body Shop had passed away yesterday. She was remarkable in so many ways and it doesn't take long to figure that out. She had a blog that she updated regularly where she spoke of the issues that she was passionate about. Many of those issues included being against the war in Iraq, and she was a supporter of human rights through Amesty International.

I know her not as a person but as the woman that started The Body Shop. You may have noticed a link on my side bar for this company because I have loved Body Shop products for quite a long time. Even more than that, I love what these products stand for. Their products are nature-based, they support fair community trade so that people can make a decent living, they never test on animals, all the containers are recyclable and their products are purchased from places where workers are treated in an ethical manner. Often the profits on some of the products they sell are directly donated to stop domestic violence and help children that have lived in a violent home.

Anita Roddick, a woman to be emulated and admired.

Gabrielle Needs to Leave!

With less than 7 days before leaving for the Outer Banks, NC, Gabrielle needs to move on out!

A Glimmer of Hope

Good, old fashioned customer service is alive and well. Most of our experiences purchasing anything nowadays may result in a thank you, if you're lucky, but then there are the times when you just stand back and say "wow!"

Because I had a dead battery but was able to get my car juiced up enough to get it back to my house, I had a small dilemma. I was working until 6, the battery store closed at 6. So, I was going to just purchase a new battery over the phone, have my friend go pick it up and I'd intall it on my own time.

In telling the battery store employee this, he asked where I lived, said it was near where he lived, he'd stop by on his way home. I said I'd meet him there. Sure enough, there he was when I got home last night. He unhooked the old battery, put in a new one and that was it! No money exchanged hands, nuthin. I said I'd be in first thing in the a.m. to pay for the new battery which he was good with.

There I was at 8:10 this morning, he tested the old battery, and sure enough, it was dead. Charged me for my new one and off I went. WOW! Now that's what I call good customer service!

A Friend Indeed

Over the last couple of days, NittanyBri has been doing some work "important to national security." (I think those are the exact words.) I knew he'd be out of town for a couple of days. I was kind of excited that I'd get the bed to myself. Well, mostly to myself with a couple of furry exceptions.

I was also waiting to see if our dog Jasmine would show any signs of his being gone because Brian seems to think he's been replaced as the most important human in Jasmine's eyes. I told him she was eating, a lot actually, and didn't seem to be phased by his absence. That is until last night. I had the doors open and she sat by the front door patiently watching and waiting. She didn't come up on the bed until after I shut the doors. Yea, she misses dear old dad. So do I for that matter. Even with the thrill of having the entire bed to myself.

Aside from that, my car battery decided to die yesterday too. And, with Brian gone, I had to call a friend to come rescue me. Thank goodness for friends nearby! That same friend will be my chauffeur today as well so that I can get to another friends birthday celebration on time this evening. Thankfully, I always seem to be taken care of and for that, I am thankful!

A Good Weekend

Hope everyone is enjoying their holiday weekend. The weather has been beautiful in this neck of the woods. I always dread the Labor Day weekend since it seems to mark the end of summer.

This holiday also brings with it, the thoughts of last year at this time. It was this weekend last year that the veteranarian had told me to put my cat Lester to sleep because of his declining kidney health. As with most things, I didn't listen. I decided to take things into my own hands and take him off all medications both for his diabetic condition as well as his thyroid issue. Instead lieu of them, I began taking him to the vet weekly to get subcutaneous fluid injections.

Thankfully, one year later, he's still with us. We have to chuckle when he goes to the vet because they seem to be on some sort of "death watch." The vet tech will come to take him and says grimly "how is he?" Um, he's fine, he beats up the dog, rips and tears after pooping and is still king of the backyard. I know he won't be here forever, but as long as his health seems good and he's eating and not in pain, I'll continue with what I have been doing.