Two Close Calls

Both of my teams - The Cardinals and the Seahawks - had close wins yesterday. The Cardinals score was a bit closer - 19-13  over the San Francisco 49er's than the Seahawks win over the Pittsburgh Steelers - 39-30. Both games were not decided until the final minutes. The Seahawks have crept back into the playoff picture with their win even though it is obvious (to me, anyway) that they are not the powerhouse team that we saw the last two years. On the other hand, the Cardinals will be real tough to beat from here on out this year. It's a real exciting year in football.

The outside lights are installed - completely - at our house. This first year in our house and the first year in many that we have had lights to this extent will be enjoyed at least through December and into early January. Below are the final shots of the display:

and this close shot of the main part that shows the small deer drinking from a water hole:

I don't know yet how much electricity they will use, but it could be a determining factor in how far we go next year with our lights. I'm still trying to determine the best way to control them - timer or sensor. Right now, we are leaving them on all night until I figure out that solution to the timing. Whatever is decided needs to happen soon.

There is no word yet on what Bowl game Austin and his WMU team will be playing this year. I guess the final standings within the Conference need to be determined first which will be in another week or so following the playoffs. We'll pass along that news as soon as we get some to report...

More Outside Lights

I spent most of my day working on the outside lights for the house while Josie worked her first day back from the Thanksgiving holiday. The lights are about completed for the outside - there are just a couple more bushes to be decorated and that should finish up that task. This is a shot of the current status:

It's looking pretty good. Tonight, we will take a final shot.

I only had a couple hours to watch some of the key football games on TV in the late afternoon. There were some very good games and a few key rivalries that are always fun to watch, regardless of their significance in the national rankings. We get to enjoy the Conference championships now, and watch for all the Bowl match-ups. The only one we are anxious to hear about is the WMU Bowl that Austin will attend. We'll soon know.

Our goal today - aside from watching the Cardinals and Seahawks games - is to finish up the outside lights and to decorate our tree. Josie will continue to decorate the inside and will probably go right up to Christmas Day before finishing all that activity. Then, we get to take it all down again for another year. It is fun to do though, and really helps to get into the true Christmas spirit...

Huge Upset

Austin's WMU team played nationally ranked (#24) Toledo yesterday in the final MAC Conference game of the year. Toledo was heavily favored to win the Western Conference of the MAC (with whom WMU was tied), and to go on to win the MAC title. Western Michigan won the game in grand style, 35-30. That win certainly improves their Bowl position and they will find out where they will play in a meeting this Sunday. We are excited to find out where and when they play, and are super excited for Austin who gets to play in his second consecutive post season Bowl Game.

The biggest part of our day yesterday was taken up with getting out our Christmas decorations and putting up our tree. I strung the lights outside and didn't fall once from the ladder. I had hoped to get more of the outside lights done, but will try to finish those today. This is what it looks like so far:

Josie concentrated on the inside while I worked on the lights outside. We did get the tree set up and this is the first shot of our new, undecorated tree:

The inside of our house will eventually look like a Christmas store. I didn't realize how many decorations we had in storage until yesterday. This is one example of the "neat" decorations that Josie has placed around so far:

This is easily the best time of the year and the time when Josie is happiest. This month is a renewal of the kind of Christmas holiday that we are used to having and probably is the single most significant event that we have missed over the years that we have been traveling. Living in the fifth wheel had many advantages, but one of them was not being able to decorate and enjoy the Christmas holiday to the extent we are now able to enjoy. The next 30 days will certainly be filled with lots of Christmas joy...

Thanksgiving Day

It was a very good day weather-wise. It only went to 66 but it didn't rain. It would have been a terrific day if it had gone over 70 degrees. Our dinner was wonderful and we enjoyed having all of our local family and very good friends Cot and Lois. The football games were good - for the most part. There was way, way too much food and everybody took some home with them to enjoy leftovers at least for today, I took several shots of everybody and these two represent the best ones with everybody at the dinner table.

 Brian took this first one:

and I took this one so we could get Brian in the shot:

We hope everybody had as nice a Thanksgiving as we had.

There is a big football game today in Toledo, OH. Austin's WMU team takes on the MAC Conference leading Toledo Rockets in their final game of the year. Toledo is nationally ranked, and heavily favored to win. This game will also have a bearing on what Bowl game is offered to Austin's team. They had a very good year that could have been excellent if their schedule didn't include two top ranked teams early in the year. No matter what, we're proud of Austin and his team. Go Broncos!

Today is crank-up-for-Christmas day at our house. We will skip all the "Black Friday"  hype and begin putting up Christmas inside and outside the house. So, we put away Thanksgiving for another year. If all goes well, I'll have pictures of our Christmas decorations in tomorrow's entry...

Tom is Ready

I had wanted to get a shot of our turkey this morning but Josie had other plans for him and he will be sitting in a bag this morning until it is time for his final trip - to the oven. I will get a shot of him before the door closes on him.

We got most of the other items either done or near done last night - the eggs were boiled for the deviled eggs to be made this morning, the beans were prepared and the cranberry sauce and dips were done the night before. We are almost ready for our guests. I still need to get some ice for our cooler and I think that is it. Everything else is either being brought by our guests or will be done while the turkey cooks.

There are three football games on TV today, so there will be no down time from the games. One of them - between the Panthers and the Cowboys - should be a bell ringer. The undefeated Panthers hope to go to 11-0, but the Cowboys have new energy with their quarterback - Tony Romo - returning from injury, and need to win-out to make the playoffs.

It looks like the weather will cooperate - mostly - as there will be no rain, but it will be cool at around 65-67. Have a great day everybody...

HAPPY THANKSGIVING !!!

Looking Good for Thanksgiving

More preparations, including shopping for last minute items yesterday, have us about ready for Thanksgiving. Except for food preparation that is. Some of the items for dinner were done last night - like cranberry sauce and dips - so it won't be overwhelming tonight or tomorrow morning. We are, basically, ready to go.

The forecast I saw last night for Thanksgiving was the best I've seen all week. It has the rain and most of the clouds going through north of us. If we can only do something about the temperature which is still being forecast as 65-67. I guess we could do worse.

We don't especially care too much about eating and watching our weight at this time of the year, but I am not happy with where I am starting out. I have gained about 20 pounds since my surgeries a couple months ago and was hoping to get a chance to lose some of those pounds before the holiday season began. It was tough maintaining control of my weight while I was instructed not to do much of any activity during my healing process. There were no restrictions on eating. I guess I will be faced with another situation like we had a couple years ago when we lost all that weight. We'll have to start the new year with another strict diet like that one.

In the meantime, we're looking forward to turkey and all the fixin's tomorrow...

Improving Forecast

One thing about an early weather forecast is - it will probably change. Thank goodness it is improving as we get closer to Thanksgiving. Now, the forecast is for clouds, but no rain and a high of 67 degrees. It's still not an ideal forecast, but it sure beats the initial one that included rain and cool temperatures. It will most likely change again, but, hopefully, not get worse. It is always nice to be able to have a choice of sitting inside for conversation and to watch TV, or outside to enjoy conversation and Arizona fresh air. Our fingers are crossed.

The meal is about finalized and we are almost ready for the big day. We do have much to be thankful for, especially after watching the current news with all the terrorist activity across the ocean. We are truly blessed to be living where we are in America.

The countdown continues with only two days remaining before Turkey Day. Yum...

Exciting Sunday of Football and Racing

It was a pretty good day to watch sports on TV yesterday. Starting with the NASCAR race in Miami that was the final Sprint Cup race in the career of Jeff Gordon. He even led the race for a time, before mechanical issues interfered and he ended up finishing in sixth place - third place overall in the Cup Standings for 2015. He will be missed, for sure, after 23 successful years.

Then, there was the excitement of a couple football games that further separated  my favorites from the rest of the league. The Seahawks, as expected, had no problem dispensing with the San Francisco 49er's, 29-13. That win, along with winning the rest of their games this season, is necessary to keep pace with our Arizona Cardinals who won a thriller in the last seconds over the Cincinnati Bengals, 34-31. It's Carson Palmer and Larry Fitzgerald all the way for the Cardinals. Although the Seahawks are still three games behind the Cardinals, I expect both teams to make the playoffs. I hope I'm not disappointed.

I received a text message from UBER last night reminding me that I could make an average of $46 for a fare at the Cardinals Stadium following the game. Are you kidding me? How would I find my rider, in the dark, among 80,000 fans departing the stadium. Also, how long would you think it would take to get clear of the traffic jam following the game? I think a better expectation would be $146 instead of $46. Besides, my rider(s) would probably be "sloshed" anyway. No thanks.

This week officially begins the Christmas season with Santa coming to town on Thursday (Thanksgiving). I need to get our lights strung outside and our Christmas tree up. For some reason, it doesn't seem like it's been a year since I last did that. This time it is on a different home and the tree is lots bigger than the one we used the last six or seven years in our fifth wheel. This Thanksgiving and Christmas are extra special for us...

Weather Remains the Story

We had a very typical Saturday around our house yesterday. The real activity and the story for the day was the early snowstorm they were getting in Naperville, Ill. There was a very key playoff game being played and there was nothing that was going to stop that from happening. Patty sent a couple pictures, one early in the day and another later in the afternoon while the field was being cleared. These are the photos, starting with the one of her backyard in the morning:

And this one of the field clearing exercise:

Looks like fun doesn't it?

It's hard to believe that games aren't rescheduled when that happens, but come to think of it, I never saw a pro games cancelled or called because of the snow. We haven't had great weather so far this winter, but it sure tops what they are going through. It looks like Waubonsie lost their game to Marist, 31-16, and that ends the nice run they had in the playoffs. Brandon suited up as a freshman, and although he is too small to play this year, he will certainly be a factor for their team beginning next year. Could it be possible to have another Austin?

Today is the chance for us to get everything we need for Thanksgiving Dinner. We will do all the necessary shopping today as it will be the last chance for Josie until Thursday. That has always been the problem with the floral industry - getting all the time you need to prepare for holidays. It's been that way as long as I can remember, so we are certainly used to it. That makes for a better appreciation for the holidays once they do arrive...

Thanksgiving Weather Watch

I know it is early yet, but there are conflicting weather forecasts for Thanksgiving Day. Our usual NBC station says it is expected to rain on both Wednesday and Thursday. The ABC affiliate says there will be no rain, but clouds. They both agree that the high temperature for Thanksgiving Day will be 60 degrees. Yuck! What is happening to this Arizona weather this year? We were hoping for clear skies and warm temperatures so that we could enjoy sitting outside. It now looks like all ten of us will have to stay inside, just as we do in Washington or Chicago at this time of the year. Well, anyway, I'm sure that there will be a good football game on TV.

The long range forecast for our area is for more rain than usual for the months of December and January. The effects of El-Nino are expected to kick-in and kind of flip weather patterns for most of the west. It is suppose to be drier than normal in the northwest and northern part of the country. I wish it would do this some other year when it doesn't matter so much to us.

Speaking of Thanksgiving, we have started to finalize all the food and drinks that will be offered during the day. Josie is planning her schedule to get everything done while working up to the last minute on Wednesday night. Thanks to all our guests, she will have some good help getting things ready...

Garage Project

Even though we set up the racks in the garage and got everything stowed on them a while ago, I still had to separate all the tools and stuff that was just jammed into boxes when we moved. I spent most of the day yesterday organizing and repacking all the boxes and containers so that I could find things when I needed something. Also, I separated all the outside tools and items and put those in the outside shed for convenience. The one half of the garage is now, totally, sorted and packed for easy access.

The weather is now cool enough where the outside work can be done at any time of the day without getting soaking wet from sweat. Also, I did an analysis of the difference in weather between Lake Pleasant last November and here at our house so far this November. Last year, through the first 18 days of November, we had zero days with high wind gusts below 10 mph. This year, through the first 18 days in November in our new home, we have had only two days with winds higher than 10 mph. It is definitely a lot windier at Lake Pleasant than here in Glendale.

We did more planning for Thanksgiving and also watched part of the Thursday night Football game between the Tennessee Titans and Jacksonville Jaguars. That was not of any interest to us, so we only watched the first half before going to bed. I don't even know, at this point, who won the game. because it doesn't matter.

Today wraps up another week - the last before Thanksgiving which will be here before we know it...

Another Tough Loss

WMU dominated in every aspect of their game last night - except the final score. NIU (Northern Illinois University) won the game, 27-19, and eliminated WMU from contention for the MAC West title. I'm not sure what impact that will have on their bowl chances, but it certainly won't help. WMU had the ball inside the 5 yard line with 4 chances to score and with just two minutes left in the game and couldn't punch it in for a score. They really should have won this game. Their conference record is now 5-2 and overall record is 6-5. No matter how they finish the year, we are very proud of Austin and how he played all year long.

Thanksgiving is beginning to take shape. We went out and picked-up some of the goodies we need for dinner including a couple of snack items. Josie is coordinating the meal and we almost have the logistics worked out for how and where we will sit and eat dinner. We have plenty of room and it should be a very good day. If anybody is on a diet, forget it for that day.

We are also ready for Christmas decorating with outside lights. They, along with our tree, will all go up right after Thanksgiving. It will be a very different holiday season for us in the new house...

Updating Aramark Data

Since we have signed up to work Spring Training again in 2016 as cashiers in the team merchandise store, we have been receiving lots of forms to be completed. Danny, The Aramark General Manager for our area is moving full steam head to get all the forms completed as soon as possible. This will be our third year at Spring Training, with the first two working in the same concession stand. We have had experience working the Super Bowl locations as cashiers, and we would assume that the job at the stadium store will be similar. Training for that job will begin in early February. As I mentioned previously, it should be a big year in the store as the Kansas City Royals - one of the two teams sharing our facility - are now the reigning World Champions.

We are still investigating options for our fifth wheel. Our plan now is still to return to Jackson this summer, but we have to work out the details. We are now looking into selling one of our cars and replacing it with another truck to be able to tow the fifth wheel. It seems like a viable alternative as, right now, the only way we can use the fifth wheel is to have it towed to a location by a third party. That is not a very attractive solution financially. We have some time to work out that issue.

Don't forget that today - at 8 PM EST, the Western Michigan Broncos will play Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois. The game will again be televised on ESPN2. It's ironic that the Broncos stayed at the Hilton Hotel in Naperville last night. I wonder how Austin feels staying with the team while being so close to home. Anyway, we will be watching and rooting for Austin and his team - GO BRONCOS!!...

Our Routine

With almost all of the household projects - at least the major ones - completed, we have a fairly common daily routine established. Josie works full days on Mon, Tue, Fri and Sat for 9.5 hours each day, except for Sat when she works 8.5 hours, and holidays when she can work every day, for many more hours until the work is done. Since I started driving for UBER, I work the same days she does, but for probably 3-4 hours each of those same days. That leaves us Sun, Wed and Thu to do things together on our days off. I also get a lot of things done during the time Josie works and I'm not driving for UBER. I try to avoid the rush hour traffic each day and also the early mornings or late evenings to avoid the crazy people and drunks. So far, our schedules seem to be working, so we'll stick with that for awhile.

I made contact with an old friend through Facebook yesterday. I have been trying to locate him for years through Facebook, but he does not have an account. I found him by looking up his wife's name (Jan) and she did have an account. Bill Kentnor was probably my closest friend for nearly 20 years while we lived in Washington and was my partner in golf outings and matches and was my roommate on all the golf trips we took over the years while living there. We lost contact with each other after we moved to Arizona. Anyway, I expect to catch up on all that has happened in our old stomping ground and find out about all my other golfing buddies as soon as he returns home from a vacation he is currently taking in California.

As today is Tuesday and another work day on the schedule, I guess it's time to watch some news and make sure that Josie gets off to work okay...

Not a Pretty Game

The verdict is in - The Cardinals are the better team. The score last night was 39-32, Cardinals. The Seahawks have five losses now, in all of which they blew leads in the fourth quarter. Their inability to close out wins places them somewhere in the middle of the pack as far as quality teams. The game was sloppy and full of penalties, but the Cardinals overcame their mistakes. The Seahawks shot themselves in the foot on every series in the first half by having a penalty on the first play of almost every series. They have lost their aggressiveness on offense which made them true champions. Actually, it was the Seahawks defense that scored two touchdowns in the second half. As I've said before, if the Seahawks have to give up their dominance, I'm glad it's the Cardinals who have taken over the throne. The remaining schedule is tough for both teams, but as long as Carson Palmer and Larry Fitzgerald stay healthy, I see no way they can lose the NFC crown.

The big event of the day, though, goes to our acquisition of an early Christmas present to each other. Josie has been sorry since we moved into our house that we were missing a fireplace. That is the one thing that she has enjoyed the most in any house we have had, with very few exceptions. Costco was having a sale on one of the nicest fireplaces we have seen anywhere, so we decided to get one before they sold out. It was a chore getting it home and assembled, but it fits perfectly in our family room.

Here is a photo of the assembly effort:

And this is a photo of the final setup:

The only thing that would improve the setup would be if we could raise the TV about a foot. It is attached to the wall and involves a whole new installation procedure to move. I won't tackle that project myself, as the TV is heavy, and one slip means the end of our new and expensive TV. I guess I'll call Spencer's (where we purchased the TV) and have someone come out to properly and safely move it.

It's the start of a new week for us as I mourn the downfall of my beloved Seahawks. Do you believe in Miracles?...

Maybe Too Many Drivers

When I went to the Uber 101 class a couple weeks ago the question was asked to the group "how many have not taken their first trip yet?" and more than half of those in attendance raised their hand. I thought later, and again yesterday, that all of these added new drivers have to dilute the available trips for all the drivers. Yesterday, I believe, was an example of that. I signed on at around 9 AM and in over one hour I only received one trip and that one was a very short one. It varies from day to day so I'll just stay the course. I still think it is a great concept and a great way to work - on my own schedule - for extra cash.

I watched some football on TV and did some more work around the house to get ready for Thanksgiving while Josie put in her full day at the shop. The days are just too short and the holiday season is arriving too fast. Before we know it, it will be Christmas and we have run out of time (and money) to shop.

There is a big game tonight - Cardinals vs. Seahawks - that will be a big test for both teams. Are the Cardinals for real? Are the Seahawks over the hill? Or are the Cardinals pretenders and the Seahawks ready to show the world they are back? Tune in on NBC at 8:30 PM EST to find out...

Time to Plan

I had a pretty good day driving for Uber that included 4 trips in about an hour and a half. I could have done lots more but had to finish up on some work on the computer so my afternoon schedule changed. Josie had her normal 9.5 hour day at the shop.

The time is rapidly approaching when we have to make a commitment to Jackson for next summer. There are many details that we need to work out - getting the fifth wheel from Lake Pleasant to the Virginian Lodge, working out details on how to set it up once it arrives, making sure all of the contents are sufficient for the summer, what do we do with the house as far as having someone check on it regularly, how do we get our mail, what do we do with the fifth wheel once the summer ends (will the Virginian allow us to keep it on site through the winter), and what do we do with our second vehicle during the summer while we are in Jackson. Whew. That is only a sample of the issues we are facing that need resolution. Our lives were a lot more simple when we lived in the fifth wheel.

Actually, our long range plan is to move one more time. We hope to some day - maybe within the next 5 years - buy our final home. We would like to be able to afford a home that has lots more property and is affordable enough where neither of us has to work again and we can really enjoy a total retirement, although Josie says she would always like to work at least a few days a week in a flower shop somewhere as long as she is physically able to do so. Everybody needs to have a goal and a plan to achieve it, even if it seems, sometimes, like the mountain may be too high to climb...

Office Stuff

It was the kind of day where both of us got involved in doing stuff on our computers and the day was almost gone before we realized it was afternoon. Those kind of days happen occasionally, and that's OK.

We did take a short trip to the store to get something for dinner and that's about it for the day. Oh, I did watch the first half of the Buffalo Bills - New York Jets Thursday Night Football game (won by the Bills 22-17) before going to bed. Sounds like an exciting day doesn't it?...

Tough Game

The highlight of the day was the game between WMU and Bowling Green State University (BGSU). Both teams were undefeated in the conference and it was a showdown for number one in the conference. BGSU is leading the East Division, and WMU is leading the West Division. Both teams have a terrific offense and a not so great defense. We knew it would be a high scoring game. As it turned out, it was touch and go for most of the first three quarters but BGSU didn't suffer as many breakdowns as WMU in the fourth quarter and won the game 41-27. WMU had several dropped passes that could have made a big difference in the outcome. A couple of them in the fourth quarter could have resulted in TD's. Austin played a terrific game and had several tackles on the Special Teams Unit.

As an aside, BGSU was the champion for pushing through the largest single new account computer sale in my career. Dr Lynn Bellamy, head of the BGSU Information Technology department at that time created the Consortium - the J Preston Levis Regional Computer Consortium that included the City of Toledo and University of Toledo along with the City of Toledo Law Enforcement Agencies. Dr Bellamy became a close friend during that time in Toledo and I have many fond memories of my association with BGSU. Enough on that.

The loss clouds the bowl picture a bit and WMU needs to do well in their final two games to have a better selection for a bowl game. I'm confident that they will succeed and finish the season on a positive note.

Josie's flower shop is redecorating and, as a result, is offloading - or selling at great prices - their old inventory. She had already bought the desk chair she uses in our kitchen and she got a real good deal on some panels on Tuesday. Yesterday, we hung a couple of those panels over our bed and they look pretty good:

 I'm sure there will be other opportunities for good deals before the new inventory rolls in.

That about wraps up our Wednesday...

Ho-Hum Day

Yesterday was just one of those slow days when nothing special was happening. I drove - or made myself available to drive - for a couple hours for Uber and did only two trips. Both of those were short and I didn't make much money. I also did some work around the house, including spraying Roundup on the weeds that we have growing around the yard. Josie did her normal, 8 hour Tuesday at the flower shop.

We had the debate on TV last night and we are getting to the point where some of the candidates need to accept that they are fighting an uphill battle and need to quit the campaign. There is too much bickering and back stabbing among each other and not enough concentration on the real issues and how they can defeat Hillary Clinton next year. Until there only 3 or 4 candidates, the debates are almost meaningless.

We both will take the next two days and catch up on chores. Josie has a hair appointment this morning and I have lots of projects that need to be finished around the house, along with some computer work that I have been putting off.

Have a great day everybody...

Ready for Spring Training

I completed our application paperwork yesterday for the 2016 Spring Training season. We will both be Retail Cashiers at the merchandise store location in Surprise Stadium. It will, hopefully, be a lot less stressful than the concession stands. That's not to say it won't be busy, but we will not have to deal with running out of condiments, hot dogs, popcorn, etc., and I won't have to run back and forth from the kitchen to get food items. We'll give it a try this coming year.

I didn't have any trips yesterday for Uber but I only signed on for about 45 minutes in the morning. I wanted to try a different area to see if I could shorten the wait time between riders and also see if I could get some longer trips. Almost all of the trips I've had so far have only been a few miles, and there isn't much money in those. The area I tried was dead. Anyway, I had to do a lot of things at home (like, complete the paperwork for Spring  Training), so I cut it short yesterday. I have a lot of organizing to do yet in my den, so I will most likely have another short day today. There just aren't enough hours in the day to get everything done that I would like to do.

The bowl talk is heating up for Austin's team - WMU. They have three games remaining on their schedule, and depending on how they finish, they could choose from some pretty exciting locations. The Bahamas is one that is mentioned, along with Boca Raton, FL, and San Diego, CA among others. We talked to Patty about the options on Sunday and we will be excited to follow their progress. It seems that most of the bowls will be played before Christmas which leaves us out of any possibility to attend. Josie absolutely cannot get time off from the busy shop before Christmas. If their is any chance to have one following Christmas, we will most likely go.

There are just over two weeks left before Thanksgiving, so we have to get into gear and get everything ready for Thanksgiving Dinner and the family visitors. That will be a fun day...

Lowe's and Home Depot

We have been tossing around different options for decorating our house outside for the Christmas season. The good items usually go fast before the season begins so our strategy was to try and get everything that we might like to use before they get sold out at the stores. Stores like Lowe's and Home Depot always seem to have the best selections with decent prices, so that's where we went yesterday.

I think we are set to go with our outside decorations - except for the clips to hang the lights. It has been many years since I climbed a ladder to do any lights on a house, so I'm still not sure what the best solution is for attaching them to the roof. The hammer and nails route is old, so I will try to figure out how all these different clips work. You wouldn't think that such a simple project would involve so much evaluation but, hey, I'm new at this again.

There weren't too man interesting - to me, anyway - football games on yesterday. I was definitely happy to see the Broncos lose their first game of the year to the Colts. I am not a Peyton Manning fan to begin with, so that was exciting. I was also happy to see the Eagles beat the Cowboys, 33-27. Anytime the Cowboys lose it is a good day, but especially to the Eagles. The second half of the season begins now and it will be much different from the first half. We will see who the elite teams are and see who survives the toughest part of the schedule. I just hope the Cardinals and Seahawks stay healthy and make it to the end of their schedules as two of those elite teams...

Macy's

I had a what has become "normal" day driving for Uber and Josie worked her "normal" Saturday at the shop.

We went to Macy's last night to take advantage of what we thought was a really good sale that they advertised. It was the final day for the 20% off sale. Both Josie and I needed sneakers, so we decided to pop for them during this sale. It turns out that any of the tennis shoes, or, more precisely, all of the athletic shoes, are sold by a company called Finish Line which operates in Macy's stores. In other words, any Macy's sales are outside of Finish Line and no Macy coupons or sales apply to their merchandise. What a shock. It seems to me that any exclusions to the sale should be clearly noted in the Macy ads. It turns out that there is fine print in the sale ads that not only exclude athletic shoes, but also other merchandise (cosmetics and fragrances for example) that is sold in Macys stores but not part of Macy's own merchandise.

We ended up buying our shoes, but be aware in the future of any Macy's sales that you might think apply to merchandise you are buying. We spoke with a manager who told us that he would apply an extra 20% discount to any regular Macy merchandise that we might want to purchase. It didn't make sense for us to buy more items just to get an extra discount when we don't need or want anything else. We will certainly do our homework when shopping at Macy's in the future.

Today will be a fairly boring day as both my football teams - the Seahawks and the Cardinals - have a bye week. The schedule gets tougher now as they play each other - twice - with the first meeting next week. I look for an exciting second half to the season...

Pattern

It appears that a pattern is forming for my Uber workdays. Almost all of my riders are of young, college age with a couple older folks thrown in. Almost all of my trips are relatively short - less than $10 fare, and the wait between trips seems to run about a half hour. I did 4 trips yesterday during 3 hours of online, available-to-drive time. I start driving around 10 AM in order to miss the morning work traffic, take out about an hour in the middle of the day to do my errands and personal stuff, and drive to about 3 PM in the afternoon so that I miss the evening rush hour traffic. I may have to increase my availability if I want to make the kind of money that I expect to make. I still love the flexibility and freedom to work any hours I wish. I also wanted to mention that I found out in the class the other night that I am able to drive in any Arizona city that I wish. I am not able to drive in other states though, as that requires a different drivers license and registration. That is a nice benefit.

We both work again today and I expect to put in my usual time driving for Uber. Depending on the football games that are being televised today, the day may be shorter, although I am able to work earlier and/or later as a result of it being Saturday - there shouldn't be any rush hour traffic.

Thanksgiving is creeping up on us and we will have to finalize all the plans for our hosting the dinner this year. We already have purchased the turkey and some other items, but we need to make sure that all of our guests know about the plans. That needs to be done this weekend sometime. Josie will probably make the calls to everybody and make sure there are no questions. It should be a fun day and we are hoping that it all come together...

Uber 101

I'll start off with the review of my Uber 101 class that was held last night in Tempe, AZ:

(The small print says: 5years, 340+ cities, 61 countries)

There were about 100 people present and from a show of hands at the start of the class, more than half of the attendees have not performed their first trip yet. The class was about an hour and a quarter and was mostly a disappointment for me. I went to the class with a few questions, but there were so many people and so much emphasis on getting started, I didn't get a chance to ask my questions. Besides, it was a challenge (for me) trying to understand what the presenter was saying in the large room. I did get several new website addresses though that should provide the answers for me.

We also went to the RV show at the stadium during the day. That also was a disappointment for us. The show was solely put on by La Mesa RV, a large dealer in the Phoenix area. That was OK, but the inventory they had looked pretty much the same as the last time we attended their show. We didn't stay very long and left after about a half hour. It's a good thing that parking was free and the show was free.

The real good news from yesterday was the result of WMU's football game against Ball State University in Kalamazoo. Austin's team won again, 54-7, and they keep looking better and better each game. They are in first place in the MAC Conference and are 5-0 in Conference play. They are once again bowl eligible - for the second straight year - and, depending on how they finish their final three games, will have some nice choices for a bowl. That is very exciting...

Signs of Winter

Our first taste of winter came yesterday when we only had a high 69. The high country received a record amount of snowfall for the date. We didn't get much precipitation until later in the day and we finished the day with about .15" of rain. We hadn't planned a whole lot to do anyway, so it wasn't a problem for us.

We went to the Arrowhead Mall to check out  a sale on tennis shoes at Macy's - we both need a new pair. They didn't have the style that we wanted, so we ended up walking around the mall and not buying anything - except a pretzel at Wetzel's Pretzels. They are the kind of money saving trips that we like.

Today will be a little busier as we plan to go to the RV Show being held this weekend at the stadium. We always like to keep up with changes and developments in the RV world.

WMU (5-3) also has another game today that will be televised on the CBS Sports network again. They play the 3-6 Ball State Cardinals at home in Kalamazoo. They should win this game if they don't take them for granted. These last four games are very important for them as a bowl bid is a real possibility now as long as they don't stumble.

I have a Uber meeting tonight in Tempe that will conflict with the televised game, but I will record the game and watch what I miss following the meeting. I am anxious to attend the meeting to finally clear up some procedures that I am not sure about. Maybe I can also get some tips on how to increase the number of trips I take each day...

Uber101

I received an email and a text message yesterday inviting me to attend a class on Thursday - Uber101. It came at a good time as I was getting somewhat frustrated by some of the questionable functions of the software. I ran into the same problem yesterday that I've had for the last several days, and that is getting the trips started when I pick up a rider, and also ending the trip when we arrive at the destination. The software doesn't automatically bring up the information on the screen for these functions and I can't find out anywhere on the help screens how I can make it work smoothly. I will certainly find out on Thursday evening at 6:30 PM when I attend the class being held in Tempe.

I drove for only a couple hours yesterday and had a couple short trips and one cancellation. The good news is that my first week's pay was automatically deposited in my bank account this morning so that part of the system works great. Good thing! I also got my second tip yesterday and Josie suggested I put those in a jar and just let them accumulate. That's a good idea, as then I'm not likely to spend it on something I won't remember.

We also received a response from Danny, our manager from Aramark at the Spring Training games. He was happy that we were coming back and has put us on the sheet as Retail Cashiers at the stadium for the games this year. As the Royals have won the World Series, we would expect larger crowds this coming year and more Royals merchandise being sold. It's nice having the World Series champions sharing the facility (with the Texas Rangers) that we will be working.

Josie is off the next two days so I will also take the days off from driving. Part of our agenda for the next couple days includes finalizing our plans for Thanksgiving. We will plan to have everybody at our house for Thanksgiving dinner this year. After all the years that we were not able to have it at our house, we can now step up and contribute. We only wish that Patty and her family could be included. Maybe Christmas will be the time for them to come and visit. If there is not a bowl game for Austin this year, I believe they are planning to come...

Wait Time

The only negative that I see at this stage of my UBER experience is the wait time. I don't understand yet how they determine where to send me to expect a lower wait time between trips. When I sign on to drive I am given an opportunity to accept a short trip - at my expense - to an area they select where I may get a trip assigned quicker than if I stay at home waiting for one to be assigned. So far, I have had better success driving to Glendale. Twice I have been assigned trips while entering downtown Glendale on my way to a recommended wait location. Other times, I still wait between trip assignments - sometimes for an extended period of time - no matter where I wait. Yesterday was one of those occasions. I was signed-on to drive for three hours but was only assigned three trips. It could have been the result of an issue they had with my vehicle registration. I received an email stating that they needed a better image of my registration. I could have been held back as a result of that issue which I have taken care of yesterday afternoon. I'll check on that this morning to make sure there are no outstanding issues.

I receive daily updates from Workamper News regarding openings for employment. That is how we located the opportunities that we worked during our time on the road. The update from yesterday included a request for cashiers and cooks for the Spring Training games in Surprise Stadium where we worked for two years. We may try to apply again for a cashier position in the retail store at the stadium. We will see about that.

I will go with Josie this morning to deliver a piece for a funeral service at a location in Avondale. It needs to be there by 7:30 AM, so I will help her with it before she goes into the shop for her regular schedule. Then, I will check on the registration situation on my vehicle before driving again for UBER today. The registration document is fairly large, so the problem is getting the entire image captured, clearly, using the camera on my smart phone. Maybe the smart phone isn't so smart:)...

Good Football Results

The Cardinals played in Cleveland yesterday and won their game, 31-20. They are 6-2 now in the tough Western Division of the NFC. The Seahawks won a defensive struggle, 13-12, against the Dallas Cowboys, in Dallas where it is always tough to win. I still worry about their offense, but the defense is very strong and is leading the league again in defense. Fortunately, the Cardinals and the Seahawks have a bye week next week before facing each other in the first of two match-ups for the year. That should be a great game.

We packed away Halloween until next year. Josie is ready to put up our new Christmas tree but it is still a bit early for that. She did get a head start (for us) on Christmas shopping as we went to Costco to return a couple items and she picked up an item that was a good buy.

I'm hoping for a busy day today when I hit the road again for UBER. Saturday was a dud and I'm sure it was because of Halloween. Along with some more riders, I expect to gain more experience with the system to make it more comfortable for handling the fine points of processing the trips. I'll try the 10 AM - 3 PM time frame today.

That about wraps it up for now...

Successful Halloween

The major story from yesterday was, of course, Halloween. We had purchased three of those huge bags of candy at Costco to give to the trick-or-treaters and we went through 2.5 of them. They each contained about 200 pieces of candy. We haven't had a Halloween experience like the one last night since we lived in Toledo, OH, in the mid 1970's.

This is how we set up our front for the occasion:

 

We sat outside on our chairs with a bottle of wine and settled in at 5:50 for the crowd. This is a photo taken during the evening:

 Our neighbor across the street was all set to go at the same time:

The fun began at almost 6 PM and we had steady groups of kids and whole families until 8:30 PM. These shots will give some indication of the crowd:

It was a fun time for us as we got to enjoy a "real" Halloween for the first time in many years. We estimate that we had a couple hundred trick-or-treaters for the night. Once the kids started coming around for the second time and they got older, we closed it down and turned out the lights.

My day with UBER was dead. I started out at 10 AM again and did not get one rider for an hour that I was signed on to drive. I did get one rider that cancelled his ride before I got a chance to pick him up at his location. I tried again in the afternoon for about a half hour and still had no riders. I suspect that the real action didn't begin until later in the afternoon and close to the end of the trick-or-treat time, and for sure, when the parties were breaking up. I wanted no part of that action. I will try again Monday as Josie is off today and we will both enjoy the day off together...