Customer Service

I plan to devote a lot of time to addressing the theory and practical applications of the phenomenon known as "Customer Service".

90% of humanity has dealt with Customer Service in one form or another.

I find 90% of all CS sucks.

These entries will highlight the good, bad, and the ugly of CS.

Customer service is often seen as an activity, performance measurement and a philosophy. That is why, generally speaking, one single definition of customer service does not exist.

Here are some definitions of customer service in use today:

"Customer service is the ability to provide a service or product in the way that it has been promised"

"Customer service is about treating others as you would like to be treated yourself"

"Customer service is an organization's ability to supply their customers' wants and needs"

"Customer Service is a phrase that is used to describe the process of taking care of our customers in a positive manner"

"Customer Service is any contact between a customer and a company, that causes a negative or positive perception by a customer"

"Customer service is a process for providing competitive advantage and adding benefits in order to maximize the total value to the customer"

"Customer Service is the commitment to providing value added services to external and internal customers, including attitude knowledge, technical support and quality of service in a timely manner"

"Customer service is a proactive attitude that can be summed up as: I care and I can do."

I have so much to say about CS that I might spin this off into a whole new blog.

Nuggets Vol. 1 Issue 3

Undefeated vs Upset.....

As I said from the beginning, I am rooting for New England to win it all. I feel that on Feb 3rd the world will witness one of the greatest sports accomplishments.

The last time a team went undefeated was in 1972. The Miami Dolphins swept through the regular season and the playoffs.

Yes, Miami did it first, but New England will have won two more regular season games.

Now normally my allegiance lies with my team and then the division that team resides in. For example, in the NFL I root for the Packers and then should they lose, whoever represents the NFC. In baseball its the Yankees or whoever represents the AL, unless of course its Boston, but that's a different story.

I'm also a big underdog fan. I'm a huge fan of the upset. Its what makes sports so exciting.

I guess I am getting the best of both worlds with the potential to witness a team go undefeated and to see one of the greatest upsets in years.

Bad guys....

A few weeks ago I wanted to write about "rotten apples" in sports. I believe if you make it to any level of professional sports, god has blessed you with special abilities.

Rotten apples know they have these amazing talents however they are some of the sorest losers (and winners) and team chemistry killing idiots around.

Two players come to mind when talking about rotten apples, Terrell "TO" Owens and Randy "The Freak" Moss.

The reason I bring them up is because I hate when assholes succeed.

Of the two, TO is the worst. He not only alienates his teammates, he alienates the fans. He can single handedly bring down a team.

He bitches and moans when he doesn't get the ball.

Moss on the other hand isn't so much a bad teammate, he more or less shuts down when he is playing on a mediocre team. Look at his tenure with the Raiders. As team captain, he would just sit on the bench and sulk.

I guess if one of them has to get a ring it should be Moss. It should also be pointed out that getting picked up by New England is another reason to shape up, I mean who you going to yell at, Brady? Belichick? I don't think so.

Deserving of a ring....

No matter who wins this weekend, I am pleased that either Junior Seau or Michael Strahan will get a ring.

Both veterans have dominated their positions and are very deserving of a ring.

The way I see it: This Sunday should be a great game. There are some really good underlying stories. Hopefully this game isn't over in the first period.

Man's bitter battle

Many men don't realize it, but there is an epic battle raging between man's testicles and his wife.

When men are born god gave us two testicles. Our testicles are everything to us. We live so they can enjoy life.

Although they don't see the light of day often, they still are masters of their domain.

As man grows so grow his balls. They seem to take on a life of their own.

At an early age, man learns to control his testicles and use them to his advantage.

Our testicles grant us strength and independence, some might even say wisdom.

When man meets woman, his testicles lure him in for, what at that given time seems like eternal pleasure. unbeknown to his testicles, this is the beginning of the end for them.

During the dating period the female mentally massages the testicles into a false comfort zone. As far as the testicle know and care they are in their element.

It is all good until the man and woman arrive at the altar of marriage.
In a some what painless procedure the woman removes the man's right testicle during the ceremony, and so begins the epic struggle to hold onto your last testicle, your Left Nut.

Many men will say "not me, I'm the man of the house. I wear the pants. I rule the roost."

I say Ha! I thought so too.

I was hanging one night with "Zed" and the "Lead Singer" when we started to talk about how married man has no control.

Examples:

The Thinker is married and he is really not allowed to hang with out his wife. We have determined that she has both his nuts but gives him the false feeling that he still controls the Left Nut. .

The Philosopher stopped by during our discussion with his wife. Lead Singer got some new music he wanted him to hear. After 10 minutes she was telling him it was time to go, but that "he could come back" Zed and I did everything in our power to get him to stay but he wouldn't. He said he would be back in 5 minutes. He wasn't.

Not only does she have both of his balls but she periodically takes them out and smacks him in the face with them.

Zed's wife called and told him "she wants him to come home and hang". Translation - get your ass home now before I make you pay for it with your other nut. You can see the tug of war Zed is going through.

He fained strength by saying "ill go home, chill with her, and come back." Yeah, ok, good luck with that.

Finally there is me. I know where my nuts are and who controls them as evident by the following text conversation I had with the Mute, (who, since he is single, is very in control of his testicles) on the way home from a day out with the family. .

Me: Yo what's up
Mute: On my way back from school.
Me: Cool, u wanna chill
Mute: Sure

Wife: Who are texting
Me: The Mute
Wife: About?
Me: Chilling out

Me: Yo!
Mute: Sup?
Me: Sorry bro wifey says I can't come out and play tonight.

The way I see it: Adam gave Eve his rib and in return, Eve snatched his nut. That is the first documented testicle tug of war.

Blog Entry 01/20/2008 - Day 10 to 13

Well you know that my Blackberry Curve was stolen on Thursday.

I didn't have time to post since i didn't have my blackberry so here is a quick recap.

THURSDAY -

After my meeting on Thursday we checked into the Golden Tulip in Shanghai. All I can say is that the hotel is in an OK area. I think it's between Hong Qiao and Pudong, in a part of the city that is not a heavily visited tourist area. The hotel itself is just above dump rating, but I was so pissed about my BB that i didn't care that much.

The meeting on Thursday afternoon was basically worthless. Nothing going to come of it.

We tried to go out for dinner but nothing was open, even though it was only 9:30pm. We ended up at a convenience store to buy some water and snack, just in case. We also found a DVD vendor on the street and I got "I am Legend", "Michael Clayton", and "Saw IV" for RMB20 or around US$2.75.

We ended up having dinner in the hotel, which was really gross. I had garlic bread and tuna from the can, but the chef "prepared" the tuna with some kind of spicy hot oil which made it inedible.

FRIDAY -

The meeting went well. Really nice buyer. Potential is there for something.

Works Done!!! Have two days off and then I fly home. My boy Randall is away so i decided to stay at the hotel near his house (instead of at his house). I got a room at the DongHu Hotel.

The DongHu is really nice and comfortable. It's a more classic Chinese hotel. I really enjoyed it and ended up staying through till Sunday instead of staying at Randall's.

I spent Friday unwinding and pampering myself with a manicure, pedicure, and a 2 hour foot massage at DragonFly. DragonFly is an awesome place for pampering ones self in China. They are professionally run "therapeutic retreats" around China.

All locations are really clean and you get great value for the money you spend. some locations only do massages (Foot and Full Body) while others also offer spa services.

I was supposed to meet up with Montana Matt on Friday Night but he ended up bailing because of his wife's birthday. No worries, Jenny's Blue Bar is right next door. Jenny's is the perfect place to go if you just want to drink and relax. I am not sure who owns/runs this place but there ate four woman behind the bar that handle the pouring. They have a decent beer and hard alcohol selection. So I had a few Corona and Jagers and listen to some good old Rock and Roll. So I'm just chilling at the bar when all of the sudden this big fat cat jumps up on the bar and just starts to chill with me. Only in China!! I think my bill was USD$10 for 4 Corona's and 2 Jagers. Cant beat that.

I then ended up at Shirokiya, the Teppanyaki place a few doors down from Jenny's for dinner. Had an awesome all you can eat/drink dinner for RMB180 or US$25. Food was good and it's always fun to watch being cooked right in front of you.

SATURDAY

Had an awesome night sleep and got out of bed around 12:30pm. Ended up going to Element Fresh for breakfast. Now Element Fresh is owned by some friends of Randall's who have become my friends. "EF" serves some of the best food in all of China. They cover Western, Asian, and Health Conscious food spot on.

When ever I am in Shanghai I eat at EF because I know its good and clean.

I got a kick out of their breakfast menu. The first item on the menu is the "Big American", which for US$8.90, consists of the following:

4 Eggs Any Style
3 Strips of Bacon
2 Sausage Links
2 Pieces of French Toast
Potatoes
Fresh Fruit
Bottomless Cup of Coffee

I don't know anyone one who in their right mind could eat all this food. I settled for two eggs, toast, potatoes, and fresh squeezed juice with carrots, oranges, & ginseng. It was really really good.

I went back to the hotel watched "I am Legend" and passed out.

I spent Saturday Night with Randall, his wife and boys, Matt and his wife, Karim and Becca, Roger and his wife, and a few others within Randall's circle.

I was happy it was an easy night before I left China. I had a few really late nights with these guys where we end up spilling back to Randall's sometime around sunrise. I didn't need that after two weeks flying around the world.

SUNDAY

Flew back to Beijing to catch my flight home.

Flew home on Continental in Business/First. It was awesome. I love Business/First especially when the flight is 13 hours. The food is great and there are a ton of movies to watch.

I landed at Newark and went through Customs and Immigration.

When I got out the Customs area, I immediately saw the fam.

It was so good to see them. They look great. I missed then terribly.

It's great to be home.

Final mileage tally:

Newark to Frankfurt 3,860
Frankfurt to Beijing 4,840
Beijing to Shanghai 663
Shanghai to Beijing 663
Beijing to Shanghai 663
Shanghai to Beijing 663
Beijing to Newark 6,830

Total miles flown: 18,182

Blog Entry 01/17/2008 - Day 10

What a horrible day.

My pocket was picked at the airport in Shanghai and my Blackberry was stolen.

I am so pissed right now because:

A. This is my life line connection to my wife when I am not at a computer. I installed Google Talk on my BB and we can chat at anytime. Now I cant.

B. It's my direct connection to work with BBM and email.

C. It's my camera and I use it to visually capture the things that amuse me.

D. it has pictures of my family that I like to look at, especially when I travel.

So to the asshole who stole it... I hope you lose your fingers in a terrible and excruciating accident, your eye sight slowly, and you get herpes on your lips.

What a dooshy thing to do.

I will only be able to blog when I am at my computer in the hotel.

What a pain in the ass!!

Blog Entry 01/16/2008 - Day 9

Had a great night sleep at the Regent. The Regent really knows how to put a room together. As i mentioned in my last post, the room I got was perfect from the desk and flat screen TV to the bed and bathroom.

The Regent also has a wonderful buffet breakfast (which was included in my rate) which helped me get my day off to a great start.

Going to the factory today to finalize samples for my meeting on Friday in Shanghai.

11:00 PM

Day went smooth in the factory.

Had a nice dinner at the hotel tonight in the Italian restaurant, Daccapo. I think I ate the porcelain off the plates the food was so good.

Spoke with the Wife and she looks good. Thank god for Skype. It really makes a long trip a little more bearable.

Blog Entry 01/15/2008 - Day 8

Son of a bitch!!! It's 2am and I wide awake. Wide awake as in "GOOD MORNING, YOU ARE NOT GOING BACK TO SLEEP"

I cant fall back to sleep so I am going to do some emails.

9:00am

Finally fell asleep around 6am, but had to get up at 7:30am. I am coma tired!!

Got to get ready for my meeting.

5:00pm

My meeting got canceled about 30 minutes before it was supposed to start. They buyer is running way behind schedule. Like I give a shit.

Ive been traveling around the world for two weeks almost and she is tired?? Give me a break.

Plus, what if i was flying back to the USA tomorrow?? Would they reimburse me for my travels.

I am steaming!! I am tired!!! I am aggravated!!!

Going to head back to Beijing.

What a crappy day!!

9:00pm

Back in Beijing. I got to the Park Plaza Beijing and they do not have a room for me, but fear not, I am being sent next door to their sister property The Regent Beijing.

What can be said about the Regent chain other than, heaven on Earth. These hotel properties know how to treat a guest with cleanliness, great service and food. My Trip Advisor report will tell all.

My room is awesome, flat screen TV with plenty of English channels, great internet connection, fabulous bathroom (thats a major key for me when traveling), and a super sweet bed with a down comforter.

I can only describe this as one of the most perfect beds ever made.

I am going to sleep good tonight.

Blog Entry 01/14/2008 - Day 7

Woo hoo day 7!!

Slept ok last night. Room was freezing. Kept waking up every time I rolled over into a cold spot.

Other than that it was good.

Spoke to the Fam for a little and the jumped into the shower.

Its amazing how an awesome shower takes care of everything.

Grabbed a good breakfast. Just what I needed. Hadn't really eaten since being in the Frankfurt airport.

I'm in a taxi now heading from Beijing to the factory in Langfang.

I have a jolly taxi cab driver.

Once I get down to the factory I need to make sure all the samples have been sent to Shanghai for our meeting tomorrow.

I still have a lot of prep work to do.

Off to Shanghai. Its about a two hour flight.

The flight system for Beijing to Shanghai is great. There are 5 or 6 airlines that offer 15-20 round trips a day.

Check in is in one central area with 20 counters and no matter which airlines you are on, you use this section. Very efficient system.

We are flying on China Eastern Airlines. China Eastern is one of the best airlines I have ever flown on. I think they fly Airbus A330-300 planes. The configuration is 2-4-2. The interesting thing about the four seat section is that the two middle seats have their own armrests, which means, no elbow hockey!!

The Chinese have a really interesting way of flying. Although you have an assigned seat, general boarding is a free for all, they just open the door, scan your tickets, and everyone just boards. You find your seat and thats it. I have to say, its pretty effective as we never departed late once due to boarding.

Once on board, even though every flight is packed, its really quiet on board, except for a few disgusting Chinese people that cant seem to keep their bodily nosies to themselves. More on that later.

Anyway, the economy class cabin is serviced by 8 female flight attendants that move like clock work. Also one thing to point out, all of the flight attendants are very attractive and very professional.

Once you take off they come through the cabin with drink service, a hot meal service, then another drink service. So on your two hour flight your comfortable and well fed and hydrated.

I think that US based airlines can learn something from China Eastern.

Anyway the flight to Shanghai was uneventful. (I plan to go more in depth on traveling in China, its pretty funny)

Just checked into the Millennium Hotel in Hong Qiao. It's a really nice brand new 5 Star hotel.

Rooms are nice (and warm!!!). Should have an awesome night sleep.

Blog Entry 01/12-13/2008 - Day 5/6

Since this entry takes place during my flight to Beijing, I decided to make it Day 5/6.

Wow its only been 5 days. It feels like forever.

Anyway I am writing this on the plane from Frankfurt to Beijing.

Once again I have an adventure while flying. When flying from Frankfurt they allow a total baggage weight of something like 50 pounds. Anything over that they charge you 44 Euros per kilo over.

My bags turned out to be like 25 kilos over. What a disaster. The check in guy turned out to be a dude.

He told me I could carry 8 kilos on board. So I unpacked my duffel which had my hanging clothes and I threw them on the cart.

I was still over like 18 kilos, but he only charged me for 5 which turned out to be 220 euros. Sick! I end up spending another 129 euros on a bag to pack it all up in.

Air China still flies 747s. Old 747s. The seating configuration in economy is
3-4-3.

The guy that checked me in hooked me up with what I thought would be an awesome seat.

I got an aisle seat by the door with the stairs to the upper deck next to me.

The one and only great thing about this seat is that there is nothing in front of you. Other than that these seats are really narrow.

In addition to that the guy next to me has to be 6'4" 240.

There is no way that this guy should have been given the middle seat.

I didn't sleep a wink. This guy was too wide for these seats a he took up a quarter of my seat and the window seat.

Since he decided to go to sleep I decided to keep him up.

Every 10 - 15 minutes, when I knew he would be falling back to sleep I would get up. Because he took up so much space I would inevitably hit him and wake him up.

The way I see it: In addition to that luggage rack they use to see if your carry on will fit, they should have airplane seats to see if you will fit. You don't fit, you buy an extra seat.

Anyway it is what it is.

I'm still not feeling any better about missing the wife and kids. I'm missing the wife some thing fierce.

I've been very emotional about it too. When I spoke to her via Google Talk prior to take off I was very choked up.

Then they showed No Reservations on the flight and that got me choked up.

I'm starting to feel like a little girl who is getting her period for the first time.

I wonder why we (or maybe its just me) doesn't feel this way when I am home???

We should be landing shortly and then I'm off to my hotel in Beijing.

1:00pm

Checked into the Park Plaza in Beijing. I always stay here as its a good hotel for the money.

They gave me room 303. Its a nice room but its cold.

There is a little heater (already on) in here but its not doing much.

- Its freezing out side. I've never been to China in the cold. Its bitter with a cold wind.

- Just blew a fuse in my room. Stupid heater. Engineering is on their way up.

- Going to head out to the shopping area near the hotel. I want to find something for the kids. I need to get them something cool. I've gotten them so many things from China that I'm really out of options.

If I can't find anything I'll resort to old faithful, Olympic souvenirs.

3:00pm

- Back at the hotel. Room is still ice. I'm tired. Been up almost 24 hrs.

Saw some pretty cool and disgusting things while walking the Wangfujing street.





Gonna take a nap and hopefully not sleep so I wake up at 3am.

8:00pm

- Slept more than I wanted to but I'm tired.

- The room is ice cold. Gonna call managment.

- Manager came up. First thing he says is my room is cold. No shit Sherlock. I now have 4 guys working on my room. I tell the manager that I'm checking out tomorrow but I'll be back on the 15th. He promises me a great room. We'll see. Ill email him tomorrow.

- Spoke to the family. God I miss them. Everything is good at home.

- Going to bed now. Hope I can sleep in the frozen tundra.

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Blog Entry 01/11/2008 - Day 4

I felt like complete shit this morning. I think I was hit the jet lag bug and dehydrated.

I couldn't get out of bed. I ended up staying in bed for an extra two hours.

I finally made it to the booth and was able to rebound nicely and finish out the day.

We arranged for dinner near the hotel at an Italian restaurant called Die Zwei. Its a nice little 6 table restaurant where you can see into the kitchen. It was really good and tasty.

Only downside was the menu was in German so we had to try and tell the waitress, who only barley spoke English what we wanted.

Now I love Italian food. Was this the best Italian I ever had? No, but it was damn good.

The waitress ended up bringing us two platters of pasta prepared five different ways and if that wasn't enough we each also received a plate with Sea Bass, Fluke, potatoes and vegetables.

I've been traveling extensively for almost 18 years. When I travel, I miss my kids and wife.

The weird thing is I am really really missing them this trip. Its almost to the point where I am home sick.

My wife even noticed that I was not so excited to go away this time around. I don't know what it is.

I do know that I am missing them terribly. I am almost depressed about it.

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Blog Entry 01/10/2008 - Day 3

All I can say is wow. What a crazy night.

The plan was to go out with The Thinker, grab a bite, and knock a few back.

Well we never got the bite but we knocked more than a few back.

We went to this Irish pub called O'Reilly's. (With a name like that would it be anything other than Irish??)

We started with some piss beer called Henninger Pils which was ok, not great.

When I did a search for Henninger Pils for the blog, I came across a cool site called European Beer Guide. I also found Rate Beer. Great stuff for anyone planning a trio through Europe.

We then switched over to Kilkenny or as we pronounced it "Kill Kenny".

From there we added SoCo lime and Jägermeister shots to the mix.

It was all down hill from that point on.

At some point I took on the persona of Tucker Max and just stopped caring. Everyone was fair game, men, woman, and children. No one was spared.

I was an equal opportunity asshole to all. No race, gender, or nationality was spared.

It amazes me how much abuse people can take.

I think because I introduced myself as Tucker Max from Wal-Mart, people were more tolerant. Especially because of the trade show and all these pubs near the exhibition were teaming with people that would give there left eye to sell Wal-Mart.

I guess they thought I was going to give them an order or something, who knows and who cares.

I am in Germany and I will probably never see these people again. So who gives a damn

Thanks to Tucker Max (from here on in he will be refer to as "TM") I have a totally new outlook on life. I have always hated people. If your not in my inner circle then I really don't care about you. But after reading "TM" I now have the cajones (Latin word for Mexican balls) to tell you that I don't like you.

"TM"'s goal is to get laid, mine is simply to degrade you. Put a few beers in me along with some shots and you will see.

Anyway, Thinker and I were well on our way to total oblivion thanks to Kenny and Jäger.

I could go into detail but I don't remember much other than cigarette golf, darts, and pint glass pitching.

Somehow I found my way to the train and then back to the hotel.

What a night. Ill add more later.

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Blog Entry 01/09/2008 - Day 2

I am way behind on updating this thread (its actually day 3 now) but ill try to catch up.

I slept like a champ last night. Golden Tulip is truly golden!!

Breakfast was great and its nice to get some food into my system.

I used Skype and my new camera to talk to my wife and kids. Skype is awesome.

The day at the show was excellent. Booth is a bit small but it works.

Met with two very important and potentially huge customers.

The big boss arrived today and is very happy with the new hotel. He was very thankful for the switch.

Phew!!

My plan for tonight is to go out with The Thinker. He had a night out last night and I'm tired so it should be an early night.

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Blog Entry 01/08/2008 - Day 1

I arrived in Frankfurt today. At the end of the day the flight over wasn't bad even with the dope next to me.

Compared to Now the hellish day I had today, it was if I flew first class.

Let me set the scene for you. Anybody that has anything to do with home textiles (sheets, comforters, towels, pillows, etc.) is in Frankfurt for Heimtex.

Heimtex is one of if not the largest home textile show in the world.

Buyers, sales people, factories, reps, press, and more are here.

I landed at 9:15am and breezed through customs and was in the taxi at 9:45am.

I headed to the Hotel Europa in Offenbach. I knew something was wrong during check in when the woman at the front desk suggested that I leave my two duffel bags in the lobby because they wouldn't fit in my room.

To call this place a dump would be a disservice to the word dump.

I am not going to get into who booked it and why. I am going to chalk this up to rooms looking much better on the internet then in person.

Like Tucker Max says "people put their best picture on internet dating sites"

Anyway there was no way in hell I was staying in this hole.

Visit Trip Advisor to see my review.

I drop my stuff in the room and head to the exhibition. My plan is to either find a new hotel or try and hook up with my brother, aka "The Thinker" and crash in his place.

Needless to say at this point I am pissed, tired, nervous and really upset.

I find Thinker and start game planning. He is here with 7 other people who know others at the fair.

I realize that I have two main issues.

A. It's Frankfurt there are a million people here for the show, which means slim pickings.

How hard is it to get a hotel room you ask? Let's put it this way. People book their rooms a year in advance.

B. During this show hotel rates triple at a minimum. So what should be a $100 a night room is now $300 and these hotels have no right selling rooms for a $100 to begin with.

I have to figure out how I am going to justify expensing this.

You see my boss is of the opinion that all you need is a bed and shower.

I have to wait 4 hours for them to wake up in NYC to let them know the situation and hopefully they understand.

With that said I head off to a hotel near the exhibit, boot up my laptop, and start searching.

Keep in mind that I already know that things do not appear as they seem on the internet when it comes to these hotels.

Finally I get the OK to go ahead with booking a new hotel.

Three hours into my search the Thinker hooks me up with place call the Golden Tulip in Offenbach.

I call and they have 5 rooms available at $130 euros a night. I hop in a cab.

I arrive at the hotel and I am pleasantly surprised. The hotel is clean. The rooms are huge. The bathrooms are great.

I am happy.

Later that night I pass out for a few hours. Wake up, talk to the wife and kiddies, get back in bed. Read some more Tucker Max and eventually pass out.

What a crazy day!


Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

A new addition

Blog Entry 01/07/2008 7:20pm EST - Day 1

Since I started this blog I have not really traveled. Today begins the start of a long international trip.

In about 10 minutes I will be taking off for Frankfurt Germany.

My trip will be almost 13 days and I will be visiting Frankfurt, Beijing, & Shanghai.

I'll be doing time stamped entries and put them up on the blog when I get a chance.

Blog Entry 01/07/2008 10:55pm EST - Day 1 - somewhere over the Atlantic

I love Continental Airlines. I try to only fly them or their partners cause I am a mileage whore.

When the seat configuration in coach is 2-3-2 I always try and get an aisle on either side of the 3 section.

This flight was no different. At first things were golden. I had a small woman from Spain next to me. This meant ample area space for me and probably minimal arm rest wrestling.

Bad news, her daughter is sitting in front of her in the middle.

She is plotting to move. I won't. I have my aisle and I'm staying put.

Well guess what. The dude in front of me is a real gentleman. He'll give up his middle seat so mom can sit with her daughter.

Normally I would mind but this dude is large. He's taken up both arm rests and is sitting spread eagle.

He is encroaching on my space.

Why do I have to be inconvenienced?

He is sitting with his bag between his legs. I offered to put it up in a bin so he could stretch out his legs.

What a bafoon.

Blog Entry 01/07/2008 11:47pm EST - Day 1 - still somewhere over the Atlantic.

I started reading this book titled "I hope they serve beer in hell".

This is one of the funniest books I have ever read. It's a true story about this guy Tucker Max. The back page sums it up the best:

"My name is Tucker Max, and I am an asshole...."

I am only on page 31 and I am rolling in the aisle.

I highly recommend this book and a visit to his website which I plan to visit as soon as I get a chance.

Oh by the way, the flight attendant that screwed me by putting this ox next to me totally felt bad and tried to anything she could to make me happy.

She offered up free alcohol and extra dessert but in the end, all it took was a huge bottle of water.

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

The running of the bulls

This past weekend the Professional Bull Riders (PBR) took over Manhattan and New York City.

That's right folks, cowboy hats and boots, chaps, wranglers, & bulls entered the hallowed halls of MSG.

How do I know? Because I was there Saturday Night along with 12,000 (sell-out!!) others to witness what might be the next great sports success story a la Nascar.

Why was I there? Well earlier in the week while lying in bed, flipping through channels, my wife tells me to stop and go back.

Did I miss something wacky on E!, a clip off soap net?, some must have item from QVC? No. It was BULL RIDING.

That's right, my garden burger eating, Fendi wearing, general hospital watching, yuck don't take me to the farm wife, digs watching men ride bulls (wait. Should I be worried??).

Woo hoo. What's next? A Miller Lite tree in the garden. I digress.

So I was so captivated by this turn of events.

The following Monday I see in the AMNY that MSG will be hosting the PBR. Like any good husband, I buy 4 tickets.

I don't tell her or the boys what I got, only that its a surprise and she needs to make arrangements for my daughter to sleep by grandpa.

Saturday night comes and we head to the big city. They still have no clue. We get to MSG and my wife thinks she has figured it out. She thinks we are going to see the Cirque du Soleil show.

She starts saying "I know what it is" trying not to "ruin it" for the boys.

She thinks she so smart.

As we enter the arena my oldest son is the first to figure it out. He sees all the PBR posters, the Jack Daniels booth, and everything else associated with cowboys, bulls, and anything red neck.

It then dawns on her that we are really the only people without cowboy hats.

She is now so excited. She is like a little kid in a Disney World.

Needless to say we all had a great time. I have to say that if you never experienced the PBR, you should. It makes for great entertainment and these guys that get on top of the bulls are something else.

As I write this, I think back to when my parents took me and my brother to Raceway Park in Englishtown, NJ to watch the funny cars and the mud bog pull.

I hope my boys remember the night at the PBR the same way I remember that day. Its one of my fondest memories.

The way I see it: she still surprises. me after all these years!

The way I see it 2: Like car crashes in Nascar, falls in Ice Skating, I root for the bull!!!
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Politics as usual

The main reason why I started this blog was to be able to post my views, thoughts, predictions, memories, etc.

For one reason or another I have not posted. So much to do, so much to say, so here goes:

Sitting around the other night I predicted that Huckabee or Romney would win the Iowa caucus. Although I didn't post it I did have witnesses.

So with that said, congrats to Huckabee and Obama for wins in Iowa.

As I stated previously, I am an independent so right now I have not settled on one particular candidate.

As it stood a few months ago, I liked, in no particular order

Huckabee, Romney, Biden, Obama, & Edwards.

I am looking for the candidate of change. I am tired of the old ways of government.

We need free thinkers. We need a President that will fix what ails us, the American people, not the nations around the world.

Don't get me wrong, I am not saying to turn a blind eye to foreign politics, but to open our eyes here.

Oil prices are through the roof, people are dying because insurance companies will not provide coverage for life and death situations, unemployment is growing, the value of the US dollar is in the toilet, I can go on and on.

Give me a candidate that can fix one of the above issues and I'll give you my vote.

Which brings me to my next point.

Do the candidates talk to the mainstream?

If I polled 100 people and asked them to name one candidate and one platform position they held, how many people could give me an answer.

Not many I believe.

Why is that? Because none of the candidates give clear answers on where they stand.

The way I see it: if we do not learn about what these candidates stand for we run the risk of putting the wrong person in office to lead this country.

New Hampshire predictions: Dems - I think the democratic race will be all but locked up after NH. I think it will be Obama, then Clinton or Edwards.

I also think that sooner rather than later you might see Edwards join forces with Obama.

Reps - I think that NH is where Huckabee either locks it up or gives it up. Iowa was gold for him and his religious background. NH will be the place where his political beliefs will have to shine. I think Romney might take NH with Huck on his heels. I also think we might get a Rudy G sighting.

By the way, I think someone better tell Rudy that you can't win an election by winning New York alone.

Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

Looking back on New Years Eve 2008

My wife and I didn't have any concrete plans for New Years. We thought about a nice dinner near home and then maybe we would go to the bar we frequent and ring in the New Year.

In the end we decided to just go to the bar, The Nip N Tuck, and just hang out.

To be honest, I have the most fun with my wife, so it made sense and I knew it wouldn't be bad.

We were expecting to have a good time. As usual "The Nip" was going to have live music. The owners are really good about getting local band that specialize in covers. We know all the bartenders really well so we get taken care of all night.

The glasses are never empty and the laughing goes on through out the night.

Last night we had a blast. The bar was not crowded at all, the drinks flowed nicely, and my wife danced on her chair all night.

I guess what really made the night was the live music supplied by the Almost Normal Band.

Almost Normal is made up of Jen, who is the band's lead singer and drummer, John (Bass), Neil (Lead Guitar), & Buddy (Rhythm Guitar and vocals) rocked the house with all the covers they played.

Other than the drunk dude falling into Jen's rig, good times were had by all.

Eventually my wife (and then me) with Jen's urging got a mic and tambourine and sang along for the next hour or so. Everyone was on their feet singing and laughing.

Definitely a good time was had by all.

ANB does a great job covering some great bands. Jen's sexy raspy voice along with her hard rocking drumming, blended with Neil's ripping lead guitar, Buddy's rhythm guitar, and John's crazy bass make for some awesome sounds.

We rolled home around 1:30am because we had to get the baby sitter home, but honestly we could have stayed till closing.

So its 7:00pm now and as I put this entry to bed and I look back on a great night a few things come to mind.

Number one - I have a new motto: "Don't drink the pink". If someone gives you any kind of pink drink whether it be a shot or tall glass, due the right thing and say no thanks! Pink = Sugar = Headache = My wife has not gotten out of bed today.

Stick with the beer and Jägermeister.

Number two - If my wife cannot get out of bed the following day due to massive hangover (without puking) but can laugh about the night before, then I have to say that it was a damn good night.

THE way I see it: If all my nights this year turn out like last night then I'll have no liver, be deaf, have a decent headache, and a useless wife, but boy is it gonna be a good year.