Through the eyes of a child??

I received one of the most interesting emails from my Dad yesterday.

To set it up: My folks received a $20 Starbucks gift card from one of their friends. My parents have pretty much NEVER drank coffee in their lives. The don't drink soda/pop either. They stick to tea and water mostly. My parents are also not big followers of trends or what's popular. They aren't shut-ins (most of you who've met them know that), but they live moderately and are very happy with what they have and do on a daily basis.

So they finally decided to go use the gift certificate. They had NEVER been in a Starbucks in their lives. Here's what my Dad sent me.

I guess when (America) is hooked on something it's difficult to break away even in this economy. After mom's blood test this A.M. we stopped at Starbucks and used part of the gift card we got. Mom & I each got a hot chocolate Grande, she got a piece of pound cake and I got a Blueberry muffin all for the mere price of $10.00. The line was constant with at least 4 people at all times. I guess we just live in another world. The best part is we still have $10.00 on the card and we can do it again.

His observations are almost child-like, but very in tune with what's going on in the world as they bring 65 years of experience to what he's seeing. It's sort of been how he observes the Internet as well. He's had a computer for 10 years now (almost 11 and had never even used one before) and probably every 2-3 months he finds something new on the Internet, and its almost like a kid on Christmas morning.

25 Random Things About Me.....ugh

I'm not big on the chain letter sorts of things, so I'll spare my group of friends the tagging, but since I've been thinking about this, it's been very difficult to come up with 25 things most people do NOT know about me so I've really had to reach deep here but there's a few that aren't so deep.

1. The 23 on my license plates, email addresses and blogs is in honor of Ted Simmons, NOT Ryne Sandberg or Michael Jordan as most people think. The Ted Simmons story is an entirely different blog post that I'll do on February 23rd, 2009 (see, I'll get you to return if you care)
2. I threw shot-put in High School (poorly), but I had some delusional thought that I could run 200-meter hurdles and was allowed to, ONCE! Thanks Ernie Stark for that humbling moment, you handled it perfectly and taught me a valuable lesson.
3. New Year's Eve, 1999, I spent alone, at home. It was a down time in my life and sort of sad. Hell of a way to come into the new millennium.
4. I honestly am really really shy. Amongst totally new crowds of people I stay quiet for a long time until I can figure out who is who and how I will fit in.
5. I was a state-ranked wrestler in the 155 lb. weight class in 8th grade. If it weren't for chicken pox, I would have probably placed in the top 5 at the state championships.
6. Yes, from the age of 24-26 I had a pony tail. A LONG one down to the middle of my back. It was when I worked as a music agent and it carried over for the first three months at Millward Brown.
   
7. I got deeply involved in a pyramid/MLM scheme in 1989. Lost a BOAT LOAD of money ($30K+). It set the foundation of how I manage my finances very tightly to this very day. It wasn't fun getting sued for all the bad debt I incurred.
   
8. There IS photographic evidence of me, at the age of 8, wearing Green Bay Packers pajamas. eeeechhhhhhhhhhh. We can blame my MOTHER for that one.
   
9. I was thrown out of a 6th Grade football game (versus Lace School) for a flagrant personal foul. After their center snapped the ball, I pounded him on the back of the helmet 'cuz he kept his head down.
10. First teacher crush: Miss Coradetti, 5th grade. Smokin' hot.
11. I always have and always will admire Pete Rose for how he played the game of baseball. I modeled my playing style after his in Little League (even wore #14). Unfortunately I also had his HAIRCUT for awhile. Say no to bowl!
12. I first learned how to program in BASIC in 1982 on a Radio Shack TRS-80. I've stayed close to computers ever since. Shout out to all my peeps down in I.T. as it's why I "get" you guys.
13. I, as most Marquette alums pre-'94, will NEVER refer to us as the G*ld*n E*gl*s. We are Marquette and we're the Warriors, at least that's what it says on the 1977 NCAA Championship Trophy!
14. I played Sancho Panza in a grade school performance of Don Quixote de La Mancha (Kyle Berndtsen was Don). From that I got to go back stage and meet Richard Kiley who was playing Don at the time!
15. My list of nicknames is endless: HighCicero, Sissy, Buffy, Duey, Dinky, Bruno, The Brain, etc. but Duey just stuck. Given to me Freshman year at MU by Scott Wagner (next door neighbor in McCormick Hall)
16. I met my wife online (most of you knew that) but once we met, the parts of our lives that crossed over at times was ridiculous. My parents live in a subdivision her Uncle developed, we BOTH knew Vince Ligouri and had the same opinion, we both attended Catholic High Schools and Universities (not the same ones) and were amazed that there were people we knew in common. There WAS some sort of fate working at that point and I couldn't be happier in my life that it was.
17. I was so convinced we were having a girl that when the Ultrasound tech said we were having a boy, I cried like nobody's business.
    
18. I inherited two fun traits from my Grandpa LoCicero, but didn't KNOW I did until after he passed when I was 22: LOVING hot, spicy food and an unbelievably accurate eye/hand when shooting a weapon. I'm careful not to mix the two but there was a time when I had a Lamb Vindaloo in Banbury, and the next morning it felt like I shot my head off.
19. Yes, I did go out on the road with Blue Oyster Cult in 1991. It was their first tour (very small venues) back after their long absence. It was a ton of fun for the five dates I was there. My job: make sure they were happy with the diet sodas, vegetarian meals, and bottled water backstage and hand their manager the payment for the night before they hit the stage.
20. I'm a chronic insomniac. It started in my mid 20's and has continued ever since.
21. If I could live anywhere else in the world, it would be in Southwest London down towards the end of the Northern Line. Lovely, hard-working folks and my beloved AFC Wimbledon.
22. I pay very close attention to the subtle changes that happen on a weekly basis with our son, Aidan. I've had too many people say that "it goes very fast" and they are VERY correct. Each new change in his life just warms my heart and makes me appreciate his presence in my life just that much more.
23. If tomorrow, someone told me that my job was over and to pack up my stuff, I'd would to set up a company to help "older" folks learn how to use technology be it computers, mobile phones, web cameras, digital cameras/picture frames. The joy with which I've seen my parents use these various things lets me know that there's an entire world we can open up for folks like them. My parents just did their first web cam call with us on Saturday and the fact that they can see their grandson when they miss him so much, just is the BEST.
24. I will still hold out hope for the rest of my life that the Chicago Cubs will finally win another World Series. You can make fun of me until you're red in the face, but I'll never be forced to give up that hope.
25. I know I probably don't say it enough to her, but I thank the Lord everyday that my wife and I met and that I love her more than anything. She challenges me and strengthens my belief in myself and what I can get accomplished. Although I know I drive her crazy more times that I should, I would move mountains and seas to ensure that she was happy in life and I am so blessed for our family and our lives.
    

The NE corner of Addison & Sheffield

I'm gutted really. Readers of this blog know I share Cubs season tickets and for my whole life I've spent more than my share of wasted days and nights in Wrigleyville.

But, as I don't live in the neighborhood, I only end up there between April and October (hopefully) so it's with great dismay that I found out that on December 24th, the day before Christmas, they took the wrecking ball to The Sports Corner.

When it comes to having to pay $4.00 for a can of Miller, well, I'd most want to spend it at The Sports Corner than anywhere else in Wrigley. Bartenders were always friendly, beer tub girls too. It was always jammed before, during and after games but they had a nice outdoor holding pen (beer garden) and you could always just use the walk-up window to get some dogs if you didn't want to go inside. I've met too many of my friends there (at least to start out the day) and have had more than my fair share of laughs, and so this does leave a temporary hole in my heart.

But as the Cubs continue to gobble up land and move forward with some expansion and continued improvements, I guess they feel the need to truly force out the smaller businesses that surround the shrine known as Wrigley. I really wish they wouldn't as it's what makes it special, but I do understand. Clearly the owners got an offer they couldn't refuse and moved on. I understand that too.

No idea what is going to replace it at the moment, but R.I.P. SC!! Thanks to "I Hate Clark Street" for the pic below. It's not like there's not plenty of other locations to go to this upcoming season, but SC was just a place that was comfortable.

A convergence of yesterday's post and today's mail

So yesterday, I wanted to know who DOESN'T have cable/satellite, etc.

Today, I got something in the mail which demonstrates further reasons on why businesses are failing in 2009. Unfortunately I think this organization is targeting the same people I mentioned in yesterday's post.

So that I don't bash the organization by name, I will call them Charity A.

• Charity A sent a request for money via US Mail. They included a nickel which had an arrow pointing to it that said "This nickel can make a real difference in the search for a cure." REALLY? Than you should have kept it, shouldn't have you???
• Charity A also sent about 50 mailing labels that had my name and address on them. Haven't they heard the news? The US Postal Service is hemorrhaging money left and right and are playing with the idea of only going to a 5-day delivery schedule. You've sent me something that's NOT RELEVANT in my day-to-day life anymore and frankly, something that's not relevant to a LOT of people. I rarely send out mail anymore and in fact, the biggest amount of mail we send is Christmas Cards and we use special labels for those.
  
• HOWEVER, kudos to you, Charity A, as although it took me awhile to get to it in the mass of paper you sent, you now have an e-newsletter and website!!! Hooray!! You actually are starting to get the whole "Internets" thing, eh?

I have volunteered for non-profits to help raise money in the past so trust me, I DO know that it's a bitch of a thing to be asking for donations in this crappy economy. I understand how you are fighting tooth and nail for a share of the little pie that's left out there. But as I tighten my belt for our 2009 spending, I need to make sure the charities we donate to are relevant, are progressively thinking about what the next 5-10 years is going to bring, and have a very high donation/management cost ratio.

Boo on the direct marketer that convinced Charity A that sending a nickel and address labels will resonate with potential donors. I realize there's not many tricks left in your DM bag, but if the USPS goes down to 5 days, it likely is going to finally force you to rethink how you reach people.