The Chocolate Race

REGISTERED!

We have a goal!

I am sooo excited.

Now that the weather will be getting warmer my mind has been on getting back into running. Setting a goal for another race so that I have something to work towards. A reason to run other than to be healthy. lol Well, I did it! In fact, we all did it. My daughter confirmed that she will run another race with me so I wasted no time in booking something. 

This is a big deal. 

She ran a race with me once about a year an a half ago - a 5k, Goodlife Fitness 5k. My chip time was 31:49. She thought that it would be a piece of cake and that her youth would help her at 15. lol Little did she know, you really gotta train for it. We told her! It helps. lol But noooo. That run was my 3rd time running a 5k. (My very first was the Toronto Women's 5k, chip time 31:53 and my second was the Scotiabank Toronto Waterfront 5k, chip time 33:33 running without a partner) I was hoping to keep up with her that morning...instead, she ended up behind me somehow. I turned the u-turn section of the course and couldn't find her, looking for the fluorescent orange shirt I gave her to wear. I kept running wondering WTH? lol She wasn't too too far behind me though. She certainly learned a lesson that day. We had some laughs as I teased her. I remember asking her at what point in the race she realized it was harder than she thought? As I expected, she said it was at the u-turn section when you were able to see exactly how far you still had to go. hahahaha Like I said, you can't count on youth for everything. Some things, you have to put work into. I thought she'd never run with me again after that! Now, she's ready to do it again and The Chocolate Race couldn't be more ideal - scheduled for Mother's Day!! The perfect gift!

Furman, my daughter and I will do the 5k together. Furman's a marathon runner and i've graduated to the 10k with hopes to do my first 1/2 marathon real soon this year (maybe), but we are doing the 5k to run as a family. Oh...and it didn't take long for my partner in crime to sign on. Nope...she didn't have to think twice. Considers it a warmup for this years Spartan Sprint! (You gotta check out this video if you haven't seen it) Gotta love her! She is the one that got me going....starting with CN Tower Climbs. 1776 stairs up! Then, we were off to do our first 5k as I noted above. I can say with confidence that I would have never had a chip time of 31:53 if it wasn't for her. lol I can still remember begging her to go on without me. LMAO! But noooo......she was staying with me. Thank you girl!

With permission - my partner in crime - Catie!
This is from our last race together - Mud Hero because WE LIKE IT REAL DIRTY! lol 

And doesn't she look awesome? She is older than me and quite the inspiration. A powerhouse!

So, I will continue to try and recruit others to join us as well. You coming?
Working on my cousin and her daughter. After all, we broke her in with her first 5k doing the Starbucks Run for Women last year. We'll see how convincing I can be. lol After all, it's her birthday weekend...would be a great gift to herself along with Mother's Day. lol I'm trying!
At the same time....I'm looking ahead to other races. Time to plan, time to plan. Spring is upon us! Although we'd never know it by the weather. lol
 Ya...that's supposed to be today. But, i'm not dancing. :(

Happy 1st Day of Spring everyone!

Live Chat

Well, I had an opportunity to use a LIVE CHAT service this weekend.
Won't tell you for which company, but let me just say that it was quite an experience. lol

 

I just happened to be looking at one of my bills online and noticed that on one of my services we had gone over in what we were paying for in terms of usage. Well damn! It's gonna cost us just over another month of service for not paying attention to something we probably should have. lol Nobody to blame but ourselves. Oh well.
Sooo, I decided to search for some information on options. Can't have this happen again ya know! Changes I could make to save us money the next go around. You know, instead of just stopping what we were doing that cost us all this extra money. (It could have been worse but you know what I mean. Lesson learned.) This, is where Live Chat came in. I decided to give them a try. Save myself some search time for info cause one of my shows was coming on, and possibly get any changes made that I might need. Well......

I initiated Chat and started my conversation with Erick. Now, keep in mind that you really and truly have no idea where these people are. They could be in India just like half of customer service for soo many companies seem to be these days. I'm just saying. Erick answered a few of my questions but we ran into a problem when we seemed to get stuck at Erick's desire to sell me a product that I didn't need right now. I was happy with what I had, just wanted more of it. My current service had certain limits, and...I was already paying additional for extra usage. Online, I saw that there was Unlimited Usage available. According to Erick, in order for me to have this Unlimited Usage, I had to change to a newer service that I didn't need. Mind you, on the actual website there was nothing in small writing saying that the Unlimited Service was only compatible with this new service he was offering me. Oh noooo....I checked. I think he was trying to bamboozle me. He was good, but I was better. So, I put him off and told him I would contact customer service on Monday so I could actually speak with someone because certain things he was telling me wasn't making sense. Nope...he wasn't getting my sale! Lord knows, I dreaded having to call customer service because usually you get someone from an overseas location that is soo scripted they are too busy reading their script to listen to your concern.

So, after completing my Live Chat with Erick, I browsed the company site some more and decided I would initiate another Live Chat. hahaha Sure did. Got Kasey this time. So, I didn't get into as much detail with Kasey as I did with Erick because I really didn't want to repeat myself. I don't care how fast I might type. lol But, I cut to the chase and told Kasey exactly what I wanted. What Erick was indicating that I couldn't have unless I changed my service. I just wasn't telling Kasey I was told that. I wanted Unlimited Usage without having to change my current service in any way. After all, according to the website, Unlimited Usage was just an extra monthly charge on top of what you have already. Low and behold....Kasey confirmed exactly what I figured to be correct in the first place. Erick was wrong and I was right!! (Not that I have to be right all the time! lol)
Then again, maybe Kasey was wrong and Erick was right?  lol At this point, I didn't even care....I was getting exactly what I wanted. Kasey was able to help me and wasn't trying to sell me anything more. So, Kasey did an order to make the change. I should have what I wanted and need in about 24 hours, assuming she was right that is! Hey..she even told me how to get a transcript of our conversation for safe keeping. Well how smart is that? Didn't matter if she was making an error because I had it all in writing now! Erick didn't offer that little tidbit about the transcript! I wonder why? lol Way to go Kasey! Excellent customer service in my opinion.

Moral of the Story - When dealing with Customer Service - sometimes you just have to hang up and try again. lol This obviously applies to Live Chat Service too!  hahaha If at first you don't succeed, try and try again. Maybe you'll find your Kasey.

Trust me though, I know for a fact that tons of people already know this based on my experience with working in Customer Service myself. I've had plenty of customers trying to get something out of me that they couldn't get from someone else. lol Can't say I blame them. Not all customer service reps have the same expertise. And, when you throw the sales component in.....customer service really gets lost because all that representative wants is to make the damn sale. Shame on you Erick!!

He'd Do It Again

Nope...wasn't on the bus!

My son called me from Quebec City the other day. You know, to check in and let me know that he's doing alright. That the Teens Gone Wild are driving him crazy but he's getting through it. It was nice to hear from him. He had said that the first couple of days were rough because it was growing pains. Getting into the job, Destination Staff, and what he needed to do on his first trip. He was losing a lot of sleep because he had to be up patrolling the hallways and stuff, making sure the teenagers weren't being disruptive with late night parties, room hopping, etc. Said he wasn't able to get to bed till about 4:30am and had to be up a few hours later to start the day again. lol I know my son loves his sleep. All I can do is laugh. I mean it wasn't like it was that long ago that he was a teenager himself. lol While I spoke to him for a few minutes, he was still on the job. It was impressive to hear him interrupt our phonecall to address a teenager that must have been walking by with a cup in hand. "There's not beer in that cup right?" hahaha The way my son said it had me smiling. That's my boy!!! I listened. Sounded like he had everything under control. After only two days he had stories to share. Not even surprised. After all, he's dealing with a large number of teenagers. He had 53 of them on his bus alone. In fact, the trip had about 1100 teenagers from all kinds of cities spread over 3 hotels. Oh man! He was telling me about how three girls from Nova Scotia already got caught smoking marijuana in their hotel room. Three girls!! Smh. Yup, parents had to be contacted and the girls had to fork over $200 in fines. (not sure if that's each..lol) Well....he had a few more days to go at that point. Hang in there buddy!

My son just got back from chaperoning his trip to Quebec. He lived through it. lol As expected, he had more stories. I can't even remember them all. But, he did say that once he got into the groove of things....everything was copacetic. It was quite funny to hear him praise himself and the job he did. lol I thought I was supposed to do that? haha I did of course, but it seemed like he certainly didn't need my praise. I'm just so proud of him and happy that he is also proud of himself. As we drove back home through terrible snow conditions, my son shared some more of his stories.

Why? Why? Why?

While I may not have been shocked to hear of kids caught drinking and smoking, I was shocked to hear that a teenager was stupid enough to get caught shoplifting. Yup! Another girl! What on earth is wrong with girls these days? I swear, they are often worse than the boys. Thing to is, that she was apparently making a purchase and while purchasing decided to steal something else. WTH? Stupid! I'm sure the parents must have loved getting that call. As far as he knew, they did their best to help resolve the situation as best they could so the girl probably got off with a fine. If she did, she's lucky. It's bad enough when you break the law at home. But, to travel somewhere and break the law there? Smh.

If only parents knew how their teenagers really are when away from home! lol We really need to take off the rose colored glasses and stop saying Not My Baby! lmao Raise them as best we can to be great people, at home as well as away from home. That's all we can do.  And PRAY!

After all is said and done, my son answered the main question I had for him, "Would you do it again?" His answer: "Yup!" He'd do it again!

Because I love music this song came to mind...Love this Classic.

Actually, he is looking forward to another trip and is confident he will be asked to chaperone again. I'm sure he will, I have no doubt.
Oh....and it appears that all the years my son spent in French Immersion came in handy. He was the only staff that was able to speak French, and fluently. lol Oh, I would have loved to hear that. That certainly came in handy in Quebec City. My son was more than happy to use his French at every opportunity. He sounded quite grown when he was telling me how he communicated in French with the bus driver to make him feel comfortable. Oh yes....I am a proud mom. My baby has grown up! That's my boy!!

I must say....God has certainly blessed me with two awesome children. A son, and a daughter!
Now I'm gonna take a page out of my son's book and praise myself....I've done a good job!

Teens Gone Wild

That's where it seems a lot of teenagers are hanging out this week during March Break. Skiing.
Lucky for my son, he gets to join them too....as a chaperone. Lmao
Yup....time for him to put on his Adult Hat and supervise well mannered as well as the out of control teens.
I feel for him! But, also think it will be a great learning experience.
If only I could be a fly on the wall.
Both Furman and I are looking forward to the stories when he returns. hahaha

So, we headed to Orillia on Saturday morning to assist my son with meeting his bus and starting his job. Collecting teenagers to travel to Quebec.
First stop...and from the little we witnessed....he was going to have his hands full. Oh boy! He chaperoned one bus and there was another girl two years "younger" (21) than my son that was chaperoning the other. Instantly we knew that my son and this other girl were going to be tested. My son is a big guy so he might not have as much trouble. The other girl, well she actually looked like one of the teenagers travelling so I knew she was going to be tested. That was clearly evident when we watched her trying to do spot checks on their carry on bags. You know, to confiscate stuff like drugs, alcohol or weapons. Without hesitation she got attitude from a few. "We weren't told our bags were going to be checked". Yup....someone actually said something like that to her. lol What did they expect? I mean really! She told me this after busting a teenager that actually had the nerve to try and smuggle alcohol on the bus. OMG! Can I say that I am surprised? Nope! What I am surprised about was that it was a girl!! Sure was.

As Furman and I sat in the car to watch the buses getting loaded (and be there in case my son needed anything), we saw a small group of teens huddle in the parking lot. It was only after we heard about them getting "busted", and later saw the broken beer bottle on the concrete, that we realized what they were doing. I had already been shaking my head at the group of girls because one of them was wearing her little sisters skirt. hahaha Not even funny! Now you know that I don't really know if it was her little sisters...but you know what I am saying. The skirt was wayyyyy too short for her. (Like in this photo to the left) I started shaking my head when I saw the girl get out of a car wearing the skirt. "Umm...like where does this chick think she is going?" I'm thinking....and then almost passed out when the girl was bending over in the huddle clearly full out flashing us sitting in the car. If only she knew, although she may not have cared. We saw wayyyy too much. I swear I wanted to jump out of the car and pull her skirt down. But I know that wouldn't have helped because there really wasn't anything of the skirt to pull down. Not sure how it could even be called a skirt. lol I remember my days of wearing short skirts. Oh yes I do...they aren't the most comfortable ya know! Always trying to pull them down to make sure nothing is showing. Yeah, like I said, she probably didn't care.

After all was said and done, attendance was taken, bags were checked and everybody boarded the buses to head to their next stop to pick up MORE TEENAGERS! Lord help them! lol I gave my son the quick version of the parent speech...lol And even gave the other girl an even quicker version. haha Hey...she wasn't MY kid...but felt I needed to give her a reminder of what her parents may have already told her. All about being responsible and covering their asses. Any difficulties they have with anything or anyone need to be reported to their supervisors asap.....and, to have fun. It will certainly be an experience.


Just makes me think of all the stuff I missed out on as a teenager. I was pretty shy and withdrawn until my early twenties. I also was a victim of bullying so remained very fearful of people until I finished school. My issues....my skin was too light, or I was too pretty. Go figure! In my younger years, I grew up in an area that was very populated by Portuguese. Never had no problems that I remember. But, when I moved to an area where you'd think I'd fit in for my teenage years. An area very populated by black people...that's where my problems began. Like I said, I was too light! But, I did a 180 and started to find myself in my early twenties. I became the life of the party. hahaha In a matter of speaking. The point I was trying to make was that I am sure that there were many opportunities I missed out on because I was more reserved and not outgoing in the least. Things that in i'd jump at the chance if I was a teenager now. But...I'm clearly not!! hahaha So, I always try to encourage my kids to take advantage of stuff that I wish I could of. Be more outgoing. Travel as much as possible and get educated! On and on and on.... since all these experiences are what help build our character. Yup! They sure do.

So, I've wished my son an awesome trip. He called me to let me know that he made it safe and sound, and that his first night was absolutely crazy. hahaha Picture it, a hotel full of teenagers! 1100 spread amongst 3 hotels. Yup...not much sleep for the adults (or those trying to be adult) trying to keep order. Welcome to parenting! Because we know, who our teenager is at home is not always who they are when they are out with their friends....oh noooooo. lol

Prayers out for all the people that are travelling this March Break. That they have travelling mercies, stay safe and create awesome memories.

Good News - The Ship! The Ship!

Today has been quite an exciting day!!
All morning I was pulling my hair out! Although not literally of course. Waiting for word of something Furman and I have been hoping for.

You know, to find out if that Ship in the Harbor is actually ours. lol All dressed up and waiting to celebrate! Well guess what...IT IS! Hallelujah! Let me tell you. Whew! While this is good news, we have one little issue to sort out....there is no room at the port for our ship to dock. Nope! But, because of my husbands Good Moral Character, the powers that be were willing to make room at the port for his ship. Then, he'll be able to get on and enjoy the ride. In the meantime, the ship is set adrift and waiting. When he is able to dock, he'll be informed. He'll board with cupcakes in hand. Am I making any sense? haha
One day I will. You'll get it. Keep following.

Now why do I have this song on my mind? lol Really has nothing to do with what i'm talking about.

So, as I was saying,....after having identified that this ship was the one we've been waiting for, my husband came and took me to lunch. Mmmmm. Mongolian Grill.

What a wonderful day!


It certainly was!
God is good! And...He answers prayers. He certainly does. But...I already knew that...that's why I am married to Furman.
                                         

Beautiful song....and soo true.  Have Faith!!

Anyways.....I'll keep this short....after all, it's the beginning of MARCH BREAK! (Spring Break) Don't have any plans....my kids are grown. lol But, my son will be travelling to Quebec with his job which should be an experience. So happy for him. Seems like there are a lot of students headed to Quebec this break. Skiing?

Oh, and i've stopped fighting for Easter Monday off work. lol Was like beating a dead horse. So, i'll be looking to have a few special days with my husband while waiting for the ship to port, which I expect will be soon. lol I'll need those days too, because i've been so stressed at work lately. Workload has been a bit heavy. Happy to have a job though, so I won't complain. haha

Well....have an awesome weekend everyone.
Thank you to those that have been praying for us.
We are blessed to have you in our corner.

Oh....and thank you to my readers once again....for always coming back to see what's going on in our world.

Ship in the Harbor

You ever get so excited about some news that you feel like you just gotta tell someone? lol
That is how I'm feeling about now.
A bit excited that I feel like i'm gonna burst!
Actually, keeping it real,....looking at the excitement meter to the left...i'd say i'm more around the CHARGED UP level.
But, excited nonetheless.
Now, I have to apologize to you because I can't tell you exactly what I am excited about just yet. lol Oh nooo.... because with that excitement comes the feeling that if I put it out there it could be bad luck. hahaha
Silly, I know.
But true.
Like waiting for your ship to come in and you all of a sudden can see it in the harbor. Almost here!
Hope it's our ship.
When it gets here we can get on. lol
But....until you can get on....you gotta wait for the ship to pull in. Yup. that's what I'm talking about.
Thankful to the people that helped take us to the pier. Lol

Keeping Hope Alive! 

So yeah...it's been a good day. Keeping fingers and toes crossed that this is our ship coming in. lol

Will let you know when we can get on....and what on earth I am actually talking about. hahahahahaha

In the meantime, I'm waging a war at work over Easter Monday. lmao  We usually don't have to work this holiday, but this year...looks like the lowest seniority people gotta take one for the team. Yup...with 15 yrs under my belt, that would mean me! haha Go figure! We'll see what happens. Not that I have concrete Easter Plans. But, I have ideas...and, I made allowances in my schedule so that I could execute some of my ideas. After all is said and done, my fight may be for nothing anyways. Makes me laugh a bit...but I gotta fight the good fight anyways. Throw in the towel after my victory, or my loss. lol. 

Wait a minute...let me use another ship analogy. lmao

So i'm already on a ship that's sailing...and the captain makes a plan to pull into a port that is not on the itinerary. Well, I have other plans. I'm not trying to stop at that port. My ideas...remember? lol So, my option is to lower the lifeboat and set adrift until the ship leaves that port and picks me back up. Problem is, there might be a problem with the lifeboat that kills that plan and keeps me on board for port. haha  Ok Ok..pretty lame analogy but I tried. 

Bottom line, I'm gonna sit back and see how it all plays out in the next few weeks...and you know what...  

I won't complain!  hahaha   

This is funny...and kinda true so thought i'd share.

                                       

                                                                        SpokenReasons

Anyways....gotta go enjoy a nice dinner with Furman and my daughter. I must say, he's become quite good at putting his meals together. I'll miss him cooking when he starts working. lol But that's ok..I don't mind putting my skills back to work. 

To Live, Or Not To Live

Yup....that is the question!!

I've been busting my tail today with work so I thought i'd finish my day by blogging.
It was an uneventful weekend so I thought i'd blog about something that really had me saying "WTH?"

My hubby and I were discussing something on the news that just blew us away last evening. Check it out!

Nurse Refuses 911 Dispatcher Begging Her To Perform CPR

Yes....you read right!
The answer in this case - Not To Live!!  They let this lady die.
I couldn't believe it. Did you hear the 911 call? It literally broke my heart. That is someone's parent!
What is wrong with people?

"The facility she works at has a policy in place that forbids employees from performing CPR?"
You have got to be kidding me! But this is serious. So..she did her job. I guess she took her job seriously alright. Too seriously in my opinion. She refused to perform CPR. She refused to allow anyone else around her to perform CPR and subsequently, the lady died. It doesn't matter that this lady already lived 87 years. It just doesn't matter! This is wrong by all accounts! Gheez....i'm getting hyped up just typing about it. What happened to the HUMAN in people?
Can we say God forgive them for they know not what they do? Hell no...she knew what she was doing. She was saving her job. That, was more important than a life. Go figure.

Me...I'm sorry...I can always look for another job..I would NEVER allow somebody to die. I can't have that on my conscience. I would at least have to try and save them irregardless of any stupid policies in place at my job. California FAIL. Reminds me of the lifeguard in Florida that got fired last year for saving a life. Lifeguard Fired for Saving Drowning Man. Kudos to this guy for being a human!

Now, it's true....Americans in general just love to sue. A known fact. That's why there are so many court shows on television. ie. Judge Judy, Judge Joe Brown, Judge Mathis, Judge Alex, People's Court....the list goes on. So, as Furman was saying, this is part of the reason why company's create these stupid policies to begin with.... to avoid possible litigation. Why? Because people who have their lives saved have taken the person who saved them to court...for hurting them in the process. Yup..it's true. Ok...so you can possibly crack a rib or something...but you'd be alive!! That's why many places have adopted Good Samaritan Laws. Oh, but check this article out...it helps understand why people have issues getting involved by giving example. The Perils of Being a Good Samaritan in California.

Here, I guess nobody should be complaining because the family isn't, right? The family has indicated that they are satisfied with the care that this place provided to their relative. I kid you not! I guess since the residents supposedly knew of this policy when they moved in, What else could this family say. I'm astonished. I really am. Why would you allow your relative to live in a place with such a policy? I'm just curious. Was it cheaper than other locations?

Moral of the story....if you have any relatives in any places similar to this...make sure they don't have any of these stupid policies that will allow your loved one to perish. That is, assuming you want every effort given to save your relative. I know we are not supposed to judge others....but man oh man...sometimes it's hard. All we can do is shake our heads - at things, at people, at life.





Prayers out to the family and friends of this lady.
May she rest in peace.
You know what too though....prayers out to this nurse who refused to help.
After all, she will have to live with her decision.