Dearly Departed

We had to bury my Grandfather today. As I sat there at the funeral I felt an extremely mixed bag of emotions. I thought that I had cried all of the tears that I would ever cry for this person 10 years ago. But I listened to the pastor, who had known my Grandfather for years, say "Remember the good times, not the bad"....sounds cliche right?....But then I started to actually remember the good times. I had spent the last 10 years focusing on the bad and not the good. I don't think that anyone in our family realized how much they needed this time to grieve and reflect, I know that I didn't.

Then I saw my Dad cry. This is the second time that I've ever seen that happen. This time seemed worse, and it hit me hard. I couldn't even breathe it hit me so hard.

At one point during the service the pastor asked us to tell a story or say something. I couldn't speak if I had wanted to. But I wish that I would've said this:
The last time that I ever saw my Grandfather he asked me if I needed anything. And I said no, by default. But then I mentioned that I needed a specific tool for something that I was working on. Normally he would've went out to his tool shed and brought back whatever I needed for me to use. But this time he said that he wanted me to go to the store with him. He drove me there and we picked out the things that I needed and he bought them for me. This was a simple gesture but it stuck with me all of these years. That was the kind of person that he was, he would give you the shirt off of his back if you needed it. Today I realized that the lessons learned from his example have subliminally shaped me into the person that I am today. At 33 years old, he's still teaching me long after I had given up on him.

I just wanted to put this in writing just so it's out in the open and off of my chest.

Grandpa, I forgive you......I'll miss you.... I'll see you soon.

Love,
Tommy

Do You Miss Me?

Wow, it's been a really, really long time since I've posted a blog. I've been kind of busy. Let's recap:
The last time I posted a blog my kids were 3 months old... now they're 4.

The last time I posted a blog I was a help desk analyst...I've since moved to a new position in a new department and I've been promoted to a supervisor.

The last time I posted a blog I was about 40-50 pounds heavier.

So, I decided to look at this blog today because I've been thinking about the past. This morning everything has reminded me about the past. Specifically my time with some friends who I don't spend time with anymore. Some because life just happens and we can no longer get together on Saturdays and play video games until one our Mom's make dinner. Some because they are not with us anymore. This one is especially hard for me to deal with, some may say that this is not healthy...whatever. ....it's not natural to lose friends and family as early on as I did. (This isn't a pity party, I know that others have gone through way more difficult situations than I have.)

When one of my friends was really sick, he told me that his biggest fear was being forgotten after he passes. I wish that he knew how much of an impact that statement had on me. I will be able to tell him someday. I'll also be able to tell him that his friendship meant so much to me and that I think about him everyday.

So, I ask you: How will you be remembered? It's something to ponder. If you bit the dust today. How will you be remembered? It's a scary question and it has been haunting me ever since that day. I would like to say that it has reshaped my life, but that would be an understatement. I could do more good. I could do more helping. I could do more giving. I could do more teaching. But I hope I hope that I'm not only known for what I did but for who I was.

Dear Customer (2)........

Subject: RE: Amazon.com Store Card Other Inquiries
Sent: July 06, 2012 08:21 AM EDT

Customer Service Wrote: 


___________________________________ 




I'm not kidding - this is the second response that I got........I couldn't make this stuff up

Glory

This song came out exactly 2 years ago today and still is one of my favorites, never got old at all. That's when you know that you've written a amazing song - take a look at the lyrics:


Glory by Joe Purdy

Leavin’ from the water ain’t never easy
Takin’ to the city is harder still
Don’t forget your brothers
And don’t forsake your sisters
Because they will take you back when nobody will.

You can have my money
And you can take my guitar
Just make sure you that use them and you use them well

Ain’t nothin’ wrong with ramblin’
Aint nothin’ wrong with dyin’
Just make sure when you’re finished you got a story to tell

Take your painted pony and ride up on the hillside
And tell all of my loved ones that I’m glory bound.
Take 16 pretty maidens with 16 pretty roses
Singing pretty to my darling as they lay me down.


You can listen to this song and the rest of the album here: http://joepurdy.com/fourthofjuly.php 

Re: Dear Bank.......

My response to their response:




Subject: RE: Amazon.com Store Card Other Inquiries
Sent: July 02, 2012 07:54 PM EDT

You Wrote:

Thank you for your copy and pasted message back - but, if you would actually listen I think maybe we could figure something out here. I started researching the phone number that called and I think that it's a scam. I believe that it's an organization that has your customers info and is calling us to try to rip us off. They are calling around 10-15 times a day and they are calling at all hours. If this isn't your company you need to take legal action and find out where your info leak is- if it is your company, you are about to be hit with a lawsuit for badgering your customers. Don't ignore this message.

Dear Customer.......

Here's my response that I got from my previous post:




Subject:RE: Amazon.com Store Card Other Inquiries
Sent:July 01, 2012 01:50 AM EDT

Customer Service Wrote:

Thank you for your recent inquiry regarding your amazon.com account, and the opportunity to be of service to you.
We appreciate the time you took to provide your input. We strive to learn from our past experiences and your feedback is very important to us.

Great customer service and satisfaction are an integral part of our business. We understand your disappointment and would like to keep you as a valued customer.

Please accept our sincerest apology and allow us the opportunity to provide you the highest level of customer service in the future.

We appreciate you as a valued amazon.com customer and hope you will continue to shop with us. If you have any questions or if we may be of further assistance, please contact us via the Online Message Center.

Sincerely,

C Changalpet.
Customer Service

Account is owned by GE Capital Retail Bank - Member FDIC

Dear Bank.....

Your customer service reps are the rudest I've ever encountered. This is a new account that I setup and I missed the first payment, I realize that it was my fault and I ensured the rep that I would pay my payment online and pay the late fee. He proceeded to tell me that I could pay it with him right now over the phone and would not take no for an answer. He explained that he could waive the late fee. I explained to him that I was holding a crying baby and did not have time to pay it and that I had to go. But he was relentless and I told him he was rude and I eventually hung up. I don't want to talk to a rep that treats me like I've done something terribly wrong by accidentally missing one payment that I offered to pay within the next 24 hours while giving in to paying an extravagant late fee.
Also, hire some Americans to do this job - I know that I was talking to someone in India. But who am I kidding, you guys are a bank and you don't care about the American economy, just your own wallet.

I sent this to Citi Bank - who is financing an item that I purchased for my wife. (I know that I said that I would never get a credit card again - but this was a one time thing and they gave me $50 off for financing it and 0% interest, I'm paying it off and not touching it again.) They have been calling me very 30 min for the last two days because I accidentally didn't make the first payment on time.
Well that's about it, I hope some big shot sees this, but he probably won't. And if he did he probably wouldn't care as he read it on his iPhone on the 6th hole of some prestigious golf course.