DIS Dads DDC XVIII - Spring Fever!

[theduck619]

Thanks guys... Maui countdown is at 32 hours.

Sounds like fun. Have a safe trip Brian

 

[Emma's Dad]

Thanks guys... Maui countdown is at 32 hours.

Almost there!

 

[DisDadDoc]

Back / Neck update.

So it's good news and bad news.

Good News: It's not what I thought. I had a thyroid problem a few years back, and one of the symptoms is back and neck pain. I thought maybe it came back. Dr. doesn't feel that's it.

Bad News: It still hurts. He says it's likely muscle pain and joint pain. Should go away soon. Recommends hot showers and possible massage therapy.

I will give it a few more days, and see how it goes.

That's a very unsatisfying answer but I understand that he needs to assume it is that first. If it is not better soon, go back and see if they can investigate it more!

Thanks guys... Maui countdown is at 32 hours.

Hooray! Lots of pics, right?

Some flights do the "Half Way to Hawaii Challenge" where you have to "guess" the time that the plane was half-way to Hawaii (but using math!). Remember to factor in the head wind and that knots per hour is 6000 feet/hour (a bit faster than a mile per hour!) and you may need to convert!

 

[scott2997]

Thanks guys... Maui countdown is at 32 hours.

I want to make a comment about a lei - but I don't think it's appropriate for these family boards.

Have a great time Brian!

 

[baseballmickey]

Isn't it nice to be able to catch up and not have your posts interrupted by others? Or, when it's busy, trying to keep up with the new posts? An advantage of being overseas and on a different schedule from most people (the latter, in your case).

I suppose that is one way to look at it, although I feel like I am chiming in on conversations that are long over!!

I just changed my title to baaaa baaaaa! if i am going be treated like the black sheep I am just going to embrace my persona!

wear it proudly!!

Morning Men!!

Its finally Friday, and Im listening to the Soarin, the full audio. Queue music, Boarding, the Ride and the Exit spiel. Got to love it!

Matt

Good Morning and Happy Friday Guys!

Happy Friday!!

Morning Dads...

I've had this sharp pain in my neck for alomst 2 weeks now.

I thought it was just muscle pain, maybe slept wrong...

Haven't done anything about it, just waiting for it to go away.

It hasn't.

So I made a Dr. appt. today at 10:45 am.

I haven't made it to an update on this if you posted one, so for now I hope it goes well at the doc!

This is the only reason we have gardens in our yard (of the low-maintenance variety). Less mowing surface area.

gardens require less water than grass too! I am now thinking maybe I should expand the "landscaped" area of our front yard to include more plants.

 

[Cinderella's Fella]

Thanks guys... Maui countdown is at 32 hours.

Brian, I check the vacation post on page one and you're not there and you have no ticker. What day are you leaving?

 

[Cinderella's Fella]

Brian, I check the vacation post on page one and you're not there and you have no ticker. What day are you leaving?

And Mark wants to know where the spare key to your house is.

 

[Emma's Dad]

Hey guys... there's been a question posed to the dads for advice on an anniversary present:

1 yr of dating- need some manly opinions

 

[middlepat]

Sounds like fun. Have a safe trip Brian

Almost there!

Thanks guys! (oh and this is a thumb in case you were concerned)

Hooray! Lots of pics, right?

Some flights do the "Half Way to Hawaii Challenge" where you have to "guess" the time that the plane was half-way to Hawaii (but using math!). Remember to factor in the head wind and that knots per hour is 6000 feet/hour (a bit faster than a mile per hour!) and you may need to convert!

I recall the last time we went I think I was off by about 2.5 minutes and I think it was related to the knots / miles conversion.

I want to make a comment about a lei - but I don't think it's appropriate for these family boards.

Have a great time Brian!

Thanks Scott, an seeing as we are staying with my parents, thanks for not making the lei comment.

Brian, I check the vacation post on page one and you're not there and you have no ticker. What day are you leaving?

Leaving tomorrow (Mar 24) returning April 9.

And Mark wants to know where the spare key to your house is.

Oh, I think I left that in my other pants.

 

[baseballmickey]

Cut the weeds in what is supposed to be yard. It is my way of protesting against DW for living in subdivision. I never weed and feed the yard and it is full of dandelions. When she asks why I don't treat it, I remind her that it was her choice to live there so she gets to take care of it.

hmm... I'll have to find a reason to protest and make her do it. That reminds me that while I was raking she was sitting and watching, and then she says to me, "are we going to take better care of the pool this year?" (it was green more often than not last year) My response was, "who is this 'WE' you are talking about?" Her involvement in the yard is limited to the vegetable and flower gardens. Everything else falls on me.

A friend of my went camping/canoeing in the boundary waters a few years ago. He showed me the can of bear repellent (Basically mace/pepper spray for bears) the can was as big as a 2 liter bottle of soda!.

I think people use those for Black Friday shopping too!

Nah - not doing the full package - just the hair and nails. Mostly because she already has ALL of the darn dresses anyway!

May do the full package in a year or two when my youngest is old enough to get it done.

We had all the dresses too, but why would that be a consideration? They have a photographer in BBB (Photopass) and you can take pics as well.

We just debated it as well when DW saw a dress on sale from the disney store. We bought the dress online to save a few bucks and are going with the hair/nail package. We'll still get photos, just not the "Photo Shoot". We'll be posing for pics the rest of the day anyway, so I think it won't be missed.

:whisper: 8 Days! :whisper:

I have the same thing. DW spends money like its the Mayan end of the world. I had my hidden savings money, but once she heard we could buy DVC contract, she was ready to spend. At least we have money direct into 401K that she can't spend.

DW saves her paychecks and spends mine!

Our first soccer game is scheduled for 9:30 tomorrow morning. Only thing is... forecast is calling for rain/thunderstorms. Even a little rain tonight will likely cause the club to cancel games as the ground is saturated from recent rain. DD is really looking forward to playing... as are all the girls on the team.

oh no! Rain Rain go away, come again some other day!

 

[Emma's Dad]

And Mark wants to know where the spare key to your house is.

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

gardens require less water than grass too! I am now thinking maybe I should expand the "landscaped" area of our front yard to include more plants.

I'm too cheap to water my grass anyway. If it turns brown, it turns brown. It usually comes back. Otherwise, there's always Astro-Turf.

And Mark wants to know where the spare key to your house is.

Oh, I think I left that in my other pants.

The one place you knew I'd never dare to look!

 

[scott2997]

Thanks Scott, an seeing as we are staying with my parents, thanks for not making the lei comment.

Enjoy yourself!

 

[baseballmickey]

I learned some great lessons from my grandpa.

1.) Don't stand in the bed of the old pickup behind the driver's side since grandpa "chawed tabakker".

2.) Don't sit on the silver tube. Grandpa once loaded that silver tube with about 8 D-cell batteries. One little touch of that silver tube to a cantankerous old sow's butt and she complained loudly ... but she went where grandpa wanted her to go!

3.) When grandpa wants to "blast a stump" it's best to stand a long way away!

4.) There's something special about stopping by an old country store for an RC Cola and a moon pie!

not a farm boy, but I can give a big to #4!!!

And it continues to roll right along.



Hello all. Hope you're doing well.

Just stopped by checking on a couple of other threads and thought I'd say hi.
Haven't been on the boards much the past week or so.

hey stopher!!

 

[middlepat]

The one place you knew I'd never dare to look!

Should I be worried that this implies you would check my current pants?

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Should I be worried that this implies you would check my current pants?

No, I figured that entire category was off-limits.

 

[theduck619]

I'm too cheap to water my grass anyway. If it turns brown, it turns brown. It usually comes back. Otherwise, there's always Astro-Turf.!

Which will make Scotty an Dave appear faster for the pro scouts!!

 

[Captain_Oblivious]

Which will make Scotty an Dave appear faster for the pro scouts!!

That's all part of my retirement plan..

 

[baseballmickey]

Part of my trip to DC earlier this month was spent talking to our congressman about it. He's a rural guy and he is on our side on the issue, but a lot of people are just out of touch.

If you're working on a family farm it is your own kid that is doing the work. Are you seriously going to put your child into a dangerous situation that they haven't been adequately trained for??? Of course not!

I've been working in the fields driving tractors by myself since I was in fourth grade... and to this day, I've never thought of it as work. I looked forward to getting out of school to go drive a tractor at the end of the day. I look forward to leaving my "real job" at the end of the day now to go work in the fields. It isn't like farmers are forcing children to labor in sweat shop conditions.

A family farm is called that for a reason. It builds a sense of purpose for the children. Too many people in this country feel entitled. I don't see a problem with having a few chores on the farm to build a work ethic and teach you that money doesn't just grow on trees (and that it isn't made of plastic). I loved driving tractors, but I wasn't such a big fan of feeding cattle everyday after school. That was my job everyday until I graduated high school. Ironically enough though, by the time I moved out to go to college, there were no cattle left on the farm.

The new regulations they're trying to implement would keep a kid from even being able to do something like that. All I had to do was go out to the barn for 15 min a day and shovel some feed, and I gained an understanding of responsibilty by doing it.

I really wish our government would stop trying to micro manage.

next thing you know they'll be making it illegal for kids to be "forced" to clean their rooms.

We're hanging in there - what with the new business, a 16 yr old learning to drive, lots of Scouting stuff going on (it's that season once again... Summer Camp prep is in full swing!), I've been working on a book about the domestic Disney resorts, and and, and. Things are coming along with the business, though $ is getting a little tighter right now. The severance package $ is gone as of this month, as we move into living off of savings while the business continues to pick up. Our first cruise clients departed this month which is a good thing because that's when the $ comes in, well, it comes in after they get home, but the departure actually triggers the commission payment. I sold that cruise in December, and have numerous other things booked for the rest of the year - into 2013 actually, but yes, no money flows until after departure. We knew going into this that it would take 12-18 months to really be a viable entity. If everything continues the way it has been going, it's looking like the 12 mos vs. the 18... but we'll see. I have several clients now who will be going to various destinations around the globe. The website traffic has been increasing steadily, and the FB fan count continues to grow. I'm trying to use social media as much as I can to continue to build an audience and potential client pool. The best thing is I've been busy providing quotes - but of course quotes aren't actual business... the more important thing is the conversion to a booking rate, which also continues to increase. I was averaging 1 a week before, I'm now up to 2.4 per week, which ideally I want to see at 5 or 6 per week (it really depends on the type of booking. Disney remains my biggest seller, but Disney parks pay just about the lowest commissions vs. DCL, but other cruise lines beat out DCL too). The referrals are coming in now too, even from those who are yet to travel. And it's quite fun to see how much you really don't need a brick & mortar existence in my business these days, as I have customers in 9 different states in addition to my own state.

I'm one of 4 sponsors of a local fashion show this weekend, and everyone involved is excited to see what kind of interest it might generate. It's an annual show in it's 15th year this year, and the last 2 years they had, apparently, some 500 women there. I'll be happy if 10-15 show an interest (more would be better of course) but we'll see. More and more people in my neck of the woods are talking about going on vacations again - something many haven't done in 2-3 years. I'm having fun. A lot of fun. Plus I get to learn a lot about the world we live in, and can't wait to experience many of these destinations for myself in the years to come. History and geography were always favorites of mine in school, but as a youth my family never really traveled much beyond the western US, Hawaii, Mexico or western Canada (we were very much "go to the same cabin every year" kind of people). As an adult my DW and I have traveled all over the US, and of course I've done even more solo through job responsibilities. There are some really cool places that I have added to my bucket list that I never really considered before. I never really would have thought about cruising down the Danube before... or visiting St. Petersburg... or Peru... or Cambodia... or the Yangtze River. But I definitely want to now!

But with all of the fun, I do have one really big frustration - but one that is such a commonality for others who are in business for themselves - and that is the apparent lack of common courtesy that so many people display these days. It's sad really. What is it you ask? The basic concept of saying "thanks, but no thanks" or "we just can't afford that now" after providing someone with a quote that they just don't like for one reason or another. I don't mind the no, I can take it, I can understand it especially if it's a budgetary concern - it happens in ANY business. It's the blatant disregard for the time invested in getting them that quote in the first place. I've now had 5 different people come to me asking for a personalized quote either responding to one of my featured offers on Facebook - or just because they were asking about a destination. Then after I've provided them with a detailed quote, they just just kind of disappeared, ignoring my follow-up phone calls or emails to see if they had any questions or concerns. Not having ever specifically been in sales before (sure my old job impacted sales for the company, but I wasn't an actual "salesman"), I'm still trying to monitor and gauge how often to follow-up without being overly pushy... (I certainly don't want to be classified like the stereotypical used car sales person or something similar) but my mother definitely taught me that whenever I didn't like an offer presented to me, to politely refuse and say why not. Oh well, rant over, I just have to recognize that it comes with the territory and move on, but it is very frustrating.

Things are picking up. I hope you are all doing well. I'm looking forward to being in Florida, and hitting the World in a few weeks!

It's been a little bit since I've been in here. Not much DIS time in the past couple of weeks. Belated birthday greetings, glad to hear about new jobs, and for whatever I've missed - prayers for those who need it, congrats to those who deserve it, and a great big I hope you're doing well to all!

hope things continue to go well for you! Sorry about the lack of courtesy. Some people are just too lazy. Others probably feel you'll try and convince them otherwise if you say no.

Back / Neck update.

So it's good news and bad news.

Good News: It's not what I thought. I had a thyroid problem a few years back, and one of the symptoms is back and neck pain. I thought maybe it came back. Dr. doesn't feel that's it.

Bad News: It still hurts. He says it's likely muscle pain and joint pain. Should go away soon. Recommends hot showers and possible massage therapy.

I will give it a few more days, and see how it goes.

Hope you feel better.

 

[afwdwfan]

Wait... how many acres do you have? And your garden is too small?

Yeah, I know... I think my Garden is maybe 20' x 40' I could unfold the disk and park it in the garden, but I wouldn't have room to pull forward with it and that forward movement is what it needs to work.

I'm too cheap to water my grass anyway. If it turns brown, it turns brown. It usually comes back. Otherwise, there's always Astro-Turf.

Astro turf is expensive. Just spray paint the dirt green.