Frozen Mashed Potatoes

There are different types of snow that I have witnessed... Idaho snow, and Pennsylvania snow. Idaho snow is more like frozen crystals, like someone was pouring an unflavored snow cone from the sky.

Pennsylvania snow is a lot like partially frozen mashed potatoes with a melted sugary glaze. No, its not because I have tasted it. But, it is the wierdest snow I have ever seen.

Take today for example. This morning, I walked outside to go to work. It had snowed all night, then it turned to a partially frozen rainy-sleety drizzle about 2 hours before I got up. So, all the snow had been compacted a little bit from the slushy water, and then frozen on the top layer. When I stepped into it, I sunk into the icy/snowy/slushy mess a little bit before I broke though the top layer, but the underlying snow was just as I described-- partially frozen mashed potatoes.

The truck was covered in a layer of ice... maybe a quarter inch or so. It was impossible to chip off-- and, it wasnt completely frozen, either. So I had to find an edge and use it to "peel" the ice off. It is the only peel-able ice I have ever seen. It kinda reminded me of peeling skin after a sunburn. The sheet of ice would actually bend and flop.

The drive to work was interesting, too. Cars and trucks had obviously had the same problem I did, but the wind from the drive was being used to peel up the icy snow coverings. Here and there, huge sheets of the stuff would peel up and fly into the air. My truck did it, too.

Maybe its a good thing. Kinda like a face mask for my truck. Perhaps it took off the layers of salt that have collected on it, making my truck look years younger. I'll have to check tomorrow.

My Third Grade Teacher Was A Genius

What is going on in the world today? Do we really have to be so nice to each other?

Let me explain. For several years now, I have been attending "training" sessions at work. No matter where I have worked, the trainings have basically all been the same.

Take today for example. I had to attend "Facilitator" training. This is a 9 hour class on how to make your meetings more effective... ironically, one of those ways is to have meetings in as little time as possible.

The entire class brought images of my 3rd grade year to mind. My teacher at the time was Mrs. Blanch. She was the meanest, ugliest person on the face of the earth. I believe she is dead now, but I'm certain her physical appearance hasn't changed one bit. To top this, she had a white stripe down the middle of her black hair.

Why did this class remind me of her? Well, this training class had a list of "do" and "don't" tips on how to have effective meetings. Mrs. Blanch had a list of "do" and "don't" things in her class on how to be a student/slave in her room. At the time, I thought Mrs. Blanch was just doing it because she wanted to be a witch. Now, after going through these "training" sessions, I think she was smarter than I realized at the time.

Here is what I mean... I'll just list a few things I learned today and contrast them with Mrs. Blanch's philosophy:

1. Meeting participants should not use Blackberries, laptops, or cell phones while in the meeting. Today, this is a sign of rudeness. But, in our PC society, it is not a good idea to yell at them or tell them to put the stupid things away. Instead, you are supposed to politely remind them that these are probably interrupting people... you are NEVER to get them mad at you. Mrs. Blanch's philosophy-- Gabriel Benevidas, one of my best friends, brought a toy gun to school one day. It shot little yellow rubber BBs about 2 feet out the front of the barrel. He was being distracted by it, so Mrs. Blanch took it from him, set it on the floor, and smashed it into a million plastic pieces in front of the entire class. If I were to do this with the Blackberries or laptops, I think I would have better success at keeping them out of those meetings that I was leading.
2. If you notice someone is not participating in your meeting, you need to determine why and modify your approach to make them feel included. Today, if someone doesn't participate, then it isn't a sign that they don't want to talk... there must be something wrong. They may not like you! They may not be interested! They might be daydreaming! You must get at the core issue and resolve it so they feel part of things. Mrs. Blanch's approach: if someone isn't paying attention, you chuck a chalkboard eraser at them. Again, I think her approach would work better.
3. If someone is going off on tangents, it may be a sign that they don't understand what is being talked about. Today, you have to engage the person. Empower. Synergize. You must draw them into your meetings using the latest human behavior tools. Mrs. Blanch's approach: slap the top of their desk with a yard stick. Again, I think the latter would be better.
4. Never talk down to or embarrass someone. The thinking today is that doing this would cause the person to withdraw from the meeting. They would clam up and keep their creativity out of the discussion. Mrs. Blanch's approach: embarrassing someone keeps them from saying something stupid again in the future. Which one is better at modifying behavior?

So, I think all the years after 3rd grade have been a waste. All the new-age, "love thy neighbor", smile-and-dance methods of dealing with people has gotten past the joke phase. After all, I haven't seen any improvements in people's overall behaviors. They have only gotten worse.

I think we need to go back to Mrs. Blanch's tactics. If we were caught talking out of turn, she didn't remind us of the "ground rules" of our interactions. We weren't reminded that our dominant personalities might be stifling the conscientious personalities. She simply drew a circle on the chalkboard about 3 inches higher than our nose and told us to put our nose in it for 15 minutes... which, of course, required us to stand on our tip-toes. We never had a problem speaking out of turn again after going through that ordeal.

Hugging each other, smiling all the time, nodding our approvals, thanking people for their comments... we are just being too nice to each other. A good chalkboard eraser has a more permanent affect.

The Pennsylvania Tax Man

One thing Pennsylvania is not short on-- taxes. There seems to be a tax for everything here. Here is just a summary:

1. A $20 "move in" tax, just so we can move into our townhome.
2. $10 per person per year... this is the "Residency Tax". So, you are taxed to move in to your home, and taxed on living in your home.
3. $40 a month for the local school district. Better teachers? Better schools? You would think/hope so. The debate is still open on this one, as I'm not yet convinced.
4. City tax... another $40 a month.
5. "Income" tax, collected at a local level. 1% of my taxable income.
6. **Blank** Since we find out new taxes on a weekly basis, this space is being left vacant for the next discovery.

Of course, like any politician would say, the state boasts that there are no sales taxes charged for groceries and clothing and a few other odds and ends. On the flip side, you pay basically a flat rate for state taxes, and you are not allowed to claim any deductions on a state level.

Our heads are swirling in the brew of taxes here in PA. Perhaps that is the point here... if you can't dazzle them with brilliance, baffle them with taxes. Then, we'd be too dizzy to care about arguing.

Our Upcoming Activities

You are all welcome to come with us as we plan our year's vacations and family outtings. On the right side of this blog's main page will be a list under the heading "Our 2009 Itinerary" list. If any of these interest you, and you are free to come to the East to participate, just let us know! We'd be happy to have you with us! The list are hyperlinks to the activities' websites.

The End Is Near

I wake up this morning, Sunday, January 18th, to both of our cell phones going off simultaneously. I had fallen asleep on the couch, so hearing both of them go off at the same time nearly caused a heart attack. My thought: this is bad... the only time this happens is if someone died or the end of the world is at hand. I answer one of the phones. Here is the conversation:

Bro. Arvanitas, ward clerk: Good morning Brother Jensen. I'm just calling to tell you that church today has been canceled.

Bro. Jensen: What? My thoughts: Isn't that a "sign of the times"? Did Pres Monson give the order or something?

Bro. Arvanitas: I'm sure you are used to going to church in Idaho no matter how much snow has fallen. But here, we have ward members all over the place, and the Bishop feels it is best to not have church if getting to church poses a risk to the people.

Bro. Jensen: Okay, I think. Good-bye.

So, I immediately go to the scriptures. I'm sure I read somewhere in them where cancelling church was considered a sign of the Second Coming, or a sign a Son of Perdition-- something! But, after searching, I cannot find anything to confirm my suspicion.

I remember living in Burley as a young kid. Church was held no matter the weather conditions. Flood, famine, blizzard. Nothing stopped it. Our neighbor (good ol' Brother Bowers) came through early in the morning with a tractor to plow out our driveway just so we could make it to church. His zeal in doing so caused him to plow out our yards, too, taking out a few trees, bushes, or fence posts. Even our pioneer ancestors trekked through misery to get to church.

Now, a few inches stops the progress in Pennsylvania. I wondered if I should be placing a call to church headquarters...

I'm beginning to think that we are at the End of Days. Obama is being inaugurated on Tuesday. Widespread economic disaster is at hand. Homes are being foreclosed at a record pace. And, church was canceled in Cranberry Pennsylvania.

We are at the End.

Then, I remember that today is the "Big Game"... Steelers versus Ravens, the winner advancing to the Super Bowl. Hmmm. Coincidence? Nah, couldn't be... right?

Snow Comes to Pittsburgh

After living in Idaho for 33 years, I always thought snow came in sideways with 80 mph wind. But, snow actually can come from straight above, too. It's true. We've seen it this week in Pittsburgh. For the past 3 or so days, we have had snowfall, and it has come straight down. We thought it was an illusion.

Right now, we have about 6 inches on the ground, which is the most we've experienced in our short time here. Either the cities do a great job clearing it off the roads, or the temperatures aren't cold enough for the snow to stick, but so far the roads haven't been very bad. Wierd. I remember the roads in Ammon during the winter. If you didn't have a 4-wheel drive, good luck! It was white-knuckled driving all the way home. Here in PA, even despite the clear roads, the drivers don't seem to be too accustomed to the amount of snow. They slow WAY down. Contrast this to the drivers in Utah, who seem to speed up.

But, here, at least for this storm, it has been nice. On Tuesday, we had a freezing rain, which was fun to experience. It actually coated our van to the point where you could roll down the window, but have the "ice window" stay in place. Its been snowing ever since. See photo. This is looking out into our backyard. Notice the white-tail deer? There are 3 of them.

On a related note, the Steelers are playing today. People here are nuts when it comes to their Steelers. Westinghouse, in full anticipation of the event, hung big banners in the lobby saying "This Is Steeler Country". Gold and black balloons were everywhere. The company had a free all-you-can-eat nacho bar. There were football throwing contests where winners received Steeler stuff. And, half of the people wore jerseys to work. Its fun, though. The day was spent listening to everybody give their thoughts and predictions on the game.

Now, on a sad note. My Blackberry at work finally arrived. I'm not too sure I want to be connected to my job 24 hours a day. But, nevertheless, it is here.

Our Amazing Amberlee

See her many talents by watching the video below...

Dude, Where's My Car?

We are missing a 2007 Toyota Sienna, light blue. If you see one abandoned or wandering around, please let us know.

So, we drop off the van to be sent to Pennsylvania on 12/12, 2 days before we leave for PA. We get an email from the carrier saying they will pick up the van on 12/15... at this point, we are already in Pennsylvania. On 12/23, we get an email from them saying the carrier broke down. Naturally, we assumed that the carrier broke down with the van on it, since it was 8 days after they picked up the car. I ask where the car is... no response. Our drop off date in PA is moved from 12/29 to 1/3. On 12/29, I ask if the carrier is back on the road. No, it is still trying to be repaired. Ok, where is the car? No response. But, we are assured that the carrier will be up and running in time to get us our car here "someday during the week of 1/5". Why, we ask. Well, the parts to repair it are on back-order. We ask where our car is, and after really getting mad, we are finally told that the CAR IS STILL IN IDAHO. There it sat for nearly 3 weeks. What normally takes a carrier only 2 days to pick up, our's sits for about 20 days with no idea when it will finally be picked up.

Sparks fly. I yell. Michelle yells. I call the relocation company and complain. Next thing I know is that a new carrier is scheduled and the old one is fired.

To top it off, we had no idea where in Idaho the van was, only that it was at a tow-truck company being stored. I could just see it sitting somewhere with old car parts stacked on top of it, or a hole in the door from a forklift accident, or the wheels stolen from it. The van was, after all, outside for nearly 3 weeks, snowed in.

After making calls, we finally locate the van and send our insurance guy over to take photos. Here is what he finds:


The guy who owned the tow-truck place didn't know who owned it or what happened to the carrier. So, the new carrier makes arrangements on 1/2 to have it picked up in Idaho. It should be here on 1/5 or 1/6.

Anyone care to make a bet?