Pay It Forward

You can understand my  horror when one day, while eating lunch at my desk, I dropped my sandwich on the floor.  There was a part of me that wanted to eat it.  I was starving.  My stomach was making noises that the people upstairs could probably hear.  But then I told myself, "Jenn, your sandwich just landed where you put your feet.  Don't eat what's on the bottom of your shoes".  Duh.  So I drove myself to Burger King and ordered a sandwich.  When I got to the pick-up window, the worker handed me my sack and said, 'Have a nice day!'  I told her that I still needed to pay, but she responded, "The lady in front of you took care of it for you."  Made my day and probably my week.  Go ahead and do a random act of kindness for a stranger.  It will make their day... and probably yours, too.

Please note: The picture above wasn't actually my sandwich that fell.  However, if you click on it, it'll bring you to an article that makes me happy I didn't eat my sandwich. 

Tax Man or Snacks Man?

I sent my husband to the grocery store to pick up a bottle of Drain-O.  In addition to that, he managed to pick up six boxes of these:

Let me do the math for ya real quick:  42 x 6 = 252.  We are now the owners of 252 fruit snacks.  Minus the 30 I'm sure he's already eaten.  Is it smart to let the man who raids the fruit snack aisle do my taxes?



Like Father, Like Son

I don't know if I'd consider it swimming, but Nigel made his parents very proud by getting in the water.  Ignore the fact that he only got in the water because someone threw a Pupperoni treat in there and Nigel will do anything for food.  Even overcome his fear of water.  Once he got in he realized it wasn't as bad as he thought it would be and stayed in for quite a bit.  He'd even fetch sticks from the water.  Reason number 3,984,305,219,294 he's the cutest dog in the world.

By the way, the reason the title is Like Father, Like Son is because Matt was captain of his swim team in high school.  Now if we could only get Nigel to wear a speedo...

Move Update

So this is what was decided on the trip to Atlanta this past week:


1) We're renting in Roswell.  Alpharetta is much more expensive, not any closer to work and the apartments are the same size.

2) We're going to do a 6 month lease on an apartment to give us time to find a house and then move into said house.  Three months seemed like we'd be cutting it close.  I will be a grouchy girl if I am not in a house by Christmas.  Mark my words.

3) Charlottesville's apartments are way over-priced and we're excited about paying less for more. 

4) Neither one of us are baseball fans, but after going on a PRIVATE tour (we got lucky) of Turner Field we are excited about attending our first Braves game!

Hot-Lanta

You'd have thought we were moving to the sun.  Pull yourself together, Nigel, it was 52 degrees!

Media Darling

I made Charlottesville's Daily Progress - front page, no less!  No quotes this time.  Just me playing trains with a super cute kid.  So cute that he often calls me his girlfriend and always blows me kisses.  Who says chivalry is dead? 

Happy Christma-kwanza-hanukkah!

As I got on Facebook this morning, I saw that many people were celebrating various occasions.  One person was telling me, "Happy Fat Tuesday!", another saying, "Happy Mardi Gras!", then I was told, "Happy International Women's Day!", followed by, "Happy Social Work Month!".  I'm exhausted after just reading about all of it.  It made me wonder why we are so obsessed with celebrations.  Don't get me wrong.  I love a good party.  But must I celebrate international women?  Or do I need to have a month dedicated to my profession?  And who keeps track of it all?  I'm a social worker and I wasn't even aware that it's social work month.  I think it's probably related to the idea that our society is starving for as much gratification and attention as we can get.  If I can have one day dedicated to a unique characteristic or quirk then I feel validated.  I mean, really, how else do you explain Talk Like a Pirate Day?

Now, I admit, I'm not completely innocent in these whole phenomenon.  I do celebrate my half-birthday (actually, I just did, March 1st).  To me it's much better than your actual birthday because you feel special without having to turn a year older.  You should try it.  What did Matt say when I asked him on the morning of March 1 what day it was?  "Rent day?"  Devastating.  He did make up for it by saying 'Happy Half-Birthday' whenever he saw me the rest of the day.

Okay, now it's your turn.  What's your favorite made-up holiday?  I'd love to hear about what else is being celebrated!

Newsworthy

We Lawsons have been getting a lot of press lately in Charlottesville.  Matt's been interviewed for a Darden publication and Jenn's been interviewed by the local CBS station as well as Charlottesville's newspaper regarding the program she works for.  This was televised about a month ago, but thought that you might want to see me in action.  *Note: I will not be changing careers to broadcast journalism anytime soon.*

We'll pass along the other interviews as they are released.  In the meantime, lights, camera, action!

There are Unions and then there are Unions

I suppose unions are in the news a lot these days, between the situation in Wisconsin and the impending NFL lockout.  The differences between the two situations are important to understanding the current struggle.  In the case of the NFL, even if you hate the idea of millionaires fighting billionaires, at least both sides have clear objectives and reasons for their actions.  Owners want an 18 game schedule to increase their revenues, while players want to maintain 16 in order to have a better chance to stay healthy.  On issue after issue, the sides disagree, but they are working together in good faith.

I contrast this with a public sector union.  In any confrontation between a public union and government the sides are not diametrically opposed.  If a union desires higher wages for its members, government officials are inclined to agree with them.  Why?  Quite simply, because they do not have a stake in the game since they are not spending the money.  If an NFL owner agrees to higher player wages, that money comes directly from his interests, but a government official simply commits other people’s money.  The taxpayer never has a say in the process.  In fact, the incentives in a public negotiation are even more misaligned because government officials who increase union wages often benefit from union donations during the next election (no quid pro quo there I’m certain). 

That’s why I do take heart at the Wisconsin Governor’s proposals, especially the idea that any raise above inflation must be approved by a referendum of the voters.  That way, the individuals who will be most affected by the higher wages get a say in when they are conferred.  If the voters believe workers are doing a good job, the wages will go up.  By removing the government’s perverse incentive to heighten wages, I believe this proposal better represents the interests of the voters.  Now, if only there could be a vote on the matter…