And for those of you that aren't, you can find the album here.
A White Christmas
2 days ago
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
For Those of You on Facebook...
You can find another photo album here.
And for those of you that aren't, you can find the album here.
And for those of you that aren't, you can find the album here.
Wednesday, November 18, 2009
Going the wrong way on a one-way...
RADIO!Lena: "Hi gwampa, it's Lena. How doeeeng? I big twouble. I pay wiff Owiber. I not seeping. I big twouble. Daddy sad. I dunno where blanket stars. I dunno where blacelet. Daddy sad, Mummy sad, Kitty. I wuv my family. I be good. Ok gamma, I go seep now."
Monday, November 16, 2009
As Promised...
It's already the middle of November, and two weeks since Halloween?? What happened to the time?
Halloween was rather anticlimactic for us. We had, as you may or may not recall, been planning to take the kids out in the late afternoon to go trick-or-treating, before it got too dark and cold. As it turns out, the kids slept like logs from about 4pm to about 9pm. That obviously put a wrench in a bunch of things... like an early, insulin-induced bedtime. Nevertheless, since the kids had costumes, and our neighbors conveniently were hosting a Halloween costume party, we decided to get them dressed up. Oliver was a charm, as always, and wooed the crowd with his smile and clumsy antics. And Lena was in a haze of noncooperation, and toddler obstinacy, and resolutely rejected the notion of having her photo taken, or of even being remotely pleasant. As always.
So here are Cookie-Beard the One-Legged Pirate, and The Monkey Princess.
The Monkey Princess and the hostess.
Twirling with the royal tutu.
Halloween was rather anticlimactic for us. We had, as you may or may not recall, been planning to take the kids out in the late afternoon to go trick-or-treating, before it got too dark and cold. As it turns out, the kids slept like logs from about 4pm to about 9pm. That obviously put a wrench in a bunch of things... like an early, insulin-induced bedtime. Nevertheless, since the kids had costumes, and our neighbors conveniently were hosting a Halloween costume party, we decided to get them dressed up. Oliver was a charm, as always, and wooed the crowd with his smile and clumsy antics. And Lena was in a haze of noncooperation, and toddler obstinacy, and resolutely rejected the notion of having her photo taken, or of even being remotely pleasant. As always.
So here are Cookie-Beard the One-Legged Pirate, and The Monkey Princess.
The Monkey Princess and the hostess.
Twirling with the royal tutu.
Cookie- Beard (and his beard), with his sword (a.k.a. a plastic knife, less likely to impale you even than, say, a bouncy ball)...
... And who hated his hat. (And who also has dried cupcake frosting around his left ear.)
... And who hated his hat. (And who also has dried cupcake frosting around his left ear.)
At least I got more pictures than last year (I only took one last year, and that was of Oliver sleeping in his cow costume... I didn't even get one of Lena). Maybe next year I will get with the programme.
Friday, November 13, 2009
Gratitude
It must be a part of human nature to take things for granted. I mean, it's programmed into our brains to get used to things, whether that be something looking a certain way or tasting a certain way or feeling a certain way. All too often, I think this tendency shows up in expectations people have regarding things they "deserve".
The argument against government benefits on the grounds that it engenders a dependency in its recipients is a classic example of this... (If you've got the time, check out this blog for a great graph showing how government payments basically give people the incentive to continue receiving them) With government benefits, though, you've got a double whammy.
For starters, there are people out there who genuinely need help. Whether or not they deserve the help is a philosophical debate for another time and place. However, once some sort of benefits are in place, more and more people end up feeling they have a right to those payments or help. As time progresses, not only do new people come out of the woodwork wanting help, but the people currently receiving benefits want more. Anytime something gets taken away, you end up with an outcry about the fact that someone, somewhere, was entitled to that.
Along these lines, I have a bad habit of being nice. I'm a serious softy. Ask for help, and I'll usually go out of my way to do it. Need a favor? Give me a call, and I'll (literally) break down walls to get things done. But, in light of recent events over the past few months, I have decided that it is a habit whose time has come. I am done being nice.
More than anything, my feelings have to do with being taken for granted. In the same way that some get accustomed to the government taking care of their every need, people get used to having favors done for them. Curiously, I am in a position where I have the chance to do big favors for people on a fairly regular basis. One of the ways I am trying to provide for my little family is by managing a 12-plex of apartments. Without fail, a month doesn't go by that someone ends up getting their rent in late, and I make a practice of being fairly lenient and not charging a late fee. I'm on a tight budget myself and I understand how tough it can be to come up with rent. I can't remember the last time that someone thanked me for not charging a late fee, even though it saved them at least $50.00. Not to mention some tenants whose rents we've deliberately chosen not to raise due to financial straights they might be in... (easily saving each of them a couple thousand dollars.) But that's alright. It's a business, and there has to be a little bit of give for all the take.
There have also been a couple of times when we've rented to someone we might not have otherwise chosen, whether it be for credit history, or income, or pets, or other things. Again, the month wasn't out before I somehow "owed" more to tenants than what they signed on for. We've helped people get in touch with neighbors when trees fell on their cars. We've paid for other people's cars to be fixed when it wasn't our fault at all, and when it was definitely a favor. Other times, whether it was forgetting to switch utilities into their names, or wanting to switch parking spaces, or complaining that someone has taken their parking space, or complaining about how bad the neighborhood is, or complaining about any myriad number of things, the fact that someone might have been on the receiving end of a favor quickly fades from memory. Tenants trash their apartments, break things, and, generally, suck.
Sometimes I've kindly looked the other way when people's kids misbehave. Still other times we've gone and bought groceries for some of our tenants because I can't stand the thought of someone going hungry. Always, these favors are quickly forgotten or overlooked, because people come to expect a certain level of free stuff.
The worst part, though, is the lack of reciprocation. I know that tenants aren't in the same position I am, and don't expect them to give me a break on my rent or fix things for me. (In fact, I'd rather tenants didn't try to fix stuff, although that's another story...) But it would be kind of nice if someone ever recognized that I *might* have a lot on my plate, and am prone to forgetting things.
Before you know it, something breaks, and tenants want things fixed right away. That's fine. They're paying for it, and they should get what they're paying for. But I often forget. You'd think it would be pretty easy to remind me, since I live in the same building. Apparently it's not. Tenants need to be persistent. I do not avoid people on purpose. I gain nothing by not fixing someone's broken toilet, or heater, or window, or blind, or outlet, or stair rail, or toilet paper holder, or door, or floor, or dishwasher... (I'm sure you all get the picture). I generally put in about 100-110 hours a week across Job#1, Job #2, classes, and homework. Things just fall through the cracks sometimes. If people want something done, what's wrong with reminding me in a non-passive-aggressive manner? I won't take it personally; it's my job.
The worst part of it all is knowing that for all the bad-mouthing, for all the complaints about how "dumpy" their apartment is, for all the whining about something not being up to the modern standards they expect it to be, tenants are going to show up at our door with a smile, needing a favor. "Please, can we just be a week late with rent?" or "Please can you waive the pet fee?" or "I know my kids broke _____, but do you think you could fix it without charging us for it?" or "I know we still have X months left on our contract, but..." or...
As of today, the answer is no.
At least it's more likely to be no than it was yesterday.
The argument against government benefits on the grounds that it engenders a dependency in its recipients is a classic example of this... (If you've got the time, check out this blog for a great graph showing how government payments basically give people the incentive to continue receiving them) With government benefits, though, you've got a double whammy.
For starters, there are people out there who genuinely need help. Whether or not they deserve the help is a philosophical debate for another time and place. However, once some sort of benefits are in place, more and more people end up feeling they have a right to those payments or help. As time progresses, not only do new people come out of the woodwork wanting help, but the people currently receiving benefits want more. Anytime something gets taken away, you end up with an outcry about the fact that someone, somewhere, was entitled to that.
Along these lines, I have a bad habit of being nice. I'm a serious softy. Ask for help, and I'll usually go out of my way to do it. Need a favor? Give me a call, and I'll (literally) break down walls to get things done. But, in light of recent events over the past few months, I have decided that it is a habit whose time has come. I am done being nice.
More than anything, my feelings have to do with being taken for granted. In the same way that some get accustomed to the government taking care of their every need, people get used to having favors done for them. Curiously, I am in a position where I have the chance to do big favors for people on a fairly regular basis. One of the ways I am trying to provide for my little family is by managing a 12-plex of apartments. Without fail, a month doesn't go by that someone ends up getting their rent in late, and I make a practice of being fairly lenient and not charging a late fee. I'm on a tight budget myself and I understand how tough it can be to come up with rent. I can't remember the last time that someone thanked me for not charging a late fee, even though it saved them at least $50.00. Not to mention some tenants whose rents we've deliberately chosen not to raise due to financial straights they might be in... (easily saving each of them a couple thousand dollars.) But that's alright. It's a business, and there has to be a little bit of give for all the take.
There have also been a couple of times when we've rented to someone we might not have otherwise chosen, whether it be for credit history, or income, or pets, or other things. Again, the month wasn't out before I somehow "owed" more to tenants than what they signed on for. We've helped people get in touch with neighbors when trees fell on their cars. We've paid for other people's cars to be fixed when it wasn't our fault at all, and when it was definitely a favor. Other times, whether it was forgetting to switch utilities into their names, or wanting to switch parking spaces, or complaining that someone has taken their parking space, or complaining about how bad the neighborhood is, or complaining about any myriad number of things, the fact that someone might have been on the receiving end of a favor quickly fades from memory. Tenants trash their apartments, break things, and, generally, suck.
Sometimes I've kindly looked the other way when people's kids misbehave. Still other times we've gone and bought groceries for some of our tenants because I can't stand the thought of someone going hungry. Always, these favors are quickly forgotten or overlooked, because people come to expect a certain level of free stuff.
The worst part, though, is the lack of reciprocation. I know that tenants aren't in the same position I am, and don't expect them to give me a break on my rent or fix things for me. (In fact, I'd rather tenants didn't try to fix stuff, although that's another story...) But it would be kind of nice if someone ever recognized that I *might* have a lot on my plate, and am prone to forgetting things.
Before you know it, something breaks, and tenants want things fixed right away. That's fine. They're paying for it, and they should get what they're paying for. But I often forget. You'd think it would be pretty easy to remind me, since I live in the same building. Apparently it's not. Tenants need to be persistent. I do not avoid people on purpose. I gain nothing by not fixing someone's broken toilet, or heater, or window, or blind, or outlet, or stair rail, or toilet paper holder, or door, or floor, or dishwasher... (I'm sure you all get the picture). I generally put in about 100-110 hours a week across Job#1, Job #2, classes, and homework. Things just fall through the cracks sometimes. If people want something done, what's wrong with reminding me in a non-passive-aggressive manner? I won't take it personally; it's my job.
The worst part of it all is knowing that for all the bad-mouthing, for all the complaints about how "dumpy" their apartment is, for all the whining about something not being up to the modern standards they expect it to be, tenants are going to show up at our door with a smile, needing a favor. "Please, can we just be a week late with rent?" or "Please can you waive the pet fee?" or "I know my kids broke _____, but do you think you could fix it without charging us for it?" or "I know we still have X months left on our contract, but..." or...
As of today, the answer is no.
At least it's more likely to be no than it was yesterday.
Friday, October 30, 2009
Cookie-Beard the Pirate and the Monkey Princess
I have a confession: I hate Halloween. I think it is ridiculous. I don't like dressing up, I don't like orange (it clashes with my complexion), I don't like pumpkin, I don't like blood (real or fake), I don't like scary movies (seriously people, you pay to have nightmares??) and I don't like crappy chocolate and candy. I hate Halloween.
I am very aware that my dislike of Halloween, especially around here, makes me somewhat of a minority, and yet I am unapologetic. I think it is a blatant exploitation of an otherwise obscure day of pagan celebration (and I use the word 'celebration' in the loosest sense) for the profit and gain of candy companies, alcoholic beverage companies, and purveyors of cheap clothing.
There is, however, one good thing about Halloween: Lena is currently fascinated with dress-up and pretend play, and, with cheap costumes abounding, I am able to flesh out her dress-up box, without having to make things myself or spend a lot of money. That is win-win in my book.
This is Oliver a few days ago. Yes, he is wearing a mostly white shirt, and yes he is eating Oreo cookies. His masterful skills in body art earned him the name of 'Cookie-Beard the Pirate'.
Here is Cookie-Beard minus the cookie-beard.
He even learnt what pirates say (argggggggggghh!), which is heart-melting-ly cute.
As most of you know, Lena has been rather attached to Mr. Monkey (well, all three of them, actually), so we decided it was high time that she joined the ranks and became a mischievous monkey herself.
She even has her own Monkey Dance.
Lena was rather keen on the idea initially, but decided that she actually wanted to be a princess, and promptly informed everyone, including our dentist, of that fact. However, we reached a compromise... There was a Halloween party at Evan's work this morning, and Lena went in her monkey costume with a tutu over the top. She was the Monkey Princess. Oliver's outfit was completed with an eyeliner French moustache and beard (think Dustin Hoffman in Hook), and by a stroke of luck, he lost his shoe at the party and wandered around thudding with alternating steps... Cookie-Beard the Pirate earned himself the name Cookie-Beard the One-Legged Pirate.
More pictures to come after the obligatory round of trick-or-treating tomorrow.
I am very aware that my dislike of Halloween, especially around here, makes me somewhat of a minority, and yet I am unapologetic. I think it is a blatant exploitation of an otherwise obscure day of pagan celebration (and I use the word 'celebration' in the loosest sense) for the profit and gain of candy companies, alcoholic beverage companies, and purveyors of cheap clothing.
There is, however, one good thing about Halloween: Lena is currently fascinated with dress-up and pretend play, and, with cheap costumes abounding, I am able to flesh out her dress-up box, without having to make things myself or spend a lot of money. That is win-win in my book.
This is Oliver a few days ago. Yes, he is wearing a mostly white shirt, and yes he is eating Oreo cookies. His masterful skills in body art earned him the name of 'Cookie-Beard the Pirate'.
Here is Cookie-Beard minus the cookie-beard.
He even learnt what pirates say (argggggggggghh!), which is heart-melting-ly cute.
As most of you know, Lena has been rather attached to Mr. Monkey (well, all three of them, actually), so we decided it was high time that she joined the ranks and became a mischievous monkey herself.
She even has her own Monkey Dance.
Lena was rather keen on the idea initially, but decided that she actually wanted to be a princess, and promptly informed everyone, including our dentist, of that fact. However, we reached a compromise... There was a Halloween party at Evan's work this morning, and Lena went in her monkey costume with a tutu over the top. She was the Monkey Princess. Oliver's outfit was completed with an eyeliner French moustache and beard (think Dustin Hoffman in Hook), and by a stroke of luck, he lost his shoe at the party and wandered around thudding with alternating steps... Cookie-Beard the Pirate earned himself the name Cookie-Beard the One-Legged Pirate.
More pictures to come after the obligatory round of trick-or-treating tomorrow.
Saturday, October 24, 2009
What Do You Do With A Broken Hanger?
Why, you put Cheerios on it of course!
Isn't that what everyone does?
Isn't that what everyone does?
Wednesday, October 21, 2009
Why I love (and why I picked) Economics
I love Economics. Hannah consistently teases me about the way that it has affected my ability to think clearly (take that as you will) but I thoroughly enjoy my classes and the subject matter.
It helps that my teachers spend the first few minutes of every class showing Youtube clips like this one that they’ve received from their students or fellow professors. (It also really helps that BYU finally un-blocked traffic to the Youtube site from their on campus servers…) But, Youtube entertainment aside, this semester has been particularly enjoyable – I’m finally getting past the core classes and into the elective ones where we basically read an article or a paper and discuss it in class.
Today, in lieu of a Youtube clip, my professor started off my Healthcare Economics class by sharing the way he now introduces Monopolies in his Econ 110 class (Introductory Economics for you non-BYU-ites). I will attempt to recreate that all for you here.
He starts by saying that one example of a monopoly is the BYU Bookstore. For starters, it’s a great tie because it is so close to home and pocketbook for anybody in his student audience. Furthermore, BYU, unlike other bookstores at other local universities, has a return policy that is linked to the campus’ honor code. They will only accept returns for your books if you have dropped the class the books are for, and not if you have found them cheaper from somewhere else. Easily skirted, if you just bend the truth a bit, but every student signs away their right to lie when they enroll for classes at BYU.
In January of this year, a girl who goes to BYU wrote an excellent article about this conundrum, and cited my professor… you can read the full text here if you like. In the article, she quoted the following from my professor regarding the bookstore’s policy:
The part that gets funny is the way that the managers of the bookstore responded to the truth. (Admittedly, everything else I’ve got to say is opinion or anecdotal… but as they say in Russian, “In every joke, there is a slice of truth”, I choose to believe there are more than a few slices of truth in this…)
Reaction #1: Following the campus newspaper’s publication of the story I linked to above, the bookstore retaliated by pulling all of their advertising from the Daily Universe’s pages for more than a month.
Reaction #2: The managers of the campus bookstore got in touch with my Econ professor, on the pretense that they wanted to make sure that they were “on the same page”. These geniuses showed up in his office armed with a statistical comparison they had compiled, ready to lay down the law. They set out to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was cheaper for students to buy any of the textbook materials used in the Economics Department from the bookstore than it was to buy them online. They did a great job – using the used book prices at the bookstore against new prices from online retailers like Amazon.com. My teacher pointed out the apples-to-oranges comparison for them, and they quickly changed tack.
Reaction #3: “But the bookstore can’t be a monopoly, because we employ people who are bishops and stake presidents (LDS ecclesiastical leaders)…” I’m not quite sure which angle to attack this one from because it is so vulnerable. Another one of my Econ professors has created what he calls the “Ad Hominem Index”. It is used to judge the logical and rational strength of one’s argument based on the number of personal attacks in it. In a nutshell, it is an inverse relationship… if all you’ve got is “You’re wrong because you suck,” your argument isn’t going to go very well. I think what the bookstore employees had to say is pretty much the opposite of that style of arguing, but no stronger. They’re saying, “we can’t be an evil monopoly, because we’re good people!” Obviously, my professor didn’t have much trouble seeing through their crap, and the managers left, angry and defeated.
But they weren’t done yet.
Reaction #4: To get back at my professor, the bookstore pulled all of the materials he had ordered for his classes from their shelves, replacing them instead with a sign that said “See Professor”.
Today my professor structures his courses so that students don’t have to buy books from the bookstore. In particular, he and the other professors who teach Econ 110 have set the course up so that it can be taken without purchasing anything from the bookstore. All of the reading and coursework can be found on www.aplia.com, for a small fee that goes into Aplia’s pocket. Considering the fact that Econ 110 is a part of the general education core classes for BYU students, and not just Economics majors, the turnover is immense. Easily 400-500 students take Econ 110 every semester, and the bookstore doesn’t get a dime. If the students do want to buy a physical copy of the book, the professors all encourage them to buy it online through Aplia, who sells it for a price less than 50% of what the bookstore charges (even for a used copy.)
I picked Economics because I wanted to be something other than the average “Business-Finance” undergraduate. I stuck with Economics because I thought it was a really effective way of explaining the things that people do and why they do them. I LOVE Economics because in moments like these, it gives you the skill set to intelligently present an impersonal, yet irrefutable argument.
Amazing how a little bit of knowledge goes a long way.
It helps that my teachers spend the first few minutes of every class showing Youtube clips like this one that they’ve received from their students or fellow professors. (It also really helps that BYU finally un-blocked traffic to the Youtube site from their on campus servers…) But, Youtube entertainment aside, this semester has been particularly enjoyable – I’m finally getting past the core classes and into the elective ones where we basically read an article or a paper and discuss it in class.
Today, in lieu of a Youtube clip, my professor started off my Healthcare Economics class by sharing the way he now introduces Monopolies in his Econ 110 class (Introductory Economics for you non-BYU-ites). I will attempt to recreate that all for you here.
He starts by saying that one example of a monopoly is the BYU Bookstore. For starters, it’s a great tie because it is so close to home and pocketbook for anybody in his student audience. Furthermore, BYU, unlike other bookstores at other local universities, has a return policy that is linked to the campus’ honor code. They will only accept returns for your books if you have dropped the class the books are for, and not if you have found them cheaper from somewhere else. Easily skirted, if you just bend the truth a bit, but every student signs away their right to lie when they enroll for classes at BYU.
In January of this year, a girl who goes to BYU wrote an excellent article about this conundrum, and cited my professor… you can read the full text here if you like. In the article, she quoted the following from my professor regarding the bookstore’s policy:
"The policy acts as a tax on honesty. If a student is honest and purchases a replacement product elsewhere, no refund is available. However, if the student fudges the truth a bit, the student can get a refund. Honesty is punished.… All of which is absolutely true.
"Most stores compete for consumers not just by the prices they charge, but by the service they give, with a refund policy being an important aspect of service. A more typical policy is to match a competitor's price, or to offer a money-back guarantee if a consumer finds a similar product for a cheaper price. But the Bookstore has a lot of market power given their location; they can act like a monopoly so perhaps they don't need to compete as hard as the typical retailer."
The part that gets funny is the way that the managers of the bookstore responded to the truth. (Admittedly, everything else I’ve got to say is opinion or anecdotal… but as they say in Russian, “In every joke, there is a slice of truth”, I choose to believe there are more than a few slices of truth in this…)
Reaction #1: Following the campus newspaper’s publication of the story I linked to above, the bookstore retaliated by pulling all of their advertising from the Daily Universe’s pages for more than a month.
Reaction #2: The managers of the campus bookstore got in touch with my Econ professor, on the pretense that they wanted to make sure that they were “on the same page”. These geniuses showed up in his office armed with a statistical comparison they had compiled, ready to lay down the law. They set out to prove beyond a shadow of a doubt that it was cheaper for students to buy any of the textbook materials used in the Economics Department from the bookstore than it was to buy them online. They did a great job – using the used book prices at the bookstore against new prices from online retailers like Amazon.com. My teacher pointed out the apples-to-oranges comparison for them, and they quickly changed tack.
Reaction #3: “But the bookstore can’t be a monopoly, because we employ people who are bishops and stake presidents (LDS ecclesiastical leaders)…” I’m not quite sure which angle to attack this one from because it is so vulnerable. Another one of my Econ professors has created what he calls the “Ad Hominem Index”. It is used to judge the logical and rational strength of one’s argument based on the number of personal attacks in it. In a nutshell, it is an inverse relationship… if all you’ve got is “You’re wrong because you suck,” your argument isn’t going to go very well. I think what the bookstore employees had to say is pretty much the opposite of that style of arguing, but no stronger. They’re saying, “we can’t be an evil monopoly, because we’re good people!” Obviously, my professor didn’t have much trouble seeing through their crap, and the managers left, angry and defeated.
But they weren’t done yet.
Reaction #4: To get back at my professor, the bookstore pulled all of the materials he had ordered for his classes from their shelves, replacing them instead with a sign that said “See Professor”.
Today my professor structures his courses so that students don’t have to buy books from the bookstore. In particular, he and the other professors who teach Econ 110 have set the course up so that it can be taken without purchasing anything from the bookstore. All of the reading and coursework can be found on www.aplia.com, for a small fee that goes into Aplia’s pocket. Considering the fact that Econ 110 is a part of the general education core classes for BYU students, and not just Economics majors, the turnover is immense. Easily 400-500 students take Econ 110 every semester, and the bookstore doesn’t get a dime. If the students do want to buy a physical copy of the book, the professors all encourage them to buy it online through Aplia, who sells it for a price less than 50% of what the bookstore charges (even for a used copy.)
I picked Economics because I wanted to be something other than the average “Business-Finance” undergraduate. I stuck with Economics because I thought it was a really effective way of explaining the things that people do and why they do them. I LOVE Economics because in moments like these, it gives you the skill set to intelligently present an impersonal, yet irrefutable argument.
Amazing how a little bit of knowledge goes a long way.
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