"I'm a loser baby..."

"so why don't you kill me." Yes one of my favorite songs back in the day "Loser" by Beck
(If you've never heard it or haven't heard it in a while take a minute to listen by clicking on the link above before reading on)

That song was kind of a mantra for my life during the mid-90's. I was proud to think of myself as a loser, and desired to be seen as one. I guess you could say I was driven toward loser-dom. It's funny to think back to the philosophy of my youth and to see how my mindset on life has evolved.
"I'm a driver, I'm a winner; things are gonna change I can feel it"

Over the years I have eliminated I'm a loser out of my vocabulary, I have replaced it with words of encouragement and affirmation. I have set out to undo the self-esteem battering that I brought upon myself. I have found that change is a slow but steady process. I would make amazing progress and yet one set back, one failure, or even one really stupid move; could put me back to singing...
"Soy un perdedor - I'm a loser baby, so why don't you kill me? "


Since January of 2009, I have lost 20 pounds. Now everyday that number changes, today it's 18 pounds, but I know two weeks from now it may be 22 pounds. I did not use a fancy diet, I just examined my eating and lifestyle habits and made some small but feasible changes. I have added in a minimum of 3 workouts a week and have been known to reach 6 a week. I've replaced soft drinks with water, replaced deli meat sandwiches for salads and tuna, and almost completely avoid fast food. I have not radically changed my life or my diet, but I have made changes that I know I can stick with for the long haul. If I make a mistake or have a bad weekend, I know I can get right back on track and feel better for it.
"get crazy with the cheese whiz"


So now once again I consider myself a loser baby and I'm proud of it. I know that I can lose any bad habits, negative mindsets, generational curses, or depressing influences in my life. When it comes to change, God will open the door suddenly and purpose for us to do the work gradually over an extended period of time. Sudden change is not always lasting change.
"Know what I'm sayin?"

So take it from me:

"You can't write if you can't relate"


Until next time...

My ex-Exxon

I believe in life there are certain business that need to be your "regulars". Places that you have a relationship with, places that you trust without a doubt. I go to the same hairstylist, I have a regular doctor that I see, I go to the same church every weekend, I use the same plumber, heat and air company, and electrician when a need arises. There is a certain security in knowing and trusting a select few businesses that we trust to perform services, and we frequent on a regular basis.

Another big one for me, that I did not list previously, is my auto repair shop. After moving to Asheville for years I used a repair shop located in Leicester, recommended by a good friend. I really liked him and he was always fair priced and most of all I trusted him. The only issue I had with this shop was the inconvenience of getting rides back and forth when I needed to drop off my vehicle. Over a year ago I decided to change to a shop within walking distance of my house, again from a recommendation of a good friend and neighbor. This new repair shop is called North Asheville Exxon and is located on Merrimon Avenue opposite Stein Mart, and just before Ingles. Over the course of the last year I have taken all of our vehicles to the Exxon for all of our service needs. I saw they stayed busy, seemed very nice and knowledgeable, and of course the location was very convenient. With all these factors in play I never once doubted their trustworthiness, I never double checked the price of a part, or ever called for a second opinion.

On Tuesday while parked in the Lowe's parking lot my work van decided it was not going to crank, no matter how badly I wanted it to. I had to have it towed in for service, and of course without hesitation I told the driver to take it to my repair shop – North Asheville Exxon. I got a call from Paul at N.A. Exxon and he explained it was my fuel pump and that the gas tank would have to be removed to replace it and it would be between $700 and $750 to repair. That just about took my breath away, I don't think I have ever paid that much for any vehicle repair, ever. Something inside of me said this is not right you need to check this out. I called around and found that it was only $525.00 at other places. I called N.A. Exxon and explained that I had found it cheaper and said if you can meet halfway I will leave it at your shop but if not I have to go somewhere else for service. He said I should take it elsewhere because he could not come down on his price. This was a major inconvenience, because I had to have it towed to the other repair shop which cost me $60.00 more. The tow truck driver called me from N.A. Exxon and said they needed to run my credit card for the diagnostics fee, so I once again took for granted they were trustworthy and gave them the number over the phone for the $39.05 charge.

Biltmore Lake Automotive (828)670-6522 was the repair shop that I decided to have the van towed to. Biltmore Lake Auto called me on Wednesday to tell me the van was ready, and they had a question for me. They asked me if I had put gas in the van at N.A. Exxon or if I had asked Exxon to. I replied "No, of course not, there was plenty of gas in the van, I just filled up the day before". They said stapled to my diagnostics receipt was also receipt for 2.5 gallons of gas that was also charged to my credit card. Now I know I had never asked or authorized N.A. Exxon to put gas in the van, and I wondered out loud why they would have done that. Scott from Biltmore Lake Auto told me he knew exactly why they did it. He explained that it makes it extremely difficult for them to remove the tank and it was almost twice as much work. Exxon had filled the tank so full the gas was all the way up the tube to the gas cap, and they had done it on purpose to spite me and Biltmore Lake Auto. If the tank had been empty it would have been the easiest to remove, however even being 2.5 gallons less it would have been so much more manageable.

I was amazed at how selfish, inconsiderate, and even childish North Asheville Exxon acted toward a long time customer. I am now disgusted to think I have even given them one cent of my hard earned money in the past, but I am happy to now know their true heart towards their customers. I have now seen that they don't care about any of their customers, only their money and they will rip you off and stab you in the back at the drop of a hat. I was speaking to my neighbor tonight about my experience, and he shared with me that he just recently stopped using N. A. Exxon because of multiple excessive charges where the same problem kept re-appearing. He said that when he took his truck to a different shop the problem was fixed the first time and for a much more reasonable price too. He said he will never go there again, and is telling everyone he knows to avoid that shop. I hope that this blog will help to spread the word, and that unethical businesses like North Asheville Exxon will change their business practices or falter, and the more ethical business that care for each and every customer, like Biltmore Lake Automotive, will prosper and grow.



Until next time...

Things you should know when traveling across the pond.

I have now been across the pond to the UK five times, and I have learned many valuable things. I decided to compile a list of a few of these; that it may help you understand some of the differences in our cultures and my wife when she speaks. I hope you enjoy these and please comment and add more.

When someone asks you to put something in your boot don't take your shoe off; it means your trunk.

If someone asks if you have just lost 50 pounds that is not a compliment of your weight, check your pockets.

If you’re told to go right round the round-about, DO NOT go around it to the right.

A chocolate biscuit is not as odd as it sounds.

The Brits are not as entertained with the saying “skip to the loo” as I am.

The London Bridge is not the bridge you think it is. The large, grand one in all the pictures is the Tower Bridge.

Leicester is pronounced like Lester.

Stinking fags are not what you think, they are cigarettes.

Crisps are chips, chips are fries, and a fry up is breakfast.

If you get a bacon burger expect it will look like ham on top of a burger.

The lift will get you to the correct floor in the car park.

The water closet is not actually in a closet.

There are no restrooms or bathrooms; you will need to ask for the toilets.

You don't rent anything you hire it. If it’s a residence then you let it.

An apartment is a flat, a condo is a terrace (3 or more attached homes), a duplex is a semi detached house (2 homes attached together), and a single family house is a detached house.

A yard is a garden and a garden is a vegetable patch.

The projects are council housing.

The cooker is the stove, and the hoover is the vacuum cleaner.

To ask for ice is odd.

If you ask for water it will be tap or a glass bottle of mineral water.

You never wait in line; you will wait in the queue or queue up.

To check off is to tick off but instead of getting ticked off you go mad.

In the US if you get mad your pisst; in the UK if your pisst you have drank too much.

To make fun of is to take the mick (or mickey) out of.

To park up is to park, to ring up is to call, to knock up is to awake by knocking.

Bucks are quids and cents are pence.

“What's up, man” is the same as “You alrite mate”

You walk on the pavement, not a sidewalk.

An interstate is a motorway and a motorcycle is a motorbike.

A cop is a bobby and police officer is police constable.

Trash is rubbish, a trash can is a rubbish bin or dust bin, and a garbage man is a dust bin man.

Austin Powers is not as funny to the English and shag is not a type of dance.

Soccer is football, and no one cares about American football.

Baseball is like rounders, and cricket is just weird.

Tea is always hot, and iced tea is non-existent.

Passing gas is breaking wind, and dog poop is dog foul.

A diaper is a nappy, and a band-aid is a plaster.

Your butt is your bum and your Mom is your Mum. (No correlation intended)

A couch is a sofa, the TV is the telly, a pocketbook is a handbag, and a shopping bag is a carrier bag.

A cross walk is a zebra crossing, yes but pronounced zeb-ra.

In England the cars are small and the parking spaces are even smaller.

Gas is petrol; and your hood is your bonnet.

You can blow your nose with toilet roll to get rid of the bogies and you can clean the counters with kitchen roll.

The longer I sit here the more I think of. Don't get me started on the differences in the foods...

Please leave any you can think of in the comments.

Until next time...

Tea with the Kings and Queens of England

Whilst down south for the wedding we decided to travel around a bit. We

stopped by Hampton Court, a palace built by Henry VIII, and learned the history of Henry and all his unfortunate wives. His palace is over 500 years old and is full of history and is alive with stories of once was. When he originally built it he was so confident, after defeating France, of England's security that it was the first Royal castle built with no moat and little defenses. Since Henry VIII, the palace has housed many of the other Royals, including Queen Anne.

You may know her from the Queen Anne chairs that she made so famous. We had a nice stroll through the majestic gardens and thought about a nap under one of the incredibly unique trees, but settled for a clotted cream ice cream instead.

We left Hampton and headed over to Windsor for tea (dinner). It was so

wild to be driving through this quaint little town along the high street with nice shops, then to all of a sudden pass this massive castle towering over head.

As we parked and walked up to Windsor Castle we noticed a very rare sight, the Royal flag flying at full mast. The flag is flown only when Queen Elizabeth is presently in the castle. Windsor is one of the several residences that is still in use, it is a bit of a get away from Buckingham Palace in London. Interestingly enough the guards in front of Windsor Castle had not been informed of our tea with the Queen. I was disappointed because I had downloaded some great Hillsong music for her new ipod (courtesy of Obama). Of course that unfortunate incident did not stop us, we still managed to have tea at a nice Greek restaurant in Windsor, one block from the castle.

Whilst we had a wonderful time down south the only queen I managed to

have tea with was my amazing wife. I know I came out better in the end

and would not trade that for anything... Ruth is enjoying the Hillsong tunes

as well! ;-)

Until next time...