On Monday, Emily and I had to go to the pharmacy where my mother-in-law works to help them with a couple computer problems. Shan had her annual school employee Christmas party, so I went to work on the computers while she was playing dirty Santa with her co-workers. Emily wanted to go with me, and Tyler stayed with Shan's Dad.
In one case, Norton Internet Security Suite seemed to be conflicting with a recent software update. So, I went into the computer, and began uninstalling Norton. About halfway through the removal process, she says that the software company called and they are having the update issue in many of their sites, and that Norton is most likely NOT the culprit. Figures. I go ahead with the uninstall anyway, since this particular computer never hits the Internet to begin with.
The second problem stems from the problem that the pharmacist cannot print. I check his machine, and sure enough, he is no longer able to print to the shared printer he had previously printed to. I quickly pointed him to a different printer, then found the problem: An employee had swapped out computers (without telling anyone) and had failed to set up the shared printer on the "new" computer. Why do I put the word NEW in quotes? Well, in his infinite wisdom, the employee actually replaced his faster computer with a slower, older backup server. Brilliant! Yeesh.
After working on the computers, Emily and I ran past the Sonic for drinks and to pick up a couple burgers for my Mom's dog. When we got home, we each had our hands full as we got out of the truck and headed for the door. I do not remember what sparked the conversation, but at one point, I said, "I don't know what this world is coming to!"
Emily looked at the drinks in her hand, then looked at the drinks and doggie bag in mine, and said in all seriousness, "Sonic, I guess..." Ahh, out of the mouths of babes... Just when you think the world is going to pot, really, it's just going to Sonic for a little refreshment.....
I received my box(es) of 6000 cards, as I had discussed winning on eBay not long ago. My 5-year old daughter and I went through every card, picking out the Indians. I will input the ones I need into my card database, and then put the rest up for sale (along with the other 5950 cards) soon.
If you have not had the pleasure of looking through rows and rows of cards, searching for specific teams or players, with your very young child, allow me to paint you a picture:
The shipment is in two 3000-count boxes, so I pull one box onto the floor. Using an unopened pack of hockey cards in the box as a divider, I pull out a stack of cards and hand them to my daughter. I then grab a stack for me.
"We're looking for Indians, Honey," I tell her.
"Okay," she says, and begins to cycle through the cards, creating a scattered 'pile' on the floor. About halfway through her stack, she stops. "How do I know which ones are Indians?"
"Look for the picture of the Indian (the logo, though she knows what I mean because she has seen the 'picture' a billion times now), or the card will have the word 'Indians' on it. It begins with an 'I' for 'ih-ih-ih-Indians." I sound it out, so that she knows what to look for.
With one side of her mouth cocked upward and a raised eyebrow, she invokes the 'tone of DUH' and says, "I know what Indians starts with... Ih-Ih-Ih like IGLOO..." The 'DUH' is not vocalized, but I feel it hanging there just the same. All I can do, of course, is laugh.
She picks up the cards again, and this time methodically searches for Indians. She discards football, hockey, and basketball cards. All the while, she is calling out teams like the Pirates, the Red Sox, and the Cardinals. Frankly, I'm impressed. When I ask her how she knows that the card is a Cardinal, she says, "Because, we went to a Cardinals game, and I know what they look like." (Referring to the uniforms and logo) She also sets any card that she cannot make heads-nor-tails of aside. For whatever reason, some card maker opted to show basketball draft picks in photos of the guys in suits holding basketballs. Emily says, "I don't know what these crazy things are!"
As we complete stacks, the unopened pack is moved along, and I spend more of my time straightening out her 'pile' to put the cards back into the box than actually searching through my own stacks of cards, but it is a small price to pay. At one point, however, she has grown tired of looking through card after card, and suggests that I give her all the "shiny" cards to look through. Thus, we sort each stack into "shiny" and "not shiny." Basically, if the thing had any scrap of foil, it was shiny. Given the preponderance of foil on cards these days, spending my time 'fixing' her piles did not hinder progress much at all... :-)
In record time, we burn through 6000 cards, and we have created quite a nice stack of Indians cards, though I have to be honest and say I thought there would be alot more, simply based on the fact that in the past, Indians have served as "filler" cards for many of the bulk purchases I have made. I'm not sure if I am glad this is not the case this time or not... Ah well...
So, now you know... If you have young child or relative and have not had this experience yet, I encourage you to try it out for yourself. It's a memory you will both keep for a long, long time.
Tuesday night, Emily had her school Christmas program. It was very cute, and just about every child in the Elementary school wore their cowboy/cowgirl gear. The play/musical was about Christmas at the OK Corral, or something akin to it. Emily did not have a "featured" part, but I was lucky enough to find a seat that I could point the video camera right at her! :-) I will post a few still frames from the show once I get the video captured onto my computer.
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