Ok, so I have been know to be oversensitive when it comes to animals.  And, if it weren't for this particular problem of mine, I would probably have dedicated my life to caring for them (and, who knows, perhaps when I grow up, I still will)!!

I was watching Animal Planet today and a commercial for the ASPCA came on, and it reduced me to tears.  I can't stand to see animals that have been abused and neglected by people that promised to take care of them.  So with that said, I am not on a new crusade to help the best that I can. 

Support ASPCA

The above link is to the ASPCA website with a donation form.  Anything will make a difference for the lives of these animals....will you please help!

OK, so I know that the heat today was a little unbearable...but only because it has been so cold this past winter (and especially this past week), but what it is about the heat that makes people so cranky?  This particular blog comes from the most ridiculous customer that walked into the restaurant.  It was 2, and this older woman (and I believe her mother) came into the restaurant to eat, we were closing, and had either the front section (near the door with a pleasant breeze) or the patio open.  The rest of the restaurant was already set up for dinner, and I gave the woman the option where she would like to sit.  She chose the patio, and then her mother suddenly perked up and said, she didn't want to sit outside if it was hot...and it was, and I told her so.  I wasn't going to lie to get them to come in, be uncomfortable and complain the entire time about it.  I suggested the table right in the front by the door, and like I said, there was a nice breeze coming in.  The mother scampered out the door before I could finish suggesting it, and her daughter snarled at me and as she was walking out the door, she turned and said to me, 'with a attitude like that, you'll never get customers in here'  and, then she was gone.  Now, after an EXTREMELY busy brunch, I was tired and did all that I could to bite my tongue...because what I really wanted to say to her was that with an attitude like hers,  I felt sorry for whoever did end up serving them their meal.  But, I didn't.  That's not my style.  However, one of the customers that was sitting up front overheard the entire conversation and was baffled at the whole thing.  She told me that it was probably best that they didn't come in for brunch, as there would probably have been nothing that could have been done to please them.  Odds are that she was right about that.  Unfortunately, in our society today, there are people out there are are just permanently unhappy and feel the need to share it with the entire world....it's a shame too, life is too short!

So, about a month ago, our brand new car got hit right out in front of the restaurant.  And not just a little ding, I'm talking ripped the license plate right off kind of hit.  And, with that came all the pretty little scratches.  That being said, the hit was actually witnessed by one of our regular customers...who was kind enough to come over and tell Deano where the car came from (and bring the license plate).  It happened to be a friend of one of our neighbors...what floored me was the fact that she didn't even stop to leave a note on the car.  Apparently she was under the impression that no one saw her, or she didn't care.  I'm guessing that she didn't care.  There was a police officer that was just coming back to his car when Deano was going out to look at it and he came over and Deano told him what happened.  It was dark, so you really couldn't see much damage...but he did confirm that we were NOT parked anywhere near the driveway itself, we were far enough away that she had to have jumped the curb and hit it.

Now, we have had this car for about 6 months and it's been the victim of a hit and run twice!  The first one went unseen, and certainly there was no note put on the car to even say sorry....I am just grateful that this time, there was someone to see it, and was kind enough to give us the information we needed.  My parents gave me (us) the car for my birthday last year (it was my dad's and it did not have ONE scratch on it when we got it).  Of course, our old truck (the jeep) was never hit once in the two years that we drove it to the city, this is probably due to the fact that it had a steel bumper and anyone in their right mind would be less than smart to tangle with it! 

Well, the next day after brunch, Deano and I went over to the neighbors house to talk to them about it.  Norman was very nice about it and told us that he would contact the lady that hit us and have her call.  Several days later Maureen finally called us, and was not very remorseful about what she did.  I believe that her exact words to Deano were 'it happens in San Francisco all the time'...like that is supposed to mean it's ok to hit someone else car.  Then she proceeded to go on about how we 'should see the damage to her car.'  Huh?  I really don't care about the damage to her car, I'm not the one that hit her car!  She was so nonchalant about it, like we were imposing on her for something that she did.  She told Deano that she would be in at the end of the week to take care of it.  I wasn't too surprised when she didn't show up, and Mr. Nice Nice didn't even bother to get her phone number to be able to call her.  So, off I go back over to Norman and Rachel's and ask him to have her contact us.  She didn't.  She did, however tell Norman that she would be in sometime next week to take care of it.  Again, no show.  Norman came in for brunch that weekend and asked if she showed up, Deano talked to him and told him no.  He was so embarassed.  He told Deano that if she didn't show up the following week to let him know and he would personally bring her in and get it resolved.  About another week or so went by and still nothing, so this past Tuesday before work I went over and Rachel answered the door.  I explained to her that Maureen still had not come over and that I had no way of getting ahold of her.  She was speechless, apparently Maureen had given them the impression that she had taken care of it, and she turned red with embarasment.  I told her that this has been something that happened almost a month ago and that I wanted it taken care of, now.  I told her that I would give Maureen until Wednesday to get us her insurance information or I would be going to the police and file a hit and run report (which, in San Francisco, is punishable by up to 6 months in jail and $2500 in fines ~ all on top of the cost to fix the property that was damaged).  Now, I am not a vengeful person, but I am a responsible person and had I hit someone else's car and did damage, it would keep me awake at night if I just walked away from it.  However, this was something that I obviously needed to threaten to even get a reaction from this woman.  And, it worked.  Suddenly the very next day she was on the phone with Deano, scheduling a time with him to come over and get it taken care of...and has since called him twice to give him status on her insurance.

Now, as I sat yesterday out front talking to my mom on the phone, I see a gentleman get into his old beat up Honda and while trying to get out of his parking spot, hit the brand spanking new Infinity in front of him; not once, but twice.  The first hit left a nasty crack in the new bumper and the second hit left a really nice paint scratch...and he just drove off.  Good thing for me sitting there and writing down his license plate number and make of car.  I left a note on the car that was damaged, along with my name and told them I saw what happened and to contact me if they needed a statement.  What is it about our society today that people feel that it's okay to do something like that and just walk away?  It's sad that it has come to this....

I could go on forever about this, but it's late and I need my princess sleep!

What have you lost that you wish you still had?
Submitted by gunderson bee.

My sanity.

Other than TeamVox, who was the first person you added to your Vox neighborhood? What made you want to be their neighbor?
Submitted by TheFiercestCalm.

I guess that would be JR.  He sent me an invitation last night after we were talking about something while he was down at the 'shop' making ketchup the Ddog (coming soon to a farmer's market near you!).

Top 20 Most Admired Companies

To create the top 20, Fortune and its survey partners at Hay Group asked the experts -- in this case, more than 3,700 people from dozens of industries -- to select the 10 companies they admire most. This year's winners all have strong records of innovation, leadership, and financial strength -- and their employees know it.

100 Best Companies to Work For

See the full list of America's top 100 employers, including detailed company profiles, top locations, and contact information.

Sure, Ashley outranks me with Google (#4, and #1), but heck, I'm not doing so bad :)

What's the biggest leap of faith you've ever had to take?

Moving to the other side of the country with no job, no money, and a group of friends to start a theatre company.  It was scary.  I remember after I first arrived in Portland, that I had a terrible panic attack.  It was so bad I couldn't even remember what bus to take home.   What a day that was. 

Zoombak™ Advanced GPS Dog Locator

http://www.zoombak.com/products/pet/

It keeps tracks of your pets or assets (children). They need to make one with a titanium case, tamper alarm, and a titanium cold-pressed lock and shackle too.

It supports virtual fencing which is about the coolest damn thing about GPS ever.

Zoombak-pouch-attach-lg

Bitter Explosion 2008 is done!

Homebrew Batch #1 (Bitter Explosion) Done!

Went and saw Blade Runner / The Final Cut at the Castro last night for Lindsey's Birthday.

Awesome. Truly nice to see it on the big screen.

Ario linked me to the new stuff:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blade_Runner_(versions)#Differences

Blade_runner

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