A Five Star Review

 I mentioned in my last post that I'm visiting my older daughter for a family emergency.  Let me start by saying it's all good... nobody is dead or dying or injured or critically ill.

With that said though, older daughter asked for help and it's been all hands on deck.  I came out and am staying for a couple of weeks total.  Younger daughter came and left.  Wifey came and left.  This gave us all some time with family in combinations we haven't done for a while.  My kids made my heart melt...

My girls and I went on a hike a couple of days ago, and as is usually the case, we kind of talked about everything and nothing.  During the conversation one of my girls said "Dad, [sister] and I have said time and time again that you were literally put on this earth to be a dad."  My wife and my kids are without a doubt the center of my world.  And while I've heard that comment before, I've got to admit that every time I hear it, my eyes may leak a little bit.  It's kind of like when your favorite customer gives you a five star review.

Well... That Was... Challenging

 I had to make an unexpected trip to help my daughter with a family emergency.  She's never asked me to drop everything and come help before, so of course I did exactly that.  I got a plane ticket scheduled to leave my place around 5:00 AM next day and arrive at her place around noon.  Things didn't exactly go as planned.

About two hours after I booked my flight, I received notice that my flight had been canceled and the airline automatically rebooked me.  The rebooked flight left at 6:00 PM, with an overnight layover in Chicago.  The second leg of the flight left Chicago at 5:00 AM, another (additional) layover in Phoenix, and then arrival at daughter's place around noon next day.  Sigh...

I arrived at the airport and my flight ended up being delayed by about three hours.  No big deal, because the layover in Chicago was long anyway...

Around midnight, while at the Chicago airport, I found out that the second leg of my flight was canceled and the airline was unable to automatically reschedule.  I spent the next hour in line to speak with an airline customer service rep for rebooking.

The customer service rep found me a new flight scheduled to leave at 5:00 AM the NEXT day... meaning I'd be stuck in Chicago for about 36 hours.  Fortunately, another rep found me a trip leaving around 8:00.  But I still ended up sleeping at the airport.  (This was my choice.  It was less hassle to sleep in the airport than to go a hotel at 2:00 AM and then come back through TSA.)

That flight was also delayed.  I was worried that I'd miss my final connecting flight.  But no.  Why?  Because the final flight was late too.

In the end, it was a misadventure.  It was... challenging.  But I'm here for my little girl.  That's what matters. 

Oh yeah... one of the stops ended up being in San Diego, so I got to see MCRD San Diego, where I went to Marine Corps Boot Camp.  A quick detour down memory lane. 

Translation Below

I just read an article saying that ICE agents will be appearing at the Super Bowl.

Translation:  Gregory Bovino wants to watch the big game live, but doesn't have the clout, cash or connections to get his hands on a real ticket. 

We Need to Expand Our Vocabulary

Tragic... epic... owned... destroyed... unprecedented... heroic...

These are words I tend to see multiple times daily.  I'd like to point out the fact that these words are all considered superlatives when taken in context, and they're invariably used to grab the audience's attention.  Mass media and social media content generators alike love their dazzling headlines, and quite frankly, I'm over it.

To use a fictitious example, the death of a social media influencer's dog is not the same as 100 people dying in a train wreck that also somehow released a massive amount of toxic fluid into the local water supply, yet in both cases, the author of each article is likely to use the word tragic.  The dictionary definition of tragic is causing or characterized by extreme distress or sorrow.  While technically correct in both of these fictitious examples, the scale is radically different.  The passing of a canine companion can certainly be considered tragic to the owner, but it cannot realistically be compared to an event that causes massive ecologic damage and large-scale human death.

There's an old adage in business that says if everything is urgent, then nothing is urgent.  The idea behind this is that treating everything as an emergency dilutes all things critical, because we cannot categorize and prioritize.  The same core principle applies with over-utilizing extreme language in writing.  The end result is that the reader becomes desensitized, and the word loses impact.

I'm probably one of the few people who has noticed and publicly commented on this longstanding trend, and have incorporated this observation into my writing and speaking style.  While I know that I cannot single-handedly reverse this trend, I can do my part to correct things by avoiding sensationalistic language when possible.  As a result, I tend to use understatements in my writing, rather than overstatements.  I generally come across as a bit stoic*, which works for me, because when I do use high-impact words and phrases, they tend to have a bit more impact.  I wish more people did this.  We, as a society, need to expand our vocabulary.

*NOTE:  While I frequently speak using understated language, I will concede that I do overuse profanity when interacting face-to-face. 

Coldpocalypse Inbound

 A lot of the country is bracing for snow and/or freezing rain.  Not me.  I'm mentally preparing myself ready for bitter cold.  Over the course of the next week, it's supposed to get below zero every day except for one, and on one of those days, the high temp will be below zero.  It's supposed to get so cold that the news is warning about the possibility of exploding trees.  I will clarify that we're a little bit south of that $h!+, but still... once we hit this time of year, I have a hard time getting warm at all.  My hands and feet are virtually always cold.

Now that I've got the headline-grabbing sound bites out of the way, I should clarify that I really don't notice much of a difference between zero and -20.  Once the thermometer dips that low, it's all kind of the same... just cold.

I'll leave with a personal anecdote about the cold.  Back in the 90's I moved from the northern part of my state to the southern part.  There was a blizzard the weekend I was scheduled to move.  It was 50 below without the wind chill, and 90 below with it.  It was so cold that weekend that the antifreeze in one of my cars froze.  On top of that, we got a ton of snow.  Fortunately, I was able to leave the car behind for a week.  When I went back, it started right up, no damage.  The body sucked on that car, but that engine was unstoppable.

Farewell, Gilmour

I just put down my dog Gilmour. He was a frustrating, willful, fun, happy, energetic, smart dog, and I'm going to miss him tremendously.

I want to write more, but the words won't seem to come. 

My Experience with National General Insurance

 For those of you who don't know, I was in a gnarly car accident back in November.  The accident was 100% the other driver's fault.  After receiving the other driver's insurance information, I contacted their carrier and started the claim process.  I received a prompt response that they were taking full responsibility for the incident, and I went in hoping for a smooth experience.  Spoiler alert: The experience has not been pleasant.

Since I was injured in the collision, the other agent offered me some money for pain and suffering.  It wasn't a lot of money, but it was unexpected considering that my injuries did not require an immediate trip to the hospital, it was a pleasant surprise.

Once it was time to settle though, things took a turn for the worse.  A full week passed without hearing from National General Insurance regarding my vehicle.  I ended up filing with my carrier because of the radio silence.

I ended up seeking medical treatment a few days later, where I was diagnosed with a concussion and bruised ribs.  They told me they wouldn't pay until I signed a release.  The cost of the ER visit was about $1900, and the release said they'd pay up to $2000 for legitimate expenses.  If I'd signed the release, I'd have effectively capped out.

I went back and asked them to amend the release to $10k max, and give me a longer time frame to submit the expenses, in case additional medical issues popped up.  They agreed, but the release was worded in such a way that I'd have waived my claim to subrogation.  In case you're not aware, subrogation is the process that my insurance carrier will use to recover the cost of paying for my car.  In other words, the release said they'd pay my medical expenses, up to $10k, but I waived the right for my insurance company to recover their loss.  Nope.

So, I've had to go back to my carrier and submit my medical expenses to them, and I've had to contact the medical providers and ask them to submit the bills to my insurance company.  So much for a smooth experience.  On the good side, I've now experienced the benefit of carrying collision on a vehicle that's paid off.  My carrier is taking care of the problem, and they're not raising my rates because the accident was not my fault.