This arrived in my mailbox today. The high temperature in Napoleon, Ohio, today? 10 degrees Fahrenheit.It's nice to know the Germans think warm thoughts at this time of year.
Monday, December 22, 2008
Warm thoughts from Germany
This arrived in my mailbox today. The high temperature in Napoleon, Ohio, today? 10 degrees Fahrenheit.
Saturday, December 20, 2008
My first Christmas letter
Hello, Everyone!
I hope that this letter finds you in good health and good cheer.
First, a confession. For years, my Dad and I would point and laugh at the accumulation of Christmas letters we received. “How broad/impersonal/cheesy!” we would chortle. Well, in my accumulated (note I didn’t say OLD) age, I have seen the wisdom of such documents. I realize that I don’t get in touch with some of you nearly often enough, and this is a way to fill you in on what’s been happening.
To those who chose to convey their holiday wishes to our family in the form of a Christmas letter, I apologize and humbly beg your forgiveness. (I’m not sure if Dad has contemplated this)
(insert Act of Contrition here)
Please note that I have submitted this document electronically. If it would make this letter more seasonally appropriate, then, by all means, feel free to print it out on the festive holiday stationery of your choice. You will not hear from my attorney.
I probably should have started doing this last year – I was too fried from the special Congressional campaign I worked for to even contemplate such a task. Had I done so, I could have offered a breathless recitation of my international travels and political activities.
Alas, 2008 was quite different than 2007.
Don’t take this to mean that I have taken up a hermit-like existence in my den.
No, I’m not married yet.
This past summer, I provided photography services for the horse races at several county fairs in the area. As much as I enjoy the racing at the fairs, I was smitten by the opportunity to take a tax write-off for fair food. Apparently, I do a pretty decent job – five of the eight circuit champions chose my pictures to go on their trophy plaques. While the proceeds of this venture have not been sufficient to make early retirement to a tropical paradise feasible, I made a precious discovery – it is, indeed, possible to deep-fry a Pop Tart. I did five fairs in 2008, and hope to add at least one more in 2009.
I didn’t take any big, exotic vacations this year, unless you consider Columbus, Ohio an exotic destination. I took in 5 Columbus Crew games this year, enough to make up for the years I didn’t make it to any of their games. I even got to see Mr. Posh Spice (David Beckham) play. My presence must have done The Crew some good, as they are now champions of Major League Soccer. I will probably take in a similar number of their games next year, as I have purchased a partial season-ticket package. I hope to finally get in a trip to Montreal in 2009.
Once again, I was the PA announcer for the girls’ soccer games at Napoleon High School. Unfortunately, the LadyCats did not have a very successful season. We did have a German exchange student on the team, so I was able to get some German practice whenever she scored a goal. I didn’t take two semesters of German in college for nothing. I particularly enjoyed secretly replacing the team’s warm-up music with assorted hits from Neil Diamond, ABBA, and Drafi Deutscher. I’ll be adding the boys’ games to my schedule in 2009. Just my luck – the boys will be in a rebuilding year, because the “Golden Generation” that led the Wildcats to the state semi-finals in 2007, is graduating.
I learned one thing about politics in 2008 – a county commissioner’s race moves at a decidedly slower tempo than a special election for Congress. I assisted Robin Weirauch in her (sadly, unsuccessful) campaign for Henry County Commissioner. This came on the heels of a wild and wooly special election to replace our late Congressman, Paul Gillmor at the end of 2007. My future political activities will be focused on getting BBC Top Gear presenter (that’s British for “TV host”) Jeremy Clarkson named to the post of Auto Czar. Yes, he’s British, but better him than Ralph Nader, and Jay Leno’s tied to NBC for a while.
Merry Christmas, Frohe Weihnacht, and Happy New Year. Whichever holidays you’re celebrating, make them good ones.
And I hope that 2009 is even better for you than 2008.
Take care,
Jake
I hope that this letter finds you in good health and good cheer.
First, a confession. For years, my Dad and I would point and laugh at the accumulation of Christmas letters we received. “How broad/impersonal/cheesy!” we would chortle. Well, in my accumulated (note I didn’t say OLD) age, I have seen the wisdom of such documents. I realize that I don’t get in touch with some of you nearly often enough, and this is a way to fill you in on what’s been happening.
To those who chose to convey their holiday wishes to our family in the form of a Christmas letter, I apologize and humbly beg your forgiveness. (I’m not sure if Dad has contemplated this)
(insert Act of Contrition here)
Please note that I have submitted this document electronically. If it would make this letter more seasonally appropriate, then, by all means, feel free to print it out on the festive holiday stationery of your choice. You will not hear from my attorney.
I probably should have started doing this last year – I was too fried from the special Congressional campaign I worked for to even contemplate such a task. Had I done so, I could have offered a breathless recitation of my international travels and political activities.
Alas, 2008 was quite different than 2007.
Don’t take this to mean that I have taken up a hermit-like existence in my den.
No, I’m not married yet.
This past summer, I provided photography services for the horse races at several county fairs in the area. As much as I enjoy the racing at the fairs, I was smitten by the opportunity to take a tax write-off for fair food. Apparently, I do a pretty decent job – five of the eight circuit champions chose my pictures to go on their trophy plaques. While the proceeds of this venture have not been sufficient to make early retirement to a tropical paradise feasible, I made a precious discovery – it is, indeed, possible to deep-fry a Pop Tart. I did five fairs in 2008, and hope to add at least one more in 2009.
I didn’t take any big, exotic vacations this year, unless you consider Columbus, Ohio an exotic destination. I took in 5 Columbus Crew games this year, enough to make up for the years I didn’t make it to any of their games. I even got to see Mr. Posh Spice (David Beckham) play. My presence must have done The Crew some good, as they are now champions of Major League Soccer. I will probably take in a similar number of their games next year, as I have purchased a partial season-ticket package. I hope to finally get in a trip to Montreal in 2009.
Once again, I was the PA announcer for the girls’ soccer games at Napoleon High School. Unfortunately, the LadyCats did not have a very successful season. We did have a German exchange student on the team, so I was able to get some German practice whenever she scored a goal. I didn’t take two semesters of German in college for nothing. I particularly enjoyed secretly replacing the team’s warm-up music with assorted hits from Neil Diamond, ABBA, and Drafi Deutscher. I’ll be adding the boys’ games to my schedule in 2009. Just my luck – the boys will be in a rebuilding year, because the “Golden Generation” that led the Wildcats to the state semi-finals in 2007, is graduating.
I learned one thing about politics in 2008 – a county commissioner’s race moves at a decidedly slower tempo than a special election for Congress. I assisted Robin Weirauch in her (sadly, unsuccessful) campaign for Henry County Commissioner. This came on the heels of a wild and wooly special election to replace our late Congressman, Paul Gillmor at the end of 2007. My future political activities will be focused on getting BBC Top Gear presenter (that’s British for “TV host”) Jeremy Clarkson named to the post of Auto Czar. Yes, he’s British, but better him than Ralph Nader, and Jay Leno’s tied to NBC for a while.
Merry Christmas, Frohe Weihnacht, and Happy New Year. Whichever holidays you’re celebrating, make them good ones.
And I hope that 2009 is even better for you than 2008.
Take care,
Jake
Wednesday, December 10, 2008
The City Stars get a poromotion....
The Cleveland City Stars, champions of United Soccer League-2, will be moving up to United Soccer League-1 for the 2009 season. They'll be competing against teams like the Montreal Impact and Charleston Battery. Home field is to be determined, but could be at John Carroll, Baldwin-Wallace, or Case Western Reserve.
More here:
http://www.clevelandcitystars.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=273&Itemid=107
More here:
http://www.clevelandcitystars.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=273&Itemid=107
Monday, November 24, 2008
We Are The Champions!
Frankie Hejduk closes the deal for the MLS Champion Columbus Crew, scoring the goal to make it 3-1 over the New York Red Bulls (photo: Kicker.de)A photo album here:
http://www.kicker.de/news/fussball/intligen/slideshow/object/500827/
An article about the MLS final in the Kicker:
An article about the MLS final in the Kicker:
http://www.kicker.de/news/fussball/intligen/startseite/artikel/500817/
And coverage from the Columbus Dispatch:
And coverage from the Columbus Dispatch:
Friday, November 14, 2008
Hey, Chubb Insurance Adjusters...
YOU SUCK!!!!
This is in regards to the theft of my GPS device, perpetrated last Friday night at the Embassy Suites in Dublin, Ohio.
Wednesday afternoon, an adjuster for Chubb Insurance Services, the agency for the Embassy Suites, left a message on my answering machine. Maybe they were looking to make it up to me somehow. When I finally connected on Friday morning, I was greeted with a rude, Gitmo-quality interrogation about the theft of my GPS unit. After I calmly detailed the facts of the situation, I got this response:
Adjuster (Adjustrix?) (snottily): "You do realize that the hotel had signs posted that they were not liable for items lost or stolen?"
Me (calmly): "Yes."
Adjuster (snottily, again): "Are you going to be filing a claim against the Hotel?"
Me: "No." (unspoken: THIS IS WHY I HAVE INSURANCE, YOU IMBECILE!)
This is what I don't understand - Why did this woman act as though I was the one committing some sort of fraud, or God forbid, filing some sort of lawsuit?
Here's the thing - the staff and managers of the Embassy Suites in Dublin could not have been more helpful in dealing with the situation. They called the police and made numerous calls attempting to find a repair shop willing to come out to the hotel to fix my car. Would it have been nice if they had knocked something off my bill for my trouble? Yes, but in light of the postive actions of the hotel staff, I see no need to go to war over it.
In contrast, my encounter with Chubb was unnecessarily unpleasant. So, yeah, CHUBB SUCKS!
This is in regards to the theft of my GPS device, perpetrated last Friday night at the Embassy Suites in Dublin, Ohio.
Wednesday afternoon, an adjuster for Chubb Insurance Services, the agency for the Embassy Suites, left a message on my answering machine. Maybe they were looking to make it up to me somehow. When I finally connected on Friday morning, I was greeted with a rude, Gitmo-quality interrogation about the theft of my GPS unit. After I calmly detailed the facts of the situation, I got this response:
Adjuster (Adjustrix?) (snottily): "You do realize that the hotel had signs posted that they were not liable for items lost or stolen?"
Me (calmly): "Yes."
Adjuster (snottily, again): "Are you going to be filing a claim against the Hotel?"
Me: "No." (unspoken: THIS IS WHY I HAVE INSURANCE, YOU IMBECILE!)
This is what I don't understand - Why did this woman act as though I was the one committing some sort of fraud, or God forbid, filing some sort of lawsuit?
Here's the thing - the staff and managers of the Embassy Suites in Dublin could not have been more helpful in dealing with the situation. They called the police and made numerous calls attempting to find a repair shop willing to come out to the hotel to fix my car. Would it have been nice if they had knocked something off my bill for my trouble? Yes, but in light of the postive actions of the hotel staff, I see no need to go to war over it.
In contrast, my encounter with Chubb was unnecessarily unpleasant. So, yeah, CHUBB SUCKS!
Sunday, November 9, 2008
Columbus Till I Die!
Another good (mostly) weekend in Columbus. The Crew won, the BlueJackets won, and oh, yeah, somebody broke into my car and stole my GPS unit.
(And I thought Dublin was the NICE part of Columbus)
The Crew had a nice pep-rally-type event at Easton Town Centre on Thursday night, followed by a playoff watch party at the Fado bar.
Went to my first BlueJackets game at Nationwide Arena Friday night. Columbus defeated Montreal 4-3 in a shootout. (I had mixed feelings about this - I was (sort of) rooting for Montreal)
In the wee small hours of Saturday, somebody broke into my car in the parking lot of the Embassy Suites in Dublin, taking my GPS unit in the process. I will say that the staff of the hotel were extraordinarily helpful in dealing with this problem - apparently about 10 other guests had the same thing happen.
And then the Crew finshed off the Kansas City Wizards 2-0 to advance to the MLS Eastern Conference final on Thursday night. Unfortunately, I won't be able to attend. Abel & I had great seats near the Nordecke (crazy section).
(And I thought Dublin was the NICE part of Columbus)
The Crew had a nice pep-rally-type event at Easton Town Centre on Thursday night, followed by a playoff watch party at the Fado bar.
Went to my first BlueJackets game at Nationwide Arena Friday night. Columbus defeated Montreal 4-3 in a shootout. (I had mixed feelings about this - I was (sort of) rooting for Montreal)
In the wee small hours of Saturday, somebody broke into my car in the parking lot of the Embassy Suites in Dublin, taking my GPS unit in the process. I will say that the staff of the hotel were extraordinarily helpful in dealing with this problem - apparently about 10 other guests had the same thing happen.
And then the Crew finshed off the Kansas City Wizards 2-0 to advance to the MLS Eastern Conference final on Thursday night. Unfortunately, I won't be able to attend. Abel & I had great seats near the Nordecke (crazy section).
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)