DavidGervino.com

New Coat

I went to zip my coat up earlier today and the zipper broke.  I've had the coat for over 6 years and I don't have the receipt, so I wouldn't expect to be able to get it repaired by the manufacturer for free.  Nevertheless, I called Columbia Sportswear to see what they had to say.  To my surprise, a human answered the phone in less than 2 minutes.  The gentleman said that regardless of the age of the coat and the fact that I don't have a receipt, it would be their pleasure to repair or replace the jacket.  I was thrilled!

The downside is that it may take up to 4 weeks before my coat is returned.  So that gives me an excuse to go out and buy another winter coat, so that I can keep warm while I wait for my Columbia coat to be sent back to me.  I'm leaning toward a coat from The North Face.  I have one of their backpacks and I've been impressed with the quality and functionality of it's design.

2007: The year of discontinued products

All in all, 2007 was a great year.  That being said, I kept finding that my favorite products were being discontinued.  Let's take a look:

Ragu Rich & Meaty Sauce was the best.  You know how a lot of people buy bottled spaghetti sauce and then they add ground beef to it? You didn't have to add beef to this sauce, as it already had plenty.  I wrote a letter to Ragu and told them how their sauce had motivated me to start making spaghetti again and how sad I was to see them discontinue this line.  Their reply basically explained that they had priced themselves out of the market because in order to make a profit on this sauce, which cost more to make than most of the competitor's sauces, they would have to charge significantly higher prices than their competitors.  I, for one, would have been willing to pay a premium for this sauce but I guess most people don't feel that way....

Hall's had these awesome cough drops that had this gooey cough-syrup center.  It was kind of like Freshen' up gum, from back in the day.  So you got the benefit of a cough drop & cough syrup, all in a small, easy-to-carry- package! Apparently these cough drops are no longer being made.

I am resisting the temptation to go down to the corner store and purchase both of the above items.  They carry stuff on their shelves that has been discontinued years ago.  But the potential health risks of using stuff that is way past it's shelf-life outweighs the benefits....

Bell's Amusement Park Closes

A friend of mine from Tulsa sent me an email telling me that Bell's was closing.  It's sad to see such a prominent landmark go away.  The first time I ever rode a roller coaster was at Bell's.  I spent a lot of weekends during middle school and high school there. 

From a business standpoint, I always liked that the park was family-owned and operated.  I have nothing against Six Flags or Disney or any of the other corporate-run theme parks.  It's just cool to see someone run a successful business who isn't part of some huge corporation.  For being a locally-owned facility, they had some pretty cool rides.  Their prices were a lot lower than the other, bigger parks, too.  You could get a season pass to Bell's for about the same price it would cost to go to Six Flags for just one day. 

They are planning to re-build at a new facility sometime in the near future.  I wish them luck at their new location.

Birthday

Today is my birthday! In the past three weeks I've been to Missouri, my parents came up to Chicago and I spent a week in Florida.  I'm exhausted! I went out to Al Capone's Hideaway last night with some friends for an early celebration, so I decided not to plan a big get-together like I did last year. 

On each of the past 7 birthdays that I've had living in Chicago, I've always taken some time to go down to Navy Pier to listen to some live music, look at the boats and reflect on my past year.  I've definitely had an interesting year.  I had become extremely frustrated by ever-changing commission plans and the feast or famine lifestyle that is typical of the sales industry.  I felt as though I had "climbed the ladder of success only to find out that it was leaning against the wrong wall" (to quote Stephen Covey).   So I made a conscious decision to take an entry-level position in a different field. Learning to live on 50% less than what I was accustomed to earning was tough but I've adjusted well.  I'm actually happier now than I've ever been.  Had I known how much happier I'd be by perusing work that I love rather than simply perusing money, I would've started making less money a long time ago!

Too Good to Be True

The new shower head, the new programmable thermostat and the brand new stove and refrigerator -- It all seemed too good to be true.  It was.

In a previous post I discussed how, for the first time ever, I had decided to renew my apartment lease.  Increasing my rent by only $30 per month and hooking me up with all the above-listed amenities seemed like a great deal.  I like my neighbors and I love the area here so I was actually looking forward to staying here for several years.  But I recently found out that my apartment complex is being sold and they are turning the units into condominiums!

This is the second time since I've moved to Chicago that I wound up having to move because my apartment was "sold out from under me." The last time this happened was a disaster.  The previous apartment complex actually sold my lease to the person who had purchased the unit that I was living in.  So every time I had a maintenance issue I had to contact this person, who spoke no English.  To make matters worse, she never wanted to fix anything because she would have to pay for it out of her pocket.  And she saw no point in fixing stuff since she was going to gut and replace everything with brand new stuff once my lease was up and I moved out.  So I hope I don't have to go through something like that all over again....

Home Sweet Home

So I recently did something I had never done before.... I renewed my lease!!! Normally, when my lease is up, I always move to somewhere that I think will be better, more fun, etc., etc.  But I really like the area and my place.  And when the landlord agreed to install a programmable electric thermostat for me, and to give me a brand new stove and refrigerator, how could I resist??? Since I'm going to be here another year, I took it upon myself to invest $10 for a new shower head.  I've always wanted a shower head that provided enough water pressure to throw me against the back wall of the shower.  My neighbor, Erik came over and helped me put it in.  We took out the rubber gasket that is designed to restrict water flow and that did the trick!

Here are a few of my favorite things about my neighborhood:

• St. Isidore's Catholic Church
• Lifetime Fitness
• Sushi Bar
• Meijer

Merry Christmas

Sorry for not updating the site in a while --  My new job is wearing me out and has me working all kinds of hours....  I thought this picture on the left was cool 'cause the cat looks kind of like my cat, Luke (A.K.A. "el Gato").

Every year at this time, it cracks me up to see the lengths people go to to take Christ out of Christmas.  If someone doesn't want to believe, that's their choice, but why try to ruin everyone else's holiday??? Speaking of "holiday," there has lately been a big push for retailers to say "Happy Holidays" rather than "Merry Christmas." But when it comes down to it, "Holiday" comes from "Holy" + "Day," so you really can't even use that as a secular greeting.  And Santa??? That hat and suit he wears is actually patterned after the old garb that bishops would wear, so no matter what part of Christmas you try to secularize, it really is all about Christ.

With the New Year rapidly approaching, I pause and reflect on the events that have occurred in 2005.  I've had some ups and downs over the past year.  I experienced going from a job where I made the most money I've ever made in my life to another job where I made less than I did at my "insignificant" part-time jobs in college.  Stuff like that really helps me to keep things in perspective and realize what is important. And when it comes down to it, nothing is more important than God, family and true friends.  I'm so grateful for all the blessings in my life.  I'm even grateful for the speed-bumps that jostled me around and helped me to keep my perspective over this past year. 

All signs point toward 2006 being a great year for me.   I hope and pray that it is a great year for you, as well!

Funny Experience

So I was over at Wheaton Religious Book & Gift yesterday, intending to pick up next year's guides for the Book of Christian Prayer, as well as next year's guide for the Daily Missal.  They had the first guide I wanted but not the second.  It kind of reminded me of when I had my seasonal job at Franklin Covey.

Franklin Covey's main business is concerned with selling training & tools (Planners, etc.) to help people be organized.  I worked there during the Christmas season in 2000.  So at Christmas, the busiest shipping time of the year, this company, which was committed to organization and planning in advance, thought it would be a good time to change shipping companies.  Hundreds of people would come in our store each day and ask for the 2006 calendar pages and we had to tell them to check back in another month or so because we didn't have any.  Even worse then telling the customers that our company didn't have the foresight to plan ahead was that we had to listen to their smart alec remarks, such as, "How does your company think it can teach others to plan ahead if it can't even get it's own stuff together?"

I must share another quick story this brings to mind.  In college, I had an unhealthy "addiction" to fried chicken.  In fact, I even wound up working at a fast-food chicken place as a part-time job.  The only thing I can compare this to would be the "addiction" some, more sophisticated people, have to sushi.  You just get a craving for it and you know you have to drop everything you're doing and go get it. 

So it was late one night and I was in my dorm when I had a "chicken attack" and I knew the only thing to do was to get out of bed, get dressed and go to KFC. This was back in the day, when they weren't ashamed of the poison they peddled, and they were proud to be known as Kentucky FRIED Chicken, rather than just their innocuous initials.  So I put on my sweats and flip-flops, step over countless bodies of passed-out inebriated people in the hallways of the athletic dorm in which I lived, and made my way to KFC.  Now to truly appreciate this story, you've got to realize that my college town only had one chicken place that was open past 10 p.m.  And I went to school in a remote location that was far from any other towns with late-night drive thru's.  So I'm sure you can appreciate the importance of me getting my chicken fix at this one particular KFC.  'Cause if I couldn't get it there, I was out of luck until 11 a.m. the following morning.

I drive to KFC and pull up to the drive-thru. "Welcome to KFC.  May I take your order?" This guy lets me get through my entire order before he says, "I'm sorry.  We're out of chicken." Out of chicken? Surely he must have meant that they were out of Original and only had Extra Crispy.  Or maybe he meant they were cooking more chicken and he didn't have any at that precise moment, meaning I'd have to wait 5 minutes.  So, utilizing the interview & interrogation skills I was learning from my Police Procedures class, I asked some follow-up questions and learned that they were, in fact, totally out of chicken! But even more ironic than a chicken place being out of chicken is that they stayed open, telling customers, "We're out of chicken but you can order mashed potatoes and cole slaw if you like." How ridiculous is that!?

Independence Day

Today is Independence Day.  Sometimes I get frustrated with politics, outrageous tax rates, etc.  But despite it all, I am so proud to live in the greatest country in the world.  How blest I am to have been born and raised in such a great nation.  So many others risk their lives just for the chance to come here and enjoy the freedoms and opportunities that I so often take for granted.

I also pause today and remember all the brave men and women, both in recent days and in years past, who put their lives on the line to secure the freedom that I enjoy here everyday.  President Bush in his speech last week encouraged Americans to show their support for the troops by doing simple things at home, such as displaying the American Flag.  I hope more people begin to take heart and proudly display the Flag everyday, not just on the 4th of July.

Meijer

One of the best things about living in Bloomingdale is the new Meijer.  Meijer is a huge store that sells just about everything.  They have groceries, cleaning products and even a haircut place inside.  It is just like a Super Wal~Mart except it is even bigger and cleaner.  And the prices are unbelievable.  I love this place!!!