Way Too Early!

Mrs. TBF is on her way to Miami right now. As usual, I rode in the taxi with her to the airport at 5:45 a.m., we said our goodbyes, and then I took the bus/tram back home.

Seeing that my gym now opens at 6:30 a.m. on weekdays, my original plan was to take the bus back into town from the airport, walk to gym, and then have an early workout. However, when I woke up this morning, I decided against it. I mean, I don't have to go to work, so WHY IN THE WORLD would I want to torture myself with an early-morning workout when I don't have to? Instead, I took the bus back into town, got myself a venti Americano at Starbucks, and then took the tram home.

And speaking about my gym...

They used to open at 8:00 a.m. on weekdays. One day, I mentioned to one of the trainers that they would probably increase their membership significantly if they opened earlier because people could workout before going to work.

Here was the first objection:

Swiss Trainer: But who vood vant to come to verk so early in zee morning?

TBF: Ummm... Probably any number of people who are out of work and need a job.

Swiss Trainer: But... vee vood haff to find a zertified trainer.

TBF: To unlock the front door so that people could come exercise? Anybody can do that! Just hire somebody part-time to come in and work for a couple of hours until the regular staff shows up at 8:00 a.m.

Swiss Trainer: But who vood vant to verk for only two hours per day?

TBF: Ummm... Somebody who needs the money and figures that two hours of pay per day is better than ZERO hours per day of pay. A stay-at-home mom or dad, a university student, somebody who wants to take on a second job.

Swiss Trainer: A second job????

Then, the next objection:

Swiss Trainer: Anusser seeng ees zat vee surveyed our members to see if zey vanted to come verkout earlier in zee morning, and almost everybody said no.

TBF: Yes, but did you survey people who are not members?

Swiss Trainer: No, vhy vood vee do zat?

TBF: Because THOSE are the people who are not joining the gym because it's not open before they go to work. I mean, I don't work, so I can come here any time I want. And since I can come at any time, why would I want to wake up at 6 a.m. and come workout when I don't have to. However, a person who gets to work at 8:30 a.m. might not join this gym because he can't workout before he goes to work. Maybe if you opened up at 6 or 6:30 a.m., you might increase your membership... significantly!

I sensed the gears grinding in his brain, but it really was a lot for him to take in. The concept of doing something that might benefit the customer and actually increase business was just such a foreign concept that he really needed to take some time to think about.

Now, I'm not saying I had anything to do with it, but imagine my surprise when I heard a few weeks ago that my gym would now begin opening at 6:30 a.m. from Monday to Friday.

I wonder how crowded it is? I guess I'll have to ask because... there's NO WAY I'm getting up that early in order to find out!

The Friendly Skies...

Mrs. TBF is on her way to NYC right now. Per the usual drill when she travels on business, I rode with her in the taxi to the airport (6 a.m. - OUCH!) so that I could spend every possible waking moment with her (Awwwwwwwww!), waved to her after she went through security, and then rode the airport bus/tram back home. Unlike previous times, I actually went back to bed this morning and woke up a little before 10 a.m. when Mrs. TBF called me to let me know that she had arrived safely at Heathrow.

While Mrs. TBF was going through security at our local airport, I noticed that there was some kind of "discussion" going-on with the security person regarding the liquids in her little Ziploc bag. It turns out that Mrs. TBF uses some unmarked containers for some of her liquids and the security person told her that she needs to....LABEL THE CONTAINERS WITH THE VOLUME AND CONTENTS! Can you believe it? How's that for security? Are you interested in bringing some gasoline on an airplane? Apparently the x-ray machines are unable to detect what it is. But... no problem! Just write "100 ml of water" on the container and you should be fine.

Sheesh!

Also, Mrs. TBF informed me that laptops must once again be taken out of the carry-on bags and loaded into individual trays at security at Heathrow. The result this morning? Massive back-up at security that stretched all the way to the top of the escalator causing mayhem as people tried to get off of said escalator.

Don't you just love it when people stop dead in their tracks after getting off of an escalator. Another good one is when people stop to hug all of their relatives immediately after exiting passport control/customs at any airport resulting in complete blockage of said exit for all the other passengers.

People! Sheesh!

It's GOTTA Be A New Personal Record!

I put up all of our Christmas decorations yesterday!



Yes, you read that correctly. I - Mr. Scrooge - unpacked all of our Christmas decorations (including this one available at fartmart.com) yesterday and arranged them in whatever places looked good. Not only that, but upon playing Bing Crosby and David Bowie's Little Drummer Boy duet on the iPod just after midnight early Friday morning, I also declared the Christmas music season* officially begun. Our apartment is just oozing holiday cheer.

What the heck has gotten into me??? Am I mellowing in my old age? Who knows?

Mrs. TBF came home from work on Friday evening to a very different apartment from the one she left to go to work in the morning, and she seemed very appreciative. Everything is up except for the tree, and that won't happen until a couple of weeks from now. We had a nice dinner, enjoyed a little wine, went to bed...

...and then she got up at 4:30 this morning in order to catch a 5:45 a.m. taxi to the airport.

Yup, that's right: she's off to the U.S., and she won't be back until next Sunday.

I went with her to airport, saw her off, and then took the bus/tram back home. When I walked in the door at 7 a.m., King was complaining about me not having fed him before we left for the airport.

No appreciation!

I have to say that King has ABSOLUTELY NO HOLIDAY SPIRIT! Although I think he secretly likes the little Christmas bandana we make him wear this time of year.


*day after Thanksgiving until midnight on January 6th (Three Kings Day)