YOU HAVE TO CHECK THIS OUT!

As many of you may have noticed, I have been MIA from the blogosphere for the past couple of weeks. The reason for that is because my time and attention has been focused on sharing with as many people as possible something that I am very excited about - a video phone!





We just recently ordered ours and let me tell you this is one cool piece of machinery that is going to change the telecommunications industry!

The main reason we decided to get it is because when I was growing up my extended family were spread throughout Idaho and Utah. It isn't very far from Washington but in my family it was only feasible for us to see them every other year. So every time we got together for family reunions it was like meeting them for the first time all over again. I sometimes did not even meet some of my cousins until they were two years old!

Now that we have all grown up and married, it has gotten worse and I want something different for my kids. My family and my friends have expanded all across the United States and we rarely get to see them at all. This is why we were so excited about this video phone. The coolest thing about it is its simplicity. It uses VoIP technology to work over your high-speed DSL connection to bring your friends and family right into your home. You can actually see each other in real-time while talking!

We did try a webcam several different times but found the quality of the images were low, the picture was slow and sometimes it was hard to hear what everyone was saying. So when we stumbled upon this video phone and its awesome features we were hooked. Right now the company is doing a promotion and you can get the video phone for FREE - yes, I said free - with a two year commitment to their service and that is why I am making sure to let everyone know!

This is how it works. The service is provided through a great company called ACN - it is currently the world's largest direct selling telecommunications provider. When you place your order for your video phone, you pay your first month's service fee of $29.99 (plus the applicable taxes), the shipping and handling to get your phone to you and a set-up fee to get you started. After that, you only pay the $29.99 per month plus tax for the service which gives you unlimited local and long-distance anywhere in the United States, Canada and Puerto Rico. This is often cheaper than what most people pay for their local and long-distance service without the pleasure of seeing their loved ones!

Some really cool features the phone has besides the fact that you can see the person you are talking to include:

• the screen can act as a digital photo frame when the phone is not in use (this is really cool because it costs you anywhere between $70 and $120 to get a digital photo frame this size from Costco)

• you can conference in up to four other people and see them all on the screen at the same time

• you can plug the phone into your television and project the image on the larger screen (which is awesome when you want to open Christmas gifts with family that does not live nearby!)

• you can leave video messages when you are unable to reach another video phone user

• it has an auto-light sensor to adjust the image for lighter and darker times of the day

• it has an enhanced phonebook

• it has all the features you would expect from a phone such as enhanced voice mail, call blasting, call waiting, caller ID, call forwarding, and more!

You can keep your same phone number with this phone by transferring it over, it has 911 capability, and you can plug the base of your current cordless phone handsets into the back of your video phone and they will still work throughout your home. This phone has it all!

Now I am sure some of you are thinking about those moments when you have just gotten out of the shower and the phone rings and are debating whether you want people to see you in all your dripping-wet glory. Don't worry. Simply hit the privacy button to deactivate the camera and you can still take the call.

If you haven't guessed I have also fallen in love with this amazing company and am currently working for them. So if you decide you want this phone for yourself you will also be helping our family out by being a customer! ACN is the only company that has this technology and they are only giving it away for free through November 30, 2008. After that, the price of the phone will be $99.95. So CLICK HERE to take advantage of the FREE offer today! Check it out and see if it's for you-we would love to see you face to face!

The Tri-City Herald Fails to Deliver

About Me

Allow me to start by taking a moment to welcome all the Tri-City Herald customers who have accepted my invitation to drop by this blog. By way of introduction, my name is Andy and I'm a 34 year old accountant from Kennewick who aspires to be a published author, a life coach and a nationally-recognized public speaker. I also aspire to create financial freedom for my family through the direct selling of telecommunications services as I work with the only company of its kind that is endorsed by Donald Trump.

I maintain this blog primarily to entertain people and inform them of an occasional event in my life. I also have a second blog called The Millionaire Marathon where I seek to teach, inspire and motivate people to really go for the things they want in life (even though I occasionally do the same on this blog as well).

I am married to a wonderful woman who is a Future Director in Mary Kay and is working hard to become a Mary Kay Director by January 1, 2009. Together, we have three growing boys of the ages 10, 5 and our youngest just turned 3 on Halloween.

I have done newspaper routes off and on (more off than on) since I was 10 years old. In my younger years I was Carrier of the Year two years straight when I was 14 and 15 and I am fairly certain I would have won the award three years in a row if I hadn't quit the routes to work at KFC. My wife laughs when people from routes I had 20 years ago recognize me in the grocery store and tell me that, even to this day, I was the best newspaper carrier they ever had.

I started delivering newspapers again at the start of this year to work through a period of financial difficulty and to pay off some debts. We have long since cleared that period but I elected to stay on as a substitute carrier as I enjoy having the extra cash to put towards our family goal of becoming completely debt-free, to splurge on the occasional family adventure, and for the exercise I get as I work.

I am currently servicing approximately 435 customers over seven different routes, but those numbers tend to change nearly every week. I try and start the first route between 2-3 a.m. and I keep a good hard pace to get it all done by 5:30 a.m. to allow me time to play some basketball with my friends before work every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and to hit the Court Club for an hour of weightlifting on Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays. There are some days when the long days and short nights catch up with me and I need a little extra rest. On those days, I settle for just getting up with enough time to get the newspapers out by the deadline.

How the Tri-City Herald Fails to Deliver

I have invited Tri-City Herald customers to read this post to give them an understanding of the delivery issues that are affecting them as paying customers. They fall under three major categories:

1. Failure to Deliver Quality Carriers

The reason I am currently delivering your newspaper instead of a regular carrier is because of a combination of factors:

Size - Most of the routes I deliver cover large areas with sizeable gaps between customers. This makes for long delivery times compared to routes where the customers are closer together and the routes smaller in area. An example of this is that I had two routes earlier this year located side by side where I could deliver to 100 customers in only 20 minutes time where more recently I covered one route that covers twice the area of those two routes and it takes me 25 minutes to deliver to only 45 customers.

Difficulty - A lot of the routes that I get assigned to are hard on the body and the vehicle. I was recently delivering a number of routes in the south hills of the Canyon Lakes area which meant lots of running up and down steep driveways and stairways and across large lawns. Terrain isn't the only difficulty though. Every route faces the difficulty of Sunday delivery. You have seen the size of your Sunday paper combined with the additional ads. Multiply that size and weight by anywhere from 30-80 and imagine one person trying to carry that and deliver on foot. It can't be done without making multiple, time-consuming trips or by having someone drive you. And many parents these days are either unwilling or unable to drive their kids around on Sundays - especially considering the gas prices over the past year.

Low Pay - I was delivering one route for several months this past summer as they could not seem to find anyone willing to stick with it for such a small amount of money. This is why I take on so many routes and keep such a fast pace while delivering. Although I drive my car to deliver, some of you have seen me in the early hours jumping out of the car and racing from house to house, throwing papers as I go (my apologies if I have woken you with a poorly thrown newspaper). That isn't so much to keep me slim and trim as it is me trying to maintain an average of at least $20 an hour to make the delivery worth my time.

Changing Attitudes - It used to be that newspaper routes were delivered primarily by kids and young teenagers, but that is not the case any more. It is partly because it is hard to find reliable kids that are willing to work hard and consistently. I was just reading the book The Last Lecture by Randy Pausch where, in one of the chapters, he talks about how studies have shown that there is a growing sense of entitlement among today's youth. As a result, many are unwilling to do these routes either because it is hard work or they feel the work is beneath them. I agree with the lesson that Randy learned from his father who taught him that manual labor is beneath no one. That is one reason why I don't mind doing the paper routes even though I have a college degree. I think it sets a great example of hard work for my children.

I still think a paper route is a great way for kids to learn responsibility and to be dependable.

2. Corporate Failure to Support Substitutes

Due to the difficulties of finding good, quality carriers that last for a long time, we substitutes are a necessary evil that the District Managers are extremely grateful for. Unfortunately, that gratitude does not extend upward into the higher corporate levels.

District Managers have openly admitted that the overall corporate attitude is that, in spite of our assistance and support with the difficulties of high turnover of carriers, a substitute should be done away with as soon as possible. They fail to recognize the value of good substitutes in that they minimize customer loss by maintaining, and oftentimes improving upon, customer service and delivery until a permanent carrier can be found to fill the route again. They just want us gone altogether.

Until that happens, it would appear that the corporate executives wish to make our work and getting paid for our work as difficult as possible. They have instituted the use of constantly changing contracts, attempted to shift company costs to the substitutes, and refused to make payments for certain services we provide that we were being paid for in the past. It has made my life and that of the District Managers who employ my services very difficult. There was even a point this past summer where I was owed over $1,500 for work I had done and the Herald was refusing to pay due to the fact that they changed contract requirements after I had performed the work.

Fortunately, I have learned when I need to stand firm on issues and when I need to dance the corporate paperwork dance to keep getting paid on a regular basis. I have developed a pretty good working relationship with the District Managers in order to keep myself informed and ahead of the corporate games so as to avoid unnecessary difficulty. It is really unfortunate this attitude that they have chosen to have towards the very people that are trying to help them. It has damaged my relationship with the Tri-City Herald to the point that I have started working in a new direction to transition out of delivery service without disrupting service to you as a customer. This new direction is working with the telecommunications provider endorsed by Donald Trump. It is an exciting opportunity and I would love to share what I am doing with you. Click here for more information about an amazing offer that ends Nov. 30 and for a link to my website.

3. Failure to Forward Tips

This, I feel, is the largest abuse of the Herald's relationship with their customers and one that you should be aware of. Typically, when a customer makes a payment directly to the Tri-City Herald with a tip included, the Herald will forward the tip on to the carrier. This is not the case when there is a substitute on a route. The tips that you pay into the Herald do not go to the substitute carrier that is currently delivering your newspaper - the Herald keeps them!

Denis Waitley taught me that the word "tip" stands for To Insure Performance. Because of this Denis actually advocates giving a tip in advance rather than after good service has been given. Well, as of right now, your tips are only insuring the performance of the Tri-City Herald balance sheet right now.

I do not tell you this to try and solicit tips from you. I work hard to make the amount of money that I make and am appreciative of my health and ability to do so and I appreciate the compensation I receive for my efforts. I have had the added pleasure of meeting some of you in the early hours and have appreciated your kind expressions of satisfaction in my level of service both in your words and in the tips handed to me. I have even managed to spot a rare "To the TCH Carrier" envelope taped to a door or propped up on the edge of the porch where I would see it. Again I thank you for your generosity and thoughtfulness. (If I have missed other generous offerings, I do apologize. I can only think that I overlooked it due to the pace that I keep and the darkness of the morning.) Nor do I tell you this to try and upset you to the point of canceling your subscription or of making angry phone calls into the Tri-City Herald as both of those could make a significant impact on my income. I just want to make you aware of the situation so that you can determine whether the tips you choose to pay go to the carrier or the company.

I do not know how long I will be a substitute on your route, but you can always check this blog to find out. I will post route changes as the occur as well as maintain a side section that is labeled "Nice Guy Delivery" where you can check to see if your address falls in my current delivery area (A good reference, too, if you notice changes in the quality of the service you are receiving. You can check to see if it is me or someone else). If I am still delivering to you and you wish to leave me a tip, you may e-mail me at niceguyblogging@hotmail.com and leave me instructions of where to look for the envelope. Otherwise, you can call the Tri-City Herald at (509) 586-2138 during their office hours and instruct them to leave a comment on the "top sheet" for the route with said instructions. This method will actually work whether I am your carrier or whether somebody else is.

These are the three areas where I feel the Tri-City Herald has failed to deliver to you as a paying customer. For the most part, I have no control over these situations, but I will continue to do what I can to minimize the impact of these difficulties where I can.

A Small Favor

If you have read this far in the blog, I appreciate you taking the time to come by and see what I have to say and invite you to come back again soon. I do have one last favor to ask of my Tri-City Herald customers and I hope you do not mind me asking. During the winter months, sidewalks and porches are filled with decorations and/or become wet and slick at times. Please leave a porch light on to insure my safety, to protect your decorations from damage, to keep your paper dry, and to enable me to deliver to your doorways more accurately. I would really appreciate it.

Thank you again for visiting my blog and I hope to see you here again. Don't forget to click here to read about the details of the awesome telecommunications offer that expires this month. You can also click here to find out more about the company I am working with and some different ways that I may serve you. If something peaks your interest, e-mail me at niceguyblogging@hotmail.com with your name and number to allow me the opportunity to discuss those interests further. Have a great day!

What to do when you feel powerless...

Chuck Noland: We both had done the math. Kelly added it all up and... knew she had to let me go. I added it up, and knew that I had... lost her. 'Cos I was never gonna get off that island. I was gonna die there, totally alone. I was gonna get sick, or get injured or something. The only choice I had, the only thing I could control was when, and how, and where it was going to happen. So... I made a rope and I went up to the summit, to hang myself. I had to test it, you know? Of course. You know me. And the weight of the log, snapped the limb of the tree, so I-I - , I couldn't even kill myself the way I wanted to. I had power over nothing. And that's when this feeling came over me like a warm blanket. I knew, somehow, that I had to stay alive. Somehow. I had to keep breathing. Even though there was no reason to hope. And all my logic said that I would never see this place again. So that's what I did. I stayed alive. I kept breathing. And one day my logic was proven all wrong because the tide came in, and gave me a sail. And now, here I am. I'm back. In Memphis, talking to you. I have ice in my glass... And I've lost her all over again. I'm so sad that I don't have Kelly. But I'm so grateful that she was with me on that island. And I know what I have to do now. I gotta keep breathing. Because tomorrow the sun will rise. Who knows what the tide could bring?

Castaway

A Tribute

This was a post that I wanted to do last week, but, due to the craziness that life sometimes is, I never managed to get it done. I want to make up for that today.

I have been under the influence of some amazing people throughout my life. I have wonderful parents that raised and taught me the best they could. I have had wonderful school teachers that drove me and inspired me to achieve. I have had great sports coaches that taught me the fundamentals and instilled in me the drive to win (although my dad still claims full credit for everything I know on the basketball court). I have had incredible Christ-like examples in the church that taught me the meaning of faith, charity and service. I have had mentors and teachers in the areas of business and personal development that have inspired me to dream big and to go for the things that I want in life. I have had loving girlfriends (before I was married, of course), loyal friends, great coworkers and a number of acquaintances throughout my life. And all of these have made an incredible impact on my life and helped make me the man that I am today. But none of these, individually or collectively, have had near the impact and influence in my life than the incredible woman that I am proud to call my wife.

I met my wife at the end of August in 1996 at the church were a group of young single adults had gathered to play volleyball. I was usually one of the first to show up, but I came late that night for some reason. I was speaking to a friend of mine in the doorway to the gym when I noticed her out on the volleyball court. It wasn't because she was an incredible volleyball player (she is the first to admit that she is much more adept at dodging the ball than she is hitting it), but there was something about her that caught my attention. She wasn't the drop-dead gorgeous type, but she was adorable. I could see she loved to laugh and have fun and had the dazzling smile to prove it. Unfortunately, it was also apparent that she was not there alone.

I soon joined in the games and was having a good time, but after a while I needed some time alone to deal with some thoughts that were weighing on me. I slipped off into one of the rooms where there was a piano and "practiced" playing for a while (meaning plunking out the notes to the only three songs I ever taught myself). What I did not know at the time was that she had noticed me, too, and, after a while, noticed my absence. Under the guise of needing a drink of water, she went looking for me. She heard my feeble attempts at playing and peeked in the door wondering if I was the one at the keys when she promptly embarrassed the both of us - me by my finding out that someone was watching me play and her by my catching her watching me.

Surprisingly, she didn't run away (don't the beauties always run from the beasts at first?). She boldly walked in and introduced herself and we met for the first time. I quickly embarrassed myself for the second time that evening by forgetting her name (I swear it wasn't because I wasn't paying attention - I was just stunned by the fact that such a lovely young lady was speaking to me), but she happened to forget mine as well (which is okay because I am really not the memorable).

Nobody has ever accused me of moving too fast, so I didn't ask her out on a first date for a good week and a half (that is a great Law of Attraction story if you ever want to hear it). From that point on, we were nearly inseparable as we saw each other pretty much every day. A month and three days after our first date, I asked her to be my wife and amazingly she said, "Yes!" Then, on December 14, 1996, 3 months and 18 days from the day that I first set my eyes on this incredible woman, I married her in the Portland, Oregon temple for time and all eternity!

I couldn't have asked for a better wife than her. She is my best friend and partner in all things. She is a wonderful mother who has gone to death's door three times to bring three wonderful children into this world and nearly stepped through that door due to a pregnancy that would never come to fruition. She is one of the hardest working women that I know and is building an incredibly successful business that allows her to be home with her children through her efforts (most people don't realize how hard she works because she has so much fun doing it).

She is a loving and caring friend who attracts wonderful women to her (Yes, M.L., M.E., A.J., L.F. and K.W. - this means you). I have seen her shed tears over the loss of friends over what I believe to be petty jealousy and unfairly judgmental attitudes. My wife has a strong desire to do those things that are right, no matter how appealing the alternative may be. This has put her at odds unfortunately with those who get uncomfortable around her because they prefer to do what is easy or popular. It hurts her deeply; particularly when some of these women have ruined other relationships my wife has had with other women and even the possibility of a relationship through their mean-spirited gossip and ridicule. But I am extremely proud of my wife and how she has born these difficulties. It has never been easy for her, but she valiantly strives to emulate the Savior and show genuine Christ-like love to even those who have abused her in this way.

My wife loves to serve others. She is not an early riser, but she will drag herself out of bed to make me breakfast and pack me a lunch before I head off to work. When there is a friend or family member in need, she always puts herself forward to help when she is able and feels terrible when she is not able to do so. She sometimes volunteers to the point of overextending herself, but that is simply more evidence of her love for other people.

She also has somewhat of a daring and adventurous spirit. She recently took me on a vacation to a bed & breakfast (something she loves) in Hayden, ID which is right next to Silverwood (something I love). The whole trip was incredible! She consented to taking one trip on the Tremors roller coaster with me when roller coasters are REALLY NOT HER THING. She has a little bit of a fear of heights and sudden death by a car derailing at high speeds. But she went on it with me when I asked her to.

She later confessed that when she looked at the picture of the ride, she didn't realize how big it was because she didn't recognize over 50% of the track as being part of the ride. They take a picture about halfway through the ride and while everyone else looks like they are laughing and having a good time, she is the only one that looks genuinely terrified. She said it took everything in her to keep from breaking down and bawling when it was over and her legs were all weak and rubbery when she got off. She swears she will never step foot on a roller coaster like that again, but I am proud of her facing her fear like that and some of the other risks she took with me that day.

She is also a wonderful example of gratitude and appreciation. She just had a birthday on the 6th of this month (I know I am not supposed to reveal a woman's age so I will simply say that she is older than 20 and younger than ... 33) and the boys and I only bought her two simple gifts - a DVD and an IPod. I can't tell you how many times in the last four days that she has thanked us and expressed how much she loves her gifts, particularly the IPod (I learned through the examples of my parents the importance of listening when a woman expresses an interest in something - she mentioned the IPod months ago and she totally was not expecting it when her birthday came around. Surprise!).

She has become an amazing example of achievement and what is possible if you dedicate yourself to a goal and stick with it no matter how difficult or frustrating it may get. In the past year, she has lost over 60 pounds, something she has been struggling with for ten years now. It has done wonders for her self-esteem and her self-confidence to achieve such a major goal and that victory has translated into other areas of her life.

I could go on and on and on about how remarkable she is. But let me just finish this by saying that I love her dearly. In the past twelve years that I have known her and the nearly twelve years that I have been married to her, I have had the pleasure of watching her grow and develop from the wonderful woman she was back then to the marvelous woman she is today. And, in turn, she has helped me grow and develop as well. As amazing as it is and as impossible as it may seem, I love her more and more each and every day. She is much, much more than I ever would have dreamed of in a wife.


My friends, if you have read this post, I ask you to do me one simple favor. I want her to receive "Happy Birthday" wishes from all over the world. Wherever you are, near or far, please take a moment to click on her blog and on her last post (yes, I know she hasn't posted in two months now) leave her a comment. Wish her "Happy Birthday", remind her that her husband loves her very much and tell her what an amazing woman she is. She would love it and I would very much appreciate you doing this small kindness!

Nice Produce!

My wife was telling me last night how observant J3, our youngest son, is becoming. He just happened to notice yesterday that mommy's body is a little bit different than the rest of the people in our house. He had just turned 3 years old on Halloween and was obviously still very much in the spirit of the season when he pointed to my wife's chest and said, "Mommy, pumpkins!"