It's Beginning To Look a Lot Like.....Summer?!?!

A week ago, metropolitan Memphis was blanketed by a nice, wintry, sleet/snow/ice mixture that certainly put a funny-shaped-object into travel plans. Today, well.....Needing to cleanse my TrailBlazer of the residue from the aforementioned weather predicament, I began washing my vehicle in shorts. That's right, ladies and gentlemen, according to my handy, dandy atomic clock with remote outdoor thermometer, the temperature was in the 70's. On New Year's Eve. How crazy was that? But now the vehicle that turns 1-year old tomorrow (at least, according to banks and all financially interested parties) is nice and clean. And I'm wondering what in the *%$#@ the rest of the 'winter' holds for us.

An Unsolicited Opinion

This blog entry pertains only to country music and/or CMT/GAC fans. If you choose to read this and aren't familiar with these elements, any comments such as "What in the hell are you talking about?" will not be responded to by this author.

Does anybody else find it virtually sacreligious that in her video to When I Think About Cheating, Gretchen Wilson stands on the Grand Ole Opry stage and pretends to sing to a storied audience? I mean, come on. First of all, where's the creativity and story-telling in the video process? Second, you've had one hit. One. Implying that you belong on that stage is, to me, a slap in the face to all that have deservedly graced that storied place in country music history.

2005 Goals

My cousin Steve blogged a short time ago about his 2005 resolutions, so I thought I might follow suit and publicly disclose some of mine. I've never really been one to write them down and stay committed to them, but perhaps that's because I have far more virtues than vices and thus little to work on!!! : ) I really don't view all of these as resolutions, as in "I need to fix this" or "I've been a bad person and I need to start doing this better." Some of these might be a bit lofty, but I'll throw them all out there--simple or complex. Maybe in a year, I'll report a success rate of 80 or 90%.

• Stop smoking. Wait, I never started. : D
• Quit my 2nd job (this is practically a no-brainer)
• Learn to play my saxophone
• Lose 30 lbs and be more fit
• Sell 10 houses (i.e, transaction sides)
• Reduce debt to mortgage and autos
• Go on a mission trip
• Buy a new house
• Have a baby (OK, technically this duty falls to my lovely wife, but you get the point)
• Be more organized at home

So, there ya go. If I think of any more, you'll be the first to know

The Grinch Who Stole Christmas (decorations)

Wow, has it really been over a week since I've blogged? Geesh! May I first offer my apologies to all my loyal blog readers (both of you), for I have let you down in this time of giving!!

Well, after coming home from a Christmas shopping trip last weekend, Leah and I noticed that a snowman decoration that hung over the mailbox, with several long streamer-type things that blew in the wind, had been stolen. Now, it probably cost me less than 10 bucks. But what kind of freak cruises my street, either on purpose or accidentally, and scopes out desirable and easily accessible Christmas decorations?!?! I'm really not gonna invoke some sort of "May you burn in hell" type of attitude, but I sure hope that the lies that have to get crafted (where it came from, why it's faded a little bit, etc) come back to haunt them. Maybe he/she needs to find the Christ in Christmas, who knows.

Welcome, iJeff Readers!!

Some of you might've stumbled upon my little blog with the assistance of a link on Jeff Rushing's blog. To any or all of you........Welcome!! I'd have to say that my life isn't near as exciting as Jeffery's, but hey.....somebody has to have the normal stories, right?? Sorry, no movie review, book review, entertaining travelogues, and I've never played golf in Scotland.

For anybody that wonders about the Scott-Eric connection (we weren't roommates, college buddies, or Double Dare contestants, so there has to be a connection SOMEWHERE, right?!), pull up a rocking chair up by the fireplace and let Uncle Eric tell you a story.

It was the fall of 1985, and I found my spot in Mrs. Rice's 7th grade homeroom class at Raleigh Egypt Junior High. As luck and divine intervention would have it, she had us arranged in alphabetical order. In front of me sat Scott Rushing (aahhhh, the picture becomes clearer). And so a friendship was born.....After two years and enduring Mr. Ferris's homeroom, Mrs. Mullins' Spanish class, Mrs. Gatti's American History, and Mr. Flower's sneaky intercom monitoring, I departed for White Station High. Then it was the road trip to Nashville to visit Vanderbilt University. Scott ended up attending Belmont, but that was right down the street so we had us a good ole time. Virtually inseparable. In 1994, I had the honor of being Scott's best man. I swore at the time that I'd repay him with the same honor. Little did he know, he had to wait 8 years!

I don't know exactly how they first met, but somewhere along the way, Scott's brother, Jeff, met my cousin, Steve. They were the same age, had a lot in common, blah blah blah. After graduating, they both headed off to the booming metropolis of Jackson, TN and Union University. They continued their parallel lives by majoring in sports journalism-type stuff (they were the Harry Caray/Steve Stone of Union basketball, I think), and both went on to work at Channel 5 (WMC-TV) in Memphis.

So there you have it.....To summarize, Scott Rushing and Eric Russell are friends and former classmates, who attended junior high together, but not high school or college. Jeff Rushing and Steve Russell are friends who attended college together, but not high school. Jeff and Scott have twin sisters who..........do not figure into this equation at all.

TennCare--"Paging Dr. Fraud...."

You know that big financial sucking sound that our lovely TennCare program makes from our state budget? And how all these folks are crying foul because their taxpayer-funded insurance program is in danger of being drastically reduced or even eliminated? Here's why:

It seems that almost 10,000 enrollees have "questionable (translation: fraudulent) pharmaceutical practices" and we're just now deciding to see if they can explain themselves.

"With prescription drug costs spiraling, TennCare wants to know why 8,000 enrollees have at least three drug claims a month at pharmacies more than 100 miles from their homes. Another 1,400 letters are on their way to folks who used more than three pharmacies or got prescriptions from five or more doctors."

Did you catch that? ".....At pharmacies more than 100 miles from their home". Now, we all know that you can't drive 1.0 mile in the USA without meeting a Walgreen's (heck, there's 3 within approximately 4 miles of our house). But that's about like me driving to a Walgreen's on the OTHER side of Jackson, TN to get my prescription filled. Hmmm.......I'm sure there's a perfectly legitimate excuse, right?

This is precisely the problem with government assistance of ANY kind. If it was policed to the point where 100% verifiable and legitimate cases were the only one getting it, fine. But there's something VERY wrong with people paying for groceries with food stamps and then loading them into a $50,000 SUV, and people getting 35-40 (or more) prescriptions per year 100 miles from their house. I'd love for any liberal and their "it's our duty and moral obligation to support these people" mindset to defend this.......Please. Meanwhile, Tennessee is pissing it's money away supporting these addicts. And we wonder why we have budget troubles.

Walking Down the Aisle of Memory Lane

Driving to work today (which involves a 1 mile stretch of Germantown Parkway, one of the busiest thoroughfares in Memphis), I noticed a billboard for the upcoming "Bridal Rhapsody Extravanganza" on January 9th. Big deal, you say.

This time 3 years ago, I had paid off a 60-day layaway of Leah's engagement ring and was preparing to pop the question. On January 4, 2002 (which was a Friday), said question was popped. Part of her engagement ring scavenger hunt was a basket that contained a few items, one which was tickets for this bridal show 2 days later. The downside was that every vendor there had standard questions such as, "When is your date?" and "Who is doing your ______ (flowers, hair, catering, garbage cleanup, etc)," to which we politely had to reply, "We don't know! We've only been engaged 36 hours!!!"

I don't know that we actually found any service providers there, that day, at that show. Wait, yes we did. We sampled a bite of cake from the lady who we eventually tracked down to do ours. Point being....we had an absolute blast that day. From caterers to formalwear to cruises to DJ's, it was all there, and it was a fitting beginning to 10-month ride of a lifetime.

Leah, my dear......I would give anything I own to live 2002 over again. But we'll always have the memories. Our journey as husband and wife began with the first clue of your scavenger hunt at the Pizza Hut in Bartlett, and ended with us touching down at Memphis International, returning from San Juan and an awesome cruise to such places as Barbados and Aruba. And let us not forget your Dad taking part in doing the "YMCA" at the reception.

Thank you Dennis Zanone, Rockin' Robin, Peggy Montgomery, Regis, Chrissy at Men's Warehouse, Elaine @ Executive Chef, Appling Manor, the crew of the Carnival Destiny, and most of all, our parents.....For giving us an experience that we'll remember and cherish until we take our last breath. And Leah, I love you!

Coming to a Door Near You

The Memphis Area Association of REALTORS has informed me and my 4200 fellow REALTORS that we are changing to new lockboxes after the first of the year. For those of you who don't know, when you list your house with an agent (hopefully Crye-Leike Realtors, and yours truly, Eric C Russell), there has to be this little secure, only-we-Realtors-can-access-it box hanging on your doorknob, porch rail, water faucet, etc to hold your house keys. This is because the "under the doormat" and "buried under the fake rock that says 'Spare Key'" method was deemed unsuccessful. Part of the rites of passage of becoming an agent is dropping around $75 apiece for these necessary and integral parts of conducting business.

The new units, by Sentrilock, are more technologically advanced, and our access method will change from a small, square, battery-powered keypad (that goes in a pouch, that goes on your keyring, that isn't very pocket-friendly) to something that looks and feels like a credit card. And I think they look cool. I doubt that anybody will jump off the For Sale By Owner train just because we have cool looking keyboxes, but I'm kinda anxious to check out the new toy. I don't know yet if our local association will activate the feature, but one thing it is capable of is allowing the homeowner to temporarily block access--something that I suppose might come in handy if one was redecorating the bedroom in the nude or hosting the first ever indoor paintball tournament.

McRude

So I'm on lunch today and zip through Cordova's branch of the golden arches (I'm one of 72 people in the entire U.S. who lives for the McRib "Limited Time Only" time frame). My cash-strapped self zipped through window #1 using my Union Planters (aka Regions Bank) check card. Then I proceed to window #2.

The lovely employee who possessed my lunch kept the window closed until absolutely necessary. I chalked it up to 40 degree temps and gusting wind. Then she opens the window, and it is immediately obvious that my arrival has interrupted her personal conversation with a co-worker. She proceeds to hand me my Dr Pepper, and then my bag, all without ever making eye-contact with me, pausing her conversation, or trying to even summon enough energy to put on a facade that she actually gave a damn.

In discussions of this type consumer-frustration, the comment I hear a lot is "Well, you get what you pay for," implying that a McDonald's employee getting paid 5- or 6-something an hour isn't making enough money to be held accountable for caring. Or the type people that take these jobs, by definition, aren't gonna care. Bologna. Hogwash. Bullcrap. When I started sacking groceries at Kroger at the ripe ole age of 16, minimum wage was $3.40, and I was making a dime more (go ahead, commence the "you're such a baby, I remember when a loaf of bread was 10 cents" speech). I was happy to have a job, and given the fact that

• I was taught manners at an early age, and
• I figured that my new job might be in jeopardy if I went off on people at random or put 10 lbs of potatoes on top of somebody's Wonder bread

I still cared for the service I was providing, and I even got a couple of customer compliments. Did I have bad days? Absolutely. I just don't understand how blatant infractions such as what I experienced today are. My order was right, the fries were hot, and the service was otherwise efficient. Am I wrong to criticize an individual for something as simple as making eye contact or acknowledge the hands into which she's about to put the sack??

Closing the Deal

Well, in a little more than an hour, I will be accompaying one of my clients to the closing on her home. Closing, as in, the "close of escrow", or the the legal process of buying it. Although there isn't much for agents to do at closing, other than sit at the table, shut up, offer moral support to your client, and ask for a check with your name on it. For those of you who think that all we do is unlock the keybox and show up at closing, I would offer you the type of "ride along" program that police departments do, but I don't think that Crye-Leike offers that. We earn our money--trust me. Don't believe me? Then find your way over to a TREC-approved school (Tennessee Real Estate Commission, our governing body), spend 60 hours in a licensing class, pass the test (both parts!), spend another 30 hours on the "Affiliate Broker Course", get an Error & Ommissions insurance policy, pay TREC your 2-year license fee, and then go out and get yourself a client (oh yeah, if you want access to the MLS, that's extra). I'm not tooting my own horn.....I'm just saying that bad appraisals, home inspections, missing paperwork, disputed repairs, goofy lender's policies, 11th-hour delays, etc. are all a way of life.

The awesome thing about this transaction is that it will put me one step closer to obtaining the ABR designation--Accredited Buyer Representative. Just like you would be more confident in an accountant with "CPA" after their name, a buyer should be more confident in the ABR designation--it indicates a level of education and experience. Once upon a time, it truly was "Buyer beware"--everybody in the transaction essentially worked for the seller. Now, the environment of real esate has changed dramatically, and these three little letters will hopefully translate into more buyers, all of whom are confident in my abilities to serve their needs.

That Don't Impress Me Much

Sorry, non-sports fans, I gotta get this off my chest.

Every freakin' sports-themed show or segment of a show cannot resist talking about the Philadelphia Eagles. Phrases such as "High-powered offense," "So many weapons," and "This may finally be their year" are thrown around like beads at Mardi Gras. Yes, they added Terrell Owens on offense and Jevon Kearse on defense. They have a good team--I'm not disputing that.

However, consider these points

• The Eagles clinched their division very early in the season. Translation--their division SUCKS. So in all probablility, that's 6 no-brainer "all we have to do is show up" victories (4 have already happened--2 remain).
• Currently there are four teams--FOUR--in the NFC that have more wins than losses. Translation--the NFC sucks. Making it through the playoffs will probably be a breeze, but the real test won't come for the NFC (Eagles or otherwise) until they meet the AFC team (not so coincidentally, Philadelphia's only loss right now is to an AFC team).
• The current combined record of the Eagles' opponents in their 11 victories is 53-67. That's a winning percentage of 44.1%. I mean, when your T-ball team beat a team that was one-person short AND had really fundamentally poor players, wasn't it kind of an empty victory?? Sure, it was one for the "W" column, but it didn't really mean you were that good.

So.....If I may be so bold, I am predicting that the Eagles will NOT win the Super Bowl. Sure, they may make it one step further and actually make it to the big game--who wouldn't, when 8-8 teams are probably gonna make it into your playoff bracket--but barring any major injuries to the big boys in the AFC (Steelers, Patriots, Colts), the 2004 season will once again end in disappointment for Andy Reid and company. The Wizard of Oz was exposed, and all it'll take is an AFC team to pull back the curtain.

Jane's, er Eric's, Addiction

Wanna stroll down memory lane, and re-live innocent, childhood fun--in addition to taking out a little "virtual" frustration? Check out the snowball fight, but be warned: This is VERY addictive.

I don't want your boss/spouse/etc. calling me, because I'm gonna tell them that Uncle Eric warned you about it. Now, go kick those pesky green kids' you-know-what.

Gee, I Never Saw It Coming

I'm sure there are 6,398 other blogs in blog-world that are discussing sports, and will hash out the whole steroids thing. But here's my thing:

In the last two days, word has come out that Jason Giambi and Barry Bonds used banned substances. Yet the Player's Association union is against testing because they say it invades privacy. So, what's better--A clean player who hits 60 homeruns or a drugged player who hits 70? It seems that the Players Association prefers the latter. What's next? A player can keep marijuana is his locker because to prevent him from doing so would invade his privacy? Unions are around for one PRIMARY reason--the are a business that makes money. Ever heard of a non-profit union, or a union filing chapter 13 bankruptcy? Me neither. But their mask of "protecting players' interest" is getting a bit cloudy. If minor leaguers can be tested, so can the big boys. I hope Bud Selig sticks to his guns and says, "My way or the highway." Major League Baseball has finally recovered disenchanted fans from the strike-shortened season several years ago. They cannot afford to have a big player-centered controversy that makes paying fans everywhere write off the sport.

Time for a Sirius Talk

Well, as talked about earlier, I'm up and running with Sirius radio. The "home docking station" is hooked up to the home stereo, and I should be jammin' in my TrailBlazer as soon as Radio Shack replaces the dud one that they inadvertently sold me (no power=no radio!).

In the meantime, I'm listening to it at work via streaming audio through the web (Note to XM radio customers: Your service provider charges you 4 bucks extra for this, making your $9.99 bill now $13.98, surpassing my $12.95. Who's got the better deal now, chump!?).

A common question is why in the world people would pay for something that they could otherwise get for free. Well, the question is basically the same as standard 5-station TV versus cable. Yes, you could probably get by without it, but it's about better choices and more options (in other words, Channel 3 doesn't play SportsCenter or "A Wedding Story" or "Kitchen Remodeling Today" or "Busty Babes' Cool Whip Party 7." I mean, if you're into that). Sure, I may not ever stop on Sirius channel 40--"Hip-Hop Nation"--but I don't have to endure commercials, a channel that SOMETIMES carries the ESPN Radio feed, etc.

Perfect example: Suppose you're a country music purist who would rather hear Randy Travis than Toby Keith. Or George Jones instead of Keith Urban. When's the last time you heard an Alabama song on the radio? This morning on Sirius channel 32--"Prime Country-80's and 90's country hits"--I have heard On the Other Hand by Randy Travis, The Gambler by Kenny Rodgers, and I'm No Stranger to the Rain by Keith Whitley. Or there's Sirius channel 35 "The Roadhouse--Classic Country." Now, in fairness, some channels like 103.3 WKDF in Nashville advertise themselves as "#1 for Today's Country and the Legends"--which means Martina McBride mixed with Dolly Parton or Barbara Mandrell --but let's face it--you can't be all things to all people.

So there. Not that I have to explain to you, the cyberworld, why I'm spending $12.95/month on premium radio service, but in case you considered joining the choir of skeptics, you'll have knowledge from the other perspective. Know thy enemy, they say. But the next time you favorite channel is interrupted by a S.W. Tennessee State at Milan football/basketball game, or a 36-hour "Save the Tse-Tse Fly pledge-a-thon", think about me--I might be listening to Sirius channel 97 "Vaction--Island Vacation Music," pretending I'm on the beaches of Aruba or Barbados. Which are beautiful, by the way.