A Letter From the Kids!

               Lately our daily treck out to the mailbox has been a waste of time.  I thought it might be beneficial to have a trash can out there.  That way we could remove contents from mailbox and dump immediately.  Yesterday’s experience was a rather pleasant one.  There was only one piece but I can honestly say I was more excited about the envelope that lay within than I have about any contents this year – perhaps in our entire lives while living in this particular house.

        At first I thought it was a return of one of Richard’s cards, but when I examined the address I realized that it was an envelope I had mailed to Tony’s family after they had returned from their visit back in June.  A sock had been left behind and since I was sending it back, I had included a SASE and am so ecstatic for the reply.

the stamp was never cancelled so we don't even know when it was sent

CBQ#412

 If you could talk with only one person for the rest of your life, who would it be and why?

I would pick my brother, Steven, though I am certain I would not be his first choice.  Steven is not only knowledgeable in a wide variety of subjects, but we share so many of the same memories and feelings and values.  I miss him on so many levels.  I miss talking with him on a daily basis.  I miss his insight that was more instantaneous in person than now.  I miss his ability to understand me when it feels like nobody else does (husband included).  He’s my youngest brother and has been there for me for most of my adult life.  (We did have a falling out for a couple of years – but we’re good now)

https://lattice.com/library/how-to-create-a-culture-that-encourages-communicati

Talking with only one person would be hard however.  I would miss Jaime's voice and singing.  I would miss other friends as well.  I am happy that I don't have to make that decision for real.

Lead By Example – Follow Up to the last post

 I meant to have this posted on Friday but was unable to process all of my thoughts until now:

              I think it was in August when Roland applied for the management position at the jewelry store.  They were down to two candidates but had decided to go with the one who was more familiar with the product.  Not a great call in my opinion – but I am just getting the information second hand.  I’ve never actually met the woman – but this is an illustration of what makes a leadership vs. management that I had mentioned in this post.

        Not her real name, but I shall call her Karen – the name that seemed to get a bad rap during 2020.  She knows product.  Roland knows people.  I do like a salesman that can tell me the pros and cons of certain products – electronics for example.  It is important – but I think knowing people is more important.  Not just customers (guests, consumers, or whatever they are called) but employees, co-workers, peers – neither of which Karen had experience with. 

        She would teach the other three workers about the product and Roland would teach the others how to sell, how to act, and what to do in various situations – like being robbed for example.  Cocky Karen said they would never be robbed.  Technically it was a burglary but Roland’s 911 went into effect. 

        Karen would abuse her manager position and give herself every Sunday off though Richard and at least one other employee were told they would only work every other Sunday.  Karen didn’t always pay attention to what she had scheduled.  One day she had called to find out why Roland wasn’t at work.  He said he was scheduled to close and not open but evidently she had wanted him to do both? 

        Roland continued to train the other two.  For one thing it has been majorly slow and the staff has nothing better to do.  But also he leads people – whether he is technically in charge or not.  It’s just part of his charm.  People will ask him things as though he is the designated leader – except for Karen who seems to have trust issues and has asked others to keep an eye on him – not realizing the other two would much rather have Roland as their manage rather than Karen and will confide in Roland whereas they would never dream up any conversing with Karen.  She doesn’t know how to lead.  She doesn’t know how to manage.

        Roland drove to the location on Thursday morning after the store opened.  Karen was scheduled to be there.  Her rule was that there always had to be two people in the store, but the other employee was there by herself.  Thus we went shopping and returned to the store.  Karen still was not there, but the owners were.  Roland turned in his key to them and then called human services to tell him that he had quit and tried to give the key to Karen as a courteously but she was not there.  We both wondered if she would still have a job by the end of the day or if she would take her frustrations out on the other two.

        We both feel good about his leaving and he has no desire to return.  He has heard from one of his former co-workers praising him for his abrupt decision to leave.  Our youngest son also had said that he had made the right choice.

 

        

Don’t Jump to Conclusions but Give the Benefit of the Doubt

          The “Come Follow Me” lesson for last week was sections 64 – 66.  The theme for section 66 is on forgiveness.  It made me reflect back to the talk given in sacrament on the day my family arrived.  I believe he said he had based it on Elder Bednar’s talk from the October 2006 General Conference here. 

          The message of the talk was to not take offense.  There are many of us who take offence due to the actions or words used by others – or so we suspect.  But perhaps the “offender” is not even aware that we were offended. It’s not likely that the “offender” had gone out of his or her way to offend us but more likely that we misinterpreted.

          I have shared these two examples here and here in which I was the offender.  It reminded me of this skit

                How many times have I been in Ernie’s shoes? How many times have I thought up things that didn’t deserve the reaction I gave?  How many times have I jumped to conclusions rather than give another the benefit of the doubt?  I try to understand the other’s point of view.  I know I can be friends with those that don’t share my beliefs.  

https://www.virtuesforlife.com/why-com
passion-is-incredible-for-your-health/

            As I age I have become wiser about some issues while my understanding is still fogged about other matters.  I want to be accepting.  I want to have better communication skills.  I want to understand another without being judgmental about a certain situation. 

          I am grateful for the opportunities to learn and for Heavenly Father’s love.  May I continue to strive to be an example unto Him.

Read the Directions Several Times

          As a student, for me personally, it was always easier to receive verbal directions than written ones.  I would do the research for whatever class I had online and discover the assignment was very different from my interpretation of what I thought I had read.  So often I would have to change my sense of direction – sometimes resulting in starting from scratch.  I’m finding the same is true with some of the students who are used to being in public school but are online currently due to the pandemic.

          On of my daughter’s friends asked if she could come and film herself performing CPR on Jenna.  That is NOT social distancing.  Jenna does not have that same assignment as she is not currently taking the required health class that her friend has on her schedule.  Her friend seemed certain that she would have to practice on another person – which for me sounded irresponsible.  Why would an instructor ask that of a student at this time?  The entire reason we are not in public schooling right now is because there is no such thing as social distancing among students. 

          The directions say to perform the CPR – if necessary student may demonstrate on something like a stuffed animal or doll.  The LAST comment in tiny letters is demonstrate on an actual person without really doing it.  So I am thinking 1) why would she turn in a project in which she has obviously broken the rule of social distancing 2) why not perform on a stuffed animal or pillow even – then you will be able to press as hard as actually required because the pillow won’t be hurt no matter how much pressure is applied.

          It seems like an unrealistic requirement for all students as not all students do have access to making the video or transferring the information correctly.  I could be wrong.  Many of Jenna’s friend do have cell phones.  They upload videos all the time on Tik Tok – but still – we live in a poor area and not everybody has access to electronics – though I think under the circumstances perhaps schools have issued chrome books for students to “borrow”.  I know my sisters kids have borrowed chrome books from their school.

          Written directions should be read several times.  They need to be read out loud.  They need to communicate to the mind what needs to take place in order to express that the directions were followed.  I hope Jenna’s friend realizes that our not allowing her to come into direct contact with our daughter is nothing against her personally.  We love this friend.  Under normal circumstances I would take her under my wing and have her stay with us.  But it’s out of my control.  It isn’t my place. 

Coming to an End

                My communications class ends tomorrow.  I need to post my written speech, revised speech, where it went, etc.  I have been able to compare the subject of my assignments to writing the assignments (and presenting one in recording) for the class itself.  I’m sure it will make more sense once I get around to posting either tomorrow or Monday.  Monday seems more likely.  So sorry to keep ya’ll in suspense . . .

Falling Into Place

            It's uncanny how much of my life or programs will fall into my path during courses I am taking, and I can use those experiences or episodes to tie into school discussions or assignments.  Take this week for example.  I have just started a class in communications and public speaking.  It started on Monday.  It was the same day that at least one of the elementary schools in our area had a fire drill.  I know this because I was there.

            Yesterday the fire alarm went off again. Word came over the walkie-talkies that "Everyone needs to be out of the building. This is NOT a drill."  Some of the students heard that, but not everyone did.  The drill took place during class.  The more serious threat was during lunches.  The children were safe.  I suspected that the fire was not a major fire but more of a trash-fire although I had no way of knowing for certain.  I personally had not heard the word "fire" but had heard one of the custodians requesting a need for the fire department.  It could have been a bad chemical in the air.  I didn't know.  I tried to focus on the comforting the children with positive thoughts.

            Rumors get out of hand on face-book and fires spread more quickly on social media than the flames near the faulty outlet or the smoke traveling down the hall.  Parents panic and make the situation worse when they hurry to the school to and demand to check out their students right now.  They are only making it worse for the emergency vehicles that need to get through the safety of the children that need to be accounted for.  None of the parents had been contacted about the fire drill that we had on Monday but all of them seemed to know about the fire trucks coming to the school in response to an actual emergency.

            The kids were safe.  The educators were safe.  There was an orderly manner of conduct - though perhaps not as smooth as it had been on Monday.  Still, everyone had been accounted for and were allowed to return to the school in under thirty minutes.  Parents need to learn to trust the system.  Hey, I'm a parent.  I have a student who's been on lockdown more than once.  She has been a part of fire drills, earthquake drills, and more recently intruder lock-down drills.  And I have trusted the system.  I know that my efforts to contact the school will only interfere with or delay the safety of my child.  I need to have faith in those who are with her and in a higher being.  Things will work out the way they're supposed to.  I feel blessed that I am not afraid.  I am grateful to all the educators who stand with our children and protect them.  I have always been grateful to the firefighters - especially in this area where I currently reside.  Most of them are volunteers.  

            They went into the school. They took care of the situation at hand.  Everybody is fine.  Well . . . I know there are parents who are not fine.  Perhaps they will never be fine.  Fire drills are a way of preparing for a cause or event.  Perhaps the parents should practice understanding the system and make it a priority to have a bit of faith and not panic! I have more appreciation for walkie-talkies and other devices of communication.  This week and last month have helped me to prepare.

A Week Without Posts

          I think I have mentioned both Roland and Jenna have had some nasty colds, but I seemed fine until Saturday - the 10th.  I had gone to the church as the presidency were holding interviews for those who are visiting teachers.  I could feel a sore throat coming on.  Even when I agreed to teach Relief Society only eight days later.

          I went to church on Sunday, the 11th.  I did not stay for choir because I didn't want to strain my throat.  Last week I did a lot of napping (cough medicine knocks me out) and preparing for both primary and RS lessons.  I also participated in a class discussion on a topic that I didn't fully understand.  I took the assessment (midterm) and apparently turned in my discussion notes instead of the assignment.  Brilliant.

          My lesson for the Relief Society went rather well.  I wish I could say the same for my primary class. We reviewed the last couple of weeks and I started my lesson by introducing the class to Lot.  Carly interrupted me several times with non-gospel related "concerns".  She had brought snacks for everyone and wondered if she could pass them out.  While I commended her for her desire to share with the class, I also pointed out how inappropriate I thought it was for her to continue interrupting my lesson and reminded her that it was actually a short lesson but I would have to get through it before she was allowed to pass out snacks.  

          I also continued to remind the class that perhaps one day we will meet with Danny's class to play a game and wouldn't that be awesome if our class was able to provide more correct answers than hers.  That seems to work better on the class as a whole than the snacks or the ribbons.  The passport has been working out well for us - though I have not used it with any of my "Abraham" lessons.

          Tina was trying hard to hang onto my every word.  I really appreciated that and told her mom so when she greeted me after I had given the lesson in Relief Society.

          Yesterday was definitely not my best day.  It felt as though I was agitated about every little thing.  First off there was the topic discussion for my class:

これが会計を理解する方法です。 私は間違ったキャリアを間違いなく選んだ。 私の夫は私が仕事を取れると思っています - Я просто не понимаю. Все это так чуждо мне. В любом случае, перевод может быть неточным. У меня есть последователи из России, которые могут прочитать эту часть. Приношу свои извинения за любые нарушения вашего языка. Это не намеренно. Я просто пытаюсь продемонстрировать, насколько иностранный учет (особенно предмет акций и облигаций) мне кажется대해 이해하고 있을지 모르지만 나는 그렇지 않습니다. 일본어, 포르투갈어, 아랍어, 회계. . . 내 얼굴에 벙어리 표현을 참조하십시오

題ありません。ムーディーズ・インベスターズ・サービスとスタンダード・アンド・プアーズ・コーポレーションは、公的債務問題の格付けを提供している。قد يكون لديك فهم لكل من هذه الشخصيات ، لكني لا أفعل. اليابانية ، البرتغالية ، العربية ، المحاسبة. . . انظر التعبير الغبي على  私はバイナリコードを読むことができなければ問題になるでしょう - 私はできません01010010 01100101 01100001 01101100 01101100 01111001 00111111 00100000 00100000

This may not be an accurate translation.  Doesn't matter.  I can neither read nor understand what it says.  That is how I see accounting.  I just don't understand so many terms.  I am constantly looking up words in the dictionary or accounting glossary and then looking up more words to understand the dang definitions.  Awwhhhh!!!

          I received a  notice in the mail describing a problem I have already addressed several times.  Obviously it hasn't been resolved.  More hair pulling.  Can't communicate with a machine.  Doesn't understand me.  I don't know WHY it asks for my account number.  Whenever I finally get a human, I have to provide my account number again.

          First time the machine says it will allow me through, it claims there is a 15 second wait.  It was longer than 15 seconds before I was cut off.  I call again.  After going through all the rigmarole and hair-pulling for the second time, the machine says I have a minute wait and cuts me off again.  What the hey?  Come on!!!  I storm up an email - which I decide to send to my husband before sending it to customer support - for I know that I'm angry, and although I do wish to express my annoyance, I don't want to be so unkind that they don't want to return my call just to be hung up again.  He tries.  The wait is 7 minutes.

          Meanwhile, I need to call the mortgage company to let them know that we have been contacted by our insurance agency to let us know that mortgage and insurance haven't seemed to make a connection.  Oh, great.  Another problem that may get me fired up.

          "We're sorry.  We are experiencing high volume call.  You will be on hold for 20 minutes."  What????  At least the last company that usually doesn't hang up on me does usually give me the option of calling me back.  And they actually do.  I go to their website on their suggestion.  I fill out their form and write a message.  There is no send button!  I have filled out their form and cannot send it.  What kind of a scam is this.  Now I am livid!!!

          I knew I needed to calm down.  I knew that I wasn't in the correct frame of mind to post a blog.  I still have to figure out my discussion topic.  I still have to call the mortgage company.  It's a wonder I'm not bald. 

          Stay tuned for "St. Patrick's Grunge Pledges" and "By Divine Design - Relief Society"

Don't Recall Ever Having Used a Charter Before

            Currently I am taking two classes through the University and one for the library.  All three are online.  Currently two have to do with project charters.

            I hadn't made the connection of the Grants Magic class being related to any of my schooling courses until after I contributed my thoughts to the discussion of my other charter class.  We were supposed to come up with a scenario in a situation gone wrong and how more productive it would have been to use a charter.  I had read some material and looked at countless videos and was still at a loss.  I sent a few links over to my husband and asked him to please review and dummy it down for me.  How would I possibly be able to explain how a charter would work for me if I haven't ever remembered using one before.

             Roland did come up with a situation that in which we had adapted the plan (or charter) of another but it really wasn't accurate to what I thought that I needed. Perhaps I'm wrong, but I think a lot of trial and error has to take part before one actually knows what to plan. It wasn't just me that lacked understanding.  This particular week seems to have the entire class at a loss.  The scenario I finally came up with is one we are currently trying to smooth over, and that is the library staff and functions of the facility.

            As of now, our library is not even considered a public library by definition, but rather a third party operation.  There are many who are willing to assist in order to keep the existence of the library, but not everybody knows quite "how" to assist. Not everyone has been trained.  Not everyone is qualified to handle every aspect of what needs to be done.  Our leaders have been spread too thin or else haven't quite gotten the gist of all things either.

            My instructor had asked permission to use my example in her lecture.  Wow.  I must have had a better handle on it than I thought.   Still there are several class members who are still in the "Huh?" stage.  I answered one class mate using the example of Roger Bushell the great escape found here and here.  I wasn't able to create a project charter for the library as my understanding of the entire aspect is still limited.  In order to assist my fellow classmates with something visual, I also created this mock charter according to my own understanding and shared it with the class.

            I realize I've written many thoughts in this post that my average reader may not understand.  Welcome to My World!  This is where I am Roger Bushell had served in the British military during World War II and was known for planning and assisting in great escapes from prison camps.  When he arrived in what the Germans believed was an escape-proof camp, Roger was asked to assist with the largest escape on record.  Roger accepted the challenge and met each prisoner of the camp in order to utilize each skill so that the entire camp would be able to work together to make this escape.

          Now a written charter would not have worked as they couldn't risk having the German soldiers know what they were planning.  Several teams had been created to help the plan to move along.  Some teams would dig tunnels, some teams would hide the underground dirt,  there was even a team of prisoners practicing Christmas carols as a means to cover up the noise of the digging.  It was actually quite a genius plan.

          Without the verbal charter or organization of the teams and specific jobs of communicating and working together, the prisoners would have not been able to dig the tunnels or make their escape (WWII). Each of these team members would also have a project charter.  Danny (and Danny was not actually the leader in the movie, but was the only name I could think of) would assign his team members to dig certain parts of the tunnel and send another team member to collect something to hold the tunnels in place.  Hector would select music and pretend to lead his choir in beat with the hammer (or other tool being used) and the scavenger has to work with all groups to learn what is needed and what to steal or trade.  Probably not the best example of a charter, but I think this is how it works.  I asked for the class or instructor to please correct me if I'm wrong - and perhaps add their own thoughts and fill in the blanks that I still don't understand.

            A proposal was made at the last library meeting I attended for four teams to work on finances, PR, training;  I forget the other.  I signed up for training.  We have a new check in/check out system (no longer on cards and pockets . . . yea!), public computer assistance and Dewey decimal filing that we need to take care of.  Those are the three big ones that I see. Each team should create a charter similar to that above and break each group down even further.

            We need to utilize the talents of our volunteers so that we can know how often to schedule, who specializes best in each area and how they will best work together.  I would really like the opportunity to assist in training and get to know each volunteer.  As of now, I really don't know many of the volunteers and so I don't know where their strengths are or where they feel most comfortable.

Reference:

Project Charter. (2017). Retrieved from GoLeanSixSigma.com: https://goleansixsigma.com/project-charter/

Sturges, J (Director). (1963). The Great Escape [Motion Picture].

Squadron Leader Roger Joyce Bushell. (n.d.). Retrieved from Pegasus Archive: http://www.pegasusarchive.org/pow/roger_bushell.htm

World War Two – The Great Escape. (2016). Retrieved from History on the Net: https://www.historyonthenet.com/world-war-two-the-great-escape/

 

To Be Independent or Part of the System

            I went to my first  Library Futures Task Force meeting - only it isn't called that anymore.  The meeting was referred to as Douglas County Library Rescue Coalition.  About 100 people (I thought it had been more) attended the meeting in Winston last Thursday (August 17).  I think most were volunteers, some onlookers and concerned citizens, some who would like the libraries to continue to operate just as  they had before, some there for support, some there to share newfound growth and remain independent ; cooperative but not restricted . . .

            Mary Kay - who represents the state - was there to raise awareness and provide options for those who needed or wanted the support.  The libraries who seem to be most successful would like to share materials but not guidance that feels mandatory.  Most representatives expressed that they are doing fine without the stipulations of those who  think that they are trying to make things better/easier.

            The smaller communities have seem to established successful growth.  It is the larger cities that struggle.  The smaller cities have city support.  The larger ones don't seem to - at least that is how it is in our case.  We are not among the largest of cities in the county, though larger than most.  Reedsport is the largest city to have their library underway.  Kudos for all those from Reedsport who attend.  They are located on the coast far away from the rest of the county.  I always thought it looked odd geographically.  I don't know if they ever felt included or excluded because of their location.

            Next to Reedsport, Myrtle Creek may actually be the largest library after Sutherlin - though I don't think "library" is the correct term as they are not checking out books, but offering as a reading room.  Perhaps I should have paid greater attention. 

            The smaller cities sign up many volunteers.  The larger cities don't general get as many who are willing to make the time to volunteer.  In our community we have a large number who are interested.  We also have just as many who are definitely not willing to support the cost of a library.  At least three of those members serve on the council at city hall.  And there are three who are in favor of keeping the library.  We are located in the original library building on a trial basis.  After a year, we may have to move again.  Downtown parking doesn't seem as convenient.  But there is a building available (in fact several) if needs be.  Right now we are using it to store  overflow book sale items.  Perhaps it will be opened to the public soon. 

            There are/WERE 11 cities with libraries.  Each was represented at the meeting.  Glendale might be are least populated city, though I don't imagine that Oakland and Drain are too far behind.  When the measure for the county didn't pass, Drain had their own election as  city and there were four more votes for saving the library than not;  currently they are the only city in the county with a paid librarian.  Glendale checks out with cards and pockets and may not ever be able to do it the check out the modern way as I understand there is no internet available in Glendale anymore.  That bites.  But I am so happy that they have reopened and have the support.  I think Glendale needs their library more than we do.

            Riddle and Reedsport have already chosen to remain independent - even before attending the meeting.  I think Mary Kay and Douglas County Library Rescue Coalition were disappointed with some of the reaction from the libraries who chose to run independently, but really the correspondence between library reps has been even greater than when we were a county library.  There is a lot of newsfeed and sharing and definite structure and not always waiting for the big head cheese. 

            Those that came out of concern for Winston and Roseburg - Roseburg especially - didn't seem very satisfied.  We have added items to those that belong to the county, but only the county ones come up in the system. Currently we are open more hours than any other library in the county.  We were open three or four days each week during the summer.  We are talking about changing our hours for the school year so that it can be used after school.  We will probably be open less hours.  I don't know for certain.

              As a whole the libraries do seem to be working well together.  We share information and have given one another great support.  Overall I think the feedback from each representative was very positive.  It appears that we are the only library to carry insurance on our volunteers.

           At the time of the meeting, we were checking items in and out by hand - using cards and pockets - which we still have to do for non-county things.  But as of Monday (Solar Eclipse Day) we have been able to scan county items and check items out the modern way.

Where My Discussion Post Ends and My Blog Post Begins

          When I was in my twelvth mod, I had two classes.  I would try to attend the live lecture of each class.  I think I had attended all four lectures in my algebra class - perhaps only three.  Fortunately there was no problem with the hook-up system (the school uses a program called Zoom) but the instructor in my management class would always have a problem with the system cutting out or recording only audio or video, but not both.  It generally happened whenever she played a video in addition to her lecture.  I told her to stop showing videos and just send us the links.  I don't know if it would have made any difference.

          Last mod I also had two classes - two accounting classes.  I still don't understand the language, but I actually did well in both classes.  That is amazing considering what torture it was trying to get into a live lecture or (in most cases) listen to the recording . . . as it wasn't just one or two instructors having issues with Zoom;  the entire school was affected.  That is what Roland had told me anyway.  Not only is he a full time student at the same online school as I am, but is employed with them as well.

          This mod I am taking only one class (hooray) again in accounting (boo) and I don't know if Zoom has been fixed or not.  Thus far it does not look promising.  No one in the class appears to have been contacted by our instructor - usually he or she will introduce self or remind us of upcoming lecture or something.  There was supposed to be a live lecture yesterday, which starts at the same time as the children's summer reading program. I had already made a commitment to summer reading.  In addition, it seems I have been recruited to be the story lady - for the last two weeks anyway. 

          Yesterday the library (or the one in charge of the program rather) decided to celebrate SpongeBob's birthday and shared some trivia while children were coloring.  I shared Allison Jackson's "There was an old lady who swallowed a pie" - only I changed the wording a little bit and used SpongeBob as the character instead of an old lady, asking the children between each item of food, "do you think he'll die?"  they would always answer "No"  and they were right.

          I like Allison Jackson's version better than the original "There was an old lady who swallowed a fly"  because (with the exception of one item) her story deals with real food and no one dies.

          Neither Jenna nor I are avid SpongeBob fans - in fact we'd be okay with knowing that he had croaked.  But the idea of a sponge and some of Allison Jackson's rhymes gave me an opportunity to educate rather than just read or tell.

          So back to my accounting - I was hoping to watch the lecture before posting my discussion to perhaps get a better idea of what is expected.  As of now, I don't even know if my instructor tried to give the lecture or if he has started working for the university this week or is on sabbatical or what.  His discussion post was created on Saturday before the class had even started.

          Our topic is on importance of accurately accounting for costs in Job Order Cost Accounting.  Also, discuss the consequences of errors in this area. From what I understand, overhead charges and cost of labor that must be paid by the company is figured in the cost that a consumer must pay.

          The video example that had been given is building a burger and breaking down the cost of said burger.  There is the obvious cost for the meat, the bun and other ingredients, but the breakdown also includes the employee's wage.  Just suppose he was getting paid 10.00 an hour and it takes 3 minutes for him (or her) to build each burger.  That is 3 minutes to every 60 or 5% of 10.00.  and a predetermined overhead cost.

          The cost of electricity (for instance) is not figured into each burger, per se.  Utilities, indirect labor [that would be the supervisor making certain the employees are working, or the time spent cleaning (or idling) after all the customers have been served], indirect materials [someone has to pay for the cost of that grill] and property taxes or rent) are all part of that predetermined rate.  All of those costs are all added up together for the year and then more math is deducted and combined and made into a percentage that is also added to the cost of the burger.

          One of my class mates used auto labor as an example which I was actually able to understand a little more and have been trying to come up with my own examples using my false lawn care service from my former management class, or the cost of labor that we have seen (and will expect to see more) for the demolition and restoration of our floor, walls and spaces in between.  Thus far we've had to dole out checks for the plumber, the electrician and the pest control.  All with overhead costs - though we don't understand why on the electrician.

          Roland had asked for a card and wondered if he would be able to make a deal with trading services for a future project.  Wiring in the front room to put in a ceiling fan for new cards and marketing.  This area really needs to be educated in marketing. They either don't believe about it or know about it or care.  The font on the business cards was very hard to read.  Roland thought the shape of the font looked like an anchor.  I thought it looked like an open mouth - like perhaps a dentist would use.  I don't know what the overhead would be.  There is no sign on the truck.  I don't know how their pricing breaks down.  I suspect they can charge what they want as there doesn't seem to be any competition.

          I personally am not impressed with big vans and trucks bearing fancy names - especially now that I know it is part of my cost and I don't wish to support brand names when they have so many employees that the company has lost sight of them as well as the consumers.  Let me give a "for instance" which I wasn't planning to call by name, but because of my dissatisfaction, I want to warn others about why I stopped using the services of a certain company.

          Whipple Plumbing and Heating is a chain in Utah (Salt Lake/Ogden areas) which I believe has gotten too big for its breeches.  I don't know how many employees it staffs nor do I understand why we tried their services several times.  We ALWAYS had to call them to return to finish or correct a job and then ended up calling someone else to permanently fix it.

          I think they were called three times while we lived in Kearns and twice in West Valley.  For the poor plumbing issues (one project, never resolved by Whipple) we had three different guys, none which corrected the mistake of the other, we finally called an elderly man that Roland had been in contact through some clients of his. 

          Elwin Shipley arrived in his unmarked truck and fixed the problem.  He was awesome!  He fixed problems one time.  If you were to contact him again, it would be for a different problem.  Unlike Whipple, who got it right only one time (which will be my next paragraph), Elwin didn't charge an arm and a leg.  He didn't need to.  He didn't have the extra overhead cost.  I wasn't paying for the logo on his truck.  (Whipple had definitely figured a LOT of overhead expenses - had I continued to use them, I would have probably ended up paying for an entire fleet of trucks)

          Whipple had a promotion on toilets and as ours had to be replaced, we gave them another try (first one in WV).  The plumber who came out was very friendly toward Jenna and the dog and just a down to earth wholesome guy - or so it appeared.  He said that when I called, I could ask for a specific plumber.  That was our exception.  That was the only thing that we didn't have to have work redone on.

          Because I had liked the plumber, when another situation we had required plumbing services, I called Whipple with another opportunity and the name of the plumber who seemed to have the attitude "I've got you in my snare now, I don't have to be nice to you."

          Perhaps he was just having a bad day - perhaps there had been a recent death in the family or someone in his flipped him off on his way to work . . .  who knows.  The point is he just rubbed me the wrong way.  That was the last time we used Whipple.

          My discussion post was about Gil's heating and air conditioning - a business that relies on word of mouth.  I just thought of another.  Remarkable Rooter also gets the job done.  WITHOUT THE OVERHEAD!  Why pay more?  Really?  Because the competition has a brand name and drive a fancy van?  My consumer attitude may get me into trouble with my classes . . . although they haven't so far.  Did I mention that I LOVE living in a small town with an ignorance to marketing?  Well, I do.