Last weekend we went to visit one of my old roommates' and their family. They live in Lawton, OK-which is SW of Oklahoma City. they just had their 2nd kiddo! Jude Wade : ) It was so great to catch up, since I haven't seen them in nearly a year.
We were even going to stop and see the famed "chickasha" lights...but on the way home, the 3 mile line seemed a bit much, so we observed the beauty from the highway.
Monday I spent the day laying on the couch and chilling out...not by choice. I caught a 24 hour flu : ( It was miserable. However, my darling husband took exceptional care of me, and nursed me back to health. He tucked me in, and I slept like a baby, all better to work by Tuesday. Thankfully, the new secretary at the office was able to fill in for me on Monday, so no work was lost : )
Last night we traveled to where Chris' family reside in Leoti, KS. I can't believe that CHRISTMAS is here ALREADY! We stopped through Wichita to see my younger brother, Paul, who is traveling across the big blue pond for a short intercession over the holiday break. I could only stay for a short while, but I'm glad I was able to see him and the family for a short time before we headed out west.
My older brother, Carl, even called and gave us a weather update right as we were leaving Stillwater, OK. Weatherman Carl said that it was Misting and Foggy in the Wichita area. This was good, as Chris and I were not expecting that weather! After we left Wichita, we were in that fog for over an hour. Just as I was thinking we would have that fog all the way to Leoti, the fog suddenly broke, and we hit the boundary layer, the wind changed, and it was CLEAR! Weather is so amazing. And, as fascinating as fog is, I was glad to be out of it.
Shortly after we braved the fog, we received a call from Chris' parents-giving us an update on the Leoti weather. The snow was falling softly and making a nice dusting there. A short while later, we were heading through light snow. The roads were really not bad, or at least that's what Chris kept telling me : ). Soon the snow thickened, and the way the headlights reflected the light with the snowflakes made me feel like we were in a Star Wars movie, traveling at lightspeed rate! I kept looking out the window, expecting to see the Death Star, but no luck : (.
We passed through Dodge City, and I texted my brother in law that we were going to wave to his grandpa as we passed through. However, I received a text joking not to wake up Grandpa John, as he needed his sleep : ) Thanks Erik! We only took him out for a midnight snack...jk!
We braved the snow for an hour or two, and Chris was doing an excellent job piloting us on the path to Leoti. Although, I can laugh at him saying, "oh, I can see...I'm just following the yellow line..." shortly followed by, "where did the yellow line go?!" (tidings of comfort and joy...right?!)Although, most of the highways into town did have rumble strips on both the center line and the right side of the road, to ensure not going off the road or into the opposing traffic.
Despite the excitement with weather, we had a good trip and were glad to get a good night's sleep when we arrived.
We look forward to enjoying a great weekend in the humble town of Leoti, KS.
Wednesday, December 24, 2008
Friday, December 19, 2008
Russian Space Tourism
Chris always keeps me up to date! Check THIS out!
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081219/sc_afp/usspacetourism
I first heard of that Russian tourism stuff through Women in Aviation International-at the annual conference several years ago...and have been keeping tabs on them occasionally. BUT....I am still waiting for the right opportunity to come along for me to work for them...or them work for me...hmm...!
Other than that exciting news, Chris and I are going to visit a friend ours for a day. They just had their 2nd bundle of joy! They live only a few hours from us here in OK, so we are excited to visit them.
Last night Delton came over for dinner and to watch movies with Chris. It was a really fun time-well, they had fun and laughed, and I was working avidly on a sewing project for Christmas. All in all, it was a good time, and we enjoyed just hanging out.
I also got to talk with my younger brother earlier today. He's going to be traveling over the holiday, so I won't get to see him much : ( but it was nice to talk with him today too.
~Robin
http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20081219/sc_afp/usspacetourism
I first heard of that Russian tourism stuff through Women in Aviation International-at the annual conference several years ago...and have been keeping tabs on them occasionally. BUT....I am still waiting for the right opportunity to come along for me to work for them...or them work for me...hmm...!
Other than that exciting news, Chris and I are going to visit a friend ours for a day. They just had their 2nd bundle of joy! They live only a few hours from us here in OK, so we are excited to visit them.
Last night Delton came over for dinner and to watch movies with Chris. It was a really fun time-well, they had fun and laughed, and I was working avidly on a sewing project for Christmas. All in all, it was a good time, and we enjoyed just hanging out.
I also got to talk with my younger brother earlier today. He's going to be traveling over the holiday, so I won't get to see him much : ( but it was nice to talk with him today too.
~Robin
Sunday, December 14, 2008
Dale Carnegie "How to Win Friends and Influence People"
For those of you who have not read this book, I HIGHLY recommend it. My parents read it a long time ago, and suggested to us kids to read it as well. As I'm not an avid reader, I finally came to listen to it-the audiobook-when I was in the KC area...and then decided to listen to it again recently. Several weeks ago I had a very unpleasant situation that I feel could have been handled differently, had I used the principles in this book. The whole situation could have had a MUCH happier outcome on both parts.
Below is a link to see the general bullet points of this book, according to Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_to_Win_Friends_and_Influence_People
Long story short, there are SEVERAL different tactics that could have been handled WAY better, but I had forgotten these principles, and I soon learned the final out come to the situation: the money was refunded, even though it probably should not have been. Despite this, I was re-thinking the whole situation in my head. I'm the front line gal, and felt I did handle the situation very professionally, yet not necessarily according to the principles in the book, hence the reason I think if a future situation comes up like this one, I would change a few things.
My first contact with this individual, I listened to the individual's side of the story, got the facts, took a message, and told her I would make sure to get back with her. At that point, I knew she was upset about the whole situation, and whether she was right or wrong-in her head, she was right-and unless I could change that one thought, there was not a way anything positive was going to be done. Now-after discussing the dates she stayed with the housekeeper, I did find out I was extremely wrong in over-charging for dates this young lady stayed.
This is where Carnegie's book comes into play. What I SHOULD have done is called her back and apologized for the inconvenience. Stated that it is great that she brought this situation to my/our attention. Again, appologize for the inconvenience it has caused her and talk about how her determination has and will do well for her in her career and as a student. (according to this book-leave out the fact that we don't give refunds-and that of the "4" nights she was to stay, we had record that she stayed 2-whether she did or not-according to her, she did not. BUT-leave all of that out-start with good, then let them calm down and negotiate further from there)
Then, once she had received my apologies, she (according to the book) would be more empathetic and be more willing to apologize as well. At that point, it would be time to state that as a great student, we want to make sure that she is satisfied with our services and that we normally don't give refunds. However, would be happy to reduce her stay to what our cleaning records stated, and the best we could do was reduce the stay by 1/2. NOW-in reality- I did tell her that we would reduce the cost-but I did not apologize (or maybe I did, but not nearly as much as I should have done, as listed above). Additionally, I was as friendly as I could have been, but by that point-and what really happened, she was all fired up and ready to torch the building.
So, after much dismay, she went to not only my boss (who did get her to calm down, but she was still on the defense), but his boss and on up the chain. I admire her determination, but for a mere $20, is it really worth it? According to Carnegie's book, she wanted to feel important, and listened to. Neither of which I accomplished very well. I also could have gotten her to say "yes" as in the "Twelve Ways to Win People to Your Way of Thinking" #5 bullet under that section. This section is very interesting, as if a person says "no," they are on the defensive and more likely to be even MORE disagreeable. However, if a person says "yes" they are more likely to see what you want them to see, whether they agree with it or not.
Very fascinating.
Anyway, Put that book on your Christmas list. I really do think that in the future, if I apply these principles, I will have a much higher success rate, and MANY less situations where unhappy people want to eat me for dinner.
~Robin
Below is a link to see the general bullet points of this book, according to Wikipedia:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/How_to_Win_Friends_and_Influence_People
Long story short, there are SEVERAL different tactics that could have been handled WAY better, but I had forgotten these principles, and I soon learned the final out come to the situation: the money was refunded, even though it probably should not have been. Despite this, I was re-thinking the whole situation in my head. I'm the front line gal, and felt I did handle the situation very professionally, yet not necessarily according to the principles in the book, hence the reason I think if a future situation comes up like this one, I would change a few things.
My first contact with this individual, I listened to the individual's side of the story, got the facts, took a message, and told her I would make sure to get back with her. At that point, I knew she was upset about the whole situation, and whether she was right or wrong-in her head, she was right-and unless I could change that one thought, there was not a way anything positive was going to be done. Now-after discussing the dates she stayed with the housekeeper, I did find out I was extremely wrong in over-charging for dates this young lady stayed.
This is where Carnegie's book comes into play. What I SHOULD have done is called her back and apologized for the inconvenience. Stated that it is great that she brought this situation to my/our attention. Again, appologize for the inconvenience it has caused her and talk about how her determination has and will do well for her in her career and as a student. (according to this book-leave out the fact that we don't give refunds-and that of the "4" nights she was to stay, we had record that she stayed 2-whether she did or not-according to her, she did not. BUT-leave all of that out-start with good, then let them calm down and negotiate further from there)
Then, once she had received my apologies, she (according to the book) would be more empathetic and be more willing to apologize as well. At that point, it would be time to state that as a great student, we want to make sure that she is satisfied with our services and that we normally don't give refunds. However, would be happy to reduce her stay to what our cleaning records stated, and the best we could do was reduce the stay by 1/2. NOW-in reality- I did tell her that we would reduce the cost-but I did not apologize (or maybe I did, but not nearly as much as I should have done, as listed above). Additionally, I was as friendly as I could have been, but by that point-and what really happened, she was all fired up and ready to torch the building.
So, after much dismay, she went to not only my boss (who did get her to calm down, but she was still on the defense), but his boss and on up the chain. I admire her determination, but for a mere $20, is it really worth it? According to Carnegie's book, she wanted to feel important, and listened to. Neither of which I accomplished very well. I also could have gotten her to say "yes" as in the "Twelve Ways to Win People to Your Way of Thinking" #5 bullet under that section. This section is very interesting, as if a person says "no," they are on the defensive and more likely to be even MORE disagreeable. However, if a person says "yes" they are more likely to see what you want them to see, whether they agree with it or not.
Very fascinating.
Anyway, Put that book on your Christmas list. I really do think that in the future, if I apply these principles, I will have a much higher success rate, and MANY less situations where unhappy people want to eat me for dinner.
~Robin
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Mouse One...Mouse TWO...
Well, with the cold weather comes the wonderful warmth of little mice come inside...I just wish I knew exactly how many of them are in my house! Last fall, I lived in a house and my roommates and I caught 7. This year, Chris and I are up to 2...and it's ONLY Dec. 3!
Today has actually been a rather mild day at the office. I got a call from mom today and we are making Christmas Cookies this Saturday. Chris is even going to offer to help a little...but I think he really wants to eat the cookie dough : ) Any help, of course, is welcome though.
It's REALLY windy and cold today : ( So we're not going to fly...but that means groundschool. I remember as a student how much I loved (not!) groundschooling. It's amazing how important that is though. Well, I suppose in the end it's up to the student and the more you study, the less torture of groundschool you receive. I just wish there were a little snow globe of sunshine and calm winds on this cold, windy day.
Today has actually been a rather mild day at the office. I got a call from mom today and we are making Christmas Cookies this Saturday. Chris is even going to offer to help a little...but I think he really wants to eat the cookie dough : ) Any help, of course, is welcome though.
It's REALLY windy and cold today : ( So we're not going to fly...but that means groundschool. I remember as a student how much I loved (not!) groundschooling. It's amazing how important that is though. Well, I suppose in the end it's up to the student and the more you study, the less torture of groundschool you receive. I just wish there were a little snow globe of sunshine and calm winds on this cold, windy day.
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Thanksgiving and beyond
Well, Thanksgiving has come and gone. I can't believe it. It seems like just yesterday we were in KC working as we were from last spring and today it's almost Christmas! WOW!
For thanksgiving we went to Kansas City and stayed with my sister's in-laws. My parents came to town, and both brothers could even make it for the holiday. It was great to spend the time with so many wonderful people and great food! We also had a chance to catch up with a few of our friends there, which was great. It makes us realize how much we really do miss the good people, but being at grad school right now is where we need to be.
Chris has a presentation tonight...so I'm just hanging around...in fact, I haven't left work yet! I was doing some groundschool with a student and then thought I should catch up on some email...and here I am...amazing how time just fades away.
For thanksgiving we went to Kansas City and stayed with my sister's in-laws. My parents came to town, and both brothers could even make it for the holiday. It was great to spend the time with so many wonderful people and great food! We also had a chance to catch up with a few of our friends there, which was great. It makes us realize how much we really do miss the good people, but being at grad school right now is where we need to be.
Chris has a presentation tonight...so I'm just hanging around...in fact, I haven't left work yet! I was doing some groundschool with a student and then thought I should catch up on some email...and here I am...amazing how time just fades away.
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