I just got off the phone with the GM Benefits center regarding my retirement and savings plans.  I had called them with an issue when I left and hadn't received the form they said there were going to send me.  So, I called their hotline and got Ray Beck.  Ray was, by far, the most helpful customer service person I've ever dealt with... and he couldn't even solve my problem directly, but he said exactly the kind of things he needed to say to make me feel like someone was on it.  I hate when I call customer service people and I feel like they have no interest in helping me outside of their scripted little workflow process. 

Ray asked me to hold on while checked on my issue and then came back and said that they had my request and that there was a backlog.  He told me he'd put a memo on my request that helps it get to the top of the pile.  Now, maybe that's a BS line, but then he took my number and said he'd look into the matter in a couple of days to see if there was any progress, and then he'd call me with a status update.  He was incredibly polite and he told me he'd keep an eye on it to make sure it went through.  He then told me to write down his name so that he knew who was working on it and who to reference if I called back.  So now, I know that Ray Beck's going to "keep an eye" on my request and let me know how its going.  That makes me feel better.  Ray made me believe.  Ray's going to call up the people that the request goes to and say, "Hey.. what's going on with Charlie's request... he's waiting for it."   He's lookin' out for me.  He's got my back.   Ray Beck...  my man in Detroit... takin' care of business.

Link: Muppet Central News - Fact or Fiction: The Muppet Show DVD season sets.

This is the most fantastic news I've heard all day...    Stadler and Waldorf are my favorite Muppets.  Least favorite Muppet?   Pauly Shore.

For the most part, I eat pretty healthy...   lots of chicken, fish, candy.  Ice cream/desert only once in a while.  However, when I do get something I probably shouldn't be eating a lot of, like pizza, I'll try and make it as healthy as possible.  Right now, I'm eating a stuffed veggie slice.  I figure, if I'm going to be eating all this dough, oil, and riccota cheese, I might as well get what broccoli and spinach have to offer as well.

Maybe they'll cancel each other out.

Who am I kidding?

This morning, I overslept, so I took a cab in.  I think without question, cab drivers are the most appreciative of tips.   No one must be tipping these guys more than just rounding up to the next dollar.  They're driving around for hours and hours all day, and I'm sure cabdriver economics aren't too good...   so I like tipping them.  You know who doesn't really appreciate tips and it drives me nuts?  Coat check people.  I hate coat check.  I hate checking anything.  If I wanna lug around all my crap, that's my business.  Blocks the aisles?  I'm notoriously underdressed for winter and I'm sure I usually have the thinnest coat in the room... not to worry there.  Valet is ridiculous, too.  With both the coat check and the valet, if my item is in plain sight, you're not providing a service.  So many times I'm in coat check and I can just reach over and take my coat b/c the booth is so small, but still, they have to hand it to me and its going to cost me a buck or two.  Coat tax.  That's what it is.  I'm being charged for dressing appropriately for the weather, which I barely accomplish anyway.  And coat check people for the most part treat it like its normal.  Its not even a tip anymore.  Its a charge. 
Tipping in restaurants is a broken system, too.  I will definately tip well for great service...  20-25%... but I'll be the first one to admit that it really doesn't have the desired effect unless you're a repeat customer.  It works in Gino's, because we're there all the time, but if you're a one shot deal, that's never going to do anything but show appreciation, and I sort of think there should be some kind of feedback loop there that improves my service.  Maybe we can do some kind of loyalty card service for all restaurants where, when I check in, the waiter or waitress gets my average tip and the variance in it.  He or she would see that my average is solid, but my variability is above normal--meaning that if you take care of me, I'll take care of you, but if you're rude to me, its going to cost you.  Otherwise, most times the server doesn't even see what you gave them while you're still there anyway, so it doesn't really have the desired effect. 
What really has to stop are the bathroom attendents.  I haven't seen to many, but if I do, I turn right around and decide I don't really need to go that badly.  I refuse to legitimize that scam.  I've been using the bathroom by myself my whole life... I don't need any help now.  I'm a New Yorker.  Just leave me alone and let me do my thing.  Don't help me unless I ask and don't hold my coat for $2 ransom. 

Ok, so this one is doctored, but its getting really hard to keep the letters small in the snow, so I'm kind of limited as to how much I can write.  Anyway...  I also took some normal pictures as well.   Last night's snowfall was a very photogenic snow.  It was wet enough to stick everywhere, but fluffy enough to build up to some size.  However, it wasn't too much that it just covers everything, and there wasn't so much wind that it knocked the snow off the trees. 

Well, this is just getting out of hand now...    Weatherbug is reporting a tie-die blob headed straight for the city. 

We could have 6-10 inches of love-ins, Country Joe and the Fish, and pot starting as early as this afternoon.   And you thought snow was going to be an inconvenience...

Link: The Door Gates.

I haven't posted about The Gates yet, but this link is inspiring.   

In all honesty, I suppose The Gates because it is bringing in lots of revenue to the city.  I know someone in the hotel business and she told me that her hotel was packed on what would otherwise be a slow week when this thing opened.  So, since it didn't cost the city anything, and it brings in tourists, I'm a fan, even if I don't really see its artistic value.  To me, it just kind of looks like an orange obstacle course for oversized dogs at Westminster.

When I woke up this morning, the snow was pretty deep, and too wet to get much writing done in it...

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