The Pittmeister's Parade Around America

Wife and I are not messy or dirty people, but cleaning house beyond simply tidying up and putting things away where they belong is not one of our highest priorities. To be honest, the laminate wood flooring doesn't usually get mopped unless we're going to have company and then Wife decides it's time to clean as the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge (aka Will & Kate) are coming to visit and I help out by vacuuming the carpet and the laminate wood flooring or tile. When we first married and were living in our 1st apartment in Japan, we tried to clean every Saturday morning. There was only 1 problem with that and that is I'm a morning person who can function well early in the morning but she is not and it was usually close to 12pm before we finished with our cleaning chores and by then 1/2 of the day was gone. Such was the case on Friday night when I informed Wife that we would be expecting company the next day around 10:45am. I vacuumed and she mopped and while I was...

Why are our faults highlighted more than our successes? Is it because our successes are considered normal or "what we're supposed do" while our faults or mistakes demonstrate an aberration to the status quo and must be highlighted for correction? The story of my life seems to be one of polarity and is demonstrated by many instances where I do something extremely well, positive, or where I demonstrated a level of maturity or leadership only to have have a grave mistake, a poor decision/judgment, or some other sort of misbehavior pointed out to me later in the day that overshadowed or mollified the positive component of the day. These instances have haunted me since my elementary school days. If I think really hard, I can probably recollect the number of times on 1 hand between 1st & 3rd grade that my name was not on the board at the end of the day (or even lunch) and it often had a check mark or 2 that may have included a call home at the end of the day or caused m...

Wife and I have decided that we need to hire a canine unit to defend our home. It has come to our attention that someone or some people are using our property as a pass through between the main street in the front of our house and the back alley. Twice this week we have noticed our back gate opened after we have closed and bolted it shut. This is very disconcerting. Job Description: The Pitt Family Guard Dog will charged with the defense of the family home and act as a deterrent to people wanting to pass through our property from the front street to the alley behind our house at all hours of the night or day. The successful candidate will possess an ability to be intimidating without being vicious or display behaviors of meanness or aggression towards your employers and friends or family of your employers. Minimum Requirements: 1. Must demonstrate protective or defensive instincts and be willing to use those instincts at the appropriate time. 2. Must demonstrate critical thinking...