May 21

I have always tried to adhere to two rules when spending my consumer dollar.  First, I try to buy locally, from a family owned business if possible.  Second, I reward companies that provide good service with more business, along with the inverse.

One great example of the best customer service is what I found at Faini Designs in Sioux Falls, SD.  This place is complete class in all ways you could imagine.  The store front is almost aesthetically perfect and the people are what make it exceptional.

A little over a year ago I was in the market for an engagement ring.  I had done all my research, knew my 4 C’s, knew about what I should expect to pay for a diamond and had some very very vague direction from my soon to be fiance.  After checking around at a few other places in town and being bummed out about either their prices, their service or both I went to check out Faini after a good review from one of my good friends.

Everything went excellent with them.  Not only were they great to work with, but they made a custom ring for the same price or even less than what I was seeing around town and it was exactly what I was looking for.  Fast forward to a year later.  I had been in there once before to get the ring cleaned and being that it had been a while since the last cleaning, I brought the ring back to Sioux Falls with me and stopped by to have it cleaned.  Now what inspired me to write this post and what blew me away, was the fact that, Lisa, one of the people who helped me out initially actually greeted me by name.  I can’t imagine how many customers they have go through their store daily, but it blew me away that a year later they could greet me by name.  That is just one of the reasons why I’ll deal exclusively with them from now on, even though they’re 3 hours away.

As some honorable mentions…Honest Bike Shop (Rochester) and Oertli & Pleschourt (CPA’s in Rochester) have also treated me well.

May 20

I’ve been more and more annoyed with the way that CNN has become the viral news outlet instead of the Cable News Network.  When I went to CNN before I used to find out what was going on in the world.  Now I just find out what stupid videos are being put out on the web.

Snapshot:

Breaking News: Vick leaves prison

Latest News:

Latest News

  • 3 dead, 2 missing in Navy copter crash 18 min
  • Ex-gangs unite: ‘You don’t have to kill’
  • Father urges mom and sick boy to come back 34 min
  • Husband, dad arrested in death of wife, sons 15 min
  • Long-lost brother found across street
  • Bizarre twist leads to missing student’s body
  • Ticker: Schwarzenegger handed big defeat
  • Time: How Pelosi got into the CIA mess
  • Commentary: Democrats on defense
  • Against odds, some grads find Wall Street jobs
  • Teens chase down towering waterspout Video T-shirt
  • iReport.com: Ask an astronaut live from space
  • Fortune: Where millionaires were made
  • ‘Idol’: ‘Guy next door vs. the guy-liner’ 
  • Rapper Dolla mourned for his ‘big heart’ 50 min
  • Miley Cyrus to critics: ‘Stop calling me f*t!’
  • Elton John: I was lucky not to be HIV infected
  • 1.5 pound cat may be world’s smallest
  • CNN Wire: Pakistani military has targeted…

That’s seriously the latest news.   So I need to know…What do you use for your world news source?  Post any suggestions in the comments.  Thanks!

May 19

I’m officially on the list of participants for the triathlon…which makes me even that much more pumped for this!

So far training is going good.  I did a quick 10 mile bike ride yesterday to make sure I can still set a good pace.  Beyond that I’ve been consistently getting better in the pool.  So I’m pretty sure I can finish the swim portion of it.  My goal is to be able to swim the entire 1/4 mile doing the front crawl only and not having to switch to the back stroke to catch my breath (which I’m not sure how effective it would be in open water).

Overall, my goal is just to finish and enjoy the experience…with 8 people registered in my division so far, I’m aiming for a top 10 finish!  ;)

May 16

So I’ve had this idea floating around in my noggin for the last few years…that it would be fun to try to do a triathlon.  Just the all around physical ability needed for it intrigues me…and I really don’t know why else.  So last year around this time I heard about a triathlon here in Rochester for Rochesterfest.  I knew it was way too close to try to get ready for it that year, but I made it a goal to get into shape and start training for it this year.

Well, even though everything hasn’t quite gone as planned, I’m signed up for it!  It’s only a “sprint” triathlon.  So I’ll swim 1/4 mile, bike for around 10 miles and then run a 5k.

Now, here’s where I’m at.  The 10 mile bike ride: I’ve always had strong legs and the amount of attention I’ve  put into my explosion power in my legs for playing fullback through high school and into college has made biking relatively easy.  I have a good crossover type road bike and can do a 10 mile ride in a pretty good pace.  The running portion: this has been a little harder and I’ve just recently been able to complete a 5k in a little under 30 minutes (just on it’s own).  Something that I couldn’t have imagined doing a year ago at this time.  Finally, the dreaded swim.

I was originally planning on starting to train for the swim around March or so, after I was happy with my other skills.  However, breaking my collar bone this last winter put a bit of a damper on that.  Now, with my collar bone completely healed I need to play a bit of catch up.  Worse case scenario I just flip onto my back and back stroke it to the first transition.  This’ll be my first ever triathlon and I don’t plan on coming in the top half of the pack…just want to finish it.  I’ll post a couple times to let you know my progress…but the triathlon is June 28th, so it’ll be here before I know it!