THE PEOPLE MUST HAVE THEIR DAN MILLER

The other day I was reading a blog about finding change on the ground and such. Turns out that there were two blogs – two friends that were competing against each other to see who could find $100 in change first.

They’ve both since past the mark – at time of posting, one of them was at $269 found and one at $668, since Feb. 2005. Another guy has found $705 since Jan. 1998.

So after reading those blogs I started “keeping my head down” as they say in the change finding world. Okay, so just those 3 guys say. Basic ground rules is that it has to be coins (found bills don’t count) and it can’t be anything like the change that you get back from the store.

I started with 22 cents (2 dimes and 2 pennies) that I found at home. Might be considered in the gray area since I’m sure it was from something I did. But I couldn’t remember where it came from and I wanted to start things off on a good note.

Then I started earnestly on my search. I started out with a big trip around the parking lot at work. I had read on these blogs that parking lots are some of the best places to find change – people have it in their pockets and it falls out as they get in and out of their cars. Plus, not only was it for change spotting, but it helped me rack up the steps. I went up and down nearly all of our giant parking lot, but found zip. That was discouraging.

I also started touring the various break rooms at work to see if any change had fallen next to the vending machines but nothing in any of them.

A few days later, I remembered that I should also be checking the coin returns of the vending machines. So the next time I walked by one of the breakrooms I checked it out and BOOM – a nickel on my very first time! I took that as a sign, even though I have yet to find any more coins any of the other times I’ve looked. But hey at least I haven’t had any HIV-infected needles.

Then on Friday I found a penny on top of the urinal here at work. Don’t worry it wasn’t IN the urinal.

And at church yesterday I found a quarter in the aisle of the chapel as we were leaving sacrament meeting.

So my total is up to 53 cents. I will continue updating periodically, as long as I don’t completely lose interest in this, not like that ever happens

So I wanted to comment on some of the things that I’ve heard various kids say over the past month.

First off – the other day when my friend Brook was over trying to fix our van, he had 3 of his kids with him. After awhile of them sitting in the back of his truck, they made their way into our house to play with our kids. The addition of 3 kids to our 4 (at around bedtime) made the house a bit hectic, not even considering the broken-footedness of it all.

So as Carolyn was getting our kids off to bed, she was going to put in a movie for the other kids. So as she’s trying to get S. off to bed, he’s not wanting to go, and one of the little girls (age 5 or so) says something like “You need to go to bed, and then we’re going to watch Scooby Doo”. She wasn’t even being malicious or anything just kind of being the little mom that many girls that age are. This naturally set him off and he cried and screamed for like 20 minutes….

Non-related, but several days later, I wake up in the middle of the night and he is screaming his head off. So I amble up there and after I get him to calm down (a little bit) he says “ is waking me up”. I look over and his brother is in his bed fast asleep. I don’t know how he was asleep due to the massive screaming going on but okay…

Then last week he was out there with me helping me while I was working on the deck. And of course by helping me I mean that he was standing around while I worked. So he’s out there for awhile (maybe 10 minutes) and then announces “This is hard work – I’m going inside”

GOOD. TIMES!