I wear daily disposable contacts. Every day, I get a fresh pair of eyes; a poor man’s Lasik! Last week during my morning routine, I put my contacts in. I could sense that something was wrong, and sure enough, my left eye was blurry. I thought maybe it was a faulty contact, so I removed it and popped another one in. Still blurry.

As I walked to work, I blinked, squinted and obsessively compared the vision of my left and right eye, surely looking like a lunatic. Upon arriving at my desk, the blurriness had still not improved. So, I googled “sudden loss of vision in one eye.” Unwittingly, I had opened the floodgates of fear and promptly learned that sudden vision loss can be the result of a stroke, hypertension, multiple sclerosis, brain aneurysm and/or tumor (the list went on and on).

In a mere 10 minutes, I read countless tales of woe on message boards, WikiAnswers and merck.com, all of which began with sudden unilateral vision impairment. I diagnosed myself with one of the less scary scenarios: a detached retina. I would need laser surgery or cryotherapy (freezing), which the Internet promised would be painless.

I called VisionWorld and explained my symptoms. The receptionist sounded concerned, and fit me into the doctor’s schedule right away. At this point, my co-workers overheard the conversation, and looked at me with apprehension. I quickly walked over to VisionWorld, my shoulders heavy with my new self-diagnosis. I filled out the paperwork, and was escorted to the exam room. Prior to entering, I was asked to remove my contacts. After I took out my left contact, I blinked, and sure enough, I could see perfectly! And then it all became clear. Too clear. I had put two contacts in my left eye.

I turned to the doctor, and explained my inane move. Laughter ensued, and I sheepishly left, my shoulders now heavy with embarrassment. But as I walked back to work, relief began to shower over me. I would not need eye surgery! (Brain surgery, maybe.) Overall, this nerve-racking morning reinforced what I already knew: 

Do not try to diagnosis yourself on the Internet. Had I gone straight to the doctor, I would not have wasted an hour worrying. Laughter and clarity would have come much sooner!

Read more blogs at SCG’s 41 Stories.

-Joy Wagner

Last week a couple of SCG colleagues and I embarked on what we anticipated to be a fun evening of dinner at a highly rated restaurant, Sea Change, followed by A Streetcar Named Desire at the Guthrie Theater. What we did not expect was to sit through a critically acclaimed 3-hour play completely appalled by the evening’s events – and hungry. And so, our harrowing customer service tale begins.

The evening started without a hitch. We arrived at the restaurant for our early reservations, were seated on time, and eagerly listened as the server described a delicious menu as a courtesy since we were first-time patrons. The appetizers we ordered were served promptly as tables began filling up with the bustling dinner crowd. Impressed by our first taste from the menu, we anxiously awaited our entrees. And waited…and waited. As we looked around the restaurant, we noticed that several other tables that had been seated long after ours were already halfway through their meals. Some had already even come and gone.

Before we knew it, 7 p.m. was fast approaching and the show was scheduled to begin in 30 minutes. After alerting our server (who seemed to have gone missing since our appetizers were served), we waited for another 10 minutes while he spoke with the manager about the delay. The manager finally stopped by our table after another five minutes passed and proceeded to shower us with excuses. We walked out utterly disappointed, stomachs growling.

Dissatisfied with the server’s lack of responsiveness and the manager’s ill attempt at handling the situation, we thought it would be beneficial to inform the general managers about what went on in their restaurant. After sending a stern yet cordial email about our experience, we resigned to put it all behind us and move on (and to never go back for another meal).

The next day, each of us received a pleasantly surprising email response that was very apologetic and included an invitation back for a complimentary dinner in addition to tickets to another show. The general manager said he would personally ensure we would be taken care of. Thanks to the timely response and going above and beyond what we expected (a complimentary dinner at best), Sea Change earned another chance to impress. Hopefully when we return next time, we’ll walk out groaning from eating too much delicious food.

-Mary Nhotsavang

Almost everyone I know has already dropped their landline, opting to be contacted solely through their cell phones. But for some reason I have felt the need to retain my landline, despite also having a cell phone. Maybe it’s because my number has been tied to so many other things, like organizations and charities I support. Or maybe it’s because my mom and uncle (who don’t seem to understand the concept of not having a landline) reach me and my family using that number. But now it just seems like unnecessary redundancy. I could do without the sales calls over dinner and as for my mom and uncle, well I could have them change their address book. Options weighed, I recently conjured the guts to get rid of my landline and began the search for new alternatives.

Researching what was available, I had a few requests. I would still like for there to be just one number for someone to call the Nolte family instead of choosing who to call—my wife or I. And what about those other things that rely on your home phone number? I don’t want give my cell number and risk getting sales call on my cell. I also would like voicemail transcribed and emailed to me, and choose when and I want to choose where to have calls go. Too much? Oh and just one more thing… I want it for free!

Well this is where Google came into my life again, with their service called Google Voice.

The first thing you’ll need to decide is whether you’d like to use the full version of Google Voice with a brand new phone number, or add some Google Voice features (like voicemail) to your existing mobile phone number.

The basic differences between these options are:

Google Voice with a Google number

• Use one number to manage all your phones; your Google Voice number is tied to you, not to a particular device or location.
• Voicemail is like email: Save voicemail messages for as long as you’d like, star important ones, and search through them.
• Voicemail transcription: Voicemail messages will be automatically transcribed to text and sent to you via email and/or SMS.
• Customize your callers’ experience (custom voicemail greetings, decide which of your phones ring based on who’s calling, send some callers straight to voicemail, etc.)
• Works with mobile phones, desk phones, and work phones. There’s nothing to download, upload, or install, and you don’t have to make or take calls using a computer.
• International calling: Make low priced international calls from the web or from your phone.

Google Voice with your non-Google phone number:

With this option you won’t get some features (i.e. call forwarding, screening, and call recording), but you get plenty of others, including: voicemail like email, voicemail transcription, custom voicemail greetings and international calling. For a complete list of the features with each option, click here. You can also check out a video about Google Voice’s set up options.

With that choice made, you can start the FUN part, picking out your new phone number!  You can even choose your area code and search for specific alphanumeric options, like 612-GO-NOLTE (not really my number).  

Since switching over to Google Voice, I haven’t missed my landline once—or missed a call from my mom or uncle. So thanks Google, for not only thinking of great ideas, but for making them work and providing them for free.

Read more blogs from SCG’s 41 Stories.

-Trevor Nolte

I have a weakness for Dairy Queen Blizzards. I find it hard to resist the creamy, scrumptious treats, which can be troublesome because I walk by Dairy Queen in the downtown Minneapolis skyway at least once or twice a week during my lunch hour outings. I try to talk myself out of taking the skyway leading to the DQ, but usually my taste buds take over and I find myself standing in line ready to order. I start to get rational and tell myself, “It’s just ice cream. How bad can that be? I am just getting my daily calcium requirements.” So I order my favorite flavor (hot fudge-banana) and dig in. After inhaling the blizzard within a few minutes flat, I start to feel a little bit guilty and a tad gluttonous.

Well, I am happy to announce that Dairy Queen has finally launched the new Mini Blizzard. The roughly 6-ounce treat is about half the size of the small blizzard, but still full of flavor. You get just enough of your favorite treat to satisfy your craving, but you don’t overindulge. So now I don’t feel so guilty when I break down and run for the nearest Dairy Queen.   

Have you tried your favorite Blizzard flavor in the new Mini size?

Read more blogs from SCG’s 41 Stories.

-Jane Tomassetti

Last weekend, I spent a fantastic long weekend golfing at Grand View Lodge in Nisswa, Minnesota. In the company of eight wonderful people, we enjoyed scenic boating on Gull Lake, delicious food, a few Tangueray and tonics, fun and at times irreverent conversations and of course, golf. Grand View is a magnet for the golfing set (me included) and it didn’t disappoint in terms of challenging courses and stunning views.

My favorite of the top-rated championship courses we played in the Brainerd Lakes area was The Preserve. The perfect summer weather might have influenced my choice, but after finishing 18 holes we decided we needed more and played another 9. With 27 holes under our belt that day, suffice to say we slept well that night—just what we needed to get up the next morning and do it all again at The Pines, another challenging course with stunning North Woods views.

It was the perfect weekend despite learning that my house sitter had called 911 one night when a midnight visitor came banging on the front door. The St. Paul police department (four officers, to be exact) were quick to the scene with flashing lights and scanned the property, but the uninvited visitor had fled. With police report in hand, the officers promised to keep my home on their route going forward.

It struck me upon learning of this incident that golf is very much a metaphor for life. At times, you get in the rough and it takes multiple attempts to clear it. Other times, you hit the ball just right and the connection lands you right on the green with an easy one-putt to the pin. I’m happy to say that last weekend at Grand View lodge was more of the latter than the former for me. An ideal vacation filled with plenty of golf (63 holes!), wonderful connections and easy conversations.

 Read more blogs from SCG’s 41 Stories.

 -Steph Haugan

Inspiring the American Dream – in the Minnetonka Pool

It was as much by accident as it was just luck. About four years ago, sandwiched between my son’s first surgery to repair his broken collar bone and the second surgery to remove the plate and seven screws some months later, Ryan joined the Minnetonka Swim Club, in part because the schedule worked out. (BTW, he had a great catch but the tackle was greater.) While our family doesn’t live in the Minnetonka school district, Ryan was able to swim with this club through a community education program. The coaches and parents were incredibly welcoming. From the beginning this seemed like a special organization, but I had no idea how special until later.

In a sport ruled by hundredths of a second, I am going to bring a little less precision to this story—but you’ll get the big picture. In an age where parents battle video games and a sense of entitlement, here is a tale where hard work not only pays off, it inspires.

A couple years after we joined the swim club, swim parents organized the Anchor Club to fundraise for a new pool at the Minnetonka East Middle School. Their efforts resulted in an amazing new aquatic center built over and around an existing catacomb of long narrow hallways and dated locker-rooms. This beautiful facility now can and does host regional meets. A couple of coaching changes followed, and the current (very talented) roster is led by NCAA All-American swimmer, Ben Bartell.

Earlier this year, Coach Ben announced that fellow University of Minnesota alum David Plummer would join the team as assistant coach and would practice with the team (in the new pool) as he pursued his goal of becoming an Olympian. We were told this incredible journey would motivate and teach our swimmers. As a pre-Title IX mom, I don’t really have the same feel for sports as others, so while I thought this was all well and fine, I really underestimated what was to transpire.

Last Wednesday at the 2010 National Championships in Irvine, Calif., David Plummer took us all a step closer to Olympic dreams as he bested the favorite and the two-time Olympic champ Aaron Peirsol to win the 100-meter backstroke. As I watched the race live on swimnetwork.com, the realization of what just happened began to sink in.  Many commentators and spectators wondered out loud, “Who is David Plummer?,” but we knew. The group of Minnetonka swimmers and their families knew. And we were incredibly proud. It was literally a David and Goliath story—a virtual unknown became a national champ.

But if that wasn’t thrill enough, here is where I got really excited: when a still breathless David was interviewed after the race, he gave credit for his first place finish to his coach and hard work. OMG! I was watching the classic American Dream unfold; the chance for success against the odds. Success that follows the dream and hard work.

The simplicity of David’s response makes it both motivational in the pool and inspirational for life. I feel so lucky that my son, Ryan, can be involved in such a vibrant program with such incredible role models. Through the collective efforts Coach Ben and his staff, David and the parents of the Minnetonka Swim Club, Ryan and his teammates are encouraged to reach for their dreams in the pool. But more importantly I think these swimmers will take their work ethic beyond the pool—to lead them through life always in pursuit of their dreams.

You can join David’s journey to the 2012 Olympics too by reading David’s blog. See you in London.

-Pat Henning

When Sunday’s cloudy weather thwarted plans to hit the beaches of nearby Lake Calhoun with some friends (and we realized that summer is quickly coming to a close), we decided to make the best of the cloudy day (and the rest of the summer) and start a month-long photo scavenger hunt through the Cities. We searched the web and found a list of 506 scavenger-worthy activities, ranging from “entire team crab walking” to finding a “Wal-Mart item costing $5.63,” already assigned a point value based on its difficulty to complete. The mission: to complete and document as many activities as possible during the month of August. Not only will this scavenger hunt make the rest of the summer memorable, it will prevent wasting precious weekend hours asking, “what should we do?”

But a scavenger hunt is no fun unless you’re competing against others. So our team (The Sassy Shooters) posted the activity to Craigslist and created a Facebook event calling other groups to participate. We also created a Flickr account to document our adventures throughout the month. We’re photographed below rowing a canoe on dry land (worth 7 points).

Our activity is picking up steam—with 14 confirmed participants on Facebook and two queries from Craiglist. And while we hope to have many more teams navigating the Twin Cities looking for a canoe to row on dry land, we’ll be content if it’s only us that has an answer to the nagging question, “what should we do?”

-Whitney McIntosh

The end of July is only a few days away, and that means that the Vikings training camp is about to start. Just like last year the big question everyone is asking is, “will Brett Favre play for the Vikings this year?” Last year he missed most of the preseason while deciding whether or not he was going to play while nursing an injured bicep. This year it is ankle surgery that’s making him question his future in the NFL. Many say the ankle surgery is not considered as serious as last year’s situation, but is it enough to keep him from not playing this year?

I personally think Brett will play this season. He is considered one of the greatest quarterbacks of all time, and while a professional football player in his 40s is very rare, I think he has too much love for the game not to play this season. I also think Favre is hesitant to participate in training camp, so just like last year he will think it over for a while and then start later in the preseason. Until then, he’ll keep us guessing.

Do you think Brett Favre will return and play one more season with the Vikings? Do you think Favre can still hold his own in a league that always has the fresh talent up and coming?

-Chad Breske

Here in Minnesota we’ve had quite the active storm season. Several destructive tornadoes, hail the size of grapefruit in some cases, and damaging straight-line winds. I’ve been fortunate and haven’t had serious damage to my home or threat of injury. There was a night in June, however, when I was returning from a walk with my dog and rounded the corner of my street to discover an extremely large branch from the towering, 100-plus-year-old tree in my boulevard had fallen onto my front yard and the driveway of my neighbor’s house. In fact, the gigantic limb was completely covering my neighbor’s driveway, preventing any entry or exit.

As I walked toward the scene I was greeted by another neighbor who heard the branch crack and fall. With my eyes looking downward in disbelief, he redirected my focus upward toward another branch from the same tree that had cracked and was poised to fall. We weren’t quite sure what to do and just then the neighbor whose driveway was obstructed joined the conversation. He informed me he had called Xcel (because there were some secondary power lines near the tree). I wasn’t quite convinced Xcel was the right call, so I quickly went inside to investigate online.

To my surprise, my first Google search for “City of St. Paul MN + tree down in boulevard” directed me to precisely the right page on the City of St. Paul’s website with the after-hours number for the Public Works Department (not the forestry office that handles such emergencies during business hours). “Huh,” I thought. “An informative and useful city government website.”

I expected to get a voicemail but an attentive guy from public works picked up the on the third ring. I informed him of the situation, adding that the fallen branch was a hazard because it was obstructing the sidewalk and that another large branch could fall and potentially hit a pedestrian. He, in turn, informed me that his crew had been cleaning fallen trees and branches all day and someone would be out to take a look at my tree that evening. When I asked whether they would be able to clear the branch that night, he said he couldn’t make any promises due to the day’s high volume of tree cataclysms.

Again to my surprise, two young gentlemen rolled up in a public works truck within a half hour. Upon quickly assessing this was a significant hazard, they called for reinforcements—their supervisor and two other seasoned department members. Minutes later, the crew was deftly and loudly dismembering the tenuous branch and clearing the downed limb, providing an hour’s worth of neighborly gawking. As dusk set it, there was no evidence that anything had even transpired that night.

Prior to this experience, I had dim hopes for a quick and thorough response from my local government to something like this. After all, it wasn’t too long ago that the City of St. Paul suffered a black eye with its pothole patching scandal in which a TV news crew caught city workers slacking off. But this experience showed me the other side of the story—St. Paul city workers springing into action and getting the job done.

Thanks, St. Paul Public Works Department. You guys were great!

-Steph Haugan

I remember when swimming in the lake was refreshing, cool—and carefree. I would float on an inflatable raft, sometimes for hours, on Mille Lacs Lake where our family cabin resides. I never paid attention to anything but enjoying the cool, clear water. Now as I decide to take a dip in the lake there is a new thing to consider that I never had to think about before—whether I am going to get swimmer’s itch or ‘duck itch,’ as my family calls it. 

Mille Lacs Lake has a new creature lurking beneath its surface. The lake has been infested by a microscopic parasite that passes between water fowl and snails. Although humans are not suitable hosts, the larvae still burrow into swimmers’ skin. But because these larvae cannot develop inside a human, they soon die and cause an allergic reaction to the toxins given off. The result? Red, itchy welts that can last for weeks.

There is really no prevention for swimmer’s itch. I have tried everything from rinsing off immediately with fresh water (we even rigged a fresh water shower on the beach), toweling off vigorously when exiting before the water has a chance to evaporate on your skin (they say the parasite doesn’t burrow into your skin until the water evaporates), to putting on thick, waterproof sun screen in hopes that the parasite would not be able to penetrate my skin through the greasy film. Nothing seems to work. I get ‘the itch’ almost every time I swim in Mille Lacs Lake.

So now when I think about taking a refreshing dip at my cabin, I think long and hard before taking the plunge. Is this swim really worth the two weeks of itching that is sure to follow? But the lure of the lake usually wins me over, and I end up jumping in. I guess I will just have to learn to live with the little buggers until someone comes up with a solution to this problem.  I just hope that is soon. 

- Jane Tomassetti