otisframpton.com

Poppy: 199?-2009

 

 

We miss you already, Poppa. You were such a good friend to us.

-Otis & Leigh

Driving & Batting

This is some video that I took with my new iPhone 3GS while on a date with my wife. This is the first video that I've shot using the iPhone and edited together using iMovie. SO simple and fun. I heart you, Apple.

Otis T. Frampton III Memorial Video

This is a video that I put together for my Dad's memorial service. Dad was born on May 28th, 1947 and died on June 17th, 2009. He was 62 years old.

My Dad . . . 1947-2009

My Dad passed this morning.

He had been fighting the good fight for the last month and a half after learning that he was ill.  I was lucky enough to see him last month for about a week while he was in the hospital.  I'll be heading home tomorrow or the next day to say my goodbyes and be with family.

Thanks for all of the support, thoughts and prayers that everyone has been sending my way over the last two days.

I love you, Dad.  Thanks for everything.

-Otis

Happy Birthday, Dad

Have some ice cream cake, kiss Mom for me and keep fighting the good fight, Dad.

Love and well wishes from Leigh and I on this, your 62nd birthday.

-Otis

P.S.  Mom . . . make sure he uses the gift!

No Foolin': 10 True Things About Otis Frampton

I hate April Fool's Day.

Every year on this day the internet becomes a minefield of misinformation.  I feel like I miss a whole day of actual news because webmasters feel the need to engage in "look how clever I am" nonsense.

You can be certain that I'll never do anything like that.  So in the spirit of dissent, I will now list 10 true things about myself.  You can take these to the bank, my friends:

10.  In the summer of 1995, I joined two friends in a cross-country hitchhiking trek.  We hitched rides from southern Minnesota all the way to Seattle, then down the west coast to Pismo Beach, California.  The journey took about one month.  After one of my friends departed for home, my other companion and I stayed in Pismo Beach for another month, camping out each night and living off of the money I made drawing caricatures for tourists on the local pier.

9.  I have only struck one person in anger in my life and I still feel guilty about it.  I was maybe 10 or 11 years old and I was at the local arcade with my friend Joe.  We were playing our usual favorites, losing quarters like idiots.  I was doing particularly badly playing "Karate Champ" and Joe was watching.  Watching and laughing.  And he wouldn't stop.  He just kept ridiculing my mediocre performance at the joysticks.  I'm ashamed to say that my frustration bubbled over and I struck in in the throat, "Karate Champ"-style.  He crumpled over in pain.  I'll never forget the look on his face.  It stays with me to this day.  Sorry, Joe.  If it's any consolation, I've never hit anyone else in my life.

8.  I didn't own a bed from 1995 until 1999, when the joining Air Force finally forced me to sleep in one.  I slept on the floor for four years.  It might have something to do with my bad back.

7.  When I was about 10 years old I lost my house keys on the way back from the local pool.  It was on a large ring and I foolishly placed it on the 10-speed controls of my bike as I rode home.  It fell off somewhere between the pool and my house.  My Mom was furious and made me re-trace my path until I found them.  It was one of the best life lessons she ever taught me and I carry it with me to this day.

6.  I've never been in a car accident.  But I was side-swiped by a large deer on my way home from work one snowy Minnesota night.  The beast hit my driver-side door so hard that it created a large, concave dent in the door and pushed my car off course, nearly sending it into the ditch.

5.  I adopted my cat Yoshi on October 31st, 2003 and the woman running the PetSmart adoption program almost didn't let me have him that day because some people will adopt cats on Halloween for sacrificial purposes.  Luckily, I convinced her that I had no such plans.

4.  I saw "The English Patient" in the theater 7 times and the poster for that film hangs over my computer on the wall as I type this.  I completely understand if this fact makes you question my credentials as a storyteller, but I stand by my love for the film.

3.  I loved the six weeks I spent in Air Force Basic Training and the 6 months of Technical Training afterward.  It was one of the best times of my life.  As with the four years spent in high school, it was a life changing, blissful experience and I feel sorry for people who didn't enjoy it as much as I did.

2.  I have a strong memory of sitting on the edge of a ferry in the Puget Sound when I was 3 years old.  I remember almost falling over the side and my mother scolding me for nearly killing myself.  I don't know if this memory is of a real event, but whenever I'm near large bodies of water it bubbles to the surface and a chill runs up my spine.

1.  My wife is the best person I know.  She will help anyone in need.  Anyone.  One night last year we were at Safeway in the pet food aisle.  I was looking through the dog food choices and turned to say something to her only to find that she wasn't there.  She had walked down the aisle to help a woman in a wheelchair reach something on the top shelf.  I was so taken by this that I whipped out my iPhone and took a picture.  Five minutes later, after conversing with this complete stranger about God knows what, she returned to her life.  This is what she does;  she makes friends with everyone, she helps complete strangers, she has the ability to change lives for the better in the span of five minutes.  My wife is the best person I know.

-Otis

Stick A Fork In Me

This is brilliant:

Great stuff.  I wish I'd written it. 

Go HERE to read more about the "manifesto".

-Otis

Bye Bye Papa

The following was just sent to Papa John's customer feedback site:

"Dear Papa Johns,

I am writing to let you know that I have just received the worst customer service in my lifetime.

I ordered a pizza from my local Papa John's (2571 John Milton Drive, Herndon, VA) online.  I paid for it with a credit card and added a tip of $1.00 to the card.  When the driver arrived, he practically tossed the box into my hands and then turned to walk away.  I said "thank you".  As he walked up the apartment stairs toward the exit he said, "I don't accept your thanks."  I was stunned and said "excuse me?"  He repeated what he said and then added you "you've got to tip at least $2.00".  Our conversation continued (he repeated the "I don't accept your thanks" line many times) with me explaining the meaning of the word "gratuity" and then asking for his name and the name of his manager, who I immediately called and complained about the incident.  The manager apologized and said there were other complaints about this driver.  The manager did not offer me anything in the form of compensation for my terrible customer service experience.  I relate this not because I expect anything free from Papa John's, but because I know that if I were the manager of a store receiving this kind of complaint, I would certainly OFFER something.

I have worked in the customer service field.  I have been an assistant manager at two restaurants.  I have worked for 2 pizza delivery companies and was a waiter for 8 years.  I have NEVER ONCE expected a tip or said anything remotely as rude as what was said to me today by the delivery driver.  I am not writing this to receive anything in return.  I have never lodged a complaint like this and am not doing so now for any reason other than to let you know of the terrible customer service I received and that I will never again order anything from your company.

Thank you.

-Otis Frampton"

****

UPDATE:

I just got this from Papa John's:

"Mr. Frampton,

On behalf of Papa John's Pizza, we would like to apologize for any
inconvenience you encountered with your recent order from Papa John's.  We
are truly sorry the problem from the restaurant caused your order not to
meet expectations.  Our goal is to provide not only a superior quality
pizza, but also a World Class Customer Experience to our consumers at all
times.  Your comments have been sent to the Owners/Operators for this
location and someone should be contacting you soon.

Thank you for taking the time to complete the Internet Feedback form.Your
incident number is "_________"; please refer to this number in any future
correspondence. We want to encourage you to call your local Papa John's
whenever you have questions or comments, but if we can be of further
assistance, please visit us again at www.papajohns.com.

Sincerely,

Consumer Services Team"

Just so people know, I'm not posting about this in an effort to disparage Papa John's or to try to convince anyone else to follow my lead.  But when I was in the customer service field, I always tried to maintain a high standard.  I have never before seen such a LOW standard as I did today.  I think this is worth writing about and following up on to see how it is handled by the store and the company.

-Otis

****

UPDATE:

I just got a call from the regional manager of Papa John's.  The problem has been addressed and he apologized.  I'd like to thank him and the store manager for addressing the issues I raised.

-Otis

Have You Ever Felt Like . . .

Deleting your entire online gallery?

I had that feeling today.

One of my New Year's resolutions is to learn how to draw and paint. I'm mean really draw and paint. You know, study the fundamentals that I never really studied . . . draw more and draw in different styles . . . learn about the basics of painting and practice painting without relying on Photoshop layers as a crutch.

As I begin my studies (raiding my wife's library of instructional books, seeking out online lectures, etc) I'm starting to feel like everything I've done up until now, my entire gallery of work so far, isn't worthy of showing off in public. I feel like I'm starting over and that what I'm learning now makes me somewhat ashamed of the work I've done, because I've been coasting on natural ability and really don't have the knowledge I want that will help me create better work.

Have you ever felt like that?

-Otis

P.S.  This isn't a pity post.  I'm not deleting my galley.  I'm genuinely interested to find out if others have felt like this.

2009 . . .

I want to accomplish the following in 2009 (in no particular order):

• Learn to draw.
• Learn to paint.
• Watch more films (especially older films that I've read about and seen clips from during my study of the medium, but have never actually watched all the way through).
• Sell a property (no, I'm not talking about a house).
• Start production on Zeek! (Leigh and I are heavily into the pre-production stage right now).
• Start listening to The Teaching Company audiobook series and get as far through the catalog as I can.  After a year and a half of devouring political talk radio and podcasts as I followed the election, it's time to take a break and focus on more general studies while I work.
• Record a new podcast every two weeks, without interruption.
• Exercise more.  Eat less.  Repeat.
• Finish Spellbinder.
• Take more photos of me, my wife and our furry family.
• See Oddly Normal: Fignation Times finally arrive in stores.  *sigh*
• Start a family.

All attainable goals, I think.  Wish me luck.  And good luck to you on your resolutions.

-Otis