The Sound Of Silence

My wife has complained that what I write here is not fit for public consumption, & also hurts people, so the end has come.

Hot House; Relaxed Woman; Avatar Meditation

At the request of my wife, I cranked up the output of heat from the wood stove today, all day, & wow are we cookin' *:-) She is very relaxed, her joint & muscle pain is reduced, & the healing that only wood heat can bring has come our way, & we are grateful *:-)

I hung out in 2nd Life again today for awhile, & my avatar actually found a place with zafus that have pose-balls built in, that when sat upon, immediately put the avatar into a meditative posture. Very cool. I want one of those pose balls, but I don't really understand how to use them yet, so I will do the research.

WoodMan; ChiliMan; WarMan; GarbageMan

Well, at least I am a man *:-)

Woodman: I brought wood to the near-the-front-door wood pile today, replenishing the stock that we used up last week keeping the place warm. Some of it is perfectly dry & perfectly split madrone, & it is beautiful, not just because it will warm us well, but because of its visual beauty also. We are grateful for it.

ChiliMan: I got to eat some more of my wife's chili today, & I love it. I added a little Jarlsburg cheese as nibbles with each bite of chili, & that is awesomely good *:-)

WarMan: We have been watching Ken Burn's The War, & it is very powerful for me, because I was born just as the USA entered the war, & also because I am also a veteran, so I believe I have a keen & deep understanding of what I am seeing.

GarbageMan: Yes, today I took out the garbage & placed clean containers in the house where we stow our trash until the weekend. Not a big deal, I know, but I am happy to be able to do it *:-)

Weakies; Maddies; Quitties; Kiddies

Slaka (South Swamp) overflows with weak ones, including some of the "space invaders" who are renting space from us. I am finding that state employment attracts such folks, & it frightens me that I might end up as one of them...kinda like an alien biting me & injecting alien crap into my blood *:-(

Some of the weakies are also maddies, & are looking for any excuse or slight failing of others to down the organization, & they don't realize they are destroying their own opportunity for employment at the same time, instead believing in an arbitrary goodness that is some sort of golden rule. It doesn't exist mate.

Fortunately, rumors are beginning to rise that some of the weakie/maddie crowd are going to leave of their own volition sometime soon, which would be quite cool. Let's accept that if it happens.

Many others in Slaka are just kids who do not know how to grow up, nor have they been shown what it is to be a grown up. Not that any of us has mastered adulthood, but some of us at least are aware that we aren't doing all that we could & continue to move in the "more adult" rather than "less adult" direction.

Firewood; Good DVDs; Good Food; Good Day

A Sunday in the mountains that followed a pattern that we are comfortable with, & used to. We like it here where we live, & also were fortunate enough to have a couple good meals today & some very good entertainment. We appreciate it *:-)

Aprons; Rain; Success

Today was Apron day. The Apron Lady (my wife), set up her sales booth at a local Waldorf Holiday Fair today, & took a large number of very cool aprons to sell, along with a few other things. People loved her work & bought a lot of aprons, & asked a lot of intelligent questions, & gave her lots of compliments, so her day was a success. I helped set up & tear down *:-)

A brief but heavy (at least up here in the mountains) rain fell today, but didn't cause the cancellation of the holiday fair because apparently the rain did not fall as heavily at the fair location.

Any day that is a success for my wife is a success for me *:-)

Ima Learner; Slaka Staff Depressed; Clear Heart

I am experiencing a steep & also exhilarating learning curve at the moment, & I love it. Feels very good & very natural, & my boss is happy with what I am doing.

The all-staff Slaka staff meeting today left many people depressed because of the infantile approach to work that some inexperienced folks take. I was ok though, mostly due to the workout this morning that cleared out my heart.

I will make a good effort to workout tomorrow morning too.

Shakespeare!; Lights! Camera! Action!

It was fun *:-) I hosted a pretty famous Shakespearean actor/artistic director/producer today because Slaka hired him to do voice overs for our new phone system, & I was in charge of the recording process. His voice was excellent & just right for us. I enjoyed the 2.5 hours we spent together, and everyone is happy with voice overs *:-)

First Comic Turns Out Pretty Good; White Man

I am moving toward using comic books to get learning objects across to learners, & so I practiced by making a comic today, & it turned out pretty good. It has images of my grandchildren, & other stuff, & my wife is going to take a copy with her when she watches the grandkids tomorrow, & she can see if they, or the adults around, like it at all.

Yesterday my boss asked me to wear a white shirt to work at Slaka for today, & so I did. I nearly always wear black, & for some reason he wanted to see a change, so no worries, I did it. Then of course as soon as he saw me, he said, loudly, "hey, its a white man!" *:-) Ha Ha, not.

Slaka; Guacamole Tostada; Sick Colleague; Thank You Son

Slaka continues to be the place where I earn my living, & today was no different. Usual stuff.

For our ET group lunch, we chose our standby Mexican restaurant, & I ordered my standby guacamole tostada, hold the sour cream (sin crema), along with rice & beans. It was especially fresh, & quite good, & my tummy liked it too *:-)

Our IT Manager when home sick today, after 8 days of sinus pain & a strep condition. I am hopeful that I was not exposed to the strep while she was contagious.

My son's referral to the right person at the world's second largest Internet search company has paid off, because we have been contacted & they want to partner with us. Thank you, son *:-)

Return To Slaka; Wood Heat; Flying Rug; Mo 2Life

Ok then, it's back to Slaka on the 'morrow. I have no idea what the condition of my returning colleagues will be. I shall try to be fit and to wear my shiny black shoes proudly *:-)

My wife is happy. She is so happy that she is in our 3rd level sleeping room, laying in bed, uncovered, unclothed, & happily remarking on the fact that she is just a bit too hot *:-) Ah yes, heat does rise, doesn't it *:-) She has been lightly pestering me to start the winter's slog with our first fire in the wood stove, & I have been resisting it valiantly, but lost the battle today, when I had to admit that the low temperatures in all but 2 of the rooms of the house had gotten out of hand. Suffice it to say, that situation has changed dramatically, & I am actually breaking a sweat up here in my third floor office nook, writing this. The net of it all: My wife is happy *:-)

A large, quite beautiful, quite dutiful, quite suitable, hand-woven classic colorful rug has flown away from our grasp tonight. During a recent bout of my wife being bitten by spiders while she slept, she reacted by cleaning the hell out of the sleeping room, & one casualty was the long-serving rug on the floor of the sleeping room, because of possible tiny spider habitats. It is a very good, & quite valuable rug, & a friend of my wife's came up & took up my wife on the offer of giving it a new home. Tra-la *:-)

I have been given sustenance, assistance, & a personal tour in 2Life today, which helped me a great deal. I was also visited, without asking, by a very high personage in the Mentor clan, who gave me many things, asked me just one question, & after listening to my answer assured me that I will do very well in 2Life *:-) That is the second time I have been told that. Additional advice came in the form of a wise foretelling of how I shall proceed, which is "Let 2Life come to you". Ok then, I will *:-)

Wood; More Wood; Shoes Polished; More 2Life

Lots of rearranging of the wood piles & the wood processing area today. Cold weather is definitely here.

As a good bureaucrat, I made sure I polished both pairs of my bureaucratic black shoes today *:-)

I worked in 2ndLife again today, & can't figure out how to put on the new Italian shoes I bought. I ended up naked in a shopping mall for a little while, but I don't think anybody noticed *:-)

Happy Birthday; Flaky, Eurotrash Kite-Surfer?; 2nd Life

A very happy 2nd birthday to our granddaughter, & I saw some of the pictures (although I could not be there in person), & she looks happy & as though she had a good time. She is a sweetie, & I hope she did have fun.

I will soon get more information about my son-in-law, the one who threw me out of his home. The birth of his first child with my daughter as the mom is coming up, & I am interested to see which side of the scale he tips: On the one side, the label of "flaky, Eurotrash kite-surfer" would be accurate, & on the other side, the label of "loving father & loving husband" would be accurate. I know which one I am hoping for, but I will accept him whichever way he goes. The birthday party for my granddaughter was hosted at his house today, which is why I could not attend. I'll give it a year, & if things have improved, then I will consider entering his home again.

I got my avatar movin' today in 2nd life, in preparation for attending some webinars that I need to attend for the job I have. They only host them in 2nd life, which I think is cool. I learned a lot today moving the AV around & learning this and that.

Federal Penitentiary Loses Inmate; Ready For Winter; Excellent Chili; RTF Run

My wife's nephew has been released from the Federal Penitentiary where he had been sent up by the ATF. Details sketchy, but at least he is out *:-)

Today I completed the tarping, wood-burning stove prep, room safety set up, & related tasks, so that we can stay warm this winter. We have an excellent home for keeping cold out & warm in, & we have enough wood, for which we are grateful.

I had asked my wife to make some of her famous chili, & she did, & today I consumed 2 huge bowls all at one sitting, along with a little Jarlsburg cheese. Oh Yeah *:-) Excellent. Full. Will have some more tomorrow *:-)

Also made a dump run (the county calls the place the "Refuse Transfer Facility"), & because I made my run fairly early in the day, I did not have to wait in the long lines that sometimes happen before a holiday, because the place is closed on holidays.

Workies; South Africa; 2Life

On the job, & I mean on the job, like, really ON THE JOB, working, from 0745 straight thru to a solid 1945, with 50 minutes out for a run to the UPS shipping facility across town. No major negative incidents, or positive incidents either, & that is partly because only one of the 5 directors was in the office today, & the largest "difficult" employee (HR's word, not mine) is out of the office all week.

The trip to the UPS shipping facility was so that I could get the 2 telecom units on their way to the trans-shipping facility up north, where they will be forwarded on to South Africa to my colleagues there. Some of the products they need are not available to them within Europe & occasionally I help out. Glad to do it, for a couple reasons, one of which is part of a younger man's fantasy *:-)

2ndLife is occupying a bit of my time at the moment, & it is kind of cool that I need to learn about it as part of my job, so I can relax while learning. We still don't run 2ndLife during the regular workday because of the bandwidth required & because some of the happenings are unpredictable & may be NSFW. Something new *:-)

Workies; Cute Aprons; Power Washer; Safe Cats

I worked on Slaka projects today, & it is a good thing I did because I have several things due that will be embarrassing to my boss if I screw them up, so it is fortunate that I sat down & updated my "todo" list, which revealed several things I needed to do today. My offsite Internet access is not behaving as well as I would like since changing to Outlook, but I can send the emails that didn't get out, from my desk tomorrow morning. Nobody is working today anyway...wait...except me...& probably a few others *:-)

My wife made some really cute miniature aprons to use as carriers for the written blessings that she took to the "blessing way" that was held for our pregnant daughter today. Very cool.

My son picked up our gasoline powered pressure washer today so he can prepare his house for painting. This power washer rips the paint right off, & will cut right into your body if you point it at yourself or anyone else. I am hopeful that he will be careful.

The cats that my wife has been taking care of for a neighbor who was on vacation are all fine, and the neighbor is back. The one we couldn't find last night, which worried us a little, was hiding ON THE ROOF of the house where it lives, & came down when its owner got back...the little prick...

Not Bad; 950 More To Hit; Very Nice Day & Time; Thrown Out

Hit some decent shots off the driving range platform today, not bad for my first time with the new iron that I just got, that is a type not commonly used or found. I know that for me, it takes about 1000 practice shots with each new club until I pown it, & I did about 50 today, leaving 950 to go, so I am planning to get several buckets of balls at the driving range over the next few weeks to get that club under control so I can enjoy the game more. I also got a glove, & a cap to keep the sun off, because I have rosacea, & need to stay out of the bright sun. There were 5 of us, & we had a very nice time & the weather was sweet.

Interesting, & actually quite appropriate, experience for me this evening. My wife called me just as I was leaving work, & described a situation that seemed to need me to participate in negotiating a compromise solution among my wife, my daughter, & my daughter in law, so with my wife's concurrence, I stopped off at my daughter's home on the way after work. Well, my son in law was there too, & his opinion about me being needed was...how shall I say it...180 degrees out from mine *:-) He escorted me out of the house, off the property, & told me not to bother his wife (my daughter) about the subject again, since she is only a few weeks away from giving birth & is extremely fragile. I did not resist at all, and am actually very very glad that he is finally taking full responsibility for my daughter, which is exactly what he is supposed to do as her husband. This is a strong message that my own freedom from the entanglements of family is becoming more real, & that makes me happy *:-)

Golf Tomorrow; Hard Hat Today

Tomorrow is the golf day that I have been preparing for, although I didn't get a chance to do any preparing *:-) Our boss is calling it a "meeting" & so we all had to submit agenda items that we will "discuss" during the meeting, which will actually be held on a local driving range where we will each hit a bucket of balls, & then after that have lunch in the course club house restaurant. I am planning on enjoying it.

I was issued my official backpack with the Disaster Prep equipment in it today after the kick off meeting, & I am now an official member of the committee. Definitely a higher level of visibility for me & I believe I did well & got along with everybody. Not sure how much work it will be yet.

Slaka Hears A Sermon; I Found It!; Schedule Change

The HR people came over & gave us all a required talk today on the evils of telecommuting, or at least the perceived evils. Some of the most irresponsible employees are not allowed to telecommute, so because they are pissed off they are petitioning to have all telecommuting canceled on the basis of "equal treatment". Because our organization is infantile & has no management, the 3 of us who telecommute one day a week suspect that we will be forced to give it up. Fuck 'em, I can roll with it.

I have an important meeting tomorrow, the first for my new duty, & it is at a building on the campus of the University of Blueberry Syrup that I have never been to, so on my lunch hour today I reconnoitered its location & actually went inside, where I quickly observed a much higher level dress code than I am currently using, so I will take two sets of clothing tomorrow, one for the normal part of the day working in Slaka, & then a change for the meeting at High-Class Harry's.

The two activities on this Friday which were going to require a great deal of energy from me have changed. One was cancelled, through no fault of mine, & the other has been shortened by half, & is being kept local instead of 25 miles away, so it won't be nearly as difficult. I am glad.

Slaka; Just Listening; Golf Clubs

Our workplace has been very recently blessed with two new energetic high level directors, one above the other, & both are above the still missing local director that we have been waiting for since late 2006. Based on the parallels with a dvd my wife & I recently watched, I have given the newly vitalized, but still insane office workplace the name "Slaka", for a mythical country where life is similar to that in the office I work in. The name "South Swamp" will still be appropriate for a while too, until the local director question gets sorted.

We have an important assignment coming up in late November, & it is one that I have handled for the last couple years, but with the recent reorg, it is time to hand off the responsibility to a colleague. My boss has chosen the colleague, who reports to a different director, & we met today to discuss the plan. The new person said that she has been instructed by her director to "just sit and listen" at the 2 day, all-expenses-paid-by-the-host symposium. That behavior will irritate the hell out of the hard-working, long-suffering team that invited us so I made that perfectly clear to my boss & now I am letting go of it.

The new golf clubs came today, & although they are 3 days late, I like them so I won't bother with the ritual complaints, which of course won't do any good because the shipping company always says "we had a new driver on & he couldn't find your address way up in the mountains". Oh well. The putter is the yellow-handled Ray Cook "Blue Goose 3", & looks very good. The One Shot Chipper is the Ray Cook "Classic Plus Chipper", & it will be a new experience for me since they did not use these the last time I tried to play golf. The round is this Friday afternoon, & I haven't gotten to practice at all, but I suspect I will enjoy it.

Kid Stuff; Internal Change Manifests In External Change; New Assignment

We've been hangin' with our grandkids as much as possible over the Veteran's Day holiday, & that was really worth it. I am a veteran & there have actually been a few (very few) people who have offered me their thanks for putting my life on the line for what we get to do here in the USA, & I have been taught by my Native American friends that it IS appropriate to honor the warriors who face the fight, so I am grateful for whatever thanks I get.

We've had some difficult emotional times in the last few days, & that is resolved for the moment, & has resulted in us moving furniture & trying some new arrangements in the way we use our home, so I am hopeful that the turmoil was worth it. I agree with Carolyn Myss who says "...we are actually more afraid of change than we are of death".

I have a new (additional) assignment at the University of Blueberry Syrup which will catapult me into the mainstream campus heirarchy, outside of the very small sub-organization that I work for, & I am hopeful that this is a good thing. It will mean lots of work of course, but I am seeking that so no complaints here.

Tyke Tuckered; Golf Clubs Ordered; DVR For Wife

I did not realize how tired I had become due to the energy needed to entertain & keep up with my granddaughter during the lunchtime we had together yesterday. I was tuckered by the tyke, & I will be better prepared next time *:-)

Well, I did it. Our first company golf outing is a week from tomorrow, & I gave my clubs away a long long time ago, & none of my kids have any I can borrow, so I purchased just two clubs, which is all I will be purchasing. I bought a putter, & I bought something called a "one-shot chipper" which is supposed to be a combo club that works as everything from a 3-iron to a 9-iron & sand wedge. I will be using only these two clubs, which I have been told is a new trend for those, like me, who just golf because the "team" is. I actually hope to beat the other players with these. Naive? Naw... *:-)

My wife has discovered a possible solution & an exciting opportunity that needed the help of a digital voice recorder (dvr), & so she found the one she wanted & then I picked it up for her this evening on my way home from work & I hope she gets to do good work with it.

Lights On, Shocking Revelation; Golf Tourney 11/16; Granddaughter At Noon; Out The Door At 5

Today I started my new gig time from 8 am to 5 pm, & since I wasn't sure about how the traffic would be flowing, I left a little early & also arrived before 8 am, & since I have a key to get in the building, I was the first one in. Usually, when I would arrive at 9 in the past, the overhead florescent lights would still be off, & those who were at work would be just kind of chatting or puttering about or chilling in their dark cubes. Not today *:-)) I turned all the lights on at max intensity & made sure all the copiers, printers, etc. were actually on & running, like, you know, a place of work. What a shock it was to those who arrived to see that the place they have been coming to is actually a place of work, not an extension of their comfortable homes. I enjoyed it *:-) My colleague, the IT manager, who comes in at 8:30, really liked the story & encouraged me to continue.

Well, as I predicted, I will actually be playing some golf on Friday, 11/16 *:( I don't know how these things happen. Its ok, & it is a "team building" activity although with all the financial audits going on we will probably have to pay the $7 course fee ourselves, although we may get lunch or something, & of course we get the time out of the office, & the fun that goes with it. Its cool, no worries.

Our daughter in law brought the grandkids up to the house here in town, the house they are selling, & so my wife & I got some time with the kids, & I had a very good time with my granddaughter, out in the back yard, chasing each other, shaking leaves off the trees, listening to the iPod, & generally goofing around. She cried when we had to leave, since we both work in the afternoon, but she is already extra upset because of all the instability, & it is part of her life experience anyway, but it was hard to leave. I am grateful to have had the time with her, & a little time with her brother too.

Ok then. My first official day as a 100% bureaucrat, & I did well. I was out the door by 5:03 pm. Good on me then *:-)

Total Bureaucrat Effective Immediately *:-)

Ok, so today I changed my schedule so that I work 8-5 from Monday thru Friday. OMG, its true. I am like so totally a bureaucrat now, & the conversion only took 2 weeks just like I thought it would. I changed my office so that it looks very "bureau", & with my shiny black shoes, the response to me has changed. Some folks are even motivated to salute, which is a characteristic that I have that some people respond to. I have no idea where this is all going to lead, but I feel very strongly it is the right choice for me.

Our new grandson went home tonight for the very first time, which is very cool *:-) We know that the new mom & dad are going to be very tired for quite a while, & we will be going over on Saturday to check him out. I haven't seen him yet.

The neighbor lady's car caught on fire, or at least overheated to where she got scared enough to call the fire department, which caused a little concern for us, but the fire people drove it away, so hey, all is well *:-)

7 Pounds + 13 Ounces, & Beautiful To Boot *:-)

OK then *:-)

Grandchild #3 for my wife & I. We are blessed with a grandson born last night and both baby & ma are doing well, & the dad seems to be ok too *:-)

My wife went over & checked him out today, & pronounced him "really, really cute" which is a good start in life for him *:-) This is our youngest son's first born, & we hope my son & his wife grow right along with the little fellow.

He, & they, have our love.

Daughter-In-Law In Labor; Shiny Shoes; Kid Prep

Another of our daughters-in-law went into labor a few hours ago, & we suspect we will have another grandchild soon. My wife will go over to the hospital birthing room tomorrow morning, but since I am an hourly employee, & have not requested the time off as vacation ahead of time, I would lose money if I went, so I will wait until the weekend to check the kid out.

As a good bureaucrat, I shined both pairs of my good black shoes today, & so am ready for the week *:-) This may be a rather boring 8 years, but hey...

Our own daughter is due pretty soon too, so my wife is busy preparing for all grandkids we already have, & for the ones on the way.

Outlook; DVDs

I spent the day migrating my 1.5 years of un-archived emails, with attachments, from Eudora to Outlook. We have been mandated to be 100% Outlook, & since I am part of the ET group, it was considered "bad form" that I hadn't migrated yet *:-) I got it all done, & hopefully the bosses will recognize me more easily in my Microsoft uniform.

Because of the time change ("fall back") we watched a ton of DVDs this evening, & so my eyes are suffering & it is off to palming them I go.

Friday's At South Swamp; Son With Kids; Apron Hangs Waiting

As a professional bureaucrat reawakening my bureaucrat skill set, I now work in the office at South Swamp all five days per week instead of using Fridays as a TeleWork day. This has had two immediate effects that were visible today: first, the two bitchy girls who don't really work, & are gone out of the office a lot of the time, & have been using Fridays to bad mouth me for not being in the office, have had to shut up, & it was a real pleasure seeing the looks on their faces over the last 3 weeks as they begin to realize that they can't say shit about me teleworking anymore *:-) They have been written up by local management for their unprofessional work habits, but they are both in tight with the local biggie, so nothing will happen to them, & besides, remember the definition of a bureaucracy that I provided a few days ago *:-) I will get better at this, & perhaps my wife will calm down about it & realize that I am not the most desirable potential employee anymore because of my age, & that since I want to keep working at a decent job for another 8 years, that I am trying everything I can that I think will make that come true *:-(

My son, who now commutes a very long way at the end of the week to be with his family during their temporary separation due to trying to sell their house, called us & he is safely with his family where they are staying, & can spend the weekend with them. That is good.

A very cute little girl's apron hangs close to our bed in the master bedroom, waiting until it can be delivered to our granddaughter *:-)

Bureaucrat; Easy Does It; Hang In There

I hope to stick out the job I have now for 8 more years, if possible, with only external events out of my control requiring a change. I have started to practice perfect bureaucratic behavior, & so far, so good.

I hope to proceed slowly, & make it easy to adapt to what I now realize is what South Swamp has become. Not as big a deal as it sounds, its just a job.

I will hang in there as long as I can, perhaps even longer than 8 years *:-)

Our grandkids are neat, & we miss them.

Scary Day; Luchador Photo-Op; Granddaughter Takes A Peek

With my wife's great help, I launched into this Dia De Los Muertos (Halloween) with gusto & an early start this morning. My wife was up extra early so she could put the finishing touch on my toque at 5 am, & then helped me get fully into costume at 8 for my workday starting at nine. I walked in the front door at work & the receptionist, who sits about 15 yards away from the door, gasped & reacted with fright when she saw my outfit, which is actually quite frightening, & the reaction is of course exactly what I hoped for. It went that way for the rest of the day *:-) Nobody knew who was inside the costume until I spoke, so it is a good one.

When I knocked on my bosses door for the first time this morning to check in with him, he had the Acting Executive Director in with him & my boss took a quick look at me in my stuff, grabbed his luchador mask, which was very good, & got the AED to take our picture, feigning a battle, & it looks darn good as a photo *:-)

I had a sponsored company lunch time costume potluck to go to at noon, & I snuck out just a little early, although it is pretty hard to sneak looking the way I did, so that I could try to catch some time with my grandkids while my wife was still watching them in their home here in town. I got there, but my daughter in law would not let me in & would not let the kids see me because she said I looked too scary & it would frighten them. I mentioned "Well, yeah, that's the point", but she didn't agree & so my wife came out onto the front porch & she & I talked for a little bit & then since I wasn't going to get inside, & had the potluck to get to, I began to leave, but stopped at the bottom of the front porch steps & turned & looked back, & just exactly as I did that, my granddaughter flew across the room past her "guardian" mom, threw back the front door curtains, & stood looking straight at me & got the full frontal shot of the Chef Dia De Los Muertos, & I think that is a good thing. My wife said she didn't cry or get upset or anything. She's cool *:-)

The kids got into town for a little costumed walk around while my wife was there, & then their dad (my son) traveled the long distance from his work so they could go trick or treating in their neighborhood, which they did to the delight of our granddaughter, who in turn delighted all who saw her at the houses they visited. I am very grateful that my son got to be with his kids at Halloween *:-)

Loteria; Dia De Los Muertos; Apron For The Skull Chef

Loteria, the game cards from Italy, now part of Dia De Los Muertos, will decorate the halloween apron I will be wearing tomorrow as part of my Skull Chef costume, with the apron made by my wife *:-) It is pretty cool, & we will see what the reactions are.

Grandma (my wife) gets to hang with the grandkids for a while tomorrow, which is very cool. They will be up here "visiting" their house which is still for sale, & will also do a little neighborhood trick/treat in the evening. I hope they have fun.

People Like My Photo; Surprise Link; Phone Phailure

Hey hey hey *:-) So far people like the photo I submitted as part of the local contest, which makes me feel good, & when I looked at the site for the local weekly paper that is hosting the contest, I noticed a link on the home page that shows what local houses have been selling for, & it contains an incredible amount of detail & all for free, although it is necessary to register to get access. Very informative, especially since it shows houses in the near neighborhoods that our son & his family are trying to sell their house in. My wife & I will tell our son about it so they can be realistic about their pricing & can speed up the completion of the sale so they can move on to getting another house near where my son is working now & can get their family back together.

The phone system guys were back at South Swamp all day today, & what a keystone cop routine *:-) I am not exaggerating...when they left this evening, when someone from outside calls person A, the phone on person B's desk rings *:-) Absolutely hilarious. It'll be another week before they get it straightened out.

Photo Entered; SharePoint Uploads; Wife Bitten

I took a photo today out in our yard, edited it to perfection, & submitted it to the local weekly paper photo contest. I rarely do that, although I am an excellent photographer/artist, & this time I felt motivated to do so because my wife & I live on such a beautiful natural place. I am happy with the result, & am letting go about the winning thing, although I will accept the prize if I do win. Good luck to me.

I loaded some new data elements into our South Swamp SharePoint site, & reloaded all but one of the items from last week which were dumped when the server crashed. I didn't get much South Swamp work done this weekend, & that is ok. I did not get to TeleWork last Friday, & spent the entire day at the South Swamp HQ chasing rabbits around the office covering for the 2 ET staff members who are on vacation. Damned phone system installation didn't get done either. Oh well.

My wife is suffering, but will recover. Although we got to spend a very nice weekend together, on Saturday evening, while watching a bit of DVD entertainment, she got a bite of some kind on the back of her leg behind one of her knees, & by today it had swollen up quite large & was itching ferociously. We put clay on it & before we did that I took a 3 mega-pixel close up photo & we viewed it on our Mac & we think the clay will resolve it. She lay down to rest 3 hours earlier than usual, with the lights out, not knitting or anything, which caught me by surprise, so I know it is bothering her. I hope she recovers quickly.

Patience Please; Green Beans

I almost requested a change to my work schedule so that I could appear more professional, & then realized that nobody would notice since South Swamp is a bureaucracy with everybody waiting to retire or get a different job. I caught myself in time & won't be sending any emails to my boss this weekend, whew!

My wife made green beans to go with the rest of our meal this evening & since they came from the local farmer's market, they were fabulous. I appreciate that *:-)

An Inconsequential Workplace

Ahhh, Bureaucracy. I mastered it once long ago, & I can do so again. It was a matter of me not wanting to accept that the workplace I have chosen to try to complete my worklife truly IS a bureaucracy, & ONLY a bureaucracy. Many colorful shrouds surround the core but they are window dressing on a thoroughly entrenched & powerful bureaucracy. I have a couple good mentors now, one of whom is consciously trying to help me. so I am not making the journey to acceptance alone. Thank you, Senor. The definition that I have chosen for "bureaucracy" is "a workplace where there are no consequences for any work-related behavior, neither negative behavior nor positive behavior".

"The Bureaucrat"...My New Autobiography

Yes, well...I've learned a great deal in the last couple weeks, having had the opportunity to observe, & been drawn into, the inner circle of a University of Blueberry Syrup mid-level bureaucrat with 21 years successful service, & whose wife has even more service, & holds a higher rank. This education has given me enough knowledge to make changes in my behavior, which started in a small way today, & which will expand into a full change in a couple weeks. For tomorrow, it is about clothing. For a couple weeks from now, I'm worried that I might even be playing a bit of golf at noon *:-( Repugnant as that is to me, I want very much to remain employed for another 8 years, & am willing to go with the flow. I continue to seek guidance.

Triple-Coat Golden Nugget; Ginko Leaf Grandee; Grandkids!

My boss has been fondling the piece of granite rock quite a bit that I had spray painted to look like a golden nugget, & it looked a bit worse for wear. Last night I triple-coated it with fresh gold paint & it gleamed like a new Blackberry Pearl this morning when I put it on his desk. He was pleased. About 3:30 pm, when the IT Manager returned from an equipment transfer trip to corporate headquarters earlier in the day, she had a brief meeting with our boss to cover the items needing scheduling for the week long vacation she starts tomorrow. I had not expected the response she gave when first walking in to his office to start her meeting...the first thing she noticed was the gold nugget *:-) She wanted to know where the boss had gotten the bright shiny new nugget that looked just like the old one, & she could tell because the old one was in the shape of the state we live in & so was the new one! Hilarious. Thing is, I ended up triple-coating hers tonight by the light of the porch lamp, since she wanted hers to look new too *:-) Oh well.

My boss went nuts over the 3 Ginko leaves I took in this morning & he played with them most of the day, calling me in to take digital photos of his various arrangements as he looks for the design of a new logo he is working on. He asked me to bring more tomorrow so we can work with the web designer to create the logo. I've got the leaves being flattened & dried in a heavy book with weight on top overnight, & I finished drying the painted golden nugget in front of the electric heater about 1/2 hour ago. I am not going to ask myself if this is work or not, & I guess they will stop paying me if they don't want me to spend my time doing this stuff.

We were so lucky today that the grandkids were brought, briefly, back up to their home that is being sold, long enough for my wife to spend quality time with both of them. I know that I have an ache that comes when I don't get to see them, & I am happy that some relief was given today.

Blindsided By A Washingtonian VIP; Ginko Is My Leaf Of Choice

Hey man, I was just sitting in my cube in the semi-secure ET area, headphones in place, groovin' on XM, munching occasionally on the chocolate torte I had recently microwaved for 34 seconds to reach perfect melt point, sipping my tea, & doing research on brainstorming for a tough all staff session I have coming up. A persistent person appeared in my vision, un-escorted & unannounced, which I ignored for about 1 second, but the person had the requisite perfect clothing ensemble, the very important looking leather-bound full size note pad clutched under her arm, & was projecting that sort of shifting, constantly on the move, "Hey Hey, I'm important & I need you to serve me" sort of motion. I took the headphones off, looked up, &, without actually making eye contact, said "Hi, can I help somehow?". The just-moved-here from the state of Washington VIP said she was looking for the Acting Interim Executive Director. I relaxed, assuming I was going to get off easily, & informed the VIP that the Acting Interim Executive Director was on holiday for 3 weeks & wouldn't be back for quite a while yet. She didn't miss a beat. She said, without even 1 full second's hesitation, that she wanted to meet whoever was in charge because she is the new (as of yesterday) AVP of the organization that South Swamp reports to (she didn't say "South Swamp") & was making her rounds of the off-campus groups that make up areas of her responsibility. I rose from my chair to my most professional height & bearing (less height & a little more "bearing" than when I was younger), & escorted her, using my British "My Good Man" mode, to the fellow who has been left in charge, whose office door was closed. I asked her to wait, knocked on the door, & when it opened, explained the situation. He said he was too busy right then because he was expecting a call from the Super Big Biggie any minute. I whispered that this is a new AVP & she is just a few feet away so maybe he better make a little time. He did, she went in, they chatted, and then...then...yes dammit...then when they came out he asked me to give her a full tour & to introduce her to everybody. Fuck. Anyway, I continued as the British "My Good Man" & gave her the best service I could, & I heard her mention to one of the Directors she talked to that she liked the way I handled her. Hey, gotta give the young ones a little extra so they keep coming back for more, eh?

My boss, the philosopher & sort of technophile without really being a technophile, is looking for a leaf to use for the icon for the conceptual product he is working on & has been asking me for a lot of help. I was again groovin' on XM with my headphones when my cube neighbor IM'd me that the boss has been yelling for me *:-) Oops. I told my buddy that maybe my boss should start podcasting if he wants to get hold of me *:-) Anyway, I had to go to his office & give him the names of North American Leaves (he is Hispanic and doesn't know the names in English) so he could use Google images to check 'em out. We went through quite a few & he wasn't letting me go so I finally said "Hey, the one I would use if this were mine would be the Ginko". He loves it, & let me go back to my cube *:-)

Strike!; Server Up; Lost Uploads; Missing Man

My colleague, a senior member of the ET group & who is also the IT manager, stated in the staff meeting today that she was ready to walk out if the manager had invited the "snoopers" in for the meeting again, which, thankfully, he did not. The amazing thing is that I was ready to say exactly the same thing, so we were reading from the same script without knowing. The boss man told the "snoopers" that they could, from this time forward, only come in when invited. Yeah!

The server that hosts our SharePoint site is back up as of late this afternoon, so all is well.

Unfortunately, the last backup we had was from Saturday morning, & I had uploaded quite a bit onto the temporary server on Sunday, so, sayonara uploads. I will need to do it again.

For our group luncheon today, one of our members refused to come with us & was missing at lunch, & we suspect he was sneaking out to have lunch with one of the snoopers on the side. This fellow, who did not come with us, doesn't really support the group but just stays non-committal & laid back & wants to be loved by everyone. Yuck.

Workies; Time With Wife; Bumped By Tough Guy

I worked pretty much most of the day today using our scanner, which only works with my older laptop, & the process is slow, but good. We may look into getting a scanner that works well with our Macs, but don't have the time at the moment.

Got to spend the whole day with my wife, except when she had to run out locally to get some supplies for safeguarding her carefully crafted garments, but that wasn't too long. Nice to be with her.

There is quite a bit of noisy, heavy construction going on including moving a lot of earth, and taking out trees, on the property two houses from us, the property where the back yard fell into the creek recently. I wanted to see & record what they are doing to make sure there is no run-off water being directed at us, and so I took a brief walk up the road & was taking some pictures, from the public highway, of the machinery & the land that was being moved, when a very large, gruff, angry workman came walking at me shouting "who the fuck are you? what are you doing here?" That was kind of fun & I ignored him & kept taking pictures without saying anything, since I was in the road & not on the land, but he kept getting closer & louder & was saying stuff that was supposed to provoke me, but didn't, & I kept taking pictures. He got real close & so I pointed the camera at him & took his picture & that scared him & he moved away quickly, but then came back quickly & did a "bump and run" on me using his shoulder to hit me the way a lineman does in clearing the way for a run, & again I ignored him & took another picture of him & then he took off and left me alone. What that tells me is that there is illegal & un-permitted work going on there & that is why they are scared. I will check it out, although I don't turn people in, but I do want to know if they are directing water our way.

Walkies Not Workies; We Miss The Grandkids; Studio Visitor

This weekend I did walkies, not workies on Saturday (today). We went to our favorite special woods walk & had a very nice time, & others were out too so it was a bit of a community event, although not overly so.

We decided not to travel the many miles to visit our temporarily holed-up-with-the-OTHER-grandparents grandkids, because their father (our son) has had to be away from them all week & also has the pressure of selling the house, so we are giving them as much space as we can. We hope they get through this difficult time ok, & that the kids are smart enough & feel secure enough to use it as a learning experience (yes, even the newborn).

My wife had a surprise visitor up here at her mountain studio today, & it was a famous author who lives in the area who has been a student of my wife's for quite a while, & just had to show my wife the garment that she purchased, & at the same time got to see the garments that my wife is working on right now, & the visitor loved them. That was an unusual thing, because we live pretty far out, & it was kind of cool, too.

TeleWork; Son Safe & Likes New Job; Truck Feet

I made it through today's telework day without too much hassle, for which I am grateful. The weekend is looking, at least at the moment, like it will be almost peaceful.

We got a phone call from our son this evening, the one who started a new job which is requiring big changes in his family life too, and he said he likes the new job & that things are "OK" with his family even though he doesn't get to see them during the week now. That's just the way it is, & that's the way it was for me too. We wish him well & are grateful that he likes where he is.

My wife was told by a colleague yesterday that she needed to have one of her rear truck tires fixed because it was almost flat, & she intended to get it done on her way home, but forgot....oops *:-( We checked it out this morning & there was still enough air in the tire to get her to the tire shop, so off she went. Although the bill was well over $750 for the 4 new tires she ended up needing, she & I both know that tires are very very very important, so we are both happy for the new truck feet she came home with. I went out & kicked them just for the hell of it anyway *:-)

Success; Firm Hand

The keynote that I spent so much time & energy on was a big success & I am grateful. My boss said it catapulted the organization forward by 6 months, & did several important peripheral accomplishments as well. Good on me, mate *:-)

Our missing facilities manager situation caused more distress today, & the workmen kept bothering my colleague with questions that were not hers to handle, & problems that were not hers to solve, so I put my foot down & asked them to leave her alone & to just deal with the facilities manager, & if the facilities manager isn't available, too bad. They were shocked, but it worked.

24 Hours Of Microsoft; Absent Without Leave; Trance Trances

My colleague, who is our IT Manager, IM'd me from her home at 5:59 pm on Tuesday night (I leave at 6) & asked if I was still there. I was. Her pager had just gone off letting her know that the server that keeps SharePoint going had just crashed. I had noticed that I couldn't log out but hadn't figured out what had happened yet. She asked me to go to the data center & check it out, which I did, & found serious error messages on the console. She said it was too serious for her to walk me through it so she would have to come in, & I went home. She ended up staying until 10 pm, with no progress, so she called her boss & asked him if he needed her to stay all night, & he said no, just go home & deal with it in the morning. She had already placed the order for a replacement drive from Dell, & we have 4 hour service on that server, so the part would be there at 8 am. That gave her a 14 hour day on Tuesday. She arrived at 8 am today & the part was here, & she called Microsoft. Heh. Yeah, she called Microsoft. Heh. She had the headset on all day, & had to sit in her chair waiting for the SQL people to talk to the SharePoint people, & then check with her, then talk to each other again. This went on until 5:45 pm this evening, at which point she gave up & told the Microsofties that we would pick it up in the morning, & she would rebuild the hardware overnight in preparation. That, is a long couple days.

Our newly appointed Facilities Manager, the one who came in drunk last Friday & is best friends with the Acting Interim Executive Director, decided to take the afternoon off, even though there were workmen on contract that report to her, busy in the facility. What a f)&(^&&*(^(*g disaster. I got pissed off, & would not do her work for her, & just kept telling the guys to give her a call because she is in charge & "we know nothing". Oh well.

I had to work late tonight to finish a kind of tough keynote (powerpoint) that I will give tomorrow, & the only thing that kept me going was the awesome trance that I have downloaded over the last week or so. Really fine stuff *:-)

Waterslide Down; Bumpy Ride; Empty House

During a conversation with my wife today as I caught the little bit of sunshine in the parking lot on a break, I was describing how the work environment at South Swamp has changed since I was hired. At the time I started, a little over 2 years ago, the then Executive Director immediately recognized in me the attributes of a great teacher & marketing guy, & although I was hired as a teacher/trainer, he immediately propelled me into the highest circles of the University of Blueberry Syrup that are possible to reach, including a meeting in the system President's office within 2 months of me being hired, suits & ties, the whole thing. This continued for just over a year, with me being sent on missions that had a lot of visibility. I was accustomed to all that, so it didn't affect me, but it did condition me to certain habits in my then new position. At the beginning of my second year with the University of Blueberry Syrup, the Executive Director was arrested for embezzlement & the entire structure collapsed into what I now call South Swamp. I was asked to keep the torch lit as long as possible, & I did so on my own, with great effort. The time has now come that the torch has gone out, & a new one is trying to take fire. The whole point of this is that because I was raised so high so quickly, I now must make the long but very fast journey down to where I would normally be functioning, & it has been, & is, a long, bumpy ride on a very large waterslide. This realization helped me come to grips with what I am experiencing, & I am grateful for the vision *:-)

Our son & his wife & 2 children are fully engaged in moving, & our grandchildren & daughter-in-law have already left to stay with her parents many miles away, so we won't find it easy to see the little ones until things have settled. My son is staying in the new city that he works in, so that the commute doesn't destroy him, & it is a new job anyway, which will take all that he has. Good luck to them all.

Wiped Out; Blank Stare; No Clue; Lunch? WTF?; Did My Part

I was ready for the big show & tell I prepared to give at the ET staff meeting today, & in walk 2 people not authorized to be in the meeting (untrusted & not part of management). My boss did not throw them out, so I quietly turned off the digital projector and shut down my keynote presentation, and when it came my turn to present, I just mumbled a couple safe comments & let the meeting move on. My colleague, who has been at South Swamp for 6 years, was very demoralized by the experience too, and we just kind of looked at each other & shrugged our shoulders & mumbled "WTF?". The ET meeting is the only chance during the week when we get our boss's attention, and because communication is so poor at South Swamp, we really need his guidance. Oh well...

When the subject was brought up to our boss, he just responded with a blank stare (he has been sick, but hey, come on).

The visiting staff members had no clue that they were not welcome, & that indicates the general level of sensitivity at South Swamp. I heard a rumor that the Admin. Asst. to the Acting Interim Executive Director (who is on vacation) came in drunk on Friday. I missed it because I telework on Fridays. I'm actually glad I didn't see it *:-) Yuck.

My colleague & I were then a little stunned when the boss wanted us all (4 of us) to go out to the ET Group lunch, even though the meeting had been a disaster, & had only lasted for about 20 minutes instead of 2 hours. I said "no, thanks" at first, but then my colleague asked me to go so she wouldn't feel quite so out of place, & I went. We finished eating in about 1/2 the usual time, & our boss finally noticed that something wasn't right! He still didn't have a clue what to do though, so we all dropped it. Just as we were leaving the restaurant, & since I was closest to the boss, I heard him say under his breath that if we were demoralized now, wait until the new female boss Executive Director shows up. Nobody else heard him say that, & he was just kind of muttering, but that would explain his funk, since he was a candidate for that job too, & they haven't announced the winner, & no rumors have been going around, so maybe he has an insider that give him a heads up that he didn't get it. That would explain quite a bit. Sorry mate, if that is the case.

The big grant proposal that I have been working on for a week got sent at a few minutes before the 5 pm deadline today, and I contributed a big chunk of the stuff that was sent, so I did my part! Good for me *:-)

Workies Again; MrFixIt Visits; VP Visits (Very Pregnant)

Yah, wier haben werk heute. So what else is new *:-) Lots of document creation & keynote creation for a presentation tomorrow. Everything went pretty well *:-)

Put some new photos on Flickr that showed the visitors we had this morning. My youngest son & his VP (Very Pregnant) wife came up so my son could replace the large rear tail light on my wife's Toyota pickup truck. He really knows what he is doing, & did a very fine job, in quick time. That gave our daughter-in-law a chance to chat about birthing with my wife, which was cool too. The work my son was doing on the car motivated me to mount the numeric address identifier on the new fence too, & it looks very nice with the big brass numbers.

Off to pack up my stuff for going to work tomorrow *:-)

Workies-No-Walkies; Lotta Rain; I Want To

I spent the day working on timelines for a grant that I am helping to write, & got the major draft document sent off to my boss for approval today, although that meant my wife & I did not go for a walk in the woods. I had asked him to stay logged in over the weekend so he could respond quickly, since he is the one that actually is responsible for this, but he didn't, & hasn't responded yet. Oh well.

We have had a lotta rain lately, & we are really grateful. Living where we do without water is not fun. The rain let up just enough for our daughter & son-in-law (not the one who is moving, the one who is going to give birth soon) to borrow our pickup truck to go & get a sofa they purchased, I think from a listing on Craig's list.

I guess the reason I work so hard is because I want to, & also because I have seen what happens when a person doesn't do everything they can to stay financially afloat & also doesn't have the DNA to be extremely frugal & also has a family. I had horrible nightmares about being destitute when our kids were young. I am grateful they did not happen *:-)

Taught Today; Note Taker Today; Lookin' Good Today

I got to teach a class today, only one hour, but still teaching, which I enjoy. The class went well & they responded just as I had designed, except for one humorous image that they did not laugh at *:-(

I was the official staff meeting note taker today, & I introduced new technology to the process, with the eventual end point being that voice-to-text software should be doing the note taking. I had a couple recording processes set up, & one of them worked really well so I plan to output an mp3 file tomorrow that attendees can refer to if needed.

I dressed well today, & it made a difference. I was lookin' good, & was noticed. Excellent *:-)

Viper Full Of Fear Turns, Bites Own Family Members; Discomfort

The South Swamp Acting Interim Executive Director (yes, they still have not chosen a real one yet), knows that she is coming to the end of her life of power, & she is moving to consolidate as much as possible by putting her minions in positions of influence. However, she has lost control of herself & is also alienating staff who are absolutely key to the survival of the great ship South Swamp. Kind of like a poisonous snake in pain turning & biting itself & its offspring.

I am discomfited by working in a real, unchangeable, writhing bureaucracy. I found out today that if I survive for 5 years, then I will have become inured to bureaucratic ways, & the sailing should be smoother. I have no idea if that will happen.

Because I am tired from work, & also because I don't eat after 6 pm, & therefore get hungry, my wife & I are not getting along very well at the moment, also because she seems to be under some negative influence. I have faith that I am doing the best I can however, & must not let her attitude or feelings become mine. Good luck to me *:-)

Grant Writer; Scrap Crap Delivery; Official Scribe

So...for the last two days I have been having papers thrust into my face & have been asked to write/rewrite a grant proposal that is due on the 15th. The guys who are actually on the list as writing the grant haven't thought it through yet, so there is a lot of me running back & forth to their offices as I discover stuff that doesn't work, since I do have experience writing grants. No worries though, the person who thought up the grant is doing it for the good of the organization & I fully support the project, especially since he is my boss *:-)

Also today, since I own the only pickup truck in our entire organization, I was asked if I would take all the scrap crap IT hardware to the official University of Blueberry Syrup recycle station, which I did. Made for an interesting if somewhat incongruous break from the grant writing *:-)

Also today, I was elected to be the official staff meeting scribe, starting this Thursday, for our weekly staff meetings. Hmmm, I wonder what that means?

Panther Pwn'd; Solarcoaster (SM mix) Stranger Than Expected; Peruvian Beans

Yesterday I had to say goodbye to the small 'panther' convertible I had been driving (Miata) & on my last drive I put the top down & drove the 13 miles to the drop off point via a very scenic, twisty-turny road which was perfect for the car. Also, by the time my journey ended I discovered that all my sport car driving skill had returned in full, & I owned it *:-) Today, driving my own full size Toyota pickup, I found myself reaching to shift gears, which of course I don't do in the pickup. When I was younger, I drove, & loved, many sport cars, so I am not surprised it came back so quickly. Cool *:-)

I am now not quite so sure why I downloaded the Solar Stone trance mix "Solarcoaster", since it contains a lot of vocals that I don't remember hearing when I heard it on XM. It must the be mix I chose, so I will keep looking. I am not overly fond of the mix I ended up with *:-(

After our staff meeting today our boss invited us over to his house so he could feed us his home made salsa fresca, which was perfect, and his home made refried peruvian beans, which were delicious. I had never eaten peruvian refried beans before, so I enjoyed the new taste. We also had corn tortillas & avocado, so it was just about a perfect lunch. Thanks boss *:-)

I Ride A Panther; Topless In Town

First time driving the Mazda Miata was a little difficult, because I didn't put the top down, & had to look around for the various controls & wasn't used to the synchonization of the shifting, etc. No worries though, it didn't take me long to figure out that if I wanted to get in & out easily, the top had to come down *:-) Once I figured that out, it was a very nice ride to be driving. After driving about 50 miles or so, over a couple hours, I decided that the animal most like the Miata I was driving would be a young panther, just past the cub stage. Excellent suspension, steering, & very solid on the brakes, acceleration & shifting, without being over-powered. When it came time to put fuel in, it took me 7 minutes to crawl around looking for the gas port release lever, & I finally gave up & had to open the glove box & RTFM. Got it. No worries *:-), it's in the center storage console *:-) I am used to filling up my truck & so I blithely ordered $20 worth, which was almost too much for the tank! Yikes, I had forgotten how good the gas mileage is on the sport models. How nice *:-) That would have been about 1/3 of my tank *:-)

After doing my own errands around town I went back home to pick up my wife to take her to an event, & we went topless *:-) That was very nice & made us feel like real participants in the local culture & environment, since this area is a coastal recreational area & having a convertible to drive around was very cool *:-) After her event I picked her up & we drove some more, just for the pleasure of it. Nice *:-)

My Miata; Cheeks Hurt; Cat Is Back

Heh. I still don't believe I have a nice Miata convertible sitting in my driveway that I can drive anytime I want *:-) Heh. It's not mine of course, but since my son needed a pickup to do some moving to support his taking a new position with a company about 100 miles away, he did a temporary trade. I don't know if I will actually drive it or not, but if my wife wants to take a little ride to the grocery store or something tomorrow, we probably will *:-)

The mp3 file that I created, a short blues cut that has some of my vocals on it, resulted in smiles, giggles & laughter today for the folks I sent it to (at their request). One of the listeners said her cheeks hurt from laughing so hard *:-)

The soundtrack from a cool dvd that my wife & I have been watching (a series) is done by none other than Cat Stevens. I haven't even thought of him in a very long time, & now I will probably be downloading some of his stuff from iTunes tomorrow. Nice to know that sound is still around.

Chili Colorado Blues

How cool.

Last night, after a colleague sent me a short .wav file of his voice saying "chili colorado" over & over, I used GarageBand to juice it up & layed down a track of my own voice over it to create a little funny sound clip.

I played it for my boss, who totally cracked up, & then a few hours later he came by my cube & asked me to play it for him again, & he totally cracked up for the second time *:-)

It was a heck of a lot of fun *:-)

Hot Data; Staff Meeting; Staff Lunch; New Lights

The data center is still up around 90 degrees if the door is left closed all day, so we alternate sitting in there so we can keep the door open. The WIKI (remember: Weak, Inept, Knowledgeless, Inconclusive) management team has started to sort of maybe begin to set up a potential contact with someone who might be able to contact someone who might know something about HVAC so they can sort of come out & take a look & probably tell us it is our fault for screwing around with the thermostat. Nothing like a little hot data to spur people into inaction.

We had a staff meeting today, & our boss said it was a good one.

On the way to our staff lunch, while riding in the car transporting us, I turned to & asked my boss why he said he felt today's staff meeting was better than usual. He said because in today's staff meeting, we didn't spend any time gossiping about other staff members or whinging about our problems. Yeah, sounds like management still prefers hearing that everything is ok, even if it isn't *:-)

Mexican food today for the staff lunch, & this time I stuck with my old standby, the vegetarian guacamole tostada. Excellent, easily digestible, not to heavy on the tummy, & good for me *:-)

The contractor completed installing the new full spectrum flourescent lights throughout the building today, & it is fabulous to feel the light bathing my body & eyes, & it is truly rejuvenating. Thanks.

Tummy Ache!

Wow, I haven't had a tummy ache in like forever. I have one now *:-( I believe I will live, but gee whiz, I had forgotten how much not fun a tummy ache is. I don't want any more, so I will be more careful not to drink a large beer glass full of blueberry juice so late in the evening. Arghhhhhh!

10.5 Hour Day; No Lunch; No Break

I wonder why I have a headache? *:-)

The AC brokedown in the data center, & the only way to keep it cool enough for the servers to continue to work safely was to keep the door to the data center open with a big fan blowing air from the hallway in. The rest of the building was getting cooled, just not the data center. In our data center, we have data on underage students, & can't leave the servers unattended, so I spent the day, from 11 am until 7:30 pm in the data center doing my work in there. The IT manager was out sick, & the student assistants didn't feel like doing data center duty, so I took it upon myself to get it done, without causing any trouble over it. My boss appreciated it, & came by to say so *:-)

I actually didn't mind because I had a 26 page report to write, & I got it done just at 7:30 tonight, so tomorrow will be better *:-)

Good thing I took that chocolate torte *:-)

Six Hours Of Daylight; Couch Collapse; Trip Planning

I opened my eyes at noon. I entered a building at 6 pm & when I came out it was dark. Today I had a chance to see a total of six hours of daylight *:-(

For 2 of the hours of daylight I tried to see, I failed. At 2 pm I sank into the soft cushions of our couch & slept.

I was, & am, tired. Not as much as yesterday though *:-) Also, I get to take a chocolate torte with me to work tomorrow, so no worries *:-)

We, my wife & I, realized this evening that we need to set aside about 4 weekends a year for travel to see our grandchildren, because they are moving away. My son must follow the money, because he has a family to care for, & part of that family is two very young children. They will be moving about 100 miles away, which for us is quite a bit. We will start planning as soon as they get their new house. We wish them well.

Sleep?...Not...Rest?...Not...Work?...Not...Husband?...Oh Yeah...

I have been ill for a week, & have barely been able to keep going to work and to get the basics done, but have managed to do it. I was planning on having a lie-in on Saturday morning to recover some of my health, but...no. My wife needed to travel the 30 miles to the next large city so she could meet with the new manager of the gallery that is selling her work, & re-negotiate the relationship, & needed to take new creations with her to show, so I was needed to do the driving & heft the stuff. The negotiations went pretty well, & at the end, my wife introduced me to the new manager, & when it came time to explain what my part is in my wife's art creation, I explained "I am her lover, body-guard, & driver", later adding that meant husband. The new manager, a youngish female just returned from six years in Sweden, understood immediately, which I why I said it that way.

Also on Saturday, my wife had decided to attend the baby shower for our daughter-in-law in the same city, & again there was quite a bit of stuff to lift & haul, so that was added to my day. Her shower gifts were very well received & during the women-only shower time, I was able to get away & spend a couple hours in the Apple Store *:-) I enjoyed that. I rarely get over to that city, so it was cool that I got to go to the Apple store. When I went to pick my wife up, my granddaughter was in a car nearby, & when she saw my wife, she immediately asked for me, which made me feel great, & so I ran over to play with her a bit, & it was a tough time when we had to part, because she asked for me to stay & hold her, which I was not able to do.

I had planned to get some work done on Saturday as well, but with all the driving, etc., there was no time. Oh well.

Shiny Shoes; Sore Throat; Sign Of The Azul

My intuition told me to dress up today. I did. My intuition was right *:-) I wore a very nice guayabera, very nice gray pants with a killer crease, very nice tipped shiny shoes, & my Harry Potter excellent glasses. The HR people came to South Swamp to give a 1.5 hour "What you need to know" workshop, & they brought a crew of four (usually only two) & one of the four was a biggie. She remember me & so did the second most powerful one, so I am glad I looked good. I am just getting over a cold though, & still have a sore throat which can get me coughing fairly easily, so I didn't eat anything prior to the meeting, drank tea the whole time, & didn't speak. No worries, everything went well *:-)

My Training Studio is being used more & more these days, & for multiple purposes, so the boss decided to give the studio a name that would be attractive & memorable, & chose "Azul", which is fine. Today on my lunch break I went to the sign shop & ordered a nice blue sign that will go on the window right next to the studio entry door, & it will say "Azul", except with a zed instead of a z.

"WIKI" = Weak, Inept, Knowledgeless, Inconclusive Management

Good grief. I believe it is a good thing that nature and the cosmos don't need humans to manage them, & that chaos is a natural state. I have seen too much to be able to ignore the lack of awareness & experience that currently sits on the management team at South Swamp. Oh well, the checks still are worth something at the bank, so, onward *:-) My new term, as explained above, is "WIKI Management".

Helping Management Manage When I'm Not A Manager

Just completed a document template for the set that will be used by all staff in an all day session on Friday. South Swamp management doesn't know how. I do. So I help. Gotta get some rest *:-)

Tightrope; South Swamp Slog

Ack. Wasted. Slight cold. Fatigued. Lotta demand on this old boy today. Yowser.

Unbelievable lack of professionalism & management capability demonstrated today in front of a rather prominent visitor. Most embarrassing for the org. Not my fault, & I won't get the blame *:-)

Another day tomorrow.

Day's End; Way Tired; Did OK

Worked on South Swamp stuff most of the day. Some of it had the fragrance of management that does not know what they are doing, & I had to put one of the managers in a corner & interrogate him a bit to get enough information to move forward, & my boss backed me up, so I was able to get the work done. It is always a little dicey to force management to do their job, but hey, I'm an old guy who wears glasses, so they won't hit me too hard, right?

26% of next week's work hours are consumed by mandatory meetings. No doubt management will still expect the same output as normal, but I put that in front of my boss's face too, so he won't be able to come back on me for not getting enough done. I was a boss too, & I understand that bosses are never to expect anything except everything, so I don't blame anybody, but I have been around long enough now to put the facts out on the table. It is my understanding that the younger members of the work force have always done that, so I am just catching up.

I am happy with my new parking place, inside our family "fort" that I just built *:-) I will keep working on it to make it kid-proof so the grandkids can play there too, but that will take a while.

I finally moved the shredder up to my office space (it only took 3 years), & now I am starting to be able to keep up with the shredding on a daily basis instead of having bags of the stuff sitting around where it takes me nearly all day to go through it. Much better *:-)

Damp & cold...makes a change, eh?

New Human's First Rain; Phone Play; Morning Apple Pie

A wonderful, & sorely needed rain began last night, & continued for a good part of the day. We are all grateful for that. As soon as I was up this morning, I realized, & said to my wife, today is the very first rain in the life of our new grandson *:-) Stuff like that is neat imho.

My wife & I had been invited (although a bit late to prepare for it) to a birthday celebration 30 miles away for our youngest son. We knew we could not go, & besides, he is 29 (I think), so it isn't like a birthday party is a big deal anymore. My wife spontaneously got up quite early this morning (7 am), put on some clothing (good thing about that) & went out into our small orchard, picked fresh apples, & prepared a birthday apple pie completely from scratch for our son. Pretty cool of her to do that. We took it over to our other son who lives in the largest town around here, about 12 miles from our home. He will take it over to our youngest son for his party. All's well *:-)

When we took the pie over to the son who would deliver it, I had a chance to play with my granddaughter, & we immediately got down on the floor & did all kinds of fun stuff, but then I showed her my two mobile phones...yes, I always carry at least two...& she had a lot of fun with them, because her parents have shown her how to do some things with the phones so she was right at home pushing the buttons, activating the camera, & other stuff. I have no idea who she called, but hopefully they will forgive us *:-) What was quite interesting though was when I asked her to hold one of the phones, asking her to "wait" before she opened it up, so that I could call her from the other phone & then she could hear the ring, could then open it up, & she could get a better visual of what happens when somebody is talking to her on the phone because there I would be, right in front of her, & she could hear me both in person & on the phone. That worked out pretty well, but what fascinated me was that for the rest of our playtime, she practiced using the word "wait", which I believe may be a new concept for her. Cool stuff, and I love it *:-)

Integrated & Movin' Forward

Interesting & integrated day today, complete with telecommuting, including a short-notice task from my boss (good thing I was paying attention), being with my wife, who has been resting quite a bit due to a cold, & then covering the wood piles because of the coming rain, & last, but not least, & certainly the most rewarding, was going for it & mixing & pouring the last of the concrete to support the guard posts just outside the entrance to the wood area, & the concrete set up enough for me to put the red reflectors on, so it looks cool, & its done *:-)

Keeping Time; Happy Birthday Boss; 60 Pounder

I was the official time keeper for our staff meeting today. I believe I handled it well *:-)

My boss, who is a hell of a lot younger than I am (nobody at work knows my age, although they keep trying to get me to tell them), had a birthday today. He still celebrates that sort of stuff fairly seriously, so I made sure he knew I loved him & was happy he was born *:-)

Picked up another 60 pound bag of ready-mix today, just to make sure the protective posts that are going to keep drivers from knocking down my fence are plenty strong, & I will mix it up tomorrow, unless the potential of a confrontation at the border looms large *:-)

Late Rising; Ass-Busting; Red Means No

Because yesterday was full of hard physical labor, I took some extra time to rest this morning, & it is a good thing I did. I busted my ass today working on the woodshed/fence, & made really good progress, plus I took down all 11 of the large deck umbrellas & got them stored away before the first rain. Once they get wet, I can't put them away, so I am grateful to my boss to giving me 2 vacation days on short notice to get this stuff done.

My wife won't let me put up the bright red, round sign with our house number in large gold metal numbers on it at the end of the road where our parking area starts though. I was going to make it today, & had purchased apple-red bright spray paint for the background. She suggests that it would be too garish & doesn't "blend". Well, yeah, that was the point *:-) Oh well *:-)

Vietnam Era Vet; North Korea; Soldier Boy

Yup, I am a Vietnam Era veteran of the US Army. Yup, I was sent overseas. Yup, I carried a rifle as a ground-pounding soldier in the US Army, assigned to Battery B of the Artillery. Although I had a college education, scored well on all the tests, & obviously had leadership skills, I refused to accept being sent to Officer Candidate School because I refused to give the orders that I would have had to give, but I had no problem being a soldier once called up in the draft. I believe that defense of the country I am accepting a lifestyle from is just the price that has to be paid...never mind if it is right or wrong or in-between.

In April of 1968, when I was a senior in college, the Tet offensive in Vietnam has just kicked our asses & the US Government felt that a "surge" would solve the problem (sound familiar?). In the month I was drafted, ripped out of college in my senior year, 68,000 of us young men (no women in combat in those days) were processed, trained to kill, & outfitted to be sent to Vietnam, complete with the (then) new M16 (which we were told wasn't much more than a .22 caliber rifle, & that the bullets bounced off the leaves in the jungle, oh joy), jungle boots, & jungle fatigues.

On the Sunday that I was to board the plane for Vietnam, while I was in the barracks finishing packing up my kit, the loud speaker boomed across the post grounds: "All personnel with last names starting with the letters S-Z report to the parade ground immediately". Shit, I figured we were going to have to get Special Forces training or something, which had been the scuttlebutt going around, & that I was sure to die, which I figured I would anyway.

The post commander showed up, told us that we were to turn in all jungle kit, & to report to the post quarter-master where we would be fitted out with cold weather gear, because a major world event had just created an immediate need for combat-ready troops on the DMZ in Korea. Actually, I was happy *:-) I figured maybe I wouldn't have to die, if I could get lucky.

So, what brought all this up? I read Al Jazeera online this evening & on the front page, lower part, was a fairly long story, with pictures, about how the North Koreans still have the USS Pueblo on public display, which is visited by many, as their primary example of how duplicitous the USA is, & as an example of how the USA cannot be trusted, because the USS Pueblo is a spy ship, & was disguised (poorly) as something else, & was in North Korean waters spying, & was captured (oops).

It was the capture of this ship, the USS Pueblo, with its US Captain, Lloyd Bucher, that had changed my life from jungle & certain death, to sub-zero cold & a chance to live.

I went to Korea, was stationed at Camp Snow just outside the small town of Pob Won Ni, near the DMZ, & was on the DMZ fairly often, up on the Imjin river. I worked my way up to acting Intelligence Sergeant, & was on duty 9 months later when the captured captain & crew of the USS Pueblo were flown by helicopter, not more than 200 feet over my head, back to our side & freedom.

There are many more stories, but, another time *:-) I am grateful that I did not die at that time.

Home Office; Public Events; Home Office

Yesterday was hard physical work, today was hard mental work. I spent all but 2 hours today using a couple new(er) software apps to build & upload a presentation for tomorrows meeting for the South Swamp ET group of which I am a member. All the formats are new, & nobody has used this stuff yet, so it took a while. Got some cool stuff in the presentation though, so it should be kinda fun, I hope *:-)

Both my wife & I needed to be out of the home for a couple hours each today. She was supporting our son & his family by nannying our granddaughter while mom & dad went to a wedding. My wife went to the wedding site too, but played with our granddaughter while all the "adult" stuff was going on. She made it through ok, & loved being with our granddaughter, but of course she is extra tired tonight. I had a meeting down in the city we live near, & that went ok too, & now I am tired as well *:-)

Goodnight, Moon *:-)

Neighborhood Peace; Kleenex!; Progress; Piggy Bank

Somehow, perhaps by magic, my wife I had the neighborhood to ourselves today. I courageously took advantage of the tentative peace & completed the work on the outside of the fence/woodshed that puts me a couple feet on my neighbor's property while I am fastening the external lattice to the back of the fence/woodshed, which I decided to do so that my neighbor would not be constantly looking at the raw & rough framework of the structure. I did not have to do that, but I checked with the Tibetan Prayer Flag that flies just above the work site, & the flag suggested that it would be helpful if I did, so I did! I am now finished on that side of the structure, so there is very little chance of conflict, unless overt aggression occurs. Yea!

I ran out of strapping wire that I use to hold the wood to the metal uprights while creating the base structure of the fence/woodshed, and since I had to go out to get some, I asked my wife if she needed anything & she said yes get some Kleenex, because she has had a minor illness that uses a lot of Kleenex, & she wanted to make sure we had some. Well, I brought back 9 large boxes & 3 small boxes, which caused her to react a bit, & she suggested that I had overdone it a bit. Oh well *:-)

Good progress today on the fence/woodshed project. I won't be able to work on it tomorrow at all, but I have gotten approval for two full days of vacation next week, & I hope to finish as much as possible so I can move the wood before the rains come.

I have written myself a note to go to the bank to get a couple hundred brand new shiny pennies so I can play with my granddaughter & her new piggy bank *:-) I am looking forward to it & I hope the batteries hold out until I get to play *:-)

Wife Successful; Lumber Shortage?; Gettin' Ready

My wife has taken several first place prizes for her fiber art work in a juried exhibition, which is very cool & makes me happy, since I know just how much of a real artist she is. Good on ya', sweetie *:-) One of her works is also featured on the web page of a local museum, which is also very cool.

I have been having an increasing amount of difficulty finding the less expensive grades of wood for my fencing & woodshed projects. One thing good about living "out" the way we do is that neighbors & passers-by don't scrutinize the property quite as closely as they might in a city. Recently, some lumber yards have not been restocking the cheaper grades that I usually use, & even today, when I went to the big yard of a local company, the cheaper grades had been moved way out on the periphery of the yard, & there were fewer pre-cut lengths, & less stock all together. A trend no doubt. Perhaps this is in anticipation of all of us moving into Second Life where the fences are digital.

I have started the long trek to creating complete task lists for all the projects I am responsible for at work, & on Monday the software will arrive that will let me actually create the project management timelines for everything, & I can tell that my approach to my work is returning to the fiercely professional level that it was when I first joined South Swamp, until the place fell apart. I trust my instincts, so off I go *:-)

Lunch Location Reboot; Successful At Remaining In Peace

I volunteered to help the ET group I am part of break out of our stale routine of always going to one of the same two restaurants for our after-meeting luncheon. Today I checked out 3 new places, & I will present the menus at Monday's meeting so we can try something new. We are finding things in our practices that need to be rebooted, & this was one of them. Bon appetite *:-)

In today's staff meeting, a rabble-rousing woman, the same one who almost always causes broadly directed negative energy to somehow arise, attacked a statement that I made which was clearly stated to help safeguard all of us who work late, having to do with the mechanical security of the doors into the building. Despite loud & interruptive commentary from the RRW, I was able to go silent when she was on the attack, & then I was able to begin again without rising to any bait she placed on the table. I feel good about that & I am hopeful that I can continue to choose peace instead of conflict. I was supported by all the others in the meeting, which made me feel good.

Animated 3D Avatars: Woodshed Wood; Soup Saves The Day

I am getting much better at cranking out the 3D avatars, & I sent 3 more to our ET team for feedback today. I am interested to find out if anybody gets excited enough about them to start doing their own, so that I can tell if this is a possible viral marketing/popularity tool so I can build it into my online courses. Not too much excitement yet, but it has only been a couple days. We'll see.

I picked up the last of the 1" x 4" x 8'-0" douglas fir boards that the lumberyard had today, & was only able to get 20. I needed 50, & I suspect that the shortages of natural products is going to get much worse in the good ol' usa before it gets better. The weather is rapidly moving toward the possibility of rain, & I am not ready. I will jam as much as I can to get ready. I still love my newly protected ingress/egress area for my truck, & I feel very secure there, which is a nice, & new, feeling *:-)

My wife makes a very helpful, healthy & easy to digest soup, & I try to eat a bowl each day. It really helped today because I was going to get a deviled egg while on my lunch-hour lumber run, but ended up short on time, so didn't get the egg. The soup got me through, & I appreciate it.

Locked Synapses; Animated Avatars; Stinky Farts

No word on who the new Chief Warlord for South Swamp will be yet, so we continue to suffer from the bumbling, inept, and damaging management by the Acting Interim Executive Director. Some of my colleagues have lost their patience, & are taking sick days to avoid the situation. The A.I.E.D. has her synapses locked & cannot sense what is needed, & so blindly, dumbly, does only what she has seen others do in the past, which of course does not apply to the current need. Oh well, I can retire in about 7 more years, so I hope to make it until then *:-)

I did another animated avatar today, not nearly as funny as the first one, but still worth watching, so I will find out the reaction, if any, tomorrow.

The lunch of Mexican food after the ET group meeting on Monday is still appearing around me, unfortunately as a haze created by the stinky farts resulting from the over-cooked in aluminum pans, stale ingredients used to prepare the food. Also, who knows what sort of dairy products were used for the sour cream & the cheese. I should have it all cleared up in time to have another meal next Monday *:-)

ET; Mexican Food; Pain Observed; Cool Video

Today, officially, the work group at South Swamp that I am in was renamed from IT to ET, standing for Educational Technology. No worries for me, because that makes me more employable. Phone Home.

Our post-group meeting lunch took place at a local Mexican restaurant that is "ok" but not great. I had reruns of the meal coming up for about 2 hours after we ate *:-) Nothing too serious though, & because the restaurant is much closer to the South Swamp building than where we usually go, it was easier on one of our members who was suffering from back pain today.

It was difficult to observe the severe back pain that one of our colleagues had to endure today, but she is a senior person on the new phone system selection team, & the vendor was in to discuss the final quotations/specifications today, & our colleague was the host for the meeting. During the ET lunch, she popped a Darvoset (I don't really know what that is), & that got her through the meeting, but she had to go home after that.

I worked until about 7:45 pm today, & while the office was empty, I was able to turn my XM trance tunes (channel 82) up nice & loud & was able to create, for the first time, an animated video avatar that is really cool. I recorded some sound with it & send it off to my ET colleagues. I don't know if they will like it or not, but my wife LOL'd which is a good sign that I did ok. Pretty cool web app & pretty fast too. It took me a while to get the still photo that needs to be uploaded into the proper proportions, etc., but once I did that correctly, the web app did the rest. Email me if you want the URL of the site, which is in Israel.

More Woodshed; Numbers; New Meeting

I got quite a bit done on the woodshed today, & I am finding it much easier to work on now that 30% of the 8' high wall is up, so any violent trespassers or dogs will be much easier to deal with, & I am not exposed as I was when first working on it. Little by little, & the Tibetan Prayer Flags are helping, imho.

I needed to get a report in to my boss, & I was not inspired to do it since it is an artificially produced billing for some of the work I did earlier in the year. The client won't be happy to find out that my boss all of a sudden is going to charge them a rental fee on each of the laptops I use in the trainings I deliver, & that was not part of the original agreement, but my boss is a little naive about this sort of thing, so I shall look at it as a learning experience for him. I am not really involved, except to provide the data from which to calculate invoice amounts. Anyway, I used Apple's new Numbers app which I recently got, & it was fun, so instead of just getting the structure of the report laid out to complete tomorrow, I got the whole thing done & sent off to my boss. Cool. That allowed me to relax with my wife when I got back from my meeting instead of having to work on it.

I attended a different 12-step meeting than I usually do, & it is good to change things up every once in a while. I will try this new schedule for a while & see how it goes.

Son Sighting; Door Jam; Woodpile In Motion; Tiny Dent

It was cool to be jammin' through the lumber yard/hardware store & to bump into my oldest son. We didn't have much time but we chatted briefly (he was on his mobile to his brother, my other son) & he took the time to stop by the car in the parking lot to say hello to his mum too *:-) Nice.

What cracked me up was that he was there to purchase some metal brackets that will let him return the house jack that he borrowed from his brother that is currently pushing the floor up under the door jam that goes into my granddaughter's room so the door will close without having to winch it shut *:-) He has been taking flack from his wife & from his daughter about it, & he wants to make the improvement permanent. Good on ya', son, there will be more of this in your future I predict *:-)

I was mister magic today, as far as my wife was concerned, because I was able to move a large woodpile (one full cord) from one end of the property to the other, all in about 1.5 hours, which blew her away. I must admit I was able to concentrate on it because I had my iPod on & was jammin' to trance, hence the focus & speed *:-) Whatever. It sure is nice to get a compliment from my wife though *:-)

However, & she doesn't know this yet, but toward the end of the woodpile transfer, when I was pretty tired, my hand slipped just a little as I was tossing a piece of firewood into the truck bed, & one end of the wood bounced against the rear fender, making a small dent. I tried to rub it out with my glove, but that only made it more obvious because it took all the dust off & made the area stand out. Oh well.

IM; Email; Gossip; Boundary Fence/Woodshed

Surprisingly busy day at South Swamp today, although I was only able to discern this from the number of IMs & Emails I received. I have the sound for incoming IMs & Emails enabled, & each is different, so as long as I keep a window open up in my office area, I can be outside or in another part of the house & hear the signal ok, which supports my multitasking obsession.

A colleague & I gossiped on IM for a while about the nearly chosen Chief Warlord, & made remarks back & forth about our ability to work with each of the candidates. So far there is only one, who if chosen, will cause me to immediately send out resumes looking for elsewhere to do what I do. Hope that isn't necessary.

During my lunch hour, since I am telecommuting today, I was able to get a nice piece of the woodshed wall/fence moving along, & was even able to stack a small amount of wood inside. I will need to purchase more supplies to finish it though.

PO'd For 13 Hours; Tomorrow Might Be A Big Day For South Swamp; More Lunch!

Yup, its true. Within one minute of me getting home last night (~1900), the power went off & it was not restored until 0830 the next day. We slept to the cheerful chirping of the 11 UPS boxes we have *:-) Several calls at different times to the utility outage status line yielded different lies at different times. so I finally gave up, which they knew I would, & went to bed to try to sleep the best I could. Oh well. More support for my wife's opinion that we are close to the conditions that exist in "3rd world" countries, if we take a real close look.

A fresh rumor surfaced today at South Swamp, which is that the new Chief Warlord may be named tomorrow. If so, that will be a big deal. I am interested so that I can plot my own course going forward, whatever that means *:-)

Management went out to lunch again today! That is unbelievable. Even if the company ends up paying for it, at least they are all talking/listening to the same subject when they are at lunch. I hope they do it every day *:-)

TGFT; Same Perception; Lunching Management

TGFT (Thank God For Trance) is still my motto of the moment. Listening to my iPod trance tracks really helps, no matter where I am or what I am doing. Trance seems to be created with the same reflective synaptic pace at which my brain resonates, which is very relaxing to listen to. Kinda like a recognition & acceptance. Thanks.

Human Resources received my written evaluation commentary on the Chief Warlord candidates today, & I asked a peer to take a look at what I had written but only after she had turned hers in as well. That happened toward the end of the day, & although the form of the submissions was different, the message that we sent was nearly identical, but in our own words of course. That made me feel good, because I respect the intuitive capabilities of this colleague. A sad commentary however, is that another of our colleagues will not submit any comments at all, & states that he doesn't care. That is a total cop out, since his current boss, who he says he really likes & hopes to continue to work for, is one of the candidates. This position is common for him however, & so, since I am his friend, I will not say or do anything to try to influence him one way or the other. It is his decision, and his consequences.

A few of our managers actually went out to lunch together spontaneously today, which very rarely happens, & what do you know? When they came back, they had some very good ideas for growth, improvement, & future path-making! Gee, ya' think?

Holiday Highlights

Both grandchildren were up at our house for a visit today *:-) Our grandson is doing really great & my nickname for him, which I will probably not use very much because his mom may not like it, is "Tank". He is already solid, and really moving fast *:-) Our granddaughter is really neat, & we had fun playing with 3-dimensional geometric shapes today, & also her dad let her out into the yard to pick her first pear off a tree, for real. This was not as simple as it sounds, because the yellowjackets are everywhere at this time of year, & we moved carefully not to piss them off. When our granddaughter was getting tired, she wanted to climb the stairs one more time up to Granma's fiber studio, & so I went along to provide support in case she was too tired to make it. She did ok, & then when in the studio, she was clearly tired, & while she was looking around I showed her a hand-spun, hand-dyed, hand-woven blanket that her Granma had made, & she reached for it, took it from me, lay it down on the floor carefully, spread it out all by herself, then looked up at me & said "sleep", & lay down on the blanket...OMG that was so cool *:-) She is neat & only 21 months old.

Hot Again; Dump Run; Triangulated

I found it interesting today when, just by walking while outside in the sun, heavy perspiration broke out. I took it easy, even though I worked, & hydrated properly *:-) GFM *:-)

As I planned I was able to do the dump run today & because we have to show our driver's license in order to get into the transfer site, I was benefited because the attendant noticed that I have reached the age where I get a discount *:-) Excellent *:-) So, talkin' trash was cheaper today *:-)

By timing my work carefully, & only taking the tools that were absolutely necessary out to the boundary line where I am building my woodshed, & where the neighbor has a short fuse, I got the upper part triangulated which will make it as strong as it needs to be. The neighbor stayed home nearly all day but finally left & I got the work done. I did other jobs around the current fencing too, so for me it was a good day *:-) Got to eat a hot fudge sunday with almonds, & my wife made a nice meal for me too *:-)

Heat Handling; Errands; Pain

Most of last night & today was spent creating initiatives to handle the very hot weather. We left all the windows & doors wide open last night, with fans moving the slowly cooling air into the corners of the house. I closed up at 0730, & we made it through the day pretty well, but of course the 3rd floor bedroom/viewing studio got pretty hot. I just opened everything up again a little while ago, & we are starting the cool down process again.

We went out together & drove to various places, some fairly far away, & successfully got several important errands done. I also was able to get a small amount of fencing/woodshed building done because the boundary line neighbors were both gone for a while. It was hot work.

My left knee continues to provide me with quite a bit of pain, & it is constant. The night before last I got only 7 minutes of completely pain free sleep, & that was just because I happened to find a pressure point that relieved the pain for a bit. I slept ok last night, but the pain continues. I forgot to put ice on the knee tonight while watching a dvd, dammit! I will try to remember tomorrow *:-) If at all possible, I will be making a dump run tomorrow.

Hot Sledge; Easy Money

Because my boundary line neighbor & his family were gone all day (& might still be gone, perhaps for the entire holiday weekend), I was able to get up on the step ladder with the 8# sledge hammer & get the anchor T-posts in place which form the core support system for the wood shed I am building on the property line. It was 100 degrees today, & even the Davey Tree guys just down the road weren't working as hard as I was *:-) I had to drink lots of water & take breaks, but got the work moving along nicely *:-)

Because today is my telecommute day, I also had to make sure that I kept pace with the emails & other assignments, but since most folks were on their way already to the long weekend, it was pretty easy. I will be working most of the weekend anyway, so they get their money's worth.