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.

Bigoted Whitey Comes To Call

Today South Swamp hosted the final Chief Warlord position candidate for (as it turned out) "his" presentation & Q&A session with all staff. He is very white, born & bred in the mid-west, a "family" guy, has a style about him that had all the women sucking on him fairly quickly, & imho would be a disaster to work for & would kill any remaining potential for South Swamp to provide real, down & dirty access to under-served clients, but would sure talk a good talk & put on a popular WMCAA show for the big guys while junketing across the world. I have no idea if the two Big Biggies, who have the final vote, will pick him or not.

Time for sleep.

El Supervisor; 23-Second Meltdown; Revolt

5 hours standing still with my hands clasped behind my back as the 4 soldier-refugees from the Bosnia-Herzegovina war installed the cat5e cabling for floor-to-floor telecoms today. I was the supervisor of the crew, but only to the extent that I had to be there because our data center contains data that is protected under state law & can't be left alone with non-FBI approved staff. I was advised not to ask any questions like "what did you do in the war"...I guess I don't really want to know & they don't want to talk about it. Ok then.

I introduced my boss to vegan chocolate cake with icing today by showing him how to microwave the piece of cake for exactly 23 seconds so that the icing melts perfectly on the also perfectly warm cake. He was blown away with how good it is *:-)

I refused to provide my personal details regarding my preferences for the candidates for the Chief Warlord position because the person requesting the info cannot be trusted. I also made a behind-the-curtain recommendation on how to get around that evil person, which was submitted by a more senior member of the South Swamp crew, and which had to be accepted by the evil Acting Interim Executive Director. I have dubbed her behavior as "dark & deceitful" & I won't place my well-being in her hands blindly. The entire staff is more comfortable because now HR will be getting the input & the dark one will not see it *:-)

Good Show; Hard Labor; Whack-A-Mole; Who's A Cop?

I presented at today's ET staff meeting & everybody said it was very good. Now we will see if anybody takes any action *:-)

Very hard labor for several hours today doing all the heavy lifting & moving to support the swapping of offices of two Directors at South Swamp. The arrangement should be stable for at least a year, which is the period of time South Swamp is officially "in transition". After that, probably more shifts, but I hope to be a bit rested by then *:-)

I had given a whack-a-mole game to our 21 month old granddaughter, & from what her granma (my wife) tells me, she has a twinkle in her eye as she turns it on & off & goes after the moles *:-) That is really cool, imho *:-) Also, one of the episodes of House that we just watched was titled "whack-a-mole" *:-) How cool is that?

I attend meetings where no notes are permitted and where everything is supposed to be very confidential, so that truth can be told without unnecessary repercussions that might happen if the same things were said in an open forum. Anyway, part way through the session, this new guy says, which he thinks is really funny, that he is a cop & is making a record of everything & is taking names. I landed on him very heavily, & suggested that if he really is a cop, he might be having a little trouble making it home, since he had lied previously to all of us in order to get in. I guess he got a little scared, which is appropriate imho.

Boss Did Good; Magic In The Air, Full Eclipse

My current boss, who also is a candidate for the Chief Warlord, had his presentation to the entire staff today. He did unbelievably well, and was completely honest & sincere, & even his worst enemy was not able to wound him. Good for him. He is a good fellow & I hope he gets the position, although that means I will get a new boss, which may or may not be so great *:-)

I was called in late in the day & informed that I have been given an excellent percentage raise, which makes me happy. The decision-making folks also picked the right reason for giving me the raise, and mentioned that they know that I work very hard, and that I work very hard on the right stuff. 3 cheers for good DNA which allows me to work hard *:-) Even if I am a bit creaky these days *:-)

I was a bit concerned that I would have to miss my mens' meeting tonight because I have a report due at 10 a.m. tomorrow & I knew it was going to take quite a while to do. During the day, I grabbed what pieces of time I could to get some work done on it, & much to my surprise, at 6:17 p.m. I reached a point where I was able to print a proof copy, which magically looked good except for one easy fix, & then I was also able to get the CD made for the presentation, so I was out the door at 6:37 p.m. & was able to make my 7:00 p.m. meeting just in time *:-)

My colleague reminded me that there is a full eclipse of the moon tonight, & he threatened to call me at the precise time the eclipse is full so I can see it, but since it happens at the dead middle of the night, I told him no, don't call *:-) Our bedroom windows & skylight are positioned so that we will have a full arc view of the entire eclipse, so who knows, maybe I will wake up on my own naturally to see it.

Pretty Good Day

Got enough sleep. Ate pretty well. Drank enough water. Got 2 critical advancements on the boundary fence completed with no confrontations or problems. Helped my son move a large & heavy lathe from storage at our place to his home about 30 miles away. That felt good for both of us *:-) Got to see the work he is doing tearing off years-old & years-ugly stucco from his porch so he can fix it up. Had "home-fries" from my wife, which is rare, & are very good, yum! *:-) Watched some good dvd entertainment. Made the right decision not to go into the office at all today, because I just found out that a terminated employee had gotten access to the office today & was cleaning out his stuff. That could have been difficult, since I would have been there moving his furniture *:-) Glad no problems occurred.

County Fair, Keeping The Peace

We delivered my wife's creations to the county fair intake building today. She met up with friends that were there, & it was pretty easy this year compared to other years. A county fair is a unique collection of experiences not often found in the learning repertoire of most youth, & I believe if approached in the right way, can be worthwhile.

I checked regularly, by peering out the window, sleuthing along the ivy-covered fence, or otherwise surreptitiously observing, to see if my neighbor had gone away for the day so I could do some more work on the boundary line fence I am building. No luck. He stayed home all day. He also called the sheriff again, but not about me, about one of his other neighbors who is hosting a musical hoedown on his property. My neighbor doesn't like musical hoedowns, especially the ones he can hear from the inside of his house *:-)

By not working on my boundary line fence while he is at home, I am keeping the peace by not giving any opportunity for him to blame his default "rage" response to anything that he doesn't like at the moment.

Not Cat & Mouse, But Cat & Cat

Because I chose to follow a peaceful path in getting my fence built on the property line with my aggressive & violent neighbor, I now quietly walk away from my work if he happens to appear close by, or drives up unexpectedly. This is a completely new approach to conflict for me because I am accustomed to "meeting it head-on", with, of course, the usual consequences. Although it feels strange to quietly walk away from work that I have every right to do, & am doing in a peaceful way, I am aware that the larger environment around the work is highly flammable, & so I know I am doing the right thing for me. My new behavior also means that the progress on the fence is achieved in fits & starts, rather than one continuous project flow, which is a little wierd too. It is as if there are two cats needing to use the same path, and to avoid conflict that might injure each, they take turns using the path & so far are being careful to avoid direct contact.

Some sort of metamorphosis is going on with me, as yet unclear. I will be patient & professional about it, & ask for help in understanding what I need to about it.

The Right Stuff, A.I.E.D. Blows It Big Time

I made the right choice in not attending the preso from the candidate for Chief Warlord that was given this morning to all staff. I hear it was an emotional disaster for the staff members who are desperately trying to get rid of the senior male director, & are also desperately trying to get a woman, any woman, into the Executive Director (Chief Warlord) job. The losers made jerks of themselves. Glad I did not have to watch or participate.

The South Swamp Acting Interim Executive Director (A.I.E.D.) laid down very strict, Beijing-like rules of conduct & communication for everything surrounding the preso, telling us that we would be violating HR rules if any info was leaked, & then not 5 minutes after the thing was over, somebody blew it by sending an email to "all" that contained confidential info that was not to be shared widely *:-) Then about 30 minutes later, even after another lecture delivered via email about how we were not supposed to share things to "all", a different staff member added more confidential info to the original email & sent that to "all" *:-) OMG the A.I.E.D. was so pissed. She steamed right past me on her way to admonish the guilty party, & she was actually heard to say "dammit" to the woman who had screwed up *:-) I love it *:-) Then, not an hour after that, a senior member of the A.I.E.D.'s staff sent a different email to "all" that also contained different confidential info *:-) Heh *:-) Some days it is really fun to watch the show *:-)

I worked hard once I was in the office, & am happy to be home now. I still get to telecommute tomorrow, so that is good news for me.

Go Down Below Matey, There's A Hard Blow A'comin

Having survived the first 3 days of the work week, I found myself in a quandry this evening. Management has scheduled tomorrow morning to be a time of duplicity & deceit, & I don't want anything to do with it. I have been asked to be part of an artificial, KGB style populist rally for the presentation of one of the 3 remaining candidates for Chief Warlord of South Swamp. I realized this evening that I can't do that. I shall get to work late tomorrow, making sure to arrive after the rally. I never had the courage to do this in my previous position because of the potential for damaging consequences, but now I am ready to accept the consequences & to do what I believe to be correct.

Really nice party for me at work today *:-) They had a surprise birthday party for me & it was very nice, with a chocolate chocolate chocolate cake, which made it a success in my book *:-)

We are here together, my wife & I, and it is time for sleep.

Taxi Driver, Furniture Mover, Celebrant

Wow, busy day. One of my bosses had to loan her car to someone & needed a ride to work this morning since the person who usually gives her a ride couldn't because his father had a stroke. I did a google maps thing & found the house ok, & on the way I observed, & actually stopped for just a tiny bit to watch, some older folks doing what I call "Creaky Tai Chi" *:-) It was pretty early and they were all dressed warmly & were outside in a small park & were doing the Tai Chi thing & it was really pretty funny to watch, since clearly they were feeling a bit "creaky" *:-) It was also very nice however, to see community members getting together to do that sort of thing, & when I mentioned them to my boss that I was giving the taxi ride to, she said yes, they are out there every morning. Cool *:-)

More heavy office furniture moving today at South Swamp! WTF? It is true that I am a trained furniture mover and I am probably the least likely to hurt myself, but WTF? I don't know why cubicle rats feel that everything has to be done for them. I get called on not only because I know how to do it & am still quite strong, but because I am part of "IT" or "EdTech", depending on your definition, & I will get roped into moving network ports & cables anyway, so I guess they figure I'm the guy to move the furniture too. I don't mind because it helps move the organization forward, & I am not a lazy person so it satisfies my need for work too, since the organization itself is still becalmed & has not received its sailing orders.

What a neat celebration we just had at my son's house *:-) Yesterday was my birthday (a fairly big number now) & my son had screwed up the calculations & although he did his best to try to plan some sort of weekend thing he got the wrong weekend so nothing happened on my actual birthday or on the Sunday before it, which I think was what he was going to do *:-) It was kinda funny because my wife & I were finishing up the day late Saturday night & although we had been told that something might happen on that Sunday, we had heard nothing. I remarked to her "Well, its pretty quiet so I guess nothing is going to happen" *:-) BTW, I absolutely don't care that nothing happened, because the whole birthday thing doesn't seem to be part of my DNA. Anyway, my other son got creative and got all of us together at son #1's house this evening, & I had a lot of fun with my granddaughter, & also got to hold my new grandson for a nice time, during which I did a little meditation with him, which was cool. My granddaughter & I had lots of fun with the new toy I brought, which was the latest version of "whack-a-mole", which I still like playing *:-) I got a nice bottle of wine, some nice chocolates, & the promise of a nice picture of my son's family, & a nice promise from my other son that he really would be over this coming weekend to pick up the monster lathe that has been stored here for a long time, & which is gradually causing the shed to sink a little because it is too heavy. I enjoyed spending time with the family & the gifts...thanks everyone *:-)

Prayer Flags Are At Work In The Wind

The culmination of both a need & a desire became complete today *:-) For many years, just about as many years as I have wanted to complete the deer fence all along the road, I have wanted Tibetan Prayer Flags on our property to help bring more peace, not just to us, but to all who live near us. That is what I have understood the Prayer Flags have the power to do. The "need" part was because their is a great deal of danger around me now due to not only the boundary dispute that continues with my neighbor, but also because this is my natal time, which makes me very vulnerable to the forces of the world, just as a baby who is being born needs the nurturing & support of loved ones and professionals during the birth process. Anyway, as I write this, there are two 13' high poles, one on each end of our property, & each with a 6-foot long flag hanging down vertically, made up of the most traditional colors & wood block prints. They are waving in every passing breeze, no matter how slight or fierce, doing their work night & day. I am content that this wish has been granted to me *:-)

I have lost 6 pounds from the excess weight I have been carrying for a little over a year, & I am also greatful for that, & I suspect diet control is now a part of my daily requirements for living a fairly pleasant life. No worries, I will do my best to continue in good health.

Stay Low, Choose Peace

I had the option of either choosing "not peace" or "peace" today, & I chose peace *:-) I am very glad that I did, & I will try to do so more often. As I began my day there were two paths before me...first, I could work to complete the boundary line woodshed & related issues, at the very great risk of having to deal with another confrontation with my neighbor. Second, I could completely pick all the fruit off the Bartlett pear tree in our orchard, where no confrontations could happen.

As it turned out, I made the right choice by choosing to pick the fruit. As the day went by, I noticed that several traps, of an emotional IED type, had been set by my neighbor which would have gone off had I started to work on the woodshed/fence. None of the IEDs went off, & I was not injured or even upset.

Subtle things these choices we are presented with, & I am greatful to sometimes be sensitive enough to know that I have a choice *:-)

Friday In The Office, Lumber Yard Success, Home Again

I have not worked a Friday in the office for a very long time. It is rather strange, & today there were no managers there! I think everybody was so afraid of getting caught screwing around that we all worked extra hard because we didn't know when a manager would walk in *:-) It was also wierd because the temp receptionist kept wandering around counting how many people were in the office; not because he was a spy or anything, just because he wanted to know how empty the place was. Yeah, it was pretty empty. I will never understand state employment. Our bookkeeper, who is definitely a little wierd, like one of the Brady bunch girls, decided to leave early today because she wanted to make a special meal for her husband because today is his birthday & because he always cooks such nice meals for her. WTF? Hey lady, try working your full shift for a change.

I was able to get to the lumber yard on my lunch hour & got the essentials for starting work on the "fence of contention" that I am excited about getting done, because it is also the structure that will keep my winter's supply of wood stacked properly.

All in all, I am quite glad to be home & able to go to bed.

Wind & Heat, Back To The Office Tomorrow

It was surprisingly windy here in the mountains where my home office is located, & we lost power & internet for awhile. All is back up now though. It was also warmer than I expected, but I no longer pay any attention to the weather unless it is life threatening, because I believe our weather patterns have changed forever & are governed by the rules of chaos theory.

My decision to exchange telecommute days with a colleague has turned out well, since she was able to contribute very successfully during a staff meeting that she usually must miss, & she also was very appreciative of my effort because this way her partner will get to use the car tomorrow, whereas usually on Fridays my colleague needs to be in the office. It makes me feel good when things turn out to be win-win.

I was able to spend a small amount of time with our new grandson & our granddaughter this week, & that was very nice. I hope the opportunities to do so increase *:-)

Yo' Mama Ain't No Quaker, She's A Troublemaker

After reflecting briefly on the circumstances that I believe led up to last evenings confrontation with my neighbor, I remember one small conversation that I overheard the night before the confrontation. My neighbor's mother, who espouses that she is a life-long Quaker, & that she raised her son (my neighbor) as a Quaker, was visiting for awhile, & the evening before last was her last night here. I overheard only a portion of the conversation, because I was in my house on the second floor, & the windows were open to reduce the heat in the house from the hot day. She & her son were standing in front of the area that I am working on for my woodshed, & I heard her advise her son "Just pull it down". I now believe that she was referring to the work I had done to stake out the perimeter of my woodshed. I find it hardly consistent with Quaker tenets to advise one person to take unilateral & physical action against another! She ain't no Quaker, she is a Troublemaker, imho.

In addition, my poor neighbor is probably scared to death because his property line is crumbling under his feet into the creek far below, on the side of his property away from the area that I am using for my woodpile. I am sure that is motivation for trying to expand toward my area. If it were me, I would be afraid to sleep in his house.

Also, he is unemployed, & has a fierce wife, so I suspect I was perceived as a convenient outlet for his fear based anger & frustration *:-)

Oh well, I have faith that it will all work out.

Chief Warlord Returns To Dictatorial Ways, Neighbor Loses It

I'm fucking emotionally exhausted.

At 4:57 p.m. this evening, 3 minutes before the doors closed on my workplace (although I, alone, work until 6 p.m.), the South Swamp Acting Interim Executive Director comes into my cubicle, sits down, & hands me official papers that she says require my signature & that are going to HR. First, I don't report to her, & she has been asked in the past not to come directly to us with official, signature needing documents, but to go through our bosses, but she came direct anyway, because she let the deadline pass on the documents & needs them NOW (can you hear her?). Second, the papers attached to the official document are two revisions down from the ones that my boss & I have worked out over the last two weeks, & the attached docs contain job requirements that I will not perform for the money they are paying me. I have made it clear that the docs need to change & my boss has agreed, but apparently hasn't turned in the new docs yet (I confirmed this with my boss later this evening). I explained this, but she stated that I needed to sign now. She said she would talk to my boss. She has a reputation for having both selective & short memory capability, so I am concerned. I asked her if I could trust her to take care of exchanging the docs, & she said yes, so I signed. After she walked away, a colleague, who has been at the University of Blueberry Syrup for nearly six years, and has worked with her for about 4 years, asked me if I signed. I said yes. My colleague said I was stupid for doing so, because the Acting Interim Executive Director won't remember her commitment for more than 5 minutes, or until the first distraction comes up, whichever happens first. Great, I'm screwed. I sent an email right away to my boss, who is out of the office until next week, & surprisingly he must have been checking his email because he responded & said he agreed with me & that he understood & that he would send an email to the Acting Interim Executive Director tonight telling her that the revised docs must be sent to HR, not the ones that were attached to the item I signed. So. Maybe I'm not screwed.

Ok, done deal, I thought. I arrive home & am unloading some garden fence that I will be using to make the woodshed I am building look nicer, & my neighbor yells my name, violently, from his driveway. I ignore him & keep unloading the truck. He walks over to within a few inches of me & yells my name loudly & violently directly into my ear. I don't like that *:-) We have a screaming argument for about 20 minutes, which scares my wife to death, & in the process my neighbor destroys some temporary posts I have put in around the perimeter of my woodshed, & he threatens me with one of the posts. My wife, despite being truly frightened for my life, is absolutely brilliant (after I spend one minute of the 20 minutes screaming at HER to get back in the house & to stay away from the argument), & she comes out with her digital camera & actually got pictures of the neighbor destroying my posts & threatening me. Very cool. Thank you, wife *:-) Anyway, I ignore him except for screaming back at him, get into & park my truck, & go into my house, since he is becoming very violent & his dog, which has been reported to the authorities several times for attacking people (not by us) is getting very upset. My wife & I both take some rescue remedy, & retire to our upstairs dvd viewing room to start our evening together. About 30 minutes later, I hear & notice a county sheriff's car in the drive, & the county sheriff is talking to my neighbor. My wife listens to the conversation, & tells me that actually the neighbor is pretty much telling the truth. I suspect he is frightened that we have the photos, & had expected us to call the cops, so he did it first. Eventually the officer comes over to my house, & we spend some time on the deck discussing some options, & it is clear that the officer knows about the dangerous dog & the dangerous neighbor, so I don't push any unnecessary buttons. All is left where it was, with me refusing to agree to an unreasonable demand made by my neighbor, which the officer tells me I am under no obligation to comply with, & I assure the officer that I have no problem compromising but that I will not meet privately with the neighbor because he is dangerous, I am tired from work, & I don't fight on Wednesdays *:-) The officer is fine with that, & goes back over & tells the neighbor that he is not going to get what he wants, but that I won't exceed my prescribed limits either. Peace returns to our little valley, & we watch our dvd. Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti.

More Physical Labor, Colleagial Lunch, Day Swap

Again, upon entering my workplace today I was confronted with furniture that needed me to move it *:-( Arggh. Oh well, I got it done *:-)

Although the restaurant chosen by my departmental colleagues for our regular after-staff lunch had recently been reviewed by me on yelp.com as a place I will not eat at until a management change happens, I agreed to go along because I wanted to be with my colleagues *:-) As it turns out there appears to have been a management change so maybe I can start eating there again. I did not stop going because of the food, which is quite good Indian Vegetarian fare, but because the place was not as clean as I would like. Everything seemed ok today.

Because my boss with be out of the office until next week, & because our second in command must take his place at the staff meeting on Thursday, I need to swap telecommute days with the second in command. I actually volunteered to do so because she always gets screwed because Thursday is her telecommute day & Friday is my telecommute day, & staff meetings are always on Thursdays, so she gets called in often. This time I will take Thursday as my telecommute day & she will take my regular day, Friday. She was very appreciative & I feel good about the offer I made *:-)

Pain, Physical Labor, Brilliance, Dumb-Ass Move

Ok, so I walk in the door at work today, having had knee pain all weekend, & was preparing to sort of take it easy physically by just doing the computer work I had to do. Uh, no, that's not happening. Within a few minutes, my boss asked me for help in moving his office to his new location in the same building (we don't get to hire labor if the move is in the same building). So what I am going to say, "fuck off!"? I don't think so, since he is writing my annual performance appraisal this week & next week *:-) So I worked my ass off moving office furniture & installing under-the-counter keyboard supports & stuff like that. I took aspirin tonight, so that will help. Oh well. I still have a family so I need to work *:-)

OTOH, later in the day I got to present to my boss (as he was sitting in his office that I just moved the furniture into) my interpretation of what my job description would be if I could have it the way I wanted, & I got almost everything I wanted, & I got ALL of the important stuff I wanted *:-) Also, my boss shared with me some very cool concepts for what we might be doing in the future, & what my part would be. I liked it all, & it is quite brilliant imho.

The University of Blueberry Syrup has made another dumb-ass move at the very highest level, but hey, nothing I can do about that. That's life.

'Mo Pie, Walk In The Woods, Good Productivity

Yup, I finished off the latest home made apple pie today *:-) Wow, it was good!

Despite my painful knee, I needed to get out into the woods today, & so my wife joined me & we had an excellent walk. Very healing, actually *:-)

I worked consistently throughout the weekend on getting my office paperwork, research documents, URL referent checks, & other work work done. I did pretty good, & the two briefcases that I will take back into work tomorrow, & the two laptops I will take back to work, have all been brought to a better state than when I came home at the end of last week. There is a subtle change going on in my work ethic at the moment. Don't quite understand it yet.

As far as I know, the great ship I toil upon is still becalmed in South Swamp. Perhaps tomorrow a breeze will rise *:-)

Laughter In The Air *:-)

OMG. Where did all this come from? The first dvd we watched this evening, "1941, Collector's Edition", had me ROFLing. My wife was a little less entertained, but agreed that there are some fabulous & humorous scenes. Then we watched one segment of a British comedy about one of the "houses" of Cambridge, & I laughed a lot with that one too. Then we watched one segment of Six Feet Under, & it was funny too! This much humor all in one evening is like, very unusual, & it was fun *:-)

We pipped over to my office cubicle for a brief interlude today so I could make minor adjustments to the decor & furniture placement, which will help Monday go more smoothly, & it needed to be done without a lot of kibitzers around.

Excellent pie again today *:-) Also, I had one of our just picked plums...fabulous *:-)

OMG, a old Theodore Bikel song that I downloaded just came on over my headphones, and makes me smile. Bikel was still making his rounds when I was in college, so he is part of my musical history. Sings this one all in Russian.

The anti-inflammatories are helping, but the pain still lives *:-) Oh well.

iLife & iWork Arrived, Install Went Fine

iLife08 & iWork08 both arrived today bright & early, & because today is my telecommute day I was able to install them on all 3 macs. I watched the entire Jobs "special event" that had him demo'ing & explaining them, & it was one of the best presentations I have seen, & I learned quite a bit. Not too much marketing bs either.

I gave up & took an anti-inflammatory for my left knee a few minutes ago, so perhaps I can get some sleep tonight. It hurts. Just general abuse & from moving heavy objects I suspect. I am hopeful it will ease up so I can be a bit more relaxed.

Another new home-made apple pie from my wife today, which was very good. I ate 2 whole pieces *:-) I will have more tomorrow also. They are good *:-)

A Slight Breeze Billows The Sails Briefly

The great ship upon which I toil has been becalmed for several weeks now, & the insanity continues. Today however, for a couple hours, there was a breeze that actually billowed the sails for a bit, & it brought smiles to the Captain, the Bosun, & the First Mate. The Captain wandered about the ship with an encouraging look on his face, which helped all of us just a bit. Thanks Cap'n *:-) The breeze was not enough to move the ship, but it is a harbinger, hopefully.

I was made the Project Manager for a technical remodel of two of our conference rooms & today I sent a needs analysis survey to everyone (except the ghosts). That will cause some of the inhabitants of the ship to be happy & enthused, & will cause some to be angry because we are not getting large raises this year, & they would prefer that the money that will be invested in the conference room improvements be spent on raising their salaries. I suspect that every improvement I schedule to be made will be challenged, or at least whispered about negatively behind my back. Oh well *:-)

Ayatollah Wannabee Panics; Granddaughter Wants Me To Stay; Chocolate Cake Mighty Tasty

Over at South Swamp, where I work, I had made the decision to withdraw from the voluntary group that is trying to improve our workplace through common effort. The reason I withdrew is that the group has been taken over by one of the directors (the Ayatollah Wannabee) who is using it for political purposes.

I remained in my cube working at the time the meeting was to start, and was jamming to get work done so I could get out of there around noon and go see my grandkids for a little while. The Ayatollah Wannabee, who was chairing the meeting of the volunteers, panicked because I was not there, and send a courier to remind me of the meeting and get me to go. I said no, I wasn't available today. The courier returned to the meeting location with his report, and within 20 seconds or so, the Ayatollah Wannabee herself was standing in front of me making it clear that although the meeting was certainly voluntary, that on this particular day the meeting could not go on without me. Because I have made a commitment to help stabilize the Great Ship we are all on, I decided not to make a scene with the Ayatollah Wannabee, and went to the meeting based on the promise that the issue that was for me would be the very first thing on the agenda. I arrived, and sat through 18 minutes of political posturing by the Ayatollah Wannabee, and then another 20 minutes of prep talk by the person that was going to make the presentation. We finally got to the part of the meeting that they said they needed me for, and although my positions as stated were far from popular, they also knew that I was telling my truth and that it requires attention. I left the meeting after 49 minutes, and without getting anything accomplished *:-(

But then...ah yes...but then...

I got to have a hell of a lot of fun with my granddaughter during my visit, & my wife was there too playing with the newborn (meaning holding him while he sleeps). My granddaughter remembered how to use the iPod earbuds without any coaching from me, and that was totally cool. We did a bunch of other stuff too, and then when I needed to leave to go back to work, she clung to me tightly while I held her to my shoulder, and her little hands grasped my clothing tightly, and when I would try to say "bye" she would say "no". Wow, that is a first for me, and I was impacted by it and I believe it suggests that she is beginning to love me, which is cool *:-)

Because of the emotional content of the meeting prior to my seeing my grandkids, I decided to take a piece of vegan chocolate cake back to the office to eat so I would feel better about being there, and after microwaving it for 23 seconds, it was mighty tasty and helped me get through the day.

Dentist, Tempeh Burger, End Of Day

My wife & I got through our individual experiences with our dentist very well today, & although we are always quite fatigued by the time we get home due to the distance we have to travel just to get to our dentist (slightly over an hour's drive one way) combined with the stress of having dental work done, we are grateful because we know we have one of the best dentists in the entire state, & it is worth it. I ended up having to replace my water based pressurized cleaning machine which cost a bit, but again, it is worth it. I also got more floss so I can keep doing that. The dental hygienist noticed that my teeth are tough to floss, so that validated the complaining I do to myself while I get myself psyched up to do it at home *:-)

My wife found & purchased a new type of tempeh burger & I tried one today & liked it, so we will get some more & eat them for a while as part of our regular summer food group.

It is now the end of the day for me & so rest awaits, along with sleep I hope. I was able to score some new trance music that I am listening to now & that is helping to relax me, so getting the rest will be easier with my heart open.

Long Day For Both My Wife & Me

Neither one of us got off work until 8:30 p.m. tonight. Way tired. My wife is also in pain from her hip due to too much lifting/carrying/reaching on uneven surfaces. Bummer.

Tomorrow we spend the day with the dentist. I hate it but it does help.

South Swamp ghosts are fully disappearing now, with one of the more useful ghosts sending her final goodbyes today, & we will never see her again. Another ghost, one who was in my group, has stopped coming to any meetings, & is just sitting in his cubicle, waiting for calls from potential interviews that never come. Depressing.

My new cube & set up continue to inspire others, and that is cool.

The Acting Interim Executive Director stopped by my cube today & thanked me for the efforts I put into making last Friday's set of interviews a success. I told her she is welcome.

More Apple Pie, A Little Landscaping, A Little Clean Up

My wife made another apple pie, so I am fully involved in apple pie eating as of this writing *:-) They have been really good, & use the limited number of Gravenstein apples from our tree, along with some other varieties, & the combo is exceptionally tasty. The crust is home made too *:-)

I raked, gathered & removed quite a few fallen plums from the walkways today, & this will be a necessary activity for about another month, until they are all off the trees.

I also broke down the cardboard shipping containers that had been building up, in preparation for taking them to the recycle center.

An investigator for the BGFAAT (Birthday Gift Forecast And Analysis Team) called me today & asked what I want for my birthday which is this month. I only had to think for a moment, & then I knew what I wanted and let him know. That was nice *:-)

Woods Walk, Home Made Apple Pie, Laughter

Nice day for us (my wife & I) because we got time for a nice long walk in the woods, & then came home to eat the freshly baked apple pie that my wife made *:-) Later we watched some imported British comedy dvd's that brought forth lots of laughs, which was relaxing & very pleasant.

I have a project that must get done on our property within the next 30 days, but it is a little sensitive in that I will be making permanent a firewood storage area that currently appears as temporary, & which runs along the boundary line with my neighbor. My neighbor has been having a rough time emotionally, & is already allowing anger to be his emotion of choice, so I have been waiting until he is gone for a whole day to dig the 3 holes I need to dig to place the upright pipes in concrete to form the basic corner of the new woodshed. However, he must have gotten laid off or something because for the last 2 months he has been home all day everyday, & has not been going anywhere on weekends either. I'm going to have to find a way to carefully plan and execute the project, so that I can complete the whole concrete part in 5 or 6 hours, & hope that he leaves for at least that long. Tenuous, indeed.

I just got to review the pictures from the wedding in France that my daughter & her husband attended, & they are neat. Very real, not absurd at all, & it seemed to be a wedding of just the right size for the family warmth to be shared. I appreciate the photos, thanks.

Saturday, What More Can I Say?

We'll see what happens today.

ZIA Mission Accomplished; "M" Still Incompetent

I successfully accomplished my ZIA mission of interfacing the Supreme Warlord candidate that is in Europe with the interview committee here. The chairperson of the interview committee completely botched the timing of opening the web apps & so I still got the frantic phone call from Europe wondering where the conference was, but as soon as I called the chairperson & "asked" her to quit screwing around & to open up the conference (30 minutes late) then the flow began & all was well. Two of the 5 candidates were assassinated today, but I don't know which 2 yet.

Got several major bills paid today which makes me feel good. The timing for when several of them are due apparently changed without me catching it, so I am paying more attention to that sort of thing for a while.

Watched a very good film on dvd this evening, & had some good wine too *:-) I'll start the weekend now.

South Swamp Kills Two More

Tomorrow, starting at 8:30 a.m., the elimination of 2 out of five candidates for the Supreme Warlord open position will begin & by 5:00 p.m., or shortly thereafter, only 3 will be left. One of the candidates has handicapped himself by traveling to a different continent & will be trying to influence the committee via a web app...good luck mate *:-) I trained him on how to use the web app, & I have kept in constant supportive contact with him per the request of our current Interim Acting Executive Director, but he is having trouble finding both voice & data lines in the country he is in, so several of us are putting in extra hours to monitor the communication grid to make sure we pick up whatever he can get on line. Pain in the ass, actually. He's kind of a typical asshole too, imho, but maybe that is what we attract. Some people say I am an asshole, but I remind them that my business card has "P.A." after my name, meaning Professional Asshole, and that I went to school for many years to become as much of an asshole as I am *:-)

My new cube and its configuration continues to please those who drop by for the first time, & it continues to please me also *:-) Thanks.

New Cube Arrangement Is Popular

The new cube I am in & the way I have set it up is popular not only with me, but with my colleagues as well. They seem to be comfortable stopping by & chatting, partly because it is much more open than the other one. Also, I have my 3 laptops very conveniently arranged, kind of like a command center console, which I like. Today, one of the web programmers was having trouble getting different browsers to open a shockwave file, & because I have my 3 laptops set up the way I do, with all of them having at least 2 different browsers on them, he was able to do his testing using my stuff very successfully, which hasn't happened in the past because previously I had the 3 laptops set up in various places around the old cube. They are all together now.

I had intended to visit my grandchildren on my lunch hour today so that I could be there at the same time my wife was with them, but while making a deposit at the bank I ended up having a parking lot incident, albeit a small one, with another car. I don't believe I was at fault, but the other party refused to cooperate, so I told her to call the police, which she did. So, instead of being with my grandchildren, I was in a parking lot waiting for a police officer. Unfortunately, the officer ruled in her favor, because she had a friend in the car with her that was acting as a witness, & I didn't have any witnesses. The officer told me to tell my insurance company that it was not my fault, but his report will show otherwise. After the incident, I purchased a nice piece of chocolate cake & after microwaving it for 23 seconds after getting back to the office, I ate it which made me feel better *:-)

I decided to try to see my grandchildren after work, which I did. The newest one is a great sleeper, & so I held him the whole time, while my 19 month old granddaughter took me on a tour of her room, played with some of her favorite toys with me, & hung out with me. After a little while my daughter in law actually left the room & allowed me to be alone with both grandkids, still holding the newest, which is the first time that has happened, so she must trust me to some degree *:-) I of course took advantage of that & got my granddaughter to listen to some trance music on my iPod, which she enjoyed. She even got to the point where she could take each earbud & put it into her left & right ear & listen. It was neat *:-) She liked the experience, & got a nice look on her face when she heard the music.