Yesterday I received an email from the Employee Recognition Committee, telling me I had been nominated for and will receive a Values Award. To be considered for this award you must be nominated by a co-worker. I was a little confused because I had nominated someone for this award. I thought maybe they had made an email mistake and sent it out the person who did the nominating. Color me surprised when Leland told me I would be receiving the award, and that I had been nominated by no less than four different people. WOW! I was a little speechless, and embarrassed.
It’s really great to be acknowledged by your peers for the work you do. It is also great when someone you have nominated receives an award too, so I’m very happy to report that Bill (the person I nominated) is also receiving an award. J Of course I will now have to find a place to hang my new award. I have three others at my desk: a Blue Heron Award (our bureau award for outstanding work by an individual or group – mine was for work as park of a group), the Queen of Portland Trivia granted to me for my demonstrated knowledge of useless trivia, and my Certificate of Excellence from a co-work that certifies that I received in recognition of outstanding service for “Damn Near Everything.” Luckily I just move and have cleaned up a lot of junk I had hung up at my old cubical so I have some wall space. So I guess all things happen for a reason.
Tuesday, all the downtown employees will gather for our awards event. (We have employee at three basic locations, so there are events at each location. This keeps us all close to work, and only our bureau director has to trek around the city.) Anyway, on Tuesday Dean (our Director) will read the nominations as they were submitted, and present the awards. It’s a nice time, there is usually some joking and laughing, typical of all events of this nature. I’m a little curious to hear why I was nominated. Of course I’m already worried about what to wear, where to sit, what to say, and not tripping as I walk up on the platform.
Thursday, May 28, 2009
Wednesday, May 27, 2009
A view to a jail
I’m completely moved into my new space at work and it hasn’t been as traumatic as I had anticipated. I’m actually back to the original space I occupied when I first came to work for this bureau. I have a great view out my window of the Willamette River, the downtown park blocks, and the exercise floor of the jail.
Having the jail just a block away is an interesting experience. For one, I get to watch them play basketball. What I really find bizarre are the visitors on the sidewalk 9 floors below. The girlfriends and wives of these guys line up and shout out their guys’ names and things like, “I love you baby!!” I mean really, if you find yourself standing outside the jail screaming words of love up to your guy in the exerciser yard, you might want to seriously reconsider the choices you’re making in your personal life. If you haven’t had a clue before that point that thing weren’t going to be sunshine and roses, let this be it, and get thee gone!
It's interesting to note that women are overwhelmingly represented on the, as I like to call it, “Sidewalk of Losers.” There isn’t a single man there yelling up to his girl. I’m not sure if that says men are smarter about picking up loser signs in their potential mates, or if their less loyal. I’ll save that quandary for more noble thinkers than I.
So, be careful in your choices of a mate, and if you find yourself on the Sidewalk of Losers, recognize you have some work to do on yourself and get the hell out of there!!
Having the jail just a block away is an interesting experience. For one, I get to watch them play basketball. What I really find bizarre are the visitors on the sidewalk 9 floors below. The girlfriends and wives of these guys line up and shout out their guys’ names and things like, “I love you baby!!” I mean really, if you find yourself standing outside the jail screaming words of love up to your guy in the exerciser yard, you might want to seriously reconsider the choices you’re making in your personal life. If you haven’t had a clue before that point that thing weren’t going to be sunshine and roses, let this be it, and get thee gone!
It's interesting to note that women are overwhelmingly represented on the, as I like to call it, “Sidewalk of Losers.” There isn’t a single man there yelling up to his girl. I’m not sure if that says men are smarter about picking up loser signs in their potential mates, or if their less loyal. I’ll save that quandary for more noble thinkers than I.
So, be careful in your choices of a mate, and if you find yourself on the Sidewalk of Losers, recognize you have some work to do on yourself and get the hell out of there!!
Thursday, May 21, 2009
Writing for Memorial Day
I’m a member to the veterans affinity group at work, called the Veterans Empowerment Team, or VET for short. I was asked to write a message that could be sent out to all city employees’ emails for Memorial Day. It went out this morning.
Writing this was an interesting exercise, since I have not experienced a personal loss on this level. The first thing I did was a Google search of “Memorial Day”, then I went to Wikkipedia, clicked the link for Flanders Fields and read the poem through completely. Also an interesting exercise. I also did a search for quotes related to Memorial Day, veterans, military service, military losses, and military dead.
After all this research I was ultimately left to do the actual writing, which was kind of a daunting task because you never know if you can hit the right note. I always live in fear that I will offend someone unintentionally. As I’ve mentioned before Portland is a city that loves its protests and the war has certainly been a favored subject. We even had grandmas picketing a military recruiting station. I know that many veterans, especially from the Vietnam era, are careful to keep their veteran status quite because of the response they might get. So, I’ve been my usual nervous self about this one. I’m happy to say that so far all the feed back has been good. Would it be tacky to say, “Dodged that bullet”?
Here is what I wrote:
May 21, 2009
…We are the dead. Short days agoWe lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,Loved, and were loved, and now we lieIn Flanders fields… from “In Flanders Fields” by John McCrae
Freedom is never free, and while many citizens pay a portion of the cost to preserve our freedom, some have paid a higher price than others. May 25th is Memorial Day, a day to remember those who have paid with their lives, to insure the freedoms we all enjoy.
Many of us will spend this day at BBQ’s and picnics enjoying friends and family. That is a very fitting way to celebrate, by participating in activities that our fallen brothers and sisters would have enjoyed.
The Veterans Empowerment Team asks that we all take a moment at noon on that day, to observe the national moment of remembrance for all those who have paid the ultimate price. To quote Calvin Coolidge, “The nation which forgets its defenders will be itself forgotten.”
We hope you all enjoy a bright, cheerful celebration while remembering all those who are no longer with us.
Writing this was an interesting exercise, since I have not experienced a personal loss on this level. The first thing I did was a Google search of “Memorial Day”, then I went to Wikkipedia, clicked the link for Flanders Fields and read the poem through completely. Also an interesting exercise. I also did a search for quotes related to Memorial Day, veterans, military service, military losses, and military dead.
After all this research I was ultimately left to do the actual writing, which was kind of a daunting task because you never know if you can hit the right note. I always live in fear that I will offend someone unintentionally. As I’ve mentioned before Portland is a city that loves its protests and the war has certainly been a favored subject. We even had grandmas picketing a military recruiting station. I know that many veterans, especially from the Vietnam era, are careful to keep their veteran status quite because of the response they might get. So, I’ve been my usual nervous self about this one. I’m happy to say that so far all the feed back has been good. Would it be tacky to say, “Dodged that bullet”?
Here is what I wrote:
May 21, 2009
…We are the dead. Short days agoWe lived, felt dawn, saw sunset glow,Loved, and were loved, and now we lieIn Flanders fields… from “In Flanders Fields” by John McCrae
Freedom is never free, and while many citizens pay a portion of the cost to preserve our freedom, some have paid a higher price than others. May 25th is Memorial Day, a day to remember those who have paid with their lives, to insure the freedoms we all enjoy.
Many of us will spend this day at BBQ’s and picnics enjoying friends and family. That is a very fitting way to celebrate, by participating in activities that our fallen brothers and sisters would have enjoyed.
The Veterans Empowerment Team asks that we all take a moment at noon on that day, to observe the national moment of remembrance for all those who have paid the ultimate price. To quote Calvin Coolidge, “The nation which forgets its defenders will be itself forgotten.”
We hope you all enjoy a bright, cheerful celebration while remembering all those who are no longer with us.
Tuesday, May 19, 2009
Number crazy
At five minutes and six seconds after 4 AM on the 8th of July this year, the time and date will be:
04:05:06 07/08/09
This will not happen again for a thousand years.
Really? This is kinda cool, but who in their right mind is going to be up at that hour on a Wednesday morning? Especially for a totally artificial number. Well, I guess there may be some real math freaks that could get into it. Anyone else up at that hour is walking a crying baby, working, or has partied way too hard on a Tuesday night. There may be one or two people up using the bathroom.
All these crazy things about numbers. There are those people with the Bible code, that is absolutely no good because you first have to know the event and then you go looking for something that you can tie to it from the Bible. Most of the time the tie is so vague that it’s a real stretch. Because of this kind of crazy talk, I didn’t read the De Vinci Code until it had been out for over a year. I thought it was about some crazy fortune telling hocus pocus thing with De Vinci’s works. Once I paid attention and found that wasn’t the case I started reading the book, and boy was I cranky that I had missed out on such a good book for so long. Of course that’s the good thing about a book, you never really miss it they’re always there. Well, that is if you don’t wait too long.
Speaking of books, have you checked out the Kindle? How cool is that thing!! I have a friend at work that just bought the newest version. I’m so jealous!! The problem is I’m too cheap to spend the money. As soon as the price works its way down to a manageable point, I’m owning one. Someone said I should wait until they let us download books on our cell phones. Well, there’s no satisfaction in that! Phones are too small, the Kindle is kinda the same size as a book, and the print is the same size, but if you need to you can increase the font size. Reading a book on the phone would be just so wrong. Listening to one would be OK. I wonder if I can download audio books to may Blackberry? I gotta go!
04:05:06 07/08/09
This will not happen again for a thousand years.
Really? This is kinda cool, but who in their right mind is going to be up at that hour on a Wednesday morning? Especially for a totally artificial number. Well, I guess there may be some real math freaks that could get into it. Anyone else up at that hour is walking a crying baby, working, or has partied way too hard on a Tuesday night. There may be one or two people up using the bathroom.
All these crazy things about numbers. There are those people with the Bible code, that is absolutely no good because you first have to know the event and then you go looking for something that you can tie to it from the Bible. Most of the time the tie is so vague that it’s a real stretch. Because of this kind of crazy talk, I didn’t read the De Vinci Code until it had been out for over a year. I thought it was about some crazy fortune telling hocus pocus thing with De Vinci’s works. Once I paid attention and found that wasn’t the case I started reading the book, and boy was I cranky that I had missed out on such a good book for so long. Of course that’s the good thing about a book, you never really miss it they’re always there. Well, that is if you don’t wait too long.
Speaking of books, have you checked out the Kindle? How cool is that thing!! I have a friend at work that just bought the newest version. I’m so jealous!! The problem is I’m too cheap to spend the money. As soon as the price works its way down to a manageable point, I’m owning one. Someone said I should wait until they let us download books on our cell phones. Well, there’s no satisfaction in that! Phones are too small, the Kindle is kinda the same size as a book, and the print is the same size, but if you need to you can increase the font size. Reading a book on the phone would be just so wrong. Listening to one would be OK. I wonder if I can download audio books to may Blackberry? I gotta go!
Monday, May 18, 2009
Frustrating day
Today has been a frustrating day, on a number of levels.
1. It’s beautiful and I’m stuck inside. I’d much rather be out on my patio or working in the yard.
2. I’m the victim a forced moved at work and when I got to my new location nothing was working but the phone, and of course I couldn’t call anyone because all the numbers are in the computer!
3. For most of the day my space was filled with boxes and surplus furniture. Then there was all the dust stirred, and that called for cleaning.
4. And just because my day wasn’t crappy enough, our whole group had to attend a mind numbing meeting on our upcoming change in timekeeping. We learned NOTHING!!!
5. My new window faces east and the morning sun was blasting through, super heating the space. The blinds are broken.
Other then that the day was great. I have high hopes for after work when the Walking Buddies meet in the park at home. It will be wonderful to walk around and smell the flowers. I’d better take a kleenx for the sneezing that is bound to occur.
1. It’s beautiful and I’m stuck inside. I’d much rather be out on my patio or working in the yard.
2. I’m the victim a forced moved at work and when I got to my new location nothing was working but the phone, and of course I couldn’t call anyone because all the numbers are in the computer!
3. For most of the day my space was filled with boxes and surplus furniture. Then there was all the dust stirred, and that called for cleaning.
4. And just because my day wasn’t crappy enough, our whole group had to attend a mind numbing meeting on our upcoming change in timekeeping. We learned NOTHING!!!
5. My new window faces east and the morning sun was blasting through, super heating the space. The blinds are broken.
Other then that the day was great. I have high hopes for after work when the Walking Buddies meet in the park at home. It will be wonderful to walk around and smell the flowers. I’d better take a kleenx for the sneezing that is bound to occur.
I love puns!
I love puns!! I know, most people just groan at puns, but I really love their creativity. A friend sent some really excellent ones today:
CREATIVE PUNS FOR "ACTIVE MINDS"
1. The roundest knight at King Arthur's round table was Sir Cumference. He acquired his size from too much pi.
2. I thought I saw an eye doctor on an Alaskan island, but it turned out to be an optical Aleutian.
3. She was only a whiskey maker, but I loved her still.
4. A rubber band pistol was confiscated from algebra class because it was a weapon of math disruption.
5. The butcher backed into the meat grinder and got a little behind in his work.
6. No matter how much you push the envelope, it'll still be stationery.
7. A dog gave birth to puppies near the road and was cited for littering.
8. A grenade thrown into a kitchen in France would result in Linoleum Blownapart.
9. Two silk worms had a race. They ended up in a tie.
10. Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
11. A hole has been found in the nudist camp wall. The police are looking into it.
12. Atheism is a non-prophet organization.
13. Two hats were hanging on a hat rack in the hallway. One hat said to the other, 'You stay here; I'll go on a head.'
14. I wondered why the baseball kept getting bigger. Then it hit me.
15. A sign on the lawn at a drug rehab center said: 'Keep off the Grass.'
16. A small boy swallowed some coins and was taken to a hospital. When his grandmother telephoned to ask how he was, a nurse said, 'No change yet.'
17. A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion.
18. The short fortune-teller who escaped from prison was a small medium at large.
19. The man who survived mustard gas and pepper spray is now a seasoned veteran.
20. A backward poet writes inverse.
21. In democracy it's your vote that counts. In feudalism it's your count that votes.
22. When cannibals ate a missionary, they got a taste of religion.
23. Don't join dangerous cults: Practice safe sects.
CREATIVE PUNS FOR "ACTIVE MINDS"
1. The roundest knight at King Arthur's round table was Sir Cumference. He acquired his size from too much pi.
2. I thought I saw an eye doctor on an Alaskan island, but it turned out to be an optical Aleutian.
3. She was only a whiskey maker, but I loved her still.
4. A rubber band pistol was confiscated from algebra class because it was a weapon of math disruption.
5. The butcher backed into the meat grinder and got a little behind in his work.
6. No matter how much you push the envelope, it'll still be stationery.
7. A dog gave birth to puppies near the road and was cited for littering.
8. A grenade thrown into a kitchen in France would result in Linoleum Blownapart.
9. Two silk worms had a race. They ended up in a tie.
10. Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana.
11. A hole has been found in the nudist camp wall. The police are looking into it.
12. Atheism is a non-prophet organization.
13. Two hats were hanging on a hat rack in the hallway. One hat said to the other, 'You stay here; I'll go on a head.'
14. I wondered why the baseball kept getting bigger. Then it hit me.
15. A sign on the lawn at a drug rehab center said: 'Keep off the Grass.'
16. A small boy swallowed some coins and was taken to a hospital. When his grandmother telephoned to ask how he was, a nurse said, 'No change yet.'
17. A chicken crossing the road is poultry in motion.
18. The short fortune-teller who escaped from prison was a small medium at large.
19. The man who survived mustard gas and pepper spray is now a seasoned veteran.
20. A backward poet writes inverse.
21. In democracy it's your vote that counts. In feudalism it's your count that votes.
22. When cannibals ate a missionary, they got a taste of religion.
23. Don't join dangerous cults: Practice safe sects.
Monday, May 11, 2009
Bus rules
I ride the bus to work every day and most of the time I read. On occasion I might finish a book and be left trying to fill the time during the commute. The other day I found myself in this situation and started reading the various signs post inside the bus. One of them was the Rule of Conduct. It was pretty much what you would expect: no eating or drinking, no loud radios, no guns or knives, blah, blah, blah. No surprises, at least until I get to number six.
Number six wasn’t really surprising for its content, but more for its vocabulary. No expectorating. It made me smile because I thought immediately of the Disney cartoon, Beauty and the Beast. I’m not sure I would even know what expectorating meant if it weren’t for the fact that the villain in the story sings a song about how wonderful he is and lists out all the things he does really well. One of them is expectorating. At which point in the song he demonstrates his spitting superiority.
I’m thinking who ever wrote the bus rules was a Disney fan. Thanks for the laugh!
Number six wasn’t really surprising for its content, but more for its vocabulary. No expectorating. It made me smile because I thought immediately of the Disney cartoon, Beauty and the Beast. I’m not sure I would even know what expectorating meant if it weren’t for the fact that the villain in the story sings a song about how wonderful he is and lists out all the things he does really well. One of them is expectorating. At which point in the song he demonstrates his spitting superiority.
I’m thinking who ever wrote the bus rules was a Disney fan. Thanks for the laugh!
I don't want to move!!
I’ve worked for the City of Portland for 12 years. The first six I worked for the Office of Neighborhood Involvement (ONI), a much over worked and under funded bureau. The phrase “Rode hard and put up wet” is a very good description of what it is like to work there. After six years of intensive work with the public on crime prevention issues, budget cuts and union issues I was exhausted. For nine months after leaving them I worked for the Bureau of Development Services (BDS) as a code inspector and had one of the greatest bosses I’ve ever had the honor of working for. He actually took me aside and told me to slow down, that I was working too hard! To this day, I swear that directive is the reason I’ve stayed sane. (No comments from the peanut gallery!!) After leaving there, a much saner person, I went to work for the Bureau of Environmental Services (BES) doing community outreach for construction projects.
Now here’s the thing, at ONI the budget was so tight I had to drive my own car on city business, carry my own person cell phone, flex days instead of getting overtime pay and constantly figure out how to get things done with no money. – This actually meant that things were not done to a satisfactory level. – And, little things like office equipment, office space, and moving expenses were pretty much non-existent. At BES I was only in the office for a very short period of time each day, I was visiting compliant site most of the day, in a City car. I had everything I needed to get the job done in a proper way.
At BES I again have all the resource I need to do my job. Nothing extravagant, but what I need without adding undue hardships and stress. Well, that is except a constant work space. In five years my workstation has been moved three times. Or at least it will have been three times by the end of this week. Oddly enough I’m ending up right back where I started. All three spaces are within 30 feet of each other. Moving is a stressful process, and aggravating beyond belief. It takes one day to get it all packed up, then another day to have it moved, and a third day to get everything set up again the way you want it. I really like my current space and I’ve been very resistant to this move, but its here now and I’m trying to accept it. Ok, maybe I’m not trying as hard as I could, but cut me some slack! I’m giving up storage! Do you know how valuable storage is? I have no idea how I’m going to fit everything in at the new/old location.
There’s the fart/burp factor to consider as well. I’ve been known to be a little gassy and right now I’m in a cubical all by myself. Starting Monday I will be sharing a pod area with two co-worker and an empty station for a third. I’m going to have to be on constant alert for escaping gases, and vacate the area at the first signs of a gas leak. I’m also going to have to watch the level of my voice on the phone. I’m not good at self awareness on this level!! To put it mildly, I’m a little freaked!
My closest pod mate (I don’t want to be a pod person!!) has a map and paper fetish. He is physically incapable of throwing out either one. As a result his cubicle is filled to overflowing. This does not bode well for my future since there will now be no barriers between our work stations. If you don’t hear from me, check under the pile of papers and maps.
The good news? I’ll still have a window and I’ll be slightly closer to the printer. I’m hanging onto that thought with both hands!
Now here’s the thing, at ONI the budget was so tight I had to drive my own car on city business, carry my own person cell phone, flex days instead of getting overtime pay and constantly figure out how to get things done with no money. – This actually meant that things were not done to a satisfactory level. – And, little things like office equipment, office space, and moving expenses were pretty much non-existent. At BES I was only in the office for a very short period of time each day, I was visiting compliant site most of the day, in a City car. I had everything I needed to get the job done in a proper way.
At BES I again have all the resource I need to do my job. Nothing extravagant, but what I need without adding undue hardships and stress. Well, that is except a constant work space. In five years my workstation has been moved three times. Or at least it will have been three times by the end of this week. Oddly enough I’m ending up right back where I started. All three spaces are within 30 feet of each other. Moving is a stressful process, and aggravating beyond belief. It takes one day to get it all packed up, then another day to have it moved, and a third day to get everything set up again the way you want it. I really like my current space and I’ve been very resistant to this move, but its here now and I’m trying to accept it. Ok, maybe I’m not trying as hard as I could, but cut me some slack! I’m giving up storage! Do you know how valuable storage is? I have no idea how I’m going to fit everything in at the new/old location.
There’s the fart/burp factor to consider as well. I’ve been known to be a little gassy and right now I’m in a cubical all by myself. Starting Monday I will be sharing a pod area with two co-worker and an empty station for a third. I’m going to have to be on constant alert for escaping gases, and vacate the area at the first signs of a gas leak. I’m also going to have to watch the level of my voice on the phone. I’m not good at self awareness on this level!! To put it mildly, I’m a little freaked!
My closest pod mate (I don’t want to be a pod person!!) has a map and paper fetish. He is physically incapable of throwing out either one. As a result his cubicle is filled to overflowing. This does not bode well for my future since there will now be no barriers between our work stations. If you don’t hear from me, check under the pile of papers and maps.
The good news? I’ll still have a window and I’ll be slightly closer to the printer. I’m hanging onto that thought with both hands!
Great weekend
Big weekend for me! I adopted a new soldier from Soldiers’ Angel, spruced up the house, helped celebrate a neighbor’s birthday and the arrival of their new kitten, and hosted a Mother’s Day BBQ at my home.
I’ve been a member of Soldiers’ Angels since 2006 and have adopted dozens of soldiers over the years. My infantryman went on mail stop May 9, which means he will be heading home in about a month. YEAH JASON!!!!! I’m always so excited when they go home safe and sound. My new soldier is actually a Marine. I’ve only had one other Marine, which was actually my very first adoption. Bless his heart, he emailed me almost everyday!! Some Angels get solders that write very little or not at all. That can be very discouraging. I can tell you there is nothing like getting “free mail” in your mailbox. You just get crazy excited.
Anyway, my new Marine is still a big mystery to me. There was no entry in the gender field and the name is non-gender specific so the box I sent out Saturday was pretty generic. I’m waiting with bated breath to hear back from them. It’s so exciting!!
Sprucing up the house is always a mixed bag. You inevitably find something you’ve been looking for and forgot where you put it, in my case it was a book. You also get things put away you’ve just been pushing to the side for a while, for me it was the staple gun. And, you finally make a decision on whether to keep things or throw them away. That can be a painful process, and you might need to call a friend to talk you through it, or rely on a heavy dose of chocolate for those really hard decisions.
Our little Emily turned 12 this weekend. She is the most delightful kid, who loves everyone and always brings a smile to your face. – Her mother (Debbi) assures me this is not always the case. – For her big day she got to go to the SPCA and adopt a kitten, a grey short-hair with four white socks, named Pepper. He’s very cute and seems to be quite sturdy, since he survived the first day in our neighborhood full of kids wanting to hold him and play with him. Then there is Rusty, the 100 lb dog next door who just wants the cat to love him. Can you imagine being the size of an adult shoe and having something big enough to swallow you in one bit, stick its nose in your face and sniff? All I know is I wouldn’t have lived through the day this cat did.
Mother’s Day was great!! We had seven mothers present and eight of their 15 children present. Some of us were doing double duty. Aunt Violet and Aunt Billie are mothers of sons and have no daughters, so our mom has always shared us with them. It was like having all three of my mothers there at once.
I received a very nice gift from my son, Matt. He sculpted, out of found metal objects, a flower on a base for me. It is so awesome!!
The BBQ was incredible, thanks to Mark. The house still smelled of BBQ this morning. Is there anything that smells better than the first BBQ of the season? It’s right up there with the first wood smoke of winter! The rest of the meal was just as good. I think I over estimated our need for pie. I made 4 and even after sending some home with everyone I had almost a whole one left.
It was really hard to come to work this morning and say good-bye to such a satisfying weekend; I just wanted it to go on forever!
I’ve been a member of Soldiers’ Angels since 2006 and have adopted dozens of soldiers over the years. My infantryman went on mail stop May 9, which means he will be heading home in about a month. YEAH JASON!!!!! I’m always so excited when they go home safe and sound. My new soldier is actually a Marine. I’ve only had one other Marine, which was actually my very first adoption. Bless his heart, he emailed me almost everyday!! Some Angels get solders that write very little or not at all. That can be very discouraging. I can tell you there is nothing like getting “free mail” in your mailbox. You just get crazy excited.
Anyway, my new Marine is still a big mystery to me. There was no entry in the gender field and the name is non-gender specific so the box I sent out Saturday was pretty generic. I’m waiting with bated breath to hear back from them. It’s so exciting!!
Sprucing up the house is always a mixed bag. You inevitably find something you’ve been looking for and forgot where you put it, in my case it was a book. You also get things put away you’ve just been pushing to the side for a while, for me it was the staple gun. And, you finally make a decision on whether to keep things or throw them away. That can be a painful process, and you might need to call a friend to talk you through it, or rely on a heavy dose of chocolate for those really hard decisions.
Our little Emily turned 12 this weekend. She is the most delightful kid, who loves everyone and always brings a smile to your face. – Her mother (Debbi) assures me this is not always the case. – For her big day she got to go to the SPCA and adopt a kitten, a grey short-hair with four white socks, named Pepper. He’s very cute and seems to be quite sturdy, since he survived the first day in our neighborhood full of kids wanting to hold him and play with him. Then there is Rusty, the 100 lb dog next door who just wants the cat to love him. Can you imagine being the size of an adult shoe and having something big enough to swallow you in one bit, stick its nose in your face and sniff? All I know is I wouldn’t have lived through the day this cat did.
Mother’s Day was great!! We had seven mothers present and eight of their 15 children present. Some of us were doing double duty. Aunt Violet and Aunt Billie are mothers of sons and have no daughters, so our mom has always shared us with them. It was like having all three of my mothers there at once.
I received a very nice gift from my son, Matt. He sculpted, out of found metal objects, a flower on a base for me. It is so awesome!!
The BBQ was incredible, thanks to Mark. The house still smelled of BBQ this morning. Is there anything that smells better than the first BBQ of the season? It’s right up there with the first wood smoke of winter! The rest of the meal was just as good. I think I over estimated our need for pie. I made 4 and even after sending some home with everyone I had almost a whole one left.
It was really hard to come to work this morning and say good-bye to such a satisfying weekend; I just wanted it to go on forever!
Thursday, May 7, 2009
Presents for Mom
Mother’s Day is just a few days away, and I know this because the air waves are clogged with ads for the potentially perfect gift for mom. There are ads for plants, flowers, slow cookers, dinner, vacuum cleaners, trips and so much more. Now I think all us who have moms can agree that mom deserves a good gift so let’s really think about what a gift might say.
Plants: Because you don’t have enough to take care of now.
Flower: Here’s something pretty that will last at least a few days – or – I really put a lot of thought into this.
Dinner: You fed us for years so we’ll take you out to a really crowded and noisy restaurant to pay you back. Well at least mom won’t have to clean up or do the dishes. Of course if dad or the son is picking out the restaurant it will probably be a steakhouse of some type.
Vacuum cleaner: You suck – or – You’re house is so dirty this was an obvious choice
Trips: You’ll get to take care of us with different scenery, and if you’re really lucky there will be a language barrier to overcome as well.
So I’ve been thinking about how to get your mother the perfect present. First of all, don’t ask her what she wants. That’s just too lazy; is it really coming from the heart if it has been dictated? No! Consider the type of person your mother is, what are her interests? When she has free time how does she spend it? What is it that really gets her excited?
For my mom is a home body with an adventurous spirit. She loves thinking about taking trips, and likes to take little short trips, but is always ready to get back home after a few days. She likes her bed. She loves music and really great singers. We’re talking singers with real talent and training that sing songs you can understand. She loves her family and enjoys us in short bursts. She enjoys cooking and has an incredible talent for it, as well a singing. She enjoys playing games, reading and doing sudoku puzzles. And, she loves to laugh.
So, for my mother the perfect gift would be three day stay at a very nice hotel in a scenic location, where her family would visit for about one hour. She would have a Boise sound system with all her CDs handy. There would also be a really comfy recliner with some books and puzzles, and a great view out a big picture window. The kitchen would be roomy and everything would be in the same place she has it at home. There would be a five star restaurant in the hotel wit great views that she could visit or get room service. She and Aunt Violet (of course Aunt Violet would be going with her, heck we might even throw in Aunt Billie) would be able to jump in the car and take a little drive and see more great scenery. They would take some pictures, maybe have a picnic, and they would definitely call to gloat! This would be a perfect Mother’s Day gift for my mom.
Actually the perfect present for my mom would be a transporter device she could use to transport her whole house and property to various locations. I wonder if Sharper Image has that little item yet.
Plants: Because you don’t have enough to take care of now.
Flower: Here’s something pretty that will last at least a few days – or – I really put a lot of thought into this.
Dinner: You fed us for years so we’ll take you out to a really crowded and noisy restaurant to pay you back. Well at least mom won’t have to clean up or do the dishes. Of course if dad or the son is picking out the restaurant it will probably be a steakhouse of some type.
Vacuum cleaner: You suck – or – You’re house is so dirty this was an obvious choice
Trips: You’ll get to take care of us with different scenery, and if you’re really lucky there will be a language barrier to overcome as well.
So I’ve been thinking about how to get your mother the perfect present. First of all, don’t ask her what she wants. That’s just too lazy; is it really coming from the heart if it has been dictated? No! Consider the type of person your mother is, what are her interests? When she has free time how does she spend it? What is it that really gets her excited?
For my mom is a home body with an adventurous spirit. She loves thinking about taking trips, and likes to take little short trips, but is always ready to get back home after a few days. She likes her bed. She loves music and really great singers. We’re talking singers with real talent and training that sing songs you can understand. She loves her family and enjoys us in short bursts. She enjoys cooking and has an incredible talent for it, as well a singing. She enjoys playing games, reading and doing sudoku puzzles. And, she loves to laugh.
So, for my mother the perfect gift would be three day stay at a very nice hotel in a scenic location, where her family would visit for about one hour. She would have a Boise sound system with all her CDs handy. There would also be a really comfy recliner with some books and puzzles, and a great view out a big picture window. The kitchen would be roomy and everything would be in the same place she has it at home. There would be a five star restaurant in the hotel wit great views that she could visit or get room service. She and Aunt Violet (of course Aunt Violet would be going with her, heck we might even throw in Aunt Billie) would be able to jump in the car and take a little drive and see more great scenery. They would take some pictures, maybe have a picnic, and they would definitely call to gloat! This would be a perfect Mother’s Day gift for my mom.
Actually the perfect present for my mom would be a transporter device she could use to transport her whole house and property to various locations. I wonder if Sharper Image has that little item yet.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Never mind
Today I sat in a meeting, the purpose of which was to determine if the alternative evaluation criteria laid out for a proposed project are on-point or not. I think I was the only person in the room without an engineering degree, or for that matter without a degree of any kind. To say that these meetings can be mind numbing would be to create false hope for excitement. These kinds of meetings are the reason electro shock was invented!!
So we’re going through all the categories, the objective for each and the measurement for each objective and scoring ranges. So it’s pretty much blah, blah, blah, blah, blah until we get to the last category “Stakeholders” of which the general public is included. At last, my area of expertise!!!
While the blah, blah, blah, blah, blahing was going on I was going through the spreadsheets, diagrams, and site photos, and I notice a glaring problem. So, up to this point they have discussed every aspect of measurement related to the choice of options A or B. Now they’re down to me and I have to inform them that they have a potentially fatal flaw in both alternatives, as well as point out to them that even though public opinion accounts for only 3% of the total scoring, that 3% could be a deal breaker in reality.
You could just hear the mental brakes being applied. One of the engineers presenting has a hard time with my evaluation and pushes a bit. She’s understandably concerned about having to redo work she already spent a great amount of time on. It doesn’t take too long until the whole group sees what I’m saying and begins to look at how to work the problem.
That is the awesome thing about working with the people I work with; we really care how our work impacts the public on multiple levels. I received one of THOSE emails this morning which basically calls us a bunch of unfeeling, stupid, incompetent jerks who are just trying to wreck everyone’s lives. I just want to smack people that send me this stuff!! Of course I don’t, instead I spend an hour and a half putting together a response then send it around for comments, and then spend another hour incorporating all the comments into an official response. I also have to copy the aids to three city council members because this guy copied all of them on the original email.
I blame this kind of behavior on politicians, who are always talking about “making efficiencies” in budgets instead of calling them what they really are, cut backs. When you talk about budget cuts in these terms you are inherently implying that government has been wasting tax dollars by being inefficient, or wasteful. So not true!!!
It’s like when I’m talking to people and they start going off about how government is problem and cause of everything. How you can’t expect anything out of government workers. I’m like, HEY, I’m standing right here! Do you realize you’re talking about me? Do you realize what you pay me, and that you’re a pretty sucky boss?!! But do I go around spewing that around the universe? --- Wait, maybe that’s what I’m doing now. So, in the immortal words of Roseanne Roseannadanna, “Never mind.”
So we’re going through all the categories, the objective for each and the measurement for each objective and scoring ranges. So it’s pretty much blah, blah, blah, blah, blah until we get to the last category “Stakeholders” of which the general public is included. At last, my area of expertise!!!
While the blah, blah, blah, blah, blahing was going on I was going through the spreadsheets, diagrams, and site photos, and I notice a glaring problem. So, up to this point they have discussed every aspect of measurement related to the choice of options A or B. Now they’re down to me and I have to inform them that they have a potentially fatal flaw in both alternatives, as well as point out to them that even though public opinion accounts for only 3% of the total scoring, that 3% could be a deal breaker in reality.
You could just hear the mental brakes being applied. One of the engineers presenting has a hard time with my evaluation and pushes a bit. She’s understandably concerned about having to redo work she already spent a great amount of time on. It doesn’t take too long until the whole group sees what I’m saying and begins to look at how to work the problem.
That is the awesome thing about working with the people I work with; we really care how our work impacts the public on multiple levels. I received one of THOSE emails this morning which basically calls us a bunch of unfeeling, stupid, incompetent jerks who are just trying to wreck everyone’s lives. I just want to smack people that send me this stuff!! Of course I don’t, instead I spend an hour and a half putting together a response then send it around for comments, and then spend another hour incorporating all the comments into an official response. I also have to copy the aids to three city council members because this guy copied all of them on the original email.
I blame this kind of behavior on politicians, who are always talking about “making efficiencies” in budgets instead of calling them what they really are, cut backs. When you talk about budget cuts in these terms you are inherently implying that government has been wasting tax dollars by being inefficient, or wasteful. So not true!!!
It’s like when I’m talking to people and they start going off about how government is problem and cause of everything. How you can’t expect anything out of government workers. I’m like, HEY, I’m standing right here! Do you realize you’re talking about me? Do you realize what you pay me, and that you’re a pretty sucky boss?!! But do I go around spewing that around the universe? --- Wait, maybe that’s what I’m doing now. So, in the immortal words of Roseanne Roseannadanna, “Never mind.”
Friday, May 1, 2009
May Day
Today is May Day. Growing up in Texas I don’t recall ever having heard of this as being a special day. It was just May 1st. Of course we had Cinco de Mayo to focus on, but here in Portland May Day is a big thing.
Every year there is the May Day Parade, which tends to be an excuse to block traffic at afternoon rush, and to protest a plethora (don’t get to use that work often) of issues. In fact, I don’t know why they don’t just call it Protest Day. Possibly because that might imply that it isn’t OK to protest on other day? Horror or horrors!!
Portland is the most protesting city in the country, and every time someone feels like protesting guess who pay? Anyone trying to use the streets downtown. I’m glad there’s something these people feel passionate about, but do they have to inflict pain on my day? Because, I’m telling you right now, that kind of action doesn’t endear me to them or their cause(s).
Here’s the other thing, who is protesting? The unwashed crazy looking groups that’s who. You know the white kids with ratty looking dreads (hardly ever a good look on us white folks), patchouli smelling, hemp wearing, tattooed, body pierced, vegan eating, composting toilet using group. You know that group that feels superior to all the rest of us because their lives are somehow more important. Why? I don’t know!
So, to avoid the marching, drumming, chanting, superior attitudes and inevitable traffic jams, I’m leaving work early today. I’ll spend my afternoon, delivering neighborhood newsletters, finalizing details for tomorrow’s neighborhood wide garage sale, watering the garden and flower pots, and hopefully I’ll get in a few laughs with some friends. Not a big statement by standard of Portland protester, but my version of a great way to celebrate May Day.
Every year there is the May Day Parade, which tends to be an excuse to block traffic at afternoon rush, and to protest a plethora (don’t get to use that work often) of issues. In fact, I don’t know why they don’t just call it Protest Day. Possibly because that might imply that it isn’t OK to protest on other day? Horror or horrors!!
Portland is the most protesting city in the country, and every time someone feels like protesting guess who pay? Anyone trying to use the streets downtown. I’m glad there’s something these people feel passionate about, but do they have to inflict pain on my day? Because, I’m telling you right now, that kind of action doesn’t endear me to them or their cause(s).
Here’s the other thing, who is protesting? The unwashed crazy looking groups that’s who. You know the white kids with ratty looking dreads (hardly ever a good look on us white folks), patchouli smelling, hemp wearing, tattooed, body pierced, vegan eating, composting toilet using group. You know that group that feels superior to all the rest of us because their lives are somehow more important. Why? I don’t know!
So, to avoid the marching, drumming, chanting, superior attitudes and inevitable traffic jams, I’m leaving work early today. I’ll spend my afternoon, delivering neighborhood newsletters, finalizing details for tomorrow’s neighborhood wide garage sale, watering the garden and flower pots, and hopefully I’ll get in a few laughs with some friends. Not a big statement by standard of Portland protester, but my version of a great way to celebrate May Day.
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