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Carol H Tucker

Passionate about knowledge management and organizational development, expert in loan servicing, virtual world denizen and community facilitator, and a DISNEY fan

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beladona Memorial

Be warned:in this very rich environment where you can immerse yourself so completely, your emotions will become engaged -- and not everyone is cognizant of that. Among the many excellent features of SL, there is no auto-return on hearts, so be wary of where your's wanders...


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another EOM

Today is the 1st day of the 6th month and the point at which we start wondering where the time is going.  It is the 153rd day of 2016 and there are only 206 shopping days until Christmas.  Today we are celebrating: 
  • Buddah Birthday – well at first I thought this was just a misspelling, but learned “buddah” refers to pot, not the religious leader, but I failed to wade thru Google’s insistence that I didn’t know how to spell to find out why this is a “birthday” today
  • Dare Day
  • Dinosaur Day
  • Don't Give Up The Ship Day
  • Flip a Coin Day
  • Global Day of Parents
  • Heimlich Maneuver Day --  in 1974 this rescue for choking victims was published in the journal Emergency Medicine.
  • International Children's Day
  • National Go Barefoot Day
  • National Hazelnut Cake Day
  • National Olive Day
  • National Running Day ((hopefully it means jogging, not filing for office #sick&tiredofpolitics))
  • National Tailors' Day
  • New Year’s Resolution Recommitment Day
  • Oscar The Grouch Day
  • Say Something Nice Day
  • Stand For Children Day
  • Wear a Dress Day – well I blew that one
  • World Milk Day
In 193 the Roman emperor Didius Julianus is assassinated.  In 1215  Zhongdu (now Beijing) was captured by the Mongols under Genghis Khan.  In 1495 a monk, John Cor, recorded the first known batch of Scotch whisky..  in 2001 the entire royal family of Nepal was murdered and the brother of the King ascended the throne.
 
I think on that note, Imma gonna concentrate on the end of month reporting  ….


Permalink | Wednesday, June 1, 2016

so long, old friend

I met Slythief Hyde at the Silver Dollar Saloon a month after he rezzed in world back in 2006.  I was dancing with the gentleman I was dating in world at the time and Sly started chatting to me in private IM, trying to convince me to flirt with him -- I was being most discouraging and he was being very persistent!  It was an inauspicious beginning, but the result was a friendship that lasted for ten years. -- through his partners, lieges, and wives /  through my partners, masters, and husband.  It didn't make any difference which avatar -- Coke, Sly, Thunder, Chairene, etc or Bela, kalah, Mira, Van, etc -- we were never romantically involved, or even "best friends," but we were always in touch and I think I was the only person he knew in SL who was on the friends' list for every single alt that he had, and could map him in world on all of them.  I danced at his weddings with joy and kept up his spirits when they failed; he proudly gave me away when I got married and comforted me 2 1/2 years later when it dissolved.   We danced, talked, played Greedy, rode his trains, worked up through the ranks in Tiny Empires in Second Life….  until it became too much for him to be online....





 

In real life, we texted, IMed, emailed, posted comments on our Facebook pages, and occasionally chatted on the phone.  We told jokes, shared stories, celebrated the ups and commiserated over the downs.  When I went to California four years ago, I had planned to spend a day with him and his wife in "real life", but he was just getting over the first cancer treatment and just didn't have the strength for company.  "We'll catch up the next time you come out" he said -- but I only make it to the West coast for work and I haven't been back.  "We're driving up the East Coast to see the autumn leaves," he told me, and promised he and his wife would spend a couple days here in Maryland -- but the cancer kept coming back and the trip kept getting postponed.

 

In January, the cancer was back for the 4th time, more virulent, more painful than ever.  He decided there was no treatment he was willing to endure,  that it was time to let go, and was told he would only have six months left. In early April, I actually got to see him in world, and we talked on the phone the 23rd,  but I wasn't there the Saturday [April 30th] when  he logged out of Second Life for the last time.  And on Sunday, May 29th, my friend logged out of his real life too. 

 

This quote was in his profile for Cokecola Kidd, and I guess it is as good an epitaph as any:





 

I will miss you old friend…..
Permalink | Tuesday, May 31, 2016

Memorial Day 2016

On this 30th day of the 5th month, the 151st day of 2016, we remember those who died in service to their country.  It is also:


In 70 Titus and his Roman legions breach the Second Wall of Jerusalem, and build a circumvallation, cutting down all trees within fifteen kilometres.  In 1431 the 19-year-old Joan of Arc is burned at the stake. In 1814 the Treaty of Paris is signed, France shrinks and Napoleon is exiled to Elba. In 1966 Surveyor 1, the first US spacecraft to land on the Moon, was launched. In 1982 Cal Ripken Jr [Baltimore Orioles] played in the first of a record 2,632 consecutive major league baseball games.



Today is a day to remember, neh?



Permalink | Monday, May 30, 2016

true story....

Permalink | Sunday, May 29, 2016

the start of a holiday weekend

Today is the 28th day of the 5th month, the 1st day of a 3-day weekend in the US, the 149th day of 2016 and:

  • Ascension of Baha'u'Llah
  • Amateur Radio Military Appreciation Day
  • Amnesty International Day
  • International Hamburger Day
  • International Jazz Day
  • Julia Pierpont Day -- we have her to thank for this federal holiday!
  • Menstrual Hygiene Day
  • National Brisket Day
  • National Polka Day
  • Sierra Club Day -- they were founded this day back in 1982
  • Slugs Return From Capistrano Day -- please note that bare feet are not recommended
  • Youm-e-Takbir  --  Pakistan became the 7th World Nuclear Power and the 1st in the Muslim World

In 585 BC a solar eclipse occured, as predicted by the Greek philosopher and scientist Thales,  leading to a cessation of hostilities in the Battle of Halys. This is one of the cardinal dates from which other historical dates can be calculated [which has nothing to do with the usage of ordinal VS cardinal in case you were wondering].  In 621 Li Shimin defeated the numerically superior forces of Dou Jiande, winning the Battle of Hulao, which decides the outcome of the civil war that followed the Sui dynasty's collapse in favor of the Tang dynasty.  In 1588 the Spanish Armada, with 130 ships and 30,000 men, set sail from Lisbon heading for the English Channel (It will take until May 30 for all ships to leave port).  In 1964 the Palestine Liberation Organization is formed.  In 1959 two monkeys become the first living creatures to survive space flight.  in 1988 the first Rolling Thunder demonstration hilighted the plight of MIA/POWs from the Vietnam War.  



I am positive your mother, like mine, exhorted you to always wear decent, clean underwear when you left the house -- I mean, what if you had an accident?  You didn't want the emergency responders and the hospital staff to see soiled and/or torn garb, now did you?  And you didn't want the newspaper commenting on the state of your underwear, right?  Right.  So now, I present you with another thing to worry about while you are getting dressed:  



Permalink | Saturday, May 28, 2016

Has fashion changed?

Today is the 27th day of the 5th month, the 148th day of 2016 with only 211 shopping days until Christmas.  In addition to being the kick-off to a holiday weekend here in the US, it  is also: 
  • Cellophane Tape Day
  • Don't Fry Day
  • European Neighbors' Day
  • Hug Your Cat Day
  • National Death Busters Day
  • National Grape Popsicle Day
  • National Heat Awareness Day
  • National Title Track Day
  • National Wig Out Day
  • Nothing To Fear Day
  • Old-Time Player Piano Day
  • Sunscreen Protection Day
In 927  Simeon I the Great, the first Bulgarian to be recognized as Emperor, died.  ((come on, admit it – you had to google Bulgarian Empire too!)).  In 1703  Peter the Great founded the city of Saint Petersburg.  In 1927 the last Ford Model T rolls off the line. 

The Fashion Police have decreed that you cannot wear white [an exception being tennis shoes] or straw [no hats or handbags of any kind, not even totes] before Memorial Day.  Linen and open shoes are frowned upon as well, but they aren’t considered quite as big a sin.   I have three questions:  [1] does Memorial Day mean the federal holiday [as per Congress in 1968] or the actual date of  May 30th established in 1868;  [2] can you wear these items during the Memorial Day weekend or do you have to wait until after the weekend; and [3] what do the Fashion Police say in areas of the world without a Memorial Day Holiday?  Pending an answer from the powers that be, I may daringly try to wear white sandals this weekend and just hope that Serial Mom doesn’t see me…   

Enjoy the unofficial start to the summer!  And please, in the midst of the activities,  take a quiet moment to remember the real reason Memorial Day was declared a day of remembrance in the first place  


Permalink | Friday, May 27, 2016

throwback Thursday

Today is the 26th day of the 5th month and the 147th day of 2016 with only 212 shopping days left until Christmas.   it is Friday’s Eve and: 
  • Corpus Christi
  • Eat More Fruits & Vegetables Day
  • National Blueberry Cheesecake Day
  • National Chardonnay Day
  • National Cherry Dessert Day
  • National Grey Day
  • National Paper Airplane Day
  • Red Nose Day
  • Sally Ride Day
  • World Lindy Hop Day
  • World Redhead Day
In 47 BC Julius Caesar visited Tarsus on his way to Pontus, where he met enthusiastic support, but where, according to Cicero, Cassius is planning to kill him.  In 1521 Martin Luther was declared an outlaw and his writings were banned by the Edict of Worms.  In 1896 the first edition of the Dow Jones Industrial Average was published.  In 1897 Dracula, a novel by the Irish author Bram Stoker, was published --  the average price of the 11 initial stocks was 40.94.   

And for throwback Thursday:   This was taken in my office at Maryland Permanent Bank 13 years and 4 employers ago, but still doing Loan Servicing

Hmm, back then I didn't have to color my hair red!  
Permalink | Thursday, May 26, 2016

mostly harmless....

Today is Wednesday, the 25th day of the 5th month and the 146th day of 2016.  Today is also: 
  • Cookie Monster's Birthday
  • Geek Pride Day [AKA Nerd day]
  • Lag B'omer [begins at sunset]
  • National Brown-Bag-It Day
  • National Missing Children's Day
  • National Senior Health and Fitness Day
  • National Tap Dance Day
  • National Wine Day
  • Towel Day
  • World MS (Multiple Sclerosis) Day  [am I showing my age that when I saw MS I immediately thought of how controversial the substitution of MS was for Miss or Mrs?]
In 567 BC  Servius Tullius, the king of Rome, celebrated a triumph for his victory over the Etruscans.  In 240 BC was the first recorded perihelion passage of Halley's Comet -- Chinese astronomers recorded its passage in the Shih Chi and Wen Hsien Thung Khao chronicles.  In 1738 Pennsylvania and Maryland ended the Conojocular War with settlement of a boundary dispute and exchange of prisoners, creating the Mason-Dixon line.  (( Yankees consider anyone living south of that line [including Marylanders] to be Southerners, but the South disagrees most emphatically))   In 1961 John F. Kennedy announced before a special joint session of the Congress his goal to initiate a project to put a "man on the Moon" before the end of the decade..  In 1977 Star Wars was released in theaters.



Half-way through the work week and the slide into the holiday weekend has begun.  Traffic was a mess this morning as too many folks apparently decide that they are going to get out of town early all at the same time.  My personal sense of fugue continues – or maybe it is just a case of the post-vacation blahs.  I have tickets for Balticon50, but probably won’t go – seems ridiculous but I have never made it to this well known, fan run con in all the years it has been in Baltimore!  But despite having bought a four-day pass months ago, this weekend doesn’t seem to be working out:  I have work on Friday, my family dinner on Saturday, helping Kit on Sunday, and that leaves Monday to rest and get ready for another EOM.  Truth be told, in this kind of mood?  It all just seems like more trouble than it is worth [now I had no idea that was a colloquial expression!].    



*sighs*  I can’t even self-medicate with comfort food, cannot  indulge in breads, cookies, or hot fudge sundaes to raise my spirits without feeling guilty about my weight and blood sugar, which negates the “comfort”.  I want to resign from “real life”   I want to win the lottery and spend my time traveling.   I want to stay in my 2nd Life –  reading, dancing, shopping, killing demons, wandering --  whatever.  I want to do is move to Florida and work for the House of the Mouse, since work I must.  Never mind the family ties, never mind not having a job to go to, never mind not having any plan for long-term care should I need it, never mind the bills – all magic comes with a price, dearie…..    Of course I won’t do any of those things.  Instead I’ll keep going on, one day at a time and keep dreaming wistfully. 




Permalink | Wednesday, May 25, 2016

well it isn't Monday....

Today is the 3rd day of the week [assuming you start your week with Sunday], the 24th day of the 5th month, and the 145th day of 2016, with only 214 shopping days until Christmas.  In the meantime, today is also:
  •  Asparagus Day
  • Brother's Day
  • International Tiara Day
  • Morse Code Day [some say this is April 27th] -- In 1844 Samuel Morse sent the message "What hath God wrought" (a biblical quotation) from the Old Supreme Court Chamber in the United States Capitol to his assistant, Alfred Vail, in Baltimore, Maryland, to inaugurate the first telegraph line.
  • National Escargot Day
  • Scavenger Hunt Day
In 1218  the Fifth Crusade left Acre for Egypt.  In 1626 Peter Minuit bought Manhattan.  In 1830 "Mary Had a Little Lamb" by Sarah Josepha Hale was first published and the first passenger railroad in the United States began service between Baltimore and Ellicott Mills, Md..  In 1883 the Brooklyn Bridge [in NY, NY] was opened to traffic – and no one knows precisely how many times it has been sold.  In  1939 the first issue of Fashizmi was published in Tirana.  

Finding that time is moving slowly as we count down to a holiday weekend and the official start of summer?


Permalink | Tuesday, May 24, 2016

just another Monday

Today is the 23rd day of the 5th month and the 144th day of 2016.  It is Monday and: 
  • Declaration of the Bab Day
  • International Day to End Obstetric Fistula
  • Lucky Penny Day
  • National Taffy Day
  • World Crohn's and Colitis Day
  • World Turtle Day
In 844, during the Battle of Clavijo, the Apostle Saint James the Greater is said to have miraculously appeared to a force of outnumbered Asturians and aided them against the forces of the Emir of Cordoba.  In 1829 a patent for an Accordion was granted to Cyrill Demian in Vienna.   In 1958 Explorer 1,  the first spacecraft to detect the Van Allen radiation belt , stopped transmitting data when until its batteries were exhausted after nearly four months – it  remained in orbit until 1970.  In 1995 the first version of the Java programming language was released by Sun Microsystems. .
 
Did I mention that it is Monday?


Permalink | Monday, May 23, 2016

a rainy and very cool Sunday

Today is the 22nd day of the 5th month and the 143rd day of 2016.  Mercury has gone direct, much to everyone's relief, and we are celebrating:
In 334 BC  Alexander the Great defeated Darius III of Persia [Battle of the Granicus].  In 1799 Napoleon made a statement in support of re-establishing Jerusalem for the Jews.  In 1819 the SS Savannah left port at Savannah, Georgia, United States and arrived at Liverpool, England, on June 20 becoming the first steamship to cross the Atlantic Ocean.  In 1849 Abraham Lincoln filed a patent for an invention to lift boats over obstacles in a river, making him the only US President to ever hold a patent.  In 1906 U.Spatent #821,393 is issued to the Wright Brothers for their "Flying-Machine".  In 1960 the most powerful earthquake ever recorded, 9.5 on the moment magnitude scale, rocked southern Chile [the Great Chilean earthquake] claiming 1,655 lives.  In 1987 the first Rugby World Cup kicked off with New Zealand playing Italy at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand. And in 2016, @NASAVoyager is 18 hrs 35 mins 54 secs of light-travel time from Earth (2016:143:120000:1L)

On this day, seven years ago. at the height [depth?] of the recession with unemployment running 10% in this area, I was hired for Loan Servicing at Potomac Business Services LLC -- I started two weeks later and I am still there today.   Being a bit of a knowledge nomad, working my career by going where my KSA in Loan Servicing was needed, this is the longest that I have been with any employer except for C&F in Ellicott City [I was there for 12 years from 1987 - 1999].    The shortest I was with any employer was nine months -- that commute from Randallstown to Reston was just more than I could take!  And sadly, only two of my prior full-time employers are still in busness:  the teamsters are still in Alaska  [since I haven't paid dues in over 40 years I rather think that I am no longer considered a member], and Eagle Bank appears to be thriving.  The others?  All seven are history:  Mother Goose Shoes went out of business and the others were all bought up -- Equitable Bank,  Commercial & Farmers  Bank, Millenium Bank, Maryland Permanent Bank, The Washington Savings Bank, MainStreet Lenders -- such is often the fate of small businesses.  Moving from employer to employer enabled me to hone my skills, moving up both in responsibility and pay.  On the other hand, despite my avid interest in knowledge management, I have only ever been able to practice a stealth version, implementing processes and procedures that encourage KM at each organization.  Pretty early on, my resume started screaming "banker" to prospective employers and it became impossible to move my skill set to another industry.  But the real downside of this career path is that I totally missed the pension boat  [I started into the workplace late for my age, starting full-time in 1985], and as a result, am totally reliant on what I have been able to save in my 401K and Social Security benefits, which means I am still working at 66 without much prospect of retiring for at least six years if not longer.

And so, today is the start of a new week and tomorrow means I will be back to work....









 
Permalink | Sunday, May 22, 2016

moody


Today is the 21st day of the 5th month and the 142nd day of 2016.  It is also:

  • American Red Cross Founder's Day
  • Armed Forces Day
  • Culture Freedom Day
  • Day of Vesak [varies per Bhuddist country]
  • Do Dah Day
  • I Need a Patch for That Day
  • National Learn to Swim Day
  • National Memo Day
  • National River Cleanup Day
  • National Strawberries and Cream Day
  • National Waiters and Waitresses Day
  • Preakness Stakes
  • Rapture Party Day [AKA End of the World Day]
  • Sister Maria Hummel Day
  • Victoria Day
  • World Day for Cultural Diversity for Dialogue and Development
  • World Whisky Day
In 293 – Roman Emperors Diocletian and Maximian appoint Galerius as Caesar to Diocletian, beginning the period of four rulers known as the Tetrarchy [is it just me or does that actually mean that two men appointed a third which started a period of four men ruling?  Maybe I haven't had enough caffeine yet.... ]   In 1832 The first Democratic National Convention got under way in Baltimore.  In 1863 the Seventh-day Adventist Church was formed in Battle Creek, Michigan [no word on whether they started knocking on doors immediately].  In 1927 Charles Lindbergh landed at Le Bourget Field in Paris, completing the world's first solo nonstop flight across the Atlantic Ocean.  In 1932 Amelia Earhart landed in a pasture in Derry, Northern Ireland, and she becomes the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic Ocean [one assumes that her flight was a non-stop flight as well].   In 1980 "The Empire Strikes Back" was released.




So I might be in a bit of a mood today.  Typed in "moody" to find an appropriate picture, expecting to see stuff like this:







Instead I get pictures like this:









Well played, JK Rowling, well played....
Permalink | Saturday, May 21, 2016

end of the work week


Today is FRIDAY – a day celebrated by every M-F workerbee.   It is also the 20th day of the 5th month and the 141st day of 2016.  We are celebrating: In 325 the First Council of Nicaea, the first ecumenical council of the Christian Church., was convened to discuss “whether the Son had been 'begotten' by the Father from his own being, and therefore having no beginning, or else created out of nothing, and therefore having a beginning”   In 1873 Levi Strauss and Jacob Davis received a US patent for blue jeans with copper rivets.  


Permalink | Friday, May 20, 2016

a 2nd life


Today is the 19th day of the 5th month and the 140th day of 2016.  Today we are celebrating: 
  • Boy's Club Day
  • Brown Bag It Thursday
  • Celebrate Your Elected Officials Day [I am only celebrating this if it involves driving a stake right through….]
  • HồChí Minh's Birthday (Vietnam)
  • Hummus Day
  • Malcolm X Day  -- set on his birthday, currently only the city of Berkeley, California observes the holiday with city offices and schools closed
  • May Ray Day – celebrating this day is supposed to be an excuse to get outside, indulge in some spring fever and soak up some sun.  Has a rather ironic sound to it as we plod through all of these clouds and rains hereabouts
  • National Apéritif Day
  • National Asian and Pacific Islander HIV/AIDS Awareness Day
  • National Devil's Food Cake Day
  • National Frog Jumping Jubilee Day
  • National Hepatitis Testing Day
  • National Notebook Day – this is the first one ever!  The purpose of declaring this a national holiday is to highlight to all and sundry about the importance and value of journaling.  And although the assumption is that you will use paper, there is no doubt that journaling and blogging is alive and well online, neh?
  • National Scooter Day
  • World Autoimmune Arthritis Day
In 639 Ashina Jiesheshuai and his tribesmen assaulted Emperor Daizong at Jiucheng Palace – google it.  I’ll just say that Chinese history is more convoluted than I realized!  In 1588 the Spanish Armada set sail for England.  In 1802  Napoleon Bonaparte founded the Legion of Honour.  In 2001 Apple Inc opened its first retail stores, in Tysons Corner VA and Glendale CA.  In 2005 "Revenge of the Sith" opened in movie theaters

So you all might know that I have had an active 2nd Life for decades.  I have lived in my mind since I was around eight years old,  whether it is through binge reading, writing to pen pals and other correspondents, playing D&D, role playing, Second Life [InWorldz, 3rd Rock, CloudParty, et al], online social networking,  journaling and blogging,  or gaming [even getting into a hack ‘n slash of late!].  Why do I inhabit these realms of the mind rather than staying firmly anchored in what we call “real life”?  In my 2nd Life, I am not judged by my roles.  I am not a daughter, mother, worker, manager, PITA, customer, borrower, owner, renter, whatever slot  that I have to fill at any given point in time.  I am not seen as a short, pudgy, older white woman.  I am not pre-judged and weighted down with others’ expectations.  I am just “me”.   It isn’t that I am unhappy, for I love my family [sometimes more dutifully than others] and my friends, am content more-or-less at work, and am getting by economically [albeit with dagnabit moments and some nail-biting].  But quite frankly, if I had to choose?  I would go digital in a heartbeat, just as I would plunge into the depths of space if offered the chance by aliens to go.  You see, In those realms, in that 2nd Life,  I am so much “more” than I am in this analog existence – nicer, kinder, more intelligent, more attractive [and I definitely have more hair], more social. 

And no, my 2nd Life has not replaced real life.  In fact?  By practicing to be “more” than I am, I feel that I have expanded and deepened who I am, explored the parameters of my values and defined for myself what my knowledge, skills and abilities really are.  I have also learned that having a knack for something, or even a talent, does not mean that I can actually excel at it -- there will always be those who are better at “it” than I am and I am learning to be okay with that.  And, lastly, I feel as though I have learned to be a better person.    But as I walk through this workaday world,  part of me is dancing in my 2nd Life….


Permalink | Thursday, May 19, 2016

just one of those days....

that you have now and then....
and you never know why and you never know when...

[good luck finding the source of that -- I flunked googling apparently]

Today is the 18th day of the 5th month and the 139th day of 2016 with only 220 shopping days until Christmas.    We are half way through the work week and it is: 
  • Accounting Day
  • Buy A Musical Instrument Day
  • Emergency Medical Services for Children Day
  • HIV Vaccine Awareness Day
  • I Love Reese's Day
  • International Museum Day
  • Mother Whistler Day
  • National Cheese Soufflé Day
  • National Employee Health and Fitness Day
  • National No Dirty Dishes Day
  • National Visit Your Relatives Day
  • Send an Electronic Greeting Card Day
  • Turn Beauty Inside Out Day
  • Visit Your Relatives Day
  • World AIDS Vaccine Day
In 332 Constantine the Great gave free food to the citizens in Constantinople.  In 1291 Acre falls and the Crusaders lost their last major stronghold of the Crusader Kingdom of Jerusalem [12 years later they were kicked completely out of the Holy Land].  In 1756 Great Britain declared war on France starting the Seven Years' War.  In 1980, the Mount St. Helens volcano in Washington state exploded. 
 
It is just one of those days...





Permalink | Wednesday, May 18, 2016

NOT Monday

Today is the 17th day of the 5th month, the 138th day of 2016, and there are 221 shopping days until Christmas.  While it is not Monday, it is: 
  • International Day Against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia
  • National Cherry Cobbler Day
  • National Mushroom Hunting Day
  • National Pack Rat Day  ] just to set the record straight, while I am a confirmed pack rat, I am not a hoarder.  I will, however, admit that I watch Hoarders as one of my guilty pleasures – I get to breathe a sigh of relief as my Disaster Area doesn’t look THAT bad after seeing whole houses look like that!]
  • National Walnut Day
  • Same Sex Marriage Day –  in 2004 the first legal same-sex marriages in the US are performed in the state of Massachusetts
  • Syttende Mai
  • World Hypertension Day
  • World Neurofibromatosis Day and World Neurofibromatosis Awareness Day
  • World Telecommunication and Information Society Day
In 1395 Wallachians defeat an invading Ottoman army at the Battle of Rovine,.  [bonus points if you know who the Wallachians are without googling].   In 1792 the  New York Stock Exchange was founded by brokers meeting under a tree on what is now Wall Street.  In 1805  Muhammad Ali became Wāli of Egypt [admit it, if you are from the US your first thought was “did he float like a butterfly and sting like a bee”?].  In 1954 US Supreme Court handed down a unanimous decision in Brown v. Board of Education of Topeka, Kansas declaring “separate but equal” was unconstitutional.  In 1970 Thor Heyerdahl set sail from Morocco on the papyrus boat Ra II to sail the Atlantic Ocean.  And in 2016 @NASAVoyager is 18 hrs 35 mins 40 secs of light-travel time from Earth (2016:138:120000:1L)

I ran across this quote today by Kurt Vonnegut [in, Mother Night]:   “We are what we pretend to be, so we must be careful about what we pretend to be.”  One of my deeply held beliefs is the power of “fake it ‘til you make it”.  Yes I know that not everyone is a proponent of this, and no I am not talking about deceiving others about your knowledge, skills and abilities.  What I am talking about is how to teach yourself something, whether it is to accept a new concept, try out a new outfit, or maybe just to lift your spirits.  I try and talk myself into feeling the way that I want to be sometimes, trying to frame the internal dialogue in a positive way if that makes sense.  For example, it doesn’t do the slightest bit of good to tell myself “don’t feel jealous” because you’re going to feel how you’re going to feel, neh?  But I can tell myself “be glad that they are happy” and focus on not making it about me.  The danger is that it is hard to sound sincere about that sometimes when you proffer congratulations….

True story:  Lola and I didn’t get along – although she was liked by most of the people who worked for her, she and I were just clashing all the time.  She didn’t like me because she felt I wasn’t loyal; I didn’t like her because I felt she was manipulative.  It got to the point that I was moved from out under her because she was quite ready to fire me  Now Lola was an AVP and she wanted to be a VP.  She wanted it a lot – and you have to understand that for women in lending back in the day, it was really difficult to move up to that level.  Well after several years, she got her promotion.  Was I happy about it?  Nope, thought it just proved that playing politics worked.  Everyone in the bank knew how we felt about each other and expected me to be upset -- you could’ve heard a pin drop when I marched into her office….    I was able to look her right in the face and offer sincere congratulations, saying “I know that this is something you have wanted for a long time”….   She was stunned [and I think the office was disappointed].  Lola thanked me and we shook hands, and after that we were not friends, but we were able to work together.

But personally? If I am going to be what I pretend to be, I would rather pretend to be Merriweather…


Permalink | Tuesday, May 17, 2016

Monday 3 of 5 in May

Today is the 16th day of the 5th month, and the 137th day of 2016 with only 222 shopping days left before Christmas.  It is also: 
  • Accountant's Day or Accounting Day
  • Biographer's Day
  • Love a Tree Day
  • National Coquilles St. Jacques Day
  • National Mimosa Day
  • National Piercing Day
  • National Sea Monkey Day
  • National Wear Purple for Peace Day [I didn't]
  • World Baking Day
Ah those Romans – In 218 Julia Maesa, aunt of the assassinated Caracalla, was banished to her home in Syria by the self-proclaimed emperor Macrinus, so she declared her 14-year-old grandson Elagabalus, emperor of Rome.  He actually did take the throne, but his reign is remembered mainly for sex scandals and religious controversy..  In 1888 Nikola Tesla delivered a lecture describing the equipment which will allow efficient generation and use of alternating currents to transmit electric power over long distances.  In 1966 the Communist Party of China issued the "May 16 Notice", marking the beginning of what became known as “the Cultural Revolution”. 

And I turn for help from the holographic doctor on Voyager, who prescribed the perfect mediation for a Monday: .


Permalink | Monday, May 16, 2016

weekend is fading away....

Today is the 15th day of the 5th month -- May is just speeding past, neh?  It is also the 136th day of 2016 and there are only 223 shopping days until Christmas.  Today we celebrate:
  • Bay to Breakers Race [the oldest footrace in America]
  • Dinosaur Day
  • Feast day of Isidore the Laborer [celebrated with festivals in various countries and the beginning of bullfighting season in Madrid]
  • Hyperemesis Gravidarum Awareness Day [I guess that is what awareness days are for, to get us to google things]
  • International Conscientious Objectors Day -- you don't hear much about them anymore here in the US since we got rid of the draft
  • International Day of Families
  • International MPS Awareness Day
  • National Chocolate Chip Day
  • National Safety Dose Day
  • National Slider Day  [just a slide to the left....  oh.  Not that kind of slider.  Move on, nothing to see here....]
  • National Tuberous Sclerosis Day
  • Nylon Stockings Day
  • Peace Officers Memorial Day
  • Pentecost
  • Relive Your Past By Listening to the First Music You Ever Bought No Matter What It Was No Excuses Day [like I remember what that was?]
  • Stepmother's Day -- always found this to be a little off, if your stepmother has become your mother, then you celebrated her day on Mothers' Day.  If not, you aren't going to celebrate at all
  • Straw Hat Day -- this is a bit of odd timing since the Fashion Police decree you cannot WEAR a straw hat until after Memorial Day....   Maybe the idea is that you are out shopping so that you have it in your stash when you can wear it?

Have you been missing the Romans?  They are back -- In 495 BC a newly constructed temple in honour of the god Mercury was dedicated in ancient Rome on the Circus Maximus and to spite the senate and the consuls, the people awarded the dedication to a senior military officer, Marcus Laetorius.  In 221 Liu Bei, Chinese warlord, proclaimed himself emperor of Shu Han, the successor of the Han dynasty [he lasted for less than three years].  In 1252 Pope Innocent IV authorizes [with some limits] the torture of heretics in the Medieval Inquisition.  In 1718 James Puckle, a London lawyer, patented the world's first machine gun.  In 1836 Francis Baily observed "Baily's beads" during an eclipse.  In 1940 fast food enters the scene – McDonald's opened its first restaurant in San Bernardino, California.  In 1957, Britain tested its first H-bomb over Christmas Island.   And @NASAVoyager is 18 hrs 35 mins 35 secs of light-travel time from Earth (2016:136:120000:1L)



And tomorrow is Monday....



Permalink | Sunday, May 15, 2016

just another weekend.....

Today is the 14th day of the 5th month and the 135th day of 2016, and we are celebrating
  • American Indian Day
  • Armed Forces Day Military-Amateur Crossband Communications Day
  • Bereaved Mother's Day
  • Buddah Day (Celebration Date -- Historical date is always April 8)
  • Cornelia de Lange Syndrome Awareness Day
  • International Migratory Bird Day
  • Letter Carrier's Stamp Out Hunger Food Drive Day
  • Morel Mushroom Day
  • National Animal Disaster Preparedness Day
  • National Archery Day
  • National Buttermilk Biscuit Day
  • National Dance Like A Chicken Day
  • National Miniature Golf Day
  • National Train Day [apparently discontinued]
  • National Underground America Day
  • National Windmill Day
  • Spring Astronomy Day
  • Stay Up All Night Night
  • Sun Awareness Day
  • The Stars and Stripes Forever Day
  • World Belly Dance Day
  • World Fair Trade Day
  • World Migratory Bird Day
In 1264  Henry III of England lost the Battle of Lewes, was captured and forced to sign the Mise of Lewes, making Simon de Montfort the de facto ruler of England [which only lasted a little over a year].  Inj 1796 Edward Jenner administered the first smallpox inoculation --  the WHO certified the global eradication of smallpox in 1979 [before the anti-vaccers started fortunately].  And [in today's creepiest story, seriously], in1939 Lina Medina becomes the youngest confirmed mother in medical history at the age of five.  In 1948 Israel was declared to be an independent state as British rule in Palestine came to an end and a provisional government is established.  In1973 Skylab, the United States' first space station, launched.

It has been a very long week.....


Permalink | Saturday, May 14, 2016

Friday the 13th. In May.

Run for cover – not only is Mercury still retro, it is Friday the 13th!  It is also the 134th day of 2016 and: 
  • Blame Someone Else Day
  • Cough Drop Day
  • Crouton Day
  • Fintastic Friday: Giving Sharks a Voice
  • Friday the 13th!
  • Frog Jumping Day
  • Hummus Day
  • International Skeptics Day
  • National Apple Pie Day
  • National Fruit Cocktail Day – my father refused to eat this, said he got sick and tired of it because the Navy served it every single day and insisted all sailors eat it [to prevent scurvy I assume]
  • National Leprechaun Day – St Patrick’s day is a celebration of Ireland, this day is exclusively for the wee folk
  • Top Gun Day
  • Tulip Day
  • World Cocktail Day – after all, it IS five o’clock somewhere, neh?
In 1373 Julian of Norwich had visions which are later transcribed in her Revelations of Divine Love..  In 1846 the United States declared war on Mexico, which ended in 1848 with the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo – Texas was acknowledged to be part of the US [something Texans still dispute now and then] and the Rio Grande was made the border between the two countries.

This has been a very long week – don’t know if it is because I am coming back from vacation in my fav happy spot, or because I had a mountain of work waiting for me, or discouraging political news, or because I am alone in the apartment after being with the family [first time returning without my furry companion], or if it is the weather [seriously, London and Seattle have had more sun than we have hereabouts in the past three weeks]….   It has just been a very long week. 

I get to leave work a little early today because I have some car repair work that needs to be done.  Yup, I misjudged my clearance and knocked off the driver’s side mirror yesterday afternoon….   This makes three of those I have done in the past 15 years or so – one on the Sable and two on this car.   They duck-taped the mirror back and it actually still works but yes it has to be replaced and no I will not be putting in an insurance claim.
 
Ahhhh, Friday night!  How we do love thee as the weekend lies before us, beckoning….


Permalink | Friday, May 13, 2016

on the whole I would rather be in WDW

Today is the 12th day of the 5th month and the 133rd day of 2016.  Today we are celebrating Friday’s Eve and: 
  • Day of the Finnish Identity
  • International Awareness Day
  • International Chronic Fatigue Syndrome [AKA Myalgic Encephalomyelitis] Awareness Day
  • International Nurses' Day
  • Limerick Day
  • National Fibromyalgia Awareness Day
  • National Nutty Fudge Day
  • Odometer Day
In 254 Pope Stephen I succeeded Pope Lucius I as the 23rd pope.  In 1500 Portuguese navigator Gaspar Corte-Real given a charter from King Manuel to go in search of new lands to the west; in June he will reach a cold, snow-covered land in the northwestern section of North Atlantic Ocean, likely Labrador.   In 1551 the National University of San Marcos, which is the oldest university in the Americas, was founded in Lima, Peru.

How does the weather impact your mood and/or outlook?  While I have never had SAD, there is little doubt that this time of year has never been my favorite season…  I am not a fan of hot and humid [unless I am in Florida.  Then I’ll gladly cope].  I am not a fan of the bugs and the pollen [unless….  You get the idea.]  Being a couch potato means that I am not enthralled about being outside [unless….].  Spring has never been my thing – even as a kid, the third term was always my worst of the school year.  But this year?  The question is:  will the mid-Atlantic ever see the sun again?  After 19 days of rain hereabouts, we are beginning to wonder.  And we all know what will happen, we will go from gray and cool to intense summer heat in an eyeblink….
 
 
 
Just for the record, it gets just as hot and humid here as it does in Orlando during the summer.  Just saying….
Permalink | Thursday, May 12, 2016

maintenance....

Today is the 11th day of the fifth month and the 132nd day of 2016.  It is also Wednesday, the midpoint in a very long work week, and: 
  • Donate a Day's Wages to Charity Day – you want that before or after taxes et al?
  • Eat What You Want Day – did that all last week and gained three pounds!
  • Hostess Cupcake Day
  • National Foam Rolling Day
  • National Night Shift Workers Day
  • National Receptionists' Day
  • National Root Canal Appreciation Day
  • National Third Shift Workers Day
  • National Twilight Zone Day
  • School Nurse Day
In 330  Byzantium is renamed Nova Roma during a dedication ceremony, but you probably would know it as Constantinople.  In 868 a copy of the Diamond Sutra is printed in China, making it the oldest known dated printed book – or as the British Library described it, “the earliest complete survival of a dated printed book”.

So I went to the doctor’s and had a physical [ or is that got a physical?  Was subjected to a physical?]  Was told that I am overweight and am officially obese – according to some guru, I should be between 104 - 135 lbs – seriously, haven’t they changed those charts since I was a teenager?  And not content with this medical visit, in the interests of doing preventive maintenance, I should now:   get a shingles and pneumonia vaccination; see a dentist, an ophthalmologist, a dermatologist and a podiatrist; get a breast exam; and have a bone density test done. 
 
And here we run into the issues of what folks should do versus what they actually will do.  While all of those suggestions are extremely good ideas, there was no discussion of how I can afford to take the time off work and or how I am going to cover the costs that Medicare and CIGNA do not cover.  That is not her role.  Her role is to tell me the best way to take care of me, the rest is my problem, neh?  If I was more affluent, if I was less dependent on working, I would probably go and do these things before they are necessities….  Would doing them now extend my life expectancy or the quality of life while I am living?  It would certainly tilt the odds in my favor, but it isn’t going to change the inevitable outcome.  IMNSHO, FWIIW:  we all live until we die and tomorrow is promised to no one. And as Redd Fox [funny I thought it was something George Carlin did a routine about] once commented,  “Health nuts are going to feel stupid someday, lying in hospitals dying of nothing.”  


Permalink | Wednesday, May 11, 2016

Mothers' Day musings

Today is the 131st day of 2016 and the 10th day of the 5th month, and we are celebrating: 
  • Dia De La Madre -- The first official Mothers’ Day celebration in Mexico was held on May 10, 1922.  The celebration soon took on religious undertones, with images of the Madonna and Child being displayed on Mother’s Day
  • National Clean Up Your Room Day
  • National Lipid Day (Dyslipidemia)
  • National Shrimp Day
  • National Small Business Day
  • One Day Without Shoes Day
  • Sex Differences in Health Awareness Day
  • Trust Your Intuition Day
  • World Lupus Day
In 28 BCE, a sunspot was observed by Han dynasty astronomers during the reign of Emperor Cheng of Han, one of the earliest dated sunspot observations in China.  In 1774 Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette became King and Queen of France [I have to say that didn’t work out so well for them….].  In 1869 the First Transcontinental Railroad, linking the eastern and western United States, was completed at Promontory Summit, Utah with the golden spike.   In 1924 J. Edgar Hoover was appointed director of the federal Bureau of Investigation - the forerunner of the FBI - a job he held until his death in 1972.  In 1960 the nuclear submarine USS Triton completed the first underwater circumnavigation of the earth.

Mothering. 
 
This is something I have given a great deal of thought – especially around this time of year [for rather obvious reasons].  Very early on in my life I was determined to break the pattern of behavior that I saw on the maternal side of my family.  I watched what Grandmom Riley [my mother’s mother] did to her daughters, I experienced what my mother did with me, and I was bound and determined that my daughter would not have to suffer the same expectations as I had.  It was a painful process of change, and in the course of it, my mother and I became irrevocably estranged, but  the two friends who have known me since my school days assure me that I managed to accomplish my goal.  It meant that I raised both my kids without the benefit of a role model; as an only child I didn’t have much experience with kids so I was winging it.  In their younger years, I relied somewhat on Grandmom Hughes [my father’s mother] for some support, but she died in 1982 when Tom was 9 and Gem was 5 [and I’m afraid that neither of them really remember “Grandmom Music”].  So I did the best that I could.  Yes, I am informed that both she and Tom were afraid of me at times – for example, they were afraid of consequences if they had a melt-down as I was one to tell them if they kept crying, I would give them a reason to cry.  And yes, if they pushed it, I gave them that reason.  I don’t know any more whether or not it was the right thing to do  --  both kids know I am truly proud of the adults they have become and  my love for them is unconditional.  At least they are both still speaking to me regularly and act like they enjoy my company!.

My daughter is doing the same thing that I did – trying to parent in a new way without a solid role model.  Left with her Grandma at the age of 8, and relegated to “daughter days” and vacations with her mother,  she is striving to do better with parenting for her daughters.  She wants them to have more self-confidence, to feel better about their places in the world, and is raising them so that they will not have a reason to be afraid of their parents.  I truly do respect my daughter’s desire to do things differently – and I admire the rapport she and her husband have with the girls.  Like her mother before her, Gem just wants to do well by the two precious lives entrusted to their care..
 
I guess my conclusion is there is no one way to mother, no “right” way to raise your kids [as long as there isn’t mental or physical abuse] and if your child choses to parent differently than you did, that doesn’t mean you were “wrong” either.  I think Gem and Craig are doing an outstanding job with all their hearts and  know I will be just as proud of my granddaughters as I am of my son and daughter


Permalink | Tuesday, May 10, 2016

and then it was MONDAY

And I am back to work....

Today is the 9th day of the 5th month and the 130th day of 2016.  It is also: 
  • Hurray for Buttons Day
  • National Butterscotch Brownie Day
  • National Lost Sock Memorial Day
  • National Moscato Day
  • National Women's Check-Up Day
  • Occupational Safety and Health Professionals Day
  • Tear the Tags Off the Mattress Day
In 1092 the Lincoln Cathedral [AKA The Cathedral Church of the Blessed Virgin Mary of Lincoln, or sometimes St. Mary's Cathedral] is consecrated.in England.
 
Okay, so maybe I kinda got rather use to be on vacation and at Disney…..


Permalink | Monday, May 9, 2016

slowly getting back on track

Today is the 8th day of the 5th month and the 129th day of 2016 with only 230 shopping days left until Christmas:
  • Free Trade Day
  • Iris Day
  • Mother's Day [here in the US] -- this is the earliest possible day on which this holiday can fall
  • Mothers at the Wall Day
  • National Animal Disaster Preparedness Day
  • National Coconut Cream Pie Day
  • National Have a Coke Day
  • National Student Nurses Day
  • National Veal Ban Action Day
  • No Socks Day
  • Time of Remembrance and Reconciliation for Those Who Lost Their Lives during the Second World War 
  • Victory in Europe Day -- the German army surrenders and WWII is over in Europe at least
  • World Ovarian Cancer Day
  • World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day
In 453 BC the house of Zhao defeats the house of Zhi, ending the Battle of Jinyang, a military conflict between the elite families of the State of Jin, long before that area became known to us as China.  And today @NSFVoyager2 is currently 15 hrs 20 mins 52 secs of light-travel time from Earth (2016:129:000000:2L)

In my work career, I have been "let go" from two jobs.  The first time it happened to me was in Alaska when the Teamsters decided that they could do without my services.  Totally my fault that was too, one did not work in the headquarters and announce loudly that this was America and I did NOT have to stuff envelopes for the candidate of the union's choice just because I worked there.  Unfortunately, having once worked for the Teamsters, I was in a quandry -- no union shop would hire me, and all the non-union shops were afraid that I was a plant to make them unionize, so they wouldn't hire me either.  I ended up returning to Maryland, where I married my second husband [and father to my lovely daughter].   The second time was on this day in 2009 -- MainStreet Lenders gave me the choice of resigning or being fired.  The reason given was a $5K error I had made back in March with the 1502 reporting, but the real reason was they felt that they could do without me, informing me that I would do much better in a larger organization.  In retrospect, I had failed to convey the amount of work that I was processing each day and that they did not have sufficient resources allocated to the Loan Operations function.  They learned very quickly that downsizing was not a good idea, but since they were acquired a few months later, it was not a position that was refilled.  I had been given a couple weeks of severence pay, and before it ran out, I was hired by my current employer -- but this was the very beginning of the recession and I spent a couple of weeks in sheer terror that I would not be able to get another job.  As a result, I decided not to continue the vetting process with the national company, but took a position locally with substantial cut in pay, explaining to the recruiter that I felt the job market was going to tighten even more.  Best call I have made in my work career -- the other position evaporated as the economy got worse and while I worried a bit about working for a much smaller shop than MSL given their comments, I moved on.   

Now, seven years later, I have to say that it all worked out for the best.  The new job proved to be far less stressful and working for a place where people liked being together and liked me was a real boon.  For the first time in forever [*coughs*  sorry too much Frozen music, make that "in a long time"] I was treated as a professional and listened to.  Not having to fight the commute downtown and not being expected to work 10 hours a day was good for me too.  Things turned around for me -- I downsized and moved into a smaller apartment [and thus the Disaster Area was born], and my daughter took me to a doctor who accurately diagnosed both the MRSA and the type II Diabetes and treated me for both.

As for Mothers' Day:  I hope that my mother has found a measure of peace at last.  I miss Grandmom Hughes.  And I am prouder than I can ever truly express in words to be the mother of Thomas and Jennifer, and the grandmother of Annelise and Lorelei.


Permalink | Sunday, May 8, 2016

so long, farewell....

It is always hard to leave Disney because I am never quite sure I will get to go back....




Permalink | Saturday, May 7, 2016

see ya

Permalink | Friday, April 29, 2016

almost there.....

Today is the 28th day of the 4th month and the 119th day of 2016 with only 240 shopping days until Christmas.  And beware – Mercury has gone retrograde which makes five total planets as Mars, Jupiter, Saturn and Pluto are all currently retrograde. Today we are celebrating: 
  • Biological Clock Day
  • Brave Hearts Day
  • Great and Holy Thursday: ((Friday’s Eve is always a good day, but only today is “great and holy” apparently))
  • Great Poetry Reading Day AKA Poem In Your Pocket Day
  • National Blueberry Pie Day ((I prefer blueberry cobbler.  With a topping of vanilla ice cream.))
  • National Cubicle Day
  • National Kiss Your Mate Day
  • National Superhero Day
  • Pay it Forward Day
  • Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day
  • Workers' Memorial Day
  • World Day for Safety and Health at Work
On this day:  In 224 the Battle of Hormozdgān was fought  effectively ending the Parthian Empire.  In 1253 Nichiren, a Japanese Buddhist monk, chants the mantra “Namu Myōhō Renge Kyō” for the very first time and declares it to be the essence of Buddhism – and a new sect is born.   In 1788 Maryland became the seventh state to ratify the United States Constitution..  And yes, like the sinking of the Titanic,  Mutiny on the Bounty :was not just a movie and a novel –  it actually happened in 1789.  In 1947 Thor Heyerdahl and five crew mates set out from Peru on the Kon-Tiki to prove that Peruvian natives could have settled Polynesia (( reading his books about his 101-day journey  and then his work on Easter Island when I was in elementary school is what started my obsession with anthropology)).  And in 2001 Dennis Tito, a billionaire businessman from California,  became the world's first space tourist.
 
And tomorrow starts my vacation….


Permalink | Thursday, April 28, 2016

the more things change....

Today is the 27th day of the 4th month and the 118th day of 2016 with only 241 shopping days until Christmas.  IT is also: 
  • Administrative Professionals' Day – back in the day this used to be an euphemism for secretaries and every boss had to make arrangements to take his to lunch
  • Babe Ruth Day – the first one was held in 1947  at Yankee Stadium held to honor the ailing baseball star.
  • Denim Day ((now I find out after I am dressed and at work!  Back in the day, I had a full denim business suit which drove my bosses bonkers because it skirted our dress codes – it was business attire but denim was a banned material))
  • Independence Day  -- Sierra Leone, celebrating independence from the United Kingdom in 1961, and. Togo, celebrating independence from France in 1960.
  • International Guide Dog Day
  • International Noise Awareness Day – noise is in the ear,, neh?  I’m sure the guys at work consider my classical music to be annoying enough to be noise!  The underwriter’s door closes during Hayden’s violin concertos; the old lender starts playing jazz if I switch to New Age music.
  • Matanzas Mule Day
  • Morse Code Day – always wondered why Braille was not based on this rather than reinventing the alphabet
  • National Day in Mayotte and Sierra Leone
  • National Little Pampered Dog Day
  • National Prime Rib Day
  • National Tell a Story Day
I skipped over the Romans today because I am tired of them.  Surely, Wikipedia,  there was a lot more happening in the world….  In 629 Shahrbaraz was crowned king of the Sasanian Empire [the last Iranian empire before the rise of Islam].  In 1810 Beethoven composed Für Elise.  .

Somewhere along the line, I am sure that I have mentioned I work in Loan Servicing for a very small shop and have been since 2009.  There are six of us now:  bossman [who founded the company back in 2005], the underwriter [who has been here for ten years], the old lender [coming up on two years], the new lender [coming up on one year], and an intern  [part-time for four months and counting].   The intern was foisted on me to manage and train because bossman knew and liked him from the soccer league – nice kid, but he has never ever had a job, is a marketing major, and knows nothing about banking, accounting, loans or lending. 

Now let’s get beyond my angst when bossman informed me that he would be my backup and should be  trained  to book loans, apply payments, and do reports for Loan Servicing.  That was definitely proof that bossman hasn’t a clue about what KSA this position entails – part of the issue is that about 20 years ago, he managed a servicing area and is convinced that he could do the job himself, a conceit that makes me chuckle at times.  Part of the issue is that I am pretty good at my job – which means the only time operations is an issue is when there is a problem and there haven’t been many problems.  And part of the issue is that I am not great at communicating what my value is.   But that is neither here nor there, it is what it is.  I have chosen to start teaching him Loan Administration – getting him to work with the documentation, files [digital and paper], ticklers, etc.  He is a personable person and has been a great help, more than I expected, and my backlog is evaporating as we tackle it.

But as his manager, I am faced with a conundrum:  OTOH, we are an easy-going shop when it comes to keeping your nose to the grindstone [translation – not browsing or texting], attendance [set hours] and dress – bossman prefers to judge on performance and results and this works admirably with a seasoned and professional staff.  OTOH, this is the intern’s first job -- he needs to understand that this is the exception not the rule.  Other workplaces will care if you are not here on time, or if you are texting your friends while at your desk, or if you are dressed casually.  I have chosen to stay with bossman’s style but I warn him again and again each time he goes over the line that here is not the way the real world works…   Or is it?

Could it be I’m am too imbued with the old-fashioned workplace structure?  Perhaps he will not have to worry about as many rules and restrictions as I did when I entered the workplace – after all, that was 51 years ago and the way we work should’ve changed in over a half a century, neh?




Permalink | Wednesday, April 27, 2016

accruals

Today is the 26th day of the 4th month and the 117th day of 2016, with only 242 shopping days until Christmas.  Celebrations today include: 
  • Audubon Day
  • Hug a Friend Day
  • Hug an Australian Day
  • National Help a Horse Day
  • National Kids and Pets Day
  • National Pretzel Day
  • National Richter Scale Day
  • National Static Cling Day ((*starts to sing*  there’re Klingons on the starboard bow….))
  • Old Permic Alphabet Day
  • School Bus Drivers' Day
  • World Intellectual Property Day
on this day, @NASAVoyager is 18 hrs 35 mins 09 secs of light-travel time from Earth (2016:117:120000:1L).  In 1336 Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch) ascended Mont Ventoux.  .In 1564 William Shakespeare iwas baptized in Stratford-upon-Avon – his actual birth date is unknown.  In 1962 US Ranger IV landed on the far side of the Moon but fails to send back pictures due a technical fault.  In 1986 the meltdown at the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant in the Soviet Union (now Ukraine) happened, arguably the world's worst nuclear disaster to date

In Loan Servicing, one of the conversations I have with all and sundry [borrowers, lenders, accountants, auditors] is the difference of interest accrual TO a date versus THRU a date – the difference is one day’s per diem, which on any one loan may not be that significant, but on an entire portfolio has to be accounted for.  To my amusement, I find that same conversation happens when I am figuring out the countdown to an event  or vacation.  My reasoning is that I have three days left  [ WDW minus 3 and counting] because on Saturday I will be at the House of the Mouse – using the TO vacation reasoning  [albeit at the resort rather than in the park] after that.  Other more formal countdowns .show it as WDW – 4 because Sunday is the first actual park day – using the THRU reasoning.  I’ve compromised by using my count on the blog and posting the alternate count on Facebook, which means my counts don’t jibe – unless you know accruals.   Or maybe the difference is whether or not you count today – the first does not and the second does.  After all, today is the 26th and Saturday is the 30th  [and if you do the math you have four days] whereas I’m not accounting for today. 
 
And here you all just thought I couldn’t count, neh?


Permalink | Tuesday, April 26, 2016

it is Monday but....

Today is the 25th day of the 4th month and the 116th day of 2016 with only 243 shopping days left until Christmas.  It is also: 
  • DNA Day --  in 1953: two Cambridge University scientists make public their answer to one of the most fundamental questions of biology - how do living things reproduce themselves?
  • East Meets West Day AKA Elbe Day – in 1945 the American and Soviet forces met for the first time on the battlefields of WWII. 
  • Eeyore's Birthday
  • Hairstylists Appreciation Day
  • International Marconi Day
  • License Plates Day – in 1901 New York became the first state to require automobile license plates.
  • Malaria Awareness Day
  • National Crayola Day
  • National Mani-Pedi Day
  • National Plumber's Day  AKA Hug A Plumber Day
  • National Telephone Day
  • Parental Alienation Awareness Day
  • Red Hat Society Day
  • World Malaria Day
  • World Penguin Day
In 404 BC Lysander's Spartan armies defeated the Athenians and the Peloponnesian War ended.   In 1859 British and French engineers broke ground for the construction of the Suez Canal. 
 
And on a personal note?  It is WDW – 4 and counting….


Permalink | Monday, April 25, 2016

WDW minus 5 and counting....

Today is the 24th day of the 4th month and the 115th day of 2016.  We are celebrating:

  • Armenian Genocide Remembrance Day
  • Mother, Father Deaf Day
  • National Pet Parent's Day
  • National Pigs-in-a-Blanket Day
  • National Teach Your Children to Save Day
  • New Kids on the Block Day
  • World Day for Laboratory Animals
  • World Meningitis Day
  • World Pinhole Photography Day

In 1479 BC Thutmose III ascended to the throne of Egypt, although power effectively shifts to Hatshepsut (according to the Low Chronology of the 18th dynasty).  In 1184 BC Troy falls, according to tradition



A lovely reminder from Ukrainian sculptor Alexander Milov that despite our differences, we really do want to connect...



Permalink | Sunday, April 24, 2016

weekending....

Today is the 23rd day of the 4th month, the 114th day of 2016:
  • English Language Day
  • Impossible Astronaut Day
  • International Marconi Day
  • International Nose Picking Day
  • International Pixel-Stained Technopeasant Day
  • Lover's Day
  • Movie Theatre Day
  • National Cherry Cheesecake Day
  • National Dance Day
  • National Day of Puppetry
  • National Lost Dog Awareness Day
  • National Picnic Day
  • National Zucchini Bread Day
  • Saint George's Day
  • Slay a Dragon Day
  • Take a Chance Day
  • Talk Like Shakespeare Day
  • World Book and Copyright Day
  • World Book Night
  • World Laboratory Day
I am ignoring the Romans today.   In 599, Maya king Uneh Chan of Calakmul attacked the rival city-state Palenque in southern Mexico, defeating queen Yohl Ik'nal and sacking the city.  In 1564 Shakespeare was born -- and died on this day in 1616.   In 1985 The Coca-Cola Co. announced it was changing its secret formula for Coke -- and the intense negative public reaction forced the company to revert to the original version.

Five years ago today it was the Saturday before Easter -- I am still scratching my head over how Passover and Easter get separated like they did this year.   Going to be a quiet, busy weekend for me as the whole family gears up for the trip -- we leave next  Saturday morning and it is my first experience traveling with a toddler and an infant together!   I'm a little worried that we might forget something....  I mean it is for a week....



Permalink | Saturday, April 23, 2016

OTOH

Today is the 22nd day of the 4th month and the 113th day of 2016.  Today we are celebrating: 
  • "In God We Trust" Day -- in 1864, Congress passes the Coinage Act of 1864 that mandates that the inscription In God We Trust be placed on all coins minted as United States currency.
  • April Showers Day
  • Chemists Celebrate the Earth Day
  • Earth Day – first celebrated in 1970
  • Girl Scout Leader Day
  • International Mother Earth Day
  • National Jelly Bean Day
  • Passover  -- and yes, Passover and Easter can be separated by a month. 
The moon is full as of 1:24AM EDT today.  This is known as the Full Pink Moon, heralding the appearance of the moss pink, or wild ground phlox—one of the first spring flowers. It is also known as the Sprouting Grass Moon, the Egg Moon, and the Fish Moon.  While there are currently four planets retrograde, which is a bit unusual, and this is the smallest full moon of the year as we are one day away from apogee, no amount of planetary influence is going to turn it green.  Unless you believe the moon is made of green cheese, that is.  

Oh those Romans – 238 was known as the Year of the Six Emperors and on this day, the Senate outlawed emperor Maximinus Thrax, citing his bloodthirsty proscriptions in Rome, and nominated two of its members, Pupienus and Balbinus, to the throne.

OTOH:  I am dragging today and feeling on the old side.  My head is aching and feels like it is stuffed with cotton.  My eyes are swollen, gunky and watery  – very high pollen counts and having the windows open at night will do that to you.   My legs ache and the muscles feel sore this morning – it was one of those arbitrary nights where I woke up every couple hours with painful cramps and walking about, taking aspirin and drinking water just didn’t to help much.  I can’t tell you how much I wish I knew exactly what triggers these episodes – too much caffeine?  Wearing the wrong shoes?  Not getting enough potassium? Planetary alignment? -- so that I can avoid it happening.  And there continues to be tech issues with work email that exacerbates the dullness of the tasks that have to be completed today [this is why it is called “work”, neh?].

OTOH:  hey, it is Friday!  It is jeans day at work, it is payday, and the weekend is  beckoning from just over the horizon.  In exactly six days I start vacation and the countdown to the much-planned trip with the family stands at WDW - 7 and counting.  And, as vain as this may sound, I have been enjoying parading about in my new-found obsession – Lularoe leggings [thanx to my daughter!] -- and feeling rather slender [wow that is a word I very seldom would use when talking about myself] enough to wear some outfits this week that I haven’t had on for a very long time.

And you know what?  Just writing that out made me feel a lot more chipper! 


Permalink | Friday, April 22, 2016

do I see what you see?

Today is the 21st day of the 4th month and the 112th day of 2016.  We are celebrating: 
  • Big Word Day –  bet you can’t top this one, altho making something deliberately that obtuse is rather silly IMNSHO
  • Bulldogs are Beautiful Day
  • Get to Know Your Customer Day
  • Grounation Day (Rastafari movement)
  • High Five Day
  • International Pizza Cake Day – at first I just thought this was a different name for pizza [pie, cake, whatever I said] but pizza CAKE is actually a thing!  Who knew?
  • Keep Off the Grass Day – refers to real grass [as in lawns] not the kind you smoke
  • Kindergarten Day
  • National Ask an Atheist Day  -- whilst some folks [like me] would just like to understand their POV, I have a feeling that most of the questions are designed to be “gotchas” that will dazzle the person just interrogated into believing whatever creed the questioner espouses. 
  • National Chocolate-Covered Cashews Day
  • National D.A.R.E. Day ((DARE = drug abuse resistance education, coincidence that it is after 4/20?))
  • National High Five Day
  • Poem in your Pocket Day
  • San Jacinto Day – the last battle as Texas wins independence from Mexico
  • National Surprise Drug Test Day ((figures that would follow National Pot Smokers Day yesterday, neh?))
  • Thank You for Libraries Day
  • Tuna Rights Day
Tradition has it that in 753 BC, Romulus founded Rome.   In 1649 the Maryland state assembly passed the Maryland Toleration Act, which provided for freedom of worship for all Christians.  And in case you missed it, yesterday Mr. Peanut turned 100.

Today I read one of those inspirational news stories about a blind marathon runner who is using technology to overcome the limitations of his vision lost.  You’ve all seen stories like this, golly-gee-whiz futuristic stuff is enabling the paralyzed to walk, limbs are being replaced, etc.   The problem is?  These things just aren’t readily available for those who need them.  My friend’s plight is a prime example of what happens – she is my age, and has been struggling with Retinitis Pigmentosa [which is often, and her case, accompanied by Usher’s Syndrome] for years, and her vision is all but gone now.  Like her, I assumed that there is a plethora of aids and help available so that a blind person could live and function independently. 
 
HAH!  Finding an agency or organization that will actually offer help has been well-nigh impossible as all those big names with glossy resumes [Columbia Lighthouse for example] seem to be suffering from a paucity of resources.  A simple task like arranging cane training…  Oh wait, did you know that one cannot just pick up a cane and use it?  You have to learn how to understand the sounds and feel that is transmitted to you before you can go out into the world without being a danger to yourself and others!  So finding a cane trainer has turned into a quagmire of “we don’t do that” to “you are not eligible for our programs” to “there isn’t anyone available in your area.”  Learn Braille?  Oh there is one six-week class available [if you can pay for it] where a sighted person who doesn’t know how to teach reading will go over the basics for two hours.  And if you ask to use a computer so that you can stay in touch and sync with the world?  Well there are programs to read screens to you, and even describe pictures, but finding someone to install that program and train you in its use?  Good luck with that.  Oh, wait, you need an escort to go to the doctor’s or get to that class?  Can you afford to pay someone?  Oh, you would like a reader for your mail?  Well there are scanners that will read to you [priced around $5K or so], but we don’t have any available and we don’t have anyone to show you how to use it if you find one on your own.  Better hire someone to read your mail for you, can you afford that?  Government help, as in social workers?  Here are some oven mitts that go up to your elbow, a probe that dings with the cup is full, and a clock that tells you what time it is – we’re out of the special phones and the tape recorders right now and don’t know when they will be in again.  Support groups?  While it is comforting to be able to share the struggles and burdens, it is rather daunting to find out that you are the only person living by yourself and trying to deal with this all on your own.
 
So yeah,  stories like that fail to inspire me – they make me angry and even sullen.  Somewhere there are folks with fantastic insurance, deep pockets and access to all the latest tech, but I have a sneaking suspicion that my friend’s experience is a lot closer to the norm


Permalink | Thursday, April 21, 2016

WDW minus 9 and counting

Today is the 20th day of the 4th month and the 111th day of 2016.  It is also: 
  • Chinese Language Day -- UN duty stations around the world celebrate six separate days, each dedicated to one of the Organization's six official languages.
  • International Cli-Fi Day
  • Lima Bean Respect Day --  AKA Phaseolus lunatus, butter bean, or sieva bean -- a legume grown for its edible seeds
  • National Cheddar Fries Day
  • National Look Alike Day – supposedly everyone has a doppelganger.  I blame cloning.  Or visitors from parallel universes.  Or time travelers.
  • National Pineapple Upside-down Cake Day
  • National Pot Smokers Day AKA 420 – and no, that was not a police code and it is not an official holiday
  • Volunteer Recognition Day 
In 1303  the University of Rome is established by Pope Boniface VIII.  In 1889 Adolf Hitler was born, spawning an entire genre of speculative fiction with alternative timelines where he is throttled at birth or killed later before coming to power. 

Getting to work this morning was challenging.  It only takes one accident at a crucial intersection to snarl things up pretty badly – and once the backup forms, it seems to take on a life of its own as side and feeder roads start to slow then back up too.  Hereabouts, where the traffic is some of the worst in the country, I live less than 10 miles from where I work – and even though I am not going into the city, it can take me 45 minutes or more to get in when there are problems.    Got me to thinking how much of my time has been spent in the car, and how unprepared I am these days for commuting.

Unless you work at home, live above or beside your workplace, or have the ability to telecommute, the chances are that you commute to work.  And depending on where you live and where work is located, that commute can be rather long and stressful whether you are driving or taking mass transit.  Commuting is a fact of our workaday lives; getting to and fro can take as much as 2 – 3 hours of your time each and every day – it becomes a lifestyle really.  You learn to cope because driving aggressively sometimes only frustrates you and the people around you and really doesn’t get you much further down the road, so you settle in and cultivate patience.  I used to listen to books on “tape” [digital version], play the radio and follow podcasts or chat on the phone [hands free of course].  The time became a space in which I could transition into and out of my work persona and there were days that I actually needed the time to detox.  You can really tell midst congestion who the long-term commuters are – they usually are more phlegmatic, not allowing the frustrations of the commute overtake and shadow their spirit.   

And no, I don’t think flying cars will help relieve the problem – it will just transfer the gridlock to the air as well as on the ground.  Mass transit?  Well only if the busses etc go where the people are going – for example, my 10+  miles would take over 2 ½ hours one way on a good day if I tried to go by bus and Metro because I have to go all the way downtown, come back out, and transfer three times.  Driverless cars?  Now this one is an intriguing idea that I would really like to try.  My vision involves me sitting with my shoes off and feet propped up, sipping my venti skim chai while placidly reading a book and listening to soft music, but my fear is that the time will become additional work space.

Now parking once you get to where you are going is an entirely different issue.  Me, I kinda like the idea of the Jetson’s folding car…..


Permalink | Wednesday, April 20, 2016

IMNSHO, FWIIW

Today is the 19th day of the 4th month and the 110th day of 2016.  Searching on April 19th will also pull up information on a town in Uruguay [19 de Abril] and an Indian film.  Today is also: 
  • Bicycle Day
  • Education & Sharing Day
  • Humorous Day
  • John Parker Day – actually it is the anniversary of  the Battle of Concord and Lexington 241 years ago today
  • National Amaretto Day
  • National Garlic Day ((take that you twinkly vampires!))
  • National Hanging Out Day – nope it doesn’t mean getting together with your buddies, it is a day to eschew the dryer and hang your was outside to dry.  While I agree that nothing smells better than sheets and towels when you take them down, on rainy days when you had to hang them in the basement, they smelled dank.  No one who ever did laundry before dryers became standard household appliances would ever go back to doing this all the time! 
  • National Stress Awareness Day
  • National Wear Your Pajamas To Work Day – always the day after income tax day here in the US.  Wearing a barrel might be more appropriate….
  • Oklahoma City Bombing Commemoration Day – 21 years ago and you certainly cannot blame Muslims or immigrants for this home-grown act of violence that killed 168 people with a truck bomb.
In 65 the Roman Emperor Nero was not assassinated because one of the conspirators blabbed and all of them were arrested instead.  ((how often does something that doesn’t happen make the historical records?)).  If you want to know who was born on this day [or any given day really] I suggest looking here.  If you want to know who died today, you are on your own. 

So yesterday was the day the US income taxes were due.  If you can’t get your form filled out in time, you can request an extension – but you have to accompany that request with an estimated payment if you think that you owe Uncle Sam money.  It is a sore point with many people because there is a growing feeling that the richest Americans as well as corporations are not paying their fair share of financing the federal government.   In my role in Loan Servicing through the years, even at the community bank level I have seen folks who make as much in a day as I do in a year – but they pay much lower taxes than I do both in percentage of their income.   Now I will admit that the dollar amount that comes out of their pockets throughout the year may actually exceed the cash that I have to put  out as cash on the barrelhead, but I will add that is not always a fact either.  In any case, there is little doubt in my mind that someone who makes $1M has a lot more in disposable income after they pay taxes – and I do not begrudge them that.  What I resent is that they have managed to convince the powers that be that “trickledown economics” is a real and viable way to run a society and that they are entitled to grow their personal wealth while leaving the funding of government on the backs of those who make too little to hire a troupe of accountants and lawyers to protect their assets.   

IMNSHO:  There are just too many loopholes in the existing code and it actually encourages duplicity.  I have long been a proponent of a flat tax.  In my vision, everyone who makes over $25K a year – working, retired, organizations, corporations, et al – would simply pay 20% of their gross income to the feds and 5% to the states.  .  And in this scenario, income is income, whether it comes from wages, investments,  inheritance, trusts, or sales.  You live here, you work here, you do business here, you pay.  PERIOD.   No deductions, no exemptions, no exceptions.  And all those tax  accountants and lawyers go find other work to do.

And if you make less than $25K?  The government pays you.  So I guess that I am also an advocate for a guaranteed income.  And while I am at it?  I think healthcare providers and insurers should be at least not-for-profit if not non-profits because I think that good healthcare is a right not a privilege.  And if that is the dreaded specter of socialism?  Then bring it!

And this just made me chortle today:


Permalink | Tuesday, April 19, 2016

The third Monday in April

Today is the 18th day of the 4th month and the 109th day of 2016 with only 250 shopping days until Christmas.  It is Monday and: 
  • Adult Autism Awareness Day
  • Boston Marathon Day
  • Income Tax Pay Day [for those of us in the US – this year anyway, usually it is the 15th]
  • International Amateur Radio Day
  • National Animal Crackers Day
  • National Columnists' Day
  • National Golf Day
  • National Lineman Appreciation Day
  • National Velociraptor Awareness Day  -- are you prepared?  ((and you thought the only thing you had to worry about was the pollen count!))
  • Newspaper Columnists Day
  • Patriots' Day
  • Pet Owners Independence Day
  • World Heritage Day
On this day:  In 796 King Æthelred I of Northumbria was murdered in Corbridge by a group led by his ealdormen, Ealdred and Wada. The patrician Osbald is crowned, but abdicated  27 days later.  In 1930 the BBC reported there was no news, then played out the day with piano music.  In 1946 the League of Nations went out of business. In 1955: Albert Einstein died at the age of 76.   In 1980  the Republic of Zimbabwe (formerly Rhodesia) is founded.

My Facebook timeline has been full of vacation news from the past two years.  Last year I was just getting home from a great stay with my friends in Las Cruses NM – it was the first time I got to see the desert in the spring.  In 2014, I was getting ready to go on my very first Disney cruise with my daughter and grandson, bookended with visits to the parks.    And now this year I am officially in countdown mode because in just 12 days I am headed to WDW with my daughter and her family and it too will be a series of firsts – first time in the parks with a baby and a toddler, first time staying at a deluxe Vacation Club resort..   What makes this a bit odd to me is that until these past couple of years, I never went on a vacation until later in the year.  When the kids were in school, we would head out in the heat of the summer – usually in August.  When it was just Frank and I, we would go in the fall.  After he died, I usually would take time off in December around the anniversary of  his death.  Looking back on it, I really wonder how I managed to make it all the way through the year without this break, relying just on long weekends here and there and the occasional bout with sickness to give me a respite from work.  Of course, this works only as long as I can use my leave for vacation, that is one reason I have been careful to husband my PTO – I’m afraid that I will get sick and need to have the time for recovery. 

so I have an extra incentive to stay healthy, neh?

Meanwhile….


Permalink | Monday, April 18, 2016

another weekend fades away

This Sunday is the 17th day of the 4th month and the 108th day of 2016 with 251 shopping days left until Christmas.  It is also:

  • Bat Appreciation Day
  • Blah, Blah, Blah Day
  • Ellis Island Family History Day
  • Go Fly a Kite Day
  • International Ford Mustang Day
  • International Haiku Poetry Day
  • Malbec World Day
  • National Cheeseball Day
  • National Kickball Day
  • Nothing Like a Dame Day
  • World Hemophilia Day
In 1080 Canute IV became the King of Denmark -- he came to be known as Canute the Holy and was cannonized by the Roman Catholic Church as patron saint of Denmark in 1101.   In 1397 Chaucer told the story that came to be known as The Canterbury Tales for the first time at the court of Richard II.  In 1897 an alien spaceship supposedly crashed in Aurora, Texas -- legend has it they buried the pilot in the local cemetary.  In 1961, on Khrushchev's 67th birthday, about 1,500 CIA-trained Cuban exiles launched the disastrous Bay of Pigs invasion of Cuba in a failed attempt to overthrow Fidel Castro

One of the "joys" of living in an older apartment building is that you don't have complete control over your heating and air conditioning because the buildings' units can either do one or the other.  That means transitions can be a little rough -- the lease says the heat will be on by October 22nd and the A/C by May 22nd, but management tries very hard to be sensitive to the changing weather patterns and respond accordingly.  Unfortunately hereabouts it tends to go from frost warning at night to 80+ days in the twinkling of the mercury so making the call to turn off the heat and do the maintenance needed to get the A/C ready to use is always a dicey proposition, and that means there are some pretty uncomfortable nights in the apartment.  Adding to the discomfort is the fact that opening up the windows may help the temperature, but it sure does nothing for the allergies!  When I moved in here ten years ago, the utilities were included with the rent, and that made the situation more palatable.   But now my friends, family and co-workers have just gotten to the point of ignoring the grumbling for a couple of weeks as I get all cranky from the lack of sleep.

Permalink | Sunday, April 17, 2016

fitting for a Friday

Today is the 15th day of the 4th month and the 106th day of 2016 with only 253 shopping days left until Christmas.  We are currently in the pre-shadow phase of Mercury going retrograde.  Today is also: 
  • Get to Know Your Customers Day [this happens every quarter in case you were thining we did that already]
  • Income Tax Pay Day [except this year it is 04.18 because the DC government is closed for the Emancipation Day celebrations]
  • Jackie Robinson Day – in 1947 he started with Brooklyn Dodgers, the first non-white baseball player to play in the major league [versus the Negro League]
  • McDonald's Day – in 1955 the first franchised restaurant was opened Des Plaines, Illinois ((and they still have the grease))
  • National Day of Silence [please please PLEASE let the candidates celebrate this day]
  • National Glazed Spiral Ham Day
  • National Griper's Day
  • National Rubber Eraser Day
  • National That Sucks Day
  • Take a Wild Guess Day
  • Titanic Remembrance Day
  • World Art Day -- (DaVinci's Birthday)
With all the concern about Islamic extremists, we have to remember that Christians have a pretty bloody past themselves, neh?  In 769 the Lateran Council [a synod held in the Basilica of St. John Lateran to rectify abuses in the papal electoral process] condemned the Council of Hieria [an ecumenical group that was trying to be all-inclusive for Christians – it was later dubbed the “robber council”] and anathematized [a form of extreme religious sanction, today we would say the participants were excommunicated] its iconoclastic rulings [translation -- they discouraged the veneration of icons].

My clothes are too big.  
 
My daughter constantly tells me that what I am wearing doesn’t fit, but I don’t like things that bind.  Got into the habit of wearing things loose back when she was a toddler as I lost well over 50 lbs through Diet Workshop and couldn’t afford to keep replacing items as my size went down, not even with the amount of sewing that I did back then.  So today [and every Friday until mid-June], we get to wear jeans into the office if we donate a $5 a Friday.  Needless to say, I sign up every year!  And I took forever to get dressed this morning because I couldn’t find a pair of jeans that actually fit.    There are two problems actually.  The first is that most of the jeans that are in good shape are about two sizes larger than my current size and a belt may hold them up, but quite frankly, I look like crap in them.  The second is that I have apparently gotten shorter – went from 5’4” to 5’3”.  Not exactly sure when that happened either!  So not only are the jeans very loose, but between not taking up as much in flab, my inseam just got shorter – and the jeans that do fit better now scrape the floor.  No problem, I thought, I’ll throw on one of my denim skirts.  HA!  I searched and searched, high and low, and was forced to conclude that I had given my collection of denim skirts away when I was working in the Disaster Area.  At the time, I know I was getting rid of smaller sizes, plus I was giving away all my western boots that I used to wear them with.  All that I have left is a skirt I bought a couple years ago – and yes, it is way too big.  Ended up pinning it to my bra and throwing a top over it and grabbed a tooled leather belt.to put over it all. 

I left the bedroom a wreck.  I am going to have to go through and weed out the really large jeans, then I am going to dump the almost fitting ones in the washer/dryer and use the hottest settings to see if I can shrink them a bit.   I have learned it is not a good sign when you can pull up and take off  jeans and pants that don’t have elastic waists without unbuttoning and unzipping – looks like it may be time to retire some items.  I will say that with the reduced weight, I am starting to take more interest in what I am wearing day-to-day again…..
 
And  thanks to my daughter, I have now joined the league of Lularoe leggings fanatics and can actually rock the look!


Permalink | Friday, April 15, 2016

wishful thinking

Today is the 14th day of the 3rd month and the 105th day of 2016.  It is also:
  • Abushibarei (Ryukyuan religion)
  • Ambedkar Jayanti (India)
  • Black Day (South Korea)
  • Celebrate Teen Literature Day
  • Children With Alopecia Day
  • Dictionary Day –  in 1828 Noah Webster copyrighted the first edition of his dictionary.
  • Dreams of Reason Feast Day  -- I never did get the hang of lucid dreaming
  • Ex Spouse Day:  I have three of these in RL – Bob [Tom’s father and we were married for almost two years], Chuck [Gem’s father and we were married for ten years] and Frank [he died almost 12 years ago and we were married for almost 20 years].  In SL I have had three partners – Revilo [for a little over a month], Sam [for a little over a year] and Searaven [for 2 ½ years and we were actually married in SL].  No, I don’t bear any of them ill will,  but I will admit that I am pretty indifferent to what is going on in Bob, Chuck and Revilo’s lives.  And yes, before you ask, I would marry again for the right person!
  • International Moment of Laughter Day
  • Look up at the Sky Day
  • National Dolphin Day
  • National Pecan Day
  • New Year festivals in South and Southeast Asian cultures, celebrated on the sidereal vernal equinox:
  • Pan American Day
  • Pathologists' Assistant Day
  • Reach as High as You Can Day
  • Takayama Spring Festival (Takayama, Gifu, Japan) – first day
Oh those Romans….   In 43 BC  Mark Antony, while  besieging Caesar's assassin Brutus in Mutina, defeated the forces of the consul Pansa, but is then immediately defeated by the army of the other consul, Aulus Hirtius..  In 1860 the first Pony Express rider reached San Francisco.  In 1865  Abraham Lincoln was shot in Ford's Theatre by John Wilkes Booth.    In 1912, the RMS Titanic hit an iceberg in the North Atlantic at 23:40 and sank the next morning ((did you know that there are folks out there who thought the Titanic was just a movie?!!)).  And in 2003 The Human Genome Project was completed with 99% of the human genome sequenced to an accuracy of  99.99%.

I have always differentiated between envy and jealousy – don’t know if my definitions are quite kosher, but for me it breaks out like this:  Envy is when I wish I had something that you have  -- I don’t want to take it away from you but I would like to haveit too.  Jealousy is when I wish I had something that you have  instead of you having it – I want to take it away from you.  Now it could be something tangible [money, a new car, the latest in tech, a home, etc.] or something intangible [an experience, a lifestyle, a relationship, etc.]. – whatever it is, you have it and I want it.

Recently  I heard the plaintive statement “I wish I had her life”  [who said it about whom is irrelevant] and it got me to thinking….  I have to admit that I have and always have had a lot of wants and like Luke, I have always had my eyes fixed on that horizon, dazzled with dreams of what could be.  These wants have resulted in envy at times and in jealous at other times,  but would I really want to fully embrace their lifestyle and actually plug myself into their life?  This isn’t an easy question for me – like the person who sobbed that bitter plaint, I know folks who are definitely living the Life of Riley when compared to my workaday existence.  My vision for these days in my mid-sixties was growing old more-or-less gracefully with my mate and included retirement with such activities as puttering about the living space, lots of traveling, going to museums/places of interest, visiting with family, and maybe some volunteer work as well.  Do I know folks that are living that life in retirement?  Yup.  Do I know folks who have money and travel all the time, even taking long weekends just to run down to the Dominican Republic to play golf?  Yup.  Do I like getting up and going into work every day and worrying about my budget,  constantly paying for dagnabit moments?  Nope.  So do I wish that I had their life?    Er…..  no, I don’t think so.  You see, if I could wave a magic want and plug myself into their life, then I would have to go back and change all of the choices I made that placed me here and now at this time and juncture, and I don’t want to unravel the entire tapestry of my life.  I may be guilty of the sin of envy, but I am not jealous, so thank you, but I think that  I’ll just keep playing powerball, living a 2nd Life, admiring pictures, listening avidly to tales and daydreaming…..





 

Today marks the 3rd month since Kula was put to sleep.  He was actually my first pet [other than a parakeet and some goldfish], and I still miss my little furry companion.  From one day to another, I waiver about getting another cat, but postponed any real decision until after 90 days at least.  Right now I am thinking about it and varying all the way from “absolutely” to “maybe not.”.  We’ll see how I feel this time next month, after vacation.


Permalink | Thursday, April 14, 2016

what time is it

Today is hump day, the 13th day of the 4th month and the 104th day of  2016: 
  • National Bookmobile Day
  • National Peach Cobbler Day
  • School Librarians' Day
  • Scrabble Day –  Alfred Mosher Buttswent created the game in 1948.  Originally  it was called Lexiko and then Criss-Cross Words
  • Thomas Jefferson Day ((his birthday))
  • Undiagnosed Children's Awareness Day
In 1111 Henry V was crowned Holy Roman Emperor.  In 1204 Constantinople fell  to the Crusaders of the Fourth Crusade, temporarily ending the Byzantine Empire -- the territories were divided into competing Byzantine Greek and Latin realms until 1261.   In 1970 Apollo 13 was crippled when a tank containing liquid oxygen burst [and no, before you go there, I checked and it was a Monday, not Friday the 13th] – I was surprised to find out that no one actually said  “Houston, we have a problem”.  And in 2016 @NASAVoyager is 18 hrs 35 mins 12 secs of light-travel time from Earth (2016:104:120000:1L)

Sometimes dates just make me pause – the year 1111 and that Apollo 13 had their crisis on the 13th both got me to thinking about dates this morning.   The next year’s date that will look like that will be 02.22.2222, a date that I will not live to see since I would be 272 years old at that point.  In fact, I have been having some odd reflections of late as I read about projects that are starting and will not be completed until 2035 and I have to face my own mortality because life will go on without me.  This is one reason why people opt for cryogenics and get frozen – they have a hunger to see what the future looks like, an itch that can only be solved by actually trying to go there.  

If you could travel in time, would you go backwards or forwards?  As much as I would love history, I think I would go take a look at what will be rather than what was….


Permalink | Wednesday, April 13, 2016

all keyed up

Today is the 3rd day of the week, the 12th day of the 4th month, and the 103rd day of 2016.  It is also: 
  • Big Wind Day
  • Drop Everything and Read Day
  • Equal Pay Day
  • Global Day of Action on Military Spending
  • International Day for Street Children
  • International Day of Human Space Flight [AKA Cosmonautics Day (Russia) and Yuri's Night]
  • National Be Kind To Lawyers Day
  • National Grilled Cheese Sandwich Day
  • National Library Day
  • National Library Workers Day
  • National Licorice Day
  • National Only Child Day
  • Russian Cosmonaut Day
  • Walk on Your Wild Side Day
Ah those Romans!  In 238 Gordian II, who was part of a 28-day rebellion against the Roman Emperor Maximinus Thrax started by landowners who felt they had been overly and unfairly taxed, lost the Battle of Carthage against the Numidian forces and is killed. Gordian I, his father, committed suicide.  In 1955 the polio vaccine, developed by Dr. Jonas Salk, was declared safe and effective.  Unfortunately polio has not yet been eradicated and is still a problem in Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria -- WHO hopes to have it eliminated completely by 2018   And  51 years ago today, back in 1961, Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin became the first human to travel into outer space and perform the first manned orbital flight in Vostok 1.  It seems fitting to mention at this point that @NASAVoyager is 18 hrs 35 mins 12 secs of light-travel time from Earth (2016:103:120000:1L)



Keys.   We all have them and we all need them.   I actually have three key rings – one for my apartment and mailbox, one for my car, and one for work.   Why not keep it all on one ring?  Well that was something that Frank, being a street-wise cop, taught me – keep your house keys separate so if you get car-jacked, they don’t have access to your house as well as your car.  And I keep those keys in coat pockets rather than in my pocketbook [hmmmm, my daughter always corrects me and says “purse” every time when I am talking to my granddaughter, but my big bag is definitely a pocketbook!]  because if someone snatches my pocketbook [and yes, that happened once to me back when I was 17] then I still have my keys.   The work key ring is usually kept in my briefcase….



Usually.  I swear that there is a black hole either in my apartment or my car or both because every now and then, the entire key ring just vanishes!  There are only two keys on it, one for the door to the suite and another for the ladies rooms and I usually try to use a large key ring so that it cannot be slipped into a pocket.  I keep the key ring in the front pocket of my briefcase but now and then, if I am not carrying my briefcase, I will put it in the pocketbook.  On Friday I did just that.  Saturday morning I took the key ring out of my pocketbook and when I tossed it over to the briefcase, I missed.  At that moment I just shrugged and figured I would grab it later….   And I never saw that key ring again.  Seriously!  It was attached to a fairly large ball about 2” in diameter, so this is not something that is going to slide under things easily….   But I still cannot find it.  I have looked under, beside, inside stuff that is around the entry way where I park my stuff to no avail.  Had to finally give up after three days of searching and request new keys be made from property management, but I KNOW those keys are there in that apartment somewhere!   Maybe I really need to invest in one of those finder apps….



*sighs*  Actually I would rather believe that I have a black hole or Bermuda-type triangle in the apartment then load up with tech that I haven’t really needed before.  After all, that would explain those missing socks too, as well as the cat toys that used to just vanish, never to be seen again, neh?




Permalink | Tuesday, April 12, 2016

And then there are Mondays

Today is the 11th day of the 4th month, the 102nd day of 2016 and: 
  • Barbershop Quartet Day
  • Education and Sharing Day
  • International Louie Louie Day
  • International Table Top Day
  • National Cheese Fondue Day
  • National Eight-Track Tape Day ((how many folks these day know what this is?))
  • National Pet Day
  • National Teach Children To Save Day
  • Submarine Day
  • World Parkinson's Disease Day
A couple things happened on this day in history that I found rather interesting [YMMV].   The first recorded event was in 491 when Flavius Anastasius became the Byzantine emperor, calling himself Anastasius I [seriously, what kind of hubris makes you declare that you are “I” because you are assuming there will be at least a II?]   In 1689, William III and Mary II were crowned as joint sovereigns of Britain, formalizing the Norman Conquest and sundering England from the Scandinavian countries.  In 1814, Napoleon Bonaparte abdicated as emperor of France and was banished to the island of Elba, where he stayed less than a year.  In 1909 the city of Tel Aviv was founded.  In 1976 today is the official birthday of the Apple I.  And in 1957, Britain agreed to Singapore self-rule.

No, I didn’t have much to say over the weekend.  Still don’t really have a lot to say this Monday either.  Lots of thoughts swirling about, not much that can be articulated, much less in a way that sounds witty or even mildly interesting.  Lots of things that I do not like that I could go on and on and on about!  The runaway income inequity for one thing as my country seems to be polarizing into those that have and those that have not – I even heard a story this morning on NPR that confirmed the wealthy are living longer.   Well duh – they can afford the best in health care, neh?   Another thing that I do not like is this presidential election, not even a little.  The Republicans’ clown circus just keeps rolling on and the Democrats have started sniping at each other rather than talking plans, vision and ideas.  Where are the leaders? And last, those poor refugees, shunted aside, discriminated against, penned up in camps, shuffled about like unwanted garbage – is it any wonder that the radicals find fertile recruiting grounds?  But talking about these things doesn’t make me feel better because I don’t know how to fix them and even if I did, I don’t know how to get others to listen to me.  It all seems hopeless

So, bringing it down to a more personal scale, reaching for three things to be thankful for:   [1] I can see, something that I can never take for granted again.  My friend is struggling as her world goes dark, and there really isn’t a lot of help out there. For every success story there are a lot of folks who are falling between the cracks.   [2] Monday morning.   Sounds rather odd, for I always complain about Mondays, but I was reminded after my post of yesterday that tomorrow is promised to no one – and my friend was 100% right.  Besides, I have a job and a salary and am making a living wage at least, if not one that will permit me the luxuries I crave.  And [3] I have lost weight.  Not because I am “dieting” or because I feel the need to be thin [well thinner since I have never in my entire life been what you call slender] but in the course of trying to get my blood sugar numbers under control, I shed some pounds and now I have to admit, I feel better in my clothes and have started getting more daring with what I wear – for example, today I have leggings on!

And so life rolls on….


Permalink | Monday, April 11, 2016

even the best of them....

Permalink | Sunday, April 10, 2016

dance me to the end of love....



Today is the 8th day of the 4th month and the 99th day of 2016 with only 260 shopping days until Christmas. 
  • Buddah Day [altho some cite May 25th as the historical birth date] also known as Hana Matsuri, "Flower Festival" in Japan
  • Dog Farting Awareness Day
  • Draw a Picture of a Bird Day
  • International Feng Shui Awareness Day
  • International Romani Day  -- they also suffered greatly from Hitler’s Holocaust
  • National All is Ours Day
  • National Dog Fighting Awareness Day
  • National Empañada Day
  • Step into the Spotlight! Day
  • Trading Cards For Grown-ups Day
  • Zoo Lovers Day
Not a good day for royalty!  In 217 the Roman Emperor Caracalla was assassinated and replace by his Praetorian Guard prefect.  In 632  King Charibert II iwas assassinated at Blaye (Gironde), along with his infant son Chilperic.  In 1139 Roger II of Sicily was excommunicated.

The is a little fantasy film that runs in my head every time I listen to 3rd Force’s Here Comes the Night  track [which came on the random song shuffle on the way to work this morning], one that involves a gentle flashback as I lay being lulled to sleep by the lullaby of dancing through a meeting with a certain star [who shall remain nameless but he can ballroom dance very well] and then dancing through the rest of his life together until the end of my own.  It’s a completely schmaltzy would-be video -- pretty and romantic -- guaranteed to make me pause and smile softly when I hear the song..

Now there are a couple of things that strike me about this fantasy when I think on it.  First, no one else participates because it is totally in my own head – even if my romantic hero was present there would be no indication to him that I was getting all misty-eyed over them and they don’t get to participate at all.  Categorize this kind of fantasy as wishful thinking, and try not to set expectations based on it because the other person hasn’t got a clue about what you are thinking and/or feeling.  Second, there is an underlying assumption of finding one’s soul mate – that person who resonates with you at such a high frequency that you complete each other – results in living happily ever after.  I never quite cottoned to the idea that there is only one soul mate for each person, and I also believe that there are degrees of intensity, so there are others, maybe even many others, that you can resonate with and spend your life with.  Timing and location sometimes conspire against you ever coming together with that person who is your all, neh?  And of course, even if you are 100% compatible, you are still going to have to deal with the ups and downs of real life.  On the whole, I rather like the idea that if you missed each other in this life, then you will definitely be together in the next [or maybe you were together in the last one], but that resonance is eternal.  And last?  I made the mistake once of marrying a man I couldn’t dance with and that will never happen again

Now excuse me, I am going to go re-visit that lovely little scenario…..




Permalink | Friday, April 8, 2016

going from very big to very small

Today is the 7th day of the 4th month and the 98th day of 2016, with only 261 shopping days left until Christmas.  It is also:
  • Empowered Women Entrepreneurs Day
  • International Beaver Day
  • International Day of Reflection on the 1994 Rwanda Genocide
  • International Snailpapers Day  - oh the joy of having your fingers turn black from the ink
  • Metric System Day – only three countries in the world are not on the metric system except for international trade – the United States, Liberia and Burma
  • National Alcohol Screening Day
  • National Beer Day
  • National Coffee Cake Day
  • National No Housework Day ((this is a natural day for me to celebrate))
  • National Pet Health Insurance Day  -- this is in the category of “nice idea but way too expensive” for me
  • Public Television Day – apparently because this is around the time they start begging
  • World Health Day --  in 1948 the World Health Organization was established by the United Nations.
In 451Attila the Hun sacked the town of Metz and attacked other cities in Gaul..   In 1141 Empress Matilda [or Maude depending on your source] became the first female ruler of England, adopting the title 'Lady of the English'.  .And in 2016,  it is Pandit Ravi Shankar’s 96th birthday [brought to my attention by a GOOGLE doodle], the Indian virtuoso who floated into mainstream Western consciousness when he introduced the Beatles’ George Harrison to the sitar.

Five years ago today I turned down a senior position in a larger organization that would’ve given me a hefty $20K bump in pay.  I made the decision based on three reasons:  [1] the increase in the commute which would become 1 ½ - 2 hours each way;  [2] the increase in hours that would be needed each day from 8 to 10+;  and [3] the need to do full dress for success again versus the business casual look I sport now.  Remembering this got me to thinking about the time when I was under consideration for the a position with a global bank and how I explained the transition from a small organization to a large one – I was able to pinpoint which the processes I was familiar with would be scalable and which would not, and how I would identify the differences.   I used the analogy of cooking dinner – when you go from two to four to six people it is a big deal and takes major planning changes, but once you get to eight [the number that most people can fit around the table easily] then things get much simpler.  You switch to a buffet and adding more people just means throwing another chop on the grill and another potato in the pot.   I didn’t get that job, but my arguments [and my demonstrated KSA] were persuasive enough that I did make it to the final selection pool only to be trumped by an internal candidate who wouldn’t need relocation.  Life sure would’ve been a lot different if I had been working for a global big bank and living in Baja California when the recession hit!

To my mind, it is actually more difficult to scale down, to go from working in a large organization [especially if you are in a senior position] to a small business.  There are the issues of pay and culture to deal with, but surprisingly enough, for those who have decided to make the change those two things seem to be handable.  But I have found from personal observation that although an SVP may say [and even think] that s/he can do the routine tasks, fill other roles and wear other hats, when it comes to actually doing the day-to-day stuff, they are all at sea.  Paradoxically, when you go from a large organization to a small business, it isn’t just that you stop managing other people and start managing yourself, but you need to spend more time actually doing tasks than you used to.   This results in  all kinds of expectations of support from staff,  coupled with a lack of comprehension of processes and procedures, .or even disagreement with the necessity of following “the way we do it here” as the person struggles to adjust to the new environment.  In this day of organizational specialization  not everyone, no matter how talented or well-meaning, has the skill set needed to work in a small business

Permalink | Thursday, April 7, 2016

the last thing I will say

Today is the 6th day of the 4th month and the 97th day of 2016 with only 262 shopping days until Christmas.  It is also: 
  • Army Day
  • Church of Latter Day Saints Day
  • Drowsy Drivers Awareness Day
  • Fresh Tomato Day
  • International Day of Sport for Development and Peace
  • Jump Over Things Day
  • Kids Kick Butts Day
  • National Caramel Popcorn Day – one of my favorite spots on the Ocean City NJ boardwalk
  • National Day of Hope
  • National Hostess Twinkie Day – yes you can still buy them
  • National Siamese Cat Day – after seeing Lady and the Tramp I was prejudiced against this breed of cats until my daughter adopted three.  Kula was mine for over eight years and I miss him very much.
  • National Student Athlete Day
  • National Tartan Day
  • National Walking Day
  • New Beers Eve
  • Paraprofessional Appreciation Day
  • Plan Your Epitaph Day – what will your last words be?
  • Sorry Charlie Day
  • Teflon Day
  • Whole Grain Sampling Day
In 46 BC Julius Caesar triumphs at the battle of Thapsus, which was the start of the conquest in three weeks of what is known as “Roman Africa”.  In 1652 Dutch sailor Jan van Riebeeck establishes a resupply camp at the Cape of Good Hope that eventually becomes Cape Town.  In 1909, explorers Robert E. Peary and Matthew A. Henson became the first men to reach the North Pole -- this has been disputed.  Some say that Frederick Cook was there a week earlier but in 1989 the Navigation Foundation upheld Perry’s claim [another example of the mutability of  “historical fact”]

While most of us SAY that we understand death is an inevitable journey that we all must take, we tend to LIVE as though we are going to always be around.  The whole idea of writing your epitaph while you are still alive is twofold, I think.  The one idea is to get you to thinking how you want to be remembered.   “They” [all those wonderful self-help gurus who worship productivity and constant improvement] want you to examine your life, determine your purpose, set your goals and  priorities, work towards achieving your desired outcomes, and when the end comes, your contributions will speak for themselves and you [and supposed the world at large] will know that you are [or were] who you wanted to be.  Another idea is that the epitaph is one last chance for you to say what you want to say after you are gone to your loved ones or to the general public  [unless you are an author in which case “epitaph” has an entirely different connotation.], like a tag line.   I’m not sure that this last usage means anything to me on a practical basis because I will not have a tombstone that will engrave my final comment, just a born and died date along with my name – and I doubt it will be my full name [which I don’t think my kids even know since it includes my confirmation name and ex-husbands’ names and now seven names long].   Certainly the “sayings” that come out of my mouth with appalling regularity through the years wouldn’t be appropriate:  “Life is not fair, cope.”  “Tomorrow is promised to no one.”  “No regrets.”    Maybe something along the lines of “Now I know what is on the other side” ?  


Permalink | Wednesday, April 6, 2016

at least it isn't Monday, neh?

Today is the 5th day of the 4th month and the 96th day of 2016 with 263 shopping days left until Christmas.  It is also:. 
  • Accelerate ACL Awareness Among Young Women Day
  • Bell Bottoms Day
  • Equal Pay Day
  • First Contact Day -- in 2063 [just 47 years away!] the Vulcans land on Earth.  Of course, humans also have just about wiped themselves out with disastrous wars and  discovered warp drive now too. 
  • Go for Broke Day
  • National Caramel Day
  • National Dandelion day
  • National Deep Dish Pizza Day
  • National Raisin and Spice Bar Day
  • Read a Road Map Day ((soon to be a lost art form thanks to GPS))
  • SAAM Day of Action
@NASAVoyager is 18 hrs 35 mins 20 secs of light-travel time from Earth (2016:096:120000:1L)

In 823 Lothair I is crowned King of Italy by Pope Paschal I ((now, other than the country name, did any of that sound even remotely familiar to you?  Me neither))   In 1976, Howard Hughes died on an airplane, which given how much he loved flying seemed very apropos to me.   Although he was the richest man in the world back in those days, he died without an heir or even a will  --  his estate just seemed to disappear and it wasn’t actually settled until 2010.  Disclosure:  despite the fact that I am a member of the Hughes family, neither I nor any of my known relatives got one thin dime from the settlement. 

Oh, and if you want to spend some time wasting time, just type in “Atari breakout” in a GOOGLE image search and wile away …..




Permalink | Tuesday, April 5, 2016

the 1st Monday of April

Today is the 4th day of the 4th month, the 95th day of the year and there are 264 shopping days left until Christmas.  On the Roman calendar, this was known as the day before the nones of April (Latin: Prid. Non. Apr.):  
  • 404 Day -- highlighting Atlanta, Georgia’s brightest and hardest working musicians, visual artists, dancers, vendors, food and spirits since 2012
  • Hug a Newsperson Day
  • International Carrot Day
  • International Day for Mine Awareness and Assistance in Mine Action
  • Major League Baseball's Opening Day (( let’s hear it for those O’s!))
  • National Cordon Bleu Day
  • National Fun Day
  • National Tell a Lie Day
  • NCAA basketball championship AKA the Final Four
  • Square Root Day -- only comes nine times a century – this century falling on 1/1/01, 2/2/04, 3/3/09, 4/4/16, 5/5/25, 6/6/36, 7/7/49, 8/8/64 and 9/9/81.
  • Sweet Potato Day
  • Victims of Violence Wholly Day
  • Vitamin C Day
  • Walk Around Things Day
  • World Rat Day (yes they are serious)
In 1147 Moscow is mentioned for the very first time in historical records.  In 1609  Henry Hudson sails from Amsterdam intending to find a Northeast Passage through North America



Like a lot of folks I find  Mondays to be discouraging.  For one thing, it is hard to get up in the morning after having two glorious days without the alarm being set and for another, it is hard to give up and realize the weekend is over and you have to go back on the clock for the next five days rather than doing what you want to do.   Getting up, getting dressed, getting out the door, getting into the office, getting started on the tasks, getting into work mode – it all seems to take an extra dollop of effort on Monday mornings.   I have been trying to remember if there was ever a time when I jumped up and was eager to get into the office and get started, and I cannot think of a time when I was really psyched to go to work.  Now don’t get me wrong, I don’t dislike my job [although there have been times when I dreaded going in back in the day] or the people that I work with [although I am not one to form lasting friendships quickly with co-workers].  I just have never defined myself by the work that I do; I have never lived for my work.   If I am going to make a contribution while on this earth, I always rather thought it would be outside the workplace, not part and parcel of what I do.  Is that because I see myself as a cog in the wheel?  Not sure about that, but even when I felt I had an impact on the strategic direction of the organization I worked for, I never quite felt that I was making a material difference in the world I live in.  No I always sought that kind of satisfaction outside the workplace – for me, work is something that I do so that I can live.  If I had a guaranteed income [like the Federation in Star Trek or a pension or I won the Lottery], I wouldn’t be working any of the jobs that I have held so ably, that’s for sure!  The question would be for me then, how would I spend the 50+ hours a week that are currently devoted to job/commute? 

 

*ponders*




Permalink | Monday, April 4, 2016
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