Stairs

I've worked at the same company for over 26 years.

Not simply the same company, but also the same building. The same location. For 26 years.

And I value and appreciate the stability and predictability that this longevity and consistency has provided me. But at the same time, when you have an ongoing, repeating familiarity for that long a period of time, you make comparisons. You notice things. You witness the passage of time in very specific and sometimes very obvious ways.

In my early 30s, during the early years of this employment tenure, my friends and I would head downstairs at midday for lunch in the building cafeteria. And, young and spritely as I was, I remember bouncing down the mid-building steps with a quickness.

(My department has worked on the third floor, the fourth floor, the second floor over the years. So I've bounced down the steps from many different starting points.) 

But I did bounce . . . with speed and agility.

The recognition of the passage of time comes in when I compare the past to now.

Now . . . not only do I go down the stairs alone. But I do it with deliberate step and nothing resembling speed or bounce.

First . . . alone.

Because many of my initial friends no longer work at the company and have not for a long time. They moved on--either willingly or sometimes unwillingly. Some came back, but work remotely. The work world is fluid. 

And alone . . . because those who work in my department now, almost to a person, work from home and do not come into the building any longer. So, I am working almost alone on an empty floor, contrasting my environment and my walking speed to memories of the past. Working alone and thinking of ghosts.

This is what happens when you work in the same place for 26 year.

George W. Bush's thoughts (at one moment in time) on immigration enforcement

I know intellectually that if you read any politician's speeches in any sort of depth, you will find contradictions. So cherry-picking a speech given on a particular day, on a specific subject, and further narrowing your excerpt to an isolated paragraph is . . . not on solid rhetorical ground.

BUT! 

I'm trying to refute POTUS 47, Donald J. Trump, who has no rhetorical center at all and so, I guess it's fair game to fight fire with fire? I'd say his political opinions spin like a weather vane, but Trump's particular brand of hate-filled politics is depressingly consistent in the fact that it must:

a. benefit him above all

b. help him retain power, influence, and punish his enemies (see a.), and 

c. attack the weak and those who aren't in his camp.

ANYWAY . . .

here is something President George W. Bush said in a May 15, 2006 speech about the need for immigration reform:

America needs to conduct this debate on immigration in a reasoned and respectful tone. Feelings run deep on this issue, and as we work it out, all of us need to keep some things in mind. We cannot build a unified country by inciting people to anger, or playing on anyone's fears, or exploiting the issue of immigration for political gain. We must always remember that real lives will be affected by our debates and decisions, and that every human being has dignity and value no matter what their citizenship papers say.

I've never been a fan of the 43rd president. But he is so much more of a reasonable human being and political opponent than Donald Trump is. I've never voted Republican in my life and I'm not about to start now. But the way that Trump has captured and reshaped the GOP in his own fun-house way is disgusting. 

COV95D-19

This week (Friday, apparently) marks two decades of working at my office. 

While attending a weekly Zoom meeting with my department members and friends, Lynda surprised me with a celebratory set of balloons, a wonderful card, and two dozen (!!) Krispy Kreme doughnuts (donuts?). It had been secretly coordinated by my great friends who wanted to mark the occasion and delivered the gifts during the meeting. Everyone had such nice things to say and they were terribly complimentary. I was reminded again that everything you say will be remembered and repeated to you eventually. So make sure that what you say is done with a smile. 

It was wonderful and embarrassing, and lovely--and I was attention-sweating the whole time.

Twenty years of anything is noteworthy. And (these days) twenty years in the same company is downright miraculous. Lord knows that many of the people reading this right now cannot say the same--and most of my loyal readers were definitely some of my colleagues and friends who have worked with me along the way.

Simply put, I'm luckier than I should be allowed to be. 

I hope you all are lucky enough to experience good office colleagues in your life. We spend so much of our adulthood in jobs. It is such a blessing to share that time with very good and admirable people.

— David (@dtm1971) June 15, 2020

I've been part of lots of good, stimulating work. And I am still engaged by the work all these years later. Happily, I've learned my way into the job and most of the time these days I can actually feel like I have finally learned how to do it pretty well. Right now I'm engaged with very exciting new work that is equal parts interesting, daunting, and (I hope has the potential to be) important. These projects tend to take a while to complete, so I'll be neck-deep in it for quite a bit of time to come. But when it is done, I hope to look at the completed work with happiness.

I can't say much more without wading into violations of corporate policy . . . and wouldn't THAT be a spectacular way to start a 21st year? So I'll bring this to a close by saying thank you to everyone who has helped to get me here--lots of former and current work friends, my wife who can share my work stories and bounce back her own. Many of the happiest, funniest, most impactful moments of my adulthood have been in and around my work and the people I've shared it with. 

It's been much more fun than you can expect a job to be.

COV82D-19

There are some days when I start my work hours with a pit of anxiety in my stomach. Either I'm worried about getting things done properly. Or I find that how I imagined the work to be more complex than it is turning out to be. Or any number of other workplace scenarios.

Most likely you can relate in some way to this problem.

How to fix it? 

Generally, by getting started.

Beginning the tasks, no matter how confused I may be or how wrong I might misunderstand. Or how badly I didn't anticipate the issues before me. By getting started, I start making sense of the problem. Or at least I better understand what the problem actually is. And I start figuring out how to fix it. Or I begin asking others for advice on how they can help me fix it.

But beginning something is definitely preferable to imagining how bad the work might be.

COV81D-19

Today was one of those days where you feel like you're swimming through molasses the whole time and nothing is going as fast as you want it to.

Technology--naturally--was my biggest nemesis today.

Because my job and Zoom are my two pandemic overlords, they decided to work together over the weekend and today to make things hard for me.

It started yesterday when I was trying to launch my family Zoom call. (Since the quarantine started, my siblings and my parents have been chatting on Sunday via Zoom. I had set up last week's scheduled chat and was trying to launch it when I got an error dialogue pop up window telling me that I needed to update my program to a newer version. I initially thought it might be a phishing attempt since I had been using Zoom for the last several weeks at work with no problems at all. But I couldn't get the update to install and we had to quickly pivot (workspeak!) to a different solution to get the family call up and running quickly. All of that worked out and I made a mental note to check Zoom again today once I started doing work.)

This morning I didn't react quickly enough and had to pivot again for my work-related team status. And so what else could I do but launch "Teams" to get THAT meeting done. But I limped my way through it and then quickly reported the need for a Zoom update through my company's service IT portal. 

When I heard from a service person who was able to help, I only had a little over an hour before my NEXT Zoom meeting this afternoon. And while I did get help updating some overdue Windows platform fixes, those updates DID NOT fit my Zoom issue. So I had to download the Zoom app onto my phone and slink my way into this afternoon's department meeting with no video capability and viewing information through my small phone screen. Not optimal!

Luckily, my helpful IT representative had said he would check back in on me this afternoon to see if the Windows update solved me problem. And when he called me back, we was able to remote connect into my laptop and update Zoom accordingly.

So . . . here's hoping that for the rest of my Zoom meetings this week and over the weekend--not to mention for many, many months to come--I'm all up-to-date and ready to go.

Still, navigating through these problems isn't so much like swapping out some futuristic circuits in Star Trek and more like . . .

COV61D-19

I took a day off of work today. It was a needed break for me. A time to step out of the house and breath some fresh air. And I was lucky enough to have a day on my schedule that didn't have any predetermined tasks that I had to accomplish AND it was a bright and sunny day and not very cold.

So, I took Sarah with me because she is out of school and she doesn't have any work right now.

We first drove down to Scioto Grove Metro Park in Grove City and wandered around their trails, taking pictures of the river and the woods. After that we drove back into Columbus and hung out on the Scioto Mile. We ate some lunch and relaxed in the sun. And we talked about many different things. The news. Culture. Life. Friends. School. 

It was so nice to be out and away from my routine and my home--even for a few hours. We wore masks when we went inside. We social distances. We remarked at how silent and empty the downtown area seemed on a day like this. We saw bikers and walkers and families. But the OSU neighborhood was eerily empty and still.

Such is life in the time of coronavirus.

I hope that each of you has an opportunity soon to step away from your responsibilities and give yourself a moment to recharge. It felt good for me to do so today.

COV43D-19

I don't have lots of thoughts today, so here is a quick one--a Warhol-esque photo of a banana that I took on the second floor of my work office at least a year ago.

COV7D-19 (part 2)

The process of becoming a stay-at-home worker continues.

Some mornings (in the very small sample size that I currently have) I get going at the start time and I am very focused and everything is mostly okay. And then other mornings, I'm sitting down and I've got my laptop on and I'm connected to all of my files and etc. But it feels like its just lots of clicking and typing and then I look up and it already past 11 am.

I've started using new communications platforms that I had but didn't need to use before (Teams). And this afternoon I got the small, cheap, portable plug-in monitor that I purchased a few days ago. I could have gotten one of my work monitors from my desk office, but honestly, I didn't want to set that up at home. For you see, I've been working at the dining room table down on the main floor all of this week. And when I'm done working, I need to close it all up and put it somewhere else. And I didn't want to hassle of moving that monitor and the cables and related power cords all over the place each and every day. My desire for order is already stretched to the near breaking point right now as it is--what with all of the kids and their laptops and charging cords and phones and charging cords and glasses and napkins and whatever everywhere all the time. They've got nowhere to go and so everything is everywhere. And Lynda is already set up mostly in the basement at our secondary table down there. (Mostly because she is involved in far more phone conference calls than I am every day and needs to be in a lower amount of ambient noise for her WebEx connections. Plus it's colder down there. And there is less sunlight than where I am with a window directly to my left and the big picture window in the room to my right.)

But speaking of sunlight . . . I'd dearly love more of it. As I'm sure it has been with you, it's been two days worth of rain lately. And I'm even more stressed. Plus the kids have no chance of getting out to go for a walk or anything. Bad times.

And then . . . the week started well with my not eating too much. But in the last few days, I've been snacking more than I should. And Grace and Sarah (bless them) made chocolate chip cookies last night, so that is also a temptation that I'm not avoiding well.

When I'm done working for the day, the girls and I have started rewatching LOST (including Hannah for the first time). Hannah--as is her nature--is always asking questions. And you know that LOST is not a show with quick, abundant answers. Plus . . . waiting for the reveal is so much a part of the fun. But she doesn't realize that yet. I don't know how long we'll keep it up or how far we'll actually get. But maybe I can get a few more entries completed in the long fallow LOST Rewatch project.

In other other other news . . . I conceived of a few digital ideas for private groups that are turning out fun--stuff for the North Marching Band, and of course the launch of the #OfficialHat2020 campaign. (I'm really asking people to put their increased computer time to more focused use. I just hope they will click on all the links and vote like I want them to.)

I'll probably dream of something else to do soon. But that will be a blog post for a different day. I'm sad that the unfinished Band Room decoration project is on hold, but there is plenty of school-based stuff that is sitting still right now. I hope that when this all passes, I can dive right back into that and check that box complete soon.

That's it for today. My back hurts and I'm tired of staring at this laptop screen any further.

Check back in tomorrow for video #2 in this year's #HatofSummer fun. (And don't forget to go vote!)

Recognizing American Greatness . . . Again

Credit: thediscoveryacademy.co.uk

One of the random fun bits of my job as a textbook writer is when I can do a bit of research and find something interesting. It's rare that I have enough time to really stop and read . . . but I had a bit of time recently while doing some supporting research for a task and I found these two inspiring government documents.

First, a House Judiciary Committee report that began the often failed efforts to pass an Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution. This particular committee action seemed (at first) the same as many other ERA attempts in the decades between 1923 and 1970. But this move resulted (eventually) in the first actual Floor vote on the notion of constitutional equal rights.

What I found so interesting about this simple bit of legislative procedure--after all, the basis of this document was simply to add two simple amendments to the committee's proposed wording--was the lengthy Report that accompanied the legal wording. It gave a historical overview of the existence of inequality in our legal system which began thusly:

“In recommending the proposed amendment to the Constitution, your Committee recognizes that our legal system currently contains the vestiges of a variety of ancient common law principles which discriminate unfairly against women. Some of these discriminatory principles are based on the old common law doctrine of ‘coverture’ which treated the husband and wife as a single legal entity, but which regarded the husband alone as ‘the one.’ Other discriminatory principles still discernible in our legal system are based on an invidious and outmoded double-standard which affords men a greater freedom than women to depart from conventional moral standards. Still other forms of discriminatory laws have their origins in obsolete and often irrational notions of chivalry which in a modern context regard women in a patronizing or condescending light. . . . [These discriminations] are in many cases without rational justification and are no longer relevant to our modern democratic institutions. Their persistence even in vestigial form creates disharmony between the sexes. Therefore, we strongly recommend that all irrational discrimination on the basis of sex be eliminated.”

If you are so inspired, you could read the whole item here.


Following that, I began research on some other (related) topic and found this speech given by President Obama in 2012 when he awarded Presidental Medals of Freedom to such American citizens as Madeleine Albright, Dolores Huerta, Bob Dylan, John Glenn, and Juliette Gordon Low, and John Paul Stevens.

It was so nice to read an eloquent speech given thoughtfully from the White House, highlighting such a variety of people who have truly Made America Great in their own personal ways. One excerpt from that speech is:

". . . [W]hen Cesar Chavez sat Dolores Huerta down at his kitchen table and told her they should start a union, she thought he was joking.  She was a single mother of seven children, so she obviously didn’t have a lot of free time.  But Dolores had been an elementary school teacher and remembered seeing children come to school hungry and without shoes.  So in the end, she agreed -- and workers everywhere are glad that she did.  Without any negotiating experience, Dolores helped lead a worldwide grape boycott that forced growers to agree to some of the country’s first farm worker contracts.  And ever since, she has fought to give more people a seat at the table.  'Don’t wait to be invited,' she says, 'Step in there.'"

Please do me a favor and read the whole speech. It is so inspiring.

Thoughts from Work (Aug. 25, 2015)

Credit: me

1.  Today is the tenth anniversary of Hurricane Katrina. I should have anticipated that and made a btw story focused on it.
2. Yesterday I used "Suck it, haters." in a Facebook comment. And now I want to work that phrase into each conversation that I have.
3. I am enjoying my standing desk. (Thanks, John!) I hope that it is helping me stay marginally healthy--or at least offset the occasional consumption of office doughnuts.
4.  I made beef stew last night for dinner. If I'd had more time, I would have made it slower and maybe been able to develop the flavors more. But it was a pretty good success overall--especially for a Monday evening.
5. I'm giving blood this morning. Do you give blood? If you can, you should. It does a lot of good for lots of people. And your body will make more, so why not offer up some to someone else? But don't say thank you to me just yet. The truth is . . . I almost only ever give here when the Red Cross holds a drive at my office building. It just makes it so convenient for me. (And as usual, I am making this act of giving about me. Sorry.)
6. I need to write one of these thoughts without the use of ellipses . . . or parentheses. (Like THAT is going to happen.)
7. Speaking of standing while working--I am trying to do it all day and avoid sitting, except for when I eat. To sit down while I have this desk would seem to invalidate the whining and complaining that I childishly did when I couldn't get one. And now that I do have one--thanks to the generosity of a colleague who chose not to continue using his, I am now obligated to use it as much as possible. So, if you don't like to see me stand--suck it, haters!
8. Do you feel that I haven't utilized the Official Hat of Summer enough this season, as we enter into summer's final weeks? Full disclosure--I have had that worry a few times this summer. But I have tried to wear it when out and about on weekends. And I've tried to take relevant pictures documenting this whenever possible. So, I am keeping it mindful as I make wardrobe choices. As of yet, no one in a crowd has reacted with excitement when I walk up, whispering "Hey . . . everybody, look over there! It's The Official Hat of Summer!" But I remain hopeful that it will happen someday if I just keep trying.
9. Still not sitting down. (My thighs are gonna be SO strong, you guys.)
10. Do you ever find yourself inundated with podcasts that you just aren't catching up on? And they keep piling up every day because the work that you are doing isn't really conducive to listening to podcasts while being effective, so things just keep piling and piling? And then, somehow, you catch up again and everything is fine? Has that ever happened to you?
11. What podcasts am I listening to? Well, they are: Dear Hank & John, PTI: Pardon the Interruption, Fresh Air w/ Terri Gross, Judge John Hodgman, some of the episodes of the Nerdist; (and Serial . . . whenever a new season begins). I miss listening to (some of the episodes of) the BS Report--but since Bill Simmons got fired by ESPN, that has been gone. But he tweeted yesterday that once his new HBO gig begins, his rebranded podcast will start again.
12. Standing update--I'm constantly wanting to cross my legs and lean. But I don't think that is the correct posture. I should stay distributed evenly on both feet and just wiggle back and forth to keep from getting too tired, right?
13. Probably my dad would be pretty upset that I am willingly choosing to stand while working, as he worked in cornfields for years, standing and sweating. He'd think it is dumb to stand when you have the opportunity to sit. Some white-collar worker I am.
14. (Next  time I do this, I should put time stamps for when I thought of and typed down each thought.)
15. Should I be regretful that I didn't watch that talked about show "Mr. Robot" this summer? (I did watch "Humans" and enjoyed it quite a lot, so maybe I can get a pass?) But what I REALLY want to be watching is more of "Better Call Saul".
16. Just went to fill up my coffee cup and the vending machine was being restocked. There is a cart full of chips, candy bars, and other snacks. The vendor technician was occupied with something on the machine and had his back turned as I slipped past in and out to the coffee pot. In neither instance, did I dart out my hand to grab a free candy bar. Would it have been successful had I tried? Or would I have miscalculated, gone for the boxes of empties and therefore drawn attention to myself? And . . . as you were reading this, did you consider--even briefly . . . that I was going to tell you that I stole something?
17. Someone is daily using my filing cabinet magnetic letters to spell out LOPEZ.
18. In a world with free oatmeal raisin, sugar, and double chocolate cookies--which is the correct choice?
19. Afternoon updates--I chose to sit down after lunch (and after my blood donation). I thought it might be unwise to stand for the next several hours while I am "recovering" from being down a pint of blood. And I will definitely use this opportunity to eat a cookie while finishing out the afternoon. These are the justifications that we must all face.
20. The college football season is fast approaching. Are you interested in my continuing to write Football Counter-Programming posts that go live each Saturday game day? If you are interested, what sorts of topics would you want me to muse upon? (I would really like your help in topic suggestions. Please leave any thoughts you have in the comments.)
21. Should I be bothered by the effort to create a playground from shipping containers? Or is it a good, temporary solution to a problem? And why does this use of shipping containers (and according to the artist drawing . . . shipping pallets) disturb me . . . but the idea of living in a modest home made from shipping containers feels like a grand solution.

Alright . . . leaving now to pick up the kids from school. Think about what you've learned and don't forget to leave me Counter-Programming topics in comments.

Election Central: Follow the Links

 Have you been keeping up with Election Central?
As the political season heats up, this site is heating up as well.

Credit: McGraw-Hill Education

Everywhere you click on this site, you can find something interesting and useful. And here's a recent example:

From the home page, choose the "Tracking the 2016 Election Candidates" post.
That will take you to the timeline that is (trying its best to stay) up-to-date on who has entered the presidential race so far.

But . . . if you follow the links from there, you'll be able to land in the other candidate biography pages. Those two posts are subdivided by political party and give each official candidate a brief biography of who they are, what their experience level is, and things like that. And if you click on the last tab of those biographies, you can discover the various social media platforms used by each and every candidate.

Building all of these links has really taught me a few things. For instance--

• Google+ is not a platform used by almost anyone. (But there are a few out there.)
• The Marco Rubio campaign never met a social platform it didn't like . . . even Pintrest.
• The Bobby Jindal YouTube page is depressing in its lack of content.

Come on. Go explore. You'll see some fun stuff.
(But if you are epileptic . . . watch out for Rick Perry's Web page--especially if your computer's speakers are turned off.)

Party Month/Work Week

Credit: me; Our office good-luck totem gets some Major League-related snark during the stress of Texas review week.

Traditionally, the end of June through most of July is known as Party Month around the Martin house. We begin with Grace's birthday, slide through Lynda's birthday, our anniversary, and into Sarah's birthday. It's a busy time filled with plans, gifts, and all that stuff there.

This year's version was made more intriguing by the additional fun of a big family visit by the Thompsons in Georgia (both parents and brother-in-laws family). And when we have family visits, we go all out and do stuff that we never both to do for ourselves when we are alone.

So we went to Zoombezi Bay. We went to a Clippers baseball game. We went to COSI. We went swimming. We hardly ever stayed still except at night. And we ran our visitors ragged probably, driving them here and there and everywhich way to show of the city and find exciting ways to have a good time. (There is probably a reason why vacations only come around once a year, as they can certainly tire you out.) But everyone said that had a good time and politeness abounded--as it always must when the house gets more crowded with people. But it is good for us to stretch ourselves and shake off the routine and appreciate the many things we have and enjoy--even if we don't really stop to enjoy them as much as we might.

Oh, and did I mention that the run up to Party Month was also "enhanced" by a complete overhaul/remodel of our kitchen? Which we desperately wanted to get done before all the company arrived . . . and which is mostly did. (There are still some wall painting items that are needed to be finished and some other minor bits like that . . . but at least all the cabinets were hung and the floor was replaced and the backsplash and molding was fit and the water was turned on.)

So . . . after all of THAT the normal Party Month festivities got into gear. Grace's 11th birthday was centered around the movie How to Train Your Dragon 2, which we all enjoyed and agreed to be a much better movie-centering party than the LAST time (when Sarah wanted to see the terrible Avatar: The Last Airbender movie). Sadly, Grace did not get a letter to Hogwarts. But there is still hope that Hannah will get one in five more years.

Lynda and I combined the celebration of her birthday and our 19th anniversary into one nice date. And we really had a good time relaxing together and reminding ourselves of our abundant blessings.

Up next is Sarah's birthday . . . which is still a few weeks away. But interposed within the fun of Party Month, I've faced my own Work Week of Hell as my textbook project rubber hits the road of Texas review and evaluation. (In fact, I'm writing this post at the office at 11:30 pm while I want to button up the last few changes to my response document that goes back to the Texas Education Association review panel.)

This project has had its fits and starts, to be sure but if we can get past this major approval hurdle tonight and tomorrow, then a huge roadblock is removed and the possibility of success becomes that much more possible. I surely hope so, as the team has put up with a lot to get the program this far.

I hope it'll all be okay.

Aimless

(This photo chosen specifically for my friend & colleague, Christine.) Credit: www.manateepower.com

I'm feeling . . . you guessed it . . . a bit aimless tonight.
I'm physically tired, we didn't have an appointment, softball practice, family activity, or other commitment to meet tonight, so we all just sort of got home and have stayed there.
I made an executive decision to not try and do any work tonight either . . . which is not always a problem, but it has been recently and guarantees to become a problem as the months of this year go on. But, for tonight, I just don't have the interest in it.

So, I'm just sort of wandering around the house while everyone is either getting ready for bed, resting, reading (which I forced the older girls to do for a while tonight, as I thought they were spending too much time in front of a screen), or whatever. We're all sort of . . . separate . . . which is not always a bad thing. With five of us in the house, it is sometimes valuable to have your own space, even if only for a little while.

But soon the girls will all be in bed and Lynda will probably settle down for a few hours of work. And I'll continue to ignore my laptop, ignore my half-read books, ignore random things, and just continue to be . . . aimless.

Work has been a combination of impending stress (for what is upcoming) and mind-numbingly tedious (for what is happening now). I so badly want to finish my current task but I am not looking forward to the 3 other things that await me in the immediate aftermath. But such is life in the downsized corporate world of today where those who choose to put up with it are asked to put up with much more of it. Maybe I'll prove to not be good at continuing to do it satisfactorily (assuming I did it that way before now)? Who knows. I just feel like one of we few, we (un?) happy few.

NaBloWriMo #14: Birthdays

One of the things that I've taken on at the office over the decade-plus that I've worked there is organizing monthly birthday celebrations for the people in the department. Looking back on it now, I don't really recall what motivated me to start it, though I do remember the origins of a few elements.

Credit: superpimper.com

As I think I mentioned on this site before, the department's birthday ambassador is Senor Picante, a 18-in tall stuffed chili pepper with a bristly mustache that is itself five inches long. El Senor wears a wide-brimmed sombrero and generally presents a spicy, sassy attitude. How he came to be in my charge, my brain cells can no longer recall. When he is not acting as birthday ambassador, spending the day hanging out at a celebrant's cubicle, he sleeps off tequila binges (which are frequent) in an old, empty Hershey's chocolate bar tin underneath my desk. (He likes the darkness and the constant humming of the computers helps him fall asleep easier.

For a while, he was a solo act . . . until I was presented with the Birthday Helmet one year on my own birthday. It is a cast-iron, flat-brimmed, World War I style helmet that has a prominent dent in the rounded top (from when its previous owner went after the Kaiser?). But the most striking aspect of the Birthday Helmet, aside from its weight, is the many layers of paint that have been graffiti-ed on top of it, giving it a celebratory style that is quite different from its original intent. (Let's just say that I wouldn't try to sneak through no-man's land wearing it.)

For the past many years, El Senor and the helmet have traveled to and from my cubicle. In addition to that duty, I've helped coordinate the gathering of eats and treats during the middle of the month. And I write a brief email celebrating the people who want to publicly acknowledge their birthdays for that month. (I try NOT to make any birthday presentations coercive. It should be fun, not a challenge.)

And so, things have been thus . . . but things have seemed more challenging in the last year or so. A large part of this has been the never-ending project that has made things harder to focus on. And my monthly reminders are less reliable than they have been in the past. (But I haven't taken the time to go back and reprogram my calendar to get things on a more accurate footing. See problem number 1 for the reason why this is so.) And so . . . I've missed a few days and Picante has slept when he should have been on the job.

And people are busy and trying to eat more healthy and styles and personnel have changed . . . and so I sometimes wonder if I should just drop it all and forget about it. But I really don't want to do that. I just want to do a better job of it. And I guess I want to recapture the imagination of it that has been lost over time. Sometimes it feels pretty routine and I don't feel that my heart is in it. So, much as I'm trying with the NaBloWriMo to revitalize my blogging interest, I need to find a way to make this work role more powerful to me.

Leaving

There was a sense of desperation as everyone left the office today. I'm sure it was because of the fact that, for once in what feels like a month, we had a nice sunny day. The sky is blue. There are no clouds in the sky, and you can see the green of the grass and leaves and you can feel the heat of the visible sun. There's no wind blowing and there is no rain coming down.

I mean everybody probably fled home to mow the grass, but still . . .

I am leaving the office so that I can meet up with the family. We are going to eat a picnic dinner while preparing for Sarah's softball practice tonight.


-- Posted From My iPhone (so, I apologize in advance for any typos I missed)

Friday night

For the first time in weeks, the weekend comes and I don't feel completely overwhelmed with the needs and demands of the 9 to 5 workload. That is not to say that I don't have work with me this weekend, but it isn't a depressing amount. Not at all as bad as last weekend.

Now, I usually take Friday nights off anyway, so I expect tonight to involve relaxing and watching Fringe, plus other shows from the past week. (Too bad I don't have any beer to relax with.)

So far we've had our dinner and are waiting out the time before Hannah goes to bed. Then the older girls will watch a movie of their own. And I'll just have to keep waiting to do any relaxing of my own.

Lynda isn't feeling great, so she'll fall asleep as soon as she can. So it looks like a solitary, quiet night ahead for me.

-- Posted From My iPhone (so, I apologize in advance for any typos I missed)

Today's Business Truth

In my experience, whenever my projects shift from Phase A to Phase B (or between B and C . . . whenever, really) the first day is full of Panic because:

i.) there aren't enough people to take on the additional workload.

ii.) we're still behind on the previous Phase's work (and see also item i above).

But usually by the next day, the expected hopelessness kicks in and you become numb to the predicament. (Because i and ii aren't going anywhere anyway).


-- Posted From My iPhone (so, I apologize in advance for any typos I missed)

BEDAu Day 29: Up & Down

Have you ever had a day where you were alternating between wakefulness and sleep? As I tweeted earlier today, I want coffee and a nap at the same time.

And it won't get better tonight because (as usual) I've avoided doing any office work throughout the whole weekend. So, if I want to approach the goals I had on Friday, it'll have to start tonight. We'll see.

But I've accomplished two bike rides with the kids and started a new book. So, other good things have definitely been going on. And the work won't be going anywhere. And what else am I going to do during the weekdays, (See? I've practically talked myself out of it while you're reading this. I'm so predictable!)

In other news, we took the plunge and started the underwear route for Hannah this weekend. A few minor mistakes so far but one of the rites of passage are underway.

I guess that's it for now.

-- Posted From My iPhone (so, I apologize in advance for any typos I missed)n

BEDAu Day 11: Busier than . . .

a one-legged man at an ass-kickin' contest.

a three-legged cat at a stream of trout.

some other maim-based euphamisms that I can't recall (or have time to identify).

I've got more work to do tonight, Lynda's got to get packed for departure, and we've got to go back tomorrow to pick up our two (2!) vans that were in the shop today.

I'm typing this poor excuse of post to fulfill my BEDAu duties and then it's back to it.

Sorry all.

I'll try to do better tomorrow night.

Last Night's Dream

Here is a description of a work-related anxiety dream if I've ever had one.

*****

It starts in my cubicle at the office. I get a phone call from Neil Patrick Harris' "Barney" character from How I Met Your Mother. Apparently I work with him now . . . or at least he has my phone number. Barney was in charge of procuring a stripper for some office function and, in typical Barney fashion, he has struck me with the task of paying the stripper once her duties were performed. I try to protest, but Barney will have none of it. The stripper is coming over to my cubicle for payment.

(I also feel that there was some sort of ball-related joke here, but my dream brain mercifully decided to omit those details. Just a vague feeling remains.)

The stripper arrives and I awkwardly make payment without looking very much. Luckily, the lights in the office seem kind of dim, so not too many stray glances occur. But the uncormfortable meter is peaking pretty high.

Once the stripper has been paid and has left the premises, here comes the other part of the dream in the form of a World War II-era British military officer. He has arrived at my desk and clearly has something vitally important to ask me. The only thing is, he isn't so good on speaking those demands clearly. What follows is lots of facial gestures, oddly signficant hand-waving, and about one out of four words in a sentence spoken aloud. I am really struggling to get this guys meaning down, but it is increasingly clear that he has previously asked me to do something for him and I have forgotten what it is. His inadequate communications are now preventing me from understanding exactly what I failed to do the first time. And I am growing very tense and frustrated.

After more back and forth, (along with some pointing to a poster of British military aircraft hanging on my cubicle wall) I finally realize that I had been tasked with writing a description of this man's father's actions in World War II in the Royal Air Force to post on a company Web site. And since it was now PAST Father's Day, I had failed in meeting my deadline. And I was full of remorse in the fact that I would now have to wait a full year to adequately meet the request again.

*****

Sigh. Work-related dreams SUCK