Home Was Nice

Eagles. Glass. Family.

Pictures to accompany each of those. We'll start with glass. Do they look like real plants? Except maybe shorter? Except not shorter. 10 or 12 foot fixtures of amazing glass. YES. It's GLASS.



And the family rocked it too.

p.s. OK, damn it, here's a closeup. (pssst. just click)

Home

I'm really, really looking forward to going home on Thursday. I miss the sky. I miss the mountains. Dang it, I miss my family. I love you Susie and Rick and Mom. Miss you, Mom!

I miss the sky.

I think it's normal to need to hug someone who would love me anyway.



p.s. And there really IS an Arizona. Dufuses, I don't know what travel agent they use, but I -- personally -- would switch!

Reset

We had to reset our layoff clock today. To zero.

As far as I know, today is the first time that someone who was not laid off was comforted by someone who was laid off, as the person who was not laid off was bawling her eyes out over the news. (No, not me, although that was my initial reaction.)

Here's the funny part (in a rather long story). OK, so P (good guy) was talking to PH (good but boring guy) and P (good guy) asked, hey PH (good but boring guy), what's up this afternoon and PH (good but boring guy) said, well, I just have this meeting with me and the AH (corporate guy) between 2 and 3. So at 2:40, P (good guy)gets a text from the AH (corporate guy) and it says, hey are you available for a call? So P (good guy) says sure and the AH (corporate guy) calls P (good guy) and says, well, we're laying you off, you have thirty days to clear your stuff, see ya later (end of the AH's (corporate guy's) involvement in this story). So P (good guy) goes to PH (good but boring guy) later in the day to explain what happened and PH (good but boring guy) says, No! No Way! I had a meeting with the AH (corporate guy) during the hours you say that happened. He would have had to put me on hold, converse with you for three minutes, then come back to me as if nothing had happened.

((cricket noises))

What kind of company --- nay, what kind of people, stretch a series of layoffs over 12 days?



Edited to fix identity problems.

I don't think...

... I am going to make 30 in 30. It sounded like a nice goal (I think it still is), and I could definitely double up and .. whatever, but it's not like I was productive for 30 days, which is what I hoped for. IV'E BEEN VERY DISTRACTED WHAT WITH THE LAYOFFS AND ALL. It's fine.

I had a great weekend. We hiked. The redbuds were glorious.



And, if you follow bk's blog, you know we went to a Horsemen game and he won season tickets in the football throw. (Please don't be disappointed in the audio quality of this clip. I'm planning on getting a better mike, and I'm really hoping to do the next one when I've only had two glasses of wine. It will get better!!!)

((Edited to add that that stuff did just not work at all. Try the link!!))

Yeah, that's right, this link!

Edited to add that this did not work well. I'll have to tinker and tweak and let you know. But there is a future here.

Tree

Today was kind of a weird day because it was the fourth day where I really spent a lot of time waiting. Waiting to see what would happen, when the other shoe would drop, who would still be working there, trying to focus on what I can do to improve everything. Then after work I stopped with a friend to offer comfort to another friend who won't be going back to the office tomorrow, and when I left I saw this.

It really made me wonder why we think what we do is so important, after all, when there's this.

Brackets

Ha ha ha ha ha!

I got second place! I won $62.50 worth of March Madness!

(Which, really, just proves absolutely that there is no skill involved.)

(Whoo hoo! Who cares?! Free money!)

Busy Weekend

Well, since bk *complained* that I loaded a post with a prediction of what I was about to talk about (implying that might be cheating! As if!), let me summarize our weekend (three days -- one post!).

Friday night the tribe went to Pikeville with their uncle and grandmother (I think the Blue Crystal, their mom, had a date!). So bk and I went to see a one-woman play called Bad Dates. It was the best. The actor was so good that I had no hesitation standing up at the end. It was essentially a 90-minute monologue and you loved her by the end. Frankly, you loved her by the beginning. She was winning.

We found out from the boys today that the best part of their trip is that they got to stay in a hotel! Yay! I forget sometimes what excitement novelty is.

Then Saturday we got up and went and played tennis for well over an hour (we are getting better!), then we went back to his place, fired up the chainsaw, and filled three dumpsters (no, really, three) with ice storm damage. I mowed and raked and dumpstered, and bk sawed, and carried, and dumpstered. I'm really excited about how great the yard will look. bk is not into the lawn, but I discovered hostas and other desirable plants lurking and I think the yard will be heaven soon. Even if it does become my own personal project.

Today, we played tennis, went caching (1 for 3, boo hoo), planted in the back with the tribe, and prevailed at HORSE with the tribe.

Also, I am pretty convinced we are going to win the lottery this year. That's how good weekends like this make me feel.

I just have to say....

I really, normally, try to say happy and kind of upbeat things in this blog. It is public, after all. I assume the folks reading it are bored and have little better to do right at the moment.

Today my work team (which I regard almost as family since we've been together and spend more time in each other's company than many actual families) was notified that two of us were gone, two of us were about to be adopted out to other teams, one of our treasured members was goaded by a member of senior management into saying things he probably would keep to himself in clearer-headed hours, and his comments were greeted by heckling from a second member of senior management.

I know that layoffs occur. I know the entire nation is struggling. But today was distasteful. I'm very sad.

Don't worry, I will probably take down this post later (on the good advice of Basiljaz and bk) but I wanted to say it. I'm sad. I feel like I've lost family.

House For Sale!

Yes, yes, the house is back on the market! I hope someone likes it and wants to buy it, the old website is still good, take a peek. Send your friends.

This is a wonderful place to live and I hate to leave it, but I want to be in Lexington close to bk and the tribe.

Check out my house!

BodyBugg Update

This ... thing (my Body Bugg) ... is amazing. I've thought a lot about diets and about some research that I read and, essentially, all diets boil down to burning more calories than you consume. That's it. It shouldn't be anywhere close to the billion dollar industry that it is since it's really just simple math.

But having had a somewhat long term personal success on Weight Watchers (about five years ago), and shorter term success on weirder diets, I think I've realized that the whole thing about a diet is what ever works for a person on an emotional level. If you like meat and butter and don't like depriving yourself, you'll do great on Adkins. If you like the meetings and emotional support, you'll love Weight Watchers.

The Body Bugg appeals to me because I can tell how many calories I burned (the thing is strapped to my arm all day) and because if I'm honest, I tell it how many calories I consumed. The bug makes me want to go take a walk around the parking lot at 3:00 because I know that will pump my metabolism. It makes me NOT take a candy from someone's candy dish because I know I will have to log it.

Short version of this story: I have been dieting since January 1st, and I got my bug two weeks ago. I have lost nine pounds since the beginning of the year, four of which were lost in the last two weeks.

This thing rocks. Look out candy! I can win!

Open Letter to Alanis Morrisette

This is the definition of ironic, silly.

Lynn Blogdgett inducted into the Outsourcing Hall of Fame.

Lynn Blodgett wins award for taking pictures of homeless people.

I think this is symptomatic of what is wrong with America in that not a single professional journalist caught on to the fact that he is being rewarded for documenting a situation that he is systematically helping to create.

I cannot wait until they develop a way to tax poor corporate citizenship.

p.s. A death row pardon ten minutes too late is actually the definition of "seriously fucked up shit, dude," but it's not ironic. Sorry girl. Love your work.

Posting From Behind

Ok, well, as Basiljaz pointed out, I am behind. But -- in weird news -- I suddenly have a ton of things to say.

* I'm worried about what's happening to America - no, really. Worried!
* I want to give you an update on progress with my bodybugg!
* My house! My house!

I don't know if I'll get all of those covered tonight, but I think that this one makes the count 26 in 30.