I'm still here, just busy.
As most of you know, the shuttle launch was delayed while I was in Florida. I was unable to make it back down for the launch on May 9th. I did get to live the experience through my twitter friends. It was amazing.
I had an awesome time in Florida and made some new friends from all over the world.
I hope to have the pictures posted soon. They are still on my camera and phone.
Until then....
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Saturday, April 23, 2011
#NASATweetUp
In less than a week, I leave for Florida and get to hang with 149 other Tweeps and watch the Space Shuttle Endeavour make it's last voyage into space. There are people from 43 states, DC and 6 countries. Quite the diverse gang.
Earlier this week, we got the agenda for the two days. It is quite jam packed.
Earlier this week, we got the agenda for the two days. It is quite jam packed.
Thursday, April 28/L-1: Tweetup Day 1*
7:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. – Registration at the Kennedy Space Center Press Accreditation Badging Building; travel to the press site, set up, meet fellow participants
10:00 a.m. – Welcome by @NASA team members Stephanie Schierholz and John Yembrick
10:07 a.m. – Meet the tweeps
10:45 a.m. – Demo of Extravehicular Mobility Unit (EMU) and Mark III spacesuits
11:00 a.m. – Lunch break
12:00 p.m.-1:40 p.m. -- NASA TV starts for the formal #NASATweetup program, featuring:
· Dana M. Hutcherson, space shuttle Endeavour’s flow director, , Kennedy Space Center
· Tara Ruttley, International Space Station associate program scientist, NASA's Johnson Space Center, @ISS_research
· Astronaut Clay Anderson, @Astro_Clay, Expedition 15 flight engineer, STS-131 mission specialist, shuttle Discovery (April 5-20, 2010)
1:45 p.m. – Board tour buses
2:00 p.m. – Tour of NASA's Kennedy Space Center, including visits to the Apollo Saturn V Center, a drive by the Shuttle Landing Facility, Mate-Demate Device, Orbiter Processing Facility, Vehicle Assembly Building and Mobile Launcher Platforms, and viewing of the retraction of the Rotating Service Structure, scheduled for 7 p.m.
8:15 p.m. – Return to the press site
Friday, April 29/ Launch: Tweetup Day 2
8:00 a.m. – Badges will get you in Kennedy Space Center Launch Complex 39 press site
9:00 a.m. – Group picture beside the countdown clock
9:05 a.m. – Astronaut Ricky Arnold, STS-119 Discovery (March 15-28, 2009)
9:30 a.m. – Astronaut Leland Melvin, associate administrator for Education, NASA Headquarters, @Astro_Flow
10:00 a.m. – Daire McCabe, designer at LEGO
10:30 a.m. – Lt. Col. Patrick Barrett, 45th Weather Squadron, U.S. Air Force
~11:57 a.m. – Astronauts depart their crew quarters for Launch Pad 39A
~12:10 p.m. – Tweetup participants (assembled along the road across from the Launch Control Center) wave to the crew as they drive by in the astrovan on their way to the launch pad
~2:15 p.m. – STS-134 Closeout Crew member (Endeavour's hatch is closed and latched for launch at ~1:42 p.m. EDT)
3:47 p.m. – Launch of space shuttle Endeavour on the STS-134 mission
~5:00 p.m. – Post-launch news conference on NASA TV
7:30 p.m. - #NASABrewUp commences. Everyone is bringing a beer from their home state/country for a sampling event. I am bringing several bottles of New Glarus products.
One of my favorite disclaimers is this "NASA's Kennedy Space Center is part of the Merritt Island National Wildlife Refuge. While on Kennedy Space Center you may encounter a variety of wildlife, including alligators and poisonous snakes. If you see such an animal, do not approach it or attempt to feed it. Please notify a public affairs officer or other NASA personnel."
It seems like it has been so long since I first found out about the Tweetup. Now it is almost here. I am now beginning to get more excited about going. I know that may sound geeky to some people, but I think that launching human beings into space it still pretty fucking cool.
Follow me on Twitter (HeyJo1) to see my thoughts and impressions of my journey.
Monday, April 11, 2011
Spring Cleaning
Spent a portion of this weekend doing some spring cleaning. Helped a friend clean out a spare room on Saturday. On Sunday, I tackled my house.
The first thing was the truck. It needed a good vacuuming out. I am picky about several things and one of them is my truck. I don't eat in there nor do I use it as a place to store stuff. All I ever have in there is the dog seat, umbrella and the snow brush and blanket. The last two items came back into the house for the season. I wanted to do the windows but the truck was in the sun and I was too lazy to move it.
I then washed the bird cage. Ollie's cage is rather large and cleaning it is a pain in the butt. I will usually just roll it outside and use the hose on it. Since it was in the mid 80's, outside it went. Ollie loved it. He was singing with the outside birds. I keep waiting for some of them to try and land on his cage.
Next on the agenda was the lawn. When snowpocalypse hit, the neighbor's pine tree lost a lot of little branches. Most of them ended up in my yard. I thought about getting the lawn mower out and using the bagger to pick them up but it was under some bags of rummage sale stuff. So I raked. 3 bags of stuff. I can feel that in my shoulders and upper back today. It felt good to get the yard looking all nice again. The one thing that concerned me was that I was finding lots of little pieces of glass under the living room window. It looks like it had been there a long time, but still where was it coming from?? I'll bet I had a good two big handfuls of glass.
Took a break and walked the dogs at the park.
I then headed inside. I finally remembered to buy Windex at the store so I cleaned the dog prints off the windows. I was going to do the outsides but with storms approaching I felt it didn't pay to wash them and have them get dirty right away.
I still have some other things inside to tackle but most of that can wait until closer to the rummage sale time.
It is a good feeling to rid yourself of unwanted stuff. Like a weight has been lifted from your shoulders.
The first thing was the truck. It needed a good vacuuming out. I am picky about several things and one of them is my truck. I don't eat in there nor do I use it as a place to store stuff. All I ever have in there is the dog seat, umbrella and the snow brush and blanket. The last two items came back into the house for the season. I wanted to do the windows but the truck was in the sun and I was too lazy to move it.
I then washed the bird cage. Ollie's cage is rather large and cleaning it is a pain in the butt. I will usually just roll it outside and use the hose on it. Since it was in the mid 80's, outside it went. Ollie loved it. He was singing with the outside birds. I keep waiting for some of them to try and land on his cage.
Next on the agenda was the lawn. When snowpocalypse hit, the neighbor's pine tree lost a lot of little branches. Most of them ended up in my yard. I thought about getting the lawn mower out and using the bagger to pick them up but it was under some bags of rummage sale stuff. So I raked. 3 bags of stuff. I can feel that in my shoulders and upper back today. It felt good to get the yard looking all nice again. The one thing that concerned me was that I was finding lots of little pieces of glass under the living room window. It looks like it had been there a long time, but still where was it coming from?? I'll bet I had a good two big handfuls of glass.
Took a break and walked the dogs at the park.
I then headed inside. I finally remembered to buy Windex at the store so I cleaned the dog prints off the windows. I was going to do the outsides but with storms approaching I felt it didn't pay to wash them and have them get dirty right away.
I still have some other things inside to tackle but most of that can wait until closer to the rummage sale time.
It is a good feeling to rid yourself of unwanted stuff. Like a weight has been lifted from your shoulders.
Wednesday, April 06, 2011
Kicking the Crap Out of Crohn's & Colitis
Once again, I am running a half marathon with Team Challenge. Team Challenge supports the Crohn's & Colitis Foundation of America.
You may remember last year when I ran in the Las Vegas half marathon. Or maybe not since I looked back and realized I never gave a race recap. Opps. Sorry for that. Here it is in a nutshell. Vegas, Dec 5th. I run from Mandalay Bay to downtown and back again. Have to stop to pee and it costs me about 15 minutes in time. Darn. Finished the race in 3:25. I was very happy with that time.
Anyhoo... I'm back at it. Last year I raised over $3800. This year I need to raise $2600.
If you don't already know, Crohn's & colitis are pretty crappy diseases. Literally. They affect the intestinal tracts of people. I won't go into all the icky details but suffice it to say that no one wants to have diarrhea for three months straight. Yeah.... totally not fun.
So I need your help! All 7 of you who read my blog. I need to raise money and lots of it. You can donate online by going here.
I am also selling Tupperware. 40% of what you buy goes back to my fundraising. That's alot. So buy lots and help me! You can buy stuff that you can't get a a normal party. The items are shipped directly to you and you should have it in about a week after placing your order. Click here for Tupperware.
Feel free to pimp out my fundraising efforts to yoru family and friends. I need all the help I can get.
Thanks!!
You may remember last year when I ran in the Las Vegas half marathon. Or maybe not since I looked back and realized I never gave a race recap. Opps. Sorry for that. Here it is in a nutshell. Vegas, Dec 5th. I run from Mandalay Bay to downtown and back again. Have to stop to pee and it costs me about 15 minutes in time. Darn. Finished the race in 3:25. I was very happy with that time.
Anyhoo... I'm back at it. Last year I raised over $3800. This year I need to raise $2600.
If you don't already know, Crohn's & colitis are pretty crappy diseases. Literally. They affect the intestinal tracts of people. I won't go into all the icky details but suffice it to say that no one wants to have diarrhea for three months straight. Yeah.... totally not fun.
So I need your help! All 7 of you who read my blog. I need to raise money and lots of it. You can donate online by going here.
I am also selling Tupperware. 40% of what you buy goes back to my fundraising. That's alot. So buy lots and help me! You can buy stuff that you can't get a a normal party. The items are shipped directly to you and you should have it in about a week after placing your order. Click here for Tupperware.
Feel free to pimp out my fundraising efforts to yoru family and friends. I need all the help I can get.
Thanks!!
Wednesday, March 23, 2011
Tweet This
So, I have posted several times about how Twitter has been an interesting communication vehicle for me. I've met all sorts of people. From Team Challenge to Beer Club. All a very interesting and eclectic group. Some people will definately be good friends.
I follow @NASAKennedy on Twitter. I have followed them for quite awhile now. I loved watching the tweets about the space shuttles and other stuff.
Last week I seen a tweet from them about a NASA Tweetup. A Tweetup is nothing more than a gathering of people who meet up in real life that met on Twitter.
I thought what the heck. Went out to the link and signed up. I even posted that I signed up. Didn't really give it much thought. On Saturday, I got the email that @NASATweetup is following me. Hmm. I wonder if they are following everyone who applied to see what people tweet about and what not. Again, I didn't give it a whole lot of thought.
Until Monday. I get home and check my email and see an email from someone I don't recognize. I don't use that email address for spam and crap so I was curious. I opened it up and read this....
It took me a few times of reading it before it sank in.
HOLY CRAP!! I am going to Florida to see the Space Shuttle Endeavour launch. This is the last launch of a space shuttle, EVER!
I get to watch the launch from about 3 miles away which is as close as people can actually be. Any public viewing areas are like 12-15 miles away.
I started watching the hashtag #NASATweetup. I seen a tweet from a girl (from Oklahoma City) who was looking for someone to share a rental car with. I replied back that I was interested. Turns out she has a place to stay for free and we are going to split the cost of the car for the week. That will be a huge cost savings as it is spring break and prices are jacked up sky high in that area. Good thing airfare is so cheap to Orlando.
I had to apply today for my security credentials. That was an interesting process. It will take a day or so for me to be approved.
Stay tuned for further updates on my TweetUp adventure!
I follow @NASAKennedy on Twitter. I have followed them for quite awhile now. I loved watching the tweets about the space shuttles and other stuff.
Last week I seen a tweet from them about a NASA Tweetup. A Tweetup is nothing more than a gathering of people who meet up in real life that met on Twitter.
I thought what the heck. Went out to the link and signed up. I even posted that I signed up. Didn't really give it much thought. On Saturday, I got the email that @NASATweetup is following me. Hmm. I wonder if they are following everyone who applied to see what people tweet about and what not. Again, I didn't give it a whole lot of thought.
Until Monday. I get home and check my email and see an email from someone I don't recognize. I don't use that email address for spam and crap so I was curious. I opened it up and read this....
Dear Jo,
Congratulations, your registration has been selected to attend the NASA Tweetup at space shuttle Endeavour's targeted launch April 18-19 at NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida! The event will provide you the opportunity to speak with shuttle technicians, engineers, astronauts, and managers, and to experience the launch of space shuttle Endeavour to the International Space Station.
Please read this entire e-mail carefully for instructions on securing your spot and planning your attendance.
It took me a few times of reading it before it sank in.
HOLY CRAP!! I am going to Florida to see the Space Shuttle Endeavour launch. This is the last launch of a space shuttle, EVER!
I get to watch the launch from about 3 miles away which is as close as people can actually be. Any public viewing areas are like 12-15 miles away.
I started watching the hashtag #NASATweetup. I seen a tweet from a girl (from Oklahoma City) who was looking for someone to share a rental car with. I replied back that I was interested. Turns out she has a place to stay for free and we are going to split the cost of the car for the week. That will be a huge cost savings as it is spring break and prices are jacked up sky high in that area. Good thing airfare is so cheap to Orlando.
I had to apply today for my security credentials. That was an interesting process. It will take a day or so for me to be approved.
Stay tuned for further updates on my TweetUp adventure!
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Beer Club Field Trip - Part Deux
When we last left our field trip gang, they were leaving the Milwaukee Brewing Co tour and trying to decide where to eat and go drink next.
We ended up eating at the Gyro Palace. A. It was right across the street and B. No waiting, like we would at Industri Cafe.
Sara, who had not eaten since like morning, was spewing out some great OH's left and right. I tried to go back thru my twitter feed to find them but no luck. I guess I should have written this post a couple of weeks ago already.
We decided that we were going to head up to Romans Pub for a few more drinks. Since Mitch and Sara were not in any shape to drive at that point, Neil and I fought an evil death match to see who they would ride with. Ok, so may it was more like I had the cell phone charger so they rode with me. Also Neil had some wood in the back of his truck so back seat seating would be cramped. I said that I would take them to Romans and Neil could take them back to their cars later.
We get to Romans and are decided what to drink. It is noticed that the Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron Ale is aged on wood.
Opaque black color, mocha, wood and dark fruit aromas, aged on the wood of the Paraguayan Palo Santo tree, sweet caramel malt layered with wood, fruit and roasted flavors. (12.0%)
Upon reading that, we ask Neil if his wood (in his truck) can make beer. Hilarity ensues and soon NeilsWood is born. Neil's Wood lives to hit people who ride in the back of Neil's truck in the head. If you don't already, follow him. For an inanimate object he sure is witty and saucy with the ladies. He always leaves me laughing.
Soon Jess and Frank joined us as well as Neil's dad and uncles. We were all just glad that Uncle Jim decided to keep his hip thrusting to himself.
After a few hours of great beer and even better conversation we hit the road.
Another successful beer club field trip is in the books.
ps. I know I'm missing stuff but, hey, it was almost two weeks ago. I forget things.
We ended up eating at the Gyro Palace. A. It was right across the street and B. No waiting, like we would at Industri Cafe.
Sara, who had not eaten since like morning, was spewing out some great OH's left and right. I tried to go back thru my twitter feed to find them but no luck. I guess I should have written this post a couple of weeks ago already.
We decided that we were going to head up to Romans Pub for a few more drinks. Since Mitch and Sara were not in any shape to drive at that point, Neil and I fought an evil death match to see who they would ride with. Ok, so may it was more like I had the cell phone charger so they rode with me. Also Neil had some wood in the back of his truck so back seat seating would be cramped. I said that I would take them to Romans and Neil could take them back to their cars later.
We get to Romans and are decided what to drink. It is noticed that the Dogfish Head Palo Santo Marron Ale is aged on wood.
Opaque black color, mocha, wood and dark fruit aromas, aged on the wood of the Paraguayan Palo Santo tree, sweet caramel malt layered with wood, fruit and roasted flavors. (12.0%)
Upon reading that, we ask Neil if his wood (in his truck) can make beer. Hilarity ensues and soon NeilsWood is born. Neil's Wood lives to hit people who ride in the back of Neil's truck in the head. If you don't already, follow him. For an inanimate object he sure is witty and saucy with the ladies. He always leaves me laughing.
Soon Jess and Frank joined us as well as Neil's dad and uncles. We were all just glad that Uncle Jim decided to keep his hip thrusting to himself.
After a few hours of great beer and even better conversation we hit the road.
Another successful beer club field trip is in the books.
ps. I know I'm missing stuff but, hey, it was almost two weeks ago. I forget things.
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Beer Club Field Trip
This past Saturday saw the Twitter Beer Club take another field trip.
This time we were taking a tour of the Milwaukee Brewing Co. No one in the group had actually ever been on this tour so it made it even more fun.
The tour ended up only being a few of us. Mitch, Sara, Neil and Neil's friend, Jeff. We paid our $7, got our glass and had it filled with beer. The tour we wanted to go on was full so we had to wait 30 minutes for the next one. Darn. I guess that meant we had to have another free beer. Fill up glass with beer. We stood and talked and next thing you know it was time for our tour to start. Quick, go fill up the glass with more beer.
We follow Sean around to the first station. The group is large and we are towards the back so we can't really see or hear anything. He is talking about the grains used. I can see a box of Grape Nuts. That's about all I know. We move on.
We go up the stairs. We look inside the big kettles. Sean is still talking but we are not really paying attention. It is more fun to take picture of the Flux Capacitor. Not sure if it really works but by this time it is funny.
.
We go back downstairs. Looks at some more stuff, everyone goes into the cooler. I was getting my beer refilled so I was a bit behind everyone. Next thing I know the doors to the cooler are closing, I rush in. People are now calling me Indiana Jones. We leave the cooler and find this little graphy thing outside of it. It has squigly lines on it. I make the joke that it is recording earthquakes in Japan. I know that it is really measuring the temperature and humidity in the room. No one lets me tweet what I really want to say.
We also got to see of HAL2000. I forgot to get a picture of that.
Mitch remarks that he really didn't pay much attention to the tour. Really?!? Shock. We all kinda wandered around and tweeted alot of OH's.
Tour is about done, we hang around to drink more free beer and decide what we are going to do next....
Stayed tuned for part 2 of Beer Club Field Trip. Next up: Neil's Wood
This time we were taking a tour of the Milwaukee Brewing Co. No one in the group had actually ever been on this tour so it made it even more fun.
The tour ended up only being a few of us. Mitch, Sara, Neil and Neil's friend, Jeff. We paid our $7, got our glass and had it filled with beer. The tour we wanted to go on was full so we had to wait 30 minutes for the next one. Darn. I guess that meant we had to have another free beer. Fill up glass with beer. We stood and talked and next thing you know it was time for our tour to start. Quick, go fill up the glass with more beer.
We follow Sean around to the first station. The group is large and we are towards the back so we can't really see or hear anything. He is talking about the grains used. I can see a box of Grape Nuts. That's about all I know. We move on.
We go up the stairs. We look inside the big kettles. Sean is still talking but we are not really paying attention. It is more fun to take picture of the Flux Capacitor. Not sure if it really works but by this time it is funny.
.
We go back downstairs. Looks at some more stuff, everyone goes into the cooler. I was getting my beer refilled so I was a bit behind everyone. Next thing I know the doors to the cooler are closing, I rush in. People are now calling me Indiana Jones. We leave the cooler and find this little graphy thing outside of it. It has squigly lines on it. I make the joke that it is recording earthquakes in Japan. I know that it is really measuring the temperature and humidity in the room. No one lets me tweet what I really want to say.
We also got to see of HAL2000. I forgot to get a picture of that.
Mitch remarks that he really didn't pay much attention to the tour. Really?!? Shock. We all kinda wandered around and tweeted alot of OH's.
Tour is about done, we hang around to drink more free beer and decide what we are going to do next....
Stayed tuned for part 2 of Beer Club Field Trip. Next up: Neil's Wood
Sunday, March 13, 2011
Magic Chute
It's my birthday and the damn magic chute is broken.
Why is no one coming to my house to do my laundry?? sigh... do they not know it is my birthday and it needs to be done.
I throw dirty clothes down the magic chute. How come they didn't come back up clean?? I had to do 6 loads of laundry today. I live alone.
It may be kinda scary that I have enough clothes to last that long. I could have gone longer except I needed clean workout clothes. They have to line dry so that prompted the marathon laundry session today. In between two (yes, two) workouts, grocery shopping and a wonderful nap! I did laundry. I still have another load of cold water stuff to be done but no where left to hang it to dry.
Oh well, I guess I'll have to work on getting that magic chute fixed.
Why is no one coming to my house to do my laundry?? sigh... do they not know it is my birthday and it needs to be done.
I throw dirty clothes down the magic chute. How come they didn't come back up clean?? I had to do 6 loads of laundry today. I live alone.
It may be kinda scary that I have enough clothes to last that long. I could have gone longer except I needed clean workout clothes. They have to line dry so that prompted the marathon laundry session today. In between two (yes, two) workouts, grocery shopping and a wonderful nap! I did laundry. I still have another load of cold water stuff to be done but no where left to hang it to dry.
Oh well, I guess I'll have to work on getting that magic chute fixed.
Friday, February 25, 2011
Sick Day Funny
My friend, Amy posted this on her facebook page. I'm stealing it cuz it is hilarious.
It may or may not be true.....
It may or may not be true.....
Wednesday, February 16, 2011
Boys of Summer
Today the Brewers pitchers and catchers report to Maryville, AZ for the start of spring training. This makes me happy.
It signals the turn of winter. The promise of warm weather. Sitting in the sun with a cold beer. Watching the game.
With football over, there is now the anticipation of a new sporting season. A clean slate. With only upwards to go hopefully.
The Brewers have made some significant upgrades to the team. Especially in pitching. Let's hope that they all stay healthy.
So take that, Old Man Winter. Spring is here. Or at least spring training is.
Monday, February 14, 2011
State of the State
So this has been bugging me for the past few days.
I'm tired of seeing facebook comments from people who think that Gov. Walker is trying to ruin their lives by taking away some of the collective bargaining powers of the unions for state workers.
Here are a few of the posts:
this is simply a deversion tactic. If they distract people with this issue then we might forget that there are no jobs, no new business moving into Wisconsin, etc. Aparently, they think everyone is as stupid as the people who voted for Snotty Walker"
So, here is my take on this.
At one point in time, unions were important in protecting the lives and welfare of workers. Nowadays, I think they are obsolete. We have local, state and federal regulations in place to ensure the safety of workers. I think that unions protect the poor and somewhat average worker. With some unions it is almost impossible to get fired unless you open fire on someone. Even then, the union would defend you.
Now my workplace has rules in place to dictate how I get paid, the job that is expected of me, what my work environment will be like, etc. If I fail to abide by these rules I will either get fired or suspended.
A perfect example is the worker who is barely average. They show up 1 minute before they are supposed to start, do their job with a minimum of effort, never going out of their way to put the extra effort in to do a better job. Why should they?? They are getting paid the same amount if they work hard or are hardly working. So if I'm a worker who goes the extra mile and does more than is asked of me, I would be pissed that the slacker, who started the same time I did, is getting paid exactly the same wage I am.
If I am the good worker, in a non-union shop, I may get merit raisers based on how well I did. Not how well the union negotiated for me. If the union negotiated 2% for everyone, that's all you get. The non-union worker may now get a 3-4% raise. The slacker... maybe he only gets 1%.
Moving on to one of the other topics, Gov Walker is hot on. Making the state employees pay more in health care and pension costs. I just looked at my last pay stub. I paid $36.59 for my insurance. The company I work for paid $106. That makes me paying about 25% of my insurance costs. Add to that my deductible of $3000/year. Yeah $3000 that has to come out of my pocket before insurance will even kick in. Granted the insurance will cover things like routine yearly girl exams but anything else, I'm paying for that. Now the company does kick in some money towards your HSA, if you make below a certain wage. I don't. So I get nothing. I am now putting extra money each paycheck into my HSA. I did enough this year to be able to cover my deductible. That is a big chunk of coin coming out of each paycheck. Next year, I will drop that amount down a bit and maybe consider using it. I have no plans to touch that unless I have large expenses. At least Gov Walker made my contributions to my HSA non taxable.
Full disclosure: I have a pension and don't contribute anything towards it but the amount I would get is barely enough to fill my gas tank up in the 4Runner. That was a legacy benefit that I was not around long enough to really be invested in. I have a 401(k). The state is asking workers to now contribute 5.8%. That's not alot folks. That would be pre-tax money. So the amount people would see from their checks would be not alot. I contribute 10% of my wages to my 401(k) each pay period. I plan to raise that up another percent or two this year. I usually bump it up about what my raise is each year. I wish I could get away with only 5.8% and be able to retire on.
I hope that people look seriously at Gov Walker's proposal and realize that if the state goes bankrupt, you are probably out of a job anyways. In order to get the economy to turn around you have to make some hard choices and sacrifices. Asking state employees to step up to the plate is not asking alot.
Ok, time to step off my soap box now.
I'm tired of seeing facebook comments from people who think that Gov. Walker is trying to ruin their lives by taking away some of the collective bargaining powers of the unions for state workers.
Here are a few of the posts:
this is simply a deversion tactic. If they distract people with this issue then we might forget that there are no jobs, no new business moving into Wisconsin, etc. Aparently, they think everyone is as stupid as the people who voted for Snotty Walker"
So, here is my take on this.
At one point in time, unions were important in protecting the lives and welfare of workers. Nowadays, I think they are obsolete. We have local, state and federal regulations in place to ensure the safety of workers. I think that unions protect the poor and somewhat average worker. With some unions it is almost impossible to get fired unless you open fire on someone. Even then, the union would defend you.
Now my workplace has rules in place to dictate how I get paid, the job that is expected of me, what my work environment will be like, etc. If I fail to abide by these rules I will either get fired or suspended.
A perfect example is the worker who is barely average. They show up 1 minute before they are supposed to start, do their job with a minimum of effort, never going out of their way to put the extra effort in to do a better job. Why should they?? They are getting paid the same amount if they work hard or are hardly working. So if I'm a worker who goes the extra mile and does more than is asked of me, I would be pissed that the slacker, who started the same time I did, is getting paid exactly the same wage I am.
If I am the good worker, in a non-union shop, I may get merit raisers based on how well I did. Not how well the union negotiated for me. If the union negotiated 2% for everyone, that's all you get. The non-union worker may now get a 3-4% raise. The slacker... maybe he only gets 1%.
Moving on to one of the other topics, Gov Walker is hot on. Making the state employees pay more in health care and pension costs. I just looked at my last pay stub. I paid $36.59 for my insurance. The company I work for paid $106. That makes me paying about 25% of my insurance costs. Add to that my deductible of $3000/year. Yeah $3000 that has to come out of my pocket before insurance will even kick in. Granted the insurance will cover things like routine yearly girl exams but anything else, I'm paying for that. Now the company does kick in some money towards your HSA, if you make below a certain wage. I don't. So I get nothing. I am now putting extra money each paycheck into my HSA. I did enough this year to be able to cover my deductible. That is a big chunk of coin coming out of each paycheck. Next year, I will drop that amount down a bit and maybe consider using it. I have no plans to touch that unless I have large expenses. At least Gov Walker made my contributions to my HSA non taxable.
Full disclosure: I have a pension and don't contribute anything towards it but the amount I would get is barely enough to fill my gas tank up in the 4Runner. That was a legacy benefit that I was not around long enough to really be invested in. I have a 401(k). The state is asking workers to now contribute 5.8%. That's not alot folks. That would be pre-tax money. So the amount people would see from their checks would be not alot. I contribute 10% of my wages to my 401(k) each pay period. I plan to raise that up another percent or two this year. I usually bump it up about what my raise is each year. I wish I could get away with only 5.8% and be able to retire on.
I hope that people look seriously at Gov Walker's proposal and realize that if the state goes bankrupt, you are probably out of a job anyways. In order to get the economy to turn around you have to make some hard choices and sacrifices. Asking state employees to step up to the plate is not asking alot.
Ok, time to step off my soap box now.
Friday, February 11, 2011
Thinking
Today at work much of my job is consisting of thinking.
Thinking issues through and trying to determine the best way to solve them. Running various scenarios using different ideas. Seeing which one will make sense in the long run of this phase project.
I like doing this type of stuff. It makes me think outside the box and not be so concerned with my portion of the project but how this will impact the project down the road. One or two years out when the process has matured.
To the average person it may look chaotic or messy but to me it is a way to lay things out and see them visually instead of only in a soft copy format.
Thinking. ...
Wednesday, February 02, 2011
Snowpocalypse 2011
Holy shit!
That is kinda all I can say about the weather the past few days.
When Scott Steele talked on the news and said that this could be a storm of historic proportions, I kinda laughed. Yeah, right.... we will get some snow, be a bit windy and life goes on 6 hours later.
Uh... that wasn't quite the case.
Here is the video from last night. I took this about 10 pm from my side door. I could get out the door no problem and had a bit of a drift over the driveway where the house ended. Cold, snow that stung when it hit your face. Windy like all get out. Crazy, I tell you. The dogs were none to happy that I made them go outside before we went to bed at 10:30 pm.
Fast forward a few hours....
3:30 am. I get up to pee. Wind is still howling like crazy. I try to look out the front windows and realize that there is snow stuck in the screens so I can't see out. No big deal. I go to the side door. I had to really push hard to get it open a few inches. I see the snow is right up to the house. Crap! Now I have been a home owner long enough to know that the furnace vents need to be clear so that the carbon monoxide can be discharged from the house. I realize that the vent has snow covering it.
Ok, I'm fully awake now.
What to do. My mind starts kicking into overdrive. I can't really get out the side door to get to the vent. Think... think. Ok, wait. My bedroom window is just about above the vent pipe. Sweet. I'll go grab the step ladder I just bought on Sunday (Thank God!) and lean out the window and clear the snow with the shovel. I was smart enough to remember to bring the small shovel inside before I went to bed.
I open the window and all the snow that was between the window and screen falls in. Shit. Go to the bathroom and grab a towel and throw it on the floor. I can worry about that later. I step on the ladder and lean out the window. The snow is still coming down hard and it stings. Close window. Go grab jacket and gloves and hat. Open window. Lean out again. Realize that my arms are a bit short. Slide out the window further. Ok, I can move the snow enough to clear the pipe. It is warm air that comes out so parts of it are sorta melted and there is empty space around it. Get it so the pipe is once again exposed.
Whew. That was hard work.
Hop back in and grab my phone for a photo opp. Post to Twitter. Chat on Twitter with a few people. Yes, it is almost 4 am. Turn the tv on for a few minutes. Hear that there is a "Civil Danger Warning". What is that?? Ask Twitter and find out that it means if you are stupid enough to be out in this weather and get stuck. Too fucking bad. You are on your own. No one is going to come and rescue you. This is kinda freaking me out so I go back to bed. I turnt (sp) off the alarm knowing that when I get up, I get up and start working.
I get up about 7 am. The wind is still wicked crazy out. Knowing that the furnace vent may be blocked I go grab my jacket, hat and gloves again. Move some more snow away from the vent from the window. Not the best but it should suffice. Realize the driveway on either end of the house is drifted pretty good. From my vantage point I could not tell how bad it really was.
Start working. I have a snow guy. He can deal with the drifts.
About 30 minutes later I hear beep, beep, beep. WTF?? At first I thought it was Ollie. It kinda sounded like the microwave which he imitates alot. A minute later it beeps again. I look in the living room and see Ollie sleeping. Shit. That's the CO (carbon monoxide) detector. There has to be a substantial build of gas for it to go off.
I sorta panic a bit. I make sure Ollie IS sleeping and not dead. Being a bird they are sensitive to that stuff. He is alive. Give him a green pepper. He's happy.
Now what do I do. I have to get that vent cleared. FAST! I realize the only way out is thru the window. I open a few windows in the house and turn the furnace off. I put some clothes on, grab the ladder and shovel and stick them out the window. I crawl out the window and sort of roll down the snowbank to the driveway. I'm happy that the snow is soft. I get the vent shoveled out. The snow was a good two feet over the top of the pipe. I just clear the snow as fast as I can.
I clear the side door since I'm already out there and don't want to have to crawl back in the window.
I grab the dogs and make them go out. They are not happy about it but do what they need to do. There is only a drift along half the driveway. The other half is clear.
Get back in the house and in dry clothes and work for a few hours.
My neighbor's boyfriend stops over to make sure I can get out. He shovels the front porch off a bit for me. I go out and realize how deep the drift really is over the front of the driveway.
How the fuck am I going to clear that?? It is up to my shoulders. About five feet!!
Think that I am glad I have a snow guy and go back in to work.
Now for those of you who know me. I tend to be a bit anal about things. I am fussy about the snow and its placement around the house. It used to drive Randy crazy! having all this snow sitting around is making me nervous. So about lunch time, I head out and start clearing a path from the driveway to the front door. The drifts are so tall I have to swing the shovel like a catapult to get the snow over the drifts.
A couple of neighbors come out and help me by clearing a path on the sidewalk. I have no way of getting to it. A few more neighbors are walking by. Surveying the damage and taking pictures. My house is now the freak show of the block. Everyone else has 2-3 foot drifts. I had to knock down the drift so I could see them at the end of the driveway! They all ask if I have to shovel the entire thing. No, I have a snow guy coming. Just not sure when. They all offered to help me if need be. I am touched by their generosity.
I go back in as I have a 1pm meeting which I am now late for. After my meeting, I call my snow guy. I tell him he can come out anytime now. Warn him that a snowblower may not be enough. I may need to have a plow open the driveway up. He says that he won't be able to get here until tomorrow. Shit! It is supposed to get cold out and that snow will freeze and be a bitch to move.
I work until about 3:30 and head back outside. I am going to try and make it to the garage and get the snowblower out. There is a drift about 4.5 feet tall from the edge of the house to about 5 feet in front of the garage. That is a good 20+ feet. I start shoveling the top layers off. Finally I can get to where I can wade thru the snow.
I start snowblowing. It is slow going. I have to stop and knock the snow down every few minutes. The neighbor kid comes over and helps me by knocking snow down while I blow it. We finally get that end of the driveway to where it is clear and I can get the truck out. Whew!! I have Nic help me clear the side door and furnace vent a bit better and call it a day.
I will be at home for a third day tomorrow. Thank goodness I can work from home. Missing three days of work would suck otherwise.
I kinda want to spend the day making a fort in the snow drift before it goes away. Doesn't that sound like fun?? Who wants to come and live in it with me??
A side note. I am kinda still a bit scared to go to sleep tonight. Even though I know the house is fine now I'm still worried about the CO and not waking up. I told my neighbor that if she did not see the curtains open by 7:30 tomorrow to call or come over to check on me.
PSA: Make sure you have a working CO detector in your house. As of yesterday, they are required to be in all one and two family homes.
That is kinda all I can say about the weather the past few days.
When Scott Steele talked on the news and said that this could be a storm of historic proportions, I kinda laughed. Yeah, right.... we will get some snow, be a bit windy and life goes on 6 hours later.
Uh... that wasn't quite the case.
Here is the video from last night. I took this about 10 pm from my side door. I could get out the door no problem and had a bit of a drift over the driveway where the house ended. Cold, snow that stung when it hit your face. Windy like all get out. Crazy, I tell you. The dogs were none to happy that I made them go outside before we went to bed at 10:30 pm.
Fast forward a few hours....
3:30 am. I get up to pee. Wind is still howling like crazy. I try to look out the front windows and realize that there is snow stuck in the screens so I can't see out. No big deal. I go to the side door. I had to really push hard to get it open a few inches. I see the snow is right up to the house. Crap! Now I have been a home owner long enough to know that the furnace vents need to be clear so that the carbon monoxide can be discharged from the house. I realize that the vent has snow covering it.
Ok, I'm fully awake now.
What to do. My mind starts kicking into overdrive. I can't really get out the side door to get to the vent. Think... think. Ok, wait. My bedroom window is just about above the vent pipe. Sweet. I'll go grab the step ladder I just bought on Sunday (Thank God!) and lean out the window and clear the snow with the shovel. I was smart enough to remember to bring the small shovel inside before I went to bed.
I open the window and all the snow that was between the window and screen falls in. Shit. Go to the bathroom and grab a towel and throw it on the floor. I can worry about that later. I step on the ladder and lean out the window. The snow is still coming down hard and it stings. Close window. Go grab jacket and gloves and hat. Open window. Lean out again. Realize that my arms are a bit short. Slide out the window further. Ok, I can move the snow enough to clear the pipe. It is warm air that comes out so parts of it are sorta melted and there is empty space around it. Get it so the pipe is once again exposed.
Whew. That was hard work.
Hop back in and grab my phone for a photo opp. Post to Twitter. Chat on Twitter with a few people. Yes, it is almost 4 am. Turn the tv on for a few minutes. Hear that there is a "Civil Danger Warning". What is that?? Ask Twitter and find out that it means if you are stupid enough to be out in this weather and get stuck. Too fucking bad. You are on your own. No one is going to come and rescue you. This is kinda freaking me out so I go back to bed. I turnt (sp) off the alarm knowing that when I get up, I get up and start working.
I get up about 7 am. The wind is still wicked crazy out. Knowing that the furnace vent may be blocked I go grab my jacket, hat and gloves again. Move some more snow away from the vent from the window. Not the best but it should suffice. Realize the driveway on either end of the house is drifted pretty good. From my vantage point I could not tell how bad it really was.
Start working. I have a snow guy. He can deal with the drifts.
About 30 minutes later I hear beep, beep, beep. WTF?? At first I thought it was Ollie. It kinda sounded like the microwave which he imitates alot. A minute later it beeps again. I look in the living room and see Ollie sleeping. Shit. That's the CO (carbon monoxide) detector. There has to be a substantial build of gas for it to go off.
I sorta panic a bit. I make sure Ollie IS sleeping and not dead. Being a bird they are sensitive to that stuff. He is alive. Give him a green pepper. He's happy.
Now what do I do. I have to get that vent cleared. FAST! I realize the only way out is thru the window. I open a few windows in the house and turn the furnace off. I put some clothes on, grab the ladder and shovel and stick them out the window. I crawl out the window and sort of roll down the snowbank to the driveway. I'm happy that the snow is soft. I get the vent shoveled out. The snow was a good two feet over the top of the pipe. I just clear the snow as fast as I can.
I clear the side door since I'm already out there and don't want to have to crawl back in the window.
I grab the dogs and make them go out. They are not happy about it but do what they need to do. There is only a drift along half the driveway. The other half is clear.
Get back in the house and in dry clothes and work for a few hours.
My neighbor's boyfriend stops over to make sure I can get out. He shovels the front porch off a bit for me. I go out and realize how deep the drift really is over the front of the driveway.
How the fuck am I going to clear that?? It is up to my shoulders. About five feet!!
Think that I am glad I have a snow guy and go back in to work.
Now for those of you who know me. I tend to be a bit anal about things. I am fussy about the snow and its placement around the house. It used to drive Randy crazy! having all this snow sitting around is making me nervous. So about lunch time, I head out and start clearing a path from the driveway to the front door. The drifts are so tall I have to swing the shovel like a catapult to get the snow over the drifts.
A couple of neighbors come out and help me by clearing a path on the sidewalk. I have no way of getting to it. A few more neighbors are walking by. Surveying the damage and taking pictures. My house is now the freak show of the block. Everyone else has 2-3 foot drifts. I had to knock down the drift so I could see them at the end of the driveway! They all ask if I have to shovel the entire thing. No, I have a snow guy coming. Just not sure when. They all offered to help me if need be. I am touched by their generosity.
I go back in as I have a 1pm meeting which I am now late for. After my meeting, I call my snow guy. I tell him he can come out anytime now. Warn him that a snowblower may not be enough. I may need to have a plow open the driveway up. He says that he won't be able to get here until tomorrow. Shit! It is supposed to get cold out and that snow will freeze and be a bitch to move.
I work until about 3:30 and head back outside. I am going to try and make it to the garage and get the snowblower out. There is a drift about 4.5 feet tall from the edge of the house to about 5 feet in front of the garage. That is a good 20+ feet. I start shoveling the top layers off. Finally I can get to where I can wade thru the snow.
I start snowblowing. It is slow going. I have to stop and knock the snow down every few minutes. The neighbor kid comes over and helps me by knocking snow down while I blow it. We finally get that end of the driveway to where it is clear and I can get the truck out. Whew!! I have Nic help me clear the side door and furnace vent a bit better and call it a day.
I will be at home for a third day tomorrow. Thank goodness I can work from home. Missing three days of work would suck otherwise.
I kinda want to spend the day making a fort in the snow drift before it goes away. Doesn't that sound like fun?? Who wants to come and live in it with me??
A side note. I am kinda still a bit scared to go to sleep tonight. Even though I know the house is fine now I'm still worried about the CO and not waking up. I told my neighbor that if she did not see the curtains open by 7:30 tomorrow to call or come over to check on me.
PSA: Make sure you have a working CO detector in your house. As of yesterday, they are required to be in all one and two family homes.
Monday, January 31, 2011
Beer Club
#beerclub
That is the Twitter hash tag that is used every Monday night at 8 pm CT.
What is #beerclub you ask? Nothing more than a group of people from around the country who pick a beer to drink each week and talk about it on Twitter.
Some people may think it is silly or stupid but I find it a good way to try different beers each week and get other people's opinions on them.
This week's beer is Hinterland Brewing's Winterland. It was a good beer. Creamy and dark. Something that I am learning to like. I normally do not care for the roasted malt/coffee flavor but am getting used to it and as the beer warms up the other flavors that come through.
Last Saturday, was #beerclubfieldtrip to one of my favorite local bars, Romans' Pub. A nice corner type bar that has a good selection of craft beers on tap. It was recently named one of America's 100 Best Beer bars. A nice honor for Mike.
One of the best things about the #beerclubfieldtrip was meeting new people. There ended up being about 15 people who showed up, including two from Sheboygan. I have talked to most of them on Twitter now for at least 6-8 months. It is nice to put faces to avatars and twitter handles. It was hard to not call Joel, WinecellarofWI or Sara, Sp0on. Altho' I think they would both answer to that name.
It was alot of fun talking and learning about different beers. Over the past year I have been trying different styles of beer and learning to taste the different flavors in them.
A perfect example is from last Friday. I had a Magic Hat's #9. I was asked what flavors I could taste in it. It took a few minutes for me to place the flavor but it was apricot. Sounds weird I know but it was really good. And at 5.1% you can drink them for a longer period of time. It also helps when your friends know you well enough to guide you towards beers you may like or drink the ones that you try and don't like.
I can't wait for next month's #beerclubfieldtrip to Sugar Maple on Feb 19th. Won't you join us?
That is the Twitter hash tag that is used every Monday night at 8 pm CT.
What is #beerclub you ask? Nothing more than a group of people from around the country who pick a beer to drink each week and talk about it on Twitter.
Some people may think it is silly or stupid but I find it a good way to try different beers each week and get other people's opinions on them.
This week's beer is Hinterland Brewing's Winterland. It was a good beer. Creamy and dark. Something that I am learning to like. I normally do not care for the roasted malt/coffee flavor but am getting used to it and as the beer warms up the other flavors that come through.
Last Saturday, was #beerclubfieldtrip to one of my favorite local bars, Romans' Pub. A nice corner type bar that has a good selection of craft beers on tap. It was recently named one of America's 100 Best Beer bars. A nice honor for Mike.
One of the best things about the #beerclubfieldtrip was meeting new people. There ended up being about 15 people who showed up, including two from Sheboygan. I have talked to most of them on Twitter now for at least 6-8 months. It is nice to put faces to avatars and twitter handles. It was hard to not call Joel, WinecellarofWI or Sara, Sp0on. Altho' I think they would both answer to that name.
It was alot of fun talking and learning about different beers. Over the past year I have been trying different styles of beer and learning to taste the different flavors in them.
A perfect example is from last Friday. I had a Magic Hat's #9. I was asked what flavors I could taste in it. It took a few minutes for me to place the flavor but it was apricot. Sounds weird I know but it was really good. And at 5.1% you can drink them for a longer period of time. It also helps when your friends know you well enough to guide you towards beers you may like or drink the ones that you try and don't like.
I can't wait for next month's #beerclubfieldtrip to Sugar Maple on Feb 19th. Won't you join us?
Thursday, January 06, 2011
They Are Just Words
Yesterday, it was announced that NewSouth Books was changing the "N" word in the novel Huckleberry Finn by Mark Twain to the word slave.
Supposedly, it was done so that teachers could use the book in the classroom without the fear of offending someone. I agree that the "N" word is really not an acceptable word in today's society. but to remove it from a book that is considered a literary classic. Stupid!
I think that it is just ridiculous. That is not how Twain wrote the book. I think that in this day and age everyone is a bit too politically correct. Next thing you know they will be beeping out some of the words that Fred Sanford or Archie Bunker used to say in the very funny 70's TV shows because in today's society they can be considered offensive.
I wonder how long it will be until other great works of fiction are altered because the terminology used in the books may offend someone.
Supposedly, it was done so that teachers could use the book in the classroom without the fear of offending someone. I agree that the "N" word is really not an acceptable word in today's society. but to remove it from a book that is considered a literary classic. Stupid!
I think that it is just ridiculous. That is not how Twain wrote the book. I think that in this day and age everyone is a bit too politically correct. Next thing you know they will be beeping out some of the words that Fred Sanford or Archie Bunker used to say in the very funny 70's TV shows because in today's society they can be considered offensive.
I wonder how long it will be until other great works of fiction are altered because the terminology used in the books may offend someone.
Sunday, January 02, 2011
A Run for the Roses
Yesterday was the Rose Bowl.
It was a game that I thought the Badgers should have won quite handily. Yes, TCU had a #1 ranked defense, but we have Nick Toon and John Clay.
Alas, it was not meant to be.
The players looked like they were not prepared. Several dumb penalties early on. They played like they were not in sync. Dropped passes and some wrong routes being run.
But our defense held TCU in check. They didn't let the game get out of hand and become a blow out.
We had a shot to tie the game up late in the game. A missed 2 point conversion was the difference.
Games like this would have drove Randy nuts!!
Thanks Badger for a great season. It was fun to watch.
It was a game that I thought the Badgers should have won quite handily. Yes, TCU had a #1 ranked defense, but we have Nick Toon and John Clay.
Alas, it was not meant to be.
The players looked like they were not prepared. Several dumb penalties early on. They played like they were not in sync. Dropped passes and some wrong routes being run.
But our defense held TCU in check. They didn't let the game get out of hand and become a blow out.
We had a shot to tie the game up late in the game. A missed 2 point conversion was the difference.
Games like this would have drove Randy nuts!!
Thanks Badger for a great season. It was fun to watch.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
Year in Review
As most people are doing this time of year, they are taking stock of their lives over the past year and setting goals for the upcoming year, I am doing the same.
Things I have done in a nutshell:
I know many people set new goals for themselves each year. I have a few as well. Some are private but some I will share.
Things I have done in a nutshell:
- traveled to a foreign country
- zip lined in the jungle and rappelled down a 120 meter waterfall
- camped a whole lot - nothing new there
- became a red head
- signed up for online dating service
- went to Vegas - twice
- volunteered for two charity events - bike ride and beer run
- raised a shit load of money for charity
- made some new friends via Twitter and other social media outlets
- took up running
- completed my first (and not the last) half marathon
- walked in a parade
I know many people set new goals for themselves each year. I have a few as well. Some are private but some I will share.
- complete a half marathon sub 3 hours
- care less about my weight but focus on a more healthy overall lifestyle
- join a book club
- go back to school and finish my degree - this one seems the most scary to me
- volunteer more with causes that mean something to me
- be an awesome mentor to runners for Team Challenge
- spend more time with my nieces. They need a good role model.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
It Didn't Totally Suck
I was expecting the worst and pleasantly surprised.
I'm talking about Christmas. The last several years, I have pretty much boycotted the holiday.
Let's recap the past few years, shall we.
2009: Only a few months after my dad died. Things between my sister, mom and I are strained to say the least. I barely talked to any of them. They made some accusations that I could not forget. I go over to my sister's and she makes a snide comment about me bringing the dogs, which she knew I was going to do. I am there all of 6 minutes, tops. I drop off my food and presents, pack up the dogs and leave. I end up going to a movie with a friend. I hear from none of them for 2-3 months.
2008: Only a few weeks after Randy died. So not in the mood to begin with. Christmas morning started out crappy when I got the phone call from mom's girlfriend saying that mom is having a heart attack and they are taking her to the ER. Lovely. Spend most of the day at the hospital. Dad isn't doing much better. He is still recovering from chemo and radiation and pretty weak.
2007: Randy and I are in the middle of divorcing. We accepted an offer on the house and I was trying to find a new place to buy. Things between us were estranged and he wasn't really even living in the house much at that time.
Fast forward to this year.
As in years past, one tradition is to go out to dinner on Christmas Eve with P, K and Stb. It is always a good time with friends. While out for cocktails, I get a phone call from mom that she is not going to be at my sister's. Oh well. I have learned to not expect anything from her so it really doesn't bother me too much. Get home a bit late and it seems that Santa has left me with a bit of a hangover the next morning.
I call my sister mid-morning to find out the plans. She is all sorts of crabby because the oldest niece and her were fighting and so my sister decided to not do anything. Note: Sister has more of an attitude problem than niece does. I was now starting to dread this. Wondering how I can get out of actually going over there this year. I realize that it is not all about me but I should go over there for the kids. I take a bit of a nap and head over there.
I get there and am shocked that my mom is there. Hmmm, wonder what happened but am not asking. Middle niece is so happy to see me. She hands me a little bag and tells me to open it. I don't even have my coat off yet. I open it and it was an ornament that said Aunt on it. It was really sweet of her and she was so happy that she picked it out all by herself and the school's Secret Santa Workshop.
I go into the living room and hang with the kids for awhile. Getting hungry so go into the kitchen for food. Thinking I should probably talk to mom and sister for a bit. We chat and by this time the kids are getting antsy to open gifts. Head back into the living room. Dole out the gifts. Youngest niece opens one of her gifts from me. It was a pink messenger bag that could convert into a back pack. It had been in the middle of her list so didn't think it was a big deal. She did. When she seen it, she screamed. LOUD! You would have thought she won the lottery. She was so excited about it. She sat down on the floor and proceeded to inspect it very carefully. A few minutes later, she came over to me and was showing me where all her stuff would go into it. Pencils, pens, folders. She wanted to put her stuff into it right then and there. When she realized that it was a whole week before she could use it to go back to school, you would have thought her cat died.
Middle niece got lots of books from me. She loves to read and I will do everything to encourage that. Once the gifts were all opened she grabbed a book and sat on the chair and read.
Oldest niece was fairly easy. Being 15, she wants clothes and cash. She got gift cards and one of my old Coach purses. She loved it. I did give her the lecture that it was a fairly expensive purse ($150) and that she needed to take care of it and make sure to not leave it laying somewhere. She assured me that she would. I hope so.
For a change, mom and sister listened to what I asked for. I told them gift cards. Barnes & Noble, Target. I really don't need much but can always find things to buy there. I did ask for the registration to the Summerfest 1/2 marathon this year. I ended up with Summerfest gift cards. Perfect. I will definitely use those!
The kids wanted to go play football outside. I was still a bit tired and didn't have the clothes to be outside for more than a few minutes so I had to decline.
It was starting to get late and I wanted to get a nap in before bed. (Hey, it was my holiday to do with as I pleased. Nothing beats a good nap with snuggly pups.) So home I went.
It was a nice time and I was just happy it didn't totally suck.
I'm talking about Christmas. The last several years, I have pretty much boycotted the holiday.
Let's recap the past few years, shall we.
2009: Only a few months after my dad died. Things between my sister, mom and I are strained to say the least. I barely talked to any of them. They made some accusations that I could not forget. I go over to my sister's and she makes a snide comment about me bringing the dogs, which she knew I was going to do. I am there all of 6 minutes, tops. I drop off my food and presents, pack up the dogs and leave. I end up going to a movie with a friend. I hear from none of them for 2-3 months.
2008: Only a few weeks after Randy died. So not in the mood to begin with. Christmas morning started out crappy when I got the phone call from mom's girlfriend saying that mom is having a heart attack and they are taking her to the ER. Lovely. Spend most of the day at the hospital. Dad isn't doing much better. He is still recovering from chemo and radiation and pretty weak.
2007: Randy and I are in the middle of divorcing. We accepted an offer on the house and I was trying to find a new place to buy. Things between us were estranged and he wasn't really even living in the house much at that time.
Fast forward to this year.
As in years past, one tradition is to go out to dinner on Christmas Eve with P, K and Stb. It is always a good time with friends. While out for cocktails, I get a phone call from mom that she is not going to be at my sister's. Oh well. I have learned to not expect anything from her so it really doesn't bother me too much. Get home a bit late and it seems that Santa has left me with a bit of a hangover the next morning.
I call my sister mid-morning to find out the plans. She is all sorts of crabby because the oldest niece and her were fighting and so my sister decided to not do anything. Note: Sister has more of an attitude problem than niece does. I was now starting to dread this. Wondering how I can get out of actually going over there this year. I realize that it is not all about me but I should go over there for the kids. I take a bit of a nap and head over there.
I get there and am shocked that my mom is there. Hmmm, wonder what happened but am not asking. Middle niece is so happy to see me. She hands me a little bag and tells me to open it. I don't even have my coat off yet. I open it and it was an ornament that said Aunt on it. It was really sweet of her and she was so happy that she picked it out all by herself and the school's Secret Santa Workshop.
I go into the living room and hang with the kids for awhile. Getting hungry so go into the kitchen for food. Thinking I should probably talk to mom and sister for a bit. We chat and by this time the kids are getting antsy to open gifts. Head back into the living room. Dole out the gifts. Youngest niece opens one of her gifts from me. It was a pink messenger bag that could convert into a back pack. It had been in the middle of her list so didn't think it was a big deal. She did. When she seen it, she screamed. LOUD! You would have thought she won the lottery. She was so excited about it. She sat down on the floor and proceeded to inspect it very carefully. A few minutes later, she came over to me and was showing me where all her stuff would go into it. Pencils, pens, folders. She wanted to put her stuff into it right then and there. When she realized that it was a whole week before she could use it to go back to school, you would have thought her cat died.
Middle niece got lots of books from me. She loves to read and I will do everything to encourage that. Once the gifts were all opened she grabbed a book and sat on the chair and read.
Oldest niece was fairly easy. Being 15, she wants clothes and cash. She got gift cards and one of my old Coach purses. She loved it. I did give her the lecture that it was a fairly expensive purse ($150) and that she needed to take care of it and make sure to not leave it laying somewhere. She assured me that she would. I hope so.
For a change, mom and sister listened to what I asked for. I told them gift cards. Barnes & Noble, Target. I really don't need much but can always find things to buy there. I did ask for the registration to the Summerfest 1/2 marathon this year. I ended up with Summerfest gift cards. Perfect. I will definitely use those!
The kids wanted to go play football outside. I was still a bit tired and didn't have the clothes to be outside for more than a few minutes so I had to decline.
It was starting to get late and I wanted to get a nap in before bed. (Hey, it was my holiday to do with as I pleased. Nothing beats a good nap with snuggly pups.) So home I went.
It was a nice time and I was just happy it didn't totally suck.
Saturday, December 18, 2010
Friday, December 17, 2010
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