Pawprints From Space

Well, well for the first time in over a week the electric company is not happy with me. Why you ask? Because today I did not have to have the air conditioner on all day. Running the silly thing tends to offset all the good that switching to compact flourescent bulbs was doing. Speaking of things "green" okay I did watch (or at least have on) the Live Earth concert (on Bravo) and it was pretty good. I must admit I have my doubts about how carbon neurtal they could possibly be with all the celebs having to travel to get to the various locations. Supposedly they were going to announce after the concert what the output ended up being but I haven't seen "boo" on that in the press so either the press no longer cares (gasp!) or they didn't do that well and they are still trying to figure out how to spin it. I did take Earthlab's little carbon test to see how I stacked up and as expected I am well below average for the normal American. The crappy part was for el...

Ah summer! It's hot, it hasn't rained in an amount worth mentioning in weeks and guess what? A chipmunk, ground squirrel or other small mammal has crawl under the walkway and died. Of course being dead the little body is now producing a huge stink. Being under the wooden walkway there is no way to get at the thing without tearing up said walkway so it must remain where it is.. smelling up the place... drawing fun insects and just being, well... smelly. And guess what? It is supposed to be over 90 degrees the next few days. On the one hand this could speed up the decomp process on the other the stink is gonna get worse. And we're only into day three of stink. According to online research it can take a week or two for the smell from a dead mouse to dissipate. I am assuming that we are dealing with a likewise small rodent because the under the walkway route is a common path for the chipmunks to get to and from their den. A week or two. More if we're talking squirrel. Which...

No I am not waiting in line (on line?) for an Apple iPhone. I can't see spending that much $$ on a device that makes me that much more "available" to people I'd really rather not be available. No I don't have the latest laptop, the coolest TV, my flatbed scanner doesn't even work any more with XP it's that old and I didn't run out and get a new one. Oh yeah, and I'm waiting for the printer I have to completely run out of ink before I trade it in on an all-in-one so that I have fax access again. And yet I am a geek at heart. I love technology. When it makes sense. But I'm sorry the iPhone just doesn't and that isn't because the thing isn't cool (it is) or that I hate all things Apple (I don't, I tend to hate Microsoft but that's another rant for another time) it is because the thing costs so damned much. I mean really, my Motorola Razor can receive email and browse the Web even though the screen it too damned small to read an...

Now that it is officially summer, I'm thinking about being outside as much as possible... tending the garden... just enjoying the season. I am NOT thinking about the 2008 Presidential election. And yet everywhere you look, every time you turn on the news or pick up a paper somebody is saying something about this candidate or that whether you care yet or not. And there are a slew of candidates. And they all have MySpace pages now too. Heck, states are even moving their primary dates so they can be the first in line to pick the new Prez. Oh please. For those of us who care about the issues more than the parties this might be a good thing, we have more time to get to know the candidates and where they stand. But the issues could change a lot between now and the primaries. Some terrorist group could do something stupid, North Korea could do something stupid, Iran could do something really stupid and WHAM! we have more to think about than the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan (assuming you r...

So the new job has two weeks under its belt. So far so good. Or is it? I admit to a certain level of paranoia. After all the last time I left a horrid situation I ended up in something worse for half the money! Consulting is consulting, it is problem solving which I seem to be wired to do. It doesn't matter if the bag of tricks is advertising, web sites or human resources services... it all boils down to being able to figure out the problem and helping the client fix it. That I can do. In the midst of all this though is the closing in of Relay For Life. I am still up to my eyebrows with that. Still putting out fires and trying to live in a house that looks as though Relay exploded all over it. I am not a happy woman. The upside is I don't have to put up with this crap. I am a volunteer now. After after this coming weekend the event will be over and they can kiss my butt if they want much more out of me. Of course I have to pack up the files but I am going to take my time with t...

Okay I confess... I have no idea how to relax, how to be "on vacation". This is only day two but I already have a full agenda for today and tomorrow. Some of it is fun (facial, massage and lunch with a friend) but then there is the committee meeting tomorrow night, yard work, the housework and other things staring back at me screaming to be taken care of. I don't know how to ignore these things. I used to. I used to be able to ignore everything and get lost in a book. I still read voraciously but I am multi -tasking when I do it: the news is on the TV or radio, I'm eating lunch, something... I think I lost the ability to be still after my husband died. I threw myself into work and now I can't seem to claw myself back out of it. I do enjoy yard work. I find it very therapeutic although it can be exhausting too. House work I hate but the laundry isn't going to do itself after all. Damn it. Wouldn't that be nice? Especially the ironing. Ick ! I'll proba...

As a kid I never liked Father's Day. Mostly because I didn't have a father around. All the other kids did but I was the only one with divorced parents and my father disappeared when I was about two years old. So that sucked growing up. As I've gotten older and it has become obvious that I'm never going to be a parent, I'm starting not to like Mother's Day. Yesterday several people wished me a happy Mother's Day. I'm sure they meant well and being older than say 12 I could very well have children so they probably figured they were being nice. I suppose it is similar to being wished a Merry Christmas when you're not Christian. The phrase simply does not apply to you. In the Mother's Day case it can actually be painful. I can't have kids. When I was in my early thirties and newly engaged I had surgery and was told if I wanted to get pregnant I'd better do it in the next year or two otherwise forget it. Well we didn't exactly jump on that...

It's the little things in life that either mean so much or annoy the heck outta you. Today we're going to talk about 10 of the annoying ones. 1. The gray area in the employee handbook that leads you to believe one thing about the departure procedures only to smack you upside the head with the reality. Trying to do things by the book and out of concern for the organization will only get you smacked by that same book, and shortchanged too. 2. There is a HUGE yellow arrow painted on the pavement indicating the direction of traffic flow. There are cars angled in the proper direction as they have parked in accordance to the traffic flow and yet somehow there is a woman in a huge SUV headed directly at you - going the wrong way despite all the evidence as to the proper direction of traffic flow - who has the audacity to look at you as if you were the one in error. And she's angry about it too! 3. People who have been told for months about the deadlines. Who have been reminded a...

Someone needs to tell the media that their job is to report the news and to do so with objectivity. Not keep hammering away at an incident, track anyone within 10 miles of said incident and then play video tape over and over again that is far from newsworthy. I am speaking of course of the incident at Virginia Tech. Yes it was horrible. Yes there are interesting questions about that two hour or so gap between the first shooting and the massacre that followed. Of course people want to know why. And oh yeah there will be lawsuits to follow I am certain. But as a family is frantic wanting to know if their child is all right. As the parents and family of the criminal are horrified that one of their own could do such a thing. As people begin to grieve... What they do not need is 24/7 in-your-face-twits of media people crawling all over the town and the campus, sticking a microphone in the face of whomever they meet. They do not need to see a madman ranting over and over on TV. As a person ...

They say one should not drink and drive but what about drinking blogging? I do not think that they are laws governing that. If so, I would be in trouble tonight. But despite the fact that my fingers can not find the keys I am compelled to write. I have a friend who has had to quit his job because the people he works for are beyond stupid, beyond compassionate, beyond having the ability to think of others besides themselves and the kicker is that they are the board of directors of a nonprofit organization who should know better because they are goaled with the mission of helping those most in need. They approved his vacation time when his was hired because he was honest and told them that he had tickets to an expensive, exclusive event. And yet after he took said time they docked his pay because (get this) another person in the office also took time during the same week. And well, she has worked there longer - despite the fact that his time was on the docket first or that he followed th...

Doing the right then, being conscientious gets you nowhere... it only brings more frustration, anxiety and grief. Case in point. Trying to do the right thing by my volunteers, tying up loose ends and such before departure. Had a thing all arranged (or so I thought) for a staff member to speak at an important event next week. Find out today she double-booked herself and won't be there after all. Now since I can't be two places at once, volunteers are counting on us and we have a shaky situation in that community to begin with I am livid. I express these concerns and get told "thanks for your concern, we'll handle it". Basically don't worry your little head about it, you don't need to be concerned any longer you resigned. Well yes I did but I set this thing up over a month and a half ago and I'm not leaving for another 24 days so guess what jerks? It is still my responsibility. You want to screw things up after I leave that's one thing but you do no...

Oh this ought to be fun. Met with the person who is going to babysit my events through the end of this fiscal year today. She'll do fine. Interesting thing though is that while we were meeting a co-worker called. All of a sudden there is a hiring freeze. So the boss can't replace me with a new person who actually lives in this part of the region. The one who is covering for the next few months was a "floater" and that's what she wanted to be, she didn't want the job I had but now she's stuck with it. They didn't give her the opportunity to refuse it, told her "no". Kinda like when they told me I had to take the event from hell. This person has a two hour drive to get to that particular event. The volunteers especially one particular major donor are going to flip out when they discover there is NO ONE local any longer. They were already annoyed that the office had closed but I was still here so they had a point of contact. So much for the mone...

A weight has lifted. In less than a month I will be out of an extremely stressful job and beginning a new one. I can hardly believe it. It's been four and a half years and three and a half of them have been sheer hell. From office politics that resembled the Spanish Inquisition, to narrowly avoiding being down-sized (first I was, then I wasn't, then I could have this job, no wait the budget can't support that), to being micromanaged from afar this organization pretty much shattered my desire to work for the public good. I might still volunteer but if I do I can always walk away without penalties (like loss of a paycheck) if they get too demanding. For all its flaws the private sector has been much better to me over the years than the nonprofit world. And I do not mean merely in compensation. I will be working with other MBA grads and lawyers. Imagine being able to have a conversation about current events, being able to use what my mother used to call $3 words and not get bl...

Ye Ha! I have been offered and have accepted another position! I will be leaving the insane nonprofit world and going back into the private sector. So yes, as previously posted: the end is not only in sight but has come into focus and all that is left are the departure details. A huge weight has been lifted from my shoulders. It has been a good day: Mom's surgery went well, got this great job offer, will be graduating with a MBA in four short weeks (counting this week) and so far the 4.0 GPA remains intact. Now if it would just stop snowing.....

Okay so I bought some pansies and some violas (they have a stronger scent) today and we had record temps. Now it is raining, a cold front is en route and we may have snow tomorrow. No one said "boo" about snow. Rain yes, colder yes but snow? Nope. Nothing. Not one word. Nevertheless the little perky flowers are all in pots and yes I did have to move them all onto the sunporch but I don't give a damn. I feel so much better looking at their little faces you can not imagine. There is something extremely theraputic about planting colorful flowers with smiling faces. I feel better for hours afterwards. Never mind the dirt under the fingernails (even with gloves somehow), the cats you have to chase away from eating the flowers or the inevitable rain. I just feel so much better about life, the universe and everything. So my advice is: whenever life throws crap at you - what the hell, plant pansies!

Okay so just did the taxes, used software of course, and with all the calculations and deductions and depreciations I'm still getting less back this year than last. So... home office hoo-ha? Big whoop. It wasn't enough of a deduction to really impact the bottom line. So all this frustration. All this aggrivation. And really not much of anything to show for it all. Well then, if this other job comes through all the more reason to walk away from the telecommuting situation. It simply is not worth it and now I have tangible proof. Sigh!

Recently received a questionnaire from my first grad school and suddenly realized how long it had been since I graduated - 19 years. The school is celebrating its 150th this year and wants to put together an alumni newsletter around the fact so they are asking alumni who their favorite professor was, fondest memory that sort of thing. Had to dig through the textbooks to find the guy's last name. I thought I had it, wasn't 100% sure but voila! I was right. Now I am five weeks away from a second graduate degree. So what is this? Every 20 years or so I go back to school, spend scary amounts of money and make myself even more unemployable? Works for me. Happy 150th Birthday Illinois State University!

Hmmm.... Could it be true? Could this travail finally be coming to an end? Well it is possible. I am still in the running for a job I had a great interview for over a month ago. Talked to the guy yesterday (gee I only left a message a week for four weeks what kept ya?) and he has a research question (think mini-paper) that he wants me to answer for him. Kind of a test. Seems they got burned in the last couple of hires and want to make sure I can do research. Can fish swim? Duh! So... if this pans out and they make an offer in the next couple of weeks my summer could look a whole lot better. Heck, I might even be able to - oh I don't know - have a life! Save some money! Work in the garden! Fix the bathroom floor even! Of course he was supposed to call today with the question and to set up a time.... he didn't

Well the project for the Class From Hell is done and safely emailed away to the Professor From Hell. Thank God that's over! All that is left is the presentation in class tomorrow night. Nothing should be this hard, cause this much stress or otherwise destroy every sinlge bit of free time you thought you had. The worrisome thing of the moment now is... what are we facing in the next class? This is the last class after all. Normally by now we have a syllabus and textbooks. We got nada. That in and of itself is unnerving. As is the fact that the cat just stole my seat on the couch, the big jerk.

It is Saturday. The sun is shining and it is a cold 30-ish degrees with a wind chill of something like 15. And yet it is probably the best day that this town has had for a St Patrick's Day parade in about 20 years. We were cold at 9:00 a.m. decorating the "float". We were cold at 10:30 a.m. lining up along the parade route. We were cold at 12:00 p.m. when the parade actually started. By 1:00 p.m. it was over we had no feeling in noses, toes and fingers but we had at least had fun. Cold fun to be sure. But fun. Now it is back to the homework - the final project for a class that has been nothing short of hell. No one can explain to me why on earth we need to know upper level calculus in order to understand economics from a managerial standpoint in business. Hello! There is software for this sort of thing thank you very flippin' much. But no we somehow have a physicist teaching managerial economics in the MBA program. A man who does not understand that a nonprofit is not...