On our way to the laundromat to dry a couple of loads of wash, Sibylle pointed out that some of the lights on the Jimmy’s dash were behaving weirdly. The intensity of the lights was flickering, and it looked like one of the gauge lights was trying to come on.
After our drying was completed, and on our way home, all the gauge lights suddenly lit up, and then every light on the Jimmy went off. Within a second everything was working again, but obviously something was wrong.
In the morning I’ll have to take the Jimmy to the dealer and see what’s going on and what our options are.
“Ah!,” said she.
“What?”
“I’m filling out a survey and I’ve moved from the 36-44 category to the 45-54 category.”
“Oh.”
“At least it’s a palindrome.”
“…”
“And both are divisible by nine.”
This year Sibylle and I are staying close to home for Thanksgiving. We had talked about maybe going to see my family in Illinois or venturing to the far north to visit her sister, but in the end we decided to stay home.
The weather today certainly reenforced our decision. Yesterday afternoon it was a balmy, almost summery, 77 degrees in the late afternoon. By ten o’clock it was already down to 50 degrees. Over night it rained and turned much colder, with today’s high barely above freezing. About noon it started snowing, and the wind was raw and biting.
We did some last minute shopping this afternoon, and then came home and bolted the door behind us. I napped for a short time on the couch while Sibylle baked cookies and then made us dinner. We both relish Friday evenings because the entire weekend extends out in front of us like an unexplored road leading over the hill. Having a four-day weekend is delicious.
Where ever you are, dear reader, I wish you a safe and happy Thanksgiving weekend.
We are nearing the end of the calendar year and that means only one thing. That’s right, annual employment evaluations. Joyous tidings to us all.
For the first time in about eight years I’m employed in a situation where annual evaluations are actually performed. What’s more, there is a process to follow, software to be used, and deadlines to be met.
I’m supposed to develop some goals (three to five) and then describe how I met or exceeded those goals. (Since I get to write the goals now, at the end of the year, I shan’t be including any that I failed to meet.) (Well maybe one that’s on-going and will be met in the future, just to show humility.) The employee goals are only 50% of the evaluation, however. There are Competencies as well.
The Competencies are broken down into organizational, job family, and key job. There’s also room for you to record any major accomplishments for the year. These accomplishments don’t count towards your final score however, they are just gloss.
Self-evaluation is always an uncomfortable exercise. I suppose there is something to be gained by seeing, on paper, how you see yourself compared to how your boss sees you. Still, as introspective as I am at times, I don’t always like the process. Writing in the third-person about your self is always a bit weird too. (Mark is outstanding in his job.)
This being the first year I’ve gone through the process at this employer, and therefore the first time with this manager, I don’t really know what to expect. In most areas my manager is fairly easy-going, laid-back even. Will that trait carry over to the evaluation? Or will he become Mr. Hyde? Being new I personally think that there is no way I can be “clearly outstanding” on any of the scored portions of the evaluation. I’m still learning the ropes, the players, and where I should be focusing my talents. Will my boss understand this dynamic? I think so, but I won’t know for sure until our face-to-face.
I have no reason to believe that I’ll get anything but a good evaluation, but that belief doesn’t calm my apprehension or ease my anxiety much.
This morning I forgot my parking transponder and work badge. Naturally I didn’t discover this oversight until I was completely downtown, 25 miles from home. And, this being Monday, I had an eight o’clock meeting meaning no time to return home to retrieve them.
A bumpy start to the week.
Deciding that half a day in the pay lot was cheaper than a full day in the pay lot, I went out after lunch to move the car to the lot used by new employees while they are in training. It’s two blocks further away from the building, but since we are having spring-like weather today, it would be a pleasant two-block walk.
When I got to the exit of the parking ramp the parking lady greeted me and asked where my transponder was. I explained that I’d left it in the other car and so I was without today. She said that she wasn’t going to charge me. All she wanted was for me to write my name, work location, and work phone number on the ticket. Free parking. All as a result, I believe, of a morning smile and wave.
You see, ever since I’ve been parking in this lot, I’ve taken the time to wave and smile at her as I go past her booth in the mornings. She always has a big smile in return, and a wave of her own. The world is full of good people, we just have to open ourselves to the possibility and they will be in our lives. My leaving my badges at home is making today a bit awkward, but my life is enriched because I was helped by someone I smile to every day.
In the last fourteen months I have administered roughly 770 insulin shots. Our cat, Nekko, is diabetic and as such requires twice daily shots to survive.
At first I wasn’t very good at giving her the shots. The terribly brief instruction I was given, before brining her home from the hospital, did nothing to allay my fears about the whole thing. There are some cats who are cuddly, pick-me-up-and-hold-me cats. Nekko is not one of those. In fact, after picking her up she will avoid you for several days. Not good behavior if you need to inject her every 12-hours.
The first month after she was diagnosed I was lucky to administer one shot a day. The doctor, rightfully so, admonished me that she had to get her shots every 12 hours. Insulin isn’t a drug that builds up in your system, there’s no saturation to fall back on if you miss a dosage. Insulin is a hormone that the body requires and isn’t something that can be stored. It would be weeks before I hit upon the idea of blocking most of the space under the bed, where she liked to hide, so that I could reach her there for her shots. And it has only been in the weeks since our move this summer, that she has allowed me to give her shots while she was stretched out on the couch in our home office.
Beginning late last October and continuing through today, I have given her a shot twice a day, every day, except when were were out of town. On those occasions she has spent time at the vet’s, being boarded and having them administer her injections.
I am happy to say that her blood sugar levels are much better than when she first was diagnosed. She was ketonic in September 2006, with a blood sugar count approaching 400. While normal is somewhere around 100, we’ve been successful in keeping her under 200, in the 160 range, for some time now. The vet says that given her age this is a good maintenance level for her. Cats respond to human insulin replacement therapy, but sometimes unpredictably so. We keep a close watch on her to gauge whether or not she is over or under reacting to her shots.
In the three months that we’ve lived in the townhouse she has been out more, and playful more than in a long time. I think she feels better - she certainly looks and acts better.
I hope to administer thousands more shots in her lifetime, one every twelve hours.
In September, on our way to Germany, Sibylle and I stopped off in Massachusetts to see my friends Ted and Bethanne. And to see the Genesis Turn It On Again tour. Genesis toured for the first time in 15 years this summer, doing twenty dates in Europe and twenty dates in the US. Hartford Connecticut was one of the shows, and as it is only an hour or so from where Ted lives, we decided last March to get tickets to the show.
The show was fantastic, nearly three-hours of non-stop Genesis, including some songs they haven’t played live in decades. Before and after the show there were announcements that it would be possible to buy a commercially pressed CD set of the show, taken directly from the soundboard. Ted was generous enough to buy two copies of the Hartford concert and my copy arrived in the mail just over a week ago.
I’ve listened to little else in the time since. Years ago, when Peter Gabriel had the Security album tour, it was recorded and turned into a 2-CD live album. During the show we saw he announced that the show was being recorded for a live album to deafening cheers of approval. Ever since then I’ve wondered if we were on that CD. With the Hartford CD I don’t have to wonder, I know. Ted, Sibylle, and I are all on that CD, along with 16,000 other happy fans.
The only problem is a slight fear of wearing out those sectors on my hard drive that contain the MP3 version of the show. I can always get a new hard drive, I suppose.
Roland S. Martin’s commentary on CNN got me to thinking. In a nutshell the primary system in America is broken. There are key states, namely the first to host their primary or caucus, that make or break a candidacy. Why shouldn’t all of America be in on the fun.
My idea, and I’m sure it isn’t original, is to have a National Primary day. All states will hold their primary or caucus on the same day, during the same hours. In effect a dress rehearsal for the election to follow. Now the candidates, and their election machines, will have to focus on the entire country. And, as an added bonus, the citizens won’t be bombarded for month after month about what who is or isn’t winning in other states.
I propose, then, that the first Tuesday in May be National Primary Day. That leaves six months for the parties to hold their conventions and select the final candidate. In November we all go vote again, en masse, for the next President of the United States.
I’m sure that allusions to the iconic This is Spinal Tap will abound on the Internets today, as a result of the latest point release to Mac OS X.
Here’s mine.
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While a lot of memories of my mother bring some tears with them, some are good. Occasionally they bring a smile or laughter. Yesterday was one of those good memory days.
Some background When the Beatles Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band album was released it caused quite a stir in the press. Enough so that my mom talked about it to my father. As a joke he bought her the album. She liked the music enough to go out and purchase the other Beatles’ albums; meaning I grew up with a combination of opera and the Beatles.
She also, like the rest of us, refused to listen to some songs as they would get stuck in her head.
Finally, she appreciated the Zits comic strip.
With all that in mind… I give you the November 13, 2007 Zits comic strip.
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