Recognition and rehearsals begin...

May 30 was the last day for seniors at NV and yesterday was the "Senior Assembly" at the high school. The assembly is basically held so that the underclassmen and parents have the opportunity to learn of the accomplishments of the senior class and some very prominent scholarships are officially awarded to their recipients at this time.

Today, the young one will go to the Stranahan/ Masonic complex in South Toledo, transported by city school busses (legal issues require it) to rehearse for the actual ceremony to take place on June 10. I will not be able to be there to take photos (I'm sure that breaks the young one's heart!) so the next photos regarding graduation will be taken at the actual event. Keep the young one in your goods thoughts...he is participating in a rite of passage that we all have experienced, and having all the angst that goes with that...the end of one part of life, and transition into a new one...thankfully he has good friends and his Sara to share this experience with...it should be a good one...

Till later, much love to you...

v

Welcome to Sylvania, Rootizens!

Today I arrived at the new space very early, thinking that the IT folks would be as concerned and excited as I was about making sure that we were ready for the arrival of our users...our co-workers...The work today was fast and furious; many folks who work on laptops and all the folks in need of their security devices for the space (we have taken pains to assure that the areas are secured even though there are public access points in close proximity to them).

I am still at the office, waiting for an emergency issue to be addressed, then I will go home for the night. It is the lot of the IT person, and so very much it has been that of my bosses, to spend long and thankless hours at work behind the scenes to assure that things flow without difficulty for the staff of the organization.

Tomorrow, it will be better and I may even have an opportunity to put my desk together (have nothing more than a phone, computer and a bunch of junk on it so far) There are still contractors here working in the server room on persistent phone problems and another person is in the Birch Conference room addressing the final configuration of the multimedia there. The phone people and the multimedia guy will be back tomorrow, to be sure...the phones are still not right and there are still two conference rooms to work through.

I hope your day at work was much calmer and more relaxed than mine, although I really cannot complain...even in all the rush and push for help, users were kind, grateful and gracious....did I tell you what a great place this is to work?

Anyway...that's it for now...till later, much love to you...

v

Memorial Day, 2007

Today was an important day for me and mine for multiple reasons...it was officially the last event the young one will participate in as a student at Sylvania Northview High School...it was the first event to take place within the proximity of the new home of the company that I work for (the parade proceeded directly in front of the building) and being Memorial Day, it was a sobering reminder that I have two sons who are of the age that should the awful mess in the Middle East come to the point of requiring a draft, my sons would qualify.

I never, ever talk about this with the boys, but this really scares me...even the insinuation of a possibility that the draft may be reinstituted sends me into a horrible panic and an irrational thought process which centers around living off nuts and berries in the backwoods of some god-foresaken place where noone will ever find us. I cannot imagine the torture that mothers all over the US are going through right now...their sons and daughters who choose to serve surely make them proud with their commitment to our country, but either I am a selfish mother or they are terror stricken and horribly tormented every waking and sleeping hour, knowing the danger their children are in.

Walking around in the cemetery, looking at the sea of flags in the veteran's section and the spotty placement of flags throughout, seeing the living veterans from all the recent wars who were there to acknowledge the current and past sacrifices that men and women have made...will it ever stop? Will the young people of some generation in the future actually be able to grow to adulthood fully intact, without the loss of classmates, friends and loved ones lost in the cause of some war? I hope so...I pray so...

Much love to you

v

The greatest gift I never wanted...

Last fall, I experienced one of the most traumatic things I have experienced...after nearly ten years, I was forced to leave the job that I felt in my heart I was made to do...it was not something that I wanted or was prepared for and it made me heartsick to know that after all of myself that I had invested in this organization and this position, I was not wanted there any longer. Little did I know that at that moment of what seemed to be my greatest grief, I was actually being given the most rewarding and wonderful opportunity of my life.

In my search for a new place to add value, I was connected through several friends to the organization I now work for. It has been six months since I began my service there, and they have been the most challenging and exciting days I have spent in a long time. I have grown to feel connected to the people I work with in such a profoundly loyal way...I have observed them all in work and at play...enjoying each and every one of them for the talented and diverse group that they are. The creative nature of our business encourages personal growth and a true feeling of cohesiveness in our organization...we all have a common goal, which is to be passionate and to work with dedication that comes from having passion about what you do.

When I first came into the company, I thought our location was the coolest place that I have ever been able to work in, conducive to the creative process and nurturing in its attention to the comforts of the staff. After several months there, I found that we were going to move to a newer, better space....I was skeptical...but the intention was to provide a place where the clients who come to visit would be able to enjoy the complete experience of our organization, observing our creative processes and our eclectic spaces, while also having all the amenities available to provide for a comfortable and complete business visit as well.

Plans were excruciating in their detail, and a long time in process...many people throughout the organization were engaged to assist in creating detailed plans of action to address all the details of a very complicated move. Months of preparation and cooperation were required from everyone in the company, to assure that when the space was ready for occupancy, we were all ready to move without a hitch.

That moving week began last Monday and culminated in a final move of furniture to the new space on Friday. Starting Wednesday night, technology move strategies were coordinated by my two supervisors, with the rest of IT assisting as directed. My bosses dedicated several very long days and nights to getting our equipment moved, installed and configured in the new space, and then the extensive testing plan was executed. All of the core group of move staff worked at any task asked of them with diligence...again, the concept of working with a common goal in mind....to make this new space ready for clients and colleagues....our new home...official on Tuesday May 29.

As I walked around the space this weekend, executing my assigned tasks, I simply had to pinch myself.....this really IS the most extraordinary work space I have ever seen....and I REALLY WORK HERE!!! I am so very fortunate, and I know it...more than ever, I believe that everything happens for a reason, although the immediate one is not always clear....the gift I was given last fall was so much more than I could have ever anticipated...I have gained so much...lost little...and am grateful and growing every day...

I hope that anyone who can will keep checking the webpage for my company Root Learning and keep an eye out for the notices about the public open house to introduce our staff and company to the people of the area we have moved into...I would love to have you come to see this wonderful place and allow me to give you the grand tour....

Hope you are having a wonderful weekend...til later...much love to you...

v

Young Folks....

If i told you things i did before
told you how i used to be
would you go along with someone like me
if you knew my story word for word
had all of my history
would you go along with someone like me

i did before and had my share
it didn't lead nowhere
i would go along with someone like you
it doesn't matter what you did
who you were hanging with
we could stick around and see this night through

and we don't care about the young folks
talkin' 'bout the young style
and we don't care about the old folks
talkin' 'bout the old style too
and we don't care about their own faults
talkin' 'bout our own style
all we care 'bout is talking
talking only me and you

usually when things has gone this far
people tend to disappear
no one will surprise me unless you do

i can tell there's something goin' on
hours seems to disappear
everyone is leaving i'm still with you

it doesn't matter what we do
where we are going too
we can stick around and see this night through

and we don't care about the young folks
talkin' 'bout the young style
and we don't care about the old folks
talkin' 'bout the old style too
and we don't care about their own faults
talkin' 'bout our own style
all we care 'bout is talking
talking only me and you

and we don't care about the young folks
talkin' 'bout the young style
and we don't care about the old folks
talkin' 'bout the old style too
and we don't care about their own faults
talkin' 'bout our own style
all we care 'bout is talking
talking only me and you
talking only me and you

talking only me and you
talking only me and you

- "Young Folks", Peter, Bjorn and John

And so it begins....

Yesterday, the official move activities began for the staff at the office I work in. There has been a lot of "pre-work", and there have been many, many hours dedicated by a team of very competent and caring individuals to get us to this point. A very detailed plan is in place to assist in the move process and to take the guess work out of it all for the singular staff members...their responsibilities have mainly been to assure that their workspaces are packed in boxes assigned to them and their cubes in the new space, to get rid of the stuff that they really do not use or need to move, and to assure that they make contingency plans to either work or take time off during the time that the IT infrastructure for our company is in transition, during the physical move for us.


Today will be another day of packing and pitching, even though the "pitching" part has been going on for several weeks...as it has come to the time to "put up or shut up" on the physical carrying stuff out of the building, folks are starting to reassess what is truly important and what they can do without (there is something to be said for laziness, and the fact that if it does not fit in their assigned boxes that they are responsible for moving it themselves). My boss has been rushing about coordinating a huge amount of technology installations in the new space, and his responsibilities on the next bit of IT stuff (final back up and physical move of infrastructure) looms humongous on the horizon. The company is very fortunate to have him in the position at this time in their IT life....he is very intense and conscientious about his job and responsibilities...I have complete confidence in the fact that as long as he is on the tasks, the transfer of data and equipment will proceed without a hitch.

I will post more as is appropriate. Needless to say, once the move is complete (plans are to begin business as usual in the new space on Tuesday, May 29), I will post information here about the public open house, to afford anyone who is interested the opportunity to view this beautiful new facility and experience the people, so you can truly understand why this is the best place at which I have ever had the privilege to work.

Keep us in your good thoughts this week, as we will all be extraordinarily busy...the rewards, however will be monumental...

Much love to you...

v

________________________________

On a totally unrelated note...got a call from a friend yesterday...seems that some folks are a little less than bright when it comes to keeping their opinions to themselves...all I have to say on the subject is, first off, you may want to keep a low profile when you are not on your home court, and secondly, unless you are ready to put up, with most folks, you are better off to just SHUT UP, IMHO.
________________________________

And finally, the "Quote of the Day"

"The more you judge, the less you love."

- Honore de Balzac

Before there was podcasting.....

"Action and reaction....

"......ebb and flow, trial and error, change - this is the rhythm of living. Out of our over-confidence, fear; out of our fear, clearer vision, fresh hope. And out of hope, progress."

- Bruce Barton

How addicted do you have to be to dig coffee beans out of poo?

Came across an article at Reuters online the other day (Aussies go crazy for cat poo coffee) about the coffee phenomenon known as “Kopi Luwak”. This very unusual beverage mutant is the product of coffee beans that have passed through the digestive tract of the “civet cat”, which are then recovered, cleaned and coffee brewed from them. Supposedly the process of digestion does something to the beans that makes the coffee brewed from them much different in character (imagine that) with a much smoother and less bitter flavour (Coffee FAQs).

My question to you is this….How did ANYONE come up with the idea to fish the beans out of the poo to brew them into coffee in the first place? Was there some sort of coffee bean shortage, or did the civet cats eat all the coffee fruits before the beans could be harvested that year? And honestly, I know true coffee addicts will get a little crazy without their daily dosage, but really…..could even they get past the facts of its origins ….. and….is coffee made from cat poo coffee beans really worth $300 a pound?

This is definitely not for me, even if it was given as a gift….the only way I would ever try it is if I were tricked into it...in any case, that is my frivolous post for today….much love to you…have a great weekend…

v

Internet vigilante....surprised that I know one....

There is a person I became acquainted almost two years ago while blogging on MSN Spaces, someone who I became very fond of personally and came to admire very much in his chosen profession of author. I admired him so much in fact, that I dedicated a great deal of time and resources to the cause of getting his writing exposure, hopefully with the culmination of garnering him a publication contract. He has worked diligently to reach his goal and the story is that the heart and soul of his writing is the truths he has learned in his very difficult personal journey through life...the nature of the tale he has spun is the process that a person goes through to learn life lessons...and how that all changes you.

He has for some time used his MSN Space as a vehicle for his web presence. This is where I first encountered his work and got to know him, and where he has successfully built a small entourage of loyal followers of his progress. He has posted his works in progress there for folks to critique and peruse; supposedly without concern for space traffic or kudos....simply for the satisfaction of writing for himself.

Not long after we became acquainted with each other, MSN introduced a type of recognition that they were to bestow on the "Best of Spaces", to call out some really fine efforts of folks dedicating time to building a site and creating a network on MSN's Spaces community. The concept sounds good...recognition for quality and engaging content....it was however an obvious popularity contest, largely based on a user's ability to team build and generate traffic. Some users were very good at it and were awarded "Best of Spaces" multiple times...other spaces that were deserving but not highly traveled were slighted. The popular sites and their creators became the MSN celebrities, and they were being contacted by lots of folks who wanted to jump on the popularity bandwagon...coat-tail on the traffic...channel a little of the success their way by association...As a result, some of the "popular" bloggers got a little overly self-important and full of themselves...to the point of believing their press...how great they are...and in demand...and they started to act that way, trying to see how far the perks of being popular would get them (sound like a pretty old predicament?)

Some of the followers of the "Populars" knew what they were getting into and were OK with it...some others were naive and had no idea what was going on...still others were sucked in, then after the fact decided to be angry or indignant at the way they were treated...admittedly some of the contact was not proper, but for the most part a delete, disconnect or ignore would have protected them, but they decided not to do those things. This is where the whole thing gets bizarre and out of hand....some of these folks are "friends" of the person I know, and recounted I have no idea what, in I have no idea what context, to him. For reasons I really don't understand, he decided to take up a crusade, based on what he had heard, to right the wrongs, make a point or something else entirely. The details of this crusade, in his own words are available here (Diary of "Jane"), so I will not enumerate the details. I read this article myself just this morning...here are my reactions, in no particular order:

*********************

- so...even if you can rationalize "good intentions", is it ethical to intentionally deceive people to PROVE A POINT?

- the condescending "I knew it all along" attitude; is it really that great to be RIGHT?

- a "take down"..... and based on the heresay of your own network of internet "friends"...ever think that they were protecting their own reputations with YOU?

- Your own experiment is an interesting lesson in gullibility and internet deception

and finally....

- With this in mind, how manipulative and contrived are your other ventures?

*********************

This has been weighing heavy on my mind all day...the investment of time, money and effort I have made over the past nearly two years to quietly and loyally support this friend in his efforts may very possibly been totally rendered useless by this "experiment" and his disclosure of same. I am disheartened at this vigilante approach to proving a point...for me the only point it proved is that anyone can be deceptive and everyone can be deceived....

With a heavy heart I close tonight....still with much love to you....

v

Portable music…can cause your heart to stop?

I have seen versions of this story in several locations…it indicates that the electrical interference generated by specifically the “iPod” MP3 player can cause disruption of the signals from heart pacemakers and could potentially cause heart arrhythmia to the point of resulting in heart condition misdiagnosis and potentially death. (iPods can make Pacemakers Malfunction: Study, Now it’s iPods Turn to Mess with Pacemakers)

First off, this was a study conducted exclusively with iPods, by a 17 year old high school student at the Michigan State University Thoracic and Cardiovascular Institute. The results of the study were presented at the annual meeting of the Heart Rhythm Society in Denver, Colorado.

My favourite quote from the session was a statement made by Dr. Krit Jongnarangsin, a long-time friend of the student’s father, the senior author of the study and an assistant professor in the Division of Cardiovascular Medicine at the University of Michigan:

*****"Most pacemaker patients are not iPod users," Jongnarangsin said. For that reason, he said, it is unclear how often iPods cause misdiagnosis.

"This needs to be studied more," Jongnarangsin added.*****

I just loved that!!!!

SO…I guess it’s a good thing that you don’t see too many iPods in the nursing home, and it would be a good idea to rethink the whole MP3 player gift for Grandpa’s 80th birthday….I’m sure there will be more speculation and study….for the time being, if you’re old and listen to an iPod, be advised you take your life in your own hands!!! (tongue planted firmly in cheek!)

Till later, much love to you,

v

May 12, 2007 - NV Wildcat Prom

The young one's prom today....stressing out pretty much over....all the preparations have been made; there is very little that needs addressed, other than the last minute dressing and primping (I have found that GUYS do it too!) and then going to spend an enjoyable evening with his Sara and their friends.

I am posting this at about 2:30 PM EDT, after a morning of recreational travel, lunch and finally a visit to the florist with the young one. The photo included at the top left of this entry is the corsage that the young one will be presenting to his Sara at her house in a mere hour and a half...yes, hour and a half...they are meeting at her parents house to allow the obligatory photo-taking of the parents, then will travel to the fire station to have the group photographed with a fire truck (don't ask me...I have NO IDEA!) Then, it is downtown to the hotel where the event will actually be held, with valet parking, dinner and dancing, all financed by the industriousness of the young one's student government folks. At about 11:00 PM, it will be travel back to our town for after prom events at the high school till whenever...

I will be back to post more and an official PROM PHOTO after 6:00 PM sometime...keep the young one in your good thoughts for a fun but safe evening....much love to you...

v

____________________________________________________

6:00 PM

The young one and his Sara on their way. The young one and I arrived at his Sara's house at a little after 4:30 PM (my fault...story for a different time). There was lots of activity at the house...appliance delivery that they had been waiting for for some time had decided to occur at the same time as the young one and his Sara were getting ready to allow photos and then depart to start hooking up with friends. Sara's father and I retired to their very pretty and green back yard, and the photo shown here as well as quite a few others were taken. I will be posting the photos that I personally think are the best ones on Flickr so that they will cycle through my Flickr badge at right...

The young one was quiet but seemed happy as they departed his Sara's parents house on their way to their next stop, his Sara's best friend's house, to start gathering the entourage to head downtown. He hugged me tight and said "Thank you" when I wished him "Have a great time" and "Be careful"...he makes me so proud...and he and his Sara look so happy...I hope this night will be special and one that they will always remember with pleasure...sharing a very important milestone with the one he loves...what could be better than that?

Back with more later...will see the young one on his way from the dance to the after prom....till then...

v

Life is full of tiny little treasures…

I was at work today, happily addressing everyone’s concerns and needs, running (well, OK …walking fast) from one side of the office to the other, talking to all my friends and co-workers, just generally being a jovial pain in the butt….after the morning wave of immediate issues was taken care of, I sat at my desk at my computer to take a look at emails and update the help tickets to assure that everything I had done this morning was properly documented (with the exception of replacing the screw in a lady’s eyeglasses..that one was a freebie) As I was getting caught up, I became aware of the fact that although I had grabbed a “Bawls” for my breakfast to give me a jump start, I was feeling a little laggy…needed a little bit of “sweet” or something to get me back on track. That is when I began to dig in the never ending pit that is my purse to see what I could find.

In the grand scheme of things, a chick’s purse is one of those things that makes a guy totally cringe in horror…to be asked to look in a girl’s purse for anything is to risk the discovery of stuff you really don’t want to know about, let alone touch. My purse doesn’t contain too many of THOSE types of things (at least not out in the open..lol) but it does contain a lot of STUFF…geeky stuff…like my digital camera, batteries for said camera, my cell phone, my Blackberry, iPod(s)….etc, etc…. There is also a small amount of obligatory female type things…eyeliner, mascara, eyeshadow, perfume….and of course, there is usually some sort of gum…usually sugar-free and minty flavoured, to tide me over in a craving emergency. That is what I was going for today.

As I delved into the mysterious contents of “the purse”, I shoved stuff around, looking for the expected package of minty gum. I was almost ready to give up, when I came upon a little yellow wrapper with blue and red decorating it, at the bottom of the bunch of stuff. With glee, I fished it out to discover it was a piece of “Dubble Bubble” bubble gum. A smile crossed my lips as I recalled how that piece of bubble gum came to be in my purse…the point of this ramble…and I will share it with you now….

It came to be mine on the “Day of Flickr”, May 05, 2007, when I finally decided that I had taken enough photos of the cool windy day in Toledo, Ohio and found my way to Maumee, in the process of heading home. I decided I was sufficiently hungry to find a place to get something warm to eat, and as the idea formed in my mind, I was approaching Pizza Hut on Conant Street. Their pizza is one of my fatal attractions…I truly believe I could eat it for every meal (although I have not tried) so without a second thought I turned right and found a place in their very empty parking lot.

As I entered the store, laden with my purse, cell phone, car keys, and the flush of the cool air still painting my cheeks, a waitress approached me to ask how many in my party. Alright…that description really does not do her justice…a very sweet woman, not much taller than me, walked over to me and said, “Hi honey, let me get you a seat. Will there be anyone else with you?” When I indicated that I would be dining in the singular, she walked with me to a little table with two chairs, and said, “Ok, dear, how’s this table by the window for you?” , and them continued with, “You get settled and I’ll be back to see what you would like for lunch; can I bring you a drink?” All of this was said with a broad and genuine smile and a friendly tone in her voice; she was warm and welcoming and as a result, the restaurant felt warm and comfortable because of her presence there.

She brought me my drink, and then my meal, all the while making small snippets of conversation and kindly attending to my every need, even before I knew I had it. I observed her with the few other customers in the restaurant at the time, and she was exactly the same…kind, attentive and in tune to their needs…truly the personification of excellent customer service.

When she observed that I was nearing the end of my meal, she approached my table with my receipt. As she laid it down on the table near me, she reached into the pocket of her apron and said, “And here’s a little sweet for you. I always think that it is nice to end the meal with a little sweet…a habit that the old folks on the farm used to have years ago.” Then she laid a piece of bubble gum on the receipt. I looked up at her, smiled and said sincerely, “Thank you so much…that is my favourite bubble gum…has been since I was a little kid…it really brings back good memories.” She smiled in return and reached into her pocket, pulling out a second piece and laying it on the receipt next to the first. “Here ya go,” she said, “have another…you don’t have to chew it now, but take it along with you…Enjoy, honey! Thanks for coming in, and have a great day!”

I finished my meal with the hint of a smile persisting on my lips, and as I readied to leave, I dug into the pit of my purse for a tip. I had only two single dollar bills to leave and a ten to pay the 6 dollar bill. I really wanted to leave her much more…she made my experience there pleasant and comfortable. As I left, I waited for her to finish taking the food order from another customer, just to grab a moment to thank her again for all she had done for me on my visit to “her” restaurant.

As I found the Dubble Bubble in the bottom of my purse today, that lunch and that lady were what I remembered. As I unwrapped the gum and tasted its sugary goodness, blowing small bubbles with it like I used to when I was kid, I thanked the lady at Pizza Hut again in my mind…for giving me the opportunity to feel a little like a kid again, and for taking the time and making the effort to pass a little treasure on to every person she touches….not bubble gum, but her great attitude…it was a gift that I was very grateful to receive.

Hope you find a little treasure today and every day….much love to you….

v

"I can't stand the rain....

"....Against my window
Bringing back sweet memories
I can`t stand the rain
Against my window
Because he`s not here with me..."

-Tina Turner, I Can't Stand the Rain

________________________________________________

And there certainly has been a lot of it today...started heavy and loud at the office early afternoon and sporadically continued throughout the afternoon and evening. I however, had nothing to do with it, because I worked until very late tonight on a machine that is laden with adware/malware/spyware, trojans and viruses. The crap had such a chokehold on the machine at one point that even basic system functions were not available, and after several hours of cleaning and having new issues manifest, I finally started an alternate anti-virus/spyware product running and left for the night...good thing too... one of the first things it told me was that crucial files for our corporate anti-virus client were affected, and the behaviour of the machine told me that something was making sure that corrections were not easily going to be made to that situation. I look forward to going back in the morning to clean the machine the rest of the way...it will feel really good to get it working again without having to reformat the drive (which is often the more expeditious way to fix it, but where is the learning or the FUN in that?)

For now, off to bed...a very very long day today...much love to you...back tomorrow with more...

v

Getting to know you....

"....getting to know all about you.
Getting to like you, getting to hope you like me.
Getting to know you, putting it my way,
But nicely,
You are precisely,
My cup of tea.

Getting to know you,
Getting to feel free and easy
When I am with you,
Getting to know what to say
Haven't you noticed
Suddenly I'm bright and breezy
Because of all the beautiful and new
Things I'm learning about you
Day
by
day."

- from the musical The King and I
_____________________________________________

In preparation for the company move to the new client destination, the cube walls all came down today. The columns that the walls attach to that also contain the data, voice and electricity for the spaces were torn down as well, making the office look very disheveled and in flux. In addition, the tiny barriers that (little did we know) buffered us from each other as we talked on the phone or to each other, now gone, created a very interesting "voices carry" sort of effect, causing some consternation for folks whose jobs depend on them conducting professional-type conversations on the telephone with clients. We will all have to be very conscious of volume levels, and courteous to each other...it will not be that long...only about two weeks...but it could definitely build or stress relationships, depending on how people handle themselves. I personally have to make a humongous effort to tone down, being a rather effusive person normally...I definitely don't want to add pressure to the folks around me who are already in a challenging situation.

My mantra during the day (at least for the next couple weeks!)..."less is more" and "don't harsh your neighbor's mellow"...wish us all luck...should be a real hoot!

That's it for now..much love to you...

v

Thirty years ago at this time....

On this date in 1977, the Norwalk Trucker class of 1977 was preparing for the last events of their high school careers. Prom was coming up and the graduation date of June 9th was fast approaching.

I personally was frantically putting all the last arrangements in place to attend BGSU in the fall. I had auditioned at several colleges with mixed reviews; my audition at BGSU had definitely gone the best and at this point acceptance to the college had been received. I had made the choice to declare a Music Performance major and decided that I would also take some programming courses, building on the little bit of BASIC I had learned in high school. That, more than my musical training fed into my adult life in technology...I had a penchant for it even then, although I did not see it as the work I would do later.

I think of this for two reasons...my own young one graduating in about a month, and contact that I have recently had with several classmates regarding the class reunion for the Class of 1977. I was a quiet one in high school (I know, can you believe it??) and not too many there knew me very well. It will be interesting to see where everyone has gone and what they have done...I feel sure that there are many successful folks in my class, because we had many very talented and bright people as members in high school.

Check out this link for Norwalk City Schools, including Norwalk High School, Home of the Norwalk Truckers (long story). This is my alma mater and my home town...lots of memories there, some very wonderful and some really awful, but all part and parcel of who I am...hope you enjoy...

Till later, much love to you...

v

More news on the "graduation front"...

When I got home yesterday, the young one helped me get all my crap from work in the house and situated, then we shared our days. He told me that interim grades were released today and that he is still on track to NOT have to take the finals at the end of the year. Unfortunately, however, because of the number of absences he has had this year (5..not a lot IMHO) he will have to attend classes on the "Senior Skip Day"...he looked at me with a wry smile and said, "Good thing I hadn't planned anything for that day, huh?" Nice he has a sense of humour about it, I guess.

The coolest part of his day was when he was summoned to the classroom of one of the senior class advisors. She indicated that the grade point average that he has maintained throughout his high school career has qualified him to be awarded the "Honors Medal", which he will wear with his cap and gown (and other stuff, I hope!) at graduation. Further, all honors medal award winners are seated in the front rows of the arrangement during the ceremonies, which means a great deal in a class the size of his. I am extraordinarily proud of the young one and the continuing recognition he receives for his accomplishments...only our family knows how hard won they all are and how much he truly deserves them. The photo included with this post is of his Honors Medal...I look forward to posting a photo of the young one wearing it with his cap and gown in about a month from now.

Off to participate in the "Day of Flickr"...should be exciting to watch it take shape....

Back later...much love...

v

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Interesting aside - The website "How Many of Me?", which supposedly searches for names, based on criteria you provide and tells you how many exist in the US of the combination, indicates that I DO NOT EXIST - just an FYI.
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Back from photo snapping and finally done sorting through the several hundred I took, to share my choices with you in my album on Flickr named "24 Hours of Flickr" Only one photo can be submitted by each participant...the one shown here at the right is my choice. It is a sculpture from the Sculpture Walk at The Toledo Museum of Art called "Wings" by Carl Mille. It is one of many pieces outside the museum on the grounds; photos of several others are also in my album.

If you have time please take a look at the pool of photos for the project...at this writing we are nearing one thousand submitted. As the pool populates, it should be quite interesting to view them all.

Till later, much love...

v

Yep...(courtesy "gapingvoid.com")

Aldus...what's in a name...

I am working on a project in the office that has me revisiting legacy Mac software, circa 1990 and up. These applications, although primitive by today's standards, were cutting edge in graphic design and publishing in the day, and required a top of the line Mac to work correctly. Top of the line at that point was just edging up toward a PowerPC processor, with screaming speeds of 100mhz or more. The machines were also equipped with massive storage drives of 4GB and RAM as much as 128 MB. Sadly, today, cell phones, video game consoles and mp3 players are of higher specs than that.

The software of the day for designers and publishers consisted of such things as QuarkXpress, Photoshop, Illustrator and Aldus Pagemaker, Persuasion and Freehand. I have always wondered about the company name "Aldus"...where it came from and what their logo stood for. As I have been digging all over the internet looking for links to these legacy pieces of software, I have gotten an answer to my question...here it is:

from the website Dead German Project: Aldus Manutius:

"....While Aldus Manutius was justly famous as a grammarian and humanist, his greatest contributions to the world of information were as a typographer and editor. Aldus was tutor to Alberto Pio, Prince of Capri, who later funded the Aldine Press in Venice. It was at Aldine Press that innovations in typography, printing and publishing opened the world of Greek and Roman classics to the masses...."

Makes perfect sense now, doesn't it? If you are interested in finding out more about Aldus Manutius, follow the link above to the Dead German Project. There are many links included with the feature article on the page, including external links to samples of his printing work. It is definitely worth a few minutes of your time, and you never know, it may show up as a Jeopardy question some day!

That's it for now...till later, much love to you...

v

Yes sir, "May" I have another (day of rain)?

Our April contributed greatly to the whole "May flowers" thing..we had some snow and flooding rains right through last Friday. Saturday evening, more rain moved through our part of Ohio, cooling down our wonderful pre-summer day and taking some of the warmth away from Sunday that was there the day before.

Today, the trend continued, with early morning cloudiness and the promise of rain in the afternoon and early evening. I really did not pay much attention to the talking weather head when he advised that some weather in the afternoon could be severe...severe for the most part for us is some rain, and a little wind that may bring down a few tree limbs or the like or every now and then take down power for a little while.

This afternoon, true to my earlier information, it began to rain...a cold rain, but not heavy, and the sky was overcast but not really threatening. As the afternoon continued, it became darker and darker outside, almost to the point of feeling inside the office like it does sometimes in the early morning when I come in...definitely needing the ceiling lights to chase away the dark. As the darkness fell, the rain could be heard pummeling the roof of our building...soon the rain sounds began to ring out with a more solid feel...and a trip to the windows revealed that hail was falling and bouncing off the building, coming to rest on the grass. The icy pellets were large enough to be easily seen from the second story windows...our guess was that they were about quarter sized.

As the time edged up toward 5 o'clock, the weather alert sirens sounded, indicating the imminent approach of damaging severe weather and urging folks to seek safe shelter in whatever protected area was available. Everyone in our office moved from the second to first floor, taking refuge in the Production "team room" (read storage area), which had just been cleaned (a convenient coincidence). As the sirens blared, nearly all of us fired up the cell phones in attempts to reach out to loved ones to assure that they were safe and taking the proper precautions to stay that way.

As soon as the sirens stopped, many of us decided that since the most severe of the weather was south of our location and predicted by the National Weather Service to continue that way, we would head home (northerly direction for me). The rain and hail was done for the time being, although the skies still indicated that there was more rain to come (see photos, Flickr album, right). I made it home without incident, and the next significant bout of rain hit just as I was getting off the expressway. By the time I got home, that rain storm had subsided and it was simply drizzling, the storm clouds continuing to move to the east. The storm for us was pretty much over except for the cool air that remained, the result of our area being on the Low pressure side of the storm front. It seems that this will continue throughout the night and the next day or so will also be cooler. Hopefully the warm air will return for the weekend; until then I will simply be happy if it stops raining long enough for us to enjoy the flowering trees for a few days before the petals drop off.

Hope that the severe weather missed you, and that May began pleasantly and with all the promise of a wonderful summer to come. Till later, much love to you....

v

Before you know it.....

...the young one and his Sara will be going to their Senior Prom. The young one and I went out tonight after I got off work to shop for a suit or tuxedo to wear to the prom and after, as he needs a dark suit for performances with the bands and orchestra at UT. After a lot of groaning, grumbling and trying stuff on, we found a great Etienne Aigner black lightweight wool, two button suit with black pleated and cuffed trousers. After picking out a nice conservative tie (it is for the young one after all) we were all set, and went home to try everything on for effect, which turned out to be quite good.

He is ready, clothing-wise, but still a little reticent about the whole proposition. He is not much on the whole "dancing, schmoozing" thing and so far that is about all that he is seeing will be happening on that evening. I know once he starts making some of the other arrangements (flowers for Sara, etc) he will get a little more into it...and he'd better start doing those things soon.....its never good to do that stuff at the last minute!

That was pretty much the high point of the day...work was busy and good...but as it is called "work", it is what it is....glad to be home for a little downtime...hope you get some of the same...till later, much love to you....

v

You ever wondered?.....

In the company at which I work, we have several different areas of specialty which contribute to the materials the company produces. One of the departments consists of a group of very interesting guys who do the programming for the interactive content area. These guys are eccentric, irreverent and very creative, and provide a lot of amusement and interest to the area in which my cube resides.

Today I overheard several of the guys talking about some things pertaining to internet and the like and one of them speculated about the origins of the term "boolean search". In my early days, I remember being trained on pure boolean search on the internet, including the practice of inserting (+),etc right into the search blank. The discussion piqued my curiosity...I consider myself a pretty proficient and efficient searcher on the internet, and I was kinda interested to find out where the name of the search type came from too.

Come to find out, the "Boolean search" is named after George Boole, (1815-1864), an English mathematician. The word "Boolean" refers to "a combinatorial system that combines propositions with the logical operators AND and OR and IF THEN and EXCEPT and NOT". Make sense now? Yep, I thought so too. If you want to know more about George Boole and his contributions to abstract algebra, do a search, boolean, if you will, for his name.

That's it for now...much love to you...tomorrow, staff development...should be very enlightening....

v

Some folks just know how to have a good time....

Came home from work today and the firstborn and his Ann favoured me with all the stuff they have been observing on CNN throughout the afternoon, since they worked in the morning. Not the least of these is a very short video that I was finally able to get converted and posted of the lovely and talented President Bush, in all his glory, at an event today for Malaria Awareness. Check out the video by clicking on the link at the right.

Hope you enjoy...not much to say after THAT...later..

v

So what IS my major malfunction…seriously?

There are some days when it truly feels at though I have some sort of mental defect or something...yesterday the dumb shit things I did served to reiterate that, although I was able in small part to recover from it and not make a total moron of myself for the ENTIRE day. Although I know I am not a drooling idiot, it is times like those that really make me pause and shake my head in bewilderment...what in the heck is wrong with me when stuff like that happens?

Well, in my inimitable way, I have carried the practice of deficient thinking into today...in a rush and thinking forty steps ahead of myself as I readied to go into the office this morning, I dutifully opened and then set the lock on the driver door, intending to secure the contents of the car that were not mine (and valuable) until I could remove them later in the day. Part of that thought process was to put all my handheld devices and keys in my purse, and reach across to unlock the passenger door, then go around to the passenger side, gather my laptop bag and purse, lock and close the door and then go on my merry way into the office. I have already adapted my strategy on how I keep track of my security card for the office...it is on a lanyard that I wear around my neck with one of the iPods attached...so in principal, it seems that all was accounted for. Unfortunately, that is exactly where the “moron factor” kicked in...as I slammed the driver door, I noted with self-loathing that the passenger door was, in fact, still locked...everything sealed up nice and tight too...not even a cracked window to try to use to get myself back inside.

For a moment only I panicked; surely this was a disaster of gargantuan proportions...then I realized that I had my key card for the office... “No worries” I thought; I can get into the office, to my phone and get in contact with the firstborn, who could get me a spare key. Feeling dumb, but not frantic, I went upstairs to the office and went to my desk to make the call.

The home phone rang and rang…no firstborn OR his Ann to answer it... “No worries” I again thought; they are probably out to breakfast...just have to give them a call on their cell phones. Then, it truly hit me how cut off I was without my technology...I don’t even know the numbers of any of our cell phones...when we got them I stored all the numbers on MY phone for quick dialing...I had no way to figure out their numbers...my laptop was in the car…no Outlook address book with my personal contacts in it…no Blackberry for saved information from incoming calls...I absolutely felt that at that moment I was totally stymied. My gadgets gone, I felt as though my hands had been cut off...all I could do was try to work without my tools and sit at my desk phone and listen to the phone at my house ring itself off the hook.

By some miracle (and the grace of very noisy trash collectors), the firstborn finally answered the phone at a little after 9 AM…by this time I had called the young one’s school to try to get him to give me his brother’s cell number, the firstborn’s AND Ann’s stores that they work in to see if their numbers were on file (they were, but the employees I spoke with followed company policy and would not release them to me – excellent to know!) and one of my co-workers had shared with me that he might be able to “help me out”, should other methods fail. The firstborn was groggy when I first got him on the line, and also shared that his brother had already called home to see what was going on (so thanks to the people in the attendance office he HAD gotten my message) After a minute to take the whole situation in, he could do nothing other than laugh at me and assure that he would be out to the office with an extra key….thank goodness for extra keys!

Nearly 10 by the time the firstborn arrived with the key to let me into my car…for his sacrifice, I gave him bucks to buy some gas and breakfast...the least I could do, considering I would have probably ended up with a broken window if he has not been able to bring me a key. When all was said and done, I was embarrassed but otherwise unscathed...and of course, had succeeded in proudly maintaining the reputation of blondes everywhere with yet another “dumb blonde” stunt.

After all this, one of my co-workers, who is relatively new to the company, passed by my desk and asked me how I was doing...in my usual fashion, I regaled her with the gory details of the morning to that point, never one to pass up the telling of a good story, after all. She commiserated with my plight and recounted several of her own, a friendly gesture that only served to cement our friendship even more. Later she came to stand at my shoulder and leaned close to my ear... “Talk about moments”, she said...”I just had one...took a spill in the lobby”. Shocked, I turned to face her, just as she was beginning to walk away... “Are you alright?” I asked with concern. She paused for a beat and said in a low voice and with a hint of a smile, “All but the pride”...Indeed...I can TOTALLY relate...

Hope your day was well, and in our little challenges you found a little smile; I know that in retrospect, I certainly have.

Much love to you...

v

Yeah...so...Mondays..what's up with that?

So..went in early to work to find the scanner needed to be recalibrated and the conference room needed to be set up for a meeting, including teleconferencing....got everything set up but could not connect to the remote computer...asked for help from my boss...he went in and walked behind the unit...plugged into the wrong freaking port in the drop...dumbshit thing number one...had to set up a conferencing phone in the other conference room for a different person, and had to move connections around in the wiring rack for phone...unplugged the wrong friggin' wire and took down someone's phone for a few minute till I figured it out...what a retard!....Thankfully the rest of the day went a little better, and without incident, but I had an appointment with a friend of mine from the old job, to work on her mac at her house (one like the photo upper left) Went from work to her house, and by the time things were all said and done, her mac was working a little better and her PC laptop was working a lot better...I hate to admit it, but I have been working with Windows long enough now, that I think I can actually troubleshoot it kinda well sometimes...and this one was just that kind of troubleshooting...clean up and reset the stuff that was set incorrectly...it was blue screening when I got there and was wirelessly connected to their home network, screaming fast when I left...nice way to end the day I would say.

Hope that whatever you undertook today, you were highly successful and had no dumbshit moments in the process...much love to you...

v

Doin' stuff....

Busy today, with the unlimited pick up for household items coming up next week. Everyone who was at home today threw in bigtime, and we were able to do some yard maintenance that had been neglected for awhile. The firstborn evaluated the lawn mowers, one self-propelled and one rider, that have been badly abused over the winter...the self-propelled seems to be significantly challenged and will not stay running but will turn over...the rider, which I had thought was the one we would be putting out in the trash pile out front, was in need of a very small part, a new battery and the blade sharpened....all that being done, we now have a very spiffy and totally functional riding lawn mower...the boys will be duking it out to keep the yard cut, rather than moaning and groaning every time it needs to be done...as a matter of fact, to show you how cool the running mower is, check out the link on the right to see the firstborn illustrating how well the mower is running now...popping a "wheelie" as he ripped through the mowing of the front yard in short order.

I spent most of the day outside, clearing leaves out from around the low decorative bushes in the front of the house and the lillies on the north side of the garage. Two yard waste bags and a significant amount of sunburn later, the yard looks like someone cares about it again...next task, some weed killer to take care of the dandelions that are making their presence known.

This evening, the young one and his Sara are at the Spring Musical at NV...."Fame"...the firstborn is chilling in the living room, waiting for Ann to get home from working late, and I took a trip to the pond and park in our town to walk and watch the sun set...the photo above is of the pond WITHOUT ice on it (see other Flickr album photos of Olander from late winter)..next weekend there will be a Trout fishing contest there for the youngsters...they will put a bunch of fish in there and they will fish for a couple hours for fun and prizes...it was a beautiful night and a beautiful sunset...I was very happy to end the day that way...

Hope you have been having a wonderful weekend too...much love to you...

v

Announcements and other things....

The young one's graduation announcements arrived in the post today...a beautiful, understated trifold on ivory parchment with the Northview coat of arms embossed in gold and black on the front, a sketch of the NV campus under the outside flap and all the details about the graduation ceremony on the inside, elegantly printed in gold script. Things are happening fast and furious for the young one now, with prom and graduation approaching, and all the grants and scholarships being aligned for his first year at UT. His exceptional academic career at NV has garnered him recognition on several fronts at UT and his scholarship funding is generous (for which we are extremely grateful) He has also qualified for several student loans, which were enumerated in his financial aid disclosure. We will be finalizing our decisions on funding over the weekend and sending in all the forms to assure that when Fall 2007 arrives, funding will be a non issue, and his only responsibility will be to keep those grades up.

In totally unrelated activities, the unlimited pick up (or as many (including the firstborn) consider it, the "city wide garage sale") takes place next week. The house is already spewing copious amounts of excess stuff, making for great "shopping" for all the folks who cruise the neighborhoods every night, scanning the discard piles under the glow of the street lamps and headlights. We look forward to civilizing the house a great deal, and clearing out much of the ignored and unused items which have been taking up space. If all works out well, we will be back to using the three season room on the back of the house again for recreation, rather than storage...a very pleasant thought as the warm weather finally arrives. Between house cleaning and yard work, it should be a very energetic weekend....and beautiful weather projected the whole time to make it enjoyable.

Hope whatever you do, you enjoy warm sun and blue skies...and much love...till later...

v

Today's Quote....

"Heaven has no rage like love to hatred turned, Nor hell a fury like a woman scorned."

"The Mourning Bride" (1697) - William Congreve

Kurt Vonnegut Jr

The literary world recently lost a great talent in Kurt Vonnegut Jr. As a young adult, I recall my favorite Vonnegut books.... "Breakfast of Champions", "Cat's Cradle", and "Welcome to the Monkey House". After his death, I revisited his body of work and found the short story "Harrison Bergeron", the complete text of which is available as a download here. I liked it so much that I copied the entire story in longhand and then made it available as a .pdf file for you. It is a short piece, but reminded me how much I admired and enjoyed his work when I was younger. I hope you take the time to download it and give it a read....as with all his works, you will have food for thought.

Much love to you...

v

OMG!!!!!

RIM (Research in Motion) had a humongous system failure last evening at about 5 PDT. Many Blackberry users in the Western Hemisphere are totally boned, with no ability to send or receive emails or do global address book lookups. Luckily for me, I seem to be extra special so it is all good on my device......no info yet on when the system will back up....so in the meantime folks have to communicate the old fashioned way, by phone!   Okey dokey....let's see if this will post....here we go....good luck today to all Blackberry users and IT support people!

Love to ya

V
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Sent from Vicki Timman's BlackBerry Wireless Device

Put it to rest already......

Here is another great example of an entrepreneur who has identified a very specific need that just screams from some segments of the population; primarily the very bitter, newly (or not so newly) released from the institution (of marriage or long term relationship, etc).

This delightful little item is called a "ring coffin" and its intent is to facilitate that final symbolic death of the relationship and burying of the past; the intent, as stated by the creator, is to help with closure when a relationship ends and help the angry person act out their feelings, then, in principal, move on.

The full story regarding this "interesting" item is available here. I see a possibility for a spin off of this....how about a hatchet coffin...when you wanna "bury the hatchet"? Hmmmm...

Till later, much love to you....

v

Gremlins....old school......

Bugs Bunny - Falling Hare

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Took out the autoplay embedded player for my own sanity...the link above is for the .wmv file for you to view or download.


v

Turtle Customer Service (Courtesy of "toothpastefordinner.com")

Barry Nelson, the First James Bond, Dies at 86

Follow this link for a little more info and to discover the really cool website, "Cinema Strikes Back".

A Ven diagram even I understand.....

At UT

At U Hall waiting for the concert to begin. The rehearsal was awesome and the composer is a very interesting character. Wanted to take some photos but went with the young one and he was mortified so photography was bare minimum. Do have a few photos of the composer Sam Hazo talking to the band members after rehearsal...a few little things he said rang so true I jotted them down......of the coming performance he encouraged the attitude "I have a good job to do".... On the performer's attitude for success..."Own your performance and play your life"....I like that a lot....will add a photo to this post when I get home....much love to you....

v

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Sent from Vicki Timman's BlackBerry Wireless Device

Apple Sells 100 Million iPods.....

Here are my contributions to the effort (in photo from bottom left, clockwise - my pink Shuffle clip with all my fav music on it, my original Shuffle 500MB with purple "jam jacket" and matching lanyard, my pink Nano, with fav weird mix of stuff (I like it because it has a lot of album art), my "Root Green" Shuffle clip, with all my "new and need to listen to" stuff on it, and in the center, the firstborn's black Nano)…my fun little musical treasures….these do not include the First Gen Snow 5GB with the greyscale display and hidden “Brickles”…the shuffles that I have given away, the Nanos that I have purchased for both the young one and the firstborn…I think that I have loyally contributed to the Apple effort for portable music world domination…and it has been a pleasure…

Look for me around with my Shuffle clips, coordinated with my matching “Chucks”, skilfully dodging any unwelcome human interaction with a shrug of the shoulders, and a gesture toward the ears, with the obvious excuse, “Can’t hear you, listening to my iPod…”

Ah, life is good…

Till later, much love to you…

v

Doin' a "Happy Dance"....

Happiness, joy, trepidation, anxiety....you will find them all at my house tonight....the young one, at almost three weeks out, received notification of the results of his audition and theory test for entry in the College of Music...he has been accepted, with percussion as his primary instrument!!!! No scholarships in the department available at this time, but they are awarded at times throughout the academic year, as students demonstrate improvement in their area of study...The young one has been anxious and upset about this since the audition, and now can breathe a sign of relief...now the onus is on me to step up with the funds needed to make this work. It will work out...one way or another; the young one has paid his musical dues and now it is time to work toward his life goal of sharing his passion for music with others...exciting times these...it will be quite a wild ride, to be sure.

Offer your congrats to the young one by visiting him at BuddhaofDrumming and leaving him some love...it would be cool for him to get some "Attaboys" from some folks who have been following him along the way...

Till later, much love to you (visualize that little "happy dance" for a chuckle)...

v

Easter Sunday

No day with the family for us...everyone in my house save me working at their respective jobs. We had our moments of closeness on their ways out the door into the cold Ohio morning, and will have late goodnights when they return home. Such is the way of those of us who must work to keep life going....we take what is offered us and do what is necessary...even in that, we are blessed to have each other and a place to call our own.

Hope you have had a wonderful weekend, and if your own family has the luxury of time off this coming week to celebrate the coming of spring that you spend it enjoying the time together.

Much love to you....

v

My slice of Pi

While surfing, found a link for this money making effort of some internet entrepeneur called My Slice of Pi. The premise is basically that the number Pi is an infinite and non-repeating sequence of numbers, and the person who set up this site has created a way for folks to buy one or more of the individual numbers on the right side of the non-repeating decimal. Each number costs whatever the number is - the number 2 costs two dollars...BONUS...the number zero is free!

The actual point of buying the number is how you take possession of your number...you basically are paying to create a tiny little advertisement with a link to wherever you want to direct people when they click on your number. Click on my number and it will bring you HERE, to Country of the Blind...click on the "zero" to the right of it (number link 78) and it will send you to the website for Strollerguy - David Wayne Black, as promotion for his book, "Zero Main Street".

There are many others of these blatantly money-making websites on the internet, and not all are worth endorsing with a financial contribution...this one I thought was innovative and may get them a few bucks, thus the mention.

Hope you enjoy the info...

v

Learning is good.....

With all the activity in our office, I have been challenged to take on some different tasks that I have little experience with….hopping back into the mode that I am most comfortable with, I have begun again to “self-teach”, learning how to resolve many problems that are assigned to me using my honed “research-review-experiment-implement” strategy. The rub is that this strategy sometimes takes a little time if I have been totally unexposed to the issue before, so it has been a blessing that the things that needed research for this week have been some that were not mission critical; they were more high inconvenience and idiosyncrasies of software and hardware…things I need to know for future reference and to expedite resolution of future problems.

Since I am researching a great deal again, I have had to sort and store much “stuff” that has come to live on my computer…the things that build up on the desktop and other stuff that gets found and saved on the way to other things…there is no excuse for the contents of a person’s desktop folder to be 10GB, but mine was, and my poor machine was running much the worse for it. This weekend will have to be dedicated to the business of further maintenance….a good technical person practices what they preach, after all….this machine is a good one and has served me very well up to this point…I know that once cleaned up, I will be in love with it again, as I was when I first got it, and it will continue to be the workhorse that I have come to rely on.

Today is a quiet one in the office and folks are working in solitary mode for the most part….taking time to catch up a little bit…maximizing their efforts while interruptions are lessened. As the day passes, the tone becomes more light and jovial…soon it will be time to depart for the weekend to be spent with family and friends….not to forget the real reason for the acknowledgement of the days before this day and the important days after.

Blessed Easter to you and yours…happy spring as well…crocuses, forsythias, and daffodils to colour your new season….much love to you, till we connect again….

v

Geez….it IS April, after all….

Woke this morning to snow sitting on the sunroof of Viktor and “graupple” (the word, I learned from the weather talking head – looks like little snow pellets) building up on the windshield and hood of the car. It was a grand total of 22 degrees when I passed the digital thermometer on the tall pole next to the expressway on the way in, and several schools to the south and north of us were delayed…although one at least was announcing their delay because they provide bus transportation to other school districts; their own students were already off for Spring Break.

Once at work, set about the business of the day, with a client meeting in the conference room close to me…checked with our own staff before the client arrived to assure that they had everything they needed, took care of my daily maintenance chores, and sat down to check and respond to emails and the like.

Mid morning, after helping a couple of our staff members with things, I headed for the break room for a soda…looking out the windows, I noted that the flowering tree outside the window, although still trying to bloom, looked a little less hearty than it did yesterday. I scanned the grounds outside our windows and observed a light coating of snow on the roofs of most of the surrounding buildings (photo) and what looked like a practical SWARM of red squirrels foraging under the bird feeders situated at the rear of the building next to ours.

The day went by quickly, with things to do and keep track of and folks to chat with throughout. As the time dwindled down to the last hour, everyone was starting to tie up loose ends….I get the impression that some folks will be off tomorrow for a long weekend….school for the young one is out as of today, so he will be off as well….but as with all young people with part- time jobs, he is at the mercy of the time he has free, so he will be working tomorrow, even though he has no school.

The sun has been peeking out from time to time and the cold air makes it seem all the brighter and more intense when it does….soon it will be setting though, and as long as the sky is clear, the spring configuration of the stars will be easily observed from the center of my front yard….perhaps I will take a peek tonight…who knows….

For now, that’s it….much love to you…

v

Touring....

Today, I finally visited the construction in the new building, accompanied by my partner in the plan for relocation of supplies. During our walk through, I took a LOT of photos of the “in progress” conditions, to get a feel for the reality of the floor plan we have been referring to and also because the space is so darned cool! The photo, right, is through one of the windows that gives natural light to the vestibule area, which then opens into the main reception hall for the building, with a large glass wall off to your right hand that takes you to the reception area for our company.

The ground floor still has much to be done, but the second floor walls are much finished and there is a sense of what is to come there….the colours are warm, engaging and definitely planned to stimulate the creative mind…the main client meeting area is astonishing in every way, even in its current state, with a beautiful circular window encompassing all of one wall, illuminating the room and providing an overlook to the city park and the creek that runs next to the building.

There will be a public reception for the new space, once we have moved in and set up shop there (sometime in June, I believe). I will definitely include more information here when I learn of the details. Until then, enjoy the view from the vestibule and wish our company the best as we prepare to set up a new client destination and home for all Rootsters that we can surely be proud of.

Back with more later, perhaps…till then, much love to you….

v

Waiting....

Before all hell broke loose on vacation, this was one of the pleasant moments on the beach....sitting on the sand, watching the waves lap the shore and the seagulls lazily swoop low over the sand and water. The tiny birds that run the water's edge moved much the same, little feathered waves moving along to pick the leavings of the incoming tide.

I imagine in my mind the sounds and smells of the early morning...the seagulls call, the water as it encroached ever further up the sand, the wind as it added just a bit of morning chill and gently tugged at my hair. So much to enjoy from this trip, in spite of everything...no more driving to Florida, but Florida still calls me to return....

Hope this mellow carries throughout the day....

Much love to you...

v
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Yahoo!!!! In an additional entry for today, I got a call from my best friends at the old place of employment wanting to make sure that we are still on for drinks and snacks after work at one of my favorite places...Ventura's...we have been trying to do this since FEBRUARY, but family issues and other things have precluded us from it numerous times....I have an IT staff meeting 4 to 5 today, but just to make a point I am gonna pack up all my stuff ahead of time...I wanna get out of here at 5 if at all possible and am really looking forward to some margies, some deluxe chicken nachos and hooking up with my good friends....may be some photos in the works if they are agreeable....we will see....

Later....

v

Pink Chucks

Gleefully, Karen approached my desk early Friday morning....stopping in the aisle a few feet (***smile***) away from me, she poked her foot straight out and smiled broadly. Looking down, I observed her pink Converse Chuck Taylor lows, pristeen and perfect on one of their first ventures out in the real world; she had shared with me several months ago that she had purchased them. Together, we found Jeff, who kindly took the photo (right)to help us to preserve the first meeting of our respective "Chucks" for posterity. Giggling like schoolgirls, we both clipped on our iPods shuffles and headed off to our days, each of us happy in the knowledge that our "Chucks" loving, iPod wearing counterpart was just a short walk across the office.

NOTES: Our office, Root Learning; Karen, the executive assistant to the president of our company; Jeff, internet corporate presence, and me, IT Technical Support....yes...I do work for a really awesome organization! (If you would like to know more about the origins of "Chucks", check out this blog entry written by my young one, "Buddha of Drumming".)

Much love to you...

v

Persistence of Mellow

The tone today, low key, a reflection of the mood that began last night. Slept in, and when I finally got up, went out for a bit to take care of a few errands and help the firstborn get ready to do more work on vehicles (did I mention that the oil pump on the Jeep went bad?....uh, yeah...it did...) He is outside in the fifty degree temperatures and drizzle of Ohio today, rebuilding the pump, packing it with petroleum jelly (hmmm...that is what the directions say to do, anyway) and getting the thing fixed. After that, he has sworn on a stack of bibles that he will be getting that damned econo-spare off my car. The young one had his first clinic for the UT drumline today...he and two other percussionists from NV went down to campus to spend the morning and part of the afternoon there, getting prepped for next fall and their full fledged participation in the UT Rocket Drumline. There are two more sessions on the next two Saturdays, so much more to learn yet to come.

This evening, I plan on a beer, some snacks and an evening with the Final Four on CBS...Ohio State is my great hope at this point...my brackets are pretty much moot otherwise...

Hope you are having a great weekend....much love to you....

v

Einstein says.....

Click on the photo (right) to find out...

Would be a little more ringing endorsement if he was alive, I suppose...

:) v

Escher eyes

A look into these eyes of Escher...dark images reflected...left only to imagine the thoughts behind....lovers of gloom, enjoy...

A little battered....

...but OK, I think. Trying to keep on task and pay attention to the details; no more surprises needed here! Still a little tired from time to time, but stress will do that to ya, I reckon. I will be fine...take some time is all....love to you...

v

Tuesday

somewhere in the distance
when we fall in love again
planets will be dancing
the moon plays violin
we'll laugh at all the silly things
that we've both said and done
step into forever
on the bright side of the sun

- Men Without Hats - Bright Side of the Sun

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Everything back to the way it was, things to do and stuff to occupy my time. Was supposed to see a friend tonight for a little while, but her schedule precluded it so we will have to make it another time. The cancellation actually was a blessing, as not soon after another friend called me with computer problems at home, so I went over to her house instead to help her out.

I have been able finally to look at the photos taken during the last few days of the trip, including a few of the car and the drive home. I have posted a few of them on Flickr! so you will see them in the badge on the right if you hang around here long enough. I have also posted the movie of the surf and sunrise on the beach to ironduke.net. If you are interested in viewing it, I would suggest you download it, as it is about 56MB in size.

The young one has been ill since I got home and stayed home today to recover from the flu-like symptoms that have been plaguing him. He did go to work tonight however, as did the firstborn and his Ann, so the house is empty and I am left to my own devices, which should be doing some pre-work for a meeting tomorrow and one again on Thursday. After I am done here I will take a peek at it; perhaps I will be struck by some grand inspiration, though I highly doubt it.

Nothing very exciting to report...still running on the econo-spare till payday, when I hope to be able to hook up with a replacement to the shredded one (see Flickr!)...till then careful driving and not much extra running around to be sure!

In any case, enjoy the photos and movie...back later...

v

Follow up on the follow up

The day Friday was truly more gruesome than the day before....the alternator shipped to me at great expense from Ohio was not the right one and the person at the garage quoted a price of over three hundred dollars to get a replacement, which did not include the cost of labor to put the new one in and did not get the car finished before Monday at the earliest. This discovery was made only after the car was raised on an outside rack, taken ALL apart and the old alternator removed. Frantic to find another option to get the car repaired, a call was made to the emergency service that I have been paying for right along but never used....they pretty much said they could tow the car from one place to another, but that was all. They did however, call around to several chain stores in the area and located one that would be able to locate the part and install it for about the same price of the quote for the part alone at the other garage. The car was put back together, and the garage charged over a hundred dollars for the labor that they did to take apart the car and put it back together. They did, however put a charge in the battery which got the car to the Firestone station that agreed to do the work. Arrived later than expected there, so the car was not worked on on Friday night and the task was set aside to Saturday morning.

Waited all morning to hear something from the Firestone station about the status of the car. When they finally made contact it was to inform that the alternator that they had received WAS THE WRONG ONE and that they were waiting on another one to finish the job. Morning totally shot and afternoon waning as well, the call finally came at nearly 4 PM that the car was done, but the person on the other end of the phone was emphatic that tires were needed on the car as well. Declining tires, the car was finally back on the road at a cost of about three hundred dollars, at nearly 430 PM Saturday afternoon.

Just after crossing the Florida/Georgia border, the car began to vibrate and pull. I guided it off across two lanes of traffic to the shoulder and stopped. I exited the car on the passenger side and observed that the passenger side tire on the back was totally flat and the sidewall was visibly shredded. New tires, indeed! I cleaned out the luggage from the back of the car and stuffed it all inside the passenger compartment, then located the scissor jack, lug wrench and other assorted stuff needed to change the tire. Just as I was getting ready to let the car back down from the jack onto the economy spare, the Deputy Sheriff arrived to see if I needed assistance. He helped me get the scissor jack closed up and out from under the car and assured that the lug nuts were securely tightened. So, for the next thousand miles, through the mountains of the Carolinas and Virginia, I drove 65 miles an hour on three regular tires and an economy spare. I drove as much as I could possibly tolerate during the night, stopping to sleep in a rest area at about midnight. I awoke again at 2 AM Sunday morning, and drove until I was in danger of falling asleep on the mountain curves, again in a rest area at about 445AM. As the sun was rising again, I started out, driving straight through, with the exception of detours to purchase gas with my very tight and rationed amount of remaining money. The drive was arduous and stressful...even now I cannot recall much of it other than knowing that all the noise there was inside the car was my breathing and the sounds that the car made as it moved along the steep mountain roads.

My ilk, upon my arrival, barraged me with the happenings of the previous days of my absence, and although I would like to share mine with them as well, I will really need several days before this series of events coalesces into any sort of cohesive or interesting story. For now, I have photos by the gross that I am not really inclined to sort or post right now, and a rambling diatribe that will take a long time to finesse to really do it justice....

Suffice it to say, I am home, very poor, but home.....I will take a stab at a better and much more colorful telling of this week passed, after the impact of it has lessened somewhat...till then

much love to you

v

Car repairs

The alternator arrived at the hotel earlier than the 1030 AM promised time. The car started and ran with the battery light on to the garage. The mechanic was able to take the car into the bay soon after I got there, so now waiting begins for the repair to be made.  Will post more as circumstances warrant.

V
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Sent from Vicki Timman's BlackBerry Wireless Device

With each new day.....

......There is fresh hope.   The firstborn is shipping me an alternator UPS Air to the place I am staying. There is a garage that was referred by the manager of the hotel that has agreed to take the car on Friday to install it for me.  Indications are good that this will resolve the issue, both in the opinion of the firstborn and the mechanic. If this all works out well, I will definitely give credit where it is due and post more info about the garage,  but until tomorrow afternoon I will reserve my opinion.  Today all I can do is wait, and even the sun is no temptation.....until I know that the car is fixed, I feel as though I am totally helpless. Thankfully I think the garage that I have been directed to is trustworthy, as the mechanic who chatted with me on the phone said practically verbatim what the firstborn did when I talked to him yesterday. No use in writing more now as it would amount to a pity party and not be very interesting........perhaps once this has been resolved I may return to my jovial self......hmmmm.....we shall seem......later

V
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Sent from Vicki Timman's BlackBerry Wireless Device