Thirtieth Friday of 2011

We are 30 Fridays into 2011. Wow, the year is going by so quickly. One measure of that is Bella is already in kindergarten. I can easily picture all of the family at the hospital the night she was born. It seems like it was not long ago instead of over five years. And I remember when Kendall was starting to pull up on everything before she walked. We even added padding around the edge of our coffee table.

Let's see what is up with the Winners today.Hmm. It seems there is already trouble in paradise. Maybe that party name is not such a Winner. Duh.

I created a userid for the CAPM Project Management certification. We are getting closer, and I feel like there is still so much I don't know. We do have some sample test software that I will use during August that should help me identify where I need additional review. The test could change in September, so if we can, our sponsor recommends we take the test in August. I don't know yet.

As usual, I am writing this post at work and only now remember that I did not upload any additional vacation photos. I do have a video of several photos, but it is too large to publish to blogger.com.

I have a meeting with my current boss at 8am to talk about org changes and the future. I am still a little concerned about moving to a different manager, but maybe I will feel better after we talk.

Something yesterday reminded me of Hwa To, a card game from Korea that I brought back one time. I cannot find the cards (hey, it's been almost 20 years) and I have never found them available here, either. I should check amazon.com or something. They were cool looking, too. They were small, maybe 1-1/2 by 2-1/2 inches, and a lot thicker than our playing cards (maybe 1/8 inch?). This is a low priority for me, but I will keep you updated if anything changes.

I'm sorry. Did you have somewhere else to be? I noticed you checking your watch (or iPhone or clock on the computer screen) several times in the last few minutes. I'll let you leave since something else is obviously more interesting to you than this post. No, it's fine. Just go. I'll be here Monday when you get back.

Is It Wigs or Whigs?

You already know that words and the sound of words fascinates me. So, in researching the Whig political party for today's Clarity of Vision, I toyed with using those two sound-a-likes as part of the joke, but it didn't really fit. Did you know that the Whig party only lasted from the 1840s-1860s? I did not. I did remember that Lincoln started as a Whig, but became a Republican before getting elected. OK, enough teasing you. Go ahead and read today's CoV.

Again, I forgot to upload any more vacation photos. I took more than one. Really.

I am hoping to talk to my boss today. As part of the re-org, I moved down a level and I am not sure that helps the security of my job. I will see what his longer-term plans are for me and maybe consider looking within the company.

We got a new controller for our cable box and the buttons are moved around and relabeled just enough that I get confused. Still, I cannot imagine moving back to the days before DVRs. Using up 12 or so minutes every hour for commercials feels so painful.

Kathie's teaching certification is coming up for renewal next year, so we worked on compiling and evaluating her training hours last night. She will easily have enough hours by the time she send in the paperwork mid-year. We used Excel to track the courses and clock hours and dates.

I recently found an interesting website called pinterest.com that lets you capture photos of ideas from around the web and share them with friends. So, I signed up (of course, it's free!) and when I checked yesterday, I saw Brenda and Lindsay had found me and linked to me. Now, we'll see if I stay with it. I do have some cool ideas saved, so it could prove useful.

It being Thursday, I have the 8:30am meeting that I lead coming up, and I have not finished creating the agenda. I need to release the agenda by 8am, so I need to quit writing to you and start writing for the meeting. Thanks for staying with me.

Pub Lickin'

That is a strange post title, right? It is part of a question that came up as I was writing today's Clarity of Vision. Do you have to be pub-lickin' before you can be re-pub-lickin'? I tell you, I crack myself up. Go ahead and read the cartoon while I quit laughing.

The Chorale sang at a nearby nursing home last night. We sang in the front lobby, and the basses were all upstairs. The rest of the choir was downstairs. We couldn't hear them as well, but Dad said they could hear the higher voices better than normal. And since there were fewer upstairs, they spread out and it was cooler for them. It was really warm downstairs.

Kathie went back to school yesterday. The kids start next Tuesday. Can you believe how early they start here in AZ? I think Alison starts next week. I am not sure about Leigh. Carey, of course, works year-round.

It has been at least 3 weeks since I dropped by a Goodwill checking on used games. Can you believe that? And it has been a couple of weeks since I even played one. No wonder I'm going through withdrawal.

Well, I know we have to work to pay the bills, but it is no game. So, I guess I'll do enough to pay the electricity bill before lunch. You can go pay a few of your own. Hasta la vista, baby.

Live Like You Were Dying

Have you ever heard the Tim McGraw song "Live Like You Were Dying?" I heard it today and it is really deep and introspective. It does remind us to count our blessings and be a blessing to others while we can. You never know when the Lord will call you home, or call home someone you love.

Have you ever helped someone move and it seems to go on forever? I think we have finally finished getting Alison moved, but who knows? We had to go do some touch-up painting at her old place, as well as clean the garage floor. Luckily, it was epoxied, so the cleanup was easier than a concrete floor.

Have you ever seen the television program "Platinum Hit?" While I don't like any of the songs well enough to download them, it is interesting how they can create a song and arrange it in less than 8 hours. Anyway, I found the McGraw song because Pat (at work) mentioned keeping the customer satisfied and I thought of the Simon and Garfunkel song of the same name which led me to "The Boxer" and I said I liked the lyrics and Pat (at work) said she liked the words to "Live Like You Were Dying" and we had to listen to both songs. How was that for a nice run-on sentence?

Have you ever seen my cartoon about the heat wave? Probably not, since I just wrote it this morning. I'll share, though.

Have you ever had to cover while your boss was on vacation? I am doing that now and I have to draw up our new PMO org chart by tomorrow morning, which is before the boss returns. So, I received a number of updates overnight and I want to get them incorporated so I can have the managers review it before I publish it.

Have you ever been reading someone's blog and they just ended it abruptly?

Yes, I AM Sore There

Whew. I think every muscle in my body is sore after moving all of Alison's stuff, including a fridge and washer and dryer, on Saturday. In fact, I think I have more sore muscles than I actually have muscles. And you know how exercise is..you don't really feel the discomfort until 2 or 3 days later. Well, I am feeling it today. The move itself was about 5-1/2 hours, and then another 2-3 arranging stuff, setting up the bed, hanging curtains, etc. We didn't even break for lunch until 3:30pm.

I wish Congress would not break for lunch until they approved a budget for 2012. Hey, I have an idea how to make that happen. Lock them in a room.

I did not actually prepare for today's Study Group session. That is not good. The leader expects each of us to be ready to review and answer questions about our topic. Mine was Quality Management. At least I remembered that. I don't know if I will have time before 12pm. Oh well.

A coworker just left, so I am now 15 min late in finishing the blog. Were any of you waiting to see it? This does mean that I am going to end it without more content. I'll have to say whatever I was going to say tomorrow, so I'll see you then. BTW, I posted a photo on Saturday, so check it out.

What? A Vacation Photo? On a Saturday?

Kathie commented that this photo has been a favorite since she posted it on Facebook. So, I brought it up here at home and decided to share it with my blog followers. See, good things come to those who wait.

iPods and 8-Tracks

How many of you have heard of 8-tracks? How many have ever owned one? How about an iPod? I don't think I ever owned an 8-track or the player. Of course, many of my friends did. I never liked how the songs would pause or fade out when the cartridge moved between tracks. I went from vinyl to cassettes. Now, yes, I do have an iPod, although none of our cars has a connector to plug directly into. In my car, I have a cassette player and use that to connect an iPod. In the Jeep, we have to use one of those FM broadcast things to play the iPod over the radio.

What made me think of this? Today's CoV topic.

OK, we've got a U-Haul trailer reserved to move Alison tomorrow. We also have Dad's SUV reserved to pull the trailer. Since it will be reaching 107F or so by the afternoon, I hope to get the heavy lifting out of the way as early as possible. We may go over and stage the boxes and stuff tonight. We are moving about 40 miles, so I hope to carry it all in a single trip.

My boss is taking a few days off to visit San Francisco. To help me not miss him too much, he sent me several action items last night that need to get done by Monday. Isn't he considerate? I already don't miss him, and I have not even started on the tasks yet.

One thing the assignments have done, though, is distract me from creative things to say in today's post. So, let's all go work on the tasks from our boss' so we won't miss them over the weekend. Plus, I need to think ahead for new CoV ideas. Have a good one.

If Clothing Makes the Man, then Who Makes the Clothing?

Let's talk about the fabric of life today. We are all woven together in a grand tapestry of life. Hmm. This sounds a bit too much like a Carole King song. Let's jump into a fabric-related CoV.

Oh, you are NOT going to believe what I found yesterday. For years, I have taken grief because I claimed to have a read a short story about gum that chewed back. Once the internet became available, I searched for this story to no avail. Somehow, yesterday, I entered the search in such a way as to get a hit. Yes, I found the name of the story and will search for it. The story, The Affair at 7 Rue de M--, was written by John Steinbeck. The synopsis says "In it, a kid who loves to chew gum finds himself being chewed by the gum. His father tries many ways to get rid of the gum, but it keeps finding its way back to their house, in horror movie fashion, eager to get back into the kid's mouth."

OK, now that the self-serving comments are over, let's see what else we can discuss. Oh, Alison is moving in with a friend in Casa Grande next week. Her current 40-mile commute will be a 2-mile commute. She promises to look for a church home there, too. The girl she car-pooled with this year had a baby, so they would not be car-pooling this coming school year. So, U-Haul, here we come.

The changes related to our re-org at work are still in flux. So, we just keep doing what we have been doing until further notice. I wish we would just get it done so we can begin to make the changes needed for the new org and build our new processes.

Gum that chewed back. Can you believe it?

Well, I have chewed your ears off for long enough today. Let's all get going on pre-Friday and meet again on Friday.

Fall

Yes, it is almost time to return to school for teachers in the family. Here in the desert, for some reason, they go back in late July. Doesn't that seem wrong? Are kids nowadays learning more than we did since they attend some 20-30 days more than a few years ago?

However, that is not what the title of today's post is about. Kathie fell yesterday while helping Alison prepare her classroom. She was up on a cabinet helping put stuff on shelves and she fell off. Luckily, she did not fall on her pinkie that is still healing from surgery last week. She fell on her side, striking her head and breaking her glasses (I resisted the urge to say she fell on her glass....es). She is OK and will end up with just a few bruises. I think she may need to get her balance or inner ear or something checked to make sure there is no deeper cause. I think she will try and get and appointment before school starts.

Speaking of try and get it...

Anything else? I have already run out of ideas for this post. No need to waste everyone's time, so run along. There's nothing to see here. Including vacation photos. Sorry. As I said before, I don't think about them until I am at work and cannot access them. Maybe I'll get some put up here before next summer's vacation. Maybe.

Of Couches and Coons

What makes the mind bring up memories of times past? I don't know, but I did go back a few years to some long-dormant memories this morning and I cannot think of what triggered it. No, I just remembered. As I walked in from the parking lot, I passed a dove that merely walked away instead of flying. Seeing the dove, I made a dove sound (although I got no response). I learned the dove sound from when Keith kept a bunch in a cage in the backyard. That memory led to remembering his raccoon. His coon used to climb up the end of the couch when I would lay down and play in my hair. I don't know that she ever found anything, but hope is ever vigilant.

OK, let's bring our thoughts to the present. Today's Clarity of Vision is about the unrealized threat of L.A. gridlock during this past weekend's shutdown of the 405. Well, that's what it started out to be about.Even I don't always know where my cartoon will end up.

This seems to be the year for ugly dust storms here in the Valley of the Sun. I am not sure my pool will ever stay clean. I did turn off the aerator so it would not capture even more dust. My choice is cooler pool or cleaner pool. For last night, I guess I chose cleaner.

The time has come, the author writes, to talk of many things:
of couches, coons, and cooing doves,
of all my planned meetings.

Yup, I need to go get ready for the Tuesday 8:30am meeting. I will leave you contemplating Lewis Carroll and The Walrus and the Carpenter. Why would you think of that? You do know that is the poem from which I pulled the rhymes and meters shown above, right? If not, check it out. The Jabberwocky is one of my favorites.

Earlier Than Normal?

Somehow, the alarm seemed earlier than normal this morning. I didn't really do overly physical stuff over the weekend, and bedtime was normal. I don't know why it seemed different.

Kathie's pinkie is healing well. She has to do stretching exercises on it four times a day. She returns to the Doc on Friday for a checkup. Her predicament only loosely inspired this.

I played Option with the folks yesterday. Dad was beating Mom and I until the final hand when yours truly came from behind to win. Whoo hoo. We had a good time and they had not played the game before. I had expected other family members to stick around for games, but everyone had their own tasks to do, leaving us behind to play. We also looked through photo albums from previous years and reminisced.

Do you ever write a word and it doesn't look right? I just did with reminisced and it still looks wrong, but I was correct. When I researched it, I came across a link to Reminisce Magazine (which Mom gets). I found this link about the movie Oklahoma being filmed in AZ.

OK, enough playing. I need to do some data capturing, and then, maybe a little studying before our CAPM study group at noon. I have not gotten back into the study habit since vacation. I'll see you tomorrow.

A One Dog Household

The crew returned from Disneyland last night and Molly, our granddog, went home with her family. So, Morris is happy again because he does not have to protect his tennis ball or the cat from that "other dog." The house is a lot quieter, too.

More importantly, though, they brought me some Goofy's Malted Milk Balls. They are 1000% better than Whoppers. Yes, I said 1000%. Thanks, Lyndsay and Alison.

Kathie went to her first physical therapy session this morning after her surgery on Tuesday. They have removed the big bandage wrapping and reduced her to a single gauze wrap on her pinkie. And they had her bend her finger as far as she can. It is already 50% more mobile than before the surgery. That is great news. On our way out, I did point out every curb and uneven surface we passed. I don't want her re-injuring the finger right after this second surgery. She was not amused.

Hopefully, she will be amused with today's Clarity of Vision. This one is based on a table we saw recently at Chandler Fashion Center where many teens were all texting at the same time.

Nothing new on the IT reorg at work. I'll keep you posted.

Yeah, I know there are still no pictures on the blog. Yes, you can see them on Facebook, but if you are like me, you rarely check there.

And with that, I am out of time and ideas. So, let's end the week with a quote a friend sent me: I'd like to die peacefully in my sleep like my grandfather. Not screaming and yelling like the other passengers in his car. It's a joke, people. Lighten up. See you next week.

Here's Looking at You, JC

No, that is not exactly what Humphrey Bogart said in Casablanca. It is what any of us might say if we got new glasses like those in today's comic.

Kathie is doing very well following her surgery. Thanks for your prayers.

The new IT boss held a conference call yesterday. I feel a bit better, although I may still be a bit anxious until the dust settles. One thing I did notice on the call...this guy sounds young. Capable? I am sure he is. Young? I know he is.

I tried to get today's 8:30am call canceled because of all the uncertainty. My boss wants us to keep our regular activities in place to keep a sense of normalcy within the team and to continue to address the issues raised on the calls. Oh well.

I don't think of anything else for now. I do have one final CoV idea on my list, so I guess you will see that tomorrow. Hopefully, Lord willing and the creek don't rise, you'll see me, too. Until then....

Successful Surgery

The surgery to reset the tendons in Kathie's pinkie yesterday went very well. She feels less pain than she did following the surgery to put the pins in following the accident. PTL, right? She feels well enough that I am at work today.

Remember that I had car trouble on vacation? No? I didn't mention it? I did, but we got the problem fixed while we were there. Now, Kyle had trouble while they are on a trip. Yep, it is now fixed. Does that mean Ali will have trouble now? Let's hope not.

Speaking of surgery, though, I decided to make a little fun of it in today's CoV.

No, we don't know what the changes at work imply going forward. I'll just keep doing my work and trusting the Lord that I am where He wants me.

After vacations and things, I have not kept up with my studying for the CAPM certification test later this year. I need to get back in the groove and keep reviewing the information. On the practice test we took on Risk Management on Monday, I only got 5 out of 10 correct.

Tired of reading yet? Especially since there are no pictures (I did not even think of loading any last night after the surgery). And if you move your lips while reading, you probably need to rest them for a few minutes. Let's end your misery and today's post. See you soon.

A Vacation Memory, But No Photos

I did think about uploading some photos from the vacation last night, but got distracted because they are stored on a different computer than the one I was using at the time. Then, later, I just forgot. I did remember this, though. It stems from a conversation between my son and my brother.
I also remember that I need to take Kathie to the hospital in a little while for another operation on her left pinkie. They are going to do something about the tendons. Please pray for her as she is nervous both about the operation and the rehabilitation afterward. Plus, she only has two weeks before school starts again.

Sure, I am a little nervous after the reorg announcement yesterday at work. Our current VP and CIO has moved into another position and we have moved under another leader. I don't know what the new leader thinks of IT and project management, but I can only hope he feels we add value. So, another thing you can pray about.

And Kyle called from L.A. last night and said they are having car troubles. He will get the problem checked out this morning and Lyndsay, Ali and the girls are stuck in their hotel 15 miles from Disneyland until they can get it fixed. Another prayer request, right?

Suddenly, I am not feeling like writing my usual patter, so I will call it quits early. Thanks for stopping by, though. Things should be more normal by the morning. Oh hey. Did you notice I updated my blog design? I was ready for a change and I know that you were, too. As Eeyore would say, "Thanks for noticing."

Nine-Five-Oh

Is it possible I have written 950 posts now? Yes. It is not only possible, but a verifiable fact. How many of them have you read? I've read over 700 of them. Now only 532 of them have a Clarity of Vision cartoon attached. I don't know how many of them have photos included. I'm sure it is at least 29.

Our pool is like bath water. By that, I mean it is very warm, although I suppose it could also mean there is dirt in the bottom and a little ring around the top. Anyway, it is taking quite a bit of maintenance right now. It is nice, though, when the GRANDS come over and swim with us.

It is a rainy day here, so I parked as close to the front door as I could get. I have 3-1/2 hours of meetings today, with two of them in another building. So, I want to minimize my time in the weather since I did not bring an umbrella. Those are hard to keep track of here in the desert since we only need them five days a year.

Speaking of hard to keep track of, here is the 532nd CoV mentioned above.

At one point over the weekend, I did think I wanted to queue up some vacation photos for inclusion here, but I forgot until right now when I was wishing I had a photo to include.

OK, I am ending today's entry. I do appreciate your patronage and hope you will check in another day. Y'all come back, y'hear?

Spread the Dirt Around

Apparently, that is what I decided to do when I vacuumed the pool last night. It did pick up the majority of the stuff, but today, there is a thinner layer of mud still covering the bottom of the pool. I did see there was still a lot of stuff suspended last night, but I hoped the pool filter would take care of it. Nope. I guess another round of vacuuming is on tap for tonight, right?

We had a little pizza/wings/game night over at the folks. We only had time for a couple of hands of Five Crowns. Dad won. Of course, since we were at his house, maybe we let him win? Uh huh. Ponder that, Dad. Heavy thought, right?

I had a cryptic message on my phone when I got to work this morning. It said "A table in Access can only be two gig." It did say from whom, although I recognized the voice. It did not say what this was in reference to, although I suppose they use Microsoft Access as an intermediate data repository in generating a report I requested. I am not sure if anything requires my involvement. I guess not since he gave me an answer instead of a question. Weird, right? Maybe I should call him and say the message is our elephant?

What does that mean? Read today's comic strip.Now you get it, right?

The East Valley Chorale is singing at the Veteran's Home on Sunday. We usually sing in one of two venues there. One is a small cafeteria in the back and the other is a stairwell in the front. Neither is optimal for sound. I don't remember either place being much cooler than the other. At least we don't have to wear the white shirts and ties, right?

OK, I am ready for some things. One of them is for the heat+humidity to break. It makes for a bit of discomfort outside (and even a little bit here at the office since it is not that cool). Another is for the uncertainty of the office reorg to settle down. Everyone is a bit more on edge than normal. That could lead to some sharp retorts. Get it? Edge, sharp? Ha ha. Another thing I am ready for is to get to work. The office arrival noises are beginning around me. I need to go check out the overnight emails. Let's get today started, right? Have a good weekend.

BTW, no, I forgot to get any photos from the vacation staged so I can share them. I'll try to remember to do something over the weekend.

Less Dust, But Still Too Much

We did not have another killer dust storm like Tuesday, but it still covers everything. Our asphalt parking lot at work is still a tan color. Both of our cars have a patina of brown. I worked a bit on the pool last night, but it still has a layer of mud on the bottom. Kathie cleaned to patio, so it looks reasonably clean. There is some extra dust inside the house. It is crazy, I tell you. Crazy.

I had to help with an interview yesterday, so I did not leave work until 6:20pm, after arriving at 6:15am. That is just too long. It's crazy, I tell you. Crazy.

One of the problems with creating my blog entries in the morning is that I cannot store personal photos on my work machine, so I don't have the vacation pics to share when I do a post. Yes, Kathie has posted some on Facebook, as have Lyndsay and Keith. So, you can catch them there, but I like to spice up my blog, too.

I can spice it up with a well written and drawn comic strip, though. It is not quite as picturesque, nor as relaxing, as southwestern Colorado, but I do have them stored on my work computer. Here's today's entry. That was crazy, wasn't it? Crazy.

Just two meetings today, but we do need to work on the charter for what our team will do following the reorganization at work. So, one of the meetings could run multiple hours.

As you probably remember, I have a call each Tuesday and Thursday mornings at 8:30am, so I should get the agenda ready. I'll let you go before I drive you crazy.

He's Baaaack!!

Actually, I was back in the Valley Saturday evening (just in time for the 118F temperature). And I was back at work yesterday, but did not have time to update my blog. Today, though, I am back to a more normal routine, including taking time to fill your head with useless drivel before we all start our days. Are you full of drivel yet? If not, let's keep going.

Some of the drivel involved a peek inside the lunacy that always seems to drive my Clarity of Vision comic strip. Today's cartoon involves a child's reaction to the concept of a half-sibling.No, I don't have any, but the words still conjure up the images I just presented. Well, they do to me, anyway.

I have to participate in an interview today 4pm-5pm. Gross, right? Well, not the interview or even the idea of an interview. I am talking about having to do that at 4pm. However, since we have to conserve electricity between 1pm-8pm, our house does start getting pretty warm about then. Maybe it is not such a bad thing.

I did not publish my last cartoon to the work crew. What do you think? Should I go back and send it to them? I have another idea also containing overt religious themes. I don't mind sharing that. I just wonder if the humor will make sense to them?

Did you hear about the dust storm last night? Kathie and Alison watched it roll in. It was almost two miles high and some thirty miles wide. It even caused the fire alarms at the airport to go off and greatly delayed landings and departures. It came and left while we were at Chorale practice, although we saw the dust during our break. You can see it here.

All this haboob mess means our humidity is really high. And that means that it is really uncomfortable here. Those people with swamp coolers must really be suffering. So, I guess now is when Phoenicians pay the price for our pleasant winters.

OK, have I driveled you enough? Let's call it a day, at least as far as blogging goes. You can be sure I will have more to write tomorrow.

Cabud, send me your email address.