Where's That Holiday Spirit?

How come people are not showing that great holiday spirit at work? It is the same old grumpy attitude all around. "I'm too busy." "No one is completing their tasks on time." "I hope I don't get laid off during the holidays since our profits are down." Where is the love, people? Who are the people saying those things? Well, all of those quotes are mine. No, you know, just things I hear around the office.

Maybe they should donate to a worthy cause to help their attitudes of gratitude? Here's one way to get more donations in the Salvation Army Red Kettles.

I have to call my bank today. We sent a check for $102 on a medical bill, but they deducted $902 from the account. Luckily, I check the balance each night and caught this. That's quite a miss, huh?

The East Valley Chorale gives its first Christmas concert this Sunday. I think we are ready, but I did hear some missed notes and rhythms at practice last night. Oh well. I know the Lord will bless it to His glory.

Do not let me forget about my Dr. appointment tomorrow. I am 100% expecting validation that I am four years cancer free.

Someone is standing here talking to me over my cubicle wall. So, I will sign off and talk to them. More in about 24 hours.

I Don't Want To

For some reason, I am not in a bloggy mood today. I don't really want to take the time to decide what topics I want to cover and craft my sentences correctly. Plus, it seems Alison's car may be overheating, so I need to call her and see what the symptoms are. That pulls me away from being creative for y'all.

Danny White, a former Cowboys quarterback, does a commercial for AZ Pain Centers. In it, he says, "I have been in constant pain since I retired from the NFL." If you heard that, what would you think? I thought, "Then maybe you should not retire." That led to today's CoV (although I went with a player more people remember).

I went for blood work yesterday and go to the Dr on Thursday to confirm I am now four years cancer free. I will let you know on Friday.

OK, it sounds as if Ali's car has an electrical problem or something. The temp gauge showed maximum (and she only drove 4 miles), her gas tank sowed totally empty (even after she turned off the car), and she did not smell an overheating smell when she turned it off. She will watch it when she goes home this afternoon.

That's enough for a day when I don't feel like talking. Hopefully, I'll be back to chatting my fingers off tomorrow.

Five Days In a Row?

Today's title refers to the fact that we have to work all five days this week. It reminds me of the Steven Wright joke about going to a 24-hour grocery and they were closing. He mentioned that their sign said they were open 24 hours, but the employee said, "Yes, but not in a row."

We had a busy, but good Thanksgiving break. Thanksgiving meal at the folks' house. The Cowboy's played and won. The GRANDS spent that night with us so their parent's could hit the Black Friday sales starting at 10pm. ZooLights on Friday night. An Ugly Sweater party at KLIK on Saturday night. Church and a Cardinals win and Christmas decorations on Sunday.

I had to pull from my Clarity of Vision backlog for today's comic. I had been trying to find a post-Thanksgiving idea, but my brain was on holiday.

I am fighting a little cold or something. How about you? Did you make it through November without coughing or sneezing or post-nasal drip? I think my lovely wife and I keep passing it back and forth.

Well, I need to get my day arranged and prepare for an 11:30am meeting, so I will sign off. I hope y'all had a great Thanksgiving and truly did give thanks to the One from whom all blessings flow.

Happy Thanksgiving to All (Turkeys)

Did you see how I twisted the title from Happy Thanksgiving to everyone to addressing it to the turkeys? Very clever. I surprised you, just as I try to do in my Clarity of Vision comics each day.
Thanksgiving meal at the folks' house tomorrow. Most of us Valley-based family will be in attendance. I am hoping we will have deep-fried turkey rather than the packaged, sliced stuff. It will be pot-luck style, with each family bringing different dishes. Mmm mmm. I can almost taste the tryptophan now.

So, do y'all get off early today? We have not heard anything, but I remain optimistic. Maybe I can get out of here by 3pm? If not, at least I have a job.

On the commute today, I heard an ad for Cabelas, an outdoor gear retailer, that I almost used for today's CoV. One of their Black Friday give-aways is a rifle. Another option is a hooded sweatshirt. So, I would have a mother and child in the store and she would be asking, "OK, Johnny. Did you want the rifle or the sweatshirt? Remember that it doesn't have a scope on it." or maybe "We'll take the sweatshirt. I'm afraid Johnny will shoot his eye out."

Let's get today's tasks done so we can get out of here. Have a great Thanksgiving with your family.

Kinda Like a Pre-Friday

We are off from work on both Thursday and Friday this week, so tomorrow is my last day of work for the week. That will almost certainly mean tomorrow will be my last blog entry for the week. And speaking of no work, there was almost no traffic either. That was pretty nice since I was running a little late today.

As promised, I do have a photo from the Greer, AZ North Pole Experience on Saturday. I don't know if Bella asked him or he volunteered, but they were allowed to see if Santa's beard was real (it was).
I woke up with two or three Clarity of Vision ideas today. Then, on my drive in today, I heard some of President Obama's speech yesterday on the failure of the Supercommittee to reach a compromise. They way he paused at strategic times to get a Republican dig in was brilliant and I decided to create a CoV about it.So, the other CoV ideas will have to wait. Although one of them is Thanksgiving related, so I need to publish it tomorrow.

An annual family tradition comes up on the Friday night after Thanksgiving. If you have ever been in the Valley with us at this time, you know I am talking about ZooLights.True, it doesn't change that much from year to year, but it is a fun time when we hang out as a family and it is always fun and pretty. We fussed the first year they started using LED lights because they weren't as bright. They have improved that now. We decry the loss of some lights and exult in new additions. The primary thing we evaluate, though, is the dancing lights section in the trees. They play some classical (or perhaps Christmas) music and the lights flash in time to it. That is usually the highlight of the visit.

OK, let's start the workday. Thanks for letting me reminisce.

Back From the North Pole

You read that correctly. We were magically transported to the North Pole on Saturday night by the North Pole Experience. We drove up that morning, toured Santa's Workshop that evening, met Santa, and had breakfast with him (well, he stopped by our table) again the next morning. They did a great job and it was a lot of fun. The girls helped in the workshop by customizing some bear dolls for disadvantaged kids. Photos will be coming soon.

There was a problem with the cabin we booked and they had to upgrade us to a different place. It was really nice and we had a good time. Bella and I played several games and I joined the adults for a game after the girls went to bed. I suppose we played 4-5 games out of the 30 or so I carried with us (you know, just in case).

On the way back, though, I sat in the third seat of the Expedition and started feeling poorly. In case it was car sickness, I took some Dramamine and made it home without incident (although Bella got a little sick, too). Then, I slept all afternoon and am still feeling totally wiped out.

Speaking of Dramamine and them getting a mention in today's Post, what if we started accepting Corporate sponsors for internal activities such as meetings? That is one of those things that make you go, "Hmmm."

What happened in the wide world of sports this weekend? Cowboys? Yeah. Cardinals. Boo. Sun Devils? Sorry.

Wow, it is not good to feel this tired first thing in the morning.

Can you believe it is already Thanksgiving week? Looking back, the year has flown by. And that means that Kendall's birthday is coming soon.

A cute aside: on the way back, we stopped at Jack in the Box for a meal. Bella chose it and said she did so because her new brother will be called Jack in the Box. Oh, did I not tell you they are going to name him Jack? I suspect that, thanks to Bella, that name may stick.

I need to get some work done before I fall asleep. And I need to get some info ready for an 11:30am meeting. We can visit more tomorrow.

What Happened to Thursday?

Hey, people, I was out yesterday. Did you notice? I heard that a couple of you did. Thanks. I am still struggling with some kind of cold. It doesn't feel like flu (and I got a shot for it, so I hope it is not that) because I don't have fever. I have had a sore throat for a couple of weeks, and yesterday, it was a really bad headache. OK, enough of that. I don't want you feeling symptoms because I describe them so minutely.

One of those who noticed I did not post was my son, who wanted to let me know that... wait for it... can you guess the topic? My new grandchild is a boy! Whoo hoo! I wonder if they will choose Randy for his name? No, probably not. Hopefully, it won't be one of those could-be-either-sex names like Pat or Chris or Sue (remember the old song by Johnny Cash called A Boy Named Sue?).

Speaking of things you cannot tell apart, here's today's CoV.No, there was not one yesterday. I had this idea in mind, but I don't have access to Microsoft Visio at home, so I could not generate one.

Of course, since I was out, my boss needed something and I had not taken my laptop home. So, I am really behind today. I think I should work on that deliverable and knock it out first thing. I am sure I won't make it through my To Do list today, but I've got to try.

Have a great weekend, friends and family. We've always got next week.

Singing Off and The Sing-Off

I did fairly well at Chorale practice last night. I don't have my full range yet, but I was able to sing during the entire two hours. I was limited to low C up to E above middle C. Speaking of C, I took some vitamin C this morning. I did not drink any Hi-C, though. Si?

And the folks watched The Sing-Off this week and enjoyed it. Hey, Dad, you can watch the last four episodes On Demand. As I mentioned a couple of weeks ago, Pentatonix is still my favorite group, although I admit I don't know if I would like them as much if I were not watching them. Maybe we'll find out if they win and cut an album.

By the way, I knocked out 5 of my 15 To Do items yesterday. Not as much as I had hoped, but I handled all the new things that came along, too, so at least my list did not get any new items. Today's CoV is project management themed. Hmm, I wonder where I got that idea.

Google changed the look and feel of blogger.com a bit. Not much, but my screen looks different as I write this. And two buttons have moved. Don't you hate when that happens?

Sorry. I jumped over to email and started doing some work. I am back now, but I think we've chatted long enough. That statement makes me think of the traditional idea of talking around the water cooler. We do have a bottled water cooler here at our office, but we don't really talk there. We kind of hang around cubicles nowadays.

Anyway, it's been real and it's been fun, but it hasn't been real fun. Ha ha. What a jokester. Until tomorrow....

The Hurrier I Go, the Behinder I Get

Wait a minute. I am certain that my To Do list got longer yesterday instead of shorter. Don't you hate that? So, let's spend a few minutes and then start knocking off things on the list.

The weather is just right for walking the dog each evening, but it is still playing havoc with my upper respiratory system. I'm better, but not well and two weeks of this stuff. Hopefully I can sing some tonight at Chorale practice.

Did you read that the Supreme Court will hear arguments on Obamacare next year?

Hey, I haven't heard anything from family members who are moving out of country. Have you? How are they doing? I'm sure they are both nervous and excited at the same time. I know we were.

OK, these 15 activities I need to complete won't finish themselves. So, I'm jumping in with both feet. Thanks for spending a few minutes with me.

Mini Cupcakes and Maxi Wins

We'll start with the wins. Yeah, Cowboys! Yeah, Cardinals! Both of my teams won this week. Wonder of wonders. Miracle of miracles. They're on a streak now. Oh sure, it is still an uphill battle for the 3-6 Cards to catch the 8-1 Giants, but never say never, right? If we can win all 7 remaining games and they only win 1, we would beat them. Whoo hoo.

And we started studying The Pursuit of Holiness in Sunday School yesterday. That looks to be an excellent Bible study. Whoo hoo.

More likely is that we will get some more of Lyndsay's cupcakes. We did get some mini-cupcakes yesterday and they were yummy and moist and a nice dessert to share with the family during the NFL games. Thanks, daughter-in-love.

Someone who is less nice is Judge Judy. No, I didn't actually watch it, nor would this be a real case, but you never know, right? Never say never.
I show 12 things on my to-do list. Does that make me sound busy? I hope so. OK, not all of them must be completed today, but enough do that I'd best be getting to them.

Y'all have a great day. We'll visit more tomorrow, Lord willing and the creek don't rise.

Debating What to Do in Today's CoV

Actually, I didn't debate too long. I knew that Rick Perry was prime fodder for a Clarity of Vision, but I did have to decide how closely to stick with his original comments. As you will see, I did include two of his agencies to eliminate, but then went off script to increase the laughiness of the comments.

The commute was pretty nice today since government workers (including teachers) were off today for Veteran's Day. By the way, thanks to all veterans (and especially those in my family) who help keep our country free. The day used to be called Armistice Day, but Eisenhower changed that because no one says armistice anymore. When was the last time you used it in a sentence?

I think we are seeing KLIK over the weekend, but I am not sure where or when. So, if I remember, maybe I'll tell you on Monday.

Two meetings today. That's not too bad, right?

Oh man, during yesterday's 8:30am conference call, I was making notes and reached over to get my hot chocolate without really looking at what I was doing. You know where I am going, right? Yes, I knocked it over and spilled it all over my desk. Not on the computer, luckily, but all over my notes. One of the people on the call sits near me, so he came over and dropped off a roll of paper towels and I mopped while I facilitated. Cool, huh? I am ambi-something-ous to be able to do that.

Look, we all want to get home with our family that is off today, so I have written enough. Let's get today started and get out of here early.

One Man Band

That's kind of what I am in creating my comic strip. However, it is also the name for the dude that appears in the fourth panel of today's CoV.

As has been happening, there was no surprise in last night's vote on Survivor. Whoever goes to the final, I think they should take Cochran with them. Wouldn't you?

I tried watching American Horror Story last night. I don't get it. It's too weird for me. Can you imagine that? Too weird for me?

My training session for the Project Management Office went fine yesterday. Someone did say they want some of the coffee I had before the meeting, or whatever I used to get so wired. I don't know that I was any different than usual, but I do become a performed when I speak to a group like that.

There was a really, really bad accident on a major freeway here in the Valley yesterday that closed parts several freeways for over 9 hours and part of one freeway for 24 hours. It did impact me on the drive home, but was not a factor on this morning's commute. One man was killed and the asphalt in one section of road had to be removed and replaced before this morning's rush hour. I prefer freeways to surface streets, even if they are slow, because it avoids all the stoplights.

Today's CoV took a while to create because of all the pieces I had to add in. Now, I am behind in preparing for the 8:30am call, so I've got to go. I'll tell you what's up for the weekend tomorrow. Also, I don't know what's up for the weekend, so not telling you until tomorrow gives me time to find out. Later, gator.

Ruh Roh

Did you recognize that quote as Scooby Doo? If not, then just skip over today's CoV.

I did go to East Valley Chorale last night, but couldn't sing a lot. I jumped in when I felt the tenors needed some support, but I was certainly not at 100%. We practiced a couple of songs I had not heard, so it was good that I attended.

What's going on with KLIK or Ali? I'm not sure. I haven't heard from them yet this week.

OK, yes, I did try just a little more to get pinterest.com to display at work. I used three different browsers, I tried those sites that give you a shorter URL, and still, no luck.

I am terrible with facebook.com. Kathie said that someone from Guadalajara wants me to look their photos and comment on them, or something like that, and I haven't been on in weeks. I'll try to remember to login sometime this week. No promises, though.

Oh, hey. Remember that the first Sunday of the month is when we have to work in the nursery during church? Well, this past Sunday, they didn't need us, so we got to go to big church. Whoo hoo. No, I don't mind helping, but I don't mind when they don't need me, either.

We watched The Sing-Off last night and were not upset with the group that was eliminated. Do you watch it? They have some pretty good arrangements on their, and some nice sounds. No, I haven't purchased any of them from iTunes, but I like listening. My current favorite group is Pentatonix. They hail from Arlington, TX, but that is not why I like them. They just have nice arrangements and nice voices. Check out this sample from the most recent broadcast.

OK, I feel the need for a warm beverage, and I'm not much of a coffee drinker, so I am off on a hot chocolate hunt. Thanks for visiting.

Are You Fixin' To Do Anything?

Today's CoV is built around my penchant for saying the word fixin' to mean about to. I believe I have lost much of my accent after almost 30 years, but some words or phrases are still part of my vocabulary.

I think I will go to Chorale practice tonight, but I will not be singing much. I still have a little cough and my voice is not recovered yet, so I will be going just to show I am still learning the Christmas music. I don't think I am contagious.

I just tried to sneak around the company firewall to open pinterest.com, but they blocked the sites that might have allowed that. Oh well. I didn't even go there very often, but there must have been enough of us across the company that it was worth blocking.

I am liking this cooler weather. Yesterday, our high was 61F. Today, it will only reach 66F, but will be back in the mid- to upper-70s for the rest of the week. Still, when I see the ugly freezing weather in the Northeast, I will accept this. I actually turned on my defroster this morning.

Oh, I don't think I told you that today's CoV is number 607. Crazy, huh? And it took, what, 2.5 years. So, I guess that is about 250 per year

I am still enjoying the TV show Once Upon a Time. Have you seen it? Pretty clever reimagining of fairy tales in the modern world. It is written by two former Lost writers, and you can see the similarity in the way they use flashbacks.

The lights in my dashboard don't stay on, so these dark mornings make it a challenge to stay near the speed limit. I thought I had a small keychain light in my lunch box, but the battery is dead and it is not replaceable. And the radio speakers don't work well on the right side of the car. And the faux leather in the seats is all cracked. However, it gets me to work and back, and it's paid for, so I'll live with it. Don't you have a car like that?

OK, it's time to look busy. Y'all have a great day. We can converse again tomorrow.

Almost, But Not Quite

I am certainly feeling better, but am not quite well. I still have a tickle in my throat, so I cough a lot, and my voice is not recovered enough to sing yet. So, I did not go to yesterday's Chorale concert. Speaking of concerts, though, I will not be able to attend our big orchestra-accompanied Christmas concert this year. We will be at Disneyland (for my and Kendall's birthdays) over that weekend. That's too bad. It is my favorite concert of the year. I will be singing in three other Christmas concerts, but not with the orchestra.

No more delaying it. Here's today's CoV.

We saw Puss in Boots with KLIKA (KLIK plus Alison) on Friday. It was really cute, with a few spots that made me laugh out loud. And we went to see Bella and Kendall play soccer on Saturday. They each scored a goal, and they both played pretty must their entire games.

Uh oh. I forgot to send out the minutes from last Monday's PMO Leadership meeting. And now, it's time for this week's meeting. I won't forget to do that this seek.

The company has decided to block pinterest.com at work. Wow, was I doing that much network traffic? Oh well, I'll have to check it and update it from home.

OK, let's start today. See you in the morning.

Post-Picnic Stress Syndrome

Maybe I'm suffering from PPSS? I've got so much to do today and I don't really want to get started. The picnic at a local city park was fun yesterday. With my recent knee pain, I couldn't participate in soccer or sack races or hula hoops or volleyball. I thought about horseshoes, but didn't have a partner. So, I met with the old game crew and played Bang! I did not win. The Sheriff won. I was a Renegade. Well, yes, I am a renegade, but I played one in the game, too.

Some of our team is moving to a building where the cubicles are only 4 inches higher than the standard desk height. There are some obvious disadvantages to that. And here's a less-obvious one.

We are going to see Puss In Boots tonight with KLIK. And then, if it is not raining, we will go watch them play soccer in the morning. I remember when our kids did that. I hope the girls are better at it. Alison used to stand in the field and play with her hair, even as a ball would whiz by. Kyle always preferred basketball.

Meetings at 10am and 1pm. The morning meeting is a training session, and I have not built the training slides yet, so I'll go work on that so I can be ready. Have a nice, cool (finally) weekend. Buh-dee-yuh, buh-dee-yuh, that's all, folks.

My Right Foot Felt Numb

Last night, the dog got me up to go outside. As I walked to the back door, I noticed that the sole of my right foot felt numb. I was only mildly concerned, thinking that it must have fallen asleep as I slept. Then, this morning, on the way to the shower, I noticed that lack of feeling again. OK, now it is a little more serious. As I stepped into the shower, it felt more slippery than usual. Midway through, I noticed that there was one of those clear size tags from new pair of jeans stuck to my foot. Yes, that was what made my foot not register feeling. Funny, huh?

OK, but was that funnier than this?

We have a department picnic outside today from 10am-3pm. I hope the pollen is not too crazy, although I don't know if my cough and sniffles are allergies or a cold. Still, it gave me an opportunity to wear jeans today instead of slacks, tennies instead of dress shoes.

Hey, did y'all see Survivor last night? This is indeed an interesting season.

I've got several things to complete before the picnic, and it has already distracted my mind, so I am out of things to say. So, y'all stop playing and go to work, I'll do some work until time to play, and things'll be back to normal tomorrow.

Six Hundred and Counting

I forgot to mention that I passed CoV 600 last week. So, if even 10% of them have been funny, that's 60 laughs we have shared. Have you read them all? It looks like I started the comic 3/19/09 with one called Method to My Madness. I thought I had read them all, except that when I researched my early ones, I found some that I did not remember. Wow, a few were actually clever.

For today, though, let's see if I can bring the current story line into focus so you can see what the last couple of days meant.Yes, I did base it on Three Little Pigs. I heard something in a meeting that made me think of it and decided to write this story line.

On our trip to Ouray, CO, this summer, our windshield got cracked. We finally got it fixed on Monday night.

Only a single meeting today. The other standing meeting is canceled for this week. Whoo hoo. The regular Wednesday meeting is back next week, though, and I have to present, so I'll work on that today.

We're going to the movies with KLIK Friday night, although I cannot remember what we will be seeing. Maybe Puss in Boots? This will probably be a lot different from the Christopher Walken version from 1988. Can you imagine Walken as a cat?

Between the cough and low voice and maybe getting others sick, I skipped out on Chorale practice last night. Too bad. I do enjoy singing with the group. No, I cannot remember whether there is a concert on Sunday or not.

It's time to start our day. Are you ready? If we put it off, we just end up with less time to do the same things we already had to get done. So, get up and get going. We'll visit more later.

A Day Late and a Dollar Short

I came in late on Tuesday (had to get a crown..so now I am a king. Ha ha) and did create a Clarity of Vision, but forgot to make a blog entry. So, my work crew saw it, but you did not. Here you go.

And I found out that my insurance will be about $350 more expensive and only cover 90% of what it did last year. Wow. What a deal.

OK, enough in this post. I need to create the Wednesday CoV and post. See you there.