Warmth

(Photo lifted from the tavern's web page)

It was a cold, blustery day when we headed out after work. Eight of us in three different vehicles. We drove for over an hour and we braved the brisk air to scurry inside a beautiful, warm and glowing barn-like building. Full of good smells and decorations. The hostess walked us past table after table of smiling diners. As we walked the age-old wooden floor beams we passed fireplace after fireplace.

Winding our way through the rooms and hallways, we finally ended our journey in a room next to the kitchen. With no fireplace. Zilch. None. Boo! My face fell. Ah, well.

We were still in for a treat. I had prepared myself for the sticker shock by looking the menu up on line and the gal who arranged this night out warned us also. Pricey. Indeed, it is. You can see the menu yourself. It is really no different than some of the wineries I have been to, though.

I usually save a few dollars by refusing to order anything to drink (table water is fine), refusing to order an appetizer and skipping dessert. Those three items can cost as much as the entrée. I heard one of the gals say she did not bring near enough money. She ordered the house salad and an appetizer. I saw the appetizer when it came. What a disappointment. It was so tiny. She had ordered the pasta pinwheels. It was no bigger than a skinny hot dog bun. Actually since I didn't want to stare it may have been smaller than that.

I ordered filet. I was prepared for the cost. I was not disappointed, nor were any of the others (as far as I know) - except the poor gal who ordered the appetizer. She raved about the salad dressing on her salad, though. I should have been more daring and ordered a dish that raved about the toppings and sauces that sounded so delicious. My steak was good but not the best I have ever eaten. The baked potato was just that - a baked potato. The vegetables were cooked correctly, but no great sauce or taste accompanied them. There was no salad with the meal - salads were extra. The bread was warm and very good - it was complimentary. They were out of duck. I have never eaten duck. I did not want to order lamb (my mom never fixed lamb - she raised baby lambs and had to live through them being slaughtered and refused to eat them and she passed that on to her children),  and I don't eat veal .

My niece used to work here. I do know that Reagan dined here and I have heard that Quayle stayed overnight here. This is a tourist sort of place, but there are no malls, no metropolis for miles, it is out in the middle of nowhere.

I have wanted to dine here for years, and now I can finally say "Been there! It was great!"

Just Do It.

I don't know. I think they  may have a case. They can blame N!ke. N!ke made me (us) do it. How appropriate for Halloween. Very scary stuff!

She's Hollywood all the way!

My grand niece enjoying the tire climbing at Maize Valley Winery. She had a blast and crashed that evening. I am very comfortable with this kind of day. Reminds me of when I took my daughter to all sorts of activities, museums and such.

If I had a granddaughter, I would be broke for sure. Very thankful (for now) my daughter says she does not want children, but we know how that goes, right?

Heart breaker

His grandma said he kept moving his head to try to see what the painter was touching his face with. His Mom said he is a heart breaker. I thought it was a strawberry.  :D

Movie review - R.I.P.D.

The above photo is lifted from the Internets. I think she is freaking adorable, this little girl. She has a fantastic future ahead of her - just check out her photos.

She plays a teeny, tiny part in R.I.P.D.  The movie?  OMG. A "Men in Black" clone? Although, the movie is based on a comic book, I think.

I struggle with listening to J Bridges speak in this movie. Is it part of the character or is the guy having real problems? IDK, but seriously - he speaks as if his mouth is full of marbles or something. After reading some background on the movie, I am glad that J Bridges got the part and NOT Zach G. UGH!

The comedy left a lot to be desired.

And ML Parker? I think she over-tweaked her last surgery. She is starting to look like a pixie. I (myself) prefer actors to look like human beings. Cute/pixie-like is for school girls. Maybe it was the hair and the role. IDK.

Overall, I would not recommend this movie. But, everybody is different. I rarely agree with the "critics" so - don't take my word for it. Maybe I should change my line to read 'I would not recommend spending a lot of money watching this movie.'  How's that? Better?

Been busy planning

I am giving my niece a baby shower. My sisters are helping decorate,etc..

I have news that another niece is pregnant, again.

And I feel that another is trying for a second.

Let the babies keep coming. This is a good thing.

Fire!

The cars before he ate them. And this is why they have a fire truck standing by. Two years ago - only a fire truck. This year, a fire truck and an ambulance. I hope it is just thinking safely and not because something happened before. A piece did fly off from one of the cars but we are sectioned off  by a caution tape and the distance must be okay because nobody was hit by the flying pieces.

And.....she's OUT!

All day at the festivities and she is out like a light. We came home and I fixed grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup for everyone. This one ate four. Okay, let me repeat that - FOUR!

She was watching the movie WALL-E and I was busy on the computer, my daughter came through with her dirty dishes and said "She's out."  I said "huh?"  My daughter pointed and repeated "She's out!"

Yes, she was. LOL!

Here is the video of the creature eating the cars. Yet again, I found myself with a full memory card by the time I was needing to make a video and after kicking myself in the rear end (mentally) I remembered my trusty cell phone and pulled it out of my purse to make this video. It is over 8 minutes long and I had YouTube stabilize it for me (shaky hand).

The people noise you hear is not my crew. The little girl (above me) did not make one peep during the entire episode. You can hear me say a few lines, such as "That was close", "He is coming over to us" , "That's rude" and "What's he doing?"

Our other family members were somewhere else in the crowd as we all got separated for a bit.

The event is a sight to see and I highly recommend it for children and grand children. It looks as though this was their last event for 2013, but here is their web site.  http://www.megasaurus.com/. You can read about his history and photos and hopefully they will post the 2014 schedule soon.

Fun week-end planned

I get to have this one for the week-end. This photo was taken April 2012. She is my grand(great) niece. We are going here on Saturday. We are aiming to see the 'Megasaurus eat the cars' event. I don't like reading about them closing the gates if the crowd gets too large. That makes me a tad nervous that we may be turned away.

My sister wants me to pick her up at noon - first Megasaurus show is at 2:00 p.m. I am afraid the crowd will be too large to let us in. Drat! I don't want to disappoint. We are meeting about 8 other family members there who have family coming from New York state for the event.

It is a sight to behold. I saw it two years ago and I was in total awe.

Get your popcorn!

A week ago I had to go to a very small elementary building. A storm had taken their Internet connection out and "fried" a port on a switch I maintained. That is my best guess. As soon as I moved the Internet connection to another port they worked fine.

I will "babysit" the connection at times because you know what happens when the tech walks out the door. The Internet goes "out" again. So, I set up my laptop and made myself comfortable. A lot of my work I can do anywhere - just give me an Internet connection. I can answer e-mails and handle help desk tickets and manage equipment remotely.

As I sat there "babysitting" I looked around. There was a popcorn machine, a sno-cone machine and the huge bags of popcorn you see pictured above. Wow. I would love it when it was popcorn day. The smell of popcorn is scrumptious!

On a more sober note - I have worked with this guy - http://www.dispatch.com/content/stories/local/2013/10/10/it-worker-pleads-not-guilty-to-tampering.html

I admit I do not have much respect for the guy from our working days together, and if he is guilty, I don't want him to "get away with anything".  I am thinking they started with him because they want the bigger fish. The "fat" and foul fish that stink up our world thinking that they are above the law. I hope he squealed like a pig and gave the investigators names, dates and as much information as they need to nail the guilty rats to the wall.

Then (yes, I will say it) I want them to learn what "rape" really means while they are in prison.

The rainy and wet festival

This picture is from a few years ago at the Fall Festival. I went Saturday and wish I had not. I was miserable. It rained in the morning, then the sun came out. The weather said cloudy the rest of the day. I went to the festival. Big mistake.

It poured. And it poured. And then everything was a muddy mess.

Sigh.

Movies

It has been a long time since I posted any movie reviews. July in fact. I have watched a slew of them. I looked back over the ones I watched (yes, I keep a list) and one in particular was my favorite. Not everyone will agree, I am certain. The Heat with S Bullock and M McCarthy.

If you are offended by the "F" word, they you won't care for this movie. I think it is used in Melissa's conversation in every other word.

My favorite parts are where Sandra's character mistakes Melissa's for being a prisoner waiting to be questioned. Another is where Melissa kicks the door down on a woman using the toilet (thinking a criminal is hiding in there) and she is pointing a gun at her. As Sandra's character attempts to drag her away, Melissa asks "Who closes the 'effin door when they are taking a sh!t?"  Sandra replies "Humans do."

Another one I found funny in parts (but raunchy in others) was "We're the Millers".

I'll give a quick shout out to "Admission" with T Fey and P Rudd. I liked this one.

Morning line up

My blog posts have been kind of depressing for the past few weeks, so I am going for something a little lighter. This photo was taken a couple of weeks ago. I brought them outside and they just lined up like you see above. I don't know what they are doing or waiting for.

My neighbor did get a new puppy so maybe they are waiting to see if she is out.

Anyway, left to right - Sable, Cheech, Chong and Slade.

Shambles

The first half of the house.

A side view of the destruction.

A lot of people said the house could have been saved.

It would have taken a lot of money.

White House Down Finale

Beginning to middle....

...to the very end.

The Operator

Here is my niece's husband (my nephew by marriage). He did a wonderful job. As somebody in the group said "This ain't his first rodeo."  The guy knew what he was doing. He started out hesitantly because he had not taken down a structure of this size and my sister had a lot of money invested in that machine he was operating. Okay - it is an excavator.

After the first twenty minutes or so he had relaxed and boy did he go to town.

It was not a sad day. I had family there and we bonded even more. There were stories told that my niece had not heard before.

White House Down

It is a big house. From the back you can see the basement level, first floor and upstairs, then the attic. From the front - the sidewalk is just a little lower than the road and walks right into the front porch on the first floor. The house was built on a slope. This is about how the house looked back in the late 60's or early 70's.

The furnace was installed in 1968 or so. It is still there. An oil furnace. The only bathroom is the little window at the top in the middle. I never once remember the toilet overflowing or not flushing. Never once did we have a stopped up sink that I can recall. I guess gravity may be the best thing when dealing with that stuff because it all flows downhill, right?

The back porch on the right was rebuilt with new steps, etc. The wrap-around porch - you can see partly on the left had to all go and we were left with only a porch on the front of the house. My brother  re-roofed and re-floored the front porch. I helped him. He is an S.O.B. to work with. We laugh about it now, but back then he was not a pleasant person. I refused to work with him on anything, ever again. He is very loving towards me always hugging me etc. We have a good relationship, now.

Today is going to be a very, very emotional time. And we are going to be right out in the street almost for all the neighbors to witness this White House Down event. There is going to be some crying, I know. It will probably be me. I don't care. There was a lot of love in that house. A lot of strength. Like my older sister said - "It is like my Mom dying all over again."  This was HER house. She is buried a few hundred yards from this house.

This was the first house she ever felt "at home" in because she was finally safe. No more getting kicked out because my dad didn't pay the rent or the house was being condemned. Oh, yes. Many of the houses we lived in were condemned when my family left. Fortunately for me, I came along late in life and this was my third house by six years old and this one was purchased by my older sister. My Mom had a home for life, now.

We just neglected it. A few touch ups here and there, but then nothing. It fell apart. Especially since my Mom passed in 2000. It has set empty except for a few raccoons and squirrels, I guess. A neighbor called the county inspector and they are making us take it down. Sigh.

It is true that we have abandoned the house after 13 years. We have nobody to blame but ourselves. It is one of those things where you want to have a piece of your past to go back to. Even if it is an empty shell. It is filled with memories.

I gotta go. I have to load up my car with gloves, a chair, rakes and a broom. Some goodies for the workers to snack on. Beer for the neighbor letting us sit on his property to record the event and watch.

I am sick, I tell you. Just sick.

The last nerve

After years of working, I know that I should know better. It happened again today. I let it all get to me. I got totally frazzled.

I am still trying to unwind. I tried wine. Nothing. Just gave me a flippin' headache.

The house I grew up in since I was six years old to about 26 years old is getting leveled tomorrow. Family is gathering at a neighbor's house. I plan to video tape it.

I am not in a good place.

Slammed!

I have been crazy busy at work and with the postings about The Wall, this topic is about a week behind. On the 18th the big "A" (red fruit that Eve ate) released an update. Within education there were a lot of devices and some of them were set to automatically download. It was chaos for a day or so, pure chaos. It does go to show you what can happen, though.

http://www.vistaone.com/amx/the-initial-impact-of-ios-7-on-education-networks/

The above photo is a gauge of a port that monitors traffic passing through my filter appliances. If it gets to 100% (and it did, I just did not get the chance to capture the photo at that time) - my appliance drops packets. What that means - certain web pages can slip by unfiltered. So, if somebody is trying to go to facebook and their district does not allow it - they can get there. Until they change the screen or click on anything that refreshes the page. By that time, chances are; their next request will be properly filtered. (I used facebook as an example, but you can imagine what sites could be accessed if even for one full screen shot. UGH!)

Not a catastrophe, but this gauge read this for an hour at a time, then dropped down to the regular 0.4 - 0.5 range for ten minutes or so (class changes) and then it was boom! - right back up there.

For a global gauge of the Internet, you can go here:

http://www.akamai.com/html/technology/dataviz1.html

http://www.internettrafficreport.com/

POW/MIA Ceremony

I did not get to see it, but the veteran I spoke to at The Wall told me I could see the performance on YouTube. It is a ten minute video.    Lorain High School Army Junior ROTC - POW/MIA Table Ceremony.   The show was a couple of hours before we arrived that day. (The YouTube video is NOT at the Tuscarawas county location I was at that day.)

We also missed a huge group of bikers who were showing their respects to one of the members who died on the first day The Wall was on display.  He was coming to join in the biker rally for The Wall. I pass the spot where he was killed a couple of times - there is a POW/MIA flag, wreath and flowers.

The above display has 37 panels. One for each soldier lost from Tuscarawas County.

A moment for Tommy

The photo above is my seven year old great nephew pointing out one of the names that my brother-in-law searched for at The Wall. Let's take a moment for Tommy.

After his service duty, my brother-in-law went on to marry, work and raise a family. The American dream. He now has grandchildren. He brought his grandson to see The Wall and to thank Tommy. Because of Tommy, some of us live the American dream.  The lucky ones. Thank-you Tommy. On this day, you were not forgotten.

http://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/19831/THOMAS-O-GREEN

Knock, Knock

"Honey, would you see who is at the front door?"

I figured we may need something a little lighter today - it's Friday!

And, I know it is an optical illusion, but doesn't that look like a bare leg sticking out from behind the grill on the right?  You will have to click the picture to see it.

LOL!

You will always be a HERO

Looking for Jan

She had been kneeling there a long time and I was drawn to her. I went over and asked her if she had found the name she was looking for. She shook her head no, silently.

She had the correct panel, she just could not locate the name. I have circled his name - it is at the bottom right of the panel she is searching. I helped her locate the name. She would only tell me he was a friend. I did not ask for more. She did not want to talk and I let her be.

http://www.vvmf.org/Wall-of-Faces/37599/JAN-H-NELSON

Names

Over 58.000 names. My brother-in-law had a couple of names he wanted to search for. They give you a paper with the panel that the name is displayed on. There are two sides: East and West. His card would say W8, we would find the 8th panel. Then the name is number 124. There are dots on the side to count by tens. We counted down 120 and then you only have ten names in that section. The name you are looking for is number four into the section, but there are still so many it is easy to get lost in the sea of names.

We found the first one. My brother-in-law and I and his seven year old grandson. My brother-in-law told me the boy was 18 (the name we were searching for). He had to walk away and his grandson asked me where he was going. I said "It is very hard for him." My sister could not even come over. She said it took her husband a long time before he even talked about Viet Nam. She said that it was far too emotional for her to handle so she stayed back with the three year old grandson.

The above photo I made by taking a picture of the shiny granite display of three servicemen. It was facing the wall. I was able to capture the wall in the reflection and surprisingly - no people in the frame. The crowd had dwindled by this time.

Speaking to an organizer of the wall he said that an entire military group failed to show for the event. They were the ones who were supposed to guard the wall at night.

I have more pictures and more stories. These are too important to throw into one long post. I want to give each one a little bit of time and space here.

Intense

Thr Travelling Wall

Going here today.  Not to the real one, the traveling one.

It started yesterday. Sister 1944 wanted a sister to go with her to the genealogy picnic. I said "Sure". I wasn't doing anything. I got myself up and ready, made my calico beans and went. I don't know what has happened to me over the past few years but I have become a super-charged extrovert. This is a 180 from when I was growing up as a shy, bashful introvert. How does that happen? I have no idea.

Regardless, my medication (that I have taken for maybe a  year, now) has exacerbated the extrovertism. Ha, that isn't a word. But,you get the idea.

Gabapentin is the generic name. Here is a list of side effects.  I seriously think it would have been easier to print things that it "DOES NOT" do.

Hyperactivity. Oh, yeah. I got that one covered. It started about 11 o'clock. It did not stop until I was by myself in the car on the way home at 4:30. Sometimes I wonder if my brother-in-law just wants to tell me to shut the f@ck up. My sister laughs with me. I think he just tolerates us. (Seriously I think he really enjoys his wife laughing and having a good time. She is under a lot of stress right now). I certainly am the one to entertain.

I was the bingo caller at the picnic. When they said they were going to start the bingo game I automatically got up to call. Sister 1944 asked me how I knew I was going to be the caller, I just gave her my incredulous look. Like "Seriously? Who else would do it? Who else has this big of a mouth?"

We stopped on the way home to visit another sister and brother. The laughter did not stop. Sister 1944 was getting a headache from laughing so much. The movie "The Mask" with Jim Carey comes to mind. When he spins and says "Somebody stop me!"  That is truly what I feel like because I feel like I cannot stop myself. I am like a runaway train or a bouncing ping pong ball.

In the car by myself,  I do calm down a little bit. Not much, though. I crank the music and sing. Maybe I should begin to cut the caffeine intake. Sigh.

Anyway, sister 1944's husband was a marine in the Viet Nam war. They said they are coming to my neck of the woods today to visit with their grandson and if I wanted to go. I said "I'm not doing anything,  I'm in!"

We will go today and I will definitely be curbing my hyperactivity today. When I read that there would be clergy and counsel available I began a slow panic. Oh, no. I can't handle the crying. I am going to be bawling like a baby and I don't know one soul who passed away in the war. None that I can think of anyway. No cousins, either. Oh dear. The other side effect to the medicine:  Over-reacting too quickly, and too emotional. Oh, dear, dear, dear. I am done for. Focus, I  must focus. I need super glue for my mouth because I know I will be going up to people, hugging them and asking them to tell me all about their lost loved one.

I'm talking complete strangers, here. I have no fear. If somebody is freaked out by my actions, I read the environment, back-pedal and move on to the next victim..err, person.

The vocation of counseling does run in my family. I have three relatives in the therapy area. We seem to know what to say and when to listen. The drawback is we fall victim to the emotional vampires. People (co-workers) who unload all their problems and issues onto us. Then they feel better and we become depressed - zapped of our energy. They sucked the energy right out of us when they go on and on about their problems. How does a therapist do it?

Relaxation

This photo was taken last month. I was visiting my "north" friends (previous co-workers). This friend has had this little camper on the lake for maybe more than 15 years. She was going to sell it once but I am so glad she did not. It is a beautiful spot by the lake.

Across the way there is their big shelter house. The president of the board of this campsite had a son getting married. The wedding party arrived in big decked out golf carts. The photo is dark, but you can see them a little bit parked on the lakeside of the big white tent.

This day was hot. The weather today won't reach above 65º Fahrenheit in my neck of the woods. I have an outdoor genealogy picnic to attend. My jacket is clean and ready.

I have made my calico beans that a lot of my family enjoys. Here is a similar recipe to what I use for my calico beans.  I am running behind or I would look up my recipe and post it. Gotta go!

Passing time

Sitting in my car while waiting for my daughter to get her lunch break at work. The parking lot across the road is Walletmart. My daughter works at the national gaming store. It suits her.

This day was extremely hot.

That is not the case, today. The cold front and rain has moved in. I am so surprised I have no headache or sinus pressure. A lot of folks were complaining yesterday.

It is weird that sometimes I will get it and other times - nope.

I am going with sister 1944 tomorrow to a genealogy picnic. I guess I need to wash my jackets and wear one of them. Brrr.

I get blood drawn today. I drank so much water yesterday I had to get up during the night three times! Drinking lots of water makes it easier for them to draw blood.

Connected

Three hours in the hotbox yesterday. I had to stand on a chair. My back was about to give out. I grabbed an empty desk from the hallway. The secretary was more than nice and accommodating. I was about to kick the custodian. I guess his cleaning supplies were in the filing cabinet that I had to stand in front of to access this network.

He kept coming in while I was standing on the chair, opening a drawer getting a spray bottle out, then he would come back two minutes later and put the bottle back. Another few minutes there he was opening the drawer again, getting out (I swear) the same bottle. Then yep...two minutes later putting it back.

Finally I snapped at him, "Why don't you just pull out the whole drawer?"  He said "No, that's okay. I'll just work around you."

Once I obtained the desk and sat a little away from the filing cabinet he never came back. What a dork!

Then the speech therapist who was in the little room behind where I was working felt the need to tell me her life story. I heard all about her yellow jacket stings while she was mowing, all about her dogs, all about her daughter...it went on and on. I try to be polite but gee whiz!

I did take one five minute break and went out to the car and turned the A/C on me full blast. It saved my sanity, I think.

Anyway, I finally had success. I moved on to the next site after that and it was warm in the room, but at least there was some form of A/C running because this school had the equipment in the secretary's office. The secretary and principal there were also very nice.

I went home hot, dirty and sticky - but happy. Oh, the dirt accumulates over the years on this equipment. Needless to say nobody cleans it because they are kind of afraid of it. Or, I think that is the reason.

My chunky dog

Chong (a.k.a. Chunky) gives me a grin as I snap his picture yesterday.

I think I am going to be in a sweltering "hot box" today as I am scheduled to travel to a tiny elementary school where the only A/C is in the Principal's office and that is not where my equipment is.

To top it off, I have to stand on a chair to reach my equipment. Some insightful person perched the equipment high up on the wall behind a large row of filing cabinets. We may be talking "hours" and I don't think I am going to fare very well. I am certain the sweat will be dripping down into my eyes and to stand on a chair for a couple of hours is not the best position to be in for a lengthy period of time.

And I have to use my personal cell phone. I am thinking I will tell my home office I cannot get "service" out there. As I take this elementary down (dis-connect it from the Internet) they lose their building telephone service that requires the Internet to work. That part may last only a half hour or so, but the other stuff - more intense configuration will need me to converse with my home office and I don't believe the school will let me have their cordless telephone for that length of time.

I will see what "mood" I am in when I get out there and how much my back can take while I teeter on a chair and try to work in this hot box.

It will be me and grumpy cat today. I can already feel the headache begin.

My office is anxious to have this resolved so I cannot postpone it until Friday when the forecast states the temps will be in the mid-60's. Rats.

They missed

Local technology meeting today, where I faced the firing squad again.

If they aimed at me today - they missed. I had my shields up. The elephant in the room (filter) was not even mentioned. I don't know if they felt sorry for me or did not have the balls to mention it. I was ready. I was keeping my cool until I walked into the building.

I was loaded for bear.

Big sigh of relief. I did not have to use my ammunition. I spoke little and smiled a lot.

When I walked into the meeting room they did say "Peruby, you are walking into a hostile environment."  I thought to myself,   'Sigh. Here we go.'   I smiled and said  "I'm used to it."  They said "Oh?" I said "Yeah, nineteen years - I think I can handle hostile."

I smiled and sat down. The subject was changed and the meeting commenced.

I had to leave the meeting early to attend to another matter so my going out to lunch with the crew was avoided. I was not going. It may be a long time before I go again with them.

I'll stick to my ladies night out. Forget the tech guys. I am not the only girl in the tech group, a couple of other gals try to make it but for the most part - it's the boys club.

Nyet!

Up against it again

I will be up against a firing squad at a meeting again tomorrow. The sh!tstorm that happened over the past month has stalled out and is left sitting right in my lap.

My organization has me taking care of other stuff besides the filter these days. I am running around from school to school trying to get them connected to fiber (all this was supposed to be completed two years ago) but the telco took their sweet slow time.

Now the schools are screaming - and they are being charged for the fiber but we don't have them connected. So, as you can see - me getting out there and connecting them is kind of dire.

I am going to work all morning on my mental state. I must be positive. I must not falter one iota and get upset. I will just smile and take notes and tell them I will "Look into that".  That is the best I can do. They don't care that I have other stuff on my plate. They only see their predicament. Well, some of them. Two or three that are like fire truck sirens. Me, me, me! I'm coming through - I have an emergency!

We all have emergencies. We all have fires that need put out.

Get over yourself.

If I even go to the meeting. I plan on it - because I don't want them saying I was afraid to face them and ducked out. I will go with my head held high. I never shrink away.

The only thing that will keep me from the meeting is if I get direct orders to skip it and go to a school, which just may be the case with all this fiber going in.

I want (need) to show at this meeting. I need to show them they do not win. Not on my watch. I will be there supporting myself and my work. It is imperative that I show them I can take it.

Busy at work

 

 Been busy at work trudging through the mountain of e-mails that I tried to ignore over my vacation. I took care of the little and quick things all morning yesterday and then drove to a school to make a connection.

I (and my superiors) are not responding to the sh!tstorm about the filter at this time. I am letting all the users who like to jump and point fingers get everything out of their system first and then I will calmly analyze the situation. Once the dust settles.

Right now there is just too much going on.

I've been reading a book in the evenings. "Sisterland" by Curtis Sittenfeld. It is okay. It was hard for me to get into it, now I just want to finish it. 

I read the first two books in the "Jack Reacher" series over vacation but I can see how they can get repetitious. There are 18 in that series and if I judge by the first two, it is really the same story being spit out over and over again. I have not see the movie, yet. I find it funny that Cruise was chosen to be the huge bulk of a man - Reacher. Sigh - Hollywood.

A simple choice of words

tam·per

¹ [tam-per]  verb (used without object)

 

1. to meddle, especially for the purpose of altering, damaging, or misusing (usually followed by with  ): Someone has been tampering with the lock.

 

2. to make changes in something, especially in order to falsify (usually followed by with  ): to tamper with official records.

 

3. to engage secretly or improperly in something.

 

4. to engage in underhand or corrupt dealings, especially in order to influence improperly (usually followed by with  ): Any lawyer who tries to tamper with a jury should be disbarred.

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

A simple choice of words. In an e-mail.

.....due to the fact that the resources that we're pushing are constantly being tampered with.    

The pen is mightier than the sword. Is that what they say? The blue line above is lifted directly from an e-mail message complaining about the filter (that I manage at work).

He had to use the word "tamper".  A simple choice of words.

He said in the next sentence that he is 100% certain that it is not on purpose. Well, he should not have used the word tamper, then. Because tamper means that something improper is being done. Something underhanded.

This is the third message this guy has sent about the filter and how unhappy he is.

He continues to mention that he appreciates my work etc... but this line right here. That blue line indicates that he has accused me of something. Whether he meant to do it or not. He must be thinking it to write it.

Feeling so tired....err, BLESSED!

I can barely move. My head aches a little. I have a kitchen full of dirty dishes. (I do not return to work until Thursday and I have no plans in between!)  I am exhausted. But it is a happy, content exhausted.

Yes, my lower back hurts - but I did ask for help. My daughter and her beau unloaded the car for me last night when I could barely get myself out of the car and into the house.

I was at the park from 10:30 a.m. to 8:30 p.m.  http://www.newphilaoh.com/html/tuscora_park/index.html

The morning and early afternoon were okay temperature-wise but it became very, very hot in the afternoon sun. There was a breeze that kept us cool earlier in the morning/afternoon  - but either it disappeared or just turned hot along with the air temperature.

The pool was a BIG  hit. As were the rides. Not so certain if the grandparents did okay. I know my sister wanted to visit more but she had her two grandsons and they were all GO, GO, GO!  :)

We had three precious babies under the age of one.

We had two toddlers.

We had four rowdy young boys.

I had all my sisters and one brother (with  pieces and parts to their families) show. I had 32 total. Two brothers rarely show at family functions. That is okay. I am going to try to get to them and visit soon. I love them and miss them dearly.

I am so full of thank full thoughts right now. I don't want to sound sappy.

The nephew that I am very close to (1977) brought his family. By close I mean I cared for him A LOT when he was young and he and I grew very close as we grew older. Many times I wished for him to find a girl and happiness. Well, that girl finally came a long. He met a girl who already had a little boy. He just turned 7. His imagination astounds me. They recently had a little baby girl. (her picture is above).

My sister (his Mother) is a sweet thing (when she is sober) but she has been out of the picture a lot during his life. There may be some regrets and resentment between the two of them but they are very close and I respect (and love) that they are.

She told me he never has left the little baby with ANYBODY before. Well, except for the baby's mother of course.  His girlfriend had already retreated to the pool with her seven  year old boy. They had forgotten towels. I lived just over the hill and he asked me if he could go over and get towels. I said "Sure!" I had his little baby girl at the time. Wow. You could tell he was so hesitant to go. After much butt kicking from me, he finally went. When he came back he headed straight for me and the baby. She was fine and I told him "Go! Go! Go!" And, down the hill he went to the pool.

He was gone for two hours! My sisters and I had our hands full with the little girl. She was rarely out. This was her second outing. My nephew had given me explicit directions on how to fix her bottle. There were packets of breast milk in the cooler. He had brought a thermos of hot water. A Rubbermaid container to pour the water into so I could heat the packet of breast milk. A portable "point" thermometer to test the temperature of the water and how to assemble the bottle etc..

The bottles I used 20-some years ago were simple glass or plastic things with tops. This one had a plastic bag you had to put into the bottle, fill it up, etc..

I did all of this while the little one was screaming her head off. LOL! Talk about feeling the heat. I chuckle about it now but we were all trying to get her to calm down. Next to being hungry we think the wee little one was just hot and miserable - like the rest of us.

My sister was so proud. She took the baby under the trees and got her settled down. A proud moment for "Grandma".  It made me feel good to know and understand how important it was for my sister to be successful in getting the baby to calm down. And she did it. She came through with flying colors.

By the time my nephew and the rest of his family returned his little baby girl was lying in her little hammock-bed with big bright eyes and completely content. She was minus her little polka-dotted top but they didn't seem to mind.

Nobody got hurt. The children were exhausted and from what I am hearing coming back to me via Facebook is that all were asleep before hitting the bottom of the park hill when they were being driven home. I hope so - I hope that all the parents and grandparents had a welcome respite and quiet drive back home. They deserved it.

The picnic was a success but I am going to aim for end of September next year. Aw, maybe not. Both the pool and the rides will be closed. I'll have to check with family. See if they prefer it that way - the kids won't be "begging" to ride or swim (costs money).  Maybe they will be content with the swings, slides, feeding the ducks, etc.. all free stuff.

Scents

I left this photo in the biggy-size in case you want to zoom in to see the texture of the flower itself. I have a lot of these this year. Whew. Even early this summer I was straining to see. See if I had any show of a sprout. Oh, they sprouted. How one plant can get so big after starting out smaller than my thumb is a wonder of nature.

The Datura inoxia is the closest I can come to guessing what species I have.

I have my family picnic today. I am so excited. I am not anxious (like I am when it is at my house). I refused to allow myself to go overboard this year. I am supplying the hamburgs, hot dogs, buns, calico beans and macaroni salad. On the side is a cooler of children's drink boxes, water, watermelon, table cloths, cups, plates, big pan spoons, utensils - stuff like that.

My older sister is bringing all cutlery and napkins. I think she is bringing the plates, so I'll just have a backup bunch.

So many did not r.s.v.p. but I hope they show anyway. I am 80% certain I have 25 showing up today. At the very least. I am hoping another ten come. Of course if another 25 show up - that is okay with me, too. I have 48 hamburgers and 48 hot dogs. I have one vegetarian. So everyone will get to eat - that is for sure.

I thought the Italians had the market cornered on feeding their friends and relatives, but I am giving them a good run for their money. As far as I know I don't have a drop of Italian blood in me. I am Austrian on my father's side. On my Mother's side I am a mix of English, Irish, Scott. I think. I have not read back in the genealogy files for a while. I must remedy that.

I have always focused on the Austrian part (since we found out we really weren't German) - Austria is so much more romantic. It is a beautiful country.

Danger, danger!

Some folks just don't know when to quit. My organization serves approximately 45 school districts. Two district techs keep complaining over and over again. Now they think we should make a global change in an application that I manage. (you know, the filter).  Since when is 2 out of 45 the majority?

Musication

Music. We all love it. Or some form of it.

While setting that valley school up with an increase in bandwidth last week, a staff member (female) came up behind me and said    "This means we can play Pandora again, right?"

Last year I told this tech at this school (who was constantly complaining that he never had enough bandwidth) to block Pandora because when I checked there was a lot of Pandora traffic coming from his network.

I noticed a few months later that he had done so.

Now, this lady.

Sigh.

I turned to her and said "Is it educational?"

They hate that.

"It helps me keep my sanity!"

I said "Then bring in a CD, an mp3 player, or play it on your phone!"

Sheesh. Why should the tax payers have to pay to keep increasing a school district's bandwidth for more, more, more just so that staff can stream audio to their desktop?

Right?

Much more happy

I get to see this wee tot on Saturday. YAY! I love that the flower is almost as big as her head. And her expression appears to be saying ....what? I can't tell.

The green link light

The green link light can be a beautiful thing. This will (hopefully) be the final post about this valley fiasco.

The new cable/module came to my house at 10:30. I went home to retrieve it.

The valley tech told me they were running the cable that day.

I drove out at 3:30 as scheduled and placed fiber ends on both devices. Nothing. Nada. I called the telco. He said he needed about thirty minutes to re-build the connection.

Okay.

After twenty minutes the telco called. Nothing. All black. No lights.

After about ten minutes of minor panic, the telco trying this and trying that, my co-worker (former manager) had the bright idea for me to pull the larger fiber cable module apart and switch the two plugs. (Transmit and Receive).

I did that, plugged it back into the interface...and - voila! Green light.

Blessed relief.

All was well.

What an ordeal.

I hope this valley school gets all the bandwidth that they need and then some.

Now, the next phase gets juicier, too.

Since I had to spend so much time on this project, my filter emergencies have escalated.

Ugly things are being said - it is the same two techs (one is this valley tech) about how unhappy they are with our organization's service and how we never listen to them.

Oh my.

Now, my supervisor is coming to visit a superintendent today.

The tech wrote a scathing e-mail to my manager and it went beyond slamming my filter this time. This time if slammed their overall service. Note:  the tech praises me, says this rant is not about me and my work is fantastic. It is the appliance (filter) that is the problem - not me. Hmmm.

Now it's time for my superiors to fight. These techs have badgered me for two years and I got nothing. But now he has crossed a line. He has slammed their behavior and their territory.

Sigh. It's gonna get ugly folks.

But, I am moving on to brighter things to post about.

My family picnic is this Saturday. Am I thrilled?

I AM!

Chin UP!

...continued from yesterday (and the day before).

I found this picture and I just had to at least use it at some point during this epic tale. :)

During all of this back and forth with the cable and the valley school, I had other things that are falling behind. We were hit with a massive mess this year. My filter had issues and the tickets were coming fast and furious.

A few techs take to the distribution lists (all point bulletin) to complain about the filter and this valley tech takes this day to pipe up and slam my filter yet again. He has cried for two years that he wants another filter. I took  a vote at one conference and the majority said to keep the present one.

Back to the cable. I take the cable back to my office. Seems I was out of (phone) range as my home office was trying to reach me before I left because they wanted me to leave the cable there. Their research had dug up a module that they can order and we can still use this LC/LC cable.

Too late. I was back to my office before I saw the message.

I told my co-worker (former manager) and my current manager I would contact the valley tech to see if he wanted me to run the cable BACK out to him or just bring it on Monday when the module would arrive.

He said he wanted it that afternoon so that his maintenance guy could run it very early Monday morning.

I took the cable out and all the way I am thinking to myself "Just pretend like you did not even read his slam on the filter".  Chin UP! Chin UP! And I did just that. I was in such a good mood. I chatted with the secretary. We laughed and told a few stories back and forth. (After hours - school students and most staff long gone).

Then I took the cable back to the valley tech. I smiled sweetly at him and asked him if he wanted me to come Monday as soon as I got the module or wait until after school hours at 3:30. He said 3:30. I said "You got it!" I smiled even more and went back to the main office. I chatted with the secretary a bit more, then told her I did not want to waste any more of her time - and I went home. Secretaries are very busy.

My co-worker (former manager) told me that the shipment was being overnight-ed to my (home) address on Saturday. He sent me a copy of the order by e-mail. (He did not send the Fed Ex tracking number). I scanned over the message (making sure they had my home address correct) and closed the e-mail.

I was busy on Saturday. I was busy here and busy there. I had a party that evening. I got home at 10:30 p.m. and looked on my front porch and in my mail box. Nothing.

I double-checked Sunday morning when it was daylight. No package, no note.

I e-mailed my co-worker (former manager) and my current manager that no shipment had arrived. By any chance did they have a Fed Ex tracking number?

By this time I was certainly hoping they had not expected me to stay home and sign for anything. I knew I had a busy Saturday and I would certainly have remembered them asking me to do that or at least mentioning that it would need a signature.

A little later I got their e-mail. According to the Fed Ex tracking number it was sitting in Indianapolis IN. Ah, well. Nothing I could have done, then. I had not missed the shipment.

I did send another e-mail and said that I really did not need the part until 3:30 on Monday. Because the valley tech refuses to take the Internet down until then.

I just realized I forgot a big part to this story.

The valley tech told me my home office told him he had to wait until I returned from vacation before he could do this switch over. I returned from vacation on Tuesday the 20th and was given the orders to go to the valley school on Thursday the 22nd.

That ticked me off. I am the first to volunteer to go out of my district and help the others. Nobody could bother themselves to come out to my area and cover while I was on vacation.

I was shocked and I told the valley tech that. He said he knew that everybody deserves a vacation but was a bit surprised that we were "allowed" to take them when schools start. He was very upset because he said if they had sent somebody to cover me then they could have discovered the "mistake" a week or so ago and could have started the steps to correct it while I was on vacation.

I imagine a rule will be created. No extended vacations the second half of August. They did this about fifteen years ago. I am guessing they will try to enforce it again.

Here is another interesting tidbit. This valley tech is a big guy. Not tall. Just very, very big.I am portly. I have mentioned this before. I am not slim. Not even close.

My current manager said to me over the phone "Tell (as he mentioned valley tech by name) to get his FAT ASS up on a ladder and run the cable." Of course he was "kidding". He really didn't want me to tell the guy that. Sheesh. At least I hope not.

It was our mistake that this was all screwed up and my current manager was saying this. AND I am heavy. What does he think or say about me?

Stay tuned. I am so far behind now in work, and I have two vacation days scheduled for the end of this week and two after the Labor day holiday. All approved months ago.

Just for the record. I can climb a ladder. (I clean out my own gutters.) I can run cable. I may make people nervous (being so big and up on a ladder) and I may not smell the best after I begin to sweat but I am agile. My back will hurt but I can do it if the job needs me to. I just take more Advil.

So...what will this week bring? Will Peruby get to take her vacation at the end of the week? Will Peruby solve the major filter problem before she takes more time off? Will Peruby get three more schools on fiber this week? Will Peruby get her objectives and Professional Development goals all written up before the end of the week?

We shall see...

Discouraged

....continued from yesterday.  Still - very long post ahead.

Discouraged. Okay, that is the word I will describe for the techs FIRST reaction to this news. Here is the type of cable that will need to be run over 200 feet between pieces of equipment. (We had not measured it yet by foot, but he had an idea of how long - it is his building).

Except the picture depicts a cable that is not near long enough.

An hour of this tech calling the telco and my former co-worker ensued. I spoke with both to tell them what I saw. We are using my personal cell phone (the one that work provided for us six years ago is total crap).  I do have my work's phone number included in "My family plan" so the minutes I spend speaking with that number (regardless of the extension) are unlimited.

On and on it went.

At one point my co-worker (this is the honest to God's truth) told me that the valley tech will have to run a cable between the room where the electricity comes into the building and the wiring closet. He asks me a couple more questions about the gbic fiber ends on the telco side. I start explaining to him that they were the big kind. He wasn't following me. (The gbic module he gave me for OUR equipment was the little mini gbic). He got confused.

At one point I said to him "the fiber cable that the tech will run between the room where the electricity comes into the building and our wiring closet. He said (and I am not lying) "Who told you to do that? The telco?" 

My eyes popped open in disbelief. I said "You just did!"

He said "No, I didn't."

That is when I knew I was going to be talking in circles with this over-worked co-worker. He was panicking because he knew he had messed up and he was trying to get his ass out of hot water. Needless to say my co-worker (former manager) said "I am in a meeting, I will have to think about this and call you back!"  He realized that he was digging himself into deeper hot water.

Like I said, after an hour the valley tech and I were measuring the distance between rooms with our feet. My co-worker (former manager) finally conceded (to the valley tech - not me) that he would over-night a 300 foot multi mode fiber cable LC/LC to my office and I would run it out as soon as I got my paws on it.

Note the LC/LC. Ugh.

The tech was not real happy with the fact that he and his maintenance team had to run the cable over the ceiling etc.. And school had just started. By the time I left that day - this valley tech looked pretty much like this:

I will back track a little bit. Forgive me for rambling on and on - but this blog is really therapy for me. I can't imagine anybody reading this and trying to make sense out of it. Sheesh!

This valley tech (as I mentioned before) is my nemesis. He has disapproved of almost everything I have ever done. He prefers to work with my "male" co-workers. He will tolerate me and we get a long really well sometimes, but a lot of times,  he does not even acknowledge me and always has something smart ass to say about the organization's filter system (which I manager). 

You are going to have to forgive me for this next paragraph. Try to remember I am only human. But I laughed. I laughed and laughed about this. I know. I know. It may sound horrible when you think of the cost and the extra work some will have to do - but I was there to see the "what comes around goes around" scenario.

One aspect of this story tickles me because my co-worker (former manager) has a chip on his shoulder about losing his management position. Okay - who wouldn't? That is understandable. But the way he handles it (to myself and my co-worker in another city) is he will get fed up with something and just throw some of his work he has done for years (with no documentation of how to perform it) at us and tell us, here - you guys take care of this from now on.

Now, the first few times he did this - my co-worker and I tried our best to take care of it. We were all on the same work level now, right? It was our school district and this "former" manager should not have to do it anymore since he was now considered a regular worker just like us, right?

We were so stupid. We struggled, we tried. Really we did. Then our co-worker (former manager) went ahead and did the job himself a few days later without telling us! It was maddening.

I can go into more detail - but you get the idea.

So, I laughed. I laughed at his fiasco. I laughed at the valley tech who gives me a hard time. They were both panicking and I was going home to my wonderful home with my wonderful dogs. It was sheer icing on the cake.

Ahhh. Is that wrong of me? To feel that way?  Maybe a little.

Yuk, yuk, yuk.

But it gets better. Oh, it get SO much better. (For me, that is).

I get the cable at about 10 o'clock as promised. I am in such a good mood. I have about four pressing help desk tickets I was working on between my start time 8 o'clock and when the package came. I finished them the best that I could. Yes, I did. While that orange 300 foot multi mode LC/LC fiber cable sat wrapped up in a box at my feet.

Sigh. I called the valley tech to tell him I had received the cable and was on my way.

I. took. my. sweet. time.

Yes, I did. I stopped to get gas. My tank alert light was glowing.

I smiled at everyone. I drove like the world's safest little old lady on the streets.

The valley tech called my home office wondering where I was.

They called my personal cell phone, but I don't answer when I am driving. I keep my phone on my dash (it has a rubber cover and does not slide off - uh, very often LOL!) and I could see who was calling and I laughed and laughed.

Did I say Screw you?  Why no, I did not. I used the "F" word. Yes, I did. I really did. And then I laughed.

I got there at 11:30. He was anxious to see me.

My co-worker recalled what I had said about the gbic module on the telco end being "big" and he told me to check the ends to ensure they would work before they ran the cable.

The valley tech must have talked to him because when I arrived, he knew it was not going to work. It wasn't.

The equipment the telco had put in was using a larger gbic module. I had tried to tell my co-worker (former manager) this the evening before. Oh - another thing. We have to do the switch over after hours because the valley tech refuses to pull the Internet down during regular school hours.

Now the tech looks like this:

Oh, you KNOW I am having a field day with the pictures I found on the Internet. Yeah, baby.

Did I laugh. Not in front of the valley tech.

He handed me back the fiber cable and said "I may as well give this back - it won't do me any good."  I said "It will probably sit in my office for the next ten years."

Who in the world ever needs a 300 foot multi mode fiber cable? We didn't even know they pre-made them that long. It would have been even worse (funnier) if they had pulled the cable and discovered that the distance weakened the signal or something. No, no it wouldn't. Because then I would feel bad for the maintenance man that had to go to all that work and pull the cable. I had nothing against him.

I made the remark "Now, I have a $300 dollar Halloween wreath."

Always throw in  humor to defuse a tense situation. That is my motto. It worked to a certain extent.

My valley tech did chuckle at something I said. I told him he was handling things pretty well for what was happening.

He said "Oh, I am ready to explode. I am just trying hard to remain professional."

He had admitted that none of this was my fault because I did apologize to him for this mess.

To be continued...