I am not a chef

Yah. I'd like to meet the sick S.O.B. who thought it might be a great idea to take hot cabbage leaves and attempt to roll loose ground beef, sausage and rice in it?  Really? Seriously?  I must have used every damn toothpick in the house!

I swear - I nearly needed therapy when I was finished with this mess.

Ah....but it tasted divine!

Could have been the prednisone.  :)

Keeping my cool

Isn't this photo just lovely? I lifted it, sorry. I was looking for calm, peace, serenity and came across this and it was exactly what I was looking for.

Yesterday got ugly at work. The new installation fell flat on it's face and the two schools that have been crying so much for me to test drive a new device screamed bloody murder. Of course I had added them on to the new unit first because they were my biggest complainers about the old device and when the new device went belly up (because we are human and learning) they were outraged.

In hindsight it is kind of amusing, or pathetic. Whichever way you want to look at it, I kind of sway back and forth on it. Here we are trying to satisfy them and when we make that attempt, they criticize yet again. And, I am telling you what. I struggled to get it working right for them yesterday. I seriously struggled hard to fix things.

It was all so new - three of us were scrambling trying to get them switched around. I called the tech in California so many times. He was patient but I usually pride myself on figuring things out before I have to call for help. I learn more that way. In this case, it was panic mode and there is no time for Peruby to learn the product, get the engineer to find out what is configured incorrectly - pronto!

We found the problem,  but not until 3:30 in the afternoon (when schools are closing for the day). So kids had problems getting to YouTube for a day. They did get there, just sometimes they didn't. We did come to find out that some of the reasons were the fact that they were searching for unsavory subjects in YouTube, but the tech couldn't see that until we shipped him the report that this new product provides for us. YAY! Take that!

Ah, well. The day is over with  now. My manager stood by me completely. He handled everything. I didn't have to answer the scathing e-mail that was sent out to all my techs in the school from this angry tech. Not only did he say he needed to create a help desk ticket to complain about what we did (or did not do) when we put the new device in line, he felt the need to share his pain and complaint with a large group of tech guys in the other school districts. He spit out a whining complaint message to the masses about how inept we were at this switch over.

Again, in hindsight it makes him look like  a big, whiny baby. And other techs are calling him that. They just shake their heads and say "Oh, grow up already!"

Seriously, we are all doing the best that we can. He said that he does not get results when he calls us or tries to get help from us, so he decides to chastise  us in an e-mail to all his co-workers in all area school districts.

I find inner peace within myself for knowing I did my best. I wonder how he feels about himself? Or, do they have any conscience at all?

It is getting warm in here

I have a new toy at work. I am evaluating a new filtering system. First time out of the gate, my horses just fell over one another. One big jumbled mess. I immediately had to scoop them up and place them back behind the starting line so I could clear the track obstacles.

Yep, the heat is on.

Update on the ear infection:  Much better! I was feeling good on Saturday, better on Sunday and almost great on Monday. Until somebody turned the heat on. Whew. Glad I got my energy back before this monstrosity hit. LOL!

And what is up with Prednisone?! Really! I feel like a Langolier,  I want to eat the furniture!

Anguish

My grand nephew's face seems to depict the anguish I felt when I became overwhelmed with all the names on The Wall. To all those who have served, to all those who currently are serving - may we all find peace from the struggles.

Owie

I have an owie. I think my ear pain started Tuesday night. I can't recall. The ear swelled completely shut making it hard to hear. It was very sensitive to the touch and the pain was radiating to my teeth and to my throat.

I went to the doctor yesterday and she almost sent me to the ER. She did not want the infection to travel to my brain. I said no because I thought they would lance the ear or something. She said "No" it was just to give me antibiotics with an IV - quicker.

She let me go with a strong anti-biotic, prednisone and ear drops. I was in so much pain. At the pharmacy I had to wait for one hour for them to fill the prescription. The pharmacist was concerned since I was allergic to penicillin; he remarked that this anti-biotic was a distant, distant cousin of that medication.

I explained to him that my "allergic reaction" to penicillin way back in 1979 was because I was ignorant of the fact that you don't take old medication. It was over six months old and sitting in our medicine cabinet. I broke out in hives and my face swelled up like I had the mumps. Since then I have had to tell every doctor that I am allergic to penicillin. Sigh.

He suggested that I have Benadryl handy just in case. I purchased a box. What a salesman!

I went home with my heating pad, meds and Advil. I was finally feeling much better by the evening.

Two hours after my pharmacy visit, I received a call from the pharmacist. He wanted to make certain that I was okay. He phrased it "I wanted to make sure you were still with us."  That made me laugh. I told him I was fine and he said he was just checking up on me. I thanked him. I told my daughter's boyfriend I was going to marry my pharmacist. LOL!

I am still in pain and swelled up. My daughter is putting the drops in for me. I found it funny that one of my meds said to take twice a day and the other said take every 12 hours. Uh....isn't that the same thing? Anyway, if the Advil works it's magic I will go into work. I have no plans this week-end and I can wrap up in my heating pad and blankets all day Saturday/Sunday.

Little lady bug

I don't think I've ever seen a lady bug costume this dressy before. My grand niece.

Mundane

The 1960 version of Little Shop was mundane compared to the '86 version. The older one was not a musical. The plot was a bit different.  At the end when the little flowers opened up the faces of the people the plant ate were on the them. Kind of ghastly.

Dragnet (the 50's version) must have been very popular - as they used a few references to Joe Friday's vernacular lingo. Seymour's  mother played a big part in the older version, also. The dentist was not Audrey's girlfriend and Seymour called the plant Audrey Junior instead of Audrey (two) II.

Oh, and I can't write this post without a little shout out to J Nicholson from the '60 version playing the pain-loving patient of the dentist. Not as dramatic as Murray's role in the '86 version but strange in his own "Jack" way. 

Baby shower .....done!

The photo above is my grand niece on the right and a family friend on the left. I captioned this one in Facebook as the one in pink saying "Dahling....where did you get that beautiful dress? It's divine!" or something like that.

Babies, babies, babies. My niece is now much more prepared for her baby than she was. The shower was a success. We had it at The Wilderness Center.  The only drawback is the fact that my niece and her husband have been nomads the past couple of years and their friends are spread all over the state and country.  Only a handful of friends could make it because of the distance, but my family more than makes up for it. All sisters were there - YAY!

The only OTHER drawback was the heat. We had an upstairs room and I was roasting. When you are hosting (grinning because of the rhyme) you get over heated quickly because you are stressing and running around doing this and doing that.

I had been dealing with a migraine. It had actually been going on all week. Sunday was a bad one. I took the medicine in the morning and with the time change and the hour of saved time I was able to get all done that I needed to. While brushing my teeth I began gagging. If you have ever taken some strong medicine you know how it can make you nauseous at times. In the car going to the shower my daughter said she got SO worried when she heard me gagging. I was like "How sweet." Until she finished her thought. She said she was worried that SHE would have to take over hosting the shower and playing the games and talking to the group of people. Now I can say it sarcastically "How sweet!"

Twooie

I saw a stage rendition of "Little Shop of  Horrors" last night. It was fantastic. The talent of some people just stop you dead in your tracks and makes you wonder why some people leave for the west coast or NYC and some stay in their home area. They seem content to wow their little home audiences and do not venture out for the super star status. Are they any less talented? Not in my book. The performers I saw last night were fantastic.

I was introduced to this comedy via the 1986 version with R Moranis and E Greene. I see now that there is a 1960 version. I may try to get a copy of that version to watch and of course I need to watch the more recent one to revisit scenes that last night's production reminded me that I had forgotten.

I think that Seymour kept calling the plant "Twooie" in last night's production. (Audrey II). At least that is what it sounded like to me.

My nephew...

...went and got himself married yesterday. Did not tell anybody until after it was all done. He said they will plan a ceremony and reception next year.

This is the nephew that used to come to our house every other week-end or so. He and I talked about computers, cars etc.. He fixed little things around my house. Do I miss him? You betcha! Am I jealous? Not one iota! This guy deserves all the happiness that life can offer and then some. I am so glad he found this beautiful lady. They fit together so well.

I am so happy for them.

Dragging today

Am feeling very low and down today. I had a very rough day yesterday. I won't go into detail but it all has to do with my age and the process we deal with when we reach a certain age. This also ties in with why my week-end was a wash after what felt like a migraine coming on. I could not function very well on Monday either  - I went home sick from work and went to bed.

I had to be in a certain training for two days (these guys flew in from California) so we had a small window of time and I could not call in sick or go home sick or excuse myself. I was in our home office which is 60 miles away from my home. I couldn't just "run home for lunch". They insisted on taking me to lunch and I had no co-worker available to go with us and I had to keep up the chatter by myself.

I was drained. I feel like I don't even remember anything after lunch yesterday. There were two trainers (one was training the new guy) and my head was spinning from both of them showing me this product we are evaluating. Of course with this aging process comes insomnia so I had awoken yesterday morning at 3:30 a.m. and never got back to sleep. I was not hitting on all cylinders and my brain was so weak.

I am behind on some planning for the baby shower and I had 14 trick or treaters come to the door last night. (I fixed my porch light.) They don't stop unless the porch light is on. This is after I told our new neighbor lady that we get no trick or treaters in this neighborhood.

I guess that is changing. I wish I had more energy and I wish I had asked them if I could grab a few camera shots. The dogs were being, well - the dogs were being dogs. They barked and wanted to meet and greet every single kid that came to our door.

And, of course we had two "older" kids come around. One is a "little person" and I knew him from a few years ago. He wasn't even dressed up (that I could tell) and his friend looked to be an older teen. I said "Hi Larry (not his real name)". He said hi back. Sigh. I don't care. As long as it does not get out of hand. I don't mind a teen sneaking in here and there (actually I am fairly certain that Larry is in his twenties). He was always very nice to me.

I know this tired "episode" will pass. I hope it goes quickly as I want to be at my best when I host the shower on Sunday.

Before being shot

His mama said he did NOT look like this after his shot. By the way, this is the "school bus" room at the pediatrician's office. Cute!  Third grandson of sister 1944.

I have not had taken the time to post recently, so this is a quick kid shot to hold you over until I can bore you with mundane details about my job.     ☺

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.