to go overseas! I'm even looking forward to customs and several hours in the air. :) Anything to get that stamp in my passport. What does one even look like, anyway?
I can identify with the scene from that David Ducovny movie "Return To Me" with ... who? (brb) Minnie Driver! (I had to Google it..) where she ... NO! Wait a minute! Wrong romantic comedy. :) It was "While You Were Sleeping" with Sandra Bullock and Bill Pullman. I think. Whatever. You've cried at one... you've cried at them all.
Anyway, I identify with the scene where the lead actress bemoans the fact that she's never gotten a single stamp in her passport and wants one so badly. It's silly, but - I do!
I saw an Omni movie in a local museum here in St. Paul about the Vikings, and how they settled Iceland. It looks gorgeous. I can hardly wait to see those vistas in person!
But first, some fun in old St. Paul while I wait for my departure flight. Museums, shopping, movies... mmmm. Plenty of time to sleep while I'm on the airplane.
Another week on the road almost in the books. A couple more days and... I'm free to enjoy life! Not that work isn't enjoyable, but - you know what I mean. ;)
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
Saturday, September 23, 2006
Yet another away message
on my voicemail and email at work...
This last week was nuts, a combination of trying to catch up from being out of the office 8 days out of 10, touching all my staff in some way, keeping developing projects going, and keeping a lid on PeBo's anxiety over the Great Fire Drill To Find The Missing Money.
I really have to stop calling it that, though. One of my staff said "I'm putting all this time in for a fire drill?" No no no no no - sorry, Carol. Didn't mean it like that. THIS IS NOT A DRILL! No one's effort has been wasted! Sometimes sarcasm from the mouth of a department head is inappropriate and this time it was my turn to goof.
It's just that I can see clearly that the problem is solved, but so many other people need proof, and it is taking up soooo much time... I wish sometimes that I could let people inside my head what I see. In this case they might relax. But the problem then would be... how do I get rid of them after they're done looking? ;)
Hmmm. That would make a good plot for a sci-fi movie. A guy has the ability to allow people to see things as he sees them. Selectively at first, and only when he wants them to. But then, as the psychic connection gets deeper, they can see through his eyes whenever THEY want to (of course seeing things that he doesn't WANT them to see, like how he views them and others), and even later... they begin to alter HIS perceptions to match theirs, and he loses his identity in the process. Sort of like a Vulcan mind-meld gone bad. =:O Creepy.
So... where was I? :) Oh yes. By the end of the week, everything at work was calm, cool, collected. No one's nervous, everyone's tended to. I did my job. :)
And now, off again! Next week on business to St. Paul, and then... yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeahhhhhh! A stamp in my passport! Finally! It's only taken 50 years to get one. Jeepers Molly. That's a long time.
After the week of work, I leisurely enjoy poking around St. Paul for a couple of days, and then fly to Reykjavik (I'm finally learning how to spell it) for 3 nights. Then hop the North Sea to Glasgow for another 3 nights and then back to Mpls & Milwaukee for 2 (jet lag adjustment) before back to work on the 11th.
Right now I'm fretting over luggage. Do I have to pack my winter jacket? (Yes, dopey. It's 50 over there.) Do I need more than one pair of dress shoes? Can they be my cordovan penny loafers so that I can wear them with jeans? Do they even do that anymore? ;) Why can't I check 3 bags?!?!?!? Arghh. I may have to ship a box of dirty clothes back to New England to make room for all the souvenirs I need to bring home. Christmas gifts are from Europe this year, I guess!
The cab comes in the morning. Woo hoo!
This last week was nuts, a combination of trying to catch up from being out of the office 8 days out of 10, touching all my staff in some way, keeping developing projects going, and keeping a lid on PeBo's anxiety over the Great Fire Drill To Find The Missing Money.
I really have to stop calling it that, though. One of my staff said "I'm putting all this time in for a fire drill?" No no no no no - sorry, Carol. Didn't mean it like that. THIS IS NOT A DRILL! No one's effort has been wasted! Sometimes sarcasm from the mouth of a department head is inappropriate and this time it was my turn to goof.
It's just that I can see clearly that the problem is solved, but so many other people need proof, and it is taking up soooo much time... I wish sometimes that I could let people inside my head what I see. In this case they might relax. But the problem then would be... how do I get rid of them after they're done looking? ;)
Hmmm. That would make a good plot for a sci-fi movie. A guy has the ability to allow people to see things as he sees them. Selectively at first, and only when he wants them to. But then, as the psychic connection gets deeper, they can see through his eyes whenever THEY want to (of course seeing things that he doesn't WANT them to see, like how he views them and others), and even later... they begin to alter HIS perceptions to match theirs, and he loses his identity in the process. Sort of like a Vulcan mind-meld gone bad. =:O Creepy.
So... where was I? :) Oh yes. By the end of the week, everything at work was calm, cool, collected. No one's nervous, everyone's tended to. I did my job. :)
And now, off again! Next week on business to St. Paul, and then... yeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeahhhhhh! A stamp in my passport! Finally! It's only taken 50 years to get one. Jeepers Molly. That's a long time.
After the week of work, I leisurely enjoy poking around St. Paul for a couple of days, and then fly to Reykjavik (I'm finally learning how to spell it) for 3 nights. Then hop the North Sea to Glasgow for another 3 nights and then back to Mpls & Milwaukee for 2 (jet lag adjustment) before back to work on the 11th.
Right now I'm fretting over luggage. Do I have to pack my winter jacket? (Yes, dopey. It's 50 over there.) Do I need more than one pair of dress shoes? Can they be my cordovan penny loafers so that I can wear them with jeans? Do they even do that anymore? ;) Why can't I check 3 bags?!?!?!? Arghh. I may have to ship a box of dirty clothes back to New England to make room for all the souvenirs I need to bring home. Christmas gifts are from Europe this year, I guess!
The cab comes in the morning. Woo hoo!
Sunday, September 17, 2006
Deja Vu a generation apart
I feel like draggin' out the ol' banjo and gettin' everybody in a whompin' big circle and gettin' all y'all to singin' "Will The Circle Be Unbroken (by and by Lord by and by)", since it seems like a circle got closed this week.
With Janey (or whatever it is I call her in this blog. Is that it, Kitten? I forget.) getting her first genuine full-time permanent salaried position (with the 401K and benefits thing, too) this week, it seemed like someone drew a circle through our two points in the universe, along with some other points we now have in common. As of last Monday, she works for the same company I do, in the same department (granted a darned big department - 13,000 people), just in a regional service office in Chicagoland. She's Field, I'm Home Office. Ha. The tension is maintained. You know, "I'm from Home Office and I'm here to help." We are so paternalistic that way toward the Field - it suits our father-daughter relationship! Hee hee.
Anyway, it's been a real kick to email back and forth about what she's learning and who she's meeting and how the work is. I have a spy now in the Field! Someone who'll tell me the unvarnished truth about how it REALLY is. I'll just never be able to quote her as a source! And in turn, she may wind up getting advance copies of memos that the Field won't necessarily see in raw form. Hmmm... This could be mutually beneficial. Just discreet.
Plus, it's been nice to see her upgrade from a Neon that was a total loss to a Passat with leather interior, and from a shared 2 bedroom on Irving Park to a one bedroom (with air and parking) in the suburbs. "We're movin' on up! Toooo the West Side!" Just watch the malls, honey. Go home for lunch, don't go to the food court. :)
So now I have an even better reason to visit Chicago (and environs) than to check on my house. Guess I needed one just about now, since my house... is SOLD!!!! Yay!
The paperwork is going smoothly. The advance of the equity may happen this week. Hope so. Next week... there'e nobody home. Not for 2+ weeks. And that check needs to hit the bank. Hmpf. Maybe it should be electronic. I can live without paper. Especially if it's faster.
With Janey (or whatever it is I call her in this blog. Is that it, Kitten? I forget.) getting her first genuine full-time permanent salaried position (with the 401K and benefits thing, too) this week, it seemed like someone drew a circle through our two points in the universe, along with some other points we now have in common. As of last Monday, she works for the same company I do, in the same department (granted a darned big department - 13,000 people), just in a regional service office in Chicagoland. She's Field, I'm Home Office. Ha. The tension is maintained. You know, "I'm from Home Office and I'm here to help." We are so paternalistic that way toward the Field - it suits our father-daughter relationship! Hee hee.
Anyway, it's been a real kick to email back and forth about what she's learning and who she's meeting and how the work is. I have a spy now in the Field! Someone who'll tell me the unvarnished truth about how it REALLY is. I'll just never be able to quote her as a source! And in turn, she may wind up getting advance copies of memos that the Field won't necessarily see in raw form. Hmmm... This could be mutually beneficial. Just discreet.
Plus, it's been nice to see her upgrade from a Neon that was a total loss to a Passat with leather interior, and from a shared 2 bedroom on Irving Park to a one bedroom (with air and parking) in the suburbs. "We're movin' on up! Toooo the West Side!" Just watch the malls, honey. Go home for lunch, don't go to the food court. :)
So now I have an even better reason to visit Chicago (and environs) than to check on my house. Guess I needed one just about now, since my house... is SOLD!!!! Yay!
The paperwork is going smoothly. The advance of the equity may happen this week. Hope so. Next week... there'e nobody home. Not for 2+ weeks. And that check needs to hit the bank. Hmpf. Maybe it should be electronic. I can live without paper. Especially if it's faster.
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
SOLD!
(I hope)
I think the ordeal is over. Funny how the timing of this stuff works. The company offers to buy us out of our house at a lowball price, and suddenly we get two offers! Hmmm...
Anyway, they came in a day or so apart, and we countered, then they countered, then they... well, you know how it goes. I think we locked in on one yesterday, though I can't quite be sure. I'm currently 3 time zones away and not quite in the loop...
The really really nice thing about the relo program is this deal called an "equity advance", where the relo company buys you out and you get your equity NOW! And, let me tell you, brothers and sisters - we can surely use it! New hardwood floors, lounge furniture, vacations out of the country... um, yeah.
So hopefully it's done. I have a call in (several calls, actually) to find out for sure for sure for sure.
In the meantime the corporate jet is home away from home. It's a darn sight better than flying commercial. I can carry on my lip gloss, for one thing. ;) Second, Coreen (the flight attendant) goes out during the day and buys me stuff for the next evening.
Yeah, what else does she have to do, but she's so considerate! First it was Miller lite, then last night it was a cheeseburger from In & Out Burger. SWEET! Tonight I'm thinking peanut M&Ms... Then, I'd left my Steve Tyrell CD on the plane (she had put it on the stereo system for me) and she brought it to my hotel afterwards thinking I might want to use it to fall asleep to that night. Aww... She needs to work on her gin and tonics, though. Just a little strong. =:O
I think the ordeal is over. Funny how the timing of this stuff works. The company offers to buy us out of our house at a lowball price, and suddenly we get two offers! Hmmm...
Anyway, they came in a day or so apart, and we countered, then they countered, then they... well, you know how it goes. I think we locked in on one yesterday, though I can't quite be sure. I'm currently 3 time zones away and not quite in the loop...
The really really nice thing about the relo program is this deal called an "equity advance", where the relo company buys you out and you get your equity NOW! And, let me tell you, brothers and sisters - we can surely use it! New hardwood floors, lounge furniture, vacations out of the country... um, yeah.
So hopefully it's done. I have a call in (several calls, actually) to find out for sure for sure for sure.
In the meantime the corporate jet is home away from home. It's a darn sight better than flying commercial. I can carry on my lip gloss, for one thing. ;) Second, Coreen (the flight attendant) goes out during the day and buys me stuff for the next evening.
Yeah, what else does she have to do, but she's so considerate! First it was Miller lite, then last night it was a cheeseburger from In & Out Burger. SWEET! Tonight I'm thinking peanut M&Ms... Then, I'd left my Steve Tyrell CD on the plane (she had put it on the stereo system for me) and she brought it to my hotel afterwards thinking I might want to use it to fall asleep to that night. Aww... She needs to work on her gin and tonics, though. Just a little strong. =:O
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
Lesson learned?
Another one today. Maybe.
Ironically, I was just reading a book on the airplane which contained this quote that I'd never seen before:
"The lessons of life amount not to wisdom but to scar tissue and callus."
- Wallace Stegner
It was timely.
He's right, I think. I don't believe you get wiser via life lessons, necessarily. Maybe I'm just building up callus, you know? ...by making the same mistakes over and over. And after a while that repeated mistake will simply stop hurting as much.
You have to be either pretty stubborn or pretty desperate to repeat the same painful behaviors again and again. I mean, who wants callus, anyway? It's ugly, and in some cases - deforming.
I do know that I have scar tissue from some of life's lessons. Here, see, I'll show you: this one's from when I was in high school and a bunch of us ... woah, never again, man! And this one here - it's from college when this girl ... how could I not have seen that coming? Blind! And, oh yeah, this beauty! Ow. I can feel that one yet. It's from when I found out that, no matter how much I wanted to, I just couldn't ... but, that does NOT define me anymore! No way!
See my point? Yes, I learned some things from life experiences. As they say, I have the scars to prove it. But then there are some scars that mark an experience where I don't think I learned anything at all. The only thing I got was pain and the scar. What did I learn, for example, when they told me I ... and what did I learn when she just ... and what in the world did I learn when I suddenly lost ... I learned nothing! It just hurt.
Perhaps, as time goes along, I'll look back and see something that indeed represents a lesson learned and wisdom gained from the experiences that left those particular scars. As they say, time heals all wounds. Sure. Yeah, eventually you die and that'll take care of it...
But mostly, as Stegner says, you're left with scar tissue or you build up callus. And I don't think experiences or life lessons is where wisdom comes from, either. Wisdom comes from another Source altogether.
So I don't think I learned much today. But I do feel the callus in that particular spot getting a little thicker. It's not as tender as the last time it got poked. So, lesson learned? Maybe. And maybe not. I guess we'll see if the callus keeps growing, or if that spot grows soft again.
I'd rather it be soft... even if it hurts now and then.
Ironically, I was just reading a book on the airplane which contained this quote that I'd never seen before:
"The lessons of life amount not to wisdom but to scar tissue and callus."
- Wallace Stegner
It was timely.
He's right, I think. I don't believe you get wiser via life lessons, necessarily. Maybe I'm just building up callus, you know? ...by making the same mistakes over and over. And after a while that repeated mistake will simply stop hurting as much.
You have to be either pretty stubborn or pretty desperate to repeat the same painful behaviors again and again. I mean, who wants callus, anyway? It's ugly, and in some cases - deforming.
I do know that I have scar tissue from some of life's lessons. Here, see, I'll show you: this one's from when I was in high school and a bunch of us ... woah, never again, man! And this one here - it's from college when this girl ... how could I not have seen that coming? Blind! And, oh yeah, this beauty! Ow. I can feel that one yet. It's from when I found out that, no matter how much I wanted to, I just couldn't ... but, that does NOT define me anymore! No way!
See my point? Yes, I learned some things from life experiences. As they say, I have the scars to prove it. But then there are some scars that mark an experience where I don't think I learned anything at all. The only thing I got was pain and the scar. What did I learn, for example, when they told me I ... and what did I learn when she just ... and what in the world did I learn when I suddenly lost ... I learned nothing! It just hurt.
Perhaps, as time goes along, I'll look back and see something that indeed represents a lesson learned and wisdom gained from the experiences that left those particular scars. As they say, time heals all wounds. Sure. Yeah, eventually you die and that'll take care of it...
But mostly, as Stegner says, you're left with scar tissue or you build up callus. And I don't think experiences or life lessons is where wisdom comes from, either. Wisdom comes from another Source altogether.
So I don't think I learned much today. But I do feel the callus in that particular spot getting a little thicker. It's not as tender as the last time it got poked. So, lesson learned? Maybe. And maybe not. I guess we'll see if the callus keeps growing, or if that spot grows soft again.
I'd rather it be soft... even if it hurts now and then.
Friday, September 01, 2006
Stuffy New Englanders...
not!
At our tag sale today (the local version of a garage/rummage/yard sale, depending on where you're from), the people who stopped were extraordinarily friendly. And talk! Yak, yak, yak... you know, the whole drill, welcome to the area, what brought you here, how do you like it so far, where do you work, oh my wife/husband/child works there, I'll bet the winters will be more to your liking... sheesh. Give it a rest! You broke the stereotype already!
Actually, it was very nice. :) And just like the tag sale we had in June or whenever it was. Boy, are they friendly! They even have a local restaurant chain here (sort of a cross between Denny's restaurant and a Farrell's ice cream parlor) called Friendly's. Yikes!
Not to mention they bought all kinds of broken stuff we never been able to get rid of before. ;) Good for them.
At our tag sale today (the local version of a garage/rummage/yard sale, depending on where you're from), the people who stopped were extraordinarily friendly. And talk! Yak, yak, yak... you know, the whole drill, welcome to the area, what brought you here, how do you like it so far, where do you work, oh my wife/husband/child works there, I'll bet the winters will be more to your liking... sheesh. Give it a rest! You broke the stereotype already!
Actually, it was very nice. :) And just like the tag sale we had in June or whenever it was. Boy, are they friendly! They even have a local restaurant chain here (sort of a cross between Denny's restaurant and a Farrell's ice cream parlor) called Friendly's. Yikes!
Not to mention they bought all kinds of broken stuff we never been able to get rid of before. ;) Good for them.
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