Snowing Sunday, Part Trois

Post script: Daughter is off to school, stocked up on groceries and gasoline. Dad work done.

The weather report for her trip isn't great, but it isn't horrible either. Quasi-freezing rain right around the Scranton area, and as she travels south, no precipitation until about Leigh County, where it's raining. If she takes her time she will be fine, although we had better get a call once she gets there to confirm her safe arrival.

Snowing Sunday, Part Deux

"...and the snow turned in to rain..."

Or so wrote the late, great Dan Fogelberg.

So it is here, as the snow of this morning is morphing into rain. All the better for Katrina's trip back to K-Town (she hates it when I call Kutztown that). Anyway, by way of update, the following has been accomplished to date this morning:

- Washed the dishes
- Dried and put together all the assorted pie pans and holders that need to be returned to my mother-in-law
- Went down to Big Lots to get replacement compact fluorescent bulbs. Replaced the burnt-out bulbs in the kitchen and send floor hallway
- Changed said bulbs
- Changed the cat litter (lovely)
- Put away cans of soda
- Emptied the garbage

I'm now waiting for Katrina to come over so that I can take her to get gas for her car and a few groceries at the market. The next two weeks are her last of being at school without the benefit of a meal-plan. Could not come soon enough, as it was really tough for her to eat right without having the benefit of the school cafeterias. That's changing for next semester. Hopefully she will get here soon. Ah, she's here now. Time to scoot.

Snowing Sunday

It's Sunday morning at 8:07am as a I start to write this, and I've already been up for about two hours or so. It's strange when you think about it: I've been up now for two hours, and I've really not done much of anything, outside of showering, having a bowl of cereal and reading the news. Ah, such productivity.

Have I mentioned yet that it's snowing outside? It's basically the first real snow we've gotten this season. I am hoping that it turns to rain for before too long, as my oldest daughter needs to drive back to school today, and I don't want her going in this kind of weather. Fortunately she is heading south of here, so the temperatures by and large will be going up, if ever so slightly.

Anyway, it's been an uneventful weekend. I took my oldest daughter out Christmas shopping yesterday morning, right after I dropped my middle daughter off at modeling school (she goes there twice a month). We spent the morning at various bookstores, and ended up getting lunch at the foodcourt at the Viewmont Mall (pizza for me, Chicken for her). From there I spent some time looking at her car (a few minor items) and then it was back to Kingston to return middle daughter home, all be it not home, as I actually took her to a friends house. From there it was a quick change into decent clothes (as opposed, I suppose, to the indecent ones I had been wearing), as there was a wedding reception to attend in Pittston. The reception was for the daughter of our next door neighbor, who also happens to be related to my wife. She's a nice lady, I'm glad to see her happy, and the reception was a fine event. Note that generally speaking, I'm a fairly anti-social kind of guy, so things like wedding receptions don't always "ring my bell", if you will, but like I said, this was a fine event for a very nice person. The day ended at about 11:30pm, with the usual bedtime rituals completed (glass of yummy sugar-free dietary fibre...yummmmm...flossing my teeth, brushing my teeth and finally head-hitting pillow).

As is fairly typical, I didn't sleep great last night. I almost always fall asleep very quickly, within something like 5-10 minutes. It's just the staying asleep that's a problem for me. There's usually too much crap floating around inside my head for me to really relax enough to sleep great. That's the problem for me: sometimes I just can't shut the "noise" down. I think I as up two or three times during the night before I saw on my alarm clock that 6am had arrived. I figure that 6 is a fairly decent time to wake-up, even in the absence of anything important to do.

So now I'm looking at today, which will be consumed with the usual Sunday stuff. This includes cleaning in the morning, taking my mother shopping in the afternoon and probably some work in the evening. Ah, the joy of ritual. Why do I think that one day I'll be this 80 year old man who will get all bent out of shape because the paper wasn't folded right?

The snow has stopped, all be it for just a bit. The outside thermometer says that it's 32 degrees outside. I'll keep my fingers crossed that it stays on the uptick.

Funny, but with all this talk about snow, I've been thinking about Spring actually. I, like my mother, love the smell of Lilacs, so I'm thinking about getting a few bushes for the backyard. Not sure yet where they will go, but hell, I've got time. Maybe I'll get two or three different colors. Something else to think about it. Maybe I'll ponder it further tonight, when I am supposed to be sleeping.

Road Apples, #5

Shopping - I almost never go shopping the day after Thanksgiving; I did once years ago and it was a foul experience, to say the least. Yes, I was dumb enough to be one of those folks who waited for a WalMart to open at the crack-o-dawn. I think I've already covered this in past postings. Anyway, I am taking my oldest daughter shopping today. Let's hope my wallet survives the experience.

I've Got A Feeling - Actually it's "had a feeling" (although the Beatles song "I've Got A Feeling" is pretty good), and it was best described as cruddy after eating Thanksgiving food. It just doesn't agree with me for some reason. My stomach is funny like that; on some level I am sure it's just the natural rebellion of my innards against the abuse I heap upon them by not eating as right as I should. Mylanta and hot tea usually do the trick for me. Note that I don't mix the hot tea into the Mylanta.

Yahoo 360 - I've had a Yahoo 360 page for a long time, and I almost never go there anymore. What I have to do is to copy all of the old blogs there (there are 246 separate entries) that I want to copy and archive onto CD. There are a few there that I want to re-post here, almost most of it is too time-specific to really make much sense in this forum. Just trying to simplify and consolidate my life a bit. I'll probably leave the MySpace page as is, at least for the time being.

It's Almost December - I like December. The month usually goes by pretty quickly, and I have a long list of planning types of things I need to do both personally and professionally. On the personal front, I'm starting to make some changes for the betterment of long-term financial planning. This includes purchasing more Long Term Care insurance (as much as I can buy...just waiting for the health information to come back) and taking advantage of my company's very low stock price by buy purchasing more stock. On the stock front, I've changed the percent of my match that goes into the stock (from 50% to 100%) and I'm diverting 2% of my after-tax pay towards purchasing the stock outright. It is something of a risky move, but it could pay off in a very big way over the long term if the stock recovers (the IPO of the stock was $27.50 & it's traded as high as $100+/- share; it's now around $20/share). On the professional front, I have to really devote some time to thinking about what I want to accomplish for next year, especially in the area of professional development. I need to invest in something that will help me over the long term, not just a few classes, etc. Some kind of professional certification I think.

"God" by John Lennon

The lyrics to the song "God", by John Lennon.

God is a concept,
By which we can measure,
Our pain,
I'll say it again,
God is a concept,
By which we can measure,
Our pain,
I don't believe in magic,
I don't believe in I-ching,
I don't believe in bible,
I don't believe in tarot,
I don't believe in Hitler,
I don't believe in Jesus,
I don't believe in Kennedy,
I don't believe in Buddha,
I don't believe in mantra,
I don't believe in Gita,
I don't believe in yoga,
I don't believe in kings,
I don't believe in Elvis,
I don't believe in Zimmerman,
I don't believe in Beatles,
I just believe in me,
Yoko and me,
And that's reality.
The dream is over,
What can I say?
The dream is over,
Yesterday,
I was dreamweaver,
But now I'm reborn,
I was the walrus,
But now I'm John,
And so dear friends,
You just have to carry on,
The dream is over.


Blasphemy? Perhaps, but that depends on your point of view I suppose. I think Lennon was more talking about all the junk that was imposed on him (and all of us), taking a step back, and basically saying "look, I'm going to believe in me...and that's reality". Interestingly enough, the only other person he believes in (based on the song) is Yoko Ono, who you could argue was a master at manipulating him (which in turn contradicts the intent on the song).

By the way, "Zimmerman" refers to Bob Dylan, whose real name is "Robert Zimmerman".

A final note: I don't especially consider this to be a favorite Lennon song. Among his solo stuff, here are my favorite 5, listed in order:

1. #9 Dream (almost mystical when you hear it...headphones are must, turned way the hell up)
2. Stand By Me (cover of the Ben E. King tune; Lennon sings the hell out of it)
3. Watching The Wheels (we should all have our heads screwed on this well)
4. Whatever Gets You Through the Night (listen for the chorus, with Elton John joining in)
5. Beautiful Boy ("goodnight Sean, see you in the morning"...pure love)

The Thanksgiving Post

I think it's a requirement for denizens of cyberspace to write a "I Am Thankful For..." posting on Thanksgiving Day. Being full of Catholic Guilt and German by ancestry, I'm naturally good at following the rules, so of course I'm going to oblige. I have to tell you though, before I start, that my fingers really are not cooperating at their usual efficiency this morning, which is making the process so much tougher.

Anyway, here is what I am thankful for on this Thanksgiving Day, 2008, listed more or less in order:

1. My Family, Especially My Children - Having children is both a blessing and, at times, a curse. The curse part comes around when they force you to think about yourself in ways that you probably would normally prefer not to...a painful experience, but most growth, in my experience, comes at the expense of pain. I am truly blessed in that I have three daughters who are smart, healthy, who make me proud AND who challenge me in so many ways to be a better person.
2. My Physical Health - One of the reasons why I am a fanatic about reading and paying attention to current events is that nothing helps you appreciate and place yourself in the context of reality than seeing just how much suffering there really is in this world around you. As bad as our small lives may become, there is always someone who has a burden that is far worse. So too with me, while I wish I could lose some weight, within the greater context of things I am very thankful that I am generally very healthy. The fact that I can see my roses bloom, smell the lilacs in the spring, and feel the cool air of Fall is truly a gift worthy of Thanks.
   
3. My Friends - Friendship is something that is somewhat difficult for me to discuss. I really don't have that many close friends that I can, for example, "hang out" with. What's more, I have my own self-imposed rule when it comes to talking about other adults in this (or any other) blog...unless they are a public person, I generally don't refer to them by name or title. I have that rule because, in part, I don't think it's fair to talk about someone in a venue that any anyone in the world can reach without first giving them "editing" rights, and the very nature of a blog is that I would never give editing rights to anyone but myself. [Darn, this is a hell of a windup, is it not?]. Anyway, I am thankful for those who I do call friend, especially that rare individual that I actually may come to with a question or a problem and who always seem to be there for me. You know who you are, and I can never do enough to thank you for understanding and caring about me.
4. My Mental Health - Being wheelchair bound would be difficult, but I don't think it's as difficult has having the use of your legs but not having a mind that was capable of appreciating that use. I hope that sentence made some sense. What I'm trying to say is that I am very Thankful for good mental health. As I've written about before, I've had to deal with members of my extended family who have struggled with mental health issues, so I do my best to use that as leverage to always work on improving my own mental health. The fact that I know my own mental health is in my own control is a real blessing.
5. My Country - There is no better place on Earth to live than the United States of America. The US is the land of "Big": Big Mistakes, Big Victories, Big Problems, Big Solutions. This is the place that institutionalized slavery on one hand but then gave birth to Jazz on the other. Here I can be anything I choose to be, as much or as little, as rich or as poor.
6. My Career - I am Thankful for having a job and a career that provides for my needs and the needs of my family and which also continues to challenge and frustrate me, even 20 into the gig. My job sometimes forces me into places where I'd rather not go, figuratively speaking, but that also helps me grow in ways that wouldn't otherwise come naturally. Sometimes I'll be walking down the big first floor hallway of our building and I'll think to myself, "you are supposed to be here".

So there you have it, I have much to be Thankful for on this November 27, 2008. I hope that I'm blessed with many more Thanksgivings to come, but even if I am not, on this day and at this moment I can look myself in the mirror and say with complete honesty "you are a hell of a lucky guy".

'Tis The Season To Be Cranky

Some things that I simply don't like...

People Who Don't Read
I don't care if you read Nora Roberts novels or the Wall Street Journal, but just read. Reading is this wonderful gift that makes zero sense to not fully use. Reading keeps your mind sharp.

Lazy People
You only get so much time in this existence, so why not try and make the best of it? Why not fill your time being creative, making things better, improving your mind? Why simply sit on your ass? Now I know that we all need to rest, and that's perfectly ok. But to spend hours on end just sitting around? Hell no.

Negative People
I know...how ironic! Despite the title and tone of this post, I am, by and large, a very positive person. What's more, I (like most people I think) hate to be around negative people. I have people like that in my extended family, and it's not pleasant.

People Who Abuse The System
We have safety nets built into our society for things like unemployment, food for the poor, etc. Nothing pisses me off more than people who take advantage of programs who really should not. Let's get it straight: unemployment is just for people who are laid off from a job due to no fault of their own...period. In this same category we have people who, for some reason, think it's ok to use an Access card to guy groceries but then magically have cash for smokes and beer....that amounts to nothing more than taxpayers subsidizing bad habits at best, stealing at worst.

People Who Are Not Curious
How could anyone live in this wide universe and not at least be a little bit curious about the things around them? There is so much to learn, there is so much to experience. Sheer insanity to not be the least bit curious about at least some aspects of the wider world.

In The News...

...former First Lady Barbara Bush was recently hospitalized. You can disagree with the politics of her husband (by and large I didn't) and/or her son (by and large I did), but you have to admit that this is one classy lady. Seemingly very down to Earth, spunky and very protective of her family, I think she typified what a modern First Lady should be.

Trivia: when I first began working for my current employer, the President of our division was named Scott Pierce, who just happened to be the brother of Ms Bush.

All the best to Barbara Bush for a speedy recovery in time to spend Thanksgiving with her family.

Personal Virtue

Vice President Dick Cheney was famous for once saying "conservation is a personal virtue, not a matter of public policy" or something with that same intent. Now I'm not going to question the motives or virtues of Mr Cheney, with whom I do disagree on more than a few things, but it does raise an interesting question: where do personal virtues cross that line where they should be a matter of public policy? Here are some of my thoughts on personal virtues.

Honesty
Honesty is a personal virtue. We are told that we should always be honest, but yet all of us lie at one time or another, and in point of fact being dishonest in some circumstances can probably be considered more virtuous than telling the truth (anyone who has or has had children knows what I am referring to when they eat their child's first culinary creation). Honesty is also a virtue that is a matter of public policy: when you are stopped by a police officer, you are required to be honest when he asks you questions. When you are in court, you are expected to be honest, else you will be charged contempt of court. I'm not lying here, although I will not claim to telling the truth all the time.

Charity
Another contradiction to Mr Cheney, in that charity is a personal virtue, but if you itemize your federal taxes you know doubt realize that the federal government encourages charitable giving via a tax deduction. I don't give enough, which I publicly confess. Years ago I would give to the Church on a regular basis, but that's slowly changed. I know that's not necessarily a good message, but I have a very difficult time supporting my Catholic Diocese when the leader of the Diocese seems to contradict Church teaching on the rights of workers to unionize and the right of all believers to use their God-given brains and hearts to weigh moral issues in an election. Anyway, recognizing that my level of charitable giving as decreased over the years, I've made the decision this year to being contributing regularly to a Charity (St Jude Children's Research Hospital). "Where charity and love prevail, there God is ever found" goes the hymn I learned in Church as a child.

Hard Work
I believe in the soul-building value of working hard. Mind you, I don't think that working hard without gain is smart, so I'd qualify this virtue to mean that it's important to work hard as a means to an end. I fall short in this regard all the time, but I temper that personal disappointment with the knowledge that each and every day I can wake up and trying to get it right on a new day.

Conservation
I personally believe in conservation, both as a virtue and as a matter of public policy. Simply put, the public good is served by not wasting resources. Conservation is one of those things that we, as a people, can do to tangibly help those that come after us. On a personal level, I am more or less a fanatic about recycling, as my children can attest. I will go so far as to pull plastic and glass out of garbage cans to put them into recycle containers. Why? It just makes sense to me. It also plays into my thoughts overall about excessive consumption.

Frugality
I recently bought (from www.evolvefish.com) a bumper sticker that says "An economy based on the consumption of fixed resources will consume itself", which I think is a great thought. Maybe because I grew up without a lot I am more sensitive than most of this notion of constant consumption. Now I do like my toys: I even have an MP3 player with wireless Internet access; however my consumption isn't ever spur of the moment and is always done in consideration of what I need and can use vs what I simply want. Have I always done a good job of passing this virtue onto my children? Hell no. But my work in that regard is like someone trying to shovel water: it's just fighting against this all-conquering tide. In the case of consumption, that "tide" is reality all of the consumption-based society in which we live. Our children are taught from an early age by society and the media that consumption can make you happy, cool, popular, well-skinned, etc. It's up to us to get smart, as we grow older, to realize that the "big lie" exists in our consumption-based society: you can not consume yourself into happiness.

Independence
This is probably the most important personal virtue that I think anyone can ever have. I greatly admire people who strive for independence. Note that I said "strive", in that I realize all of us need help every now and then. I try to instill this virtue in my children, both overtly (by telling them that I want them to be successful in their lives on their own) and covertly. Conversely, I find it sometimes difficult to deal with the chronically dependent.

Road Apples, #4

A Day On - I'm taking today off, if for no other reason than I have a lot of days to take off and a few months ago, for some reason, I thought today would be a good day to be off. Does that make any sense what so ever? Like most days off, I usually don't broadcast the fact at home, lest I be given massive lists of things to do, which in turn morphs my day off into a day on. Again, I don't really know if what I just wrote makes any sense to anyone but me, but that's ok, as it's my day off anyway. Regardless, I do have three things that must be done today:

1. I have to get the Cruiser's oil changed. I also want them to install the new, high-intensity headlights I bought back in March. I got these things with every intention of installing them myself, but then I learned that Chrysler, in it's infinite wisdom, requires that you install PT Cruiser headlights via the wheel wells (I kid you not), where there are these two little access panels. Sorry, but I have very big hands and these look like mighty small openings. I'm thinking that the Laser Lube guys will throw these bad-boys in for me for around $20, which will be worth it. The Laser Lube guys are great, by the way. Anyway, the new headlights should be about 40% brighter than what I currently have on the car, and with bad weather approaching, every little bit helps.
2. I have a meeting at noon in the office. Yeah, I know it stinks going in on a day off, but this is in support of someone who quasi-reports to me on this big project I'm working on, and she's really done a great job so far. The least I can do is to go in for a 30 minute conference call.

Oh The Weather Outside - It looks like our first real winter storm is approaching. My only real worry is that my oldest daughter was planning on coming home from school tomorrow (Kutztown). I'll have to call her this morning and tell her to consider coming back on Wednesday. I do sorry about her when she drives.

I'm Still Waiting for My Bailout - The federal government is going to pump billions into a bailout of CitiBank, just like the state and local governments are going to pump millions into keeping a department store (Boscov's) afloat. I agree that the government should help, but I do worry that we are now in essence rewarding failure for big-shots, and still punishing it for small-shots. Maybe, just maybe, this can change the culture of consumption that we have in this country. Maybe, just maybe, when all this is said and done, we will realize that there is no such animal as unlimited economic expansion.

Christmas Is Approaching - and I've got most of my shopping done. I still have some gift cards to pick up, and I still need something else to get my mother. I like having it all done, even though I know there are buys to be had on "Black Friday". About 20 years ago I worked in retail (assistant store manager at a Bon Ton in another part of the state), so I'm very familiar with the "big day". As a consumer, I've only been out shopping early on "Black Friday" once, years ago, to get a present for my mother-in-law. Never, ever again. I had to go to Walmart to look for a TV and a VCR/DVD combination machine. It was like some bizzare cross between shopping and "rollerball". I had old ladies ramming my heels with shopping carts. Scientists could model shark feeding behavior by watching this stuff. Definitely not worth it, even though I do love my mother-in-law.

Big Plans - I don't have my 2008 bonus, but I'm hoping it's at least quasi-ok, as I'm interested in doing some work around the house with it. Normally, my bonus is split between three things:
1. Pay the Property Taxes - Since I don't have a mortgage (I paid that off a few years ago), I have to pay my taxes on my own. It's about $1800 or so in total for everything...I think.
2. Pay Kate's Tuition - The biggest chunk of the bonus goes towards paying my oldest daugther's tuition bill. We get no real financial aid, other than an unsubsidized Stafford Loan, so this is a big expense.
3. Stuff Around the House/Vacation - I'm not big on vacations, truth be told. When the girls were younger it was different, but now everyone has their own interests, so that's not something I'm really all that keen on, truth be told. This year the money will go towards some much needed repairs around the house (last year those repairs included replacing some roof shingles and upgrading the house electrical service), including replacing part of the TV room ceiling...which had some water damage...and I'd like to get a small flat screen TV for my office, where I can couple it with my XBox360 and maybe a PS3. I'd also like to get a new mission-style cabinet for the equipment and to store games, DVD, etc. This would free my existing cabinet for the ever-growing collection of CDs.

Let It Be - I discovered last night that you can see the entire motion picture Let It Be, by the Beatles, on YouTube. I watched about half of it. Damn, Paul was really, really bossy back then. Interesting if you are a hard-core fan, but otherwise I think it would bore most people. I'll probably try and catch the rest of it this evening.

Note for whomever read this: If I were you, I'd be thinking right now "Damn, that's an awful lot of stuff I didn't need to know". Sorry...if I could credit your life with the 5 minutes you just took to read the above, I would. Hell, contact me and I'll buy you the non-alcoholic drink of your choice, just because I feel guilty sometimes for writing this stuff.