well, interior frontier anyway...
ok, Ollie can make a person crazy with his mewing. When he wants something, he is vocal! Otherwise, he is very quiet.
So, desperate to be able to concentrate on homework today, I broke down and opened the door from the basement into the garage.
Brand new territory to the west to explore. The garage not only has the Jeep in it, but also the utility trailer, a red radio wagon, some tool boxes and a broken down side shelf. So there is plenty for them to explore.
I do hope that surveyor gets me a quote on Monday morning and can come out this week and find my property pins! I may be able to let the Rough Riders out as early as 2 weeks from now. Well, on the weekends while I am home, until they learn the lay of the land anyway!
They are sufficiently trained to the dog whistle and the rattle of the treat bag. I picked up my bag of beef jerky and they were both under my feet cause they thought it wss their treats...
Well, gotta run, nearly bed time. Day 6 on the job and I am already not keen on going in... this is only because I am discovering what looks to be a major political issue that has toxic ramifications for staff morale, and it is one that I may not be able to change due to the players involved... we'll see!
Dad - Being his typical silly self...
We miss you dad!
Sunday, February 22, 2009
The book I wish I had authored...
is the newest addition to my reading list
- right over there in the right hand pane...
with a link to amazon reader so you can peek inside if you like.
- right over there in the right hand pane...
with a link to amazon reader so you can peek inside if you like.
111.0 pounds on Feb 22, 2009
she is ouncing forward and, is now up to exactly 111 pounds...
Goal was 115 by her birthday on April 11, but I think she might just make it before then... we'll see. The final holding weight we are aiming for is about 122 pounds. If she can get there and we can keep her there, I think things will be fine.
I am trying to keep her stocked with raspberry filled Krispy Kremes, venti strawberries & crème Frappuccinos, cheesecakes (the whole cakes...), lemon raspberry cakes, Little Debbies, chips & dip and of course the Boost/Ensures...
I also bought her a big box of Ferrero Rocher's for valentines day.
We'll start to go out more often for fattening dinners now that I have a job... and will hopefully have a fence up in the next few weeks.
My first quote to get the property boundaries identified was $1500. Um, no. I can take a surveying class and probably rent the equipment for that... but I found a company that might be able to do it for under $600 which I am fine with...
The fence is going to cost about 1500 and it is nothing pretty, just a 6 foot welded wire with t-posts every 8 or 10 feet, and a basic double wide metal gate filled with welded wire.
So, here is hoping that by March 15 or so I can start letting the little juvie's outside. Ollie is already flouting the rules and sitting on the little cat tree that sits in front of the cat door - that is literally just a step through the door and he is outside. So, security has had to clamp down!
I feel bad, they are cats, they belong in the woods climbing trees, chasing animals and leaves and each other... soon. That'll free me up more to go and do things with mom after I get off work so i don't need to run home and let Snuggie out for a couple of hours before bed time. They will all be able to come and go as they please during the daytime and evening hours.
This is not a fool proof road barrier, but it is the best I am going to be able to do for them until we can someday move to a place much farther off the road and to a road that has much less traffic. The IF next door only has a 30 inch high fence between it and the road and there are tons of trees growing up at the fence.
I am seriously thinking about trying to buy the IF. I could extend the fence up higher... the current appraised value is only $7500 and it is 1.5 acres, so maybe, if the lady will sell it...
I could have some chickens then... the IF is in the township and I am in the city limits which means I have to have chickens 100 feet from the house... not enough room to do that... I walked around there about a week ago while I was clearing up brush, there is a seasonal creek that runs along the back of it and from the culvert under the road.
I don't know if the lady that owns it would be willing to sell it, maybe with the economy the way it is, she might jump on it. I am going to see if Carter across the street knows her. Carter has lived here since about 1954 and she knows the history. Use to be a house on the IF, but in the late 50's the man that lived in it killed himself with his shotgun. Knowing what we know today, she thinks he was dealing with Alzheimers... well, the house seems entirely gone. Use to be a blacksmith shop up by the road, as the corner of it is one of my property bounder markers, err, was...fortunately the rest are allegedly proper "pins."
I need to make sure I can stand this new job before I think about approaching her!
OK, got tons of school work to do.
Goal was 115 by her birthday on April 11, but I think she might just make it before then... we'll see. The final holding weight we are aiming for is about 122 pounds. If she can get there and we can keep her there, I think things will be fine.
I am trying to keep her stocked with raspberry filled Krispy Kremes, venti strawberries & crème Frappuccinos, cheesecakes (the whole cakes...), lemon raspberry cakes, Little Debbies, chips & dip and of course the Boost/Ensures...
I also bought her a big box of Ferrero Rocher's for valentines day.
We'll start to go out more often for fattening dinners now that I have a job... and will hopefully have a fence up in the next few weeks.
My first quote to get the property boundaries identified was $1500. Um, no. I can take a surveying class and probably rent the equipment for that... but I found a company that might be able to do it for under $600 which I am fine with...
The fence is going to cost about 1500 and it is nothing pretty, just a 6 foot welded wire with t-posts every 8 or 10 feet, and a basic double wide metal gate filled with welded wire.
So, here is hoping that by March 15 or so I can start letting the little juvie's outside. Ollie is already flouting the rules and sitting on the little cat tree that sits in front of the cat door - that is literally just a step through the door and he is outside. So, security has had to clamp down!
I feel bad, they are cats, they belong in the woods climbing trees, chasing animals and leaves and each other... soon. That'll free me up more to go and do things with mom after I get off work so i don't need to run home and let Snuggie out for a couple of hours before bed time. They will all be able to come and go as they please during the daytime and evening hours.
This is not a fool proof road barrier, but it is the best I am going to be able to do for them until we can someday move to a place much farther off the road and to a road that has much less traffic. The IF next door only has a 30 inch high fence between it and the road and there are tons of trees growing up at the fence.
I am seriously thinking about trying to buy the IF. I could extend the fence up higher... the current appraised value is only $7500 and it is 1.5 acres, so maybe, if the lady will sell it...
I could have some chickens then... the IF is in the township and I am in the city limits which means I have to have chickens 100 feet from the house... not enough room to do that... I walked around there about a week ago while I was clearing up brush, there is a seasonal creek that runs along the back of it and from the culvert under the road.
I don't know if the lady that owns it would be willing to sell it, maybe with the economy the way it is, she might jump on it. I am going to see if Carter across the street knows her. Carter has lived here since about 1954 and she knows the history. Use to be a house on the IF, but in the late 50's the man that lived in it killed himself with his shotgun. Knowing what we know today, she thinks he was dealing with Alzheimers... well, the house seems entirely gone. Use to be a blacksmith shop up by the road, as the corner of it is one of my property bounder markers, err, was...fortunately the rest are allegedly proper "pins."
I need to make sure I can stand this new job before I think about approaching her!
OK, got tons of school work to do.
Thursday, February 19, 2009
Midnight at the Kia Rio
Sent my kittens to bed
Snowflakes paintin' my faces
Prayers of sleep in my head
Snowflakes paintin' my faces
Prayers of sleep in my head
The New Job
Yup, got a new j-o-b.
Day 4, arrived at the office at 8:30 am, left at 9 pm.
Nice, huh?
So, I am going to keep the information here somewhat vague for a variety of reasons, but I am now a human resources manager for an organization of 170 people. We provide services to vulnerable populations.
I am beat, beat, beat and so please forgive the numerous typos to follow. (you know who you are...)
Day 4 was chock full of the usual routine meetings, plus my initial round of research on the organizational culture and processes.
Then the evening resulted in more meetings with employees, and investigations regarding a situation in which a member of the public made physical contact with an employee that could be construed as either abuse/or an attempt to protect someone else arising from the person's mis-reading of what our employee was doing. Co-workers of the situation voiced serious concern for their personal welfare and ongoing safety. Apparently this person has a history of being out of line verbally, and now a new and more serious physical line has been crossed. It should have been nipped in a bud long ago, and I think mgmt sincerely felt it had been handled. The front line had a diffrent perception entirely.
So, I think the expression is baptism by fire.
Now, this is my first experience dealing with this particular industry. I do not know what the norms and protocols are for dealing with the public nor do I know what their processes and procedures are. So, this was an exhausting evening. And much remains to be done in tightening procedures and improving training on how to handle situations.
I am, however, happy to report that I believe I have managed to establish a quick and positive rapport with at least a third of our front-line service providers, and have made a foothold toward calming some highly toxic gossip. The facility administrator and I seem to make a kick-ass team.
The management staff of this particular location (one of 3) is made up of 8 key positions. Two of those people are long term employees who are about 6 months into brand new positions. 3 of us are brand new to the organization (4 days, 3 months and 6 months) and the remaining 3 have been here for several years in their current capacity. So, there are many many organizational issues to be overcome.
Anyway, I am beat and have to spend all day tomorrow out of town at a business event and am really just wanting to curl up and sleep half the day...
This will probably be the hardest job I have had in twenty years. Having said that, I think it is also a transitional job - that job in which you permanently move from middle management to senior management. Trouble is, I have never wanted to be senior management. I know too much about how badly those jobs can suck.
I do have the opportunity to effect serious change here, and that is really a good thing as I think this could really help me move into organizational consulting using the framework of applied anthropology.
Most folks screw up their faces in confusion when I tell them what my masters' degrees are in, as they seem them unrelated. Nothing could be further from the truth, it is a blessed union.
Blessed.
Blessed is a term that I will likely adopt in my vocuabulary as a result of proximity.
It is a very common saying amongst many of the black/African people in this area. Have a blessed day. Bless. Blessed.
So, have a blessed day.
Tired puppy has played with the kitties and is now going to bed.
Employed and signing off for now...
Day 4, arrived at the office at 8:30 am, left at 9 pm.
Nice, huh?
So, I am going to keep the information here somewhat vague for a variety of reasons, but I am now a human resources manager for an organization of 170 people. We provide services to vulnerable populations.
I am beat, beat, beat and so please forgive the numerous typos to follow. (you know who you are...)
Day 4 was chock full of the usual routine meetings, plus my initial round of research on the organizational culture and processes.
Then the evening resulted in more meetings with employees, and investigations regarding a situation in which a member of the public made physical contact with an employee that could be construed as either abuse/or an attempt to protect someone else arising from the person's mis-reading of what our employee was doing. Co-workers of the situation voiced serious concern for their personal welfare and ongoing safety. Apparently this person has a history of being out of line verbally, and now a new and more serious physical line has been crossed. It should have been nipped in a bud long ago, and I think mgmt sincerely felt it had been handled. The front line had a diffrent perception entirely.
So, I think the expression is baptism by fire.
Now, this is my first experience dealing with this particular industry. I do not know what the norms and protocols are for dealing with the public nor do I know what their processes and procedures are. So, this was an exhausting evening. And much remains to be done in tightening procedures and improving training on how to handle situations.
I am, however, happy to report that I believe I have managed to establish a quick and positive rapport with at least a third of our front-line service providers, and have made a foothold toward calming some highly toxic gossip. The facility administrator and I seem to make a kick-ass team.
The management staff of this particular location (one of 3) is made up of 8 key positions. Two of those people are long term employees who are about 6 months into brand new positions. 3 of us are brand new to the organization (4 days, 3 months and 6 months) and the remaining 3 have been here for several years in their current capacity. So, there are many many organizational issues to be overcome.
Anyway, I am beat and have to spend all day tomorrow out of town at a business event and am really just wanting to curl up and sleep half the day...
This will probably be the hardest job I have had in twenty years. Having said that, I think it is also a transitional job - that job in which you permanently move from middle management to senior management. Trouble is, I have never wanted to be senior management. I know too much about how badly those jobs can suck.
I do have the opportunity to effect serious change here, and that is really a good thing as I think this could really help me move into organizational consulting using the framework of applied anthropology.
Most folks screw up their faces in confusion when I tell them what my masters' degrees are in, as they seem them unrelated. Nothing could be further from the truth, it is a blessed union.
Blessed.
Blessed is a term that I will likely adopt in my vocuabulary as a result of proximity.
It is a very common saying amongst many of the black/African people in this area. Have a blessed day. Bless. Blessed.
So, have a blessed day.
Tired puppy has played with the kitties and is now going to bed.
Employed and signing off for now...
Tuesday, February 17, 2009
Another loss...
I came home tonight, and found an email from the anthro department in my inbox with the subject line of:
"to the friends of Brent"
and proceeded to read that my classmate from last year was found dead in his home this morning.
We don't know anything else at the moment around the circumstances of his death.
I can still see him standing in the student parking lot, next to another classmate, as we said our good-byes - he because he earned his M.A., and me because I was moving away.
We spent a fair amount of time in that parking lot after class, sharing ideas and stretching each other's thoughts to new places.
It seems I am getting message after message about how temporary our existence in this plane is.
It is fleeting.
Please try to remember to live fully in the moment as you go through your days.
And Brent, I will always treasure our parking lot conversations. May your new journey be filled with peace and love.
"to the friends of Brent"
and proceeded to read that my classmate from last year was found dead in his home this morning.
We don't know anything else at the moment around the circumstances of his death.
I can still see him standing in the student parking lot, next to another classmate, as we said our good-byes - he because he earned his M.A., and me because I was moving away.
We spent a fair amount of time in that parking lot after class, sharing ideas and stretching each other's thoughts to new places.
It seems I am getting message after message about how temporary our existence in this plane is.
It is fleeting.
Please try to remember to live fully in the moment as you go through your days.
And Brent, I will always treasure our parking lot conversations. May your new journey be filled with peace and love.
Saturday, February 14, 2009
"My nurse Jody"
That is one of the very last things my dad wrote.
He was in the hospital, and it was the last week of his life.
He also wrote some very brief I love you notes to mom, and some things we never could quite make out. After the stroke, his hand control and vision were problematic.
Jody was his home health nurse, or really, more accurately his angel on earth, and his Crush.
Dad could be a difficult person at times, and when it came time for him to have a home health nurse, well, we all knew it could be an unpleasant ride.
Then Jody showed up. I wasn't in Ohio when Dad met Jody, but I am pretty sure he fell for her before she got both feet in the front door... He'd do anything for her. She came 3 days a week, then 2 days a week, as his health improved. Every day he would ask mom if Jody was coming today. When she finally said yes, he'd say he needed to get a shower. Now, Dad was not one to be showering all the time, so that kinda fun to see him ready to get in that shower cause his girl was coming to take care of him.
As luck would have it, she fell for him, too. She bonded so closely with Dad that she promised him (he lived for 2 things mom and fishing) that her young son's first fishing trip would be to Dad's favorite fishing hole - Possum Creek (1/2 mile from Rancho Kia Rio). Her intent was to bring him out last spring or early summer, once Dad was back on his feet, and let Dad show him how to fish.
Well, Jody left the home health nurse business a few weeks after Dad died. Some months ago she called mom to reconnect. After many failed attempts to connect, we met Jody for lunch yesterday.
Last summer, her own dad wanted to take his little grandson (now 6) fishing. Jody told him he would have to wait until she was able to take the boy to Possum Creek so he could have his first fishing experience at Dad's favorite space.
Jody means so much to us, to Mom, to Dad, and I know to all my brothers and sisters who got to meet her. She was truly an angel for Dad. Now, she is an angel for mom.
We'll be connecting up regularly with her from now on and she is taking mom to lunch on her birthday in April. Dad would have liked that. We'll make plans for her son to go to Possum Creek and my guess is it will probably be on his birthday in May.
Well, it has been an emotional few days. Tommorrow, the 15th, it will have been a year since I stood in my parents kitchen with my arms wrapped around my dad, peering deep into his blue eyes, knowing he was dying and listening to him ask me to move back. The words fell effortlessly and without hestiation out of my mouth. Truth be told, I would have promised him anything in that moment, and then made good on it.
These next few months are probably going to be the hardest for me, emotionally. Well, here is picture of Jody and Mom at Chicago's Uno Grill in Dayton.
He was in the hospital, and it was the last week of his life.
He also wrote some very brief I love you notes to mom, and some things we never could quite make out. After the stroke, his hand control and vision were problematic.
Jody was his home health nurse, or really, more accurately his angel on earth, and his Crush.
Dad could be a difficult person at times, and when it came time for him to have a home health nurse, well, we all knew it could be an unpleasant ride.
Then Jody showed up. I wasn't in Ohio when Dad met Jody, but I am pretty sure he fell for her before she got both feet in the front door... He'd do anything for her. She came 3 days a week, then 2 days a week, as his health improved. Every day he would ask mom if Jody was coming today. When she finally said yes, he'd say he needed to get a shower. Now, Dad was not one to be showering all the time, so that kinda fun to see him ready to get in that shower cause his girl was coming to take care of him.
As luck would have it, she fell for him, too. She bonded so closely with Dad that she promised him (he lived for 2 things mom and fishing) that her young son's first fishing trip would be to Dad's favorite fishing hole - Possum Creek (1/2 mile from Rancho Kia Rio). Her intent was to bring him out last spring or early summer, once Dad was back on his feet, and let Dad show him how to fish.
Well, Jody left the home health nurse business a few weeks after Dad died. Some months ago she called mom to reconnect. After many failed attempts to connect, we met Jody for lunch yesterday.
Last summer, her own dad wanted to take his little grandson (now 6) fishing. Jody told him he would have to wait until she was able to take the boy to Possum Creek so he could have his first fishing experience at Dad's favorite space.
Jody means so much to us, to Mom, to Dad, and I know to all my brothers and sisters who got to meet her. She was truly an angel for Dad. Now, she is an angel for mom.
We'll be connecting up regularly with her from now on and she is taking mom to lunch on her birthday in April. Dad would have liked that. We'll make plans for her son to go to Possum Creek and my guess is it will probably be on his birthday in May.
Well, it has been an emotional few days. Tommorrow, the 15th, it will have been a year since I stood in my parents kitchen with my arms wrapped around my dad, peering deep into his blue eyes, knowing he was dying and listening to him ask me to move back. The words fell effortlessly and without hestiation out of my mouth. Truth be told, I would have promised him anything in that moment, and then made good on it.
These next few months are probably going to be the hardest for me, emotionally. Well, here is picture of Jody and Mom at Chicago's Uno Grill in Dayton.
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