Odds & ends

It's been an interesting/intense few weeks of late.  Last week's road trip to College Station was a welcome break.  An excellent chance to step away from the daily problems, headaches, worries and break bread with a few old friends.  Some of the stories seem to have grown in stature with time.  In retrospect, they sound like a bunch of "old army" stories that take on legendary status (at least in our circle) but in the sober light of day, we tend to shake our heads and wonder how we survived.  I'll work to dredge up a few of the more classic ones in a few future postings.  Yes I will try to dig up the border crossing saga but I always felt the night we almost blew up our door in the dorm was way more epic.  And here's a slight hint:  Mark was a key player in both sagas.      

I would lament about work, but I find that I have been doing that way too much of late and I don't like to whine about my problems especially when they are miniscule in comparison to others.  Everytime I think that things are overwhelming or unjust, I step back and look at other people and the problems they face and, somehow, my issues don't seem quite as big or insurmountable.  A long, long time ago, I took a summer course on motivation and how to focus on and achieve goals.  It was taught by a woman who had actually worked for my dad at one point but she wasn't happy with her job and he encouraged her to pursue her dreams of teaching and speaking.  Interesting class, it taught me several things that I still espouse.  One of her exercises was for a person to get up in the morning and face themselves in a mirror and repeat the saying:  "Every day, in Every way, I am getting better and better".  Repeat 10 times.  Yea, I know.  Sounds corny, but it did work for me (somewhat).  The one thing she said that did stick with me was that you have a choice in the morning when we wake up:  You can be happy or you can be mad.  Depending upon which one you choose, that is normally how the day will go.  Oddly enough, I found this to be true.  If you wake up pissed off at the world, that is pretty much how your day will go.  I prefer the former.  No matter what kind of crap I get dished out, I try to take it with a smile (or at least smirk).  Besides, no matter how big the problem, there is always someone lower down on the ladder than is dealing with bigger challenges.   

Status on SIL is about the same.  It has been a year since SIL had her surgery and she is not any closer to getting her life back.  It seems like she will make progress one week and then has small set backs that put her right back at the start (two steps forward, one step back).  Every other week she does chemo and it seems to wear her down.  We continue to do what we can to help but it has been a very long road with lots of twists and turns.  My wife is still taking care of her full time and it is wearing her out as well.  Being a nephrologist (Kidney Doctor), SIL fully understands her situation and the challenges she faces.  Needless to say, she is very down/depressed and uncertain of her outcome.  

Claire is getting old and slowing down.  I took her to the vet and they didn't find any issues or problems aside of her just getting old.  She still acts like a puppy at times, just a goofy old puppy.  And, yes, she still rolls in the grass every time we go to the park. 

On the bright side, we are getting new bathroom.  Not exactly a planned event.  I noticed a slight leak in the bathroom walls where the sheetrock was starting to get moist.  We've had a shower pan leak many years ago and I know what a massive project that can be to replace it so I was avoiding it for while dealing with the other issues.  When I spotted a wet carpet outside of the bathroom, I decided to close down the shower for a while to see if that would dry it out.  2 weeks later, the carpet was still soaked so I felt we might have a pipe leak in the walls.  Called in a plumber who assessed that the pipe was not leaking ($75 for that diagnosis) but he really did not determine the root cause.  I finally called in my insurance company to seek their help/advice and they jumped on it right away.  The sent out a master plumber who figured out that it was NOT the shower pan but a leak from the toilet that has seeped under the tile floor and wicked up into the bathroom walls.  The sent out a water remediation company who set up three massive blowers and a dehumidifier to run nonstop for a week drying out the room.  The net result was a very loud, noisy bathroom for a week that got very warm (~90°).  Finally the room dried out enough to lose the fans but the damage was done.  Estimator came out last week to survey the repairs and it looks like they will have to tear out the shower and replace a good portion of the sheetrock.  Since the shower tile is a classic 70's gold spec that is not made any more, looks like we are getting a new shower.  We are looking at tile and wallpaper now.  We will probably will get a new pocket door, shower door and new rug and as well.  Of course, as with any project, there is some amount of scope creep (momma wants a new vanity with new fixtures).  I would like to have the toilet replaced (Toto) while they are in there.  Additionally, I am trying to convince momma to replace the bathroom window at the same time (ours is the old original single pane, frosted window).  Still waiting for the contractor to get assigned to come review the job.  It is going to be a holy mess and I figure it will take a few weeks to demo out the bathroom, but we are hoping to have it done by late December.  Merry Christmas.     

Driving me crazy

Rant Alert

I drive a fair bit every day to work.  About 32 miles one way from one side of the town to the other that takes me about 45 minutes to complete, give or take a light or two.  Most of it is highway/toll road driving, so I am not stuck in stop & go traffic any length of time.  Most of the time I am cruising at 70+ on a toll road and I am not the fastest driver by any means. Most days it is fairly boring/mundane, but each day provides a new adventure.  Accidents, road rage, bad weather, stuck traffic lights, all contribute to help start or end the day.  Monday seemed like it was Clown day.  Three times, THREE TIMES, I was almost hit on the toll road and ALL three had the same problem - idiots behind the wheel.  The first candidate (to be removed from the gene pool) was driving a very nice Lexus G35.  70 MPH, left lane of the toll road (I'm in the right) he drifts into my lane 3 times.  Of course, my radar instantly goes off and I am on high alert until I can get past this genius.  Figuring he is having a heart attack or there is a bee in the car or he has to go pee, when I finally manage to pull alongside of him to pass, I glance over to see this numb nuts driving, holding the wheel while texting on his blackberry.  I so wanted to NASCAR his a%% right into the wall, but figured that wouldn't be socially acceptable, so I pass him up.  The next candidate was a woman driving a Toyota Corolla who pulled onto the road from the right side.  As she drifted over into my lane, I thought to myself, "Am I a just a magnet for these asshats?"  Of course, as I passed her, I can see she was trying to check her e-mail on her iPhone.  Some people shouldn't be let out of kindergarten (just my opinion).  The final contestant decided to ride my bumper me at 75 MPH for several miles.  Now, keep in mind I drive a big land barges/SUV vehicle that weighs in at around 7000+ lbs and your little POS Buick is about 1/2 of that.  Drafting me at 75+ MPH might work well in NASCAR, but on the wet toll road in heavy traffic is probably not the most intelligent choice you can make today.  I so want to stomp on my brakes just to get a rise out of you, but I'm told that's not the mature thing to do.  I strive to be a patient man, but the Lord likes to test me at times.     


I am used to my daily commute, it is almost therapeutic to unwind from a rough day at the office, but there are days where I envy those who travel by two wheels to get where they need to be.    

Meeting Etiquette

Now that the holidays are over and we are back to the daily grind, I thought I would take a moment to cover a few basic business protocols/courtesies. Nothing earth shattering, just some basic guidelines to follow that lend themselves to making things run smoother at the office.  Most of these apply to conference room etiquette – please remember others use the conference room AFTER you get done.

1. If you have rearranged the tables/chairs, please put them back the way you found them. Nothing's more fun than having to spend the first 5 minutes rearranging the room. This is really irritating when someone has taken chairs out of the room and we wind up playing “musical chairs”.
2. If you have reformatted the overhead projection system to work with your laptop, please set it back to the original format when you are done (if not, it typically takes 10 minutes for the next user). I tend to make use of technology if it is available. That includes the PC in the room that is hooked up to the projector. Helps to show things on the wall for everyone to view but, without the system, I have to resort to shadow puppets on the wall. 
3. Keep the meetings on time. I know your problem/meeting is important, but our time is valuable too. Maybe I am just being picky, but when I have scheduled a meeting for a group (6-10) of people at 10:00 am, I expect to be able to start at 10:00. Few thing are more irritating than to have to a) ask if you are almost done and b) wait outside while you wrap it up. Pick it up and move along. 
4. DO NOT write critical information or agendas on the chalk/white board and expect to have it remain there in perpetuity. While in one of my myriad of meetings last week, I noted that there was a technical analysis written out on the board that has been there since before Thanksgiving with the tag line: “DO NOT ERASE”. That situation tends to really piss me off. If it is that important, have someone transcribe it and send copies to the entire group. I have even seen one guy take a picture of the board on his Blackberry to retain if for his notes. In the case where it is obvious that the notes and message have been there a while (anything over 48 hours is fair game), I tend to make a few changes.  I added several notes, made a few numerical changes, through Pi into the equation as some point, made a few random/unrelated criteria, and an occasional lewd picture (I know. I know. That’s petty/childish, but that’s how I roll). 
5. Be on time. Based upon how others operate around here (see note c), some people like to drift around 5-10 minutes late because they do not expect everyone to be there on time. Again, I may be nitpicking here, but when I say the meeting starts at 10:00 am, I’m teeing off at 10:01. If you are late, catch up on your own dime. Of course, this rule is usually bent/broken depending upon how high up the food chain you are, but that’s still no excuse.
6. Bring your own weapons/equipment. I have enough of a challenge trying to organize a group of people with totally conflicting schedules/attitudes, please bring your own pens/pencils/paper to make notes. I would not expect to show up in class and have the teacher to give me notepaper. To quote the Boy Scouts: Be Prepared.
7. KISS (Keep It Short Stupid) principle applies. We only have a limited amount of time on this planet, so please keep to the script/agenda and let’s get through the meeting on time. Much as I love spending one (plus) hour of my life sitting in the same meeting room with you, I do have other things to accomplish before I retire. If you want to have a side or tangential conversation, schedule your own damn meeting.

There are probably another dozen more I could add, but that's enough to start off the week.

Have a great week and remember, there are only 341 more days until Christmas!