Riley Madeline, born last night after an eleven hour labor without complications: Shelly and Riley are doing fine. Riley came in at 8 pound 12 ounces and we all excited to finally have you here. We hope you love your new home. Welcome!

I Hate Vista Part 2

I was told by the bookkeeper here that we have a little extra money that we need to spend down so when we go to our funders we show them we really do need more funding, The boss asked me to spend a couple of thousand to get our budget levels more in line.

I have for some time thought if my operation only had a lap-top we could take with us to the various presentations and conferences we participate in through

out the year we could and show the people who stop at our booth or information table our website and how he website can benefit them or their consumers. The “Salesbank” page on our website is one of our strongest features people are always impressed with the “Salesbank”

We bought a system, an HP notebook. The system is nice and I have just got round to unpacking and getting the system to function. We bought the system from a vendor in Chicago which means I am on my own as far as back-up goes. The system came loaded with Windows VISTA WHIOCH I SPECIFIED THAT I DID NOT WANT! The sale guy yold me that all the systems ship with VISTA but there is a disk for XP Windows and I just have to install XP Office. I even saw what I thought was the software when I unpacked the notebook but I cannot find the software anywhere now. I have been busy the first part of this week and I hope to do a more formal search tomorrow but already I am getting nervous I may just have to live with VISTA after all but I sure don’t want to.

Grrrrrrr!

I HATE VISTA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!1111

Friday's Froth

I really wanted to post this yesterday but yesterday turned out to be a lost day which is quite rare for a Friday. We spent the morning working on the projects statistics which kept us busy and we wanted to have the data ready to submit for inspection by noon. But the phone calls just kept tumbling in. Not a million calls but calls which took a lot of time and thought, the last kind of calls I want to deal with on a Friday morning.

I was late getting up and out to the train but I was still first in to the office and I started my routine, in through the back door, up to the front turn on the lights unlock the front door and in to my office where I shuck my hat, gloves, two coats, flip on my system and allow the system to boot to the “pass word” screens” log in ad then head back to the kitchen and start coffee. I only make six cups today not expecting Tory-who is the only other coffee drinker in the office. I was going through my emails private and work emails when I heard the front door open and soon three laborers were standing in the door way to my office. The looked gruffy but OK. Then they asked if this was the Council office. The most burley, obvious the head guy informed me that the were there to look at the kitchen floor something about a split in the kitchen floor. He sounded like he was a cop following on a lead about a fictitious murder and was just their to get the boss off his back. My mind “clicked” and remembered the females of the staff standing round the new “linolioum job” we had done in the kitchen before Christmas. The seam was pulling part and the women were aghast they stood their arms folded under their breasts looking like they were staring a corpse outlined in chalk, clucking their tongues and wagging their heads in disbelief in disbelief of the shoddy work.

Now the three “floor guys” were standing round the same split looking like they wanted to mark off the whole area in yellow crime scene tape. I replied “yup” the women of the office were upset but I did not understand the commotion. I left them to their considerations and job and returned to my desk to finish my morning rituals.

I reached absently for my coffee mug and realized I still had not got coffee, realizing about fifteen minutes has passed since starting the brewing process-the coffee should be well done but now. I rarely wait this long to get my coffee. When I got back to the coffee pot , the boys were busy working on the parting seam: two kneeling down over the offensive crack spreading goop into and over the wound then scraping the goop and pressing the would closed. Burly one supervised. I then noticed the coffee pot, I had to look twice! There should have been a half a pot of coffee sitting there waiting for me. There was not! There was about half a cup sitting in the pot. They boys had helped themselves to my coffee. They had filled their thermal cups up to the top as if they deserved it or something. I drained the rest of the pot and turned off the machine and zipped back to my office to finish my morning ritual.

I was amazed! I was even more amazed that everyone I told just shrugged off the event from “ what are you gonna do? to So, they deserve it, just brew another pot. The event still kind of freaks me out but I have moved on another life’s lesson learnt never mess with the utility guys they run the world.

I Feel Gritty

I slept miserably last night, waking up ay 3:15 a.m . an was never really able to get back to sleep. The only stimulus I can pin the early hour wake up on is distress at work. I am supposed to produce a report but our production numbers are so low I am intimidated to write them down for the world to see. I having been working on the project all week and have finally got a general statistic of “calls” we have been sanitizing the documents all morning and should have something to hand in tomorrow, the time I committed to have final drafts ready for inspection and review. I am still responsible for developing some kind of “white paper” which will cover other aspects of my offices involvement in the community. This should just be creative writing and hope I can rough something out this afternoon.

But I am operating in a fog, I feel gritty, my eyes sting and I just hope I sleep better tonight.

Wash Wash Yum,

We washed the huge Comforter on our bed yesterday. To wash the comforter we take it to out local Laundromat this is the only place w know which machines large for the job. This Laundromat is above the norm in cleanliness, assistance if needed an the machines all work. Still, I have never got used to Laundromats and I used to have to visit one at least once a week. Large communal machines where one deposits the most personal things hey own to clean and wear! These things you wash in these machines you will put on your naked body. But you got to wash, you gotta have clean clothes to play nice in our society. Dianne as going to go by herself and do the job but I had been cooped up in the house all weekend, the day was nice and I would have hated to do this job by myself so I went. I am pretty useless on an event such as this except for morale support—I hold soap boxes. Quarters I am a pretty good clothes basket ferrying clothes from washer to dryer or dryer to folding table.

Today’s job went by pretty fast I knew it would—in times past I have spent more then four hours at such houses of wash. I made Dianne buy me dinner at skippers when finished. I figured I deserved.

IPOD HELL

I really hate being as dumb as I seem to be. A couple of months ago Dianne got an ipod Shuffle and to this date no music has come from the cute little ear plugs. I cannot figure out the little bugger. I had, at one point, thought I had found a way to add music and I added a ton of music from my computer’s harddrive but no music ever came out., So now I have a bunch of files on the ipod and I don’t know how to delete this music or add the right music. I suppose there were directions at one time but those have vanished and a few moments ago I found a set of directions on the INTERNT which might work. Now I just have to decide if I want to print the complete 32 page booklet. I don’t do well with directions I never have but I will give it a go the when I get frustrated I default to one the kids—Mark A or Bridget , someone who knows this culture, someone who is linked, naturally like I once felt linked to skateboards and bikes and computers, so very long ago.

White Out!!

Yesterday I went to Ogden—we had a conference we had to participant in. Nothing special , the usual sitting at a table, smiling, answering questions and wishing I was any where but there and specially back in the office. Actually the duty itself was not bad duty the problem was the duty was 50 or 60 miles from home on a day forecast to bring snow.

I left the house about 6:20 am thinking I had more then enough time to drive distance from my homer to Ogden. I was pleased thinking I was making good time I headed North from Salt lake county and I was relying on written directions which came with E-mail about the conference. And of course the ‘turn-off” which was supposed to be the “turn-off” was closed and so I took the very next turn off and realized I was on the entire other side of the city. I had to back track all over the city and I was actually late by the time I got to the conference center. The day was beautiful though, I had sun shine and it was pretty warm and I was beginning to think, to hope that the weather guy was just making things when the front moved into Ogden about 2:00 pm.

The skies just wept at first but soon the temperature dropped and the snow began falling, rather should I say blowing. I had hoped the storm would conform to th weather forecast and rush through in two hour but no way.

By 3:30pm winds were gusting torrents of white, powdery snow—producing “white-outs” and I began to get nervous as I contemplated my ride home.

By 4:00 pm I knew the snow would not relent and if I was going to have a ghost of getting home before dark. The last break had finished and no one else was going to come by so I packed my stuff and headed South. The snow was blowing so hard I was experiencing white outs o the point I ACTUALLY GOT LOST TRYING TO GET OUT OF Ogden Utah!!!

4:30 pm I had found the interstate was heading home. It was snowing badly, but I was cruising at 45 mph and I was beginning to think I might make it home by 5:30 pm but just as I was passing the Air Force museum I was hit by a wall of red lights, break lights and I was crawling. Snow was falling and being driven by the wind and all I could do was get comfortable listen to the radio and drive.

By 6:00 pm I was almost home, in fact I was directly my house on the interstate. I had two turn offs to go and I would be home but we were still crawling. I had worked myself all the way over to the far right lane and I ended up taking the off ramp on what I thought was the off ramp for my home and I was one ramp off. So I ended up driving the rest of the way home on back streets to my house. I made it home by 6:40Pm What a stressful long day!.

Hang Time

Today is absolutely beautiful! Today is the kind of day one could justify calling in sick for if nothing else, but to find a nice quiet place and spend the afternoon catching the sun’s rays on your face. We called it “Sun Beasting” in an old office I used to work force. There were a lot of us on staff with a history of spinal cord injuries and used wheelchairs for mobility. After the first of the year , usually in mid- to late February the first of the earlies ‘spring” days would make their appearance. Blue skied days, with no wind and plenty of direct sunshine.

Lunch hour and the hours just after lunch house was the best time sun beast. We had a place in the back of our building which was Southern exposed and entirely blocked from any wind. There was a long building painted white which abutted our back parking lot which made a perfect place to sit and catch the rays and heat refracted off this building. Many of us would sit and talk back there- the boss who used a power wheelchair for mobility always made sure she had some thing to write a grant or letter. She was always on the clock. Depending on the bosses mood we spoke of consumers we shared or projects we had in the “fire” or maybe challenges any of us had who were trying to live independently. This time of the year the conversation was usually about taxes and how badly were we might be bitten by the Federal Tax Bug. Most everyone got money back but not me I never did or have. I cannot quite figure that out—I would like a refund but not this year.

I have not sunbeasted since I left the Independent Living Center; however, I am fortunate to have a South West window which fills with huge suns rays in the later afternoons of mid to late February and beyond. So bright the dun almost blanks out my computer screen and makes me very sleepy. Remember, many of the staff are involved with the legislative process this time of the year and are often gone in the late afternoon hours leaving me nearly alone with the fresh pre-spring sunrays pouring in my window. I never sleep—that would not be right but on occasion I might nod. I call this time of the year “Hang Time”.

Ho Hummmmm

It is a gray, cold day. Not as cold as many of the days this winter but cold enough to keep me from going out and doing something productive. I was expecting more from the day due to the forecast on television. Sunshine and blue skies and temperatures in the 40’s and a great melt down of the huge drifts which have plagued me for the last few weeks. The temps are in the forties and I have to admit the snow is melting but would be melting so much faster if the sun was out. I cannot help any of this so I am going to just hunker down and watch a couple of the videos I received for my birthday last week.

I survived another week at the office—when I speak with the boss she lays to rest the stress I have been experiencing. But I still sense the heat is on and I am feeling a constant pressure to perform and I guess that is good and I should not feel too threatened. I have brought home some work which will help me be ahead next week and I may even get to it if the sun does not comer out.

I Feel Stressed

Something is happening at the office and I feel I am getting slammed and the feeling just sucks. The worst part is I am becoming visible to the boss. I would much rather keep my low profile and be as invisible as possible. It the whole manager thing: I just don’t do it very well.. Right now I am supposed to be purchasing equipment, refining stats and doing outreach and really I am not doing any of the things OK and I am trying not to let any of these demands stress me.

Last weekend was my birthday, that makes me an Aquarian. I have basically Always know I WAS as Aquarian but never thought about it. Bridget has been going through this Zen thing the past couple of months which has really helped out her anxiety. I doubt I have every seen the girl this mellow. I realized that hey, I am an Aquarius, my sign is water! Water, the flowing substance which just moves away from pressure. So what not focus on these traits and the Dao and let the pressure wash away the stress. Live in the moment and be the best I can?

The great Wasatch Front keeps getting pounded by snow but the snow does not stay long and I am pretty much back on public transit and I feel fine. More snow is forecast today but it’s almost three and I can see patches of blue in the west and its 33 degrees outside. I am beginning to feel more and more like Spring. To day is my long day I have the Russians tonight. Dianne’s coming in and we will both do the Russian this evening.

Secret passages

A couple weeks ago the, building which housed, the old Club DV8 burned and left the structure so compromised the building was immediately demolished. The speed with which the building was torn town was amazing, very X-Files especially that building. Club DV8 was a local icon as far as I was concerned, a monument to the 80’s and 90’s club scene. I had always wanted to check out the building but never got the chance. Immediately after the burn the building was blocked and people could not get near the place but last week when I went to buy my bus pass I was able to drive past what was left of the building site. I Was amazed to see how clean the place was but what really intrigued me was all the opening in the foundations where were obvious passageways or tunnels. Cool. These passages totally adds to the mystery which surrounds this building. I grabbed a couple of images—enjoy.

57

I’m fifty-seven today and the celebrations are done an I am sitting here fighting sleep waiting for my second wind to puff up and blow me into the rest of my Saturday. We did the luncheon at my current favorite restaurant Shanghi in Down town Salt Lake City. Mark m Gabe and Bridget and Ani Dianne made the dinner. Marr worked today but was able to breakaway long enough for the dinner. I really appreciated his efforts. Towards the end of the meal Kristy, Sommer and Jazzy showed up and had a brief visit before the meal broke up. I appreciated seeing the Kristy and the kids as well. I wish I could have had more time to visit.

Early on I visited with my Aunt Elaine and daughter Michelle. No snow today…yet, but more snow is coming the say, tonight and or tomorrow but today is bright, clear and cold. A beautiful Day.