That's Ridiculous

I read Sunday that the average American child gets 70 toys A YEAR. I was appalled. That's a toy nearly every 5 days. There's no way a kid is going to play with that many toys. Is this perhaps a sign that our society has gone just a touch overboard on consumer consumption?

An Idea I Hope Catches On

I got this e-mail from one of my vendors:






This is such an awesome idea. Let me first say that I do the Christmas cards at my company, and it's not something that brings me tidings of joy. It is such a waste of time, trees, and money. I've proposed doing something like this, but my boss said he thinks electronic cards are "bad manners". I hope more businesses go to ideas such as this one. It truly made me happy to see it, and I told them so. If you are in a position at work to suggest such a thing, please do so for the sake of the planet and its inhabitants. It's a very appropriate way to celebrate the Christmas season.

Made in the USA

A month or two ago, I saw Aldi had a 2 quart measuring mixing bowl with a lid for $6.99. Such an item would be really handy, and this seemed like a good deal, but I wasn't sure. Not long after I was in Target and saw that the Pyrex version sells for about $13. Thus, I was happy there was one left for me to snag on my next Aldi trip. Want to know what made me even happier? I discovered that both the glass bowl portion AND the bpa-free plastic lid were made in the USA. Let's face it, how often anymore do you buy something besides food that was made here?

Manufacturing is a vital portion of the U.S. economy, and I don't say that just because that is the industry in which I work. As my mom says, we as a country need to make stuff. This employs our people, and it also makes our lives better in other ways. One local example: our area is currently in the midst of an infrastructure catastrophe. The fix is still 3 months out. However, we are fortunate in that there are still steel mills on the U.S. to provide us the materials to make the repairs. Can you imagine if we had to import from China? Tack on a minimum of 3 more months. Our company receives some key raw materials and a few finished goods from our parent company in Japan. We always plan for a 3 month lead time. Of course, that's assuming there's not a natural disaster, the boat doesn't sink on the way over, and the item doesn't get stuck in customs.

Here are a list of a few more things made in the USA.

Courtesy of the Street (see the website for several more)
Louisville Slugger Baseball Bats
Harley Davidsons
KitchenAid Mixers
Crayola Crayons

Other I know about personally: Pyrex (all) and New Balance (25% of their shoes sold here are made here)

We as a nation can make things, and we are good at it. Let's hope we always remember that.

I'm a fan of Aldi

Some of you right now are thinking what on earth is an Aldi? Aldi is a grocery store chain based in Germany. The stores are small and carry almost exclusively store brands. Why have I become such a fan?

1.Cart control
At Aldi you put in a quarter to get a cart from the corral. When you bring it back, the quarter is returned. This ingenious solution solves two problems. First, no straggling carts in the lot to dent your car. Second, Aldi doesn't have to pay someone to pick up the carts like other stores do.

2. Compact footprint
As mentioned previously, the stores are small. You can hit all the aisles in rapid succession.

3. Good prices on produce
Aldi frequently has outstanding prices on produce, and the quality is usually very high

4. Random good deals on random items
Aldi also has one time buys on name brands and other special items. I've recently scored pesto and roasted red peppers for $1.99/jar, a great deal. I also got a screaming deal on an Anchor Hocking measuring bowl- more about that in a future post.

5. Reduction bagging waste
Aldi doesn't bag your groceries. They also don't provide you with bags. You can bring your own, something precious few people do at other stores, or they have plastic and paper bags for sale. I'm sure this greatly reduces the number people actually use.

If you've become intrigued, look on Aldi's website for a store near you. Be sure to bring a quarter for your cart and some cash or a debit card as they don't accept credit cards. Happy shopping!

Sleep In Heavenly Peace- and Warmth Too

If you are like me, you try to keep your heating costs down by turning down the thermostat while you sleep. However, I have discovered that it's very hard to sleep when you are cold. I have found the perfect solution- a heated mattress pad. I first had one over 15 years ago. I found one for $10 on clearance at Wal-mart.  I used it on my twin bed at college and passed it on to one of my sisters after that.

Once I got my own place I wanted one again. They are readily available, for example Target carries them. I think I bought mine at JCPenney. Shop around and find one for a good price. They are much better than an electric blanket. Heat rises, so as the mattress pad heats the warmth passes straight into you. My trick is to turn the mattress pad on while I'm getting ready for bed. Then when I crawl in the sheets are all nice and warm. It's like being in a cocoon. Queen and king sizes normally come with dual controllers so each person can be as warm or cool as desired.

If you have someone in your life who hates to be cold while sleeping, this would make a great Christmas present. Order it now so it will be here in time.

A Neat Gadget

This is a neat little gadget. You are probably asking yourself what it is. It's a universal FM transmitter. Ok, but what does it DO? you're thinking. It's really cool. You plug it into your IPOD, IPhone, etc.

and you can play it over the radio through any device with speakers. I purchased this on a lark. My new car doesn't have a CD player, so my options for tunes are pretty limited (I later found out the cassette player doesn't work either). My choices were further complicated by the fact that the cigarette lighter isn't functioning, so I can't power anything that way (my brother said this should be fairly simple to fix. I'll probably have him do that some time.)

This device was less than $15 and uses batteries, so I decided to give it a shot. I was skeptical that something at this price point would do the job, but it does. Yea music! I've actually ended up using it more in my house than in the car though. Sound through the IPod's external speakers is pretty anemic. It sounds MUCH better though my stereo. I'm well pleased and would highly recommend this little gadget.

The Real Woman New Mom

This summer I had a conversation with a lady behind me in line at Wal-mart while we waited. I have named her "the Real Woman New Mom" for reasons that will become obvious later.

The lady had a little girl in her cart. I asked how old she was. She would be 3 soon, and the little girl told me about some of the things they were doing for her party. The mom told me her daughter was born on the day the remnants of Hurricane Ike came through our area. We live an entire day's drive from the nearest ocean. Somehow the storm was still strong enough to give us tropical storm level winds. It was crazy. I remember being at my mom's house and watching trees essentially bent at a 90 degree angle in the gale. There were of course massive widespread power outages that lasted for days.

The lady said they asked her before she went home from the hospital if she had power at home. The rest of our conversation went like this:

Me: "Why does a baby need electricity? People have had babies for thousands of years."

Real Women New Mom: "Exactly. I told them that I did even though I didn't. I sterilized my breast pump on the front porch with a Bunsen burner. I grew up in a cabin in the woods. When there was no electricity our well pump didn't work so we melted snow on our wood stove for water."

I loved this lady. She is one tough cookie. I think you can now see why I call her The Real Woman New Mom.

How to Fight Privacy Pirates

This article appears in the December issue of Kiplinger Magazine. I'm a privacy nut anyway (and a germphobe, but that's a topic for another day), so of course it freaked me out a bit. One of the many reasons I don't have a Facebook page is the privacy factor. I do have a LinkedIn page, but it's super bland. You might think "she's a privacy freak but she has a blog.." True, but I completely control what goes here AND you'll note I don't blog under my own name or use other identifying info either.

I did go to some of the websites listed in the article. One got my age wrong by over 2 decades, oops. Another was scary though. It had the last 3 cities in which I've lived in this state. I was even more shocked as it had my correct age along with the names of my parents and siblings all correctly spelled. Yikes.

My point in this post is to make you think about the information that is available about you online. Can you control all of it? No way. Can you make a dent? Yes. Should you? Yes.

Related story
When I started my job over a decade ago, the ID numbers on our insurance cards were our social security numbers. This completely freaked me out naturally. As a direct result of my pushing my boss (the head of HR) to make the insurance company assign us different numbers, we have been free of this practice for years, well before many other companies did this. We all have power to affect our privacy. It's up to us to use it.

4 Months in the Club

Today marks my 4 month membership in the "two vehicle owner" club. As I mentioned in a previous post, I'd been looking for something to supplement my primary vehicle, a V-8 sports car. I LOVE this car. However, a few days each winter the ride to work can be downright unpleasant as high powered rear wheel drive and snow/ice aren't very compatible. Also, I wanted something as a better gas mileage vehicle. I knew exactly what I wanted- a Geo Tracker. You might not remember these, as they haven't been made in over a decade. This vehicle met both criteria- it was available in 4 wheel drive and as a 4 cylinder it would get better gas mile than my sports car. Also, they made it in a convertible. Really, what's not to love?

All that was left was to find one. You'd be surprised how many are still around today, especially since they were made from 1989-1997. I did indeed find one to my liking, or more accurately my brother did. Once I started seriously looking, I asked my brother to keep his eyes out for me. Not too long thereafter he said his friend had one he wanted to sell, and it was priced right. I looked at some pictures, and since those were good, we set up an in person viewing.

Here's what we noticed- you could smell the front brakes and they were so hot you could cook on them. This is often a sign that you need new brakes, but brakes are pretty cheap. The a/c didn't work, no biggie. The radio was locked because the battery had gone dead, but the seller said it could be reset at the dealership pretty easily (my brother also knew someone who worked there, so we could see if we could just pay him to do it without taking it in). The check engine light was on, but it had been on the seven months the guy had owned it. People often freak when the light comes on, but it's often an emissions issue and not a signal that your car is about to explode. Then, the potential deal breaker- the seller said the 4 wheel drive didn't work. That's THE main reason I wanted it. If that was broken, I was done. However, a brief investigation revealed that the 4 wheel drive actually did work. I took it for a spin, and it drove fine.

After taking several days to think it over, get insurance quotes, etc., I bought it. First stop- we dropped off my car (my brother drove the Tracker from the seller's) and took the top off.

Next stops (in order):
-Had lunch (food is important)
-Got the check engine code read (free at Autozone- O2 Senor, keep on driving)
-BMV to be titled and apply for a plate (They take appointments now. In and out in no time)
-Service: oil change, new air filter, rotate tires, front brakes checked (They were fine, which we'd guessed by now as they no longer stunk or radiated heat. The vehicle had sat for a while without being driven before I bought it, and my brother said it's not unusual for brakes to get hot and smell briefly after being returned to service)
-Wal-mart for supplies: first aid kit, steering wheel cover (the foam on the OEM one is deteriorating), sunshield, tow strap, portable air compressor, valve stem covers, tire pressure gauge, windshield washer fluid, keys made (it only came with one key, please I need house keys for its key rings)

It was upon returning home that I noticed an important factor I had overlooked in the presale inspection: this vehicle had the dirtiest interior I had ever seen, bar none. I only wish we'd taken pictures. Words do not do it justice.  There was so much dirt we didn't even know there were floor mat on the floor until we started cleaning it out. My brother and I got to work. We threw away trash, pulled everything out that wasn't nailed down, and shop vacced like mad. To give you an idea of how bad it was, this is some of the change we found in it.

You'll notice it's sitting on a cloth. The coins were filthy too, so I soaked them.  You're looking at $3.10 - 2 quarters, 18 dimes, 7 nickles, and 45 pennies. There was also one Canadian penny. You may have noticed I said this was some of the change we found. My zealous application of the shop vac consumed some too. In addition we found some screwdrivers and small wrenches that I gave to my brother. I told him later that during the cleaning process I wondered what I had gotten myself into.

After spending a long time cleaning out and vacuuming, we drove it to my mom's. We washed the outside (very clean compared the outside) and inside. The Tracker has a metal floor and drain holes, so we hosed it out. The dirt turned to mud when we did. It looked much better after we finished flooding out the crud. Here are some pictures:



Then it was off for a well deserved off road ride where we confirmed yet again that the 4 wheel drive does indeed work fine.

I left it with my brother for a while. He is super car handy, and here's a short list of what he fixed:

-Unlocked radio- he found the code in the owner's manual
-Took out yards of unnecessary speaker wire and put in new speakers so I'd actually have a functioning radio
-Fixed the slide action on the seats. We thought they were stationary until we saw the track under them when we were cleaning
-A/C- it just needed recharged. His friend showed him how to do that
-Rearview mirror- it flapped when the vehicle was moving

As you can see, he was an invaluable asset in what I call "Project Tracker". After he brought it to me, I spent several hours and lots of Armour All wipes, Q-tips, and water cleaning the inside. Let's put it this way- I knew I was there when I could finally wipe my sweaty head on my shirt and not leave an orange dust streak. Here's a picture I took of it not long after that. You can see what it looks like with the top on.

I love my Tracker. I can take it down poor roads and not worry about its suspension. I don't worry about it getting dinged in the parking lot either. I drive it to work every day. My grandma is really fond it of it, and she was mad that I didn't drive to Thanksgiving for everyone to see. Yes, it's a keeper.

It's not nice to make inanimate objects lie

Last night we had our company Christmas party. We gave these mugs out as party favors.

When we were looking to purchase something, someone asked my opinion. I objected to the choice. Not because of the item iteself. It's a really nice insulated mug. No, it's the text  with which I hold issue. In case you can't see it clearly, it says "Thanks for bringing cheer to our year". I said "It's a lie", and it is. This has been a very difficult year at work, especially for our area. While some employees have sometimes brought us amusement by doing dumb things, more have been prominient and persistent pains in the posterior. Thus, something like "Happy Holidays" would have been a much more sincere statement.

"Good with money"

Yesterday someone I know was discussing a person with both know. She said "X said she was good with money. Well, she's good at spending it". I loved it. As my parents told me many times "We don't always see ourselves as others see us."

You have to be pretty brash to send out a letter like this

Today one of our managers showed me a letter he'd received from one of our customers. It started out like many we tend to receive this time of year:

"Dear X,

This a reminder that employees of XYZ company are prohibited from receiving gifts."

Then it got crazy

"But the company will accept gifts to give at our Christmas party. Gift cards in the amount of at least "X" preferred. Please send them to Employee Z at the address listed below by such and such date"

You are soliciting people to help fund YOUR company's party? Get real. Now our company does solicit vendors for charity fundraising, but not to fund our own events. We received at least one similar type letter before (I think it was for a company's employee picnic), and let's say our management was not impressed. The statement was something like "We don't mind helping with charities, but we're not paying for something that your company should be paying for."

As for today's letter, the manager said it was headed straight for File 13.

DUH

This morning one of our teams spent a considerable amount of time moving files to an outdoor storage unit. It was cold this morning (see previous post), and they all knew yesterday that this task had to be done today. I talked to someone on this project. and she said she asked another person on the project (who often whines about being cold in our climate controlled office)  "Did you wear your longjohns?" The answer was no. It turns out the person didn't even have any gloves. DUH. You knew you'd be outside, moving boxes, and it's cold. My dad had a rule that you should always have gloves in every coat. I follow that to this day with every coat and jacket I own. Be prepared. It takes a bit of effort, but it's time well spent.

Insanely Dangerous/Stupid

Today was the coldest morning we've had yet this winter- 25 when I left my house around 7:30. Thus, I really had to scrape my windows and windshield before leaving the parking lot. It was also one of the foggiest days I've seen in a long time. As I was rolling down the highway on the way to work, I noticed brake lights through the fog ahead (visibility was VERY low at times). This road is a divided highway, so I figured someone was waiting to turn into the industrial complex across the road. However, I sat parked for quite a while, and cars in front of me started changing lanes, very challenging due to the fog. I finally saw flashers in front of me, my clue to extremely cautiously try to move over myself. When I eventually got moving again in the other lane, I was shocked at what had caused the slow down- someone was PARKED diagonally in the fast lane (speed limit 55 MPH) of the highway scraping the windows of the car. Are you insane? You could have been rearended and killed, clipped by a car and killed, caused a wreck that killed others, etc. What on earth would possess anyone to do something this dumb?

When Compliance is Valued Over Common Sense

When I saw the headline for this article, I knew it had immediate promise. I was not disappointed. I work in HR, and yes, we value compliance. It is makes our little hearts happy. However, you also have to work in common sense too. Sometimes supervisors (and HR people too) forget this. Was it a huge deal to accommodate this guy? In case you had to think about it, the answer is no. As the Evil HR Lady put it "it's a sticker. And therefore it is not a big deal."

Some of you lawyerly/HR-y people are probably already thinking "They risked a religious accommodation lawsuit over this?" So it appears. HR people like to think of how things will play before a jury. I can imagine it now.

Plaintiff's lawyer: Sir, can you explain why you have been forced to sue your former employer?

Plaintiff: I've been a employee with good standing for X years. I worked hard to support my family (points to extremely photogenic family members in audience). All I wanted was to stay true to my religious beliefs. As you know, many people have fought and died for us to have freedom of religion.

Jury: Bad, EVIL corporation. They must pay lots and lots of money for this.

Now the Evil HR Lady also raises another good point- "things always come out in lawsuits and it's rare that there is truly a "good and holy" party and a "completely evil" party". Could it be that management didn't like him for some other reason and was looking for any excuse to get rid of him? I'd say that's definitely a possibility. They'd have been much better off, though, to stick to the HR mantra of "document, document, document" his problems properly. It would have taken more time, but it would have a been a lot cheaper in the end. 

A Thanksgiving Thought

Wednesday night as I was preparing items for Thanksgiving, I was reminded yet again what a pain it is to prepare anything very complicated in my kitchen. My apartment has almost no counter space, so anything involving more than a few ingredients or steps usually involves moving things around multiple times as I assemble it. As I was grumbling about this situation to myself in my head, a thought struck me- "If lack of counter space is your biggest problem, you are very blessed." Wow, talk about humbling. I didn't have to worry about where I'd sleep that night, if I'd have food to eat, or whether I'd have warm clothes to wear. It seemed a very appropriate thanksgiving thought to share.

I Love My Simple Life

One of the many, many things for which I am thankful is the fact that I have a simple life. I thought about this last week when I saw a picture of  Demi Moore and Ashton Kutcher on the top of the USA Today with a blurb about their impending divorce. I can't imagine how traumatic it would be to have someone cheat on you, let alone to have the whole world watch your marriage implode. Though some people seek the spotlight at any cost (see "Kardashian, Any"), I much appreciate being able to go about my life without the drama that I see in people both famous and those I meet in my everyday life.

Lasts Can Be Fabulous

Two weeks ago I was reviewing my available paid time off balance, and I realized I need to take several days off between then and the end of the year. I could have been paid for them, but I'd much rather be off thank you very much. I coordinated with my coworker, and in a few minutes I had my strategy mapped out. It turns out that the week before had been my last 5 day work week of the year, though I didn't know it at the time. This Friday was my last Friday to work this year. Yes, lasts can be very good indeed.

Interesting Fact of the Week

You can get leprosy from armadillos

Woman Gets Cement Injections In Butt

Let's face it, an article with this title really needs no introduction.

Thoughts
1. REALLY?

2. As two different people told me "If I wanted to get my butt augmented, I wouldn't let her do it. Look at what she did to herself."

3. Cement, mineral oil, and flat-tire sealant. Wonder how she devised that formula?

4. The injectee is lucky she didn't have anaphylactic shock and die

5. How does one fit pants over a bottom filled with cement?

6. "`Oh don't worry, you'll be fine. We just keep injecting you with the stuff and it all works itself out.'" I don't think that would reassure me. Doesn't give the feel of sound medical advice does it?

7. That's one way to get a rock hard behind

It's That Octagonal Red Thing

Last night as I neared my apartment, I noticed a car pulled over with its flashers on. As I passed it, I realized it looked like my neighbor's car. I turned around to go back and see if it was her, and if so make sure she was ok. By the time I'd turned around, the car was driving away. Sure enough, it was my neighbor. When I got out of my car in the parking lot, she said "Did you see me get pulled over?" I said no, that I'd just seen what I thought was her car with the flashers on. She said she'd gotten pulled over for failing to stop at the railroad tracks which are located right on the turnoff from the highway leading to our street. There is a stop sign located right after the tracks that people constantly run (one of my other neighbors today said he runs it all the time). She was on her cell phone the entire time from the moment she stepped out of the car. I could hear her say "I didn't even know there was a stop sign there". I helpfully added "It's been there the entire time I've lived here". I also heard her say "I guess I should have went out tonight and gotten drunk. At least I wouldn't have gotten a ticket."

Mind you, this is the same neighbor who recently had her car towed for driving with tags expired for a very long time. She's also the one who had the washcloth zip tied on as a windshield wiper. Her car antics definitely provide great blog fodder.

A record

Every year I have a goal to not turn on my heat until November 1. This was something one of my sisters started, and I've chosen to emulate it. It melds very well with my innate cheapness. Some years I make it and eagerly crank up the heat on that day. Others it's simply too cold and I have to turn it on before then. This year was a record. I didn't turn the heat on until Friday, the 18th. We've had some cold snaps, but they've been brief and followed by wonderfully abnormally warm weather.

I technically didn't have heat until yesterday though. When I turned my heat on Friday night (it was 58 in my apartment), it made a buzz but never kicked on. I tried a couple of times, but no success. Now mind you, my landlord had asked me about a month ago to turn it on to make sure it was running ok. Did I do that? Of course not. And yes, a similar thing happened with my air conditioner several years ago. I cranked up my heated mattress pad (one of the best inventions EVER) and slept well. I called my landlord before I left yesterday and let him know about the problem. When I got home last night, it was working fine. I talked to him today, and he said the motor had seized. Later this afternoon I talked to my neighbor (the landlord's son), and he said his did the exact same thing.

I'm very pleased to have made it this far in the year without running the furnace. That's just more money for me to spend on something fun.

Like a Picture in a Magazine

Last weekend I made my first from scratch cake ever. I saw this cake in the current issue of Better Homes & Gardens.



I love coconut, cranberries, and walnuts, so I thought this would be great for Thanksgiving. I'm wise enough to know that a big event is usually not the ideal time to try an elaborate recipe for the first time. Thus, I gave it a whirl this Saturday. As you can see, I think it turned out well. My mom said it looked just like the picture. 

And how did it taste? It was amazing even if I did bake it myself. It will definitely be attending my family's Thanksgiving.

People Who Think Differently

Although I know in a theoretical sense that there are people who think differently than I do, I am still sometimes flabbergasted when I encounter some of this thinking directly. Two recent illustrations:

Illustration #1
My neighbor is the young (22) mom of a 4 year old. The child's father died last year in a motorcyle wreck. Recently she was talking about how upset she was about how little government support she gets. She said her daughter only gets a little Social Security because the father was also young and hadn't paid much into the system. She said that just because he was young doesn't mean her daughter should get less. I'm always shocked when I hear people say the government should take care of them. I truly don't get that. Of course, I couldn't tell her that. As I thought about it later, I wish I could have told her "That's why parents should have life insurance". Of course, it's too late for that now, and it's not my place.

Illustration #2
I was telling a coworker how excited my 2 year old niece was to get candy for Halloween. She doesn't get it often, and I was saying how happy I was that my sister and brother-in-law feed her good healthy food. He said he thought kids should get to eat whatever they want when they are young as they have the whole rest of their lives to eat according to rules. And he was SERIOUS. I was stunned. This is the only time you can completely control what your kids eat. You are also setting their eating patterns for life, whether for good or bad.

Both of these situations floored me. I think it is good to have such experiences occasionally so we are reminded that there are people out there whose mindsets are very different from our own.

Underpaid is relative

Recently I overheard one of our VP's complaining that she doesn't make enough money. I thought "surely I didn't hear that right". I asked my coworker about it later, and she heard it too. Mind you, this person is one of our highest paid employees and is FAR from impoverished. She also had the gall to tell my coworker and I earlier this year that we are overpaid (um no) and don't have enough to do (after we've spent months working like dogs). As she obviously makes way more money than my coworker and I PUT TOGETHER, we weren't very sympathetic. My coworker also said this just goes to show that underpaid is relative.

In What Universe

Here's the gist of a phone call I got at work today

M= Me
C= Caller
(thoughts in my head)

M: Hello, this is M
C: Hi M, can you have a personal call at work?
M (already getting a sense of foreboding): Who is this?
C: I'm not going to tell you yet
M: (Foreboding confirmed, should have hung up at this point): Uh, ok
C: I know you're single. Are you dating anyone?
M: (I REALLY should have hung up earlier). Correct and no

At this point the person tells me who he is. He's the ex-relative of a current employee (who he said he never liked him and would lie about him) and also a former employee (who he said would tell them honest truth about him). He just got divorced  (I'm not so sure it's final) and I'm pretty sure has kids my age. AND HE HAS THE NERVE TO ASK ME OUT.

In what universe did he even think that I would say yes? I was mad and insulted. I turned him down obviously. I was even pretty polite about it, but I owe that to my state of shock rather than conscious good manners.

This is not the first time someone WAY age inappropriate has hit on me. One day this summer I was minding my own business reading a book on my front porch when this guy parks his car (after driving past at least once), comes up to me, and asks me out. He was old enough to have GRANDKIDS my age. DUDE, you have NO chance. This story does, however, bring great entertainment to others when I tell it.

Again, in what universe did he think that would happen? People, call reality. You're obviously not in touch at the present time.

It All Makes Sense Now

Last Monday my coworker and I had a conversation that went like this:

Coworker: "What's up with X?"
Me: "Huh?"
Coworker: "He gave notice"
Me: "Huh?"

X of is one of our warehouse associates, a nephew of one of our employees, and the cousin of yet another. He's only been with us a little over a year. That day he had turned in a handwritten resignation note saying he was resigning for personal reasons and his last day would be this Friday. We were completely shocked.

I went back to try to get some scoop from him, but he just said it was time to do something different. I then jokingly asked one of his coworkers "What did you do to X?". The coworker let it spill. He said X said his plan was to quit this (full time with benefits) job to work part time at Best Buy and then maybe go into the Army. Apparently X has some outstanding student loans, and he'll be able to defer them while he's in the Army (of course, you still have to pay them when you get out. There are two ways to get rid of student loans- pay them off or die).

This seemed like a questionable plan to me, but as my coworker said, X is young and factory work isn't for him. I get that. X can also be spacey at times, so I chalked it up to that.

Well, now the situation suddenly makes a great deal more sense. My coworker said today that she heard that X had apparently gone out a few times with Y, one of our young female employees. It seems that Y is now going out with Z, another young male employee, and X saw them together Friday night which put him over the edge I guess. He then called his supervisor at midnight that night to resign. While perhaps not the best reason to make what appears to be a rash occupational decision, this seems like a better explanation to me.

The Truth Can Be Hard To Determine When Butt Covering Is On the Agenda

A couple Saturdays ago my company made the local evening news. As you may deduce from the title of this post, it was not for some warm, fuzzy reason. We had a tank of raw material overheat, leaking horrible smelling fumes into the air. The fire department was there, and eventually the HazMat team from the large city nearby. The public was in no danger, but one of our associates came in contact with toxic vapors and briefly lost consciousness. Thankfully he is fine with no ill effects.

When I came to work on Monday and heard about this, I thought to myself "the butt covering has already begun". Did I have any evidence of this? No, but I could just tell. This was later confirmed by things people told me or wouldn't tell me.

Today it was confirmed again. I heard a detail that I consider very important but that I have not seen in either of the "official" reports I read. I don't think necessarily that anyone did anything maliciously wrong. As I told someone, you never have a 20/20 view during the event. It's easy after the fact to question people's actions, but during a crisis you simply do the best you can. However, when things start not appearing in official reports or people are reluctant to talk, the truth can be sacrificed. This is very dangerous if you are truly trying to understand what happened and implement appropriate countermeasures.

100K

Yesterday my car hit 100,000 miles. I took pictures to commemorate the event.

As I've mentioned in a previous post, I've had this car for over 9 years now. When I bought it, my goal was to drive for it 6 years. Later it became 8, and now I'm hoping for at least 12. I've heard that years ago a car was shot at 50,000 miles. My car has been so good. I just put the first battery in it this summer, and I've only had one repair of around $150 the entire time I've owned it. I am very blessed.

There Is Nothing New Under the Sun

Some of you may recognize this line from the Ecclesiastes. The entire verse is as follows:

Ecclesiastes 1:9

New International Version (NIV)

⁹ What has been will be again,
what has been done will be done again;
there is nothing new under the sun.

I was reminded of this verse while visiting the Mel Fisher Museum in Key West. For those of you who don't know, Mel was a treasurer hunter who spent more than a decade and a half looking for the Atocha, a Spanish ship rich in cargo that sunk off the Keys in 1622.

Two things not new under the sun since that time
- Tax evasion: Items were found in the wreck that did not appear on the manifest. People were attempting to smuggle them in so they didn't have to pay taxes on them.

- Conspicuous consumption: It was fashionable at the time for both men and women to wear extremely long gold chains across the body to show how wealthy they were. They also would snip off pieces of the chain and use them as currency.

Yes, nothing new under the sun.

What a difference 90 miles makes

I recently visited Key West, Florida for the first time. As you may know, Cuba is only 90 miles from there, closer than Miami. I was struck by what a difference that 90 miles makes. Here I was in a place known for leisure, fun, and laid back lifestyle. Ninety miles away people are living under a dictatorship and in poverty in many cases. How blessed I am to have been on this side of the 90 mile divide.

Study: 1 in 25 Business Leaders May Be Psychopaths

This is the title of a recent article by Time Magazine. It was forwarded to me by my boss (head of HR) and to him by another manager. My first thought was that number had to be on the high side. After reading the article, I think it might be low, at least at my organization. I bet some faces from where you work (or places you've worked before) came to mind. My favorite quote in the whole article?

"They also tend to be charming and manipulative — and in corporate America, that easily passes for leadership."

That is so true. How often do you see true leadership in your company? I tried to think of one example from where I work, and I couldn't for a long while. I finally did though. It is probably the experience that has made me the most proud to work for my employer. Sad, though, that I can only come up with 1 in 11 years.

There article also has a link to a list of Top 10 Worst Bosses. It's definitely worth a read.

And Another One Gone

We've had several people quit this year. In fact, our turnover rate is on track to be the highest it's been in years. Here's one of my favorite ones thus far.

"Mike" started last November as a temporary. It's been back and forth for months if we were going to hire him, mostly because he wanted more money than what we typically pay someone in that job. Finally in August an agreement was reached, and he started as our employee. He went through new employee orientation in September, then quit with no notice the next week. He said he got a six figure job offer (WAY more than we were paying him, as in multiple times), and they wanted him to start immediately. His former supervisor was of course not pleased. I talked to one of his former coworkers who said "well, that's why he missed all those days. He was interviewing." I hadn't heard he'd missed several days, but since he was a temp, I likely wouldn't. I found the situation quite funny personally.

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Why Don't You Want My Money?

One of my projects this year has been to consolidate my savings accounts. I previously had two- one I just kept open with the minimum amount to earn a higher cash back rate on my credit card and my primary one. Recently the extra cash back for the credit card was reduced, so it was time to consolidate.

I did some research via bankrate.com to locate the best paying online accounts. I was amazed at how many places would not accept accounts that are set up as a trust. I've had all my accounts in the name of my trust for 2 years. I've never had a problem. Why don't these people want my money? I truly don't get it.

I finally did have success with Ally Bank. They were happy to take my cash. If you're looking for a new bank, I'd highly recommend them. You can get a live human 24/7 by pressing zero, and every time I've called, I've gotten a native English speaker. Much easier to communicate that way. They also post on their website how long the wait is to speak to a representative. I've never seen it longer than a couple of minutes. They'll also send you an ATM card and free checks for the account if you wish. Overall, I'm very pleased. And no, they aren't paying me to recommend them. Though if they'd like to throw some extra cash my way, I am very open to the idea.

That's Marketing

Perhaps you've seen ads for Trop50 by Tropicana. It's advertised as having "50% less sugar and calories." Want to guess how they do that? It's watered down juice with a few additives. If you don't believe me, check out the ingredient list the next time you are at the grocery. You are paying the same price for a bottle of that's half water as a bottle of 100% juice. Think of the profit margin. I have a feeling Mott's for Tots is a similar product. It brags of having "40% less sugar than apple juice."

Do I blame the companies for trying to put one over on us? Nope, if we are too dumb to read labels or too lazy to dilute our own juice, more power to them. However, if you have a spare 10 seconds in your day, buy real juice and dilute it yourself. It's much cheaper.

An Expensive Lesson

Several weeks ago I noticed that my upstairs neighbor seemed to be home but her car was not, an anomalous situation in our car dependent part of the world. I finally saw her outside and asked her about it. From her expression I could tell there was a story. And quite a story it was.

It seems she got pulled over a couple of blocks from the apartment complex, for reasons she never made clear. During this stop, the officer noted that her tags had been expired for EIGHT months. It seems that when they're this far gone, you don't just get a ticket. You also get your car towed to the impound lot until you make the situation right.

She, of course, got to spend some time and serious cash getting all of this resolved. In addition to the expired tags, she had never transferred the title from the state in which she bought the car. Between doing that, paying her back tags, court costs, towing, & impound charges, she said the situation was going to cost her between $600-$700. An expensive lesson.

Someone asked me if she knew her tags were expired. I'm sure that she did. During this debacle, I noted that one of my coworkers had expired temporary tags on his car. I told him about it and relayed that story of my neighbor. He said he didn't know, thanked me, and said he would get right on it. I saw Friday that he is still driving on expired tags. Looks like someone else might be learning an expensive lesson soon.

Yes, HR May Hate You

Have you ever thought that HR hates you? As Suzanne Lucas writes, you may be onto something.

I asked my coworker to see whose faces popped into her mind as she read the article. Even if you're not in HR, I bet you can put people from your organization with the categories she mentions.

The Shakedown

Recently a group of our employees was presented the company's highest award for their work in planning our company's upcoming facility expansion. This award comes with a rather sizable check. After the ceremony, one of the winners corralled three of the other winners, two of whom are his direct reports. He noted that another key person on the team did not receive the award (she was the nominator). He told them "I'm going to give Jane X of my bonus (half the amount) and I want you to each give her some". One of them came to my coworker unofficially and said "What I am supposed to say? He's my boss". Another went, again unofficially, to my boss. Apparently when the asker approached another awardee, she actually started screaming at him in her displeasure . Eventually, someone who wasn't one of the award winners told the intended target of this beneficence what was going on. She said "I'll take care of it. I don't want their money". And trust me, she meant both statements.

I didn't find out about this until much after it happened. I thought ARE YOU SERIOUS? You have the gall to tell other people what to do with their own money? I was floored that he would even think to do this. This person is a senior member of management and should obviously know better. As my boss said "If you want to give part of your money that's fine". But if it's not your money, it's not your business.

There Are Better Ways To Moonlight

We all know that times are tough. Many people are working more than 1 job to make ends meet. This guy was actually performing two money making activities at once, but I wouldn't recommend it.

Some Things Are Meant To Be

About two months ago my mom lost the diamond from her wedding band set at work. She had been breaking down some cardboard boxes, looked down, saw one of the prongs was broken, and the stone was missing. She looked all over and couldn't find it. She asked the cleaning person to keep an eye out for it that night, but she didn't find it either. My mom decided she didn't want to replace the stone as she doesn't wear the ring that much anymore, so she sold it for the gold. She said it made her kind of sad to know it was going to be melted down after she'd worn it for 36 years.

Low and behold, about a month later my mom walks into her office one morning and sitting on her desk is THE DIAMOND. The cleaning person found it in one of the rooms in her department in a corner on the floor. My mom is going to have it put in some other piece of jewelry.

This is actually the 2nd time she has lost and found the diamond. A couple years ago she lost it while working an event at a golf course. Miraculously she found it then too.

I think my mom said it best in the e-mail she sent out when the diamond was found:

"Amazing, this diamond has had several lives... It was meant for me to keep it"

File This Under "You Should Know Better"

Link

Enough said I think.

Low Speed Doesn't Mean Low Excitement

I saw an article about this incident in Wednesday's paper. Someone from work found the videos on YouTube and showed them to me on her phone (it's blocked on our computers at work). I didn't link them from here because they are full of shall we say lots of words I don't want my niece ever using. The article noted that charges are also being considered against the filmer. He's already had nearly 50,000 views on YouTube. He actually predicts as he's taping it that it will be a YouTube hit.

Jerry Springer Would Be Proud

Last week I went to get our company's mail from the letter carrier. I asked her how she was doing, and she said "I've got drama". I said "We've all got drama". She then told me this story, and yes, she has drama.

"Baby momma and baby daddy are in jail, and the other grandma's got the baby and she won't let me have him. I'm going to have to call my lawyer".  She also stated that the other grandma's nuts, the parents don't take the kid there much, but they were there with the baby when whatever caused the arrests went down.

Yes, can't you see this as an episode of Jerry Springer? Because that's what immediately came to my mind.

I saw her a couple of days later, and I asked how things were. She said they were better as Baby Momma was out of jail and had the baby. Baby Daddy (aka her son) was going to be in jail for awhile as he resisted arrested and ended up getting Tased. She of course said it was stupid of him to resist.

Appreciate your own life right about now?

Interesting Article on Covert Recording

My friend sent me this article about smartphones making it much easier to surreptitiously record conversations in the workplace. It was very interesting. Let's face it, I'm sure we've all had times where we'd have loved to record a conversation and play it back. It's much easier to prove that you've been lied to for example.

I told my friend that I enjoyed the article. She then asked if it was legal in our state. I didn't know, but my friend Google helped me find the answer right away.

I found that our state is a "one party state" as defined below, as are a majority of states:

One Party States

• One party to the conversation must have knowledge and give their consent to the recording of the conversation. In the most simple terms, this means that if you were having a conversation with another person and you "secretly" recorded that conversation, since "one party," (you) were aware that the recording was being done, no law was being violated. In the event the party you had the conversation with later changes what they told you, the tape could be used as rebuttal. This does not mean, nor does it imply that it is "legal" to tape conversations that you are not a party to and without question, that would be an invasion of privacy and a state and federal crime.

So yes, absent a company policy to the contrary, you are good to go. This has made me tempted to see how much a small recording device would run as I am too cheap to have a smart phone. It would also behoove people to remember not to say anything they wouldn't want quoted on the front page of the newpaper, the headline page of CNN, or a billboard on the busiest highway in town.

Great Legal Term

The current (August 2011) issue of Money magazine spotlights the author of a book entitled "Willful Blindness: Why We Ignore the Obvious at Our Peril". I loved the term "willful blindness", and I liked it even more when I read the definition. Here it is as quoted:

Willful blindness is a legal term; it means that there were things that you could and should have known about a situation, but you chose to remain ignorant.

How many times have you seen examples of this in your personal or professional life? It reminds me a lot of the "ostrich sticking its head in the sand" analogy. You are purposely trying not to know.

Since I work in HR, I've seen many instances of willful blindness at work. Let me share one with you- people working off the clock. First, a brief summary of pay rules for nonexempt employees. Your employer is REQUIRED to pay you for ALL hours that you work. Of course, your company can reserve the right to preapprove any hours that you work. However, if you work without gaining this approval, they still HAVE to pay you. They can of course discipline or even terminate you for not getting preapproval, but they still owe you the wages.

We (HR) have had complaints from time to time about people working more hours that they are turning in for payment. One supervisor said "I know Jane comes into work early, but she does personal things like her online banking". Well, let me tell  you, her online banking screen sure looks an awful lot like the enterprise software that we use to run our company. Another clue: Work e-mails are sent outside the hours for which the person is being paid-DUH. Even if you claim you didn't notice, "you could and should have known".

Next time you hear someone trying to use a dubious ignorance excuse for something, remember this phrase. I bet it won't be too long before you find a situation to which it applies.

It's a Sign

Today I went to a minor league baseball game. It was an absolutely perfect day for it. During the game, it was posted on the scoreboard that school was cancelled tomorrow for that locality due to power outages from yesterday's storm (a person at the game told me 30 schools were without electricity). I was struck that you should not see school closing notices during baseball season. Dear school system- this is YOUR SIGN that you are starting school far too early.

P.S. The team came from behind at the bottom of the 9th to win. It was great.

Divine Timing

Last night I was on my way to get gas after having dinner with my family. The road I was going to take was blocked by a police car. I assume this was due to damage from the severe thunderstorm that came through while we were eating. I took the detour which added at least 5 minutes to my trip (Topic of the sermon we had just heard at church before dinner? Patience. Yes, God has a sense of humor if you didn't already know that). I filled up my car and headed home. Just a couple miles before I got here, I had one of those driving experiences that you rarely get- it was sunny out the driver's side window, and I was driving through rain. I thought to myself- this is rainbow weather. Sure enough, shortly before my turn off of the highway, I saw one. Once I got off the highway, I pulled into a parking lot, grabbed my camera, and took these shots.

Not only did I get some great shots, if you look closely at pictures 1-3, it was a DOUBLE rainbow.

I was struck by the divine timing involved in getting these shots. The rainbow was only there for a couple of minutes. Had I not had to take the detour, I wouldn't have been able to take these pictures. I normally don't carry a camera with me either, but I'd had lunch with a friend yesterday, so I had one. Divine timing all around. I'm very appreciative.

Deal of the Week

Tide is my detergent of choice. It's not always cheap, but it is great stuff. My target price is to pay not more than $5 after coupons for the 32 ounce bottle. This week Kroger has it on sale for $5.99 a bottle. If you buy 2 bottles, they give you $2 off. Already the price is $4.99, so time to buy. But wait, there's more. Recently there was a $2 coupon PER BOX good on powdered only. I have 2 of these coupons. Final price- $2.99/box. Kroger, here I come! Once I was in the store, I learned something interesting. The sale was good for a 32 load bottle or 40 load powder. Yes, the powder is WAY cheaper per load. I have no idea why. The liquid is my preferred, primarily since I use it to pretreat stains in lieu of other special products because it works so well. But for this deal, powder is my friend. I also have a couple of bottles on the shelf as there have recently been some decent sales on Tide, though none as good as this one.

If you use Tide and can find some coupons, get to Kroger this week. I saw today that JayC will have the same sale starting tomorrow. It's quite a deal.

Great Quote About 401(k) Matches

I was reading a book this weekend and came across a fantastic quote about 401(k) matches:

What makes them so good is that many employers add 25 cents to 50 cents or even more to each dollar you choose to save this way. This is free money. If your employer offers a deal like this and you're not taking full advantage of it, you're an idiot (Well, I'm sorry, but c'mon: if your local bank decided to give out free money to attract deposits- say, $500 for each new $1,000- there would be riots in the streets, so eager would people be to get in on it.)

Andrew Tobias, The Only Investment Guide You'll Ever Need (2005 edition)

I loved this for 2 reasons. First, it's totally true. Second, I love the way he says these things. It's like reading something I would have written! Interestingly enough, my team recently had a conversation about how many people at our company are not putting ANY money in their 401(k)s. (Being in HR sometimes give you access to interesting data).

Our base match is 50% on the 1st 6%, and 75% after 7 years. The match money is yours after you've been with the company for 3 years. My coworker has told people before "this is money with YOUR name on it".  I know times are tough, but nearly everyone can save something. Please, please, please, sign up if you are eligible, even if it's just 1%. You must then make a deal with yourself to raise it when you can. For example, when you get a raise (I know that's a big if for many companies), raise your contribution by at least 1%, more if you can swing it. If your income is low enough, the government will even subsidize your saving with the Saver's Credit. Investing in your future is a great thing to do, and a company match really helps multiply your money.

A New Record

Today my boss received this e-mail (identifying information has been removed):

From: XXXXXXXX
Sent: Tuesday, August 02, 2011 9:47 AM
To:  XXXXXXX
Subject: Resignation

XXXX,
I'm sorry but I cannot work for XXXXXXXX, it is not a good fit for me. I apologize for the time and effort I have made you waste but the XXXXX office felt like a prison cell that no one spoke in. Please alert the XXXXXX office.

XXXXX X. XXXXX

This guy started YESTERDAY! It seems he came to work this morning, then left the office around 9:10. People assumed he went to the restroom. I don't think anyone even noticed he was still gone until my boss forwarded this to them (they are in another state). 

My favorite part is of course the "felt like a prison cell that no one spoke in". For some time some of us have said that the office in question has some issues.

My coworker asked how you could know enough in 1 day to quit. I told her that I once quit a job after one day. It was that obvious that it was not a good fit for me. Another coworker said she had done that too. When it's that bad, it's that bad.

Bye Bye Battery

Today after work I got in my car and drove to the mailbox at the end of our company's drive. After I deposited the mail in the box, I got back in my car and turned the key. Nothing but clicking. I tried again, the same result. I was almost positive it was the battery as it's over 9 years old. I could have called AAA, but I knew that would probably entail a long wait. I got someone from work to jump my car (with my battery cables of course. I am my father's daughter) and headed straight to AutoZone. After having it  tested (for free, it's part of their service), it was indeed determined that the battery was dead. I left about half an hour and $114.24 later with a fresh installed (also part of the service) battery.

It was crazy that I had no warning. It started just fine after work, then 3 minutes later wouldn't start at all. I am very thankful it died there and not late at night in the pouring rain in some area without people around. I hope this battery lasts as long as the old one. Good job Ford on OEM batteries!

Negotiating with Terrorists

You may have heard this phrase used by Ronald Reagan- "We don't negotiate with terrorists". While it may not have been entirely true, it contains some good advice. Sometimes the answer is just no. Period. No discussion.

Recently we had someone quit. No one on my team was sad. He can be a first class jerk, and he showed his behind in his first week of employment (The first day to be precise. Talk about making a first impression). While he may be gone, he's certainly not forgotten. He's been lobbying for close to a month to get paid for his remaining vacation. Our handbook (of which he had his own copy and access to an electronic copy on our company intranet) plainly states that if you quit with less than a year of service, you will not be paid for any vacation time.  He claims he didn't know. Well, dumb dumb, that's your own stupid fault. This week my boss decided to pay him for one day, trying to shut him up I think. I did not agree with this idea. The rule is the rule. When you break it for one person, it's pretty much no good. And guess what? It didn't work. The guy is STILL trying to get more, and he has said some very not professional things to my boss via e-mail.

Here are a few excerpts from his most recent rant:

"You say that that you would have expected any employee to work through their 2 week notice, this is not a given and now I am being penalized for doing the honorable thing."

Comment: It is common business practice to give and work two weeks notice. We only pay you the portion of the notice that you actually work. Funny how that equals out isn't it?

"I continue to become alerted to your 'policies' but in actuality it clearly shows your shortcomings in handling this matter in a professional manner."

Comment: Yep, insulting people generally makes them more amenable to your point of view, especially when the e-mail is sent to others in the organization.

"You should maybe do some soul searching and ask yourself "what is the RIGHT thing to do in this situation?""

Comment: Nice ending for his e-mail huh? Hehe.

I finally told my boss that this situation reminded me of Reagan's saying. I know he liked it because he told this person's former manager (who of course up until now has thought this guy was a fabulous employee) about it later. My boss has now decided he is going to ignore any further messages from this guy. Yep, should have done that after the first time you sent the policy to him.

Bulking Up

Our company is having yet another weight loss contest. Can you tell these are not my favorite thing? I am all for encouraging people to live healthier lives. However, what happens is the same people win, and then they gain all the weight back. Yo-yo dieting is NOT healthy.

To prepare for the contest, my boss has been bulking up. Yes, packing on the pounds in preparation. He has won EVERY pounds lost contest we've ever had that I can remember, though I think he's been edged out on percentage lost before. Here are two examples for illustrative purposes.

Last week
Our team had been invited out to lunch. At the end of the meal, our host asked if we wanted dessert. My coworker and I got ours to go because we were full. My boss, who almost never gets dessert, not only ordered his to consume right after a large lunch, he called out after the waitress "Can I get that a la mode?" And yes, he ate it all.

This week
Last week I introduced my coworker to Dove Ice Cream bars. I couldn't believe she'd never had one before. Needless to say, she loved them. Tuesday I had to run several company errands, and I asked my team if there was anything else I should pick up. She said Dove bars. She happily ate hers when I returned. A few minutes later what do I see? My boss eating one. (The company paid for all the Dove Bars mentioned herein. Life is hard sometimes).

As you can see, my boss is working hard to win. I'll give him this- he's really disciplined, so it'll be hard core when the contest starts Monday.

On a related note, my coworker was sad this week that she weighed LESS than normal. She was aiming for 10 pounds in the contest, but she's already lost 7. She doesn't want to lose 10 more on top of that. Not often you hear people upset about weighing less than normal is it?

Top 8 Morons of 2010

A friend sent this to me. Not sure how much is true, but it's sure enjoyable.

TOP 8 MORONS OF 2010:

1. WILL THE REAL DUMMY PLEASE STAND UP?
AT&T fired President John Walter after nine months, saying he lacked intellectual leadership. He received a $26 million severance package. Perhaps it's not Walter who's lacking intelligence.

2. WITH A LITTLE HELP FROM OUR FRIENDS.
Police in Oakland , CA , spent two hours attempting to subdue a gunman who had barricaded himself inside his home. After firing ten tear gas canisters, officers discovered that the man was standing beside them in the police line, shouting, 'Please come out and give yourself up.'

3. WHAT WAS PLAN B???
An Illinois man, pretending to have a gun, kidnapped a motorist and forced him to drive to two different automated teller machines, wherein the kidnapper proceeded to withdraw money from his own bank accounts!

4. THE GETAWAY!
A man walked into a Topeka , Kansas Kwik Stop and asked for all the money in the cash drawer. Apparently, the take was too small, so he tied up the store clerk and worked the counter himself for three hours until police showed up and grabbed him.

5. DID I SAY THAT???
Police in Los Angeles had good luck with a robbery suspect who just couldn't control himself during a lineup. When detectives asked each man in the lineup to repeat the words: 'Give me all your money or I'll shoot', the man shouted, 'That's not what I said!'

6. ARE WE COMMUNICATING???
A man spoke frantically into the phone: 'My wife is pregnant and her contractions are only two minutes apart'.
'Is this her first child?' the doctor asked. 'No!' the man shouted, 'This is her husband!'

7. NOT THE SHARPEST TOOL IN THE SHED!
In Modesto , CA , Steven Richard King was arrested for trying to hold up a Bank of America branch without a weapon.. King used a thumb and a finger to simulate a gun. Unfortunately, he failed to keep his hand in his pocket.

8. THE GRAND FINALE!!!
Last summer, down on Lake Isabella, located in the high desert an hour east of Bakersfield, CA, some folks new to boating, were having a problem. No matter how hard they tried, they couldn't get their brand new 22 foot boat going. It was very sluggish in almost every maneuver, no matter how much power they applied. After about an hour of trying to make it go, they putted into a nearby marina, thinking someone there may be able to tell them what was wrong. A thorough topside check revealed everything in perfect working condition. The engine ran fine, the out-drive went up and down, and the propeller was the correct size and pitch. So, one of the marina guys jumped in the water to check underneath. He came up choking on water, he was laughing so hard.
NOW REMEMBER...THIS IS TRUE.
Under the boat, still strapped securely in place, was the trailer

"Something's Going On"

Yesterday my coworker asked me if I was still writing my book about our workplace. I told her not right now, that I am focusing on my blog from which I can pull material for my book. She wanted me to document her observation "Something's going in." She went on to say that while there's always something going on, this is different. We're starting to see some subtle signs in the organization that seem to portend large shifts of how it may function in the future. And thus far, some of them are not looking so good.

Stay tuned for future updates as they occur.

DE Day

Today my teammate asked me "Are you going to be here tomorrow?". When one of us asks if the other is going to be there on a certain day, that normally means we want the day off. Sure enough, after I answered in the affirmative she said she was taking off. She then said she was taking a "DE Day". I'm sure I looked somewhat confused, so she said "I'm not telling you what it means". Of course, she later did. She said it stands for "disgruntled employee". There have been some recent situations that have pushed her to the limit, and she said she needs to take a day off before she kills someone. I loved this phrase. I think we all can use a DE day or two from time to time.

Only A Few Miracles

This week at work I used the phrase "a prophet is without honor is his hometown" to describe why my boss likes traveling. When he goes to other locations of our company, people are super nice, schmooze on him, etc. When he's not traveling, he gets to spend time with my coworker and I. We very vocally speak up about things, even when he doesn't want to hear them (we do get along well though).

As I talked about this, I also shared something that struck me when I read about it recently  Here's the entire passage for context:

Matthew 13:53-58

New International Version (NIV)

A Prophet Without Honor

⁵³ When Jesus had finished these parables, he moved on from there. ⁵⁴ Coming to his hometown, he began teaching the people in their synagogue, and they were amazed. “Where did this man get this wisdom and these miraculous powers?” they asked. ⁵⁵ “Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t his mother’s name Mary, and aren’t his brothers James, Joseph, Simon and Judas? ⁵⁶ Aren’t all his sisters with us? Where then did this man get all these things?” ⁵⁷ And they took offense at him. But Jesus said to them, “A prophet is not without honor except in his own town and in his own home.”
⁵⁸ And he did not do many miracles there because of their lack of faith.

What caught my attention was the last verse. I think the latter part of the sentence gets most of the emphasis when the story is discussed. I, however, was struck by the first part "did not do many (emphasis added) miracles". How amazing would it be to see ONE miracle? Jesus did so many that a few was barely worth mentioning. That is just mind blowing to me.

Fishing Is Fun

The Sunday before last my brother and I went fishing. Mostly, it was me hanging out, fishless, while the fish practically threw themselves out of the water at my brother. After a long while though, I caught this fish.

Not long after that, I landed this one.

I should use this to remind myself of the value of patience, usually not one of my best virtues. Good things did indeed come to she who waited.

Catfish are certainly ugly creatures, but they looked very good as I reeled them. Special thanks to my brother for performing the "release" part of catch and release fishing and for acting as the expedition photographer.

Sometimes The Best Thing You Can Do Is Nothing

One of my goals for this year has been to reallocate the money in my 401(k) and Roth IRA. I did my 401(k) a while back, and I decided to get serious about changing the Roth this week. After a lot of research, here's what I did- NOTHING. It turns out that where I have the money is actually the best option given my desired criteria (expense ratios, ease of investing monthly amounts, and allocation among different asset classes). At first I was frustrated that I did all this work for nothing, but I realized that's not true at all. I put in all the effort to make sure my money was in the best possible place, and it is. Sometimes doing nothing is exactly what we need to do.

Here's a Scripture You Probably Don't Hear Quoted Very Often

Matthew 24:28 (New International Version)
"Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather".

I cracked up as I read this the other day. It's true both by itself (I've seen it) and a good example in relation to its context (signs of the time). It's also just funny to know that if someone challenges you to quote a Bible verse, you could use this one. Of course, the person probably won't believe you until seeing it with his or her own eyes, and that makes it that much better I think.

Bank of America Foreclosed Upon- Poetic Justice

My coworker told me about this story last week. It seems BOA tried to foreclose upon a couple who paid for their home with CASH. Stupidly, BOA took the case to court. It lost- DUH. Even dumber, they didn't pay the legal costs as required. Thus, THEY were the ones foreclosed upon. Pure poetic justice.

Inspirtation in Unexpected Places

"The more you praise and celebrate your life, the more there is in life to celebrate"  Quote on a Dove candy wrapper

The more I thought about this quote, the more it resonated with me (the chocolate inside the wrapper was really good too). There is a saying that goes "you only see that which you're willing to see". When we open our eyes to possibilities and focus on them, it seems there are more of them. What is probably more likely is we are just noticing what has been there all along.  Case in point: I am looking to purchase a 2nd car as my winter driver/convertible/gas saver. Ever since I've decided to purchase this, I've seen the model I want everywhere. How often did I see them before then? Rarely. Were they still there? Well, since they haven't made this model in about a decade, I'd say the odds are high they were. I just notice them now.

Last week one of my coworkers returned from being off for several weeks on short term disability. I asked her why she was off, henceforth to be known as Mistake #1. After an approximately 5 minutes tale of woe and whining, she ended with "but I'm trying to stay positive". I thought "If this is positive, you are failing miserably".

Most of us are so blessed so much of the time, but instead we focus on what we don't have. Last year we had a sermon at church on thankfulness. Our assignment after the service was to go home and write down the things for which we are thankful. Talk about humbling. Good health, family, friends, a place to live, etc., pretty soon you realize how very much we have to be grateful for every minute of every day.

This week try to look for the positive in your life. For example- the fact that the ringing alarm wakes you means that you can hear. The more we focus on being thankful for what we have, the more you'll notice how much you have in life for which to express thanks.

You Should Know This

Friday I asked my coworker how he liked his new car. He said it really liked it, but he had to watch how many miles he drove since it was a lease. I asked him how many miles a year the lease allowed. His response? "I really should find that out."

Seriously? You think so? It seems his grandfather negotiated the deal for him. There is nothing wrong with letting someone who's a better negotiator than you do the heavy lifting. However, you should KNOW what the end result is BEFORE you sign YOUR name on the dotted line. Crazy!

Many Words May Not Equal Great Meaning

This quote is from the current (7/18/11) issue of Forbes Magazine:

What we're really doing is building a bridge to connect the values and standards of our traditional media heritage with the dynamic natures of digital publishing in the era of social media.

The first time I read it, I thought "That sentence made no sense". Then I read it again. Yep, right the first time. It's like someone took a bunch of buzzwords, threw them together, and called it a sentence.

Questions
1. Did the person who wrote this actually think this was a good piece of wordsmithing?
2. Did anyone else actually read it before it was printed?

Morale of the story
 Just because you use a lot of buzzwords doesn't mean you're actually communicating anything (actually, it probably reduces the odds severely). It's good to have someone who will give you honest feedback read what you've written before presenting it to a large audience.

While These Are Solutions, They May Not Be The Best Ones

 A recent security audit revealed that our rented offsite storage facility has not been turning on their alarm system at night for who knows how long. It seems they were getting false alarms when birds got in the building. Their fix? Just don't use it. Did they happen to tell anyone about the bird problem or their solution to it? As you might guess, the answer is no.

Well, of course, when someone higher up heard about this, the situation was quickly deemed unacceptable- DUH. We only have several million dollars worth of product that someone could steal. It could also be vandalized in such a way that would make for an extremely expensive clean up.

Guess what corrective action was chosen? They turned off the motion detectors. Doesn't seem like the best solution does it? The alarm company technician who did it essentially said it was stupid. I'm not sure if the person in charge of the audit will accept this as an appropriate countermeasure. I certainly hope not.

That's Something You Don't See Every Day

Today I saw an interesting sight at the pool- a guy wearing a pink shower cap in the pool.

There are two reasons this was very attention-getting. In case you haven't figured out what they are, here's the list:

1. The guy was wearing a really feminine looking pink
2. It was a shower cap, not a swim cap.

I was definitely not the only person who noticed this attire. After all, that's not something you see every day.

Happy 9th Birthday!

Last week was a momentous occasion- my car turned 9. The previous month was another milestone which I find even better- five years of no car payments! YEA!!! This is by far the longest I've ever owned a car. My previous 2 cars were short term leases. Once I got a real job and paid off my student loans, I bought my dream car. I still love it after all this time. However, what I love most is that it's PAID FOR. In addition to the great blessing of no car payments, driving an older car means lower insurance premiums as the car is worth less and my license plate renewal is much cheaper too for the same reason. All in all, it's just pretty sweet.

I was at a cookout this weekend, and the no car payment issue came up. My friend announced that she had just paid off her car. We all congratulated her. One of the guests said something I really liked about cars- "To get ahead, you've got to get the best deal you can, pay it off as fast as you can, and drive it as long as you can". I could not agree more. My friend's husband stated that his vehicle has 220,000 miles on it. My sister's car is approaching a quarter million miles. Two years ago it was giving her some trouble, and she was seriously considering getting a new one. Now it's running fine, and she's very happy she doesn't have a car payment. My mom's car is paid off, and she's planning to drive it several more years. The same year I bought my car, three of my coworkers also bought new vehicles. We are all still driving them. They are all still in great shape, and we are loving the life of no car payments.

This brings me to another point- maintenance counts. If you plan to drive your car until it dies, it helps to prolong the death as long as possible.   It's not rocket science, nor it is hugely expensive. Check the fluids levels regularly and change them when the time comes. Wash the bird poop and salt off your car promptly to maintain the finish. Clean out the interior of your car so it doesn't stink or look like a sty. Replace things like fuel filters and belts as your owner's manual recommends (you know, it's that book that came with your car). Yes, it costs a little bit in terms of time and money, but the payoff of no car payments is definitely worth it.

If you are a member of the no car payment club, congratulations! If you are working your way there, keep plugging away. It is indeed as great a place as you've heard.