One of the many hardships I had to endure in my time of unemployment was the loss of my monthly maid.
Boy, I sound so pretentious, don't I? But really, it was quite distressing.
However, after taking a look at my financial state now that I’m working again, I determined that I can once again afford the luxury. Believe me, once you’ve had it, you’ll find almost anyway you can to get it back.
I am doing quite well, though. I had money saved up ahead of time, and was given a severance check when I was let go. All of that on top of stringent budgeting means that I can afford to relax a little bit.
I may even be able to get my blinds that I’ve been wanting: the energy-efficient ones that help to hold the heat in so well.
I’m a happy camper!
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Monday, December 29, 2008
A Tangled Web
My family is getting large enough that I am beginning to not know what to call people.
Take for example my brother. He married a girl, who then became my sister-in-law. Well, she has a sister: what is she to me? And now, that sister is getting married: what will he be to me?
Another example is my sister's son: he would be my nephew. He married a girl a while back: what is she to me?
Also, my sister's daughter - otherwise known as my niece - had a baby boy. What is he to me?
Can anybody tell me?
And then, there's my sister-by-choice. She's been a part of our family for 25+ years, but is not related to us by blood. I made up her title because I don't think there is one for her. Well, she went and got married and had two kids. What do I call them?
And last but certainly not least, there’s my Cousin Chris: who isn’t really my cousin but is instead my cousin’s son.
It’s so confusing.
Take for example my brother. He married a girl, who then became my sister-in-law. Well, she has a sister: what is she to me? And now, that sister is getting married: what will he be to me?
Another example is my sister's son: he would be my nephew. He married a girl a while back: what is she to me?
Also, my sister's daughter - otherwise known as my niece - had a baby boy. What is he to me?
Can anybody tell me?
And then, there's my sister-by-choice. She's been a part of our family for 25+ years, but is not related to us by blood. I made up her title because I don't think there is one for her. Well, she went and got married and had two kids. What do I call them?
And last but certainly not least, there’s my Cousin Chris: who isn’t really my cousin but is instead my cousin’s son.
It’s so confusing.
Christmas Day
After opening gifts at my sister’s house, and after having just one more piece of Christmas Stolen, I packed up my stuff and headed on over to the farm for the day.
Mother had all kinds of good food baking in the oven when I arrived – the whole house smelled so good!
She stopped me in the entryway, however, and took me out to the barn to check on her girls first. Her girls happen to be a bunch of chickens and three turkeys. And not all of them are female, either. But – they are fun to watch, regardless of their gender.
Mother had gotten rid of all her chickens not two months ago, and had thought that she was done with trying to keep the birds alive through the winter – but a friend had a slight emergency and had to leave the state for a few months. He needed somebody to look after his flock, and who better than Mother! Heck, some of his flock was originally hers anyway. So, now she’s back into chicken farming – and although she complains, it’s fairly obvious that she loves it.
When we finally got back to the house, I hauled all my packages into the office where Mother had her “system” in place: huge boxes with family names written on the sides. Each person bringing packages placed them in the appropriate box, so that later on we could easily hand them out to whom they belong. I divvied up my packages and went back in to the kitchen to help Mother with all that food.
People started arriving one after another, shortly after that, till eventually all 21 of us were there: Mother, Stan, Dorothy, Stewart, Julie, Kelly, Danny, Tara, Laurel, Corbin, TJ, Gareth, Robin, Jamie, Noel, Hank, Katy, Lauren, Me, Reed, and Heather! The only one missing was Cousin Chris, who had gone home to Montana for the holidays.
It was a great day, full to overflowing with good food, lots of good conversations, and even a little bit of drama thrown in for good measure.
The drive home that evening was horrible, though. A blizzard had started blowing in around noonish, and was just getting it’s stride going by the time I headed home. It wasn’t the worst weather I’d ever driven home in (that honor belongs to Noel’s surprise 40th birthday) but it was no picnic.
I made it home, though, a little too well fed but happy.
Mother had all kinds of good food baking in the oven when I arrived – the whole house smelled so good!
She stopped me in the entryway, however, and took me out to the barn to check on her girls first. Her girls happen to be a bunch of chickens and three turkeys. And not all of them are female, either. But – they are fun to watch, regardless of their gender.
Mother had gotten rid of all her chickens not two months ago, and had thought that she was done with trying to keep the birds alive through the winter – but a friend had a slight emergency and had to leave the state for a few months. He needed somebody to look after his flock, and who better than Mother! Heck, some of his flock was originally hers anyway. So, now she’s back into chicken farming – and although she complains, it’s fairly obvious that she loves it.
When we finally got back to the house, I hauled all my packages into the office where Mother had her “system” in place: huge boxes with family names written on the sides. Each person bringing packages placed them in the appropriate box, so that later on we could easily hand them out to whom they belong. I divvied up my packages and went back in to the kitchen to help Mother with all that food.
People started arriving one after another, shortly after that, till eventually all 21 of us were there: Mother, Stan, Dorothy, Stewart, Julie, Kelly, Danny, Tara, Laurel, Corbin, TJ, Gareth, Robin, Jamie, Noel, Hank, Katy, Lauren, Me, Reed, and Heather! The only one missing was Cousin Chris, who had gone home to Montana for the holidays.
It was a great day, full to overflowing with good food, lots of good conversations, and even a little bit of drama thrown in for good measure.
The drive home that evening was horrible, though. A blizzard had started blowing in around noonish, and was just getting it’s stride going by the time I headed home. It wasn’t the worst weather I’d ever driven home in (that honor belongs to Noel’s surprise 40th birthday) but it was no picnic.
I made it home, though, a little too well fed but happy.
Christmas Eve
It’s always been a tradition for me to spend Christmas Eve out at my sister's house. I've been doing this for over 20 years, ever since the girls were born.
It started out in part as a babysitting job: my sister Noel and her husband Hank are both in the choir at church and needed somebody to sit with the babies during the midnight mass. It’s also a way for me to enjoy family life without having to actually HAVE a family (meaning kids). I have loved every year of it. Now that the girls are older, it's more an opportunity for me to spend some time with each of them.
I took off right after work and arrived just in time for Christmas Eve Dinner with Hank’s parents at a nice Italian restaurant. After our meal – which was scrumptious - we headed off to church for the early service. Both Noel & Hank, and this year Lauren as well, headed downstairs to warm up with the choir while I hung out upstairs, helping Katy with folding programs for the evening's service.
Rachel, my friend from high school, showed up with her little one shortly after we got started. Since Rachel is in the choir also, we agreed that Elly should sit with me in the audience for the service. I also had Katy and her friend sitting next to me - lots of company this year!
After that, we headed over to Hank’s parents' house to celebrate my sister's birthday (yup - she was born on Christmas) with presents, goodies, and tea/coffee. The dogs came with us and even got to open their own presents - causing a minor squabble over whose toy was whose. Apparently the puppy still doesn't quite understand the concept of sharing!
By then it was time to head back to the church for the midnight service. I chose to stay home, as did Katy, so she & I got to catch up on all of her goings-on at college. I crawled into bed shortly after that, since I am most decidedly NOT a night owl, and didn't even hear the others return home.
The next morning, Noel & Hank got up early to let the dogs out for a potty break and to put the turkey in the oven. I heard them putzing around in the kitchen so got up to join them. Normally, the girls would be the first ones up - frantically urging the adults to WAKE UP so they could open their gifts - but, as my sister noted, apparently ages 18 & 20 are the magical ages where sleeping in is more preferable to early wakening: they didn't get out of bed till nearly 9:30.
When they did finally get up, we proceeded to open our gifts at a nice, leisurely pace - munching on the Christmas Stolen and drinking special Christmas Tea/Coffee in the process.
It was a great holiday!
It started out in part as a babysitting job: my sister Noel and her husband Hank are both in the choir at church and needed somebody to sit with the babies during the midnight mass. It’s also a way for me to enjoy family life without having to actually HAVE a family (meaning kids). I have loved every year of it. Now that the girls are older, it's more an opportunity for me to spend some time with each of them.
I took off right after work and arrived just in time for Christmas Eve Dinner with Hank’s parents at a nice Italian restaurant. After our meal – which was scrumptious - we headed off to church for the early service. Both Noel & Hank, and this year Lauren as well, headed downstairs to warm up with the choir while I hung out upstairs, helping Katy with folding programs for the evening's service.
Rachel, my friend from high school, showed up with her little one shortly after we got started. Since Rachel is in the choir also, we agreed that Elly should sit with me in the audience for the service. I also had Katy and her friend sitting next to me - lots of company this year!
After that, we headed over to Hank’s parents' house to celebrate my sister's birthday (yup - she was born on Christmas) with presents, goodies, and tea/coffee. The dogs came with us and even got to open their own presents - causing a minor squabble over whose toy was whose. Apparently the puppy still doesn't quite understand the concept of sharing!
By then it was time to head back to the church for the midnight service. I chose to stay home, as did Katy, so she & I got to catch up on all of her goings-on at college. I crawled into bed shortly after that, since I am most decidedly NOT a night owl, and didn't even hear the others return home.
The next morning, Noel & Hank got up early to let the dogs out for a potty break and to put the turkey in the oven. I heard them putzing around in the kitchen so got up to join them. Normally, the girls would be the first ones up - frantically urging the adults to WAKE UP so they could open their gifts - but, as my sister noted, apparently ages 18 & 20 are the magical ages where sleeping in is more preferable to early wakening: they didn't get out of bed till nearly 9:30.
When they did finally get up, we proceeded to open our gifts at a nice, leisurely pace - munching on the Christmas Stolen and drinking special Christmas Tea/Coffee in the process.
It was a great holiday!
Friday, December 19, 2008
Help Me Please!
Here’s a couple questions for you – Let’s see how many responses I can get from the world out there. But, first: some background to better understand my questions.
I am going on a scientific expedition to Africa in November of 2009. This is with Earthwatch, which – as you might know from reading previous blog postings – I happen to be the Alaskan Field Representative for. Not that I get to go on these expeditions for free, or anything. But I do get to talk to people about Earthwatch and get them all excited about it like I am myself.
Anyway, my questions are:
1. What is the temperature going to be like in November over there?
I will be in Kenya, in the Samburu region. I’m told that is almost directly ON the equator but has a high elevation. I’m expecting it to be hot and muggy, but for some reason I seem to recall somebody telling me that it would actually be cooler up there than one would think.
2. How does one train for high elevations when one happens to live at low elevations?
The expedition briefing says that the elevation ranges from 3,000 to 5,000 feet. The problem is that I happen to live at only 300 feet, and the highest point I can get to without serious climbing gear is about 1,500. So, what should I do?
I’m climbing stairs at work, to start with. I only work on the 4th floor, so it’s only three flights of stairs. But, I do it 4-5 times a day – that should count for something.
I also have intentions of loosing these extra pounds I’ve been carrying around lately. We’ll see how that goes.
I am going on a scientific expedition to Africa in November of 2009. This is with Earthwatch, which – as you might know from reading previous blog postings – I happen to be the Alaskan Field Representative for. Not that I get to go on these expeditions for free, or anything. But I do get to talk to people about Earthwatch and get them all excited about it like I am myself.
Anyway, my questions are:
1. What is the temperature going to be like in November over there?
I will be in Kenya, in the Samburu region. I’m told that is almost directly ON the equator but has a high elevation. I’m expecting it to be hot and muggy, but for some reason I seem to recall somebody telling me that it would actually be cooler up there than one would think.
2. How does one train for high elevations when one happens to live at low elevations?
The expedition briefing says that the elevation ranges from 3,000 to 5,000 feet. The problem is that I happen to live at only 300 feet, and the highest point I can get to without serious climbing gear is about 1,500. So, what should I do?
I’m climbing stairs at work, to start with. I only work on the 4th floor, so it’s only three flights of stairs. But, I do it 4-5 times a day – that should count for something.
I also have intentions of loosing these extra pounds I’ve been carrying around lately. We’ll see how that goes.
Tuesday, December 16, 2008
Day One
I survived my first day! I’m tired, but happy.
I started at 8:00 today, but from here on out my days will start at 7:30 and end at 5:30. I’m on a schedule where I work 9 hours each Monday thru Thursday, then just 8 hours on one Friday and not at all the following Friday.
The only bad thing about that – well, actually there’s several bad things. One is the traffic on the way home. I’ll be smack in the middle of rush-hour traffic on the main artery in town. I won’t actually get home till around 6:30, and since I go to bed at 10:00 that barely leaves me about 3 hours to get all my chores done AND snuggle with all three of my kids properly.
I’m sure I’ll get used to the schedule eventually.
The other thing I consider bad about this schedule is the fact that I will have to somehow keep track: is this my Friday off, or is this my 8-hour Friday? And to make matters worse, I get the feeling that they sometimes ask you to come in on your day off and work anyway. This will definitely take some getting used to.
But, the work is interesting. So far, I’ve worked on an addition to the culinary arts school in Seward and a warehouse storage area for Change Point (a local church). I have volunteered my help to consolidate some sort of office standard, and have mentioned (several times) that I want to be one of the first to be trained on Revit, whenever they get the program in house.
The people are all very nice. It’s a small office, so I only have about 12 names to try to learn. I’m so bad with names! I think I know about 3 so far… I hope.
My little cubicle is on the East side of the building, so I have the most beautiful view of the mountains! It is truly spectacular – particularly this morning with the bitter cold, the hoar frost all over everything, and the morning fog shrouding the area. It’s almost too beautiful – makes it very hard to concentrate on my work. It's better than the view on the East side, though: they get to watch the homeless people all huddling together trying to stay warm.
I brought in a plate of home-made fudge (thank you Mother!) for my first day of work. It was half gone before 10:00, so I think it was a success.
I started at 8:00 today, but from here on out my days will start at 7:30 and end at 5:30. I’m on a schedule where I work 9 hours each Monday thru Thursday, then just 8 hours on one Friday and not at all the following Friday.
The only bad thing about that – well, actually there’s several bad things. One is the traffic on the way home. I’ll be smack in the middle of rush-hour traffic on the main artery in town. I won’t actually get home till around 6:30, and since I go to bed at 10:00 that barely leaves me about 3 hours to get all my chores done AND snuggle with all three of my kids properly.
I’m sure I’ll get used to the schedule eventually.
The other thing I consider bad about this schedule is the fact that I will have to somehow keep track: is this my Friday off, or is this my 8-hour Friday? And to make matters worse, I get the feeling that they sometimes ask you to come in on your day off and work anyway. This will definitely take some getting used to.
But, the work is interesting. So far, I’ve worked on an addition to the culinary arts school in Seward and a warehouse storage area for Change Point (a local church). I have volunteered my help to consolidate some sort of office standard, and have mentioned (several times) that I want to be one of the first to be trained on Revit, whenever they get the program in house.
The people are all very nice. It’s a small office, so I only have about 12 names to try to learn. I’m so bad with names! I think I know about 3 so far… I hope.
My little cubicle is on the East side of the building, so I have the most beautiful view of the mountains! It is truly spectacular – particularly this morning with the bitter cold, the hoar frost all over everything, and the morning fog shrouding the area. It’s almost too beautiful – makes it very hard to concentrate on my work. It's better than the view on the East side, though: they get to watch the homeless people all huddling together trying to stay warm.
I brought in a plate of home-made fudge (thank you Mother!) for my first day of work. It was half gone before 10:00, so I think it was a success.
Monday, December 15, 2008
I Have A Job!
It’s official – I have accepted a position at NVision Architecture! I start work tomorrow.
It would have been today, but I had already told the zoo I would help out with 400 students coming to learn about Tigers.
This morning I contacted the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium and let them know I was no longer interested in their lead position. Then I called the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation to let my friend know that I would not be working for them either.
Then I let NVision know that I would be in first thing tomorrow morning, ready and willing to work.
It’s a beautiful thing… although I must admit = I have a huge migraine today. I’m sure it’s the stress of starting over again.
It would have been today, but I had already told the zoo I would help out with 400 students coming to learn about Tigers.
This morning I contacted the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium and let them know I was no longer interested in their lead position. Then I called the Arctic Slope Regional Corporation to let my friend know that I would not be working for them either.
Then I let NVision know that I would be in first thing tomorrow morning, ready and willing to work.
It’s a beautiful thing… although I must admit = I have a huge migraine today. I’m sure it’s the stress of starting over again.
Friday, December 12, 2008
Celebrate!
To celebrate my impending employment – regardless of which one I end up choosing – I treated myself to a bit of online shopping tonight!
Mother gave me about 10 new pairs of pants a few weeks ago (well, new to me at least) so I decided to get some tops to go with them. Eddie Bauer is my favorite place to shop, although I must say their website is not as fun as the actual store. However, I ended up choosing two shirts and two sweaters – all of which were on sale! They should arrive by Christmas.
Next I went to the Victoria’s Secret website for some much-needed underclothes. I’m embarrassed to say how long it’s been since I bought new ones – I’ve just been making due with what I had on hand. Again, I hit the sales table and ended up with some pretty bras and panties – although that probably qualifies as “too much information”.
I had to stop myself from hitting the bookstore – that has always been my reward of choice, as is evident by the stacks of books located on just about every flat surface in my house. I so need more bookshelves. I actually caught myself storing books in my car a while back!
The grand finale of my celebration consisted of heating up a brownie and eating it with a cup of Market Spice Tea while watching CSI New York.
Mother gave me about 10 new pairs of pants a few weeks ago (well, new to me at least) so I decided to get some tops to go with them. Eddie Bauer is my favorite place to shop, although I must say their website is not as fun as the actual store. However, I ended up choosing two shirts and two sweaters – all of which were on sale! They should arrive by Christmas.
Next I went to the Victoria’s Secret website for some much-needed underclothes. I’m embarrassed to say how long it’s been since I bought new ones – I’ve just been making due with what I had on hand. Again, I hit the sales table and ended up with some pretty bras and panties – although that probably qualifies as “too much information”.
I had to stop myself from hitting the bookstore – that has always been my reward of choice, as is evident by the stacks of books located on just about every flat surface in my house. I so need more bookshelves. I actually caught myself storing books in my car a while back!
The grand finale of my celebration consisted of heating up a brownie and eating it with a cup of Market Spice Tea while watching CSI New York.
When It Rains, It Pours
I had 2 – count them, two! – job interviews today!
The first one was with ASRC, or Arctic Slope Regional Corporation (as in, Big Oil). A guy I used to work with way back in my Fluor Daniel days is the manager of the EIC group (electrical, instrumentation, and controls) and had recognized my name when my resume made its way across his desk.
In fact, he had tried a few years earlier to get me to work for him - but at the time I was happily employed and didn’t want to switch gears.
He invited me to lunch with him at the Peppermill restaurant, just on the other side of the parking lot to his building. We had a nice lunch (I ate an Ahi Tuna sandwich that was truly scrumptious) while catching up on old times and going over the job parameters.
After boxing up the leftovers and paying the bill, we headed over to his office to go over the particulars.
The building he works in is relatively new, and is really a nice building. It has a good feel to it when you’re walking down the hallways, even though they are stuffing as many cubicles as they can into an open space – a concept that managers love but worker-bees tend to hate.
The work I would be doing is basically the same as what I did in my pipeline days – it wouldn’t take that much of a learning curve to get back in to the swing of things. I’d have to learn their layering system, their plotting styles, and all that sort of thing - of course. But I’d have to do that no matter where I end up. At least at this place it’s got a familiar ring to it.
I saw quite a few familiar faces while walking around: people I had worked with both here in town and down in Valdez. Quite a few of them recognized me in return, even! One guy actually said, “You used to have red hair!” in reference to the grey I now have. Oh well… he’s a guy – what more can you expect?
The offer that was made to me was quite impressive, and very tempting. Not to mention the fact that they would like me to start today if at all possible (it’s not). But – since I had another interview scheduled for today that I still had to go to, I told them I would decide once I knew what I had to choose from and get back to them.
So, off I headed to my second one of the day: at NVision Architecture.
This company is located in a building that’s not quite so nice and is in a part of town that is trying to clean itself up but hasn’t quite gotten there yet.
Inside is very nice, however. The floors are poured concrete made to look like marble = very classy. The interiors and special features are obviously created to impress clients, and are very warm & inviting.
I like it!
I sat in the conference room with the lead architect and spoke to him for about half an hour. Apparently, he has spoken to other people about me (that’s always an uncomfortable thought) so had an idea as to my capabilities already – he mostly needed to hear what I had to say about things before making up his mind officially.
He did say that I had some of the best references that he’d ever come across before! That’s quite the complement, I think. People think well enough of me to actually recommend me for employment – even without me asking them to!
This firm is considerably smaller than ASRC; they have 12 people right now and are hoping to ramp up to about 16. There’s no chance that they could come even close to the pay-scale that Big Oil offers, but they are offering slightly more than I was making at my last job.
I haven’t made up my mind officially yet.
Do I work for Big Oil, make buckets of money, have awesome benefits and loads of work (mandatory 16 hours of overtime each week) for years to come?
Or do I choose the work I went to school for, where the jobs are not guaranteed and the work load fluctuates regularly from “pick-your-nose boredom” to “oh-my-god this-has-to-be-finished-tonight”?
Call me crazy – but I think I’m actually going to turn down financial bliss.
Either way, I start on Tuesday!
The first one was with ASRC, or Arctic Slope Regional Corporation (as in, Big Oil). A guy I used to work with way back in my Fluor Daniel days is the manager of the EIC group (electrical, instrumentation, and controls) and had recognized my name when my resume made its way across his desk.
In fact, he had tried a few years earlier to get me to work for him - but at the time I was happily employed and didn’t want to switch gears.
He invited me to lunch with him at the Peppermill restaurant, just on the other side of the parking lot to his building. We had a nice lunch (I ate an Ahi Tuna sandwich that was truly scrumptious) while catching up on old times and going over the job parameters.
After boxing up the leftovers and paying the bill, we headed over to his office to go over the particulars.
The building he works in is relatively new, and is really a nice building. It has a good feel to it when you’re walking down the hallways, even though they are stuffing as many cubicles as they can into an open space – a concept that managers love but worker-bees tend to hate.
The work I would be doing is basically the same as what I did in my pipeline days – it wouldn’t take that much of a learning curve to get back in to the swing of things. I’d have to learn their layering system, their plotting styles, and all that sort of thing - of course. But I’d have to do that no matter where I end up. At least at this place it’s got a familiar ring to it.
I saw quite a few familiar faces while walking around: people I had worked with both here in town and down in Valdez. Quite a few of them recognized me in return, even! One guy actually said, “You used to have red hair!” in reference to the grey I now have. Oh well… he’s a guy – what more can you expect?
The offer that was made to me was quite impressive, and very tempting. Not to mention the fact that they would like me to start today if at all possible (it’s not). But – since I had another interview scheduled for today that I still had to go to, I told them I would decide once I knew what I had to choose from and get back to them.
So, off I headed to my second one of the day: at NVision Architecture.
This company is located in a building that’s not quite so nice and is in a part of town that is trying to clean itself up but hasn’t quite gotten there yet.
Inside is very nice, however. The floors are poured concrete made to look like marble = very classy. The interiors and special features are obviously created to impress clients, and are very warm & inviting.
I like it!
I sat in the conference room with the lead architect and spoke to him for about half an hour. Apparently, he has spoken to other people about me (that’s always an uncomfortable thought) so had an idea as to my capabilities already – he mostly needed to hear what I had to say about things before making up his mind officially.
He did say that I had some of the best references that he’d ever come across before! That’s quite the complement, I think. People think well enough of me to actually recommend me for employment – even without me asking them to!
This firm is considerably smaller than ASRC; they have 12 people right now and are hoping to ramp up to about 16. There’s no chance that they could come even close to the pay-scale that Big Oil offers, but they are offering slightly more than I was making at my last job.
I haven’t made up my mind officially yet.
Do I work for Big Oil, make buckets of money, have awesome benefits and loads of work (mandatory 16 hours of overtime each week) for years to come?
Or do I choose the work I went to school for, where the jobs are not guaranteed and the work load fluctuates regularly from “pick-your-nose boredom” to “oh-my-god this-has-to-be-finished-tonight”?
Call me crazy – but I think I’m actually going to turn down financial bliss.
Either way, I start on Tuesday!
Bear Cubs at the Zoo
As most of you know, the elephant that used to live at The Alaska Zoo has moved down to sunnier weather and now resides in California with a herd of 5 others of her kind. She is, I am sure, a lot happier now – but the problem remains in Alaska of what to do with her old enclosure.
We haven’t quite figured that out yet.
Temporarily, however, half of it got turned into a holding pen for our two bear cubs this week. I got to help out for a few hours while several of the maintenance staff, along with the director and the curator of the zoo, got the place ready for them.
We put up fencing all around, about 8 feet tall with 3 feet of thick black plastic on top (to stop the cubs from climbing out). We placed several toys in strategic places, to keep them occupied. We constructed a “den” out of hay bales. We filled two big tubs of water, partially in hopes that they might get the hint and take a bath. We even gave them a nice big snow pile to roll in. Basically, we made it as cozy and inviting as we could for them.
They got moved in the very next morning. I wasn’t there to see that, so I’m not entirely sure how they did it – but I suspect they just got them crated up in portable carriers similar to what you would put a dog or cat into for transport.
The two cubs are orphans (not related to eachother) and had apparently been on their own for a while because by the time we got them, they were severely malnourished and dehydrated, requiring a lot of medical attention. They are both underweight – by this time of year they should be about 150 pounds, at least, and yet both are not much more than 50 pounds.
One good thing about that is that makes them a lot easier to crate up and transport across the zoo, from the infirmary to their new home in the old elephant house! They will live there until they are ready to go to their new permanent home in Memphis, Tennessee – probably sometime next fall.
Putting two little cubs into a new environment can be quite stressful – both on the cubs and on the zookeepers! One can never be 100% sure that all the escape routes got blocked – so a babysitter is needed for the first few days.
That’s where volunteers come in! I spent most of Tuesday in there with them, keeping an eye on their activities and making sure they didn’t get where they shouldn’t be. I also got to talk to any zoo patrons who happened to stop by, which really wasn’t that many. It was cold and snowing outside, and word of the cubs’ new exhibit hadn’t hit the news yet.
Mostly what I did was homework. I sat up in the viewing area with my Human Anatomy book and did a whole chapter! I have to say, that viewing area isn’t the most comfortable place I’ve ever done homework in: concrete floors, a hard wooden bench, and barely enough heat to keep warm with.
It’s perfect for the animals, however. They were feeling just fine; sprawling out for the occasional nap in between their inspection of the new place. They didn’t seem to be too interested in getting out – most of their time was spent destroying the cardboard boxes we’d scattered around for them. They also destroyed the den made of hay bales, and the snow pile took all of 5 minutes to destroy, after which it simply melted down the drain.
If you’ve ever had the good fortune (or bad, depending on your point of view) of running across bear cubs out in the wild, then you know the sounds they make. It’s really not describable – you have to hear it to believe that such an awful sound actually came out of that little teddy bear looking thing.
Now put that sound into a building made of concrete and bounce the echoes all over the place and you get an idea of what I heard all day. The girl cub kept trying to get closer to the boy cub – but the boy cub wanted nothing to do with the girl cub (they have girl kooties!) and would start to scream at her whenever she came into sight.
I have a feeling that by now, they are quite comfortable in their new home, and are more active and vocal – well worth a trip to the zoo to visit them!
We haven’t quite figured that out yet.
Temporarily, however, half of it got turned into a holding pen for our two bear cubs this week. I got to help out for a few hours while several of the maintenance staff, along with the director and the curator of the zoo, got the place ready for them.
We put up fencing all around, about 8 feet tall with 3 feet of thick black plastic on top (to stop the cubs from climbing out). We placed several toys in strategic places, to keep them occupied. We constructed a “den” out of hay bales. We filled two big tubs of water, partially in hopes that they might get the hint and take a bath. We even gave them a nice big snow pile to roll in. Basically, we made it as cozy and inviting as we could for them.
They got moved in the very next morning. I wasn’t there to see that, so I’m not entirely sure how they did it – but I suspect they just got them crated up in portable carriers similar to what you would put a dog or cat into for transport.
The two cubs are orphans (not related to eachother) and had apparently been on their own for a while because by the time we got them, they were severely malnourished and dehydrated, requiring a lot of medical attention. They are both underweight – by this time of year they should be about 150 pounds, at least, and yet both are not much more than 50 pounds.
One good thing about that is that makes them a lot easier to crate up and transport across the zoo, from the infirmary to their new home in the old elephant house! They will live there until they are ready to go to their new permanent home in Memphis, Tennessee – probably sometime next fall.
Putting two little cubs into a new environment can be quite stressful – both on the cubs and on the zookeepers! One can never be 100% sure that all the escape routes got blocked – so a babysitter is needed for the first few days.
That’s where volunteers come in! I spent most of Tuesday in there with them, keeping an eye on their activities and making sure they didn’t get where they shouldn’t be. I also got to talk to any zoo patrons who happened to stop by, which really wasn’t that many. It was cold and snowing outside, and word of the cubs’ new exhibit hadn’t hit the news yet.
Mostly what I did was homework. I sat up in the viewing area with my Human Anatomy book and did a whole chapter! I have to say, that viewing area isn’t the most comfortable place I’ve ever done homework in: concrete floors, a hard wooden bench, and barely enough heat to keep warm with.
It’s perfect for the animals, however. They were feeling just fine; sprawling out for the occasional nap in between their inspection of the new place. They didn’t seem to be too interested in getting out – most of their time was spent destroying the cardboard boxes we’d scattered around for them. They also destroyed the den made of hay bales, and the snow pile took all of 5 minutes to destroy, after which it simply melted down the drain.
If you’ve ever had the good fortune (or bad, depending on your point of view) of running across bear cubs out in the wild, then you know the sounds they make. It’s really not describable – you have to hear it to believe that such an awful sound actually came out of that little teddy bear looking thing.
Now put that sound into a building made of concrete and bounce the echoes all over the place and you get an idea of what I heard all day. The girl cub kept trying to get closer to the boy cub – but the boy cub wanted nothing to do with the girl cub (they have girl kooties!) and would start to scream at her whenever she came into sight.
I have a feeling that by now, they are quite comfortable in their new home, and are more active and vocal – well worth a trip to the zoo to visit them!
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Holiday Concert at the Museum
I attended a Holiday Concert this weekend at the Anchorage Museum of History and Art. I was actually supposed to go to our Family Movie Night that day, but it had been cancelled – in part because of this concert: my sister Noel was part of the event as she is a member of Cantora Arctica, the woman’s choir conducted by Janet Stotts.
The concert was really good. The museum is a very classy place, of course. The foyer is a very large two-story space, with the sweeping staircase and the water feature with glass blocks at the base. The acoustics were perfect for the music, and the holiday decorations added just the right final touch.
And may I say: the Christmas tree was beautiful!
It was probably 12 feet tall and about 8 feet in diameter at the base. I didn’t get close enough to see if it was real or not, but with the quality of fake trees these days, there’s really no reason to waste a perfectly good tree just for decoration purposes.
It was the garland that was really cool. Somebody had made hundreds of dolls, each one about 18 inches tall, and all dressed in traditional clothing from all over the world. The dolls all held hands, creating the garland, and wrapped the tree from head to foot.
I had my camera with me, and took lots of pictures, so if anybody wants to see the tree, or – more importantly – my sister, just ask!
Speaking of my sister: let’s get back to the subject of the concert (the whole reason for this entry in the first place!).
The program opened with a group called the Suzuki Students of Karyn Grove. I am not familiar with them, so am assuming that Karyn Grove is the name of a school – but it could have been the name of their leader. Either way, the group consisted of about 12 kids, ranging in age from 9 to 16, all of whom played violins.
They were amazing. They stood up there, in matching outfits, and played 26 pieces of holiday music = all without any music books in front of them! They did the entire show from memory.
Now, I can totally understand singing that many songs from memory. I do it every day, and have been doing so since almost before I could talk. But playing the violin! At the age of 9!!!
Truly impressive.
Cantora Arctica filed on stage next along with the Alaska Children’s Choir (also conducted by Janet Stotts). There were probably somewhere around 50-80 voices by the time they all got to their positions. There were kids lined 4-5 deep all the way up the stairs, with the youngest voices down on floor level in front of the adults.
The songs they sang were specifically chosen to showcase all the different age groups present, so that each group got to highlight their talents and be in the spotlight. There were several duets, some solos, and even a couple where everybody sang together.
Again, the acoustics in the museum are really quite beautiful, and the human voice can do some really amazing things when properly trained.
I was impressed, to say the least.
If you’re interested, Cantora Arctica is performing at another concert this coming Sunday, December 14, at the St. John Lutheran Church in Palmer, from 4:00 to 6:00 pm. Tickets are $15.00 for adults and $10.00 for children & seniors.
I highly recommend you going to hear them. You won’t be disappointed!
The concert was really good. The museum is a very classy place, of course. The foyer is a very large two-story space, with the sweeping staircase and the water feature with glass blocks at the base. The acoustics were perfect for the music, and the holiday decorations added just the right final touch.
And may I say: the Christmas tree was beautiful!
It was probably 12 feet tall and about 8 feet in diameter at the base. I didn’t get close enough to see if it was real or not, but with the quality of fake trees these days, there’s really no reason to waste a perfectly good tree just for decoration purposes.
It was the garland that was really cool. Somebody had made hundreds of dolls, each one about 18 inches tall, and all dressed in traditional clothing from all over the world. The dolls all held hands, creating the garland, and wrapped the tree from head to foot.
I had my camera with me, and took lots of pictures, so if anybody wants to see the tree, or – more importantly – my sister, just ask!
Speaking of my sister: let’s get back to the subject of the concert (the whole reason for this entry in the first place!).
The program opened with a group called the Suzuki Students of Karyn Grove. I am not familiar with them, so am assuming that Karyn Grove is the name of a school – but it could have been the name of their leader. Either way, the group consisted of about 12 kids, ranging in age from 9 to 16, all of whom played violins.
They were amazing. They stood up there, in matching outfits, and played 26 pieces of holiday music = all without any music books in front of them! They did the entire show from memory.
Now, I can totally understand singing that many songs from memory. I do it every day, and have been doing so since almost before I could talk. But playing the violin! At the age of 9!!!
Truly impressive.
Cantora Arctica filed on stage next along with the Alaska Children’s Choir (also conducted by Janet Stotts). There were probably somewhere around 50-80 voices by the time they all got to their positions. There were kids lined 4-5 deep all the way up the stairs, with the youngest voices down on floor level in front of the adults.
The songs they sang were specifically chosen to showcase all the different age groups present, so that each group got to highlight their talents and be in the spotlight. There were several duets, some solos, and even a couple where everybody sang together.
Again, the acoustics in the museum are really quite beautiful, and the human voice can do some really amazing things when properly trained.
I was impressed, to say the least.
If you’re interested, Cantora Arctica is performing at another concert this coming Sunday, December 14, at the St. John Lutheran Church in Palmer, from 4:00 to 6:00 pm. Tickets are $15.00 for adults and $10.00 for children & seniors.
I highly recommend you going to hear them. You won’t be disappointed!
Wednesday, December 03, 2008
He Is Not Ugly!
The other day, as I was carrying my little Alien out of the exam room over to the check-out counter at the vet’s office after his little medical emergency, there was a lady in the waiting room. She had a leash in her hand, so I’m assuming she was waiting for her dog to be returned to her.
As she saw me come out of the exam room, she said to her husband “Oh look! It’s a... small.... something...” her exclamation of endearment turning to uncertainty as she got a closer look at him.
I just shook my head sadly and said “He’s a cat.”
“Okay.” She said, as she nodded her head gently and looked at me as if I were clearly a crazy person that must handled carefully.
He’s not that weird looking… is he?
As she saw me come out of the exam room, she said to her husband “Oh look! It’s a... small.... something...” her exclamation of endearment turning to uncertainty as she got a closer look at him.
I just shook my head sadly and said “He’s a cat.”
“Okay.” She said, as she nodded her head gently and looked at me as if I were clearly a crazy person that must handled carefully.
He’s not that weird looking… is he?
Sunday, November 30, 2008
Snow!
It started snowing last night and has not yet stopped. I’ve got well over a foot of snow so far, and have had to shovel my driveway twice just to get in and out.
The plows have been by several times so far, each time leaving a huge snowberm in front of my driveway. Thankfully, the neighborhood where I live is a really friendly one. When neighbors see you out battling a 3-foot berm, they generally come and help you out.
This year, my neighbors have most definitely earned the box of Northern Delights chocolate I try to get for them each Christmas – even though I’m unemployed and should conserve my spending. They are well worth it, let me assure you.
A little boy, probably age 12 or so, always comes around offering to shovel for me for the low price of $10.00. He’s not very good at it, but he is out there and any little bit helps – so I usually let him, if I have money at the time.
He actually woke me up this morning, ringing my doorbell at 10:00. Yes, I admit it = I was still sleeping at 10:00 in the morning. I had a bad migraine last night and took sleeping pills to try and get some rest. That’s my excuse, and I’m sticking to it!
He told me he would be back by tomorrow to shovel some more, if it keeps going. Looks like I will be hiring him again, because it does not look to be slowing down at all.
It sure is pretty though!
The plows have been by several times so far, each time leaving a huge snowberm in front of my driveway. Thankfully, the neighborhood where I live is a really friendly one. When neighbors see you out battling a 3-foot berm, they generally come and help you out.
This year, my neighbors have most definitely earned the box of Northern Delights chocolate I try to get for them each Christmas – even though I’m unemployed and should conserve my spending. They are well worth it, let me assure you.
A little boy, probably age 12 or so, always comes around offering to shovel for me for the low price of $10.00. He’s not very good at it, but he is out there and any little bit helps – so I usually let him, if I have money at the time.
He actually woke me up this morning, ringing my doorbell at 10:00. Yes, I admit it = I was still sleeping at 10:00 in the morning. I had a bad migraine last night and took sleeping pills to try and get some rest. That’s my excuse, and I’m sticking to it!
He told me he would be back by tomorrow to shovel some more, if it keeps going. Looks like I will be hiring him again, because it does not look to be slowing down at all.
It sure is pretty though!
Saturday, November 29, 2008
A Medical Emergency
I noticed yesterday that the Alien had a wet spot on his behind. It was as if he had diarrhea, but he didn’t. It concerned me; he is 17 years old, after all. I decided to keep an eye on him and if he got worse, I’d have to take him in to the vet.
Today, my sister and her daughter-in-law came in for a visit. When I took them upstairs to meet the Alien, we noticed that he was swollen back there. It looked pretty bad, but didn’t seem to hurt him all that much. He continued purring even when I poked around to see what was what. Even so, I knew he needed to have it looked at, so I called the vet.
Of course, they were booked solid all day. When I explained what was going on, they went ahead and squeezed us in between appointments so that we wouldn’t have to wait two days till Monday for him to be seen. I got Alien bundled up in his travel box with his portable heater and got him to the doctor’s office.
As luck would have it, we got to see the best vet there = Dr. Riley Wilson. He’s the zoo vet! He’s seen Alien before, and we like him a lot.
He knew right away what it was: a blocked anal gland.
At first he said that he’d send me home with antibiotics and Al would be fine. But, when I said that Al really doesn’t like taking pills, he changed his mind and had me take Al to the back room to try and drain the abscess manually.
In case you were wondering = Aliens really do not like to have their anal glands drained manually.
It was really bad.
Dr. Riley was amazed at the amount of puss. He even called to his assistants to come and see it, and they all kept saying things like “Cool” or “That’s awesome!”
Poor Al was not a happy camper even though they had given him a local anesthetic.
They got all that gunk out, flushed it out with a Betadine solution, and then topped it off with an antibiotic shot in the butt.
Dr. Riley told me that he was glad he’d changed his mind. If he had sent me home with Alien the way he was, he could have gotten really sick.
Alien is home now, snuggled up to his heating pad and nursing his sore behind.
Today, my sister and her daughter-in-law came in for a visit. When I took them upstairs to meet the Alien, we noticed that he was swollen back there. It looked pretty bad, but didn’t seem to hurt him all that much. He continued purring even when I poked around to see what was what. Even so, I knew he needed to have it looked at, so I called the vet.
Of course, they were booked solid all day. When I explained what was going on, they went ahead and squeezed us in between appointments so that we wouldn’t have to wait two days till Monday for him to be seen. I got Alien bundled up in his travel box with his portable heater and got him to the doctor’s office.
As luck would have it, we got to see the best vet there = Dr. Riley Wilson. He’s the zoo vet! He’s seen Alien before, and we like him a lot.
He knew right away what it was: a blocked anal gland.
At first he said that he’d send me home with antibiotics and Al would be fine. But, when I said that Al really doesn’t like taking pills, he changed his mind and had me take Al to the back room to try and drain the abscess manually.
In case you were wondering = Aliens really do not like to have their anal glands drained manually.
It was really bad.
Dr. Riley was amazed at the amount of puss. He even called to his assistants to come and see it, and they all kept saying things like “Cool” or “That’s awesome!”
Poor Al was not a happy camper even though they had given him a local anesthetic.
They got all that gunk out, flushed it out with a Betadine solution, and then topped it off with an antibiotic shot in the butt.
Dr. Riley told me that he was glad he’d changed his mind. If he had sent me home with Alien the way he was, he could have gotten really sick.
Alien is home now, snuggled up to his heating pad and nursing his sore behind.
Friday, November 28, 2008
Happy Thanksgiving!
I hope you all had a great Thanksgiving Day, full of good food, family, and friends! My day was spectacular!
I got to sleep in – although that’s not really a treat, since I sleep in every day now that I’m unemployed. But my cats enjoy snuggling with me in the mornings: Thing curls up at my stomach and Djuna lays out on my hips. Even the Alien comes in and joins us sometimes, although he can’t jump up on the bed anymore – I have to haul him up and get him situated under the covers with me.
When I finally got myself out of bed, I relocated to the computer room and got started in my daily routine of checking all the job banks and applying to any that catch my eye. I’ve sent my resume out to about 41 places so far – and have heard back from quite a few of them.
See previous postings for job interview status.
Once I got that out of the way for the day, I started getting things ready to take out to Palmer for the big dinner. I had two jars of apple cider, some mulling spices & a cinnamon stick, and a big pot placed in one big tote bag. I had the crock-pot and three packages of corn placed in another big tote bag. And last but not least, a bunch of miscellaneous items placed in a third big tote bag.
Thankfully, I didn’t have to drive all the way out there this time. My friend Lisa and her husband Mark said that I could catch a ride in with them! So, I headed on over to their house around 1:00.
Unfortunately, the turkey was being difficult. Lisa had gotten up early to put it in the oven, timing it so that it would be ready by the time I got there. However, something wasn’t right – and the turkey was still very much undercooked.
We waited another hour, hoping it would be finished by then – but it wasn’t.
In desperation, Lisa called Heather to ask her to have the oven preheated so that they could finish cooking it out in Palmer. We bundled the thing up, loaded the car with all our stuff, and headed on out – arriving only slightly late.
The house was crammed full of people when we arrived. There were so many cars in the parking lot they were backed up into the driveway even. I guess Lisa and I were the only ones to think of carpooling. Heather did several head-counts and I think the final tally was somewhere around 37 people, ranging in age from 6 months to 90 years of age!
Heather had her dining table and three folding tables set with napkins and placemats, so amazingly almost everybody got to sit down to eat. All the food was laid out on the kitchen counters, buffet style.
That poor turkey never did get cooked all the way thru – but they carved off the cooked parts and kept putting it back in the oven. We also had a nice big ham that was quite scrumptious (or so I’m told) so people did not go hungry for meat. I can’t even begin to list all the food we had – there was so much of it! All of it was good, and all of it got eaten.
Lisa and I left the party around 6:00, but I’m told a lot of people hung out till well after midnight. Quite the party!
I got to sleep in – although that’s not really a treat, since I sleep in every day now that I’m unemployed. But my cats enjoy snuggling with me in the mornings: Thing curls up at my stomach and Djuna lays out on my hips. Even the Alien comes in and joins us sometimes, although he can’t jump up on the bed anymore – I have to haul him up and get him situated under the covers with me.
When I finally got myself out of bed, I relocated to the computer room and got started in my daily routine of checking all the job banks and applying to any that catch my eye. I’ve sent my resume out to about 41 places so far – and have heard back from quite a few of them.
See previous postings for job interview status.
Once I got that out of the way for the day, I started getting things ready to take out to Palmer for the big dinner. I had two jars of apple cider, some mulling spices & a cinnamon stick, and a big pot placed in one big tote bag. I had the crock-pot and three packages of corn placed in another big tote bag. And last but not least, a bunch of miscellaneous items placed in a third big tote bag.
Thankfully, I didn’t have to drive all the way out there this time. My friend Lisa and her husband Mark said that I could catch a ride in with them! So, I headed on over to their house around 1:00.
Unfortunately, the turkey was being difficult. Lisa had gotten up early to put it in the oven, timing it so that it would be ready by the time I got there. However, something wasn’t right – and the turkey was still very much undercooked.
We waited another hour, hoping it would be finished by then – but it wasn’t.
In desperation, Lisa called Heather to ask her to have the oven preheated so that they could finish cooking it out in Palmer. We bundled the thing up, loaded the car with all our stuff, and headed on out – arriving only slightly late.
The house was crammed full of people when we arrived. There were so many cars in the parking lot they were backed up into the driveway even. I guess Lisa and I were the only ones to think of carpooling. Heather did several head-counts and I think the final tally was somewhere around 37 people, ranging in age from 6 months to 90 years of age!
Heather had her dining table and three folding tables set with napkins and placemats, so amazingly almost everybody got to sit down to eat. All the food was laid out on the kitchen counters, buffet style.
That poor turkey never did get cooked all the way thru – but they carved off the cooked parts and kept putting it back in the oven. We also had a nice big ham that was quite scrumptious (or so I’m told) so people did not go hungry for meat. I can’t even begin to list all the food we had – there was so much of it! All of it was good, and all of it got eaten.
Lisa and I left the party around 6:00, but I’m told a lot of people hung out till well after midnight. Quite the party!
Third Time’s a Charm
Of course, they also say “three strikes and you’re out”. I’m hoping that first saying is the one that fate is going to choose for me this time.
What I’m talking about it job interviews. I had my third one the other day.
Technically, it wasn’t really a job interview. They called it “an informal meeting” just to see if both parties really want to have a job interview. And oddly enough, they didn’t really want me for the job I’d applied for – they had a different job in mind.
The company is the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, and the job I applied for was the Computer Aided Design Technician III position. The one they wanted me to apply for is the Lead Computer Aided Design Technician, which is actually a management type job.
Both of the positions sound like good ones, and I do qualify for both of them – so which ever one I decide to go for will be a good choice. Unfortunately neither of them are in the architectural field. I’m not too happy about that.
I met the man who would be my immediate supervisor at the front desk promptly at 1:00 (I did not show up an hour early this time, thank goodness) and he showed me around the place. It’s a typical engineering office, with as many cubicles crammed into the office space as possible: very utilitarian, grey, and sterile. I’ve been spoiled these past few years, working in an office that prides itself on the working environment.
We sat down in his office and went over the particulars after the tour. He showed me some samples of the work being done, an organization chart of the company, some of the work that he himself had done, and gave pointers to me on how to make my resume more suited for the management job.
I feel pretty optimistic about this one – even though it’s not architectural, it is on the computers still, and they are using a 3D program that is similar to Revit. The pay is almost indecent and the benefits are most excellent.
My task now is to update my resume, resubmit it for the Lead position, and gather up three references. I should have all that done by early next week so will most likely hear from them the following week.
Cross you fingers and toes for me, but I think by the New Year, I just might be employed again.
What I’m talking about it job interviews. I had my third one the other day.
Technically, it wasn’t really a job interview. They called it “an informal meeting” just to see if both parties really want to have a job interview. And oddly enough, they didn’t really want me for the job I’d applied for – they had a different job in mind.
The company is the Alaska Native Tribal Health Consortium, and the job I applied for was the Computer Aided Design Technician III position. The one they wanted me to apply for is the Lead Computer Aided Design Technician, which is actually a management type job.
Both of the positions sound like good ones, and I do qualify for both of them – so which ever one I decide to go for will be a good choice. Unfortunately neither of them are in the architectural field. I’m not too happy about that.
I met the man who would be my immediate supervisor at the front desk promptly at 1:00 (I did not show up an hour early this time, thank goodness) and he showed me around the place. It’s a typical engineering office, with as many cubicles crammed into the office space as possible: very utilitarian, grey, and sterile. I’ve been spoiled these past few years, working in an office that prides itself on the working environment.
We sat down in his office and went over the particulars after the tour. He showed me some samples of the work being done, an organization chart of the company, some of the work that he himself had done, and gave pointers to me on how to make my resume more suited for the management job.
I feel pretty optimistic about this one – even though it’s not architectural, it is on the computers still, and they are using a 3D program that is similar to Revit. The pay is almost indecent and the benefits are most excellent.
My task now is to update my resume, resubmit it for the Lead position, and gather up three references. I should have all that done by early next week so will most likely hear from them the following week.
Cross you fingers and toes for me, but I think by the New Year, I just might be employed again.
My Good Deed for the Day
I went to the grocery store the other day to pick up the food I’d need for Thanksgiving Day.
As usual, I parked in the far back corner of the parking lot to avoid most of the crowd. As I walked up towards the store, I came upon an elderly lady unloading a cart full of grocery bags into her car.
“I’m heading that way – why don’t I return that empty cart for you?” I said.
She turned and just looked at me for a moment. Finally, she said “That’s the nicest thing anybody has done for me in a long time.”
I just thought that was so sad.
As usual, I parked in the far back corner of the parking lot to avoid most of the crowd. As I walked up towards the store, I came upon an elderly lady unloading a cart full of grocery bags into her car.
“I’m heading that way – why don’t I return that empty cart for you?” I said.
She turned and just looked at me for a moment. Finally, she said “That’s the nicest thing anybody has done for me in a long time.”
I just thought that was so sad.
Monday, November 24, 2008
Family Movie Night - Part 2
Our second Family Movie Night gathering was this Sunday, and it was another success.
The movie this time was to have been Mother’s choice – however, she didn’t want to choose one, fearing that nobody would like whatever she picked. My brother Reed suggested that they “go together” on the choice, since his is the next one. So, we ended up watching “They Call Me Trinity” this time, and will watch part two of the series next time.
The write-up on the boxed set calls these movies “Spaghetti Westerns” which I can only assume is similar to my favorite B-Grade Sci-Fi movies. I really do wonder how they came up with the term “Spaghetti Western” though. Does anybody have any input on that? Leave a comment below if you do.
Anyway, the movie was interesting – a lot of gun fights, cattle rustling, slap-stick comedy, and some pretty shabby horses. Unfortunately, the movies did not come with captions, so we could not turn on the “words”. There are way too many of us in the family who are hard of hearing, and couple that with my brother’s penchant for turning up the TV way too loud – it was very hard to understand most of what was being said.
It was till fun, though. We had quite a crowd, too: Mother, Stewart, Julie, Kelly, Tara, Noel, Hank, Reed, Heather, Tony & his wife (she’s from Thailand and I can’t remember her name), Gleo, and myself.
As always, the buffet was set with all kinds of food. We had tomato soup w/ black beans in one crock-pot; beans w/ meat and onions in another crock-pot; home-made bread with tuna spread; rice with almonds, pecans, cranberries, veggies, and lots of other good stuff; cookies; lemonade; and a big pecan pie for dessert.
It’s a good 100 miles round trip each time I go out to my brother’s house. In this time of high gas prices and no employment, I really have to think twice each time I want to head out that direction. It’s worth it for the family gatherings, though – and gas prices continue to come back down to a more reasonable level.
Another thing to consider is the road conditions. This time, they were horrible. It was so icy the entire drive; my car kept wanting to go sideways. I saw several cars in the ditch along the way, one of which was upside down!
Their driveway wasn’t any better: I almost got stuck on the way out. My big brother helped, though (my hero!), so I eventually made it back onto the highway and arrived home safe and sound an hour later.
The movie this time was to have been Mother’s choice – however, she didn’t want to choose one, fearing that nobody would like whatever she picked. My brother Reed suggested that they “go together” on the choice, since his is the next one. So, we ended up watching “They Call Me Trinity” this time, and will watch part two of the series next time.
The write-up on the boxed set calls these movies “Spaghetti Westerns” which I can only assume is similar to my favorite B-Grade Sci-Fi movies. I really do wonder how they came up with the term “Spaghetti Western” though. Does anybody have any input on that? Leave a comment below if you do.
Anyway, the movie was interesting – a lot of gun fights, cattle rustling, slap-stick comedy, and some pretty shabby horses. Unfortunately, the movies did not come with captions, so we could not turn on the “words”. There are way too many of us in the family who are hard of hearing, and couple that with my brother’s penchant for turning up the TV way too loud – it was very hard to understand most of what was being said.
It was till fun, though. We had quite a crowd, too: Mother, Stewart, Julie, Kelly, Tara, Noel, Hank, Reed, Heather, Tony & his wife (she’s from Thailand and I can’t remember her name), Gleo, and myself.
As always, the buffet was set with all kinds of food. We had tomato soup w/ black beans in one crock-pot; beans w/ meat and onions in another crock-pot; home-made bread with tuna spread; rice with almonds, pecans, cranberries, veggies, and lots of other good stuff; cookies; lemonade; and a big pecan pie for dessert.
It’s a good 100 miles round trip each time I go out to my brother’s house. In this time of high gas prices and no employment, I really have to think twice each time I want to head out that direction. It’s worth it for the family gatherings, though – and gas prices continue to come back down to a more reasonable level.
Another thing to consider is the road conditions. This time, they were horrible. It was so icy the entire drive; my car kept wanting to go sideways. I saw several cars in the ditch along the way, one of which was upside down!
Their driveway wasn’t any better: I almost got stuck on the way out. My big brother helped, though (my hero!), so I eventually made it back onto the highway and arrived home safe and sound an hour later.
Vegetarianism
Hello. My name is Ruth, and I am a vegetarian.
Sounds like I just joined some 12-step program, doesn’t it? Like it’s some sort of disease that needs to be healed, or a chemical dependency that needs to be overcome so that I can fit back in to the mainstream of society.
It’s not a religious belief, or a political statement. At least, for me it’s not. I simply don’t like the taste of meat. I was born this way. Mother told me once that even as a baby she had a hard time getting me to eat meat.
We were quite poor growing up, so didn’t have the luxury of fixing a different meal for each child at dinner time. This meant that we were expected to eat whatever Mother made for dinner, and no arguments allowed. She did let me take very small portions at least; I filled up on the veggies and had a bite or two of the meat, and that was good.
Now that I’m all grown up (what!?) I simply don’t have meat in my house.
It’s kind of funny, some of the reactions I get. Some people really just don’t get it, you know?
My favorite was one of my old shooting buddies (yes, I shoot trap = its clay pigeons, not real ones!). He had a hard time grasping the concept of not eating any meat. He kept asking, “What else is there?”
How about: Everything!
Another favorite is the people who “catch” me eating chocolate. They gasp, point at me, and loudly proclaim, “I thought you were a vegetarian!”
Duh! Chocolate comes from plants.
I’m not vegan, so milk is ok – although I really don’t care for milk chocolate: the darker the chocolate, the better for me.
I’m not even a super-strict vegetarian: I do like fish. It’s mostly the cows, chickens, pigs, sheep, etc. that I don’t care for. I swear: if I eat some, it actually makes me aggressive!
I suppose I could claim it as a cost savings strategy. It really is expensive to buy all that meat all the time. One year for Christmas I got my sister and her family a gift certificate to a local butcher’s shop. I thought that for the amount I gave them they would end up with several meals worth – turns out they had one (1) meal.
I have made the conscientious decision to buy local as often as possible, as well as organic. Unfortunately, the two do not often go hand-in-hand. But the Saturday Market is just down the street from me, and is open throughout the summer months. It’s not only healthy for me but for the planet as well.
I can feel good about that.
Sounds like I just joined some 12-step program, doesn’t it? Like it’s some sort of disease that needs to be healed, or a chemical dependency that needs to be overcome so that I can fit back in to the mainstream of society.
It’s not a religious belief, or a political statement. At least, for me it’s not. I simply don’t like the taste of meat. I was born this way. Mother told me once that even as a baby she had a hard time getting me to eat meat.
We were quite poor growing up, so didn’t have the luxury of fixing a different meal for each child at dinner time. This meant that we were expected to eat whatever Mother made for dinner, and no arguments allowed. She did let me take very small portions at least; I filled up on the veggies and had a bite or two of the meat, and that was good.
Now that I’m all grown up (what!?) I simply don’t have meat in my house.
It’s kind of funny, some of the reactions I get. Some people really just don’t get it, you know?
My favorite was one of my old shooting buddies (yes, I shoot trap = its clay pigeons, not real ones!). He had a hard time grasping the concept of not eating any meat. He kept asking, “What else is there?”
How about: Everything!
Another favorite is the people who “catch” me eating chocolate. They gasp, point at me, and loudly proclaim, “I thought you were a vegetarian!”
Duh! Chocolate comes from plants.
I’m not vegan, so milk is ok – although I really don’t care for milk chocolate: the darker the chocolate, the better for me.
I’m not even a super-strict vegetarian: I do like fish. It’s mostly the cows, chickens, pigs, sheep, etc. that I don’t care for. I swear: if I eat some, it actually makes me aggressive!
I suppose I could claim it as a cost savings strategy. It really is expensive to buy all that meat all the time. One year for Christmas I got my sister and her family a gift certificate to a local butcher’s shop. I thought that for the amount I gave them they would end up with several meals worth – turns out they had one (1) meal.
I have made the conscientious decision to buy local as often as possible, as well as organic. Unfortunately, the two do not often go hand-in-hand. But the Saturday Market is just down the street from me, and is open throughout the summer months. It’s not only healthy for me but for the planet as well.
I can feel good about that.
Thursday, November 20, 2008
Namaste Shangri La
I tried to go to a talk on Global Climate Change today at lunch – but apparently I had the location down wrong. I showed up, but no one else did.
I was rather bummed about that – I had been looking forward to meeting the speaker, Jackie Poston from the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. I had heard she was very interesting, and had thought to volunteer some of my time to the cause – since I have so much time on my hands lately.
I hung around till noon, hoping to run into somebody that might know what was going on – but finally hunger drove me off.
I decided to treat myself to lunch at a relatively new place called Namaste Shangri La (www.namasteshangrila.blogspot.com) and boy, am I glad I did.
It’s a small place tucked into a strip mall off of Tudor near Lake Otis: not the easiest place to get to, but well worth the effort. Inside, it’s painted an interesting shade of celery (?) greed and decorated with photos from Tibet and/or Nepal.
It was rather chilly, so the waitress seated me towards the back of the room so I wouldn’t get cold up front by the door. Unfortunately, I was seated directly underneath a light that reflected off the glass tabletop right into my eye, exacerbating the migraine that was just starting to form. That was no fault of the waitress, though, and I really should have moved over to another chair at that same table.
While I read thru the menu, I sipped a cup of Chiya: imported Indian tea brewed with aromatic spices. Mmmmm… that was almost better than my choice of meal – but not quite.
What I chose was the Canoe Potato – an Alaskan potato stuffed with mixed vegetables and paneer (home made cottage cheese) served in a rich sauce with nuts for garnish.
I highly recommend you try this place! But – it’s small, so go early to ensure you get a good table. And if you’re prone to migraines, don’t be embarrassed to switch seats, dummy!
I was rather bummed about that – I had been looking forward to meeting the speaker, Jackie Poston from the Alaska Department of Environmental Conservation. I had heard she was very interesting, and had thought to volunteer some of my time to the cause – since I have so much time on my hands lately.
I hung around till noon, hoping to run into somebody that might know what was going on – but finally hunger drove me off.
I decided to treat myself to lunch at a relatively new place called Namaste Shangri La (www.namasteshangrila.blogspot.com) and boy, am I glad I did.
It’s a small place tucked into a strip mall off of Tudor near Lake Otis: not the easiest place to get to, but well worth the effort. Inside, it’s painted an interesting shade of celery (?) greed and decorated with photos from Tibet and/or Nepal.
It was rather chilly, so the waitress seated me towards the back of the room so I wouldn’t get cold up front by the door. Unfortunately, I was seated directly underneath a light that reflected off the glass tabletop right into my eye, exacerbating the migraine that was just starting to form. That was no fault of the waitress, though, and I really should have moved over to another chair at that same table.
While I read thru the menu, I sipped a cup of Chiya: imported Indian tea brewed with aromatic spices. Mmmmm… that was almost better than my choice of meal – but not quite.
What I chose was the Canoe Potato – an Alaskan potato stuffed with mixed vegetables and paneer (home made cottage cheese) served in a rich sauce with nuts for garnish.
I highly recommend you try this place! But – it’s small, so go early to ensure you get a good table. And if you’re prone to migraines, don’t be embarrassed to switch seats, dummy!
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