Tuesday, November 29, 2005
My mom, who turned 89 last September, has always been in good health, relatively speaking. In the last 6 or 8 months though her age has finally caught up with her, and in the last 3 months she's been in and out of the hospital several times. She went in again last week and has decided to reject any further treatment. Her mind is still very clear and she realizes that what they have to offer at this point is extremely invasive and of limited value. In other words she's ready and accepts what is coming. She was moved to a nursing home/hospice today. I'm driving there Friday to see her and help with financial and funeral arrangements.
Anyway, one of the things I also have to do is help empty out her appartment. I've arranged to borrow a delivery truck from work which I'll use to move a stove and a few pieces of furniture here. I can go one day either this coming weekend (12/3 or 4) or the next (12/10 or 11) and could use some help. Not much work is involved but the drive is a little less than two hours each way. I need at least one person, two would be better. Please comment or email or call if you're willing and can get a day free. Thanks.
Posted 5:27 PM by whatley (20) comments
Comments:
- I have been where you are, my friend. Long way from South Florida, so I guess all I have are thoughts as well. Hope you get a hand or two.
- Thanks Ralph. A guy from work (Bob) volunteered his help and Sunday the 11th would be best for him as well, so it looks like that's the plan. There's room for one more if anybody's up for it.
- Wow, thanks Andy. Could you bring a couple of tools? We have to unhook a gas stove so maybe a vice grips, big pliers and a couple of open end or a adjustible wrenches. I saw the shutoff and it's easy to get to but may be sticky.
We can leave at whatever time is comfortable for you guys. I was thinking 7:30 or 8:00ish but it really doesn't matter. I can get a dolly from work.
With 4 of us it'll go real quick, it may even be overkill. I'll take another look at what's going either today or mid next week and add an inventory to this comment.
- How does leaving my house at 8:00am sound? We'll have to pick the truck up in Brunswick then on to Youngstown. If 8:00 is too early please make your opinion heard now.
- Ok by me. Andy?
And Andy, do you know how to hook up a gas stove? I have an existing gas furnace, water heater, dryer just a few feet away. Can ya huh can ya?
Post a Comment- Hooking up a gas stove requires the concurrence and professional oversight of a certified professional who has lots and lots of anti-boom insurance. This message hs been a public service announcement sponsored by your local gas utility. "We have your safety and comfort in mind." Amateur, volunteered, uncertified and uncompensated free advice follows: Unless there is a stove gas supply line popping up through the concrete slab floor already, or emerging from the existing finished wall, the installation might require some or all of the following 1) Chiseling a trench across the concrete slab floor 2) Ripping out drywall across the ceiling or 3) punching a hole through the outside wall and running the line outside and thence through the back of the kitchen cabinets. Gas prices will at least double and maybe triple within a year or two. Electric rates will lag, but will follow shortly because the gas demand driving the increase is due in large part to natural gas fueling of new power plants. Coal fired plants are too expensive to clean up emissions.
Saturday, November 26, 2005
Our story thus far:
A Midwestern, self-absorbed, wigged-out nerdling finds himself ensconced deep in the bowels of Corporate America. He continues along, acting his part, wondering when the evil overlords will penetrate his disguise and discover the changeling in their midst. In the fullness of time, the millinary-indigestible complex suffers economic setbacks, and dread foreign incursions are detected. Writhing and thrashing, Corporate America responds in heroic fashion - it ejects hordes of low-level functional employees in a Holy Crusade to excrete cash. The top leadership ranks swell to generate the required spate of morale-enhancing Powerpoint presentations. Dire predictions of dark doom underly the uplifting messages of salvation.
Meanwhile, our nerdling experiences a change of direct management, the near-elimination of his position, the doubling of workload (as a reward for keeping his position) and an increasing tide of micro-management from above. Coincident with that, our protagonist, reporting on a customer concern, sends an FYI communication that finds its way to high levels. Misinterpreting the communique, a Director causes himself some embarrasment by over-reacting. Suddenly, our nerdling is pinned in the glare of censurious backlash, anonymous no more. Naturally, somebody has to be at fault, and who better than one at the bottom rank? Since this is a Holy Crusade, Papal Infallibility must be invoked.
So, our anti-hero falls again under the shadow of the reorganization axe. There seems to be no room at the inn. The future recedes into the mist of probabilities as randomness increases. It is true, our nerdling realizes: The social agenda of Corporate America is revealed. Entropy will be served. "IT'S A COOK BOOK! IT'S A COOK BOOK!"
Posted 10:49 AM by Andy (0) comments
Comments:
So, the weekend after Thanksgiving. Still plenty of leftovers so you won't be cooking much today, nobody in their right mind would attempt a trip to the mall and it's too cold and slushy to go play outside. What to do, what to do...
If you feel like whiling away an hour or two on line here's just the thing; a listing of the (supposedly) 46 best-ever freeware utilities, downloadable for your 'puting pleasure. I already use several of these and plan on trying a few more out today. I've seen some comments about this site and they're very positive, the only complaint being that the owner makes you sign up for a newsletter before receiving other tips and freeware recommendations. I went ahead and did so (I don't usually but hey, I'm bored) and will post a comment if I find it worthwhile or not.
Posted 8:13 AM by whatley (0) comments
Comments:
Wednesday, November 23, 2005
Whatever happened to Andy Allen? Remember him? A guy who used to post here a lot? Maybe he fell into a batch of cookie dough (how would you label that batch... chocolate chips with nut?). Maybe he siad to hell with the cookies and started a meth lab. Inquiring minds want to know.
Posted 6:19 AM by whatley (3) comments
Comments:
- Andy and cookies??? Wow, I have missed alot. I don't know why, but I don't think of cookies when I think of Andy Allan. Hope he surfaces and clears all of this up.
- Yep. Cookies. Send unmarked $$ in plain brown wrapper and receive our home-made cookies in return. We are "Straight From the Hearth". No web site at this time. Russ - do you know a reliable web host that will be in existence for more than two or three weeks?
Post a Comment- There you are! I was gettin worried.
I have been VERY happy with tRBT host JaguarPC. Very affordable, plenty of storage and monthly bandwidth. For support there's a user forum and a ticket system that's actually monitored and answered. Lots of tested and pre-configured freeware programs installable through one of their interfaces, everything from blog systems to ecommerce.
Sunday, November 20, 2005
Greetings to all of you who occupy my memories!
It is a pleasure to know that there is substance to the misty remembrances of my tumultuous youth. I really spent only a small fraction of my life in Elyria but those years seem to have impact far beyond the time spent. Perhaps it was the influence of the times in combination with my inquisitive adolescence - I don't know. I do know that I find myself thinking about issues today that were issues back in "those days" and I am grateful to find old friends and kindred spirits in the same place.
Life has taken some twists and turns for me - as I am sure for everyone else. I live in South Florida now. Married for almost 5 years. No, this is not my first marriage - but I can't tell you everything on the first posting. I am not that kind of girl.
I graduated in 1978 from the University of Cincinnati with a B.S. in Urban Affairs but found my calling later as a registered nurse, Indiana University - 1996. Worked in labor and delivery for several years prior to moving south. I have stayed in maternal-child health with my current position as a nursing supervisor with a program that blends State of Florida, Department of Health funds and local private resources to serve at risk pregnant women and their babies. Most of the risk comes from the effects of the inequities of poverty with a dash of substance abuse thrown in for fun. Challenging work but I am not going anywhere soon. Hoping to be able to work toward a master in public health. Still waiting for my acceptance letter. Wish me luck.
My husband, Marc, is an old friend from my days in Cincinnati who was willing to see what would happen if he opened the door to a crazy lady with 3 kids, 4 cats and a rambunctious golden retriever. He hasn't asked me to give back my keys yet so it must be going ok. Marc is a sales consultant for a small company specializing in South American, Spanish and Portuguese wines.
I have 3 children: Jessica who is 23 and in college majoring in poli sci, Christine - high school senior, president of her chorus, loves poetry and Kevin who is 15 and learning how to play the guitar. The fates were kind to me - I have great kids and find that I actually enjoy teenagers. I am sure that I was not this likeable when I was young. Retribution has yet to find me. I do worry for them, though. It must be tough to take when your mom likes your music and your politics.
I have kept in touch with the Schoolhouse denizen and peripherals in a very loose manner. Went to a reunion a few years back and ran into Robin and John. Spent a day on Lake Erie with Nick Kontos. My intro to tRBT came after tracking down Ralph. He was nice enough to mention that there were indeed some people left among the living and offered this blog as proof. Still, it could be just another hallucination, albeit an entertaining one. Russ has been kind to offer me an opportunity to join you. It will be fun.
I hope to hear from those of you that I knew, who still remember that silly dark haired short girl. Me. Terri Shepard. . . And a couple other names in between, now Terri Kanter. Some things have changed. Some not. I like to think for the better.
Posted 1:36 PM by Terri S (3) comments
Comments:
- Most excellent. Another piece of the flotsam (or is it jetsam?) that used to flot (and/or jet) along with the rest of us many years ago is found alive and well. Does tRBT never sleep or what? Good post and wecome aboard Terri.
- Terri -- so good to hear from you. Have been wondering for some time now where to send your Solistice/Xmas/Kwanzaa/Hanukkah/Saturnalia/etc.
I will be visiting the Naples area for a few days in January but S. FL is a big place ...
Looking forward to hearing more.
Robin: rruth@kent.edu, rruth@neo.rr.com
John: jeichenlaub@westfieldgrp.com, jeichenlaub@projectxxi.com
Welcome back!
Post a Comment- Whoosh. Time dilation. Nineteen seventy-something compresses directly to twothousandfive in milliseconds. Leaves me breathless. Bright and inquisitive teen morphs into health care professional and parent. Whap! Bonk! Pow! Infinite probability collapses to singularity. Lots of wondering over the years about where you went and how you fared. I was in Hudson, Fla. when you posted your note, but didn't check back here until last week. Save a day for next year. I will be back during the week before turkey-day. Until then, tell all via email. Thanks for coming back!
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Meet Stewart Simonson
"He's the official charged by Bush with 'the protection of the civilian population from acts of bioterrorism and other public health emergencies'--a well-connected, ideological, ambitious Republican with zero public health management or medical expertise, whose previous job was as a corporate lawyer for Amtrak. When Col. Lawrence Wilkerson, former chief of staff for Secretary of State Colin Powell, recently speculated, 'If something comes along that is truly serious...like a major pandemic, you are going to see the ineptitude of this government in a way that will take you back to the Declaration of Independence,' many of those professionally concerned with such scenarios couldn't help thinking of Simonson. They recalled his own unsettling words at a recent Homeland Security subcommittee hearing on government response to a chemical or biological attack: 'We're learning as we go.' "
Posted 5:40 AM by whatley (0) comments
Comments:
Tuesday, November 15, 2005
I looked for a specific Cheech Wizard strip to link to yesterday, one about his mailman "forgetting" to deliver the sack full of cards and gifts he expected on his birthday so Cheech gets drunk in the woods instead, but I couldn't find it. Yep, yesterday was my Bday but nope, I didn't get drunk in the woods. Spent the day raking leaves instead. Do I know how to have a good time or what? I did get a surprise birthday phone call though. A voice asked to speak to "Mr. Whatley", which is usually a sign that you've got a telemarketer on the line. At this point proper etiquette demands that you either slam the phone down or scream obscenities and then slam the phone down, but for some reason I didn't. Low and behold, I was speaking with Earl Martin, my state representative. Apparently this guy culls through voter registration rolls and selects constituents to call and wish a happy birthday. Here was my chance to sound off about the state related issues of my choice but of course I drew a blank. Like most people I don't pay all that much attention to politics at the state level so didn't even know what party the guy is affiliated with. I thought about asking but, a) didn't want to reveal my ignorance and, b) didn't want to force him to admit he's a republican (hey, he took the time to call, why embarrass him?). He asked how I was spending the day and when I told him about raking leaves said he'd just this year tried using a power washer instead of a leaf blower to move 'em around. Not so noisy and worked real good. In spite of my blankness we must have hit it off ok though as, after I asked, he gave me his personal email and phone number. Interesting call and, I gotta admit, pretty cool campaign tactic.
Posted 5:39 AM by whatley (2) comments
Comments:
Post a Comment- Yeah, a good ol' politician, Mr. Earl. Not a very library-friendly fellow, though, or citizen friendly, I think. He has stated that we ought to charge for all library services (videos, dvds, cds, books, and internet usage) and wouldn't that make Ben Franklin roll over in his grave. More funding cuts coming our way, I betcha. Got any favorite authors? Read 'em now while you can. And while we're at it let's widen that gulf between the have and the ain't gots.
Saturday, November 12, 2005
So, 32.9 seconds eh? Not enough of a challenge for the calm, cool and collected Marsha? Give a few of these a try miss smartypants.
Posted 6:11 AM by whatley (1) comments
Comments:
Monday, November 07, 2005
This is harder than it looks. I haven't been able to go much beyond 12 seconds. I'll ask my doctor if Panexa would help.
Posted 11:59 AM by whatley (10) comments
Comments:
- She's up to 32.9 and says she's retiring unless she gets some serious competition.
Thanks for another mindless time waster, Russ.
Post a Comment- I think you're both lying like a couple of rugs.
P.S. Marsha, you're a big girl now, you can post your own comments.
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