A place for reflection and commentary on a life well lived. Sort of. Well.... we try.
I own all ramblings made here...
© WhizGidget/AMS
I own all ramblings made here...
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Wednesday, March 31, 2004
The Stitcher's Five...
...So I'll do this today in lieu of an actual entry
1. When did you first start stitching?
The first time or the second time? I started stitching when I was about 12 or 13 - small things. I'd already accomplished some plastic canvas thing, and a latch hook rug. I picked up a stamped cross stitch kit somewhere, and did that rather quickly, but I wasn't too sure about whether I'd put the right colors in the right places. Then I decided to try my hand at counted. I couldn't get the hang of that to save my life until about two years later.
And then I found a brand new leaflet with this Unicorn standing in the darkness outside a window. I was about 15 or 16. Little did I know that the designer would become one of my ultimate favorites and that a BB for discussing her stuff and other things would become significant half a lifetime later. Anyway, I was working away at a corner of it (and finally LOVING counted) as I'd barely started when one of my friends saw me in my yearbook office and told a couple of other friends. Pretty soon I was getting grief for doing "Grandma" stuff. I dropped the stitching immediately. I don't know where that leaflet is anymore...
Then I picked it up again when I was 27 - my kids' homesitter stitched like a demon possessed - she could whip through almost anything so fast. And she was stitching the cutest little bears - all dressed up in different uniforms to signify a profession or costumes as if they're other animals or to celebrate a holiday. I got an idea almost immediately to stitch something for my girls. She told me the designer's name (Lynn Busa) who happened to be a penpal of hers, and the booklet name (101 Bears with Personalities) and off I went. And I've not stopped since. I didn't realize until I picked up two dragon designs (Castle and Dragon Ride) that I fell in love with, that I'd made my way back to the designer that started my love of counted.
2. How long have you been stitching?
About 5 years steadily, not counting the first years when I was a teen.
3. Did someone teach you or did you teach yourself?
Myself, myself, myself. My mom said her mom knew how to do it, but she didn't. Grandma could crochet, but not stitch. Mom didn't know how to do anything.
4. Describe your first project (if you can remember!).
I'll describe what got me started again when I was 27. I found the leaflet with the bears, and another booklet with a flowery alphabet. I charted out my daughters' names, and stitched them, and I changed the colors, and then I put a couple of bears (with buttons and sparkly sewing thread - Kreinik, what's that?) around the names, and made them into hangings. The kids still have them hanging off the ends of their beds.
5. When did you first realise that stitching was for you?
Pretty darn quick. The minute I picked up a needle and realized how relaxed I suddenly was did it for me. And there's no looking back (unless there's a deadline to be met).
That's all from me today. See you tomorrow.
Tuesday, March 30, 2004
*sigh* Life's just going downhill....
... Ok, maybe I'm being melodramatic, but how else can I explain it?
I've got friend troubles (see yesterday's blog for details). But I'll get past that one. Eventually.
I've got pet troubles. Sasha's been sniffing very interestingly at my stitching lately, and that's not a good thing, since it's Suz's RR that's currently on my stand. I think that the fabric she used was a piece that JenH gave her as a wedding present too. And this is my first RR ever, so I'm naturally worried about something happening to any of the pieces that come into my hands (and about my own, all alone out there).
And to top it all off, I'm bone dry for April Fool's Jokes. I usually have at least 5 or 6 by now that I know I'm going to play, but this year, I'm dead bone dry. I don't have any to play on co-workers that I can pull off by myself, and I don't have any for the TWBB (yes, folks, you're safe this year I'm sad to say). I was trying to get Suz to say that Salsa was knocked up and the impacts to the Pancho for President campaign, but she wouldn't go along with me on it.
Darn it. I love a good joke. And one that I can pull in a bunch of people on to help is always a good thing. I don't have the time to sit down and think up anything via free association either, and something hitting me at the last minute is never good because I can't fill any loopholes in.
Ah well, the world is safe this year.
On a happier note, I finished framing my MIL's stitching piece that her sister made for her. There's a little crooked spot, but I twisted and rolled that fabric every which way, and I couldn't fix it. Oh well, it's not noticeable - except to me. But the framing is beautiful, and I'll have to post a pic of it one of these days.
That's all from me today. I can't think of anything to wonder about. Oh great... that's another one. I've run out of things to wonder about....
*...wanders away with a blank mind....*
Monday, March 29, 2004
*sigh*
... I have a not easy situation on my hands at the moment.
I have a good friend... well, I think we're good friends. Maybe not now, but we were. I met her through work, and we both still work here. We work in totally different departments - from a business and environment perspective, if that makes any sense. But we really don't do anything outside of the office. We used to walk together after work, but that kind of dissolved. But we still got tea together in the mornings, and go out to lunch daily.
She got nervous when I moved up in the food chain to report to a VP instead of a Director - in fact, I'm a peer of my ex-boss now. I thought I did a pretty good job of convincing her that just my job has changed, and not me. But that would surface once in a rare while - that I'm management and she's not.
Then last week happened.
She took Monday off, and was pretty sure that she'd requested it. Come to find when she returned to the office on Tuesday that she hadn't submitted an FTO form. This would be the first time that this had ever happened to her. She was told that she would be 'counseled' since it was her first offense. Normally, most people wouldn't blink.
This had her clearly worried... a little background into why...
The supervisor that she reports to is a back-biting power junkie (and, as it seems to me, he's also a very insecure gay man). He has a superior attitude and is pretty confident in that he can get away with almost anything. He's got 'spies' in the department who will catch wind of anyone who sounds like they're going to complain to HR about him and he starts his retaliation prior to them being able to go. Not that they could do that during their work hours because if they have a shift on the phones, then they need to be at the phones. Lunches and breaks are closely monitored so that people come back at exactly the minute they're supposed to.
Many people have left the company as a result of his tactics. I was pretty convinced that a couple of them have mentioned him as the reason why they left, but I wonder if HR marked it up to personality conflict as opposed to an actual problem.
To say that there are some unfair practices going on is an understatement. My friend isn't part of the standard pool of reps - she's administration and support. She has a specialized function. But among all the folks in that little support group, it sounds like she's the one that's treated just like a rep - and she's never been one in the first place (as far as I can recall), so it's not like he can't break out of an old behavior set.
Here's another example of the controls set in this department. They recently had a Q&A session with the CEO of the company. All questions for the CEO had to be submitted in advance and approved by the management of the department. There would be no questions allowed that weren't approved in advance - so basically, no one could speak before, during, or after the talk to the CEO. I was pretty sure that this would backfire on the department. They were also given sweater vests to wear during this 'university' session (which is what they were calling it). Only half the people wore the vests (not everyone likes sweater vests when it's 70 degrees outside and the average age of the department is under 30). The CEO finished his talk based on the questions that he was given, and then opened the floor for questions - just as I suspected, since I've been working here for 5 years, and I know how our CEO behaves. No one in the group of 30 people spoke. As my friend put it - 'made us all look very stupid'. 3 people finally asked questions, but I suspect that they were 'talked to' afterwards for asking something that wasn't approved prior to the session.
Anyway, my friend started dreading this 'counseling' session, and I told her just to be contrite and it should be fine. Wrong-O. Apparently someone else who is a lead in the department (or something similar to such) reported about my friend's tea break in the morning to the evil supervisor and she ended up being 'talked to' for that too. It might be a write up, but I'm not sure. I didn't get into the details of it. Apparently this other person (the lead) was 'out for blood' and it didn't matter whose it was.
There is definitely something wrong in this department. I'm a peer of the Director of that department, but I've got a dilemma myself. I can't say anything because if I do, and anything happens as a result of my saying anything, then they'll know right where it came from (that being my friend). I want to say something to HR, but 1) it's coming from someone outside the department and won't be given the weight that it should and 2) it might bring the supervisor down on someone unfairly. I suspect that he's paranoid too.
Anyway, last week she let me know about the lead who was 'out for blood' (her words), and clued me into a conversation where the person in question asked her if anything was wrong. My friend blew the situation off, and let the lead know that nothing was indeed wrong. Here's where things went south.
She started saying that she's going to be looking for another job because she's so sick of management in her department. I applaud that decision, because it's pretty clear that nothing's going to change anytime soon - the supervisor in question has been here almost as long as I have been here. Then she mentioned something that she's repeated often for the last couple of years - that she has this feeling that they're trying to get rid of her. *sigh* If I had a dollar for every time she'd said that I probably could have retired last year - and I told her that. I also mentioned something about the paranoia rearing its head again.
Yes, I'm stupid. Certifiably. But I also let her know that if they were trying to get rid of her they certainly would have drummed up a reason that she couldn't possibly argue against (his word against her word) long ago. I also mused that perhaps they're trying to make her so fed up that she quits of her own accord (they've done it to others), but that I didn't see how that would be in their best interests either.
Then came the apology. She apologized to me... I knew instantly what that was about, and didn't answer. Every time she goes down a negative path she apologizes profusely and then says she'll never bother me with her negative attitude again. I didn't answer, figuring that we'd probably discuss it at lunch. When lunch came, I'd lost track of time, and by the time I did look up I found her car was gone. I left the building around the same time that she drove back in.
Later on in the afternoon I got an email from her apologizing for anything she may have said that offended me. I let her know that she didn't offend me - really, she didn't - but that she's been paranoid, negative and stricken with a defeatist attitude for too long.
Again, I reiterate. I'm a very stupid person.
The reply I got stated that she won't bother me anymore with her attitude and that she doesn't want to bring me down with her. I was so pissed off by this point about something else that wasn't remotely related that I fired off a response about her running away from constructive criticism and to do whatever suits her best. She replied (and I never responded because I honestly didn't know how) that she recalled I don't like surrounding myself with negative attitudes because I used to be exactly the same way.
This is true. I don't like surrounding myself with such. Nor do I like dealing with people who are paranoid or complain all the time, or thinks that the earth revolves around them... but sometimes those are qualities that my good friends have - way deep down, they're all great people, with an occasional annoying quirk. Everyone has them, as do I - some folks hate my rambling, or read things incorrectly in my responses to things when I take a decidedly dry turn in my discourse. I don't come across as personable as I actually am. *shrug* But that comes with the territory.
So here I am at a crossroads. I don't know what to do, and I don't know what to say. I'm not looking for suggestions or counseling, and I know the individual in question reads my blog. I don't know that she'd be reading it now after this, but you never know. And I can't help but think she may read this and take all of it the absolute wrong way... I don't feel like I need to apologize for my actions or words, but on the other hand, perhaps I do need to. I'm really not sure. I certainly value this individual as a friend, but a body can only take so much in their lives before the outside influences start dragging them down. This last week her fear, concern, paranoia, negativity, and defeatist attitude reached a new high (or would that be a new low...) - and I just couldn't handle it anymore. As much as I'd hate to lose her as a friend. I just don't know what to do without losing part of myself.
I can't ask her to not talk about stuff that's bothering her, because I'm one of those people that naturally asks people if something is bothering them - I tune into that sort of thing. I can't ask her to behave in a happy manner or only come around when she's happy because that's selfish of me, and not very supportive in the friend department...
.... so shrugging What do I do? ...wanders off to wonder about this some more offline...
Friday, March 26, 2004
There's no Friday Five this week...
...so that leaves me with an open spot and nothing to talk about, so I'll just ramble a little and see what happens...
B has me worried. She is just starting to work on double digit addition and subtraction, and after doing just one of her math problems she decided that it's too hard. She's been procrastinating, walking away from her table, and generally complaining about the work. If I try and redirect her, she gets mad. If I try and show her a quick trick on how to do it easily, she'll engage for one more problem and then we're back at square one. If I firmly tell her to do her homework and stop whining, she throws a royal tantrum.
Have I mentioned that we think she was royalty in a past life? No? Well, we think that she was royalty in a past life. There, I've said it, and I'll talk about this more further down. Unless I forget.
Usually after the meltdown, and some coddling about how easy her homework actually is, about how she could have been finished by now with it all if she hadn't wasted time crying, about how smart she is.... then she starts working on the homework. Last night after two hours of fighting with her, she calmed down and finished it all in 15 minutes.
She lost two hours of playtime, and we didn't go out to dinner as a result. We were going to go out as soon as she finished her homework, but that wasn't happening. A & B had cold cereal for dinner, and DH and I split some leftover pasta. That's a far cry from the Indian food that we were gonna have instead.
DH has had the same issues with B - only with him she tells him that they thinks she's dumb. I'm wondering where she's getting this because it's not coming from us or A - and her classmates at school had better hope that it's not coming from *them* else there's gonna be one big mad mom coming down on them. I'm pretty sure that it's not coming from school though either because B is sensitive and tells me when people say "mean stuff" at school.
My poor smart little blue-eyed Boo. I wish I could convince her that her homework isn't the enemy, but instead that she's being her own enemy.
My dad has an interesting view of things every once in a while, and I thought I'd share one of them with y'all.
He believes that there are old souls and new souls. You can tell the difference sometimes too. An old soul is more cautious and watches how things are done (and generally gets them right the first time they try to do it). They're introspective and usually reserved. Comes from having knowledge of a previous go-round on an earthly plane, I would suppose. Or they're tired because of how many times they've already been around.
New souls are more rambunctious. They dive right into things, and are more prone to be in the center of the circle than on the perimeter, watching quietly. They're not afraid of anything, because they haven't learned to be cautious. Free-spirited? Oh my yes.
So, Dad has categorized A & B. A is a new soul. This is probably her first time around and she's excited and full of energy. She's not afraid of anything, and is always willing to try new things and put herself out there as a leader. B is an old soul. She's quiet and watches things - sometimes she's shy. She tends to do tasks correctly the first time that she tries it after watching it several times. She's wise beyond her years, and she senses when people are sad or happy, and picks up on that emotion herself.
Now, psychologists would say that my Dad (and I) have just explained the differences between an introvert and an extrovert, but I think that there's just a little something more to that. I don't know a lot of introverts who can be shy one minute and then laughing and hugging her friends just 15 minutes later. Or extroverts who aren't afraid of ANYTHING. Ah well, my daughters are what they are, and I love them regardless for it.
But I'm sure that there's something to what my Dad has said, since B does seem to expect us to wait on her hand and foot and has thrown tantrums to suit the most spoiled of princesses. Like I said before, DH and I are pretty sure that she was royalty for more than one previous go-round.
That or she was a cat.
Well, there's just two weeks to go in Lent, and I'm still keeping all of my promises. I've not eaten chocolate (knowingly), candy or soda. There's been a few instances where I think I've really needed some, but was able to stave it off.
After my grandmother died, I was sitting at my desk feeling more than a little bit lost, and I really wanted some chocolate. My co-workers know what I've been up to, so they don't accidentally leave a chocolate doughnut on my desk - which would really frustrate me. Anyway, one of them passes by and hears my quiet (or so I thought) lament about why did I choose now to give up chocolate. He looks at me and says, "God knows all, and forgives all. Have a small piece of chocolate - he'll understand. Just say about 20 novenas as your penance." It brought a laugh, which is what I think it was designed to do.
Why is it that people have a great necessity to laugh and speak loudly on the phone for personal calls they make and receive at work, yet speak ultra-quietly for the business related calls? It's not like we're not all under the same non-disclosure agreements, but I really don't need to know how your parents business is being audited and how your best buddy is soooo clueless.
Here's something to think about, for all you shellfish lovers: Lobsters were once considered inedible and used primarily as fertilizer. Betcha you're going to think twice before you order a lobster next time you get the opportunity.
Something else to think about... The famous Nike Swoosh symbol was created by a graphic design student in Portland, OR. She was paid $35 for her design. *looks down at her well worn $65 Nike Cross-Trainers* You'd think that she could have gotten more for it. Nike sure got a bargain...
While it's usually true that only the paranoid survive (thank you Andy Grove for that famous quote), sometimes the paranoid need to.... *sigh* I won't go there. Sometimes it's founded; more often than not it's unfounded. I've been there too. Business is business, and those who truly want to succeed aren't going to cut off their noses to spite their faces. They want to make sure that they look good - if that means drawing a hard line sometimes so that they look capable for upper management, then so be it. And some folks live in their own little worlds where they have power, can get away with anything, and that it's just a matter of time before they become part of upper management.
It's nice to have a dream, isn't it? Even if it will never be realized.
Well... I think I've said enough today. Go have a wonderful weekend, and I'll try to do the same.
Thursday, March 25, 2004
Saving, spending, wasting...
...it's all about the time you have.
I recently started listening to a local country music station. For the many people who know me and read this, they're probably stunned at that statement.
Me? Listen to country music? Without being forced to?
Yes. It is true. But you can't say you didn't see it coming 4 or 5 years ago when I bought an album by someone named Shania Twain, and was praising Faith Hill's voice as one of the prettiest I've ever heard.
Anywhooz-a-wooz, I've been listening to country (and there's some pretty good rockin' songs there these days), and there was a song that hit me like a lightening bolt the other day, while I was driving A & B home from school. Actually, it was one lyric in particular:
No matter how much time I buy
I can never spend it all
You can work all the shortcuts that you can so as to have as much time as possible to do other things. But then you spend that time doing all those other things that you need to do, and what are you left with? Sure, the beds are made and the laundry is folded, but where's that extra time that you wanted to spend doing other stuff that you wanted to do. Or that time to spend doing almost nothing?
Some would say, however, that doing nothing with your time means you're wasting it. I wouldn't agree. After all, watching the clouds roll by as you lie on a blanket in the park *is* almost nothing, but I wouldn't consider it a waste of time. It's a nice way to pass the time and relax. You could spend the time watching a movie, reading a book, or stitching on a tapestry - all are great ways to spend some time, if that's how you want to spend it.
Funny thing that time
We're always running out
I'm always losing mine
There's not enough of it about
The right answer to that one should be: whatever you want! But alas, that's not always the case. Some of us work for a living. Some have other committments because we have a hard time saying 'no'. Some have the attitude of "someone's got to do it" and they do and do whatever that is. It's too bad that I can't have their free time and tack it onto my life. Then I might actually spend an hour doing housework - something that needs doing, but is it really all that critical that your floors are so clean you could see your reflection in them and be able to eat off of them? *shakes head* I know someone *winks at Stasha* who has that same attitude... So, we should enjoy the time we have, no matter how little of it there is.
I won't go quietly into that dark night
There'll be no more burning daylight
I'll be living in
Every moment that I'm in
You don't ever want to miss spending time with your parents, grandparents or children. You never know when your time might run out. Or if it starts spinning out with your knowledge, then you may start regretting the time that you did spend doing all sorts of mundane things instead of going out and flying a kite, or surfing (on waves, not the web), or taking that extra moment or two to tell someone how important they are to you.
I've been reminded recently that life is short. My boss' daughter is in the hospital due to something that was unknown and completely out of her control - a birth defect that no one knew she had. She's facing some more surgery, and a long road of rehabilitation but is doing wonderfully well at the moment. She could very easily have died when that tangle of blood vessels finally cracked in her brain and put her almost instantly into a coma, but the fates made sure she was in public where people paid attention and helped almost immediately. She was out enjoying the afternoon, rollerblading in the park. She's just a year or so younger than I am.
It's made me more thankful than anything else I have experienced for the time that I have to spend. Life is way too short to spend it doing things that are unpleasant, or to spend it angry at other people (or ourselves) for things that were unavoidable. It's too short to spend it doing housework when you could be watching cartoons with your kids...
I'm going to spend my time
like it's going out of style...
The full set of lyrics to 'Spend my Time' can be found here. The video (requires Quicktime) for 'Spend My Time' is linked to on the front page of that site.
Tuesday, March 23, 2004
Another lost tooth...
... from A.
This one's number 7, and DH says she's lopsided - she's got all these teeth on one side of her mouth, and all of these holes on the other side. I really need to get her to an orthodontist too, but that's not the point of this.
Yesterday when she finally pulled that tooth out, which she's been fussing at for days, she was beyond thrilled that she would get to leave it for the tooth faerie. Yes, at the age of 8 she still doesn't know that it's me pulling that duty - she still believes in Santa and the Easter Bunny as well, and I like it that way since her 6 year old sister still has a concrete belief set. And yes, B is very jealous that her sister has lost so many teeth and she's not lost one herself. She does wiggle at a couple of teeth that are just a slight bit wiggly, but nothing to have any concern over. I suspect she'll lose multiple teeth at a time - and the faerie may have to rob a bank for a multi-tooth payout.
I remember the tooth faerie from when I was a child - she was in place for one tooth. I got a dime. With the second tooth my parents told me that the tooth faerie didn't exist and that they paid better than she did anyway - and I got quarters for each of my teeth thereafter. My parents ruined my belief of Santa and the Easter Bunny as well, and I promised myself that I would never reveal to my kids like that, and that I'd keep the mystique going for as long as I possibly could. It's just as much fun being an imaginary creature as it is believing in it when you're a small wide-eyed child filled with curiosity and wonderment.
Anyway, in order to put A's tooth under the pillow it has to be in something. We don't want a repeat of another lost tooth that just got put under the pillow without anything only to be lost for months. When that happened, A was so sad, and DH suggested that she write a note to the tooth faerie about it, and maybe she'd still get something. That turned out to be the beginning of a new legacy... the tooth faerie wrote a note back, and it became A's most treasured item.
I don't blame her - after all, how often do you get a note from a faerie? Especially one that's as elusive as the tooth faerie?
We found that tooth later in the carpet, but are still trying to figure out how that tooth managed to not get vacuumed up in the times that we paid attention to the carpet in their room. I searched that room several times for that tooth, too. Anyway, when A found it she wrote another note to the tooth faerie, and received a thank you note in return. That, too, became a treasure. Every time the faerie has visited since, a note with a dollar has been left. I just wish she would lose these teeth on Fridays or Saturdays so that I could be there in the morning when she finds the note and hear her excitement about it all.
For this new lost tooth, A went off and acquired an air mail envelope from DH, and sealed it in my presence. I told her that the smart thing to do would be to go put that under her pillow right away, and so she did. What I didn't know was that she managed to find a pen and write the faerie a note back.
As I quietly slipped under her pillow to steal the tooth and leave a note with another gold dollar coin, she stirred slightly but stayed asleep. I pulled out the envelope to find that she'd written a note on the outside of it with arrows pointing to where the tooth was. I ran downstairs to show DH - who was putting Sasha's bedding back in her kennel - and he wanted to read it twice. 'That's a keeper' he told me. Oh yes, after all, how often does the tooth faerie get a note?
It was so cute, written in that uneven 8 year old printing of hers. I almost cried at the sweet innocence of the words and the ever-so-thoughtful arrows pointing to the telltale bump in the envelope. I probably should have run downstairs and written a different note thanking her for her note now that I think about it, but I'll remember it next time. Every time she loses a tooth, the faerie visits her stash that contains a couple of notes about a lost tooth and an apology and those lost teeth of A's. The newest addition to the collection is right on top where I can see it easily. Oh, what's that? You want to know what the note said? Oh, I think we might want to leave that between the faerie and the child...
... after all, it was simply magical correspondence.
Monday, March 22, 2004
Disney Animation....
... I promised this was coming... now it's here.
What's one of the first things that you think about when you think of Disney?
For some, that's a quick and easy answer: The Mouse. For others, it's a classic feature such as 'Old Yeller' or 'The Parent Trap', or a visit to the theme park...
...and then there's the rest of us who worship in the church of Disney Animation.
I have yet to meet a person in my life who doesn't have a favorite animated Disney movie ~ or several. In all honesty, I can't just one either. I think a great part of the Disney draw is not just a solid story, but the wonderment and escapism found in the bright colors and friendly images presented on-screen.
Disney animation isn't how it used to be though. Everything used to be hand-drawn - hours of artistry and craft brought to artificial life for the amusement and wonderment of all who wanted to see it. Classics like 'Sleeping Beauty', 'Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs', and 'Pinocchio'...
... who could resist soaring along with the Darling family as they made their way to Neverland? Or crying when the shot rang out across the meadow that felled Bambi's mom? Or melting as Tramp pushed that meatball to Lady? Ah, but the days of those laborious hand-drawn images are gone, as are the charms of those stories.
Oh! Those wonderful features that I watched as I grew up... Even as Disney moved into the modern age and started to work computer modeling into taking on small tasks in the 90's, the beauty and charm of the stories remained. 'Beauty and the Beast', 'The Little Mermaid', 'The Lion King' ~ amazing stories and images that became instant classics. I can't argue that they aren't classics either - they've stood up well for the last few years without feeling repetitive or stale. It *is* a bit daunting, however, that a couple of the most beloved Disney "classics" came out when I was in high school and early college - I'm not that old, after all.
But then the Disney well started to run dry. Sure, they were still releasing movies based on classic stories such as 'Hercules', 'Pocahontas' and 'Mulan', but they almost felt like parodies of the original stories, and all three were met with great criticism when they were released. Never mind that 'Mulan' has grown to be one of Disney's "Princesses" and one of the more favored recent releases - that certainly wasn't the case when it was first released. The stories are still charming, to a degree, they're still Disney (of course), but something is lacking in them. Something that's been lacking for awhile with Disney, and I think they knew it in the animation arm of the corporation.
Then came a little outfit named Pixar.
With Pixar, originality in stories not seen since 'Dumbo' and 'The Aristocats' has returned to the Disney stable ~ 'Toy Story', 'A Bug's Life' ~ released by Disney, but not their idea. They came from the imaginations of John Lassiter and Andrew Stanton. There's another fundamental difference between the two companies as well. Pixar, unlike Disney, has always relied on CGI to put together their features. Disney saw the intelligence in that, and decided a partnership would be smart. Honestly, it's the best corporate move that Disney has made in years (no, this isn't going to be an Eisner bashing party, but if you wish to take aim in the comments section, please feel free).
The two companies continued to collaborate while Disney put out items under their own banner, and while a battle between the two over a contract negotiation raged. When Pixar was just starting to render images for 'Monsters, Inc' and 'Finding Nemo' has just wound its way into Andrew Stanton's imagination, Disney put out things like 'The Emperor's New Groove', and direct to video sequels to 'The Little Mermaid', 'Lion King', and 'Cinderella' - sequels that, for the most part, didn't come close to capturing the irresistible charm and musical hooks of the originals.
While 'Finding Nemo' climbed into animation history for Pixar, Disney put out 'Brother Bear' ~ one of their first forays into using computer imaging for significant amounts of characterization in the films, as opposed to just rendering backgrounds as they had been doing in the 90s. The problem is this: just because something is computer rendered, does not brand it a success. 'Brother Bear' was less than a success by Disney animation standards - the story wasn't appealing to young and old alike, and it's already faded into the background. People aren't talking about it now, and they weren't talking about it when it was released - other than to state what a disappointing and dry story it was.
The charm of the Disney animation storytelling is gone. Maybe a great part of that is in this society that we've built that is driven to be politically correct, they cannot create the caricatures that they used to have. Can you see Disney putting out 'Lady and the Tramp' today with the exact same Tony that they had back then? Or allowing that sultry little dog in the pound sing about the Tramp that way? I can see a whole bunch of people getting up in arms about that one. They don't touch it now because, well, it's a classic and it didn't bother anyone back then. Then there's 'Song of the South' - a true classic piece of live action and animation put together, but Disney has quietly stated that they will never re-release that movie. That's too bad. Blatantly wrong stereotypes aside, that's a great movie with a good story that I wish my children would get to see in their lifetime, but I'm not going to be holding my breath.
It seems that most of the good characterizations and stories have gone away due to the over-politically correct views that have seemed to come into play in society today, and for merchandising. I wonder how many Disney stories have been changed, tweaked, or other unnecessary creatures have been added for the sake of merchandising? I sincerely think that we really didn't need that cute little raccoon in 'Pocahontas' - he was probably added for the sake of having a cute little cuddly thing to appeal to small children that would sell. I'm not saying that Pixar isn't guilty of that either, but somehow their stories are still charming despite the marketing machines that they are. Shouldn't marketing departments be focusing on how to get the movie out there and how to get something marketable out of the movie instead of driving what the story should be like for the sake of having something to market? That's why they're the marketing department and not the storyboard writers, right?
But I digress, if only slightly. Disney and Pixar are parting ways - the original collaboration was a means to an end for both companies, after all. Pixar needed money and some way to get their movies distributed when no one else would put out a, untested, fully CGI movie by a company that had only done animated shorts before. Considering that the movie in question was 'Toy Story', I bet there's a bunch of executives who are still kicking themselves over that one. Disney was in a creative drain at the time and needed some more power in the stable - and it seemed like Pixar had something that would fit the formula: catchy music, larger than life characters, and myriad of marketing potential. Pixar's now going to go out on its own - I wish it the best of luck, but I don't think it needs it because it's got talent... I wish I could say the same for Disney.
With this move into CGI, it makes me wonder what is going to happen to the purists who've worked for Disney and worked in all the hand-drawn departments. When I was in high school, there was a really talented girl that I was friends with named Rebecca Wrigley. Her big dream was to work for Disney as an animator, and none of us doubted that she would do exactly what she wanted to do. It wasn't that she was driven or had the personality to get what she was setting out to do. It was the simple fact that she had talent. Absolutely brilliant talent for capturing an image in her mind and reproducing it flawlessly with pencil, pen, chalk, whatever was handy at the moment. I sat next to her in a couple of our honors classes, and the most fun was Friday afternoons in Brit Lit - we were both bored (having already completed the assignment asked of us earlier in the week, and ahead on all of the reading), in the back of the class, and would go our own routes. She would sketch, and I would write. We'd trade papers every once in a while and critique each other. I, however, never had the ambition that I would be a published writer since I was after money at the time - stocks were the way to go for me (or so I thought at the time). But I had every faith that I would see her name in the credits of a Disney movie as an animator. I cried happily the first time I did, because I knew she had accomplished what she had set out to do. I've pointed her name out to DH and my kids - A & B were awed - WOW, Mom knows an animator. I hope Rebecca has found a place to land with all the changes that have come along in animation in the last 5 or 6 years.
Coming down the line for Disney are two movies that I have absolutely no interest in: 'Home on the Range' and 'Chicken Little' - one has significant computer rendering built in, and the other is their first completely CGI movie. I've seen advance press and clips of 'Home on the Range', and the blitz of commercials has started. The toys are already in stores, the Sing-Along DVD releases tomorrow, and the movie doesn't release until April 2nd. Honestly, this movie should be a case study in advance merchandising. You put out the funniest and catchiest clips from the movie as your trailers, you make sure that all the songs (done up by some of country music's steadiest stars) are out there for the kids to be singing over and over, and you release the cute little piggie and chick toys just a few weeks prior to Easter.
Disney used to release their new animated films at the beginning of March - I remember this because they always came out with something around the time I started dating DH, and we'd go see it (an anniversary of sorts for us). This one's been moved to the beginning of April, and I just can't help but think that it's just to capitalize on the cute little barnyard animals that will get stuffed into Easter baskets this year. I suspect the same thing will happen with 'Chicken Little' next year. That's right, Disney is doing up the sky is falling tale in full CGI and as a full-length feature...
...just makes you wonder what they're going to come up with to embellish the story so that they have a few more marketing opportunities.
Friday, March 19, 2004
Welcome to Friday...
...and the Friday Five! For others who are interested, the Friday Five link is found in my sidebar, under the heading "Places to Wander"
If you...
1. ...owned a restaurant, what kind of food would you serve?
Oh, I've dreamed about this one for years and years. Ever since I was 18 and sauteed my first chicken breast in olive oil and garlic with a touch of red pepper flakes and served it over angel hair and spinach. I did that all in a small dorm room in an electric fry pan, being watched over by a good friend who said "Annie, you're so smart - if you can read, you can cook!" He couldn't eat the food served by the college (it made him sick) so he picked up a cookbook and went to town.
Ah, I digress as I am wont to do. Stream of consciousness and all that. I would serve comfort food - middle American and Italian. We'd have your pot roast and chicken and dumplings on the menu right next to your lasagne, hearty spaghetti (handmade) and meatballs... baked tomato risotto, and traditional risotto milanese on Monday nights... as a side to Chicken Parmigiana.
...and maybe there would be the occasional surprise special of my enchiladas or lemon chicken just for a little flair to break the monotony...
There would be the soups and maybe one or two salads. Drinks of the soda and non-soda variety of course... I don't know about a liquor license, but I'd probably have to have one since I would be using wines in a variety of creative sauces.
And, of course, there is the desserts. Oh my, the desserts that I would have soooo much fun with. It's so hard deciding whether or not I'd take a comfy diner route or attempt to hit a more upscale clientele... and whether to stay as owner/manager, or take a chef's role. After all, there are so many interesting roles in the professional kitchen - saucier, patisserie, sous chef (yes, good ones don't always get scut work and often create some spectacular things), or executive chef... *sigh*
2. ...owned a small store, what kind of merchandise would you sell?
It would have to be a stitching store. No doubt or question about it, and I'd carry all the lines that I love - fabrics and threads alike. DMC and Anchor would also be in evidence, as well as hand dyed fabrics and threads. Dragon designs would prevail, but there would also be the customary little things that people love - Just Nan, Lizzie*Kate, and Sweetheart Tree...
Comfy armchairs and long tables, good lighting. Stitchers would always be welcome to have a sit and stay awhile. I'm tempted to state that I'd be a bit like my favorite store Needle in a Haystack, but I know I'd be different. Sure, I'd have a kitchenette area built in for tea and snacks, and maybe a small area for children (if I could get a space that's big and profitable enough) but I would probably be carrying a lot of things that they don't, and thus, the differentiation. And location... I'd stay in my current location, which is about an hour's drive away from them.
3. ...wrote a book, what genre would it be?
Since I've already started writing two books over the years, this one's an easy one. Psychological thriller. I love messing with readers' minds, as well as my own. More thrill than police procedural, and told from three viewpoints rather seamlessly - the victim, the investigator, and the evil presence.
Once you get a hang of how to switch viewpoint of people who are in the same room, it's very easy (and dizzy sometimes) to switch between them all. I have about two chapters written of each, and full outlines of the rest of the story (except, sadly, the endings). I even have snippets of conversations that should occur in the story in a couple of different files.
The unfortunate part is that they're all in my laptop, and I don't know if that puppy is still working. I'll need to get it on my home network and boot it up one last time to transfer everything of worth onto my desktop computer. I would sure hate to lose that .wav file of A saying "hi mommy".
I don't know that I'll ever go back and finish them - there's an awful lot of research that would need to be done, and there's children to be raised, a house to be cleaned, work to be done, stitching to be fondled and enjoyed - it would probably be about 5 years before I could have something that would resemble a first full draft. *sigh* I'm happy to dream about it though.
4. ...ran a school, what would you teach?
The usuals - reading, writing, arithmetic, history, science... and the not-so-usuals: stitching, crafting, ceramics, cartooning, singing (all forms), and music. Not special afterschool type classes like my kids have at their school, but an actual class as part of the curriculum.
Unconventional? Yes. Unrealistic? Perhaps. But you asked.
5. ...recorded an album, what kind of music would be on it?
Ooooh. That's a hard one. I like so many different types of music, and I like singing them all. Vocal challenges are right up my alley, and I'll work and work on something so that I get the cadence of it just right before I work my vocal tones into that. I'd have to say it would be a rather eclectic collection of at least two a capella songs, some Chicgo-style rock (horn based), and maybe a touch of country crossover rock (a la early Eagles)
Of course, that's a moot point since no one really likes my singing voice anymore except me and B, and therefore I'd never get a deal. That and despite my light voice I can't sing soprano without hurting something in my throat. Comes from having a choral instructor in high school who decided I was a hidden soprano, though I am clearly an alto voice. I couldn't sing for a year after her classes because my throat hurt too much.
Thankfully, despite her, I never lost the love of singing.
So, that's the Friday Five for this week... I don't always do the Five, because I'm not always entranced with the questions, so sometimes you'll get these short essays and other times you'll get a full on discourse based on one of the questions (like the Saturday morning cartoon question of a couple of weeks ago). Either way, I hope you enjoyed today's efforts.
Have a great weekend!
Wednesday, March 17, 2004
When you don't know what you want....
... then what do you get?
I find I run into that on a regular basis. I don't know what I want for lunch, or I don't know what I want for dinner, or I don't know what to grab out of the vending machine... either way I either tend to let someone else make the decision, or I go with an old standby.
It's one of my faults, this indecisive thing about food - unless I absolutely *know* what I want and no one can steer me away from it. If I want those chocolate M&M's, or that fajita burrito, or those french fries, then I head straight for them, and you can't really substitute them. Sure, you can find a suitable alternative, but there's nothing like the real thing, and I'll just float along until I get that thing that I want.
I wish companies could be like that with their hiring decisions. Some of you reading know that DH has been interviewing for a position with a company for what seems like forever. He went through one round, and then another. Then he was told he had to meet with 3 more people. Delays ensued in meeting with a couple of them. Then he had to meet a couple more.
It was pure agony for me when he came home after a meeting with the CEO and I found out that he had to meet with 3 MORE people. *sigh* After my initial frustration of a couple of days, I settled back into a 'let's wait and see' mode of thinking. I could understand that they wanted to make the absolute right choice for they were still a very small company - we're talking under 20 people - with a very big idea. They have the money (venture capital) and the brainpower (over half the people working there have PhD's) to pull this off.
So wait we did. And more waiting. And three more meetings. All lights are green, all signs are good, the wind is just right. Everything we heard from the inside was that DH was the candidate for the job. They all thought he was great.
Then we heard nothing. Radio silence for a couple of days. Then came word that they were re-evaluating what they think they needed. I'm sorry, excuse me, say that again? Re-evaluating what you need? Whyever would you start interviewing someone for a position, and bring them through all those levels of interviews, including one with one of the venture capital guys, and then re-evaluate the position? Something just didn't make sense with that one, but again, I just let it go. I mean, there was really nothing that I could do about it, right? It's not like it's a position that *I* was interviewing for.
But it was definitely significant and important.
So, long story short - they re-evaluated and decided they need something else. Something that DH originally thought that they really didn't need at this moment in time. *big sigh* Why couldn't they have figured that out before putting DH (and me) through all of those interviews and all of the waiting and wondering? Why couldn't they have evaluated what they needed and then go looking for the right candidate afterwards? A friend on the inside said DH shouldn't count himself out yet, and somehow I suspect that they really don't know what they want in the first place, and no amount of re-evaluation is going to change that.
In either case, I don't want to hold my breath. I look good in blue, but I really don't want to turn that color permanently. This was a classic case of putting the cart before the horse, or Ready, Fire, Aim. But in reality, I'd rather borrow a term A has used in the past (that I don't let her use) to describe it all...
...what a bunch of stupidheads.
Tuesday, March 16, 2004
I'm back...
...I'm here... I'm just quiet.
Doesn't it suck when you hear a bit of personal bad news, and then you fall ill? That's what happened to me. I found out last Monday evening that my grandmother (my mom's mom) had passed away. The next day I was nauseous. I figured that between that special time of month coming and the grief over my grandmother that this was just residue of both of those things.
Boy, was I proven wrong.
A couple of nights after hearing about grandma, after dinner, I wasn't feeling well. I spiraled downhill pretty fast. DH thought I was just tired and grieving. Took a shower, fought the nausea, failed and urped, went to sleep, woke up and urped again. And went back to sleep. When next I woke, I was stupid enough to get some clothes on and go to work.
4 hours later I came back home and proceeded to live on the couch for the rest of the day and night. Then A got sick, and B complained about her tummy. DH was wonderful for cleaning up A's mess when she urped in her bed... and the bathroom. We moved A & B downstairs to sleep on sleeping bags while their room aired out. I slept down there too - just when I'd made the decision to sleep upstairs instead of on the couch too. *sigh*
We all stayed home on Friday. A & B were up to their usual fighting but it didn't have that same energy to it. Then DH got sick on Saturday, and I felt like I was going to hit round 2 of this thing. Thankfully, I've been able to battle it back for the last couple of days, and held it together long enough to make it through the funeral yesterday.
That's another thing... now that I think about it. When I talked with my father over the course of this, he wondered why I was so upset about it all.
As DH pointed out, that's awfully presumptuous of him to tell me how to grieve. Of course, this is the same man who wondered why I wasn't upset enough over his mother passing 10 years ago. Well, I'm sorry I didn't throw myself on the grave back then, sheesh.
When I met up with my folks yesterday, Dad and Mom were up to their usual picking at each other, and Dad kept asking me what's wrong. When I just looked at him, startled, he sort of waved it off. As did Mom. I know what they know - she'd been sick for a long time, she wanted to leave this existence, but for two people to be so somber through the service just seemed a little unnerving. Especially when other relatives and friends were clearly saddened by her passing.
Maybe it's because they watched her decline over a significant period of time, when I didn't. Yes, I didn't see her. I was a bad granddaughter and didn't visit her in the last couple of years, but it was clear that she couldn't comprehend me, I couldn't understand her and it was frustrating for the both of us. One who could speak Italian and barely English; one who could speak English, and understand some Italian... we made an interesting pair. But in her later years the English skills slipped away and not hearing the Italian I grew up with receded from my memory. It was easier to keep my distance and not get us both frustrated - which wouldn't have been good for her blood pressure, and would have been murder on my memory.
Selfish? Yes. Absolutely. I completely recognize that, and know that I will pay for not having just one more visit, one more memory for the rest of my life.
Maybe that's why I was so much more affected by the activities of the day than everyone around me. I was soooo quiet yesterday. I barely spoke with DH on the drive up, and at one point he mentioned that I was holding up rather well. As soon as I opened my mouth to answer him, I started to cry. I knew that I wasn't going to be able to keep it all together unless I pulled the acting job of my lifetime, and I was hoping that I wouldn't have to.
Unfortunately, I was wrong. I didn't realize until I looked in the mirror this morning how drained I was from the whole experience (stomach flu notwithstanding). When my Dad waved off my grief and started talking about other things like the kids, and history of the family, I pulled it all in and let something else show through. I buried the grief as far down as I could because I knew that it would just confuse them if I let it out. Only DH would understand.
Honestly, as I think about it now, I don't know if he realized what I did, and I never mentioned what I was doing in the car on the way home - other than to mention that I was surprised that my Mom hadn't lost it during the funeral. DH said my folks have themselves fooled pretty well. Maybe it's not that they had themselves fooled so much as they were able to push the grief away, and they would handle it themselves, privately.
My parents never were much for showing emotions, even to me. I know I never saw my father cry - I've seen him angry, and frustrated, but I don't think I ever saw him cry. Depressed, definitely, when his mother passed and angry too. I saw my mom cry countless times, but it was usually out of anger and nothing else. Those two crying is a foreign concept to me - me, who cries while I clean up A & B's booboos when they get really hurt. You know the hurts - not the little scrapes on the concrete, but the ones that are a little harder and jar the bones a bit.
*Shaking head* I'm perplexed. I'm relieved that it's over. I'm still a little queasy, but that could be from the light fried rice I had for lunch, or I'm not over the stomach ailment yet. I guess it doesn't matter what I am feeling at the moment...
...just that I'm back.
Thursday, March 11, 2004
Corporate Rivalries...
... they're always going on. You see them everywhere - there's McDonald's vs. Burger King. Nintendo (GameCube) vs. Sony (Playstation). Blockbuster vs. Hollywood Video (and anyone else who dares rent movies) Microsoft vs. The Justice Department (oh yes, the government is a corporation...anyone who thinks differently is just fooling themselves). There's Disney vs... well, itself (with Eisner in charge, how can it be any other way?)
And now there was Echostar (Dish Network) vs. Viacom (CBS and the MTV networks). But this was more like a war than those nice gentle rivalries I mentioned before. Most of this was written prior to this morning, when the dispute was finally settled, so take it for what it is at the time that I wrote it.
Echostar and Viacom had a contract renegotiation going on regarding 15 specific markets for rebroadcast of CBS channels. But supposedly Viacom would only sign those contracts if Echostar agreed to carry 13 other channels that Echostar (and their CEO) thinks would have little or no value to Dish subscribers.
Disclaimer: I *am* a Dish subscriber. And an unhappy one at the moment too, since my kids and I love to watch Rugrats and Spongebob Squarepants, and I am an avid (and previously admitted here) CSI addict. And y'all knew I wouldn't be away for long, because someone had to do something stupid that would bring me back here.
I suppose I shouldn’t complain, since Viacom owns BlockBuster – and many of you know how much I hate BlockBuster (for personal *and* professional reasons). In that respect, I should be grudgingly happy that this is happening, but I’m not because it’s an entirely different business unit, and Viacom is showing some good judgment by spinning BlockBuster off into their own little world shortly. But that’s neither here nor there, nor relevant to this discussion… so…
A couple of the channels that are part of this new contract would be NickToons, Oxygen, CBS Kids... things like that. I don't know about you, but I would watch NickToons and probably Oxygen. They state that there are too many cartoon channels - can you really have too many cartoon stations? I don't think so - just look at my Saturday morning cartoon column of a couple of days ago. There are depths that I have not yet plumbed here about my love of animation. Just wait until I get started on Disney past and present one of these days. Then you’ll really understand how important animation is to me.
When I read the story on Yahoo on Tuesday, I was in mild shock already. This sent me on a ranting bender. Just days before March Madness, while Survivor is still causing a frenzy among people, where CSI is the top rated drama on television, Echostar pulls the plug on CBS and Viacom programming. That's not what Charlie Ergen (the CEO of Echostar) is saying, though. He says that Viacom is being unreasonable and that *they* turned off the signal after the fourth extension expired from a contract that ran out on Dec 31, 2003. Funny, that's not what the Dish Network operator I spoke to said. He backed up that it was Echostar who turned it off.
Ergen plays dirty. Ok, some of you may be asking me what corporation doesn't when it comes to the bottom line in negotiations, but Ergen plays REALLY dirty. This isn't the first time that he's played this game with a broadcaster, and it probably won't be the last. But this one is certainly the messiest. He's got a "Charlie Chat" running on all of the blacked out channels that scrolls the phone numbers of Viacom and MTV Networks so that you can call them and complain about this service interruption. If you press the info button on your local CBS channel, he gives you the name and number of the general manager for the station so that you can call *them* and complain. He blacks out the screen and puts up in big bright white bold letters that Viacom is being unreasonable.
I don't see why Viacom should be reasonable in negotiations after the likes of this media game of Charlie's.
Dish Network says that they've added stations in a free preview mode for the duration of this situation. Things that they state are suitable alternatives to the missing stations. That's a funny one. I'm still laughing over it. I don't see how Country Music Television, FUSE, and Toon Disney are free previews and suitable alternatives for MTV and Nickelodeon when I already had those stations as part of my Dish 120 package. I further love the fact that they state they've turned on new channels, when that clearly is *not* what I'm seeing in my onscreen program guide. There is *no* channel 347 – there’s a channel 342, and a 350, but no 347. And I would notice if it were turned on between those two as well, since the 300 block is Premium Movie Channels such as HBO and ShowTime, and those are colored red because I don’t subscribe to them.
Here’s something I don’t get… why is Nick@Nite and SpikeTV still active on my dish? They’re Viacom channels. Maybe I'm just special. Then again, we knew that already.
So let's continue on...
Dish Network thinks that they're going to be making a big dent in Viacom's bottom line by turning their stations off and thereby keeping viewers from watching their programs and supporting their advertisers. Last time I checked, Cialis and Viagra commercials are on *all* the stations out there. Dish, actually, is doing something that may ultimately hurt them - many of the letters that Ergen was faced with during the "Charlie Chat" were people who stated that if this doesn't end they're going to find another alternative. He acknowledged that this was a regular "theme" with viewers who wrote in. Maybe he should listen to his paying customers who are threatening to leave.
It's going to be a new "trend" instead of a “theme” if the blackout continues. In a market where Dish Network represents 43% of the satellite owners, they're still losing market share to DirecTV. They're playing with fire here, because it sounds like that trend will continue if they manage to alienate Viacom with this situation. This, in my opinion, isn't going to make future contract negotiations with Viacom any easier for Charlie and the gang of lawyers at Dish Network. In the long run, it will ultimately be bad for Dish Network.
The claims are that they're doing this in the best interest of the customer - so as not to have to raise the subscription rates by passing on the (claimed by Dish) exorbitant cost that Viacom is going to charge them for the channels, and the "no value-add" channels that Viacom will (supposedly) force them to carry. They just raised the rates on customers, so what's another rate hike? Cable companies do it all the time. Heck, Dish promised it's subscribers that they weren't going to raise rates until 2005, and they haven't kept that promise - that's for sure. Oh wait, the fine print said that that was for the Dish Top 150 customers - the highest paying bracket of customers. No wonder my rates have gone up - never mind that I've been a subscriber for 6 years, right? Dish isn't going to benefit from this at all, unless they manage to come out on top, and I don’t think that *anyone* is going to come out on top – least of all the paying customers.
That brings me back to rates and refunds. That's right, refunds. Dish says they're going to give a credit to all the local network customers who pay $4.99 a month for those channels - a credit of $1 per month for as long (or short) as this drags out. Package customers get another $1 off every month. Whoohoo! I get $2 a month credit for losing 8 channels. May I remind y'all that I paid up in full for the next year back in December? I think they should be prorating my package cost over each day that the service is gone and give me a credit for the 8 channels that I've lost access to. They're violating *my* service agreement after all. It's enough for me to want to break my programming commitment for the year - but they're stating that all programming commitments will stay in place. I think Dish is going to be giving lots of refunds to customers who leave the service no matter what they say about programming commitments.
We all know the golden rule about word of mouth too, right? One good experience gets shared with one person... a bad experience gets shared with 10. Multiply that by the Internet factor - I bet I'm not the only person who has a blog about this running somewhere in the world. Or on a message board. Or in a chat room.
There's also that wonderful whine about Dish Network being the one to deliver more new customers to Viacom than their 4 competitors combined, and that they're going to miss out because Dish Network has experienced the greatest amount of subscriber growth of any of the other satellite distributors. You know, I hear that every single year. I wonder who twists the numbers for Charlie to make it look like that, or if he actually does that himself?
Dish Network really is holding the viewer hostage to their decisions about this - especially the ones who can't get the local stations via an antenna either because they can't put an antenna on top of their house due to some preservation of the neighborhood, or because of tall trees, mountains, and power lines that degrade the signal badly. I fall under both of these categories, unfortunately for me - a rabbit ears is all I can use, and I'd be better off watching a blank screen for an hour rather than try and decipher static mumbling and snow.
I don't pay to watch snow... I pay to watch SHOWS. But apparently, Dish won't even let me do that. Or, at least, they won't let me watch the shows I want to on certain networks. Now, if you believe dear ole Charlie, as I stated before, it’s Viacom that’s doing this to the viewers. There are a great many people who hate big huge corporations that make millions of dollars a minute on their banked cash interest alone who are going to happily believe that it’s Viacom’s fault. Viacom even says that they have wonderful solid relationships with other vendors, just not with Dish Network. Oh, and I forgot – they also mention that Dish Network is being ludicrous, demanding, and files frivolous lawsuits for which they’ve been admonished or sanctioned by many a judge. Oh, and that the only thing they can do for the tens of thousands of Dish Network customers who are calling them is to redirect them to the “excellent alternative TV distribution services” that are available. Way to go Viacom at being the upstanding wronged party... they decided to fall right into Charlie's little power trippin' ego game here. That's not going to win them any fans either.
This whole game about who’s right and who’s wrong, and who is going to hurt who reminds me of that movie WarGames and the lesson that Joshua (the mainframe computer’s artificial intelligence) learns about war at the end of the movie: The only winning move is not to play…
…I guess the folks at Dish Network and Viacom weren't paying attention when that movie was on.
Tuesday, March 09, 2004
Blog temporarily on hiatus....
...but not before one last statement or two that should explain why.
Yesterday the heavens gained another soul. She was old, and dying. She wanted to leave her place on this earth for a very long time. She wanted to leave the pain, and the suffering she endured in her long life.
She came from a small village in Italy. She was married young, as part of an arranged marriage if I'm not mistaken. She came to the United States with her husband and her daughter in 1949.
She watched her daughter marry someone that she didn't necessarily like. She lost her son in suspicious circumstances when he was just barely 20. She watched her daughter suffer raising an autistic son, and a brilliant daughter.
She watched her granddaughter marry someone that her daughter didn't necessarily like, but she loved because her granddaughter loved him. She threatened his life at the wedding - twice. In good humor. DH and I would laugh about that a lot when we'd remember those threats.
She suffered from diabetes. She watched her sisters suffer and die from the afflications related to the disease. She would yell at God for what she was going through and why she had to suffer like that. When she no longer had the strength to yell, she would cry.
Sunday, I'm told, she finally gave up crying, and yesterday she left this earth. I can't say that she will be missed... because she already is.
I do miss you already, Grandma. I know you were kickin' your heels up last night stirring up trouble...
...just like you did down here on earth.
Monday, March 08, 2004
Curves Ahead...
Yeah, baby....
For those who didn't know, I've been going to a women's only gym called Curves since Aug 6, 2003. I was starting a new job within my company that would have me sitting on my rear a lot, as opposed to working with inventory and receiving as I used to. So I decided that Curves would be a good idea. I'd heard lots of good things about the place and that was a good sign for me too.
You see, I hate gyms. A lot. Nothing worse than feeling like you're the most ugly dumpy person there to inspire feelings of resentment against the gym, the other people there, and yourself. Yes, yourself - after all, *you* are the one that let *you* get into that condition, right?
So, I signed up for Curves and worked out that first day (a Wednesday). I was sore walking out of the place, but I felt GREAT! I couldn't believe how wonderful I felt. I felt so good that I came right back the very next day. That was not one of the smarter things for me to have done, since those poor muscles of mine were not used to being abused like that.
Friday morning I literally could not roll out of bed. Every muscle I had, and some I didn't even know existed, were screaming in pain. It was painful to see me walking around. I spent a lot of time stretching in my office, and walked as little as possible. Every time I ran into someone they asked if I'd had another bicycling accident (I'll cover why they would ask this another day), so I decided that it would be better for me to just lay low for the day.
Thus began my obsession - the more I worked out, the more the sore started going away... and the better I felt. It was noticeable with the first month's measurements. I was dropping inches off the waist and the abs like nobody's business. Weight and body fat stayed constant though. I didn't get discouraged because I wasn't after losing any weight - my purpose was to tone things up and be active. Trimming and slimming up the tummy would be a good side benefit to this as well, since I'd never had a flat tummy in my entire life. I know that I probably never will have one, but it's worth a shot, right? You never know until you try, and all that other good clichéd stuff, right?
That second month I started going 4 times a week instead of the standard recommended 3 times a week. Even with the evil Pixy Stick Chick - Sara was her name. She also worked at Target as a cashier during the day. She would hop right up to me and say in a most sugary happy voice, "And how was *your* day today?" It was borderline condescending. I learned how to hop on a pad and run with my head down, and not looking at anyone. Because I wasn't looking at anyone I didn't notice that many others were doing this same thing so as to avoid being sought out and 'cheered' by the Pixy Stick. I was getting to the point that I was thinking about leaving Curves because of her. Thankfully, she offended too many people with various things she did and said and they let her go a while back.
Workouts got so much more pleasant, talkative and generally happy after that.
I became addicted to working out at Curves. It was wonderful! My measurements were trimming more and more. My body fat was decreasing more and more. Then the holidays came. I swear, I was good. I didn't eat very many sweets at ALL. But my body fat went right back up. My weight went right back up. My measurements went right back up. It was depressing and I had quite a few days where I didn't want to go to the gym - these were balanced by an equal number of days where I said I have to keep going to beat back the evil weight.
I started doing crunches. I began eating more salads. I've given up chocolate and candies and soda for Lent. And this month, it shows! I've lost weight, body fat, AND inches. I've lost another 2 inches off various locations, 4 pounds, and 2% body fat. Weight loss doesn't mean all that much to me, but it is a nice side benefit. It'll be a temporary one however, since muscle is more dense than fat, and because of density you can fit more into a smaller package - and it weighs more. So, here's to me becoming more dense...
... wait a second, that didn't sound right, did it?
Friday, March 05, 2004
Tomorrow's Saturday...
...which means today is Friday (at least in my hemisphere it is) and the end of the week. Tonight I have a concert to attend (Dream Theater) and a dinner to make (cheese tortellini in a butter tomato sauce) prior to attending the aforementioned concert.
But tomorrow is Saturday. For most people that means sleeping in, or getting up early and starting errands they couldn't do during the week. For some it's stitching all day, or driving long distances to take care of elderly parents. For me it means heading to Curves, and then coming right back home to shower... get dressed... and watching Saturday morning cartoons with A & B.
All that other stuff that needs doing, like laundry and housecleaning can wait until later in the day. Because there are Saturday morning cartoons to be watched.
I remember when I was B's age... 6 1/2. My internal clock, which never worked during the week, would wake me up at 6am so that I could pad downstairs in my fuzzy jammies that still had non-skid stuff on the feet and turn on the big 20 inch television. I had to be careful turning it on though, since my parents slept directly above the living room where the television was located, and I didn't want to wake them up.
It wasn't a matter of them getting angry that I was watching television, but a matter of letting them sleep in. Dad, during the week, was always up at about 4:30 or 5 in the morning to make some Cream of Wheat for breakfast and then head into work. I would wake up around 5:30 to the smell of his breakfast, and when I got older, I'd be heading downstairs around 5:45 or 6 and wish him a good day - and swipe a little of the leftovers, if there were any.
Considering that I learned my work ethic from my Dad, it doesn't surprise me that I'm up at 5am every morning to head to work. But I don't make Cream of Wheat before I go.
Anyway, I'd turn on KCRA out of Sacramento, and watch Mr Ed, and then Captain Kangaroo. Then all the good cartoons would start. It was always such a difficult decision to decide what to watch, because all three networks (ABC, NBC, and CBS were the only ones back then) would be showing full schedules of cartoons from 7am to about 10 or 11am.
Oh, to have that be my most difficult decision in life again! Or to have had TiVo back then. I could have spent ALL day watching cartoons because I could have TiVo'd the other networks' shows.
I'd hang out with Bugs Bunny and Friends, and then the SuperFriends. HR Pufenstuff And Speed Racer - oh, Speed Racer was so good back then, not like the remade junk they're showing now. Just like Space Ghost, which rocked back then, but stinks now (on Cartoon Network).
And a full half hour of Schoolhouse Rock! I was so sad when that went away and they would just show one of the songs at a time between other cartoons. I would never know when one might come on, or not come on, and I would be afraid to run to use the bathroom because I didn't want to miss any of those cartoons. No, I never had any 'accidents' as a result, but I did miss a couple of cartoons because I was using the bathroom.
Snoopy, The New Zoo Revue, Zoom, Land of the Lost, The Pink Panther, Davey and Goliath, The Smurfs, Garfield, Danger Mouse... the more I think about it, the more I remember these cartoons. And then there were the Kroft Supershows - they used to have Michael Lembeck dressed up as Kaptain Kool (and his gang, which all resembled Elton John rejects) and they would introduce shows like 'Electra Woman and Dyna Girl' (no wonder I thought Diedre Hall looked familiar when I started watching 'Days of Our Lives' - she was Electra Woman!), Dr, Shrinker, and Wonderbug! Oh, WonderBug was great... I hated Bigfoot and Wildboy, and would watch Scooby Doo or the Archies instead.
Around lunchtime, Fat Albert and the Gang or The Harlem Globetrotters was on - my Dad loved to watch those with me. He was a big Bill Cosby fan (still is, I think) from the Cos' early days as a stand up comedian. That show would be the signal that the morning cartoons were over.
But CBS slowly stopped showing the cartoons... NBC gave up eventually too. Luckily for me, they started slowing down when I was in high school and on my way to college. Saturday mornings were spent sleeping in and catching up on reports I needed to research and write. But I didn't think about the impact that it would have on the kids I might someday have (and did have). In 1990, Congress passed the Children's Television Act which required that there was a minimal amount of educational programming aired each day. Cartoons were attacked as being "junk food for the mind".
What Congress didn't realize at the time is that they were destroying what millions of kids had as a bonding experience. "THERE ARE NO LA BREA TARPITS IN SCOTLAND!!" I stood up and yelled that in my college cafeteria one day, and was met with stunned silence for a moment, and then cheered. I heard people remembering all sorts of cartoons that I'd almost forgotten existed. I made lots of new friends that week - people I probably wouldn't have talked to otherwise, but we knew all the same cartoons and "grew up" together watching television on Saturday mornings.
Now I sit and watch my kids, and we have lots more choices on Saturdays, but they just don't seem the same. There's more educational stuff, like Blue's Clues and Dora the Explorer. There's Animal Planet and Discovery Kids on NBC. CBS is back in the game with Nick Jr in the mornings. ABC never stopped showing cartoons - they may have cut the programming back, but they never stopped. If you look around, there's anime like Pokemon and Yu-Gi-Oh!, or Disney cartoons like Kim Possible and Rolie Polie Olie. Or you could turn on Nickelodeon and find Hey Arnold!, Rugrats, or The Wild Thornberries.
But if you look closely, and carefully, you can find some of those old bright spots peeking through the landscape. Bugs and the Looney Tunes are still around, as is Scooby Doo. They've redone the Super Friends as The Justice League, but the principals are still there, and still good. Just without those annoying Wonder Twins. Every once in a while I'll pop in one of my DVDs from the SchoolHouse Rock 30th Anniversary set, and the kids and I will watch one or two of those as a break between programs. I haven't done that in a while, so I think I'll do that tomorrow with A&B - it will be a little bit different that what it was like when I was a kid, but I'll capture just a bit of that old magic...
...
we went to the Four Legged Zoo, to visit our four footed friends... Darn! That's the end.
Thursday, March 04, 2004
The greater good.... college football, or no college football
... I only bring this subject up because my alma mater made the decision to drop the football team. Effective Immediately. I was just about asleep when I heard this on the radio last night, and raced downstairs to turn on the 10pm news to see if I could learn anymore. After 10 minutes of hearing the current state of election politics, I was almost asleep on my feet again. So I went back to bed, and started looking for information this morning.
And what better place to start than the website of your old college where I found lots of information. Sort of. Saint Mary's College of California in Moraga: Press and President's Open Letter about dropping football (if you're really interested in reading it)
Apparently, after an 18 member task force reviewed the athletics program for the last few months, they decided that it would be better to drop football than to try and get the team in a position to participate in Division I-AA ball. Apparently, they would have to divert significant funding from the other 14 sports that the college participates in to be able to achieve participation in Division I.
While I think that this may be part of the greater good (goodness knows, when I was playing co-ed rugby we didn't have ANY money), I wonder what the other teams might be thinking. Or feeling about this change of fortune - it's going to better allow them to compete as a WCC (West Coast Conference) team.
I remember when I was attending the school, and shortly after, we had a stellar basketball team. At one point we were in competition that would have brought us to the Final Four - but all the campus was focused on was football. I knew some very frustrated basketball players at that time.
The Board of Regents of the school has decided to agree with the Athletic Review Task Force's recommendation that all the monies be reinvested into the 14 other sports teams that the college has. Goodness knows, I bet the rugby team is suffering a great hangover about this one already. I know when I played on the co-ed team for that 8 week season (co-ed was always a short season) that the rugby team was in need of new jerseys, new equipment, and was at the mercy of the football team as to when they could use the gym.
Heck, I had to borrow someone's jersey to play those 8 weeks. It's really interesting trying to find something that you can wear among of a team of guys that have at least 6 inches on you in height, 100 pounds minimum on you in weight, and their shoulders are 8 inches wider than yours. Thankfully, I was good friends with one of the smaller guys on the team who was about my size and was able to borrow one of his spare jerseys. It fit so perfectly as if it were made for me and thus began my love of rugby shirts. I digress... this isn't about me and my attempts to keep my collarbone from being broken in a scrum.
This is about a college dropping a football team. It makes me wonder if someone on that Task Force said something to the effect of "what's the point? We won the Bell, Santa Clara doesn't have football anymore either, and thus, we have no great rivals anymore." The Bell, for those who don't know (and I suspect the numbers are great), was the bell-shaped trophy that was awarded to the winner of the Little Big Game - the yearly matchup between the Santa Clara Broncos and the Saint Mary's Gaels (actually, we were the Galloping Gaels, but that was just embarrasing).
Being the permanent winner of The Bell was a great source of pride for many a Gael when Santa Clara announced they were dropping football. Their excuse back then was that they couldn't afford to keep the team going anymore. I don't think that that's the real reason behind SMC dropping their team, but it is something that's crossed my mind considering the vast amounts of donor forms that I've gotten in the last two years. Then again, maybe I'm finally at the age that they figure I've become a wealthy woman and can afford to donate to the school.
Anyway, I'm going to miss hearing about the Gaels playing college ball. I won't be able to take my kids to a Homecoming football game - I was looking forward to doing that. *shrug* Oh well. I should be happy about this, in a time where the football program of a college is the centerpiece of everything and academics goes by the wayside. Where the football players can get away with almost anything but don't get the same punishments as every other person because they have to play in the big game that weekend... or every weekend because they may be the lynchpin of the team. Yeah, whatever.
I should be happy, but I'm not. I'm wondering where the money for the academic programs is coming from... I know, drop one athletic team and the others should benefit from the windfall - but this was a place that used to be the best West Coast college for business and finance majors (in the late 80s and early 90s). Where's the funding for the students - more scholarships? An updated lab - yes, they built an entire science building a few years back, but I hear the labs are stocked with all the old equipment they brought over from Galileo Hall (which used to be the business and science majors main classrooms). I know the computer lab in the library has been updated, but I think the computers there are at least 3 years old - I think they expect all the freshmen to bring in their own computers now.
They built new dorms and updated the old ones to be able to house more students on campus and to house more students as the population of the college grows. That's great - but where's the funding to support all these new students' academic needs...
... it's probably still in the pockets of those folks paying off the student loans to have been able to go there in the first place.
On a personal aside... it's my 9th wedding anniversary.
Happy Anniversary DH. 
And what better place to start than the website of your old college where I found lots of information. Sort of. Saint Mary's College of California in Moraga: Press and President's Open Letter about dropping football (if you're really interested in reading it)
Apparently, after an 18 member task force reviewed the athletics program for the last few months, they decided that it would be better to drop football than to try and get the team in a position to participate in Division I-AA ball. Apparently, they would have to divert significant funding from the other 14 sports that the college participates in to be able to achieve participation in Division I.
While I think that this may be part of the greater good (goodness knows, when I was playing co-ed rugby we didn't have ANY money), I wonder what the other teams might be thinking. Or feeling about this change of fortune - it's going to better allow them to compete as a WCC (West Coast Conference) team.
I remember when I was attending the school, and shortly after, we had a stellar basketball team. At one point we were in competition that would have brought us to the Final Four - but all the campus was focused on was football. I knew some very frustrated basketball players at that time.
The Board of Regents of the school has decided to agree with the Athletic Review Task Force's recommendation that all the monies be reinvested into the 14 other sports teams that the college has. Goodness knows, I bet the rugby team is suffering a great hangover about this one already. I know when I played on the co-ed team for that 8 week season (co-ed was always a short season) that the rugby team was in need of new jerseys, new equipment, and was at the mercy of the football team as to when they could use the gym.
Heck, I had to borrow someone's jersey to play those 8 weeks. It's really interesting trying to find something that you can wear among of a team of guys that have at least 6 inches on you in height, 100 pounds minimum on you in weight, and their shoulders are 8 inches wider than yours. Thankfully, I was good friends with one of the smaller guys on the team who was about my size and was able to borrow one of his spare jerseys. It fit so perfectly as if it were made for me and thus began my love of rugby shirts. I digress... this isn't about me and my attempts to keep my collarbone from being broken in a scrum.
This is about a college dropping a football team. It makes me wonder if someone on that Task Force said something to the effect of "what's the point? We won the Bell, Santa Clara doesn't have football anymore either, and thus, we have no great rivals anymore." The Bell, for those who don't know (and I suspect the numbers are great), was the bell-shaped trophy that was awarded to the winner of the Little Big Game - the yearly matchup between the Santa Clara Broncos and the Saint Mary's Gaels (actually, we were the Galloping Gaels, but that was just embarrasing).
Being the permanent winner of The Bell was a great source of pride for many a Gael when Santa Clara announced they were dropping football. Their excuse back then was that they couldn't afford to keep the team going anymore. I don't think that that's the real reason behind SMC dropping their team, but it is something that's crossed my mind considering the vast amounts of donor forms that I've gotten in the last two years. Then again, maybe I'm finally at the age that they figure I've become a wealthy woman and can afford to donate to the school.
Anyway, I'm going to miss hearing about the Gaels playing college ball. I won't be able to take my kids to a Homecoming football game - I was looking forward to doing that. *shrug* Oh well. I should be happy about this, in a time where the football program of a college is the centerpiece of everything and academics goes by the wayside. Where the football players can get away with almost anything but don't get the same punishments as every other person because they have to play in the big game that weekend... or every weekend because they may be the lynchpin of the team. Yeah, whatever.
I should be happy, but I'm not. I'm wondering where the money for the academic programs is coming from... I know, drop one athletic team and the others should benefit from the windfall - but this was a place that used to be the best West Coast college for business and finance majors (in the late 80s and early 90s). Where's the funding for the students - more scholarships? An updated lab - yes, they built an entire science building a few years back, but I hear the labs are stocked with all the old equipment they brought over from Galileo Hall (which used to be the business and science majors main classrooms). I know the computer lab in the library has been updated, but I think the computers there are at least 3 years old - I think they expect all the freshmen to bring in their own computers now.
They built new dorms and updated the old ones to be able to house more students on campus and to house more students as the population of the college grows. That's great - but where's the funding to support all these new students' academic needs...
... it's probably still in the pockets of those folks paying off the student loans to have been able to go there in the first place.
On a personal aside... it's my 9th wedding anniversary.
Happy Anniversary DH.
Wednesday, March 03, 2004
A day late, a dollar short...
... a birthday wish of great import
It seems I missed
a great big day...
... so here's a hip
and a hooray!
For Theodore Geisel,
also known as Suess,
deserves a cup of
chocolate mousse!
He would have been 100
If he were still around,
and I bet that he would still be
the absolute talk of the town.
So here's to you Suess,
Or Dr. Geisel as you were also known,
here's a birthday hat
and a birthday throne.
I miss you and your rollicking rhymes
Thse ones that gave me the greatest of times,
Reading to my kids and making them laugh
looking at whoozles and spotted giraffe.
An ephelant named Horton taught us all
A person's a person no matter how small,
A cat in the hat was very, very bad
But cleaned it all up when it made the kids mad.
The Fox was in Socks, and we Hopped on our Pop
Until the poor daddy begged us to Stop!
And we marveled together at the places to go
And the wonderment of things that we didn't know,
To be nice to each other, no matter what
and be good to ourselves, yet there is just one but...
...we miss you, Seuss or Geisel - your choice.
since time chose to silence your wonderful voice.
A happy 100th birthday to you Mr. Geisel. And I apologize for the liberties taken with the rhyming, but I felt it necessary. I grew up, like a generation before me, reading Dr. Suess. I marveled in the adventures of an elephant named Horton, either sitting on an egg, or in the cool of the pool in the hot afternoon in the jungle of Nool. I watched the 'Cat in the Hat' bring Thing 1 and Thing 2 by to play, and then come back and clean the pink snow up. I laughed with 'Fox in Socks', and 'Oh Say Can You Say' - two books that I read to the kids myself now as fast as I can and try to sprain my tongue.
I still love the lessons taught in 'Green Eggs and Ham' (you should try everything once, because you might find you like it)... and 'Oh The Places You'll Go!' (about the wonderous things that await the rest of your life)
I humbly thank Mr. Geisel for having that friend who would publish his first book after 43 publishers rejected it. I thank Mr. Geisel for being able to take 250 words and write 'The Cat in the Hat', and taking up someone's bet that he couldn't write a story using only 50 words - and thus, 'Green Eggs and Ham' was born.
Ok, I know. I've gone on long enough, and I have to get on my way....
...because my mountain is waiting, and today is my day.
Tuesday, March 02, 2004
Of Bad Dreams and Bad Luck...
...ok, maybe not bad luck, but I'll let you decide.
I think it all started yesterday afternoon, when I took off early to make myself a cake to celebrate my 5 year anniversary working where I work. I had to make the cake - no one else was going to do it, right? I mean, how important is spending 5 years of your life at the same workplace?
I fully expected to have a phone call by the time I got home from the ex-boss wondering where I was. I didn't get such.
That should have been the first sign that something was amiss in the universe.
I got upset when I couldn't find the powdered sugar in the pantry. I was sure that I had some. I searched. When I gave up, DH hunted for me - he found it on the first try.
Then I worked on completing the gridding of my round robin stitching piece, because I needed to get it in the mail that day. I'm an intelligent, mostly rational adult female - why couldn't I count yesterday? So I ripped it out and headed for Curves.
They repainted this weekend and I walked into an Easter Egg - it was light bright purple on one wall, bright turquoise on the next, light seafoam blue on the next, and then fuschia pink (which would be the wall opposite the bright turquoise). And the way they painted a couple of the walls and the way the room is structured is a little disorienting. There's one spot in the room where you can't see the purple and the fuschia - then you feel like you're in a hospital wing. It's very... unsettling. I hear that the owner isn't all that happy and might change a color or two.
I certainly hope it's the purple and the fuschia, but I'm not holding my breath.
So I went and picked up the kids and went home - where I continued to grid. The kids knew I was under a deadline but B was loud and whiny. I kept making mistakes. I finally finished, but missed the Postal Annex being open by a few minutes. So the round robin pieces go out today.
I went to bed because I was exhausted.
I woke up around 3:45 because I started having bad dreams about fires in structures that I was at. I started one of the fires myself in the first dream. Every time I woke up, I'd shake it off and head back to sleep and there was another inferno in my dreams. I snuggled up to DH around 4:20 because I couldn't take it anymore and that felt better, but I was so wasted when I got up at 5. 
Then I found I'm almost out of saline for my contacts, and almost ripped one pulling it out of the little container. I went downstairs and almost tripped down the last three stairs. I found that my needle was missing from the magnet on my lap stand, and spent a couple of minutes trying to find it, but to no avail - I suspect small unsocked feet will find it tonight. I nicked my cell phone case so that part of the display has scuffs now.
I drove very carefully to work. I wasn't going to risk anything. So I get to work, and I breathe easy.
Only to find that I've left my badge and keys to the building on my desk at home. *bangs head on the desk* I'm hoping this is all some cosmic luck karma because DH has another 'meeting' with the CEO of that company he's been 'talking' with. I really hope that this is a sign of better things awaiting me later....
...else I'm REALLY in trouble.
Monday, March 01, 2004
Monday Musings...
...First, post-Oscar impressions:
I liked almost everyone's dresses that were featured. Except Marcia Gay Harden's - and that hair. She must be in character for something else that she's in.
LotR:RotK - WHOOOHOOOOOOO!
I'm so incredibly thrilled about those wins, that I could hardly contain myself. I was cheering louder than I do for the Giants when they make the Pennant Race.
It's been a long and successful road for the hobbit and his friends. And congratulations to all the people in New Zealand.
...and Harvie Krumpet. I saw it at Sundance, and was incredibly impressed with how well done it was. I was so hoping that it would win. And so it did. And DH smiled and saw the director go up for his award and said "Hey! I saw him there!" So I guess I can claim that I saw an Academy Award winning director at Sundance, instead of my usual 'I didn't see anyone this year'.
Today is my 5 year anniversary at the company I work at. I'm jazzed about it and am leaving early today to make a lemonade cake to celebrate. DH does not know this yet, but if he reads my blog he will. I only decided about an hour ago and cleared it with the boss (who is working at home today) that it would be ok - which it is.
I can't believe that I've worked here for 5 years. So much has changed - we've moved once, and are about to move again. We've changed our processes several times to achieve more efficiency, more automation. I think back to how nervous I was 5 years ago today - dressed in black jeans and a black blazer - and by 10am I had finished everything that was expected of me and decided to roam the floor.
And an hour later I was exhausted after being pulled into the fray of picking and packing orders into envelopes that were considerably different than the ones we have today.
My daughters were younger - A was 3, B was 1 1/2. All they remember in their lives is me working here. A might recall the old place very vaguely, but she never mentions that she does. DH was working at someplace he spent time at 2 companies ago...
It's been a long and winding road for me to get where I am. I didn't think that I'd still be working here, as I usually leave companies after 2 1/2 years. And when I passed that mark and I was still happy and the company was still non-political I knew that I had found a good place to land. And 2 1/2 years after *that*, I'm still reasonably happy and the company is still reasonably non-political.
I wear jeans and sweatshirts to the office religiously. Unless I know that investors are coming, or vendors, that I'm going to cross paths with. But that's a rare occurance. I'd like to say I'm working for someone different than I was when I started out, but I can't. I started out by reporting to no one until a VP of Ops came on board a month later. And I reported to him. I spent 3 1/2 years reporting to someone else for a while, and am back reporting to the VP of Ops. Only now I think they call him the COO.
And I still don't have a title - I didn't have one when I walked into the company either. But I definitely have a much greater scope of responsibility and knowledge than I did when I started out.
I don't want to jinx this by saying that I'm here for another 5 years, so I won't. I'll take it one day at a time until I blink and the time passes again.
I love Get Togethers... there was one this weekend and I was in heaven. My favorite LNS moved to a new location that's a little more tricky to find parking at, but it was wonderful once we got inside. I spent a good amount of time stitching and talking and sharing... and avoiding eating the chocolate that was in a bowl right in front of me.
I never thought that giving up chocolate should be so hard - but when you give up other candies along with it, then it's almost impossible. But I'll make it - after all, there's only another 48 days to go. It's good for me too to do this....
...and if I keep saying that, I might be able to convince myself.
Remember, I own all ramblings made here...
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© 2003-2019 WhizGidget/AMS