Imagine 21

I doubt if John Lennon had THIS training in mind when he wrote his song, "Imagine"!

I am going through Part 1 of I21 training this week. This involves 2 days of videos by the creator of the training, 2 facilitators leading us through the exercises in the books, and lots of "audience participation" going on.

*sigh*

Basically, what I'm finding out (and this is only after the FIRST DAY) is that all this stuff they are talking about is the same stuff I've already had in my Psychology and Sociology classes at the College. It's just packaged up differently is all.

So it's just kind of a "refresher course" for me - -

HOWEVER - - there are a couple of redeeming points - -

I get 2 days out of the office this week! :-)

Yeah yeah - - I know - - it will be a week of "catch-up" once I get back, and will not be able to see the surface of my desk for the piles of work . . .

But it is 2 DAYS OUT OF THE OFFICE THIS WEEK!!!

Gotta love that, at least.

The other good point - - we (3 of us from the College) are sitting at a table with 3 retirees from Caterpillar - - who are ornery and rotten as the day is long - - they just ain't right, these people! And me - - the little "instigator" - - was right in the thick of all of it! My stomach still hurts from laughing.

We quickly got the reputation as the "bad" table today . . . go figure!

Tomorrow is another day of I21 - - and I can't wait to spend more time with my table mates. They are making this "assimilation"* training a lot easier to bear!

Then it's back to the old grind . . . *sigh*

Keep ya posted . . .


*I'm not kidding - - that's what it says on the front of one of the training manuals" "Assimilation Guide". Sounds kind of "Star Trek: The Next Generation", doesn't it? I mean - - the BORG were the ones who "assimilated" other people - - "Resistance is futile" and all that . . . *gulp* . . . Jean Luc Picard, where are you when I need ya????

Another Update on House Blog

We have had some more happen with the house building project, and I have updated that on my my other blog, "Escape From the Money Pit".

Check it out if you get the chance - - :-)

eBay Fever . . .

We got it BAD, too! :-)

We have had some items for sale on eBay this past week. Most of them were pretty big ticket items, too. Dear Hubby Steve had 2 snowblowers for Toro Wheelhorse - one in great shape, the other is in good enough shape to fix up and use (needs a couple of parts), a set of headers for a Ford FE big block, and some Isky racing valve springs and copper gasket. I had a really good IBM Personal Wheelwriter 2 for sale that I purchased about 10 years ago, but once the computer entered our lives, it got less and less use. It's still a good machine, though, and works great.

So we put these 6 items up for bid - - and all but the one snowblower (the one that needs fixed) sold! It was kind of exciting watching the flurry of bids in the last few minutes - - think I've developed carpal tunnel from hitting the "Refresh" button so much!

Dear Hubby is going to part out the snowblower that didn't sell and sell the parts separately. He said a couple of the parts on it are worth around $50 each. So that is probably the best way for him to go.

Now we get to do the "fun" part - - waiting for payments, packaging, shipping, etc. All the items are in excellent shape and will do a good job for the people who bought them.

Now that there is all THAT space freed up - - let's see what else Steve has in that garage that I can get rid of - - errr, I mean, put up for auction . . . :-)

Thanks for stopping by!

Update On House Blog

I just finished updating my other blog, "Escape From the Money Pit".

Check it out and see how lousy things are going for us . . .

Sorry - - just kinda "bummed out" about it at the moment - -

But it WILL get better though - - I'm sure of it! :-)

Just wish I knew WHEN! *sigh*

Blog Map

Hey everyone,

Check out my sidebar - - I've added a few features to it.

The latest is the Blog Map from feedmap.net. It not only shows where I'm located, but other bloggers in my area. I didn't realize there were 15 other bloggers nearby that are registered with them! Kinda interesting - - I will have to check them out.

I also added some other things - - Link2Blog has a poll and some other blog links. They have lots of interesting things on their site - - check 'em out!

This is a very short post, and I apologize. But tomorrow is another busy day, and an early one - - I have a 9:00 meeting to be at, and still need to do some preparations for it.

I hope everyone has a good evening, and I'll post again soon.

Thanks for stopping by! :-)

Catch-Up . . .

Yes, I know it has been a few days since my last post. It has been a busy week!

First of all, life in the office is hectic at best. My boss is dealing with some serious health issues at the moment, and this was her last week in the office before an extended absence. So it was a frantic week, with a State report due in by Friday, and a blue ton of "loose ends" to tie up before she left. I'm saying lots of prayers for her speedy recovery - - until then, her Assistant and I will keep the place running like a well-oiled machine (I hope). There may be some overtime involved over the next 4-6 weeks, though, to make sure everything gets done. Wish me luck . . . . *sigh*

I have also been dealing with an ear infection! That is something I have not had since early childhood! So it was off to the Doctor for an antibiotic and - - *shudder* - - ear drops.

Damn. I hate ear drops.

They don't HURT - - they just feel SO. DARNED. WEIRD.

They plug up your ear. You can't hear a darned thing. They just feel - - well, WEIRD.

Oh well - - just a few more days, and that part is over . . .

Dear Hubby Steve and I also lost a good friend this past week. She was admitted into the hospital on New Years Day with complications from an infection in her system. They were not sure what was causing it, but finally found something that they felt was of concern, and did surgery. Unfortunately, the infection did not clear up, and they could not find what else might be causing it. She passed away last Monday evening. She was only 47 years old, and one of the sweetest people you could every be lucky enough to meet.

Rest in Peace, Pam. You will be greatly missed by everyone.

Well, that is about it. Dear Hubby and I have been listing some things for sale on eBay this evening, but I wanted to take a few minutes to catch up on everything that has been happening. So now it's time to get back to listing items!

I hope everyone had a great weekend, and thanks for stopping by - - I'll be sure to keep everyone posted on how things are going in the office - - it should be quite "interesting", to say the least! :-)

No Spoiled Cats In THIS Household . . .

WELLLLLLL - - maybe just a LITTLE spoiled!

Have you ever seen the "doggy steps" they have now? They are a small set of 2-4 steps that you assemble and cover with an included sheepskin cloth (VERY soft!) - - it's to help small dogs and older cats get up on beds, couches, etc.

Well, guess what we have now for our old girl Callie.

Yep, a set of steps so she doesn't have to "strain herself" getting up on the bed.

No spoiling here, obviously!

It's not that she can't jump up on the bed. She can. But I think "Daddy" was starting to get concerned about her advanced years (she's now 15) and the enormous energy it takes for her to haul her lard-ass up on the bed.

She IS kind of a heavy-weight - - I call her "waddle-butt" - - boy, does THAT ever earn me some looks from her! :-)

Anyway, at the foot of our bed, we now have the steps. She can walk up them to the hope chest, and from there just step over the footboard and onto the bed, where she can spend the day sleeping off the exertion of climbing all three of those steps.

*sigh*

What we humans do for our animal companions . . . .

(But they are worth it!)

Home - - FINALLY!

Well, the great white hunter is finally home . . . . .

Grubby - - scruffy - - unshaven - -

and just as adorable as the dickens . . . :-)

Callie refuses to get off "Dad's" lap, Carmichael keeps rubbing up against him, and I can't quit hugging home.

So - - life is now back the way it should be. My honey is home!

Hunting Widow

I'm a "hunting widow" this weekend. This is the last weekend Dear Hubby Steve can go deer hunting.

So Thursday evening around 6:00 p.m. he took off down South for his final excursion into the woods for this season - - well, for deer, anyway. There is still turkey season coming up . . .

Anyway, he won't be back until Sunday evening. Kinda nice to get him out of my hair for a bit so I can get caught up on some things.

So far, I have cleaned and vacuumed the house, made a double batch of Chex Mix, baked a batch of brownies, made pudding, went to the Gym and then grocery shopping, and finished 2 loads of laundry. I also made great menu plans for Sunday evening and our day off Monday.

Guess I'm trying to keep busy so the time goes faster.

Even though it's nice to have him "out of my hair" so I can get some things done . . .
I miss him, dammit.

*sheesh* Go figure . . .

I'm a big girl - - independent - - strong - - able to handle myself - -

and miserable at the moment.

Hurry home, hon. I miss you - - and the fur-babies miss their daddy.

Can't wait till you get home tomorrow.

But until then - - there are more brownies to bake - - and dishes to wash - - and the rest of the Christmas decorations to put away . . . gotta keep busy.

Anything to make the time go faster so Sunday gets here sooner.

HECTIC Week . . .

. . . . and I am SO glad the week is over!

The boss was out sick all week, her assistant was out sick 2 days, and with registration in full swing and classes starting next week, it was a total zoo. Every night, I went home exhausted.

Thank goodness this is a 3 day weekend!

Next week should be interesting, with classes starting up. It will actually be kinda nice to have the students back. The halls won't be silent tombs anymore - - and lots of activities will be going on - - the College really is a fun place to work, most of the time anyway.

Update, Part Deux . . .

Well, I got a phone call today from the Chair of the committee. He called the instructor after our chat yesterday afternoon, and got him calmed down.

How did he calm him down? Let me tell ya - -

He told him the SAME DAMN THINGS that I did, that's how!

He was willing to listen to another FACULTY member - -

But apparently NOT to an Administrative Assistant!!

*sigh*

Some people . . .

(What a jerk)

Okay - - it's over now - - I got a good night's sleep, snuggled up with Dear Hubby and two adorable, cuddly fur-kids, and life is *much* better now.

I hope everyone had a good week, and have a wonderful weekend planned!

Update . . .

Well, I do feel a bit better now.

I've got home, changed into some warm snuggies, ate some homemade Italian Wedding Soup, and piled down on the couch with a couple of cats, and that helped - - A LOT.

Then, once the old blood pressure was down to an acceptable level, I got on the phone and talked to a couple of good friends. You know the kind I'm talking about - - not only can you vent to them and say just about *anything*, but you can both laugh about it afterwards. In fact, we all got the giggles. It felt good.

NOW - - it's time to try and move this cat off my lap and get to bed. A good night's sleep will do me a world of good.

And tomorrow IS Friday, after all - - :-)

WELL . . .

Tomorrow WAS better, but Thursday, well - - that's a whole other thing . . .

It has been SUCH a HORRIBLE day!

Where do I start - -

First of all, I get 2 frantic phone messages as soon as I walk in this morning. The secretary in the office down the hall is home, deathly ill, and has some things that need done TODAY, and no way of getting in here to do it. At least she knew who to call - - I'm the lead over Secretarial Services, so I got one of the girls to come to the office, and got her started on all the "stuff". Before you know it, it was done and in the mail where it belonged. *whew*

The *other* frantic message was from my boss, who was also home ill. She has a major project going on - - a PowerPoint file- - that is due ASAP. It needs to be integrated with other people's PowerPoint files for a College-wide presentation this coming Monday afternoon. We talked, and she told me where to find all the information to help start the file. No problem - - it's been fairly quiet out here, I should be able to get this whipped right out, right?

*WRONG*

It seems that THIS is the day that EVERYONE in the WHOLE DAMN WORLD decided, "Hey. We left Liz alone for TWO WHOLE DAYS. We need to start bugging her NOW. Everyone, all together now . . . "

I have now officially lost my mind.

It's gone.

Whatever shred of sanity I may have had left is now history . . .

The phone has been ringing constantly, some with questions I can't answer, and other with questions I could but am not able to look up the info RIGHTNOWDAMMITBECAUSEINEEDIT!, people have been in and out of this office to the point that I'm considering a revolving door! (Hmmm - - that way, if I'm *really* on a tangent, I can keep it spinning and spit them right out in the hall . . . ^grin^)

But the worst - - the ABSOLUTE WORST - -

Was this instructor who returned a call to me from yesterday. I had called because I am needing some information from him prior to a meeting Monday afternoon. Of which I am just clerical support. NOT the Chair of the committee. Or anything else that requires decision making.

And he decided he needed to be an ass.

I know, I know - - LOTS of people can be asses, and this one has had more than his share of ass-time . . . but until today, he had never been an ass to ME.

He kept arguing his point with me, and telling me that he was NOT going to do suchandsuch, and I needed to do thisandthat, and I needed to realize all this stuff - - to the point where I actually had to hang up on him.

I was livid. I took off out of my office door (almost ran over the mail lady - - SORRY, CHRIS!) and went to the office next door to talk to the Chair of the Committee. Well, fortunately for him, he had already gone home.

UNFORTUNATELY for him, I had his home phone number, and knew how to use it. Which I did.

When he answered, the first thing I did was apologize in advance for what I was going to say, and how it was going to be said.

And then I unloaded. BOTH barrels. No-holds-barred RANT and RAVE. He heard it all, and then some, in no uncertain terms.

I know I said "SOB" (spelled out, of course!) at least once, mentioned not being paid enough to take this man's "bull****", and am pretty sure used some other "colorful metaphors" during the course of my rant - -

Gotta admit, the Chair took it pretty well. Poor guy - - I had held it in so much with the instructor, that once it came out, it was not a pretty sight! He got me (kind of) calmed down, and then promised to call the instructor and take care of the situation. I apologized once more, promised to calm down, at which we BOTH laughed, because once my Italian blood gets boiling, it take a L--O-O-O-N-G time for that to happen!

Well, let's just see what tomorrow brings - - at least it's Friday, which helps. And I get to go down and spend time with my Dear Daddy, which always puts me in a better mood! :-)

I hope you all have a good evening, and thanks for stopping by! Now that I have unloaded on all of you, I feel MUCH better! :-)

It's Really MONDAY, Not TUESDAY . . .

I don't care WHAT the calendar says!

Coming back after being off work for almost 2 weeks is HARD, no matter what day of the week it is!

I have been sitting here, looking at my desk, trying to dig through piles of mail that stacked up - -

Reading what seems like HUNDREDS of emails - -

And just trying to figure out which way is up!

Oh well - - new year - - time to get started!

Tomorrow will be better! :-)

All Good Things . . . . *sigh*

Well, today is the last day of Winter Break. Tomorrow Campus is open, and Caterpillar is back to work - - it's back to the office for me, and to the big trucks for Hubby - - back to work - - back to the "old grind" - - *SIGH*

Oh well, all good things must come to an end, I guess . . . . .

Winter Break this year was FUN! Dear Hubby Steve and I did lots of things together, went a few places, spent time with some friends, and a couple of days just totally "vegged out" and never even left the house. Built fires in the fireplace and just kicked back with the "fur-kids" and had a good time.

We both needed that - - badly!

One fun thing we did over Break was host our annual party for our "looney tunes" group of friends. These are people I worked with during my stint at DCFS, and these people just "ain't right" - - so needless to say, there was no telling what might happen. As usual, the group did not disappoint! We were all in fine form.

The main difference this year is that everyone in the group had to work except for Steve and I, so we scheduled the party for right after work on Friday, and had supper ready for all of them. Lots of work, but this crew is worth it. They are crazy, funny, TOTALLY not right, and true friends in every sense of the words. We are lucky to have them in our lives!

But it's the New Year, and time to get busy and take care of business . . .

So - - now we face tomorrow, with batteries recharged and ready to take on the world! :-)

Hope the world is ready for us . . . ^grin^