The Magic Of The Face

Apparently "work from home" is not a concept that the 'rent can grasp. I am pretty sure me sitting in front of a computer for 8 hours a day does not have the appearance of working, (and in all honesty it is usually more like 10 due to certain moments of inattention to actual work) but I assure you that it is indeed a job. For which I get paid. For which I am required to put forth some effort, regardless of location. In the 'Rent's mind, "work from home" translates to must get all of my errands done and suck all of the time out of you I can when we are supposed to be going to the doctor's office and back. Yeah. Can you say my STRESS is off the meter this morning? We have to go get blood work done, etc (follow up visit crap), with travel should take about an hour and a half considering you still have to sit and wait. I need to remember just to take these days off because her assumption is that I DO. EVEN WHEN I TELL HER I HAVE TO COME BACK TO W

Conversation over dinner with the family. (Numbers are only to birth order. All of my nieces are #1 in my heart) Niece #3: "I want to go sky diving." Niece #2: "Why?" Niece #1: "I just saw on the news where someone went sky diving for the first time, with the person strapped to their back, the parachute did not deploy and they both died." Niece #3" Never mind. I don't want to go sky diving." 'Rent: "<Niece #3's name> you could go on Fear Factor." Sibling: "Mom! You watch Fear Factor?" 'Rent: "Sometimes." At this point somehow the conversation devolved...... Me: "Yeah Mom, we could put you in the Geriatric Fear Factor. First Stunt, take off your Oxygen mask for 5 minutes." No one could breathe, and the 'Rent did not speak to me for the remainder of the night. . . . Me: "Are you really mad at me? You know I was joking, right?" 'Rent: "I will remem

While in Ohio we got to meet several new and wonderful people, but as is with the case in my life they all are characters. One of the young men is in a wheelchair, which he has not let slow him down in the least. I would say the chair he uses is a racer's chair, but it would have to be an off road racer if you wanted to qualify it. He might have one of the most pleasant dispositions I have ever encountered, and while being away from the 'rent makes it hard to distinguish, he actually stands out in this regard. So that is saying something. His arms are as big a tree trunks from hard work, the gym and generally getting from point A to point B on his chair. The reference of this young man will become apparent further into the story. The last night while we were in Ohio, post racing, we went to hang out with our friends and visit while we could since we were leaving the next day. Apparently post racing up there they maintain a tradition. They have a aluminum bowl they set on a

The spouse and I went away for a short THREE day trip from the deep South to Northern Ohio. We made the appropriate provisions for our Herd of Dogs. The smallest of the herd weighs in at 70+ pounds, so we were not leaving the 'rent in charge of the feeding and releasing of the hounds. That would cause us to end up with a broken or dead 'rent. Frankly that tends to ruin the reprieve premise. The only task the 'rent had was to feed the cats. Bowls and food provided. They are indoor/outdoor cats and very low risk of broken anything. Open the door when they want to come in or go out. SEE PREVIOUS STATEMENT, the 'rent was IN NO WAY RESPONSIBLE FOR THE HERD. We left on our journey at 3:30 AM CDT. We had fed the herd and let them go do their doggie bidness and put them back up in holding until our friends could come by and take care of them. At some time around Noon I get a call from the 'rent, she of shortness of breath and frail being, to say she was going to go let

Date: June 12, 2012. Time: 8:00pm-ISH Conversation between the 'rent and myself. Self: "I am going to take family photos tomorrow night after work of <insert friend's name here>" 'rent: "Tomorrow night?" Self: "Yes, right after work, I am hoping to get out by 4. So I won't be here for dinner. I wanted to give you warning." 'rent: "OK, so you won't be here for dinner." Self: "Right." Flash forward ~ Date: June 13, 2012. Time: 1:30pm-ISH Come back from lunch to message light flashing on the phone. This is never good and can only be one person. . . . . Conversation between the 'rent and myself. Self: "You rang?" 'rent: "You are going to take pictures of <insert friend's name here> tonight?" Self: "Yes. As I stated last night, right after work, I am hoping to get out by 4. I don't think I will be too late but won't be there for dinner."

If you had to stop and define yourself, could you? In a way that people could understand? I mean TRULY understand? Put themselves in your shoes and feel your joys, emotional pains, hurts, hopes, dreams, losses, scars that never fully heal? Every ugly word said to you in ignorance, because lets face it, as kids we are all ignorant and say stupid shit. What we forget is that as much as what we hear hurts? Yeah, that crap spewing out of your mouth, that is doing the same ugly shit to someone else's psyche. I know I can't define myself in a way that anyone else can understand because they don't live in my head. I know I am the sum of every good and bad thing in my life. I know some days I suck as a human being, but with luck and grace I get to wake up and try again tomorrow. I am more than the bag of skin, fat, bones and minerals I walk around in. I chose to be kind. I chose to try to use my brain each day to learn something new. I like to make my friends laugh, because laugh

In the current economical climate many of us find ourselves working within "Multi-Cultural" groups. I am not, nor can I afford to disparage this since I need to keep eating and paying my bills. What I find fascinating and distressing, at least in my job, is that often my offshore counter parts are not remotely acquainted with the baseline of our business. Meaning they don't understand WHY we do what we do, or HOW our client's do things, so a total lack of understand leads to total apathy. At least that is the appearance that is presented. I am not assuming the ethnocentric idea that my country is the end all be all of earth. What I have issues with is if you are going to work for a company whose primary customer is a specific economy, perhaps you should have a basic grasp of how crap works in that country. I would expect that if I were to go to abroad for a job, I would have to have a basic understanding of their culture and at LEAST a passing understanding of what

in·teg·ri·ty   / ɪnˈtɛg rɪ ti / [ in- teg -ri-tee ]   noun 1. adherence to moral and ethical principles; soundness of moral character; honesty. 2.   the state of being whole, entire, or undiminished . It is one of those things that I believe all beings strive to have, and a large portion of fail at. I say this having endured what I find to be a day lacking in the exercise of this trait. The reality of life is no matter how hard we try, we tend to fail often. If not a full on fail, then a partial fail. We can't keep every promise made, and if we do, then we are dropping the ball on some other part of our lives. Some of these missed catches are of no consequence while others can spell headaches, or on a grander scale, getting to walk behind the elephant in the room with the chihuahua sized pooper scooper. I am not going to even try to pretend that I am a passable juggler. I am lucky I get dressed and make it to work each day with the correct shoes