SueWorks

Sunday Was A Good Day

In case you were wondering.

Right now I'm on the phone with WAMU home loans.  It will be a while.  I've put the phone on speaker to free up my other hand.  One hand typing does work but it's so much easier, as you know, with two.  The jazzy WAMU commercial music just stopped to tell me they are experiencing delays and they apologize for the hold time.  After I get my home loan stuff settled, I'm closing my checking account and moving all my money to the credit union.  I'm sure WAMU will charge me a fee to close the account - and that is why someother bank owns them now.  The bank I started with ages ago was Great Western.  I liked that bank, the were bought by Security Pacific.  I think Home Savings had them for a short while and then WAMU bought it all.  And now there is JP Morgan.  I'm not going to wait and see.  The fees are killing me.  Last year it cost $10 for overdraft protection plus a per use charge.  Now it's $30 and a higher per use charge.  Go to Cal Bear, the people are nice.

Good Days

By all measures today is turning out to be a good day.  There are a least 3 good waking hours left so more may happen before a final day rating is given.

Xmas was small and nice, with many more presents than I expected.  Each year we say it will be smaller and it's reached the minimum possible I suppose.  Pkin, our Jehovah Witness raised member, hasn't yet figured out that Xmas is very important and that he would be very well received if he brought a few gifts that he picked out himself.  We've only been married seven years so maybe he'll get it some day.

Friday was banking day - Dad was involved, so it was a longish day.  And Mom once again showed her loveableness.  We were getting a cashier's check at her bank.  The fee was $10; she said she would not pay it.  The young clerk seemed taken aback.  She again said she didn't think she had to pay it.  She suggested that the young clerk check on that fee.  The final word was, as a belated Christmas gift, there would be no charge.  Mom then walked over the bank manager's desk and hugged the woman there.  It does pay and cost less to know people.  Mom is really sweet, but not so sachharine that it's annoying.  She's got a wicked streak a mile wide.  You'd love her too.

Saturday was "stimulate the economy" day.  I have a lovely cashmere sweater and two bags, and a few other very nice things.  Pkin, you didn't just read that.  Mom, Boo and I spent the day together.  The original plan was for me to pick them up at 7 AM and go to breakfast in Downtown LA.  Mom phoned at 6:20 to say plans had changed and they would pick me up at 8 AM.  They arrived at 7:50 and I wasn't dressed.  By 8:07 we were on the road.  If you ever get to LA, go to the TJ Maxx near the LAX.  It will be worth it.  Then we went to Flox Hills (that's what we call it.)  It's Fox Hills, there's a nice Macy's there that may not survive the downturn in the economy. 

We met a nice young man who was going to stimulate the economy himself.  My guess is that he was returning to school in Pennsylvania and was taking warm gloves with him, at about 40 bucks a hand.  Living in So Cal our gloves are more decorative than functional.  There was also a very impressive older gentleman trying on a tweedy sports coat.  Pkin is not a sports coat kind-of-guy, if you haven't figured that out already.  It's nice to see a well-dressed man.  I'm a sucker for it.

Then we came home.  Pkin worked some and played some and I made hash for dinner with leftovers from Xmas dinner.

Today was a total home-body day.  In fact, Pkin is unbathed.  We had waffles, then I napped.  Oh, I did finish laundry too.  Then we had spaghetti, now I'm packing for a one-day away jaunt as I gather my dry cleaning.

As you know, we are heifers.  My vacation for the year involves going to Harris Ranch.  Take a look.  I'll tell you all about the beef in my next entry.

On Donder, On Blitzen

Found the secret Santa diaries care of Beancounters, see it here.

Just for fun:

No Clock and You See Interesting Things

The one thing you immediately realize about me is that I do not maintain a regular schedule.  When I have to be somewhere at a particular time 995 out of 1000 times I'm there early (the other five times are things I really don't want to do.)  Having a flexible schedule I get to see lots of different things.  There are two schools are my direct route to work, as I leave home I pass a grammar school and as I approach work there is a high school.  It's easier to navigate through the grammar school drop off lines, the high school kids and parents are hazards to themselves and others. 

Well this morning I drove down my street on trash day.  There were three, three possibly retired men waiting for the trash truck to pick up their cans.  Well, there are three cans usually, with three different trucks.  I really can't imagine these men on my very short block waiting for each truck to empty his can so that he can quickly return his can, blue and green and black, to the backyard, driveway, or wherever he likes to keep his cans.  Maybe it's just a big vacation time this day before Christmas.

All I know is that last week our black (actual trash) can was too near to a vehicle.  The trash truck driver got out of his truck, placed a note on the can, and left the can full of trash too close to a vehicle.  Does that make sense?  If we were habitual "bad can placers" maybe but this was our first offense.  Fortunately this was not a big trash week for us and there was room for two week of garbage.  I really need to write to the city.  I can see leaving a note but taking the trash.  I can see leaving the trash and letting us figure it out.  But he got out of the truck and near the can to leave the note so why not move it about 1.5 feet and take the trash?

OK, maybe my definition of interesting needs help.

Worse than Waiting for Santa

I'm waiting for Christmas vacation to begin.  It starts no earlier than 2:00 PM Pacific on December 24 though I'm hoping my boss decides she doesn't want to work much earlier than 2.  Please say a little prayer for me and for her.

The house is decorated, and on Christmas morning I'll put up the decorated towels.  Pkin likes to leave marks of use on the hand towels.  I'm convinced that working-type men just need a little dirt on their hands at all times.

The kitties have begun eating tinsel.  Please don't call the authorities.  The tinsel is placed near the top of the tree.  They have to really stretch to get to it and I figure if they want it that much then they deserve to enjoy the pleasures of tinsel on kitty teeth.  Last year, when they were kittens, the tree held no interest for them.  This year they are bit more excited about the bowl of water in the middle of the living room.  Bob or Buster, or both, pulled a large jingle bell off the side table.  I found it on the other side of the living room.

Oh, oh, oh.  I decorated my tree on Sunday, and the kitties were underfoot, or about 10 minutes.  A while later I went to the bedroom to find them both sprawled on the bed looking incredibly exhausted.  They looked like they have run a march or something like that, not batted at tree branches for seconds.  Boy are my kitties out of shape!

Is it Santa time yet!?!

Dogstacle Course

The cold weather (it's been in the 40's and even some 30's at night, and I'm in Sunny Southern, Never Rains In California) has been really good for Big Steve.  He is being better behaved because he wants to spend more time in the warmer house.  Or maybe we're being better behaved as well.

Rosey prefers to sleep on my side of the bed, and Steve is near Rosey.  This all means that I must navigate through a "dogstacle course" when I get out of my bed, and I always, almost always get up before everyone else in the house (read: Pkin.)  As I ease out of bed, I scan, in the dark, for the white and black spots breaking up the tan of the carpet.  But as the dogs spend more and more time on my floor, the carpet is growing more brownish in coloring.  I'm going to need a night light to move through my dogstacle course.

Movies Follow Up

How weird am I?  Wait, I have some parameters: I prefer to know quite a bit about the movies I watch.  While I do enjoy being surprised with a story line that twists or turns, generally, I prefer to know where the movie is headed.  I read the reviews of movies I think I want to see.  I enjoy when I see a movie based on a book I've read.  I enjoy remakes, especially when I've seen the original.

Three interesting movie are, on DVD, Lars & the Real Girl and 30 Days of Night, and in the theaters, The Reader.  You'll notice my taste in movies runs to the eclectic.

Surprise Movies

Yes or No?

Truth and Secrets

My great and trusted mentor George once told me that secrets are the true vehicle of exchange in an organization.  How much access you have to the "true story" indicates how valued you are in the business.  If people are telling things, it's because they trust you and you show that you are trust worthy by sharing the secrets WITH others and keeping the secrets FROM others.

I'm horrible at sharing secrets - I do not trust enough to share the really juicy ones.  I fear the trail with lead back to me.  I don't like this about myself.  I do not like to be fearful.  My mom realizes that I'm afraid and doesn't want me to be, I think she sees some of herself in me. 

I think I'm going to share a secret with someone and make a big stride, but this is a calculated risk as I'm not ready to blow out of 40 years of practice.

Working Hard in Tough Economic Times

I'm getting a lot of feedback from my retired parents about the amount of time I spend working.  Honestly, I'm concerned about my job with the economy in the current state it is.  Layoffs are happening all over the world. 

My job is not indispensible; the work I do is of benefit to employees and the business but it's not a revenue (i.e. sales job) generater and witj some of the things I do the short- to mid-term effects would be manageable.  In the long-run what I do is one of the most critical things for a business, it's professional and management development.  If people are not competent, not skilled and not learning new skills the organization will not last long and will not be successful - again, in the long-run.

Any way, I'm working long hours and weekends for the next month or so, and I'm being kind when I listen to my parents.  And I tell them the world has change; I don't have a union helping to enforce work hours.  I don't have a chance at social security if I can retire.  I do have a husband with a trade, and these times we are heading for will have a greater appreciation for his talents.  I just might get my secret dream - to be kept woman.  I'll have to learn to eat bonbons and wear an apron, or maybe how to weld.  It's a toss up.