Tuesday, April 29, 2008

Day 5

And I'm still doing this.

Day 5 - 29 April, 11:00 p.m.

I am grateful for no-scrub cleaning products.

Monday, April 28, 2008

Day 4

Day 4 - 28 April. 10:10 p.m.

I am grateful that all the stars aligned for me today, causing my tax rebate/stimulus check to be direct deposited into my account already.

(of course, it is already gone, half having been used to pay one of my doctor's bills and the other half to help pay for the trip to DC that I took my niece and nephew on a few weeks back.)

Sunday, April 27, 2008

Day 3

Day 3 - 27 April, 10:55 p.m.

I am grateful for getting to sneak a nap during the afternoon on Sundays.

Saturday, April 26, 2008

Day 2

Day 2 - 26 April, 10:50 p.m.

I am grateful for rain.

Friday, April 25, 2008

The (Borrowed) Experiment

A girl named Annie started a little writing assignment, which was passed on by my friend Devin, and so I thought that I could borrow the concept and play along as well.

For 30 days, you will share something you're grateful for. It could be anything - a photo, a word, a story, whatever. And then you invite your friends to do the same in the comments below and/or in their own blog.

Currently, I need to find a way to focus on the positive in my life. I also need to compel myself to blog more, so, this could help me in both respects.

And so, away we go....

Day One - 25 April, 12:29 a.m.

I am grateful for my parents.

They are the reason that I'm.......

- on this earth (the whole conceiving and birthing thing)
- still alive (they had good insurance when I was a sickly and clumsy kid)
- in this house (helped with the down payment)
- gainfully employed (paid for my education)
- not named LaRue (thanks only to Dad on that one)
- still awake at this hour (late night call from Mom to ensure all the above still applies)

(Technically, that should probably count as more than one grateful for the day, but truly, they are the big grateful in my life from which so many other gratefuls flow.)

Thanks Mom and Dad.

Sunday, April 20, 2008

$64,000 Question

So - my company has been in the news a lot the past week, and a lot of friends have emailed concerned as to what that means for me. And the answer is.....




??????????



I have no idea.

In fact, I probably won't for at least a year or two. Because the merger itself probably won't close until late in the year, and then it will probably take another year to 18 months to blend the technology, administration and other operational functions.

Overall, it looks like a pretty good thing for the company as a whole. But while we have been promised no frontline layoffs or job cuts, I'm not frontline. I have the type of job that you don't really need to duplicate elsewhere in the company, especially not if you plan on saving money where you can.

My main hope is that when all is said and done that

1. My job will still be needed

2. My job will still reside in Atlanta

3. I will be deemed the best person for that job

4. If not 3., then the person who does my job better in Minneapolis decides they don't want to move to Atlanta and I win by default.

Or, I could move to a frontline job. Which, while typically a lower paying thing, might work out OK anyway, as at least then I could be paid for the massive amounts of OT I put in, not have to take work home with me at the end of the day, and maybe be able to work a schedule that would make going back to school a little bit easier.

So, a lot to think about and consider. And a long time to consider it as well.

Oh, and in the midst of everything, we got a new airplane last month. It was our first new aircraft in about 6 years - a Boeing 777-200 LR. It is the longest range aircraft out there, can fly halfway around the world. It also has those cool sleeper seats - can't wait until I can take a trip on one.



Here I am with the new 777, posing with some guy - he said he was the President of the company or something like that.

Seriously, that is the President and Chief Financial Officer Ed Bastain. I met him a while back at a company event through my Dad (who apparently knows or has 2 degrees of separation between himself and the rest of the world). Mr. B's current Admin Assistant was my Dad's Admin Assistant about 15 years ago before Dad retired. (Another interesting tidbit of my Dad's history - his very first secretary at Delta had been Dwight D Eisenhower's secretary during WWII.)

Maybe they will be less apt to cut me if I put a copy of this photo on my desk.

Life Immitating Art, or Vice Versa

Wednesday, April 16, 2008

Not to be unkind...

but is it really major world news that Martha Stewart's dog died today?

http://www.cnn.com/2008/SHOWBIZ/TV/04/16/marthastewarts.dog.ap/index.html

I mean, when I looked at CNN earlier, it was the third story down, beaten only by the Pope's visit to the US and a guilty verdict in a beheading case.

Although, thankfully (?) it was thought to be more important than the story about the pot smoking toddler.

Saturday, April 12, 2008

12 of 12 - April 2008

Hello Boys and Girls. Welcome to my April 2008 12 of 12.

New to 12 of 12? Visit the blog of the creator of the 12 of 12, brilliant Hollywood writer and fellow Southern Chad Darnell, for the details, rules, and links to all of the other 12 of 12ers out there. And leave comments. Lots and lots of comments. We love your comments. :-)

I like it when the 12th falls on a non-work day, because at least there is some potential for something besides my usual "Drive 1/2 mile to work, sit in front of computer for 8 hours split by boring lunch, drive home 1/2 mile, watch TV until I pass out" kind of photos. And today, I actually have plans with my high school best friend Traci, so yay! Someone new for you to see!

9:40 a.m. - Well, I'm not 4 days late, but I am still late. As usual, I overslept and am just now getting into the car to go pick up Traci for our Girl's Day out. She is dropping her kids at her Mom's house and I have to pick her up there at 10:00 a.m., and it takes 30 minutes to get there from here. I'm probably going to be late.


9:42 a.m. - I've driven all of 2 blocks and it has started raining. So, chances of me making up those 10 minutes are going to be slim as people in Atlanta do not know how to drive in the rain.

10:05 a.m. - Arriving at The High Country (the name Traci's pop named their house when they had it built about 23 years ago.) Least I made up some of the time and am not too very late.

10:30 a.m. - Breakfast! Nom, nom, nom. You can tell we live in the south, because we have both grits and Coca-Cola for breakfast.

11:35 a.m. - Let the pedicures begin!

That's Traci. We have been friends since elementary school in the 1970s, all the way through high school at CPHS and college at Clayton Jr. and then Georgia State. She is now a kindergarten teacher who still dots her "I"s with little smiley faces (the kids love that.) In our friendship, Traci is the sweet one, and I am the smart ass one. Thank God I'm not the one teaching kindergarten, else those kids would be a real sarcastic, eye rolling bunch.

2:20 p.m. - and the final results of the pedicures. Traci always thinks that she has Fred Flintstone Toes, but I don't think Fred could have gotten away with that sparkly red toe nail polish. (Barney, maybe.)

2:36 p.m. - That's me and Tray's youngest son Chapman. Love, Love, Love this kid. He is so sweet and funny. He still has a high little kid voice, so sometimes when I call and he answers, I will think it is Traci and I'll go "Hey Dude!" (cause you know, we are in our 40s but we still call each other Dude like we did in high school) and he'll go, "Jojo - it's not Dude, it's me Chappy!"


2:35 p.m. - That is Traci and her Mom Sharon. Most people call her Sam, because that is what her initials spell. I love Traci's parents, they have always been so good to me and treated me as if I were a member of the family. They were practically teenagers when they had her, so they were the youngest parents in the bunch, and they were so much fun to be around. Not because they were trying to be our buddies or letting us get away with anything, they were just great people and didn't seem to mind if we were loud or invited half the neighborhood over. I practically lived on their den sofa when we were in college, as that was where Tray and I would study, do homework and watch MTV (back when they had music videos) until we passed out.

5:37 p.m. - Since I was already down near my parent's house, we decided to have Sunday family lunch at Mom and Dad's as Saturday family dinner instead. Here are my wonderful nephew and niece, hanging out in the breakfast room. They are growing up way too fast.

5:38 p.m. - and my Mom and Dad. (Country Pinks and Blues were the in thing when that house was built, can you tell??)


6:45 p.m. - Finally on the way back home. I have no idea what they are doing here. This is just between the airport exit and my exit. I think they are running the rapid transit from the airport over to the convention center where my old neighborhood use to be, and that they are building the rail for it to cross over the interstate. I swear that none of this was there when I left this morning.

9:55 p.m. - Torchwood Rocks! Love me some Captain Jack. Plus, it looks like Spike (sorry JM - you can play a time agent, police detective, Brainic, or win the Academy Award, but you will always be Spike to me) will be back for the season finale next week. Yay!!
Bonus shots for April.

It wouldn't be April in Georgia without some Dogwood Trees .....

or Azalea's (at Mom's)

So enjoy.

Thursday, April 10, 2008

The Six-Words Meme

In an effort to get me off my butt and blogging again my cousin Bonnie tagged me to do the Six-Word Meme. Here is my entry -

"Four days late, never caught up."

The Six-Words Meme, which was originally started by Smith Magazine. The history is thus:

Legend has it that Hemingway was once challenged to write a story in only six words. His response? “For sale: baby shoes, never worn.” Last year, SMITH Magazine re-ignited the recountre by asking our readers for their own six-word memoirs. They sent in short life stories in droves, from the bittersweet (“Cursed with cancer, blessed with friends”) and poignant (“I still make coffee for two”) to the inspirational (“Business school? Bah! Pop music? Hurrah”) and hilarious (“I like big butts, can’t lie”).

The rules...Here are the rules:
1) Write your own six word memoir.
2) Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you’d like.
3) Link to the person that tagged you in your post, and to the original post if possible so we can track it as it travels across the blogosphere.
4) Tag at least five more blogs with links.
5) Don’t forget to leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play.
6) Have fun.

And who to tag?? How about.....

Steve

Reid

Tony

Ali

Laura