December 12 of 12

As you can probably tell from my complete lack of blogging since last month's 12 of 12, I've been a little bit indisposed as of late. Between putting in several 12 hour days at work, trying to learn all the new aspects of my job that I inherited after the last round of retirements, praying that I don't get cut from my job in the merger fallout, being a bit out of whack due to having a bit of the flu over Thanksgiving, still dealing with the unexplained stroke-like symptoms (and yet more medical tests), and being introduced to the crack that is Facebook - well, not a lot of time for blogging.

I was prepared to at least get in my monthly 12 of 12, but then I forgot my camera as I left for work at 7:00 am and then I didn't get home until after midnight on the 13th. So therefore, no photographic evidence of my December 12th exists, unless some satellite got a shot of me as I got out of the car going into or out of work. But still, I hate to completely bail on the exercise, so I figured I could just try to recreate my 12th for your viewing pleasure with the assist of some old photos. Just pretend you are watching one of those shows on a basic cable channel that reenacts some lady snapping and killing her husband or somesuch.

7:30 a.m. ish - heading the two blocks to work. Just imagine this shot with fewer green leaves on the trees.

7:32 a.m. - The place where I spent most of the day.

7:37 a.m. - yeah - my desk still looks like it did last month - just that all these papers are now covered with 30 additional days worth of papers.

7:50 a.m. - My Outlook task manager telling me that I'm about 5 days overdue on everything except for the one project we have spent the last week completely devoted to non-stop.

8:00 a.m. - Checking the flights for the trip I'm taking with my niece on week after next. While I owe the poor kid a Christmas trip to London (her brother went two years back, her trip last year was postponed due to my knee surgery) it is just too unaffordable right now for me to take her this Christmas. So, instead, we are going to Vegas. Mom is joining us, as she gets comped rooms and food at the Flamingo (hey - I can afford free), and I'm taking Liana to see the Cirque du Soleil show Love at the Mirage. Beatles is as close to London as we are getting this year, but she is thrilled nonetheless.

9:00 a.m. until 8:00 p.m. - spent the day with these two again, except that none of us were really smiling about it.

8:00 p.m. - Finally left work. Not completely finished, but will head back on Sunday to finalize the rest of it so we will be ready first thing Monday.

8:10 p.m. - Neighbor Katie's evil cat Gracie hanging out in the alleyway, probably wondering if she can sharpen her claws on my leg again.

8:15 p.m. - Out with Katie for a belated birthday drink and dessert. I didn't look half this put together, but then I rarely do.

12:00 a.m. - Pulling into the garage after a long evening.

12:01 a.m. - Thank goodness the timer on the light is still off track, because otherwise I would have been walking into a pitch dark house.

12:02 a.m. - Christmas presents I showed you last month, still sitting in the exact same location and still not wrapped. Need to get on that soon.

That is about as close I as can get for this month. Promise to be back in regular form in January.

And on a final note - Chad, the guy who came up with the 12 of 12 concept and always graciously hosts the links for all that participate, found out this past week that he has testicular cancer. He is an Atlanta guy living in LA, in his 30s and always seemed to be in the greatest physical condition - long distance biking, running, hell - he even posed nude (strategically placed leg covering his guy parts) in Advocate magazine a few months back for a story on body image. I ask you all to keep him in your thoughts and prayers.

12 of 12 - November 2008

Welcome to my November 12 of 12 entry. This is where you post 12 photos from your day on the 12th of each month. New to 12 of 12? Check out Chad's blog for the details.


Physically, this was a pretty rough 12th. After being heavily drugged to avoid another major MRI meltdown on Monday, I slept for about 15 hours straight. I guess after that, my body decided staying awake for the next two days would balance that out. So, while lying in bed last night, staring at the ceiling, praying for sleep to come - my computer in the den came on all by itself. The Window's music startled me, so I got up to see what was up and to turn it back off. I assume that it was a power surge or something - no biggy.

Until about an hour later when it happened again. And this time, after the Windows music, the computer opened my playlist and started playing a David Bowie/Queen song. So, I guess I have a ghost. On the bright side, at least we enjoy the same 80s music.

3:25 a.m. - Gargoyle keeping watch over possessed computer.

8:50 a.m. - Didn't sleep the rest of the night, although I sort of dozed for about 10 minutes in the middle of putting on my socks while getting dressed for work. Here I am arriving at work, trying to dodge the union shills wanting us to sign their "informational" cards so they can take over our non-union company. Let's see - come January 1st, us already higher paid non-union employees will get a 3% raise, while union employees get a 1% raise as determined by their contract (less, of course, the 2% of their yearly salary that goes for union dues.) Yeah, I think I'm good.

9:10 a.m. - I think my papers multiplied during the night.

9:45 a.m. - Them's the numbers I'm a crunchin'.

3:45 p.m. - Late afternoon pudding break.

4:05 p.m. - This time of year, when it is dark by the time I leave work, I try to at least get to a window to see some daylight. This is the view of Hapeville from the back of our building. (Really, it is technically the front of the building, but the front gate is permanently locked, so we all enter from the back, so now we consider that the front and this the back.)

4:40 p.m. - Coworkers H & C working on C's part of tomorrow's PowerPoint presentation. Can't believe I managed to sneak a shot with their faces, as of my coworkers are not usually receptive to being the subject of a blog post.....

4:42 p.m. - ...such as Christine, partially seen here.

6:20 p.m. - Finally calling it a day and headed home. But first, stopped and pondered where my niece and I might go for our special trip in December. I am contemplating a location on this part of the map. Any guesses?

6:35 p.m. - Clothing I haven't worn in at least a year. Still can't break down and get rid of it, but at least it is getting closer to the door. Maybe a few episodes of Clean House on the TiVo will be the inspiration (guilt trip) that I need.

6:40 p.m. - Christmas shopping almost done. Even bought a little present for myself.

7:10 p.m. - Look My Cousin Bonnie - I got some head shots for you to check out. I think my 'type' is brainy. :-)

Don't know why the MRI lab always gives me a personal copy of the DVD with my scans, but I can't stop myself from taking a look. Of course, I have no idea what any of it shows - although my eyeballs up at the top are a bit creepy. Last time, there was one slice that looked like a racoon's face and yet another that looked like the Mutant Enemy "Grrr Argh" monster at the end of Buffy. This time around, I'm feeling more of a Predator vibe with some of the slices.

So, that is it for this month. Hope you enjoyed, and hope you will check out the link to Chad's blog at the top and go see some of the great stuff from other 12 of 12ers worldwide.

Pet Peeves of the Week

1. I have compiled a list of all of you political candidates who have left multiple recorded voice mail messages requesting my vote, and swear that I will vote against you all just out of spite. Especially you, Lawrence A. Cooper, who has called me so many times (and many so early that I was still asleep) that I have lost count. I only wish that I was a dead Democrat, because then I could vote against you multiple times.

2. After a certain age, getting drunk and acting like an ass at every single gathering you attend is not very becoming. Face it - college was over 20 years ago - so it is about time to grow the hell up.

3.

4. If you must continue your cell phone conversation in the stall in a public restroom, please do not get irritated with those of us that disrupt your conversation when we flush.

5. When you get a large cash or unrestricted stock bonus from your company, quit your complaining about how "the company" was unfair to take out taxes. The company does not tax you - the government does. And if you are that unhappy with the 'only $5,000' you got - I will be happy to relieve you of the burden.

Man, do I sound grouchy, or what? I think I've just been pushed to the limit in the last week or two. Hopefully, this venting will help.

12 of 12 - October 2008

Finally posting my 12 of 12. It has been a long exhausting couple of days. I went to Vegas (kudos to Laura/Zin for guessing correctly) with my parents and a couple of Dad's friends.

Unfortunately, after the first day, the trip ended up abruptly coming to an end, as my Dad got really sick. He was already coming off of knee replacement surgery 6 weeks ago and pushing himself to go on the trip to prove that he was recovered. But the first night there, he couldn't sleep and said he felt like he was drowning. Helping him with his shoes in the morning, I noticed that his feet and legs were swollen, and so the decision was made to come home immediately. He is now in the hospital and it looks like he was going into congestive heart failure. They have treated him with some diuretics and other meds and he is already looking better, but his cardiologist wants to hold him for a few more days to be safe. But thank God he is improving.

So anyway, here are my pics before the trip took a turn. Leaving the times off, since once I leave on vacation, I have no concept of what time it is anywhere.

Me and Dad at the airport awaiting our flight.

High above the Mississippi River.

Mom on a plane.

In Vegas, next to the tram that takes you from the D terminal to the main terminal. They have murals done by local kids of various destinations. This one is obviously Berlin.

And a little shout out to my Dallas friends.

I wanted to head down the strip and take photos at Paris and New York to play up the angle of multiple destinations, but when I walked out to take the photo of ancient Rome/Caesar's Palace, it was like 40 degrees and windy, so this ....

and this (The Mirage) is all I got.

I hate when they put up Christmas before we've even had Halloween. But, since it is a Flamingo tree, I will give them a small break.

We went down to get Mom (Maxine) signed in for her tournament, and we ran into the other Maxine - an event coordinator for the Flamingo. She is one of many friends that Mom and Dad have made at the hotel over the years.

I went back up to the room to slip in a little nap, and I spotted a wedding taking place down in the hotel gardens out back. You can see the bride coming up the pathway, about to make her walk down the aisle.

They really don't like for you to take random photos in the casino area, so I sort of snapped this one with the camera down by my side as I walked through on the way to meet Dad and his friends. I have turned this photo every which way, but I'm still not sure which way was up.

Here is Dad and his friends Fred and Buck. We really enjoyed having them along, and they were a huge help when we determined that Dad was starting to get sick and needed to get back home. Dad really does have some of the best friends, and they can really be counted on in times of need. I'm sure once word gets out that he is in the hospital, there will be a revolving door of his buddies coming in and out visiting and lightening his mood.

Farewell to a Favorite Uncle

My great uncle, J W "Chubby" Thomas, passed away today. He was 93 years old. He had battled and beat cancer a number of times over the years, but blessedly, he appears to have died peacefully at home, sitting in his favorite chair.

Chubby was my grandmother Cleo's younger brother and the fourth of nine children. Apparently, he was pretty fat as a baby, hence the nickname "Chubby". And in spite of the fact that he ended up a pretty skinny guy, the nickname stuck. His actual name was J.W. - that's it - just the initials. I have no idea why. Maybe if he had been the ninth kid, I could see where you might run out of names. When he joined the military during WWII, they wouldn't accept just the initials, so he became John Wesley - the name of his grandfather.

During WWII, he served in the infantry and spent almost 4 years fighting in foxholes across Europe. His unit was in Milan in April 1945 where he saw the body of Mussolini hanging following his assassination. It was something he rarely talked about, but he did talk to me about it once when I was working on a school paper about the war. It seemed hard for him to talk about, but he knew my love of history - both world history and our family history - and he wanted me to do well. It was a special feeling to know that he cared about me enough to share such an obviously troubling memory.

Chubby and his wife Lil really doted on my mom and her sister, and I know that they were among Mom's favorites. They were the only relatives other than my grandparents that accompanied my parents when they went to New York for their TV Wedding. Their daughter Susan, 3 at the time, was the flower girl. When my brother was born prematurely and was hospitalized for several months, and again after I was born with several birth defects and had to spend a lot of time in and out of the hospital during the first 3 years of my life, Chubby and Lil would come down from North Georgia and would sit with us at the hospital so that Mom could get out and have a short break once in a while. They also came down and helped my mom and aunt when my grandmother was dying.

(Uncle Chubby, my grandmother Cleo, my great-grandfather Papa, Uncle Tom Jack and me - 1966)

It was always a treat to drive up to North Georgia with Mom and stop for a visit. He loved putting together puzzles, and he always had one in process when we would stop by. I enjoyed helping him out and listening to his silly jokes as we worked.

(Great uncle Chubby and my aunt (and his niece) Charlsie during one of our visits in 1999.)

In spite of his advancing years and bouts with cancer, he was still one of the most vital and alive people I've ever known. He could still drive, and when his younger family members fell ill, he would drive them to the doctor, pick up their groceries, and cut their grass to help out. He was just an all around good guy. I will miss him, but I am thankful to have had him be part of my life.

TiFaux Alert

My friend and honorary cousin via my real cousin, Faith Salie, will be the guest expert featured on tomorrow's Oprah show. The show is about how to handle life's stickiest situations. Faith is a regular contributor to O magazine. She is both brilliant and funny, so I'm betting that it will be a great show. Please watch if you get a chance.

I also found out today that my bestest (and newly retired) work buddy Glenda and her family will be attending a taping of Oprah next week. I hate that they missed Faith by a week, but I am crossing my fingers that the show they are attending will be one of those Oprah's Favorite Things shows where everyone in the audience gets a ton of free stuff, like a refrigerator with a built in TV, a pair of $500 cashmere socks, and a washing machine that criticizes you like my mother does if you wash the dark clothes with the colors.

Life would be so much easier....

If I just had some super powers.

Happy Days are here again

Hapeville's annual Happy Days Festival was this weekend. It is essentially our founder's day celebration - the town is 117 years old. Oddly, it seems as if half the towns in Georgia have a founder's day celebration sometime in mid-September. It is as if all the town founders independently decided around the same time in September "Hey - the weather is not too hot, not too cold - it is just the right time to found a city so that future generations can have a nice anniversary celebration and not sweat to death in the process." So, from the future generation - "Thank you Dr. Samual Hape!"

The festival kicks off on Friday night with a concert and alumni night. Although I didn't go to Hapeville High, my mom and her sister did, my cousins did and my brother taught at the school. So pretty much anyone I come across knows someone in my family (which is sometimes good, and sometimes, not so much.)

The evening was nice, and I met several new Hapevillians, including Heather, a girl who's blog I have been following. She was very sweet and I enjoyed chatting with her and her friends. No photos from the evening as I forgot to take my camera.

On Saturday, they have an assortment of booths with sort of a homemade/home grown theme, as well as a local artists market, games and rides for the kids, a couple of bands, and plenty of good food. Our neighborhood association had a booth where we sold fresh churned ice cream and baked goods. I spent half the night making several dozen cookies, burning myself on the over door in the process. That says a lot about your cooking skills, or lack thereof, when you get injured baking cookies.
Here is Cheryl and Mrs. P. sampling the homemade ice cream - it was a big hit with the crowd.

Here I am with my neighbors Mindy, Katrina and Cheryl. We all worked the early shift at the booth. Looking at the picture, I'm wondering why everyone looks so nice and colorful and festive and I look like I'm still pushing the all black Goth look 20 years later.

This is my friend and former neighbor Dale. He is a wonderful photographer and artist, and I have a number of his beautiful photos adorning my walls. He designs museum displays for a living, but has recently started selling some of his own photography on the side. He had a couple of sales while I was visiting him, which made me really happy for him.

The great thing about living in a community so close to where you grew up is that you often run into people you grew up with. Along with several old high school friends, I ran into Lorrie (above.) Lorrie is the younger sister of one of my high school friends, and she and her twin sister Mary were my and my best friend Traci's "Mini-Me"s when we were younger. Traci and Mary were the sweet, innocent ones, while Lorrie and I were the cool, funny ones.

Well, that is about it for the day, as I headed home not long after the last photo. Since then, I've pretty much been napping. So, all in all, a good weekend.

12 of 12 - September 2008

Wow - is it the 12th already? Here we go for another round of Chad's 12 of 12.

9:00 a.m. - No prework photos today as I woke up late and threw on my clothes and ran (well, as much as I can run - probably closer to hobbling) out the door to work. So, the first shot of the day is after I'm already at work - it is my 'kiss up' background on my work PC - that is me and the Prez of the company at the unveiling of one of our new aircraft a few months back. Not likely that he will ever be in my office to see my effort at sucking up, but I like to be prepared, just in case.
9:02 a.m. - My birthday card from the team. How long after your birthday must you display the card on your shelf? I've worked with people that keep them up for years. I'm thinking a couple of weeks should be good. Anyone else want to weigh in on the appropriate work birthday card etiquette?

9:04 a.m. - Kind of blurry, but this is a corporate poster from a few years back that I was featured on. (See - I really am the 'Poster Child' for my company.) My Dad had it framed for me and I have it up in my office. Is that braggy? I don't mean it to be braggy.

12:50 p.m. - Leftovers from lunch with the team at Noodle. One of my favorite places.

12:52 p.m. - Railroad/Vegas poster from Noodle. Just sort of liked it.

1:15 p.m. - On the way back to work after lunch we passed by the church that I went to for a while when I was in high school and college.

3:30ish - Been pulling data all day long for an upcoming project, and I needed a break from the tedium for a couple of minutes, so I checked out Twitter for the updates from the Project Rungay guys who were at Bryant Park today for the showing of this seasons collections. These guys are so funny - it was just what I needed before diving back in.

8:00ish - Was invited to a gathering with some of the Hapeville ladies tonight along with neighbor Katie. That is Katie with Linda, the hostess of the gathering.

9:00ish - Still at the gathering. This is Cami. She's one of my favorites from around town. Sweet as can be and very funny. She has recently started focusing on photography, and I want to get her into doing the 12 of 12 as I think she would enjoy it.

9:30 p.m. - This is Zoe - Linda's puppy. I believe that she is thinking, "If you people won't drop some food on the floor for me, would you just please get the hell out of my house, cause you are all making me nervous."
10:20 p.m. - After we left Linda's, Katie and I stopped of at Perk Place Bistro and split a Death by Chocolate. It was yummy. (We were very nice and left a bite for the waitress to finish off.)

10:35 p.m. - I had a Diet Coke to offset the chocolate cake, but Katie had a glass of wine, which gave her what she calls "The Drunk Eye." Drunk Eye is apparently a trait that she inherited from her grandma, where any photo taken of her after she has had a drink (or 2 or 3) results in her left eyelid being almost shut.

OK - I think that is 12. I've counted them 3 times and come up with 11, 13 and finally 12. Sort of hard to focus after all that chocolate - I think I'm having a sugar rush. Anyway, I'm off to watch Best Soup Ever (tm MCB) then hitting the bed. Hope you all enjoy.

Happy Day or Two After my Birthday

Had a little birthday celebration at my parent's house yesterday.

My sister-in-law had one of her friends make this cake for me - it was sooooo cute. She was so thoughtful to do this for me. The airplane was perfect, and I loved the little fluffy clouds. It was way cooler than the Powerpuff Girls cake I had asked for.


Also took home some good birthday loot. A couple of books and a DVD (all sitting atop the scanner my mom gave me as an early b-day gift.) Can't wait to start reading the Outlander book, as BFF Traci has highly recommended the series.

Glad to know that even in your mid-40s, you can still get presents and fancy cakes.

Cuteness

Scanned another dozen today - little by little, I will conquer these 10 boxes of photos without giving up the rest of my life in the process.

This was my favorite scan of today - my niece was so little and cute. My sister-in-law too. (And they still are cute 10 years later.)

I believe that they are at the Renaissance Fair - which would explain the flowers wreaths in their hair. Or, it could have just been a fashion statement - you never know.