Archive of Marcia's Musings October 1-7, 2001Saturday, October 6, 2001
Arriving!!
My cousin's flight arrives today and I'm very excited-- as I write this, she is already on the first leg of the flight (from Grand Rapids to Cincinnati). I won't know if security confiscated her favorite crochet hook-- "How can a crochet hook be used as a weapon?" "What? Its pointed!! That's how!" "It is???"-- until she arrives. I told her if that particular crochet hook was that important to her, she should pack it in her suitcase and have a decoy out for them to take if they so desire. This is a torn woman, folks: she can't not crochet for four hours when she has the opportunity and she must use that particular crochet hook to do it-- she can't use a substitute!! Yeesh!! ;>)
We've still got a little cleaning left to do before she arrives (Brian's stuff I'm afraid) but, I'm pretty much ready because of what I did when I got home from work yesterday. Then, there's "Flight Tracking" on the airline's website to make sure of what time she arrives. Since parking is so blasted expensive at SFO, we're going to drop me at the terminal to go fetch her while Brian circles the parking structure (no, its way too big to be a "garage", no matter how you pronounce that word) and terminal buildings (yes, they've recently added a North 40 to the existing South 30 that was at the SFO Airport-- it is now qualified as "Monstrous") waiting for us to come out-- hopefully, less than an hour later.
OS?
I forgot to mention that while I'm on a "hiatus" of sorts from my computer next week, Brian will be upgrading the operating system (or something) on my computer. One of the problems I have is, not all of the time but some times, when I click on a website, it'll cause my system to reboot. Brian (I think) says that re-installing my operating system will clear that up. Then, again, I could only be hearing as far as " . . . operating system . . . " when my eyes glaze over and I go into the computer illiterate zone and the problem could be related to something else completely. Oh, well, he married me because I have power tools and I married him for his computer literacy. Yeah, well, that's what we tell some people!! ;>)
Activities Today
You're going to start seeing that heading a lot this week. As I said last night, while my cousin is here my posts will be sparse but I'll let you know what we're going to be doing each day and then fill in the space if there's time.
So, after we pick up Barb from the airport, we'll come back here and get her settled in and then go out for dinner at Hunan Gourmet, our favorite Chinese restaurant. Then, we'll come home and look at pictures-- she's bringing my family album. My sister, Nancy, put together a book of our childhood photos and that is currently moving through my siblings. I've got it until December when my sister (Sue) comes here for a visit at which time, she'll bring it back to Michigan. How it gets to Maine from there to get back to Nancy, I have no idea-- not my worry!!
These are pictures that I haven't seen for a long time; Brian has never seen them. It'll be fun to look through them again. Eventually, I'm going to scan them (and post a couple??) and put them into a binder for myself in addition to burning them to a CD for myself and my other sisters. One of those copies will go in our security box and the other will stay here so that I can look at it once in awhile. (Don'tcha just love computers? There's so much that you can do with them now!!)
Anyway so, until tomorrow (at the earliest), I won't be back to report on anything. By the way, tomorrow we're going to go up to the Golden Gate Bridge, park in the "vista point" and walk the Bridge and then drive down Highway 1 so that Barb can see the Pacific Ocean. That was a really important thing for me when I arrived here-- gotta see an ocean!!
Have a great day!
Friday, October 5, 2001Mea Culpa!!
Well, what can I say? I think that the morning posting thing isn't working out as well as I thought it would. Ya know, if like one of The Boys, I sat in front of my computer and "researched" the computer world , I may have a significant portion of things to "report". (Whoops-- gotta watch that! My eyes almost glazed over!) But, since I have a life, I have a significantly lower reaction to what I think is interesting and "report-worthy".
So, moving forward: while my cousin is here, my posts will be sparse, at best. On Monday, I'll put a post up in the morning that tells you the activities that we have planned for each day and then, as there is time, I'll fill in the blanks. On the 15th, I'll start posting at night only again-- maybe that'll change again by winter but I doubt it.
Ah, well, the best laid plans of mice and women, eh?
The Interesting Bit
The conference call took place today but trying to get the point across to sales reps of "ya can't give away the farm cuz the cows ran away" is difficult, at best. I ended up literally reducing it to: "Who signs your paycheck?" I hate doing that but, there was a veiled threat-- no, they were not smart-- in the discussion to which I responded with "Man, I really hate that when a customer does it, I'm not gonna be alot more impressed when you do it".
After all the arguing was said and done, the marketing guy got off the phone and went to the lab. The results of his findings: what we were arguing about is not possible so there was no point in arguing. Yeesh, if we could've only known that before the argument took place!! I had three emails that went out to other marketing people and the VP of the customer support organization trying to find the answers to the questions that will be necessary in order to finish the documents on the 15th when I return to work. Of those three emails, two had responded and closed off their issues; the third person is also on vacation and will return, of course, on Monday the 8th. Oh, well, it has been declared "On Hold" officially by me to everyone including the AVP-- not John, my regular AVP-- I've done too much work on this to lose control of it now because of the district manager or the sales rep. Yes, I am a control freak but I've never denied it!
Cooler Times
Of course, right after I tell my cousin that it's pretty warm out here, it turns cooler-- earlier this week, we were in the 90s and now we're in the 70s, heading toward . . . who knows?!?!? I called and left her a message-- hopefully she'll get the message but I don't know.
Since I've been home from work, I've done the laundry, cleaned the "guest room" (my office) and had dinner-- we're having snack night tonight to rid the fridge of some leftovers! I'm ready-- okay so there are a few things left to clean but there is always tomorrow morning.
On that note, I've got stuff to finish up so I will "talk" with you later-- thanks for coming by and have a nice evening!
Thursday, October 4, 2001Again???
This morning, when we woke up, there was no connectivity which, of course, means that you don't get to see a post. Whoops, sorry about that! Oh, well, overnight there was nothing much new to report anyway so you didn't miss much!
Preparations are Afoot
I'm going to be taking next week off while my cousin, Barb, is here. As a result, I'm a little busier than I would normally be at work but, not as busy as I'd like to be because everyone is waiting until I get back from vacation to start the BIG deals. Oh, yeah, I can hardly wait for that!!
Anyway, I'm preparing my manager for covering my desk while I'm gone and giving her a list of what she can do and what she has to leave alone because of the touchy-ness of the situation. I'd rather see her leave most everything alone than have her position the negotiation in a direction that I wasn't going with it.
Tomorrow, I've got a call with the district manager, sales rep and back-up marketing guy about the software that the DM wants to "give away". He's about to have a shocker of a call, I believe. The marketing back-up guy is talking about a "Site License" for the customer which starts, at a minimum of $500K. That's roughly six times the current cost of the software-- oh, yeah, that's going to be an interesting conversation, indeed!!
I'm sure everything will get done and I'll be happy with the status of my desk when I leave-- I'm also pretty sure that I'll end up checking email and voicemail while I'm "Gone on Vacation". Yes, I know-- I'm a glutton for punishment!!
**********
On that note, I'm outta here-- its steak tonight and I'm in charge of the mushrooms (for me-- Brian wouldn't touch them!) and the baked potatoes. Have a great dinner yourself and, a nice evening!
Wednesday, October 3, 2001
PM UpdateReality Bites
Yesterday, I was browsing through the headlines on the electronic news sites and read one that said "Taliban wants Talks and Food". Yeah, well-- if you totally alienate the people who feed you, you might be a little hungry, eh? The stupid part? Yep, we (the U.S., U.N., etc.) will feed them instead of using it as our leverage to get bin Laden and the al Qaeda out of Afghanistan.
Then this morning, I saw a headline that read: "U.S. Keeps Taliban Guessing". Actually, I think its more like the news people are guessing-- everyone wants to be the first on the story of when we are going to attack. Slyly, however, that won't be happening if Donald Rumsfeld has his way; if he has his way, we won't know about it happening until after it has started or maybe when its over. I think that's a wise train of thought-- the newspeople would just blab it over the airwaves and internet and then, bin Laden will move again and we miss our target. Not a Good Thing, needless to say.
On that note, I need to pump some more coffee into my veins before I'm presentable for work. Hopefully, today will get to be a little more exciting, eh?
Have a nice one and see you on the flipside!
The one and only conference call I had scheduled today didn't happen-- the VP stood us up!! So now, we have to reschedule around a vacationing sales rep and a VP with a very busy schedule!! Going to be interesting and difficult, needless to say. I dropped an email to the customer explaining that we would probably not be getting her a document before the 15th of the month-- in case there was any doubt, of course.
I did finish up a few more documents that were put on hold until after the first of the new quarter. Marketing called me in to review an "emergency document" which is defined as one they should've known that they would need but didn't think far enough ahead to actually plan for it. Yeesh!!
Loose Ends
My new prescriptions came in the mail tonight so I'll be starting those tomorrow-- I'm looking forward to feeling better!!
I can't believe it: Brian hasn't told you about the comment from the property manager about his grass-- he did mow it again tonight, by the way. The PM told him that the grass looked great in the yard-- he again was impressed by how much we're putting into the property!! Cool-- compliments are always welcome.
Research has begun on finding us a little bundle of joy to call our very own . . . George or Georgette, it'll be a cutie, that's for sure!!
On that note, besides being PBS "How To" night, we get the added bonus of being "Enterprise" night-- one of the few things I am going to look forward to on commercial television this year, I can tell!!
Have a nice evening and take care of each other!
Tuesday, October 2, 2001Did you forget, too?
Brian did too this morning-- he forgot that it was my early day to work which is why I didn't post. The problem is that I need to be to work "early" but if he doesn't get in the shower quickly in the morning (which, with my later schedule, he's been putting it off later), we both get thrown behind schedule.
Slow Day . . .
Playing catch up after the end of the quarter is always different: it can either be ridiculously fast-paced or it can be oddly slow. Today, it is oddly slow. I have one document to work up and another that is waiting for a conference call from the marketing representative for the product tomorrow. The customer involved in that one is asking for such strange things that we have to meet with marketing (which is as close as we get to engineers around here-- R&D is in another country) to determine if its possible or if we need to just wash our hands of it and be rid of them. The sales rep is, of course, determined to bring the deal in but, if it isn't possible, he'll listen to the marketing VP tell him so-- not me.
Up-- again!!
Ya know how you just know when something is wrong? Well, I felt that way a couple of weeks ago-- I just knew that my thyroid was up again. I called the doctor's office, had them order a blood test and, sure enough-- my TSH level is up again. That would explain the muscle-aches, the stomach upset, the hair/scalp problems and, of course, the slight weight gain. I'm not happy about that but, at least now, its going to get fixed. I've got new prescriptions ordered and on their way to me which will help with all of the above-- its kinda cool when you know your own body well enough to know when something's not right. I've finally got this down, don'tcha think?
**********
As short as this is, its for a reason-- there's nothing else to tell you about my day!! Sorry-- just kinda slow at work (see above) and life hasn't happened yet tonight cuz I just got home. Let's go see what kinda trouble I can get into, 'kay? Have a nice evening!
Monday, October 1, 2001
PM UpdateHappy October!!
Wow! Its here already!! This is really the downhill slide into Thanksgiving and Christmas, isn't it? Yeesh!!
In case you're not used to catching my posts in the morning, you can see yesterday's post here.
Mindless Drivel
Yesterday afternoon was enjoyable, once the chores were done. I was unsuccessful in my shoe shopping (yes, I know-- it is sad, isn't it?) but still, I did my best to support America and our economy. I did find the bathroom rugs that we were looking for and a sweater for me for winter.
Earlier, when we were at Costco, I'd picked up a couple of movies: "A Knight's Tale" and "Chocolat". Both are wonderful movies!! Considering how badly "A Knight's Tale" did at the box office, I kind've expected something completely different but I found myself cheering at the end of it. "Chocolat" as a chick-flick is a good chick-flick!! I really enjoyed my afternoon which, when you consider that it was almost too hot to move, is a good thing.
I have no idea where that weather came from-- it was about 95 during the day yesterday which, of course, is way too hot for this time of year. Today is supposed to be more of the same-- oh, boy! Now to figure out what to wear for work!!
Have a nice day and I'll catch you back later.
I may not have mentioned it lately but, my cousin, Barb, is coming for a visit this weekend. She's flying from Michigan via Cincinnati (Yes, The-Armpit-Of-America), Ohio (I used to live there in another life so I can say that!) and arriving at SFO on Saturday. We're all quite excited but not nearly as excited as she is-- I just had a conversation with her tonight where she reminded me that she's going to be in California this weekend!!!
Unfortunately, as is the case with the Bay Area, our weather has taken a sudden turn upward in the thermometer and the concept of what to pack (which is difficult enough for any woman) is further complicated by our micro-climates. It may be 86F when you leave Sunnyvale but it will no doubt be 66F in San Francisco when you get there an hour later! Its just that way so, I've tried to tell her to bring clothing that can be layered but, we'll have to see-- I may have to lend her some of my stuff or do a load or two of laundry during the week.
Catch-Up
Work was basically a-catch-up-and-make-sure-everything-is-done kinda day. Oh, yeah, lots of fun, needless to say. Believe it or not, I made a fat-free chocolate cake to bring into the office and everyone enjoyed it as evidenced by its lack of attendance in the cake pan on the way home.
Where's the Moat?
While I was gone, Brian had the day off. Apparently he was a very busy boy because when I got home, there was a huge gate and wall erected around the north perimeter of the yard. Nah!!!!
It is huge!! The wall itself is about 6 feet tall and on top of that is a 1-1/2 foot lattice thingy. Its really pretty (new redwood) and solid but, alas, Brian did not put it up. The landlord had promised to replace that wall of the fence that had been destroyed by "Felony" and "Bondo" teasing Jillie, the wolf/German Shepherd mix next door. It looks really nice and puts the rest of the perimeter fence to shame. If we owned the place, it would be worth putting it up on the balance of the fence wall but, oh, well . . . we'll just have to put up with the stark difference of old and new!!
On that note, I'm already tired and its only Monday-- I must be due for a vacation!
Have a nice evening!
Current Musings
Return to 2001 Archives
Return to 2000 Archives
Return to 1999 Archives
All Content Copyright © 1999, 2000 Marcia L. Dykstra. All Rights Reserved.