One Down

At least Ava's birthday can now be viewed by all. Apparently, there is a "bug" in the software, so "others" have provided a method to get around the failure.

I did hear from the South Carolina job today. Actually, a message was left when I was not available. Looks like the deal is about to be sealed. Start date will be June 29. I would still like to talk with someone in the group I will be designated to work with, just to get some sense of assurance that the job and I are really as compatible as the hiring folks believe. However, if I don't talk with someone, as my friend Joan said, go and if it doesn't pan out - quit! Good point.

At least my hair is ready. Now to prepare the legs for another 13.1. Last night was terrific - just slow. Maybe that will be the secret for South Bend - slow and steady. We will see what the weather brings. In the meantime, much to prepare.

"The doctor recently told me that jogging could add years to my life. I think he was right. I feel then years older already." - Milton Berle

Strange Times

Strange times indeed. Families are in transition, jobs are scarce, and the middle class is becoming a survivalist group. Makes one wonder if there is a greater plan and we are merely ants scurrying to fulfill the scheme.



Jobs. The one is South Carolina is becoming a reality. The "recruiter" called today and asked for a start date. Of course, I still haven't talked to the "right" person on the site to determine exactly what the job will be. Also, the money has yet to be confirmed. Strange.



Ava had a great birthday. Both sets of grandparents were there as were assorted cousins and others. Her Dad left shortly after the cake was cut. Strange indeed.



My neighbor has a new hand gun. Granny class is next weekend. However, bullets are in demand and in very short supply these days. Strange.

Lately, the feral cat, BK, has been inside more than the cats. Strange.

As in the past, this Blogger site has a "mind of it's own." The spacing between paragraphs is not what I input, and the photos I wanted to post won't show on the "slide show." Maybe next time.

Right now, things are just to strange for me to comprehend, let alone deal with. I will become more of a blond tomorrow - then things should return to "normal."

"'But I don't want to go among mad people,' Alice remarked. 'Oh, you can't help that,' said the Cat. 'We're all mad here. I'm mad. You're mad.'" - Lewis Carroll in "Alice in Wonderland."

Gone Missin'

What a tremendous phrase: gone missin'. I love it, and have several uses for it.

For example, when I can't find Buddy - he's "gone missin'." When I can't find my glasses - "gone missin'." When I can't remember what I am supposed to do next - "gone missin'' somewhere in the empty space created between my ears. This is really going to work for me.

What a super day! Sun is out, fluffy white clouds in the sky with no rain in the forecast. Temperatures are now in the mid-80s and one of the neighbors has mowed the ditch along the road (getting ready for all the summer tourists, who are about to descend on this little part of paradise).

Neighbors have decided to become "grannies with guns" and will be taking lessons next weekend. I suspect that following successful completion of the course they will join me in a government petition to make it legal to take shots at misbehaving "tourists." Just wishful thinking at this juncture, but it could happen. After the mailbox incident last weekend (mine in the ditch, next door in the ditch, next one twisted in place, and two doors after that ... well, let's just say "gone missin'") retribution will be required. Respect for other's property is one of the basic tenets of this nation.

Memorial Day Weekend is about to begin. The origins came about the time of the Civil War, when Southerners went to cemeteries and decorated the graves of the fallen soldiers (thus the term Decoration Day). After World War I, the government made it official and designated May 30 as Memorial Day. Today, so many forget what this day is supposed to represent and figure it is only a 3-day weekend to start the summer season of "tourist-hood." Let us remember.

"We merely want to live in peace with all the world, to trade with them, to commune with them, to learn from their cultures as they may learn from ours, so that the products of our toil may be used for our schools and our roads and our churches and not for guns and planes and tanks and ships of war." - Dwight D. Eisenhower

Sunday Musings

Friday started out "just another day." True, rain (again) was in the forecast, but didn't materialize until late in the evening.

The pleasant surprise was Ellen Kay (see earlier post for her photograph crossing the finish line at the Penguin in the Park, March) - she was the bus driver for the girls' track team, and the meet was in Shelbyville. After a trip to Rural King (more in a bit), and working on the fish pond, I went to town an picked her up. It was HOT and HUMID (you know what they say - it's not the heat, it's the humidity). In any event, Ellen is not built for the warm weather (and neither, quite frankly, am I).

Our first stop was the visitor's center near the Lake Shelbyville dam. Naturally, it was not open (will likely open next weekend - Memorial Day celebrated weekend). From there, we meandered to the boat launch area and found the end of the bike trail. We took a brief stroll up the path to see what it was like -very nice, crushed rock, and well maintained. Back in the truck and up to the city park to see the Chautauqua. We "found" the other end of the bike trail. Filed the information away for another day.

Then, with not much else available and the humidity too high for us to enjoy much activity, we came to the house. First, sat on the deck and enjoyed the solitude. Then, grabbing a couple glasses of lemonade, we moved to the front, screened-in porch. Traffic was horrible - there must have been five or six vehicles that passed by in the couple hours we were out there. I took her back about 7 pm, as the sky darkened and lightening started in the distance.

Rain came shortly after I reached the house. Ellen was lucky and managed to get the bus back to the school before the rain really started in earnest (including hail) - she called and I "talked" her into her house - which was DARK because of a power outage. The lights flickered here, the TV satellite lost connection (temporarily), and the cats were well hidden.

Rural King? Well, the other day I attempted to get the pond pump/filter started after cleaning. It would not even turn on. Being frugal, I worked over the old pump and filter only to have it quit within five minutes of starting. I gave up and purchased a replacememt (like the original system). Brought it home and place in the lower pond - where the fish live. Brought "last year's model" into the house and did more maintenance. As you can see - the "new old pump/filter" is doing very well in the upper pond. That is always the way to fix something - buy a replacement.

This morning when I left, as usual I stopped where the mailbox is to get the newspaper. The paper was on the ground. The mailbox was in the ditch. I have attempted to recreate the hole where the mailbox was. I then attempted to cut the lower foot off the supporting post. Neither attempt was successful. The mailbox is now about a foot and a half taller than it was (it comes up to my eye level). I have decided it is a two-person job to get it put back in an appropriate position (along with securing in cement).

I then moved to another of my "pet-peeve" projects. Who would every have thought to bury a sink w/drain board (think old fashion sink) in the yard? Apparently, the people who lived her before me. I have hit it enough times while attempting to mow, it is now time to remove it from the ground. The dirt and "hen and chickens" plants have been removed and repositioned in a planter by the septic system. The sink, however, remains a two-person removal project. It will have to wait for another day.

Sundays are supposed to be for resting. I think I will take a few minutes now for just that activity. Of course, I really took Saturday as my day of rest this week - but that is another story.

"Besides the noble art of getting things done, there is a nobler art of leaving things undone. The wisdom of life consists in the elimination of nonessentials" - Lin Yutang

Chicago

The morning was amazing - cloud to ground lightening for the first 30 minutes of the drive. Rain in torrents. I wondered if the interviewer would be there when I arrived.

After reaching the interstate, the drive wasn't significantly better (except there wasn't any lightening) - lots of trucks throwing spray from the road, heavy rain followed by lighter then heavier and so forth. After Joliet the rain diminished to light showers all the way to O'Hara. I changed into my "interviewing costume" in the parking lot. I was early (15 minutes actually).

The person I was scheduled to see was not there - family emergency. I talked with an accountant for 10 minutes or so and then the lead environmental person for Chicago came in. We talked for about an hour and that was it. I drove home. 454 miles and $6.40 in tolls, no expenses paid.

Interesting information. The stormwater detention "ponds" at O'Hara have at least one that is as deep as a 7-story building. The airport has permission to "mitigate" all wetlands on the property (that is fill them in and "purchase" quality wetlands in a bank located in northern Illinois). The job would be to monitor contractor performance in the area of stormwater control, as well as obtain required permits. Responsibility covers both Chicago airports.

The trip reminded me of one of the reasons I wanted to leave Chicago in the mid-90s. The traffic is horrible. The commute, no matter where you go, is energy sapping.

I worked on the fish pond today. The pump (new last year) has quit. I need a filter. I will get one tomorrow. The fish are more important than traffic, noise, and all the urban hubbub. I like the country and its sounds.

"It is easy in the world to live after the world's opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude." - Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803 - 1882)

Life Stuff

No photos. I have been considering the stuff of life today. Some of it is very mundane - like finally having a clean house (including scrubbed floors!), Honda has been serviced (oil change, tires rotated, and tail light replaced), and grass is mowed (a short 3-hour project). Some of it is more frustrating - Bud doesn't come when called (however, he paid the price and had to stay outside an extra 3+ hours while I took the Honda to Decatur). Additionally, I found out I did not "qualify" for a job with the Bureau of Land Management in northern Idaho (not that I wasn't qualified, but my answers didn't qualify me for the job that was announced). Hum?

Tomorrow will be a long day. I drive to O'Hara for an interview at 1:30 pm and then am planning a return trip the same day. Four hours up and four back. I haven't had time to do the homework necessary to make a fantastic impression however. Too busy with the mundane, I guess.

Time to review the 12 things to get hired and the 45 things to consider daily. Both are great lists of reminders. I did manage to almost finish another draft of a personal business card. This version will have to do for now.

Twitter, Facebook, Linked IN - my way of connecting with others. Walk with the neighbors continues to be a conservative rant, expanded by discussion of plants (primarily trees). I hope I am not in a rut, but some days certainly feel that way.

I must follow Sir Winston's advice (it is so true):

"Success is the ability to go from one failure to another with no loss of enthusiasm." - Sir Winston Churchill

Critters

Last evening I was in my office and using the computer, windows were open, and Spring was definitely in the air. All of a sudden it sounded like a HUGE BULLFROG was next to my chair. He seemed to be responding to the sounds emanating from the neighboring pond.

I got out of the chair and looked. There, as you can see, was a TINY little frog, perched on the window outside the screen. He was croaking in a very loud "voice." The magnitude of the sound as well as the tone were mesmerizing.

Today, I pondered the other critters (forget the tick infestation in the house, thanks to the kitties roaming around in the woods). The fish pond is coming alive after a winter of hibernation. Although the water is far from clear, the fish are swimming in laps. Where all the little ones came from remains to be answered.

So much for the amphibians and the fish. The next animal group to be considered in the yard, naturally, would be the birds.

I have yet to capture via the camera one of the many bluebirds that have taken up residence. However, I did manage to step on Blondie while taking photos of the fish. BK came rushing to her "rescue" (I think he has a crush on her). Blondie went around the house, and I followed (mostly to be assured that I had not broken her leg). She went under the bushes and BK was right next to her.

Satisfied, I started looking around - and thought I heard a bumblebee. No bee this time. Just a hungry humming bird. Cute little guy isn't he? Spring is really here. Rainy days are followed by warm sun and slight breezes. The house is open to nature and all the sounds she has to share.

"The capacity of human beings to bore one another seems to be vastly greater than that of any other animals." - H.L.Menken

Paraboleuomai

Epaphroditus was considered by Paul to be paraboeuomai (see Philippians 2:25-30). In those times, any one who visited a person in prison (or visited the sick or otherwise cast out) was considered to be guilty of the same action. Therefore, Epaphroditus was considered by others to be as much a criminal as Paul when he went and visited him under house arrest.

The type of friend that is willing to risk their own life for another, in the Greek, might be considered to be paraboleumaic (willing to hazard their own life for another). Apparently, during the plague years there was a cult of paraboleumaics who tended to the people who were sick and would also bury those who died. This was at great risk to themselves and made them stand out from the rest of the "normal" folks.

My dad used to collect words. I have often found interesting words and managed to keep a list (somewhere - in a notebook that is currently MIA) of those that might be interesting to insert in a memorandum some day.

This brings to mind the time that dad sent a note up the corporate ladder to someone and indicated that an idea (or perhaps a person) was as clear as a "hawser at a moonless midnight." The boss wrote back that dad always made his life interesting and forced him to look up words.

"All great things are simple, and many can be expressed in single words: freedom, justice, honor, duty, mercy, hope."
Sir Winston Churchill (1874 - 1965)

13.1

Why indeed - 13.1 miles. It always seems like a long way when you are in the starting area. This time, it didn't seem so far.

Under trained is always a better place to start than being over trained. This year was a "PR" (personal record) with respect to "under training" for several of us who toed the line. It turned out that the weather was perfect and our times reflect that more than the preparation.

13.1 miles in 2:18:39 for an average pace of 10:36/mile. Overall finish was 15,226 out of 30,196 (50.4%). Overall place for all women was 5,833 out of 15,868 (36.8%). Place in my division ("old broads" 60-64) was 25 out of 328 (7.6%). It was a great day!

"Last is just the slowest winner." - C. Hunter Boyd

The First of May

In the words of that immortal bard, John Douglas Longfield:

"Hooray, Hooray, the first of May, outdoor f**ing starts today!"

I am certain that Dad would love to know that his annual ritual continues and we carry on the tradition of calling friends and family with this very greeting.

When I called my Uncle Bud, who most likely was still asleep, his comment (after a brief chuckle) was, "Isn't it a little early to start this?" I am not sure if he meant too early in the year, or just early in the day.

My Cousin John posted the annual greeting early this morning on Facebook. My Cousin Jim and I have had an animated conversation. It is a great day to bring the family together. And what a better introduction. All we need to say is "Hooray, hooray..." and the laughs begin.

When I called Cousin Lynne, on the other hand, I was told she feels as though she has "swine flu." I suggested it was merely nerves, but I don't think she will make the annual trek (by foot) around Indianapolis with us tomorrow. Speaking of which - it is time to complete the packing of "stuff," checking the list, and getting ready to amble down the road for Donna's. At least there will be the two of us.

"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses ... let us run with perseverance to race marked out for us." - Hebrews 12:1