Joe is back
Mood:  happy
Topic: Joe

Joe had a good time with his cousins in Massachusetts. Did get to spend a day in New York to see Katie. I guess Michaels friends really liked Joe - the cool kid from Ohio. They said that if we can't send him next summer that they would put their money together and buy him a ticket.  They are all now linked by myspace. 

 Joe did mention that they did grill out one day, just 5 hotdogs.  Back home, 5 hotdogs don't even make up an appetizer.  We will have to bring Michael back again and show the proper way to grill out.  

Going back to the upcoming layoff.  It is interersting how things happen. How events happen - are they coincidence or omens.  I had mentioned to my friends that if I get let go, I would console myself with a bottle of rye whiskey.  The Sunday before black Monday, I am over at Vanessa's and Eric's.  As an after thought, as we are getting ready to leave he says he has something for me.  A bottle of rye whiskey! I was startled and said OK, I guess.  Turns out that he had bought it and didn't really like it, so thought that he would give it to me. So I took that as a bad omen.

Another omen that I take to be a good one was the new rose bushes. Becky bought three roses and put them out by the peonies.  Joe forgot about the last one and wacked it with the lawn mower.  But that last one stubbornly came back and last weekend when we were out doing lawnwork, it had a single rose on it.  The first one which was untouched has died, the middle one is growing but no buds.  So I took that as a good sign, the one that was treated the worst came back the best.  Hopefully that happens with me.

Changes
Mood:  sad

Well a big change is coming up. Was notified by LexisNexis that I will be terminated on Aug. 27th.  60 days notice.  So it puts me in a zombie status at work.  I am still turning over work and doing stuff with the team, but my duties are less and less.  It's demoralizing because I don't even want to be there. 

Exchanged emails with Mark in Houston and he told me that he had gotten blow by blow emails on who was getting the axe.  When he saw that Julie Hanley and me had been terminated he said that he knew that the company had lost it's mind and that all bets were off.  Sure enough he got the phone call too.  All of us from the old Topical team were released, so there are no Topical engineers any more.

It wasn't totally unexpected. But it still hurts.  Went over to see Jon this weekend and spoke with him.  Then went over to Jim's and had a few beers. Jim said that in construction, everytime you turn around you are getting laid off - it's just part of the job.  That's why he told his son to go to college and get an education.

On the bright side, I shotgunned my resume over the internet during the weekend.  Got some responses already and am starting to line up some interviews.  It's been a long time since I have done this, so I am sure that I will be rusty.  Plus I am not a good interview - I always reflect back and wish that I had said this and that.  Hopefully there will be no tests, with Google you don't need to remember anything anymore. If you have question on which way to do something, you can almost always look it up.

With things humming at Wright Patt, there is work with the defense industry. It would be nice to be patriotic and help in the fight against terrorism. But if the wrong party gets into power, they could cut back on spending, and I could be back on the street. So there are no safe jobs - if the economy keeps tanking, commercial business could start drying up too.  

The good thing is that our debt is greatly reduced, so we should be able to weather bad times.  

 

Fathers Day

Pleasant fathers day overall.  Chelsea got me a six pack of fancy brew.  She had to back to camp, but everyone else stopped by on Sunday.  Coached two teams in the summer league and won one, lost one.  Vanessa and Eric's glass topped stove got broken.  They were putting away groceries and someone (Eric??) dropped a jar on the stove, shattering it.  So Vanessa is not pleased about that.  She didn't want to talk about, so it must be a sore subject. 

Chad drove out in the Mary Kay.  I guess young Cash likes to ride in that car.  It has a strip of chrome embedded in the wheel and so as Chad drives the light will reflect off the chrome and reflect off of the ceiling.  Cash loves to watch the lights move around.  Must be like riding in a Kalidascope(sp). 

 I had a drink that I had not had in sometime - gin and tonic.  Wanted to do something a bit different over the weekend and bought a fifth of gin. It has been like 10-15 years. My tastes have changed, it actually tasted OK.  I told the kids that it made me feel quite British to be sipping on a tumbler of gin and tonic.  Becky asked Chelsea if she knew what was in a gin and tonic - she said yes, of course I do. When I watched grandma Freedman, I would make them for her. 

Chad's Wedding
Mood:  celebratory
Topic: Chad

It was a laid back, easy going wedding for a laid back, easy going guy.  It was an outdoor wedding and the weather was a concern since it stormed the night before.  But it was sunny and breezy - which was ok since it would have been hot and sticky without the wind. The ceremony went off with out any problems.

Metamora was a nice setting.  We got some old fashioned candy before the ceromony.  Walked around some of the shops to kill time.  Would like to go back again when we have more time to walk around.

The pics seemed to take forever, but we got some good ones.  And the reception was fine.  Got to see a lot of relatives that we hadn't seen for awhile.  I had hurt my hand when I took a spill on the motorcycle and it was definitely sore after all the handshaking.  All in all a memorable day.

Pre wedding
Topic: Chad

We are one day away from D-Day. All the preparations have been done and the moment has arrived. Today is the rehearsal and rehearsal dinner at the Hearthstone Grill in Metamora.   Took today off of work to do some last minute running around and also to buy a wedding gift. Nothing like waiting until the last minute.

 Memorial Day weekend was good.  Although it got off to a bad start when I wrecked my motorcycle.  I took the scenic route home and was on a gravel road next to a creek.  Swerved to avoid a pothole and went down. Fortunately I was only going 20-25mph at the time.  I had to go to the doctors yesterday anyway and mentioned that my arm was still sore.  An x-ray confirmed that I did break my forearm right by the elbow.  They didn't cast it since it was stable and had already started to heal.  Scratched my chin and knee, was wearing a helmet and it got scuffed up.  Without the helmet, I am sure that I would have been digging gravel out of my scalp.

Everyone was over on Monday. Did the grandfather thing with Elaina and Cash.   Hooked up a wagon to the garden tractor and drove around the yard.  Visited the chickens and took the truck into the field t see the cows.  The rocket swing is still a hit, judging by Elaina and Cash's smiles.

 Oh, Joe's last day of school today.  Was dressed up and had his hair slicked back.  Not sure what that is all about, but I guess that he and some of his friends are just doing something different to celebrate the end of the school year. 

Vanessa's boss is something else. On a day when someone was in from the regional office he did some shenaigans.  "Where is he going with that van?"  "Oh, he is going to get some doughnuts and coffee".  Then later, "How come petty cash has all of these expenses?" "Oh, that is from him going to get breakfast and lunch." "I see..."    Later that morning they needed the van to make a priority delivery.  Where is the the van?  Oh, he needed to run a personal errand and took the van...    A month later he had an email from the regional office that had some personal stuff in it.  He prints off the email verbatim and distritbutes it to the workers.  Lots of heat from that.  Something tells me he is not going to be around very long. 

 Chelsea is winding up her school year at Sinclair.  Another week or so and she is done.  She is actually taking some exams early so that she can leave for camp.  

Joe Drives
Mood:  celebratory
Topic: Joe

Well the youngest now has his drivers license. Took a little bit of effort.  The first go round he got dinged for not stopping for a school bus. An automatic failure of the drivers test.  The second go round he did great and passed.  We had some last minute work to do on his car.  Becky was driving it and the brakes got really mushy.  Come to find out a brake line blew out.  Upon examination, all the rear brake lines need changed.  They were an odd size so I had to order the parts.  We got them and got the job finished late at night. It was tough to bleed the brakes for some reason, it took forever to get the fluid to the back.

Once we finished and had the car road ready, he wanted to drive the car over to Cody Clarks house.  He was the one who gave him the car and he wanted to show it off now that it was all fixed.  Got a little misty eyed seeing him pull out of the driveway for his first solo drive.   Watching him grow up, it is a series of last times.  Last time to change diapers, last time to teach a kid to ride a bike,  and now last time to teach how to drive a car.  

Chelsea is going to be a nature advisor now.  The person originally hired by the camp backed out and so she now has the position. It was what she was hoping for in the first place and so she is excited about being able to do it.

Vanessa and Eric have most everything unpacked. Their place looks like a home. I asked if she met any of the neighbors. She had met a few.  She did comment that the one next door neighbor mowed his lawn with his shirt off - but had a physique where he should have left his shirt on!  They stopped by the other day and it was fun to have Elaina crawl up my chair next to me.  She had a good time with Becky too. 

Not much from Chad and Sarah.  Sarah did let Joe borrow her car for the driving test.  One complicating factor was the letters across the windshield. A short person can see out OK, but both Joe and myself had our view obstructed.  They are doing some mulching and landscaping.  The place is looking nice.

Changes

Well no more pitter patter of little feet around the house. At least not on a daily basis.  Eric and Vanessa moved into their house in Camden this past weekend.  So no more Elaina's toys on the floor, messes, or saying Hi! when I came home.  So I won't miss stumbling over toys in the morning.  But I will miss seeing her blue eyes when I come home at night.

 This makes Joe an only child once again.  He has been doing some work on his camaro. It is drivable, but needs a few more things fixed to be 100%.  He takes his drivers test this Wednesday and if he passes he can drive to school on Thursday. 

 Did see Chad and Sarah briefly over the weekend.  I think that both are burned out on the wedding deal.  All the planning and making arrangements, phone calls, etc.  I think that they want it over with. Young Cash is doing fine. He certainly seems to be a stout young man.  And always happy, quick to smile and laugh. 

Chelsea will be a counselor at a camp down by Kings Island this summer.  She will be in charge of a cabin of girls for a week.  A scary thought, I wonder if the parents would have sent them knowing that  Chelsea would be in charge!  But seriously she is good with youngsters, so I think she will do well with it.  

  

April update

Vanessa and Eric are working furiously on their house.  Have been able to give them some help on the weekends. They are learning how to do drywall, etc. on the job. Got the Cabinets installed, and the old ones removed.  Lots more to do over the next week or two.

 Chad and Sarah are getting their wedding preparations done.  I guess Joe will the DJ at the reception. Chad and Sarah have put together a playlist for him. I am going to pay for the rehearsal dinner.  There is place outside of Metamora called the Hearthstone where we have reservations. 

 Chelsea is thinking about making the switch to Wright State next year. Forget about the 2 year degree and go all out for the 4 year degree.  I hope that she does that.  She is still jobless since leaving Speedway, but she hasn't seriously been looking.  She is starting to call around  now, so she should be able to find something in short order. 

Joe is in the final stages of Drivers Ed.  I think he has a couple more driving sessions and he is ready for his test.  Chad was able to get the camaro running.  It still needs some attention, but we can work more on it once we get it home.  They are putting the title in his name this weekend, so we will drive it home once that is done.

 Felt the earthquake this morning.  Becky was up and felt her chair shake and heard some of the knick-knacks clinking against each other. I was semi asleep and took the movement as the cat jumping around on the bed.

My work has finally given us their game plan.  Half the engineers in my group will be released on June 23.  Better than some of the other groups - one group was told that 100% of them will be released on that date.  We all have to apply for the "new positions" and then on the 23rd we will either find out that we have been hired in the new position or scheduled for eventual seperation.  I tell folks that this is like a Dilbert cartoon. The evil HR wins either way they get to terminate half of us and torture the other half that stay by having made us reapply for our jobs.  What joy, I am sure someone is doing a happy dance in their office.  

camaro
Topic: Joe
Joe's friend Cody has a 1989 Camaro.  His father bought him a '66 Impala, so he no longer needs the Camaro and gave it to Joe.  Chad had to come over and work on it to get it running.  Thank goodness that we have a mechanic in the family. For a car that age it is in fair shape.  He has plenty of time to get it fixed the rest of the way.  A little body work and the heater blower is missing.  We hope to get it home this weekend and get it titled and so forth.  Joe did get an F in Algebra and so he is grounded. He does really well at the classes that he likes, but slacks in the classes he doesn't.

House woes
Mood:  sad
Topic: Vanessa

At the 11th hour a monkey wrench has been thrown into the works for Eric and Vanessa.  Everything looked to be ready to close on the house in Camden today.  Yesterday Chase Bank sent a rep out to inspect the house.  Now they say that they want an escrow set up to do some of the fixup. So needless to say they are disappointed about this.  So they are going to have to negotiate if they still want to go after this house. Eric is not happy with the realty company anyway. They waffled on the water being turned on. Turns out that they previous owners owed a water bill and so they were delaying turning on the water because they didn't want to pay it.