Mood:  celebratory

Young Cash celebrated his first birthday at our farm this past weekend. Had a nice turnout on a pleasant Sunday. It was actually just a bit cool for August.

Really got a kick out of his cake. A John Deere tractor design on the top along with a chocolate hammer and screwdriver. He was a meticulous cake eater. Most times a one year old is grabbing globs of cake and just making a mess. He grabbed bite sized pieces and slowly ate his fill.

He got a lot of presents - and the older kids gave him a hand opening them!

Posted by christ77 at 8:44 AM EDT

Updated: Tuesday, August 12, 2008 8:48 AM EDT

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Mood:  happy

One of the nice things about being a grandparent is looking at the world thru the eyes of a child once again.  Went with Elaina, Vanessa, and Chelsea to the Preble County Fair on Friday.  Thru my jaded eyes, it is the umpteenth visit over the years.  Same old midway, livestock, food vendors, etc.  But for Elaina, it was a fasinating world that she saw for the first time.

 She rode on a pony and had to be pulled off.  "more horse, more horse!"  We next got her a ride all day arm band and went to the different rides.  First ride was these boats that went in a circle.  She was a little scared, riding the ride all by herself.  The first lap she had that uncertain, what am I doing her look on her face.  A lap later a whimsical, hey this is kind of fun look crept into her face. And by the end of the ride she had a smug, this is kind of cool look.  

Next the three of them rode in a twirling bear ride.  Too small for the little roller coaster, and she cried when she couldn't ride that.  But I think her favorite ride was the big truck ride.  She held the steering wheel as though  driving and had that look at me, I'm all grown up and driving bearing as she circled the track. The ride operater was very nice.  Elaina was the only one on the ride at the time.  And let her go some extra laps since she was having such a good time.

Chelsea and Vanessa did get to ride on some of the big rides.  Becky and I took Elaina for another round while the two "big kids" had some fun.  We did have one close call when a 4 year kid went back thru the exit of one ride and turned it back on when Elaina was trying to get off. Fortunately, no one was hurt. She did fall onto the ground, but I think she was more scared from the other kids yelling that anything else.

Ended up the day at the Merry-go-round.  Everyone went for one last ride. We got some typical fair food - sugar waffles, lemonade shakeups, and cotton candy before heading home.  I am sure that some day she will be thirteen and the fair won't be a cool place to go anymore. But for one afternoon, it was a magical place to be and it was fun to be part of that. 

Posted by christ77 at 8:23 AM EDT

Updated: Sunday, August 3, 2008 11:32 AM EDT

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Mood:  accident prone

Joe had a close call this week. His friend Cody was driving, Dustin, Cody's brother was in the passenger seat, and Joe was in back. Cody was going a little faster than he should have on a back country road. Went over a culvert and went airborn.  Joe remembered the car bottoming out.  From the skid marks he went left onto the shoulder, over corrected and left the road. Rolled thru a corn field and the car ended up on its side.  The car was a good 100 feet off of the road.

They all had seat belts on, thank goodness. Joe said when it started to roll that he put his hands over this head and curled up.  He was the least injured. Cuts on his hands, shin, and a couple on his head.  We didn't take him to hospital.  Cody and Dustin were both taken to the hospital.  They kept them overnight and released them.  They both had mild concussions and got some stitches.  I think that they all learned a lesson.  I joked with Joe that the next time he drives, he will probably go like 35 mph.  

My shoulder surgery seems anticlimatic after that.  So far so good. Repaired the rotator cuff and removed a couple of bone spurs.  The nurse told me that they did a nerve block that will last for about 36 hours, after that I will be loading up on percocet(sp) for the pain.

Posted by christ77 at 6:31 PM EDT

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Had a nice little party for Ethel and Dale's granddaughter, Raven, over the weekend.  She is 4 years old and is scheduled for major heart surgery soon.  So Becky threw a little party for them. 

 Raven and Elaina really hit it off, they had fun playing together.  We went for a ride in a wagpm towed by the garden tractor and let them eat gooseberries, apples, and visit the chickens.  Raven got to feed the cows.  We picked some apples off the apple tree and Raven let them eat them out of her hand. Cash made it out a bit later, but he is so much younger than the older two, that he really couldn't play with them.  Oh, and Raven found out how an electric fence worked.  I was right next to her saying don't touch it, don't touch it, and she grabbed it with both hands.  Ouch!

 Vanessa and Eric have a new ride.  I believe that it is called an HHR. It is made by Chevrolet, so grandma Garrett will be happy - it will help GM stay afloat and protect her pension!   Anyway it is a nice looking vehicle, somewhere between a sedan and a station wagon. Plenty of room for a growing family and storage space in the back. Plus it is a 4 cylinder, so it is good on gas.  It is brand new and has all of the latest features. 

Chelsea says she is burned out on summer camp.  Loves working with the kids, is a bit fed up with working with some of the adults there at the girl scout camp.  This is her last week, then they cleanup and shut down the camp.   

Posted by christ77 at 8:01 AM EDT

Updated: Wednesday, July 30, 2008 6:49 PM EDT

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Well turned in my badge yesterday.  I no longer have to report to work. So I am using my spare time to work on a few things for friends.  Building a new webpage for the local paper.  Their current page needs a major overhaul.  Since I have done webpages for local youth teams, I went ahead and took on the job.  We are doing a barter so it will be a win win.  The first draft is looking good, it will be a more robust website soon.  Also plan to work on an online java application for VanDeet.com once I wrap up the job for Sam.  Better  than sitting around and watching soap operas.  And who knows I may need to bootleg like this for awhile if the economy continues to nosedive.

Last day was anti-climatic.  Just did a few tasks in the morning. Had a final transition meeting in the afternoon and left right after the meeting. Said goodbye to the boss and she thanked me for my work. Said thanks... adios and drove away. So no big deal. Everyone who had some thing to say has already stopped by my office and spoke their piece.

 On my last day of access to the system, I will probably send out a final email goodbye to everyone I have worked with over years (that is still there - a shrinking group)  and then fade away.  

Posted by christ77 at 3:46 PM EDT

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The job search continues. Starting to get interviews.  One internal at LN, and a couple of other companies in the Dayton area. So that is a positive. Some of the guys haven't gotten any interviews yet, so it makes me feel good that I am getting noticed.  I think that being aggressive and learning new stuff has helped to make me more marketable.  Some of the others got into a comfortable niche and just didn't progress technically. Hopefully something will break soon.

Also on the positive side, it is nice to see how folks help out when the chips are down.  Many folks have stopped by my office to tell me that they can't believe that LN terminated me.  And several have followed up with job leads and recommendations. It is great to have friends and business associates that are willing to help out and give support.  I still talk to the engineers that were on my team. I told them that later on this fall we should have a little reunion and see how everyone is doing. Maybe make it an annual thing.

 We all feel like 5th wheels.  Still getting work done, but with little enthusiasm.  I am still answering questions and giving technical guidance to the offshore teams, but they are also being phased out as the new work goes to Infosys.  So week by week less questions are being asked. I am taking advantage of some online training courses here at LN while I can to fill in any slack time in the afternoons.  java, sql, and perl seem to be the hot skilsets locally.  So I am filling in gaps of what I know and refreshing my knowledge of some of the packages that I haven't used for awhile.

Posted by christ77 at 7:07 AM EDT

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Mood:  celebratory

Chad's friends - the twins Mike and Matt, put on another excellent show at our place. No one lost any appendages nor had any 2nd or 3rd degree burns, so it was a successful event.  They had an entire pickup truck load of fireworks.  We know where at least some of George Bush's stimulus money was spent. I had about $150 worth of fireworks that we didn't even touch. The guys have a good time putting on a show and we are the lucky recipients. Ah, to be young and single with no responsibilities.

Chelsea tricked Elaina into eating gooseberries by telling her that they were grapes.  She liked them and asked for more. Cash also sampled a few and seemed to like them.  They were both hohum about the raspberries.   Watchd Elaina put her fingers in mouth and pull while smiling with her teeth. Raised my eyebrows and Vanessa dryly told me that Chelsea had been baby sitting again...

Chelsea is doing OK as a counselor at girl scout camp. She has learned well from me. If it isn't broken or bleeding, then you're not hurt.  If you want to fuss and whine, go talk to a tree. If you don't want to get dirty, then stay out of the woods and go back to camp.  She enjoys teaching the girls on nature walks. She is 50-50 on going back next summer.  Long days, low pay is her complaint. 

Posted by christ77 at 8:50 PM EDT

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Mood:  happy

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.

Posted by christ77 at 8:23 AM EDT

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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.  

Posted by christ77 at 9:54 PM EDT

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