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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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. 

Posted by christ77 at 8:34 AM EDT

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Mood:  celebratory

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.

Posted by christ77 at 12:08 PM EDT

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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.  

Posted by christ77 at 9:43 AM EDT

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Mood:  celebratory

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.

Posted by christ77 at 12:04 PM EDT

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