I opened Google this morning and found that it's the Chinese New Year. Wow! Year of the Dog!
Happy New Year (again), everybody!
Sunday, January 29, 2006
Year of the Dog -- Happy New Year!
I opened Google this morning and found that it's the Chinese New Year. Wow! Year of the Dog!
Happy New Year (again), everybody!
Saturday, January 21, 2006
January Saturday morning
Dragon Mood? -- dragons love glittery things!
Crazy weather in the past 24 hours. We had low 40-degree weather yesterday, then rain last night which turned to ice rain and then turned to snow. This morning all the tree limbs are covered with a thin topping of snow. Now the sun is out, the temperature is rising and I'm seeing little glittering diamonds on all the pine boughs dripping their crystals everywhere. Michigan weather is without a doubt the craziest you'll find!
I have good news as of Thursday afternoon. I HAVE A JOB(!), a temporary job that is, for the next eleven weeks, working from home, actually from the pied-a-terre, on a laptop, doing development work for a company located out in Colorado. I have a former boss to thank for this job. He wrote a letter recommending me along with four of my former co-workers for this temporary, pilot program. So, as of Monday, I will once again be working with Bonnie, Carolyn, Dennis and Rod. The Colorado company will be using us as 'guinea pigs' of a sort, measuring our performance and delivery for future projects like this.
So ... Sunday night I will accompany S to the pied-a-terre. Monday morning we have a teleconference scheduled. Also, as of Monday, S and I will now have a real land-line phone at the pied-a-terre(!). My laptop should be arriving Monday or Tuesday, via FedEx. (Oh, I feel so 21st-century, you know?) A phone modem, compliments of SBC, should also be arriving via UPS. That will entail some putting-it-all-together which I'm a bit nervous about, but let's be hopeful, shall we? Our new DSL line should be installed by Thursday.
There are still lots of variables and unknowns, many of which I probably haven't even thought of yet. But, as earlier, I'm trying to relax and trust this process, this process which I have no control over, but of which God certainly does. And I trust God on this process. It's all gonna work out okay, one way or another.
And, did I mention, that there is a possibility, not a guarantee, but a possibility that this could morph into a permanent position? How cool would that be, huh?
Crazy weather in the past 24 hours. We had low 40-degree weather yesterday, then rain last night which turned to ice rain and then turned to snow. This morning all the tree limbs are covered with a thin topping of snow. Now the sun is out, the temperature is rising and I'm seeing little glittering diamonds on all the pine boughs dripping their crystals everywhere. Michigan weather is without a doubt the craziest you'll find!
I have good news as of Thursday afternoon. I HAVE A JOB(!), a temporary job that is, for the next eleven weeks, working from home, actually from the pied-a-terre, on a laptop, doing development work for a company located out in Colorado. I have a former boss to thank for this job. He wrote a letter recommending me along with four of my former co-workers for this temporary, pilot program. So, as of Monday, I will once again be working with Bonnie, Carolyn, Dennis and Rod. The Colorado company will be using us as 'guinea pigs' of a sort, measuring our performance and delivery for future projects like this.
So ... Sunday night I will accompany S to the pied-a-terre. Monday morning we have a teleconference scheduled. Also, as of Monday, S and I will now have a real land-line phone at the pied-a-terre(!). My laptop should be arriving Monday or Tuesday, via FedEx. (Oh, I feel so 21st-century, you know?) A phone modem, compliments of SBC, should also be arriving via UPS. That will entail some putting-it-all-together which I'm a bit nervous about, but let's be hopeful, shall we? Our new DSL line should be installed by Thursday.
There are still lots of variables and unknowns, many of which I probably haven't even thought of yet. But, as earlier, I'm trying to relax and trust this process, this process which I have no control over, but of which God certainly does. And I trust God on this process. It's all gonna work out okay, one way or another.
And, did I mention, that there is a possibility, not a guarantee, but a possibility that this could morph into a permanent position? How cool would that be, huh?
Thursday, January 19, 2006
quotes to live by ...
I found these quotes in a temp file I created over a year ago. I'll think I'll post them now ...
"Faith involves patience. Accept that you may have to wait for results--and when they come, they may not be what you hoped or prayed for.
Faith is nothing but a living, wide-awake consciousness of God within." -- Gandhi
"Feeling gratitude and not expressing it is like wrapping a present and not giving it."
-- William Arthur Ward
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Long term influences
Dragon Mood? -- taking it all in
I love Astrodienst. And I particularly enjoy visiting their website on Thursdays, when they kindly open their longer-term forecasts to even non-paying subscribers like myself.
What with this job layoff and all, I thought I'd check some of those planetary influences going on right now. Here are several:
And here's one more:
I love Astrodienst. And I particularly enjoy visiting their website on Thursdays, when they kindly open their longer-term forecasts to even non-paying subscribers like myself.
What with this job layoff and all, I thought I'd check some of those planetary influences going on right now. Here are several:
Half-hearted efforts
Valid during many months: This is not a good time to strike out to further your own self-interest in life. Your energy level is low, and you are subject to fits of discouragement and malaise. Whatever you do along these lines working to get ahead in your job, beginning a new enterprise or embarking on a program of vigorous mental or physical activity this influence will make it difficult for you to succeed. It is not that you are unlucky exactly but that you don't have enough push to follow through. Under this influence your efforts are likely to be half-hearted. Even if you want to do something, you may just feel too tired.
Another side of this influence is that you may get involved in an activity or project that is dishonest, misrepresented or simply subversive, although not necessarily politically. You may not be aware that it is dishonest, but if you are and choose to be involved anyway, you are running an enormous risk. Avoid any scheme that you know to be dishonest, because during this time you simply cannot count on it coming out favorably for you.This is not a good time to advance yourself , but try not to get discouraged, for that will not help you. Instead, cut your losses and disengage yourself if possible from any activity that could create difficulties. Get into a position where you can afford to be unconcerned about results. Detaching yourself from your own energies is the best way to deal with this influence. Act because you enjoy the action, not because you are trying to win. If you can take this course of detached consciousness, you may learn something about how your life works; in fact, you may learn that your own efforts have fouled you up. In your eagerness to succeed, you may have aroused opposition that was not expressed openly, but waited subversively in the wings to trip you up.
Transit selected for today (by user):
Neptune Conjunction MarsNeptuneConjunctionMars
activity period from middle of February 2005 until middle of December 2006.
And here's one more:
Solid and real
Valid during many months: At this time in your life you will be able to get along with very little if necessary, and you will be able to keep plugging away at tasks with tremendous discipline. As a result this is a good time for getting your life ready for hard times, even if this is not an especially difficult period.
However, even if this is a difficult time, you can be sure that this influence will help you make it through. It gives you tremendous tenacity and toughness and the ability to apply constant pressure on a situation until it gradually changes. Patience is the watchword of this influence not that you need patience, but that you have it.
Whatever your objectives, you will keep working at them until you achieve them. In a slow but powerful way, this influence helps you realize your goals, and because you work so slowly, the results you obtain are very lasting indeed.
You will also probably discover that you are changing during this period, not drastically and suddenly, but slowly and at a very profound level of your being. And these changes will make your life more solid and dependable. In general your life is moving from the less solid and abstract to the more solid and real.
You may work alone for the most part now. You will probably prefer it that way, at least until you have come somewhere near achieving your goals. This is a very good time for researching alone, especially when painstaking work is required. Your ability to discipline yourself is extremely high.
Transit selected for today (by user):
Pluto Sextile SaturnPlutoSextileSaturn
activity period from beginning of February 2005 until beginning of December 2006.
Solar celebrations of a b-ball-ian persuasion
Dragon Mood? -- quiet, for a change
The sun is actually shining here in gray-wool-sky land, otherwise known as mid-Michigan. I suspect it's the sun's way of celebrating the Spartan men's basketball team defeating the Hoosiers last night, quite handily I might add. Thank goodness they finally got one in the 'Win' column.
It's Thursday and it's rather quiet here this morning. I have a few calls I should make. I should also spend some more time brushing up on my AutoCAD skills. Ahhh, this job-hunting stuff could be a full-time occupation ... but the pay is lousy! Ha-ha, hee-hee, ho-ho.
Job-hunting feels kind of like fishing ... at least fishing as I understand it. You rig your line, you're actually pretty busy getting the line just right, the hook baited or selecting the right lure, you toss your line in .... and then you wait. And wait. And wait. In this instance, I have about six lines in the water (and probably should throw a few more in TODAY) and I'm waiting. And waiting. (Heavy sigh)
Okay (sitting up erect, shoulders back, toss the head). Be in the moment, Mary. Breathe deeply. Live each moment to its fullest. Be grateful. Be thankful. Do the things you need to do.
Back to the work of finding a job.
The sun is actually shining here in gray-wool-sky land, otherwise known as mid-Michigan. I suspect it's the sun's way of celebrating the Spartan men's basketball team defeating the Hoosiers last night, quite handily I might add. Thank goodness they finally got one in the 'Win' column.
It's Thursday and it's rather quiet here this morning. I have a few calls I should make. I should also spend some more time brushing up on my AutoCAD skills. Ahhh, this job-hunting stuff could be a full-time occupation ... but the pay is lousy! Ha-ha, hee-hee, ho-ho.
Job-hunting feels kind of like fishing ... at least fishing as I understand it. You rig your line, you're actually pretty busy getting the line just right, the hook baited or selecting the right lure, you toss your line in .... and then you wait. And wait. And wait. In this instance, I have about six lines in the water (and probably should throw a few more in TODAY) and I'm waiting. And waiting. (Heavy sigh)
Okay (sitting up erect, shoulders back, toss the head). Be in the moment, Mary. Breathe deeply. Live each moment to its fullest. Be grateful. Be thankful. Do the things you need to do.
Back to the work of finding a job.
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
second day
Dragon Mood? -- grateful
It's going on midnight, the second day of my unemployment. Tomorrow I call the MESC (or whatever it's called now) to file for unemployment.
S called me after lunch. We shared news about our respective mornings. I told her how thankful I am that she is a hopeful person, an empathetic person, a person I feel comfortable telling how I feel. I can think of people who are negative, who find and focus on the underbelly of a situation and then talk loudly and incessantly about it. Thank God, S is not like that. I told her how I think we make a good team. We lift one another up. Our whole is greater than the sum of the parts.
I am very grateful for her in my life, especially now.
It's going on midnight, the second day of my unemployment. Tomorrow I call the MESC (or whatever it's called now) to file for unemployment.
S called me after lunch. We shared news about our respective mornings. I told her how thankful I am that she is a hopeful person, an empathetic person, a person I feel comfortable telling how I feel. I can think of people who are negative, who find and focus on the underbelly of a situation and then talk loudly and incessantly about it. Thank God, S is not like that. I told her how I think we make a good team. We lift one another up. Our whole is greater than the sum of the parts.
I am very grateful for her in my life, especially now.
Sunday, January 08, 2006
Spare words of lovelorn cowboys
Dragon Mood? -- remembering how sad it felt
Another post about Brokeback Mountain. Here's an excerpt of dialogue between Ennis and Jack, after twenty years of brief interludes:
Another post about Brokeback Mountain. Here's an excerpt of dialogue between Ennis and Jack, after twenty years of brief interludes:
Ennis Del Mar: I'm gonna tell you this one time, Jack fuckin' Twist, an' I ain't foolin'. What I don't know - all them things I don't know - could get you killed if I come to know them. I ain't jokin'.
Jack Twist: Yeah well try this one, and I'll say it just once!
Ennis Del Mar: Go ahead!
Jack Twist: Tell you what, we coulda had a good life together, fuckin' real good life! Had us a place of our own. But you didn't want it, Ennis! So what we got now is Brokeback Mountain! Everything's built on that, that's all we got boy, fuckin' all. So I hope you know that if you don't never know the rest! You count the damn few times we have been together in nearly twenty years and you measure the short fucking leash you keep me on, and then you ask me about Mexico and tell me you'll kill me for needing somethin' I don't hardly never get. You have no idea how bad it gets! I'm not you... I can't make it on a coupla high-altitude fucks once or twice a year! You are too much for me Ennis, son of a whoreson bitch... I wish I knew how to quit you.
Ennis Del Mar: Well why don't you? Why don't you just let me be, huh? Because of you, Jack, that I'm like this. I'm nothing... and nowhere.
not a typical Sunday morning
Dragon Mood? -- anxious, ambivalent
Usually, I enjoy posting on calypsoDragon13 on weekend mornings. I woke up feeling like I wanted to write, but now ........ I also feel like I need to do something to find myself a job!
These are the moments, the times when I must trust, trust, TRUST that things are going to be okay, that God guides me in all that I do. I am not alone. God is very much present. I need to trust that.
(deep breath) Whew!
Have I talked about the weather recently?? (laughing) Well, here in Michigan the weather can change literally in moments. Or not! Our friend, Kevin, told me yesterday that Friday was the first day of sun here in 21 days! Yes, 21 days! It has been incredibly gray and gloomy, like someone threw a gray wool blanket over the entire region. (Even Lina and Yosh commented on the lack of sun while they were here visiting.)
So Friday, my last day on the job, I left work around 11:30, had lunch with Trice at the nearby Tim Horton's, swung by the pied-a-terre, picked up the dog and headed home to the pine trees. It was sunny! It was so sunny, I needed my cool Italian aviator sunglasses. Wonderful to finally see the sun!
And then guess what? Yesterday, Saturday, the gloom and grayness had returned. Along with with an ice rain/snow mixture that left all the side roads a treachery waiting to happen.
Jeanne and Joanne called at mid-day and invited us to join them and Kevin at the local theater to see a matinee showing of Brokeback Mountain. Go see it; it is wonderful and heartbreaking all at the same time. The cinematography is gorgeous as one might expect. Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger do fantastic jobs as the two protagonists of the movie. I especially enjoyed watching Jake Gyllenhaal. What a beautiful man! It's a love story in every sense of the word, lovely and tragic at the same time. Jeanne commented how much like a Greek tragedy it seemed.
After the movie, we headed over to Max & Erma's for a light dinner and then hit the Schuler's bookstore for a little book-browsing and a cup of coffee. We sat around a table and talked about our ever-so-slowly evolving plans for the future and retirement. By 9 o'clock, everyone took turns yawning. We all laughed at our aging selves.
As soon as we got home (safely), S helped me put my new YakTrax cleats on my boots and I safely and comfortably took the dog for a long walk around the neighborhood. I didn't slip once. I strongly recommend them for folks who are winter runners and/or winter dogwalkers. They DO the job!
Usually, I enjoy posting on calypsoDragon13 on weekend mornings. I woke up feeling like I wanted to write, but now ........ I also feel like I need to do something to find myself a job!
These are the moments, the times when I must trust, trust, TRUST that things are going to be okay, that God guides me in all that I do. I am not alone. God is very much present. I need to trust that.
(deep breath) Whew!
Have I talked about the weather recently?? (laughing) Well, here in Michigan the weather can change literally in moments. Or not! Our friend, Kevin, told me yesterday that Friday was the first day of sun here in 21 days! Yes, 21 days! It has been incredibly gray and gloomy, like someone threw a gray wool blanket over the entire region. (Even Lina and Yosh commented on the lack of sun while they were here visiting.)
So Friday, my last day on the job, I left work around 11:30, had lunch with Trice at the nearby Tim Horton's, swung by the pied-a-terre, picked up the dog and headed home to the pine trees. It was sunny! It was so sunny, I needed my cool Italian aviator sunglasses. Wonderful to finally see the sun!
And then guess what? Yesterday, Saturday, the gloom and grayness had returned. Along with with an ice rain/snow mixture that left all the side roads a treachery waiting to happen.
Jeanne and Joanne called at mid-day and invited us to join them and Kevin at the local theater to see a matinee showing of Brokeback Mountain. Go see it; it is wonderful and heartbreaking all at the same time. The cinematography is gorgeous as one might expect. Jake Gyllenhaal and Heath Ledger do fantastic jobs as the two protagonists of the movie. I especially enjoyed watching Jake Gyllenhaal. What a beautiful man! It's a love story in every sense of the word, lovely and tragic at the same time. Jeanne commented how much like a Greek tragedy it seemed.
After the movie, we headed over to Max & Erma's for a light dinner and then hit the Schuler's bookstore for a little book-browsing and a cup of coffee. We sat around a table and talked about our ever-so-slowly evolving plans for the future and retirement. By 9 o'clock, everyone took turns yawning. We all laughed at our aging selves.
As soon as we got home (safely), S helped me put my new YakTrax cleats on my boots and I safely and comfortably took the dog for a long walk around the neighborhood. I didn't slip once. I strongly recommend them for folks who are winter runners and/or winter dogwalkers. They DO the job!
Saturday, January 07, 2006
as the dust clears ....
Dragon Mood? -- still sorting it all out
A life event happened to me this week. I was laid off from my job at one of the domestic auto companies, after sixteen years of contract design work.
When I got the call from my contract house rep, I was simply stunned. As I told him, after working for so many years under the Damoclean sword of layoff, I had ceased to worry about it. Now that the sword had actually fallen, severing me from steady work, I was and still am stunned.
When I went to work the next morning, I found out how truly not alone I was. Eighty-six people, counting me, were laid off in our department, virtually dismantling it. The people who remain can anticipate either being shuffled to another department or being laid off themselves. I feel for them. Overall, the company laid off over 550 people ... yesterday ... with supposedly more to come.
I'm trying to focus on the good things that go with this. I am finally free of a company that has never felt quite right to me. They pay you well enough that it's tough to leave; it's commonly known around the company as the "golden handcuffs."
I'm finally free to look at working for a company that I like and to do work that is more resonant with my interests. I still need to make money, but S is encouraging me not to make that my number #1 focus. I'm going to try to do that, at least for a little while.
A life event happened to me this week. I was laid off from my job at one of the domestic auto companies, after sixteen years of contract design work.
When I got the call from my contract house rep, I was simply stunned. As I told him, after working for so many years under the Damoclean sword of layoff, I had ceased to worry about it. Now that the sword had actually fallen, severing me from steady work, I was and still am stunned.
When I went to work the next morning, I found out how truly not alone I was. Eighty-six people, counting me, were laid off in our department, virtually dismantling it. The people who remain can anticipate either being shuffled to another department or being laid off themselves. I feel for them. Overall, the company laid off over 550 people ... yesterday ... with supposedly more to come.
I'm trying to focus on the good things that go with this. I am finally free of a company that has never felt quite right to me. They pay you well enough that it's tough to leave; it's commonly known around the company as the "golden handcuffs."
I'm finally free to look at working for a company that I like and to do work that is more resonant with my interests. I still need to make money, but S is encouraging me not to make that my number #1 focus. I'm going to try to do that, at least for a little while.
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
wandering out of the post-holiday blur
Dragon Mood? -- dragonly dizzy
Wandering out of the post-holiday blur, I find myself at work today with 70 emails in my work inbox (mostly spam) and 130 emails in my gmail inbox (mostly for stuff I don't need or services I don't require).
It has been over two weeks since I last posted and I am truly stunned at the speed with which those two weeks flew by. I was literally in a Christmas whirlwind! Wow!
Wandering out of the post-holiday blur, I find myself at work today with 70 emails in my work inbox (mostly spam) and 130 emails in my gmail inbox (mostly for stuff I don't need or services I don't require).
It has been over two weeks since I last posted and I am truly stunned at the speed with which those two weeks flew by. I was literally in a Christmas whirlwind! Wow!
The short version of my answer in response to your polite question, "How was your holiday?" is that it was GREAT! I thoroughly enjoyed spending time with S and my wonderful kids, Lina and Yosh. We socialized almost every day with friends and family, took some side trips, drank lots of good wine, cooked together and had loads and loads of fun! I am overwhelmed and still exhausted from it all. It truly is a blur. I need time to take it all in, remember all the myriad details of conversations and interactions and activities, and then I need more time to digest it all.
But it was a great two weeks. Exhausting and great!
But it was a great two weeks. Exhausting and great!
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