Me no wanna

I have no desire to work. None. I have a meeting in an hour with my boss' boss and I don't really want to go. I don't want to work anymore. Urgh. Change in weather? Maybe. I think it has more to do with my tenure. I never last too long at one place because I get bored. I have been in this position for just over 2 years, for me that is a LIFE TIME.

I know I need to get my butt in gear, in this environment, demonstrating a lack of work ethic makes you a target for cuts. Our company has made several in the last couple of months and I am lucky I made it through (it wasn't that close, but who knows...). I should be looking forward to this meeting and ingratiating myself to another element of this company. But you know what? I don't care. I want to be at home and take my daughter to ECFE and spend more time with her. Not with the people I work with. Sorry folks.

On another totally unrelated topic, I fear I am jinxed. I went to donate last night and they rejected me because my hemoglobin was too low. By 2 tenths of a point. I am going to get some red meat, eat some Oreos (the cookie that has the highest iron levels) and not mix my calcium with my iron (calcium depletes it). Then I'll make yet another appointment and hopefully drain myself of a pint of blood.

Turnaround?

Some people might call me jaded. I call myself a realist.

I am a Gopher Football fan and this week we are ranked at number 17 in the BCS standings people. Let me type that again. 17. What a change. I remember sitting in the stands last year wondering if it was possible the dome could actually deflate, 'cuz that was what happened to my team.

Last year we were 1-11. This year we are 7-1 (3-1 in the Big 10). How has this amazing turnaround happened? I don't want to dismiss that coach Brewster has done a fine job changing the direction of this flailing program, but I want to weigh in on some things (here's where the jaded shines through). I don't think we should be that high. Gives me that itchy feeling of doom.

1. We have had a REALLY easy schedule. Outside of OSU and Illinois we haven't faced tough opponents. The next three games should pose some challenges and if you have ever been a Golden Gopher football fan you better start to remember how quickly we can implode before you get your hopes up too high. Let's just remember the last bowl game we played in shall we?
2. The Big 10 is in a state of flux. WI was ranked in the top 25 the first 3 weeks of regular season play and slid quickly out of the rankings based on their play the last 3 weeks. Michigan? I realize they have a new coach and things are crazy up there but what the heck happened to everyone? Yikes. And OSU. Oh OSU it sucks to be you (anyone catch that great OSU vs. Penn State game?? GO Joe Pa!) this year. Not that I don't mind a little parity in our division but I would have hoped it was because the Gophers climbed the ladder instead of the typical division superstars falling sharply.

The silver lining? Recruiting should improve.

1. We will have a gorgeous, and I mean beautiful, outdoor stadium to play in next year. (We drove by it a couple weeks ago and since I have never experienced football on campus I am SUPER jazzed.)
2. And even if a winning record came as a result of an easier schedule, perhaps the kiddies will be more excited to play for a team that put up some W's this season.

Regardless, if we make it a bowl game where the temp is higher than it is here at that time of the year I am seriously considering booking my flight. And if they make it to the Rose Bowl, as a coworker said he heard an analyst consider today, I'm getting a babysitter b/c their ain't no way I am missing that one baby.

Help Me Here Folks

I'm struggling with this one. Please, someone tell my small, simple-minded brain how to make sense of why this man is leaving with upwards of 10 million buckaroos while there will be layoffs later in the year.

Truthfully speaking, I know how it works. I spent 10 years in HR so believe me, I know how it works. My point is.... HR LEADERS - get your shit together and figure out how to write exit clauses into contracts that DO NOT ALLOW THIS CRAP TO CONTINUE. This is bull-freakin-shit and despite the fact that it can be argued that jobs will need to be cut regardless of this man's golden parachute with a good deal of validity.... it sends bad messages.

OK. I'm done.

Insane

I'm taking the leap. I'm going to try NoBloPoMo this year. Why? Because I want to add a bit more activity to my life, since you can see my blogging has been light the last few months. Fair warning, my few readers, posts maybe strange, pointless and boring in the coming weeks. Or, maybe this will be the practice I need to become a real blogger :)

Should be exciting since we'll be dealing with the outcome of the presidental race.

I'm off to start thinking of ideas.

Catching up

I've been a bit busy at work the last two weeks and haven't had much time to blog. Not a whole lot has been happening in my world as of late anyway. Yesterday was an interesting day so I thought I would take a few minutes out of my work day and blog. I'm especially crabby today as I am coming down with a cold so bear with the snippiness that may bleed through.

I am frustrated with the debates. Frustrated that neither candidate actually answers a darn question. I watched most of the debate last night (full disclosure, I fell asleep towards the end) and had a hard time not flipping the channel when the candidates went off on their I'll-blame-the-other-party-and-not-answer-your-question diatribes. Seriously... I know who I am voting for and I was disappointed in his performance. All the media outlets are posing the question, "who won?", followed up with statements about how it is hard to tell. Well, I'm here to tell you that is because they didn't answer the questions. No wonder you can't tell. You know how to win over the undecided and independent voters, boys? Actually answer questions in short and clear sentences. You will win the hearts of many voters across this great land. I know I posted before how I was already tired of the mudslinging, and while it wasn't too over-the-top last night, I just didn't have the patience. I floated between that and a repeat of Bizarre Foods. Urgh.

On a different note, yesterday my co-workers and I went to a local transitional housing unit to volunteer during the lunch hour. We arrived around 10am and worked until 1pm, doing food prep, serving, cleaning, and anything else they could find for us to do. It was an amazing experience. This location houses up to 55 homeless people and there is always a waiting list. Residents can be individuals or families and they also allow 'drop-ins' for meals. These folks have been referred to this facility by another location in DT SP and can only stay for 30 days. After that they are either back on the street if they have not found housing. The staff are truly God's angels. To see what they see every day and still come to work, continue to have faith and hope. It's amazing.

Let me just tell you how hard it was to walk out of there after seeing what I saw. There was a precocious little girl, five, maybe six, who I wanted to take home. She and her parents live in a car. They sleep in a church on the hard floor using cardboard boxes to separate them from the other families. She has never been to school. What type of life is she going to have living like this and not receiving an education? How will she break this cycle? I want very much to go and grab her (all of the children, really) and take her home, give her a warm bed and a permanent address so she can go to school. And to see her eyes light up and her chatter away with all of us. Kids are resilient.

Needless to say, I came home and told Pete we needed to find a way to either volunteer, donate or do something more for these people as they are less than 2 miles away from where we live and it feels more like they are on a different planet. And then I hugged my little girl, hoping nothing like this ever befalls her.