Another new job?

What I thought would be and what has come to be are quite diverse. I woke up this morning in Southern California. I've been here for well over 3 months and have been working at this job for just as long. The position in Chicago did not provide for my family as I had hoped and the political atmosphere within the company was not conducive to my personal or business goals. You see, I was hired as the division manager to "fix" problems and help improve profitability. Once I started making improvements, it was evident that the board considered all problems that may involve the division were the fault of the division for which I was responsible. I cannot suggest that they were all wrong; however, many of the problems I faced involved interaction with other divisions. The changes I made were not significant enough to force the hand of the other divisions to adjust their daily business practices.

Initial changes were received well but they were not enough to overcome the handicaps of inter-divisional problems. It became evident that I was never going to fix the problems that involved other divisions in any way. This along with pressures from the home front held me in a state of limbo out of which I felt I would never emerge.

A phone call from California was the first ray of sunshine on which I set my eye in months. I came at the call, interviewed and accepted the position I was offered. The struggle here has been seriously worse than I anticipated. The wife and kids have joined me in California. Although the kids have adjusted pretty well, the wife and I have struggled getting to a point where we are comfortable with the move across the country. Since I am originally from the area, I thought the move back would be easy. If not easy, I didn't expect it to be difficult. It has been a struggle. Overall, the past couple years has been terribly difficult.

I don't like to sound like a whiner but it seems to be the only thing I do lately.

Employed At Last

It was lost but now it's found. I will have to relocate but, hey, it is a lot better than being unemployed. I've a better position with better pay at a better organization. It's all good.

Just Incredible...

The time I have had over the past week has been incredible - to say the least. A little over a week ago, I found myself in a position unlike any I had experienced before. I was laid off from a position I have held for over 7 years, with a company for which I have worked for over 10 years... Seriously, this has been one experience I would have liked to skip. Every other change in my career has been more voluntary in nature, as I have been the one to find reason for moving on, taking the next position before the current was ripped out from under me.

A week of job searching and I am no closer to finding new work than I was the day I was asked to leave the last... :(

Anyway, I am still looking... Keeping my head up... certainly, it will end soon.

As I awake groggily from a long nap...

I can hardly believe how time flies when you’re busy with life... Of course, as any ol’ codger will attest, time waits for no man!

Attitude

"The longer I live, the more I realize the impact of attitude on life. Attitude, to me, is more important than facts. It is more important than the past, than education, than money, than circumstances, than failures, than successes, than what other people think or say or do. It is more important than appearance, giftedness or skill. It will make or break a company…a church…a home. The remarkable thing is we have a choice every day regarding the attitude we will embrace for that day. We cannot change our past. We cannot change the inevitable. The only thing we can do is play on the one string we have, and that is our attitude…I am convinced that life is 10% what happens to me and 90% how I react to it. And so it is with you…
we are in charge of our Attitudes." ~ Charles Swindoll

Interestingly, many people don't seem to understand that the one thing over which they do have control is their attitude and the way the feel. I remember numerous times one of my children would complain about how I made them mad. I tried to teach her that it wasn't me but that she was in control of such emotions, that she aloud something I did to upset her. I don't know if she ever understood.

Download Your Brain???

According to a story at CNN.com, there is a good possibility that people will be able to download their brain to a supercomputer in the near future.

"If you're rich enough then by 2050 it's feasible. If you're poor you'll probably have to wait until 2075 or 2080 when it's routine," he said.

An interesting concept but I am left to wonder about what the purpose of such a thing might be. Honestly, are we going to have a real purpose behind this? We are cautioned to back up the data on our computers in case there are problems making it necessary to reformat. Am I to believe that once we've downloaded our brains, we have some kind of safeguard against braindamage?

This is a realm of science fiction that we've yet to touch the surface in real life. I don't know many people that are willing to plug their cranium into a computer or other such device.

Catherine Houghton Hepburn

"My greatest strength is…common sense. I'm really a standard brand—like Campbell's tomato soup or Baker's chocolate."

~ Katharine Hepburn

American actress Katharine Hepburn, born May 12, 1907, was known as a spirited performer with a touch of Yankee eccentricity. She introduced into her roles a strength of character previously considered undesirable in Hollywood leading ladies. As an actress, she was noted for her brisk upper-class New England accent and tomboyish beauty.

I do not consider myself a Hepburn fan but I've enjoyed many of her movies.

My Puppy, you better watch her!

Her name? Bailey's Fancy Boots of Catan! We just call her Baily. We've had her for about eight weeks and she has become a member of our family, raring to go.
A Pembroke Welsh Corgi, she has very short legs and no tail and is a very docile creature.

Placentia

I grew up in the Southern California town of Placentia. Spanish for "A Pleasant Place", Placentia really lives up to its namesake.

Packing fruit in the goves, circa 1880.

Placentia was where the Orange industry got its start in southern California. Today, there are very few Orange trees left - each belong to private gardens rather than large Orange Groves. When I was a kid, I remember helping pick oranges. Although the work was not easy for a 12 year old, I enjoyed the periodic break to enjoy a fresh orange that I picked off the tree myself.

Downtown Placentia is probably the only place that hasn't changed much since my childhood. Many of the buildings have been refurbished but they look very much the same as they did so many years ago.

The La Imperial Ranch Market on the corner of Bradford and Santa Fe.

A small market, the La Imperial Ranch Market probably used to be a bank at one time. I still prefer the small market feel of this store rather than the other super markets that are scattered through the rest of the town.

The Tlaquepaque Restaurant and Placentia Bakery at the corner of Bradford and Santa Fe.

A Placentia institution and probably the best Mexican restaurant in Southern California, Tlaquepaque Restaurant serves up an excellent experience everytime you enter. Notice the little cart out front? Homemade flavored ice helps soothe in the hot summer months. There aren't many of these guys running around anymore.

I don't get to go home often but when I do, these are some of the places I'm sure to visit.

Who is there for him?

I have a friend whose wife decided that she didn't want to be married anymore. They have two children, a daughter and son, and my friend is one of the most gentle, caring men I know. He loves his wife and treats her better than most men treat their wives. I cannot begin to suggest why she wants out of the relationship but I am afraid that this is going to make a calloused, bitter person out of my friend.

He has determined that they cannot afford two lawers so his wife is going to have a lawyer and he will represent himself. Oh, I hope I can convince him to do different.

Søren Kierkegaard - founder of existentialist philosophy

"Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards."

Søren Kierkegaard

Today is the anniversary of Søren Kierkegaard's birth. He was born May 5, 1813. Mr. Kierkegaard argued that actual life cannot be contained within an abstract conceptual system. He hoped to open the way for an adequate consideration of faith. He argued that there existed a gulf between God and man that faith alone can bridge.

What does color say about you?

Acidinmyfridge introduced me to this color quiz. A psychological analysis of sorts, through chosing colors, or by the order in which you choose them, the good folks at ColorQuiz can allegedly tell something about you. I took the test and here are my results.

Your Existing Situation

Readily participates in things that provide excitement or stimulation. Wants to feel exhilarated.

Your Stress Sources

The existing situation is disagreeable. Feels lonely and uncertain as he has an unsatisfied need to ally himself with others whose standards are as high as his own, and wants to stand out from the rank and file. This sense of isolation magnifies the need into a compelling urge, all the more upsetting to his self-sufficiency because of the restraint he normally imposes on himself. Since he wants to demonstrate the unique quality of his own character, he tries to suppress this need for others and affects an attitude of unconcerned self-reliance to conceal his fear of inadequacy, treating those who criticize his behavior with contempt. However, beneath this assumption of indifference he really longs for the approval and esteem of others.

Your Restrained Characteristics

Willing to participate and to allow himself to become involved, but tries to fend off conflict and disturbance in order to reduce tension.

Circumstances are forcing him to compromise, to restrain his demands and hopes, and to forgo for the time being some of the things he wants.

Your Desired Objective

Desires a tranquil, peaceful state of harmony offering quiet contentment and a sense of belonging.

Your Actual Problem

Disappointment at the non-fulfillment of his hopes and the fear that to formulate fresh goals will only lead to further setbacks have resulted in considerable anxiety. He is trying to escape from this into a peaceful and harmonious relationship, protecting him from dissatisfaction and lack of appreciation.

Your Actual Problem #2

Wants to be valued and respected, and seeks this from a close and peaceful association of mutual esteem.

I cannot say how accurate this might be. Many times tests that seem to provide insight are simply so broad in their statements that anyone can pick out what they like while ignoring those areas with which they disagree.

An interesting experience in any rate, I would suggest that you read all the instructions and follow them carefully. Although the test hasn't any difficult questions there is one point where you are asked to wait for the timer to count down to zero. I almost didn't see this.

Have you ever had one of those days?

Wrong Side Of The Bed

Wrong side of the bed
Raining on my parade
A week full of Mondays
Singing the blues

Wrong side of the bed
Too much to do and
Too little time for it
Nothing going right

Wrong side of the bed
The mirror broken
By an ink black cat
Walking under a ladder

Wrong side of the bed
Nothing to do but
Crawl back in
And try again
© 2004, by Joseph Rohrbach

Sometimes I wonder if I would have been better off staying put. I know better though. Life is a wonderful experience and I'll never feel the wonders of existence peeking at the world from under my duvet.

Who you calling colored?

I received this in an email. The claim was that the author is a black man from Texas. I cannot collaborate this with any other sources but I thought the sentiment was funny yet thought provoking.

When I born, I black,
When I grow up, I black,
When I go in sun, I black,
When I cold, I black,
When I scared, I black,
When I sick, I black,
When I bruise, I black,
And when I die, I still black,

You white folks....
When you born, you PINK,
When you grow up, you WHITE,
When you go in sun, you RED,
When you cold, you BLUE,
When you scared, you YELLOW,
When you sick, you GREEN,
When you bruised, you PURPLE,
And when you die, you GRAY

So who you calling COLORED?

I think it is interesting that human nature tends toward labels. We label everyone with whom we come into contact. Not all these labels are without merit but most have no basis in reality. Instead our prejudices have a firm foundation in ignorance. It is only by overcoming our ignorance that we realize just how unmerited our impressions might have been.

Are we not all brothers and sisters?

Take a bow, Yao Ming...

According to a story in today's LA Times, the ruling Communist Party named Yao Ming a model worker for this years May Day celebration. Yao Ming plays as center for the Houston Rockets. This is certainly far removed from Iron Man Wang, an oil field worker who was hailed as a hero to his country in 1960.

Iron Man Wang, Government Propaganda Poster

"It's absurd," Zhou Xiaozheng, a sociologist at People's University in Beijing, said of Yao's award. "Model workers should be ordinary people you can look up to and imitate. Yao Ming is an NBA star. That's honor enough. Besides, what he does, it's impossible for ordinary people to imitate."

Whether Yao Ming is the right man for the Communist Party's exemplar I cannot say. However, this brings to mind something that has concerned me for some time. The people we choose to be our heroes have changed over the years. Not so many years ago when you asked a child who his hero might be, the answer would most likely be an astronaut or, maybe even closer to home, a policeman or fireman. Today's children are far more likely to pick a sports or music star as their role model. Although many of today’s sports stars are good people, the lives they lead aren’t those to which ordinary people might aspire. Honestly, I want the world for my daughters but I’d rather they didn’t follow in the footsteps of most of today’s pop culture icons.

I wonder, what has changed that has caused the world's focus to move from those who are good examples of honest, hard work and/or learning to those who have been successful winning life's popularity contests.

You might not have wondered this but...

Who was the first person to open an oyster, look at that slime and think, “boy that looks like something I should eat”?

Of course, it was probably right after they dove 30 feet below the surface of the ocean, struggled to pry it off the rocks, and barely made it to the surface without drowning. The first thought was probably something more akin to, “I don’t care that it looks like elephant snot, I went through all that for this, I’m going to eat it.”

I wonder how many of our common dishes can be traced to an event where it was eat this or die from hunger.

Improve Your Awareness

Past the seeker as he prayed came the crippled and the beggar and the beaten. And seeing them... he cried, "Great God, how is it that a loving creator can see such things and yet do nothing about them?" God said, "I did do something. I made you." ~ Author Unknown

God gave us more opportunities than anyone could use in many lifetimes. We must look around ourselves and take that opportunity to help and lift our fellow man!

Outside the Box

The following questions are answered by thinking outside the box. Can you come up with the correct answers?

1. You have a bag that is 45cm long, 18cm wide and 30cm high. If you put them in carefully one at a time, how many standard paperback books can you place in the empty bag?


2. Why is it that a man living in Oxford can never be buried in Cambridge?


3. Name four things that you cannot eat for breakfast.


4. Even if you have never been to France you should be able to say what’s in the centre of Paris.


5. 2 fathers and 2 sons go fishing. Each caught a fish but they only landed 3. How come?


6. Heres a list of 4 words with something in common: ATOM TIMID LESSON HANDY could WILLOW join the list?


7. How come Englishmen use more soap than Irishmen without being noticeably cleaner?


8. To everyone’s amazement a swan was seen on the Mekong River. Where had it come from?


9. What do the following animals all have in common: Bombay Duck, White Elephant, Guinea Pig, Silk Worm, Firefly?


10. What’s so fragile that you break it just by naming it?

I struggled with a couple of these but when the answers were revealed I felt like I should have known. How will you do?

My Heart is Heavy, Weighted Down

I am disturbed, disturbed and disgusted. I’ve seen so much that is good in this world but lately my attention is drawn to the lesser, the revolting, that against which I would revile.

Honestly, remember how the world responded to the tsunami in South East Asia with great speed and compassion. That, my friends, was a high point, something on which I could hang my cares and considerations – my faith in humanity. I worried that the world community might not have the stamina to apply to this great disaster but it seems that much of my worries were without cause. Sure, there is plenty of work still to be done but the world has not forgotten their less fortunate brothers, at least not in that part of the world.

What, then, can we say about those others of our brethren that are afflicted with strife? How is it that we can pat ourselves on the back with great enthusiasm when there is so much suffering in other parts of the world? The wickedness that men afflict on each other is enough to cause great pains and concern for anyone who takes a moment to look around. The Sudan, just one example of the terrible things humanity inflicts on itself. This is not nature or natural. One man kills another because of religion or race – everyone should be disturbed and revolted. This, however, is not just one man and they aren’t just killing each other. The terrible acts – oh, so terrible! Governments of the world should not stand for such indiscretions.



Why was the world so quick to offer aid when the tsunami visited such terrible destruction yet we cannot find it in our collective consciousness to act when men violate the rights of other men?

The Monday Morning Test - On Wednesday...

More than an IQ test, this test will blow your mind. So, what did you score? I liked this test because I didn't have to enter any personal information to get there. Check it out here.

(http://www.risingstarkaraoke.com/monday_test.html)