Well... it's almost Christmas time and a good time for my monthly posting.
The new job is well... boring. Yesterday I spent most of the day doing nothing work related except waiting. None of our machines had any issues, and when they have no issues, I have nothing to do. *sigh* This should give me an oppurtunity to continue reading up on things I want to learn and messing around a little bit with the few programs I'm able to mess around with. That and I am way overpaid for what I do. Not paid what I'm worth, but overpaid for what I do.
We had a little bit of a scare last week too. Allison went into labor at 33 weeks! We went to the hospital and they monitored her for a while. She was having mild contractions about every minute. Not good. They gave her a triblahblah shot. That stopped the contractions but she was told to be on bed rest until she visited with her regular doctor on Monday. The Dr checked her out and said she was allowed to be active again, but be cognizant of her activity level and fluid intakes and to "Take it easy." Those few days of bedrest were insane for me. She was just so whiney a lot. Oh well. I love her anyway.
Looking forward to the Reunion. Hoping I can arrange to make it there with the new baby and all. I need to call Kenny & Erin to get the details so I can be sure to get there.
Welp, I'm out for now. Cheers folk!
Friday, December 22, 2006
Tuesday, November 21, 2006
I suck at blogging
Well... I really suck at this blogging thing, but at least I'm sometimes updating it.
So, what's happening with Skylar. Well, baby is still gestating nicely. Nothing to indicate there are problems so far and he's healthy and everything. Allison is getting a bit tired lately again, she just started into her 3rd tri-mester. One of these days I'll have to get a scanner so I can put some pictures up here.
After almost 4 months unemployed, I finally get a job! As of today I will be working for a company called Lionbridge that is contracted to do testing of printers for Hewlett Packard. It's not a fantastic job, but it will fill in where I am heading in my career and give me the income that I required to continue working. Also, since it is a swing position (4pm - 2am Mon-Thur) I will get to spend time during the day with Ezra. Will also save us a ton of money on daycare.
So, you're caught up with me for now. I'm sure I'll get to start blogging again soon. Maybe I should start just blogging about my EQ adventures. Hmm... something to think on.
So, what's happening with Skylar. Well, baby is still gestating nicely. Nothing to indicate there are problems so far and he's healthy and everything. Allison is getting a bit tired lately again, she just started into her 3rd tri-mester. One of these days I'll have to get a scanner so I can put some pictures up here.
After almost 4 months unemployed, I finally get a job! As of today I will be working for a company called Lionbridge that is contracted to do testing of printers for Hewlett Packard. It's not a fantastic job, but it will fill in where I am heading in my career and give me the income that I required to continue working. Also, since it is a swing position (4pm - 2am Mon-Thur) I will get to spend time during the day with Ezra. Will also save us a ton of money on daycare.
So, you're caught up with me for now. I'm sure I'll get to start blogging again soon. Maybe I should start just blogging about my EQ adventures. Hmm... something to think on.
Thursday, October 05, 2006
Wow its been a while
Well... I know it has been a LONG while since I've posted here, so lets see if we can catch folks up.
First, I am still unemployed. In 10 days it will have been for 3 full months. That kind of sucks. Good news though, I'm getting interview. Last time I was unemployed for any length of time (14 months) I didn't get a single interview. The market seems pretty good so I'm just applying and making the call-backs. Should not be too long before I am employed again. One of the advantages to not being employed, I got plenty of time to cook nice evening meals for Allison and I. I'm getting to be quite the good cook (c:
Second, I just got word that the manager that fired me has been demoted, again. He is no longer in management at all and is treading thin ice to even keep his job. Upper management has instructed his new manager that should he refuse to do anything or foul up in any way, write him up and give them a reason to fire his ass!! Much better than they did with me of course.
And finally, we found out the gender of the baby. We are most definately having a boy. We've also agreed and settled on the name Ezra Henry. I've got the nursery painted and will be putting together the crib next week. Looking forward to this a lot. Grandpa (Allison's father) will be here next week to help us get the room together. Should be a fun time. Now, to just finally decide whether to circumcise or not. Currently we are decided to do it. Just trying to completely put the decision to rest.
So... you're caught up for now. I guess I'll go back to job hunting.
First, I am still unemployed. In 10 days it will have been for 3 full months. That kind of sucks. Good news though, I'm getting interview. Last time I was unemployed for any length of time (14 months) I didn't get a single interview. The market seems pretty good so I'm just applying and making the call-backs. Should not be too long before I am employed again. One of the advantages to not being employed, I got plenty of time to cook nice evening meals for Allison and I. I'm getting to be quite the good cook (c:
Second, I just got word that the manager that fired me has been demoted, again. He is no longer in management at all and is treading thin ice to even keep his job. Upper management has instructed his new manager that should he refuse to do anything or foul up in any way, write him up and give them a reason to fire his ass!! Much better than they did with me of course.
And finally, we found out the gender of the baby. We are most definately having a boy. We've also agreed and settled on the name Ezra Henry. I've got the nursery painted and will be putting together the crib next week. Looking forward to this a lot. Grandpa (Allison's father) will be here next week to help us get the room together. Should be a fun time. Now, to just finally decide whether to circumcise or not. Currently we are decided to do it. Just trying to completely put the decision to rest.
So... you're caught up for now. I guess I'll go back to job hunting.
Wednesday, August 16, 2006
An Interview Gone Well
I had my first interview with this round of unemployed status. It was with ADP in Downtown Portland. Overall the job sounds like it would be great. The atmosphere seemed a little bit quiet to me, but I can deal with that, I've got an iPod (c:
At the end of the interviewing with the 2nd person (it was a 90 minute interview), the supervisor (the interviewer) took me around to introduce me to the group that I would be working with. Typically, I would not think a manager/supervisor would do that unless seriously interested in a candidate. I know if I were in that position, I would not introduce someone I did not believe to be a very good candidate.
So, if offered this position, I am really going to have to see what kinds of travel arrangements I can make. I may end up just using the public transit system for a while and then try to find a carpool buddy. Who knows. If they offer me what I was asking for, then I'd be happy to take the job and figure something out. It would be a great job to start a career and potentially find a long-term employer. They did tell me that this would not be the high-paced environment I have gotten used to, and ya know what? I can dig that.
At the end of the interviewing with the 2nd person (it was a 90 minute interview), the supervisor (the interviewer) took me around to introduce me to the group that I would be working with. Typically, I would not think a manager/supervisor would do that unless seriously interested in a candidate. I know if I were in that position, I would not introduce someone I did not believe to be a very good candidate.
So, if offered this position, I am really going to have to see what kinds of travel arrangements I can make. I may end up just using the public transit system for a while and then try to find a carpool buddy. Who knows. If they offer me what I was asking for, then I'd be happy to take the job and figure something out. It would be a great job to start a career and potentially find a long-term employer. They did tell me that this would not be the high-paced environment I have gotten used to, and ya know what? I can dig that.
Wednesday, August 02, 2006
Locked Out
I feel like such a tard! I left my house today to go get the mail, got back home and left my keys on the hook by the door. After I began sifting through my mail I found that I had a package at our association office. So I put my shoes back on and hoofed it over to the office.
Well... I grabbed my package and headed back home, as I am walking up the driveway I reach for my keys. DAMN! They are on the hook inside the house. House is locked! I walk back to the office thinking we have left a key with them. Nope. Allison is in Yakima for a conference, so I can't call her. And nobody else has the key. DAMN DAMN!
So now I'm stuck outside. I ask the office for a phone book and call a locksmith. $50 later and an hour standing outside looking like a moron, and I'm back in the house.
I talked to Allison and told her this story, and apparently one of her colleagues' husband's did the same thing. Well... he did it a bit differently, but effect was the same. He decided to break into his home though. I think I went the cheaper route.
So... that sucked.
Well... I grabbed my package and headed back home, as I am walking up the driveway I reach for my keys. DAMN! They are on the hook inside the house. House is locked! I walk back to the office thinking we have left a key with them. Nope. Allison is in Yakima for a conference, so I can't call her. And nobody else has the key. DAMN DAMN!
So now I'm stuck outside. I ask the office for a phone book and call a locksmith. $50 later and an hour standing outside looking like a moron, and I'm back in the house.
I talked to Allison and told her this story, and apparently one of her colleagues' husband's did the same thing. Well... he did it a bit differently, but effect was the same. He decided to break into his home though. I think I went the cheaper route.
So... that sucked.
Monday, July 24, 2006
Good News & Bad News
Since Bad news should always come before good news, so that the good news can overshadow it and hold all of the conversation... here it is.
Bad news
Tuesday July 11th , I was fired from my job. The little troll finally got his way and got rid of me. The irony of it, he fired me for poor performance. Which made me a bit confused, on May 19th, I received a performance review of 38/40. /boggle!
Basically, it came down to me choosing my home life over my work life. I probably did not deal with the little troll in the most appropriate manner, but I had enough of him trying to bully me on my own time while I am off the clock. I think ultimately, he was scared for himself.
I went in the Friday after I was fired, checked-in at the front desk, got my escort, did all of that stuff as I was supposed to. Walked back to my old desk to pick up my cube-mate for lunch and my old supervisor said "Hello" in a bit of... uncomfortable way. From what I understand, shortly after I left he said "Hans is going to be pissed!" Sure enough, he was in HR before the afternoon was over siting some BS about "workplace violence" and that I should not be allowed on the premises. I have no idea how that was received or whatnot but I'm sure they ignored them.
Last Monday I went in and had a nice conversation with the President of the company. I didn't come of better than a shiny turd, but at least I got to say my piece to try and help out the group that I used to work for. I really felt like they are being coerced and led through fear and trepidation and really, it was not the great place to work that it was supposed to be. So far I have heard nothing from that meeting. I guess we shall wait and see. Of course, I can't even get any kind of callback from the HR VP. /shrug
So there is the bad news.
Good News
My wife and I are having a baby!!!
The baby is due on February 6th. So far the pregnancy is going really well. No bad things have gone wrong. We have our first ultra-sound and things look healthy. Of course, from the ultrasound picture, people have said we are having a monkey, a spider, a cow, and an alien!
Allison and I have talked over names a little bit. So far we are going with the following:
Boy - Ezra Henry Hiebert (or Aidan Henry)
Girl - Sydney Grace Hiebert (or Sydney Rachel)
I'm getting pretty excited about this and looking forward to being a Daddy. It's all new, and with the fact that I'm no longer employed I'm a bit concerned, but overall I think things will work out, I'll get a job and everything will be fine in the end.
So... there is my update for this month. Now that I'm unemployed I may be able to get around to doing this a bit more often. Though, I do need to come up with material as well. So... Cheers for now!!
Bad news
Tuesday July 11th , I was fired from my job. The little troll finally got his way and got rid of me. The irony of it, he fired me for poor performance. Which made me a bit confused, on May 19th, I received a performance review of 38/40. /boggle!
Basically, it came down to me choosing my home life over my work life. I probably did not deal with the little troll in the most appropriate manner, but I had enough of him trying to bully me on my own time while I am off the clock. I think ultimately, he was scared for himself.
I went in the Friday after I was fired, checked-in at the front desk, got my escort, did all of that stuff as I was supposed to. Walked back to my old desk to pick up my cube-mate for lunch and my old supervisor said "Hello" in a bit of... uncomfortable way. From what I understand, shortly after I left he said "Hans is going to be pissed!" Sure enough, he was in HR before the afternoon was over siting some BS about "workplace violence" and that I should not be allowed on the premises. I have no idea how that was received or whatnot but I'm sure they ignored them.
Last Monday I went in and had a nice conversation with the President of the company. I didn't come of better than a shiny turd, but at least I got to say my piece to try and help out the group that I used to work for. I really felt like they are being coerced and led through fear and trepidation and really, it was not the great place to work that it was supposed to be. So far I have heard nothing from that meeting. I guess we shall wait and see. Of course, I can't even get any kind of callback from the HR VP. /shrug
So there is the bad news.
Good News
My wife and I are having a baby!!!
The baby is due on February 6th. So far the pregnancy is going really well. No bad things have gone wrong. We have our first ultra-sound and things look healthy. Of course, from the ultrasound picture, people have said we are having a monkey, a spider, a cow, and an alien!
Allison and I have talked over names a little bit. So far we are going with the following:
Boy - Ezra Henry Hiebert (or Aidan Henry)
Girl - Sydney Grace Hiebert (or Sydney Rachel)
I'm getting pretty excited about this and looking forward to being a Daddy. It's all new, and with the fact that I'm no longer employed I'm a bit concerned, but overall I think things will work out, I'll get a job and everything will be fine in the end.
So... there is my update for this month. Now that I'm unemployed I may be able to get around to doing this a bit more often. Though, I do need to come up with material as well. So... Cheers for now!!
Wednesday, June 28, 2006
A bit busy
Well... Flarinerin bugged me the other day and called me a dirty slacker! She's mean!
I have been overly preoccupied of late. Work sucks! Boss sucks! Boss's lackey sucks! Grandpa is improving greatly, and I've been home only a few hours here and there over the past 3 weeks. So... I haven't posted, here is a short blurb with more to come on Monday!
Grandpa is greatly improving. We moved him to the RIO (Rehabilitation Institute of Oregon) clinic a couple weeks ago. They are really working him a lot. Up to 8 hours of rehab workouts per day. Including making him get up, take a shower, walk around, be grumpy and all that jazz. His speech is improving every time I visit him, though he tends to repeat things better than answer direct questions. Casual speech seems to be fine though. It is almost as if he has trouble thinking and producing the answer to the question. He at least KNOWS when he is wrong.
Tomorrow is my anniversary (or rather, in 20 minutes!) We will have been married for four wonderful years. We have planned a trip to Newport where we will be staying at Sylvia Beach Hotel (www.sylviabeachhotel.com) We have stayed there a number of times and always LOVE it. Dinner there is excellent and there can be some great stories. Even if the conversation is lacking, which is has been before, the food is beyond compare.
So... until Sunday, I am out of town. Enjoy your weekends everyone! And have a Safe 4th.
I have been overly preoccupied of late. Work sucks! Boss sucks! Boss's lackey sucks! Grandpa is improving greatly, and I've been home only a few hours here and there over the past 3 weeks. So... I haven't posted, here is a short blurb with more to come on Monday!
Grandpa is greatly improving. We moved him to the RIO (Rehabilitation Institute of Oregon) clinic a couple weeks ago. They are really working him a lot. Up to 8 hours of rehab workouts per day. Including making him get up, take a shower, walk around, be grumpy and all that jazz. His speech is improving every time I visit him, though he tends to repeat things better than answer direct questions. Casual speech seems to be fine though. It is almost as if he has trouble thinking and producing the answer to the question. He at least KNOWS when he is wrong.
Tomorrow is my anniversary (or rather, in 20 minutes!) We will have been married for four wonderful years. We have planned a trip to Newport where we will be staying at Sylvia Beach Hotel (www.sylviabeachhotel.com) We have stayed there a number of times and always LOVE it. Dinner there is excellent and there can be some great stories. Even if the conversation is lacking, which is has been before, the food is beyond compare.
So... until Sunday, I am out of town. Enjoy your weekends everyone! And have a Safe 4th.
Friday, June 09, 2006
The Sleeping Gnome
So, I've been intending to get this posted for three days, here it is!
My oh so pleasant manager goes to a meeting a "Hot Meeting" with me and a bunch of others in our Service Delivery group. It can be a lengthy meeting and last up to an hour. Various conversations and topics can be brought up that are sometimes dull and do not pertain to the topic of the meeting.
So, here we are Wednesday, the meeting is nearly over. Almost all topics are taken care of except 2. Brice, one of the managers, asks a question directed at Hans. Hans does not respond, so Brice asks again and encourages Hans to respond, Hans does not. I respond to Brice so the meeting can proceed and we can move on.
Hans apparently had a rough night. When Brice was talking to him, he was sleeping. Head down on his chest, eyes closed, oblivious to anything going on in the meeting. When he did not respond, people begin to chuckle and a few are looking in my direction snickering. I'm still unsure why they would look to me, other than my feelings towards Hans are no secret and this was just too funny. The only thing that would have made it better would be if someone had a camera, sadly, no one did.
Unfortunately for the group, we were unable to "sneak" out of the meeting quietly leaving Hans to nap away in solitude. Nor was the President of the company present at this time (he left to meeting earlier for another meeting). So now we have a new joke to laugh about that little gnome.
My oh so pleasant manager goes to a meeting a "Hot Meeting" with me and a bunch of others in our Service Delivery group. It can be a lengthy meeting and last up to an hour. Various conversations and topics can be brought up that are sometimes dull and do not pertain to the topic of the meeting.
So, here we are Wednesday, the meeting is nearly over. Almost all topics are taken care of except 2. Brice, one of the managers, asks a question directed at Hans. Hans does not respond, so Brice asks again and encourages Hans to respond, Hans does not. I respond to Brice so the meeting can proceed and we can move on.
Hans apparently had a rough night. When Brice was talking to him, he was sleeping. Head down on his chest, eyes closed, oblivious to anything going on in the meeting. When he did not respond, people begin to chuckle and a few are looking in my direction snickering. I'm still unsure why they would look to me, other than my feelings towards Hans are no secret and this was just too funny. The only thing that would have made it better would be if someone had a camera, sadly, no one did.
Unfortunately for the group, we were unable to "sneak" out of the meeting quietly leaving Hans to nap away in solitude. Nor was the President of the company present at this time (he left to meeting earlier for another meeting). So now we have a new joke to laugh about that little gnome.
Monday, June 05, 2006
What a moron...
I'm reading some work related email when I come across one sent from The Moron Manager (Affectionately known as Hanz Moleman around the factory due to his uncanny resemblance to the character from The Simpsons) So, anyway, he sends out this email and I read the following except...
So... the part that makes this hilarious... "DNS requirement was not communicated adequately"
Well, I look down through the Notes that he states are present (which is communicated adequately) and see that the DNS requirements are, in fact, very clearly communicated. There would be absolutely NO way that it could be mistaken for anything else.
So, long story short, he gets to make himself look an idiot by claiming something was not clearly communicated when, in actuality, it was very clear, if in syntax. For the people that it matters to, however, it could not be more clear.
Good HA HA for me today.
A quick look at the notes indicates that the DNS requirement was not communicated adequately. From this email string:
option value
150 x.x.x.21 x.x.x.20
DNS x.x.x.177 x.x.x.179
DNS Suffix ctac.thisdomain.com
Group note reads:
* MNS-must have 172 address.
* NAT disabled.
*DHCP
dhcp set address .2 - .254
dhcp set valueoption 150 x.x.x.21 x.x.x.20
dhcp set valueoption 6 x.x.x.177 x.x.x.179
dhcp set valueoption 15 ctac.thisdomain.com
system addbootpServer x.x.x.21
system addbootpServer x.x.x.20
So... the part that makes this hilarious... "DNS requirement was not communicated adequately"
Well, I look down through the Notes that he states are present (which is communicated adequately) and see that the DNS requirements are, in fact, very clearly communicated. There would be absolutely NO way that it could be mistaken for anything else.
So, long story short, he gets to make himself look an idiot by claiming something was not clearly communicated when, in actuality, it was very clear, if in syntax. For the people that it matters to, however, it could not be more clear.
Good HA HA for me today.
Thursday, June 01, 2006
A Disappointment
Well... I got word today about the job I applied for a couple weeks ago. Apparently, until today, I was in the running for the position. Unfortunately for me the candidate they interviewed today was stellar, so they are offering the position to him and I am officially out of the running.
It was my lack of formal (or informal) experience that really left me out of it. Of course, it is comforting that the group was willing to take a chance with me, and thought I could do the job even though I did not have that experience. I was informed that they are requesting two other positions that they thought I would be a good fit for as well, but as of now those seats are not approved by upper management.
So, awesome for the IT group, so sad for Canda. I'm still wishing and hoping that the guy decides that our offer isn't acceptable to him and declines the position, then YAY for Canda. We'll just wait and see.
It was my lack of formal (or informal) experience that really left me out of it. Of course, it is comforting that the group was willing to take a chance with me, and thought I could do the job even though I did not have that experience. I was informed that they are requesting two other positions that they thought I would be a good fit for as well, but as of now those seats are not approved by upper management.
So, awesome for the IT group, so sad for Canda. I'm still wishing and hoping that the guy decides that our offer isn't acceptable to him and declines the position, then YAY for Canda. We'll just wait and see.
Wednesday, May 31, 2006
Hey, I ordered that door...
A couple of months ago my manager got this bright idea into his head that installing an additional door 7 ft down the wall would be a huge improvement in performance and accuracy. Personally, I fail to see how this is anything but a waste of money considering this room already had 3 doors into/out of the room and this new door serves really no purpose.
So, the door got installed this past weekend, I'm still not sure how it got approved when a re-organization of the room would have accomplished the same goal at the small cost of a couple of man hours. The installation was not quite complete though, the installer had to come back and add a transition plate.
As I'm coming back from lunch I see that this installer is on site and installing this plate. I also see my manager and supervisor come waltzing around the corner. My supervisor keeps walking, but my manager stops, looks down at the guy and says, in a very matter of fact arrogant way "Hey, I ordered that door, good job!" I about DIED laughing. I don't really have any idea what purpose my manager thought that would accomplish or if he thought it made him feel important or what, but by god it was hilarious!
So, the door got installed this past weekend, I'm still not sure how it got approved when a re-organization of the room would have accomplished the same goal at the small cost of a couple of man hours. The installation was not quite complete though, the installer had to come back and add a transition plate.
As I'm coming back from lunch I see that this installer is on site and installing this plate. I also see my manager and supervisor come waltzing around the corner. My supervisor keeps walking, but my manager stops, looks down at the guy and says, in a very matter of fact arrogant way "Hey, I ordered that door, good job!" I about DIED laughing. I don't really have any idea what purpose my manager thought that would accomplish or if he thought it made him feel important or what, but by god it was hilarious!
Tuesday, May 30, 2006
A Change
I had to change my template. For some reason the Minima black just wasn't suiting what I thought looked good anymore. Hope you like this template better.
He's talking
I haven't had a moment to go and visit Grandpa since last Wednesday because we have had lots of family in from out of town to visit him or I've been working. I should get to visit tomorrow.
Well... Allison has been able to go see him. She said that he is beginning to talk again. He's dressing himself, eating real food instead of mushed goo, and he's beginning to return to normalcy. His therapists are saying he's improving quickly and really making progress.
His first word, that Allison knew of, was "Earl" I guess this is the name of his therapist. He also said he was tired, or something to that affect. I'm really hoping that he'll be formulating full sentences and talking up a storm when I go to see him tomorrow. At worst though, it sounds like he'll be talking again next week.
Well... Allison has been able to go see him. She said that he is beginning to talk again. He's dressing himself, eating real food instead of mushed goo, and he's beginning to return to normalcy. His therapists are saying he's improving quickly and really making progress.
His first word, that Allison knew of, was "Earl" I guess this is the name of his therapist. He also said he was tired, or something to that affect. I'm really hoping that he'll be formulating full sentences and talking up a storm when I go to see him tomorrow. At worst though, it sounds like he'll be talking again next week.
Friday, May 26, 2006
An Interview
Well... I applied for a QA Position at my work a couple weeks ago. I interviewed yesterday. Three of our IT guys came in to grill me pretty badly. Asked a bunch of questions, some of which I knew how to answer, some of which I thought I knew how to answer and others which left me saying "huwhah?" However, I think the interview went pretty well. I left feeling like they were interested in me. Of course, I have a distinct advantage over all the other candidates, I know our proprietary systems already.
The other great thing about this job, it would be a huge promotion both in pay rate and just overall oppurtunities for growth. I'm not saying it would not be a difficult job, but it definately would be challenging and fun.
Here's to hoping I get it!
The other great thing about this job, it would be a huge promotion both in pay rate and just overall oppurtunities for growth. I'm not saying it would not be a difficult job, but it definately would be challenging and fun.
Here's to hoping I get it!
Thursday, May 25, 2006
Rebooting the Brain
A friend of mine gave a pretty good analogy to what a Stroke does to a person. It's like Hard Rebooting your brain. It takes some time to reboot. Well... Grandpa's rebooting pretty well, if slow. He was doing pretty well last night. Sitting up, looking around very attentively, easily identifying where noises were coming from and even trying to talk. I think his first regained "skill" was the use of the Television Remote control. He had the volume up pretty loudly when we got back from supper.
Grandpa is also beginning to regain his ability to speak. I was telling him about the internal interview I have today at my work and I think he said "Good luck" it was difficult to tell though as I could not hear him over my Wife and Grandma chatting and the Television. He tried to talk though, and did produce some noises.
The Speech and Physical Therapists say he is making great progress and are hopeful for a full recovery. I plan on keeping around and helping with his recovery as much as possible, even if it's only through playful verbal harrassment that Grandpa and I normally partake in. This time it is one sided and I can win the arguments! YAY!
Grandpa is also beginning to regain his ability to speak. I was telling him about the internal interview I have today at my work and I think he said "Good luck" it was difficult to tell though as I could not hear him over my Wife and Grandma chatting and the Television. He tried to talk though, and did produce some noises.
The Speech and Physical Therapists say he is making great progress and are hopeful for a full recovery. I plan on keeping around and helping with his recovery as much as possible, even if it's only through playful verbal harrassment that Grandpa and I normally partake in. This time it is one sided and I can win the arguments! YAY!
Tuesday, May 23, 2006
Once a grump, always a grump
He's out of the hospital and into a "Nursing" home. Grandpa has been moved to a Nursing/Rehabilition facility. They give him a more rigorous Physical Therapy than he was getting at the hospital, but not as rigorous as the other Rehab facility we were hoping he can get into.
Grandpa is obviously improving. Improving so much that he's regained his ability to poke fun at various people. Granted, all he can do right now is stick his tongue out at you, it's something. His humor has improved greatly as well. It is very easy sometimes to read the expressions on his face and just imagine him saying "Diane, I know drinking milk with a spoon sounds exciting, but it really isn't" He's definately improving fast!
The current tract he is on is to stay at his current facility for 2 weeks and then move to the more rigorous rehab facility. With luck he will be back at home by the end of June.
Lots of family has come down to see him too. I know he really enjoyed having them come to visit and I would guess he wishes it could have been under different circumstances. It is like his daughter said "I know you wanted to get me to visit, but this isn't the way to get it done." It was good to see them too. I got to meet some of Grandpa's family that I had never met until now.
I'm looking forward to further recovery and more harrassment from Grandpa!
Grandpa is obviously improving. Improving so much that he's regained his ability to poke fun at various people. Granted, all he can do right now is stick his tongue out at you, it's something. His humor has improved greatly as well. It is very easy sometimes to read the expressions on his face and just imagine him saying "Diane, I know drinking milk with a spoon sounds exciting, but it really isn't" He's definately improving fast!
The current tract he is on is to stay at his current facility for 2 weeks and then move to the more rigorous rehab facility. With luck he will be back at home by the end of June.
Lots of family has come down to see him too. I know he really enjoyed having them come to visit and I would guess he wishes it could have been under different circumstances. It is like his daughter said "I know you wanted to get me to visit, but this isn't the way to get it done." It was good to see them too. I got to meet some of Grandpa's family that I had never met until now.
I'm looking forward to further recovery and more harrassment from Grandpa!
Saturday, May 20, 2006
When you haven't eaten for three days....
.... even Puree'd peas taste good.
Grandpa is really improving. He was successfully able to eat meals two days in a row now. This is a huge improvement considering less than 48 hours ago the therapists were saying he would not be able to actually eat anything for a while yet because he was not swallowing.
I got to see his meals last night, Yellow Mush, Green Goo, Mashed White junk with Gravy and some other unidentifiable puree. I'm sure it was all disgustingly tastee! Regardless of what he was eating, this was a huge sign that he's still fighting the good fight and really working towards recovery.
We also got to bring a smile to his old grizzly face. He's a big poker fan so we stopped at Target and picked up two Hand-Held poker games. He wouldn't even let Gramma take them away from him so we could open them (in jest of course!)
It is really good to watch him improve like this. We continue to thank everyone for their prayers and thoughts and are really happy to see him improving so quickly.
Grandpa is really improving. He was successfully able to eat meals two days in a row now. This is a huge improvement considering less than 48 hours ago the therapists were saying he would not be able to actually eat anything for a while yet because he was not swallowing.
I got to see his meals last night, Yellow Mush, Green Goo, Mashed White junk with Gravy and some other unidentifiable puree. I'm sure it was all disgustingly tastee! Regardless of what he was eating, this was a huge sign that he's still fighting the good fight and really working towards recovery.
We also got to bring a smile to his old grizzly face. He's a big poker fan so we stopped at Target and picked up two Hand-Held poker games. He wouldn't even let Gramma take them away from him so we could open them (in jest of course!)
It is really good to watch him improve like this. We continue to thank everyone for their prayers and thoughts and are really happy to see him improving so quickly.
Friday, May 19, 2006
Update on Grandpa
Went to visit him last night, he's made some significant improvements. He still is not talking but he is moving his mouth. He also regained some use of his right arm which, previously, he could not do. The outlook for recovery is greatly improving.
In addition, because of his huge strides in recovery over the past 48 hours, the doctors are changing their tune. They are now suggesting that he be moved to an aggressive rehabilitation facility. This facility would offer better physical therapy and he would be getting rehab care for a few hours per day rather than an hour maybe every 2 days. In order to get to this facility he has to be evaluated and recommended there. They do not just allow people in and you have to be recommended and approved to go. If this does not go through, which I do not see why it wouldn't, he would have to go to the nursing facility where he would get the more limited care and probably slower recovery.
Overall he is doing well. He looks like he's trying to smile and laugh and he is responding to questions very well. I am feeling a lot better about his recovery and hope to see more improvements when I go visit him this evening.
Thank you everyone for your prayers and wishes. It has really helped! Now, if I can just find someone to pay their mortgage *Grins evilly*
In addition, because of his huge strides in recovery over the past 48 hours, the doctors are changing their tune. They are now suggesting that he be moved to an aggressive rehabilitation facility. This facility would offer better physical therapy and he would be getting rehab care for a few hours per day rather than an hour maybe every 2 days. In order to get to this facility he has to be evaluated and recommended there. They do not just allow people in and you have to be recommended and approved to go. If this does not go through, which I do not see why it wouldn't, he would have to go to the nursing facility where he would get the more limited care and probably slower recovery.
Overall he is doing well. He looks like he's trying to smile and laugh and he is responding to questions very well. I am feeling a lot better about his recovery and hope to see more improvements when I go visit him this evening.
Thank you everyone for your prayers and wishes. It has really helped! Now, if I can just find someone to pay their mortgage *Grins evilly*
Thursday, May 18, 2006
A Massive Stroke
My Grandpa suffered from a Massive Stroke on Tuesday morning at about 4:30 AM. He was rushed to Adventist Hospital in Portland that morning and has been there since. I found out about this yesterday afternoon.
Well, I took yesterday off and spent 24 hours with my Grandfather and was there for my Grandma. Things did not look good in the beginning, he could not move or do anything except lay there when I first saw him Tuesday evening. Through the time that I was with him he regained the use of his left arm, leg and pretty much entire left side of his body. He's also regained the ability to move his head around and focus on particular people or objects without help.
His right side, however, has not faired so well. He was unable to move his right arm below the shoulder at all. He did have some movement in his right leg, but it would spasm up and I could see all of the muscles in his calf tense up. I'm fairly certain it was excruciatingly painful. I've received 3rd hand word that he's recovered a little bit of use of his right arm. Until I see it, I'm reluctant to believe it. I have seen people see things they want to see that didn't really happen.
I'm very worried for Grandpa, he's a very strong willed and stubborn man and I think he will pull out of this. But for now, it's very difficult for me, and I'm sure it is for him as well. I can see the frustration in his face when the physical therapist asks him to do something and he can't quite do what she's asking. However, if anyone can recover from something like this, he can. He's got the will and the strength.
The doctors disagree. They are stating that he will require assitance for the rest of his life and will never recover from this to any kind of normalcy. I sincerly hope they are wrong, and in way, I'm glad they say that. It gives Grandpa something to fight and prove the Doctors wrong.
Your prayers and thoughts are most welcome. It doesn't matter to me who or what you worship, in the end the results will hopefully be the same. God, Allah, Sa, Karana, Innoruuk... whoever can help, we'll take it!
Well, I took yesterday off and spent 24 hours with my Grandfather and was there for my Grandma. Things did not look good in the beginning, he could not move or do anything except lay there when I first saw him Tuesday evening. Through the time that I was with him he regained the use of his left arm, leg and pretty much entire left side of his body. He's also regained the ability to move his head around and focus on particular people or objects without help.
His right side, however, has not faired so well. He was unable to move his right arm below the shoulder at all. He did have some movement in his right leg, but it would spasm up and I could see all of the muscles in his calf tense up. I'm fairly certain it was excruciatingly painful. I've received 3rd hand word that he's recovered a little bit of use of his right arm. Until I see it, I'm reluctant to believe it. I have seen people see things they want to see that didn't really happen.
I'm very worried for Grandpa, he's a very strong willed and stubborn man and I think he will pull out of this. But for now, it's very difficult for me, and I'm sure it is for him as well. I can see the frustration in his face when the physical therapist asks him to do something and he can't quite do what she's asking. However, if anyone can recover from something like this, he can. He's got the will and the strength.
The doctors disagree. They are stating that he will require assitance for the rest of his life and will never recover from this to any kind of normalcy. I sincerly hope they are wrong, and in way, I'm glad they say that. It gives Grandpa something to fight and prove the Doctors wrong.
Your prayers and thoughts are most welcome. It doesn't matter to me who or what you worship, in the end the results will hopefully be the same. God, Allah, Sa, Karana, Innoruuk... whoever can help, we'll take it!
Friday, April 28, 2006
Disastrous Dressing
So, New Edge Networks has this unspoken policy of wearing hawaiian shirts every Friday. This is kind of cool and I rather enjoy it. A couple of years ago they provided the entire company with new "New Edge" Hawaiian shirts to be worn on Fridays for our "Beer:30" party that takes place every Friday (Yes, they do serve us Beer at 4:30!!)
So, anyway, I woke up this morning and I put on a fairly new Hawaiian shirt that I purchased from Fred Meyer. It's a fairly nice shirt that I like and my wife liked (which rarely happens). I'm digging wearing it, it's comfortable, and looks snazzy enough that I'm dead sexy wearing it. Well... apparently I'm not the only one that shops at Fred Meyer.
I have a meeting I attend every Friday morning. I'm a little early, hanging around chatting with folks before the meeting starts having a good ole time. Meeting begins, we start discussing boring work junk and my boss (whom I can't stand) walks in about 5 minutes late. *GASP* He's wearing the same shirt as me. I'm thinking to myself "Crap! How could this be? He's a tasteless bafoon!!" Apparently he's not so tasteless afterall. Now I'm saying a small prayer, "Please! Let me get through the next 20 minutes without anybody noticing or saying anything. Fat CHANCE!! About 5 minutes before the close of the meeting one of the directors (who has an interesting humor I might add) pipes up and points out the fact that we're wearing the same shirt. Most of the people in that meeting know my personal feelings about my manager so this is highly amusing to them. I chuckle and say "Yeah, Thanks Steve!" and move on. Well, thankfully we keep extra shirts around here, I'm undressing on my way back to my desk and quickly change my shirt.
So, my day so far has been various people accosting me over the fact that I'm "such a brownnoser dressing like the boss" I think I will have to burn that shirt now, or at least never wear it to work again.
So, anyway, I woke up this morning and I put on a fairly new Hawaiian shirt that I purchased from Fred Meyer. It's a fairly nice shirt that I like and my wife liked (which rarely happens). I'm digging wearing it, it's comfortable, and looks snazzy enough that I'm dead sexy wearing it. Well... apparently I'm not the only one that shops at Fred Meyer.
I have a meeting I attend every Friday morning. I'm a little early, hanging around chatting with folks before the meeting starts having a good ole time. Meeting begins, we start discussing boring work junk and my boss (whom I can't stand) walks in about 5 minutes late. *GASP* He's wearing the same shirt as me. I'm thinking to myself "Crap! How could this be? He's a tasteless bafoon!!" Apparently he's not so tasteless afterall. Now I'm saying a small prayer, "Please! Let me get through the next 20 minutes without anybody noticing or saying anything. Fat CHANCE!! About 5 minutes before the close of the meeting one of the directors (who has an interesting humor I might add) pipes up and points out the fact that we're wearing the same shirt. Most of the people in that meeting know my personal feelings about my manager so this is highly amusing to them. I chuckle and say "Yeah, Thanks Steve!" and move on. Well, thankfully we keep extra shirts around here, I'm undressing on my way back to my desk and quickly change my shirt.
So, my day so far has been various people accosting me over the fact that I'm "such a brownnoser dressing like the boss" I think I will have to burn that shirt now, or at least never wear it to work again.
Tuesday, April 11, 2006
Return from Vacation
Well... I returned from a short vacation last week to a little bit of amusement. My boss apparently thought that he required me to do a part of his job. This normally isn't that much of an issue, for him of course. But, this time I think it turned out to be. He actually said, in a meeting full of other department heads and some upper level executives "I can't ship that because isn't here today."
Normally this isn't really that big of a deal, I don't personally handle the shipping either, but I know who to delegate it to. And as a manager, you'd think he would know his own department enough to also know who to delegate such a simple task to. Nope, he didn't. So, I come back and was assaulted with humorous version after another of this event. So, at least he recognizes that without me, he'd fail miserably at his job.
GO GO HANZ MOLEMAN!
Normally this isn't really that big of a deal, I don't personally handle the shipping either, but I know who to delegate it to. And as a manager, you'd think he would know his own department enough to also know who to delegate such a simple task to. Nope, he didn't. So, I come back and was assaulted with humorous version after another of this event. So, at least he recognizes that without me, he'd fail miserably at his job.
GO GO HANZ MOLEMAN!
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
A visit to HR
Well, a 90 minute conference with HR and things are looking a little bit better. At the very least Hans is acting in a much more respectable manner towards myself and my crew. If only our systems would work reliably!
I'm really progressing in EQ2. Got 32 Tailor today with Danvar, Canda is a lvl 60 Jeweler and Bleets reached lvl 15 Troubador. I don't know why but a Froglok Troubador is just hilarious. And I'm really enjoying playing this character.
I know I'm late on pictures, but they are coming. They'll be posted soon. I promise!
Cheers for now!
I'm really progressing in EQ2. Got 32 Tailor today with Danvar, Canda is a lvl 60 Jeweler and Bleets reached lvl 15 Troubador. I don't know why but a Froglok Troubador is just hilarious. And I'm really enjoying playing this character.
I know I'm late on pictures, but they are coming. They'll be posted soon. I promise!
Cheers for now!
Thursday, February 23, 2006
Long overdue
Wow. It's been a long time since I've been able to post something here. So much has happened!
A good friend painted one of my D&D miniatures and did a fantastic job. The detail he put into this is just freaking amazing! I will definately be posting pics of this once I'm managing to find some time.
If I coulda won the lottery, I would have had a perfect week last week. Monday Aerosmith was putting on a concert in Portland. I wasn't too ambitious to go as it was horribly expensive, well... local radio station was giving away tickets. The guys I work with all came up with a way to figure out the trivia answer and all began calling in. One of us got through and was caller 5, you needed to be 10. I got through, ring, ring, ring, ring... this went on for a bit, then the DJ pops on. Apparently callers 10-13 all missed the question, I had the answer. So... my wife and I ended up heading out to Aerosmith for free with floor tickets. It was a great concert too.
That same day, I also managed to get myself a $1000 check from a Civil Compromise after a hit & run accident I was in. The damage to my vehicle was quite minor, but I still got the check so the guy could plea out the deal he had before.
So... I'll try to be more active posting here, a lot of things happening RL and in EQ and I'd like to chat about it. For now, back to work.
A good friend painted one of my D&D miniatures and did a fantastic job. The detail he put into this is just freaking amazing! I will definately be posting pics of this once I'm managing to find some time.
If I coulda won the lottery, I would have had a perfect week last week. Monday Aerosmith was putting on a concert in Portland. I wasn't too ambitious to go as it was horribly expensive, well... local radio station was giving away tickets. The guys I work with all came up with a way to figure out the trivia answer and all began calling in. One of us got through and was caller 5, you needed to be 10. I got through, ring, ring, ring, ring... this went on for a bit, then the DJ pops on. Apparently callers 10-13 all missed the question, I had the answer. So... my wife and I ended up heading out to Aerosmith for free with floor tickets. It was a great concert too.
That same day, I also managed to get myself a $1000 check from a Civil Compromise after a hit & run accident I was in. The damage to my vehicle was quite minor, but I still got the check so the guy could plea out the deal he had before.
So... I'll try to be more active posting here, a lot of things happening RL and in EQ and I'd like to chat about it. For now, back to work.
Thursday, January 05, 2006
The Wheels are in Motion
Well... I did something today I never thought I'd have to do. I've put the wheels into motion to take my managers job.
Little backstory...
I work for... well... an incompetent boob who continues trying to fix 5% of the issues we experience and neglecting the 95% that we need to fix. Not to mention, since he's taken over, for the past 3 months, I've been doing the job that rightfully should be his. He doesn't follow the proper chain of command, constantly tries to assert authority where he has no right to assert authority, and he's got some ideas that he would like to implement that are just... insane!
Basically... he's doing a very poor job, and the ONLY reason he even looks like he's doing a good job is because *I* am doing the job for him. I generate the reports he brings to his management meeting, I deal with personnel issues in our department, I answer interdepartmental questions, I make sure out inventory is kept stocked (through the inventory manager of course), and I make sure our daily grind does not come to a halt.
So... I've always had a feeling, and it was confirmed for me today, I have the support necessary from the upper management (managers above mine) to make this happen. I spoke with the inventory manager today (informally) and our group director today and they feel it would be a good fit for me and for our group. In fact... the director even suggested that soon (Monday) we should sit down, talk to the group VP and HR Manager (VP) to see what should be done about this situation.
So... long story short, I may be taking on a manager's role a LOT sooner than I had anticipated. I always had this gut level feeling that my old manager (current Inventory Manager) was grooming me to take over in this role. Now I'll have my chance and hopefully be able to use the suggestions and guidance he had given me, and I trust will continue to give as the need arises.
If you're reading this, and you know whom I'm talking about, please keep this to yourself for the time being. Thanks!
Little backstory...
I work for... well... an incompetent boob who continues trying to fix 5% of the issues we experience and neglecting the 95% that we need to fix. Not to mention, since he's taken over, for the past 3 months, I've been doing the job that rightfully should be his. He doesn't follow the proper chain of command, constantly tries to assert authority where he has no right to assert authority, and he's got some ideas that he would like to implement that are just... insane!
Basically... he's doing a very poor job, and the ONLY reason he even looks like he's doing a good job is because *I* am doing the job for him. I generate the reports he brings to his management meeting, I deal with personnel issues in our department, I answer interdepartmental questions, I make sure out inventory is kept stocked (through the inventory manager of course), and I make sure our daily grind does not come to a halt.
So... I've always had a feeling, and it was confirmed for me today, I have the support necessary from the upper management (managers above mine) to make this happen. I spoke with the inventory manager today (informally) and our group director today and they feel it would be a good fit for me and for our group. In fact... the director even suggested that soon (Monday) we should sit down, talk to the group VP and HR Manager (VP) to see what should be done about this situation.
So... long story short, I may be taking on a manager's role a LOT sooner than I had anticipated. I always had this gut level feeling that my old manager (current Inventory Manager) was grooming me to take over in this role. Now I'll have my chance and hopefully be able to use the suggestions and guidance he had given me, and I trust will continue to give as the need arises.
If you're reading this, and you know whom I'm talking about, please keep this to yourself for the time being. Thanks!
Monday, January 02, 2006
A New Year
A new year brings new challenges. I'm still not sure what my work may lead me to. I may end up in our IT department, I may end up the manage of my current department. Either way I'll be learning new things and dealing with trials I've never faced.
EQ brought me some good times this past year. I joined The Elite where I'm interacting and meeting many new folks. I've leveled quite a few times, currently 43 at the stroke of midnight. I'm really enjoying the game again.
Real life... well... 2005 brought a LOT of new things. New house, new neighbors, new job responsibilities, new manager. It's been a great year. I've gotten closer to some friends, grown apart from others. But overall it was a wonderful year. I'm really looking forward to the coming months.
EQ brought me some good times this past year. I joined The Elite where I'm interacting and meeting many new folks. I've leveled quite a few times, currently 43 at the stroke of midnight. I'm really enjoying the game again.
Real life... well... 2005 brought a LOT of new things. New house, new neighbors, new job responsibilities, new manager. It's been a great year. I've gotten closer to some friends, grown apart from others. But overall it was a wonderful year. I'm really looking forward to the coming months.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
