White Pelicans

Today I took a hike at Snail Lake in Shoreview. I didn’t know about the park surrounding the lake until I was laid off and one of my layoff buddies took me there. Wow, I’m glad I know now and wish I had known sooner. There is an extensive system of trails going through fields and wetlands with abundant bird life.

While I was out there, I looked up and saw a large group of about 50-60 white pelicans circling overhead. If you’ve never seen white pelicans fly before, you are missing out. They are massive birds, but somehow manage to float silently like dandelion fluff on the breeze. It’s the most amazing and majestic sight to see them, especially in such a large group.

I had plenty of oppotunity to see them, too, as they seemed to be circling the area the entire time I was there. Once, they were so low and close that I could see their eyes without my binoculars, and I sorely regretted the decision to not bring my camera with me. Another time, a pair passed over my head only about 40 feet up.

Anyway, I’m thinking they must be nesting out in that area, so I’ll have to take my camera and go back again soon. Perhaps I’ll get a good shot, although the shot I missed would have been especially lovely because of the way the clouds were today. Oh well. I went out there to spend some time being instead of doing, and part of that meant not hauling a camera and simply enjoying life. Which I did. Especially because of the gift of white pelicans.

Amusing Joke

A friend sent this to me and I found it amusing, so I thought I’d post it:

 

A Minneapolis couple decided to go to Florida to thaw out during a particularly icy winter. They planned to stay at the same hotel where they spent their honeymoon 20 years earlier. 

Because of hectic schedules, it was difficult to coordinate their travel schedules. So, the husband left Minnesota and flew to Florida on Thursday, with his wife flying down the following day. 

The husband checked into the hotel. There was a computer in his room, so he decided to send an email to his wife.  However, he accidentally left out one letter in her email address, and without realizing his error, sent the email. 

Meanwhile, somewhere in Houston, a widow had just returned home from her husband’s funeral. He was a minister who was called home to glory following a heart attack. 

The widow decided to check her email expecting messages from relatives and friends. After reading the first message, she screamed and fainted. 

The widow’s son rushed into the room, found his mother on the floor, and saw the computer screen which read: 

To: My Loving Wife 
Subject: I’ve Arrived 
Date: October 16, 2008

I know you’re surprised to hear from me. They have computers here now and you are allowed to send emails to your loved ones. I’ve just arrived and have been checked in.

I’ve seen that everything has been prepared for your arrival tomorrow. Looking forward to seeing you then!!!! Hope your journey is as uneventful as mine was.

P. S. Sure is freaking hot down here!!!!

It’s Like Herding Cats

Someone just posted a fun flash game to a group I read, so I thought I’d pass it along. The object of the game is to click in the circles to turn them black, forming a barrier to trap the cat. As you might expect, herding cats is not easy! But it’s a mindless and amusing game, perfect for a little diversion after work.

My Demanding Fans. Errr, Brother.

So I just got an email from my brother. Apparently, I’ve been neglecting my blog for too long and he wants me to have at it. I offered to let him guest blog. We’ll see if he takes me up on it!

Anyway, work is going well, although totally exhausting. It’s hard being completely new after you spent nine years with your former employer. I’ve decided that being laid off completely sucks, and if I ever feel I’m at risk for losing my job again, I just might do what a lot of people around me did and bail before they can nail me.

Fortunately, I think my new job is secure, so no bailing required. Plus, I love what I’m doing and the people there are fantastic. I’m incredibly fortunate, even if exhausted.

I did think about blogging this weekend when I renewed my Norton subscription online. I read the fine print on my receipt, and it said they had signed me up to autorenew on my credit card every year. What the hell? I never authorized that. It also said I could log in to my account online and opt out. Well, I went to my account online and no such opt out link existed. Then it took half an hour of digging to figure out how to contact them to tell them they may NOT help themselves to my credit card next year, and if they do, I’m going to promptly call VISA to complain about an unauthorized charge.

In my note to them, I told them that I’d be switching to McAfee next year. Then I did some Googling and discovered that the State of New York recently won a lawsuit against both Symantec (Norton) and McAfee for signing customers up for autorenew without telling them, then refusing to refund the charges (or charging fees to reverse the charges).

What the heck? You’re telling me that the two major companies that you pay every year to protect your computer so nobody steals anything from you have been stealing money from their paying customers? Because that’s what it is in my mind, plain and simple. Unless I specificially authorize a charge, if you charge my card, you’re a thief.

So I’m not doing business with either of them when my current Norton subscription is up in a year. I did a search and found that PC Magazine highly rated a product called BitDefender. I’ll Google closer to the time to make sure that’s who I want to go with, but I guarantee I will not go with Symantec or McAfee. Symantic support did get back to me right away to say that they had set my account to not autorenew, but they have now permanently damaged my trust with their slimy business practices.

I imagine they’re hoping I’ll forget that they did this and next year I’ll renew when the software prompts me to. Nope, ain’t gonna happen. I set a calendar reminder to myself to look into new antivirus software next May. Plenty of time to buy a different product before my current subscription expires. And Symantec had better not autorenew me, because that complaint is going straight to VISA, and I will not be paying the charges. I saved the email from the support person saying they had removed me from autorenew.

Anyway, that’s my big rant for the weekend. I hope my brother is satisfied now. If anyone is still stopping by to read, I’d love it if you left a comment to encourage him to guest blog here. I think if he’s going to harass his older and wiser sister about her blog, he should write a post for my trouble, don’t you think?

Did you know…

that when a recipe calls for 3/4 c of (dairy free) margarine, 3/4 of a stick is only half of what you need?

Fortunately, I figured this out before it went in the oven, so all is well. But I do think I’ll turn in early tonight. This working for a living thing gets exhausting!

Lots Going On

Well, it’s been a whirlwind of a week, and one of extremes.

The good news is that I love the people at my new job. They’ve made me feel very welcomed, which helps greatly with the feeling of being utterly overwhelmed by all there is to learn. I’m sure I’ll catch on, though, and I hope I am there for many years to come.

The other good news is that my chimney swifts are back. I can hear little twitterings coming from the chimney sometimes when I’m back in the family room. Not sure how successful they’ll be this year, though, since we are so dry that I’m not sure they’ll have enough insects to raise their young. I’ll have to spend some time out back today and keep half an eye on the sky in hopes of seeing them flying around the neighborhood.

The sad news is that my stepsister died last night. She was diagnosed with breast cancer last year–very aggressive breast cancer that couldn’t be detected until it was widespread. First we thought she’d have years, even though we knew she couldn’t be cured. Then we thought in April that she might have months. Friday night, we learned that she only had days. So it’s been a rough weekend.

I didn’t get to see her before she died, but I did make a card for her, which I sent last weekend. It would have arrived in time for her to see it, so for that I’m thankful. Anyway, this has been a rollercoaster week, going from one extreme to the other.

Other than that, life plods on. I did go see the Star Trek movie on Saturday and loved it. And the birds are doing well and singing up a storm, thrilled with the return of the sun and the beginning of mating sesaon. Of course, they are singing their little hearts out to attract females they will never find. Poor birds! At least they have each other for company.

You’re a Winner!

My brother just passed this video along to me, and it’s quite funny:

Things are going pretty good. I’ve been having an actual vacation the past couple of weeks, now that I have a job to go to starting Monday. Getting together in person with friends one last time, visiting with my mom, that kind of stuff. I’ve also been getting things together for a home office…I’ll be doing some telecommuting for this job.

It feels good to be spending money right now, although a little scary. But I’m doing it anyway. I had enough severance left to set up the office, and I keep thinking that the stuff I buy represents someone’s job. I clamped down so tightly on my spending when I saw that I was likely to get laid off–I had to brace. But now I’m trying to do some reasonable spending. I know one person doing that isn’t even a drop in the bucket, but it’s all I can think to do. Hopefully other people who feel more secure are doing the same. There are definitely some great deals out there right now, too, and I’m buying little extras I normally wouldn’t get with some of the savings.

I’m both excited and nervous about my new job. Mostly excited, though. My brain is turning to mush with all this time on my hands. I was extremelly stressed for most of this time, so it was exhausting. As a result, I really didn’t do all the things I thought I’d do if I were laid off–some deeper cleaning of my house, writing, etc.

I’m glad I had a little time after the offer to unwind, although I’m also kind of bored. So getting down to work and taking my place on a team Monday will be nice. I like having work to do. It’s not just the income. It’s feeling like I’m part of something and becoming good at what I do.

Remind me of this when I’m stressed out by work and wish I had time off again!

And that’s the thing I’ve learned from this layoff. I am no less happy without a job than with one. I’m no less stressed without a job than with one. It’s just life, and life comes with a certain amount of stuff, both good and not so good. So I’d rather be working. Yup, it’s going to feel good to be back and engaged with something again.

The Post I’ve Been Hoping to Make

I got a job!

Yes, you read that right. Through some amazing twist of fate, I have landed a job in spite of the economy. I start on May 18th, which is exactly 3 months after getting laid off from my old job. I’m extremelly excited about it, too. This isn’t a “Well, the economy is bad so I’ll take what I can get” kind of job. This is a “Wow, I really, really *want* this job” kind of job.

Remember how that one job I interviewed for fell through? Well, a day or two later, I got a phone call about this position and had a quick phone interview. That went well, so I was invited for an in-person interview last week. That went exceptionally well, and I’ve been about going insane since then, hoping for an offer. I didn’t want to tell many people, though, because it’s just been too much of a rollercoaster. If it didn’t work out, I didn’t want a bunch of people asking if I’d gotten the job.

But now it’s safe to say I’ve got the job. Wooohoo!

It’s a business analyst position, like my last job. It’s a good mix of things that I already know how to do, along with things I will need to learn. I like that. It’s also a really good group of people, including the manager. I feel like a very, very lucky woman indeed.

I’m also a bit stunned. Part of that is going through so much significant change in such a short period of time, and having very little control over that change. I’ve felt such terror at times, but also had to shield myself from feeling a lot of that in order to keep moving. Now that I know where my next paycheck is coming from, I guess I feel safe enough to feel some of the things I didn’t have the luxury of feeling while I was doing what I could to get through this. Kind of like if you are in a car accident and you do what you need to do, and then days later find yourself crying over the close call.

The other part of feeling stunned, though, is also some “survivor’s guilt.” I’m thankful I landed a job, but I know so many people, including some of you who visit here, are still hurting and frightened. I wish there were something I could do to lift that burden. And it’s going to be hard going back to work and not be able to hang out with my layoff buddies. I’ll miss the socializing, but I also know that they’ll miss the support. I’ll still be there for them, of course, but I won’t be able to be there to the same degree since my time will be tied up with work. I’ll worry about them, and I know they’ll feel a bit left behind. It’s how I felt when one of them found a job fairly quickly.

However, I also think that they will find jobs too. They’re good people, and an employer will be very fortunate to snap them up. I do think that things are stabilizing a bit. Although there aren’t many jobs out there right now, there are jobs. They’ll find their way through too.

So I’m in this weird spot of feeling excited, but also holding my breath. I’m glad I have three weeks before I set foot in the door at the new job. I think that will give me some time to get myself sorted out. Plus, there are practical things to take care of like buying clothes. My last employer allowed casual wear. This employer is business professional. I don’t need to wear suits or anything, but I do need nicer things than what I’m used to wearing.

Anyway, thank you to all of you who have expressed your support during this difficult time. I’m fortunate to have connections with many wonderful people, and that’s what matters most in life. I didn’t feel all alone in this, and that made a big difference.

Dang, that’s Harsh

Someone just posted this to a message board I read. It’s a statement on the Department of Homeland Security’s website about how the government intends to deal with travellers who might be sick with the H1N1 flu. It’s the last sentence that’s the kicker:

We’re also actively monitoring travelers at our land, sea, and air ports. We’re watching them for signs of illness, and we have appropriate protocols in place to deal with those who are sick. Precautions are being taken to protect travelers and border personnel. Anyone exhibiting symptoms is being referred to an isolation room where they can be evaluated by a public health official before proceeding to their destruction.

This is obviously a typo. I think.

Chimney Swift Cam in Glenham, NY

I’m not sure if my current readers are aware that I have chimney swifts that nest in my chimney every year. I blogged about them last summer, but that was before I was on wordpress.com. When I first bought this house, there was a screen covering the top of the chimney. However, like everything else in this house, the former owner hadn’t actually *attached* the cover to the chimney. He just set it up there and figured it would stay. He had the same theory with lots of things around here, and it’s a flawed theory.

Anyway, I had the chimney cleaned, and when the guy pushed the brush up the chimney, it knocked the screen off. By then, there was snow on the ground, and I’m not sure I would have decided to go up on the roof to put it back even if the roof were clear and dry. I didn’t know who to hire to do such things for me, either, so I just shrugged and hoped nothing got into my house.

That spring, I was incredibly alarmed when I heard high pitched twittering coming from the base of my chimney, just above the fireplace. The twittering was accompanied by frantic wingbeats. Oh no, I thought, a bird has fallen in there and can’t get out. I couldn’t figure out what to do about it, though, and I was going to miss my bus, so I left for work. When I got home, all was silent. I figured the bird had died. But then I heard the noise again a couple of days later. What the heck?

The mystery was solved when I was outside and saw a swift duck into the chimney. Wow, the twittering I had been hearing was the twittering of baby swifts! At that moment, I realized I couldn’t possibly put the screen back on the chimney ever. Chimney swifts are wonderful birds that eat insects like mosquitoes, and they certainly didn’t seem to be causing any problems for me.

That was eight years ago, and every year, I look forward to the return of the chimney swifts. I’ve always been curious about what’s going on inside my chimney, though, and there just isn’t a good way to see in without disturbing the birds. So last year, I started Googling around and found a web cam in Glenham, New York. The folks there had actually built a tower for their swifts–a large structure in their yard that mimicks a chimney. See, they were doing some work on their house involving the chimney, and they didn’t want to leave the birds homeless. When they put up the tower, they also installed a webcam so you can see the birds.

I just heard from them that the birds have returned to the area, although they have not yet entered the tower to start building the nest. I’m looking forward to watching them again this year, though, and wanted to let my readers know about the cam, which you can find here.

I took some screen captures from last year’s nest, if you’d like to see them here.

If you are interested in other posts that I made about my swifts, and my fear last year that rebuilding my chimney killed the babies, just use the search feature on my blog and put in “chimney swifts.” Fortunately, my birds were just fine, in spite of the construction, thanks to a wonderfully thoughtful chimney builder. I’m looking forward to the return of my birds this year, as well as the opportunity to watch the nest in Glenham!