Well, it looks like this will be another busy week for me. Last week I spent quite a bit of time in meetings and this one looks no different. Meetings and e-mail are a tremendously draining of my time. The extra mail I get from being a "deputy" is staggering.
The past weekend was pleasant. I had breakfast with the guys like I normally do on Saturdays and instead of Geocaching right afterwards like I normally do, I went back home to take care of a few "honey do's". I got them all done but one and probably could have take care of that one as well but I just was not in the mood to do it.
On Saturday I managed to clean and fix a leaky gutter, trim and edge the lawn, reset a sunken paver in the yard, pull out and move back the washer (so my wife could clean behind it), set up my wife's new Moto G mobile phone, and vacuum the house. I know it probably does not sound like much but probably took me about 6 hours or so to do.
Sunday I went geocaching with a group of local cachers near Duncanville, specifically at Joe Pool Lake along the dam. About 15 of us showed up to walk the 4 miles of dam and service road to collect the 30 caches that were there. I guess we could have gotten more but we decided to cut it short.
To make up for the bad (health-wise) fast food lunch I had, I made a crab meat, spinach, and mushroom scramble for dinner. I gave it a kick with some pepper jack cheese and itt really hit the spot.
I was unable to work out this morning due to a 6:30 AM meeting with colleagues in Europe. Last week I had several early morning meetings as well that kept me from working out. I really need to take a walk this evening to try to get some exercise in.
After my two meetings were over (I also had on at 9:00 am) I boxed up my old work mobile phones to be recycled. The entire process was pretty easy. The hardest part was finding a box small enough to ship them back in. The phones have been sitting my drawer for a long time and I do not know why I had not sent them back yet.
Monday, March 30, 2015
Thursday, March 26, 2015
So Far, So Good and How Do You Really Feel?
As previously mentioned I was cleared to start taking Riluzole to slow down the progression of my ALS. While at this point I have only taken 2 doses, I have not experienced the side effects that I was fearing I would have, namely the nausea and drowsiness. Since Riluzole has to be taken on a empty stomach, I was concerned I would be tossing my cookies the first day but I did not experience any nausea at all with either dose. I am currently taking it at 5:30 and 17:30 each day which works well enough for me. I'll admit that waiting for dinner an extra hour sucks but it is only an hour and maybe I can be productive in some ways during that time.
Most of the time I do not read the drug info that is available online but with Riluzole I did. In the US it is only used officially for ALS but the wiki page indicates it has been shown to have antidepressant properties as well. The wiki also states that it has been shown to show promise in treating (not curing) Alzheimer's Disease.
It will be interesting to see I gain any benefits from the anti-depression properties of this drug. While I am not suicidal by any means, I have had a couple of "dark days" since I have been diagnosed and anything that would limit those would be welcomed. Nobody enjoys being in a funk.
I have been asked how I feel about the whole ALS/mortality thing and to be honest I think I am dealing with it pretty well. I am sure many people who have been diagnosed initially panicked and later became depressed or withdrawn and I understand that. I have been accused (and maybe rightfully so) of being a worrier but I think that over the years I have mellowed a bit. Maybe it is all the time (17+ years) I have spent in I/T...God knows that will either make or break a person.
When I was told I had ALS, I did not panic and I think I was more numb about it than anything else. I know that talking about it helps. Some people prefer to keep it private and I completely understand that but I am bit different. I want to prepare people for what will happen. I am not a huge fan of surprises which is why I have read as much as I can on this disease. My biggest complaint (other than the fact that I have something that has no cure) is that I do not know how long I have left. There are so many things I would like to see, so many places I would like to go, and so many people I would like to see again but I have no idea when the final buzzer will sound.
Well, all this has given me some desire to hunt down a few people I have not talked to in a while. I think I will look online for them!
Most of the time I do not read the drug info that is available online but with Riluzole I did. In the US it is only used officially for ALS but the wiki page indicates it has been shown to have antidepressant properties as well. The wiki also states that it has been shown to show promise in treating (not curing) Alzheimer's Disease.
It will be interesting to see I gain any benefits from the anti-depression properties of this drug. While I am not suicidal by any means, I have had a couple of "dark days" since I have been diagnosed and anything that would limit those would be welcomed. Nobody enjoys being in a funk.
I have been asked how I feel about the whole ALS/mortality thing and to be honest I think I am dealing with it pretty well. I am sure many people who have been diagnosed initially panicked and later became depressed or withdrawn and I understand that. I have been accused (and maybe rightfully so) of being a worrier but I think that over the years I have mellowed a bit. Maybe it is all the time (17+ years) I have spent in I/T...God knows that will either make or break a person.
When I was told I had ALS, I did not panic and I think I was more numb about it than anything else. I know that talking about it helps. Some people prefer to keep it private and I completely understand that but I am bit different. I want to prepare people for what will happen. I am not a huge fan of surprises which is why I have read as much as I can on this disease. My biggest complaint (other than the fact that I have something that has no cure) is that I do not know how long I have left. There are so many things I would like to see, so many places I would like to go, and so many people I would like to see again but I have no idea when the final buzzer will sound.
Well, all this has given me some desire to hunt down a few people I have not talked to in a while. I think I will look online for them!
Wednesday, March 25, 2015
More Kudos for Tom, Damn, My Hand is Looking Skinny, and Cleared to Take the Meds
I just received an e-mail from my running partner, Tom informing me that he was a "lottery winner" in the Marine Corps Marathon. This will be Tom'st first full marathon and the Marine Corps Marathon is not an easy run to be his first but I have the utmost confidence in him. He has worked very hard on his running, conditioning and endurance so he will succeed in this endeavor.
I have no plans to run a full marathon. As a matter of fact, my next one (the Fairview Half) will be my last one as I just don't think my ankle can take the pounding of distance runs anymore. BTW, isn't that a gaudy finishers medal?
I was looking at my left hand today and noticed it really is looking quite scrawny compared to my right. I can tell my grip is getting worse and my hand is tired well before the end of the day from the typing I do.
Also, after a lot of playing middle man between my neuro and the lab that did my blood work, I have been cleared to take Rilutek. I will pick up the script when I get off work and start taking it immediately.
Let's hope the side effects are minimal!
I have no plans to run a full marathon. As a matter of fact, my next one (the Fairview Half) will be my last one as I just don't think my ankle can take the pounding of distance runs anymore. BTW, isn't that a gaudy finishers medal?
I was looking at my left hand today and noticed it really is looking quite scrawny compared to my right. I can tell my grip is getting worse and my hand is tired well before the end of the day from the typing I do.
Also, after a lot of playing middle man between my neuro and the lab that did my blood work, I have been cleared to take Rilutek. I will pick up the script when I get off work and start taking it immediately.
Let's hope the side effects are minimal!
Monday, March 23, 2015
The Running Man
Just a short update.
I walked 4.5+ miles on Sunday at a very brisk pace (13:40/mile), working up a bit of a sweat in the process. It felt good to be outside with all the rain we have received lately. Yes the ground was soggy but it will dry up.
I worked out this morning at the facility in my office building. For the past 10+ days I have shied away from running due to the tweak to my left ankle. Since my ankle appeared fine, I hit the treadmill with the intention of running 5 miles. I ended up goin 4 at a slightly slower pace than normal, then hit the elliptical machine for 20 minutes to do 3 more miles. I was not enjoying the first mile of my run, but I have learned never to judge the workout by the first mile.
I was a little winded and I was definitely sweating a lot afterwards, There was a little pain but not horrible. I will try to duplicate this workout on Wednesday, maybe getting 5 miles of running and 4-5 on the treadmill.
I also wanted to give props to Tom Brower, my running partner, who broke the 2 hour mark during his last half marathon. He is a couple of years older than I am but in great shape and has been an inspiration to me to keep running, even when I do not feel like it.
Way to go, Tom!
I walked 4.5+ miles on Sunday at a very brisk pace (13:40/mile), working up a bit of a sweat in the process. It felt good to be outside with all the rain we have received lately. Yes the ground was soggy but it will dry up.
I worked out this morning at the facility in my office building. For the past 10+ days I have shied away from running due to the tweak to my left ankle. Since my ankle appeared fine, I hit the treadmill with the intention of running 5 miles. I ended up goin 4 at a slightly slower pace than normal, then hit the elliptical machine for 20 minutes to do 3 more miles. I was not enjoying the first mile of my run, but I have learned never to judge the workout by the first mile.
I was a little winded and I was definitely sweating a lot afterwards, There was a little pain but not horrible. I will try to duplicate this workout on Wednesday, maybe getting 5 miles of running and 4-5 on the treadmill.
I also wanted to give props to Tom Brower, my running partner, who broke the 2 hour mark during his last half marathon. He is a couple of years older than I am but in great shape and has been an inspiration to me to keep running, even when I do not feel like it.
Way to go, Tom!
Saturday, March 21, 2015
Well, I Did Not See THAT Coming
I know it has been a while since my last post and to be honest up until now I have had nothing that I was interested in writing about. However some recent events have made me think that maybe I should start putting more thoughts down.
As of February 26, 2015 I have been diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as "Lou Gehrig's Disease". Wikipedia has a pretty good article on it, although a lot of what I learned I have gleaned from University Medical Center web sites.
With that being said, 10% or so of ALS patients are misdiagnosed, so there is some chance that I have something else, however when you take the sum of the entire battery of tests I have undergone, the odds are not in my favor. I have not however given up hope.
My Symptoms:
Loss of grip/pinch strength in left hand (the initial complaint)
Atrophy in left hand/arm
Fasciculations (left arm/hand, right arm/hand, chest, diaphragm, face)
Severe, intense cramping of hands, feet, arms, diaphragm usually after a stretch
Hyperreflexia
Fatigue
A few (2-3) years ago I went camping when it was quite cold out...near or below zero if memory serves. I got up to take care of my morning constitutional and realized that I could not use my left hand to manipulate the button and zipper on my trousers, I had to use my right. Now when it is cold, we all know that manual dexterity is reduced, but usually it affects both hands. That morning only my left hand was affected. I was a little concerned but after I warmed up, had some coffee, and ate some breakfast, my hand started working again.
Over the next year I noticed my left hand cramping up and at times, forming into a claw shape. I then remembered something that my primary care provider told me once when I had mentioned to him I was suffering from cramps in both my feet. He stated that when both hands or feet (legs or arms) cramp, it is almost always some sort of deficiency (vitamin, mineral, etc) but it it happened on just one, it was most likely neurological. So during my next annual physical with him, I mentioned what was happening (by this time I had lost some coordination as well as strength in my left hand and the cramps were frequent) and he ran me through a series of physical tests and decided I needed to make an appointment with a local neurologist.
I managed to get the appt fairly quickly and told the neuro about my symptoms. He did some physical tests and asked me a lot of questions. After 20 min or so he informed me that he thought I had Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) and wanted to verify by running an EMG. He performed the EMG and then concluded I had moderate CTS in my left (non-dominant) hand and mild in my right (which did not have any symptoms at all) and told me to wear a wrist brace on my left hand for 90 days. I was a little surprised at his diagnosis since I did not have any tingling, numbness, or pain...just a loss of fine motor skills and some strength. However I am not a doctor and I do not play one on TV so I did exactly like the neuro told me and for the next 3 months, I wore the brace on my left hand for up to 20 hours a day (I only took it off to run, wash dishes, and bathe).
After those initial 90 days I went back for a follow-up and he asked me how I was doing and I told him I thought the hand was worse. He looked at it, ran the same battery of tests he did before, and asked me to wear it for 60-90 more days and come back, which I did. This time I only wore the brace while I slept since that is when most people do the majority of the damage to their wrists (think about the odd angles your arms are in when you wake up).
After a few months I went back to the neuro and he again asked me how I was doing and I told him there was no improvement. This perplexed him because he said that there should have been some improvement during those 6 months since it was not severe CTS. He then scheduled a battery of blood tests and an MRI on my neck. The blood tests would check for a variety of things and the MRI was to rule out a pinched nerve.
The results of those tests did not shed any more light to my situation other that I had some slightly elevated muscle enzymes. He said that he wanted a surgeon to take a muscle biopsy (open, requiring surgery, not a simple needle biopsy) to see if I had some sort of muscle disease. The arrangements were made and I had the surgical procedure performed. They sliced open my bicep, removed a 2.5 cm wide 5 cm long sliver of my muscle and sealed me up. A pathology was performed and the results, while inconclusive showed "moderate deneravation atrophy" and "solitary degenerating myofiber with focal interstitial inflammation". This neuro told me that in the beginning he was not overly concerned but after all the tests he was beginning to fear the worst and wanted me to see a Motor Neuron Disease specialist at UT Southwestern for a second opinion. The specialist was not able to see me until early February.
When I was finally able to see the specialist (I was actually late due to traffic), I was given a thorough exam twice, once by the specialist and one by an med student who was interning with this specialist. I was asked a lot of medical history (personal and family) questions and was sent to the lab to get some blood drawn.
He told me before I left that while he needed the results from all the tests, it looked like I had either ALS or MMN (Multi-focal Muscular Neuropothy), which is an auto-immune disorder that imitates ALS. The specialist told me that what he was hoping for was to see a specific antibody in my blood that would indicate MMN.
The blood test results were completely normal and the antibodies he hoped he would find were not present but he still needed to perform an EMG to verify. The EMG was scheduled for Feb 26th.
I arrive at UT Southwestern at the proper time (actually early this time) and they saw me right away. I got into a surgical gown and they started the nerve conduction study which is not painful but a tad unpleasant and was not performed by the original neuro almost a year ago. After that test was completed they moved on the the next phase. This is the most unpleasant test I have ever had performed. You can read the details here but the short version is that needles are inserted in the muscles to get a reading. They tested my left hand, arm, foot, leg, and back. After he reviewed the results he told me that he believed that I had ALS and wanted me to consider start taking Rilutek, which is not a cure but slows down the progression of the disease, giving me a few more months or years to live.
My wife knows, as does my sister and son. My mom does not know yet, I plan on driving up to see her (she lives about 1200 miles away) and tell her in person.
I told my boss and a few close co-workers, but a few people overheard them so it is known my pretty much all the team by now.
I have also told a few good friends, one who I think took it harder than I did. There are a few close friends I have not told yet and if you find out about this via my blog, I am sorry I was unable to tell you in person. Nothing personal...I just have not had the time to tell everyone yet.
One ironic thing about this is that I was issued the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge TWICE when it was popular and I did not participate either time.
Now that you have the back story, the primary question that most people want to ask is "How long did the doctor say you have?". That is pretty impossible to say. 40% of all people with ALS die within 3-4 years after diagnosis while only about 10% live longer than 10 years.
I have no idea where I am on the scale. Right now I have full use of my arms and legs (even though the last EMG shows denervation in both) but my left hand is moderately affected, mostly with grip/pinch strength and coordination. I can no longer button shirts/pants with my left hand and I find myself dropping things, much to the chagrin of my wife. My right side appears to be unaffected at the moment.
I am still working out (though I have not gone running in a couple of weeks because I tweaked my ankle) and I have a half marathon in about 3 weeks, although I am having some doubts whether I will be able to finish it due to my ankle/foot gets very tired/sore after 6-8 miles. I have been warned that vigorous exercise exasperates the symptoms so my next half marathon will be my last one. My racing days are almost over.
I hope to update this blog every now and then as things progress. If you stumble upon this and have questions, feel free to e-mail me.
One last point. A LOT of people get an odd symptom or two and use Google to research them only to get a diagnosis of ALS. ALS is RARE. 2 out of 100,000 people a year in the US get it (statistically one other person in my city will be diagnosed this year). There are a lot of diseases that in various stages can imitate ALS and most, if not all of them are treatable.
ALS is not treatable in the sense I will be cured, but it can be slowed down. Keep that in mind before you panic and assume the worst.
ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) imitators:
Chiari malformation
Myasthenia gravis
CIDP
Celiac
MMN
Mitochondrial disease
Isaac's Syndrome/neuromyotonia
Charcot-Marie-Tooth
Multiple sclerosis
Guilllain Barre Syndrome
Heavy metal poisoning
Medication reactions
Post viral syndrome
Lyme disease
Fibromyalgia
Cancers of various descriptions
Kennedy disease
Small fiber neuropathy
Parsonage-turner Syndrome
Spinal disorders
Thyroid disease
Diabetic neuropathy
Vitamin deficiencies
Vitamin toxicities
As of February 26, 2015 I have been diagnosed with Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS), also known as "Lou Gehrig's Disease". Wikipedia has a pretty good article on it, although a lot of what I learned I have gleaned from University Medical Center web sites.
With that being said, 10% or so of ALS patients are misdiagnosed, so there is some chance that I have something else, however when you take the sum of the entire battery of tests I have undergone, the odds are not in my favor. I have not however given up hope.
My Symptoms:
Loss of grip/pinch strength in left hand (the initial complaint)
Atrophy in left hand/arm
Fasciculations (left arm/hand, right arm/hand, chest, diaphragm, face)
Severe, intense cramping of hands, feet, arms, diaphragm usually after a stretch
Hyperreflexia
Fatigue
A few (2-3) years ago I went camping when it was quite cold out...near or below zero if memory serves. I got up to take care of my morning constitutional and realized that I could not use my left hand to manipulate the button and zipper on my trousers, I had to use my right. Now when it is cold, we all know that manual dexterity is reduced, but usually it affects both hands. That morning only my left hand was affected. I was a little concerned but after I warmed up, had some coffee, and ate some breakfast, my hand started working again.
Over the next year I noticed my left hand cramping up and at times, forming into a claw shape. I then remembered something that my primary care provider told me once when I had mentioned to him I was suffering from cramps in both my feet. He stated that when both hands or feet (legs or arms) cramp, it is almost always some sort of deficiency (vitamin, mineral, etc) but it it happened on just one, it was most likely neurological. So during my next annual physical with him, I mentioned what was happening (by this time I had lost some coordination as well as strength in my left hand and the cramps were frequent) and he ran me through a series of physical tests and decided I needed to make an appointment with a local neurologist.
I managed to get the appt fairly quickly and told the neuro about my symptoms. He did some physical tests and asked me a lot of questions. After 20 min or so he informed me that he thought I had Carpal Tunnel Syndrome (CTS) and wanted to verify by running an EMG. He performed the EMG and then concluded I had moderate CTS in my left (non-dominant) hand and mild in my right (which did not have any symptoms at all) and told me to wear a wrist brace on my left hand for 90 days. I was a little surprised at his diagnosis since I did not have any tingling, numbness, or pain...just a loss of fine motor skills and some strength. However I am not a doctor and I do not play one on TV so I did exactly like the neuro told me and for the next 3 months, I wore the brace on my left hand for up to 20 hours a day (I only took it off to run, wash dishes, and bathe).
After those initial 90 days I went back for a follow-up and he asked me how I was doing and I told him I thought the hand was worse. He looked at it, ran the same battery of tests he did before, and asked me to wear it for 60-90 more days and come back, which I did. This time I only wore the brace while I slept since that is when most people do the majority of the damage to their wrists (think about the odd angles your arms are in when you wake up).
After a few months I went back to the neuro and he again asked me how I was doing and I told him there was no improvement. This perplexed him because he said that there should have been some improvement during those 6 months since it was not severe CTS. He then scheduled a battery of blood tests and an MRI on my neck. The blood tests would check for a variety of things and the MRI was to rule out a pinched nerve.
The results of those tests did not shed any more light to my situation other that I had some slightly elevated muscle enzymes. He said that he wanted a surgeon to take a muscle biopsy (open, requiring surgery, not a simple needle biopsy) to see if I had some sort of muscle disease. The arrangements were made and I had the surgical procedure performed. They sliced open my bicep, removed a 2.5 cm wide 5 cm long sliver of my muscle and sealed me up. A pathology was performed and the results, while inconclusive showed "moderate deneravation atrophy" and "solitary degenerating myofiber with focal interstitial inflammation". This neuro told me that in the beginning he was not overly concerned but after all the tests he was beginning to fear the worst and wanted me to see a Motor Neuron Disease specialist at UT Southwestern for a second opinion. The specialist was not able to see me until early February.
When I was finally able to see the specialist (I was actually late due to traffic), I was given a thorough exam twice, once by the specialist and one by an med student who was interning with this specialist. I was asked a lot of medical history (personal and family) questions and was sent to the lab to get some blood drawn.
He told me before I left that while he needed the results from all the tests, it looked like I had either ALS or MMN (Multi-focal Muscular Neuropothy), which is an auto-immune disorder that imitates ALS. The specialist told me that what he was hoping for was to see a specific antibody in my blood that would indicate MMN.
The blood test results were completely normal and the antibodies he hoped he would find were not present but he still needed to perform an EMG to verify. The EMG was scheduled for Feb 26th.
I arrive at UT Southwestern at the proper time (actually early this time) and they saw me right away. I got into a surgical gown and they started the nerve conduction study which is not painful but a tad unpleasant and was not performed by the original neuro almost a year ago. After that test was completed they moved on the the next phase. This is the most unpleasant test I have ever had performed. You can read the details here but the short version is that needles are inserted in the muscles to get a reading. They tested my left hand, arm, foot, leg, and back. After he reviewed the results he told me that he believed that I had ALS and wanted me to consider start taking Rilutek, which is not a cure but slows down the progression of the disease, giving me a few more months or years to live.
My wife knows, as does my sister and son. My mom does not know yet, I plan on driving up to see her (she lives about 1200 miles away) and tell her in person.
I told my boss and a few close co-workers, but a few people overheard them so it is known my pretty much all the team by now.
I have also told a few good friends, one who I think took it harder than I did. There are a few close friends I have not told yet and if you find out about this via my blog, I am sorry I was unable to tell you in person. Nothing personal...I just have not had the time to tell everyone yet.
One ironic thing about this is that I was issued the ALS Ice Bucket Challenge TWICE when it was popular and I did not participate either time.
Now that you have the back story, the primary question that most people want to ask is "How long did the doctor say you have?". That is pretty impossible to say. 40% of all people with ALS die within 3-4 years after diagnosis while only about 10% live longer than 10 years.
I have no idea where I am on the scale. Right now I have full use of my arms and legs (even though the last EMG shows denervation in both) but my left hand is moderately affected, mostly with grip/pinch strength and coordination. I can no longer button shirts/pants with my left hand and I find myself dropping things, much to the chagrin of my wife. My right side appears to be unaffected at the moment.
I am still working out (though I have not gone running in a couple of weeks because I tweaked my ankle) and I have a half marathon in about 3 weeks, although I am having some doubts whether I will be able to finish it due to my ankle/foot gets very tired/sore after 6-8 miles. I have been warned that vigorous exercise exasperates the symptoms so my next half marathon will be my last one. My racing days are almost over.
I hope to update this blog every now and then as things progress. If you stumble upon this and have questions, feel free to e-mail me.
One last point. A LOT of people get an odd symptom or two and use Google to research them only to get a diagnosis of ALS. ALS is RARE. 2 out of 100,000 people a year in the US get it (statistically one other person in my city will be diagnosed this year). There are a lot of diseases that in various stages can imitate ALS and most, if not all of them are treatable.
ALS is not treatable in the sense I will be cured, but it can be slowed down. Keep that in mind before you panic and assume the worst.
ALS (Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis) imitators:
Chiari malformation
Myasthenia gravis
CIDP
Celiac
MMN
Mitochondrial disease
Isaac's Syndrome/neuromyotonia
Charcot-Marie-Tooth
Multiple sclerosis
Guilllain Barre Syndrome
Heavy metal poisoning
Medication reactions
Post viral syndrome
Lyme disease
Fibromyalgia
Cancers of various descriptions
Kennedy disease
Small fiber neuropathy
Parsonage-turner Syndrome
Spinal disorders
Thyroid disease
Diabetic neuropathy
Vitamin deficiencies
Vitamin toxicities
Thursday, September 19, 2013
Chronicles - "Let The Music Do The Talking"
As long as I can remember, music has been an important part of my life. Now some might think that odd considering I do not know how to play an instrument nor do I sing, but music is universal and I think that we all on some level enjoy it.
My earliest recollection of music revolves around Saturday night television. My mom and dad were big Country and Western music fans and watched "Hee Haw" and "The Grand Ol' Opry" rather religiously. My mother enjoyed watching "Lawrence Welk" (I think that came on Sunday nights) and I can remember sitting and watching all three quite frequently when I was young.
Orchestra, Big Band, Country and Western, and Gospel was the only music I can remember listening to as a small child. That was until my parents gave me an old AM transistor radio with an earphone. My friends (I must have been 10 years old or so at the time) asked me what station I was listening to and I told them WPDX, the local country station. They gave a chuckle and told me that there was better music available and quickly gave me the frequency to the local AM rock station, "13 Rock" and I was hooked. I quickly abandoned C&W and Big Band music and became a rock and roll rebel.
It was also during this time that I became a fan of the "Dumb Ditties" type of songs. You may know what I an talking about...the kind of songs Weird Al or Doctor Demento would play. My mom and dad bought me several of those and I have to admit that I still like them to this day. Oddly enough, so did my buddies Rycherox, Knightmare Duck, and M'Wonga.
I soon became a die hard fan of Bill Mahoney, the morning DJ at 13 Rock. I called in to his show frequently to answer the trivia question of the day and soon was banned from calling because of my penchant for getting through with the correct answer more often than not. Getting banned from calling did not bother me much because the notoriety of being blacklisted went pretty far.
During my early years of listening to "13Rock" I began my love affair with harder, guitar oriented rock and roll. Queen, Eddie Money, and Billy Squier were among my favorites. Air guitar in my bedroom in front of the mirror was a common activity for me (and for quite some time I must admit).
By the time I was in Junior High (now referred to as "middle school"), MTV was on the air. Now I know you younger people will have a hard time believing me, but at one time, MTV played nothing but videos. Mind you it was not 24x7, (I think they stopped programming at 1 or 2 AM) but they had "VJ's" (video jockeys), which were the video equivalent of "DJ's" on the radio today.
I loved MTV. They played a huge variety of music from pop and dance to rock and metal. They had a weekly show called "The Headbanger's Ball" that showed nothing but hard rock and heavy metal videos for three hours. It was great!
The older got (think high school), the heavier the music became that I listened to. While I still liked good ol' rock and roll, my favorite music was "heavy metal" and many of its varients. Iron Maiden, Metallica, Ratt, Def Leppard, and Saxon were some of my favorites. My buddy RycheRox shared this love and he and I spent many hours watching The Headbanger's Ball and listening to hard rock mixes.
I think it was during this time that hard rock infused with other elements began to intrigue me. One band in particular, "Momma's Boys", infused Irish fiddle with their pop metal sound. This fusion stuck with me but did not surface again until many years later after I remarried.
We (RycheRox and I) were also fans of Circus and Hit Parader magazine. We litereally could not wait until the next issue would be published so we could see when Queensryche or Def Leppard would release their next album. We had to rely on magazines because back then there was no real organized online information. Oh, the internet existed, but we only had access to BBS's.
After I graduated high school I still was very interested in the heavier music, but I had turned my attention to MOD, SOD, and Anthrax aka hardcore music. It was fast and it was aggressive...just perfect for an angry young man like myself.
After I got married the first time, I was asked to front a fledgling hardcore band called "Ded Horse" as vocalist. My stint with them was short...I recorded a very poor demo with them in my house. The song was "Grip of Death", one of many I had written but the only one that ever got recorded. I was told to "sing" in a very gravelly throated voice that sounded rather horrible, but it was what the Hall Brothers (John and Rob, the Saltwell Hardcore Duo) wanted so that is what I did. After we recorded it, I could barely speak...my throat was raw. While writing and recording were fun, I realized I could not sing, even for a hardcore band so I gave it up. I wonder if that demo will ever turn up one day...
As I grew a bit older, my tastes in music began to mature somewhat. While I still enjoyed hard rock and heavy metal, I began listening to musicians who were gifted/talented/geniuses in their craft. Joe Satriani and Steve Vai became commonplace on my playlists and bands (no matter what style) who had really talented guitar players (U2, Big Country, Yes, Testament, Metallica, Pink Floyd, etc) were the ones I wanted to listen to.
After I started dating and later married Mrs El Gee,my musical tastes began to evolve again. I was in a video store at Northgate Mall in Durham, NC when I heard what sounded like a cross between Celtic Folk and pop-rock. It was an interesting sound so I stopped to see where it was coming from. The obviously gay associate at the store pointed me to one of the larger TV screens showing a group of Celtic dancers. When I asked the guy what it was he said, "The Lord of the Dance", obviously one of his personal favorites from the way he sighed when he said it.
Whether it was a gay favorite or not, I liked what I heard, so I bought a copy and took it home. My wife and I watched it that night and we both loved it. She really liked the dancing and I enjoyed the pop-rock/celtic folk fusion that Ronan Hardiman created.
It was also during this period that I began to expand my musical tastes into the area of Christian music. While I never have been a big fan of gospel hymns, the merging of Christ centered lyrics with rock music really lifted my spirit. Soon I was gathering as much Christian rock as I could.
After "OD-ing" on Christian themed music (yes, you can have too much of a good thing), I began to balance my listening choices a bit more. I will go back an listen to all the fun 80's music every now and then and later on listen to as much Contemporary Christian music as I can find.
Every now and then I catch myself listening to a little Bluegrass or Celtic folk.
My earliest recollection of music revolves around Saturday night television. My mom and dad were big Country and Western music fans and watched "Hee Haw" and "The Grand Ol' Opry" rather religiously. My mother enjoyed watching "Lawrence Welk" (I think that came on Sunday nights) and I can remember sitting and watching all three quite frequently when I was young.
Orchestra, Big Band, Country and Western, and Gospel was the only music I can remember listening to as a small child. That was until my parents gave me an old AM transistor radio with an earphone. My friends (I must have been 10 years old or so at the time) asked me what station I was listening to and I told them WPDX, the local country station. They gave a chuckle and told me that there was better music available and quickly gave me the frequency to the local AM rock station, "13 Rock" and I was hooked. I quickly abandoned C&W and Big Band music and became a rock and roll rebel.
It was also during this time that I became a fan of the "Dumb Ditties" type of songs. You may know what I an talking about...the kind of songs Weird Al or Doctor Demento would play. My mom and dad bought me several of those and I have to admit that I still like them to this day. Oddly enough, so did my buddies Rycherox, Knightmare Duck, and M'Wonga.
I soon became a die hard fan of Bill Mahoney, the morning DJ at 13 Rock. I called in to his show frequently to answer the trivia question of the day and soon was banned from calling because of my penchant for getting through with the correct answer more often than not. Getting banned from calling did not bother me much because the notoriety of being blacklisted went pretty far.
During my early years of listening to "13Rock" I began my love affair with harder, guitar oriented rock and roll. Queen, Eddie Money, and Billy Squier were among my favorites. Air guitar in my bedroom in front of the mirror was a common activity for me (and for quite some time I must admit).
By the time I was in Junior High (now referred to as "middle school"), MTV was on the air. Now I know you younger people will have a hard time believing me, but at one time, MTV played nothing but videos. Mind you it was not 24x7, (I think they stopped programming at 1 or 2 AM) but they had "VJ's" (video jockeys), which were the video equivalent of "DJ's" on the radio today.
I loved MTV. They played a huge variety of music from pop and dance to rock and metal. They had a weekly show called "The Headbanger's Ball" that showed nothing but hard rock and heavy metal videos for three hours. It was great!
The older got (think high school), the heavier the music became that I listened to. While I still liked good ol' rock and roll, my favorite music was "heavy metal" and many of its varients. Iron Maiden, Metallica, Ratt, Def Leppard, and Saxon were some of my favorites. My buddy RycheRox shared this love and he and I spent many hours watching The Headbanger's Ball and listening to hard rock mixes.
I think it was during this time that hard rock infused with other elements began to intrigue me. One band in particular, "Momma's Boys", infused Irish fiddle with their pop metal sound. This fusion stuck with me but did not surface again until many years later after I remarried.
We (RycheRox and I) were also fans of Circus and Hit Parader magazine. We litereally could not wait until the next issue would be published so we could see when Queensryche or Def Leppard would release their next album. We had to rely on magazines because back then there was no real organized online information. Oh, the internet existed, but we only had access to BBS's.
After I graduated high school I still was very interested in the heavier music, but I had turned my attention to MOD, SOD, and Anthrax aka hardcore music. It was fast and it was aggressive...just perfect for an angry young man like myself.
After I got married the first time, I was asked to front a fledgling hardcore band called "Ded Horse" as vocalist. My stint with them was short...I recorded a very poor demo with them in my house. The song was "Grip of Death", one of many I had written but the only one that ever got recorded. I was told to "sing" in a very gravelly throated voice that sounded rather horrible, but it was what the Hall Brothers (John and Rob, the Saltwell Hardcore Duo) wanted so that is what I did. After we recorded it, I could barely speak...my throat was raw. While writing and recording were fun, I realized I could not sing, even for a hardcore band so I gave it up. I wonder if that demo will ever turn up one day...
As I grew a bit older, my tastes in music began to mature somewhat. While I still enjoyed hard rock and heavy metal, I began listening to musicians who were gifted/talented/geniuses in their craft. Joe Satriani and Steve Vai became commonplace on my playlists and bands (no matter what style) who had really talented guitar players (U2, Big Country, Yes, Testament, Metallica, Pink Floyd, etc) were the ones I wanted to listen to.
After I started dating and later married Mrs El Gee,my musical tastes began to evolve again. I was in a video store at Northgate Mall in Durham, NC when I heard what sounded like a cross between Celtic Folk and pop-rock. It was an interesting sound so I stopped to see where it was coming from. The obviously gay associate at the store pointed me to one of the larger TV screens showing a group of Celtic dancers. When I asked the guy what it was he said, "The Lord of the Dance", obviously one of his personal favorites from the way he sighed when he said it.
Whether it was a gay favorite or not, I liked what I heard, so I bought a copy and took it home. My wife and I watched it that night and we both loved it. She really liked the dancing and I enjoyed the pop-rock/celtic folk fusion that Ronan Hardiman created.
It was also during this period that I began to expand my musical tastes into the area of Christian music. While I never have been a big fan of gospel hymns, the merging of Christ centered lyrics with rock music really lifted my spirit. Soon I was gathering as much Christian rock as I could.
After "OD-ing" on Christian themed music (yes, you can have too much of a good thing), I began to balance my listening choices a bit more. I will go back an listen to all the fun 80's music every now and then and later on listen to as much Contemporary Christian music as I can find.
Every now and then I catch myself listening to a little Bluegrass or Celtic folk.
Holiday Photos
I saw this in the produce section of Kroger's this evening. Heck of a bargain, eh?
And I know this is a bad photo, but I had to at least try. It is a Christmas Cactus. My wife and I both want one.
Monday, June 24, 2013
All Hail the Class of 1983
On June 22 and 23 of 2013, I attended my 30th year high school reunion. I missed our 25th due to scheduling issues (I live about 1200 miles away from my hometown nd it was finalized only two weeks before the event) and when this one was announced I had mixed feelings about attending. I assumed that many of the people that came to the 25th reunion would not make the 30th, but my wife encouraged me to go. I am glad she did. It was memorable.
The reunion dinner/mixer was held at an establishment owned by one of my classmates (20 miles away in another county) and it was coordinated by a few of the others. The following day a family picnic was held in a park very close to my mother's house, again coordinated by a few of my classmates. While I was hungry before I went to both events, I did not go for the food. I wanted to reconnect with a few of the people I had lost contact with but still remembered. With the internet age you would think it would be easy to find someone you went to school with but it turns out that many people don't use social media and some did not even have/use e-mail.
There were a few surprises at each event. A few people I did not expect to attend showed up and then some people whom I expected to see did not attend. One of the best surprises was being able to see someone whom I have known since I was TWO but had not communicated with much since graduation. I had her e-mail but she really did not make an effort to keep in touch, or so it seemed. After Friday night I understood some of her reluctance to stay connected. It is a bit of an ironic story that I will try to tell later. I would have liked to pick her brain more but time would not allow for that. I am having a great deal of trouble processing most of what she said and reconciling that with her current situation.
One of the other surprises was seeing someone whom I had completely forgotten about. The last time I saw her was 20 years ago at the 10 year reunion and that was a pretty brief conversation. She hadn't changed much since then. She still was polite and soft spoken, although when she wanted something done, she had a way of making it happen. I met and spoke at length with her husband who was in a similar line of work that I am. They attended both functions and while I did not talk to either of them much the second day, we did chat a bit.
A few of the coordinators were people that I had lost contact with, but still followed on Facebook. They had not changed all that much and were just as polite and giving as they were 30 years ago when I had them in class. A few of them were ones that I helped through English (which is ironic since my grammar is atrocious), but at least they passed the class.
I reconnected with a guy I worked with right out of high school. We spent a good part of Sunday chatting. He was always polite even though our boss was not the most pleasant person on the planet. He works for a turbine engine manufacturer, which is interesting to me because a few other people in my graduating class work in the aerotech industry as well, bit in different parts of the US.
I saw a lot of people that I did not really associate with in high school for various reasons and most of them did not make any attempt at saying high. It may have been that they did not know my name and just did not want to appear foolish. Maybe I was still beneath them on the social ladder.
I was able to estimate that about 40-50 percent of our graduating class moved out of state at some point after graduation. WV is a rather depressed state to live in, generally speaking, and I am sure that the lure of greener pastures enticed them to move away. With that in mind I found it interesting that most of them said if they could do their job from anywhere, they would move back to WV. At least one person who can work from anywhere (like their spouse can) stated they only reason they stay where they are is because of their spouse. That was pretty enlightening.
There was something I noticed and after thinking about it, it must be a female thing. I had at least 5 people tell me they recognized me the minute they saw me that first night. I thought that was kinda odd since I have beard and have lost a lot of hair and I don't think I look anything like I used to. My weight is a bit more (+20 lbs) than it was when I graduated but it does not look bad on my frame. I was told that people recognized me because of my eyes. I have had, since I have been little, pale blue-gray eyes. They are not bright blue, not deep blue, not pale blue, but a pale blue-gray. People have always commented (okay, moth females) on my eyes. I remember once when I was 10 or so an older girl, maybe 14, told me I had the nicest eyes she had ever seen on a boy. I had actually forgotten about that until Friday night. I guess it kind of felt good.
One other surprising comment that was made to me was from a woman I only had one class with that I can remember and that was drivers ed. She came over to me and asked me how I had been and then said she was just talking to a couple other people we graduated with about, "I wonder what ever happened to..." then named 3-5 people. Mine was one of the names she was curious about. One of the other names on her list was also on mine, so we traded info but we both had the same data so it really did not help either once of us. Luckily one of our former classmates knows someone who probably can help. She promised to keep us in the loop.
Most of the females I was friends with in high school brought their spouses (almost all of them were married) and I made every effort to talk to then when their wives wandered off to hug and old friend (speaking of hugs, I was hugged so much that night it almost became an expected form of greeting). I think everyone is aware that a spouse at a high school or college reunion is doomed to hold purses, drinks and take pictures most of the night. I wanted to at least give the husbands of my classmates someone to talk to.
I spoke with the event coordinators and they were a bit disappointed at the number of people who either blew off the event or just did not want to come. There was also a large number of people who just could not be located. The team used all of their Google-fu but nothing turned up. I told them that once they sanitized the list I would help if I could.
Overall we had about 60 of our 221 graduates attend the functions. It was not a stellar turn out but for me it was worth the drive. I may have not seen everyone I wanted to but I saw many that I had not expected and that made it worthwhile. A lot of what I saw and heard did not surprise me but there were things that did.
The reunion dinner/mixer was held at an establishment owned by one of my classmates (20 miles away in another county) and it was coordinated by a few of the others. The following day a family picnic was held in a park very close to my mother's house, again coordinated by a few of my classmates. While I was hungry before I went to both events, I did not go for the food. I wanted to reconnect with a few of the people I had lost contact with but still remembered. With the internet age you would think it would be easy to find someone you went to school with but it turns out that many people don't use social media and some did not even have/use e-mail.
There were a few surprises at each event. A few people I did not expect to attend showed up and then some people whom I expected to see did not attend. One of the best surprises was being able to see someone whom I have known since I was TWO but had not communicated with much since graduation. I had her e-mail but she really did not make an effort to keep in touch, or so it seemed. After Friday night I understood some of her reluctance to stay connected. It is a bit of an ironic story that I will try to tell later. I would have liked to pick her brain more but time would not allow for that. I am having a great deal of trouble processing most of what she said and reconciling that with her current situation.
One of the other surprises was seeing someone whom I had completely forgotten about. The last time I saw her was 20 years ago at the 10 year reunion and that was a pretty brief conversation. She hadn't changed much since then. She still was polite and soft spoken, although when she wanted something done, she had a way of making it happen. I met and spoke at length with her husband who was in a similar line of work that I am. They attended both functions and while I did not talk to either of them much the second day, we did chat a bit.
A few of the coordinators were people that I had lost contact with, but still followed on Facebook. They had not changed all that much and were just as polite and giving as they were 30 years ago when I had them in class. A few of them were ones that I helped through English (which is ironic since my grammar is atrocious), but at least they passed the class.
I reconnected with a guy I worked with right out of high school. We spent a good part of Sunday chatting. He was always polite even though our boss was not the most pleasant person on the planet. He works for a turbine engine manufacturer, which is interesting to me because a few other people in my graduating class work in the aerotech industry as well, bit in different parts of the US.
I saw a lot of people that I did not really associate with in high school for various reasons and most of them did not make any attempt at saying high. It may have been that they did not know my name and just did not want to appear foolish. Maybe I was still beneath them on the social ladder.
I was able to estimate that about 40-50 percent of our graduating class moved out of state at some point after graduation. WV is a rather depressed state to live in, generally speaking, and I am sure that the lure of greener pastures enticed them to move away. With that in mind I found it interesting that most of them said if they could do their job from anywhere, they would move back to WV. At least one person who can work from anywhere (like their spouse can) stated they only reason they stay where they are is because of their spouse. That was pretty enlightening.
There was something I noticed and after thinking about it, it must be a female thing. I had at least 5 people tell me they recognized me the minute they saw me that first night. I thought that was kinda odd since I have beard and have lost a lot of hair and I don't think I look anything like I used to. My weight is a bit more (+20 lbs) than it was when I graduated but it does not look bad on my frame. I was told that people recognized me because of my eyes. I have had, since I have been little, pale blue-gray eyes. They are not bright blue, not deep blue, not pale blue, but a pale blue-gray. People have always commented (okay, moth females) on my eyes. I remember once when I was 10 or so an older girl, maybe 14, told me I had the nicest eyes she had ever seen on a boy. I had actually forgotten about that until Friday night. I guess it kind of felt good.
One other surprising comment that was made to me was from a woman I only had one class with that I can remember and that was drivers ed. She came over to me and asked me how I had been and then said she was just talking to a couple other people we graduated with about, "I wonder what ever happened to..." then named 3-5 people. Mine was one of the names she was curious about. One of the other names on her list was also on mine, so we traded info but we both had the same data so it really did not help either once of us. Luckily one of our former classmates knows someone who probably can help. She promised to keep us in the loop.
Most of the females I was friends with in high school brought their spouses (almost all of them were married) and I made every effort to talk to then when their wives wandered off to hug and old friend (speaking of hugs, I was hugged so much that night it almost became an expected form of greeting). I think everyone is aware that a spouse at a high school or college reunion is doomed to hold purses, drinks and take pictures most of the night. I wanted to at least give the husbands of my classmates someone to talk to.
I spoke with the event coordinators and they were a bit disappointed at the number of people who either blew off the event or just did not want to come. There was also a large number of people who just could not be located. The team used all of their Google-fu but nothing turned up. I told them that once they sanitized the list I would help if I could.
Overall we had about 60 of our 221 graduates attend the functions. It was not a stellar turn out but for me it was worth the drive. I may have not seen everyone I wanted to but I saw many that I had not expected and that made it worthwhile. A lot of what I saw and heard did not surprise me but there were things that did.
Thursday, April 05, 2012
Has it Really Been That Long? / Mourning
I just noticed that I have not updated this blog in...8 months. I guess you know where my priorities are.
I will, at some point update this with what has been going on in my life since my last update but until then I need to concentrate on a current issue.
Today, I mourn. I do not mourn for someone close...I mourn for someone I barely knew. I mourn for a Brother in Christ (BiC) who was very ill. I knew that Luke was ill but I had no idea he was terminally ill. The only solace in his passing for me is that he is BiC and that he went peacefully in his sleep.
Luke did not look like your textbook Christian. He did not dress up on Sunday. He was not married although he had an adorable little girl. He did not have a stable full time job although he did work part time at the church as a handyman. He struggled to pay for all the meds he was on. About the only thing about him that was "Christian" that you would notice was his demeanor. He was very humble, meek, and subdued. He was quite and did not yell or get angry.
The first time you saw Luke you would probably notice his thin body was covered in tattoos. His ears were pierced with large holes that he filled with grommet style decorations. Luke was bald and wore dark rimmed glasses. He wore plaid shorts and canvas sneakers. At one time Luke was in some sort of band...rock, metal, punk, ska...I am not sure. As I stated I never really knew him well enough to find that out. Now I wish I did.
Luke was very quiet and only really spoke when spoken to. He looked a little out of place in the conservative church we attended but that did not seem to bother those who finally get to know him.
I am not sure why I mourn for him. I teared up when I heard that he died, unlike others at the church I used to attend. When others passed earlier than expected, I did not mourn. Maybe it is because they looked like what we are programmed to believe Christians look like. Perfect families, jobs, homes, lives.
Maybe that is why I mourn for Luke. He did not look the part but he certainly acted it. Luke was helpful, kind, and considerate. Before I left he was learning the sound and video management in the sanctuary and with his background in music I am sure he picked it up quickly.
Luke was in and out of the hospital over the past year and I knew that he was pretty sick but I just did not realize just how sick.
I will, at some point update this with what has been going on in my life since my last update but until then I need to concentrate on a current issue.
Today, I mourn. I do not mourn for someone close...I mourn for someone I barely knew. I mourn for a Brother in Christ (BiC) who was very ill. I knew that Luke was ill but I had no idea he was terminally ill. The only solace in his passing for me is that he is BiC and that he went peacefully in his sleep.
Luke did not look like your textbook Christian. He did not dress up on Sunday. He was not married although he had an adorable little girl. He did not have a stable full time job although he did work part time at the church as a handyman. He struggled to pay for all the meds he was on. About the only thing about him that was "Christian" that you would notice was his demeanor. He was very humble, meek, and subdued. He was quite and did not yell or get angry.
The first time you saw Luke you would probably notice his thin body was covered in tattoos. His ears were pierced with large holes that he filled with grommet style decorations. Luke was bald and wore dark rimmed glasses. He wore plaid shorts and canvas sneakers. At one time Luke was in some sort of band...rock, metal, punk, ska...I am not sure. As I stated I never really knew him well enough to find that out. Now I wish I did.
Luke was very quiet and only really spoke when spoken to. He looked a little out of place in the conservative church we attended but that did not seem to bother those who finally get to know him.
I am not sure why I mourn for him. I teared up when I heard that he died, unlike others at the church I used to attend. When others passed earlier than expected, I did not mourn. Maybe it is because they looked like what we are programmed to believe Christians look like. Perfect families, jobs, homes, lives.
Maybe that is why I mourn for Luke. He did not look the part but he certainly acted it. Luke was helpful, kind, and considerate. Before I left he was learning the sound and video management in the sanctuary and with his background in music I am sure he picked it up quickly.
Luke was in and out of the hospital over the past year and I knew that he was pretty sick but I just did not realize just how sick.
Tuesday, July 26, 2011
Third Week of my New Role at Work
Three weeks ago several members of the account I work on were asked to switch roles with each other. I was one of 6 or 7 asked to move to a different role, a move I welcomed. Several of us have questioned why management decided to do this switch but after talking to a few of the team I think I know why.
One of the people who switched had expressed an interest in project management. The role he was doing is very process oriented and they asked me to fill it.
I was not happy in my current role and to be honest, it was not a good fit for me. It required a degree of network knowledge that I did not possess and that made things awkward on a team that was already very short staffed.
They backfilled the role I was performing with someone who had done the role many years ago and had the skill set to fit in better with the team. He seemed indifferent about the switch, but he does not seem disappointed about it.
His role is being back filled with a guy who used to assist the person whom I am replacing. Like many people on the account, we do a hodge podge of functions and handing them all over to one person usually is a little chaotic. So what has happened is that some of the functions are being moved to the logical person. The problem with that is that the logical person is me and now I am doing a new role plus parts of other people's roles as well. It makes for a hectic day. They work is not hard (I still ask a lot of "Where do I find ..." questions) but the volume over the past 2 weeks has been insane. I am getting about 150 e-mails a day, most all of which need research. Delegating any of it is difficult because the person who did this before me liked to be involved with everything. I guess he wanted to make sure that everything was done correctly, but it had a price. He got very little sleep and his health is somewhat frail. He did manage to do a super job of documenting things and that has been a big help.
As for the other people, I am not sure how they all fit into the puzzle, although one of them has been asking me do things for him that he can do on his own (following up with on site people regarding asset management) but after talking to him he is okay with doing those talks himself now.
The funny thing is that what my boss wants me to do, what I do, and what others think I do are three different things. I actually could use an assistant (Yes I am that busy) but I am not sure how that would all work. We have one I could leverage, I am sure since she is not overly busy but I am not sure how my boss would like that.
Something to think about.
One of the people who switched had expressed an interest in project management. The role he was doing is very process oriented and they asked me to fill it.
I was not happy in my current role and to be honest, it was not a good fit for me. It required a degree of network knowledge that I did not possess and that made things awkward on a team that was already very short staffed.
They backfilled the role I was performing with someone who had done the role many years ago and had the skill set to fit in better with the team. He seemed indifferent about the switch, but he does not seem disappointed about it.
His role is being back filled with a guy who used to assist the person whom I am replacing. Like many people on the account, we do a hodge podge of functions and handing them all over to one person usually is a little chaotic. So what has happened is that some of the functions are being moved to the logical person. The problem with that is that the logical person is me and now I am doing a new role plus parts of other people's roles as well. It makes for a hectic day. They work is not hard (I still ask a lot of "Where do I find ..." questions) but the volume over the past 2 weeks has been insane. I am getting about 150 e-mails a day, most all of which need research. Delegating any of it is difficult because the person who did this before me liked to be involved with everything. I guess he wanted to make sure that everything was done correctly, but it had a price. He got very little sleep and his health is somewhat frail. He did manage to do a super job of documenting things and that has been a big help.
As for the other people, I am not sure how they all fit into the puzzle, although one of them has been asking me do things for him that he can do on his own (following up with on site people regarding asset management) but after talking to him he is okay with doing those talks himself now.
The funny thing is that what my boss wants me to do, what I do, and what others think I do are three different things. I actually could use an assistant (Yes I am that busy) but I am not sure how that would all work. We have one I could leverage, I am sure since she is not overly busy but I am not sure how my boss would like that.
Something to think about.
Friday, May 27, 2011
Animal Issues
First up, "The Wabbits".My wife decided that having them in the yard was just too much of a temptation for our curious senior dogs (who love to chase bunnies) so she scooped the half dozen babies and took them to animal control. My wife then proceeded to fill the hole with fresh dirt. The mother came by that night and looked for them. We knew this because the hole had been emptied. Momma misses her babies, I guess.
Next up, our newest Golden mix (the Irish Setter / Golden Retriever that I call my Golden Irish) has melanoma (Skin Cancer). We rescued her from a shelter and do not know her exact age. She is at least eight but I think she is closer to 10 due to the amount of grey she is getting around her face. We took her to the vet who removed one of the masses (she has a couple that w have found) and had the pathology done. While he did not think it was cancer when he saw it, the report shows otherwise. The mass was on her left front paw and was causing great pain when she tried to walk on it. The wound is healing now (we had to take her back to get staples put on the incision because the glue/stitches did not hold) but if the mass comes back, the vet has to be more aggressive, meaning My Golden Irish will lose a big part of one of her paw pads.
The Golden Irish is relatively new to our family...about a year or so and I have grown really attached to her due to her sweet disposition. She does not have the stamina to hang with me on geocaching hikes (she can go about 2 miles before tuckering out and I tend to go 5+ when I am out), so I am not sure how much fun she would be on those. That was one thing I wanted to be able to do with our next dog, geocache.
I am hoping the surgery will take care of the melanoma on her (both grows are on her paw pads, the second one has not grown any). God can do anything but I also know that he uses every situation to teach us something that we need to learn.
The pic is of The Golden Irish wearing my boonie hat while we vacationed at the beach. Her paw was really beginning to bother her so we had to walk her on the softer sand when possible.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Wabbits!
My wife and I discovered a small nest of six rabbits in the back yard. The dogs were at first afraid of them but now that they know what they are, they won't leave them alone. We have only seen the momma once and that was at night. Not sure what to do about them. Call me a wuss but I just don't want to kill them outright but they will become a nuisance later on.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Back from Vacation
My wife and I, along with our two Golden mixes got back from our yearly vacation in Florida last night. It is about a 15 hour drive (not counting stops) so we broke it up over two days to make it a little less painless. We had a great time and we both were able to relax a bit.
The realization that I had to go back to work hit me on the way back and I was dreading what I would see when I got back. I had only 253 new e-mails from work...not bad really since that is only about 40 mails a day. I am not looking forward to playing catch-up but I am not going to stress about it.
The beach house we rented was pretty nice overall. It was older and the beds were not very comfortable at all but it had wireless internet, new appliances, a washer/dryer and was closer to the beach than the place we normally rented. Our newest dog had trouble with the stairs and she also has a problem with her foot that is keeping her from walking properly (some weird growth is on her paw...the vet will look at it this week)
I have my work cut out for me this week since I have three lawns to cut before it rains again. I need to start them tonight. Hopefully I can knock out two of the three lawns this evening. The grass is not overly high, but it is very thick which can be harder to cut than tall grass.
Attached is a sand castle that someone built. It is small but interesting.
Wiki articles on where we stayed:
St. George Island
St. George Island Bridge
St. George Island Home Page
The realization that I had to go back to work hit me on the way back and I was dreading what I would see when I got back. I had only 253 new e-mails from work...not bad really since that is only about 40 mails a day. I am not looking forward to playing catch-up but I am not going to stress about it.
The beach house we rented was pretty nice overall. It was older and the beds were not very comfortable at all but it had wireless internet, new appliances, a washer/dryer and was closer to the beach than the place we normally rented. Our newest dog had trouble with the stairs and she also has a problem with her foot that is keeping her from walking properly (some weird growth is on her paw...the vet will look at it this week)
I have my work cut out for me this week since I have three lawns to cut before it rains again. I need to start them tonight. Hopefully I can knock out two of the three lawns this evening. The grass is not overly high, but it is very thick which can be harder to cut than tall grass.
Attached is a sand castle that someone built. It is small but interesting.
Wiki articles on where we stayed:
St. George Island
St. George Island Bridge
St. George Island Home Page
Thursday, May 05, 2011
Why?
Why is it that when you are trying to wrap things up so you can take some time off that more and more things get thrown at you? In the past four days I have had more project managers come to me literally demanding that I my team work on things for them, even though the team is stretched very thin. Most of these are projects that are due in less than 30 days (the PM's have known about them for months) and just the standard process to complete these projects (with all the checks and balances) will take longer than 30 days.
Crazy.
Crazy.
Work
I had an interesting thing happen at work a few days ago.
My boss and I went up to the visitors area to greet two visiting employees from Sweden (on male, one female). When we spotted each other, we said hello ("Hej" in Swedish) and exchanged pleasantries. Then the during out greeting, the female comes over and hugs me. That threw me for a loop. She never hugged my boss, she just said hello to him. Oddly enough he never really paid attention that this woman whom we just me for the first time, gave me a hug but not him. Not sure if I am the hug-able type or I reminder her of he grandfather. I have been dealing with the Swedes for over 15 years and have never had one hug me, male or female.
Anyway, I just had to tell my wife so she could get a laugh out of it.
My boss and I went up to the visitors area to greet two visiting employees from Sweden (on male, one female). When we spotted each other, we said hello ("Hej" in Swedish) and exchanged pleasantries. Then the during out greeting, the female comes over and hugs me. That threw me for a loop. She never hugged my boss, she just said hello to him. Oddly enough he never really paid attention that this woman whom we just me for the first time, gave me a hug but not him. Not sure if I am the hug-able type or I reminder her of he grandfather. I have been dealing with the Swedes for over 15 years and have never had one hug me, male or female.
Anyway, I just had to tell my wife so she could get a laugh out of it.
Tuesday, April 26, 2011
The Downside to Lifetime Warranties
I replaced the kitchen sink and faucet in our home 7.5 years ago at the request of my wife who was tired at looking at the stock "contractor grade" faucet and sink that was in the house when we bought it. The house was only 3 years old when we bought it but the previous owners did not take many (if any) upgrades when they had it built. But I digress.
When I replaced the sink and faucet (a real challenge for me) my wife had chosen a decent mid grade El-Kay sink and Delta faucet. Unbeknown to me at the time, it had a lifetime warranty.
Fast forward to last week. I am working from home and my comes rushing into my office and tells me she needs me to come into the kitchen, ASAP. I get there and she shows me a leaking faucet. Now the model that she picked out and I installed is one of those where the sprayer hose is built in to the neck of the faucet. The sprayer is the neck and the hose is inside the rest of the neck. If you get a leak there, you really cannot use the faucet until you get it replaced.
I drove over to Lowes to see about getting the replacement hose and when I got there the guy in plumbing told me about the lifetime warranty. "All you have to do is call them up and they will get you another one, free of charge.", he said. Armed with that information, I headed home to order the part.
I got home and went to Delta's web site and found the contact number for support and after a few keypunches later, I had a live person. I related my story to her and after confirming the part number I needed, she told me all she needed was proof of purchase. Hmmm...I had no idea the thing had a lifetime warranty until an hour ago but a good geek always saves the manuals until the item is in the trash. I wondered if that would do. My phone rep told me that if I took a pictured of the faucet with the manual beside it and e-mailed it to her, she could get my part ordered. She gave me the e-mail address and I got busy.
Two business days later I got a confirmation e-mail that my information had been received and that the part had been ordered. It was expected within 10-12 days. Argh.
So that is the downside to lifetime warranties. The part is free but there is a lot of time wasted.
BTW, had the part not been free, it was $85 from Delta...specialty part.
When I replaced the sink and faucet (a real challenge for me) my wife had chosen a decent mid grade El-Kay sink and Delta faucet. Unbeknown to me at the time, it had a lifetime warranty.
Fast forward to last week. I am working from home and my comes rushing into my office and tells me she needs me to come into the kitchen, ASAP. I get there and she shows me a leaking faucet. Now the model that she picked out and I installed is one of those where the sprayer hose is built in to the neck of the faucet. The sprayer is the neck and the hose is inside the rest of the neck. If you get a leak there, you really cannot use the faucet until you get it replaced.
I drove over to Lowes to see about getting the replacement hose and when I got there the guy in plumbing told me about the lifetime warranty. "All you have to do is call them up and they will get you another one, free of charge.", he said. Armed with that information, I headed home to order the part.
I got home and went to Delta's web site and found the contact number for support and after a few keypunches later, I had a live person. I related my story to her and after confirming the part number I needed, she told me all she needed was proof of purchase. Hmmm...I had no idea the thing had a lifetime warranty until an hour ago but a good geek always saves the manuals until the item is in the trash. I wondered if that would do. My phone rep told me that if I took a pictured of the faucet with the manual beside it and e-mailed it to her, she could get my part ordered. She gave me the e-mail address and I got busy.
Two business days later I got a confirmation e-mail that my information had been received and that the part had been ordered. It was expected within 10-12 days. Argh.
So that is the downside to lifetime warranties. The part is free but there is a lot of time wasted.
BTW, had the part not been free, it was $85 from Delta...specialty part.
Monday, February 14, 2011
"It's Too Expensive"
I was out with a friend of mine on Saturday after a successful morning of geocaching (yeah, I still do that on Saturdays) when we stopped at Steak and Shake for a quick bite. He owed me lunch so I let him pick the place. We sat down and we gave our drink orders to the server. I ordered sweet tea and my buddy ordered a water. "Why water? Are you on a special diet?", I asked.
"No," he replied "Tea is just too expensive to order when we eat out."
"DW, didn't you just spend $300 on a new iPhone 4 from AT&T?"
"Yes I did."
"And didn't you spend $200 a couple of years earlier on an iPhone 3GS?"
"Uh, yeah."
"Your wife has an iPhone, right?"
"Yes, she does, an iPhone 3GS we bought last year."
"And she also wants an iPad, right?"
"Yes."
"And SWEET TEA is too expensive?"
"No," he replied "Tea is just too expensive to order when we eat out."
"DW, didn't you just spend $300 on a new iPhone 4 from AT&T?"
"Yes I did."
"And didn't you spend $200 a couple of years earlier on an iPhone 3GS?"
"Uh, yeah."
"Your wife has an iPhone, right?"
"Yes, she does, an iPhone 3GS we bought last year."
"And she also wants an iPad, right?"
"Yes."
"And SWEET TEA is too expensive?"
Saturday, February 05, 2011
How High Can We Go?
Every day since our Texas Ice Age started, I have been desiring warmer temps. Every day we get a predicted high and a predicted low presented to us and every day the weather geeks have been wrong. I find that amusing.
It was predicted (as late as yesterday evening) that today's high would be in the low 40's. Well, it looks like this morning view into the crystal ball known as weather forecasting states it will be in the upper 30's. So it looks like the emergence from our frozen shell will not be as soon as hoped. Oh yes, it will be above freezing, but it would be nice to see the main roads clear of ice before summer hits.
The next 10 days or so show slowly warming until midweek when another cold snap comes through. My guess? This mess will be around a while.
It was predicted (as late as yesterday evening) that today's high would be in the low 40's. Well, it looks like this morning view into the crystal ball known as weather forecasting states it will be in the upper 30's. So it looks like the emergence from our frozen shell will not be as soon as hoped. Oh yes, it will be above freezing, but it would be nice to see the main roads clear of ice before summer hits.
The next 10 days or so show slowly warming until midweek when another cold snap comes through. My guess? This mess will be around a while.
Thursday, February 03, 2011
LISTEN to me, please!
Time Warner Cable called the other day, offering us a "special" deal on their bundle. We are TWC customers, primarily for the internet service. It ain't cheap, but it is fast and mostly dependable. We also have the absolute minimum analogue cable television service we could get to carry the internet service that we have. We are not big TV people and what we watch we can usually get free or low cost from the web.
Anyhoo, when TWC calls they offered me a "great deal" on their bundle which includes TV, internet and digital phone service for $99.99 a month for a year. While I can appreciate bundles to save money, we have no need for landline phone service...my wife and I both carry mobile phones, plus I have a company provided mobile phone on a separate carrier. We are covered for telecoms without paying $40-50 a month for a dedicated landline.
I tell the kind woman on the phone that while I appreciate her offer, I have no need for landline and she goes through a litany of reasons why I need their service. Each reason I politely but firmly shoot down. I tell her that to be honest, if I could find fast, dependable, cheaper internet service, I would drop TWC in a heartbeat. This scares her and asks me how long I have been a TWC customer. I then have to go into the story of how we signed up for AT&T cable services until Comcast bought them out, then TWC bought out Comcast's interest in this area. So in all we have been cable customers for 10 years. She then offers to get me to a supervisor to cut me a deal to stay with them. I am not really amused, but I give them a shot. A few minutes later, the rep comes back on the line to make me a counter offer, which includes...you guessed it, home phone service.
Was she not listening to me? Does my hillbilly accent confuse her?
Politely, but firmly I explain again that even if the service was offered free, I would not accept it...we have no need for it with three mobile phones in the house.
I ask her if she can make me a deal on internet and TV for a good price, since I am such a loyal customer and all but alas, she is unable. Only bundles with phone service are offered. Gee, I wonder why?
I am not up with current landline pricing but I bet 33.33 is not all that much of a bargain. I know that 4+ years ago, we paid a base of $30 a month for landline service and that included caller ID and 50 minutes of long distance.
I am happy with mobile only service in our home. While it did bother my wife (for a couple of weeks) not having a landline, she does not miss it now at all. I personally cannot see why anyone who does not have kids living at home even bothers with landline service.
Anyhoo, when TWC calls they offered me a "great deal" on their bundle which includes TV, internet and digital phone service for $99.99 a month for a year. While I can appreciate bundles to save money, we have no need for landline phone service...my wife and I both carry mobile phones, plus I have a company provided mobile phone on a separate carrier. We are covered for telecoms without paying $40-50 a month for a dedicated landline.
I tell the kind woman on the phone that while I appreciate her offer, I have no need for landline and she goes through a litany of reasons why I need their service. Each reason I politely but firmly shoot down. I tell her that to be honest, if I could find fast, dependable, cheaper internet service, I would drop TWC in a heartbeat. This scares her and asks me how long I have been a TWC customer. I then have to go into the story of how we signed up for AT&T cable services until Comcast bought them out, then TWC bought out Comcast's interest in this area. So in all we have been cable customers for 10 years. She then offers to get me to a supervisor to cut me a deal to stay with them. I am not really amused, but I give them a shot. A few minutes later, the rep comes back on the line to make me a counter offer, which includes...you guessed it, home phone service.
Was she not listening to me? Does my hillbilly accent confuse her?
Politely, but firmly I explain again that even if the service was offered free, I would not accept it...we have no need for it with three mobile phones in the house.
I ask her if she can make me a deal on internet and TV for a good price, since I am such a loyal customer and all but alas, she is unable. Only bundles with phone service are offered. Gee, I wonder why?
I am not up with current landline pricing but I bet 33.33 is not all that much of a bargain. I know that 4+ years ago, we paid a base of $30 a month for landline service and that included caller ID and 50 minutes of long distance.
I am happy with mobile only service in our home. While it did bother my wife (for a couple of weeks) not having a landline, she does not miss it now at all. I personally cannot see why anyone who does not have kids living at home even bothers with landline service.
Just a wee bit cold
North Central Texas normally has rather mild winters. While we have been known to get some snow in the winter, it normally melts the same day or the day after it arrives. Every now and then we get snow or cold weather that lasts for more than a couple of days, but it is pretty rare.
On Monday evening we started getting some rain. Early Tuesday morning, a frigid cold front moved in and turned the DFW are into an icy wonderland. Anywhere from .5 to 2 inches of ice covered the streets, alleys, sidewalks and cars in the area. The temps got down to about 10 degrees or so and have not gotten above 20 since. It is currently 16 degrees (we are talking Farenheit here, not Celsius) but it is supposed to get up to 26. Still below freezing and the roads are still covered in ice.
Why are the roads still covered in ice? With the lack of severe weather in this area, the county/city does not have the equipment to to treat the roads and since salt is corrosive, they will not put that down to aid in the melting of the ice.
Needless to say I have been working from home all week long and don't plan making it into the office until at least Monday.
Oh, the added twist to all this is that since the grid has been pushed to the limits, we had "rolling bloackouts" yesterday, all day long in this area. We lost power for 15-20 minutes at a time every 60-90 minutes. It made work a tad difficult, especially conference calls that were using "virtual meeting rooms" hosted online. So far we have stayed stable in regards to power. I hope it stays that way.
On Monday evening we started getting some rain. Early Tuesday morning, a frigid cold front moved in and turned the DFW are into an icy wonderland. Anywhere from .5 to 2 inches of ice covered the streets, alleys, sidewalks and cars in the area. The temps got down to about 10 degrees or so and have not gotten above 20 since. It is currently 16 degrees (we are talking Farenheit here, not Celsius) but it is supposed to get up to 26. Still below freezing and the roads are still covered in ice.
Why are the roads still covered in ice? With the lack of severe weather in this area, the county/city does not have the equipment to to treat the roads and since salt is corrosive, they will not put that down to aid in the melting of the ice.
Needless to say I have been working from home all week long and don't plan making it into the office until at least Monday.
Oh, the added twist to all this is that since the grid has been pushed to the limits, we had "rolling bloackouts" yesterday, all day long in this area. We lost power for 15-20 minutes at a time every 60-90 minutes. It made work a tad difficult, especially conference calls that were using "virtual meeting rooms" hosted online. So far we have stayed stable in regards to power. I hope it stays that way.
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