Thank You, All

I just want to thank all of the family who showed up on very short notice to (belatedly) celebrate my birthday. It was a great gathering.

I am truly blessed to have family like y'all.

Thank you for the effort in putting the get-together together, preparing the food, and celebrating with me.

Love you much.

Thursday

An interesting day.

It started with a phone call from my son saying that the lovely Sara was not as lovely as usual. She had contracted the same GI crud that swept through this household earlier in the week, and would be at home today. I hope she is recovering quickly. If she had the same crud I did, the majority of the ill effects are gone in 24 hours.
Get well soon, Sara.

After the disappointing phone call, I had an internal debate about whether or not to attend my former boss' going-away luncheon. I decided in favor of seeing a lot of old friends one more time, and did not regret it. The people were all worth seeing one more time, and the food at the Olive Garden was good.

George, you're a stand-up-guy, and I wish you the best in your new job. Good luck to you and your family. Stay true to yourself.

After lunch I dropped in on my buddies at the outdoor store in Covington, and let them in on the secret regarding my recent retirement. I think I convinced them that I'm not hurting. I also got to look at the new Taurus revolver, a small frame 6 shot that looks like it ought to sell like crazy. A nice piece with the bonus of an extra round of .38 Special over their competition's 5-shooters.

By the time I got home, Marilyn was ready to go adventuring and visit a new grocery store. :) Gracie, Wally, and I are awaiting her return as this is written.

The grille is warming, the steaks are thawing, I'm 800 miles from lake effect snow, and all's right with the world.

Stay well.

Thank you...

...to everyone who wished me a Happy Birthday today.

Despite the fact that my granddaughter brought the plague to our house on Valentine's Day, and gave it to Gretchen and myself, (and I think Marilyn, but she won't admit it :) ) it was a good day. My physical condition has been improving all day, and I'm feeling much better.

Thank you all for all the good wishes.

Update: I also want to thank all of you for the gift certificate. We'll have to set up a time when all or most of the guys can get together to use it.

Thanks again.

Happy Valentine's Day

To all of the women in my life: Marilyn for being the best part of me for most of my life through all the highs and lows, Mom for being Mom with all that entails, Mom K for being Marilyn's Mom, Sandy for being a true Joy in my life, Gretchen for reminding me daily of the power of redemption, Laura and Missy for choosing to join my family.

I love you.

To my grandchildren: Tyler, Sara, Sam, and Violet:

You all are a pleasure to be around and a source of constant delight. I love you, too.

And to the Guys: Bob, Jon, and Slade:

You're OK too. :)

Have a great day.

It was the best of times. It was the worst of times.

Like Dickens said, it was good and bad. I am referring to my tenure with Lithonia Lighting/Acuity Brands.

When it was Lithonia Lighting, it was a family of people who were working together to manufacture and distribute some of the best commercial lighting fixtures the world has seen. When it became Acuity Brands Lighting, the old, "grown up in the lighting industry" management slowly disappeared and the model changed to a big business. The sense of family went out of the company.

Through most of this, I spent nearly 37 years doing almost everything in IT. I was a computer operator, systems analyst, program developer, business analyst, and database engineer. I worked nights and weekends, sacrificed time with my family and friends, and generally gave my all for the company.

Wednesday of last week, they called me into a conference room with an HR representative, told me I was through working at AB, escorted me to my desk to get my coat, and then showed me the door. The whole process took less than 5 minutes.

I hope the folks who orchestrated the reduction in force last week can sleep well. I know that if I had to do it, I would do it considerably differently. Turning long time employees out like felons because the budget needs to be reduced is not a good way to convince your work force that they're working for a good company. It is also a good way to create a lot of needless animosity in the people being released.

My (former) boss was so upset with the way they handled my release, that he turned in his resignation on Monday. I wish him and his family the best in his new endeavors. In the interest of full disclosure, he was looking around before the RIF, but the way we were released was the straw that broke the camel's back.

Please don't worry about me. The severance was adequate, and on reflection, I feel like a freed slave.

As for what I will do now, I think I'm going to take a few weeks to get my head around my new situation, and decide if I want to retire into relative poverty, find a new position in IT, or seek employment in another line.

To those of you at AB who are reading this, I consider you all my friends, and deeply appreciate the time we had together. Working with you was an honor and a privilege.

Stay well.

The Weekend

It's Sunday, and I guess I ought to bring y'all up to date on the last few days.

As I was leaving work to come sit with Sara on Wednesday, I felt a pain above my right eye as I walked into the sunlight. It was my old buddy Iritis returning to make my attitude sour. By Thursday morning I was in some serious pain every time the light level changed. Staring at a computer screen was torture. I called the ophthalmologist, and, Praise The LORD, he'd had a cancellation at 0930. By 1015 I was on my way home with my self-diagnosis confirmed and a bottle of steroid eye drops and a card telling me to come back in 10 days in my pocket. The treatment seems to be working. 4 drops a day seems to keep me from punching holes in the sheet rock.

Feeling somewhat better, Friday was my standing appointment to fellowship with Jon at the Firing Lane. He could not make it, so I amused myself by punching .45 caliber holes in paper. 175 rounds later, I was satisfied with the .45 and switched the slide over to .22. More good times, and a seriously perforated target later, I was ready to come home to watch Sara.

Sara is a joy. Aside from the inevitable 11-year-old's aversion to homework, she's a pleasure to be around. She's full of enthusiasm for just about everything, and it's infectious.

Saturday, I decided that the rear seat needed to go back into the Jeep. It's been taking up room in the garage since the Legion of Doom's Spring Thing last year, and I really needed the space. A simple job turned into a two-day frustration. The seat went in without a hitch, but the center seat belt seems to have absconded to Argentina. I'm sure it's in the garage, but where I put it for safe keeping has eluded me for the time being. I guess it's not much of a problem since the only thing that rides back there, most of the time, is the range bag. Still, it's a loose end that's driving me nuts.

Another event on Saturday was a challenge from a Facebook friend to take the "How Southern Are You" test. I'm happy to say that, despite being born and raised in Ohio, I have become a complete Confederate.

Today, I get to make my normal run to Wal-Mart for a newspaper and other goodies, then go back to the range with Bob and Slade. There's a .30 cal ammo can full of .45 ACP that needs emptying. There's nothing worse than stale ammo. :)

Time to run to Wally World.

Stay warm and well.

PS Happy Birthday, Nicki! Hope you're well and happy.