Snelling called today with a temp offer. The job could be a week, a month, or a year. It is working in the AP department of an automotive company (FCI Automotive) in Novi. I start Wednesday, so I will be driving down to Mom’s tomorrow night and moving back in my room!
Monday, September 27, 2004
Thursday, September 23, 2004
Jobs – Friday I went to Snelling Services and took their tests to be one of their many available temps. I first took a basic office skills test consisting of math, filing, spelling, and grammar (commas). I scored 100% percent on all but the grammar (isn’t that a surprise), on grammar I scored 68%. They said their average was 50% for the tests except for math and grammar, math is 60% (they give you a calculator to use) and grammar 30%. I also caused much confusion finishing the test before the person that had started before I arrived (and before I filled out my paperwork). Thus when someone was done they took the first set of paperwork put it with the test results and called me in for the interview, when I didn’t respond to the name called they noticed the name on the paperwork and the name on the test results did not match. Why is it everywhere I go they need to hire me! I did the interview, and then took some more tests. I took the Excel, Word, PowerPoint, Accounts Receivable, and Accounts Payable tests. The Office ones I got them all (I know because after each task that you are asked to complete it comes up and says “you have successfully completed the task – would you like to go on?” The AP and AR not so much, I have never actually worked in either of these departments just filling in where necessary and with AR I have created new processes and procedures. But I am sure I missed some of the questions for example: Who needs to approve a credit memo: A. Purchasing Clerk B. Accounting Clerk C. Office Manager D. Controller E. Vice President? There was no way to ask the questions, How much is the credit memo for? Is the controller anal retentive? They were very impressed with my scores although they were unable to get my scores for the accounting tests as they forgot how to do that, but assured me that there was someone that could. They had no definite assignment so I left there with a handbook and some time sheets in case something comes up. On to second interview of the day.
The second interview was with an electrical company that does electrical installations for new constructions. They are looking to replace their office manager who is their only administrative support (other than a niece that comes in occasionally to answer phones and will be leaving soon to go to college). I thought the interview went well but I think they all do. I have yet to hear back from them.
Mom came home on Tuesday to two messages on her machine for me, one from Kelly Services and the other from Superior Staffing. Kelly is for a long term temporary position in Romulus with a shift from 2:30 pm to midnight. All I knew was that it was office help and the shift. I called them first thing yesterday morning and scheduled myself to go in and take their tests yesterday and then interview with the actual hiring company. I got to Kelly Services early (as I always try to do) and it was a very good thing. Their office is located in Parklane Towers on Hubbard, close to Fairlane. Parking sucked to say the very least. I filled out their paperwork and took their tests, Office skills, Excel, and Word. Everything went fine until on Excel they asked me to do something, I did it and it said, “That is not the correct answer would you like to skip or retry?” What? I reread the question, made sure I understood what they wanted, made sure I was in the correct cells, and redid. Again, “That is not the correct answer” but this time my options were quit or go on. So I went on, getting a question wrong. After completing all the tests I again interrupted the coffee klatch and said, “Now what?” They all started scrambling, one set up a video for me to watch while the other three tried to figure out where my interview was. I was told the video was 12 minutes long and they would know where my interview was when it was complete. The little video player they had had a second counter on it and it only reached 500 some seconds, which I thought put it at less then 10 minutes but they didn’t give me a calculator so maybe not. But it certainly did not give them enough time to find out where the interview was. When I completed the video they had an address but no one had been to this location so they were trying to call Martin the Account Rep to see where it actually was. I asked if they had a computer I could use to do a Map Quest and they said “Good Idea”. Martin came in just as I was leaving with my map and handbook in hand. He said he had never been to this location but he was sure MapQuest was right, wished me luck and I was off. I had no idea at this time what the position was or whether it was a temporary position working for Kelly or a recruited position by Kelly and actually working for the trucking company. I got there early found the building (big building with lots of trucks) I drove around the area (Between Inkster and Middlebelt, and Wick and Goddard) and a half hour before the interview was to start went into the parking lot. Here I discovered my dilemma, door one said 400 and had no name on it, door two said 500 and had Geologistics on it. The company I was looking for was Eagle Global Logistics. So I called Martin, he told me I was looking for Eagle Global Logistics, I asked if maybe they also went by Geologistics, he said that maybe they did. I said are you sure the address is XXX, he said yes the address is XXX suite 100. Oh, suite 100 that may be helpful. I drove around the building and sure enough in the back was another door with 100 and Eagle Global Logistics on it. Once there I spent about and hour with the Human Resource person and 20 minutes or so with the Customer Service Manager. Again, I thought it went well, but what do I know I got one wrong on Excel.
The second call from Superior Staffing is for a long term temporary (possibly permanent) position in Northville for Osram Sylvania Automotive Lighting. It is a sales administrative position. I have been dealing with this Superior Staffing for a week. They would call Mom’s and send me and email. I would reply to the email and then return their phone call and each time it was exactly the same thing. However on Monday since Mom was in Kewadin and they did not talk to an actual person and just left a message I guess they decided they didn’t need to also send an email. They wanted to set up a phone interview with the Human Resource manager out of the New Hampshire office. I set this up for today at 9:00. When she hadn’t called by 9:50 I called her, she apologized and we talked for about a ½ hour about what they are looking for and what I can do to fill that need. I now meet tomorrow with the general manager of the Northville office at 9:00 am.
TV: Survivor was okay, having watched some reality tv I wasn’t totally disgusted however if I have to choose I would take AR any day. I like the Apprentice so far and have agreed with his choices. I would have liked to see Michael win BB, but can live with Drew winning it. I was thrilled for Chip and Kim to win on AR, when Christie gave her little Karma speech and how Karma would catch up with Chip and Kim I just thought “be careful what you ask for” and sure enough Karma did catch up. When they were climbing the mountain I told Gordon they needed an eating task. Those young couples were horrible at the eating tasks, while Chip just dug in and did what he had to do. I not impressed with any of the new shows this season. I can tolerate Listen Up and stuck in my Monday comedies I’ll probably watch it. Gordon and Megan really liked Lost, I didn’t get to see it as I was driving home at that time, but Gordon said I wouldn’t like it, and I trust him. Comic has not thrilled me, some of the stand up is okay but I could not care less who is voted off. Putting Carrottop on did not help in my opinion. I have the Dr. Phil prime time show on tape to watch in case there is ever nothing on again. Adrienne did you see anything in the GMA show that we had missed?
I have to go to the laundry mat today, and personally I can’t think of anything more exciting.
The second interview was with an electrical company that does electrical installations for new constructions. They are looking to replace their office manager who is their only administrative support (other than a niece that comes in occasionally to answer phones and will be leaving soon to go to college). I thought the interview went well but I think they all do. I have yet to hear back from them.
Mom came home on Tuesday to two messages on her machine for me, one from Kelly Services and the other from Superior Staffing. Kelly is for a long term temporary position in Romulus with a shift from 2:30 pm to midnight. All I knew was that it was office help and the shift. I called them first thing yesterday morning and scheduled myself to go in and take their tests yesterday and then interview with the actual hiring company. I got to Kelly Services early (as I always try to do) and it was a very good thing. Their office is located in Parklane Towers on Hubbard, close to Fairlane. Parking sucked to say the very least. I filled out their paperwork and took their tests, Office skills, Excel, and Word. Everything went fine until on Excel they asked me to do something, I did it and it said, “That is not the correct answer would you like to skip or retry?” What? I reread the question, made sure I understood what they wanted, made sure I was in the correct cells, and redid. Again, “That is not the correct answer” but this time my options were quit or go on. So I went on, getting a question wrong. After completing all the tests I again interrupted the coffee klatch and said, “Now what?” They all started scrambling, one set up a video for me to watch while the other three tried to figure out where my interview was. I was told the video was 12 minutes long and they would know where my interview was when it was complete. The little video player they had had a second counter on it and it only reached 500 some seconds, which I thought put it at less then 10 minutes but they didn’t give me a calculator so maybe not. But it certainly did not give them enough time to find out where the interview was. When I completed the video they had an address but no one had been to this location so they were trying to call Martin the Account Rep to see where it actually was. I asked if they had a computer I could use to do a Map Quest and they said “Good Idea”. Martin came in just as I was leaving with my map and handbook in hand. He said he had never been to this location but he was sure MapQuest was right, wished me luck and I was off. I had no idea at this time what the position was or whether it was a temporary position working for Kelly or a recruited position by Kelly and actually working for the trucking company. I got there early found the building (big building with lots of trucks) I drove around the area (Between Inkster and Middlebelt, and Wick and Goddard) and a half hour before the interview was to start went into the parking lot. Here I discovered my dilemma, door one said 400 and had no name on it, door two said 500 and had Geologistics on it. The company I was looking for was Eagle Global Logistics. So I called Martin, he told me I was looking for Eagle Global Logistics, I asked if maybe they also went by Geologistics, he said that maybe they did. I said are you sure the address is XXX, he said yes the address is XXX suite 100. Oh, suite 100 that may be helpful. I drove around the building and sure enough in the back was another door with 100 and Eagle Global Logistics on it. Once there I spent about and hour with the Human Resource person and 20 minutes or so with the Customer Service Manager. Again, I thought it went well, but what do I know I got one wrong on Excel.
The second call from Superior Staffing is for a long term temporary (possibly permanent) position in Northville for Osram Sylvania Automotive Lighting. It is a sales administrative position. I have been dealing with this Superior Staffing for a week. They would call Mom’s and send me and email. I would reply to the email and then return their phone call and each time it was exactly the same thing. However on Monday since Mom was in Kewadin and they did not talk to an actual person and just left a message I guess they decided they didn’t need to also send an email. They wanted to set up a phone interview with the Human Resource manager out of the New Hampshire office. I set this up for today at 9:00. When she hadn’t called by 9:50 I called her, she apologized and we talked for about a ½ hour about what they are looking for and what I can do to fill that need. I now meet tomorrow with the general manager of the Northville office at 9:00 am.
TV: Survivor was okay, having watched some reality tv I wasn’t totally disgusted however if I have to choose I would take AR any day. I like the Apprentice so far and have agreed with his choices. I would have liked to see Michael win BB, but can live with Drew winning it. I was thrilled for Chip and Kim to win on AR, when Christie gave her little Karma speech and how Karma would catch up with Chip and Kim I just thought “be careful what you ask for” and sure enough Karma did catch up. When they were climbing the mountain I told Gordon they needed an eating task. Those young couples were horrible at the eating tasks, while Chip just dug in and did what he had to do. I not impressed with any of the new shows this season. I can tolerate Listen Up and stuck in my Monday comedies I’ll probably watch it. Gordon and Megan really liked Lost, I didn’t get to see it as I was driving home at that time, but Gordon said I wouldn’t like it, and I trust him. Comic has not thrilled me, some of the stand up is okay but I could not care less who is voted off. Putting Carrottop on did not help in my opinion. I have the Dr. Phil prime time show on tape to watch in case there is ever nothing on again. Adrienne did you see anything in the GMA show that we had missed?
I have to go to the laundry mat today, and personally I can’t think of anything more exciting.
Tuesday, September 14, 2004
I'm Back
I’m back. I know you all missed me terribly, and I am sorry to have been gone so long. I could give you a long detailed excuse but it doesn’t really matter does it.
So where did I leave off?
My plan for picking Melody up was to get up fairly early on Friday and nap from 8 until midnight when Gordon got home from work. Leave here at 2:30 and drive to the airport to get her. Everything went as planned except the nap part, the nap was only from 10:00 to 11:30, I forget now the reason but still remember the loss. We waited outside the security checkpoint and Melody arrived right on time. We went downstairs to collect her bags (why is it that the first 10 or so bags that are placed on the carousel belong to no one?), with bags in hand we turned to leave and realized that we did not have Megan. I looked around and panicked. Melody and Gordon assured me that she could not have gone far, I did not find this very assuring as I knew that and had looked as far as she could have gone and she was not there. Melody started walking amongst the crowd and Gordon suggested I find the bathroom and she if she was there. She was, apparently she had told me but could not wait for an acknowledgement that I had heard her. This trip to the bathroom cost me a dollar as it put me in the parking lot for one hour and one minute. I thought since I was now paying for an additional 29 minutes we should use them driving around the parking lot, but emotions were running high so I didn’t even suggest this.
We stopped at McD for breakfast and then went to Mommy’s where many went to sleep. Having taken my nap earlier I was unable to fall back asleep and anxiously awaited Jackson. Erika and Jackson arrived right on time, followed shortly after by Robin and her entourage. We headed up to the pool and enjoyed the last good weather of official summer, (I think it was also the first good weather of official summer). Heather and Sabrina brought with them the rain and the official party moved to Little Caesar Funland. The kids had a ton of fun and the rest of us had a ton of pizza and crazy bread. I had forgotten how loud and obnoxious those places are, thousands of kids running and screaming. I guess it’s a good thing that as you get older you forget things more often, this way my own grandkids have a chance of going there with me. Steph and Arn left us at Funland and the rest of us went back to Mommy’s. Sean, Bryan, and Sabrina ran around in the front yard playing tag. It doesn’t seem that long ago that I watched what are now the big kids running around in that same yard. At one point to voice his displeasure at appropriate playthings Sean said, “I’m so boring” I told him that I couldn’t disagree more.
Once all of the extras had left for home, with cell phones preprogrammed to call when they were lost (and they did), we settled in for a quiet evening of Big Brother and Jackson. Jackson was fascinated with the Just Jack show on Mommy’s computer screen and his face registered surprise when Sammy’s picture came up as if to say, “hey wait a minute where did you get him, he’s mine.” I can’t vouch for anyone else but I slept well that night.
Sunday we went to breakfast and then ventured out to see the other half of the family. Most of the other half was busy with their own holiday weekend schedules, but we were able to spend some time with Grandma Gerry and Darryl. And then went to Dawn’s new house and played a little with Devon. We then got on the road to home with a stop at Great Lakes Crossing for a mall fix for Melody.
Monday was a trip to see Dustin in the Cadillac area. The barbecue was rained out so it was pizza again. Melody met the dogs, and Dustin played guitar for us. The drive home concluded Melody’s scheduled events for her vacation.
Tuesday morning I got up bright and early for my interview in Farmington Hills. The car sounded funny when I was leaving the house but the faster I went the less I noticed it, by the time I was on the freeway I hardly noticed at all. Someone else driving down the road did though and flagged me down to let me know I had a flat tire. In my professional clothes on the side of the freeway I as able to use (personally for the first time) the handy dandy air compressor Bob and Dorothy got me for Christmas a few years ago. I refilled the tire and drove on. I stopped at 202 and bought a pressure gauge and rechecked the tire. It was still full so I continued on. I stopped again around 134 at a rest area and the tire was still full so I drove on to the interview, arriving early I went to a different area of the parking lot and rechecked the tire, it was fine. I thought the interview went extremely well, but I have thought that about almost all of the interviews that I have gone to. They told me they would be making a decision next Monday or Tuesday (it is the next Tuesday as I type this – oh well).
The rest of the week was pretty uneventful. Melody pretended like she lived here, coming and going as she pleased, stopping occasionally to ask, “What’s for dinner?” I’m not sure of the significance, but I bag up all of the trash every Tuesday so Gordon can put it out for Wednesday pick up and this last week the trash was full by Saturday, coincidence that Melody was home? Could be.
Melody is back in California safe and sound, although she will probably be emotional for a while, as she has to start missing all of us all over again. I know I certainly missed seeing that lump on the couch this morning when I got up. Heather automatically drove to our house last night and came in for a while before she remembered that Melody was not here and she doesn’t like the rest of us.
In other news, my bank has still not cleared up the fraudulent charge stuff. And I have two interviews on Friday; one is for Snelling for temporary work, and the other with an electrical company in Livonia. I have a Nar-Anon picnic on Saturday so I will be staying overnight at Mom’s.
So where did I leave off?
My plan for picking Melody up was to get up fairly early on Friday and nap from 8 until midnight when Gordon got home from work. Leave here at 2:30 and drive to the airport to get her. Everything went as planned except the nap part, the nap was only from 10:00 to 11:30, I forget now the reason but still remember the loss. We waited outside the security checkpoint and Melody arrived right on time. We went downstairs to collect her bags (why is it that the first 10 or so bags that are placed on the carousel belong to no one?), with bags in hand we turned to leave and realized that we did not have Megan. I looked around and panicked. Melody and Gordon assured me that she could not have gone far, I did not find this very assuring as I knew that and had looked as far as she could have gone and she was not there. Melody started walking amongst the crowd and Gordon suggested I find the bathroom and she if she was there. She was, apparently she had told me but could not wait for an acknowledgement that I had heard her. This trip to the bathroom cost me a dollar as it put me in the parking lot for one hour and one minute. I thought since I was now paying for an additional 29 minutes we should use them driving around the parking lot, but emotions were running high so I didn’t even suggest this.
We stopped at McD for breakfast and then went to Mommy’s where many went to sleep. Having taken my nap earlier I was unable to fall back asleep and anxiously awaited Jackson. Erika and Jackson arrived right on time, followed shortly after by Robin and her entourage. We headed up to the pool and enjoyed the last good weather of official summer, (I think it was also the first good weather of official summer). Heather and Sabrina brought with them the rain and the official party moved to Little Caesar Funland. The kids had a ton of fun and the rest of us had a ton of pizza and crazy bread. I had forgotten how loud and obnoxious those places are, thousands of kids running and screaming. I guess it’s a good thing that as you get older you forget things more often, this way my own grandkids have a chance of going there with me. Steph and Arn left us at Funland and the rest of us went back to Mommy’s. Sean, Bryan, and Sabrina ran around in the front yard playing tag. It doesn’t seem that long ago that I watched what are now the big kids running around in that same yard. At one point to voice his displeasure at appropriate playthings Sean said, “I’m so boring” I told him that I couldn’t disagree more.
Once all of the extras had left for home, with cell phones preprogrammed to call when they were lost (and they did), we settled in for a quiet evening of Big Brother and Jackson. Jackson was fascinated with the Just Jack show on Mommy’s computer screen and his face registered surprise when Sammy’s picture came up as if to say, “hey wait a minute where did you get him, he’s mine.” I can’t vouch for anyone else but I slept well that night.
Sunday we went to breakfast and then ventured out to see the other half of the family. Most of the other half was busy with their own holiday weekend schedules, but we were able to spend some time with Grandma Gerry and Darryl. And then went to Dawn’s new house and played a little with Devon. We then got on the road to home with a stop at Great Lakes Crossing for a mall fix for Melody.
Monday was a trip to see Dustin in the Cadillac area. The barbecue was rained out so it was pizza again. Melody met the dogs, and Dustin played guitar for us. The drive home concluded Melody’s scheduled events for her vacation.
Tuesday morning I got up bright and early for my interview in Farmington Hills. The car sounded funny when I was leaving the house but the faster I went the less I noticed it, by the time I was on the freeway I hardly noticed at all. Someone else driving down the road did though and flagged me down to let me know I had a flat tire. In my professional clothes on the side of the freeway I as able to use (personally for the first time) the handy dandy air compressor Bob and Dorothy got me for Christmas a few years ago. I refilled the tire and drove on. I stopped at 202 and bought a pressure gauge and rechecked the tire. It was still full so I continued on. I stopped again around 134 at a rest area and the tire was still full so I drove on to the interview, arriving early I went to a different area of the parking lot and rechecked the tire, it was fine. I thought the interview went extremely well, but I have thought that about almost all of the interviews that I have gone to. They told me they would be making a decision next Monday or Tuesday (it is the next Tuesday as I type this – oh well).
The rest of the week was pretty uneventful. Melody pretended like she lived here, coming and going as she pleased, stopping occasionally to ask, “What’s for dinner?” I’m not sure of the significance, but I bag up all of the trash every Tuesday so Gordon can put it out for Wednesday pick up and this last week the trash was full by Saturday, coincidence that Melody was home? Could be.
Melody is back in California safe and sound, although she will probably be emotional for a while, as she has to start missing all of us all over again. I know I certainly missed seeing that lump on the couch this morning when I got up. Heather automatically drove to our house last night and came in for a while before she remembered that Melody was not here and she doesn’t like the rest of us.
In other news, my bank has still not cleared up the fraudulent charge stuff. And I have two interviews on Friday; one is for Snelling for temporary work, and the other with an electrical company in Livonia. I have a Nar-Anon picnic on Saturday so I will be staying overnight at Mom’s.
Friday, September 03, 2004
12 Step program for reality TV
One - came to believe that I was powerless over network programming and that my life has become unmanageable.
I think I am there. Our T.V Schedule said that the Lions were on last night from 7:00 to 10:00 followed by GWB until 11:00, News until 11:35, Letterman until 12:35, US Open Highlights until 1:05, and then Craig until 1:35. Then Big Brother would be on. When we turned it on at 10:30 GWB was on but he did not go off until 11:30 - now I don't know if the game ran late and if it did if they would postpone the prez or if he just ran long but this was putting BB even later. We watched the News, skipped Letterman and turned back for the US Open highlights on the off chance that they got smart and decided to put BB on earlier nope 1:05 US Open highlights for about 10 minuts, the other 20 minutes of the show someone sang, someone rapped and they talked about the players. Then Craig, now I have watched Craig occassionally (and heard that last Friday was his last day with the show) and it's an hour long show. He is only listed for a 1/2 hour so I assume since it was a rerun anyway they would just be abbreviating the show - nope. What was supposed to be on from 1:05 to 1:35 was now delayed due to program overrun starting at 1:35 and ending at 2:35, if I had planned to tape BB I would have been so upset. Megan (who doesn't have school today for the long Labor Day weekend) fell asleep on the floor way before BB was even supposed to start so we recorded it for her. Our system goes into update mode automatically at 3:00 just as Drew said I vote for, Gordon was able to cancel it quick enough to hear Adria. I feel so bad for Will, but thankfully it is a double eviction week and he will be getting someone new on Saturday. Then for BB to have you pay to see the nomination ceremony that took place "sometime later tonight" - which I'm sure was before we saw the show at 11:30 CA time. I so can't believe I care - Mommy you are going to tape on Saturday if we are not able to watch live right?
Job interview Tuesday 11:00 in Farmington Hills EZView 360, position is Project Coordinator.
I think I am there. Our T.V Schedule said that the Lions were on last night from 7:00 to 10:00 followed by GWB until 11:00, News until 11:35, Letterman until 12:35, US Open Highlights until 1:05, and then Craig until 1:35. Then Big Brother would be on. When we turned it on at 10:30 GWB was on but he did not go off until 11:30 - now I don't know if the game ran late and if it did if they would postpone the prez or if he just ran long but this was putting BB even later. We watched the News, skipped Letterman and turned back for the US Open highlights on the off chance that they got smart and decided to put BB on earlier nope 1:05 US Open highlights for about 10 minuts, the other 20 minutes of the show someone sang, someone rapped and they talked about the players. Then Craig, now I have watched Craig occassionally (and heard that last Friday was his last day with the show) and it's an hour long show. He is only listed for a 1/2 hour so I assume since it was a rerun anyway they would just be abbreviating the show - nope. What was supposed to be on from 1:05 to 1:35 was now delayed due to program overrun starting at 1:35 and ending at 2:35, if I had planned to tape BB I would have been so upset. Megan (who doesn't have school today for the long Labor Day weekend) fell asleep on the floor way before BB was even supposed to start so we recorded it for her. Our system goes into update mode automatically at 3:00 just as Drew said I vote for, Gordon was able to cancel it quick enough to hear Adria. I feel so bad for Will, but thankfully it is a double eviction week and he will be getting someone new on Saturday. Then for BB to have you pay to see the nomination ceremony that took place "sometime later tonight" - which I'm sure was before we saw the show at 11:30 CA time. I so can't believe I care - Mommy you are going to tape on Saturday if we are not able to watch live right?
Job interview Tuesday 11:00 in Farmington Hills EZView 360, position is Project Coordinator.
Wednesday, September 01, 2004
Who lost the ocean?
I know the globe is constantly changing, it becomes evident every olympic year when I don't recognize the names of 1/4 of the countries. But why didn't someone tell me that we had lost an ocean? Geography had never been my strong suit; I have a general idea of where things are at; the closer to where I live they are the more I can tell you about them. For example I know that Ohio is south of Michigan, but is Kentucky south of Tennessee? I just don't know. I know they are in the same general area. Give me a wooden puzzle with the capitals written on the wood I can put everything right where it belongs, even foreign countries (old foreign countries not these made up ones for the Olympics) I do believe. I am good at that, I can remember the facts, just not where they go. So today I am quizzing Megan on the spelling of the continents and oceans for her quiz at school tomorrow. I said Antarctic Ocean, and she laughed. She told me Antarctica was a continent not an ocean. I held that Antarctica was a continent and Antarctic was the ocean. She kept laughing (imagine your own child laughing at you) so I looked it up in the Geographical Names portion of the dictionary (an older model) and it said Antarctica or Antarctic Continent body of land surrounding the South Pole. Antarctic Ocean ocean surrounding Antarctica. This did not quell her giggles as she brought me her Social Studies book and the picture of the earth and said, "Okay where is it?" it wasn't on there. When I looked up Oceans it said "the earth's oceans are divided into four Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, and Arctic" I distinctly remember learning there were 7 continents and 5 oceans. You'll be happy to know there are still 7 continents but apparently we have lost an ocean in the few years since I went to school (maybe many years since I was in the 7th grade). Today was meet the teachers day at school so I went prepared to address this with the Social Studies teacher. The SS teacher was at the front desk along with the English teacher. The SS teacher was a bit younger than I and the English teacher about my age. When I questioned the SS teacher about this she was unaware that there ever was an Antarctic Ocean, the English teacher said, "then what's the 5th ocean?" The SS teacher replied there are only 4. So nobody there knows what happened to the 5th ocean. Hopefully I have enough sisters in academia that somewhere I can get an answer to this.
Monday, August 30, 2004
Wonderful Weekend
Back home again after a wonderful weekend. The wedding was great. Steph looked almost grown up. Watching her pretend to be an adult on Saturday was reminiscent of watching her think she was an adult so many years ago. As I have said many times Steph was always aware that there were different rules for adults then for kids, she just never seemed to grasp that she was one of the kids. Now I have a hard time grasping that she's not a kid anymore. But the wedding was beautiful and Steph was an adult. Making adult decisions, I guess that's the scariest part for me. The world will soon be in the hands of people I helped raise, what the hell do I know about raising people, kids was one thing - people is a whole nother world.
For those of you keeping up with the blogs you know one of Steph's worries was that she would be stuck with a lot of fish at the end of the wedding. I stated that I would not be bringing any fish home, well Steph had nothing to worry about and I was wrong. Megan brought a fish home, on the way home she decided the fish needed a name. I thought Cat Chow would be a good name but Megan didn't like it. So we decided on a name that commemorated the occassion on which we got the fish - Stephanie and Arn Got Married - so his (or her) name is Sagm (the g is silent). I think Cat Chow will be more appropriate in the end, but what do I know.
Jackson was adorable, his range of motion has widened to the point where nothing is safe anymore. Erika put a box over the cord from Mommy's lamp so he couldn't chew on the cord, Jackson was terribly pleased with this as he could pull himself up on the box to reach where the cord plugged into the wall, who would of thought his Mommy could be so accomodating? Rumor has it that he had a rough night, but I slept in the living room and the only problem was a cranky Erika about 2:00 in the morning.
Texas Hold 'em was fun on Sunday since the weather was not swim appropriate. The forecast for Saturday is much better.
For those of you keeping up with the blogs you know one of Steph's worries was that she would be stuck with a lot of fish at the end of the wedding. I stated that I would not be bringing any fish home, well Steph had nothing to worry about and I was wrong. Megan brought a fish home, on the way home she decided the fish needed a name. I thought Cat Chow would be a good name but Megan didn't like it. So we decided on a name that commemorated the occassion on which we got the fish - Stephanie and Arn Got Married - so his (or her) name is Sagm (the g is silent). I think Cat Chow will be more appropriate in the end, but what do I know.
Jackson was adorable, his range of motion has widened to the point where nothing is safe anymore. Erika put a box over the cord from Mommy's lamp so he couldn't chew on the cord, Jackson was terribly pleased with this as he could pull himself up on the box to reach where the cord plugged into the wall, who would of thought his Mommy could be so accomodating? Rumor has it that he had a rough night, but I slept in the living room and the only problem was a cranky Erika about 2:00 in the morning.
Texas Hold 'em was fun on Sunday since the weather was not swim appropriate. The forecast for Saturday is much better.
Thursday, August 26, 2004
Just a few things that drive me crazy
Pop up ads - where do they all come from? My ISP now has pop up ad blocker and it has successfully blocked 75% of the pop ups that I get but I still get way too many. The most irritating this is when the pop up ad contains a bad URL. At some point many moons ago somebody on my computer downloaded, accepted, signed up for, or in some other way put something called incredifind on my computer, this program intercepts whenever it takes more than 5 seconds for a URL to come up. It eats up all the system resources, stopping everything that I want to do, to tell me that the URL I have requested is not available. It gives me 100 choices for similar URL's and then lists 1000 categories if I just want to use one of theirs. It's annoying enough when it is a URL I wanted (I get it a lot on Stephanie's Blog, her's seems to take longer to come up), but when it is a forced URL that I certainly never wanted I get really frustrated. As for just pop up ads that one that looks official telling you that there might be spyware on your computer has confused even some of my brighter friends.
The Bank - I am still in arrears with my bank for the fraudulent charges they gave me provisional credit for the charges but had to leave the overdraft charges and are charging an additional $5 per day of overdraft. I got a computer generated letter last week stating that I needed to bring my account current immediately as it had been overdrawn for over 30 days. I called the bank to talk to the signatory on the letter (and kept very calm and reasonable now that Mel is signatory on similar letters). She said "did you contest the charges?" I told her that I had and that they had removed the charges but not the overdraft fees, she said "that takes a couple of weeks" I told her that it had been over a month. She told me she would look into and call me back. She did call back and say that they were just about done and would be removing the overdraft in a few days. Today when I checked they are still there. However I did earn .27 in interest last month. A month when my account was in overdraft status every single day. Go figure.
Dish satellite service - I have never been happy with these people and I am sure I will never be happy, I did settle into a lull of contentment after they gave me all of the credits that I wanted. For those of you not in the loop when I had Dish installed in January I was supposed to get 2 boxes each working 2 TV's, they did not have 2 in stock so they gave me 1 that worked 2 TV's and 2 for individual TV's and then charged me for the additional box. Early last week I received a call from Dish telling me that they were going to be in my neighborhood installing and asked if I wanted a satellite dish - I asked if this was in addition to the one already on my roof. They said "Oh, do you already have dish satellite?" I said "yes, unfortunately" that last word was of way too many syllables so they asked "how do you like it so far?" I replied that I hated it but was stuck with a year's contract, reading from the script they then asked "can you give us the name and phone number of a few friends who don't have dish network?" keeping in mind that they called (and hung up on) me I replied "Are you out of your freaking mind!" I thought that was that, silly me. The way the two TV system works is there is a box in my living room that controls both the living room and my bedroom. The remote in my bedroom is some kind of special remote that goes through walls. Megan's remote will not work in my bedroom to change my bedroom TV, but will work in the living room to change the living room TV. My remote no matter where it is in the house changes my bedroom TV. This all seemed cool, until they were in my neighborhood installing a system somewhere else (possibly next door as we have new neighbors). I was set to tape poker yesterday morning as I screwed it up Tuesday night. When I went to watch it all I had was my system going through a series of test things, you could see how someone was arrowing over and selecting stuff. Point the dish, select the transponder, and then the fun part set up a favorites list for the channels that you watch all the time. They set up a list to include food network, game show channel, and A&E only. The way the system works is you select guide and it shows you the current listing of channels each time you hit it, it scrolls through you favorite lists and then finally all channels and then all subjects. We keep it on all subjects because this shows you only and all the channels you actually subscribe too and have never set up a favorites list. Most of what I am telling you now I learned the hard way yesterday since when I turned on my TV it was on A&E, this did not make sense to me since the last thing I had taped was ESPN. I thought shit I forgot to set it up to change to ESPN to tape the poker I'm going to have two hours of A&E, but we hardly ever watch A&E. Oh well, I rewound the tape and saw that I had all of this other stuff - system set up stuff - I still wasn't understanding why. I stopped the VCR and tried to change the channel on the TV but if the channel I tried was under 110 it went to 110 food network, if it was over 118 it went to 118 A&E. I thought I had lost all of my other channels, but the living room was working just fine with all the channels through the same box. Maybe this is just God's way of keeping me in touch with trouble shooting. Because I quickly went to guide and saw that only those three channels were listed and that it said Favorites 1 on top, when I hit guide again all channels appeared and then once again for all subjects. I deleted the favorites list completely from the system and put the system back where I wanted with all my channels, still without poker though, good thing they run it all week long. Now my concern is did this just happen because they were setting up the system, or does this work through walls remote travel through the neighborhood? Everytime they change their channel will it change mine and vice versa (is that right?)? So far it's been alright but we shall see.
and I shall keep you posted.
The Bank - I am still in arrears with my bank for the fraudulent charges they gave me provisional credit for the charges but had to leave the overdraft charges and are charging an additional $5 per day of overdraft. I got a computer generated letter last week stating that I needed to bring my account current immediately as it had been overdrawn for over 30 days. I called the bank to talk to the signatory on the letter (and kept very calm and reasonable now that Mel is signatory on similar letters). She said "did you contest the charges?" I told her that I had and that they had removed the charges but not the overdraft fees, she said "that takes a couple of weeks" I told her that it had been over a month. She told me she would look into and call me back. She did call back and say that they were just about done and would be removing the overdraft in a few days. Today when I checked they are still there. However I did earn .27 in interest last month. A month when my account was in overdraft status every single day. Go figure.
Dish satellite service - I have never been happy with these people and I am sure I will never be happy, I did settle into a lull of contentment after they gave me all of the credits that I wanted. For those of you not in the loop when I had Dish installed in January I was supposed to get 2 boxes each working 2 TV's, they did not have 2 in stock so they gave me 1 that worked 2 TV's and 2 for individual TV's and then charged me for the additional box. Early last week I received a call from Dish telling me that they were going to be in my neighborhood installing and asked if I wanted a satellite dish - I asked if this was in addition to the one already on my roof. They said "Oh, do you already have dish satellite?" I said "yes, unfortunately" that last word was of way too many syllables so they asked "how do you like it so far?" I replied that I hated it but was stuck with a year's contract, reading from the script they then asked "can you give us the name and phone number of a few friends who don't have dish network?" keeping in mind that they called (and hung up on) me I replied "Are you out of your freaking mind!" I thought that was that, silly me. The way the two TV system works is there is a box in my living room that controls both the living room and my bedroom. The remote in my bedroom is some kind of special remote that goes through walls. Megan's remote will not work in my bedroom to change my bedroom TV, but will work in the living room to change the living room TV. My remote no matter where it is in the house changes my bedroom TV. This all seemed cool, until they were in my neighborhood installing a system somewhere else (possibly next door as we have new neighbors). I was set to tape poker yesterday morning as I screwed it up Tuesday night. When I went to watch it all I had was my system going through a series of test things, you could see how someone was arrowing over and selecting stuff. Point the dish, select the transponder, and then the fun part set up a favorites list for the channels that you watch all the time. They set up a list to include food network, game show channel, and A&E only. The way the system works is you select guide and it shows you the current listing of channels each time you hit it, it scrolls through you favorite lists and then finally all channels and then all subjects. We keep it on all subjects because this shows you only and all the channels you actually subscribe too and have never set up a favorites list. Most of what I am telling you now I learned the hard way yesterday since when I turned on my TV it was on A&E, this did not make sense to me since the last thing I had taped was ESPN. I thought shit I forgot to set it up to change to ESPN to tape the poker I'm going to have two hours of A&E, but we hardly ever watch A&E. Oh well, I rewound the tape and saw that I had all of this other stuff - system set up stuff - I still wasn't understanding why. I stopped the VCR and tried to change the channel on the TV but if the channel I tried was under 110 it went to 110 food network, if it was over 118 it went to 118 A&E. I thought I had lost all of my other channels, but the living room was working just fine with all the channels through the same box. Maybe this is just God's way of keeping me in touch with trouble shooting. Because I quickly went to guide and saw that only those three channels were listed and that it said Favorites 1 on top, when I hit guide again all channels appeared and then once again for all subjects. I deleted the favorites list completely from the system and put the system back where I wanted with all my channels, still without poker though, good thing they run it all week long. Now my concern is did this just happen because they were setting up the system, or does this work through walls remote travel through the neighborhood? Everytime they change their channel will it change mine and vice versa (is that right?)? So far it's been alright but we shall see.
and I shall keep you posted.
Wednesday, August 25, 2004
Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah, Blah
So let's catch up -
Job Interview in Tawas, rejection letter almost beat me home.
That's about all that is new, but I will probably go on for another 600 words or so.
I'm not sure of our plans for this weekend, Gordon has to work on Friday - oh yeah did I mention that while I spend hours each day reading newspapers, combing the internet, perfecting cover letters, updating resumes, dressing up for interviews, driving zillions of miles, and have only to show for it a dozen or so rejection letters, Bob mentioned to Gordon that they needed a dishwasher at G's in Houghton Lake was he interested, Gordon of course said yes. He has Saturday off and we are waiting to see for Sunday, but I just talked to Steph and we will definitely be there for the wedding. Steph had called to see if Megan could spend Friday night with her. Megan would have loved to, but Gordon doesn’t get off until midnight. If he doesn’t work on Sunday we will stay down there and hit our Saginaw meeting on the way home. What is Jackson’s schedule?
Melody is coming home soon, again I have no plans. I just know she wants to see her babies, I'll just be playing chauffeur. Quite frankly I am not even sure if she is planning on staying here.
We went up to Cadillac last night and saw way too much orange and red on the tress for this early in the year; the yucky weather is going to mess with my fall color.
Still totally captivated by the Olympics. The men's gymnastics judging was more like the ice-skating this year, makes for good drama but no so much for the sense of sport. I preferred the swimming set up to the track and field, I liked the way before each race was a blurb on the bottom of the screen that told you what the race was, what stage it was, and who the held the records. They probably tell you this stuff if you aren’t in fast forward mode, but I could read it all in FF mode for the swimming.
BB – I am tired of the twins, I can’t believe I ever actually rooted for Natalie to be able to come into the house on her own. The whine that Nikomis put them up for no reason, I guess they felt that if they said it often enough and louder it might become true. A of course had a great reason for putting up Will she didn’t think he was playing the game to his fullest ability. Whatever. I am liking Nikomis more and more each episode.
AR – what a difference an attitude makes. Chip is the greatest antithesis to Colin. Before the last night's show started I said I would like to see the twins gone, and am a bit disappointed that it was not an elimination round, but I really don’t want Colin and Christie to win. Colin because he is a jerk, Christie because she apologized to him because he was such a jerk.
What’s going on for Kewadin after Thanksgiving? Since it is a two night, we can drive and then we will have the car for Saturday to go to Brimley and Canada if everyone brings their birth certificate. We can even ditch the bus in St. Ignace and take the long way home past Victories and Turtle Creek. We are more than willing and happy to host Thanksgiving the schedule that I got has the bus boarding in West Branch.
Megan starts school tomorrow; she of course is absolutely thrilled. She exhibits this by moaning every once in while, “Why do I have to go to school.” I tried to help settle her down by having her clean her room and go through her clothes, I remember how much fun that was for me when I was her age. But she is just at that age when she doesn’t appreciate all I do for her. Oh well.
So you all know everything I do now. If I learn anything else I will keep you posted.
Job Interview in Tawas, rejection letter almost beat me home.
That's about all that is new, but I will probably go on for another 600 words or so.
I'm not sure of our plans for this weekend, Gordon has to work on Friday - oh yeah did I mention that while I spend hours each day reading newspapers, combing the internet, perfecting cover letters, updating resumes, dressing up for interviews, driving zillions of miles, and have only to show for it a dozen or so rejection letters, Bob mentioned to Gordon that they needed a dishwasher at G's in Houghton Lake was he interested, Gordon of course said yes. He has Saturday off and we are waiting to see for Sunday, but I just talked to Steph and we will definitely be there for the wedding. Steph had called to see if Megan could spend Friday night with her. Megan would have loved to, but Gordon doesn’t get off until midnight. If he doesn’t work on Sunday we will stay down there and hit our Saginaw meeting on the way home. What is Jackson’s schedule?
Melody is coming home soon, again I have no plans. I just know she wants to see her babies, I'll just be playing chauffeur. Quite frankly I am not even sure if she is planning on staying here.
We went up to Cadillac last night and saw way too much orange and red on the tress for this early in the year; the yucky weather is going to mess with my fall color.
Still totally captivated by the Olympics. The men's gymnastics judging was more like the ice-skating this year, makes for good drama but no so much for the sense of sport. I preferred the swimming set up to the track and field, I liked the way before each race was a blurb on the bottom of the screen that told you what the race was, what stage it was, and who the held the records. They probably tell you this stuff if you aren’t in fast forward mode, but I could read it all in FF mode for the swimming.
BB – I am tired of the twins, I can’t believe I ever actually rooted for Natalie to be able to come into the house on her own. The whine that Nikomis put them up for no reason, I guess they felt that if they said it often enough and louder it might become true. A of course had a great reason for putting up Will she didn’t think he was playing the game to his fullest ability. Whatever. I am liking Nikomis more and more each episode.
AR – what a difference an attitude makes. Chip is the greatest antithesis to Colin. Before the last night's show started I said I would like to see the twins gone, and am a bit disappointed that it was not an elimination round, but I really don’t want Colin and Christie to win. Colin because he is a jerk, Christie because she apologized to him because he was such a jerk.
What’s going on for Kewadin after Thanksgiving? Since it is a two night, we can drive and then we will have the car for Saturday to go to Brimley and Canada if everyone brings their birth certificate. We can even ditch the bus in St. Ignace and take the long way home past Victories and Turtle Creek. We are more than willing and happy to host Thanksgiving the schedule that I got has the bus boarding in West Branch.
Megan starts school tomorrow; she of course is absolutely thrilled. She exhibits this by moaning every once in while, “Why do I have to go to school.” I tried to help settle her down by having her clean her room and go through her clothes, I remember how much fun that was for me when I was her age. But she is just at that age when she doesn’t appreciate all I do for her. Oh well.
So you all know everything I do now. If I learn anything else I will keep you posted.
Wednesday, August 18, 2004
What do you say when there is nothing to say in 2789 words or less
One - Yes, the Lions trouncing the Steelers is reality tv, preseason reality but reality none the less, the have to let the fans get their hopes up for the maximum effect when the real season starts.
Two – What happened to the ads? I only see ads on Steph and Mel’s blogs. On Erika’s where she has Jackson’s age the line is partially cut off. Like the screen is too small to hold it all.
Three – The Olympics are awesome. I loved the Greek synchronized divers, and the Japanese male gymnasts. Watching both you hoped for an error so the US would get the gold – or at least a medal for diving – so Megan and I are yelling “Fall, Fall, Fall, Wow.” We watched the rowing repechages after reading Mom’s blog, but not Dad’s definition, so later after the definition I went out all intelligent into the living room and said to Gordon you know those repechages we watched this afternoon, he said “Yeah, for the loser boats” I said, “Never Mind.” I read an interview in Time Magazine today with Bob Costas, when asked if he could be an athlete at the games what would he want to be doing, he said that the coxswain of the rowing team would be manageable (Megan wants that job too). The US female gymnasts reminded me of the Russians last time, visibly disappointed in the silver. They were lucky to get that with all the mistakes they made, what happened to little Courtney McCool (I’m not sure if that really is her last name, but we seem to have forgot what it was), she didn’t do anything in the finals. Gordon is a bit disappointed to not see Curling in the schedule; we all have fond memories of watching curling on channel 9 as kids. The swimming is great, I loved the enthusiasm Michael Phelps showed when winning the gold for the relay, much more it seemed than for his individual one earlier in the evening. I vicariously feel part of the team. I watched Iraq win a soccer game, the commentators talked about how the game is becoming more popular with the fall of Suddam as one of the mean sons liked the game so much many people were afraid to play as there was harsh punishment for a bad play, reminded me of learning to play Euchre. Soccer just seems so hard, the field is huge, bigger than a football field, and yet they are constantly using the whole thing, not just a little piece at a time like in football. Sort of like the field hockey but that was just to hard to figure out what was going on. Water Polo was cool though, that goalie has a tough job. I like beach volleyball much more than regular volleyball, both of them are much better this year with the rally scoring. I watched some ping pong, are the tables smaller? The equestrian stuff is okay, but slow, on fast forward it looks really cool. In fact it looks a lot like the white water stuff, which those of us here have agreed would be awesome to do if it was motorized and we didn’t have to paddle. We watched some Judo, but it is too much like wrestling, the fencing was interesting but what did they do before they had light up helmets?
Oh yeah, I have a job interview on Friday with the Tawas Chamber of Commerce. It is for a full time temporary position running through November or December when they are restructuring the staff based on hiring a new head person. I have to write a paragraph of no more than 100 words on the benefits of visiting the Tawas area. So expect something to proof for me tomorrow.
I think that is all the life sucking stuff I’ve got.
Two – What happened to the ads? I only see ads on Steph and Mel’s blogs. On Erika’s where she has Jackson’s age the line is partially cut off. Like the screen is too small to hold it all.
Three – The Olympics are awesome. I loved the Greek synchronized divers, and the Japanese male gymnasts. Watching both you hoped for an error so the US would get the gold – or at least a medal for diving – so Megan and I are yelling “Fall, Fall, Fall, Wow.” We watched the rowing repechages after reading Mom’s blog, but not Dad’s definition, so later after the definition I went out all intelligent into the living room and said to Gordon you know those repechages we watched this afternoon, he said “Yeah, for the loser boats” I said, “Never Mind.” I read an interview in Time Magazine today with Bob Costas, when asked if he could be an athlete at the games what would he want to be doing, he said that the coxswain of the rowing team would be manageable (Megan wants that job too). The US female gymnasts reminded me of the Russians last time, visibly disappointed in the silver. They were lucky to get that with all the mistakes they made, what happened to little Courtney McCool (I’m not sure if that really is her last name, but we seem to have forgot what it was), she didn’t do anything in the finals. Gordon is a bit disappointed to not see Curling in the schedule; we all have fond memories of watching curling on channel 9 as kids. The swimming is great, I loved the enthusiasm Michael Phelps showed when winning the gold for the relay, much more it seemed than for his individual one earlier in the evening. I vicariously feel part of the team. I watched Iraq win a soccer game, the commentators talked about how the game is becoming more popular with the fall of Suddam as one of the mean sons liked the game so much many people were afraid to play as there was harsh punishment for a bad play, reminded me of learning to play Euchre. Soccer just seems so hard, the field is huge, bigger than a football field, and yet they are constantly using the whole thing, not just a little piece at a time like in football. Sort of like the field hockey but that was just to hard to figure out what was going on. Water Polo was cool though, that goalie has a tough job. I like beach volleyball much more than regular volleyball, both of them are much better this year with the rally scoring. I watched some ping pong, are the tables smaller? The equestrian stuff is okay, but slow, on fast forward it looks really cool. In fact it looks a lot like the white water stuff, which those of us here have agreed would be awesome to do if it was motorized and we didn’t have to paddle. We watched some Judo, but it is too much like wrestling, the fencing was interesting but what did they do before they had light up helmets?
Oh yeah, I have a job interview on Friday with the Tawas Chamber of Commerce. It is for a full time temporary position running through November or December when they are restructuring the staff based on hiring a new head person. I have to write a paragraph of no more than 100 words on the benefits of visiting the Tawas area. So expect something to proof for me tomorrow.
I think that is all the life sucking stuff I’ve got.
Sunday, August 15, 2004
Real Reality TV
So after watching the Lions trample the Steelers last night our CBS station ran BB at 12:30. The football broadcast had Detroit UPN up in the corner so I am assuming that Mom got it on channel 50, and BB was on at normal time on channel 62. We don't have a UPN station (thus no Amish Kids). So I had thrown a tape in to tape the Olympics to watch after BB. At 4:00 am we are on the edge of our seats as Sandano comes oh so close to taking the Gold. Even fast forwarding through the Road Race (wow did they go fast on FF), we didn't finish the tape until close to 5:00. It was interesting watching the Men's Gymnastics, I loved the way the commentators kept showing us how far the Russians had fallen in their program, showing one Russian slip up after the next. I'm sure the Russian Channel had a similar tape of American slips as we had no shortage of those last night. Of course we were privy to the reasoning for the American's problems, the change in judging for Blaine Wilson and Brett McClure, I'm sure the Russians have no such excuses or we would have been told.
Tonight we have a meeting in Saginaw and are taping 5 hours of Olympics, 2 hours of Poker on Travel Channel, 1 hour of Poker on Fox Sports, and 1 Hour for the Days on ABC. It's a good thing I don't have a job to get in the way of all of this.
Other than that not much new here, Megan is home and back in routine. I trounced her in Tri-Versity last night. Tonya, Mike, and Jake were up last week, camping about 2 miles from the house. We visited them on Wednesday, it was way too cold for the kids to swim but they had fun at the park and putt-putt. We had a campfire with roasted hotdogs and S'mores (note correct spelling thanks Ris). There are some pictures up on Yahoo, nothing spectacular though.
Tonight we have a meeting in Saginaw and are taping 5 hours of Olympics, 2 hours of Poker on Travel Channel, 1 hour of Poker on Fox Sports, and 1 Hour for the Days on ABC. It's a good thing I don't have a job to get in the way of all of this.
Other than that not much new here, Megan is home and back in routine. I trounced her in Tri-Versity last night. Tonya, Mike, and Jake were up last week, camping about 2 miles from the house. We visited them on Wednesday, it was way too cold for the kids to swim but they had fun at the park and putt-putt. We had a campfire with roasted hotdogs and S'mores (note correct spelling thanks Ris). There are some pictures up on Yahoo, nothing spectacular though.
Tuesday, August 10, 2004
Memory Like A Hawk
Time to get the Megan. When I took her to the airport we had a bit of a hassle getting me to the gate to wait with her. As you can read in my post of July 20th when she left. So I told her then that to pick her up I would try to get to the gate but if I couldn't I would be right outside the security checkpoint that she walks past to get to baggage claim. She was not happy about this, but felt she would be okay. I explained to her that when Grandma picks someone up, she doesn't even leave her house until the plane has landed and the person being picked up has called her, that way she gets to baggage claim about the same time as the person is picking up their bags and is ready to go.
So plans have changed just a little, I am going to go to a meeting and Grandma is going to drive Gordon to the airport to go in and pick Megan up. I explained this to Megan yesterday, assuring her that he would try to get to the gate, but if not would be at the security checkpoint. And that I would then meet them at Grandma's probably about the same time they got there. We talked about the time change how she would be leaving at noon and not arriving until almost 8:00, and I would be at Grandma's around 9:30.
Then today I get a call from Kathy, as she is sitting at the gate with Megan waiting for her plane to leave. Megan has told her that Grandma is picking her up instead of me and that Grandma doesn't even leave the house until the arriving person has called after the plane has landed. I reassured Kathy that we were aware that Megan is only 12 and that Gordon would be there to escort her to baggage claim, at the gate if possible and if not at the security checkpoint. And yes, the security checkpoint is on the way to baggage claim. And that Grandma was willing to leave prior to the plane landing and wait outside of the airport carefully dodging Airport Security.
Kathy has explained where the air sick bags are and Megan will be taking her Dramamine one hour before takeoff, so hopefully she will arrive in her own clothing, and Gordon will recognize her.
Keep in mind Mel, that I am much like my own mother, and you are not 12. See you on the 4th.
So plans have changed just a little, I am going to go to a meeting and Grandma is going to drive Gordon to the airport to go in and pick Megan up. I explained this to Megan yesterday, assuring her that he would try to get to the gate, but if not would be at the security checkpoint. And that I would then meet them at Grandma's probably about the same time they got there. We talked about the time change how she would be leaving at noon and not arriving until almost 8:00, and I would be at Grandma's around 9:30.
Then today I get a call from Kathy, as she is sitting at the gate with Megan waiting for her plane to leave. Megan has told her that Grandma is picking her up instead of me and that Grandma doesn't even leave the house until the arriving person has called after the plane has landed. I reassured Kathy that we were aware that Megan is only 12 and that Gordon would be there to escort her to baggage claim, at the gate if possible and if not at the security checkpoint. And yes, the security checkpoint is on the way to baggage claim. And that Grandma was willing to leave prior to the plane landing and wait outside of the airport carefully dodging Airport Security.
Kathy has explained where the air sick bags are and Megan will be taking her Dramamine one hour before takeoff, so hopefully she will arrive in her own clothing, and Gordon will recognize her.
Keep in mind Mel, that I am much like my own mother, and you are not 12. See you on the 4th.
Monday, August 09, 2004
Blasts from the Pasts
On Saturday Gordon and I drove up to Petoskey for an open speaker meeting. We got there early and walked around downtown Petoskey for a little while. At one point we passed a little hole in the wall bar that looked closed, but much of downtown Petoskey looked closed. There were tons of people walking around and 75% of the stores were closed at 7:00 at night. So anyway, this bar had a board outside with coming attractions and listed for the 22nd was Pete Kehoe. Couldn't be our Pete Kehoe, I read the rest of the board from the 22nd up and noticed on the top it said December. Sure enough the last entry was 31st, New Year's Eve bash. We got home very late, and went to bed, but I couldn't sleep so I got on line for a while. I did a google on Pete Kehoe and sure enough it is our Pete Kehoe, although you will see from this link that he is using pictures of his dad on the web site, maybe he wants to convey the more mature look.
Then on Sunday I had a 2:00 meeting in Troy and a 7:00 in Saginaw, so I left Troy about 5:00 and needed a soda. I didn't want to stop at one of the main freeway exits (Jocelyn Road, Baldwin Road - remember those from going to Grandma's and the beach - Jocelyn Road had a drive in - key word had - now it has a major mall and tons of restaurants and Michigan left turns and yuk!) So I got off and the first non-commercial exit - Dixie Highway - to avoid traffic hassles. Sure enough there was a gas station right off the exit - Erika would have been proud. Coming out there were no left turn signs, and once you made a right there were signs that said North I-75 straight NO U TURN. So I continued along Dixie highway expecting an entrance at some point to I-75, as I passed the Whoopee Bowl, having seen no further signs for I-75, I turned in and made a left out back to the original entrance. The Whoopee Bowl was closed for the day, but appeared to still be in business.
Gordon was not much impressed with either of my discoveries, thank goodness for blogging.
Then on Sunday I had a 2:00 meeting in Troy and a 7:00 in Saginaw, so I left Troy about 5:00 and needed a soda. I didn't want to stop at one of the main freeway exits (Jocelyn Road, Baldwin Road - remember those from going to Grandma's and the beach - Jocelyn Road had a drive in - key word had - now it has a major mall and tons of restaurants and Michigan left turns and yuk!) So I got off and the first non-commercial exit - Dixie Highway - to avoid traffic hassles. Sure enough there was a gas station right off the exit - Erika would have been proud. Coming out there were no left turn signs, and once you made a right there were signs that said North I-75 straight NO U TURN. So I continued along Dixie highway expecting an entrance at some point to I-75, as I passed the Whoopee Bowl, having seen no further signs for I-75, I turned in and made a left out back to the original entrance. The Whoopee Bowl was closed for the day, but appeared to still be in business.
Gordon was not much impressed with either of my discoveries, thank goodness for blogging.
Friday, August 06, 2004
Common Sense Everywhere But Not A Thought to Think
I got the camera back. I loaded the pictures, I wrote a blog. I put the card back in the camera, turned it on to make sure my new batteries worked and it beeped with an i in the top screen. Having no idea what the i meant I tried to take a picture the LCD Screen lit up with card full. Funny I deleted all the pictures. So I closed the camera and went to look at the pictures on the disk - the screen lit up No Pictures. Hmm, I opened the camera it beeped showed me the i and said Card Full. If I was on Jeopardy I would have said "what is TV Guide" for full with nothing in it. I did this three or four times with the same results - can we say what is the definition of insanity? I tried formatting the card and still got the same results. I tried reformatting the card, and still got the same results. I tried holding the camera upside down.
Now mind you I didn't have a manual, as this was a hand-me-down from Erika and not Mom. (I got a hand-me-down phone from Mom recently that had a post-it attached to the manual that said battery changed 06-24-96). So I went on line.
Now mind you I didn't have a manual, as this was a hand-me-down from Erika and not Mom. (I got a hand-me-down phone from Mom recently that had a post-it attached to the manual that said battery changed 06-24-96). So I went on line.
total digression - I couldn't get the living room vcr to timer record the other day - I don't usually need the living room as I use the office and the bedroom but on Tuesday I had three things at 9:00 to record. I had been unsuccessful in the past in the living room so I tested it by setting it for two minutes from the time I was doing it to have it record, I turned the VCR off and it did not record. I re-programmed it and left the VCR on it did not record - Again I did not have a book since it was a hand-me-down (trade) with Robin. So I went on line to see if they had a manual on line I could download. They had a manual for sale for $1.67 but the shipping and handling was $5.50. I sent an email to customer service and they replied immediately that you have to hit the timer record button for the VCR to put itself into timer mode.
Olympus had a wonderful site where I could download the manual in PDF format. I recommend this even if you have the manual at home. In PDF I could search "Card Full" and it brought me to each place in the document where those words appeared. Unfortunately they recommended formatting the card. Been there done that. I searched Error Messages for the i and it meant the camera had information for me such as Card Full. This was all so very helpful. The manual came in four documents a quick start guide and manual broken down into 3 49 page sections. So I started reading the quick start guide. The camera has lots of buttons and stuff on the back, before which I had no idea what they meant. I had figured out the basics, change the time to Michigan not Indiana time, turn the flash on, view the pictures. But that only used 2 out of the 8 buttons. The quick start guide showed card set up as what I had thought was a trash can with the lid up, I had assumed this was delete. In a way it is, it allows you to delete all pictures on the Card, there weren't any but I tried anyway - still didn't work. It also allows you to format the card in the camera, hitherto I had formatted on the PC, so I tried that - still no luck. It was getting close to time to leave (if Robin was on time) but I really wanted to take pictures. So I looked at the top screen for any information and I noticed an SHQ in the corner. I did a search on that, this indicated that I was storing High Quality photos and you can store less of these on the card. So working with the manual I figured out how to change this and lo and behold my card was no longer full. This would be common sense. But now I am home and I have time to think.
So I go back into the set up, on SQ - the lowest quality picture my camera shows that I have room for 160 pictures. This number is smaller than it used to be back when it was working fine for the higher quality pictures. So I go back into the menu and set it for HQ which is the medium quality pictures and my camera says I have room for 588 pictures, dare I try SHQ which totally freaked out the camera this afternoon. Of course I dare, 294 pictures. So why...oh who cares, it works. I now have a manual and I may even read it. In the mean time Deer Acres pictures are up on Yahoo, and later I will tell you what a rip off tourist con it is.
Catching Up
Okay, Okay, I know I haven't posted in a while. But really nothing is new here. We did go out on Saturday to Dustin's house, but I forgot the camera there and I was waiting until I could post pictures with the blog. So here it is. The pictures are on yahoo click on this and it will take you there.
For those of you who don't know Dustin is a friend of ours that recently found his biological mom, and has gone to live with her in Mesick. Mesick is halfway between Traverse City and Cadillac and consists of an IGA the size of Mark's Market, two bars, three gas stations, and a church.
Dustin's Mom is Connie, his sister is Brandi, and his step-dad is Pete. The most important occupants of the house however are Rocky and Aurora. I was told they were pit bulls, but very well trained pit bulls. Somehow, I think I have managed my whole life to never see a pit bull before. The picture I had, I now realize, was more bulldog, than pit bull. So I was very surprised by there appearance. They were however very well trained and behaved. Seanie would keep asking, "are they letting the dogs out?" with a slight tremor in his voice, but everytime the dogs came out if they didn't run right up to him he was chasing them down. Brian took a few pictures in the house of the dogs, Aurora is the one poking her nose through the coffee table. One of Bry's better shots.
Pete came home and made wonderful burgers and hot dogs on the grill. I was extremely impressed, as I am not a big fan of gas grills, might as well cook on the stove. But the burgers were grilled. I'm not quite sure how he does it, and don't want to know as barbecuing is not a skill I want. The boys then 'helped' Pete load up some wood out of the garage for our fire. We had a wonderful campfire with some mores and everything. It was a good time. And with a fire pit, these guys have now become my favorite people and I intend to spend more time there. The batteries died before the campfire so I didn't get any pictures of it. I have to learn either to bring extra batteries, or not let Bry take pictures. I am getting extra batteries now.
We left late, and Gordon forgot the camera. He was in charge. So really blame him for the delay. We are leaving soon - I think - for Deer Acres with Robin, Jeremy, and all the boys. So I should have more to post later. Unless Gordon forgets the camera.
For those of you who don't know Dustin is a friend of ours that recently found his biological mom, and has gone to live with her in Mesick. Mesick is halfway between Traverse City and Cadillac and consists of an IGA the size of Mark's Market, two bars, three gas stations, and a church.
Dustin's Mom is Connie, his sister is Brandi, and his step-dad is Pete. The most important occupants of the house however are Rocky and Aurora. I was told they were pit bulls, but very well trained pit bulls. Somehow, I think I have managed my whole life to never see a pit bull before. The picture I had, I now realize, was more bulldog, than pit bull. So I was very surprised by there appearance. They were however very well trained and behaved. Seanie would keep asking, "are they letting the dogs out?" with a slight tremor in his voice, but everytime the dogs came out if they didn't run right up to him he was chasing them down. Brian took a few pictures in the house of the dogs, Aurora is the one poking her nose through the coffee table. One of Bry's better shots.
Pete came home and made wonderful burgers and hot dogs on the grill. I was extremely impressed, as I am not a big fan of gas grills, might as well cook on the stove. But the burgers were grilled. I'm not quite sure how he does it, and don't want to know as barbecuing is not a skill I want. The boys then 'helped' Pete load up some wood out of the garage for our fire. We had a wonderful campfire with some mores and everything. It was a good time. And with a fire pit, these guys have now become my favorite people and I intend to spend more time there. The batteries died before the campfire so I didn't get any pictures of it. I have to learn either to bring extra batteries, or not let Bry take pictures. I am getting extra batteries now.
We left late, and Gordon forgot the camera. He was in charge. So really blame him for the delay. We are leaving soon - I think - for Deer Acres with Robin, Jeremy, and all the boys. So I should have more to post later. Unless Gordon forgets the camera.
Wednesday, July 28, 2004
Rapid Interviewing
First - Presenting the presentation. I had assumed that I could run up to Wal-mart and pick up a few of the .25 folder thingies that we used in school. They are clear plastic, one piece folded that has a clip bar that slides down the left hand side. I guess I've been out of the do-it-yourself presentation (without a spiral binder on hand) business too long. They still make the thingies, only now they are much nicer plastic and the clip is attached and swings off. They run in price (at wal-mart) from .80 to $3.00 each. They had told me to bring 4 - one for me, and three for the people interviewing me. So I begrudgingly picked up 4 of the .80 ones. Then saw a clearance racked and saw what looks like a dou-tang clip folder only plastic and the front page is clear. Package of 5 on clearance for $1.25, just what I wanted. They had two packages so I bought them both, I really like the idea of giving them out at interviews. Since they only have 2 prongs, I took the middle prong out of my 3-hole punch and they fit perfectly. I bound up four copies and slid in unbound a copy of my resume, reference list, and reference letters.
I also did not take a nap when I could barely keep my eyes open at 8:00 last night. I figured since nothing was on on Wednesday I could watch all of my Tuesday tapes (Mommies, Comics, and Poker) tonight. I could watch BB and AR and then go to bed so I could get up early (Ris I felt your pain for the cruise). No such luck, I did go to bed after AR, read for a while, tried to sleep, finished my book, tossed and turned until 3:30. Gordon was great and got up at 7:00 so he could keep pestering me until I crawled out of bed at 7:55. I was professionally dressed (I like the sound of that) and out the door by 8:10. I was at the interview place by 9:15, since my appointment was not until 9:30 I parked in a MCD to change my shoes and take my key off the ring and put in my portfolio so I did not need to bring my purse in with me. I called the guy from CAE Tech and let him know I was 5 minutes out as he had asked me to do and he told me he was in the lobby and would meet me there.
In the lobby were two guys talking, neither said anything to me, so I looked around and said "Stan?", the younger of the two (I think he was 12, maybe 12 1/2) said that's me and handed me a CAE Tech company folder while he continued talking to the other guy. I glanced through the folder quickly - Company profile and benefits. Catching enough of their conversation to know they were talking about traffic for the Buick Open in Flint this week, I chose to interrupt and ask "Just what is this?" He said "Company profile and benefits" such a bright guy. I then started those clarifying questions that came in so handy yesterday when dealing with this company. "Does this mean that if I get the job, I am actually working for CAE Tech and CAE Tech is (I think that should be are but I hate the way it sounds) subcontracting out my services?" His reply - something like that you'd actually be working here but we would be the one paying you. Yes something like subcontracting. I asked him if I needed to check in at the front desk or if he had already taken care of that - they should do something to make a profit off of me. The other guy spoke up (apparently he was the 9:00 interview) and told me to check in and then call the guy - did I want his number. I assumed I had the same information he did - although I felt like he had received the correct job description the first time - which included a name and number of the interviewer. I told him I was fine and went to check in. The receptionist called him and told him I was there. Maybe she like me better than the 9:00?
Uwe Baxter came to the lobby and greeted me, Uwe is a small guy. He led me to the interview room, up two flights of stairs and then a marathon run through a maze of cubicles, talking and expecting replies all the way. I did not make a great impression of a normal breathing adult by the time we got to the room. I caught my breath quickly though and we started talking - fast. Apparently this was a 1/2 hour interview and Uwe had them scheduled all morning one after the next. Again this would have been helpful information to have prior. I gave him a copy of my presentation and he proceeded to tell me a little about the job. The title is Value Stream Coordinator - something never mentioned in the Job Description page I received. His department is responsible for Aftermarket and Service parts, the position he is looking to fill is someone to coordinate all of the different pieces of the department, to make sure things get done, and to put together information in a way that is meaningful and clear. He talked about scheduling meetings, taking minutes, and following up on Action Items. But you know "diplomatically". (No way the period goes in the quotes!) So I said, "just following up that action item is due in a couple of days and I wanted to see how you were coming along and to find out if there is anything I can do to help" - he said "yes", and on we went. He showed me a book of information that started with about 4 pages of graphs and then follow up information. Mark would have been drooling all over the table, and so I mentioned that. "My old boss would be drooling right now, he loved books that started with just the information he needed to see, in a way that he could know what was going on without having to read all the associated back up, that was my job" - he said "Exactly". This was going good. As he talked he reviewed my presentation and made several notes as we went along. The job sounded like something I could do with my eyes closed. The only maybe part was reading technical drawings. He explained that the job would require going to the actual plant and working with the people there on the technical drawings, and knowing what the parts were. I told him that right now I could identify the parts as "the spoon looking thing, the funnel looking thingy, the really long thing", but that I pick up on things quickly and have no problem asking for help with something. I explained that I would rather ask questions to clarify something than waste my time and effort doing something incorrectly. And that I would rather ask for help with something then struggle for hours trying to do it myself. He seemed to like that and wrote something down. He asked if I had any questions, and not being able to ask the usual benefits and compensation questions, I asked a few about just what was considered aftermarket (additions to vehicles after they have been manufactured - things that make a NASCAR car go really fast, and parts made but not actually put on a car that go to dealers for servicing), I asked about the size of the department (a matrix department with a few people dedicated to the department and a lot of others that work in different departments but report to the Aftermarket) I had no more questions and he seemed fine so we started back down. He stopped to pick something up, and I said "Good give me a head start you walk faster than me" he laughed and said that was because he was always in a hurry.
All in all I think it went well, they will be calling for follow up interviews late next week. I am not wild about working for CAE Tech and depending on their competence for a paycheck, but will cross that bridge when I get there, and hopefully I will get there.
Oh yeah, when I came down the 12 year old was talking to the 10:00 and asked me if I had any questions, I asked him what the salary range was and he said, "Oh, I didn't bring that with me, I can send you an email when I get back to the office." Am I the only one that asks that question? Is that a questions one should not ask?
I also did not take a nap when I could barely keep my eyes open at 8:00 last night. I figured since nothing was on on Wednesday I could watch all of my Tuesday tapes (Mommies, Comics, and Poker) tonight. I could watch BB and AR and then go to bed so I could get up early (Ris I felt your pain for the cruise). No such luck, I did go to bed after AR, read for a while, tried to sleep, finished my book, tossed and turned until 3:30. Gordon was great and got up at 7:00 so he could keep pestering me until I crawled out of bed at 7:55. I was professionally dressed (I like the sound of that) and out the door by 8:10. I was at the interview place by 9:15, since my appointment was not until 9:30 I parked in a MCD to change my shoes and take my key off the ring and put in my portfolio so I did not need to bring my purse in with me. I called the guy from CAE Tech and let him know I was 5 minutes out as he had asked me to do and he told me he was in the lobby and would meet me there.
In the lobby were two guys talking, neither said anything to me, so I looked around and said "Stan?", the younger of the two (I think he was 12, maybe 12 1/2) said that's me and handed me a CAE Tech company folder while he continued talking to the other guy. I glanced through the folder quickly - Company profile and benefits. Catching enough of their conversation to know they were talking about traffic for the Buick Open in Flint this week, I chose to interrupt and ask "Just what is this?" He said "Company profile and benefits" such a bright guy. I then started those clarifying questions that came in so handy yesterday when dealing with this company. "Does this mean that if I get the job, I am actually working for CAE Tech and CAE Tech is (I think that should be are but I hate the way it sounds) subcontracting out my services?" His reply - something like that you'd actually be working here but we would be the one paying you. Yes something like subcontracting. I asked him if I needed to check in at the front desk or if he had already taken care of that - they should do something to make a profit off of me. The other guy spoke up (apparently he was the 9:00 interview) and told me to check in and then call the guy - did I want his number. I assumed I had the same information he did - although I felt like he had received the correct job description the first time - which included a name and number of the interviewer. I told him I was fine and went to check in. The receptionist called him and told him I was there. Maybe she like me better than the 9:00?
Uwe Baxter came to the lobby and greeted me, Uwe is a small guy. He led me to the interview room, up two flights of stairs and then a marathon run through a maze of cubicles, talking and expecting replies all the way. I did not make a great impression of a normal breathing adult by the time we got to the room. I caught my breath quickly though and we started talking - fast. Apparently this was a 1/2 hour interview and Uwe had them scheduled all morning one after the next. Again this would have been helpful information to have prior. I gave him a copy of my presentation and he proceeded to tell me a little about the job. The title is Value Stream Coordinator - something never mentioned in the Job Description page I received. His department is responsible for Aftermarket and Service parts, the position he is looking to fill is someone to coordinate all of the different pieces of the department, to make sure things get done, and to put together information in a way that is meaningful and clear. He talked about scheduling meetings, taking minutes, and following up on Action Items. But you know "diplomatically". (No way the period goes in the quotes!) So I said, "just following up that action item is due in a couple of days and I wanted to see how you were coming along and to find out if there is anything I can do to help" - he said "yes", and on we went. He showed me a book of information that started with about 4 pages of graphs and then follow up information. Mark would have been drooling all over the table, and so I mentioned that. "My old boss would be drooling right now, he loved books that started with just the information he needed to see, in a way that he could know what was going on without having to read all the associated back up, that was my job" - he said "Exactly". This was going good. As he talked he reviewed my presentation and made several notes as we went along. The job sounded like something I could do with my eyes closed. The only maybe part was reading technical drawings. He explained that the job would require going to the actual plant and working with the people there on the technical drawings, and knowing what the parts were. I told him that right now I could identify the parts as "the spoon looking thing, the funnel looking thingy, the really long thing", but that I pick up on things quickly and have no problem asking for help with something. I explained that I would rather ask questions to clarify something than waste my time and effort doing something incorrectly. And that I would rather ask for help with something then struggle for hours trying to do it myself. He seemed to like that and wrote something down. He asked if I had any questions, and not being able to ask the usual benefits and compensation questions, I asked a few about just what was considered aftermarket (additions to vehicles after they have been manufactured - things that make a NASCAR car go really fast, and parts made but not actually put on a car that go to dealers for servicing), I asked about the size of the department (a matrix department with a few people dedicated to the department and a lot of others that work in different departments but report to the Aftermarket) I had no more questions and he seemed fine so we started back down. He stopped to pick something up, and I said "Good give me a head start you walk faster than me" he laughed and said that was because he was always in a hurry.
All in all I think it went well, they will be calling for follow up interviews late next week. I am not wild about working for CAE Tech and depending on their competence for a paycheck, but will cross that bridge when I get there, and hopefully I will get there.
Oh yeah, when I came down the 12 year old was talking to the 10:00 and asked me if I had any questions, I asked him what the salary range was and he said, "Oh, I didn't bring that with me, I can send you an email when I get back to the office." Am I the only one that asks that question? Is that a questions one should not ask?
Tuesday, July 27, 2004
Now I know they are crazy
Okay, so after going over powerpoint with Erika I send it on to CAE for them to review, I am a little apprehensive about doing this as I do not want it replicated for the other interviewees tomorrow. I get a call right away from Vic - who did I mention speaks English as a second (or maybe third) language - telling me that I am representing CAE Tech and that their information not mine should be on the front page. That is the gist, what he did was talk for over five minutes about how if I wanted to use my own background that is okay he guesses but I needed to look at the sample they sent to me and use their information. After several clarifying questions from me I was able to determine (I think) what he wanted. I will also be giving them a resume with my information on it so I am okay with putting CAE on the cover page, and even added their logo.
Then he goes on how the Job Description stuff is nice but it's three slides and I need more information on my project management stuff. Then he goes on, and on, about project management stuff. I clearly do not understand what he is talking about since I took the job description information from the document that they sent to me. He says - yeah that's what it is with Delphi the additional information is the job description. So I ask "On the document you sent to me it has Job Description, is that not the description for the job I am interviewing for?" Here I paraphrase what I think Vic was saying - The job description that I so eloquently responded to is for a job classification and the additional information is for the actual job I am interviewing for. So I have them send me the additional information which is the actual job description, most of it is the same as the other but does include project management stuff. So I am now redoing (adding to) the presentation to include project management/tracking abilities.
They had better hire me.
Then he goes on how the Job Description stuff is nice but it's three slides and I need more information on my project management stuff. Then he goes on, and on, about project management stuff. I clearly do not understand what he is talking about since I took the job description information from the document that they sent to me. He says - yeah that's what it is with Delphi the additional information is the job description. So I ask "On the document you sent to me it has Job Description, is that not the description for the job I am interviewing for?" Here I paraphrase what I think Vic was saying - The job description that I so eloquently responded to is for a job classification and the additional information is for the actual job I am interviewing for. So I have them send me the additional information which is the actual job description, most of it is the same as the other but does include project management stuff. So I am now redoing (adding to) the presentation to include project management/tracking abilities.
They had better hire me.
This is getting weird
As anyone who reads this knows I have a job interview tomorrow at 9:30 am with Delphi in Saginaw. The position is Facilities Coordinator. I am going through a recruiter called CAE Tech located in Farmington Hills. I had originally applied back in the beginning of June, not knowing at that time that it was Delphi just CAE Tech, which I thought was the hiring company. Last week I started getting phone calls and emails from CAE Tech asking if I was still interested in the position. I replied to each and every one of them, thinking this company has no clue what it is doing I have 10 different people contacting me about the same thing, they really need me! So then I get an email stating that I have an interview with Delphi in Saginaw with a map to the interview location and a word document of the job description, this is when I catch on that I am dealing with a recruiter.
This morning I receive a phone call from Julie at CAE Tech verifying that I know about the interview and that I am planning to go. After I affirmed this, she told me the president of the company would like to speak to me today before I go, and would be calling me this afternoon if possible. I told her I was fine with that. A few minutes ago I got a call from Stan at CAE Tech to verify that I have powerpoint so that he could put together a presentation of my skills for me to take with me to the interview. I told him I did have powerpoint, and then he told me Vic wanted to talk to me. Vic got on the line and explained that he would like me to put together a presentation based on the job description and how I would be the best person to fill it. I asked him if the intention was for me to present this or to print it out. He said to print it out and leave them with something that spoke to my abilities. something that they would have to look back at when considering who to hire. All in all it sounded like a great idea, and I was working the presentation in my idea while he was going on. He then asked if I could come into their Farmington Hills office today so they could print it out and bind it for me. I told him no, that I would need time to create it (It was 1:00 in the afternoon already) and then it would be a 2 1/2 hour drive in. I explained that I could print it here and pick up some presentation binders at Wal-Mart. He then told me that they would probably have someone meet me in Saginaw as they have 4 people interviewing for the position tomorrow and will need to give them printed copies of theirs. So much for standing out in a crowd. But I have to get working on the presentation. I'll let you know how it goes.
Oh yeah, I'm assuming that Vic is the president I needed to speak to, if not they'll be interrupting again for a phone call. They do need me, this should have been done last week!
This morning I receive a phone call from Julie at CAE Tech verifying that I know about the interview and that I am planning to go. After I affirmed this, she told me the president of the company would like to speak to me today before I go, and would be calling me this afternoon if possible. I told her I was fine with that. A few minutes ago I got a call from Stan at CAE Tech to verify that I have powerpoint so that he could put together a presentation of my skills for me to take with me to the interview. I told him I did have powerpoint, and then he told me Vic wanted to talk to me. Vic got on the line and explained that he would like me to put together a presentation based on the job description and how I would be the best person to fill it. I asked him if the intention was for me to present this or to print it out. He said to print it out and leave them with something that spoke to my abilities. something that they would have to look back at when considering who to hire. All in all it sounded like a great idea, and I was working the presentation in my idea while he was going on. He then asked if I could come into their Farmington Hills office today so they could print it out and bind it for me. I told him no, that I would need time to create it (It was 1:00 in the afternoon already) and then it would be a 2 1/2 hour drive in. I explained that I could print it here and pick up some presentation binders at Wal-Mart. He then told me that they would probably have someone meet me in Saginaw as they have 4 people interviewing for the position tomorrow and will need to give them printed copies of theirs. So much for standing out in a crowd. But I have to get working on the presentation. I'll let you know how it goes.
Oh yeah, I'm assuming that Vic is the president I needed to speak to, if not they'll be interrupting again for a phone call. They do need me, this should have been done last week!
Monday, July 26, 2004
Nothing New Here
Nothing is new or exciting here so I will just respond. Mom the picture can be enlarged by clicking on it. You may not have noticed but they were in the water, I was as close as I could get and stay dry. Erika, Jane had stomach stapling I think, some type of weight reduction surgery. She's lost about 200 pounds. She had the surgery over a year ago, and had a real hard time afterward ended up hospitalized a couple of times. But it all worked out I guess.
Melody you know almost everyone in the pictures, the one little girl with Beeny opening her presents is Riley her friend from school. Riley is a lot like Sabrina - at one point Heather had left to fill the water balloons so Sabrina took the opportunity to go through the gift bags that she had been told to leave alone, when I told her to stop Riley responded "It's okay I told her she could." (I hate the period inside the quotation marks.) Melissa (AKA Neighbor Lady) is our next door neighbor, mother of Alex and Emma that the kids play with all the time. Up until the party when Robin said "I don't think I caught your name" she has been referred to as neighbor lady since no one knew her name. You may not have met Alex and Emma since you left in the winter, but the kids play outside with them constantly. The only other kid there was Xachary (pronounced Zachary), Jacque's (pronounced Jackie's) little brother. There are some other kids in the duck race but they are just strangers from the park since we had extra ducks.
There was a family reunion next to us at the park about 50 people or so. For about an hour every 15 monutes or so they would all line up in this gazebo type thing for a family shot. They must have did this 4 or 5 times. So jokingly when I walked past to go to the duck drop I asked a guy if they would all get together for me so I could take a picture. He disgustingly replied, "Who are you?" I explained that I was no one but that they all looked so good together. He laughed and said, "Yeah, everytime we got done someone else showed up and said 'Oh, I want a picture of everyone' I thought maybe you were just a relative I didn't know and if you're this late one I don't like."
Things are pretty boring here, everyone interesting went to California. Job interview is on Wednesday. I'll keep you posted.
Melody you know almost everyone in the pictures, the one little girl with Beeny opening her presents is Riley her friend from school. Riley is a lot like Sabrina - at one point Heather had left to fill the water balloons so Sabrina took the opportunity to go through the gift bags that she had been told to leave alone, when I told her to stop Riley responded "It's okay I told her she could." (I hate the period inside the quotation marks.) Melissa (AKA Neighbor Lady) is our next door neighbor, mother of Alex and Emma that the kids play with all the time. Up until the party when Robin said "I don't think I caught your name" she has been referred to as neighbor lady since no one knew her name. You may not have met Alex and Emma since you left in the winter, but the kids play outside with them constantly. The only other kid there was Xachary (pronounced Zachary), Jacque's (pronounced Jackie's) little brother. There are some other kids in the duck race but they are just strangers from the park since we had extra ducks.
There was a family reunion next to us at the park about 50 people or so. For about an hour every 15 monutes or so they would all line up in this gazebo type thing for a family shot. They must have did this 4 or 5 times. So jokingly when I walked past to go to the duck drop I asked a guy if they would all get together for me so I could take a picture. He disgustingly replied, "Who are you?" I explained that I was no one but that they all looked so good together. He laughed and said, "Yeah, everytime we got done someone else showed up and said 'Oh, I want a picture of everyone' I thought maybe you were just a relative I didn't know and if you're this late one I don't like."
Things are pretty boring here, everyone interesting went to California. Job interview is on Wednesday. I'll keep you posted.
Saturday, July 24, 2004
Sabrina's Birthday Party
Today was Sabrina's 7th birthday. We celebrated up at Iron's park with way too much food, and an equal amount of fun. The pictures below are from the Duck Race, Heather and Sandy took ten kids up of the bridge over the creek to drop numbered ducks off for a race down the creek where Melissa (AKA Neighbor lady), Robin, and Jane (those who know her note her absolutely fabulous weight loss) caught them to see who the winner was. The kids loved it, they also had elimination catch with water balloons, and party bags filled with lots of toys and candy. You can see all of the pictures from the party here. Hopefully the link works, I followed Erika's directions.
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