Life in 2012

I woke up this morning and it was zero degrees.  Yikes.  It has been in the single digits for a few days but usually warms up to double digits.  The sun has been shining and it is beautiful, nonetheless, zero is about my threshold for cold weather.  I lay in bed last night and nose was a block of ice.  Chris gave himself a haircut yesterday and when he got to bed last night he wore a hat!  It was a chilly one.

I have to document my husband’s coffee machines history for prosperity’s sake.  When we got married  we had one little percolator coffee brewing pot that my mom gave me for when she came to town.  When Chris’ belongings arrived it was replaced with a coffee maker he owned.  A couple years later it quit working and about that time Kmart  was going out of business so I snagged one there for really cheap.    Really cheap never satisfies Chris, and a few weeks later he bought a nicer, way more expensive one.  The Kmart machine was relegated to the garage.  Then the coffee presses came out and he needed one of those but he also wanted a tea kettle to heat the water.  A friend of ours gave him a tea kettle but that one wasn’t good enough so he went out and purchased a new tea kettle. The old  tea kettle went in the garage.  That kept him happy for a while, many a weekend morning  was spent listening to whistling of the tea kettle.  Then  I accidentally broke the coffee press so we had to immediately replace it, which wasn’t nearly as painful as being regaled with accounts of my “crime” being, over and over to anyone who would listen.  So imagine my surprise when I woke up one morning last week and this new contraption was sitting on my counter.  Yes, the old expensive coffee maker found a new home in the garage and a Keurig Coffee System replaced it.  My garage is getting over run with Chris’ rejects.  He sure is happy though, he bought a box of coffee capsules and he is keeping track on his I pad of the ones he really likes and the ones he doesn’t.  There are also capsules for tea and hot chocolate as well.

On another note, my dad just turned 92 years old.  I really can’t imagine what it would be like to have survived that much life.  He grew up in the South and has gone from what I imagine was a very segregated upbringing to seeing a black man in the White House.  I think of all the technological advancements that have happened just in the last 20 years, let along the 72 years preceding that.  He had a 62 year old marriage and a 40 year teaching career. He has always worked hard and has explored many passions.  He is really blessed to have two people in his life that really love and care about him and are physically present in his life.  He was a difficult man to have for a dad and we each bear some scars but I am really thankful that God has provided him with Bill and Glenda.  So Happy Birthday Dad……

Adios 2011

I am SO DONE with this year!!

There were some good things to attribute to 2011….in February I had a fun sisters reunion in Port Angeles, WA.  A week together was just right….we cooked, and shopped, and walked and  I got to meet my nephew’s kids and meet his wife.  We watched movies and did a lot of laughing.  There is something about shared sisterly DNA, we all make each other laugh (MOST of the time)! 

I had a pretty good garden this summer even if it was mostly over by the first part of August.  It always goes too fast but when it starts raining about six weeks early things happen in a hurry.  I have finally gotten to the point where I feel I have an established garden.  Even if I didn’t plant one thing new I’d still have a pretty full area.  We did do some brick work and built new borders and a whole new bedding area out front.  It felt good to give my garden area a facelift.

In September I got a new job and that was probably the single best thing that happened this year.  It continues to be very challenging.  Everyday something completely new and unexpected comes up.  My supervisor warns me that it will take a good year before I feel like I know what I’m doing and I’ve never had a job like that before.  There was always a learning curve but it usually only lasted a month or two at the most.  My boss is a dream to work for, very encouraging and supportive and really appreciative of my efforts.  My coworkers are all very nice people and everyone gets along so well.  It continues to amaze me, it’s like finding nirvana after spending time in hell.  Seriously folks, it couldn’t be more different than my last experience.  I am still trying to process all that happened in that job and discern what management was thinking.  I just don’t understand how people think they are going to get a good, let alone the best result from people that are so unhappy, unappreciated and utterly defeated.  I’ve never seen so many demoralized people in one place and every day I wonder why someone doesn’t do something about it.  And why those people are allowed to run amuck.  And what justification they would give for their behavior.  And how they got to be so misguided.   It really is nothing more than schoolyard bullying and it is shameful that professionals at the State of Alaska are allowed to conduct themselves that way.

In November Chris & I celebrated our 10^th anniversary and took a long weekend trip to Seattle.  We stayed at the Westin Hotel right downtown and had thousands of stores within walking distance.  One night we were eating dinner at the hotel restaurant watching the crazy Friday night traffic and Chris commented that just watching that kind of traffic made him tense.  I guess you really can take the Houston out of the boy as well as the boy out of Houston.  He lived there for 20 years and in less than 10 he is SO over city driving.  Which isn’t necessarily a good thing….now when he has to he gets very short tempered and grouchy.

The house is all prepared for Christmas, the village is set up, the tree is adorned and all the holiday merriment placed about the house.  Gumdrop cookies have been made, cranberry salsa is plenty and most the gifts have been purchased and mailed.

I hope everyone reading this (YES, all 3 of you!) has a blessed and wonderful holiday season.  And my prayer for each of you is that in 2012 ALL your dreams come true!  May God bless you richly.

How Fleeting Life Can Be...

Yesterday a coworker’s husband died while diving.  He was 35 and they had been together since 9^th grade.  He also left a 7 year old daughter.  I didn’t know him but I’ve known his wife for years and his mom used to be a state commissioner and frequented the AG’s office quite a bit when I worked there.  His dad is the chancellor at UAA, SE and he is often heard on the radio or on TV.   I wasn’t close friends with any of them but his death affected me deeply.

I think about his wife and how she got out of bed that morning and did all the routine things one does to get ready for work.  How is must have felt like an typical, ordinary Monday morning, the knowledge that she was stepping into the worst day of her life blissfully ignorant to her.  Her husband was probably already gone, he was working as a deck hand that day and they were going sea cucumber diving.  She was probably feeding her daughter and getting her ready for school.  When she got to work she probably visited with coworkers  and inquired about the weekend that had just passed before she settled into her desk to begin work.

It probably couldn’t have been anything but a regular day at work before two JPD officers appeared at her desk that day asking to speak to her in private.  I imagine anyone seeing them walking in prayed a quick prayer that those officers weren’t there looking for them.  Whose desk they stopped at was a gruesome, random chance.  Another woman in the office saw them and had her own flashbacks, these officers had appeared at her desk one day to give her the news her daughter was dead.  I think of all the military spouses who have looked up to see uniformed men approaching their doorstep and want to run back in time and make it stop.  As she walked to the conference room, I can’t imagine what his wife was thinking.  Who in her family could it be?  Her mother?  Her father?  A sibling?  I’m sure her mind wouldn’t allow her to think it was her husband or her daughter.   Perhaps she hoping someone just got arrested before she realized they wouldn’t be paying an office visit to share that information.  It’s those visceral moments in life that tend to define us.   You become who you are because of the results of these moments.  It will always be a part of your history.  Someday, she will find a new normal…she may even find love again and remarry but she will always be a woman who found herself in front of two officers on that rainy October morning in Juneau.

I can’t begin to imagine what she is going through today.  To wake up (if she managed to sleep at all) and realize she is a widow.  That the love of her life and the father of her child is gone from this earth, that the plans she had for the weekend and for next month and for the rest of her life no longer apply.  I  am overwhelmed for her, thinking of decisions that have to be made, vacations that have to be cancelled, dreams that have to be rewritten.  One life ended, many lives interrupted. 

On Facebook this morning she pleaded with people to hug those you love and love so hard you have no regrets.  She said she had no regrets, because of the love they shared.  She assured people she would be fine with him as their angel watching over them.   She also knows the Lord and I’m positive he is holding her close, comforting her and giving her peace as only a loving Father can do.

NEW JOB

I  decided I better make a blog entry before I forgot how.  Seriously, I just haven’t had any writing inspirations.  I was going to blog about how horrible my old job was but my mind isn't ready to go back there so instead I’ll write about my new job.

On September 26, 2011 I started a new job with the Department of Health & Social Services, in the Grants and Contracting Section.  My title is Grants Administrator I, which is a range 14 but after a year you flex to a II, which is a range 17 so that’s a nice little jump.  I am a 14J though, so that’s the equivalent of a 17C so my jump won’t be too significant but that’s okay.  At least I won’t be in longevity anymore. 

Although I am called a Grants Administrator that is not what I do.  What is do is function as a leasing officer.  I am the only one in the section that deals with leases and DHSS has about 80 active leases in 30 different communities.  The Division of General Services has the procurement authority to lease,  DHSS does not, so I am the liaison between DGS and the our divisions.  Whenever anyone  wants to move  entirely or just  gain or lose space,  I am called upon.  When a lease is not renewed, I am called upon.  I keep a huge spreadsheet that maintains all the current numbers and keep the divisions up to date on what square feet they have and what they are paying.  Whenever construction work needs to be in the buildings we own and occupy, I hire contractors and engineers and abatment people. 

In a year’s time, I will go before a couple of department people and be tested.  You get all the questions beforehand and can have whatever notes and written material you choose to have with you but it’s still a test and an oral one at that.  Because I don’t work with either grants or contracts (although I understand I will eventually be doing some contract work) I will have to study hard.  Most people can rely on their experience but I won’t have that advantage.

I am really excited for this opportunity.  I am way out of my comfort zone and my skill set but it’s exciting and new.  Some days when I get home at night my brain hurts!   My supervisor is brand new as well so she isn’t much of a resource for  me but the section chief is training me and my predecessor is also a great help.  I am writing a desk manual as I learn so at the person following me will have some kind of guide. 

The people here are great.  There is very little turnover and everyone seems to be truly happy in the positions.  The division I came from was just the opposite…..people were miserable and demoralized and in the last month about half the staff quit so that staff that is left is carrying an extra heavy load.  It’s  amazing what a toll that takes on people individually.  I feel so much lighter and happier and ever so grateful.   I am thankful for fresh starts.

Ten Years Later

It’s hard to believe 10 years have passed since that fateful day.  Like so many others, I remember it like it was yesterday.  I remember hearing a local radio announcer say something about a plane hitting the world trade center, and then ANOTHER plane and I thought they were joking.  I remember thinking what poor taste it was to joke about a thing like that and just to make sure it was a joke I turned on the TV, and was so sure I wouldn’t see anything to confirm what I had just heard that I shut it off just as fast.  And then I realized it HAD been on the screen.  In that second of realization my world changed forever.

For the rest of the day I sat mesmerized in front of the television at work.  There was only one other employee on my floor that day, the rest were traveling and would be out for a few days.  My coworker Joan and I sat listening in stunned silence throughout the day.  It was just so hard to wrap my head around.  I had never even heard of Osama bin Laden.

Ten years later so much has changed.  We’ve been at war ever since.  Thousands of Americans have lost their lives as well as our allied forces from other countries.  Many civilians from the countries we have invaded have lost their lives.  Billions of dollars spent.  Our economy is in dire straits, at least partially due to the war.  Our futures seem to dangle precariously, particularly our financial futures.

We live in a world where ‘terrorist’ is a word we are all familiar with. We all know the significance of orange and red alerts.  We are familiar with invasive airport procedures.  We all live with the certainty that there are organized groups of people out there whose mission it is to do us great harm.    Were it not for the comforting hand of God and the peace that comes from knowing Him, I don’t know how I would survive.  All I know is the years ahead will bring more uncertainly and more struggle and strife.  God help us all.

We can, however, be thankful for the people and their brave spirits that have emerged from this tragedy.  I think of Todd Beamer from flight # 93 that crashed in Pennsylvania and his heroic last act to proclaim “let’s roll” as they took over the cockpit.  And the operator who prayed with him before the plane went down as well as his wife, Lisa, who became the iconic picture of survival.  I think of Lauran Manning and her incredible story after being burned over 80% of her body in the World Trade Center.  And all the other heros of the downed flights and all the first responders who put their own safety at risk in order to try to save others.  It was the worst of humanity and the best of humanity.  My heart goes out to all the survivors, those people who lost loved ones and to those souls that perished....may they rest in peace.

Grateful For Our Soldiers Sacrifice

I know blogs are not generally used as book reviews but once again, I can’t resist.  I just read possibly one of the greatest books I’ve ever read, it certainly captivated me more than any book I can remember, and that’s saying something because I’ve read a lot of really great books.  It’s called Unbroken: A World War II Story of Survival, Resilience, and Redemption by Laura Hillenbrand.  It first chronicles the childhood of Louis Zamperini who is any parent’s worst nightmare.  If he were a child today they would probably have him diagnosed  ADD, ADHD and anything other acronym code for wild and unruly child.  As a young adult he held the national record for the mile and went to the Berlin Olympics in 1936.  He became well known for his athletic accomplishments and learned to appreciate attention given for good deeds instead of bad ones. 

He enlisted into the Air Force in 1943.  After the plane he was in crashed into the ocean killing all but three on board he spent 47 days drifting on two life rafts with two other men and very little provision.  They battled the sun, sharks that surrounded the rafts constantly as well as dehydration and starvation.  Then the real saga started when they drifted into Japanese territory and were captured as POWs.  This story was not always easy to read, the abuse they suffered as POWs was unimaginable.  The beatings, the degrigation and humiliation, the diseases they got from the lack of sanitation and lack of food and clean water, it was incredible any of them survived.  Louis entered three different camps and each one was worse than the one before.  They were enslaved by their captors who worked many to their deaths.  Overall, 37% of POWs died in Japanese camps compared to 1% in the German and Italian camps.

Eventually they were freed and he reunited with his family and married.  But the scars and nightmares of prison camp persisted and he turned to alcohol to numb the pain.  For several years he a prisoner of his own hatred and shame.  He couldn’t exorcise the demons of war.  One day at a revival by Billy Graham he was able to give all it all to God in one of the most beautiful and inspirational accounts of God’s glory, mercy, love, forgiveness and redemption I have ever read.  From that moment on his nightmares ceased.  He was finally free.  God literally took all that hatred from him and became a committed Christian.  He founded a camp for boys with behavioral problems, worked for a church and did the circuit as an inspirational speaker.  He returned to Japan to the prison that housed all the war criminals to express his forgiveness.

This is truly one of the most extraordinary accounts of a life well-lived that I have ever read.  What I have touched on here is only the tip of the iceberg.  The lessons it teaches are about faith, perseverance, hard work and so much more.  It cannot help but inspire you and make you a better person.  When the book is over you will long for more.  I have discovered Louis Zamperini wrote his own autobiography Devil at my Heels which is already downloaded to my Ipad.

You Know You're From Haines if You Remember.......

Recently someone started a group on Facebook that has garnered quite a following.  It’s been a fun trip down memory lane.  Here are some of my favorites:

·         Feather and Fin restaurant

·         Moose Horn restaurant

·         Doody’s store

·         Wileys restaurant

·         All the “put the fear of God into kids” adults:  Retha Young, Florence Lammers, Ethel Powel, Bill Battrick

·         Roller skating at the old barracks

·         Swimming at 11 mile

·         When the bakery was a row of apartments

·         The big outdoor stairwell into “Schnable’s apartments” with the Post Office below

·         The “Rack & Que” (someone even still had a Tshirt!)

·         Mrs. Berry’s pink everything!

·         Powell’s Store

·         Hakkinen’s Store

·         The Corner store (owned by McDowells)

·         Curfew siren going off every night.....10 pm on weekdays, 12 on weekends

·         The police station up by the legion hall

·         Customs down at 1 mile with a sign saying if you missed us, check in tomorrow morning

·         Riding the cable car at 26 mile

·         Sourdough Pizza (taught me to love of sprouts atop my pizza)

·         The old yellow truck on the playground

·         The rope swing up by Menakers

·         The Smell of the Yukon

·         Strawberry Festival

·         When the “Food Center” was brand new and it seemed so big

·         Porcupine Shorty’s strawberry patch

·         When you could go to the movie theater and pay $.50 for the ticket and $.50 for popcorn & soda

·         Dr. Jones cutting the cast off my leg in front of my 2^nd grade class