Breaking Up is Easy To Do........

Alaska Airlines is officially on my MAJOR pet peeve list.  I hear people complaining about them all the time and I had no doubt they operate like an company with a monopoly.  In many places in Alaska we have no other airline to rely on.  For the most part I take their gouging without putting too much thought into it.  What’s the point?  Besides, we don’t travel that often.

But recently something happened that changed my complacency.  A friend of mine (and spouse)  have to travel to Seattle to have open heart surgery performed on their  5 month old baby.  They are going through some tough times as one might imagine, both with leave usage from their jobs and travel expenses.  As anyone with major medical issues know, it all adds up fast.  I donated  some leave to her  and then Chris mentioned donating miles.  What a great idea, I thought.  He has miles he almost lost recently because he doesn’t have much activity on his account so we volunteered to donate 25,000 miles for their travel.  They were thrilled to have the miles, they have to buy opened ended tickets because their return depends on how well the baby is doing so air miles were definitely needed.  Imagine my surprise to learn it costs a lot of money to donate miles!!  $10 for every  1000 miles, to be exact, and then a $25 fee for processing.  So the cost of donating 25,000 miles came to $275.  For miles that I earned, that were MINE!! (Well, actually they were Chris’ but still……)  One might think the $25 processing fee would suffice…..why they have to charge for transferring miles from one account to another is beyond me.  It just goes to show their loyalty and appreciation for their patrons.  And how they really do gouge you at every turn.

So in conclusion…….BOO, HISS AK  Airlines.  You are no friend of mine.

Veterinary Trauma

Yesterday the vet was due to arrive at the house for shots.  In preparation for this traumatic event, I had shut all the bedroom doors so no one could find refuge under a bed or in a closet.  The only doors left open were to the office (where the litter box is) and a bathroom (where they can safely hide under the sink).  Things did not go smoothly…the vet knocked softly at the door which started Oscar thinking we were under attack and he had best alert the entire city and borough.  He is such a drama queen.  It is over with as soon as knocking people enter, but it certainly set the tone for the cats.  Thinking their world as they know it just imploded, they both went scurrying down the hallway at breakneck speed.  I wasn’t worried though, because I knew where I could find them. 

It took the vet about 10 minutes to get all set up and be ready for the first uncooperative feline.  I found Piper right where I knew he would be…under the sink in the bathroom.  Then it was Timmy’s turn.  I looked under the sink for him as well but nope…..he wasn’t there.  I looked in the bathtub.  I looked behind the shower curtain.  Okay, well that left only one other room.  The office doesn’t really have any hiding places but I looked in the bookshelves.  I looked in the desk drawers! Heck, I look at the ceiling and then I looked in the same places two or three different times.  I looked for bumps in the carpet.  I looked for holes in the wall!  I could not find this 10 pound, stark white cat with glowing eyes ANYWHERE.  The vet assured me this was not the first time this had happened and we rescheduled Timmy’s shot for another day.  Then Chris came home and we both looked high and low. In every room and cupboard, behind every door, up, down and sideways we looked.  He was gone.  I started getting really worried then although I knew he HAD to be there.  Finally a couple hours later, the missing little Timmers jumped up on my lap wanting reassurance from his scary afternoon in hiding. I still have no idea where he got to.  And this afternoon we get to do it all over again.  Hopefully I will have Oscar out in the garage and Timmy in a kennel before the vet arrives.

Spring in Juneau

Spring is on it’s way. …I can FEEL it!! I have a love/hate relationship with this time of the year….we haven’t had any snow in a while and the ground is becoming barer of any remains daily.   Temperatures have soared in the high 40’s and there have been a couple days you hardly needed a coat on.  YET….I live in Alaska and I know in my heart this is simply a fleeting reprieve from winter.  It is after all, only February.  There will be more snow even though it hardly seems possible at this juncture.  But my heart remains optimistic, ready to believe THIS could be the one winter that ends early.  This could be leading up to a summer for the record books, one reminiscent of the summer of 2005.  A girl can dream.

My friend Carole and her husband were returning home last  weekend, emptying the car of groceries etc., when the sounds of crying  got their attention.  They looked across the street to see a kitten running in their direction, soaked to the bone and very thin.  So, of course, kitty has a new home.  We went over to meet him last night and my heart absolutely melted.  He is a little Siamese Blue Point kitten (just like Piper) and just the cutest thing ever.  Very  playful, very loveable.  They already have two cats but “Moose” is ruling the roost already.  There is no doubt God knew what he was doing when he made kittens and puppies so irresistible.  They were not wanting additional animals but there was never any question they were taking him in. Why don’t I ever happen along kittens looking for a new home??  For all of Chris’ protesting that we don’t need any more animals, I know if we came upon a baby under those circumstances he would cave like a little girl. 

I know I needed to post a new blog entry but if I don’t have a topic in mind I really am stretched to find something to talk about.  My two sisters are together this week in Port Angeles and I’m missing it.  All I can think about is all the fun and adventures  they will be having and I’m missing out.  I really hate that feeling.  Next year  I won’t miss it!

So 'Happy Spring' to one and all, hope yours is for real and not a fantasy.

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.